-The Indian Express Kishore Tiwari, who heads the government-appointed Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavlamban Mission, said the farmer suicides would stop once the waiver takes effect. Pune: Even as the Maharashtra government has announced loan waiver for farmers, as many as 42 farmers have ended their lives in the last two weeks. This, government officials said, highlights the magnitude of rural distress in the state. According to the Aurangabad divisional commissionerate, which...

-The Hindu Business Line High inputs costs, low price for produce and water scarcity are major challenges Mumbai: Despite the Rs. 34,000 crore farm-loan waiver in Maharashtra, farmers’ lives are unlikely to change for the better as they will continue to be up against familiar problems such as high input costs, low prices for their produce, and scant water availability, say farm sector experts. They are of the opinion that the core issues...

-Business Standard Pulses output was estimated at record 22.4 mt in the 2016-17 crop year ending on June Early onset of the monsoon and its progress has led to an increase in the area sown till Friday of this kharif season, year-on-year. Alongside, the depressed price of pulses have led more farmers to replace it with cotton in some parts. Farmers have brought almost 10% more area under cultivation over the corresponding period...

-Hindustan Times India needs a paradigm shift in agriculture for economic and ecological sustainability Whenever flashpoints are reached, such as the current farmers’ agitation, there is a clamour for immediate palliatives. This is understandable, as those in acute distress need relief. But what we must not overlook are the profound possibilities of reform that such crises open up. Take Madhya Pradesh (MP), the epicentre of the agitation, which best exemplifies the required...

-Livemint.com Farmers across the country choose cotton and sugarcane over rain-fed pulses like arhar and moong which saw a collapse in their wholesale prices in 2016-17, shows data New Delhi: Following a collapse in wholesale prices of rain-fed pulses like arhar and moong over the past six months, farmers across India have reduced planting of these varieties, data on Kharif sowing released by the agriculture ministry on Friday shows. Simultaneously, farmers have...