News from India

Govt can't ban field trials of GM crops: Pawar Dismissing Parliamentary panel's suggestion to halt all field trials of GM crops, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said the government can't take... Government to sell wheat cheap to empty silos Flour millers and biscuit makers are set to gain with the government planning to lower wheat prices sold under the open market sales scheme (OMSS). It... Govt can’t ban field trials of GM crops: Pawar Dismissing Parliamentary panel’s suggestion to halt all field trials of GM crops, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said the government can’t take... Declare delta region as drought-hit, say farmers The Cauvery Farmers Welfare Protection Association has decided to hoist black flags in the paddy fields, on top of farmers' houses and at T-junctions,... Swaminathan calls for doubling science efforts in agriculture Calling upon the scientific community to double its efforts in harnessing science to meet challenges in food, nutrition and water, renowned agricultur... Transformation of agriculture should be top priority Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said transformation of the agricultural sector should be the top priority of the country’s public policies i... India bananas seek bigger share of global market India, the largest banana producing country in the world, is vying for a bigger share of the global market. An ambitious plan has been drawn up by ... Agriculture's transformation top policy priority - PM The transformation of agriculture must be top priority of public policies, including those on science and technology, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sa... Tobacco prices likely to surge on shrinking acreage A decreasing acreage coupled with negligible carryover stock might firm up tobacco prices. Processors and middlemen are awaiting the new crop to be... Project to help dryland farmers shows good results The National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), a pilot project to help dryland farmers, has shown good results. It was taken up by ... Delta farmers livid over lack of water On Thursday, there was a mass uprising among farmers in delta districts against the Union government for allegedly giving step-motherly treatment to T... Drought spoils farm sector's dream run The agriculture sector witnessed record foodgrains output of 257.44 million tonnes in this year enabling the country to become world's largest rice ex... Protein-rich crops to fight malnutrition Eminent agri-scientist M S Swaminathan on Wednesday said he will soon start a malnutrition-free programme to fight hunger and undernourishment in the ... Beans mean high profits for guar farmers of Rajasthan There's no fracking in Rajasthan, but hydraulic fracturing (to give it is proper name) has drastically changed the landscape of one of the poorest pla... Wild boars target sugarcane crop Sugarcane cultivators from Xeldem, Quepem, are an exasperated lot. Tons of sugarcane that they had cultivated and due for crushing has been devoured b... Humans have much to benefit from bees, says expert A one day farmers training programme on “Bee keeping and crop production” was held at the Top Chingtha Community Hall, Yairipok today. The said pro... Power crisis hits farmers' crop plans With the state government making it clear that it was not possible to provide seven hour power supply to the agriculture sector in the Rabi season, pa... Minimum wages still an issue in Indian agriculture "In spite of the legal requirements, payment of minimum wages is an issue in the agriculture sector in general, and seed production in particular, in ... Milk prices may fall up to 5 per cent after rising for six years Caught in an upward spiral since six years, milk prices may fall for the first time by up to 5% or Rs 1 - 2 per litre owing to oversupply driven by lu... Gujarat: 38 cranes dead; avian flu back? The sudden death of 38 cranes in the wetlands (salt pans) close to Victor village in Rajula range of Amreli district has raised fears of a return of t... India fights off cuts on agricultural emissions In a battle of negotiators that ran from Thursday into the early hours of Sunday morning, India preserved its red-line and ensured that the world does... Punjab to come up with first agriculture policy soon The Punjab government is likely to roll out the state's first agriculture policy by mid- December, aimed to make farming profession economically viabl... Tamil Nadu farmers face second crop failure Tamil Nadu's counsel in the Cauvery case C S Vaidyanathan on Monday said there has been a huge shortfall in the release of Cauvery water by upper ripa... Congress to launch agitation against land acquisition Congress today announced to launch an agitation on December 2 from Barhi village in Katni district where farmers have been opposing land acquisition f... Badal seeks aid for crop diversification Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday sought allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for promoting farm diversification from the Centre. Dur... Rice production outpacing consumption - FAO Global rice production for 2012 is forecast to outpace consumption in 2012/13, resulting in an upward revision of 5 million tonnes in 2013 closing inv... Steps taken to check spread of bird flu Department of animal husbandry has beefed up measures to prevent the transmission of Type A virus and prevent a possible outbreak of avian influenza o... Sugarcane farmers' agitation enters ninth day The agitation by sugarcane growers in parts of Maharashtra entered into ninth day on Thursday. On Wednesday, a farmer was injured when police opene... State bans poultry feed due to bird flu The state government of Tamil Nadu has imposed a ban on trucks transporting poultry feed from the neighbouring state Karnataka following a recent outb... Govt eyes food security, shifts focus to traditional crops Traditional crops have once again made their presence felt, be it because of their nutritional values or awareness pertaining to a healthy lifestyle. ... GM crops must for country, govt tells Supreme Court The central government has told the Supreme Court that it could not achieve the goal of reducing the number of hungry people by half without taking re... India ready to help Bangladesh in agriculture President Pranab Mukherjee has said that India would be happy to extend assistance to Bangladesh in the field of agriculture. He conveyed this to v... 25,000 acres of dryland in Haveri district to be irrigated Nearly 25,000 acres of dryland in Shiggaon, Savanur and Hanagal taluks of Haveri district are all set to be irrigated by sprinkler irrigation system w... GM crops should go back to the lab Some weeks ago, I was addressing students of molecular biology at the Kerala Agricultural University campus in Thiruvananthapuram. During the question... Import of eggs continue despite ban The import of eggs has not stopped despite the ban issued by the Kerala government against it due to the spread of Bird flu in other states. It was... Rains ravage standing crops in five districts The state government has asked district collectors of Ganjam, Puri, Cuttack, Gajapati and Khurda to submit a detailed report of loss due to heavy rain... Farmers to fight move to ban GM crop trials JP pointed out that a number of countries have gone in for GM crops with no deleterious effects on their populations. The Consortium of Indian Farm... Stormy days over: crops slowly rising above water With let-up in rain on Thursday water started receding from inundated paddy fields in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur district. In Tiruvarur, samba crop wa... Pawar asks CMs to allow GMO field trials Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has asked Chief Ministers of various states to allow field trials of genetically modified crops under “stricte... Bananas could replace potatoes in warming world Climate change could lead to bananas becoming a critical food source for millions of people, a new report says. Researchers from the CGIAR agricult... Agriculture may contribute 29% to global greenhouse gas emissions Feeding the world releases up to 17,000 megatonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, a new analysis has revealed. According to the re... Vendors least worried over bird flu The reports over outbreak of avian influenza appears to have had no effect on the bird vendors in the City. During a reality check, Deccan Herald f... Top GM food scientist in false patent claim A top scientist engaged in research on genetically modified (GM) food crops has been found to have falsified claims about patents to grab a national a... Elephants destroy crops in Odisha A herd of about 25 elephants, including eight tuskers, have destroyed standing paddy and other Rabi crops in Baliguda area of Kandhamal district, offi... Farmers target housing projects Agitating farmers halted under-construction housing projects of various developers in Greater Noida West (Noida Extension) on Thursday and even manhan... Govt plans to promote agriculture cooperatives With a view to promoting formation of agriculture cooperatives from grassroots level, on the pattern of the milk cooperatives federation in the state,... Rains leave crops worth lakhs of rupees damaged Two days of incessant rains have left around 210 acres of farmland in Vellayani completely submerged leaving the farmers with loses worth lakhs of rup... Haryana gets India’s biggest dairy plant The “Taste of India” has widened its frontiers even further. Having revolutionised the milk sector in many parts of the country, the owner of brand Am... Farmers sell paddy below cost in the absence of takers A large number of farmers in Punjab have allegedly been forced to sell their paddy below the minimum support price (MSP), thanks to the delay by procu... India BJP's Nitin Gadkari denies 'land grab' charges The chief of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has denied allegations of involvement in a massive corruption scandal. Nitin Gadkari sa...