-Business Standard CRISIL Ratings identifies four states and five crops at highest risk to deficient monsoon Within the next 40 days, the southwest monsoon will formally start retracting from the Indian mainland, ending its four-month journey over the country, pounding some parts with excess showers, but could leave almost 30 per cent of the country with deficient or less-than-normal rains, unless there is an abnormal pickup in the coming weeks. That looks highly...

-The Indian Express Indian agriculture has made remarkable progress since 1947 and credit for this goes mainly to the farmer. Now we need to repay our debt to the agricultural community As India celebrates its 68th year of independence, it is time to pause and look back at the major challenges we have faced since Independence and how they were overcome, as well as at the mistakes and follies we committed...

-The Times of India BELAGAVI: At a time when the state is witnessing a spate of farmers' suicides owing to mounting debts and crop failure, a group of 12 landless farmers in Geddalabavihatti village in Belagavi taluk are writing a success story with hard work and a never-say-die attitude. When they decided to take up farming on about 45 acres of barren land owned by the state government about four years ago,...

-The Hindu Six cases of farmers’ suicides were reported in the State in the last 24 hours. KALABURAGI/MANDYA/TUMAKURU/HASSAN (Karnataka): Annappa Salagar (55) of Ainapur village at Chincholi taluk in Kalaburagi district allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide after he was depressed with the withering red gram crop in his 15 acres farm. Annappa had availed himself a loan of Rs. 50,000 from the cooperative society and Rs. 3 lakh from moneylenders. Another debt-ridden farmer,...

-The Hindu Business Line Raw silk duty cut triggers sharp fall Bengaluru: Unable to deal with mounting debts amidst diminishing returns from his three-acre farm, Siddaramu, a sericulture farmer in his mid-fifties at Abburdoddi near Channapatna, committed suicide recently in his silkworm rearing house. The trigger for this unfortunate incident was the crash in silk cocoon prices and the issuance of recovery notice by the bank, says Chandramma, his wife. Other crops too failed Siddaramu,...