Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs situated along the tropical coastline of India, that flourish in low-oxygen soil, where slow-moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate. Mangrove plants have unique adaptation properties that allow them to survive in harsh environments.

The coastal agro-ecosystem is a fragile ecological systems and highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Crop productivity in this zone is well below the state average. Fertility status of the soil is moderate to poor, and a large area is under rainfed cultivation coupled with irrigation during summer season with small ponds and shallow borewells. The cropping intensity ranges from 100 to 200 percent.

The endangered Olive Ridley Turtles along Odisha Coast needs protection. It is an important site for millions of marine Olive Ridley that migrate from faraway places for mass nesting. This is an annual phenomenon, and therefore mechanised and motorised fishing are banned from November 1st of given year to May 31st of the following year (seven months) vide Odisha Government Notification No. 12312 dated 12.11.2014.

Mangroves are highly productive unique ecosystems harbouring diverse unexplored microbial communities that play crucial roles in nutrient cycling as well as in maintaining ecosystem services. Research to uncover the microbe-mangrove interactions that maintain ecosystem services and resilience under changing conditions is urgently needed for successful conservation and rehabilitation of these fragile ecosystems as these communities play crucial roles in mangrove biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling.

Coastal agroecosystems have become more vulnerable due to climate change. Farm families in the Aghanashini Estuary region, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, are traditional cultivators of paddy that is always submerged in saline water. Unique to this ecosystem is the saline tolerant Kagga paddy that is cultivated in a growth cycle with marine shrimp/fish. However, area under Kagga is diminishing due to changes in land use, hyper-salinity, climate change, non-availability of quality Kagga seeds, low demand, and lack of modern agro-technologies.

Kagga crop is a paddy variety cultivated in the saline soils of Ghazini area of the Aghanashini estuaries of coastal Karnataka. It has longer internodes (up to 140-160 cm in height) and a long panicle with an awn on the seeds. The dehusked rice grain is red-pigmented and slightly bigger in size. Kagga rice is a favourite food of local people, has several health benefits, is a rich source of nutrients, provides more energy to work for long hours, acts as coolant, prevents heat strokes, and is also used to treat diarrhoea and other digestive disorders.

Soil degradation restrains soil nutrition status and is considered as a significant cause to threaten global nutrition security. Soil management practices that enhance biological contributions to soil fertility and support sustainable farming systems is gaining more attention. One of the approaches for regenerative soil system is the use of cultured plant growth promoting microorganisms to achieve crop productivity.

Soil salinization is identified as a major cause of land degradation, rendering land unsuitable for crop cultivation. Domestication of crops over the past 10,000 years has resulted in the loss of ancestral traits. Crop Wild Relatives (CWRs) can be important sources of salinity tolerance.

Sea Safety was the focus of the ‘World Fisheries Day’ event at MSSRF’s Fish for All Centre, Poompuhar, in the presence of representatives from the Fisheries department, Coastal Security Police,

As Cyclone Nivar hit the eastern coast of India, on November 25-26, several thousand farming and fishing community members especially in the states of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry,