-The Hindu Business Line At an organic market in Odisha, middle-class consumers get to interact with the producers of their food and appreciate traditional knowledge systems One Sunday morning in January, I visited an organic produce market located amidst dense bougainvillea creepers and rows of trees, on the grounds of the six-decade-old Christian Hospital in Bissamcuttack, a town in western Odisha’s Rayagada district. In policy and public imagination, Odisha, particularly its western districts...

-The Hindu Strengthening the repayment capacity of farmers by improving and stabilising their income is the only way to keep them out of distress Indian agriculture is characterised by low scale and low productivity. About 85% of the operational landholdings in the country are below 5 acres and 67% farm households survive on an average landholding of one acre. More than half of the area under cultivation does not have access to...

-IANS NEW DELHI: Imposition of 18 per cent rate on pesticides under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) system has become a cause of worry not only for farmers but crop protection product manufacturers as well. Manufacturers say it will increase agricultural Input costs, putting additional burden on farmers as use of pesticides is essential owing to its role in controlling pest and increasing productivity. As the current farming season is at...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The government today conceded there were shortcomings in the Prime Minister Crop Insurance scheme and asked states to set up their own insurance companies to prevent "malpractices" by private firms. Speaking during a five-hour debate on the agrarian crisis in the Lok Sabha late on Wednesday night, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said: "There are shortcomings in the implementation although the modified scheme is very good. We are...

-The Hindu Business Line Agri-tech firms or farmer producer companies enjoy no benefits under GST. This will hit entrepreneurial spirit in the sector In 1991, India saw an LPG blast — liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation that changed the face of the country permanently. After 25 years from 1991, a fortnight ago, we experienced another revolutionary reform — GST with the promise of “One country-One tax”. Like any other person, I started reading...