-India Water Portal Bankura in West Bengal receives 1000 mm of rainfall a year, yet thousands of adivasi farmers in the area were faced with irrigation issues -- until 'happas' came to the rescue. Amulya Soren couldn’t get stable yields in the kharif (monsoon) paddy in his farm. A member of the Santhal tribe, he was the beneficiary of a surplus land redistribution programme in Hirbandh block of Bankura, West Bengal....

-DNA Maharashtra: The consistently untimely rainfall has disturbed the crop sowing pattern in Maharashtra, and farmers are clueless what to sow now. The distress has led to a rise in farmer suicides in the state. Kailash Patil, cotton growing farmer from Jalgaon, told dna, "We received rainfall throughout this year. We were trained to cultivate crops as kharif (monsoon – June and July) and rabi (winter crop). Through most of both the seasons,...

-Economic and Political Weekly An increase in indebtedness in agriculture between 2003 and 2013 does not necessarily mean a growth in debt that has debilitated the cultivator. Higher indebtedness may also reflect a more enabling process--the increased availability of institutional credit. An analysis of NSSO data. Sher Singh Sangwan (drsangwan8@gmail.com) is at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, Chandigarh. The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report, Situation Assessment of Agricultural...

-GRISTMedia Narendra Modi declares his commitment to farmers all the time but his government has steadily acted against them. The political cost is going to be steep. From rail rokos and stone-pelting to urea trucks being looted, farmers across the country are increasingly ranged against the NDA government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi vehemently declares his commitment to farmers in all public forums, including his signature radio show and the social media. In...

-The Indian Express Unseasonal rains are breaking the back of Indian farmers. The prime minister has taken the first step by deciding to raise the existing norms of compensation by a hefty 50 per cent - from the existing Rs 9,000 per hectare for irrigated crop, Rs 4,500 per ha for unirrigated crop and Rs 12,000 per ha for perennial crop. Further, the compensation will be given to all those who...