Agrarian distress and growing awareness among farmers, tired of poll-time rhetoric and freebies, may make it tougher for political parties to woo this large electorate with worn-out promises in the upcoming assembly polls.  Ahead of elections in five states, including in Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous and politically-critical state, many farmers say they are ready to pay market rates for power and other inputs provided there is reliable supply.  Swarn Singh,...

-The Business Standard   Faced with a supply glut, potato farmers in Gujarat headed to streets and dumped thousands of kilos of potato in Deesa, a major potato market in the state on Tuesday. Farmers demanded an intervention from the state government with a financial assistance to the farmers, who are facing a steep fall in the potato prices at Rs 1 per kg in recent weeks. "We had approached the government about...

Indian traders reject FDI in multi-brand retail and emphasise the need for a policy to regulate the labour-intensive sector. TRADERS across the country responded angrily to the Union Cabinet's decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail trade, disproving the arguments of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and the assessment of corporate India, which had tried hard to make it appear that traders and...

-PTI The Punjab Government on Sunday announced freight subsidy for transportation of potato crop to domestic as well as export markets. Potato growers had on Saturday threatened to throw potatoes on the roads in Jalandhar on December 15 to protest the fall in the crop's price to as low as Rs.1 per kg and the “insensitive” attitude of the State government. Announcing a reprieve to potato growers across the State, Punjab Chief Minister...

-The Economic Times   The Ministry of Agriculture provides assistance to farmers for remunerative returns to farmers and to ensure adequate supply of fruits and vegetables to consumers, under National Horticulture Mission and Horticulture Mission for North-East and Himalayan States ( HMNEH).  This includes assistance for cultivation, establishment of Cold Storages, setting up of terminal markets, wholesale markets and rural primary markets/apni mandies. National Horticulture Board is also implementing various schemes.  Further, the Ministry...