Punjab, which was known to be the land of agricultural prosperity during the 1970s and 1980s thanks to the Green Revolution, has increasingly witnessed its small and marginal farmers being pushed out of the agricultural sector. Based on a survey (conducted in 2012-13) of 288 farmers from 12 villages—2 villages from each of the 6 districts that represent various agro-climatic zones—the study by Sukhpal Singh and Shruti Bhogal reveals that...

-The Hindu   Candles in the Wind, a documentary film by Kavita Bahl and Nandan Saxena depicts the plight of Punjab's farmer widows Bangalore: Punjab is said to have benefitted the most from the Green Revolution. Documentary filmmakers Kavita Bahl and Nandan Saxena break this myth of prosperity in their award-winning film, Candles in the Wind. The film, which received a special mention at the 61st National Film Awards, shows how the State has...

-The Hindu   Native seed festival seesparticipation of 1,000 farmers Chennai: A State-level native seed festival with the participation of 1,000 farmers was held at Thandalam village near Arakkonam on Saturday. It was organised by the Thandalam Yogashema Trust along with Organic Delta Farmers Association, TEDE Trust and CREATE. Welcoming the participants from different districts, entrepreneurs and self-help groups, Ms. Radha Parthasarathy, managing trustee of the Trust, said that for the past 10 years they...

-The Hindu     PILARICHETTIPALEM (KRISHNA): A group of women farmers recycle their used clothing to raise a fence surrounding their small farm holdings. A senior NABARD official suggested use of an iron sheet fan to drive away the birds attracted to the flower and other varieties of vegetables. It was necessity that drove women in Pilarichettipalem village near Machilipatnam in Krishna district towards innovation. In a novel way, they transform the sarees they...

-The Business Standard   Agriculture ministry wants review of clamps on holdings; rural development ministry seeks centralisation of records With Narendra Modi set to take over as prime minister in the next few days, the department of agriculture is proposing a comprehensive review of land ceiling laws as a first major reform in the sector.   Land also figures in the to-do list of the rural development ministry. It has proposed centralisation of land records...