-The Hindu But shola forests have remained “relatively unchanged” Kochi: The new year heralds bad news for the high-altitude grasslands of the Western Ghats. Over four decades, the country lost almost one-fourth of these grasslands and exotic invasive trees are primarily to blame, find scientists. Though grassland afforestation using pine, acacia and eucalyptus ceased in 1996, the exotics still invade these ecosystems, confirms a study published on January 2 in the international...

-Economic and Political Weekly The union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare had prescribed a model Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act in 2003. The state-level adoption of the act has been tardy and varied in terms of both the magnitude and content of agricultural market reforms. Yet, the ministry under the current central government has come up with another model act, the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act,...

-The Economic Times Milk prices are likely to go up in 2019, cooperative dairies said, as supplies are less than usual during this period. Lower returns to farmers have led to the drop in milk production in winter, when supplies tend to go up, they said. “Milk prices are bound to increase in 2019. Low stocks of skimmed milk powder (SMP) and a drop in milk supplies compared to previous year are the...

-Livemint.com This Uttar Pradesh village offers a microcosm of the broader change in Indian villages since independence Palanpur is a relatively unknown small village in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh. However, it has a special place in development economics because of a research project that has stretched over seven decades. Economists have conducted seven detailed surveys of Palanpur since the 1950s, a rare longitudinal database that shows how the village has changed...

-Scroll.in The chief minister said the ‘Krishak Bandhu’ schemes are expected to benefit over 72 lakh farmers in the state. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced schemes for farmers, months ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Banerjee said that the state government will pay the premium on crop insurance schemes and will give farmers Rs 5,000 per acre annually, ANI reported. In case a farmer between the age of...