COVID-19: Bihar's standing rabi wheat, maize under lockdown

Delay in harvesting standing crops of wheat and maize on over 7 million ha in Bihar will be disastrous for farmers     

South Asia

Rabi crops wheat, gram, peas and lentils damaged due to hail, frost and cold in Madhya Pradesh

Preliminary survey shows crops of more than 3,000 farmers in 34 tehsils damaged; farmers say inspections not completed

Amid protests over agri laws let's look at how some countries support farmers

Every day, 54, mostly developed countries give nearly $2 billion in support to their farmers

It’s been a dry winter in the hills & plains of North India. Here’s why

Infrequent or weak western disturbances from mid-November through the third week of January have affected Rabi crops

Dying for ration: Centre to give free foodgrains to 813 million from New Year, but what of those excluded

Coverage of the National Food Security Act is still done on the basis of the outdated 2011 Census  

Counting north India’s stubble fires: Stronger data science needed to study winter smog

Severe smog in north India is a result of an evil alignment of many factors. Whether those factors co-conspire this year, remains to be seen

Counting north India’s stubble fires: How do NASA satellites capture them

Overall, it is safe to assume that even if satellite images do not show a fire, it does not necessarily mean that nothing is burning on the ground

Enhanced food security and soil biodiversity: A climate-positive approach

Conservation of soil biodiversity, soil organic carbon through sustainable farming practices should be deemed essential to improve agricultural …

Can biomass pellets reduce emissions in coal plants?

NTPC’s move to use biomass pellets can prove to be a shot in the arm to thermal power plants in Delhi-NCR 

In short

Global Eco Watch: 1.2 million Indians died of snake bites in last 20 years

Down To Earth brings you the top happenings in the world of global ecology

Rajasthan Locust Attack: Pests plus lockdown leave farmers in a soup

Destruction of the cotton crop, unsold rabi crops like wheat and barley and lack of help from the government making things worse for farmers

Dip in yield, low protein content: PAU field experiment finds several problems with nano urea

Production can decrease further year on year if nano urea application is continued

Sustainable agriculture: Punjab needs policies to support crop diversification

Growing maize instead of paddy can reduce water use by 60-70% 

Government push to coarse cereals as climate change affects wheat, paddy cultivation

Procurement target for coarse cereals doubled from Kharif crop market; more coarse grains likely in rations 

Punjab and Haryana are unable to get out of paddy-wheat cycle; why is that?

Experts say low returns and post harvest losses and management inefficiences among major roadblocks for crop diversification 

How Odisha is revalorising minor millets 

Despite their glorious past, millets have been sidelined in farms and on food plates over the years

Women farmers emerging as decision-makers, innovators in wheat-based systems: Study

Women adopted specific strategies to further their interests in the context of wheat-based livelihoods, challenging men as sole decision-makers, …

Save and Grow: a guide to sustainable cereal production

The technique focuses on conservation agriculture, maintaining soil health, selecting crops with higher yield potential and greater resistance to …

In Short

South Asia

COVID-19: 60% farmers suffered yield loss on their harvest, shows survey

Survey aimed to evaluate the impact of the nationwide lockdown against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on agricultural production …

Lateral Thoughts: A recipe best avoided

Dependence on food import is not the solution for preventing biodiversity loss or decreasing greenhouse gas emissions

Stray cattle menace: UP farmers refuse to diversify crops over depredation

Abandoned cows prefer new, different crops but losses equally distributed if everyone plants sugarcane, say farmers