-Livemint.com With food and water in short supply, farmers in Bundelkhand are leaving cattle to fend for themselves Mahoba (Uttar Pradesh)/New Delhi: Some time in March, Dhan Prasad Anuragi led his pregnant cow Kajal a couple of miles outside his village and abandoned her. The 55-year-old farmer, who lives in Balchaur village of Mahoba district in Uttar Pradesh, says he had no choice. He couldn’t afford to feed the cow and his only hope...

-The Indian Express Why the revival of exports matters as much as rains for Indian farmers. It is generally held that the woes of Indian farmers today have had largely to do with extreme weather events. The southwest monsoon failed in both 2014 and 2015. Besides, we had extensive crop damage from unseasonal rain and hailstorms over large parts of north, west and central India in March 2015. From this also follows the...

-Livemint.com Ministries handling drinking water and sanitation, rural development, land resources, and urban development asked to take up an integrated action plan New Delhi: Streamlining measures to tackle the drought in the country, the centre directed on Monday different ministries to release additional funds to states. Cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha directed the ministries—drinking water and sanitation, rural development, land resources and urban development—to take up an integrated action plan for optimally using...

-Nezine.com Cultivation of the Early Ahu varieties of rice is helping many farmers in Assam to make better earnings Assam: In these times of drought and scarcity in many parts of the country, improved rice varieties are bringing hope to farmers in the Nalbari district of Assam. What makes it so special is the short duration that it takes to Harvest. In the villages of Sungarbari, Galdighla, Adabari in Nalbari district, farmers are...

-The Hindu Business Line Villagers are turning entrepreneurs by renting out their solar lamps Ibrahimpur duli village in Uttar Pradesh’s Faizabad district is on the electricity grid. But the power here is erratic. “It comes only at night around 9 or 10 pm with frequent shut downs,” says 54-year-old Ram Lallan who along with his wife Kusma Devi runs a solar enterprise to offer off-grid technology solutions to consumers in the region. The couple...