Srinagar, May 6 -- By Mohammad Ilyas Bhat

I learned the true cost of farming's isolation while working in Budgam.

Experience on the ground showed me that agriculture depends as much on people as it does on soil and seed.

Villages once acted as a unit during the cropping season, and that collective energy gave farming both strength and stability.

But today, each farmer stands alone in the same fields, and the results tell a troubling story.

A field trial in Chravani village made this shift impossible to ignore. One farmer stood out with an oilseed crop that came close to its full potential. His field drew attention from nearby villages, and farmers visited to understand what set his work apart.

He greeted them with pride and explaine...