-The Indian Express State government says it won’t be able to foot the 50:50 share of bill. Tussle is brewing between the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar and the NDA government at the Centre on the issue of the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Almost three-fourth of Bihar’s population is dependent on agriculture. While the state has expressed its difficulty in meeting the financial burden of its share in the...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: Sowing of kharif crops in the first week of August remained on track as rains continued to be plentiful and acreage under most major crops such as rice, pulses, coarse cereals and oilseeds posted a rise compared to the previous year. Total acreage under kharif crops till August 5 this year at 885.29 lakh hectares (lh) compared to 841.65 lh sowed in the same period last...

-The Hindu While farmers in parts of punjab have started uprooting cotton crop fearing whitefly pest attack, officials from the State government and the Centre are touring the cotton-belt to monitor the situation. The pest attack, which caused extensive damage to Bt cotton crop last year in punjab and neighbouring Haryana, had been reported this year as well in a few villages of Malwa region, mainly Fazilka district of punjab. Farmers are worried...

-Frontline A noteworthy study that provides much-needed insights into the nature and severity of the farm crisis in punjab. There have been many studies on agrarian distress and farmer suicides in different parts of India in the last decade, including in punjab. Most of the studies focus on a profile of the victims, mostly landowning farmers, and reasons thereof, with a sample of such farmers. In this context, this book makes a...

-The Indian Express Paddy rice acreage saw an increase of around 12 per cent from last year with almost 25 lakh hectares dedicated to the crop. Basmati rice may soon touch 5 lakh hectares only. Jalandhar: Farmers have taken to rice cultivation after their cotton crop failed last season and losing trust in Basmati’s returns. The area under rice this year has touched 30 lakh hectares — the highest in over a...