-The Telegraph Indians are unwittingly eating more and more genetically modified (GM) products every day A few months ago, researchers of the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) chanced upon something quite alarming while testing samples of breakfast cereals, infant food, edible oils and other food products at their state-of-the-art laboratory in Nimli, Rajasthan. Their sensitive qPCR instrument reported the presence of genetically modified (GM) ingredients in almost one-third of these...

-The Hindu Hundreds of species of pollinators may be in dangerous decline Across India’s agrarian plains, plantations and orchards, millions of birds, bats and insects toil to pollinate crops. However, many of these thousands of species may be in dangerous decline. In 2015, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that pollinators lead to huge agricultural economic gains. The report estimated pollinator contribution in India to be $0.831-1.5 billion...

-The Hindu Business Line But wheat planting begins on a strong note New Delhi: Tepid progress in the planting of pulses and coarse cereals has pulled down total rabi sown area by 20 per cent till the weekend compared to the corresponding week in the 2017-18 season, according to data released by the Agriculture Ministry on Friday. However, the planting of wheat has begun on a strong note with acreage registering a 20...

-The Hindu Business Line A month into kharif arrivals, there has been no positive turn of events for farmers. cereals, pulses and oilseeds are selling well below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) in mandis. The government seems to have failed them with the shoddily designed PM-AASHA scheme and its inadequate implementation till now. Immediate steps are required to prevent a recurrence of farmers’ anger spilling onto the streets. The umbrella policy Pradhan...

-Down to Earth The price of cereal, paddy and oilseed has crashed in more than 1,700 markets, according to government data On a vast farmland in Kalajhar mandi of Sangrur district, Punjab, farmers are waiting to negotiate with traders who have rejected their paddy crop infected due to humidity. Chand Singh, 70, a farmer who owns 4 hectares of farmland in Kalajhar village, says traders rejected 20 tonnes of paddy that he cultivated...