-The Indian Express Government must give a level playing field by removing restrictions on markets and exports Last year, roughly at this time, the price of tur dal (split pigeon pea) in the retail market was hovering around Rs 180/kg. The prices of other pulses were not far behind. They were all spiralling due to back-to-back droughts during 2014-15 and 2015-16. Production of all pulses had plunged to 16.5 million metric tonnes...
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Food basket in danger -Vibha Varshney
-Down to Earth Latest data suggests a decline in the nutritional quality of food. What is stripping our food of nutrients? Can authorities cope with the challenge? If you thought that your healthy food choices are going to keep you fit and disease-free, think again. The data released by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, on January 18 suggests that the foods we eat today are less nutritious than what...
More »Record foodgrain, oilseed output likely this year
-The Indian Express According to the agriculture ministry’s second advance estimates of crop production for this year, total foodgrain output will surpass the previous all-time-high of 2013-14. India’s production of foodgrains and oilseeds is expected to hit record levels in 2016-17 on the back of a normal southwest monsoon and a decent winter, which would more than offset the impact, if any, of demonetisation. According to the agriculture ministry’s second advance estimates of...
More »Lost in the Green Revolution, many-hued varieties of paddy are being revived in Kerala -Leneesh K & Sridhar R
-The News Minute Rice Diversity Blocks in Kerala and five other states preserve over 1,000 indigenous varieties of rice that were at risk of being lost. In the Indian subcontinent, the birthplace of paddy, the colours of the crop’s many varieties are as diverse as the land, its people, languages, cultures, costumes, dialects and so on. But most of that variety was lost, when farmers were asked to forgo indigenous varieties...
More »BharatNet project: Ground work ready, connectivity not so much -Pranav Mukul
-The Indian Express With optic fibre cables laid in over 65,000 gram panchayats, Centre’s BharatNet project seems on track to achieve its 1,00,000 target by March 2017. However, lack of active connectivity remains a concern. Ahmedabad/ Gandhinagar/ New Delhi: With less than 25 per cent of the 65,475 gram panchayats in the country with optic fibre connectivity having active internet under the BharatNet project, the success of Centre’s push for digital payments...
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