-Countercurrents.org More than half of rural households in India are landless, or almost so. This deprives them of the most obvious asset needed for sustainable livelihoods and food security in villages–farmland. After  agriculture the next most important source of rural livelihood in India is dairy farming but here too the household with farmland has free access to crop residues which is increasingly not available to landless households who  have to incur extra...

-The Hindu Make the process for procurement of wheat offline in current season, says Jaipur . JAIPUR: The Centre has praised the achievements of Rajasthan in the implementation of “one nation, one ration card” scheme to enable the migrant workers and their family members access the benefits of PDS from anywhere. Rajasthan is the 12th State to successfully undertake the reform. Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey, who was on a visit to the...

-Press release by International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems dated 30th March, 2021 * New report sounds alarm on control of food tech, farming data, and corporate takeover of UN multilateral agencies. * Civil society  and social movements can fight back, boosting post-pandemic resilience, slashing agriculture’s GHG emissions by 75%, and shifting $4 trillion to sustainable food and farming. The future planned by agribusiness giants could accelerate environmental breakdown and jeopardize...

-The Indian Express In rural India, the National food security Act of 2013 – which entitles three-fourths of all households to 5 kg of wheat or rice per person per month at Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg, respectively – has reduced the demand for millets. Millets score over rice and wheat, whether in terms of vitamins, minerals and crude fibre content or amino acid profile. They are also hardier and...

-Livemint.com * We must widen its coverage to feed the needy instead of letting subsidy reductions get the better of it * Subsidy reduction is a key aim of Niti Aayog’s proposal to reduce food-security coverage, but our subsidy level is not as high as it looks and the move could thwart efforts to achieve nutrition goals A recent discussion paper by the Niti Aayog has suggested a reduction in the coverage of...