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, …
The Svalbard "doomsday" vault - widely known for protecting global food crop seeds - has accepted its first delivery of forest tree species seeds. Norway spruce and Scots pine samples have entered the vault inside a mountain on the Arctic archipelago. The frozen depository opened in 2008 and is designed …
Provincial Minister for Agriculture Dr Farrukh Javed has said that the high yielding hybrid maize seed, jointly evolved by the breeders of Maize & Millet Research Institute Sahiwal and the experts of Punjab Seed Corporation, is no doubt a greatest achievement, which would not only gear up the growth of …
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet in Pakistan, decided to lift the over two decades long ban on forest harvesting besides managing forests along scientific lines in line with a working plan made by the government. Read more in November 2014 edition of the Monthly Overview on State of Environment, Pakistan ENVIRONMENT …
PRATAPPUR: Paddy grows in a dry patch on this farm. No fertilizers are used, the farm is not irrigated either. It is an experiment by seven farming enthusiasts who are trying to revive indigenous varieties and make them commercially viable in their villages. The dry paddy patch is small but …
ISLAMABAD: With a parliamentary committee approving an amendment to the Seed Act 1976, fear of foreign ‘genetically modified’ (GM) seeds has returned to haunt the agriculturists of the country after 10 years. “We are writing to the Ministry for Food Security and Research to discuss the changes before placing the …
The National Assembly's Standing Committee on National Food, Security and Research Wednesday approved Seed Amendments Bill 2014 to improve the existing law, enabling it to meet the requirements of modern seed industry. The committee that met with Malik Shakir Bashir Awan in the chair here decided to increase the proposed …
The production of Bt cotton has gone up from 7.50 lakh bales in 2002 to 21 lakh bales in 2013, showing its mass acceptance in the state, said Baljinder Singh Nandra, general manager, corporate affairs (North India), Monsanto, during a special visit to the Centre of Excellence at Shekhpura village …
It’s an unfashionable thing to admit, but sometimes what happens in the European Parliament really matters. This week, unnoticed by almost everyone, MEPs will consider proposals by the European commission and member states to overturn a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in Europe. But it’s a …
In this paper the researchers review and synthesize current knowledge about among-population variation in physiological and morphological traits related to plant recruitment. We outline the consequences of that variation for species persistence under climate change, and discuss the implications for conservation, management and restoration.
This year the plan would be implemented under Union government's RKVY scheme for the first time The Odisha government plans to scale up hybrid rice and maize seed production in state under Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojna (RKVY) to boost productivity in the state. Cultivation of hybrid seeds is being done …
AURANGABAD: Cotton farmers in Marathwada should explore options beyond Bt cotton seeds as the costs of cultivating the genetically modified variety were higher, but with no added productivity, profitability or sustainability, said agriculture department officials and other experts. "Bt cotton has been cultivated on a large area in Marathwada. But …
THE Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, in collaboration with the Dutch government,has introduced a new Africa-wide market oriented seed programme that would enhance farmer’s access to quality seedlings across the region. The new Africa-wide programme would support the development of a vibrant, market oriented and pluralistic seed sector in the …
A private seed company is preparing to market three genetically modified Bt brinjal seeds ignoring protests that there had been no biosafety tests of the transgenic crop. Officials of agriculture ministry said that preparations were afoot for the commercial release of at least three more Bt brinjal seed varieties through …
ERODE: On Tuesday farmers in Kanchikoil village in Erode district pledged not to use hybrid or tissue cultured paddy varieties for crop cultivation. They decided to use only traditional paddy varieties which do not need pesticides and other fertilisers. "We have taken this decision after we realised that the soil …
U.S. aerospace giant Boeing says it is working with South African Airways and a Dutch biofuel company to make jet fuel from tobacco seeds. The Dutch firm, SkyNRG, is boosting its production in South Africa of a hybrid, nicotine-free, tobacco crop called Solaris with “biofuel production expected… in the next …
Claims that genetically modified rice that has not been approved for sale in China is being supplied illegally in a number of provinces have triggered alarm. China Central Television reported on Saturday that three of five bags bought at a supermarket in Wuhan, Hubei province, were found to contain GM …
Genetically modified corn seeds are no longer protecting Brazilian farmers from voracious tropical bugs, increasing costs as producers turn to pesticides, a farm group said on Monday. Producers want four major manufacturers of so-called BT corn seeds to reimburse them for the cost of spraying up to three coats of …
Question raised in Rajya Sabha on sale of sub standard seeds, 25/07/2014. One of the question asked was "whether Government is aware that in Madhya Pradesh the Seed Mafia in collusion with Beej Pramanikaran Sanstha is selling sub-standard seeds to other States especially in Maharashtra by using the tag of …
Various trade unions and social organisations, including the RSS-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), criticised the first Budget of the Narendra Modi Government. They said the Budget failed to give any new prescriptions for the burgeoning problems of the country. The BMS, though expressing overall satisfaction with the Budget’s direction, condemned …
Salvadoran farmers are protesting a stipulation in a $277 million U.S. aid package that would have indirectly required them to purchase American agricultural giant Monsanto Corp.'s (NYSE:MON) genetically modified corn and bean seeds rather than source seeds locally, according to a report published on Tuesday but denied by the U.S. …
