-The Independent Scientists are warning that wheat is facing a serious threat from a fungal disease that could wipe out the world's crop if not quickly contained. Wheat rust, a devastating disease known as the "polio of agriculture", has spread from Africa to South and Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, with calamitous losses for the world's second most important grain crop, after rice. There is mounting concern at the...

-Down to Earth Group has 1,750 Farmers says pollution from industries has reduced them to poverty and political parties in power ignored their repeated pleas Ninety-five-year-old V Ammayappan is just back home from hospital after a kidney surgery. But this Farmer from Melapalayam village in Tamil Nadu's Karur district is determined to cast his vote on April 24 when elections to Lok Sabha will be held in his state. He speaks with...

-Outlook     Nagpur: The Maharashtra government has so far extended financial assistance to the tune of Rs 71.41 crore to Farmers in Vidarbha region who were affected by excess rains recently. "The authorities received a total of Rs 100 crore, including Rs 80 crore on March 20 and Rs 20 crore on April 5, and have disbursed Rs 71.41 crore till today, to about 81,860 Farmers affected by the heavy rainfall," official sources...

-The Business Standard   It is not pro-Farmer, provides for too many committees and too many approvals, says Amitabh Kant The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will press to the next government for redrafting the recently enacted Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act. "The new (land acquisition) Act is extremely bureaucratic, with the introduction of a social impact assessment. It is not pro-Farmer; it provides for too many committees and too many...

-The Hindustan Times   London: Reinforcing claims of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, a new study by researchers at the University of Cambridge and University College London reveals that the state has high levels of cash crops but lowest levels of Farmer suicide rates in India. The study, published in the journal Globalisation and Health, found that Kerala had the highest male suicide rate in India, and claims that there is a ‘suicide...