-TheWire.in 'They made us buy seeds and fertilisers when the market prices crashed. Then, Pepsi said my produce didn’t meet their grade.' New Delhi: It rained all day as another session of the Kisan Sansad (farmers’ parliament) was in progress. Even a neem tree and a canopy couldn’t keep the Sansad venue from getting drenched. But this was no deterrent for those in attendance. The topic for the day was the Contract Farming...

-Newsclick.in The deeper rot in agriculture can be overcome through more far-reaching reforms, starting from an overhaul of pre-capitalist land relations and relations of production that continue to shackle productivity and are at the root of aggravating poverty, unemployment and inequality in rural India. It has been more than five months since farmers from different parts of the country began protesting in Delhi. They have been unflinching when it comes to their...

-TheWire.in Natural farming is a type of organic farming, based on the elimination of chemical inputs and use of locally available resources to reduce farmers' input costs and make agriculture remunerative. We need to fix agriculture in India – our current system is exploitative for both our farmers and the environment. Today, nearly all public spending in agriculture goes to support input-intensive practices that have only deepened the crisis. As we are...

-The Hindu Move after meeting with manufacturers A day after fertilizer producers announced a sharp 46% to 58.33% hike in prices citing higher raw material costs, the Central government intervened on Friday to ensure a rollback even though fertilizer prices are no longer regulated. Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya said prices would remain unchanged for now, after a ‘high-level’ meeting was held with the major fertilizer companies. Opposition parties had...

-The Indian Express A 50-kg bag of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), the most widely consumed fertiliser in India after urea, will cost farmers Rs 1,900, more than 58 per cent higher than the existing rate of Rs 1,200/bag. In the midst of Assembly elections in West Bengal and ongoing protests against the Centre’s farm laws, the country’s largest fertiliser seller – Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) – has steeply raised prices of nutrients. A...