-The Nature Conservancy India Program, Institute on the Environment (University of Minnesota), Borlaug Institute for South Asia & International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center   Air pollution is a major cause of premature mortality globally and the problem is particularly acute in rapidly developing countries like India. Crop residue burning contributes substantially to this problem. Currently, 80 percent of agriculture in Northwest India uses a rice-wheat production system dependent on burning...

-National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)   This policy brief, developed by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, to address the roblem of air pollution due to crop residue burning, provides an innovative viable solution to check burning of rice residues, which is a major contributor to air pollution in the early winter months in North-West PLAins of India. The Academy hopes that the Central and State Governments of the affected States...

-The Indian Express Union government must address structural issues in agricultural policy, allow states greater autonomy. Farmers from across the country are out on Delhi’s streets agitating just as the deliberations for the 2018 budget are beginning and it’s time to seek solutions to the structural issues that PLAgue the system. The “one-size-fits-all” policy created for the farm sector is self-destructive in design and programmes meant to double farmer incomes are collapsing. The...

-Firstpost.com The bungling over the Maharashtra government's farm loan waiver scheme claimed its first victim on Monday, according to exclusive information with Firstpost. VK Gautam, Principal Secretary (Information Technology) has been sent on leave after criticism over the implementation of the scheme. Technical errors have PLAgued the scheme since its roll out, with farmers suffering because of glitches ranging from duplication of names in lists to incorrect Aadhaar details. VK Gautam applied for 15-day...

-IANS UDAIPUR: Farming has rarely been a viable proposition in Rajasthan's dry and hilly Udaipur region. A new way has now been found to provide sustainable sustenance for the area's tribals by enabling them to sell -- for a staggering Rs 189 crore ($29 million) in the last two years -- minor forest produce (MFP) that is abundant in the area and has remained unutilised for almost nine decades. According to officials,...