-PRS Legislative Research The key findings of the report entitled: State of Agriculture in India by Tanvi Deshpande (March, 2017) are as follows: * The agriculture sector employs nearly half of the workforce in the country.  However, it contributes to 17.5% of the GDP (at current prices in 2015-16). * Over the past few decades, the manufacturing and services sectors have increasingly contributed to the growth of the economy, while the agriculture sector’s...

-The Hindu Business Line Kutch presents an example of robust desert horticulture Over the past decade, the total horticultural land under cultivation of fruits such as pomegranate, mango and date palm has doubled in Kutch and its fruit production has trebled. And why is this a surprise? Because this semi-arid region in Kutch has, through 10 years of toil, transformed the landscape and set an innovative example in desert horticulture. Adversity, they say, can...

-The Indian Express Maharashtra’s dairies are experiencing the lagged effect of two years of drought now Pune: Dairies in Maharashtra have been witness to an unusual phenomenon of late. The winter months are when milk production and procurement rises, peaking in January. But this time round, shortages have developed precisely in the ‘flush’ period from September to March, when more milk naturally flows from the udders of animals. “We could procure only...

-The Indian Express Census data of 2011 shows a 17.74 per cent increase in worker population since 2001, indicating a crucial shift from farms as productivity fell. Thiruvarur: B CHANDIRAN is the only male member below the age of 50 in Dalit-dominated Oradiymbalam Jeeva Nagar village in Nagapattinam district. Hunted by loan sharks, the other men in this village of over 60 families have left, and are now doing menial jobs...

-Livemint.com The broad approach will be to raise net farm incomes per unit by reducing costs of cultivation, increasing yields and ensuring higher market returns on the produce New Delhi: In a bid to draw up a plan on ways to double farmer incomes by 2022, the agriculture ministry is holding a series of consultations, seeking suggestions from stakeholders ranging from seed and fertilizer associations to research organizations and farmers. The wide ranging...