-The Business Standard   Had late winter rains not damaged some standing crops in northern states, India would have had record foodgrain production of 263 million tonnes (mt) in 2013-14. Whatever the loss of rabi crops, the good southwest monsoon allowed India to record the targeted growth of four per cent in production. However, a good season should not distract us from the reality of the farm sector's vulnerability to major shocks...

-The Hindustan Times   The UN panel on climate change warned on Monday that famine, water shortage and increased regional tension could plague south Asia, especially India, if corrective steps weren't taken soon to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The alarmist report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was released on Monday, at Yokohama in Japan, and focuses on the global impact climate change would have on agriculture, water supply and society. "Nobody...

-MoneyLife.in India, the world's second largest food producer, is witnessing growing distress and declining confidence in agriculture as most small and landless farmers, with less of a stake, are found to quit farming The recent unseasonal heavy rains, thunder and hailstorms originating from unusually intense western disturbances from the Mediterranean interacting with the south-easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal have ravaged the due-for-harvesting chana, lentils and wheat in Madhya Pradesh,...

-The Hindu But it won't address hunger and malnutrition, and protein and micronutrient deficiency: eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan Bangalore: The national Food Security Act marks an important first step in the fight to eliminate hunger in India, but much more remains to be done, eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan has said. Addressing the ninth edition of the Nutra India Summit organised by the International Society for Nutraceuticals, Nutritionals and Naturals, Prof. Swaminathan...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Minimum support price (MSP) of most of the food-grains has been increased by over 100% in the past 10 years, but it hardly benefited farmers in eastern and central India as majority there have not even heard of such procurement system. The situation is equally bad in other parts - except in states like Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Western Uttar Pradesh - where farmers don't get...