For a man who will inherit vast tracts of fertile farmland in Punjab, India's grain bowl, Jaswinder Singh made what seemed to him a logical career move -- he took a job with a telecoms company in New Delhi. "I can't go back to the village after an M.B.A. Delhi has more money, better quality of life. The job is more satisfying, and you don't depend on the weather or...

Sugar, to mix one’s metaphors, is heading for a perfect storm. And this is being made because of our own policies. By the year-end, retail prices of sugar in Delhi and Mumbai may cross the Rs 40 per kg barrier — an almost 150 per cent increase in less than 15 months. And no, you can’t blame climate change or monsoon failures for this. So, what triggered the sugar crisis? In...

The UPA government on Thursday raised the minimum support price (MSP) for most rabi crops, encouraging the sowing exercise under way. Aiming at making up the loss in kharif production due to delayed and poor rainfall, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, raised the minimum support price of wheat to be marketed in 2010-11 by Rs. 20 to Rs.1,100 per quintal. This year, the...

A simple vegetarian fare of dal, rice, vegetables and chapattis is costing you more every month. Prices of vegetables have almost doubled in the last two months while pulses and foodgrain are costing 25 per cent more. Lady's finger that was available for Rs 28 a kg a fortnight ago now costs Rs 40 a kg. Capsicum is up to Rs 70 a kg from Rs 40 a kg while prices of...

Who is afraid of the multinational seed giants? Practically everyone, it seems, barring governments. The more enlightened agricultural scientists, the legion of activists, small farmers and plant breeders across the world have all been worried by the fast dwindling biodiversity and consolidation of the global seed trade through patenting. Now, the UN has joined the chorus of concern but unfortunately its notes, perhaps because it was distant and bass, or...