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 …
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 …
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 …
ever since Punjab chief minister (cm) Amarinder Singh's performance was rated highly by a popular weekly magazine in August, the state government has gone into a public relations overdrive. One of the main successes, it has claimed in full-page advertisements placed in national dailies, is the diversification of the state's …
glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide, encourages the growth of toxic fungi that devastate wheat fields. This is the alarming finding of a study conducted by scientists working for the Canadian government. The conclusion could prove to be a major blow for backers of genetically modified (gm) wheat, especially …
The Sri Lankan government has hit upon a practical idea to help the paddy farmers in the country. It has appealed to people to curtail their consumption of bread and opt for rice instead. The country's demand for wheat flour (all of which is imported) has been steadily rising to …
a study conducted in the wheat growing regions of the us indicates that use of herbicides like 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid can lead to malformation among newborns. These herbicides are widely used for weed control in parks and farms. In the past they have been linked with an increased …
a recent development is bound to bring a smile on many faces. A high-yielding variety of wheat has been given the green signal for commercial cultivation in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Scientists from the New Delhi-based Indian Agricultural Research Institute (iari) have developed the new strain
The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Union ministries of agriculture, chemical, fertiliser and petrochemicals, health and family welfare, environment and forests, and food and consumer affairs over the contamination of food items. A bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare and Justice S B Sinha included wheat, milk, …
Imagine this is the India of the 1970s. The lush green of high-yielding rice and wheat varieties is spreading far and wide in the Indo-Gangetic belt. The much-awaited green revolution is on in full swing. Godowns in moffusil towns as well as cities are filled with sacks of imported pl-480 …
in a bid to promote crop diversification, the Punjab government is venturing into contract farming of basmati rice, oilseeds and durum wheat (see: Down To Earth, February 15, 2003). The state-run Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (paic) will collaborate with Rallis India Limited, icici Bank and lt Overseas Limited for growing …
When residents of Mansingpura village in Madhya Pradesh's (mp) Betul district successfully cultivated wheat in the year 1996, it was the grand finale of their water conservation efforts. Thanks to the Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Development Mission, the village's groundwater level rose by over 30 feet. The mission was started by …
A Mexican wheat variety is bringing cheer to farmers in Uzbekistan. The winter wheat developed in Mexico was released to farmers in several provinces of Uzbekistan late last year. The variety, called Dostlik, shows a yield advantage of 14 per cent over its local counterparts. Dostlik matures early, has a …
Dhanpao village: Two patches of land adjacent to each other. Wheat is sown on both tracts. But while one yields numerous saplings, the other is barren. The reason: organic manure was used in the lush green field to grow ginger before wheat was planted. Lachiwala village: A mound of organic …
the seeds of a novel programme to reduce the rice-wheat predominance in Punjab's cropping pattern have been planted. The state recently launched a multi-crop, multi-year contract farming programme. It seeks to convince Punjab's farmers - who currently follow the rice-wheat cropping pattern - to switch over to alternative crops. The …
It is ironic that while India ranks third in fertiliser use worldwide, it ranks 14 and 16 respectively in the production of rice and wheat. It is even more ironic that India’s fertiliser policy ensures precisely such a result. Fertiliser use in India is dictated by the larger perceived need …
Agricultural growth in India has always laboured under the burden of producing more. The idea was: grow only foodgrains. That meant: not ecologically adapted cereals such as millets, but rice and wheat. The green revolution programme was single-minded: it came up with hyv (high-yielding variety) seeds for rice and wheat …
A third factor has led to the current debility of soils in India: irrigation. That is to say, water over-use. To feed the rice-wheat mentality, net irrigated area rose from 20.8 million ha in 1950 to 53.5 million ha in 1995-1996. Fed on irrigation, the agricultural area grew from a …
