Guess what hogs the news? In a country plagued by rural problems and social ills, it's politics and business that find the maximum coverage in newspapers and not health, education, agriculture or environment. A comprehensive study of 10 newspapers in five states from mid-September to mid- November 2010 by The Hoot, a media monitor, found that political news constituted the maximum - 15.7 percent of the total news items, followed by...

Forested areas in Europe, North America, the Caucasus and Central Asia have been increasing steadily, growing by 25 million hectares over the past two decades, the United Nations said today, citing diseases, insects and storms aggravated by climatic factors as the major threats to the ongoing health of woodlands. “In addition to forest area, the volume of wood in pan-European forests is growing by over 430 million cubic metres every year...

The government will certainly not indulge in self congratulation for agriculture recording a growth of 5.4 per cent to 232.07 million tonnes in 2010-11 as this is happening on a low production base of 218.11 million tonnes last year when the country experienced the worst south-west monsoon since 1972. In fact, the major concern of the government is farm sector’s niggardly growth of 2.8 per cent in the first four...

Small-scale farmers can double food production within 10 years in critical regions by using ecological methods, a new UN report* shows. Based on an extensive review of the recent scientific literature, the study calls for a fundamental shift towards agroecology as a way to boost food production and improve the situation of the poorest. “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques...

Given the vulnerability of Indian agriculture to Climate Change, the countrys food security is threatened by global warming. The Union agriculture ministry is right, therefore, to warn of a possible foodgrain deficit, of as much as 20 million tonne by the end of this decade if measures are not taken to combat the impact of global warming on food production. It has also reportedly asked for an additional budgetary support...