India’s natural farming push: Obvious measures ignored, points out Standing Committee

The country’s organic / natural farming coverage remains poor despite abundant indegenous resources

Disha Ravi arrest: Role of Google, tech companies under cloud

There are also concerns over government’s use of ‘back-door means’ to quell dissent 

Same old story: Ninth round of talks between farmers, Centre inconclusive

Both sides agree to meet January 19, a day after apex court hears application on farmers’ January 26 tractor rally

Improving water security in Maharashtra’s cotton-growing villages

Cotton is an important fibre crop in Maharashtra, with more than four million farmers engaged in cotton farming

Odisha’s BJD sounds poll bugle with rally on farm issues in Delhi

The rally will revolve around the agrarian distress, which emerged as the weakest point for the BJP in recent Assembly elections

Is the government marketing millets right?

India requires policy changes to make millets an effective tool against malnutrition 

Sugarcane farmers’ suicides: national rights body urged to intervene

Unscientific pricing of sugarcane, harassment by money lenders and delay in receiving payments are plaguing cultivators

Budget 2023-24: Whither rural development? Allocation for livelihood and other schemes sees 14% cuts

Funds for central sector schemes and projects have been reduced to 113 crore from Rs 126 crore

Water, Marathwada women’s woe: No brides for farmers as families look for city matches

Access to water, better infra drive marriage prospects as women yearn for more 'comfortable' lives

No basic facilities, no vote, say residents of 160 villages

Lack of facilities like electricity, water and roads makes villagers in 14 states boycott the Lok Sabha elections

Rewind 2018: How farming hogged headlines, yet not spotlight

The country saw a host of agricultural protests, policies, disputes and distress in 2018; here’s all of it

Can goats secure livelihood for small and marginal farmers?

The Centre's discussions on boosting the goat sector to double farmers’ incomes may be futile if fodder and grazing lands, both …

Rural households have higher debt than urban counterparts: NSSO report

The debt in rural households is higher, even though their total assets are less than urban households  

Smita Narula on Farmer Suicides

Did you know that every 30 minutes a farmer commits suicide in India? Listen to Smita Narula, faculty director at the Center for Human Rights and …

Every day, 28 people dependent on farming die by suicide in India

People in the farm sector accounted for 7.4 per cent of the total suicides in India, according to the latest NCRB report 

Scientist meets bumpkin

Aparna Pallavi on what happens when farmers' innovations are brought to the notice of agriculture scientists 

Amrit kaal for adivasis? Union Budget 2023-24 weakens safety nets for tribals

Schemes for food security, child welfare, employment guarantee for tribals saw shrinking of funds

Sealed Nepal border, reverse migration puts villagers in Bihar's border town in a spot

The farmers in flood-prone villages lost access to a more lucrative market in Nepal, resort to distress sales to cut losses 

Maharashtra rejects more agri insurance claims even as farm suicides double

No data on suicides across India since 2015; number of claim rejections far exceeded number of cases approved in 2016-18

Jharkhand’s success story of fruit plantation under MGNREGA

The state’s experience in horticulture orchards can serve as a model for the country

Bhavantar Yojna: MP farmers refuse to sign up for 2nd round

Most of the over 200 farmers Down To Earth talked to in 6 villages of Hoshangabad and Sehore districts said they would not register for the …

Tikait on Green revolution

When asked to comment on the green revolution, Mahendra singh Tikait, Bharat Kisan Union (BKU) leader relates it to issues of organic …

Tikait on farmer loans

Here's a sneak preview of BKU (Bharat Kisan Union) Leader Mahendra Singh Tikait's tête-á-tête with DTE on farmers' income, …

The amendment to the Indian Forest Act, 1927 will create new markets & jobs for poor communities

After amending Section 2(7) of Indian Forest Act, 1927, bamboo is no longer a tree. This enables the livelihoods of forest communities as well as …

What monsoon holds for India in 2015

From forecasts over El Niño to fears of economic loss, many predictions in the last week have raised eyebrows