-The Times of India HYDERABAD: Desperate to save the standing crop in the face of severe drought, paddy farmers have turned to the animal hormone Oxytocin to salvage the Khariff yield. Oxytocin, which is widely used by farmers in a bid to artificially promote growth in fruits and vegetables, has been banned for use in agriculture and animal husbandry.  According to researchers in Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University here, paddy farmers...

-The Financial Express Two years of bad rain makes even Punjab vulnerable When a Punjab is flagged as an area of some risk following bad rain, it is time to get seriously worried. The state may have, as ratings agency Crisil points out in its latest report on Indian agriculture, as much as 98.8% of its cropped area under Irrigation, but with a 50.4% shortfall in rain last year and a likely...

-Moneycontrol.com Over the years, increasing population, growing industrialization, expanding agriculture and rising standards of living have pushed up the demand for water By 2025, India will be a water-scarce country, said a recent report released by EA Water. The report goes on to list how our excessive dependence on water resources, especially groundwater ones is creating a major issue, as we are drawing much more than that can be replenished. This is...

-Livemint.com Farmers’ welfare is a multi-dimensional issue, with the farm ministry playing a small but significant role Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to rename the ministry of agriculture to ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare may be symbolic, but is at the least a recognition of the stress in rural economy. The stress, particularly in the farming sector, is now all too obvious with the increase in suicides being reported in many...

-The Hindu Business Line Precision agriculture is the key, which relies on interactive mobile-based applications and timely feedback In an effort to tackle sluggish long-term agricultural growth in India, Prime Minister Modi is calling for a second Green Revolution. One in every two Indians relies on agriculture for livelihood, yet India still has the second highest number of undernourished people in the world. It is not surprising, therefore, that our government wants...