The Hans India

The district administration made elaborate arrangements for launching of Rythu Bharosa scheme in the district on Tuesday. Minister for Agriculture Marketing Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao and Minister for Home Affairs Mekathoti Sucharita will launch the scheme at Tenali Agriculture Market Committee.

Telangana Today

Finance Minister T Harish Rao and Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy inaugurated the Centre for Applied Genomics and Seed Technology, a bio-technology research and development centre at Kaveri Seeds at Pamulaparthy village of Markook Mandal in Siddipet district on Monday.

Rural Marketing

This year is an eventful one, for who could have thought that our protective guards will be ravaged and the Amazon rainforest will be on fire. This is, however, not an isolated incident – burning forests to create land for agriculture is an age-old practice. Slash and burn agriculture is a widely used method of growing food in which wild or forested land is clear cut and any remaining vegetation burned. The resulting layer of ash is said to provide the newly-cleared land with a nutrient-rich layer to help fertilise crops.

The Statesman

Describing the progressive farmers, who have refrained from burning paddy stubble, as pioneers of change, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday called upon them to join the state government in launching a massive campaign to persuade the entire farming community to give up this dangerous practice in the interest of environmental protection for the future generations. Addressing a group of these farmers, Amarinder said these agents of change had done yeoman’s service to humanity by helping create a pollution-free environment. He said their experiences and expertise must be replicated by one and all to save the fertility of soil on the one hand and prevent environmental pollution on the other.

The Times of India  

Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said the farmers found stubble burning in their farmlands after harvesting would be deprived of any financial assistance and subsidy from the state government. Addressing the inaugural session of a two-day international conference on crop residue (stubble) management at the Gyan Bhavan here, Nitish also said the state had been providing electricity to farmers at a cheap rate of 75 paise per unit. Besides, a subsidy of Rs 60 per litre on purchase of diesel was also being provided.

The Financial Express   News18 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday appealed to the farmers of the state to avoid burning crop residue as its damages the environment. He asked the departments concerned to create awareness among the farmers about the ill-effects of stubble burning. “Animals do not get their rightful share of fodder due to stubble burning. The practice also kills the friendly bacteria and fungi present in abundance in the soil. Thus stubble burning permanently damages the environment and fertility of the soil,” Adityanath said.

Orissa Post

Khariff farming this year got delayed in most parts of Ganjam district due to erratic rainfall. Braving the monsoon odds, farmers managed to raise paddy in thousands of acres of land in Polsara block, but pest attack on paddy has become a major concern for them. Reports said pest attacks have been spreading in acres of land at Balipahar, Chitrakar, Padiabhanga, Ghosapahara, Gaha, Kunimundia and Patharakodia. Paddy pants are withering due to pest attack, lamented farmers Bansi Dalabehera, Raghunath Bisoi, Jogendra Dalabehera and Kabi Swain.

Down to Earth

Besides water conservation, Oraon also took on the timber mafia to save the sal (shorea robusta) forest surrounding his village. He was even jailed for the protest. Oraon devised a simple process that helped conserve over 250 ha of sal forests. “On the one hand, we started guarding the forests round-the-clock, while on the other, we set up a committee to look after the forest.