Even as the state sugar commissionerate has predicted a surplus sugarcane crop this year, farmers have a different take. They allege that this is a “ploy by co-operatives and the commissionerate” so that defunct sugar mills can be started again. Also, sugar prices are likely to see a sharp fall in the wake of the forecast. As per the official figures, Maharashtra is likely to produce around 8.5 million tonnes of...
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'Low food prices to hit output' by Sreelatha Menon
In its zeal to make low-priced food available to as many as possible, the majority on the National Advisory Council may deal a mortal blow to farmers and output, warn farmer groups. The proposal to distribute low-priced foodgrain to 80 per cent of the rural population has nothing in it to incentivise Cultivation. Vijay Jawandhia of the Shetkari Sangathana says the least the NAC could have done was to recommend that...
More »Govt for cos acquiring land in Africa for pulses Cultivation by Prabha Jagannathan
The government has assured full support to Indian companies exploring opportunities to acquire agricultural land in Africa for Cultivation of pulses in order to deal with its domestic shortage. "We import pulses and we will be more supportive of more land being brought under Cultivation and for value addition. India is the market and we have been investing in agriculture...," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma had said. With the unabated...
More »A non-starter from the start by Girish Agrawal
Paan kheti [betel vine Cultivation] is our lifeline…why does the government want to destroy it and force us into being labourers?” asked Niranjan, a 60-plus-year-old farmer who would lose his betel vines to the Posco steel project in Orissa. This is one of the questions that haunted us,when we, a group of US-based researchers interested in the new economy of globalised India, started looking into the Posco project. We had...
More »Indian firms find Africa fertile ground for contract farming by Utpal Bhaskar and Shauvik Ghosh
State-owned trading firm MMTC Ltd, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (Iffco) and the conglomerate Bharti Enterprises plan to join the growing number of Indian entities engaged in commercial farming in Africa. Cheap land and labour costs in Africa are attracting a number of Indian firms with interest in agriculture. A large number of people in East African countries such as Kenya work in the Cultivation of tea, coffee, corn, vegetables, sugarcane,...
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