The Indian Express – Online

Lately, Punjab politics has been making headlines, not always for the right reasons. The security lapse during the prime minister’s visit and the infighting within political parties signal that all is not well in the state. At the same time, all parties have made the betterment of the farming community their campaign plank in the upcoming assembly elections. The agitating farmers have launched their own party. It is no secret that Punjab, once the frontrunner of Indian agriculture, is struggling to retain its dynamism. While Punjab ranked at the top of major Indian states in terms of per capita income during 1967-68 to 2002-03, it has slipped below the 13th position and will keep ...

Hindustan Times – Online

Equipped with knowledge about the traditional practices and bio-resources in the form of People’s Biodiversity Registers, experts from the West Bengal Biodiversity Board (WBBB) are now trying to revive some of the traditional varieties of paddy, pulses, vegetables, fruits and medicinal plants. This, experts say, will not only help farmers to bring down dependency on chemical fertilisers and thereby increasing profit, but also help fight the vagaries of nature including flood, rising salinity and drought triggered by climate change and global warming. “Take paddy for example. Almost six to seven decades ago farmers in West Bengal used to grow at least 5000 varieties of desi or traditional paddy. But now we can find only around ...