-The Indian Express (Edit) Punjab’s wheat payment crisis strengthens the case for direct transfers in MSP operations. For a state whose farmers have already suffered from crashing basmati paddy prices and damage to their cotton crop from Whitefly pest attacks, the current payment crisis in wheat couldn’t have come at a worse time. Government agencies have so far procured over 6.5 million tonnes (mt) of wheat from Punjab in the new...
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Debt weighing down farmers of cotton belt -Mohammad Ghazali
-Hindustan Times Mansa: As cases of suicide by farmers due to indebtedness continue to be reported in the district, there are hundreds of households in which children, who have lost their fathers, have inherited debt and accompanying distress. Ranjeet Singh, 35, a farmer from Kotdharmu village, ended his life in 2013 after he failed to repay the debt of his father who had been forced to incur it several years ago. His ailing...
More »Failure of Bt cotton forces government to promote native seeds
-PTI NEW DELHI: With bollworm developing resistance to Bt cotton crop, the government has decided to promote cultivation of indigenous varieties of the crop in a big way this year. In 2015-16 crop year (July-June), there was a significant damage to cotton crop because of Whitefly and pink bollworm pest attack in states like Haryana, Punjab, Rajashtan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Almost 90 per cent of the country's cotton cultivation area is under...
More »Punjab opens its heart - and purse - to farmers -Sanjeeb Mukherjee & Archis Mohan
-Business Standard Instead of addressing systemic problems in agriculture, farm politics in the state is about how much money the government can offer the farmer as a dole The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), led by Parkash Singh Badal and son Sukhbir, was in a dilemma a year before the 2012 Assembly elections in Punjab. The Akalis had ruled Punjab since 2007 but no party had ever returned to power for a second...
More »Centre issues directives to curb cotton Whitefly
-PTI NEW DELHI: The Centre has issued directives to cotton-producing states like Punjab and Haryana to ensure timely sowing of the crop and use of only recommended seeds for preventing Whitefly attack, which caused significant damage to the crop last year. States have been directed to keep a close watch on the movement of Whitefly and ensure timely sprinkling of pesticides to check its menace. "Union agriculture and farmers welfare ministry has issued...
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