Short affidavit on behalf of the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) in terms of the National Green Tribunal order dated January 22, 2025. The application was registered suo motu by the NGT on the basis of a news item titled "Toxic kilns pollution Aravallis; wildlife and locals suffer" appearing …
What a line of attack! PepsiCo, in its advertisements to deny that it had pesticides in its drinks, said that there were more pesticides in tea, eggs, rice and apples. Coca-Cola, in its defence, has similarly argued that as everything in India is contaminated, its drinks are safe. They say …
The agriculture minister told parliament last week that 100,000 farmers had committed suicide from 1998 to 2003, a period for which his government had data. This means 45 farmers killed themselves each day across the country. There is now information that suicides may be on the increase. In the Vidarbha …
function graph() { var popurl="image/20060331/33_graph.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=500,height=300,scrollbars=yes") } Tangled web Vidarbha cotton farmers hit by state failure The number of suicides by cotton farmers in Vidarbha has risen alarmingly this cotton season (see graph: Suicide spike).This is not just a consequence of increasing input costs, water scarcity and the high interest …
The Seeds Bill 2004, which aims to replace the Seeds Act, 1966, is with the Indian Parliament. It is a bone of contention. Between interests of farmers and the private seeds industry. Parliament’s standing committee on agriculture is looking into this bill, drawing widespread criticism for favouring the seed industry …
Tractors came to India in the 1960s, imported from the US and European countries, mainly the erstwhile Soviet Union. But these countries had large land holdings; most tractors made there were of medium to high horsepower. In a country where landholdings were not so large, such tractors came to be …
Small and marginal farmers constitute about 80 per cent of India's farming community. It would be logical to think that any government policies aimed at the country's farmers would, first and foremost, benefit them. But reality does not bear this out; rather it shows that these farmers remain the most …
Tractors in India are out of reach for the majority of farmers. The cheapest tractor costs Rs 1.8 lakh, almost as much as a new car. But while a car is a luxury, a tractor is not: it’s becoming an imperative as the demand for food grains increases. Barely two …
now farmers of the developing nations need not make backbreaking efforts to prepare their land for wheat cultivation. Scientists from Bangladesh-based Wheat Research Centre (wrc) have developed a tool that helps cultivate the crop without tilling the land several times. The device, zero tiller, is already popular among farmers across …
the Spices Board India (sbi) in Kochi, Kerala, has identified 43 villages in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh to grow residue-free chillies using the integrated pest management (ipm) system. The move is a part of the board's strategy to encourage farmers to totally avoid the use of chemicals in the …
Of the three farm water conservation programmes currently under way in Karnataka, the Jal Samvardhene Yojana (jsy) has comple ted a year of operation. The progra mme’s stated objective is to demonstrate the viability of community-based approaches to tank rehabilitation. For this purpose an Integrated Tank Development Plan has been …
ANDHRA Pradesh, the state where more than 500 farmers committed suicide after a failed crop in 1998, is now set to officially explore the commercial viability of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton. Earlier this year, in March, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) cleared the commercial use of Bt cotton. Mahyco-Monsanto …
For Internet savvy farmers Few Indian farmers know the actual price and stock level of their produce in the market or mandi before they come to sell. Too many people, vested interests and the sheer spread of the markets makes it difficult for them to decide the right product mix …
for the past two decades, urban agriculture has been on the rise throughout the world, in both poor and wealthy nations. Millions of urban residents in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and increasingly in North America, are growing crops and raising livestock in yards, on rooftops and balconies, along roadsides, and …
Oxfam (India), a relief and development organisation, has launched a massive relief and sustainable development programme in the drought-hit areas of Orissa. The Rs 1.5 crore programme will be implemented in the worst-affected villages of Bolangir, Kalahandi and Nuapara districts, with the help of local NGOs and community-based organisa- tions. …
