-Firstpost.com/ The Ladies Finger “After all, what did the widows of farmers know about agriculture, crop management, bank loans, private debts, land documents, health bills, power connections, panchayat politics, children’s education? The short answer was – everything.” When farmers commit suicide in India – an occurrence so common that ‘farmer suicides’ is a phrase that’s become commonplace in newsrooms and policy spaces – their deaths are assessed and a compensation is given...

-Livemint.com Farmer organizations in Gujarat plan a five-day protest in Gandhinagar next month over allocation of Narmada waters, crop insurance and minimum support price Ahmedabad: Farmer organizations in Gujarat plan to hold a five-day protest in Gandhinagar next month to voice concerns over the allocation of Narmada waters and demands on issues such as crop insurance and minimum support price. “Despite repeated written presentations to Gujarat government, our issues have not been addressed....

-The Hindu Rather than just increased budgetary outlays, farmers need plans that will rescue them from crop failure Similar to the last two Budgets, this year’s pro-agriculture intentions are palpable through increased outlays to the agricultural sector and initiation of various programmes. They seem impressive, but closer scrutiny shows that the measures may be of little help to stem the tide of agrarian distress. There are some real challenges confronting three...

-Livemint.com To stabilize crop prices and make them remunerative, the Swaminathan Commission proposed significant improvements in the implementation of MSPs Across the country, farmers are furious—and rightfully so. Four years ago, they helped bring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power, believing Narendra Modi’s claims that they would no longer suffer official neglect. But since then, conditions in agriculture have got worse. Earlier problems have worsened as farm incomes have been squeezed...

-Hindustan Times In an effort to relieve farmers’ economic distress, the Centre included in the Union Budget an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for monsoon crops and pledged Rs 500 crore to Operation Greens, a programme to help growers of tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. New Delhi: The benefits from the Union Budget’s concessions to agriculture will not be shared equally among Indian farmers. Dalits, in particular, may lose out on the...