-The Times of India NAGPUR: Farmers in Vidarbha should be encouraged to cultivate a variety of crops so that they could get a bigger market for their produce. In addition to this, promotion of organic farming will help in increasing the yield and curb farmers' suicides, said Vandana Shiva, a well-known scientist and environmentalist, on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan, Shiva said, "Farmers and citizens of our country...

-Livemint.com Crop insurance has failed to provide much-needed relief to farmers from destitution With one farmer committing suicide every half-an-hour, the number of farmers who have ended their lives as per official records in India is estimated at over 300,000 over the past two decades. These numbers do not include suicides by agricultural labourers, though they too are victims of the agrarian crisis. As each death affects at least the immediate family...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Speedbreakers probably take more lives in India than they save. Road transport ministry data reveals that these 'safeguards' are the cause of 30 crashes daily, killing at least nine people a day. That's the average for two years since the government started collecting data on speedbreakers in 2014. Last year's figures are yet to be published, but government sources say they are likely to be similar. In...

-GovernanceNow.com As farmers protests take centre stage across the country, Swaraj Party convenor explains the ecological, economic and existential crisis behind this unrest. * We have recently seen farmers from Tamil Nadu protesting in the national capital. Then Maharashtra farmers protested, deciding not to send their produce to cities. The agitation has now reached Madhya Pradesh, leading to killings. Why there is sudden farmers’ unrest in the country? I think we...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The recent crisis in Madhya Pradesh where farmers had to sell onions at throwaway prices or dump it in farms due to bumper production has prompted the government to look at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to set up irradiation facilities in the state and elsewhere in the country to deal with the problem of plenty by increasing the shelf life of perishable horticultural...