-The Hindustan Times Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed key ministries to coordinate with states to manage the crisis arising out of the weak monsoon this year. Rains continue to be 22% deficient. India’s monsoon deficit could crimp food output and hit farm income, which supports a third of the population, hiking inflation risk. “The Prime Minister has been apprised of the situation. He has directed all the departments and ministries to coordinate...

-The Economic Times This year's frail monsoon has depleted Indian reservoirs to alarming levels last seen during the devastating drought of 2009, threatening even winter-sown crops and making the country vulnerable to drinking water scarcity by February as India's grossly inadequate storage capacity magnifies the impact of weak rainfall. The situation is precarious because the monsoon has delivered normal rainfall to only one-third of the country. The total deficit so far this...

-The Hindustan Times Recently, at a rally of gram panchayat chiefs, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar told the audience, “Improving the well-being of farmers is difficult unless agriculture sheds some of its population. At least one member from the farmer’s family should seek livelihood opportunities outside agriculture.” He has often made this appeal to farmers in Maharashtra, pointing out how rich industrial countries have a small proportion of their labour force in...

-The United Nations Higher demand for food due to population growth, urban migration and other factors will require countries to increase their productivity, according to a new report co-authored by the United Nations, which warns that without more supplies, prices will rise significantly. “Higher demand will be met increasingly by supplies that come to market at higher cost. With farmland area expected to expand only slightly in the coming decade, additional production...

-The Economic Times PUNE: Ravindra Daftari, chairman , Daftari Agro, said, "We used to sell 2,000 packets of desi seeds. But this year, sales went up to 9,000 packets. Next year, we plan to increase the production of desi seeds by four times."  Mahabeej, the Maharashtra government's seed corporation, has undertaken a programme with Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PKV), Akola, to increase the production of desi cotton seeds from 200 quintals this...