-Livemint.com * Over 40% of India is in the grip of abnormally dry conditions. Will the elections bring any relief? * The situation in Maharashtra is approaching the 2016-like crisis, when consecutive years of drought forced the state government to supply drinking water to Latur by train NEW DELHI: Between November of last year when Sharad Markad opened a cattle relief camp in drought-hit Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra and now, the price of...

-Scroll.in Ahead of polls, despite the dire situation, there is neither work under employment guarantee scheme nor any cattle camps, fodder depots for livestock. The irony is unmistakable. In the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, which is in the grip of arguably the worst drought since 1972, what stands out is hectic road construction. En route from Jalna to Ambad, a massive machine lays out a spanking new concrete road. Meanwhile, across the...

-The Hindu Agrarian crisis has not dimmed Prime Minister Modi’s appeal The sugarcane farmers gathered around a tree-shaded charpoy at Bhainswala village, a few kilometres from Shamli town in western Uttar Pradesh, share a common litany of woes — late payments, high input costs, the stray cattle menace — for which most blame the policies of the BJP government. But when the discussion veers around to the Lok Sabha election, pandemonium breaks out...

-Mongabay.com * As the election tempo heats up, the Marathwada districts of Maharashtra are suffering severe drought. * The situation is made worse with the employment guarantee not working and fodder not available for the farm livestock. * Piped water facilities supplied by the government in some villages are not in use because of no water. The irony is unmistakable. In the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, which is in the grip of arguably the...

-The Hindu Business Line Kochi (Kerala): The two-day conference on ‘Models for Agricultural Development: Experiences of Farmer Producer Companies’, has called for sustained efforts to strengthen, streamline, support and coordinate Farmer Producer Organisations. The conference, jointly organised by the Department of Agricultural Economics, Kerala Agriculture University and Indian Society of Agricultural Economics (ISAE), mooted a national level consortium to help the FPCs realise their goals and lead the efforts to enhance farmers’...