Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has stepped in to stop the rotting of grain. Just hours after CNN-IBN reported a record harvest of grain rotting because of lack of storage facilities Reddy has appointed a team of 10 IAS officers to supervise paddy procurement and has issued instructions to minimise wastage by ensuring a supply of gunny bags to warehouses. He has also reportedly asked officials to look into...

According to the third advance estimate, India’s foodgrain production in the current farm year (to end in June 2011) will be a record 235.88 million tonnes, including an all-time high wheat output of 84.27 million tonnes against 81.47 million tonnes projected earlier. Ahead of the wheat harvest, the country had buffer foodgrain stock of 47 million tonnes at the start of 2011 in the central pool. A buffer close to double...

While global outlook for rice production is adequate as of today, complacency of policy-makers worldwide in terms of making enough investments in agriculture has led to resurfacing of old diseases in addition to new ones threatening the gains made in this field in the past, according to R S Zeigler, director general of the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Addressing the annual rice research group meeting held by Directorate of...

The world population is estimated to reach nine billion by 2050. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that global food production needs to increase 70 per cent by 2050 compared to average 2005-07 levels to feed the rising global population. Clearly, a large part of the consumption will happen in India and China; which would require an additional 1.6 billion hectares of land to be brought into cultivation compared to...

A key government panel has warned that the country's overflowing grain bins will lead to a crisis if the government did not come up with a plan to dispose of the stored grain . The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) painted the grim picture in a presentation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week. It said the Centre, which is the biggest buyer of grain in the country, was sitting...