-The Hindu Business Line NEW DELHI: The Ministry ?of Environment and Forest (MoEF) ?has allayed concerns cited by environmentalists that the GEAC sub-committee that studied the bio-safety of GM (genetically modified) mustard did not have any ‘health expert’ on board?.? In a statement issued on Sunday, the ?Ministry clarified that the panel “had experts in subjects relevant to safety evaluation of GE (genetically-engineered) crops. “The GEAC in its 126th meeting held on 04.01.2016,...

-The Hindu This is hardly a rice ready for cultivation by farmers — it has not even entered the stage of biosafety evaluation by government regulatory institutions. Recently 110 Nobel Laureates issued a strongly worded plea to Greenpeace to “abandon their campaign against [genetically modified organisms] in general and Golden Rice in particular.” This is not the first time notable scientists have waded into the controversy surrounding genetically modified (GM) crops. What...

-The Telegraph The recent budget talked about the government's plan to double farm incomes in the next five years. This will be done through investments in rural infrastructure, especially irrigation. About 50 per cent of land under foodgrain production in India is irrigated. This means that half of the foodgrain producing land in India faces weather uncertainties and, hence, those working on them face annual (seasonal) variations in income. These variations...

-Business Standard Unless irrigation expands, agriculture will not be drought-proof Even as India celebrates the golden jubilee of the Green Revolution, the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) has come out with data indicating that nearly 70 per cent of farmers subsist on economically unviable farm holdings of less than a hectare in size. Over one-fifth of farm households report salaried employment, and not farming, as the prime source of their income. Around...

-The Hindu Green revolution made the country self-sufficient in foodgrains but was not successful in the 60 per cent rainfed areas and that is why the government is now focusing on bringing the ‘second green revolution’ in eastern region which is rich in water resources, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Friday. “The challenge in the farm sector is to enhance production as well as farmers’ incomes,” he said at...