We now live in a world where bees are offered on rent. That’s how far we’ve pushed biodiversity to the edge — pollination, the most natural thing in farming, now comes with a delivery charge.
Farming today has become dangerously crop-centric. Mechanization, weedicides, and labor redirection (thanks, MGNREGA) have made it easier to eliminate every other form of life from a field — except the one cash crop being grown. No hedges, no native shrubs, no ground cover, no space for birds, bees, butterflies, or even earthworms. This monoculture mindset is now widespread — especially in large-scale farms chasing yield at any cost. Regenerative and natural farming? Beautiful ideas, but right now, they only work at small farm scale. So what’s the answer? Policy nudge. Don’t just shout slogans — restructure support. Disincentivize mono crops. Incentivize biodiverse, climate-smart plantations. Like Punjab recently did — literally paying farmers not to grow paddy or wheat.
A farm without biodiversity may still give you a crop — but sooner or later, it stops giving you life.
