-Economic and Political Weekly Farmers' unions and political parties have been demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan minimum support price (cost plus 50%) to address agrarian crisis and farmers' distress. But they have not raised demands for the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers, which have the potential to provide lasting solutions. Ranjit Singh Ghuman (ghumanrs@yahoo.co.uk) is a Nehru SAIL Chair Professor, Centre for Research in Rural and...

-The Times of India HYDERABAD: Telangana appears to be heading towards a drought. Half of the monsoon season is over and apart from the initial days of rainfall, the state has had a dry spell. Water levels in reservoirs are dropping rapidly and many towns are facing a drinking water crisis. In rural areas, the crisis is in the form of dying crops and a looming threat of fodder shortage. In fact,...

-The Times of India HYDERABAD: The lack of monsoon rains is spelling doom for Telangana on three fronts: First, a drastic drop in paddy cultivation is set to trigger a massive shortage in rice production; second, with their crops more or less destroyed and the prospect of rains in the near future bleak, farmers are resorting to suicides; and thirdly, plummeting water levels at Nagarjunsagar Dam is threatening to disrupt the...

-The Indian Express It is necessary to rescue public policy from its elitist bias, bring agriculture to its centre There is seldom any Independence Day speech where the prime minister, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, does not thank the jawans and kisans for their heroic role in securing our borders and ensuring food security. This year is unlikely to be different. Recall Lal Bahadur Shastri’s famous slogan, “Jai Jawan,...

-The Tribune Chandigarh: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has imposed a cut of Rs. 3,400 crore on the allocation made to the state to advance short-term crop loans. The loans are advanced twice in a year for rabi and kharif crops. At least 10.5 lakh farmers are expected to be hit hard. These loans are advanced on half-yearly basis through agriculture cooperative societies. On an average, NABARD used to...