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 …
in a move that will benefit Punjab farmers tremendously, the Multi Commodity Exchanges of India Ltd (mcx) and the Punjab State Cooperative Supply & Marketing Federation (Markfed) have collaborated to provide them with the option to get into futures contracts for wheat. A futures contract is an exchange-traded contract that …
The rice-wheat annual double cropping system occupies an estimated 0.5 million hectares in Nepal where it provides food for about 23 million people. Current production levels of both rice and wheat are far below their reported potential with N-deficiency being the major production constraint. Pot and field experiments were conducted …
Newly developed Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) technique has been used for monitoring of wheat grain and flour samples for endosulfan residues. Data indicated that eight samples out of fifteen contained endosulfan residues. The average concentation varied from 0.65-6.1 ppm. ELISA data correlated well with GC analysis with correlation …
wheat growers may no longer worry about drought, with scientists from Egypt's Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (ageri) evolving a drought-resistant variety of the crop. The development will reduce the number of irrigation cycles required per growing season from eight to one. Moreover, the wheat can be cultivated with only …
Activists and farmers opposing patents on Indian agricultural products by the West have achieved rare victory. A patent on Indian wheat, held by multinational corporation Monsanto, has been revoked by the Munich-based European Patent Office (EPO). The EPO's decision is in response to a petition filed by three organisations
yielding to the pressure of wheat farmers of the us and Canada, agri-business giant Monsanto has deferred introducing the world's first genetically modified (gm) wheat. "The company is deferring all further efforts to introduce Roundup Ready wheat, until such time that other wheat biotechnology traits (for example, pesticide tolerance) are …
Satnam Singh detests wheat chapattis. On being force-fed, he shouts and cries loud. Satnam is not throwing tantrums ; he is also not suffering from anorexia. In fact, this four-year old from a small village in Punjab's Ambala district associates wheat chapattis with acute stomach aches, followed by vomiting and …
after the Basmati rice row, a similar controversy has cropped up involving an Indian wheat variety. On February 23, the Supreme Court (sc) directed the Union government to contest the patenting of wheat by us food and seed manufacturer Monsanto. The Munich-based European Patent Office (epo) had granted the patent …
The armyworm has devastated crops in several provinces of Pakistan. Sindh is plagued by the pest, which has damaged 25 per cent of the rice crop and a substantial part of the banana crop. Even as Sindh is expected to face a crop deficit of 100,000 tonnes, the current wheat …
Parthenium, a notorious weed, first sneaked into the country along with wheat grains imported from the us in the early 1950s. It has become a widespread menace ever since. The plant is a rapid coloniser and differs from other weeds in its remarkable adaptability to all kinds of soils and …
a farmer is often worried about the price a season's produce is likely to get. Prime Minister A B Vajpayee called this the "risk of the market' while inaugurating rice and wheat futures trading on the Ahmedabad-based National Multi-Commodity Exchange (nmce) in December 2003. Futures trading of these commodities brings …
Ladakh was opened to tourism in 1971. Since then the tourist inflow has increased several times over (see graph: Welcome to Ladakh). Though Ladakh gets more foreign tourists, domestic tourists have increased recently. The biggest tourist activity is trekking and jeep safaris; the biggest tourist attractions of Ladakh are its …
In Ladakhi, lango khel means conquering the highest point of a pass in the mountains. In Ladakhi schools, it means the matriculation (class X) examination. From 1947 to 1998, matriculation results in Leh district hovered between 0-5 per cent. The reasons are not difficult to fathom. Children grew up speaking …
Life in a cold desert is harsh and exacting. You need enormous amounts of energy for everything, but there are very few sources. Getting electricity to light up houses in Leh is no easy task. About two-thirds of the power supply in the summer comes from diesel generator sets (DG) …
It is widely accepted that panchayati raj is shaping up much better in Leh as compared to other districts of J&K.; The first real panchayat elections in the state were held only in May 2001. Even then, modalities of decentralisation of power to elected village representatives were not issued. After …
The most remarkable aspect of the developmental challenges in Leh district is the small margin for error. Resources are highly limited. Ladakh's ecology is fragile. Unbridled tourism will imperil the pastures of Changthang that support the pashmina goats and the Changpa nomads. The good news from Leh is that the …
What has been the impact of the Public Distribution System (PDS) on Ladakhi agriculture? The subsidy culture has definitely killed local agriculture in Ladakh. What international trade distortions are doing to Indian agriculturethe subsidy system is doing to Ladakhi agriculture. It is exactly the same as industrialised countries dumping their …
Padma Wangyal, 29, is quite an exception. His grandfather pioneered the cooperative societies movement in Ladakhi agriculture. In a region where the average landholding is a mere 1.38 hectares, Wangyal's family owns about 20 hectares. Wangyal attended school and college in Delhi. Like most young Ladakhis, he dreamt of joining …
