The Hans India – Online

Telangana Government decided to adopt new farm techniques from Israel, which have been adopted by the agriculture sector in the world. A group of senior officials from the State Agriculture department would embark on a study tour to Israel soon. At a high-level review with State Agriculture and Marketing department officials at Pragati Bhavan on Sunday, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said that acquiring modern farm techniques was the need of the hour to increase the farm output and reduce the input cost. The government has already provided adequate infrastructure, including water for irrigation, to promote farming in a big way in the State. The only big challenge before the government is the promotion of ...

Counter Punch – Online

With over 800 million people, rural India is arguably the most interesting and complex place on the planet but is plagued by farmer suicides, child malnourishment, growing unemployment, increased informalisation, indebtedness and an overall collapse of agriculture.

Given that India is still an agrarian-based society, renowned journalist P Sainath says what is taking place can be described as a crisis of civilisation proportions and can be explained in just five words: hijack of agriculture by corporations. He notes the process by which it is being done in five words too: predatory commercialisation of the countryside. And another five words to describe the outcome: biggest displacement in our history.

The Federal – Online

Indian economy is heavily dependent on agriculture and allied activities. The sector provides employment to millions engaged in farming and agriculture entrepreneurship. A large section of farmers is protesting against three farm laws for the past two months on the Delhi borders, terming these laws as ‘anti-farmers’ and ‘pro-businessmen’. The farmers have now included small agricultural entrepreneurs or businessmen involved in product marketing.

This section includes wholesalers, retailers, commission agents, transporters, exporters and financers. Some of them are also engaged in input marketing, selling fertilizers, agricultural chemicals, seeds and machinery. There are thousands of retailers and wholesalers in Punjab who feel that they will be sidelined once big players enter the market.

Times of India – Online

Most people in the country have always subscribed to the thought that the Farmers’ protest was never a protest in the interests of farmers. Developments of last few weeks, stubborn attitude of protesters and utterances of their leaders has proved them right. From changing demands after each round of talks, outright rejection of meeting the Supreme Court appointed committee and now their spurning of government’s offer of keeping the three laws in abeyance for eighteen months till a proper mutually agreed solution could be found shows that these protests have little to do with interests of farmers.

The Hindu – Online

The agriculture sector’s performance has not been commensurate with the increasing subsidised credit it receives

Farmers on the warpath would mean that agriculture reforms have again occupied centrestage not just in the minds of the politicians but also

Slowfood – Online

Not even the government knows, but it’s estimated to be around 145 million families, with estimates ranging from around 40% to as much as 60% of the population—and even taking the low estimate, that’s more farmers than Europe and all the Americas combined.

But unlike the farming models we find in the West, in India the majority of those farms (85% of them) are what are referred to as “micro farms”. Micro-farms are less than two hectares in size (a hectare is just over the size of a soccer field).

Because of their size, these farms are often worked by one family. This requires an enormous amount of physical labor—and doesn’t generate much profit. Indeed, most of these ...

News Click – Online

In its systematic attempt to vilify the farmers’ movement against the three infamous agriculture laws that open peasant agriculture to corporate takeover, the government keeps using the argument that the opposition to these laws is confined to farmers only from a couple of states, that farmers from other states are happy with the laws.

The falseness of this claim has been amply demonstrated, with the legislature in a state as far away as Kerala opposing these laws in a special session, and kisans in states like Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, apart from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh marching shoulder to shoulder with those opposing the laws. The claim that the opposition is ...

Hindu Business Line – Online

Start-up hopes to revolutionise food testing with an ‘MRI-like scanner’

Among the many problems that beset Indian agriculture is the absence of quality standards in the proverbial farm-to-fork food chain.