-The Times of India NAGPUR: Reviving the debate once again over local indigenous variety versus the ones promoted by agriculture universities, an NGO Gramin Yuva Pragatik Mandal (GYPM) took up the challenge to prove that local indigenous seeds were more effective and scripted a success story. In the process, the NGO not just proved its claim right but also produced 19 traditional varieties of rice on a 10-acre plot within a...

-The Financial Express The recent spell of unseasonable rains and hailstorms in a clutch of northern states haven’t had any major adverse impact on the rabi crop being harvested, officials claimed, based on field reports. The agriculture ministry has been expecting all-time high foodgrain production of 277.5 million tonnes in 2017-18 crop year (July-June) on good distribution of monsoon rainfall last year, even though pan-India rains were just 95% of the...

-Livemint.com Plant varieties and seeds cannot be patented under Indian law by companies like Monsanto, and any royalties on GM crops will be decided by the agriculture ministry, says Delhi high court New Delhi: Plant varieties and seeds cannot be patented under Indian law by companies like Monsanto Inc., and any royalties on genetically modified (GM) technology will be decided by a specialized agency of the agriculture ministry, the Delhi high court...

-Frontline.in The government ought to have specified its definition of cost of crop production in the Budget to prevent any confusion in the minds of people on minimum support prices. Speaking at the Krishi Unnati Mela 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly complained that confusion was being spread about the announcement on minimum support prices (MSPs) made in the Finance Minister’s 2018 Budget speech. The speech had assured farmers that they would,...

-The Telegraph Punjab assesses damage after shock showers flatten crops and fuel storage fears Chandigarh: An unusual spell of rain on Monday morning has cast a cloud on the wheat crop yet to be harvested in Punjab, forcing the agriculture department to sent teams across the state to assess the damage. The rains have come at a time Punjab has been grappling with a storage crisis. The state has a total storage capacity of...