-The Times of India AMRITSAR: The first budget presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has deflated the expectations of farmers who were looking for 'achhe din' ahead. With a major chunk of farmers reeling under debt, famers and their leaders were disappointed on finding that the finance minister's speech was silent on measures to address the crucial issue of farmer suicides. "In Punjab, the state government's official figures put the farmers'...
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Making agriculture remunerative -Ashok Gulati, Nidhi Satija & Bhavik Lukka
-The Financial Express Unless we get it right on the markets front, including opening up of exports, farmers cannot get their full due One of the key objectives of agricultural price policy in India is to ensure that agriculture remains a remunerative occupation so that farmers are incentivised to adopt modern technologies that help raise productivity and overall production of various crops in the country broadly in line with the emerging demand...
More »Technology interventions that save water -Jyotika Sood
-Down to Earth It was early June. Jaspal Ram of Lehra Turkot in district Bathinda of Punjab was busy in his field putting gunny bags filled with mud on a plank of wood trailing his tractor. After sometime, he adds another row of gunny bags to add weight. On being asked what he was doing, Jaspal replies, "I'm levelling my field. A lot of water is lost if the paddy fields...
More »Time to focus on paid ecological services -Satvinder Kaur Mann
-The Tribune The community has to pay the cost of environmental degradation if sustainable agricultural practices are not followed. Food can also be produced by in-built provisions for ecological services. For this, sustainability issues have to be addressed with policy support. An ecosystem is a dynamic, complex, functional unit of diverse living organisms, physical environment and humans are its integral part. The wellbeing of mankind depends upon food, water, fibre, medicine, flood...
More »'Upper caste villagers grab dalits' farmland by proxy' -Amaninder Pal Sharma
-The Times of India PATIALA: Dalits in Punjab are being used as proxy bidders by upper caste peasants to corner thousands of acres of agricultural village land that should ideally be rented out only to scheduled caste members. This practice has been exposed by the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission in its report on the boycott of dalits in Baupur village by upper caste members. The state government gives out agricultural...
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