-The Economic Times Kulvinder Gill, professor of breeding and genetics at the Washington State University in the US, describes himself as a dreamer and an optimist. One of his dreams is to make sure food production does not decline over the next few decades, when increasing temperatures act on the yields of major crops. Specifically, he is beginning a project with six other organisations in India to make wheat less sensitive to...

As the government moves to ban employment of child below 18 years in hazardous industries, new data puts the government in a poor light over enforcement of existing provisions. As per the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, employment of children below the age of 14 in hazardous industries is banned. It includes employing them in roadside eateries and as domestic helps.   The ministry of labour in a reply...

There are major issues at stake in the Rio+20 Summit on Sustainable Development to be held on 20-22 June. Yet governments of developing countries have not given adequate importance to the run-up to the conference. As has happened in the climate change negotiations, the outcome draft now under negotiation shows a concerted move to rewrite the terms of global environmental governance. There is an attempt to push through the decidedly...

-The Guardian  Governments spend years negotiating environmental agreements, but then willfully ignore them – it's a dismal record It's global agreement time again. In two weeks, 120 world leaders and 190-odd countries will go to the Rio+20 Earth summit and – unless the talks collapse – sign up to new international goals, pledges, targets, protocols and treaties, and promise to commit to sustainable development, protect the earth and use resources more wisely....

-The United Nations The United Nations today reported a sharp drop in global food prices during May owing to generally favourable supplies, growing global economic uncertainties and a strengthening of the United States dollar. The monthly food price index of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) averaged 204 points in May, down 9 points from April, the agency said in a news release. This was the lowest level since September 2011. The index...