-The Hindu Business Line   Polyhouse farms yield more than a same-size land holding in this salubrious corner of the country Until a few years ago, monkeys and pigs destroyed everything the farmers grew in the villages around Jubbar Hatti, 25 km from Shimla. Today the same farmers earn big money from growing exotic vegetables like bell capsicum or carnation flowers, but inside a cluster of polyhouses spread across five panchayats in a...

-The Hindu Business Line Question use of US dollar to notify subsidies, low-income/resource-poor tag for all farmers India has yet another fight on its hands at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over food subsidies. Many developed nations are now questioning the agriculture subsidies notified by India, charging that the country may have under-stated the actual figures. India's decision to notify the subsidies in US dollars rather than the rupee is particularly under the...

-The Times of India NAGPUR (Maharashtra): Though untimely, delayed, erratic, insufficient or excess rains have been ruining crops in the region for the last few years, farmers claim this year will see the worst crop failures in recent times. All three major Vidarbha crops, cotton, soyabean and orange, have suffered huge losses due to the truant rains. Generally, at least one crop survives nature's vagaries so farmers get some income. But this...

-CNN-IBN Kerala: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme had helped women improve their social and economic status, according to a study by a university. The study by the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) showed that 97.3% of workers under the scheme are women. Conducted as part of a project on Impact Assessment Study of MGNREG scheme in Alappuzha District, the study was funded by Kerala State Institute of Rural...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: As part of the Centre's grand plan to convert the hilly areas of the country as exclusive zones of high-value organic farm products, the government on Saturday launched a scheme to encourage farmers in J&K to cultivate scientifically tested and commercially beneficial aromatic and medicinal plants in the state. Under the scheme -- known as 'Jammu Kashmir Arogya Gram Yojna' - the government's key R&D body...