-Hindustan Times To understand the extent of the damage, the Haryana agriculture department is getting the state’s brinjal crop tested to determine whether it is GM-free at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), which will share the test results with the Haryana government next week. Farmers in Haryana and experts fear widespread contamination of genetically modified (GM) brinjal or eggplant in the state with the farmer accused of cultivating Bt...

-TheWire.in Nearly two months after the Kumbh Mela ended, tannery owners are still waiting for the go ahead to reopen. Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh): In Kanpur’s Jajmau cluster, 225 tanneries are still closed, even though the Maha Kumbh Mela ended on March 4. While the discharge created by the tanneries is being cited as the official reason, tannery owners say the state’s urban Development and environment ministries, as well as the chief minister’s...

-The Hindu Business Line Pune: Will the interlinking of rivers mitigate drought and the effects of floods? Yes, says the Centre. Notwithstanding the debates on the merits and demerits of the plan, the Ministry of Water Resources wants to take forward the interlinking of rivers. “Interlinking of rivers can play a major role in water management in the country,” the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation told the Rajya...

-The Tribune The transition to sustainable, chemical-free farming is imperative At a time when global temperatures are soaring, a study by a French think tank — Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) — has shown that agro-ecological farming has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Europe by 47% and thereby keep the global temperature rise below 2°C. The study comes at a time when the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation...

-Outlook   Introduced to Nutrition Sensitive Integrated Farming System (NSIFS), or Poshan Kheti, by JEEViKA, Sushma Devi found that food produced in the family farm and kitchen garden was the perfect solution to feed her family sufficiently. Sushma Devi, a small farmer in Purnea, Bihar, was not able to provide diverse foods to her family of six members - comprising her husband, in-laws and children. Each of them has different dietary...