-Down to Earth Bijaya Jhankar grows nine traditional varieties of Paddy that have a longer harvest duration of 130-150 days The eyes of Bijaya Jhankar twinkle as he approaches his 1.2 hectare (ha) farm for harvesting Paddy. They are unlike any other varieties grown in his village Sanbaheli, which lies in the vast Sunabeda plateau of Odisha’s Nuapada district. “They yield shorter grains, take longer to mature but are of tremendous sentimental value,”...

-The Hindu Business Line There is no guarantee farmers’ income will rise as the methodology for estimating cost of production is outdated, defective Although the farmers’ agitation that lasted over one year was finally called-off, their demand for a law guaranteeing minimum support prices (MSP) for crops is continuing. Can the MSP be legalised in a country that produces about 1,000 million tonnes of agri-commodities? If so, who will benefit from it?...

-MoneyControl.com India has suspended futures trading in seven commodities with immediate effect in its latest move to rein in soaring inflation. The Finance Ministry has suspended trading in futures contracts of some agricultural commodities for one year to reign in inflation. Trading in seven commodities - Paddy (non-basmati), wheat, chana, mustard seeds and its derivatives, soya bean and its derivatives, crude palm oil and moong - has been suspended with immediate effect, according...

-IndiaSpend.com Punjab has seen more than 71,000 incidents of Paddy straw burning this year, negating hundreds of crores spent on subsidies on straw management machines and awareness campaigns. Experts say farmers need financial incentives to take up stubble management, and must be encouraged to shift away from Paddy cultivation. Chandigarh: Harbhajan Singh returned to Sadhanpur village in east Punjab's SAS Nagar district from two days off over Diwali, to find the Paddy...

-The Hindu Business Line This will reduce disparity between States in procurement The announcement of abrogation of farm laws can only be the initial success of farmers’ collective actions. Most of the farmers are out of the ambit of these laws. The Shanta Kumar Committee report in 2015 estimated that only 6 per cent of the farmers could sell their produce through government agencies. Furthermore, the procurement is extremely unequal across States. During...