-The Huffington Post Farmers are committing suicide as you read this article. In countries like India, the rate of farmer suicides has become a national crisis. The World Health Organization (WHO) is particularly concerned with farmer suicides because of the impact it is having on families. WHO estimates that one person commits suicide every 13.3 minutes. The U.S. farmer suicides rates are just under two times that of the general population. In...

-IANS Panaji: Factors as innocuous as the humble grain-carrying sack to the mighty El Nino could have a varying impact on grain production and delivery this year, experts suggest. Detailed presentations made at a recently-concluded 'Global Grain and Feed Forum' conference in Goa suggest that the occurrence of the El Nino phenomenon in June could to some extent rob India of its monsoon, but also note that poor quality sacks are also...

Punjab, which was known to be the land of agricultural prosperity during the 1970s and 1980s thanks to the Green Revolution, has increasingly witnessed its small and marginal farmers being pushed out of the agricultural sector. Based on a survey (conducted in 2012-13) of 288 farmers from 12 villages—2 villages from each of the 6 districts that represent various agro-climatic zones—the study by Sukhpal Singh and Shruti Bhogal reveals that...

-The Hindustan Times     On the first day on his job, rural development minister Gopinath Munde hinted that the Modi government could go for restructuring of the rural job scheme NREGA.   He also defended the land acquisition bill saying it was not against industrialisation and Urbanization.   Talking to reporters after taking charge on Tuesday, he said he liked NREGA but it needed changes. "This scheme is best for villages. Basically, people get employment, but proper...

-Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR)   With an Urbanization level of 31.16 percent in 2011, India is the least urbanized country among the top 10 economies of the world. In addition, unlike other countries, the transition of workforce out of agriculture is incomplete. This coupled with jobless growth in recent years has contributed to an increase in certain migration streams. While rural-rural migration continues to be the largest in terms...