-Down to Earth Most suicides among orchard farmers, say observers As many as 101 farmers have committed suicide in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra since the devastating hailstorms in March this year. This sudden spurt of suicides has raised concerns as to whether this arid region is heading for an agrarian crisis similar to that of Vidarbha. A whopping 71 suicides have been reported in the month of March 2014, close on the...

-Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR)   The position paper "Towards Resilient Agriculture in a Changing Climate Scenario" captures the ground realities of small-holder farmers in rainfed Maharashra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It presents Watershed Organisation Trust's (WOTR) approach towards climate-resilient agriculture. The paper suggests recommendations for policy that will help increase the response capacity of farmers. It also draws attention to the need of enhancing the resilience of the ecosystem so as...

-The Hindu Amidst worrisome indications that human-induced climate change is affecting the monsoon over India, research just published adds to a body of evidence showing that extremes in rainfall are increasing. "Our analyses indicate a shift in the recent period towards more intense wet spells and more frequent but less intense dry spells," say a team of researchers from Stanford University in the U.S. in a Nature Climate Change paper. The scientists examined...

-The Hindu Business Line   Technology is transforming Indian agriculture and increasing output. This is good news, given that India may need to produce 90 million tonnes of foodgrain annually by 2030 to feed its growing population, says Vishwanath Kulkarni Jitendra, a prosperous farmer from Machrauli in Haryana, had barely hired a combine to harvest wheat on his 10-acre plot when clouds started building up. The weather office had predicted rains over the...

-Down to Earth Demand income security and sustainability, and redressal of grievances relating to land matters which they say are the biggest source of corruption and mis-governance The apathy of successive governments of Andhra Pradesh towards the deepening agrarian crisis has resulted in farmers groups organising themselves to put pressure on political parties during election time. The Rythu Swarajya Vedika, an umbrella organisation of various farmers' groups and non-profits working in the...