-Down to Earth Lowest amount of rainfall in the last decade; climate change to blame, says Met Paddy cultivation in Jharkhand this Kharif season has taken a huge hit, with most farmers expecting a meagre yield. Monsoon 2022 saw a massive deficit in rainfall — the lowest in the last 10 years.  “I doubt I can harvest even a kilogramme of yield this year,” Mahendra Prasad told Down To Earth. The farmer in...

-TheWire.in * In his independence day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said natural Farming and chemical-free Farming can give a boost to self-reliance. * Because organic Farming means less intensive agriculture, and in turn, decreased crop productivity, experts say India’s food security could be impacted. * Rather than a radical shift to organic Farming, a middle path that combines conventional agriculture will suit the country best, they say. Kochi: “Organic Farming is our duty,”...

-GaonConnection West Bengal is India's top paddy growing state. Bardhaman region in the state, which is known as the rice bowl of Bengal, has received minus 47% deficient rainfall leading to a drastic reduction in paddy sowing. A Gaon Connection ground report as part of its Paddy Pain series. Kalyanpur (East Bardhaman), West Bengal: Dinonath Ghosh, a farmer for more than four decades believes that this must be the worst paddy Farming...

-TheWeek.in Efforts on to substitute wheat and paddy crops with other market-driven crops Madhya Pradesh government launched a crop diversification promotion scheme with focus on natural Farming and on substituting wheat and paddy crops with other crops that are suitable for local climate and are market driven. The crop diversification scheme has been launched for three years starting the current financial year (2022-23), to encourage demand-based crop diversification, keeping in mind the economic...

-Newsclick.in The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha has called for a protest from August 2 to 4 against insufficient fund allocation, delay in wage disbursal, and other issues in implementing the employment scheme. Kolkata: Uncertainty looms over the Centre's decision on additional fund allocation to the MGNREGA programme before undertaking the traditional mid-term review at the end of August or early September. Contrary to official expectations, the dependence of rural households on jobs under...