-The Statesman Agriculture is the source of livelihood for nearly 700 million people in India, representing a huge workforce. More than half the GDP of the rural economy is based on agriculture. It is not just a profession but a traditional occupation, a way of life. Agriculture is characterised by small and fragmented land holdings. Small (up to one hectare of land) and marginal (more than one ha and up to 2...
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Production of pulses down 64%, cereals 30% in state -Priyanka Kakodkar
-The Times of India MUMBAI: The state's production of pulses during 2014-15 is set to fall by as much as 64% and cereals by 30% on account of the drought and unseasonal rains over the last year which wrecked the kharif crop. Yields for the rabi or winter crop have also plummeted, raising concerns about the impact on prices. Maharashtra produces about 10% of the country's foodgrains. However, sowing over the last...
More »Narendra Modi’s Bharat challenge: Low production, dipping income -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express Dealing with the farm distress, while simultaneously creating enough non-farm job opportunities, is going to be a tough task. Call it bad luck or otherwise, the Narendra Modi government’s first year in office hasn’t been a really great one for agriculture and rural incomes. To start with, rainfall was deficient in both the south-west (June-September) and the north-east (October-December) monsoon seasons by over 12 per cent and 33 per...
More »India’s rural distress set to worsen -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com The ministry of agriculture projected that foodgrain production of cereal and pulses was likely to decline by 5.3% in 2014-15 New Delhi: There seems to be no end rural India’s worries. Last year’s drought together with unseasonal weather earlier this year is threatening a substantial decline in foodgrain output—the first in five years of such magnitude. On Wednesday, the ministry of agriculture projected that foodgrain production—at 251 million tonnes (mt) of cereal...
More »Govt ready with contingency plan to overcome poor monsoon
-PTI The government on Wednesday said it has put in place a contingency plan for 580 districts to tackle any situation arising out of below-normal monsoon. As per the weather department forecast, monsoon would be below normal this year due to an impact of El Nino. Monsoon rains are expected to arrive on time this year, hitting Kerala on June 1. Last year, the country had received 12 per cent less rains, affecting production...
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