-DNA The joint study has found an increase in female-headed households (FHHs) and greater engagement of rural women in agricultural labour. Three days from now, March 8, is the International Women's Day. An important lesson on the relation between women and environment was first taught to us by rural women in the Himalayan region of Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand) who, in the early 1970s, embraced trees to save them from state-backed...

-The Tribune Rural debt doubles to Rs 80,000 crore in 7 years | Most deaths reported in Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar Chandigarh: With the rural indebtedness in Punjab’s predominant agrarian economy touching Rs 80,000 crore, each rural household in the state is under a debt of an average Rs. 8 lakh. Or simply put, 89 per cent of the 10.53 lakh households in Punjab are under debt. This also shows how rural indebtedness in...

-Economic and Political Weekly Gian Singh (giansingh88@yahoo.com), Anupama (anupamauppal@yahoo. com) and Rupinder Kaur (rupinderkaur0076@gmail.com) teach economics at Punjabi University, Patiala; Gurinder Kaur (gurinder2005@yahoo.co.in) and Sukhvir Kaur (drsukhvir.sk@gmail.com) teach economics at Dashmesh Khalsa College, Zirakpur. The paper examines various hitherto unexplored aspects of indebtedness among farmers and agricultural labour households in rural Punjab. It analyses the extent and distribution of indebtedness among farmers and agricultural labourers, their sources of debt and the per...

-The Tribune Demonetisation didn’t overly impact the sector, but devitalisation is a concern THERE has been a lot of speculation about the extent of damage due to demonetisation on agriculture. Small farmers suffered most because cash in hand means a lot to them. They were unable to pay for inputs like fertilisers, seeds and farm labour and experienced low demand for their perishable produce. The latest data from government’s agricultural ministry however...

-The Hindu Business Line A realistic MSP, better market access and warehouses Agriculture is not a profitable business in India. About 70 per cent of the country’s farmers are struggling to make ends meet. In 2012-13, the NSSO’s ‘Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural households’ showed that farmers who own 1 hectare or less of land see an average monthly income of ?5,247, which doesn’t even suffice to meet their household expenses. Prime Minister...