-The Hindu Madurai (Tamil Nadu): Following a wane in farming activities - the only means of livelihood for a large number of villagers - owing to failure of rain and other intangible reasons, women in rural areas have sought refuge in self-help groups (SHGs) for income generation. There is a proliferation of women SHGs in villages across Madurai district. They get help from non-governmental organisations (NGO) and National Bank of Agriculture and...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: The Congress government in Haryana will soon have to return crores of rupees to the Centre after the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture has found truth in IAS officer Ashok Khemka's allegations that farmer subsidies had been misappropriated. The committee, headed by CPM MP Basudeb Acharia, has 31 MPs, including Jyoti Mirdha, sister-in-law of Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda. Deepender is son of Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Hooda...

-MoneyLife.in India, the world's second largest food producer, is witnessing growing distress and declining confidence in agriculture as most small and landless farmers, with less of a stake, are found to quit farming The recent unseasonal heavy rains, thunder and hailstorms originating from unusually intense western disturbances from the Mediterranean interacting with the south-easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal have ravaged the due-for-harvesting chana, lentils and wheat in Madhya Pradesh,...

-The Hindu Business Line Norman Borlaug is regarded as the ‘father' of the Green Revolution. It's his birth centenary today We cannot talk about India's Green Revolution without mentioning Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug, the globally renowned wheat scientist. He was a great friend of India and the Indian farmer in particular. Indeed, when he died in September 2009 aged 95, there was great sorrow in the Green Revolution belt in Punjab and Haryana. As...

-AFP Paris: Surging populations and economies in the developing world will cause a double crunch in demand for water and energy in the coming decades, the UN said Friday. In a report published on the eve of World Water Day, it said the cravings for clean water and electricity were intertwined and could badly strain Earth's limited resources. "Demand for freshwater and energy will continue to increase over the coming decades to meet...