-The Indian Express Union government must address structural issues in agricultural policy, allow states greater autonomy. Farmers from across the country are out on Delhi’s streets agitating just as the deliberations for the 2018 budget are beginning and it’s time to seek solutions to the structural issues that plague the system. The “one-size-fits-all” policy created for the farm sector is self-destructive in design and programmes meant to double farmer incomes are collapsing. The...

-Livemint.com Madhya Pradesh government had launched the compensation scheme to ensure that farmers receive minimum support price for pulses and oilseeds New Delhi: An ambitious scheme launched by the Madhya Pradesh government to ensure that farmers receive minimum support prices (MSP) for pulses and oilseeds is falling prey to trader cartels, suggest price data from wholesale markets and testimonies by farmer organizations. Following a sharp fall in crop prices over the past year...

-Down to Earth In a major digression from the current discourse on GM crops, the report claimed that the farmers in India have “enthusiastically embraced” GM seeds For the first time since the five-year plans were scrapped, the NITI Aayog presented the three-year action plan last week. The report, which draws on recommendations made by the Task Force on Agricultural Development and a group of secretaries appointed by PM Modi at...

-Hindustan Times India’s performance in the recently released Global Hunger Index (GHI) report is tragic. The country which is one of the largest producers of cereals, vegetables and fruits in the world, ranks 97 among 118 countries and is home to over 184 million undernourished people. India also pays a very heavy price for vitamin and mineral deficiencies, often called “hidden hunger”, as it loses $12 billion in gross domestic product...

-Business Standard The organisations demanded higher budgetary allocation for irrigation Some farmers’ organisations have demanded the Centre announce an income guarantee law for them to ensure a minimum income when crops fail and also when prices crash due to a bumper harvest. To be called the Remunerative and Universal Price Yield Assurance (RUPYA) Act, the legislation would guarantee a Price Deficiency payment in the event of a price crash, a market intervention scheme...