Over 60 villages of the district have been flooded with the Yamuna waters after 3.46 lakh cusecs (over the flood level) were released from the Hathnikund barrage this morning. The barrage in Chhachhrauli is about 45 km from here. Water has entered residential areas of at least 22 villages located in low-lying areas while agricultural land in over 48 villages has been submerged after the embankments of the Yamuna were washed...

In some remote villages in India, which are most unlikely to pose as models of development, a quiet rejuvenation is taking place, with communities learning to adapt to the climate change reality of the country today. Everyone knows by now that one of the foremost signs of climate change for the country is the changing pattern of the monsoon. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has already forecast shorter yet...

With Europe and Gulf countries, putting in place stringent Safety norms for ensuring that pesticide residue in agricultural crops remain below prescribed limits, basmati (aromatic rice) exporters from India have urged the Union agriculture ministry to ensure that farmers use less pesticide. Europe and Gulf nations are main export destinations for Indian basmati rice. In a letter to agriculture ministry, Vijay Setia, president, All India Rice Exporters’ Association has said that some...

The 2010 Seeds Bill that has been introduced in Parliament does address some of the major concerns in the aborted 2004 version, but strangely a number of important correctives – on regulation, consistency and punishment – that had been incorporated in the 2008 version (which lapsed in 2009) have now been modified or dropped altogether. What forces are pushing the government to act against the interests of India’s farmers? The third...

Concerned over large population still suffering from poverty and hunger, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said more efforts were required to achieve higher productivity and growth in the farm sector that would ensure food security to the people of this country. "I am happy that the growth rate of our agriculture has increased substantially in the last few years. But we are still far from achieving our goal. We...