-The Hindu   Lucrative subsidy available under National Horticulture Mission Tamil Nadu: Small and marginal farmers, hitherto cultivating vegetables under conventional method, have slowly started shifting to shade-net technique for higher yields with premium price, thanks to the lucrative subsidy available under National Horticulture Mission (NHM). To achieve the goal of reducing yield gaps in important crops like vegetables and flowers through focused interventions like protected cultivation, and to maximize the returns to the...

-The Business Standard (Capital Market) The Government is promoting organic farming through various schemes like National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH), National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility (NPMSH&F), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and also Network Project on Organic Farming of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Under NPOF scheme, assistance upto 25% and 33% of...

-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Agriculture) With a production of 269 million tonnes in 2012-13, the horticulture sector has emerged as a major contributor to the food basket of the country. Horticulture production grew by more than 8% during the last decade. As compared to the production of 257 million tonnes in the previous year and 215 million tonnes about five years ago, there has been significant jump in the horticulture production,...

“MGNREGS should move from relief work mode to one that blends natural resources and labour” to build productive assets The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC), which went into hibernation in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson's absence, has been reactivated. On September 14, it despatched its recommendations on strengthening the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to the government; it wants the scheme to move from its “relief work...

The Centre will come up with a ‘Look East’ policy to boost kharif staple rice production in eastern states. A national-level conference scheduled to be held in New Delhi on April 6-7 will formulate strategies to maximise summer-sown crop output by hiking area and production in eastern states, which have more irrigated, alluvial soil and higher water table than those in the northwest.   “The focus will be on rice and introduction...