-Hindustan Times India’s below-average and a largely flat food production this year is sure to keep prices of pulses high, prompting the government to take a slew of steps aimed at taming prices. Yet there is widening demand-supply deficit of one of the commonest protein item on an average Indian’s plate. * What happened? Lentils, the commonest protein item in an average Indian’s meal, are low on supplies. * What does it mean? Pulses could...

-The Hindu Business Line The recently launched e-NAM (National Agriculture Market) is targeted to be rolled out in 200 mandis across the nation on September 30, 2016. In recent years, the country has seen rising efforts by the government and private companies to unify agricultural markets. It is expected that participants across the nation will trade on the e-NAM platform and that the prices of agricultural produce will be determined based on...

-The Indian Express Why the revival of exports matters as much as rains for Indian farmers. It is generally held that the woes of Indian farmers today have had largely to do with extreme weather events. The southwest monsoon failed in both 2014 and 2015. Besides, we had extensive crop damage from unseasonal rain and hailstorms over large parts of north, west and central India in March 2015. From this also follows the...

-The Financial Express Rising dole hits both investment and productivity With around Rs 175,000-180,000 crore of annual expenditure on agriculture subsidies, the government probably feels it is doing a lot for the farmers and, come election time, will probably boast about it to get the rural vote. Yet, as an Icrier analysis at its ‘Supporting Indian farms the smart way’ workshop shows, not only is the rising subsidy not helping agriculture as...

-The Hindu Business Line A national platform for agri-produce can be a game-changer. But persuading States is key Most political regimes in India brand themselves as pro-farmer, and so it is ironic that the country’s market for agricultural produce is among its least liberalised. Given the perishable nature of agri-produce, the farmer is already up against structural constraints such as lack of scale economies and the rudimentary state of storage and logistics...