-The Hindu The increasing cost of production and the increase in GST on cartons has triggered protests in Himachal Pradesh Apple growers in Himachal Pradesh are out on the streets some three decades after their last big agitation. The protests are not surprising; their anger has been simmering for a while. To understand the present crisis, it is crucial to understand the developments of the last few decades. In the 1970s and 1980s,...

-Down to Earth blog Palm oil is water-intensive and requires large patches of land India is the second-largest consumer of edible oil globally and its largest importer. While the government has taken several initiatives over the years to increase the domestic production of edible oils, its shortage and high price are often in the news. Palm oil production grew between 2015-2016 and 2020-2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 per cent,...

-Moneycontrol.com Not only population, but several other factors affect the food system, including climate risks and their impact. An IPCC report predicts up to 30 percent decline in rice yields if global temperatures continue to rise India, a country with just 2.4 percent of the world’s total land area, is the largest producer of milk and pulses, and the second largest producer of rice and wheat, as per the United Nations’ Food...

-Scroll.in The demand for equitable access to quality education and healthcare should complement agriculture reforms in the country. It has been more than six months since the Samyukt Kisan Morcha – the umbrella organisation representing protesting Indian farmers – ended its 15-month-long agitation at Delhi’s borders against the three farm laws. Some of their demands were met, while their demand for a Minimum Support Price guarantee remains unfulfilled. These developments do little to...

-The Tribune With policy-backing, subsidies and availability of easy credit, farmers are being pushed to buy more machines. Punjab has five times more tractors than required. As more technological gadgets and machines are promoted, farmers are increasingly sucked into a debt cycle, while equipment manufacturers are laughing all the way to the bank. At a time when farmers across the world are struggling to recover their cost of production, an Oxfam report...