-SundayGuardianLive.com In December 2017, this newspaper exposed in an article entitled “Law aiding Monsanto is reason for Delhi’s smoke season” how a law to help Monsanto was the reason for the Delhi metropolitan region being blanketed in smoke every November. That law, the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act of 2009, imposed a delay on farmers who wanted to plant rice. The delay in planting in turn created a delay in...

-The Times of India JALANDHAR: Punjab Farmers have started sowing wheat as paddy harvesting enters the last stage with just one-fifth of the crop left to be cut in fields. Paddy stubble management, however, continues to be vexatious issue, both for the farmers and the state administration. The lack of gap between harvesting paddy and sowing wheat and increased time and high cost of operating subsidised straw management machines have left farmers...

-Scroll.in Providing them machinery to remove loose straw and expanding the industries that use crop residue could help tackle the problem, says a new study. It is that time of the year. Delhi’s air is becoming poisonous and, once again, Punjab’s farmers burning paddy straw are being blamed for it. But few bother to ask why these farmers dispose of their crop residue in such a polluting way even though the risk...

-The TribunePunjab has been using fertilisers in excess to the recommended dosage, which has increased the chemical load in the soil, says KS PannuThe soil health card scheme, started by the Centre in February, 2015, aims to conduct chemical analysis of farm land and issue soil health cards in every 3 years to all farmers of the country. This provides vital data with regard to nutrient deficiencies in the soil...

-The TribuneDebt trap worsens; Govt must step in, says BKU leaderMansa/ Sangrur: With paddy production recording a decline of 10 to 15 per cent owing to untimely rains, small and marginal farmers are staring at misery, clueless as to how they will repay debts.Farmers owning less than 5 acres of land and those cultivating land on lease are torn between meeting the needs of their families and repaying outstanding debts,...