There is a shortage of non-Bt seeds, and traditional seeds are contaminated Tests on cotton seeds available in the market show that they are contaminated Agriculture officials confirm the near absence of traditional variety of cotton seeds Karnataka may soon fall off the organic cotton map owing to shortage of non-Bt cotton seeds and contamination of traditional seeds. As a result, a major organic cotton belt such as H.D. Kote in Mysore district may...

3,344 acres of barren land to be converted into farmland An agriculture development scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGP) is being launched in 154 of the 187 tribal hamlets in the Attappady Hills in Palakkad. As much as 3,344 acres of barren land will be converted into farmland under 10,405 works with the implementation of the Rs.64-crore scheme, considered a first of its kind. The salient...

Latehar, Hazaribagh and Gumla in Jharkhand, Bastar in Chhattisgarh, Chandrapur in Maharashtra, the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya… the list goes on. These are all districts in India where mining companies are locked in a battle with the local population over the mining rights in these regions. Other than fighting mining companies, there are two factors common to all these regions. One, they have fertile land and dense forests. Two, indigenous tribes...

Growing organic foods is a matter of individual or enterprise preference “Though organic farming today seems a desirable proposition in increasing food production it is not entirely feasible because enough organic manures are not available in our country to meet the requirements,” says Dr. K. Kumaraswamy, former Professor of Soil Science, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. “Growing organic foods are a matter of individual or enterprise preference. If one wants to do...

KEY TRENDS   • Maternal Mortality Ratio for India was 370 in 2000, 286 in 2005, 210 in 2010, 158 in 2015 and 145 in 2017. Therefore, the MMRatio for the country decreased by almost 61 percent between 2000 and 2017 *14    • As per the NSS 71st round, among rural females aged 5-29 years, the main reasons for dropping out/ discontinuance were: engagement in domestic activities, not interested in education, financial constraints and marriage. Among rural males aged...