CEOs need to accelerate their action plans to safeguard the production of commodities critical to the global population and economy as heat stress and drought risk rise around the world, according to PwC's report, Climate Risks to Nine Key Commodities: Protecting People and Prosperity, published. The report, which analysed nine …
Asia is facing the brunt of climate change and will see severe stress on water resources and food-grain production in the future, increasing the risk of armed conflict among India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China, the latest report of a UN panel has warned. UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in …
Environmental group Greenpeace today moved the Election Commission, seeking annulment of the GEAC decision to revalidate the field trials for ten varieties of genetically modified (GM) food crops. In its letter to Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath, Greenpeace India Executive Director Samit Aich also asked the Election Commission to …
Encouraged by the government’s recent decision to re-allow field trials of 200 transgenic varieties of genetically modified (GM) seeds, biotechnology companies have readied big investment plans on research and development (R&D;) in this regard. The environment ministry’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) last week approved 11 varieties of GM seeds …
Pesticides pose serious threats to both human health and the environment. In Europe, farmers are encouraged to reduce their use, and in France a recent environmental policy fixed a target of halving the pesticide use by 2018. Organic and integrated cropping systems have been proposed as possible solutions for reducing …
Crisis caused by hailstorms, rain turns a poll issue As many as 38 farmers have committed suicide in the State over the last month, after hailstorms and unseasonal rain, official figures show. North Maharashtra alone has reported 16 cases. “We have called for details to scrutinise whether the suicides have …
I have not approved such trials: Union Minister Confronted by farmers on the issue of permission given for field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops, Union Minister for Environment and Forests M. Veerappa Moily on Tuesday said that “he only examined the file concerned and returned it without approving any …
Farmers stare at losses, demand girdawari Unseasonal rain accompanied by high-velocity winds last night has led to widespread damage of standing wheat crop in the district. Weather experts at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) say the rain took place due to western disturbances. “The crop has been flattened at several places …
Corn, wheat and rice yields will start to suffer from climate change in 2030, according to a study led by the UK's University of Leeds based on climate models and research on crop productivity. “Crop yields will be negatively affected by climate change much earlier than expected,” Andy Challinor, a …
Feeding a growing global population in a changing climate presents a significant challenge to society. The projected yields of crops under a range of agricultural and climatic scenarios are needed to assess food security prospects. Previous meta-analyses have summarized climate change impacts and adaptive potential as a function of temperature, …
More rain and snow are forecast in the days ahead as another system of rain-bearing clouds is expected in a couple of days, raising serious concerns about the impact on crops, which need the usually dry weather at this time of the year. “Rains are not required at this time. …
Standing wheat, green fodder and vegetable crops were damaged when hailstorm hit several villages in the district late last evening. Reports said 30 to 70 per cent of the crops were damaged. Farmers from Kilorad, Badwasni and other villages today reached at the Deputy Commissioner's office here with a tractor-trailer …
Crops on 26L hectare hit; Rs 2600 cr sanctioned for relief Bhopal: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, interacting with journalists after a high- level meeting on relief for hailstorm- hit farmers, said that the succession of hailstorms in the state had caused damage to the tune of Rs 13,000 crore. …
There is a greater possibility of an El Nino weather pattern emerging this summer, Japan's weather bureau said on Monday, after previously forecasting a 50% chance of the phenomenon that is often linked to heavy rainfall and droughts. El Nino — a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific — …
Says genetically modified crops have an adverse impact on human health The coalition for a gene modification (GM) Free India in the state has begun holding a series of public meetings to oppose GM field trials. The Environment Ministry had allowed gene modification (GM) trials of more than 200 varieties …
Thirty-five agricultural scientists, most of them associated with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), on Tuesday mooted the continuation of field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops under their guidance, without a no-objection certificate (NoC) from the respective state governments. “Agriculture is a state subject, and state agricultural universities …
Experts from the National Agri Food Institute and the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, led by officials of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), have developed a new high-yielding and disease-resistant variety of wheat. The new variety has been notified for cultivation in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and other areas which include …
Reversing his predecessor Jayanti Natarajan’s stance, M Veerappa Moily, Minister for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Environment, has approved the biotech regulator – Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)’s year-old decision to permit field trials of genetically modified crops such as rice, wheat and maize among others. Expert panel “We have no …
Seed companies and agriculture research institutes in India can go ahead with scientific filed trials of different transgenic varieties of GM crops which had got clearance from the government's regulatory body - Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) — in March last year. A day after agriculture minister Sharad Pawar specified …
Yellow rust and aphid have attacked wheat crop in the district. After the first case of yellow rust was detected in Ratangarh village last month, the disease has now affected over 300 acres of the crop. Besides yellow rust, aphid insect has also attacked the crop. “Almost every wheat field …
Question Narendra Modi’s emphasis on technological innovations for improving farm sector The Akali Dal-BJP leaders declared during the Fateh Rally at Jagraon on Sunday that agricultural sector would remain on top in their priorities’ list. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said technological innovations were essential for …
