-Business Standard Experts feel this could keep prices of major farm commodities and products dependent on them, such as poultry and meat, at an elevated level for quite some time By the end of this financial year or perhaps even earlier, depending upon the crop cycle, India might be staring at a multi-year low closing inventory levels of several key farm commodities. Stocks of sugar, wheat, cotton and oilseeds both, with traders and...

-Down to Earth The government will use its extensive network of women’s self-help groups to encourage the transition. The Andhra Pradesh government announced financial support to more than 70,000 women from scheduled castes (SC) to promote natural farming among marginal farmers. Natural farming excludes the application of chemicals and promotes traditional agricultural practices. It is regarded as particularly useful for smallholder farmers as it reduces dependency on purchased inputs.   A one-time subsidy of...

-Financial Express According to Rao, the ICAR committee went through more than 1,400 scientific journals on various methods of promotion of sustainable agriculture besides interacting with farmers who have claimed to have adopted ZBNF across seven states. Large scale adoption of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)  — farm practices which exclude all synthetic Chemical Inputs and promote use of on-farm biomass — would result in ‘tremendous reduction’ in production of agricultural crops...

-Livemint.com Early adopters claim higher yields and low cultivation costs. But scientific validation is awaited Government can keep fertilizer subsidies in check. The fertilizer subsidy bill, driven by a spike in natural gas and other raw material prices, is set to touch a staggering ₹1.3 trillion in 2021-22 Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. Or so it happened to KV Homendra. At 23, he went for a degree in...

-The Tribune Farmers are use homemade alternatives for cultivation;  state government records say 146,438 farmers, including 14,000 apple growers, in the hill state are doing natural farming either partially or fully, over 8,268 hectares Shimla: Amid the widespread shortage of fertilisers in the ongoing planting season in several states largely owing to spiking international prices, farmers in Himachal Pradesh are using homemade alternatives for cultivation that are not only safer for the...