-Hindustan Times London: With the global population expected to touch 9 billion by 2050, food from forests in India and elsewhere have potential to address needs of nutrition and food security at a time when the limits of boosting agricultural production are becoming increasingly clear. A new report produced by an international panel led by Bhaskar Vira, an expert based at the University of Cambridge, says that  despite impressive productivity increases, there...

-Livemint.com The ministry of agriculture projected that foodgrain production of cereal and pulses was likely to decline by 5.3% in 2014-15 New Delhi: There seems to be no end rural India’s worries. Last year’s drought together with unseasonal weather earlier this year is threatening a substantial decline in foodgrain output—the first in five years of such magnitude. On Wednesday, the ministry of agriculture projected that foodgrain production—at 251 million tonnes (mt) of cereal...

-PTI The government on Wednesday said it has put in place a contingency plan for 580 districts to tackle any situation arising out of below-normal monsoon. As per the weather department forecast, monsoon would be below normal this year due to an impact of El Nino. Monsoon rains are expected to arrive on time this year, hitting Kerala on June 1. Last year, the country had received 12 per cent less rains, affecting production...

-The Tribune Grains Of Discontent: The damage to wheat crop due to untimely rain and hailstorm, followed by delayed payments, this rabi season has further stressed Punjab’s farmers. While the cost of farm inputs has risen manifold over the past few years, the profit margin is on a constant decline, thus making farming unviable. Unable to bear losses, several farmers have committed suicide in recent past As the day breaks, he enters...

-The Hindu Amidst the din over the land acquisition bill in Parliament, the farmer’s voice was missing. Everybody has an opinion on farmers these days. Be it politicians, policymakers, editors or economists. In fact, ever since the Parliament reconvened for the Budget session on April 20, the deteriorating condition of farmers has clearly dominated discussions. But even as the issue of agrarian crisis, farmer suicides (especially after Gajendra Singh’s suicide in a...