-The Hindu Malnutrition-related deaths fall from 58 in 2013 to 14 last year, as per Health dept. figures Palakkad (Kerala): Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comparison of the tribal situation in Attappady with the human development indices of Somalia has brought back national attention to the tribal belt, official figures confirm that infant mortality and neonatal deaths are coming down in the region. Though half a dozen infant deaths have been reported...

-Livemint.com Pulses use less water per unit crop and also address hidden hunger The severe drought across India should hopefully help focus attention on the overuse of water in agriculture. A data analysis by Roshan Kishore in this newspaper last week showed that the average water footprint for five major crops—rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane and cotton—is far higher than global averages. At the root of the problem is a policy framework that...

-Nezine.com Cultivation of the Early Ahu varieties of rice is helping many farmers in Assam to make better earnings Assam: In these times of drought and scarcity in many parts of the country, improved rice varieties are bringing hope to farmers in the Nalbari district of Assam. What makes it so special is the short duration that it takes to harvest. In the villages of Sungarbari, Galdighla, Adabari in Nalbari district, farmers are...

-The Hindu Swathes of land lie unused; peasants migrate or take their own lives as the crippling water crisis shatters their hopes. BUNDELKHAND: On the night on March 27, Musru Prajapati was up as usual, keeping vigil in his field at Khurhand village in Banda, Uttar Pradesh. Three consecutive droughts, with bouts of hailstorms and unseasonal rains, had dented his morale. He wanted to defend whatever little crop he managed to grow...

-Livemint.com Panel aims to find ways to diversify risks in farming, examine how integrated farming can boost incomes New Delhi: The central government has set up a panel to suggest ways to double farm incomes by 2022, as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The task of the inter-ministerial committee will prepare a blueprint to transition farm policies from being production oriented to based on incomes or value addition. The committee will look...