India’s annual monsoon rains, key to farm output and economic growth, are expected to be better than previously forecast, raising prospects of good harvests and possibly helping to cool double digit food inflation. The monsoon rains, which deliver 75-90% of the country’s rainfall, were expected at 102% of the long-term average, government officials said on Friday, raising an earlier forecast of 98%. Bountiful rains despite slow progress of the June-September monsoon will...
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Paddy, pulses support price hiked
THE government on Thursday raised the minimum support price of paddy by Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 1000 per quintal in what may push up its food subsidy bill, pegged at Rs 5 5,578.18 crore in the current fiscal. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also increased the minimum support price of pulses by up to Rs 700 to touch Rs 3,170 a...
More »World Food scenario appears positive
The Food Outlook of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that came out in June, 2010 has predicted that world cereal production would be reaching a record level of 2279.5 million tonnes in 2010-2011, which would be an increase of 1.2 percent over last year’s global production of 2253.1 million tonnes. As a result, it has been predicted that there would be a modest increase in world trade in cereal...
More »Water crisis of east & west Punjab by MS Gill
Both sides will have to rise above politics and focus on the water crisis, which requires difficult and bitter solutions. As the long hot summer sizzles, one's thoughts in Lahore and Amritsar turn to water. It is scarce on both sides of the border. When the British finally and fully took over the Punjab in 1849, their thoughts turned to the possibility of engineering for agriculture. In the 1860s, they...
More »Punjab: Good harvest but no place to store it
Free from harvesting Palvinder Singh is a happy man. This year his Wheat Harvest was up to his expectation and as a gesture of thanks giving, he, along with other farmers of a village near Sirhind are offering sweet water to people. He says this year his input cost was less and output more, which means he has made a profit of more than Rs 10,000 from his one acre...
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