-TheWire.in Agriculture in the state needs a new paradigm, one that acknowledges the scarcity of interlinked resources and the costs of their use. Recently, experts from Punjab Agricultural University advised farmers in the state to reduce the area taken up by the cultivation of basmati, predicting a crash in basmati prices due to huge carryover stock. Last year, the state produced 18 million tonnes of paddy and contributed a record 9.4 million...
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INDIA FOCUS: Drought and drinking water shortage. More than one-third of India is affected. Click here for info and links.
Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...
More »Sugarcane worsened Marathwada water crisis? Dismantling cane economy will not be painless -Vivian Fernandes
-The Financial Express Dismantling cane economy will not be painless, shift crop to drip irrigation Opinion-makers, from agricultural economists and academics to environmentalists, have blamed sugarcane for aggravating the water shortage in Marathwada. But the view is contested. ‘I reject the hypothesis,’ says Venkat Mayande, during a conversation in Pune. Mayande was vice-chancellor of Akola’s Panjabrao Deshmukh Agricultural University till 2012. How can 2.1 lakh hectare (ha) of cane cause a shortage of...
More »India largest producer, consumer, importer of pulses. Here’s how we can be self-sufficient -Shyam Khadka
-The Financial Express On December 21, 2013, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted to proclaim 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP). On December 21, 2013, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted to proclaim 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP). It followed unanimous votes in favour of declaring IYP 2016 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in April and June 2013. An International...
More »From Plate to Plough: Drop by careful drop -Ashok Gulati
-The Indian Express Convert crisis into opportunity: Shift from supply side augmentation to demand side management. Scattered “mango rains” have brought a little respite from scorching heat in certain places. Earlier, IMD’s forecast of above normal monsoon rains had given some hope for forthcoming acche din. Yet, a sizeable part of India is still smouldering under the grip of a drought. Bundelkhand and Marathwada are just samples, but in reality more...
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