Ashok Gulati

It is time to wake up from the onion nightmare and work towards more sustainable solutions, rather than knee-jerk measures.

Maharashtra’s farmers need a new deal. A task force must be set up under the NCP chief

Streamlining the agri-credit system to facilitate higher crop loans to farmer-producer organisations against commodity stocks can be a win-win model to spur agriculture growth.

Paddy stubble burning in states neighbouring Delhi, especially Punjab, is being seen as one of the reasons for the smog in the national capital. Change to a less water-guzzling crop will help address stubble burning.

India can learn three lessons from China — investing more in agri-R&D and innovations, improving incentives for farmers by carrying out agri-marketing reforms, and collapsing input subsidies into direct income support on per hectare basis.

Tomatoes-onions-potatoes (TOP) are the three basic vegetables that face extreme price volatility and the government often finds itself on the edge in fulfilling its dual objectives of ensuring remunerative prices for farmers and affordable prices for consumers.

The government's concern over spike in onion prices is justified. But the policy instruments it is using won't solve the problem.

Government could give fertiliser subsidy directly to farmers and let them decide if they want to practise zero budget natural farming or use chemical-fertilisers.

Arun Jaitley hoped to transform agri-markets, subsidy structures. Implementing these ideas would be a fitting tribute to him.

Transforming agriculture in the medium to long run requires fundamental reforms in land institutions as well. This is what is missing in the new committee’s terms of reference.

Helping farmers produce solar energy can help realise the government’s target of doubling farmers’ incomes.

Replacing subsidies with direct cash transfers to farmers’ accounts will empower them as well as consumers.

Farmers can be given monetary rewards for saving electricity and water. Water-guzzling crops need to shift to geographically sustainable areas.

One notable thing was the absence of emphasis on doubling farmers’ real incomes by 2022. Perhaps the reality that this is an uphill task has dawned on the government — it may not achieve even half the target.

Can India emerge as a leader in bio-farm technologies, including GMO?

Raising farm productivity is the first step to increasing rural demand and reviving the manufacturing sector

Agri-marketing reforms should be the top priority in the government’s agriculture agenda. Three years have passed and one does not see any acceleration in farmers’ incomes compared to the trend line of 3.7 per cent during 2002-03 to 2015-16.

Elections are all about grabbing power. It is only coincidence that every party promises to serve the poor!

Farm distress, particularly the stray cattle menace and the crisis in livestock sector, and mounting sugarcane arrears could dampen the BJP’s performance in UP.