-The Indian Express Forcing machinery on farmers without giving a thought to the economics of their utilisation can prove counter-productive. There are three main impediments to farm mechanisation in India. The first is cost, which, for a standard 50-horsepower tractor, today averages around Rs 6.5-6.8 lakh. But a tractor is just a source of power and traction, and only as good as the farm implements it can pull. The most basic tractor-drawn tiller/cultivator...
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Punjab farmers want to stop burning stubble that causes Delhi pollution -- but they have few options -Banalata Sen
-Scroll.in Providing them machinery to remove loose straw and expanding the industries that use crop residue could help tackle the problem, says a new study. It is that time of the year. Delhi’s air is becoming poisonous and, once again, Punjab’s farmers burning paddy straw are being blamed for it. But few bother to ask why these farmers dispose of their crop residue in such a polluting way even though the risk...
More »Soil fortification -KS Pannu
-The TribunePunjab has been using fertilisers in excess to the recommended dosage, which has increased the chemical load in the soil, says KS PannuThe soil health card scheme, started by the Centre in February, 2015, aims to conduct chemical analysis of farm land and issue soil health cards in every 3 years to all farmers of the country. This provides vital data with regard to nutrient deficiencies in the soil...
More »Paddy yield down 15%, small farmers on the brink in Punjab -Perneet Singh & Parvesh Sharma
-The TribuneDebt trap worsens; Govt must step in, says BKU leaderMansa/ Sangrur: With paddy production recording a decline of 10 to 15 per cent owing to untimely rains, small and marginal farmers are staring at misery, clueless as to how they will repay debts.Farmers owning less than 5 acres of land and those cultivating land on lease are torn between meeting the needs of their families and repaying outstanding debts,...
More »Punjab's burning problem -Jacob Koshy & Vikas Vasudeva
-The Hindu Farmers in Punjab continue to burn paddy stubble every winter despite a ban on the practice. Jacob Koshy and Vikas Vasudeva report on the compulsions that drive farmers to adopt this method of clearing their fields and the efforts by the State administration to wean them off it The highway to Bibipur, a hamlet about 50 km from Patiala town, cuts through acres of paddy. Some of the rice stalk...
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