In the financial year 2017-18 when tractor sales touched new heights, it was said by many of the NDA (viz. National Democratic Alliance) government supporters that rural demand has revived on account of adequate monsoon rainfall and higher minimum support prices for crops. Many economists and newspaper columnists also denied the existence of any rural distress. An alternative perspective, however, was also presented by rural economists like Dr. Himanshu who teaches...
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Agri families borrow more, eat less to cope with kin's suicide: study -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com * Average income of farm suicide families was just Rs.3,523 per month in 2016-17, below Rs.4,561 estimated by NSSO: study * The study found that 92% of farm suicide families were not enrolled under the centre’s flagship crop insurance scheme NEW DELHI: Agricultural households are trying to cope with the suicide of an earning member of the family by borrowing more, skimping on food and even taking recourse to bonded labour, a...
More »MP Raju Shetti, Maharashtra's foremost farmer leader and president of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana, interviewed by Ajaz Ashraf (Newsclick.in)
-Newsclick.in “Our population today is around 136 crore. Where will you get food grains for them through zero budget farming? This is sheer madness.” There is an inherent seductive charm to the term zero budget natural farming, for it makes the arduous occupation of agriculture appear beguilingly simple, an economic proposition without any risk or even requirement of capital. Coined by the Vidarbha-based farmer, Subhash Palekar, who was bestowed with the Padma...
More »Finance Minister Ignores Fundamental Rights of Women Farmers to Inherit Land -Naresh Chandra Saxena
-TheWire.in Why asset redistribution is superior to income redistribution. Land and labour are two basic factors needed by rural people for income generation. While women have always played a key role in agricultural production, their importance both as workers and as farm managers has been growing in the last two decades as more men move to non-farm jobs – leading to an increased feminisation of agriculture. However, ownership of land is concentrated mostly...
More »Budget push for zero budget farming but contradictions mar Andhra's natural agri foray -Leo Saldanha
-Down to Earth The method was promoted as low-cost investment on part of farmers, but huge amounts are being raised for statewide implementation Andhra Pradesh has played a leading role in promoting agroecological farming in the past two decades. The Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture (CMSA) initiative of the state is often cited as a major intervention which encouraged farmers to gradually move away from chemical-intensive farming. However, despite such efforts, just 1...
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