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, …
ROURKELA: His 19 acres of farmland lies waste as the rapidly increasing mining activities in mineral-rich Koira block of Sundargarh district has ensured that Sudarshan Patra (32) works in the mines and not in the field. Patra of the interior Raikela village under Dengula panchayat is among the long list …
KOCHI: Good tidings await farmers and their livestock. The dairy development department has introduced its first ever highest yielding fodder variety CG-3 in Ernakulam that is garnering interest in the agricultural industry. The CG-3 which has achieved a trademark for higher produce in Tamil Nadu, produces 420 tonnes of fodder …
When representatives of the world’s largest seed company, Monsanto, began to make discreet visits to the second floor offices of the inconspicuous Van Bandhu Kalyaan Yojana in the Gandhinagar headquarters of the Gujarat government in 2007, it set in motion a process that would transform Indian agriculture in unexpected and …
Are hybrids always a precursor to a genetically modified (GM) version of the crop? In the case of maize, both the champions of GM and the opposition believe GM maize is round the corner. Currently, four multinationals are conducting field trials of GM maize in India. Monsanto India Ltd is …
Maize has become the queen of cereals, courted by state governments, seed companies, farmers and the feedstock and starch industries as the crop of the future. The golden promise of hybrid maize with its high productivity and high returns is luring farmers across the country. But this triumphal march is …
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) — a specialised agency of the United Nations based in Rome — has decided to chip in with funds to aid promotion of livelihood in the tribal hinterland. The move, which is in line with IFAD’s goal of empowering poor rural men and …
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has sought funds to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore for research and development of transgenic seeds in pulses. “Transgenic material is very important to take on pod borer that results in losses up to 30 per cent of all pulses produced in …
MUMBAI: The state government on Wednesday declared plans to set up a marketing centre near the APMC market in Navi Mumbai to directly sell agriculture produce procured from farmers. The move is aimed at bringing down vegetable prices in the wholesale market. Revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat announced the decision in …
To train farmers in quality production; distribute seeds at 50 per cent subsidy The district has been sanctioned Rs.1.01 crore under the Seed Village Scheme during the current financial year for providing training to farmers in quality seed production and distribution of certified and foundation seeds to farmers at subsidised …
Peerzada Abdul Ali Zakir Usmani, President of Anjuman Kashtkaran Punjab (AKP) has stressed the need for introduction of Organic Agriculture System (OAS) in Pakistan to bring a green revolution as organic agriculture is considered to be a holistic food production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. …
India is a country mainly relied upon agriculture and for boosting up agricultural output availability of good quality of seeds to farmers is inevitable. To regulate the seed sector the Parliament has enacted the Seed Act 1966. Due to recent innovations in the seed sector, entry of private industry and …
Cotton has been the biggest success story in Indian agriculture since the Green Revolution. In a country struggling with stagnant yields in most crops, cotton has been the one bright spot. Production has soared from 13.6 million bales (each bale is 170 kg) in 2002-03 to 31.2 million bales in …
The World Intellectual Property Organization has announced clearly that it intends to play a role—and considering the clout WIPO enjoys it implies a significant part—in promoting intellectual property (IP) in agriculture to enhance productivity. The UN body stepped into this touchy arena with a seminar at its Geneva headquarters that …
NANDAN Nilekani has just submitted his report on how the Centre should give direct fertiliser subsidy to farmers, but Odisha has already rolled out a scheme to reimburse maize farmers their cost of fertiliser. This will benefit about 45,000 farmers picked for a special maize scheme. Under the scheme, the …
Why have yields stagnated? Yield stagnation at an average of 520 kg fibre per hectare over the past five years could be because of several factors, including bad weather and poor agronomic management. But over 800 Bt cotton hybrids developed by private seed companies have been approved for commercial cultivation …
While the Centre on Monday said the area under Bt cotton is estimated to have expanded to 90 per cent of the total area sown under cotton in 2010-11, several non-government organisations alleged that the government had deliberately promoted the genetically-modified seed as part of a strategy. According to the …
Punjab Seed Council (PSC) has approved 13 new varieties of various crops for cultivation including five wheat varieties Dhara-B-2011, Punjab-2011, Millet-2011, NARC-2011, Aas 2011 and one sugarcane variety CPF-247. The approved varieties of other crops include two varieties of pulses Bhakkar-2011 and NIAB Moong-2011, two varieties of olive Bari Zetoon-1 …
Pakistan can take advantage of Chinese experience to ensure food security as China is feeding around 21 percent of world population by just bringing four percent of the total global area under crops. They are producing 400 kilograms of grains per capita as against the 170 kilograms per capita available …
