-Livemint.com The concerns about the downsides of these schemes are overblown, and they could go some way in alleviating rural woes Since the Union Budget 2018-19, there has been a great deal of discussion in the public domain regarding the health of the rural sector. We believe that the rural sector needs some policy intervention, be it price support or income support. As a case in point, the agri gross domestic product...
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Kharif MSP hike to cost Centre Rs 33,500 crore more -Vishwa Mohan and Dipak K Dash
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Moving to fulfil its budget promise and address political heat over farmer discontent, the government is set to announce a new minimum support price (MSP) regime that will provide farmers a profit margin of 50% over cost of production. The additional bill is likely to be around Rs 33,500 crore. The new MSP, to be considered by the cabinet on Wednesday, will largely apply to paddy...
More »High-cost farming is degrading quality of soil, driving small farmers to ruin -Arjun Sharma
-Firstpost.com Chandigarh: With the planting of the new paddy crop underway in Punjab, Balour Singh of Sangrur district's Channa village is worried about the hourly fee of Rs 150 he needs to pay his neighbour for supplying water to his fields. Being a marginal farmer, Singh doesn't own a borewell and has to depend on others for water, which is something his paddy crop needs in plenty. But water isn't Balour Singh's...
More »Illegal cotton seeds sales surge in Maharashtra, other states -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com Soaring sales of herbicide tolerant, genetically modified cotton seeds put farmers across states at risk New Delhi: Regulatory failure has led to a surge in sales of unapproved herbicide tolerant (HT) genetically modified (GM) cotton seed packets in the ongoing Kharif planting season, putting thousands of farmers at risk across states such as Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The regulatory failure has been precipitated by the fact that the genetic engineering...
More »The Age of Surplus -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express We have, indeed, entered a regime of “permanent surpluses” in most crops — a reality our policymakers are unable to grasp, stuck as they are in the era of the Essential Commodities Act. If there is one thing that has changed in Indian agriculture in recent times, it is supply response — the ability of farmers to increase production when prices go up. Traditionally, the supply curve in most...
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