Indian Railways has come to Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) rescue in flood-hit Punjab and Haryana, where part of its foodgrain stocks have been rotting due to heavy rains. The national transporter has given a discount of 35% to the public sector food procurer to carry grains from northern India to other parts of the country. The railways also expects to boost its own revenue by transporting a large volume of...

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has announced a Rs 8.5 crore package for assistance to farmers in the flood-affected areas of the state. The package includes free and subsidised seeds of different crops and additional fertilisers to the farmers. The flood-affected areas include Sirsa, Fatehabad, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and some parts of Karnal district. The stayte government will supply mini-kits of seeds of alternative crops like toria, hybrid bajra and...

With global warming now becoming a permanent fixture in the Indian agriculture landscape, state governments and insurance firms are rushing to provide crop insurance for farmers. Take the case of Rajasthan, which is now looking at extending agri-insurance cover across its 33 districts this year compared to 26 last year. Ditto with Himachal Pradesh and Haryana which would run the Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana from this kharif onwards. The cover...

Shortfall in sowing of paddy, pulses and coarse cereals Union Agriculture Ministry officials are keeping their fingers crossed for the southwest monsoon to revive in parts of northern and central India before putting in place a contingency plan for kharif (paddy) sowing. So far there has been a shortfall in sowing of paddy, pulses and coarse cereals compared to last year, which was a drought year, resulting in a kharif output deficit...

SUKHRAM Gopal, a farmer from Bagli village in Devas district in Madhya Pradesh, relies on gut feel and tradition to be doubly sure that the rains will bless him with a bountiful harvest. On the day of the Gangaur festival, which typically falls in March-April and is a celebration of the monsoon and harvesting, Gopal starts sowing wheat. “Nine days later, if the seeds grow in a uniform manner, we...