In a move that brings relief to the rural workforce, but risks creating an inflation spiral, the government on Thursday revised the minimum wages paid for its flagship job guarantee scheme by linking them to the Consumer Price Index for agricultural labour (CPI-AL) for each individual state. Such a price spiral, in case it actually emerges, could roil the electoral prospects of the Congress in the key contests to the state...

Farmers education should be given priority to widen their understanding on nutrients and other scientific means to boost agriculture production, renowned agri-scientist Chandrashekhar Singh has said today. "Only educated farmer could understand the benefits of nutrient Foodgrains and will be able to grow them," Chandrashekhar Singh, Head of Banaras Agriculture Research Foundation Society, told reporters here. Singh, who was recently honoured by the President of India for his valuable contribution in the...

A Central government-sponsored watershed development programme has given a new lease of life to the farming community in Ayalur in Gobichettipalayam block in Erode district. The programme has helped the farmers to adopt best water management practices and take up integrated nutrient management to enhance crop yield. These initiatives have also helped improve the quality of life of the farmers. Ayalur was one of the nine model watershed development projects sanctioned...

Prof M.S. Swaminathan, the father of Green Revolution and Chairman of National Commission on Farmers (NCF) that called for revamp of policies to revitalise agriculture, says agricultural sector in India is entering a state of serious crisis. Quoting figures from National Sample Survey Organisation, he says half of the farmers in the country want to quit farming. Prof Swaminathan, who was here to deliver the Convocation Address at the Acharya N.G....

Panel report says this would increase soil productivity. In an effort to revolutionise sale of nutrient-based fertilisers, the ministry of agriculture for the first time is considering a proposal to introduce liquid fertilisers. This is based on the recommendation of a working group set up to study and recommend measures to increase agricultural production. Their report says micro irrigation can be combined with controlled application of fertilisers and other needed nutrients. To...