The revised draft Seeds Bill 2019, which the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare placed in the public domain recently for suggestions and comments, seems to be a watered down version of a draft prepared about nine years ago by the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Among other things, …
‘State does not distribute seeds, it only certifies for distribution' Despite opposition from various quarters, including the agricultural experts and the farmers' organisations, the Gujarat government has refused to impose a total ban on distribution of the Monsanto hybrid maize seed named “Prabal” to the farmers in the State, particularly …
Gandhinagar: Gujarat agriculture minister Dilip Sanghani has said the state government had ‘stopped’ the distribution of the controversial Monsanto maize seed Prabal in Gujarat. However, neither the state agriculture department nor the state tribal department have taken any decision on totally banning the distribution of the hybrid seed. In fact, …
Ahmedabad: The state government has taken a decision to stop distributing Monsanto’s maize seeds called ‘Prabal’ to farmers. The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Confirming the decision, agriculture minister Dilip Sanghania said, “The government has taken a decision that it will not distribute maize seeds of …
The Sunderbans Development Board (SDB), under the Sunderbans Affairs Department, has allegedly distributed inferior quality moong dal (split green gram) seeds among local farmers without the required certification from the government agency. Moreover, the quality of moong dal seeds is allegedly inferior. This at a time when the local farmers …
Acerage down on low yield, weak prices & export curbs The cotton export debacle has created an oversupply of Bt seeds in the market with angry farmers expected to plant less area in the coming summer season. Companies are bracing for a price war in branded cotton seed, a far …
The Union ministry of agriculture has decided to delay the rollout of the revamped Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) by a year, to the next financial year (2013-14). Official sources said the ministry proposed to continue all its existing schemes under its flagship programme, RKVY, in the current financial year. …
JAMMU: Underscoring the significance of agriculture in socio-economic emancification of the society, the Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs, Abdul Rahim Rather today said that agriculture in the state has been made almost tax free sector. Speaking at a function organized by the Jammu and Kashmir State Advisory Board for …
The ministry of agriculture has advised all state government agencies to streamline the seed certification process to facilitate farmers in choosing high yielding seeds at a reasonable cost. The agencies have been advised to ask private companies to select four to five of their high yielding varieties while seeking certification, …
Monsanto India has opened a hybrid seed vegetable conditioning unit at Shamirpet near here. The Rs 28-crore facility, built on 32 acres, deploys latest techniques in seed conditioning, treatment, drying and packaging. The facility has a capacity to condition and package 15 million units of seeds a year. The facility …
In Uttarakhand Himalaya traditional agriculture is the mere way to meet the subsistence needs of the local farming communities. In traditional system of agriculture, local seed material of traditional crop varieties plays an important role for crop production. In such a situation, the protection of seed material and its conservation …
While a number of empirical studies have demonstrated the role of Bt cotton adoption in increasing Indian cotton productivity at the farm level, there has been questioning around the overall contribution of Bt cotton to the average cotton yield increase observed these last ten years in India. This study examines …
: Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) will distribute the seed of New Rice For Africa (Nerica), a high yielding variety, for the first time to some 37,000 farmers during the upcoming Aman season. The rice seed will be distributed in 83 upazilas of 30 districts. According to the BADC officials …
Cotton production in the country has more than doubled due to the use of Bt cotton seeds, said Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today, batting in favour of the contentious genetically modified crop that is coming under increasing attack from activists and farmers for “stagnant yields, pest resistance and evolution of …
A group of U.S. family farmers said on Wednesday it is appealing its lawsuit against Monsanto Co to challenge the company's patents on technologies for genetically modified seeds. The group of organic farmers and seed dealers says its industry is at risk from Monsanto's growing market dominance. "Farmers are under …
Scientists, environmentalists and farm advocates are pressing the question about whether rewards of the trend toward using more and more crop chemicals are worth the risks, as the agricultural industry strives to ramp up production to feed the world's growing population. The debate has heated up in the last several …
The Statistical Book 2011 of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reveals that Pakistan is way behind in wheat, rice, sugarcane and pulses production, both globally and regionally. According to experts, water shortage, absence of high yield verities of seeds, and lack of research and development are the …
Invasive alien species are among the primary causes of biodiversity change globally, with the risks thereof broadly understood for most regions of the world. They are similarly thought to be among the most significant conservation threats to Antarctica, especially as climate change proceeds in the region. However, no comprehensive, continent-wide …
India is the largest producer, consumer, importer and processor of pulses in the world. Ironically, the country’s pulse production has been hovering around 14–15 Mt, coming from a near-stagnated area of 22–23 M ha, since 1990–91. For meeting the demand of the growing population, the country is importing pulses to …
While sacred groves (forest fragments protected for religious reasons) are widely acknowledged to have a beneficial effect on biodiversity conservation, the ecological benefits of individual sacred trees remain unknown. Fig trees are present as sacred trees in humandominated landscapes across South Asia and are considered keystone species for wildlife in …
Economic growth and food security depend on healthy farm sector, whose pillar, the farmer, is still neglected. In India, agriculture and allied sector is the source of income for over 60% of rural population and its contribution to GDP has been consistently coming down and currently stands at 14.3%. For …
