-Asian Age Many years ago, when I was doing my Ph.D. in genetics at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi, I did my research on mung and urad daal, unlike most of my compatriots who did their research either on the major cereals like wheat, rice and maize, or on vegetables. Pulses was a neglected field of research then, as it is now. It was a crop of the marginal areas...

-The New Indian Express BHUBANESWAR: In a State where agriculture continues to be the mainstay of livelihood for the majority, the spate of farmer suicides has not really come as a surprise. Or has it? With agriculture turning into a non-remunerative business and State’s farm sector remaining largely rain-fed, climatic changes have been sounding the warning bells but the Government saw no danger. Its self-assuredness that minimum support price (MSP) only is...

-DNA If we observe closely, the women entrepreneurs who run a variety of local small businesses are drivers of the local economy in many ways. Never ending stretches of backwaters and lush green coconut groves welcome you as you drive through the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the only state in India where the sex ratio is of 1084 females per 1000 males. At 92%, Kerala has one of...

-The Pioneer Raipur: Chhattisgarh the rice bowl of India has managed to maintain stable paddy production this year despite drought conditions prevailing in several districts of the State. The Indira Gandhi Agricultural University (IGAU) Scientists claim that except rainfall dependent fields which were devoid of showers, other regions in the State have continued to maintain the ‘good old agricultural standards’. “It is appreciable to notice that paddy farming had been carried out in...

-Rediff.com Potshangbam Devakanta from Manipur shows the way in conserving the biodiversity of the state, farming around 100 traditional varieties of paddy and rare medicinal plants, finds Manu A B/Rediff.com. When farmers across India are grappling with weather woes and poor yields, Potshangbam Devakanta from Manipur has succeeded in adopting smart and eco-friendly methods of farming to ensure his harvest is satisfactory year after year. Like thousands of farmers in India, 60-year-old Devakanta...