-Press release by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International and 430 civil society and indigenous peoples organizations from 69 countries dated June 9, 2022  Reminding the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of its obligations to uphold human rights, 430 civil society and Indigenous peoples organizations from 69 countries across the globe today called on the FAO Council to rescind the agency’s partnership with CropLife International, the industry association representing the world’s largest...

-Down to Earth Low returns and high risks from alternative crops among reasons past efforts failed, says report The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) has recommended promotion of crop diversification, favouring oilseed crops amid the global inflation in oilseeds and vegetable oils prices. Global inflation creates a structural risk as vegetable oils account for about half of India’s agricultural import, subsequently raising the country’s agri-import bill, the commission wrote in its...

Every year in the month of either February or March, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) announces the notified MGNREGA wage rates (i.e., notified daily wage rates for MGNREGA workers) for various states and Union Territories (UTs) for the upcoming financial year. The MGNREGA rates are notified every year based on the increase in Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL). Like the previous years, in 2021 too, experts and civil...

-Deccan Herald One must not make the mistake of thinking that high food prices are good for farmers The world has been facing a food crisis of a magnitude that has not been seen for many decades. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has warned that “the number of people facing acute food insecurity and requiring urgent life-saving food assistance and livelihood support continues to grow at an...

-Financial Express Traders say that only a small quantity of wheat crop is held by farmers currently, as major chunks have been purchased by traders by paying higher than MSP prices in anticipation of a surge in exports. Mandi prices of wheat were ruling just above the minimum support price (MSP) on Wednesday in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi. Trade sources told FE that in Punjab and Haryana, arrivals of wheat in...