The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
violent protests against the public distribution system have spread across many districts in West Bengal over the past weeks. Two people have died, many have been injured and over 70 are behind bars. Initial protests broke out on September 16 in Bankura district following allegations that subsidized foodgrains and sugar …
If India wants total food security, farming must be remunerative. Developing channels for farmers to sell wherever they get the best price is key ANJANI SINHA RECENTLY, THE government allocated Rs 48.82 billion for the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) to raise the production of rice, wheat and pulses during …
albert einstein is said to have said: "If the honeybee becomes extinct, mankind will follow within four years.' The physicist wasn't entirely off the mark
This report gives an overview of current research regarding the full range of possible effects of transgene flow on human health, the environment, the various stakeholders in the food and feed production chain and on the in situ and ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. …
This booklet gives a simple overview for a non-technical audience on what pesticides are and the hazards they pose, with a focus on pesticide residues in food and how to avoid these. It also discusses how farmers and farm workers can be affected, particularly in developing countries, and the costs …
From atop the 13,600-ft high windswept crest of a steep, serrated ridge, the Samudra Tapu glacier is a giant blanket of ice and snow, covering the bowl-shaped valley between jagged Himalayan peaks in the wilderness of Himachal Pradesh. Gleaming against an azure sky, the gigantic glacier-the second biggest in the …
A doomsday vault is being built in the Arctic. Scientists expect the project will safeguard crop diversity in the event of a global catastrophe. Located on the remote Svalbard Island, roughly 1,000 km from the North Pole, the vault will hold about 1.5 billion seeds and 3 million crop varieties …
Indian agriculture is coming free of the traditional mandis, with the spread of credit to farmers, involvement of the corporate sector and futures commodity exchanges Indian agriculture is once again on the threshold of vast changes that could transform the nature of agricultural operations in the country over the next …
union minister of agriculture Sharad Pawar's declaration that India will be importing wheat is a symptomatic of the gross food mismanagement currently prevalent in India. The decision to import coming after a seven-year production high raises an obvious question what happened to the overflowing granaries of India? Just three years …
the Food Corporation of India (fci) may soon trade its surplus wheat and rice in the domestic commodity exchanges through futures transactions, say fci sources. Even as Asia's largest food-procurement agency toys with the idea, the trader community, brokers and exchanges are apprehensive. Making sense of futures A futures contract …
the recent arrest of four employees of Indian Tobacco Company (itc)'s e-Choupal (rural mart) in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh (up), brought itc 's grain trade in the town to a standstill for 10 days. Officials in the civil supplies department seized 48,475 one-quintal bags of wheat, alleging a breach of procurement …
HERBAL BEER Looks, smells, even tastes like it. But is it beer? WHAT GOES IN? Pub-crawlers beware, herbal beer is just raw mango mixed with herbs (Andrographis or kalmegh and Tinospora or guduchi), fermented for a week. Besides mango (Mangifera indica), other fruit such as amla (Phyllanthus emblica), guava (Psidium …
The idea that food has therapeutic value is not a new one. Ayurveda, for instance, recommends diet regimes based on seasons and on an individual's constitution (see box: Take cues from traditional wisdom). And it's not just this ancient system of medicine. Traditional communities in most countries had dietary practices …
As the sun kisses the desert dunes in the villages of Rajasthan, it signals the end of a hectic day. The hungry desert denizens return home, where a sumptuous fare of traditional food awaits them. As they laze on their charpoys (cots), they are served rabori, an appetiser made of …
A free trade agreement (fta) between Chile and South Korea is making farmers in the latter country extremely restive. The South Korean national assembly's decision to debate its ratification brought them out on the streets again. Farmers see the fta
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 …
In Ladakhi, lango khel means conquering the highest point of a pass in the mountains. In Ladakhi schools, it means the matriculation (class X) examination. From 1947 to 1998, matriculation results in Leh district hovered between 0-5 per cent. The reasons are not difficult to fathom. Children grew up speaking …
Life in a cold desert is harsh and exacting. You need enormous amounts of energy for everything, but there are very few sources. Getting electricity to light up houses in Leh is no easy task. About two-thirds of the power supply in the summer comes from diesel generator sets (DG) …
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 …
