-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Government has stepped up taking measures, well in advance, to avoid any situation of abnormal increase prices of onion and potato. Two major entities at national level - National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed) and Small Farmers Agri-business Consortium (SFAC) - will be tasked to procure the two major kitchen staples and store them so that the supply can be pumped in when prices go...
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Against the grain -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express By officially committing to inflation targeting through the signing of a monetary policy agreement between the finance ministry and the RBI, India has joined 28 other countries in explicitly fixing goals for annual increases in the consumer price index (CPI) and pinning responsibility on the central bank for achieving them. Interestingly, among the now 29 countries, India has the lowest per capita income. While there are as many as...
More »Food security, a slippery slope -S Ramadorai
-The Hindu Business Line There's no Malthusian problem right now, but without sustainable farming the world will be in serious trouble Food security, a seemingly innocuous phrase, is fast becoming one of the most widely discussed topics of our time. A lot of us would associate ‘food security' as a challenge for the impoverished but it could potentially become a much more widespread problem straddling across geographic and economic divides. The issue of...
More »How to reap a good harvest -Ajay Jakhar
-The Indian Express I recently witnessed protests in Berlin, against industrialised farming and the planned free-trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, under the banner "We Are Fed Up". Trade issues resonate across Europe, but in India, farmers are oblivious to the inevitable consequences of trade agreements. However, the government seems keen to address issues related to farmers. Yet, success on the farm front can be delusional if...
More »Budget 2015: The need for an overhaul in Indian agriculture sector -Ajeet Kumar
-Zee News Agriculture is consistently losing its importance in India's economic growth. The agriculture sector contributes to just 15 percent of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but over 50 percent of the population is still dependent on it. The farm sector, including forestry and fishing, grew by 3.2 percent in the quarter ending September, as compared o 3.8 percent in previous quarter and 4.7 percent in 2013-14. For the entire financial...
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