-PTI The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council today projected 3 per cent growth for the farm sector in 2011-12 buoyed by record grains output, strong growth in horticulture and animal husbandry sectors. Last year, the agriculture sector had grown by 7 per cent. "The Council expects that in combination with the strong trend growth in horticulture and in the animal husbandry sectors, the overall farm sector GDP growth for 2011-12 will average 3...

There is a rush to cash in on micronutrient deficiency in India through fortification of food Andhra Pradesh Foods, a state government enterprise, is ramping up its fortified food production capacity. It provides ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook foods like upma mix, sweet porridge and khichdi mix, fortified with iron, zinc and other vitamins, to infants and pregnant and lactating women under the Centre’s Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). The effort to double its...

Rural women entrepreneurs in Rajasthan produce a nutritious food supplement as take home rations for pregnant mothers and underfed infants   There is very little that distinguishes the hamlet of Madri from the innumerable others that dot southern Rajasthan. This is a region where the Aravallis make their presence felt in gnarled hillocks, where water is scarce and where the land yields its harvests grudgingly. People here, including toddlers, know well the edge...

-The United Nations Global food prices rose overall last month for the first time in six months, demonstrating the volatility of international food markets, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today. The FAO Food Price Index rose by four points or nearly two per cent to a measure of 214 points in January, with the price of oils increasing the most, followed by cereals, sugar, dairy products and meat. This...

-The Deccan Herald   Agri Minister doubts existing mechanism enough for roll out Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday reiterated that augmenting grain production and overhaul of the Public Distribution System were critical to implementation of the Congress-led UPA Government’s ambitious National Food Security Bill. “I will be failing in my duty if I do not emphasise the fact that the Food Security Act will never succeed in achieving its goal in letter and...