-Deccan Chronicle Chennai: Farmers have been hit by an acute shortage of fertilisers at the height of the paddy growing season in the state. Due to shortage of fertilisers, they are forced to buy urea and DAP at double the cost in the open market, said MDMK general secretary Vaiko. In a statement here, Mr Vaiko said last year, through cooperative societies, urea was sold at a cost of Rs 270...

-Down to Earth Agricultural markets have turned into centres of political power, say farmers' organisations The new BJP government in Maharashtra has dismissed 166 agricultural produce market committees (APMCs), including the apex Navi Mumbai APMC, following thousands of complaints of irregularities and misconduct received against them. An order to this effect was issued on Monday, November 10, to the director of agricultural marketing in the state. Agriculture Secretary Sudhir Goyal informed that the...

-The Hindu Business Line Now that the gains from the first round have petered out, we need to embrace biotech to boost farm productivity As India seeks to ignite the next agrarian revolution, it must try and absorb some of the lessons of the Green Revolution. Currently, agricultural productivity and growth vary from State to State, resulting in regional disparities. Through targeted policymaking, investment in rural infrastructure and research, and ongoing support...

-The Hindustan Times Mumbai: In the past two decades, the National Crime Records Bureau has recorded 60,750 farmer suicides in the state. This means more than 3,000 farmers have killed themselves every year, reflecting a deepening agrarian crisis untouched by policies and subsidies doled out by the government. To get the state back on its feet, the new BJP government needs to start from agriculture and allied sectors. In the past...

Despite high prices of fruits and vegetables, India's area under horticultural crops - mainly fruits, vegetables, spices and flowers - has doubled in around twenty years (between 1991-92 and 2012-13). This has resulted in increase in production of horticultural crops nearly threefold (2.8 times). A new report from the Ministry of Agriculture says that the area under horticultural crops during this period rose from 12.77 million hectares to 23.69 million...