The European Commission recommended sweeping new changes to the European Union’s policy on the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on Tuesday, unveiling a proposal to grant individual member states the right to decide for themselves whether to allow their domestic farmers to grow the altered crops. “I think that this proposal reflects a balanced approach to a sensitive issue, in particular for European citizens,” European Health Commissioner John Dalli told...
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Rising milk prices: Common man suffers again
Following a hike in the prices of petrol, diesel, gas, milk prices have also gone up. Between January 2007 and March 2010 the price of milk rose seven times in Delhi. The story is similar elsewhere in the nation too. In the last one year, prices increased from Rs 17 to Rs 22 a litre. In some cities, like Mumbai, the rise has been steeper. Earlier, it was pulses that were burning...
More »Why you must read this censored chapter by Raman Kirpal
A RESEARCHER WORKING on the State of Panchayats Report (SOPR) 2008-09 met Mahangu Madiya in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, a dangerous place for gathering data. Madiya’s story was startling. In January, he was given Rs 55 lakh compensation for his land, but the amount is sitting in his bank account. He does not even own a mobile phone. “I am concerned with farming. My land is important to me. What will I...
More »States, companies keen to bring farmers in agri-insurance net
With global warming now becoming a permanent fixture in the Indian agriculture landscape, state governments and insurance firms are rushing to provide crop insurance for farmers. Take the case of Rajasthan, which is now looking at extending agri-insurance cover across its 33 districts this year compared to 26 last year. Ditto with Himachal Pradesh and Haryana which would run the Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana from this kharif onwards. The cover...
More »Rust in the bread basket
A crop-killing fungus is spreading out of Africa towards the world’s great wheat-growing areas IT IS sometimes called the “polio of agriculture”: a terrifying but almost forgotten disease. Wheat rust is not just back after a 50-year absence, but spreading in new and scary forms. In some ways it is worse than child-crippling polio, still lingering in parts of Nigeria. Wheat rust has spread silently and speedily by 5,000 miles in...
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