Spiralling prices of pulses have shown India’s dependence on imports. Pulses are integral to India’s diet but not its food policy. As a result, supply cannot meet demand. What are the consequences and solutions? Surendra Nath has switched to eating grass-pea, though he knows it is not good for health. But so is tobacco, he argues. He cannot do without pulses and pigeon-pea selling at Rs 100 a kg is beyond...

Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh was today gheraoed here by people opposing the introduction of Bt Brinjal in the country. The protesters from Left-affiliated farmers' outfits and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) raised slogans like "Bt Go Back" and mobbed the minister on the dais at an event organised at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) here. The event was organised as part of...

Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh faced angry protests at the consultations on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) brinjal at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture here on Sunday. The demonstration by activists of farmers’ and non-governmental organisations, opposing introduction of genetically modified crops began with the Minister’s entry at the institute. The protesters, led by Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham president K. Ramakrishna, blocked his entry to the...

The G8 countries have promised to increase the spending on agricultural development by $20 billion over the next three years. The amount is woefully less than the $44 billion that will be needed each year to end malnutrition.  At the world leaders’ meeting in Copenhagen, it is imperative that governments pledge to adopt up-to-date technologies to boost food production as well as outweigh the negative impacts of climate change. A...

The latest UN environment report based on about 400 major peer-reviewed scientific studies over three years has warned that the threat of climate change could be much worse than predicted earlier. The UNEP Climate Change Science Compendium 2009 report warns that sea levels could rise by up to two metres by 2100 and five to ten times that over following centuries. (See salient features and links below) It says that the...