-The Hindu Kalyanrao Jalji has cultivated carom seeds in drought-prone Chittapur taluk of Kalaburagi district Karnataka: When disturbing stories of agrarian crisis caused by drought were coming from across the State, Kalyanrao Jalji, a progressive farmer from Gotur village in drought-prone Chittapur taluk in Kalaburagi district, was making handsome profit. Cultivation of carom seeds (ajwain), a spice widely used in Indian kitchens for preparing delicacies as well as in pharmaceutical companies for...

-The Financial Express In Madhya Pradesh’s tribal districts of Dewas and Khargone, the NGO, Samaj Pragati Sahayog, discourages cash transactions for agricultural inputs. The interest rates are usurious and vary according to commodities. For fertiliser, it is dheda—loan for the stuff has to be repaid 1.5 times over by the end of the harvest season. For Pesticides it is sawa, or 1.25 times. Even barter can be extortionate. One quintal of...

-Hindustan Times Hamirgarh/ Dhanaula/ Chandigarh: Gurpreet Singh and Sandeep Duggal have more than 350 friends on Facebook. At 19, Gurpreet’s profile clearly gravitates to pictures of youth – astride an Enfield motorcycle, one with a friend in the corridors of a college, and the quintessential selfie with sunglasses. Duggal’s is more subdued. In a black-and-white profile photograph, he smiles with arms folded, exuding the confidence of a young man who identifies himself...

-Down to Earth Over 20 years of aerial spraying on cashew plantations in Kerala and other states has left many with mental and physical disorders The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, directed the Kerala government to pay Rs 500 crores in three months as compensation to over 5,000 victims of the use of Endosulfan Pesticide. People, especially newborns, have suffered deformaties, health complications and loss of family members due to exposure to...

-The Hindu Business Line Sangrur and Samrala: In normal times, the grain mandi of Samrala is abuzz with the hum of agrarian commerce. These days, however, it lies virtually vacant, with only a handful of farmers coming to sell their produce. Joginder Singh Sahni says that usually the mandi is full of wheat and rice farmers selling their goods. Commission agents and other links on the commercial chain add to the...