Much to our surprise, a careful relook at the newly released estimates on farm production from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare would reveal that the foodgrain production during the rabi season is likely to fall by almost 1 million tonne between 2013-14 and 2016-17. Please see chart-1. Amidst the celebration of a bumper harvest in the ongoing crop year, it needs to be explained why the rabi foodgrain output...

-Frontline Low prices following a bumper crop and the State government’s inability to procure much of the yield leave tur farmers in Maharashtra in a quandary. drought or abundance, farmers seem to be perpetually doomed in Maharashtra. The most recent crisis unfolding in the agrarian segment is the crashing prices of pulses, particularly tur dal, and the inability of the State government to procure the entire crop. Adding to the problem...

-The Hindu Business Line In the Cauvery delta’s worst drought in 140 years, a padyatra brings home the harsh realities of how Tamil farmers are living on the edge and what sustains their resilience A farmer sells his sugar cane to the local public sector sugar mill, where he is mandated to sell his crop. Instead of paying, the factory hands him a slip of paper. Eighteen months pass by and he...

-TheWire.in The Modi government has struggled to achieve success on crucial development fronts such as farmer incomes and job creation. Public memory in India is amnesic. Still, it is difficult to forget that Narendra Modi rode to power in 2014 on the plank of promoting development, aptly captured by ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’. This is not a novel idea in itself as others too have tried to win over voters adopting similar...

-Livemint.com Last year’s abundant rains in drought-prone Marathwada region, of which Latur is a part, have helped farmers produce record amount of pulses Mumbai: Latur is back on its feet and its pulse mills are running again, a year after an acute drought. The dry bed of the Manjra river, the water train from Sangli and the once ubiquitous water tankers have become things of the past. Last year’s abundant rains in Marathwada—a...