-The Telegraph New Delhi: The demand for work under the rural job scheme has risen this financial year, with economists and social activists attributing it to the economic slowdown and the spectre of a Drought in south India. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme has already generated 119 crore persondays in the first five months of the financial year, data on the rural development ministry's website show. This is 55...

-Livemint.com Karnataka govt has stopped the sale of paddy seeds in some districts hoping to get farmers to switch to ragi and jowar among other coarse grains Bengaluru: Following a lukewarm response to its promotional efforts, Karnataka has resorted to more forceful measures to get farmers in the Cauvery command area to switch from cultivating water-intensive crops such as paddy and sugarcane to Drought-tolerant millets as part of a plan to stabilize...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The bouts of rainfall that battered Houston, Mumbai and Calcutta last week, albeit in vastly different amounts, may earn tags of extreme rain events that weather scientists say are becoming more common under the influence of global warming. The tropical storm Harvey set a record for continental US with 132cm rainfall about 45km southeast of Houston on August 29. Mumbai's Santa Cruz weather station documented 31cm rain over...

-VillageSquare.in Even as Madhya Pradesh reels under severe Drought, residents of a tribal village who were denied access to water have collectively restored farm ponds to harvest the meager rainfall to fulfill their water needs Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh): The landscape of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh is a clear indicator of how arid the region is. With below-average rainfall in successive years, Shivpuri has been in the list of Drought-hit districts for...

-VillageSquare.in The estimated increase in cattle population due to growth in dairy farming and ban on cow slaughter will need increased production of fodder and restoration of common pastures to prevent livestock starvation Nashik (Maharashtra): The milk that we drink everyday does not appear from thin air. A dedicated amount of feed and fodder is needed for the cattle to survive and to produce milk. Providing the right quantity of feed is...