-The New Indian Express First, existing studies have analysed the intensity of farmer suicides in isolation, i.e. without comparing farmer suicides with those by other professionals. Farmer suicides have always been a highly debated issue in the public discourse on agriculture sector performance in India. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, 3,58,164 people engaged in the farming profession have committed suicide in India from 1995 to 2019. Though these numbers...

-The Tribune Farmers are use homemade alternatives for cultivation;  state government records say 146,438 farmers, including 14,000 apple growers, in the hill state are doing natural farming either partially or fully, over 8,268 hectares Shimla: Amid the widespread shortage of fertilisers in the ongoing planting season in several states largely owing to spiking international prices, farmers in Himachal Pradesh are using homemade alternatives for cultivation that are not only safer for the...

-Outlook India Women farmers in Himachal Pradesh are pioneering new all-natural farming techniques under the state government's 'Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)' drive. 50-year-old Satya Devi practised her traditional farm operations using chemicals, sprays, fertilizers and pesticides. But despite using the best marketing practices. She wasn’t able to make much money or save due to high farm input costs. In 2018, Satya Devi switched over to Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)—a drive launched...

-The Economic Times After Gujarat returned the ruling BJP with a slim margin, the chorus of the establishment was "jo jeeta wohi sikandar" (He who wins is the king). It seemed apt, considering that the party retained Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, bunking anti-incumbency of 22 years. But opposition wags responded with "jo sikha wohi sikandar", he who learns will be king, in 2019, in the next general elections. Rural Gujarat,...

-The Hindu Business Line At an organic market in Odisha, middle-class consumers get to interact with the producers of their food and appreciate traditional knowledge systems One Sunday morning in January, I visited an organic produce market located amidst dense bougainvillea creepers and rows of trees, on the grounds of the six-decade-old Christian Hospital in Bissamcuttack, a town in western Odisha’s Rayagada district. In policy and public imagination, Odisha, particularly its western districts...