-IANS UDAIPUR: Farming has rarely been a viable proposition in Rajasthan's dry and hilly Udaipur region. A new way has now been found to provide sustainable sustenance for the area's tribals by enabling them to sell -- for a staggering Rs 189 crore ($29 million) in the last two years -- minor forest produce (MFP) that is abundant in the area and has remained unutilised for almost nine decades. According to officials,...

How many happy seeder machines are currently available in Haryana and Punjab? Against the backdrop of a recent advisory issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in response to the dense smog that engulfed the entire NCR since October this year, the above question seems pertinent. The happy seeder machine is considered as a magic bullet  to curb the menace of stubble burning during the wheat-paddy cropping cycle,...

-The Pioneer Ranchi: The State Government, working hard to introduce centralised kitchens to cook nutritious Mid-Day Meals (MDM) for school children, has found eggs not so palatable. ISKCON and Akshay Petra, the two premier organisations, which came forward to run the mega kitchens in different parts of the State, have flagged their reservations about cooking eggs in their kitchens. Confirming the development, Sanjay Tike, looking after MDM related activities of ISKCON in the...

-Hindustan Times As per the latest National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau, which has been collecting data on diet and nutritional status of rural, tribal and urban populations for almost four decades, the calorie intake of children (1-3 years) in rural areas was only about 70% of their requirement due to shortage. In India, more than 4.8 crore children suffer from stunting, which means they are below the normal height range for their...

-The Hindu Business Line The Karnataka government’s efforts to popularise Millet cultivation seem to be yielding results, thanks to a rising consumer demand based on awareness about healthy alternatives. Krishna Byre Gowda, Karnataka’s Agriculture Minister, cited drought, climate change and erratic monsoon as the driving factors for popularising Millets such as ragi, jowar and bajra. These are less water-intensive crops compared to paddy or sugarcane and a shift to Millet cultivation will help...