-The Times of India GUWAHATI: Nicky Tahbildar, a school boy from Assam, has drawn attention by making a science model aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity by providing timely water supply just by dialing a cellphone. Nicky has been selected for a state-level competition of the 'Inspire' award scheme under the department of science and technology, from Sonitpur district recently. "Very often we see that farmers have to walk miles to reach their...

-The World Bank In the past 50 years, Indian agriculture has undergone a major transformation, from dependence on food aid to becoming a consistent net food exporter. The gradual reforms in the agricultural sector (following the broader macro-reforms of the early 1990s) spurred some unprecedented innovations and changes in the food sector driven by private investment. These impressive achievements must now be viewed in light of the policy and investment imperatives...

-The Hindu Business Line   World Bank economist says there is ‘policy fatigue' Washington DC: Improving Farm Productivity is central to the Indian government's goal of achieving ‘faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth', the World Bank has said in a recent report ‘Accelerating Agricultural Productivity Growth in India - Issues and Opportunities'. Although agricultural growth rebounded after 2004-05, two worrying trends emerged: concerns about the nature and sustainability of growth, the report observes, adding...

-The Telegraph Bihar: The statewide torrential rain in mid-August caused flood conditions in 16 districts but came as a boon for standing paddy crop. Figures say the overall kharif transplantation coverage went up by nearly 40 per cent during August. It was 54 per cent on August 1 and touched 93 per cent on September 1. It came as a major relief for farmers and the state government, as, till the first week...

-The Hindu Business Line How ‘Protected Cultivation' can help prevent crop damage due to national disasters While the first green revolution managed to make the nation self sufficient the next round of reforms certainly needs to address the problems faced by today's farmers. According to statistics available on Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India reaped a record foodgrain production of 259.32 million tonnes (mt) in 2011-12. However, the output fell to 257.13...