-Down to Earth Instead of making it difficult for the organic farmers, government should devise methods to reduce the complexity of the certification process Organic farming is native to India. However, since 1966, with the inception of the Green Revolution in India, it has taken a backseat. The transition from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture shifted the objective of farming. The need to change the methods of farming to meet the demands of...

The Hindu Business Line In an article on Monday, this writer pointed out how it is a challenging task to double farmers’ income, given the fall in output prices and the higher cost of farm inputs. In an interview, Ashok Dalwai, CEO, Doubling Farmers’ Income Committee, talks about the various measures the Centre is taking to ensure it is on the right track and reaches its target by 2022. According to...

-The Indian Express Government could give fertiliser subsidy directly to farmers and let them decide if they want to practise zero budget natural farming or use chemical-fertilisers. The Narendra Modi government completed 100 days of its second term (Modi 2.0) last week. On this occasion, most cabinet ministers spoke of the achievements of their ministries. The headlines in newspapers were, however, about the abrogation of Article 370, or the biggest slump...

-Down to Earth Happy Seeder — a tractor-mounted device — will eliminate air pollution and reduce green house gas emissions from on-farm activities by more than 78 per cent relative to all options A new study has found that farmers in north India can not only help reduce air pollution but also improve the productivity of their soil and earn more profits if they stop burning their crop residue and instead adopted...

-The Financial Express The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently rolled out a massive solar-pump programme called the PM-KUSUM scheme. The scheme has a target to set up 25,750 megawatts (MW) solar capacity by 2022 to power irrigation pumps, with central financial support of Rs 34,422 crore. It includes installation of 1.75 million off-grid and 1 million on-grid solar pumps as well as 10,000 MW of solar capacity in rural...