High food prices prevented more than 19 million people in the Asia-Pacific region from lifting themselves out of poverty last year, the United Nations said in a new study released today, warning that soaring food and fuel inflation will keep large sections of the region’s population below the poverty threshold. The assessment by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) says that rising food prices can...
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Taming international food inflation by Anwarul Hoda
What can make a real difference to food prices is determined international action to increase food production in regions that are richly endowed with land and water resources High food inflation has been the source of major concern in India for more than a year. Soaring food prices have been the cause of unease internationally as well. A Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) press release of 3 March, 2011 indicates that...
More »Hanhat farmers reap benefits of MGNREGA by Uttam Mukherjee
At a time when there are reports of gross irregularities committed in the implementation of schemes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the state, a success of the scheme has drawn the attention of many. With the district experiencing scanty rainfall for the last three years, farmers at Hanhat panchayat of Kairo block were hardly getting any paddy to fulfil their annual requirement. But a MGNREGA...
More »Govt approves Rs 5,000 cr working capital loan for FCI
The government on Tuesday approved a short-term loan of Rs 5,000 crore for Food Corporation of India (FCI), which will help the organisation meet its working capital requirements this fiscal. The proposal was cleared in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) held here. "The CCEA today approved a short-term loan of Rs 5,000 crore to the FCI for 2010-11," an official statement said. FCI, the nodal agency for...
More »Global wheat production to increase in 2011
FAO's first forecast for world wheat production in 2011 stands at 676 million tonnes, representing a growth of 3.4 percent from 2010, the March 2011 edition of the Crop Prospects and Food Situation report said today. This level would still be below the bumper harvests in 2008 and 2009. Wheat plantings in many countries have increased or are expected to increase this year in response to strong prices, while yield recoveries...
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