-The Times of India COIMBATORE: The rainfall pattern during the current south-west monsoon is similar to 2009 when the country witnessed a drought. The overall rainfall deficiency has been 21.9% below the LPA ( Long Period Average) till July 18, which is similar to the one witnessed in 2009. This has raised the specter of drought in the country this year, observers tracking the agriculture sector have said. A drought year is...
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India stares at drinking water crisis-Rituraj Tiwari & Himangshu Watts
-The Economic Times This year's frail monsoon has depleted Indian reservoirs to alarming levels last seen during the devastating drought of 2009, threatening even winter-sown crops and making the country vulnerable to drinking water scarcity by February as India's grossly inadequate storage capacity magnifies the impact of weak rainfall. The situation is precarious because the monsoon has delivered normal rainfall to only one-third of the country. The total deficit so far this...
More »Burdwan: 16 farmer suicides in one year despite bumper rice crop-Priyanka Gupta
-IBN Burdwan: Burdwan may be the Rice Bowl of Bengal. However, its farmers are committing suicide. Here, rice is not a source of prosperity but of anguish. Spiralling debt has reportedly driven 16 farmers here to commit suicide in the past one year. Fifty-four-year-old Amiya Saha was one such farmer. The memories haunt his wife, but what hurts more is the continued government denials that something is amiss here. Says Jayanta Saha, a...
More »El Nino's looming shadow
-The Business Standard Planning for deficient monsoon must begin Now that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has endorsed the fears expressed earlier by foreign weather bureaux about the emergence of the monsoon-unfriendly El Nino in the second half of the season, the government should begin preparing right away for mitigating its adverse impacts on agriculture, water reservoirs and other areas. El Nino, an anomalous rise in sea surface temperature off the...
More »Agriculture Ministry proposes Rs 170/qtl hike in paddy MSP
-PTI In view of rising farm input costs, the Agriculture Ministry has proposed a Rs 170 per quintal increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy at Rs 1,250 per quintal for the 2012-13 crop year (July-June). According to sources, the ministry has circulated a Cabinet note among various ministries recommending MSP of Rs 1,250 per quintal for common variety paddy and Rs 1,280 per quintal for 'A' grade variety of...
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