-The United Nations Global food prices declined for the third consecutive month, largely driven by lower international prices for grains, soy and palm oil, while sugar, meat and dairy prices were also down, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today. The Rome-based agency said its Food Price Index averaged 205.9 points in July, which is 4 points below June and 7 points lower than in July 2012. The Index measures...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Facing flak, govt to revise poverty line benchmark
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government will soon revise the contentious poverty line upward from Rs 27.20 in rural areas and Rs 33.40 in urban areas after it receives the report of the Rangarajan committee that is examining the validity of the current yardstick. Minister of state for planning Rajeev Shukla told TOI the government was in the process of re-evaluating the poverty line in a bid to make it...
More »World cereal production set to reach historic high in 2013 –UN food agency
-The United Nations Global cereal production is expected to increase by 7 per cent in 2013 compared to last year, the United Nations food agency said today, but warned that in spite of a boost in supply, various regions including Central Africa, West Africa and Syria are still affected by food insecurity. In its Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) forecasts that cereal production this year...
More »The politics of cheap rice in Karnataka -ND Shiva Kumar & Narayanan Krishnaswami
-The Times of India With the state budget all set to be presented on July 12, TOI takes a hard look at the government's cheap rice scheme and its impact on politics and employment. Will cheap rice boil? Let's look at the math. Reducing the price from Rs 3 to Re 1 per kg will help a family save Rs 60 per month. Till now, poor families got rice from the Public Distribution...
More »Policymakers need to create more opportunities for small farmers, UN report
-The United Nations Small-scale farmers - who produce the majority of food in the developing world - need to be better integrated into markets to reduce global hunger and poverty, the United Nations food and agricultural agency today reported urging more nuanced policymaking for smallholder farmers. "Policy interventions that aim at encouraging greater levels of smallholder production for sale in markets need to take better account of the heterogeneity of smallholder households,"...
More »