-The Indian Express Field reports suggest that the mustard crop — currently about 70-90 days old and at the reproductive (flowering and pod development) stage in most areas — is in good condition. Dry weather combined with unWinter-like temperatures — roughly 5 degrees Celsius above normal levels for this time — may not pose immediate worries to the rabi season crops in the fields now. But the real concern is whether...

-Business Standard Last week, a senior ministry official had said wheat production in India was likely to fall below 90 million tonnes for another year in a row in FY16 The warmish Winter in the north is not yet seen as having an adverse impact on the final wheat harvest but the next few days would be important, said Union agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain. The Centre is monitoring the situation and is hopeful...

They say that fact is stranger than fiction, and the fact is that more people in India die annually due to exposure to cold weather rather than because of earthquake, cyclone or torrential rain. Data accessed from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that every year more people die because of 'exposure to cold' than due to landslide, flood or epidemic. The report entitled Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India...

-The Indian Express Also seek higher allocation for Price Stabilisation Fund in a pre-Budget meet Farmers’ organisations, food and fertiliser companies and agriculture experts on Monday urged finance minister Arun Jaitely to ensure that farmers get  remunerative prices for their produce and make sufficient Budget outlay to create  irrigation facilities in the remaining rain-fed areas. They also sought increase in the outlay for expanding the number of agriculture market yards and higher allocation...

-Livemint.com Wheat sowing is lower by 5.6%, pulses by nearly 7% and oilseeds shows a lag of nearly 12%, compared to the normal area sown by this time of the year New Delhi: An unusually dry and warm Winter across northern India has impacted sowing of Winter crops, even as the window for planting is nearing its end. While overall sowing of Rabi (Winter) crops is lagging behind by 6% compared to...