-Scroll.in A severe shortage of government-distributed pesticides aggravated the crop loss from attacks by Brown Planthoppers. A twin calamity has struck farmers in Odisha in recent weeks. A moderate to severe drought has affected paddy crops on more than 3.1 lakh hectares of land in over 6,000 villages across 15 districts. In addition, an attack by Brown Planthoppers – insects that feed on rice plants – has destroyed paddy fields on...

-Hindustan Times Brown Planthoppers have been particularly pestilent in the kharif season this year. Distressed farmers from the nine affected districts in Odisha are setting fire to their destroyed crops. Bargarh: Landless farmer Brunda Sahoo’s hopes soared early October when he saw lush green paddy crop standing on 15 acres he cultivated as a sharecropper. He told his family they could repair their house and marry off his daughter after selling...