-Outlook Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today launched Rajiv Gandhi Ann Yojana under the Food Security Scheme in the state. Of the state's 68 lakh population, about 37 lakh would be benefited by the scheme, Singh said after handing over ration bags to 104-year-old Mast Ram and Vidya Devi (70) of Sunni area of the district at a function at Ridge maidan here. Beneficiaries under the scheme would get three kgs...

-The Telegraph Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government today announced a scheme to allow big private investors to directly procure farm produce - a segment that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee could not liberate from the stranglehold of the Forward Bloc. The scheme titled Brihat Krishak Bazar Yojana, which loosely translates into mega farmer market programme, seeks to "connect the local market to high-growth demand centres" and weed out middlemen. The project will allow private developers to...

-The Hindu     Questioning a technology, especially of the kind that has serious unknowns and lacks clear social benefits, is not an attack on science Jairam Ramesh, former Environment Minister for India, made the brave decision in 2010 to tell his then apex regulator of genetically modified organisms (GEAC) that it had failed to properly use available science to determine the safety - to human health and the environment - of Bt brinjal,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: For 52-year-old Nagappa Nimbegundi, a farmer from Makari village in North Karnataka, this Independence Day was special. After three years of relentless efforts, he has managed to revive 13 varieties of indigenous cotton and 11 other varieties of non-Bt cotton in his farm. The seed bank that he is developing is of significance as 90% of cotton production in India has been taken over by Bt...

-CivilSocietyOnline.com Kozhikode: Dubai's agriculture minister recently chartered a flight to Kozhikode and, accompanied by a horticulture consultant, headed to the Agriculture Research Station (ARS) at Anakkayam nearby. There the minister, Abdulla Jassim Abdulla M Almarzooqi, placed orders for fruits, spices and ornamental plants. But on his mind was something bigger. He offered free visas and air tickets to the 100 members of the research station's agricultural army, which rather grandly goes...