-The United Nations International investments must give local farmers and active role and leave them in control of their land if they are to have a positive effect on the host country’s economy and advance development, according to a report released today by the United Nations food agency. Produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the report – Trends and Impacts of Foreign Investment in Developing Country Agriculture – emphasizes...

-The Times of India PUNE: Two farmers were killed, one of them in police firing, while three policemen were injured and an unspecified number of vehicles were either damaged or burnt after an agitation by sugarcane farmers for higher prices for their crop turned violent in western Maharashtra on Monday. Chandrakant Nalawade, a small farmer from Vasagade village in Sangli, was killed when police opened fire to control the agitating farmers after...

-The Business Standard Turning the country's food procurement agency into an international trader will fan inflation and hunger At a time when the Global Hunger Index 2012 ranks India 65th among 79 countries, K V Thomas, minister of state for food and public distribution and consumer affairs, has revealed that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will soon trade wheat in the futures market. Seeking clearance from the Forward Markets Commission, the...

-The Times of India In a recent election rally, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi advised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, one of the country's top economists, to follow the Gujarat model of development , to cure the country of its ills. "Mr Prime Minister, if you try to follow the path of Gujarat state, the condition of the country will be transformed." Modi, who is projecting himself as the champion of economic...

-The Business Standard SC decision to seek views on GM crops welcome  The Supreme Court’s decision to seek views of different stakeholders before considering a 10-year moratorium on field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops, as suggested by the technical committee it had appointed, is welcome. The committee’s recommendation had caused widespread disquiet among the scientific community, a section of the seed industry and farmers. If the recommendation was accepted by the...