-The Indian Express Farm incomes may not revive despite good monsoon. There are new challenges for policymakers. India’s per capita calorie demand has been falling for at least the last 30 years. Most people do a double-take when they hear that. One can’t debate the fact much: National Sample Surveys every five to seven years have documented this. What we can debate are the reasons behind this: In their 2009 paper Angus...

-PTI The rise in wholesale prices may provide partial relief to manufacturers and producers, although it brings bad news for household budgets of consumers. Experts and industry said kharif sowing trends indicate cooling of food inflation in the coming months, even as chances of a rate cut in the near-term are low, given the rise in WPI and retail inflation. Wholesale inflation soared to a 23-month high of 3.55 per cent in July...

-PTI Vegetable prices rose up to 100% in the April-July period due to low arrivals of the harvest in mandis, Assocham said In a "most worrying" sign for consumers, the prices of vegetables in retail markets are likely to shoot up further in coming months as the 'peak production season' came to an end, says a report. In the shorter horizon, there will be "more pressure on the market arrivals of vegetables as...

-Down to Earth A parliamentary standing committee blamed Agriculture Ministry’s skewed policy for the inequality in fertiliser usage The parliamentary standing committee on agriculture has recommended formation of a “Pesticide Development Authority” to ensure balanced use of chemical fertilisers in the wake of declining agricultural productivity. The 29th report, called “Impact of chemical fertilizers and Pesticides on agriculture and allied sectors in the country”, was tabled in Parliament by the committee. The...

-The Times of India Most of us know exotic new veggies and grains like kale and quinoa are "imported" but even ordinary staples like Potato, onion, tomato and chilli came from elsewhere, reports Subodh Varma. A study of 177 countries by scientists from the International Center of Tropical Agriculture has found that in India, more than a third of all food items derived from plants -grains, vegetables, fruits, spices, oils, sugar etc....