-The Economic Times PUNE: The Maharashtra Cabinet has given in-principle approval to farmers to sell fruits and vegetables directly to wholesalers, bypassing the APMC mandis. However, it has held back the decision by a few days, handing it over to a cabinet sub-committee. "A cabinet sub-committee will take a decision on the matter in four days. We want to examine different angles such as the risk involved in farmers getting payment when...

-The Indian Express After Delhi, it is Maharashtra’s turn to attempt liberating fruits & vegetables from APMC shackles. Pune/ Vashi: Spread over 70 hectares land off the Old Mumbai-Pune highway, it’s a place where more than Rs 10,000 crore worth of fruits, vegetables and other farm produce gets traded annually. But right now, it’s also the scene of a prabodhan, a mass awakening campaign by traders and commission agents that could gather...

-Hindustan Times Khargone (MP): At a time when the agriculture sector is in distress and farmer suicides have become common, a group of farmers from Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone are making use of social media network to practice modern farming, ensure best prices for their produce, and also prevent crop failure. The group – comprising more than 50 farmers – uses WhatsApp and Facebook to not only stay connected, but also to keep...

-Hindustan Times Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government will prepare a legal framework for leasing land for agriculture that would not put the land owner at a disadvantage but will provide rights to the lease holder, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday. Chouhan was addressing the media at the conclusion of an exercise launched by the state government to assess the ground situation against the backdrop of the farming crisis. He said that...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: It is well-known that vegetables sold in major cities contain pesticides, but it has now emerged that these harmful chemicals are present in alarmingly high doses in greens across the country. A report by the agriculture ministry showed that there has been an almost two-fold increase in the number of samples having pesticides above the permitted maximum residue level (MRL) in vegetables, fruits, meat and spices...