-DNA It's been a black Diwali for Vidarbha where six farmers - four from Yavtamal and one each from Akola and Amravati - have committed suicide in the last 24 hours, casting a dark cloud over what should have been a time for rejoicing after the kharif crop. The farmers who ended their lives are Rajendra Chahand of Kelzara village, Dutta Chede of Umari (Pathar), Nagraj Mahadolhe of Parva, Arun Kurnule of...

-The Hindu Business Line They drop out on account of cultural taboos and lack of follow up efforts by implementing agencies Despite opportunities and systematic community-driven handholding support from the Government and non-government bodies, women might still choose not to participate in the economic development process. Under the purview of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, the world's largest poverty alleviation initiative, the Government and NGOs are targeting women from the poorest households...

-The Hindu Agroforestry promotes productive cropping environments, prevents deforestation, protects watersheds and enables agricultural land to withstand extreme weather events Growing trees on farms is a triple-win strategy for combating simultaneously the challenges of increasing food production, mitigating greenhouse gases and adapting to climate change. It is an instrument of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), catapulted to centre-stage by President Obama's launch of the Global Alliance for CSA at the World Climate Summit on...

-The Third Pole Cities and villages in India will soon run out of potable water if current trends continue, warns senior water official India's groundwater tables are plunging at an alarming rate with reserves in some states dwindling to critical levels, according to the latest report from the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) - the apex body under the Ministry of Water Resources. Over 16% of the country's groundwater resources are ‘over-exploited' -...

-Outlook Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government's greenhouse farming initiative has proved to be ineffective as many farmers have incurred losses due to Crop Failure after adopting the method, according to Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS). According to BKS officials, Gujarat unit, almost 90 per cent crops cultivated under the greenhouses have failed in the northern parts of Gujarat. "To address the issue, we had held a meeting with more than 200 farmers, mostly from north...