-The Hindu Business Line Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is anticipating a significant drop in agricultural output as a result of the successive failures of the South-West and North-East monsoons in 2016. While the June-September season left a gaping rain deficit of 34 per cent, the October-December season that followed has proved even more disastrous, with a shortfall of 61 per cent. Significant variation Such a significant departure from the norm is causing an unprecedented crisis to...

-Livemint.com Crash in farm prices could accentuate bankruptcy, which was the biggest reason for farmer suicides in 2014 and 2015 After two successive years of drought, 2016 was turning out to be a relatively better year for farmers till 8 November. The decision to scrap high-value currency notes, announced on that day, seems to have hit the farm sector the hardest. While credible and timely data on farm incomes and output is hard...

-The New Indian Express BENGALURU: The number of suicides among the farming community in the state doubled in 2015 as compared to 2014, according to the Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2015 report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The recently released report showed that several factors such as bankruptcy, Crop Failure and illness were among the major reasons for the suicides. Karnataka also recorded the second highest number of...

-Deccan Chronicle Deficit rainfall of minus 21 per cent in the monsoon season till August 2015 caused a major Crop Failure in the state. Hyderabad: Telangana has recorded a massive increase in suicides by farmers; it now has the second highest rate of farmer suicides in the country. Recent data released by the National Crime Record Bureau reveals that more farmers ended their lives in TS in 2015 than in previous years. Failure...

-India Water Portal Despite farmers’ apprehension, the new crop insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, is considered a game changer. “Agriculture is a highly risky venture,” says Nagi Reddy, a farmer in Anantapur. Reddy is a small farmer affected by uncertainty in crop production stemming from unpredictable weather events and pest attacks, especially in his cotton crop. He works on his 2.5-acre farm and the rest of the time, he...