-The Times of India MUMBAI: Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan seems to be dithering on whether or not farmers should be allowed to sell their crop outside the agriculture produce marketing committee (APMC) setup. This means, consumers may not be able to get their hands on reasonably-priced vegetables and fruits brought in by cultivators in the near future. Chavan said the government needs more time to discuss the issue with various stakeholders. "Since...
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WTO has a point in objecting to India’s food security act -Ashok Kotwal, Milind Murugkar and Bharat Ramaswami
-The Hindustan Times Misunderstandings about the World Trade Organization (WTO) are pervasive. The media coverage of the recent WTO meetings at Bali has added to the confusion. The bone of contention was the government procurement of the food grains in India under the National Food Security Act. The final outcome is a stopgap arrangement that has bought the Indian government some time; most importantly, it does not have to undertake any...
More »GM Crops-What's all the fuss about -Nikhil Inamdar
-The Business Standard A quick recap of the intensely fractured debate on GM crops and what the pro & anti arguments are. After nearly a decade of opposition, Environment Minister Veerappa Moily is finally expected to rule in favour of the contentious GM or genetically modified food crops in India. The Economic Times reports that this will "pave the way for the government to submit an affidavit in the Supreme Court agreeing...
More »Cereal offenders -Ila Patnaik
-The Indian Express Food inflation owes largely to agricultural markets being regulated by outdated laws. The RBI governor, Raghuram Rajan, has a difficult task this week. He has to decide whether to keep interest rates constant or raise them - bearing in mind the possible taper of the US Fed's bond buying programme, a decline in industrial production and a rise in inflation. The sharp increase in consumer price-based inflation, to more...
More »WTO rules must address food security needs of developing countries –UN expert
-The United Nations A United Nations independent rights expert called today for policy changes that will allow developing countries the freedom to use their reserves to help secure the right to food without the threat of sanctions under current World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. "Trade rules must be shaped around the food security policies that developing countries need, rather than policies having to tiptoe around WTO rules," said Olivier De Schutter, Special...
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