-Livemint.com Telangana 9th state to declare drought, adding to the agrarian crisis and posing a threat to the rural economy New Delhi: Telangana has declared a drought in parts of the state, becoming the ninth state this year to do so, highlighting the agrarian crisis that could cause a likely fall in the production of rain-fed crops such as pulses, oilseeds and cotton, and result in a further slowing of the...

-The Indian Express The reality of rural distress is sinking in only now for policymakers. There can be no better illustration of the vagaries of the weather than Chennai’s streets being inundated with water and the second India-South Africa cricket test in Bangalore suffering washout due to rains, even as drought stalks much of the country. That really is the case today, with Tamil Nadu, Kerala, southern and coastal Karnataka, Rayalaseema...

-The Times of India COIMBATORE: Farmers across the district are a happy lot this time, as no crops were damaged in the northeast monsoon showers. They also expect a good harvest this season, thanks to the right amount of rainfall. The district had received almost 250mm of in a span of two weeks. Even as widespread flooding was reported in paddy fields across the Cauvery delta and southern parts of the state, farms...

-The Indian Express Extended dry spell hits rabi plantings on top of failed kharif crop Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh, an agricultural success story of the past decade, is bracing itself for a rough time this year, with deficient rains resulting in the failure of the kharif crop and also putting a question market over sowing in the ongoing rabi season. The state, in recent times, had emerged as the country’s second largest contributor of...

-The Hindu As Delhi blames the smog and haze on straw burning in the National Capital Region and the neighbouring states, the farmers are pointing the finger at the government’s inefficient agricultural model that they say has forced them to take up the polluting practice. Gora Singh Chaina, a farmer from Punjab, says the government itself promoted chemical-based farming which leaves farmers with no option but to engage in straw burning. “Why...