-Hindustan Times Chandigarh: ON FARM FRONT Food security of the nation continues to be in the hands of Punjab that contributes the maximum share of wheat to the central pool but its farmers need reforms, not sops, to find a way out of the debt trap. Haryana started at a disadvantage but is gaining ground though the state govt’s role leaves much to be desired. Punjab awaits another revolution The tumultuous trifurcation of Punjab...

-NDTV In Wayanad, many farmers have started using sprinklers to irrigate his crops. Paddy cultivator KP John said he has been forced to adopt it due to scarcity of water for irrigation. State Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan declared Kerala a drought hit state on Monday in the Assembly. Most of the water reservoirs across the state have recorded a water deficit of 50 per cent. The South West monsoon has been deficit...

-Livemint.com Spoilage and pilferage are not something the country can afford given its low ranking in the hunger index The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently approved a proposal to restructure around Rs30,000 crore of food credit given to Punjab state agencies, allowing for the conversion of cash credit into a 20-year loan at a lower interest rate. The central bank also sanctioned a cash credit limit of Rs26,000 crore for this...

-Down to Earth Punjab produces about 19-20 million tonnes of paddy straw and about 85-90 per cent of this paddy straw is burnt in the field Burning of agricultural biomass residue, or Crop Residue Burning (CRB) has been identified as a major health hazard. In addition to causing exposure to extremely high levels of Particulate Matter concentration to people in the immediate vicinity, it is also a major regional source of...

A fall in the rate of inflation (on point to point basis) in Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) from 8.35 percent in July to 5.91 percent in August this year is indicative of the positive developments that has taken place during recent months in the agricultural sector, which is expected to further cool off food prices in the near future. A document from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare...