At EDGE INDIA, we understand the value and necessity of continuous innovation in adoption of farming practices, services and methodologies. The company invests generously in its Research and Development Centre and has established  state of the art Hi – Tech Green Houses as to evaluate the production & the quality of various cash crops produced under various farming facilities both under most modern techniques in comparison to traditional methods.
Ecological intensification means designing sustainable production systems that save on inputs and are less harmful to the environment. It also means developing varieties better suited to their environment, and inventing new pest and disease control techniques. Lastly, it means understanding how nature functions so as to exploit its resources without destroying it, and breaking with practices based on intensive, massive use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, water and fossil fuels.
Economic growth, urbanization and changing lifestyles are all making consumers change their dietary habits. These profound changes in the agri-food sector raise questions regarding competitiveness, supply chain organization, and exclusion: the crises seen in the sector recently have not been linked to shortages but to the problems certain populations groups have in accessing food resources.
Inventing an ecologically intensive type of horticulture so as to feed people better: this is a wide-ranging mandate for the unit, whose main aim is to generate and capitalize on knowledge so as to assess and design sustainable horticultural cropping systems. The issues are huge: satisfying growing global demand for fruit and vegetables and facilitating the economic and social development of farmers of Northern India while preserving the environment and reducing the risks for human health and ecosystems.
Horticulture is now seen as an essential factor in food security and safety and health worldwide. Horticultural systems are a major source of income and jobs for the poorest populations in tropical areas. In this context, is it possible to reduce the adverse effects of massive pesticide use in horticultural cropping systems, while maintaining high, sustainable productivity and producing safe, quality products? The company believes that this target can be met, through improved knowledge and use of the interactions and biological regulation mechanisms within horticultural cropping systems. Its aim is to establish the principles of the agroecology of tropical horticultural systems, before applying them in order to design sustainable cropping systems, by implementation of thorough Research & Development Centre with appropriate shelter farming technologies.
Edge India works on a plot, herd, farm or product level, in this last case right through to the end of the processing chain. Its research centers on the relations between genotype, environment and technical system. It draws upon concepts and tools from the fields of agronomy, systems analysis, decision support, functional ecology and process engineering. The aim is to design, assess and implement agricultural and pastoral systems, study the environmental impact of agricultural practices and analyze how quality develops throughout the production chain.
In view of the sustainability problems encountered by farming systems in both developed and developing countries, shelter farming, mulch-based cropping systems are a particularly attractive option. Edge India is currently one of the organizations most deeply committed to developing and mastering such techniques.
The unit is developing this expertise by capitalizing on its knowledge of how these systems function and of their impact under a range of physical and socioeconomic conditions. It applies these skills to developing new sustainable cropping systems for the farming community in hilly states.