-The Hindu Business Line It is needed most, not procurement, says NITI Aayog member Stressing that there is a need for the continuation of the minimum support price (MSP) scheme for crops, NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand has said it is time to debate and discuss what should be the “means” to ensure the guaranteed returns to farmers since procurement cannot be the answer. Addressing a conference on “Getting agriculture markets right”, organised...
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Sowing it right
-The Hindu Business Line MSP signalling in favour of oilseeds, pulses should be backed up by credible procurement steps In announcing the minimum support prices for the kharif season, the Centre has rightly stuck to its plan of trying to wean away acreage from rice, particularly in rainfed areas, to pulses and oilseeds. This has been its policy since 2015, and it has resulted in output gains and increased acreage in pulses,...
More »Is the ban on wheat exports good policy? -Vikas Dhoot
-The Hindu It is ad hoc, hurts farmers’ incomes, and may not impact inflation much Over the last month, the government has banned the export of wheat and imposed quantitative restrictions on outbound sugar shipments. The wheat export ban came within days of a push to enhance India’s wheat supplies to the rest of the world after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is a time of persistently high inflation, spurred by rising...
More »Diversify crops, shift rice to places that can support it: Central panel -Shagun
-Down to Earth Low returns and high risks from alternative crops among reasons past efforts failed, says report The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) has recommended promotion of crop diversification, favouring oilseed crops amid the global inflation in oilseeds and vegetable oils prices. Global inflation creates a structural risk as vegetable oils account for about half of India’s agricultural import, subsequently raising the country’s agri-import bill, the commission wrote in its...
More »A ban on wheat exports was the country’s least damaging option -Indira Rajaraman
-Livemint.com India’s wheat export proscription was the first signal of awareness that moves on many fronts are needed for inflation control The Indian export ban on wheat in mid-May drew much negative attention. For the record, it is a ban on private sector wheat exports, and leaves open government-to-government contracts. The widespread criticism of the ban was misplaced in my opinion. Private wheat traders had responded exuberantly to the global demand for wheat...
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