-Deccan Chronicle THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Don't worry if the fruits and vegetables you buy from the markets are contaminated with pesticides. Here is a solution Veggie Wash which will decontaminate them. The product developed by the pesticide residue lab of Kerala Agriculture University will hit the market this month. Around 10 companies have bought the formulation and another 10 are in the queue. Veggie Wash solution was standardised by M.Sc students...

-The Telegraph Calcutta: Private companies will be able to buy farm produce directly from farmers in Bengal. But the widely-anticipated whoop of exultation from Indian industry over the amendment in the state's agri-marketing act was somewhat muted because of the lack of clarity on the issue of contract farming and the absence of clear guidelines on whether the state government would provide incentives and help in the acquisition of land for private...

-The Hindu Kalpetta (Kerala): A sharp decline in the price of green tea leaves, shortage of workers, and dearth of tea processing factories in the public sector have hit small-scale tea growers in Wayanad district. The spot price of green leaves on Saturday was Rs.8 a kg against Rs.13 a kg during the corresponding period last year. ‘‘We are forced to sell our produce at a throw away price to agents from Tamil...

-Economic and Political Weekly The cultivation of geneticallymodified crops, especially food crops, is not just a domestic issue; it has an impact on global food trade as well. Sukhpal Singh (sukhpal@iimahd.ernet.in) is at the Centre for Management in Agriculture, IIM, Ahmedabad. There is no doubt that the application of biotechnology can lead to yield improvement, cost cutting and lower crop losses, besides providing more processable raw materials and designer products. That is why...

-The Hindu Business Line Ahmedabad: As nearly 40,000 citizens signed a petition asking tea companies to clean up chai, The Wagh Bakri Group, India's third largest tea packager, on Thursday said it would support Greenpeace's attempts to eliminate pesticides from tea cultivation in the country. Wagh Bakri has engaged with Greenpeace India whose report "Trouble Brewing" and highlighted pesticide residue in tea samples recently. Hindustan Unilever Ltd and Girnar Tea have already announced...