-The Business Standard A delayed monsoon and abundant cotton in the international market could spell trouble in the state's suicide zone Yavatmal (Maharashtra): As the skies stayed clear till the second week of June, Ramesh Gulabhrao Digde's mood darkened. His two acres were ploughed at great expense, the seeds were purchased, and a sack of fertilisers lay in a corner of his thatch-roofed hut in Parsodi village in western Maharashtra's Yavatmal...

-The Business Standard Interview with Union minister in charge of food and public distribution Ever since the new government took office in May, food prices and related issues have been one of the most discussed subjects. Ram Vilas Paswan, the minister in charge of food and public distribution, says hoarders are to blame. And, speaks of the various other priorities under his charge. Edited exceprts of a talk with Sanjeeb Mukherjee: * The...

-The Hindu Business Line Whether it is promoting a lease market in land or the use of tractors, credit should be tailored to the needs of marginal players The Finance Minister has announced several measures to make farming competitive and rev up growth in agriculture. While this is welcome, the sector as a whole needs an overhaul to make best use of these measures. To address the needs of landless farmers who are...

-Rediff.com 'Suicide rates among Indian farmers were a chilling 47 per cent higher than they were for the rest of the population in 2011. In some of the states worst hit by the agrarian crisis, they were well over 100 per cent higher. In Maharashtra, farmers were killing themselves at a rate that was 162 per cent higher than that for any other Indians excluding farmers. A farmer in this state...

-PSainath.org At least ten farmers have killed themselves every day, on average, for a straight ten years in the rich state of Maharashtra. Nation-wide the farm suicides total nears the 300,000-mark, as the data of the National Crime Records Bureau show. At least 3,146 farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra in 2013, the latest data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show. That brings the total number of farmers taking their own...