-Outlook India's foodgrain production is projected to increase marginally in the kharif (summer) season this year to 129.32 million tonnes after more than half the country received normal monsoon rains. "Total foodgrain production in the kharif season of the 2013-14 crop year is definitely expected to be higher than last year's level at 129.32 million tonnes," Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told PTI. Foodgrain output stood at 128.2 million tonnes in last year's kharif...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Amid expectations of normal rain, the government today approved a hike of Rs 60 in paddy support price (MSP) to Rs 1,310 per quintal in order to encourage farmers to grow more in the ongoing kharif season. The government also increased the minimum support price (MSP) of pulses and oilseeds by up to Rs 450 and Rs 320 per quintal, to boost ouput and reduce import dependence. "The Cabinet Committee...

-The Hindu Switching to renewable energy sources in the country's midday meal programme will save millions of rupees. But only a few kitchens are doing anything about it, says the author. This is a story of facts and figures and sheer size. Of an auditorium-sized room dense with hot steam from cooking. Of seven tonnes of cooked rice and four tanker-loads of steaming sambar that needed 70 pairs of hands for cutting...

-The Hindu At the foothills of Datla mountain of Satpuda Valley in the Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh is located the picturesque village of Dhadaw. Located on the banks of Dudhi River that also defines the boundary of the district, Dhadaw falls in the district's forest belt. Within the periphery of this village lies a world that has efficiently maintained the essence of traditional agricultural practices - a remarkable feat at...

-The Guardian In a village in India's poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Sumant Kumar was overjoyed when he harvested his rice last year. There had been good rains in his village of Darveshpura in north-east India and he knew he could improve on the four or five tonnes per hectare that he usually...