-The Times of India NAGPUR: Farmers in Vidarbha should be encouraged to cultivate a variety of crops so that they could get a bigger market for their produce. In addition to this, promotion of organic farming will help in increasing the yield and curb farmers' suicides, said Vandana Shiva, a well-known scientist and environmentalist, on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan, Shiva said, "Farmers and citizens of our country...

-Livemint.com Crop insurance has failed to provide much-needed relief to farmers from destitution With one farmer committing suicide every half-an-hour, the number of farmers who have ended their lives as per official records in India is estimated at over 300,000 over the past two decades. These numbers do not include suicides by agricultural labourers, though they too are victims of the agrarian crisis. As each death affects at least the immediate family...

-TheWire.in While suicides and shock deaths have seen a sudden spike in Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery delta region, the government does not believe the drought is the cause and is continuing to direct water away from rural areas. From the banks of the Kollidam river, S. Selvaraju’s farm is barely a mile away. The huge river, actually a tributary of the Cauvery that drains its surplus water into the sea, runs along the village...

-VillageSquare.in Although the Maharashtra government has announced a loan waiver, deeply indebted farmers of Marathwada still do not know how they will get the money to buy farm inputs this sowing season ahead of the monsoon Latur (Maharastra): Barma Mind of Gangapur village in Latur district is a small farmer with 4.5 acres of land. He had taken a loan of Rs 54000 from an agriculture cooperative society in April 2015. Much...

-Hindustan Times The government plans to cover 10.25 lakh farmers in its waiver scheme, and simple calculation says it involves Rs 20,500 crore. The state has 18 lakh farmers. Of the total, therefore, 56% farmers would be covered. Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday announced crop loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh for farmers who own up to 5 acres of agriculture land and a flat relief...