Times Of India

Farmers who have suffered losses given the crop damage due to hailstorm and rains in the state have sought “factual” assessment of the loss each one of them has suffered. The farmers’ body, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) has written to the chief minister Yogi Adityanath “willing to bring to his notice” that the assessment, at present, is done by the revenue department.

Hindustan Times

Farmers have reportedly lost 70% of their crop in the recent rain, hail and high-velocity winds in Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts and have asked the government to provide timely compensation.

The region received 11.7mm rain on Wednesday. The department of agriculture and meteorology has predicted more rain till Friday and has advised farmers against starting water irrigation.

Head of the department of agriculture and meteorology ML Khichar said, “On Saturday, Hisar received 35.7mm rain and similar figures were recorded in Fatehabad and Sirsa, too. Due to hailstorms and high-speed winds, farmers have lost crop in these districts.”

Times of India

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar during his visit to Gurukul, Kurukshetra on Thursday asked for promoting the Indian culture of using ‘desi’ cow’s waste-based fertilizers and said that one lakh acres of agricultural land will be cultivated under natural farming in the state. Khattar, accompanied by Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat inaugurated a natural farming training center built at a cost of around Rs 2.11 crore at Gurukul, Kurukshetra and also participated in a workshop namely Subhash Palekar Natural Farming Workshop.

Gadgets NOW

A supercomputer is boosting efforts in East Africa to control  a locust outbreak that raises what the U.N. food agency calls “an unprecedented threat” to the region’s food security.

The computer, a donation from Britain, uses satellite data to track locust swarms and predict their next destination. Quickly sharing the information of the locusts’ movements with regional authorities is key to controlling the outbreak, as even a small swarm of locusts in a single day can move nearly 100 miles and consume the amount of crops that would otherwise feed 35,000 people.