-Livemint.com No matter which party is ruling, onion farmers will always be the victims of a biased state policy Onion prices have plummeted and onion producers in Maharashtra are in distress. Union minister Nitin Gadkari has appealed to them to diversify their production to avoid a repeat of the situation. Such appeals are unfair. For one, the minister was silent when his government brought down onion prices by restricting exports, and two, thanks...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The countrywide monsoon rainfall this season was three per cent below average instead of the predicted six per cent above average, but it was distributed well enough to promise good crop yields, scientists said. An end-of-season analysis by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows that the quantum of the all-India rainfall was about 97 per cent of the long-period average. It also reveals that 27 of the country’s 35...

-The Financial Express There are several facets to India’s weak pulse economy. Nevertheless, it is a glorious moment for the country as pulse production is expected around 22 million tonnes in FY17 surpassing all previous records. According to the initial estimates of the agriculture ministry, kharif production will reach 8.2 million tonnes against 5.4 million tonnes recorded in the last fiscal. This would be possible due to higher allocation of land to...

-The Hindu Business Line About 3.15 crore farmers have been insured this kharif season against 3.08 crore last year, claims Agriculture Ministry New Delhi: The Centre appears to have scored some points on the success of the recently-launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana — the flagship insurance scheme for farmers. Going by the latest estimates of coverage and the sum insured it has seen a marginal increase vis-a-vis last year. “We are still compiling...

-Livemint.com The problem could be most acute for pulses with production hitting a record high but prices falling below the govt’s minimum support prices New Delhi: Following consecutive years of drought, India is set to harvest a record crop of foodgrains but farm incomes could take a hit due to falling wholesale prices. The problem could be most acute for pulses with production hitting a record high but prices falling below the...