-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 New Minute We can wash and clean our vegetables plenty of times but that's not the right solution. The solution lies in our regulatory system. Pesticides are everywhere - whether it is their use in our farms or their prevalence in our plates. We have somehow convinced ourselves or have been convinced that if we set certain regulatory standards we can conveniently forget about the negative impacts of pesticides and continue...

-The Pioneer Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): As a result of the State Government's tireless efforts to promote organic farming in Madhya Pradesh, organic agriculture production in the State has risen to 5 lakh MT, about 40 per cent of country's total production. Cotton, wheat, foodgrains, fruits and vegetables are mainly produced through organic farming in the State. A study by industry body, Asshocham, said that MP has the potential to produce wealth of `23,000...

-Outlook Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government's greenhouse farming initiative has proved to be ineffective as many farmers have incurred losses due to crop failure after adopting the method, according to Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS). According to BKS officials, Gujarat unit, almost 90 per cent crops cultivated under the greenhouses have failed in the northern parts of Gujarat. "To address the issue, we had held a meeting with more than 200 farmers, mostly from north...

-The Telegraph Cyclone Hudhud, which made landfall in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam around 11.30am on Sunday and unleashed massive rain and gale that left behind a trail of destruction, might prove beneficial for Jharkhand's rabi crops. According to Met officials, the cyclone, which crossed Andhra coast with wind speed of 195-200kmph this afternoon, is likely to trigger heavy rain in some parts of Jharkhand on Monday and Tuesday. Even though farmers are bracing for...