-Business Standard Horticulture production to exceed food grains output for fifth year in a row The Centre’s first advance estimates for horticulture production for 2016-17 crop year that will end in June showed onion output MIGht fall 5.8 per cent during the year to 19.7 million tonnes, while potato and tomatoes could rise marginally. Onion production in 2016-17 could fall to 19.71 million tonnes as against 20.93 million tonnes last year. The output is...

-The Hindu Business Line They rue voting for BJP in the 2014 LS polls, and swear by Mayawati’s BSP now Jalaun (Uttar Pradesh): The reverse MIGration triggered by demonetisation has possibly reversed the BJP’s political fortunes in this backward and poverty-stricken region of Bundelkhand. Coupled with agrarian distress, demonetisation-induced reverse MIGration is pushing voters away from the BJP in the ongoing elections. While the SP-Congress alliance is the frontrunner for upper caste voters,...

-The Indian Express Integration of spot and derivatives markets for farm produce via e-NAM can be a potential game-changer There isn’t much from the recent Union Budget as far as new ideas for agriculture goes, yet it sends out a couple of signals suggesting the Narendra Modi government’s intent to integrate farmers better with the markets. One such signal is the proposal to come out with a ‘model law’ on contract farming for...

-The Hindu Electoral reforms announced in the Budget are not what they are claimed to be — they will neither cleanse our politics nor bring transparency Given his interest in cricket, this must be called Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s ‘doosra’. His announcement on electoral reforms in his Budget speech combined an element of surprise, some degree of deception and a sleight of hand — all that go into a doosra in cricket....

-Business Standard Foodgrain production is projected to be more than 270 million tonnes India’s horticulture production, at around 287.32 million tonnes, will continue to outstrip that of foodgrain by a good margin in 2016-17 also, even as vegetables MIGht see just a marginal decline.   Foodgrain production is projected to be more than 270 million tonnes.   Under horticulture, fruit production in 2016-17 is expected to be 91.72 million tonnes, against 90.18 million tonnes last year.   Vegetables...