-The Indian Express Govt plans to change existing law to ensure availability of quality seeds to farmers. How will the proposed Bill to replace The Seeds Act, 1966 meet its objective of ‘regulating quality of seeds for sale, import, export’? The existing 1966 law already provides for regulation of the quality of seeds. What does the new Bill seek to change? The current Act only covers “notified kinds or varieties of seeds”. Thus,...

-The Hindu Researchers from Institute for Social and Economic Change say price will stabilise only by March 2020 Bengaluru: The price of onion in the country spikes every two years and this is largely triggered by a series of factors, including drought, late arrival of monsoon, floods, crop failure, and supply disruptions, according to a recent study. The current sharp spike in onion price is expected to continue till at least March...

-The Hindu Business Line Farmers, reeling under crop losses, feel the Centre’s crop insurance scheme is merely helping insurance firms make profits. Radheshyam Jadhav reports After completing his graduation, Ramkisan Nirmal took up a challenge. Unlike other youths who prefer to migrate to nearby cities in search of jobs, Ramkisan dreamed of becoming a farmer and prove that with modern technology and efforts, agriculture could become a profitable venture. In his drought-prone village...

-The Hindu Business Line Fewer straw-management machines were given out than had been sanctioned In Punjab most farmers have their homes right in the middle of their farms. When they clear their field in October to prepare for Sowing wheat, they burn the rice stalks left in the field and their homes remain engulfed by smog for weeks. So, if there is an alternative to crop burning, farmers will only be...

-Hindustan Times As per district agriculture department, around 15 farmers of Sangrur have adopted organic farming over 50 acres land in the district with different crops such as wheat, paddy, sugarcane and vegetables. The Sowing season of wheat has begun in the state Chandigarh: Amid serious threats to human health and environment due to the use of pesticides and fertilisers, some progressive farmers of Sangrur have chosen to produce organic wheat on...