-VillageSquare.in Independent and small beekeepers are uniting against adulterated and diluted honey sold in the domestic market by companies fighting a price war Amravati (Maharashtra): After a long hiatus of eight years, the purple-colored Karvi flower (Strobilanthes callosus) bloomed in the low hills of western Maharashtra, heightening the spirits of people like Ashok Shelar of Warsoi Koli village, neighboring Maharashtra’s favorite hill station, Mahabaleshwar. A proud owner of 80 bee colonies, he...

-The Hindu Business Line Foodgrain output down 28.7% as paddy area shrinks Hyderabad: In the recent numbers released by the National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB), Telangana stood second only to Maharashtra, with 1,400 Farmers and farm labourers ending lives in the year 2015-16. The State had accounted for nearly 10 per cent of all 12,000 farm suicides reported that year. The latest numbers gathered by the Telangana government corroborated the serious distress in the...

-Livemint.com Crash in farm prices could accentuate bankruptcy, which was the biggest reason for Farmer suicides in 2014 and 2015 After two successive years of drought, 2016 was turning out to be a relatively better year for Farmers till 8 November. The decision to scrap high-value currency notes, announced on that day, seems to have hit the farm sector the hardest. While credible and timely data on farm incomes and output is hard...

-The Hindu Business Line Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is anticipating a significant drop in agricultural output as a result of the successive failures of the South-West and North-East monsoons in 2016. While the June-September season left a gaping rain deficit of 34 per cent, the October-December season that followed has proved even more disastrous, with a shortfall of 61 per cent. Significant variation Such a significant departure from the norm is causing an unprecedented crisis to...

-Bangalore Mirror ICAR researchers say subsidised electricity benefitting only medium and large Farmers Stating that the policy decision to provide free or subsidised electricity has been a key driver for widespread groundwater exploitation, estimates by ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Ballari, reveal that in Karnataka, groundwater depletion has forced Farmers to drill up to depths of 200 to 300 metres, costing about Rs 2.5-3 lakh for a successful...