-The Hindu ADT-39 variety has been planted and 60 prisoners involved in raising the crop TIRUCHI: Expanding farming activity on its vast stretch of lands, the Tiruchi Central Prison authorities have gone for paddy cultivation. Paddy nurseries were planted on two acres of jail lands by engaging convicts recently. Prison authorities said the ADT-39 variety had been planted and the harvest would be done in three months. Ahead of taking up this activity,...

-Hindustan Times If you thought climate change was only about melting glaciers and sinking islands, you have underestimated it. A report by C40, a global network of 82 megacities--including Delhi--committed to fighting climate change, says that at least 70% of these urban centres are already affected by climate change. Not all of them are coast or hill towns. As population is increasing in these megacities, rising pollution, growing congestion and mounting waste...

-The Hindu Genes tolerant to salinity and iron toxicity were put into another variety Scientists at the Rice Research Station of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) at Vyttila have developed a new variety of paddy tolerant to saline intrusion, a major challenge faced by farmers in the lowlands. The landmark achievement in rice research was made possible by the introduction of genes tolerant to salinity and iron toxicity into Jyothi, Kerala’s most popular rice...

Agricultural insurance is supposed to protect farmers from financial hardships and risks when crop losses and damage takes place due to extreme weather events such as drought, cyclone, hailstorms, flood etc. However, in reality this does not hold true in India. Due to the failure of crop insurance schemes in India, there has been a deepening of agrarian crisis and rural distress in the recent times, particularly in the backdrop of...

-The Hindu Business Line The decline in share of cooperatives in total farm credit is a cause for concern and needs to be corrected, says Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog . An agriculture expert and a full-time member of the Aayog, Chand believes that financial inclusion in the sector has three dimensions – geographical distribution of farm credit, more long-term credit, and larger role of cooperatives. In an interaction with BusinessLine, Chand...