-Deccan Chronicle Thrissur (Kerala): Planting paddy on large swathes in expectation of copious rains and abundant harvests during Thiruvathira Njattuvela, according to conventional wisdom, between June 21 and July 4, has been a practice in Kerala. But try telling this to GenNext and you will draw a blank. The story is that the Zamorin of Malabar once remarked: "Aliens may take away our spices and other valuable crops but they cannot...

-The Hindustan Times Sangrur: In spite of claims by farmers in the state to go in for direct seeding of rice (DSR) in the ongoing sowing season, those in the region are reluctant to adopt the new method. The government has been encouraging the DSR method, a technique that saves water and time. But, farmers feel that it would be ‘risky', especially for those with smaller land. Sangrur chief agriculture officer (CAO) Rajinder...

-Economic and Political Weekly     Sustained and focused efforts have to be made by the Tamil Nadu state government to provide relief and rehabilitation to the drought affected people of the state. S Rajendran (myrajendran@gmail.com) is with the Department of Economics, Periyar University, Salem, Tamil Nadu. Due to the failure of the north-east monsoon in December 2013, Tamil Nadu is witnessing drought like conditions this year, leading to poor agricultural productivity, rural distress,...

-The Business Standard   The government needs counter cyclical policies to tackle vegflation, which has become a recurrent problem Somebody help. Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley are held hostage, not by jihadists, recalcitrant opposition, international capital or the ever-erratic monsoon, but by faceless, nameless manipulators of Nasik, Navi Mumbai and Azadpur markets. The "raw" terror they have let loose resounds in the corridors of government as well as media power. Cutting to the chase,...

-The Hindu Business Line   Small farmers in Jharkhand are growing more money and seeing better health, thanks to vegetables Indian farmers have often been perceived as lacking in initiative, but the latest developments on the farm front belie that stereotype. Not only have they shown initiative, they have started a quiet revolution. The phenomenon can be summed up in one word: vegetables. Small farmers, reeling from recurring droughts and declining productivity of staple...