The Hindu Business Line

The Agriculture Ministry has written to the Finance Ministry seeking income-tax exemption for farmer produce organisations (FPOs), particularly for those that are registered as farmer producer companies (FPO) under the Companies Act.

India Today

With the agricultural conclave, DBT aims to advance the process of technological intervention to help small and marginal land-holding farmers, who constitute a major component of Indian agriculture.

Huffington Post

This decentralised wastewater treatment system is now scaled out to 28 villages in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. With total treatment capacity of 863 m³ per day it can irrigate one hectare land at each village or provide water to nearly 3,000 rural households for domestic consumption.

The Better India

Well, no! You can trace the history of urban agriculture to 3,500 BC when Mesopotamian farmers set aside plots in their growing cities to carry out farming. During World War II, urban farmers had what came to be called ‘victory gardens’ that produced crops to feed underprivileged neighborhoods too. One of the prime reasons for the implementation of this concept is the lack of clean produce. It is expected to pick up pace in India.

Business Standard

Farm debt waivers eventually push up the interest rate in the entire economy and crowd out private sector entities from accessing finite resources of market funds, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel said on Thursday. “There is a gamut of issues that have intensified the anguish of our farmers. In this context, farm loan waivers have brought forward the urgency of designing lasting solutions to the structural malaise that affects Indian agriculture,” Patel said in a seminar on agricultural debt waivers.

The Hitavada

District said that information on roadmap to double the agriculture income of the farmers will be given by organising farmers’ conventions in the month of September at block head quarters. He said that apart from farmers, agriculture scientists present at the convention will advise farmers on beneficial crops after testing the area’s soil and climate. Suggestions received from the farmers in proposed conventions and suggestions for doubling agriculture income based on geographic condition and environment of specific area will also be included in the roadmap.

Web India 123

Bengal is a largely agricultural economy with 96 per cent of the 7.23 lakh farm families being marginal and small farmers (with the average size of their landholdings being only 0.77 ha.). As an economy that is as heavily dependent on and replenished by agriculture, the current State Government has not only identified its palpable potential but has striven to resurrect it, according to a party release here today

The Sentinel

A programme on Sankalp Se Siddhi was organized by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jorhat at the Dr MC Das Memorial Auditorium of Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat campus, said Rupam Borgohain, an official from KVK, Jorhat on Wednesday. Attending as a guest speaker, Dr Kamal Mallv Buzarbaruah, the Vice-Chancellor of AAU, spoke about doubling the income from agricultural production in five years. He suggested that a team from Assam should be formed for doubling the farmers’ income and the team would be responsible for overall development and to find different sectors which would be differentiated by experts from various departments which could help to reach the target in doubling the farmers’ income.

The Times of India

As many as 300 farmers from across Tamil Nadu underwent training on fumigation techniques and pest control measures as part of a workshop here. The two-day workshop, conducted on Wednesday and Thursday by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), gave practical demonstration on fumigation techniques by pesticide manufacturing companies. About 50 representatives from pesticide companies participated in the event. Farmers later interacted with scientists and pesticide manufacturing experts to clear doubts about storage of various produce.

Down To Earth Org

Apparently, this suggestion has been made to minimise risk and increase productivity. But what is the justification to advocate GM seeds in a country with one of the richest inventory of agro biodiversity, neglected over centuries, more so after the Green Revolution? Thousands of years of farmers’ traditional knowledge has brought about this variety. Are we really serious about conserving biodiversity?