-IANS   PATNA: The central government is planning to turn India's eastern states into an organic farming-hub, Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said here on Monday. "Our priority is to develop Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and eastern Uttar Pradesh into an organic farming hub for development of the region and to provide opportunity to millions of farmers to earn more," Singh told media persons. Singh, who hails from Bihar, said organic farming...

-The Times of India   NEW DELHI: Seeking to spur agricultural growth, the Centre will soon launch a comprehensive plan to provide 'Soil Health Card' to all farmers across the country. The card will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients/Fertilizers required for farms, making it possible for farmers to improve productivity by wisely using inputs. A computerized system will be developed, allowing local agriculture science centres to keep details of 'soil test' results. Soil...

-The Hindu     SANGAREDDY (Andhra Pradesh): With increasing costs in the paddy and sugarcane cultivation some of the farmers are thinking to shift to soyabean cultivation. However, they were not in hurry and trying to experiment in limited space available in the farm than going for mass shift. According to sources, the cultivation costs of paddy and sugar cane have abnormally increased forcing the farmers to think for alternatives while continuing cultivation. Paddy cultivation...

-The Times of India   NEW DELHI: The government is ready with a contingency plan to deal with below normal rains this monsoon with a series of steps including diesel subsidy for farmers in the rain-deficient districts, crop loans at lower rates and release of foodgrains to deal with a possible shortage. Amid reports of below normal rains, the agriculture ministry presented the plan for 500 districts during a meeting called by Prime...

-The Business Standard   Rajkot (Gujarat): The Gujarat government has received lukewarm response from farmers for the mobile applications launched by it for providing them information related to agriculture. Hardly one percent farmers are using mobile applications in the state for receiving information from the government, according to state government and industry officials. The Gujarat government has so far launched around 20 mobile applications for passing on relevant agri-related information to farmers. Some...