-The Hindu   VISAKHAPATNAM (Andhra Pradesh): A proposal is being made to help small and marginal farmers through the NREGS, Minister for Panchayati Raj Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu said here on Monday. A relief of Rs. 6,000 could be brought to a farmer by including agriculture operations like ploughing and sowing under NREGS and a proposal was being sent to the Government, Mr. Patrudu said while talking to reporters after reviewing the agriculture scene...

-PSainath.org   The adivasi women of Edamalakudi, Kerala's remotest panchayat, have formed a headload workers' group, helped light up their villages with solar power, and practice group farming in wild elephant territory. All are Muthavan tribals. Almost all are members of Kerala's extraordinary anti-poverty and gender justice movement - Kudumbashree. They are also neighbours of Chinnathambi, the keeper of the Wilderness Library. When 60 women in Edamalakudi carried about a hundred solar...

-The Hindu     SANGAREDDY (Andhra Pradesh): With increasing costs in the paddy and sugarcane cultivation some of the farmers are thinking to shift to soyabean cultivation. However, they were not in hurry and trying to experiment in limited space available in the farm than going for mass shift. According to sources, the cultivation costs of paddy and sugar cane have abnormally increased forcing the farmers to think for alternatives while continuing cultivation. paddy cultivation...

-The Hindu   There is a need for promotion of local varieties on a commercial scale, says expert Adilabad (Andhra Pradesh): Telangana government's commitment towards making the State a seed hub in the country has come at a juncture when commercial crops such as cotton have failed the farmers' expectations, but is witnessing a sharp increase in demand for organic and indigenous variety of food grains in the country. "The time seems to be...

-Kractivist.org As Scroll.in's Mridula Chari and Harsha Vadlamani search for clouds along the west coast, they meet farmers who are attempting to return to a traditional system of alternating paddy and shrimp cultivation. Each year, Kerala's backwaters attract around 1.8 crore visitors to stay on houseboats, get lengthy massages and gawk at elephants. Few tourists realise that the placid backwaters are the site of a low-key battle - a battle to preserve...