-The Hindu Sonnu gets yield of 6.5 quintals an acre VISAKHAPATNAM (Andhra Pradesh): Following zero budget natural farming, Pangi Sonnu of Araku Valley mandal cultivated sama (little millet) got a yield of 6.5 quintals an acre. The crop-cutting experiment in a 5x5 square metre plot was conducted at the ZBNF Sama festival at Baliyaguda village on Friday. The festival was organised by Agriculture Department, Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, Sanjeevini...

-Livemint.com Merely putting the labour component of other projects in MGNREGA may not lead to any value addition There are several studies and reports that clearly show that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has accomplished its objectives to a large extent. Initially, this government derided the programme as some kind of a dole—but it later acknowledged its role in rural development, if reluctantly. The chief ministers’ council in...

-Down to Earth Instead of encouraging them on paper, the government has to create a few model FPOs in the country and provide institutional support to them The Narendra Modi-led government has been tirelessly claiming that it would double farmers’ income by 2022. There is a lot of evidence to show that in the pursuance of this target, the income of farmers has not increased, but has rather stalled or decreased. Consequently,...

-The Hans India Yalal: Tribal farmers of Sangaigutta thanda in Muddaipet panchayat are making a fortune by indulging in gherkins’ cultivation under contract farming system. The farmers are earning at least Rs 50,000 in two months after deducting all expenses. The factory which encouraged the tribals to undertake contract farming supplies seeds, pesticides and fertilizers and lifts the gherkins at the farm gate by paying good price for the produce. It...

-The Hindu How Zero Budget Natural Farming could be the model for the future In early June, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced that the State would fully embrace Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), a chemical-free method that would cover all farmers by 2024. Earlier in the year, he had revealed these plans at the meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Even though this revolution has been in the...