-Financial Express Grain production plummeted from 89.4 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 1964-65 to 72.4 MMT in 1965-66. India became heavily dependent on PL 480 food aid from US and underwent a ‘ship-to-mouth’ crisis. October 16 is celebrated as ‘World Food Day’ to mark the creation of United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. It envisions zero world hunger by 2030. Perhaps the occasion is incomplete without remembering Nobel Peace...

-Livemint.com The production of ‘mahua’ is finally entering the formal economy as new initiatives seek to upscale this indigenous drink, selling it across the country and even the globe It is a cloudy morning in Nangur village in Bastar district, Chattisgarh. It is a settlement of a little over 400 families, considered fairly large in these parts. We make a bumpy journey down a narrow, unpaved road intermittently shaded by sargi (sal)...

-Business Standard Haryana confident of handling the fires; to add over 1,230 new custom hiring centres soon New Delhi: Farmers in large parts of Punjab and Haryana haven’t completely abandoned stubble burning, though there has been considerable decline in number of burning sites this year, as compared to 2017. A big reason farmers in Punjab are being forced to burn the paddy stubble to clear their fields is an acute shortage of ‘Happy...

-The Hindu Farmer Ghani Khan is a conservator at heart; his on-site exhibit has traditional strains of rice Mysuru: Armed with a degree in archaeology and museology from the University of Mysore, Ghani Khan of Kirugavalu in Malavalli taluk of Mandya district nurtured dreams of being a curator in a museum, conserving and showcasing heritage artefacts. But fate had other plans. He became a farmer, a family tradition, and his dreams of a...

-The Hindu Business Line Targets 45 mt from nine crops by 2022 Bengaluru: After giving a fillip to the production of pulses through various strategies, the Agriculture Ministry is focussing on boosting oilseeds production over the next four years. The Ministry has proposed various strategies, including promoting the cultivation of oilseeds in non-traditional areas and cropping seasons besides targeting rice fallows to boost the domestic output, which could help reduce import dependence for...