-The Hindu Chintala Venkat Reddy, who won a Padma Shri in 2020, applies natural processes and minerals to enrich rice and wheat with Vitamin D Hyderabad: Farmer Chintala Venkat Reddy from Hyderabad, Telangana was no silent observer when his doctor friends discussed Vitamin D deficiency and how it can affect the human body. As a farmer however, he wasn’t too excited by the idea of loading the body for the required Vit...

-Down to Earth The ill-effects of imbalanced application of fertilisers — which leads to soil sickness, decline in soil health and reduces crop productivity — need to be understood to save Indian agriculture.   Soil is rightfully called the ‘soul of infinite life’. This soul, however, has become dilapidated of late due to ill-agricultural practices being adapted to feed the ever-increasing mouths. The Green Revolution of 1965-66 helped India, for the first time...

-IDROnline.org The story of a self-help group that boosted livelihoods and household incomes in Odisha, depicted through Madhubani art. In Koraput district, Odisha, lies a remote village called Kanjariguda, home to an Adivasi community of farmers who predominantly grow ragi and rice. The village is so remote that villagers have to walk several kilometres—across forests and mountains—to hull their rice or access basic services such as mobile charging, photocopying, or printing. In 2019,...

-Down to Earth Agriculture was the only sector to have clocked a positive growth at constant prices in 2020-21 The share of agriculture in gross domestic product (GDP) has reached almost 20 per cent for the first time in the last 17 years, making it the sole bright spot in GDP performance during 2020-21, according to the Economic Survey 2020-2021. The resilience of the farming community in the face of adversities made agriculture...

-Newsclick.in The MSP system has long been the central topic of discussion in agricultural reforms. The MSP system has long been the central topic of discussion in agricultural reforms. Demystifying its pros and cons, PROF M S SRIRAM writes on what we can learn and do to make MSP an effective mechanism that empowers farmers. ARGUMENTS against a statutory minimum support price (MSP) have hovered around the following lines: The MSP benefits only a...