Growing organic foods is a matter of individual or enterprise preference “Though organic farming today seems a desirable proposition in increasing food production it is not entirely feasible because enough organic manures are not available in our country to meet the requirements,” says Dr. K. Kumaraswamy, former Professor of Soil Science, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. “Growing organic foods are a matter of individual or enterprise preference. If one wants to do...

Global steel giants ArcelorMittal (MT) and Posco are leading $80 billion in planned spending in India, an investment that would vault the country ahead of Japan as the second-biggest steelmaker. There's one hurdle: India's farmers and their water supply. The farmers refuse to move from irrigated land in three states that hold more than half of India's reserves of iron ore, a key material used in the making of steel....

A standoff between the Haryana government and rice millers is threatening to derail the procurement of paddy in Haryana, with growers accusing authorities of not lifting the crop despite heavy arrival in markets. The state government said it is hopeful of settling the issue with state rice millers within a day or two, while claiming to have lifted ‘each grain’ of paddy. Peeved at the slow pace of paddy lifting at various...

Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar today expressed unhappiness over non-availing of agricultural  loan by the farmers of the North-Eastern States in the way it was expected, which he feels has hampered investment and finally the overall agricultural production of the region. "Though the Centre has doubled the agricultural credit amount recently and Centre has been able to disburse Rs 3, 50,000 crore this year, the North Eastern States have not...

The decision to defer cotton export registration by one month – from October 1 to November 1 – may help the textile companies in the short term because of sufficient availability, but there are concerns on how long that would last. Arrivals of cotton are uncertain across India with farmers apprehensive about the yield due to inclement weather. The early varieties of cotton from Punjab and Haryana have also been affected...