-Scroll.in Land leasing laws are negatively impacting the people they are supposed to benefit, pulling agricultural productivity down, and increasing land degradation. Nearly one-third of India is reeling under drought, evident from reports and images of distressed farmers and parched land captured in the media. The increasing unpredictability of rainfall and prolonged hot patches has severely impacted rural farmland and, consequently, the people dependent on agriculture. Drought and resultant crop loss, in...

-The Telegraph 15 such banks have been opened in Vijayapura district Vijayapura (Karnataka): In times of drought, cattle drive to a goshala (cattle shed) to feed them and driving them back may prove cumbersome. That explains the reason for the declining demand for goshalas in some of the drought-affected districts in the State. If the developments in the drought-affected districts are of any indication, the goshala concept seems to be becoming redundant...

-The Indian Express Why pulses aren’t the first choice of Marathwada’s farmers despite higher prices this time. Latur: About two years ago, Guruling Modi took 10 quintals of tur (pigeon-pea), a crop he had grown for the first time on his two-acre holding, to the market yard at Latur. “I got a price of just Rs 4,200 per quintal, despite my produce being of the best quality. After expenses of Rs 35,000...

-The Hindu Kailashmurthy of Doddainduvadi village has turned 10-acre farm into a heaven of diverse horticultural crops Mysuru: Imagine an oasis in an arid region with a water table at 30 ft against nearly 1,000 ft in most parts of the region; or forest ecology in a barren landscape. That is what Kailashmurthy has achieved following the concepts of natural farming at Doddainduvadi village in Kollegal taluk of Chamarajanagar district. The 10-acre land...

-The Hindu Business Line It should apply to long-term rather than short-term loans, to prevent funds misuse and promote capital formation The Budget 2016-17 witnessed an increase of Rs. 2,000 crore in the allocation towards interest subsidy for short-term credit (i.e. crop loan) to farmers, compared with the revised estimate for 2015-16, thereby making a total provision of Rs. 15,000 crore towards interest subsidy. In fact, of the total allocation of Rs. 35,984...