Livemint Wheat prices have started climbing again despite the government launching open market operations to reain in prices of the crucial commodity due to the unseasonal rains in key what-producing states. Wheat prices had shot up by 15% in 2022 accoding to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, even before the OMOs. This comes as retail inflation continues to hover above the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance level,...

Reuters Unseasonal rains and hailstorms have damaged ripening, winter-planted crops such as wheat in India's fertile northern, central and western plains, exposing thousands of farmers to losses and raising the risk of further food price inflation. Torrential rains on Sunday and Monday lashed Punjab, Haryana parts of Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh state, which account for the bulk of wheat output in India, the world's biggest producer after China, flattening crops and...

Maharashtra farmers had taken out a foot march from Nashik to Mumbai in protest over onion prices. On Saturday one 58 year old farmer who had attended the foot march died at Shahapur police station in Thane district, informed the All India Kisan Sabha state general secretary Ajit Nawale. The Maharashtra farmers announced on Saturday that they have called off the march following assurance from the state government and the centre....

As many as eight farmers are reportedly dying by suicide everyday in Maharashtra. As many as 1,203 farmers took their lives ever since the Eknath Shinde government came to power, the Indian Express reported, quoting NCP leader and Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, while he was speaking at Maharashtra’s legislative assembly on March 10. “Farming in Maharashtra is under threat due to unseasonal rain, farm produce is unable to get a...

The year 2022 was supposed to mark the recovery of the Indian economy from the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns of the preceding two years. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February pushed up prices of food, fuel and fertilizer worldwide. In India consumer price inflation, which had declined to under 5 percent in the September-November period of 2021, has steadily increased, staying above 6 percent throughout 2022.    What happened to rural incomes in 2022? An...