-Hindustan Times Nearly half of what the average Indian earns she spends on food. And when food prices rise, the average Indian’s budget feels the strain. In November, the consumer food price index, which tracks food prices at retail sales points, was up 6.07% as compared to 5.25% in October. Even data relating to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), which tracks prices of commodities when they are traded in bulk, show...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Preparing to tide over another year of shortage in availability of pulses, particularly arhar dal that triggered a crisis, private importers have informed government of their intention to import nearly 5.5 million tonnes (MTs) of pulses next year in comparison to about 4.5 MTs in 2015. Government will also increase the import besides carrying out direct procurement from farmers to create a stock. Sources said private importers...

-The Indian Express Vidarbha’s farmers have escaped the worst of drought this year and hope to gain from high arhar prices. Wardha (Maharashtra): About 95 km from Nagpur and to the left of National Highway-7 leading to Hyderabad is a 14-acre farm that is now the cynosure of many eyes. This field, at Daroda village in Hinganghat tehsil of Wardha district, radiates only green with no traces of white or brown dots —...

-The Indian Express Farmers tend to lose out irrespective of whether crop prices go up or down. Government needs to rectify this. The price of tur/ arhar dal had recently skyrocketed to Rs 200 per kg and the consumer as well as the government were at their wits’ end. Not very long ago, high onion prices were making everyone shed copious tears. In both the cases, there was profit maximisation by...

-Business Standard Because of low yields, pulses accounts for less than 10% of India's annual foodgrains output, though it occupies 20% of area under foodgrains New Delhi: As the country grapples with recurring increase in pulses price, scientists at the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) have come up with a solution to address the shortage in the commodity. Scientists at Kanpur-based Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), an affiliate organisation of ICAR,...