-The Hindu First imposition of limits after amendment to Essential Commodities Act. With onion prices crossing ₹100 per kg in several cities, the Centre imposed stock limits on wholesalers and retailers until the end of the year to prevent hoarding. This is the first time stock limits have been imposed on any commodity after the Essential Commodities Act was amended last month to reduce such interventions. Under the curbs, wholesale traders will not...

-The Tribune With APMC markets heading towards a collapse, the new set of reforms is aimed at encouraging corporatisation, with big business moving into agriculture, storage and marketing. As the experience of US/Europe shows, when unregulated markets become dominant, small farmers are the first to be pushed out of agriculture. Reiterating what former US Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz (during Ronald Reagan’s rule) had declared: “Get big or get out,” Sonny Perdue, US...

-IndiaSpend.com Bengaluru: As India deals with growing numbers of COVID-19 cases and the economic ramifications of the resultant lockdowns, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government has made a slew of announcements and promulgated ordinances to revive the economy, including the agriculture sector. It brought in the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Ordinance 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020, and amended the...

The Hindu Business Line In an article on Monday, this writer pointed out how it is a challenging task to double farmers’ income, given the fall in output prices and the higher cost of farm inputs. In an interview, Ashok Dalwai, CEO, Doubling Farmers’ Income Committee, talks about the various measures the Centre is taking to ensure it is on the right track and reaches its target by 2022. According to...

-Livemint.com * The retail prices of onions spiked to Rs.70- Rs.80 earlier this week * Floods in key onion-producing states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and others have hurt supplies New Delhi: The government has banned export of onions with immediate effect to check spiraling prices which touched Rs.70- Rs.80 per kg in the open market. The ban covers all varieties of onions. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce...