-PTI Hailstorms have had a wider impact on crops, since a large quantity of crops including wheat, grapes, mustard and vegetables have been damaged in Maharashtra Mumbai: Crop in more than eight lakh hectares in Maharashtra has been damaged by untimely rain and hailstorm in some parts of the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said here today. "I have spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in...

-Down to Earth Demand farm income commission; urge political parties to make it an election issue A number of farmers' organisations got together on Thursday to demand a minimum living income equivalent to that of agricultural scientists for all farm households in the country and asked political parties to make it a part of their poll manifesto. Citing NSSO findings, they said the average monthly income of farm households in the country...

-The Hindu THRISSUR (Kerala): The only way to have poison-free vegetables is to cultivate them in the backyards of homes, Thrissur Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath has said. Promoting homestead vegetable cultivation was the responsibility of every person in the State, he added. After visiting ‘Agrifiesta 2014', an agricultural exhibition, the Archbishop said the technologies, machinery and implements developed by research institutions should reach farmers. The exhibition has been organised by the Kerala...

-The Business Standard But beef up safeguards for genetically modified crop trials Environment Minister M Veerappa Moily has made the right move by overturning the untenable position taken by his predecessors on field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops. Around 200 gene-altered varieties of different crops will now be allowed to be field-tested, subject, of course, to certain necessary conditions. This could, depending on the outcome of the trials, clear the way...

-The Indian Express Urge political parties to include it in their manifesto Ahmedabad: With elections around the corner, farmers in the state came together along with other groups across the country to demand income and livelihood security to be made key promises by all parties. The groups held a meeting at Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad during a seminar on the recent approval of Genetically Modified (GM) crop trials by Environment Minister and Kisan...