-The Indian Express Highly-placed sources in the state government said, “The crop diversification model is region- wise taking into account the soil health and climate conditions that will evolve in a time-bound manner.” Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has decided to push a crop diversification model to create a better mechanism for demand and supply and higher renumeration for small and marginal farmers across state. The decision has come at a time of...

-Down to Earth Genetically modified food items are flooding Indian markets with seemingly no trouble at all Just last year the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had told the Supreme Court that “GM (genetically modified) foods are not allowed in the country” and yet no action has been taken against the GM foods flooding Indian markets. The Coalition for a GM-free India has complained to the FSSAI with pictorial...

-IANS Farmer suicides have been taking place across India for years now, and studies of rural distress reveal the deeply-rooted, tenacious causes, such as lack of irrigation, fragmentation of land, unsuitability of seeds and inadequate sources of credit. Despite the democratically-elected governments that claim to represent a country where over half the population is dependent on farming, agriculture has been consistently ignored at a steep cost to farmers' lives. Remedies have been...

-The Telegraph Mumbai: The blistered foot rattled India's financial capital so badly that it had to sit up and engage with those it had been taking for granted for so long. The BJP-led government in Maharashtra has "accepted" the demands of farmers hours after 35,000 of them, many barefooted, marched on Mumbai, braving the blazing sun for nearly a week and walking 180km. The farmers then decided to end their agitation. The key...

-The New Indian Express SANGAREDDY: Cotton farmers from the district, who were hopeful of a good yield and had planned to clear the debts, are once again disappointed. Thanks to the pest attack and seasonal changes, there was less yield of cotton crop this season.Farmers who are cultivating crops on leased lands in most of the villages in Sadasivpet mandal were disappointed with the low yield. In the last five days,...