With rich natural resources, biodiversity, dependable rainfall (annual average close to 2000 mm) and lower use of pesticides, north eastern states of the country could become a hub for organic products cultivation, the demand for which is up in global markets, an independent research paper has said. The paper has also urged the central government and the North Eastern Development Council to create an umbrella policy so that the potential of...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Total Matching Records found : 915
No pause in Punjab’s toxic harvest by Amrita Chaudhary
Even as recent media reports caution that most Fruits and vegetables are largely unfit for human consumption due to their high chemical content, pesticides continue to be used recklessly in the fields of Punjab. The ‘Granary of India’ constitutes 2.5 per cent of the total agricultural land in India, but consumes more than 18 per cent of the total pesticides used in India. Within the state the worst affected is the southwestern...
More »Blueprint for farm growth by Mohan Dharia
Acting with determination and firm action, it should be possible for India to step up its agricultural growth rate to 10 per cent. The 11th Five Year Plan seeks to achieve 4 per cent growth rate in agriculture by the end of the Plan period. The Planning Commission is working towards an overall 9 per cent to 10 per cent growth rate. But the target of 4 per cent growth rate is...
More »Inflation: A nation forced to go on distress diet by Rukmini Shrinivasan
After nearly 15 straight months of double-digit food inflation, the government announced on Thursday that food inflation had dipped to 9.67% for the week that ended on July 17. That's small consolation for most Indians, particularly the poor, who have seen a relentless assault on their food budgets that has resulted in essential items being dropped from the menu, giving rise to a whole new enforced "austerity diet". Since no...
More »Alarm over chemicals in veggies by Kounteya Sinha
How fresh and healthy are the vegetables that you consume daily? Not much, according to the Union health ministry. In a bid to make them look garden fresh and ensure that they grow faster to reach markets, farmers are using chemicals at random that threaten to cause serious health hazards to consumers. Expressing concern, minister of state for health Dinesh Trivedi has said, "Eating vegetables -- a must for good...
More »
