-The Indian Express (Edit) Punjab’s wheat payment crisis strengthens the case for direct transfers in MSP operations. For a state whose farmers have already suffered from crashing basmati paddy prices and damage to their cotton crop from whitefly pest attacks, the current payment crisis in wheat couldn’t have come at a worse time. Government agencies have so far procured over 6.5 million tonnes (mt) of wheat from Punjab in the new...

-TheHansIndia.com * Excessive use of chemical fertilisers on vegetables and fruits is causing cancer to the consumers * 4,500 farmers are cultivatingin 15,000 acres in organic zones of 10 clusters in 8 mandals Raptadu (Anantapur): The district is in for a major organic revolution with the department of Agriculture taking the lead and initiative to wean away farmers from excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides and the disastrous effects of chemical residues on...

-Hindustan Times India’s sugar and cotton output is showing signs of falling for the first time in five years and insufficient pulses production could keep prices high, early estimates showed in the midst of a crippling drought across a vast swathe of the country. However, the country will still have a surplus of cereals despite back-to-back drought trimming overall foodgrains output from normal-year levels. Sugar output is projected to fall between 8% and...

-Livemint.com Panel aims to find ways to diversify risks in farming, examine how integrated farming can boost incomes New Delhi: The central government has set up a panel to suggest ways to double farm incomes by 2022, as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The task of the inter-ministerial committee will prepare a blueprint to transition farm policies from being production oriented to based on incomes or value addition. The committee will look...

-The Economic Times What's on your plate may be good for you. But, what if the plate itself is nutritious? This is not light-headed talk from going too long without a meal, but an idea that sprouted in the mind of a groundwater researcher-turned-entrepreneur Narayana Peesapathy on a flight. As Peesapathy watched a man pick at his lunch with a cracker after he accidentally broke his plastic spoon, he wondered if...