-The Hindu Bolstered by the timely South-West monsoon and a steady demand for native produce, the farming community is looking forward to the sowing season We have had the wettest June in 12 years, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Statistics released by the IMD show that India recorded 118% of the Long Period Average rainfall in June 2020, which is considered excess. These copious showers brought cheer to the farming community,...

-The Hindu Their interaction with outsiders is less as Nature gives them abundant nutritious food in the shape of leafy vegetables, roots, tuber as well as fungi. BHUBANESWAR: With many States resorting to lockdown measures to break the chain of infections in the wake of the spiralling COVID-19 positive cases, tribal communities in Odisha’s protected forests seem to be better placed to keep the virus at bay during the monsoon season. Most national...

-Scroll.in What would it take to end the trail of death and destruction the Brahmaputra and its tributaries leave behind each year? As the monsoon sweeps through North East India, much of Assam is under water yet again. As of July 17, nearly 4 million people are affected by the floods, according to government data. More than 70 people have already perished while 40,000 people across 19 districts are currently in government-designated...

-Counterview.net The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the risks of an unhealthy diet and the extreme fragility of food systems. The economic reconstruction that will follow the pandemic is the perfect opportunity to provide better nutrition and health to all. The pandemic should spur us to redefine how we feed ourselves, and agricultural research can play a vital role in making our food systems more sustainable and resilient. Family-owned farms still produce some...

Although social activists and concerned economists demanded at least Rs. 1 lakh crore to be earmarked in favour of the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Finance Minister in her budget speech on 1st February allocated only Rs.61,500 crore to it for the financial year 2020-21. As compared to the fund spent on MGNREGA in 2019-20 (i.e. revised estimate of Rs.71,001.81 crore), the amount set aside for the...