-RuralIndiaOnline.org Imagine a democratic protest where a million farmers, labourers and others march to the capital and compel discussion of the exploding crisis of the countryside in a special three-week session of Parliament India’s agrarian crisis has gone beyond the agrarian. It’s a crisis of society. Maybe even a civilizational crisis, with perhaps the largest body of small farmers and labourers on earth fighting to save their livelihoods. The agrarian crisis is no...

-Down to Earth Fragments of plastic film have been shown to release potentially carcinogenic substances into soil Plasticulture, or the use of plastics in agriculture, is evident in the form of lining of farm ponds, greenhouse cultivation, micro-irrigation (drips and sprinklers) and plastic mulching. Plastic mulch, in particular, should be of concern to us as it is a potential source of entry into our food system. Why are farmers turning to plasticulture? The Ministry...

-Down to Earth The criteria for exemption from labelling of food containing GM ingredients need to be much stricter The draft Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2018, released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in April 2018, may be a good beginning, but it has major gaps that needs to be plugged to make it effective, according to the analysis of the draft regulations...

-Down to Earth Farmers are in distress owing to low farm prices, poor logistics for transport and government-assured purchases The concept of ‘the more, the merrier’ doesn’t apply to farm produce and farmers’ state as much as the government thinks. Increasing production can’t be directly translated into better financial situation of farmers. According to the agriculture ministry latest estimates, in 2017-18, the total horticulture production of the country was 307.2 million tonnes, which...

-Down to Earth While sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh owe about Rs 12,500 crore to farmers, the government’s measures were directed mostly towards tackling current price crash In a knee-jerk reaction to the defeat in Kairana by-elections, the Narendra Modi government, on Wednesday, took a slew of policy decisions related to sugarcane industry. The plight of sugarcane farmers was a big issue during the recently concluded by-elections in this town in...