-Down to Earth Shailaja Fennell, an expert in gender and household dynamics in agriculture, talks to Down To Earth about millet production in India As India witnesses the central government launch a campaign to promote nutri cereals, Down To Earth talks to an expert about the relevance of millets, its cultural significance and its benefits for women. Shailaja Fennell, university senior lecturer in Development studies at the department of land economy in...

-The Hindu Business line India’s North-East, comprising eight States, is largely unspoilt by modern agricultural practices, which involve heavy use of agro-chemicals and chemical fertilisers. For this precise reason, the region is a natural choice for promoting organic farming in the country. Sikkim, the first organic State in India, has already shown the way for the other States in the region. According to the estimates available with the Agricultural and Processed...

-Firstpost.com Ludhiana: Free meals, payment in advance, free liquor to ease aching limbs after a hard day’s work. Migrant labour in Punjab, mainly from Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, the mainstay of the state’s agriculture sector, has never had it so good. The problem, however, is the decreasing availability of this labour. Ask Baljinder Singh, a farmer with a 10-acre holding in Dakha village. Come sowing season in mid-June, Baljinder...

-The Hindu Business Line Mangaluru: An expert from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has said agro-biodiversity conservation approach has not received the attention from the stakeholders concerned in the country. Speaking at the inauguration of the national workshop on ‘Agro-biodiversity conservation for sustainable socio-ecological Development’ at Mangalore University on Monday, KG Saxena, Professor, School of Environmental Sciences, JNU, New Delhi, said agriculture has remained the focus area for many. Long-term approach Following this, agro-biodiversity conservation...

-MoneyControl.com No government money has been spent on pregnant and lactating women enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) till August 2018 in Uttar Pradesh (UP), an RTI query filed by news agency IANS has revealed. PMMVY is a maternity benefit scheme launched by Narendra Modi government, which promises pregnant women and lactating mothers Rs 6,000 for the birth of the first living child. The central government had approved a total...