The farmers in the state, who had lost their crops to the recent rain and hailstorm, may not get any compensation from the present weather-based insurance scheme in the state as hailstorm is not covered under the policy. According to sources, the state has adopted the weather-based insurance in which the compensation is calculated on the basic parameters of temperature, rainfall and moisture levels. These parameters could be measured by...

In 2000, it was grown in a mere 46 hectares in State Cultivation peaked during 2010-11 in 9,020 hectares The commercial cultivation of the Indian Gooseberry (Emblica Officinalis), popularly known as Amla, is fast gaining ground in Tamil Nadu. Amla, called `Nelli' in Tamil, took commercial roots in the State a decade ago. It was a humble beginning then for this wild fruit at a time when other crops such as mangoes, citrus...

Rice cultivators in Bihar are upset over the slow pace of procurement of their produce by the Centre, as well state agencies. Against a target of procuring 12 lakh tonnes of paddy this year, just about 3.5 lakh tonnes have been purchased so far, sources in state food and civil supplies department said. The procurement process will end by March 30. "I worked hard to grow paddy in my field. I pray to...

Faced with soaring food prices for the second time in three years, senior United Nations experts today called for greater investment in agriculture from both the public and private sectors to increase smallholder productivity.   “Policy-related solutions are also required to increase the longer-term resilience of global agriculture to allow greater levels of supply to markets as demand grows,” UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Senior Economist Jamie Morrison told a meeting...

President Pratiba Patil today said the Centre is consulting state governments on the proposed National Food Security Act (NFSA), which will give the poor a legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrains. “The states are being consulted as the success of the programme (NFSA) hinges critically on their commitment to reforms in the public distribution system (PDS),” Ms. Patil said in her address to Parliament to mark the beginning of the Budget Session. The...