-The Business Standard Won't sow next season if Rs 15 MSP not declared and govt does not procure at market driven price, scarcity seen in 2015-16 Lasalgaon (Maharashtra): Arjun Kadam, a farmer here, has vowed not to sow the onion crop next season because of the government's frequent intervention to keep prices low, in many cases lower than the cost of production. Thousands of farmers such as Kadam have voiced concern over the...

-The Business Standard A delayed monsoon has forced farmers in Western UP to use alternative sources of irrigation, incurring 25-30% extra costs Saharanpur/Muzaffarnagar (UP): If the latest inflation reading at eight per cent, largely fuelled by near double-digit food inflation, has left us worried, get ready to pay even more for food in coming months. Though the monsoon deficit has reduced to only 17 per cent, the rise in input cost...

-The Week Manorama Online Broken hearts float down the Bhakra Main Line canal. Broken by the endless struggle with the land, with the weather, with the creditor. Broken by broken promises, broken by the honour they lost, broken enough to kill themselves. And, at the sluice gate at Khanauri village they slow down, looking up with unseeing eyes. And, from the bridge across the canal, the beating hearts they broke look...

-The Times of India KENDRAPADA (Odisha): The recent floods damaged standing paddy crops in Rajkanika, Aul, Garadapur, Marsaghai and Mahakalapada blocks in Kendrapada district. "Floods caused extensive damage to paddy saplings. How will we repay the bank loan?" asked Sarat Jena of Ratanapur village. The floods also severely damaged large tracts of green gram, black gram and vegetable crops in the district. Deputy director of agriculture (Kendrapada) Prafulla Chandra Mishra said paddy crops...

-India Today Geography of rice and wheat has been transformed with Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh generating surpluses Almost 50 years ago, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri went on air to appeal to Indians to skip a meal a day. Foodgrain supplies had come under strain after the 1965 drought, and the patriotic ethos cautioned against over-consumption: what you ate left that much less for the rest. Today, it is...