-Press release by Rythu Swarajya Vedika dated March 8, 2022 A new report on tenant farmers in Andhra Pradesh by Rythu Swarajya Vedika reveals how the denial of land owners' signatures on the Crop Cultivator Rights Cards is adversely affecting them. The Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV), a network of organizations and individuals working for the well-being and rights of farming community, released Part-1 of the report of its extensive study of tenant farmers...

-Counterview.net Economic, legal, diplomatic and civil society experts – including Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, and former Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank – have urged the United States Supreme Court to go back to the case Budha Ismail Jam, et al v. IFC , (Tata Mundra case) concerning immunity from the suit for the World Bank Group and foreign nations. They said, the immunity decision in the...

-Down to Earth Since its launch in 2016, India’s flagship crop insurance scheme has seen a consistent fall in acreage and number of farmers covered Even if a single farmer’s crop is damaged in a village he will get the benefits of insurance  - Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said while launching the government’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from Madhya Pradesh in 2016. The words, however, mean nothing to the farmers...

-TheWire.in Despite increasing allocated funds, the Union government has been unable to significantly improve penetration of crop insurance in terms of enrolled farmers and insured areas. India’s agriculture sector, which provides employment to more than 50% of the labour force and contributes about 17% of the gross domestic product, currently faces multiple challenges. Smaller land holdings, unfavourable climate changes events, dismal public and private investment, low monthly incomes, a high proportion of...

-Down to Earth The government will use its extensive network of women’s self-help groups to encourage the transition. The Andhra Pradesh government announced financial support to more than 70,000 women from scheduled castes (SC) to promote natural farming among marginal farmers. Natural farming excludes the application of chemicals and promotes traditional agricultural practices. It is regarded as particularly useful for smallholder farmers as it reduces dependency on purchased inputs.   A one-time subsidy of...