-ThePrint.in Modi govt is importing more onions under relaxed rules to deal with supply & price issues. But experts fear for India’s agricultural biodiversity. New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government’s decision to relax fumigation norms for imported onions might result in the entry of disease-carrying onions and harmful pests in Indian markets, agriculture experts have told ThePrint. On 6 November, the agriculture ministry relaxed fumigation norms and waived the penalty for non-compliance until...

-The Indian Express Discussions of rural poverty fail to factor in multi-dimensional changes in the sector in the last five years Rural poverty in India has been the subject of discussion in recent times. Low increase in prices of agricultural commodities and the slower increase in rural agricultural wages have been seen by some as signs of a crisis for the rural poor. Many acknowledge the role of pro-poor public welfare...

  Air quality in North India in general and Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) in particular plunged to its lowest point in recent years during October-November thanks to a variety of factors. Through media reports one comes to know that stubble burning (also called paddy straw burning/ crop residue burning) is chiefly responsible for the public health crisis in India's capital and its nearby regions. Data accessed from the website...

-The Indian Express In many areas, farmers had harvested their crop but did not get time to shift the produce to a dry location as the rain caught them unawares. Farmers in Maharashtra are staring at crop loss of over Rs 5,000 crore across 30 districts after heavy rain caused extensive damage to standing crop in the last few days. The scale of crop loss may be even worse as authorities...

-ThePrint.in Under the Modi government, the MGNREGS has suddenly become both an indicator of rural stagnation as well as the proposed solution to it. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had told the Lok Sabha in July this year that the Narendra Modi government was “not in favour of continuing with” the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for long.  While MGNREGS’ target group is the rural poor, the Modi government’s...