-The Indian Express Agriculture cannot survive without them. But they are invisible in the current conversation on the agrarian crisis An ex-company executive-cum-economist turns to the anchor during a discussion on the farmers’ agitation. “Overpopulation is destroying the farming activity. There are simply too many mouths to feed and the farms are shrinking. We must look to the urban areas for creating new jobs,” he says. The man at the local paan...

-The Indian Express The proposed total ban on cattle slaughter goes against Supreme Court decisions on the matter since 1959 Less than a week ago, the Central government notified rules, many of which are as unconstitutional as they are senseless: A person is prohibited from bringing any type of cattle to an animal market for sale for slaughter. First, why is it unconstitutional? The ban on slaughter of cattle was a politically...

-Livemint.com GM mustard is as safe and nutritious as regular mustard, the environment ministry says, even as India awaits ts final word on commercial production New Delhi: Genetically modified (GM) mustard plants are as safe and nutritious as regular mustard, the environment ministry said, even as the country await its final word on commercial production. In the backdrop of protests against GM mustard, the ministry on Saturday published an eight-page Frequently Asked Questions...

-The Indian Express The Indian Express travels down the meat value chain in Uttar Pradesh to find a seamless system that’s now under strain. FOR Puran Chand Sharma, dealing with Mohammad Sabir Qureshi is a twice or maybe thrice-a-year affair. But this transactional relationship is essential to sustaining his dairy farm operation involving 10 female buffaloes — three now in-milk, two pregnant animals, two young yet-to-calve heifers, and three one-year-old calves. “The ones...

-Hindustan Times Dhanaura (Bulandshahr): Every Wednesday, until two weeks ago, farmers from Dhanaura, adjoining villages and beyond would sell at least 500 spent (no longer productive) buffaloes to meat traders at this licenced weekly market in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr, about 80 km from Delhi. Not anymore. On March 29, the second Wednesday since the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government launched its crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, it was not business as usual at...