-The Economic Times The government must extend benefits of the PM Kisan scheme to landless farmers and farm workers, said Ajay Vir Jakhar, chairman of the Bharat Krishak Samaj. Promote agri- startups particularly in rural regions, expand micro-irrigation, treat solar energy as third crop to augment income of farmers and enact labour reforms to push creation of off-farm jobs, were few of the suggestion which representatives of the agricultural and rural development...
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How a rural distress helpline in Telangana is preventing farmer suicides -Priyanka Richi
-TheNewsMinute.com Set up in 2017, Kisan Mitra provides counselling to distressed farmers and acts as a bridge between them and the government. “It was during the 2018 floods that we got a call from a farmer in Adilabad. The caller didn’t need any help for himself but said that his neighbour has been sitting in a corner of his field since morning with a bottle of pesticide in his hand. The...
More »Towards an organic future -Devinder Sharma
-The Tribune The transition to sustainable, chemical-free farming is imperative At a time when global temperatures are soaring, a study by a French think tank — Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) — has shown that agro-ecological farming has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Europe by 47% and thereby keep the global temperature rise below 2°C. The study comes at a time when the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation...
More »FSSAI rules for organic farmers 'pushing them out of business' -Meenakshi Sushma
-Down to Earth Farmer organisations, companies say concerns not addressed The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI's) Organic Food labelling policy has created an adverse reaction at the ground level. The idea was introduced on July 1, 2018 to support farmers and help consumers identify authentic organic produce, but labelling has pushed many farmers out of business. The certification process is tedious and costly, and the FSSAI implemented in despite farmer...
More »India needs policies to regulate 'bad food' and produce food sustainably, say experts at National Conclave on Food
-Down to Earth * Day-long Conclave organised by CSE in New Delhi; about 50 experts from across India participate * Experts recogniselinkages between India’s growing burden of diseases and the food produced intensively using chemicals as well as ‘bad food’ — ultra-processed foods high in fats, sugar or salt (HFSS), marketed rampantly * Strong pesticide management billneeded. Class I pesticides, extremely hazardous and toxic, must be phased out * Regulations needed to reduce misuse...
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