Water, water everywhere, and so many committees to deal with it. On top of so many ministries and committees that think about water, the government has decided that India needs a Water Mission. Apart from the water resources ministry, the ministries of rural development, agriculture and environment and forests are actively involved in water conservation work. Besides, the river basin authorities are also supposed to look after water management in...

Stung by last year’s worst drought in decade that trimmed foodgrain production by more than 15 million tonne, the agriculture ministry asked all its top bureaucrats to visit different states and spend more time in the field this year to ensure timely supply of inputs to farmers and prevent a repetition of last year if monsoon become uncertain. The move is also meant to effectively monitor the sowing process and...

As the policies on better water management work themselves out and the larger sums of monies the UPA government is spending on them have an effect, technology is the major source of growth in Indian agriculture. Improved seeds matter. While the earlier seed suppliers in agricultural universities and seed corporations reorganise themselves with the support of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, private and public private partnerships (PPP) are flourishing. Bt...

Noted agriculture scientist and Rajya Sabha member M.S. Swaminathan on Wednesday asked the government to formulate a well-devised strategy to maximise the benefit of a good monsoon (that is predicted) to achieve a growth rate of at least five per cent in farm and allied sectors. “Climate-resilient agriculture” “Had we had a scientific monsoon management strategy, we could have minimised the loss last year,” he said inaugurating the National Consultation...

With Pulses going off the menu of poor people in the country, scientists from across the country gathered at Palampur Agriculture University (PAU) to mull over the issue. About 250 scientists deliberated on the steps that could be taken to increase the yield of major kharif pulse crops in the country in a three-day conference held in the university. While addressing the scientists in the conference, Tej Partap, Vice-Chancellor, said several...