-The Hindu Business Line The AASHA scheme promises better returns on crops, but implementation is the key With the decades-old minimum support price (MSP) system failing to address the crisis at the farm gate, the three schemes that are a part of AASHA – the Price Support Scheme (PSS) itself, the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) and the Pilot of Private Procurement and Stockist Scheme (PPPS) – point to an innovative, MSP-plus...

-The Hindu Business Line Plan to convert more rice fallow land to pulses, oilseeds during rabi season New Delhi: The government has set a foodgrain target of 285.2 million tonnes (mt) for 2018-19, which is marginally higher than the expected production in 2017-18, the agriculture ministry said here on Tuesday. As per the fourth advance estimates released by the Government last month, the foodgrain harvest in 2017-18 would be around 284.83 mt, aided...

-The Hindu Business Line Targets 45 mt from nine crops by 2022 Bengaluru: After giving a fillip to the production of pulses through various strategies, the Agriculture Ministry is focussing on boosting oilseeds production over the next four years. The Ministry has proposed various strategies, including promoting the cultivation of oilseeds in non-traditional areas and cropping seasons besides targeting rice fallows to boost the domestic output, which could help reduce import dependence for...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The government is optimistic of another bumper harvest with output to be similar to last year’s or better, as crop planting and the monsoon season are at the tail end. It also doesn’t expect floods to have any major impact on production. However, some analysts raised concerns over the distribution of rains that they said were erratic, and in deficit in several states. But trade doesn’t expect...

-The Hindu The government must stop storing millions of tonnes of foodgrains in the open under tarpaulins In India, the height of the rainy season is a time that one prays will pass — flooded roads, wet clothes, masses of insects and mould. No place is safe from the growth of fungi that spring up overnight. With the humidity in the air and the warmth of summer, all that fungi need is...