Agriculture sector undergoes a historic change as livestock surpasses the economy of food grain Policy makers in India are finally acknowledging a structural shift in the agriculture sector they have been noticing for a decade. Economic contribution of livestock is today more than that of food grain crops. Traditionally, of the three components of the sector—crops, livestock and fisheries—crops drove the growth, and food grains are a major part of it....

Downplaying the impact of drought in three states on national food production, agriculture and cooperation secretary Prabeer Kumar Basu says the number of people dependent on agriculture has to come down for rural incomes to rise.  "We have sent our team for an assessment of the situation. None of this will affect overall production because it will be compensated by the rest of India where crop conditions are excellent. We will...

-Governance Now   Child malnutrition may have fallen in recent years but 42 percent of the children under the age of five are underweight, according to the Hunger and Malnutrition survey conducted by Naandi Foundation. A report with the survey findings says that the growth of nearly 60 percent children is stunted. This has happened despite the economy growing at more than seven percent since the last eight years. The survey collected data...

-PTI   Highlighting that 42 per cent children were underweight in a country witnessing high growth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today described it as a national shame and said the government could not rely solely on ICDS, a programme for early childhood development, to address it.  "...The problem of malnutrition is a matter of national shame. Despite impressive growth in our GDP, the level of under-nutrition in the country is unacceptably high," he...

Even wealthy children show signs of poor nutrition in some Indian states, according to a new report on child malnutrition from a non-government organisation released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today. The report, based on a survey across 100 districts in six states with poor child development indicators, has shown that child malnutrition is widespread — 42 per cent of children under five years of age are underweight, and 59 per...