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, …
JAIPUR: Preliminary study by civil organisations has shown that the state's special project of free distribution of hybrid maize seeds to farmers in the hopes of a rich harvest might have gone awry. The seeds have provided less than promised yields and, in many cases, they have not germinated. The …
Gene banks represent an overdue push to preserve crop biodiversity. It also needs conserving on farms. WITH a heavy clunk, the steel outer doors of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault closed on February 28th, shutting out a howling Arctic gale and entombing a tonne of new arrivals: 25,000 seed samples …
GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat government wants the price of Bt cotton seed to be regulated and put under its control despite opposition to it from the country's top seed producing companies. Intervening in a debate in the state assembly, state agriculture minister Dilip Sanghani blamed the Centre for "supporting the seed …
No fresh taxes except on tobacco products y VAT on cooking gas, fertilisers goes y Sops for IT, science, Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather today presented a "zero deficit" budget for 2012-13. Except proposing a hike on tobacco products and liquor, the Finance Minister announced various sops for the common …
Radiation and chemical-induced mutation and subsequent use in recombination breeding at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has resulted in the release of 39 improved crop varieties in oilseeds and pulses in India, said Dr Ratan Kumar Sinha, Director, BARC, Mumbai. Delivering the 25th Annual Convocation address of the University of …
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government should impose immediate ban on the genetically modified seed of maize and others distributed by an American company in the province. This was demanded by the office-bearers of the Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehrik, while addressing a press conference at Haripur Press Club the other day. The …
This State of Indian Agriculture 2011-2012 released by the Agriculture Ministry calls for wide-ranging reforms in agriculture sector to enable it to meet the growing demands and meet challenges posed by the human & environmental factors. The report on the State of Indian Agriculture calls for wide-ranging reforms in agriculture …
A federal class-action lawsuit brought last year by a consortium of farmers against the agricultural and chemical company Monsanto was dismissed Monday by Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of Federal District Court. The plaintiffs, none of whom use Monsanto’s products, are seeking to have the company’s agricultural patents invalidated. They said …
Competition is tough in the seed market, which may explain why marketing gimmicks are often used to woo farmers. It’s tougher still for the farmers to get compensation when the claims fail and they are saddled with a bad or damaged crop. Sometimes the state government steps in to offer …
Monsanto Co said on Friday that it had settled a long-running legal battle with residents of West Virginia who claimed they suffered environmental and health problems tied to pollution from a former Monsanto chemical plant. St. Louis-based Monsanto, which has shifted from a concentration in the chemical business to agricultural …
This note has reference to the correspondence: ‘Bt cotton: refuge in mixed bag’ by Muralimohan and Srinivasa. In fact, their article itself was in response to an earlier correspondence entitled ‘Bt resistance in Helicoverpa species: Indian policy needs urgent revision’ by Hanur, in which the author has advocated ‘refuge in …
Synergy between technology and public policy is essential for enhanced productivity in agriculture and aquaculture to meet the food and nutritional needs of the growing population, said M.S. Swaminathan, chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. Inaugurating an aquatic health testing facility at the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) here on …
CUTTACK: Assistant Director-General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Dr RP Dua on Tuesday stressed the need for provisioning quality seeds to the farmers for achieving the goals of food security. Inaugurating the three-day Regional Agriculture Fair at the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) here, Dr Dua said there …
Bt cotton has doubled the seed industry and boosted the fortunes of seed firms. But yields still need to improve In the last 10 years, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton and its impact on farmers has perhaps been the most talked about topic in Indian agriculture since the ‘Green Revolution’ of …
Companies that sell vegetable seeds to farmers have come under the scanner in Maharashtra following a rise in complaints about dud seeds. There has been an explosion in the number of vegetable seed varieties in the recent past following a surge in demand for vegetables. According to Indian Institute of …
SHILLONG: With an aim to bring holistic approach to development in the agricultural sector, the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), a strategic policy initiative to secure overall development of the Scheduled Tribes was introduced by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) at Mawpyrshong village in East Khasi Hills District. In accordance …
Investment and price assurance for farmers will yield the results that have eluded our policymakers so far. India has been striving to achieve 4% growth rate in farm output since the beginning of Ninth Five-Year Plan. However, actual growth rate has remained invariably lower than the targeted growth rate. Further, …
Slash-and-burn agricultural practices, banned by governments because of the risk of uncontrolled fires, provide better growing conditions for valuable new trees than more modern methods of forest clearance, a study suggests. Starting in 1996, researchers cleared 24 half-hectare areas of tropical forest in Quintana Roo state, in southern Mexico, using …
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said it will be difficult to implement the proposed Food Security Act with existing distribution system and suggested massive reforms. “I will be failing in my duty if I do not emphasise the fact that the Food Security Act will never succeed in achieving its …
The United States remained the primary backer of biotech crop technology in 2011, but adoption spread internationally as the total global planted area of genetically modified seeds grew 8 percent from a year ago, according to a report issued Tuesday. Roughly 160 million hectares, or 395.2 million acres, were planted …
