-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The monsoon that set in on India late this year is making a delayed retreat as well. Rains towards the fag end of the season are good for standing crops and will hold soil moisture for winter crops, but may hurt crops which are ready for harvest, particularly paddy and cotton in some areas. According to the government's meteorology department officials, there are no signs of...
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Bringing migrants back home -Pramathesh Ambasta
-The Hindu The Odisha government has made the right announcements to improve the plight of migrant workers, but a lot more needs to be done In December 2013, a labourer chopped off the palms of two migrant workers from western Odisha. He had paid them an advance for working in the brick kilns of Hyderabad and did not take kindly to their arguing with him about the payment and place of work....
More »Getting India’s agri support maths wrong -Tejinder Narang
-The Financial Express The USDA projection of 29% of agri GDP is faulty as it counts rural development expenditure also, it is only 13% In a report titled "India's Agricultural Exports Climbs To Record High" (click here to access), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) speaks of a steep ascent in Indian agro exports-from $5 billion in 2003 to $39 billion in 2013. This may be flattering, but the facts and figures...
More »India's farm subsidy well below WTO cap of 10%: Official
-PTI NEW DELHI: India's farm subsidies are well below the WTO's cap of 10 per cent and the developed world should move ahead with finding a permanent solution for stock piling of grains for food security purposes, an official said. According to a WTO filing, India has given a total farm subsidy of $56 billion, of which trade distorting subsidy amounts to only $13.8 billion for 23 commodities, including rice and wheat. Explaining...
More »Pheromone traps for pest control -T Nandakumar
-The Hindu Thiruvananthapuram: Farmers in Kerala can look forward to reducing their dependence on toxic chemicals for pest control. The Department of Agriculture has tied up with the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, to introduce pheromone traps in the State. The technology uses the sex pheromones of a particular pest against itself. Pheromones are hormones released by insects and pests to attract the opposite sex for mating. The IICT has developed...
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