-PTI Inching closer to the crucial double-digit mark, food inflation rose to 9.80% for the week ended August 13 on the back of dearer onions, potatoes, fruits and protein-based items. Food inflation, as measured by Whole Price Index (WPI), stood at 9.03% in the previous week. The rate of price rise of food items in the corresponding week of August, 2010, was 14.56%. As per data released by the government today, the price...
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Crop holiday and food security by MS Swaminathan
August is usually the preferred month for family holidays in Europe, because of abundant sunshine and warm weather. In India, normally, this is the south-west monsoon season and a busy period for farmers. This year, however, several farm families in coastal Andhra Pradesh, the rice bowl of the country, are reported to have declared ‘crop holiday’. This is because the rice mills have not been lifting even last years’ crop....
More »PDS leakages: the plot thickens by Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera
While diversion rates still remain high, evidence seems to point to substantial improvements in the public distribution system around the country. It is well understood that a substantial proportion of the grain, mainly wheat and rice, that is meant to be distributed to eligible families under the Public Distribution System (PDS) ends up being sold in the open market by corrupt intermediaries, including some dealers who manage PDS outlets. The extent...
More »High food prices exacerbate crisis in drought-affected Horn of Africa–UN
-The United Nations The prices of grain and milk in the drought-hit Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have risen to record highs, exacerbating hardship for the estimated 12.4 million people in the region who are facing severe food shortages and famine in some parts of Somalia, the United Nations reported today. According to the August food price monitor of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the high prices of cereals...
More »Seed Bill fails to protect the farmer
The Seed Bill 2010 -- which stayed in controversy because its initial draft seemed to favour agri-business rather than the farmer -- is now ready to get debated and passed in the current session of Parliament. Despite consultations, first in a Parliamentary Standing Committee and later in an all party meeting, a large number of farmers’ unions, opposition parties and civil society groups believe that the Bill fails to protect...
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