-The Hindu   Nabard's low-key financing scheme helps farmers reap a rich harvest Puducherry: A low-key financing scheme with a few innovations thrown in is driving big changes in the lives of several rural dairy farmers. One of the beneficiaries, Poongudi from Andayarpalayam, Thirubuvanai, is a happy woman. Her milch cows are healthier and milk production has improved in quantity and quality. "The cows do not fall ill often now. I have 10 cows and the...

-The Hindu   Lucrative subsidy available under National Horticulture Mission Tamil Nadu: Small and marginal farmers, hitherto cultivating vegetables under conventional method, have slowly started shifting to shade-net technique for higher yields with premium price, thanks to the lucrative subsidy available under National Horticulture Mission (NHM). To achieve the goal of reducing yield gaps in important crops like vegetables and flowers through focused interventions like protected cultivation, and to maximize the returns to the...

-Mid Day   A visit to the APMC in Vashi revealed that calcium carbide - referred to as ‘carpet' by traders - which is known to cause cancer, food poisoning, nausea etc - is being used indiscriminately to ripen the fruit faster, so as to increase sales Think before you sink your teeth into those juicy, delicious mangoes. For, they could have been ripened artificially using calcium carbide, a deadly chemical that is...

-The Diplomat   Climate change is stressing an already struggling farm sector, but there is a way forward. Over the last decade, India's official position in global climate negotiations has been one of opposition to agricultural mitigation. At Doha (COP18), India joined other developing countries in demanding that any talk about agriculture must be in the realm of adaptation, not mitigation. India considers the farm sector out of bounds with respect to emissions...

-The Tribune   Muktsar: The state government has issued compensation to farmers whose crops were affected due to water-logging in various villages falling in the Gidderbaha assembly segment. Some farmers have been issued cheques for as less as Rs 18.75 as compensation for two years. While some farmers refused to accept the cheques, others said the government had played a cruel joke on them. Aspal Singh, a farmer of Gurusar village, who received a...