-PTI NEW DELHI: The Centre has issued directives to cotton-producing states like Punjab and Haryana to ensure timely sowing of the crop and use of only recommended seeds for preventing whitefly attack, which caused significant damage to the crop last year. States have been directed to keep a close watch on the movement of whitefly and ensure timely sprinkling of pesticides to check its menace. "Union agriculture and Farmers welfare ministry has issued...

-The Hindu If we run out of groundwater, millions of people will be left without any means to sustain themselves The protest by Farmers in Chikballapur recently, over the scarcity of drinking water, received extensive news coverage as it halted Bengaluru in its tracks after key highways were blocked. Interestingly, very little of that coverage was devoted to the groundwater crisis that underpins the problem in such regions. Groundwater plays an important role...

-IANS NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled a seven-point strategy to double the income of Farmers in six years with measures to step up irrigation, provide better quality seeds and prevent post-harvest losses. "In the past, the emphasis has been on agricultural output, rather than on Farmers' incomes. I've set the objective of doubling the Farmers' income by 2022," the prime minister told the Bloomberg India Economic Forum here. "I...

-NDTV BEED: Gopinath Sonawane, a 52-year-old Farmer from Ashti in Maharashtra’s Beed district, has been tilling his land under the scorching sun every week for four years but has little to show for his hard work. “Water supply has been extremely irregular here. Whether or not there is water, we have no choice but to work on our lands and hope for the best because what are the other alternatives?’ asks Gopinath. In...

-The Economic Times The contiguous arid region of southern Maharashtra, Karnataka, western Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is facing a second season of severe drought, even as the rest of the country has managed to sow some crop in the October to December rabi season. Of the four states, Karnataka, with the second largest arid zone after Rajasthan, is the worst hit and has gone to the Centre seeking a bailout of...