-The Business Standard (Capital Market) The Government is promoting organic farming through various schemes like National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH), National Project on Management of soil Health and Fertility (NPMSH&F), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and also Network Project on Organic Farming of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Under NPOF scheme, assistance upto 25% and 33% of...

-The Tribune Punjab: No doubt there is a pressing need to restore the fast deteriorating underground water balance in Punjab and parts of Haryana because of excessive withdrawals of water to meet the irrigation requirements of water-guzzling crops, particularly the rice crop. In Punjab available canal water hardly meets one-fourth of the water requirements of the agriculture sector and three-fourth water requirements are met through the pumping of underground water. In...

-The New Indian Express THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was not profit but interest in farming that drove Ummer Vadakkedath and Moosakoya Kariyeri of Pettikadavu in Peruvayal grama panchayat, Kozhikode to yardlong beans cultivation. In a 30 cent plot, they jointly grow yardlong beans, which they sell at the Palayam vegetable market. "We had been farming other vegetables in the plot for the past several years. But recently we shifted our focus to yardlong beans,"...

-Down to Earth soil's carbon storing ability may be different from what is believed soil has the unique ability to sequester carbon. By doing so, it lowers the amount of carbon released in the atmosphere and plays a significant role in the global carbon cycle. Though the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased over the years, the rates of carbon sequestration have remained unchanged. Recent scientific developments indicate a shift...

-The Hindustan Times Chandigarh: Agriculture in Punjab would witness an adverse effect due to the climate change in future. Predicting a steep rise in the average temperature during the coming decades, an agriculture expert said it would adversely affect the wheat and paddy crops. Prof PK Aggarwal from International Water Management Institute said the average rise in temperature during the past 100 years was 0.75 degree Celsius, which would be 1.5 to...