Business World 

Various reasons have been offered to explain why farmers commit suicide in India, including: floods, drought, debt, use of genetically modified seed, public health, use of lower quality/quantity pesticides due to less investments producing a decreased yield and also government economic policies. However several studies have also shown that more than one reason is often associated with farmer suicides.

Adoption of technology in farming and use of latest variety of seeds is essential to achieve bumper harvest, opined agriculture scientists. A two-day Zonal Research Extension Advisory Council (ZREAC) meeting was inaugurated at Naira Agriculture College here on Thursday.

Business Standard

The fertiliser sector is witnessing a churn, on a scale not seen for long.   Direct benefit transfer (DBT) in sales, neem-coating of urea, pooled price of gas for urea units, changes in pricing policy and on related to subsidy payments are among some of the recent ones. All are aimed at streamlining the industry and boosting urea production, to ensure more fertiliser is made cheaper, in the highly regulated and subsidised regulated sector.

Deccan Chronicle

Farmers in Telangana state are having problems growing cash crops such as corn and maize because the harvest is being consumed and damaged by a population of wild boars. The animals recently destroyed the crops of a farmer from Hyderabad.

Nyooz

The government wheat procurement centres in Pilibhit district have been illegally charging Rs60 per quintal from farmers to accept their crop under the government purchase scheme. Surprisingly, there was hardly any wheat procurement in some of these villages.

Deccan Herald 

The ‘Organics and Millets 2017 – National Trade Fair’ will be held from April 28 to 30 in the city. The event is being organised by the department of agriculture in collaboration with Karnataka State Agricultural Produce Processing and Export Corporation Limited, agricultural universities and Jaivik Krishik Society.

The Times of India

Lower than expected soybean exports keep lid on prices  wheat was little changed on Friday after dropping to a four-month low earlier in the session, pressured by plentiful global supplies and an improved weather outlook for the winter crop in the United States.

Financial Express

The government’s wheat purchase drive for the ongoing rabi marketing season (2017-18) has picked up pace with the Food Corporation of India and state government agencies procuring close to 15 million tonne (MT) since the operations began on April 1. The quantum of wheat procurement till Thursday is 12% more than grain purchased from the farmers during same period last year.

Business Standard

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has extended Rs 9,241 crore as refinance support to cooperative banks and regional rural banks (RRBs) in Gujarat for providing crop loans to farmers during 2016-17. The bank has sanctioned Rs 2,274 crore to the Government of Gujarat for irrigation project of SAUNI Yojana.

Livemint

Sunil Munjal, who separated from his brothers in 2016 to carve an independent identity, has formed a new group company called Hero Enterprise that has started selling life and health insurance policies and plans to venture into aerospace parts.

TheWire.in

As the adversities of hydroclimatic aberrations start becoming perceptible in sustainable development strategies around the world and surface waterbodies start falling prey to aggressive human expansions, groundwater is emerging as the mainstay of livelihoods around the world. Roughly two billion lives worldwide thrive on groundwater resources, underlining its importance in sustainable human development.

The Hindu

Now, farmers in Raichur district can use drones for agriculture purpose. Normally, it is the Police Department that uses such equipment to capture aerial photographs for security purpose.