-The Telegraph New Delhi: An independent academic study has found India's emissions of methane, a major greenhouse gas that drives global warming, are consistent with the government's estimates and have shown little growth over the past five years. The study has found that India's average emissions of methane emissions - mainly from paddy fields and cows, among other sources - were about 22 trillion grams per year between 2010 and 2015, consistent...

-The Financial Express Indian agriculture’s reliance on monsoon rainfall has reduced considerably over the last few years thanks to the increase in area irrigated, although there are still pockets — particularly in east and central India — where rains still are a decisive determinant of crop. Key grain-producing states Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have most of the cropped areas under irrigation coverage (see table). Unless...

-The Financial Express Pune: Even as the government of Maharashtra is sending its top officials to the national capital to follow up on its proposal to the Centre for the procurement of moong and urad under the government’s Minimum Support PRice ( MSP) scheme, farmers have begun distress sales. Maharashtra cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh said the Centre’s permission is expected over the next two to three days, failing which the state...

-Livemint.com The agriculture ministry has estimated foodgrain production at 134.7 million tonnes for the 2017-18 kharif crop season, 2.8% lower than last year New Delhi: Production of kharif crops this year is likely to be lower than last year, the agriculture ministry said in its first advance estimates, with the only exception being sugarcane. Production of foodgrains such as Rice, pulses and coarse cereals is likely at 134.7 million tonnes in 2017-18, about...

-The Hindu Over the years we have lost over a lakh varieties of native Rice. One district in Odisha is rediscovering some of them It is a balmy winter morning when I meet Kamli Bataraa, an ebullient Adivasi farmer, at her home in Belugan, in southern Odisha’s Koraput district. There is a hum across the village from the threshing of just-harvested paddy. When I ask Kamli about the Rice varieties she grows,...