-Down to Earth Procurement at the doorstep, direct income support and reaching out to farmers can help in easing farming operations at this crucial time The extension of the nationwide lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), though necessary, will lead to a further suspension of work and no wages and means for families to support themselves. The activities in manufacturing and services, that provide non-essentials, may be suspended, though with serious...

-Mongabay.com * India’s ongoing lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus is threatening the agriculture sector as it overlaps with the time of harvest. * The lockdown has derailed harvest preparation and lack of agricultural labour to help in harvest and restrictions on transportation of produce despite being given waivers as essential services. * Farmer leaders and agriculture experts criticised the relief package announced by the government to aid farmers impacted by the...

-The Indian Express The central government’s package, as it is, comes a week after Kerala first announced a Rs 20,000-crore support for its people. Many states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Telangana and Rajasthan followed suit. The Rs 1.7 lakh crore economic package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the vulnerable sections — farmers, women, construction workers, senior citizens, widows and the disabled — is less than 1 per cent of...

-Hindustan Times Sync traditional knowledge and science to build resilience A recent report by the Union ministry of earth sciences (MOES), Observed Rainfall Variability and Changes, has found that seven Indian states — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland — have witnessed significant decreasing trends in annual rainfall in the last 30 years. Alarmingly, many other parts of the country have also seen an increase in...

-Livemint.com * Agriculture being a state subject, the state governments take appropriate measures for development of agriculture in the state * Majority of the agricultural households that possessed more than 0.40 hectare land reported cultivation as their principal source of income NEW DELHI: The government does not have data regarding financial condition of farmers in the country, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in the...