-The Indian Express During the election campaign, the BJP had promised a 50 per cent profit margin on minimum support prices to farmers. But over the past year, the optimism of farmers has turned to despair. Since the parliamentary elections, basmati paddy prices have fallen by 35 per cent and cotton by 25 per cent. The era of cooperative federalism notwithstanding, the Centre practically decreed that states not announce a crop...

-Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Agriculture The Central Government has asked State Level Bankers' Committees to facilitate timely restructuring of crop loans. With restructuring, the loan repayment period would be extended. The Home Ministry has also written to states to keep 10% of SDRF fund reserved for "local disasters" such as heavy rain which are to be declared at par with national disasters and use this money for distressed farmers. This...

-DNA Broken promises apart, a regular income for farmers is extremely essential There is trouble on the farm front. With untimely rains accompanied by hailstorms and strong winds showing no signs of relenting, further deepening the prevailing agrarian crisis; and with the spate of farmer suicides on the rise, agriculture faces its worst-ever crisis. While the rising number of farmer suicides is only a reflection of how fragile the agrarian economy...

-Frontline Outcomes of the patterns of growth induced by neoliberal economic reforms have increased the disproportionality between agricultural and non-agricultural growth, and with costs rising and prices not keeping pace, agriculture is becoming increasingly unviable. FARMERS across northern and central India-in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and elsewhere-are distressed. Unseasonal rains have damaged their standing crop and help from the government has been meagre and slow in coming. This, however, is...

-Business Standard Unpredictable weather may impact 30 per cent of the harvest India has been hit by unusual weather. Much of the country has endured unseasonal rain, even hailstorms. In the process, nearly 30 per cent of the rabi planting seems to have been spoiled, with adverse implications for food availability and inflation, as well as farmer distress. The first half of March has been unusually cool, besides being the wettest for...