-Down to Earth As allegedly fake pesticides prove ineffective in controlling pests, farmers resort to indiscriminate spraying After a series of farmer suicides in Odisha’s Bargarh district over pest attack, the state government finally acknowledged that there are nearly 200,000 hectares of area, on which paddy is grown, has been damaged across nine districts. According to farmers, spurious pesticides were in use which proved ineffective to control Brown Plant Hopper, which first...

-The Indian Express Jindal, Adani, Vedanta are Big Three who transport coal from Mormugao Port. Over four months, Indian Express tracks three key routes to find a trail of health hazards, environmental damage. Panjim: Nearly 25 million tonnes of coal — evenly spread across a standard football field, this toxic black mountain will rise almost 3 km into the sky. That is the amount that will be unloaded each year at the...

-The Hindu Business Line Come November, the Jan Aushadhi initiative completes nine years. But despite its recent achievements, there's more work to be done. PT Jyothi Datta writes Earlier this year, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ananth Kumar vowed to end the “medicine mafia” in the country by opening many more Jan Aushadhi kendras, stores that sell generic medicines at affordable prices. Kumar was echoing the mission outlined by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley...

-The Indian Express Price fluctuation and low and unremunerative prices for farm produce can be addressed through competitive markets, and much-needed reforms. EXTREME volatility in the prices of some food commodities has, in recent years, been hurting producers as well as consumers, while also disrupting certain economic activities. The reason for this appears to be the waning influence of non-price factors (technology, irrigation, extension) in driving growth, and the role of prices...

-Livemint.com In India, 9 million people left farming between 2001 and 2011 largely due to distress, not because industry invited them, says Shyam Khadka, India’s representative at the FAO Shyam Khadka, India’s representative at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, says more Indians are moving out of agriculture due to distress and not because the manufacturing sector is inviting them. In an interview, Khadka calls for converting food...