BANDA, INDIAPrem Singh’s farm thrives along the dusty banks of the River Ken.

Strangled by years of drought, the river’s currents have ebbed. Local well levels have dropped by as much as 85 feet. Grain farmers are abandoning their fields and moving to cities. Some even have committed suicide. But Singh’s intermixed plot of mango trees, rows of garlic bulbs, and cow milking sheds loom in the heat waves like a lush oasis. He is debt-free—the dream of farmers anywhere on the globe—and turning a good profit.

“The Green Revolution took away our self-sufficiency,” said Singh, referring to industrial farming techniques that introduced mechanization, genetically modified crops, and chemical fertilizers to the region more than a quarter of a century ago. “I