Not wanting to be outdone by Miss Jones, who is currently visiting farmers in Uganda, I'm off to India in just over a week as part of an international farm scholarship.

I'm going to be meeting farmers, government officials and farm leaders in Delhi and around Mumbai to try and learn about agriculture over there. In particular I'm going to be meeting an organisation which provides farmers with mobile phones so they can trade, communicate and get advice from around the country (few farmers have computers or the internet over there, but phone signal is so good that mobiles are becoming a vital part of the industry).

So, is there anything you'd like me to ask the people I meet? Are you interested in the kind of technology they use, their use of GMs, livestock, how their experiences of farming differ to yours?

Either post your questions here, or email me at caroline.stocks@rbi.co.uk before I leave on 12 October. I'll do my best to answer everything while I'm away.

Caroline, here are some questions.

Ask them how they're getting on, where cattle or sheep are grazing the residue from GM cotton crops.

I'd be fascinated to know their opinions on the farm suicide numbers. If you check out the numbers here http://bit.ly/9ELsqg you'll find staggering statistics, derived by Prof. K. Nagaraj from NCRB reports (Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India).  This shows that for the years 1997-2008 there were a staggering 1,342,873 suicides in the whole of India, of which 199,132 were farmers. In 2006-08, Maharashtra saw 12,493 farm suicides; nearly 600 more than the previous worst of 2002-2005 and 85% higher than the 6,749 suicides recorded in the three-year period of 1997-1999. Ask them why they're doing this.

You might also ask them what glyphosate has done for them?

How about asking them about Bhopal? Has everything been cleared up, since the plant blew up? Are they happy with the compensation levels?

I'd be interested to know how they think they will be farming in 20 years time. Will the same number of them be farming in 20 years time? If less than the current number, what will the others be doing?

You could also ask them how secure they feel about water supplies for their agricultural needs. We all know that freshwater is under pressure, and I can't believe that their country is any different than ours.

It's probably best that you don't ask anything about the Commonwealth Games!

I'm sure you'll enjoy the trip, and well done for securing it.

Oliver 

On a slightly lighter note, tell them to go for the Nokia 3330 mobile.

Can be unlocked to work on any network and cheep as chips on E-Bay.

You may have to explain the E-Bay concept?

I believe they have secured the manufacturing rights to some of the eastern block and Russia's most popular tractor makes. It would be interesting to find out if they are available to the farmers in India's home market or are they all produced for export.

PS Don't go until Rachel comes back, or Isabel will have FWi house all to herself!

Nothing specific to ask, but I would like you to check out some of their smaller scale equipment if you have the chance. Being on a small scale myself now, and absolutely no used equipment market in Portugal, I have had to resort to make a few things of my own. Websites from India have been the most helpful of all the world. They are/have been in a similar situation of larger scale commercial equipment being too expensive for them, and as a consequence a great deal of research and innovation have occurred, resulting in some low cost gear that appears to work satisfactorily. e.g. direct drills, maize harvester on a two-wheeled tractor, threshers, animal feeders specifically designed for the local fodder crops, etc. Enjoy your trip. 

mursal:

PS Don't go until Rachel comes back, or Isabel will have FWi house all to herself!

Don't worry, I wouldn't dare leave Isabel to deal with you lot by herself Rach should be back in FW Towers this week, I don't leave until the week after.

I decided to give this one a bump up the board otherwise it will be lost from sight. Come on fellas, think about it. The Indian farmer is almost invariably small-scale, but he has to make enough to feed himself and his family. You all must know of an Indian living in Britain and running a shop. They are survivors. Think about your biggest problem and ask Caroline to check out how the Indian farmer fixes it, for fix it he will - probably with help from his local Ag Dept people or University, but the problem will be solved.

lt would be interesting to find out how plant breeding is helping the average farmer improve productivity.

There have been huge improvements in varieties in this country since l left college in the mid 70's, have they seen the same? 

caroline stocks:

I'm going to be meeting farmers, government officials and farm leaders in Delhi and around Mumbai to try and learn about agriculture over there

What is their take on sustainable agriculture, especially when compared to that of the USA and Europe, or Defra.

What are their plans for meeting the climate change challenge?

What are they doing about managing water for irrigation of crops and the conflict of industry and people.

 Did anyone hear the latest on the Indian trip. Didn't leave yet, away, back home in the recovery position?

 Any news would be appreciated, as we have no scandal, far to quiet for my liking! 

mursal:

back home in the recovery position?

Thanks for the concern I leave today - just trying to ram the last of my stuff into my suitcase and find my passport (why does it always seem to go walkies on the day of the flight?!).

I'll try and update on the forums as I go, but I'll be blogging here: http://www.fwi.co.uk/community/blogs/nufsaid/default.aspx and for anyone who has embraced the world of Twitter, I'll be tweeting here: http://www.twitter.com/CarolineFW

If anyone has any other questions, pop them on here and I'll do my best to get them answered 

Heard from Caroline yesterday. She's landed safely in India and apparently "there really ARE loads of monkeys!"

She might not have regular access to email, but she's in India for a couple of weeks so feel free to forward on any other questions you might have...

racheljones:

Heard from Caroline yesterday. apparently "there really ARE loads of monkeys!"

See if she can bring you back a slice of pie!!!!

 I haven't seen monkeys today, but I have seen chickens. I've been to a broiler unit and feed production plant about an hour out of Delhi. Chickens are supposedly Indian agriculture's 'sunrise industry', as increasing wealth means people are eating more and more meat - chicken being the first choice.

I'll post some photos when I get the chance, but it was really interesting to see how the producers get by with very little mechanisation (I didn't see a single tractor on any of the farms we passed), and how that's probably going to change over the next decade as farm enterprises grow. I was quite impressed by the welfare too.

Final green blob must surely only be a formality after going to such extremes to give us feedback on your trip!

 I've uploaded a few photos from a couple of the farms and places I've been to so far here http://www.fwi.co.uk/community/photos/india/default.aspx, if anyone's interested

caroline stocks:

 I've uploaded a few photos from a couple of the farms and places I've been to so far here http://www.fwi.co.uk/community/photos/india/default.aspx, if anyone's interested

Reminds me of what I saw in Africa. Farmers didn't let anything go to waste.

racheljones:

Farmers didn't let anything go to waste

We're the same over here!

Nice picture Caroline, we all have a soft spot for the machinery (as you know), I just had to take a look.