-TheWire.in Both in urban and rural areas, there are many issues that will need to be addressed. The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that we are currently passing through will have a disastrous effect on the life of large numbers of people across the country. The situation is far more serious than what the government recognises or acknowledges. The major impact is going to be on the poorer sections of society that...
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Millets pose production and consumption challenges; MP’s Dindori project shows the way forward -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express In rural India, the National Food Security Act of 2013 – which entitles three-fourths of all households to 5 kg of wheat or rice per person per month at Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg, respectively – has reduced the demand for millets. Millets score over rice and wheat, whether in terms of vitamins, minerals and crude fibre content or amino acid profile. They are also hardier and...
More »The Modi Government Has Put the Cart Before the Horse -Prem Shankar Jha
-TheWire.in Indian agriculture is in the grip of a crisis and needs to move away from the 'cereal trap' towards alternatives. Deregulation of marketing should come second, not first. At the Indian Express’s e-Adda on March 21, Punjab’s chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh asked a question that has still not received an answer: Why did the Central government feel it had to change a marketing system that has existed for a hundred...
More »Let’s strengthen and not dilute the National Food Security Act -Himanshu
-Livemint.com * We must widen its coverage to feed the needy instead of letting subsidy reductions get the better of it * Subsidy reduction is a key aim of Niti Aayog’s proposal to reduce food-security coverage, but our subsidy level is not as high as it looks and the move could thwart efforts to achieve nutrition goals A recent discussion paper by the Niti Aayog has suggested a reduction in the coverage of...
More »Worrying spike in Global Food Prices -CP Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh
-The Hindu Business Line Having recovered from their lows touched early or mid-2020, food prices are rising fast. At $574.8 a metric tonne in February 2021, the price of soyabean was 53 per cent higher than the corresponding month of 2020, when the effects of the Covid pandemic were yet to be felt (Chart 1). Over that period, the price of maize had risen from $168.71 to $245.24 a metric tonne...
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