Parashram Patil

India’s dependence on West Asian fertiliser routes has turned the Iran war into a domestic agricultural risk. When geopolitics intrudes upon agriculture, the consequences are measured in delayed sowing, rising costs and anxious farmers scanning uncertain skies. With no sign of the ongoing Iran war receding anytime soon, the prospect of a prolonged disruption in fertiliser supply, particularly through the narrow maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz, poses a tangible threat to India’s...

In India’s farm policy, arithmetic often collides with reality. Nowhere is this more evident than in Maharashtra, where the official logic of Minimum Support Prices (MSP) struggles to keep pace with the lived economics of cultivation. As the 2025–26 agricultural season unfolds, fresh evidence from the state’s Agricultural Price Commission suggests that the gap between what farmers spend and what they earn is widening. At first glance, Maharashtra appears an agricultural powerhouse. Its farms...

To turn Konkan’s bounty into export muscle, Maharashtra must marry farm output with modern logistics. The Konkan coast has long been blessed by geography. Its laterite soil and monsoon rhythm yield a rich agricultural basket: rice and ragi, coconut and areca nut, spices and pulses. Above all, it is home to the celebrated Alphonso mango and a robust cashew and fisheries sector. Districts such as Ratnagiri district command brand recognition that many global producers would envy. Yet for decades...