Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged state farmers to switch over to organic agriculture to prevent further contamination of underground water sources with pesticides. He was addressing farmers at sangat darshan programmes in several villages of Muktsar. He also released funds for the development of the villages. He urged farmers to opt for cash crops that would not only result in their prosperity but would also help to improve water...

World cereals output is expected to rise this year to near-record highs, swelling overall supplies and putting pressure on already weakened prices, the UN’s food agency said on Thursday. The global wheat output is forecast to fall for the third consecutive year, but at 676.5 million tonnes it would still be close to 2008 record levels, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said, raising its earlier forecast for 2010. Overall cereals output...

World cereal output is expected to rise this year to near-record highs, swelling overall supplies and putting pressure on already weakened prices, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Thursday. The global wheat output is expected to fall for the third consecutive year, but at 676.5 million tonnes, it would still be close to record levels, the UN’s food agency said, revising its earlier forecast for 2010. Overall cereal output is...

The Centre has so far not addressed the problem of climate change impact on agriculture and food sector, a panel of experts participating in a national conference on ‘Ensuring Food Security in a Changing Climate' observed here on Saturday. While it is estimated that agriculture in the productive areas of South Asia will be amongst the worst affected, with predictions that almost 40 per cent of the production potential could be...

Another food crisis? This time it’s not shortages but prices—a plain failure of responsive policy and execution. Zooming food prices are raising political temperatures yet again. The rumblings, for once, are not merely restricted to the opposition parties, but evident within the ruling coalition as well. Though attacks from across the political spectrum have become a bit subdued of late, the target remains Union agriculture and food minister Sharad Pawar. And...