-Deccan Chronicle Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu): Sugar production may be hit in Tamil Nadu as the state stares at a "serious shortage" of sugarcane seeds due to erratic and deficit rainfall over the last three successive years, warned Dr N. Vijayan Nair, director of the Sugarcane Breeding Institute.Presenting a bleak scenario of sugarcane production in Tamil Nadu, the official said cane farmers will surely be in distress in the coming years. Echoing...

-The Business Standard A delayed monsoon and abundant cotton in the international market could spell trouble in the state's suicide zone Yavatmal (Maharashtra): As the skies stayed clear till the second week of June, Ramesh Gulabhrao Digde's mood darkened. His two acres were ploughed at great expense, the seeds were purchased, and a sack of fertilisers lay in a corner of his thatch-roofed hut in Parsodi village in western Maharashtra's Yavatmal...

-Down to Earth As June ends, the monsoon, it turns out, is deficient by 40 per cent. Despite the forecast of its revival in July, it is a concern for India's rainfed areas that account for significant foodgrain production and also host the largest number of farmers in the country. More than 100 districts are officially "chronic drought-affected" areas. Why have we not been able to drought-proof them? On June 28 Prime...

-Economic and Political Weekly     Sustained and focused efforts have to be made by the Tamil Nadu state government to provide relief and rehabilitation to the drought affected people of the state. S Rajendran (myrajendran@gmail.com) is with the Department of Economics, Periyar University, Salem, Tamil Nadu. Due to the failure of the north-east monsoon in December 2013, Tamil Nadu is witnessing drought like conditions this year, leading to poor agricultural productivity, rural distress,...

-The Hindu   The much-awaited Southwest Monsoon, crucial to the country's economy, is expected to hit Kerala in the next 24 hours. But whether it will be bountiful or erratic and how it will impact the agriculture sector is not known. States have been alerted to be prepared with contingency plans for kharif (paddy) sowing. "Conditions are conducive for the likely onset of monsoon in Kerala in the next 24 hours. Today (Thursday) there...