-The Hindu The focus of agriculture will shift from primary to secondary farm activities in the 12th Five Year Plan, S. Ayyappan, Director General Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), said here on Saturday. Speaking to the reporters after inaugurating a hostel for girls in the Institute of Food and Dairy Development of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) at Koduvali near Red Hills, Dr. Ayyappan said secondary agriculture...
More »SEARCH RESULT
FDI in retail will harm small farmers, says agri marketing body
-PTI State agriculture marketing boards today said FDI inmulti-brand retail will harm farmers, particularly small and marginal peasants. "Farmers are certainly going to be affected if FDI into multi-brand retail is given a go-ahead. It will mainly cause concerns to small and marginal farmers who have less than four hectares of land," the National Council of State Agricultural Marketing Boards (COSAMB) Managing Director S S Randhawa said while addressing a farmers' meet...
More »Farmers demand separate budget for eco fertilisers by Trithesh Nandan
“Huge subsidy on chemical fertilisers unmindful, useless” Small and marginal farmers have raised the demand for special allocation for organic farming and ecological fertilisation in the forthcoming budget, which finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will present on March 16. According to them, chemical fertilisers, the subsidy for which is likely to touch Rs 1 lakh crore in 2011-12, are not benefitting the soil and are burdening them with high-cost cultivation instead. “The government...
More »Budget 2012: Finance ministry set to hike agriculture lending target despite sharp rise in NPAs by Dheeraj Tiwari
The finance ministry is all set to increase the agriculture lending target by around 25% in the budget for 2012-13 despite a sharp increase in the non-performing loans in the sector. In the last budget, the government had increased the target to 4.75 lakh crore from 3.75 lakh crore in the year before. "Banks will continue to focus on all priority sector areas. This year more focus will be on direct lending...
More »Pulses scam: Babus unable to explain Rs 1,200cr loss
-The Times of India The government has been unable to explain why public sector firms imported pulses at a loss of 21%-30% a year from 2006 to 2011 adding up to Rs 1,200 crore, while private importers did not appear to have suffered such a misfortune. Questioned by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee about the " pulses scam" revealed in a Comptroller and Auditor General report, senior commerce and consumer affairs officials has...
More »