-The Hindu Study by expert group attributes it to climate change impact TIRUVARUR (Tamil Nadu): A recent study on the climate change and its impact in the Cauvery delta districts of Tamil Nadu reveals a disturbing trend of shrinking paddy coverage, loss of kuruvai as a season, samba crop at the mercy of monsoon and importantly agricultural concerns turning more intense than ever before. Shocked at the findings, agriculture activists have called...

-Hindustan Times In August this year, whiteflies -- a notorious pest -- bumbled through vast tracts of Punjab’s cotton fields, destroying a sizeable chunk of the crop in the state. These insects, which slurp on juicy, tender bolls, seemed to have inflicted heavy losses, sparking a serious farm crisis in India’s agricultural powerhouse in a decade. A back-to-back drought meant farmers grew more cotton, a hardy crop that requires less water to...

-The Indian Express Swachh Bharat needs everyone to want a toilet and use it all the time. How can rural sanitation really take off? The stories of missing and badly constructed toilets, of toilets not being used or used as stores, and some only being used by some in the family or some of the time, of people preferring open defecation and considering it healthier, are endless. Political priority, increased subsidy...

-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: Gujarat is prone to drought once in three years while states like Rajasthan, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka tend to have two years of drought in a period of five years. This is one of the conclusions of the central government's report, 'Drought, Crisis Management Plan-2015' which also says that around 16% of the country and 68% of the sowing area nationally is drought prone. In the...

-DNA The Modi government’s soil-testing scheme doesn’t address the causes of agrarian distress In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an ambitious Rs568 crore Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme. The objective of the three-year scheme is to issue soil health cards to 14 crore farmers spread across India. The cards will be given out after determining the quality of soil, identifying its macro- and micronutrients as well as its...