Economists across the world are expressing concern about rising food prices. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently released its Food Price Index. The list showed that a number of foods cost more than during the world food crisis of two thousand eight. The index is at its highest level since it began in nineteen ninety. Demonstrations and deadly food riots have broken out this month, as they did in...

Three days after arrival of 200 tonnes of onions from Pakistan, an additional 426 tonnes of the Vegetable has also landed at Mundra port in Gujarat from the neighbouring country to boost domestic supply. "Second consignment of 426 tonnes of onions imported by the Indian government from Pakistan landed at the Mundra port yesterday (Sunday)," official sources said on Monday. "After the two consignments, rest 374 tonnes of the contracted onions...

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, while admitting inflation was a cause for concern, attributed the upward trend to the gap between supply and demand. Pawar was speaking to reporters after inaugurating the Centre of Excellence for Vegetable, under the Israel-India cooperation in Agriculture. Pawar maintained while the production of a few commodities was increasing, the demand was invariably surpassing the supply, leading to inflation in prices. He maintained the government was looking to...

The Bihar government has launched an "organic farming promotion programme" for the cultivation of organic crops in all the districts of the state. The government has decided to develop 38 "organic grams (organic villages)" for which a sum of Rs 255 crore has been sanctioned for five years. Some of these villages are: Dahour (Patna), Sartha (Nalanda), Belsand (Gopalganj), Gaighat Jaata (Muzaffarpur), Rajapaakar (Vaishali) and Narpatganj (Araria). This programme is being run...

Beleaguered by rising prices, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday termed sky-high onion prices a seasonal phenomenon and hoped that the picture will change in the coming months. “Onion prices have shot up as over 70% of crop from Nashik, which would have been ready for sale in December-January, was destroyed due to unseasonal rains. This has disturbed the cycle of supply in the country. It will be restored after...