FAO forecast of generally tight situation for most crops and commodities over next 18 months. Consumers are unlikely to get relief from high food prices till December 2012, despite a modest increase in global foodgrain production. High and volatile agricultural commodity prices are likely to prevail for the rest of this year and into 2012, says a report of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. The next few months...
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World grain output to rise on more planting & better yields
-Reuters World cereals output is expected to rise to a new record in 2011 due to more planting and improved yields but low stocks are set to keep prices high, the United Nations’ food agency said. Global cereals output is expected to rise 3.5% to 2.315 billion tonne this year, recovering after a 1% fall in 2010, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Tuesday in its first estimate...
More »Fudging parameter to reduce number of poor by Nitin Sethi
How does the government manage to keep the poverty line so low? Rather simple for the statisticians — they simply bring down the key parameter — amount of food one should have to stay alive. Earlier, the Planning Commission stipulated 2,100kilo calories per day per person in the cities and 2,400 kcalories per day per person was the minimum required to survive. Now consuming 1,800 kcalories per day is enough,...
More »Lethal mix R Ramachandran
It is the improper mode of application, violating the law and regulations, that is responsible for the apparent adverse toxic effects of endosulfan. FROM a scientific perspective, an extremely pertinent question in the endosulfan story is why adverse health effects similar to those seen in the villages of Kasaragod district in Kerala have not been reported from other parts of the country where the pesticide is used in much larger...
More »Food Price Hike Worsens Poverty in Asia by Marwaan Macan-Markar
An annual meeting of Asian finance ministers and central bank governors in Hanoi is set to address the fate of 64 million people in the region on the brink of extreme poverty. They are the worst affected by soaring food prices, which have hit record highs in the first two months of this year. "The issue of food price inflation and food security will indeed be one of the key topics...
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