Gujarat government has calculated that the state's farmers suffered losses to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore last year as a result of export restrictions imposed by the Government of India on raw cotton. "Thanks to the restrictions, Gujarat's farmers, who exported most of the raw cotton being produced in the state, were forced to sell the commodity to the yarn mills of south India at a price which is...

Raises support price by Rs 380/qtl; marginal rise for wheat. Pulses saw the highest rise of Rs 340- 380 per quintal in minimum support price (MSP), the government announcing these for the current rabi season. The decision is in line with government efforts to increase their sowing, to meet the increasing demand for the crop. The MSPs of masur and chana were increased by Rs 380 per qtl and Rs 340 per...

Two walls of extremes are closing in fast on mankind. The spectre of climate change threatens agriculture, especially in developing countries where farming is dominated by smallscale farmers heavily relying on rainfall. Along with this, is the scourge of burgeoning population, which is likely swell to 9 billion in the next 40 years. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), about 14% of the 6.5-billion world population are affected by...

“Punjab has suffered only debt, serious illnesses and polluted and scanty water sources” Appealing to the farmers and policy-makers to not emulate the Punjab model of Green Revolution, some farmers from Punjab said here on Sunday that the revolution had completely ruined the State. “Punjab is now called the cancer capital of India. The Green Revolution has given farmers only three things: debt, serious illnesses and polluted and scanty water sources,”...

The Kisan Swaraj Yatra, a countrywide rally of farmers questioning the corporatisation of rural farms, reached the city on Sunday morningfrom Ralegaon Siddhi after covering 20 states over 71 days. The rally has demanded an explanation on the socio-cultural, environmental and political ramifications of such rampant corporatisation. It has modelled itself after Gandhi’s Dandi March. The march, that began on October 2 at Sabarmati, will end at Rajghat on December 11....