-The Business Standard Learning from the jatropha mistake The tropical shrub jatropha curcas, touted a decade ago as a commercially feasible source of biofuel to alleviate the global energy crisis, seems to have let its proponents down quite comprehensively. Millions of hectares of land in the arid areas of India and in many other Asian and African countries were turned into jatropha plantations in the expectation that the oil derived from its...
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Economic growth and food security depend on healthy farm sector, whose pillar, the farmer, is still neglected by Ajay S Shriram
In India, agriculture and allied sector is the source of income for over 60% of rural population and its contribution to GDP has been consistently coming down and currently stands at 14.3%. For the Indian economy to grow at the rate of 8-9%, the growth rate of agriculture sector has to be more than 4%. The critical role of agriculture in the economy highlights the need for a larger investment in...
More »Seed companies reap rich harvest on Bt cotton wave by Sanjeeb Mukherjee
Bt cotton has doubled the seed industry and boosted the fortunes of seed firms. But yields still need to improve In the last 10 years, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton and its impact on farmers has perhaps been the most talked about topic in Indian agriculture since the ‘Green Revolution’ of the 1960s and 1970s. Not only has farmers’ income from growing Bt cotton risen by almost 67 per cent in the...
More »Seeds Of Change by Lola Nayar
Maharashtra sounds clarion call on hybrid crop liability Competition is tough in the seed market, which may explain why marketing gimmicks are often used to woo farmers. It’s tougher still for the farmers to get compensation when the claims fail and they are saddled with a bad or damaged crop. Sometimes the state government steps in to offer compensation or the farmers turn to the consumer court for relief. Typically, of...
More »Centre's panel approves new Bt Cotton seed by Rajiv Shah
In a major boost to Gujarat's big farmers, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) of the Government of India has approved commercial distribution of a new variety of Bt Cotton seed, developed jointly by US multinational Monsanto, Gujarat Seed Supply Corporation (GSSC) and Navsari Agricultural University. The new seed is expected to raise cotton productivity by up to 30 per cent as against the current Bt Cotton yield of 11...
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