-Down to Earth   Study by National Institute of Disaster Management shows authorities neglected to break the cycle of droughts when rains were plentiful Drought in Bundelkhand region of central India has been a matter of concern for decades. A new study by National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) now gives a composite map of the drought which explains the reason for the region witnessing drought year on year. The study shows that droughts...

-The Financial Express   With newer varieties and improvement in yield, packaging and marketing, basmati-long hailed as the ‘king of rice'-is spreading its sweet aroma worldwide WALK INTO any supermarket today and the most eye-catching items will be in the section selling packaged rice. Rice, that humble, century-old staple of the Indian diet, has emerged from its traditional image-grains in an open gunny bag-to a slick new avatar. Today, rice, and basmati in...

-The New Indian Express   BERHAMPUR (Odisha): Awareness among the farmers about new high yield seeds and use of modern technologies can increase production of different crops, said Ganjam Collector Prem Chandra Choudhary while addressing District Agriculture Strategy meeting in Chhatrapur on Tuesday. He directed the officials to ensure 100 per cent irrigation facilities to the farmers during the ensuing kharif season. He asked them to speed up the paddy procurement process and timely...

-PTI Ahmedabad: Farmers in Gujarat have asked the state government to adopt a new technique that helps in increasing the yield of rice as part of its farm policy. 'System of Rice Intensification' (SRI), a method of boosting yield of the key kharif crop, has been adopted by some of the States in the country. Nearly 100 farmers from Dang, Valsad and Navsari districts want Gujarat to implement this procedure and incorporate it...

-The Hindu   Challenge is to save existing acreage by increasing productivity, reducing cost Mangalore: Area of paddy cultivated in kharif season in Dakshina Kannada decreased by more than 17 per cent and in rabi by more than 15 per cent in the past decade and a half, according to the Department of Agriculture. Officials attributed this to farmers switching over to horticulture crops and converting the area under the food crop for various...