Malawi'’s agricultural sector is critical to its economy, employing around 77% of the population and accounting for 23% of gross domestic product (GDP). The majority of workers in agriculture are smallholder farmers, many of whom cultivate less than one hectare of land. Despite its importance, the sector faces significant challenges, …
Concern over protecting the ‘holy cow’ status to the job guarantee programme, MGNREGA, appears to be overshadowing genuine worries in the government over increasing shortage of unskilled farm labour. Shooting down a suggestion from Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar that the programme may be suspended during the peak farming season, Rural …
Kerala plantation owners do not find enough workers despite offering higher pay Acoconut plantation in Thrissur, Kerala, recently advertised in the local media for experienced men to pluck coconuts at a monthly salary of Rs 11,250 plus accommodation, which would work out to another Rs 3,000. That
The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) during the period July 2009 - June 2010 carried out an all-India household survey on the subject of employment and unemployment in India as a part of 66th round of its survey programme. In this survey, the nation-wide enquiry was conducted to generate estimates …
The Supreme Court Friday banned the production, distribution and use of endosulfan because the pesticide has debilitating effects on humans and the environment. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Swatanter Kumar passed the order after hearing a petition filed by the Democratic Youth …
The Supreme Court on Wednesday indicated that it would consider passing an interim order on Friday imposing a ban on the production of endosulfan, considering the harmful effects of this pesticide on the people of this country. A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice …
The combine harvesters used in Punjab are in much demand by wheat farmers of the Jammu region and have made the manual harvesting a thing of the past. Besides the less cost involved in harvesting and thrashing of the wheat crop with a combine harvester, the scarcity of farm labourers …
Agriculture labourers migrating in search of employment NAGERCOIL: Kanyakumari is primarily an agrarian district with 83 per cent of its population residing in villages and 58.8 per cent of its working population engaged in agricultural and allied activities. Besides, being a coastal district, fishing is a predominant activity in the …
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is an important milestone and mechanism, the manifestations of which help us in reviewing crucial issues regarding the impact of development interventions in Indian rural ecosystems. This commentary by Shailly Kedia, Anandajit Goswami and Shilpi Kapur, from the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), …
The IFAD study, “Agriculture – Pathways to Prosperity in Asia and the Pacific”, provides an Asia and Pacific regional perspective, highlighting the fact that the overall rate of extreme poverty in rural areas of developing countries has dropped from 48 per cent to 34 per cent over the past decade. …
The countrywide share of corporate retail in food distribution tripled in the past four years when retail food prices showed the greatest increase. THE dramatic increase in food inflation over the past two years has been associated with several surprises. One major surprise has been how the top economic policymakers …
Introduction of sugarcane harvesters in Punjab may be the answer to the acute shortage of agricultural labour in the state. The Punjab government has decided to promote harvester use in a big way and has offered a subsidy of 25 per cent on the Rs 1-crore harvester. The sugarcane harvester …
Bangalore: The Central government has revised wages of agricultural labourers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The new wages are based on the consumer price index (CPI), as suggested by the prime minister, and are effective from January 1, 2011. Linking wages to CPI has enhanced them …
Minimum Payments, Which Will Rise By Up To 30%, Will Require Additional Spend Of . 3,500 Cr This Year THE government will link wages under the employment guarantee act to inflation risking higher food inflation, but resisted the demand to bring them on par with minimum wages. Minimum wages under …
LUCKNOW: The pattern of land distribution has rendered rural landscape of UP disfavourable for farming. The precursor for this is the fragmentation of cultivable land into a large number of `small landholdings'. The process set under the demographic pressure, has caused marginalisation of a vast majority of farmers and posed …
