Monsoon arrives June 1: Met department

Monsoon will enter Kerala on June 1, India Meteorological Department said in a press statement on May 15. The southwest monsoon, which brings rain over most of the country, first sets foot in the southern sate, heralding its much anticipated arrival. Incidentally, June 1 is also the official normal onset date for the country, which is the average of monsoon arrival dates over several decades.

Mouthpiece of small farmers

The name speaks volumes. An initiative by Hyderabad-based non-profit Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, the blog is all about the social and financial dilemma that small and marginal farmers face.

Smart farming

IN A world obsessed with yields, questions have always been raised about the sustainability of organic farming. Now, a comprehensive analysis of the existing studies by scientists from the US and Canada has shown that the yield gap between organic and conventional farming can be narrowed with careful selection of crop type, growing conditions and management techniques.

Six sins that make drought invincible

It’s drought time again. Nothing new in this announcement. Each year, first we have crippling droughts between December and June, and then devastating floods in the next few months. It’s a cycle of despair, which is more or less predictable. But this is not an inevitable cycle of nature we must live with.

Taking on agribusiness

AS the Occupy Wall Street movement became persistent and powerful, it developed offshoots.

Monsanto does it again

April 26 is celebrated as International Seed Day when you rejoice in the vast biodiversity of the world— shrinking at a horrifying rate—and also fight for seed and food sovereignty. The last two appear to be a losing battle. In India, control of seeds has slipped out of farmers’ hands into those of the companies.

Fertiliser’s true climate impact

NITROUS oxide is a potent greenhouse gas—it is 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in causing global warming. Though it reaches the environment through different sources like sewage treatment, livestock, vehicles and industries, use of fertilisers in agriculture is its biggest contributor.

Water wise

THERE is hope for wheat farmers whose crop yields are affected by soil salinity. A team of researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Waite Research Institute in Australia have developed a salt-tolerant strain of durum wheat which yields 25 per cent more grains in saline soil conditions.

IMD predicts normal monsoon this year

Despite the current spell of fluctuating weather, the monsoons this year would not be affected. This is good news for farmers because 60 per cent of agriculture in the country is rainfed. “India will experience a normal monsoon,” Union minister of earth sciences Vilasrao Deshmuksh announced during a briefing of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on April 26.

‘Stopping GM trials is anti-farmer’

Have you completed the Stage I field trials of GM mustard in Rajasthan? Interviewee:  Deepak Pental