-ANI Chairman Standing Committee of Parliament on Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Hukmdev Narayan Yadav called for concerted efforts to forge an R and D-led strategy to save the loss of crops due to pests, weeds and diseases. An estimated 15-25 percent of potential crop production is lost due this menace at a time when India needs not only to raise production but also ensure food security and nutrition for its growing consumption...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: The government is readying a new policy framework to rein in the inflationary impact and stabilise the supply of pulses, a widely consumed but scarce food item with economy-wide implications. Three ministries – agriculture, food and finance – and the state-run policy think-tank Niti Aayog are coordinating efforts to frame the new measures that will see the government step in as one of the key importers of pulses. “The...

-Business World It is time for mainstream approach to change so that warehousing industry is perceived as a services sector. Warehouses can become the distribution centres pan India India is the world's second-largest fruit producer, with an annual production of 46.8 million tons, accounting for 10 per cent of global fruit production. It is also the world's second-largest vegetable producer, with an output of 90.85 million tons, accounting for 14 per cent...

-The Hindu The Maharashtra government’s decision to promulgate an ordinance this week to exempt farmers from having to mandatorily sell their fruit and vegetable crop at mandis governed by a 1963 law on marketing farm produce, is a bold and laudable step. That Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stood his ground against the powerful lobby of middlemen, who shut shop in protest, is even more commendable. The problem with the present...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The government's first assessment of farm prospects six weeks into the monsoon season shows the country is heading for a record kharif harvest, which should boost rural income and calm food inflation, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said. Pulses output, which had fallen sharply after two years of drought, will rise 20% and cool prices for consumers, while farmers will gain from higher output and better prices...