-Down to Earth The price of cereal, paddy and oilseed has crashed in more than 1,700 markets, according to government data On a vast farmland in Kalajhar mandi of Sangrur district, Punjab, farmers are waiting to negotiate with traders who have rejected their paddy crop infected due to humidity. Chand Singh, 70, a farmer who owns 4 hectares of farmland in Kalajhar village, says traders rejected 20 tonnes of paddy that he cultivated...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Crop burning: New machines don't solve, but add to menace -Jitendra
-Down to Earth Debt-ridden farmers have to either rent or buy the machines, which pose several threats to their next crop Hamir Singh, 53, who holds a 14-acre farm in Kalajhar village in Sangrur district of Punjab, had decided to toe the line, but didn’t work for him. He followed the ban on crop residue burning and tried using new technology like the rotavator, which has rotating blades that chop the straw...
More »Crop burning: Why are Punjab farmers defying government ban -Jitendra
-Down to Earth Farmers struggle to decompose paddy straw in absence of adequate machines It is 11:30 am. A gypsy, with two loudspeakers mounted on it, takes a U-turn (on NH 7 at Chano) and enters Kalajhar village in Sangrur district of Punjab. As it enters, it starts announcing to the farmers in the village to gather at the outskirts and set the crop residue on fire. Such announcement is a sharp...
More »Doodh-roti and laughter in Madhya Pradesh village of centenarians -Amarjeet Singh
-The Times of India ASTHA (MP): Shankar Singh looks at you with amused eyes. “Ek sau do(102),” he replies — and the twinkle in his eyes says he got the reaction he wanted. Then, as you try some mental calculations, he helps out with the maths: “I was 31 at Independence and voted in the very first election. I’m sure the next one won’t be the last.” As you gape at him,...
More »Farmers and smartphone politics -Jitendra
-Down to Earth Can pre-poll sops like giving smart phones with internet connectivity to farmers increase farm income? Last week, thousands of farmers and agricultural workers poured into the National Capital to attract and focus the attention of the Central government to their demands. The Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Rally, organised by farmers’ organization, All India Kisan Sabha, and the All India Agriculture Workers Union, broke all records as far as crowd numbers...
More »