-Deccan Herald Madivalappa Totagi, an organic farmer based in Mugad village near Dharwad, is known for his innovative approach and eco-friendly farming methods. This year, his experiment reached a new level with the cultivation of 20 heritage jowar varieties. The seeds of variety conservation were sown in his mind when he met seed saviour Shankar Langti from Khanapur in Belagavi district. Shankar, has formed a farmers’ group in his village, Gundenatti, and...

-The Hindu Business Line In the Cauvery delta’s worst drought in 140 years, a padyatra brings home the harsh realities of how Tamil farmers are living on the edge and what sustains their resilience A farmer sells his sugar cane to the local public sector sugar mill, where he is mandated to sell his crop. Instead of paying, the factory hands him a slip of paper. Eighteen months pass by and he...

-Livemint.com While one estimate pegged Maharashtra’s tur production at 1.17 million tonnes, another forecast a record yield of 2.35 million tonnes Mumbai: Maharashtra’s economic survey of 2016-17, which came out on 17 March, pegged the state’s total tur (pigeon pea) yield at 1.17 million tonnes, based on estimates of the Pune-based agriculture commissionerate. A fortnight later, the state’s agriculture department put out revised estimates showing the March projection of tur yield...

-The Hindu Business Line Farmers seen bringing more area under the fibre crop this year Ahmedabad / Bengaluru: Sowing of cotton has begun on a strong note in the key growing regions of North India such as Punjab and Haryana, and Southern Karnataka, for the 2017-18 season. Buoyed by the high prevailing prices, farmers are seen bringing in a larger area under the fibre crop and the seed industry expects acreages this year...

-The Hindu Business line Hyderabad: The chances of the El Nino phenomenon impacting the South West monsoon at its peak across India are 60 to 70 per cent, says Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS). El Nino, which refers to the formation of warm water undercurrents in the Pacific Ocean, has been known to have an adverse effect on global weather patterns and occasionally affect the rainfall during the Indian monsoon season. At the...