-The Telegraph Cyclone Hudhud, which made landfall in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam around 11.30am on Sunday and unleashed massive rain and gale that left behind a trail of destruction, might prove beneficial for Jharkhand's rabi crops. According to Met officials, the cyclone, which crossed Andhra coast with wind speed of 195-200kmph this afternoon, is likely to trigger heavy rain in some parts of Jharkhand on Monday and Tuesday. Even though farmers are bracing for...

-The Indian Express The Indian meteorological department (IMD) website states that Kautilya's Arthashastra contains records of rainfall and its impact on revenue, as well as details about relief work. Similarly, Kalidasa's Meghdoot, written around the seventh century, mentions the date of the onset of the monsoon and traces the path of monsoon clouds. Till today, forecasts are made on the same broad lines. Farmers like me still look towards indigenous knowledge for...

-The Economic Times Dinkar Patil, a farmer from Buldhana district in Vidarbha, Maharashtra, normally cultivates cotton on his 13-acre farm land. This year, however, he has skipped the cotton crop and opted for soyabean and tur dal. "The rainfall started late. I did not cultivate cotton because of the delayed rains and the huge increase in cost of cultivation of the crop," said Patil. He is expecting a fall of about...

-The Hindu With no takers for their produce, bengal gram farmers are caught between losses and auction notices issued by banks for loan recovery VIJAYAWADA (Andhra Pradesh): The cold storages in Andhra Pradesh are full to the brim with bengal gram stocks, with the farmers finding no takers for the produce. Close to 17.23 lakh quintals of bengal gram, mostly Kabul variety, is lying in cold storages as there is no remunerative...

-Down to Earth Floods destroy standing crops; in July, hailstorm had damaged farms and orchards As floods washed away belongings of flood-affected people of Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre has intervened to ensure food availability to them. Union food and public distribution minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, has directed senior officials of Food Corporation of India (FCI) to camp at Srinagar and closely monitor the availability of food grains in the affected areas...