Door-to-door and village-to-village surveys carried out by researchers of the Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana detected a total of 9,291 suicides that were committed by farmers in six districts of Punjab during the period from 2000 to 2018. Situated in the Malwa region of Punjab, which is known for cotton farming and the prevalence of cancer among its population, Sangrur (2,506) witnessed the highest number of...

-ThePrint.in A hit to India’s rice output could lead to a major policy overhaul as it arrives on the back of a lower wheat harvest. New Delhi: After a severe heat wave in April-May singed India’s wheat crop, leading to a ban on exports, planting of rice, the main rain-fed crop in the ongoing kharif season, has been hit due to patchy rains in several states. Major rice-growing states such as Uttar Pradesh,...

-The Hindu For public pressure to drive climate action, we need to consider climate catastrophes as largely man-made In the absence of COVID-19, climate change-induced disasters would have been India’s biggest red alert in recent years. The heatwave that scorched Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and New Delhi this year; torrential downpours in south India in 2021; and the super cyclone Amphan that battered West Bengal and Odisha in 2020 are symbols of...

-TheThirdPole.net Rising temperatures and weather fluctuations may drive hunger and malnutrition in India, unless the country acts urgently Rashpinder Singh, 36, is a farmer who owns 17 acres (almost seven hectares) of land in the state of Punjab. He took up the profession of his forefathers after completing his MTech degree. “I feel connected with the land. Farming is a part of my identity, since this is what I have been surrounded with...

-Down to Earth Sluggish monsoon; area sown down 15%; rural employment stares at meltdown There are disturbing signals of a potential meltdown of the country’s biggest employer and also food producer as the southwest monsoon enters  its second week of the second month. Kharif sowing was down 15 per cent by July 7, in comparison to last year for the same period. Altogether, farmers didn’t sow in 6.3 million hectares (Ha) of farms. Sowing...