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, …
Newspaper reports show that from January 1, 2004 to May 16, 2004, about 29 farmers in Andhra Pradesh (AP) committed suicide. From May 17, the suicides suddenly increased: the AP Rytu Sangham, the farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has compiled reports of 279 suicides by farmers …
A women's self-help group in Punukula village approached a bank for a Rs 25,000 loan to buy an electric neem powdering unit last year, and was turned down. The group's credit history was good, say residents of this predominantly tribal village of 204 farming households in Palvoncha mandal of Khamman …
AP's plight brings into sharp focus India's agrarian crisis. The sorry state of institutional credit, consigned to the dustbin, is back on the agenda. The Union government has promised to double institutional credit available to the farm sector. In AP, institutional credit accounts for a mere 20-25 per cent of …
"The strategy for agriculture will certainly create new jobs, especially in the allied sector. However, agriculture's share of employment will actually reduce, from the current 70 per cent to 40-45 per cent.... As economies grow, the focus of economic activity shifts from primary activities to those that lead to greater …
There are several delivery systems whereby government can help farmers in AP. Some, like the agriculture extension system, institutional lending bodies and irrigation,, have a direct role to play in agriculture. Others, like the Panchayati Raj institutions, should’ve provided the template for success. None are currently of any good. Take …
in what is perhaps the first-of-its-kind crackdown on a transaction pertaining to illegally developed genetically modified (gm) seeds, three traders from Madhya Pradesh (mp) were arrested in Shahpur taluk of Karnataka's Gulbarga district. They were allegedly buying spuriously produced Bt cotton seeds from local trader Vijay Kumar. But Kumar, the …
the Union ministry of agriculture (moa) has moved an amendment to the Seeds Act, 1966, and also proposes to create a National Seeds Grid. While the aim of the former is to improve labels on seeds to help the farmer, the latter seeks to facilitate the availability of seeds. The …
Usually, end-November/December is a busy one for cultivators in Kurigram district of northern Bangladesh: it is time to sow the boro (winter) rice. But this year, as the sowing deadline loomed, an unaccountable shortage of paddy seeds occurred, threatening to throw the cultivation season out of gear. The seeds were …
A struggle by farmers in Chhattisgarh to protect indigenous seed varieties from being appropriated by multinational corporations is snowballing into a major movement in the State. Women working in the fields at Khapridih village in Raipur district, following a paddy crop failure due to lack of rains last year. Chhattisgarh, …
on june 25, the police opened fire on a crowd of restive farmers desperate to purchase subsidised maize seeds from a distribution centre in Andhra Pradesh's (ap) Ranga Reddy district. The toll: one farmer dead and more than 100 injured. Even before protests against the police action had died down, …
crisis tided over: The dispute over seasonal fishing in the reserved forestland of Jambudwip island in West Bengal (see: Out of bounds, February 28, 2003) may be resolved in the near future. An amicable agreement between the state government's fisheries and forest departments bears testimony to this. The deal was …
farmers from developing countries may no longer be forced to buy expensive seeds of genetically modified (gm) plants. A new variety of gm plant will produce fertile seeds that carry desirable traits, but are incapable of spreading engineered genes into the environment. Environmentalists have long warned about the dangers of …
orissa might well be at the receiving end of one of Chhattisgarh chief minister (cm) Ajit Jogi's pre-poll sops meant to benefit his own states's forest dwellers. With elections on the anvil in Chhattisgarh, Jogi has announced a procurement price of Rs 5 per kilogramme (kg) of sal seeds from …
The 2003 monsoon could herald a great change in the socio-economic landscape of village Birora Kheth in the Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh. Its 42-member fishery co-operative
Illegal variants of GM seeds are threatening the future of cotton in India The biotech revolution in India has turned into a nightmare. At least in Gujarat, where cotton farmers are happily using illegal versions of genetically-modified (GM) cotton seeds. The so-called regulator set up by the environment ministry, the …
few people outside of the western coastal regions of southern India would have heard of kokum. Perhaps visitors to the sunny beaches of Goa remember being served a large glass of a refreshing, tangy drink after a heavy meal. Meant to be an aid to the digestive process, this delicious …
A new seed policy is on the anvil in Brazil. Why is it controversial? Farming communities and non-governmental organisations (ngos) working closely with farmers in Brazil are worried about the set of new seed laws the government is considering. The bill (Production, Marketing and Control of Seeds), proposed about two …
the much-awaited Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Bill 1999 was recently passed by the Lok Sabha. The bill, which is the first attempt to protect the rights of farmers, has been termed as
