-Hindustan Times Move beyond State-market, rural-urban, agri-non agri and welfare-growth binaries. They are linked This has been a difficult three months for India. The policy response to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and the lockdown has forced it to confront long-ignored realities about the Indian economy — its fragility, regional and spatial concentration and deep structural inequity. It also made visible sources of precarious resilience. Agriculture and associated supply chains, for instance, held...

-The Indian Express Calling it a “historic day for agriculture”, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the reforms will largely free the sector from a system of inspectors and permits. New Delhi: Clearing the way for significant reforms in the agriculture sector, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared three ordinances aimed at lifting restrictions on key commodities such as cereals, pulses, onion and potato, and giving farmers the freedom to sell...

-TheWire.in Millions of agricultural labourers are currently under stress due to the ongoing lockdown which has led to a loss in income, loss of jobs for migrant labour and a disruption in the supply chain. Following the stress on the agricultural sector by the COVID-19 related lockdown, the central Government has announced medium to long term relief measures as part of an economic package. However, the package has fallen short on immediate...

In the midst of COVID-19 lockdown, desert locust swarms have been seen in parts of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh in the second half of May 2020. The recent attacks by desert locust swarms have caused massive crop damage, depletion in the stock of cattle fodder and destruction of green vegetation in these states. As on 25th May, 2020, over half of Rajasthan’s 33 districts were...

-Scroll.in One simple strategy: protect birds that eat the predatory insects. As India struggles to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, it faces a new challenge. Several parts of the country have experienced heavy infestations of locusts – an insect that devours crops and foliage, often leaving devastation in its wake. If there’s a silver lining to this cloud, it is that India has two centuries of experience in dealing with locust swarms. India’s Locust...