-The Hindu The gender gap in the agriculture sector will only widen more with the current farm laws Eminent agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan once said, “Some historians believe that it was women who first domesticated crop plants and thereby initiated the art and science of farming. While men went out hunting in search of food, women started gathering seeds from the native flora and began cultivating those of interest from the point...

-The Hindu In the farm laws debate, the focus should be on the exchequer-farm subsidies issue and the spending on farm subsidies In the on-going debates around the three new pieces of agricultural legislation and the farmers’ demand for continuation of minimum support prices (MSP), questions have often been raised whether the government should be using the taxpayers’ money to provide subsidies to the farming community in this country. However, logically, two...

-TheWire.in Researchers have found that small and marginal farmers and Dalit landless labourers are worst affected by the region's agrarian distress. Sangrur/Patiala (Punjab): In the villages of Punjab, strike a conversation on farming  expenses with anyone, and they will say, “Karja tan hai hi (Of course, we have taken loans).” It’s these loans – from both institutional and non-institutional sources – that largely help the rural economy run in the state. But...

-Business Standard While the agitating farmers are clamouring for its continuation, the mechanism is a drain on govt resources, with the Centre buying far in excess of what it needs for distribution under PDS As thousands of farmers brave the winter chill to agitate against the three farm acts, a dominant fear for most of them is the impact that dismantling of the Minimum Support Price (MSP)-based mechanism will have on their...

-The Telegraph A large segment of the protesters who travelled are Adivasis fighting for their land titles under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 The tent seemed more spacious and the winter didn’t bite as much. After spending four days on the road in a cramped tempo with 14 others, Chhagan Chaudhari, 60, extended his legs and wrapped himself with a thick blanket as he prepared to sleep on December 25 night in...