-TheWire.in Though there is no road map to reduce the production of wheat and rice, it is now possible to reduce India's dependence on Punjab and Haryana for food security by procuring from non-traditional states. Since the enactment of three agriculture legislations by the Centre in September, sections of the media have rightly or wrongly projected Punjab, and to a much lesser extent Haryana, as a villain. This has led many to believe...

-Down to Earth Highest rice acreage in six years, more farmers in farms, a bounty monsoon and an expected bumper harvest don't enthuse farmers as their earning dips   It is a piece of news that everybody would love to cheer about, except those who made this possible. The current kharif season is exceptional. In comparison to last year, over eight million more hectares of farms are under cultivation this season. There are more...

-Newsclick.in It is beyond belief and understanding why the government is refusing to distribute the mountain of food grain stocks sitting in its warehouses. India produced a record cereal harvest of nearly 273 million tonnes in 2019-20, a jump of 10 million tonnes over the preceding year. While rice production increased marginally, both wheat and coarse grains showed notable increases. Besides these, the production of pulses increased by nearly a million tonnes...

-TheWire.in The decision, which has been severely criticised as it comes in the wake of rising hunger in the country, was defended by the government as being needed to manufacture alcohol-based hand sanitisers. New Delhi: A high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 3, 2020 all but cleared the way for the government’s much-criticised decision to convert ‘surplus’ rice to ethanol, information obtained by The Wire via the Right...

-Down to Earth Punjab has paid a price for food security. The use of pesticides and fertilisers has resulted in a number of health issues for the state’s population Punjab — known as the ‘Granary of India’ — produces 20 per cent and nine per cent of India’s wheat and rice respectively. At the international level, this represents three per cent of the global production of these crops. The state is responsible...