-Livemint.com Since the paddy straw cannot be used as animal feed, farmers set fire to it to get the field ready for the next crop of wheat New Delhi: On a balmy evening last week, Sandeep Singhroha, a farmer from Haryana’s Karnal district, set fire to a pile of paddy stubble with a matchstick and then dragged the pile across his field with a garden fork. Soon, the two-acre plot was up...

-The Hindu A novel initiative of bringing farmers and consumers together turns out to be a win-win deal ARJUN NAIK TANDA (SANGAREDDY DT): Chandi Bai, a 50-year-old farmer, had a memorable day on Sunday at Arjun Naik Tanka in Hoti B mandal when several consumers, who have invested in her farm, participated in a harvesting ceremony. She welcomed the visitors with sweets that she had made, lit a lamp and offered prayers and...

-Down to Earth While last year, the state’s 14,679 villages were hit by drought, this time 20,000 villages are already facing drought-like conditions The Maharashtra government has identified 201 talukas in 32 districts that are facing water scarcity owing to deficient rainfall in the southwest monsoon season. As per a preliminary list of drought-affected areas, which is available with the Down To Earth, maximum drought-affected talukas are in Jalgaon district (13) followed by...

-The Hindu Business Line They account for a third of the agricultural workforce, but don’t get the benefits and opportunities the menfolk enjoy India celebrated its first Women Farmer’s Day on October 15, but the word farmer or kisan is still seen as being synonymous with a male farm worker. This perception is built on two assumptions — first, farming is a masculine profession; and, second, when women are involved in farm...

-Newsclick.in An indifferent Modi government promises to eliminate hunger not before 2030. Celebrations were barely over in New Delhi on the news that the 2017-18 agricultural year had Yielded a record harvest of both foodgrains (284.83 million tonnes) and fruits and vegetables (307 million tonnes) when another bit of news trickled in last week, largely ignored by the government. This was that India stood at rank 103 in the Global Hunger Index...