Over 611,424 tonnes of paddy have been purchased by government agencies and private rice millers in Punjab, an official said here Tuesday. Government agencies have bought over 97 percent of the stocks while private rice millers have purchased nearly three percent in the first five days of the process. Six agencies -- the Food Corporation of India (FCI) of the central government and five of the Punjab government -- are engaged in...

Commission agents to start procuring for Central agency from today Bowing to the pressure exerted by the powerful lobby of commission agents, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has decided to withdraw its directive to make direct payment to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Union Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar, who was in Chandigarh on Monday, had a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Food and...

PepsiCo India, the country’s leading food & beverage company, has announced the successful completion of its community water initiatives in Panipat, Haryana. The project has two legs—water recharge structures aimed at improving the water availability for the neighbouring community and direct seeding of paddy that helps reduce water consumption by one-third in paddy cultivation. According to company officials, the projects will benefit nearly 200 families in and around Panipat and save...

The Central government should evolve a policy of announcing remunerative price for agricultural produces in advance to bail out farmers from possible distress said Karnataka minister for rural development and panchayat raj Jagadish Shettar. Presiding over the function to inaugurate the Krishi Mela-2010 and Jilla Krishi Utsav at University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) here on Sunday he said such a move on the part of the Centre would enable farmers to...

Blame stubborn procurement policy as the root of all evil. With the government sitting on heaps of foodgrain and with an acute shortage of quality storage facilities, analysts, some within the government, suggest exporting foodgrain and reviewing procurement policy. The suggestion is gaining ground among advisors and experts, given the current global situation, where wheat prices are on the rise on fears of subdued production in drought-hit countries like Russia, Uzbekistan and...