The prime minister, in his Independence Day address said: “I am happy that the growth rate of our agriculture has increased substantially in the last few years. But we are still far from achieving our goal. We need to work harder so that we can increase the agricultural growth rate to 4% per annum” . Is it possible? If so how? The production shortage of wheat in India in 2006...

The Union government has been widely criticised for letting foodgrain rot in its godowns, while food prices soar and millions remain underfed. In its defence the government has spoken about the fiscal cost of selling these stocks. However, the underlying problem of excessive procurement and overstocking of foodgrain has not received as much attention. The government has claimed that official agencies have been mopping up over 99.5 per cent market...

Acknowledging that the rotting foodgrain was “shameful” , the government told Parliament on Tuesday that aggressive measures will be taken to increase storage capacity in the next 2-3 years. The government was also considering giving infrastructure status to warehouses to attract the private sector into the field in a bid to increase storage space. Responding to a calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha, agriculture minister Sharad pawar said: “We...

Furious debates among policymakers about the proposed national food security law largely revolve around its financial repercussions. The Planning Commission is finally coming around to accepting the Tendulkar Committee’s estimates of 37.2 per cent BPL population or 8.5 crore BPL households. The fiscal burden in implementing the food security law for 37.5 per cent BPL population, with each household being provided 35 kg food grains, is estimated to be Rs...

Kinnauri rajmash, chilgoza (pinus gerardiana), walnut and dried apricots have always been in high demand and commanded a competitive price in the market, but connecting them with the concept of organic food has yielded high premiums for farmers in the state. Himalayan Organisation for Organic Agri Products (HIMOARD), based at Rampur in Shimla, has brought international recognition for these farm products of the tribal district of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh....