India may witness record foodgrains production in the 2010-11 crop year, surpassing the previous high of 234.47 million tonnes seen in 2008-09, due to an increase in the acreage under cultivation in the ongoing rabi season, a top Agriculture Ministry official said on Tuesday. "It is very much achievable. Any fall in rice production from 2008-09 levels can be compensated by higher production of wheat, pulses and coarse cereals," Agriculture Secretary...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Speculators at work by Alok Ray
If the price rise is due to production shortfall, how does one explain the near doubling of the price within a few days? The sharply rising onion prices have raised the suspicion that speculators are manipulating a shortage situation. First, a few facts. In retail markets, onion prices have soared from Rs 10-11 per kg in June to as high as Rs 70-80 on Dec 21. Even more significantly, prices zoomed by...
More »'Organic farming can't augment food supply'
Though organic farming has its own advantages, depending solely on it will not help augment food requirements of the country, said director general of ICAR S Ayyappan. “Organic manures can augment the microbial activity, prevent environmental deterioration and restore soil health. It can reduce the chemical load in soil and farm produce. But at this juncture, when quantum of food is close to deficit, one cannot truly identify with the sole...
More »Centre releases extra foodgrains for PDS by Gargi Parsai
This allocation is in addition to 25 lakh tonnes of grains released for BPL population in August Ban on export of pulses and permission to import pulses at zero duty to continue till March 2012 The Centre on Tuesday announced an additional allocation of five million tonnes of wheat and rice to States for distribution to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) beneficiaries through the Targeted Public Distribution...
More »Sea water as a social resource: significance of Vedaranyam Salt March by MS Swaminathan
A sea water farming project and a genetic garden of Halophytes are being launched at Vedaranyam today The year 2010 marks the 80th anniversary of the Salt Satyagraha launched at Dandi by Mahatma Gandhi and at Vedaranyam by Rajaji to establish that sea water is a social resource. A Sea Water Farming project and a Genetic Garden of Halophytes are being launched at Vedaranyam on December 26, 2010 to initiate a...
More »