-The Hindu Business Line Strong demand, remunerative prices are the encouraging factors Kolkata: The uncertainty around production and prices of the common variety of paddy, Swarna, and the prospect of earning better income are driving farmers in Burdwan district of West Bengal to go in for the cultivation of gobindobhog, a premium variety of aromatic rice. Gobindobhog, which got the GI (Geographical Indication) tag in August, is primarily cultivated in East Burdwan district...

-The Nature Conservancy India Program, Institute on the Environment (University of Minnesota), Borlaug Institute for South Asia & International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center   Air pollution is a major cause of premature mortality globally and the problem is particularly acute in rapidly developing countries like India. Crop residue burning contributes substantially to this problem. Currently, 80 percent of agriculture in Northwest India uses a rice-wheat production system dependent on burning...

-The Times of India blog (Voices) Riding on the roads of rural Punjab, a grim spectre unfolds. It is early November and there is fire and smoke all around for the endless land that stretches ahead. It is paddy stubble burning time in the state. This phenomenon is not exceptional to the state of Punjab in India but is also prevalent in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. Recently, there has been much...

-The Financial Express Every year, the onset of winter in Delhi unfailingly brings to the fore the burning of paddy residue in Punjab and Haryana, given the practice contributes significantly to the national capital’s air pollution woes, with severe consequences for public health. According to an IIT study, 17% of the PM 10 load and 26% of the PM 2.5 load in October-November in Delhi can be attributed to post-monsoon crop...

How many happy seeder machines are currently available in Haryana and Punjab? Against the backdrop of a recent advisory issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in response to the dense smog that engulfed the entire NCR since October this year, the above question seems pertinent. The happy seeder machine is considered as a magic bullet  to curb the menace of stubble burning during the wheat-paddy cropping cycle,...