-Down to Earth To double farmers’ income reduce the number of farmers, suggest policy makers Among senior officials in the Union government and members of the Niti Aayog, conversations now start and end with one subject: “doubling farmers’ income by 2022”. Clearly, the obsession with open defecation-free India is over as, unofficially, India has achieved the target before the October 2019 deadline. But the new target to double farmers’ income by 2022 has...

-The Indian Express Helping farmers produce solar energy can help realise the government’s target of doubling farmers’ incomes. In July, two interesting things happened that can help Indian farmers to a large extent in augmenting their incomes. First, the Union Finance Minister (FM) in her maiden budget speech asked why the annadata (farmer) cannot become the urjadata (producer of solar power). Second, in Parliament, the agriculture minister for state, responding to...

-Livemint.com Erratic monsoon rains and skewed farm incentives have led to the growing groundwater crisis, impacting farm incomes and availability of drinking water India’s monsoon provides relief from oppressive heat but, more importantly, it provides sustenance for millions. A timely and sufficient monsoon is a critical input for farmers but increasingly, because of climate change, the monsoon is becoming less reliable. Exacerbating this is a set of policies which encourage water wastage,...

-The Indian Express The court also recommended that MSP be granted legal status by bringing in suitable legislation. Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court Monday said the minimum support price (MSP) in the agriculture sector should be three times the cost of production of major crops to save farmers from distress. The court also recommended to the Union government and the Punjab government that MSP should be provided legal status,...

-The Hindu They can be an effective tool for rainwater harvesting With an increased variability of monsoons and rapidly depleting groundwater tables, large parts of India are reeling under water stress. A number of peninsular regions like Bundelkhand, Vidarbha and Marathwada have been facing recurring drought-like situations. Given the enormity of the crisis, at a recent NITI Aayog meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi explicated the need to implement innovative water management measures,...