-Down to Earth Studies indicate high food inflation As Met office predicts below normal rainfall because of El Nino this year, a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has projected a 1.75 per cent GDP reduction and loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the unskilled sector. The report released recently says that five per cent deficit rainfall forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) will...

-The Hindu   Rice, a major crop in Andhra Pradesh, is cultivated using water from borewells, tanks or open wells. Since the crop grows in standing water ground water depletion is usually high especially during summer. In addition to the water shortage, non-availability of labour on time is also increasing the cost of production, forcing farmers to give up rice cultivation citing low productivity and high labour costs as reasons. Different approach A different look...

-IANS   A bumper wheat crop this season should have brought smiles on the faces of Punjab's hard-working farmers. But a variety of adverse circumstances, including the weather, has left them dispirited. The bumper crop apart, Punjab farmers have been forced to deal with unseasonal rainfall and thunderstorms in recent days with the harvested crop lying in the open in grain markets and Agricultural fields getting wet and moisture content in the grains...

-The Business Standard   Agriculture dept has begun the process of collecting data on farmers and their lands Mysore (Karnataka): Process is on to provide unique identification numbers, similar to ‘Aadhaar' issued by the Unique Identification of Authority of India, to farmers in Karnataka. Under the scheme, all details about farmers and their lands, collected under the ‘K-Kisan' scheme, will be pooled and a unique identification number like the ‘Aadhaar' will be issued to...

-The New Indian Express   Sambalpur (Odisha): The district will adopt integrated farming system in rain-fed areas of the district under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) from the current kharif season. NMSA is one of the eight missions outlined under National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). It aims at enhancing agriculture productivity, especially in rain-fed areas, by focusing on integrated farming, efficient use of water and soil health management. Sources said...