Mamit district, known as the rice-bowl of Mizoram, has its eyes set on oil palm to provide a new crop to its farmers and at the same time contribute to the state’s agro-based economy. While the state agriculture department introduced oil palm cultivation in 2001, Mamit rather woke up a little late. But since 2007, nearly 4,500 farmers in 45 villages in the district have taken up oil palm cultivation. “We introduced...

The class bias in government policy is clear in the decision to release a small amount of foodgrain in the open market to tackle inflation. MOST people would agree that there is a strong element of speculation underlying the current inflation and that forward trading contributes to it. Yet the government, though it has banned forward trading in certain commodities under public pressure, is curiously reluctant to see this point....

The countrywide share of corporate retail in food distribution tripled in the past four years when retail food prices showed the greatest increase. THE dramatic increase in food inflation over the past two years has been associated with several surprises. One major surprise has been how the top economic policymakers in the country have responded to it. The initial response was one of apparent disbelief, followed very quickly by the...

Many experts do not seem to know the ground realities that affect a farmer Personal experience remains the best teacher. “Today several book experts claim to know the answer for solving agriculture crises. Many officials are interested in pushing their projects in the government than for farmers' welfare. Some are foreign educated and do not seem to know the ground realities,” says Mr. Avaran, from Malappuram, Kerala, who developed a low cost...

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is calling on countries to carefully examine the implications of high food prices and not to take any policy actions that might appear useful in the short term but could have harmful, longer-term effects or even aggravate the situation. The call comes with the agency’s publication today of an updated guide for policy-makers in developing countries, aimed at helping them address the negative...