The Economic Times

Burning of paddy residue that had spiked around Diwali across Punjab and Haryana is likely to continue this week as well, as farmers are hurriedly preparing fields for the wheat crop after rains and late maturing of paddy narrowed the window for that.

Mumbai Mirror

Maharashtra Changemakers’ key objective is to get city folk on board to pressure govt to frame new policies for farmers.A collective of Mumbai-based activists has started a campaign to reduce chemical content in our meals by triggering conversations about organic farming on dinner tables and in fields. One of the main objectives of ‘Maharashtra Changemakers’ is to make city residents aware of farmers’ problems and secure their support to pressure the government for framing new policies that support natural agriculture practices.

Financial Express

Maharashtra’s chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, has announced that Maharashtra state has suffered a drought in 2018 and that the state is seeking drought relief of Rs 7000 crore from the Centre. This raises several questions: Firstly, what happened to the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), which was supposed to compensate farmers in case of a drought year? Why does the state have to knock at the doors of the Centre for drought relief as if there was no crop insurance? Secondly, what happened to massive irrigation investments that the state had been making over the last fifteen years or so in drought-proofing its agriculture? That obviously seems to have failed.