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 …
Presenting his last budget before the assembly elections later this year, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Wednesday doled out sops for farmers, elderly, journalists, employees. He extended the free medicines scheme, promised free health check-up at state hospitals, free laptops for journalists, and Rs 5 incentive for inter-caste marriages. Gehlot …
The government plans to revive cultivation of crops that make Punjab’s iconic “makki ki roti and sarson ka saag” -- maize and mustard --along with horticulture and fodder to breathe life into the stressed soil and the rapidly depleting water table in the green revolution state. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh …
PUNE: The state government has drafted a plan to produce 80,000 quintal seeds for coming monsoon. The state cabinet has cleared the plan and the instructions have been issued to regional offices. The seeds of jowar, bajra, rice, wheat other cereals and oily seeds are part of the project. The …
People’s Science Institute carried out the first trials of the System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) during rabi 2006-07. Starting with systematic research trials on farmers’ fields, SWI practice has now spread to many Indian states, through the efforts of PSI and other voluntary organizations.
Interest subvention scheme to include private sector commercial banks Acknowledging that the large farming community had delivered despite difficult conditions, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said it was due to them that agriculture had continued to perform well. "The average annual growth rate of agriculture and allied sectors during the 11th …
The message to the original Green Revolution states - Punjab and Haryana - in the Budget is loud and clear that they will have to seriously start exploring options beyond paddy and wheat, primarily paddy which has been branded by agro-scientists as the culprit of all their woes - water …
The Union Budget sought to consolidate the "remarkable progress" achieved in government's efforts to extend green revolution to eastern India by deciding to continue with the Rs 1,000-crore support. Finance Minister P Chidambaram made a fresh allocation of Rs 500 crore for crop diversification in Northwest India to offset the …
The Economic Survey has come down heavily on the government for holding on to grain stocks, which, it says, has resulted in ‘artificial shortages’, in turn, causing a spiral in prices. The survey called for investment in stock management and improving the marketing system of agricultural produce for increasing farmers’ …
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s ambitious social security programme — the proposed National Food Security scheme — could be implemented in Congress-ruled states ahead of others. The Budget, to be tabled tomorrow in Parliament, is likely to give substantial allocation to the programme. The Centre plans to launch the …
The Punjab Government’s proposal to the Centre seeking Rs 5,300 crore for diversification in the agriculture sector has failed to generate any response. Last year, the Centre had conveyed to the state government to stop growing paddy as most of the rice consuming states have become self-sufficient. Following the Centre’s …
Decentralized Sourcing, Distribution Can Cut Costs: Thinktank How much would it cost the central government to provide grain to the whole country at affordable prices? A calculation by the Delhi-based advocacy group Centre for Budget & Governance Accountability (CBGA) puts the figure at Rs 2,38,471 crore for one year. In …
Making a case for genetically-modified (GM) technology to boost farm output, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said scientists should not be denied the right to conduct field trials of such crops. “We cannot afford to curtail the vigour of our scientific community and deny them the right to conduct trials, as …
Caution Centre against trying to rush the new measure through Parliament Even as the Centre hopes to introduce and pass the National Food Security Bill in the coming Budget session of Parliament, several States have expressed reservations on the Bill. At a consultation meeting of State Food Ministers here to …
State governments are raising objections about the coverage under the proposed Food Security Bill, saying that covering 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of urban as advocated by both the draft Bill and the Standing Committee of Parliament is unacceptable. “The Centre is saying that …
This report is based on the findings of a short module of the survey intended to ascertain some details of the perception of the Indian population regarding the adequacy of its food intake. For one-half of the sample households - those surveyed through Schedule Type 2 - it was ascertained …
India’s overall foodgrain production in the 2012-13 crop marketing year that would end in June 2013 was expected to be around 250 million tonnes, nine million tonnes less than last year’s revised record output of almost 259 million tonnes because of low production during the kharif sowing season, Agriculture Secretary …
Rural families in low income states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal depend far less on ration shops for wheat and rice than the national average. In Bihar, less than 12 per cent of the rural population uses ration shops to buy rice, and in West Bengal, less …
Blame it on climate change as Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a shift from the traditional variety of foodgrains to hybrid ones as there is a sharp decline in production of conventional varieties of wheat and rice. Officials in Agriculture Department vouch that lesser winter rains and reduced fog have affected …
Thiruvananthapuram: To strengthen the public distribution system, the state government has decided to entirely computerize the food distribution. The initiative is abiding by the Supreme Court directive and will be implemented with the help of the central government, said food and civil supplies minister Anoop Jacob. A two-day seminar has …
Crop-killing drought deepened in Kansas over the last week, further jeopardizing this season's production of winter wheat, a key U.S. crop. Kansas is generally the top U.S. wheat-growing state, but the new crop planted last fall has been struggling with a lack of soil moisture. Without rain and/or heavy snow …
