Will lay emphasis on increasing production of oilseeds Rajasthan has become the first State in the country to implement the national policy on biofuels unveiled by the Centre in May this year. The desert State will lay emphasis on increasing production of oilseeds and establish a Centre for Excellence in …
JAIPUR: To deal with the drought-like situation in Rajasthan, the state government has demanded Rs 7,424 crore from the Centre as well 27 lakh metric tones of wheat. The memorandum presented before the Central government is interim and includes the relief work for only 26 districts. The call on the …
With sowing of kharif crops lagging by over 86 lakh hectares compared to last year, owing to an erratic southwest monsoon and the average water level in major reservoirs declining by 2 per cent (to 59 per cent of last year’s storage) over the previous week, the country faces a …
The eighteenth edition of the Agricultural Outlook provides projections to 2021 for the major agricultural commodities and biofuels as well as fish and seafood. Recent market trends and likely future developments are discussed in detail. This report foresees continuing high commodity prices and concerns over food price inflation. A special …
Amid growing concern over a slow and weak progression of this year’s southwest monsoon, the government today assured the nation that the situation for most kharif crops, barring coarse cereals, had not turned worrisome yet. Experts, however, cast doubts over the claims, particularly on water-intensive paddy cultivation. The situation in …
The Planning Commission, Government of India has set a target of 20 per cent blending of diesel with bio-diesel by the year 2012 to reduce the wide gap between demand and supply of petroleum products. This requires cultivating bio-diesel yielding crops on 11 M.ha to yield 13 M.t. of bio-diesel …
With the southwest monsoon playing truant in northeast and central India, the Centre has asked States to be ready with alternate crops that are hardy, and can withstand dry conditions. There are reports that in some north-western states, farmers have slowed down sowing, in the hope that the monsoon will …
Now, consumers can make ‘informed choice’ on buying packaged food products Consumers in India can now make “informed choice” on whether they want to buy packaged food products that are genetically modified or contain genetically modified ingredients. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, in an extraordinary gazette notification, has made an …
Climate change, pollution of air, land and water, and change in globalisation policies are threatening the agricultural economy of the country. In such circumstances, focus should be on alleviating these problems, S. Damodaran, Minister for Agriculture, said here on Friday. Inaugurating the 23rd meeting of Indian Council of Agricultural Research …
Numerous reports have emphasized the need for major changes in the global food system: agriculture must meet the twin challenge of feeding a growing population, with rising demand for meat and high-calorie diets, while simultaneously minimizing its global environmental impacts. Organic farming—a system aimed at producing food with minimal harm …
New Delhi India’s grain output is estimated to exceed the previous forecast to hit a fresh peak of 252.56 million tonne this crop year through June on higher-than-expected output of rice and wheat, although coarse cereal and pulse production will trail last year’s level. The record harvest will keep key …
Milan Global food prices rose in March for a third month in a row driven by gains in vegetable oils and grain, adding to inflationary pressure, the United Nations’ FAO index showed on Thursday. The index, which measures monthly price changes for a food basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat …
Global food prices rose in March for a third straight month with more hikes to come, the UN's food agency said on Thursday, adding to fears of hunger and a new wave of social unrest in poor countries. Record high prices for staple foods last year were one of the …
The carrying capacity of Indian agriculture to support oilseeds production to meet the vegetable oil needs of the Indian population has been considered in the context of available sources of oil from oilseed and nonoilseed origins. India needs to produce 17.84 Mt of vegetable oils to meet the nutritional fat …
New Delhi A report on ‘State of Indian Agriculture 2011-12’, tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, has called for reforms to ensure that the sector grows in tandem with the overall GDP of the country. The report says that “achieving an 8-9% rate of growth in the overall GDP …
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 …
A recent international conference on climate change and sustainable agriculture in New Delhi brought forth the shocking realisation that there are no conclusive studies in India on the prospective impact of climate change on the agriculture sector including livestock and fisheries. Much of the country's understanding comes from global data …
Food prices Global food prices are expected to remain high and volatile in the next 12 months, United Nation's body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said. "The prices will remain high compared with the other years, previous years, and the volatility will also be very high," FAO's first Latin …
New Delhi The agriculture sector performed exceedingly well in 2011, with record grain production of over 240 million tonnes giving enough leeway for the government to lift a ban on exports of wheat and non-basmati rice and introduce the food security bill in Parliament. Farmers’ long-standing demand for crop loans …
Kolkata At a time when potato growers in the state are not getting a good price for their produce, the West Bengal government has asked them to shift focus to other cash crops like oilseeds and corn. Rabindranath Bhattacharya, state’s agriculture minister, said, “We are asking potato growers to shift …
A pilot study was conducted to assess the economic impact of weather forecast-based advisories issued to 15 of the 127 Agrometeorological Advisory Service (AAS) units of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. Six seasons comprising three Kharif (summer) and three Rabi (winter) during 2003–2007 were chosen. The major …
