-Newsclick.in “Our population today is around 136 crore. Where will you get food grains for them through zero budget farming? This is sheer madness.” There is an inherent seductive charm to the term zero budget natural farming, for it makes the arduous occupation of agriculture appear beguilingly simple, an economic proposition without any risk or even requirement of capital. Coined by the Vidarbha-based farmer, Subhash Palekar, who was bestowed with the Padma...

-Down to Earth The method was promoted as low-cost investment on part of farmers, but huge amounts are being raised for statewide implementation Andhra Pradesh has played a leading role in promoting agroecological farming in the past two decades. The Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture (CMSA) initiative of the state is often cited as a major intervention which encouraged farmers to gradually move away from chemical-intensive farming. However, despite such efforts, just 1...

-Economic and Political Weekly The dependence of agriculture on natural resources requires sustainable management of these resources for risk mitigation and management, particularly in the context of increasing farmer distress and vulnerability to risks associated with climate change. Using a framework of indicators in the domains of pest management, fertiliser use, soil health, water conservation, biodiversity, and efficient use of inputs, statewise report cards on ecological sustainability of agriculture are provided....

-The Hindu Business Line The government bears over Rs. 70,000 crore annually as subsidy to provide cheaper farm nutrient to farmers. The government is seriously thinking of giving fertiliser subsidy directly to farmers under the second phase of implementation of direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, a senior fertiliser ministry official said on Thursday. In October 2017, the first phase of fertiliser DBT was rolled out, under which subsidy is being transferred to companies...

-The Hindu Business Line However, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana will give instant relief to the rural India, improving demand for agri inputs BJP’s election manifesto promised many things for farmers. Now that it is clear that the NDA-led coalition is going to be back in power, companies in the agri space — manufacturers of seeds, fertilisers, agro-chemicals and farm equipment — will stand to benefit. However, do not expect fireworks immediately. Had it...