-The Hindu Business Line Land should not be viewed as the only factor of productivity. And, managing food prices calls for better market intelligence The Centre’s emphasis on manufacturing, manifested in initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’ have a downside: relative indifference to agriculture. Some of this is already visible in terms of rural distress and food price inflation. This can prove costly to the economy, reminiscent of the...

-The Hindu Belagavi (Karnataka): At a time when a substantial number of small and marginal farmers are turning bankrupt owing to crop loss, non-remunerative prices for their produce, and inability to cope with the increasing cost of living, among reasons, a young progressive farmer has shown the way towards economic empowerment. Rajiv Malleshappa Rachannavar (34) of Inchal village in Saudatti taluk gave up education after SSLC. He joined his father in running...

-PTI Chandigarh: Haryana government today directed authorities to prepare a database of people engaged in farming activities in the state to help it in dispensing compensation and assistance to cultivators. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who presided over a review meeting of agriculture department here, said the benefit of any type of financial assistance should reach the cultivators rather than the land owners. Khattar also said that insurance cover for polyhouses...

-The Hindu Business Line   Polyhouse farms yield more than a same-size land holding in this salubrious corner of the country Until a few years ago, monkeys and pigs destroyed everything the farmers grew in the villages around Jubbar Hatti, 25 km from Shimla. Today the same farmers earn big money from growing exotic vegetables like bell capsicum or carnation flowers, but inside a cluster of polyhouses spread across five panchayats in a...

He dreamt of becoming a successful lawyer. Hailing from Jalgoan, it isn't surprising that his career was destined to be elsewhere. Today, 40-year old Hemchandra Dagaji Patil has no regrets. "The black coat beckoned me. I used to imagine myself in court rooms but finally my father persuaded me to stay back in the village as there was a drop in crop yield and there was no one to look after the...