-PTI   Agartala: A Farmer's successful attempt at growing grapes in a village in Tripura, considered as climatically unsuitable for the fruit plant, has made agricultural scientists in the state sit up and take notice. Muktal Hussain, a Farmer of Rangkang village in Gomati district, is so happy, and surprised too, with his experimental planting of grape plants, which gave him enough fruits, that he now dreams of setting up a vineyard....

-The Telegraph   The European Union has banned the import of Indian mangoes as they failed to pass its stringent biosecurity regulations. Does India too need tougher biosecurity laws to protect its crops from pests and diseases? When a few pesky fruit flies tried to migrate from India, they ended up sparking a debate on the effectiveness of India's agricultural biosecurity laws and regulations. While some agriculture experts believe the laws are...

-The New York Times     Small-scale Farmers in the developing world, using low-tech sustainable agricultural techniques, may just hold the key to ensuring global food security, writes Andrea Stone The challenge is huge but the solution may be small, very small. Faced with global warming and a population that will swell to 9 billion by 2050, a growing number of experts say that the way to feed the masses as climate change makes...

-The Hindu   Nabard's low-key financing scheme helps Farmers reap a rich harvest Puducherry: A low-key financing scheme with a few innovations thrown in is driving big changes in the lives of several rural dairy Farmers. One of the beneficiaries, Poongudi from Andayarpalayam, Thirubuvanai, is a happy woman. Her milch cows are healthier and milk production has improved in quantity and quality. "The cows do not fall ill often now. I have 10 cows and the...

-The Diplomat   Climate change is stressing an already struggling farm sector, but there is a way forward. Over the last decade, India's official position in global climate negotiations has been one of opposition to agricultural mitigation. At Doha (COP18), India joined other developing countries in demanding that any talk about agriculture must be in the realm of adaptation, not mitigation. India considers the farm sector out of bounds with respect to emissions...