-Deccan Herald In the past seven years around 3.2 crore farmers have abandoned farming and taken up menial jobs in the cities. At a time when change is the buzzword on the political landscape, when cities are changing, and the villages are no longer what they used to be; when incomes are rising for an educated few, and when the bottom of the pyramid - those below the poverty line -- are...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the country's Food grain production is likely to reach an all-time high level this year as bumper crops are expected in wheat, rice and pulses on the back of good monsoon rain last year. He said wheat production is likely to cross 100 million tonnes for the first time in 2013-14, surpassing the previous record of 94.88 million tonnes...

-The Week Telangana leader claims he is making astronomical profits from capsicum farming Telangana: Not many politicians who own land are farmers. But Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K. Chandrasekhara Rao is different. While he ensures Telangana remains a burning issue, Rao is also busy growing capsicum, potato, bitter gourd, and bottle gourd. The capsicum crop itself, he claims, will fetch him Rs.10 crore. His claim of huge returns and promise of land...

-The Hindustan Times Moga (Punjab): A Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) study has found that farmers in the state are wasting more than Rs. 175 crore on application of unnecessary fertiliser on crops a year. A large quantity of nitrogen also seeped underground resulting into the contamination of ground water. The study has found that incorrect and inappropriate application of fertilisers by farmers to gain bumper yield leads to the deterioration of soil,...

-Press Information Bureau The official Wholesale Price Index for ‘All Commodities' (Base: 2004-05 = 100) for the month of December, 2013 declined by 1.3 percent to 179.2 (provisional) from 181.5 (provisional) for the previous month. INFLATION The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 6.16% (provisional) for the month of December, 2013 (over December, 2012) as compared to 7.52% (provisional) for the previous month and 7.31% during the corresponding month...