-The Hindu Business Line MS Swaminathan talks of the problems plaguing farmers and possible solutions Father of the Indian Green Revolution and renowned agri-scientist, Prof MS Swaminathan, in an interview with BusinessLine, states emphatically that the Centre’s promise of doubling farmer income can become a reality if careful thought is applied and a comprehensive plan is drawn up. The role of the State and the public are crucial here, he stresses. Excerpts: *...
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Agricultural credit: Tamil Nadu, Punjab in preferred states' list, even as poor farmers in Odisha, Bihar still deprived -Prasanta Sahu and Sandip Das
-The Financial Express Despite the substantial increase in agricultural credit in the past few years, a few states such as Tamil Nadu, Punjab and (pre-division) Andhra Pradesh continue to corner a large part of it, while most poor farmers in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar are still deprived of credit for purchase of basic farming inputs. This scenario has undermined the efficacy of the stepped-up farm credit in boosting agricultural productivity. And...
More »Farming goes to seed -Jayshree Sengupta
-The Tribune Demonetisation didn’t overly impact the sector, but devitalisation is a concern THERE has been a lot of speculation about the extent of damage due to demonetisation on agriculture. Small farmers suffered most because cash in hand means a lot to them. They were unable to pay for inputs like fertilisers, seeds and farm labour and experienced low demand for their perishable produce. The latest data from government’s agricultural ministry however...
More »Nice To See NREGA Trending. But Urgent Fixes Needed. -Reetika Khera
-NDTV The "highest ever allocation" to NREGA (which also led to it trending on Twitter) in the Union Budget has provided a useful opportunity to raise some pressing issues related to the implementation of the scheme. It is natural, and welcome, that the government turn to NREGA to provide much-needed relief to those whose already precarious lives have been disrupted by demonetization, a man-made economic disaster. Widespread reports of job losses...
More »Tamil Nadu to promote dryland farming under cluster mode
-The Times of India CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has launched a major initiative to promote dry land farming in cluster mode, focusing on improving production and productivity of millets, pulses and oilseeds in rain-fed agricultural fields, which remain by and large unused. The scheme, rolled out through a government order on January 27 is worth Rs 803 crore and aims at water conservation, promoting mixed farming, mini-dairy and poultry units to...
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