India's oilseeds production dipped to 249.3 lakh tonnes in the crop year 2009-10, compared to 277.2 lakh tonnes in the previous year, Parliament was informed today. The country had produced 297.6 lakh tonnes of oilseeds in 2007-8, Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. As a result of the fall in oilseeds production, the minister said, India has been facing shortage of edible...
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All is not well on the global food front
Reports of a possible global food crisis could not have come at a worse time for India. Food inflation is still over 16% and though plentiful rains this year hold out the promise of one of our best agricultural years ever , last week’s warning by the US administration of ‘dramatically’ lower supplies of corn, rice and wheat could force the RBI to tighten more than otherwise warranted in order...
More »Brazil has revolutionised its own farms. Can it do the same for others? by Piaui Cremaq
IN A remote corner of Bahia state, in north-eastern Brazil, a vast new farm is springing out of the dry bush. Thirty years ago eucalyptus and pine were planted in this part of the cerrado (Brazil’s savannah). Native shrubs later reclaimed some of it. Now every field tells the story of a transformation. Some have been cut to a litter of tree stumps and scrub; on others, charcoal-makers have moved...
More »Last year's kharif drought may tell on output this year by Gargi Parsai
The foodgrains output for 2009-10 is expected to be 16.27 million tonnes lower at 218.20 million tonnes than the record production of 234.47 million tonnes last year. The decline, mainly in rice, edible oils and coarse cereals, is due to the widespread drought in the kharif season last year. Significantly, the government has slightly lowered the expected production of wheat in the fourth advance estimates to 80.71 million tonnes from 80.98 million...
More »MSP for pulses increased
To encourage cultivation of pulses, the Union government on Thursday increased the minimum support prices by up to 33 per cent, but did not extend the favour to other kharif crops. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, increased the minimum support price of arhar by Rs. 700 a quintal to Rs. 3,000, of moong by Rs. 410 to Rs. 3,170 and of urad by...
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