-The Indian Express Raising agricultural exports requires the government to unburden policy of consumer bias. A balance should be struck between meeting the needs of food-insecure consumers and income-insecure farmers. The Agriculture Minister, Radha Mohan Singh, recently tweeted about the government’s resolve to increase the value of the country’s agricultural exports to $100 billion by 2022-23. The Dalwai Committee Report on doubling farmers’ incomes also talked of a similar target. It said,...

-TheWire.in Examples from Jharkhand, Karnataka and other places make a strong case for kitchen gardens in more parts of the country. Pali Biruli lives in Gondamara, a tribal village in Saraikela district of Jharkhand. When we stepped into the courtyard of her home to have a glass of water, the beauty of the surrounding greenery surprised us. Within a small place. she and her family members had managed to grow papaya, mango,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: As different states have come out with various schemes to protect farmers from price volatility, the Centre has expressed its willingness to support them all within the existing schemes and may even spend more in 2018-19 to procure agricultural and horticultural commodities at remunerative prices. "We will not reject states' requests. We would like states to procure as much as required to reduce farmers' pain and...

-Down to Earth That explains why agrarian riots have increased by over 600 per cent in the last three years Whenever agriculture makes headlines, ironically, they hide more stories of distress. For sixth consecutive year, horticulture (fruits and vegetables) production has outstripped food grain production. Apparently, it is encouraging news given that farmers earn more from vegetables and fruits than food grains. But around the same time, reports of farmers dumping...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The ponds and wells dug under the rural job guarantee scheme have boosted farmers' income by an average 15 per cent, a study has found. The finding by the Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi, appears to contradict charges that the scheme has lagged in asset creation and been largely a failure. According to the survey, farmers reported an 11 per cent rise in rice and wheat production and...