-Outlook In addition to amending the Rules of the Forest Rights Act, greater attention needs to be paid to changing the Land Acquisition Act   There is no explicit provision in the Forest Rights Act, 2006 for obtaining permission of the Gram Sabha for diversion of forest lands to non-forest purposes. However, Section 4(5) of the Act prevents government to evict any forest dweller unless the recognition process as provided in the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: As part of the Centre's grand plan to convert the hilly areas of the country as exclusive zones of high-value organic farm products, the government on Saturday launched a scheme to encourage farmers in J&K to cultivate scientifically tested and commercially beneficial aromatic and medicinal plants in the state. Under the scheme -- known as 'Jammu Kashmir Arogya Gram Yojna' - the government's key R&D body...

-PTI In August last year, Parliament was informed that Maharashtra had witnessed 37 farmer suicides due to agrarian reasons The number of farmer suicides in Maharashtra is higher compared to other states in the country, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said today. "As compared to other states, farmers suicides are maximum in Maharashtra," Singh said without disclosing the details, on the sidelines of a book launch here. Asked about the reasons for growing...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: Poultry farmers can now afford to count their profits before their chickens hatch - and they are big, with chickens weighing on average twice as much as they did 50 years ago. The broiler chicken of today, a product of controlled breeding, weighs around 2.2kg as compared to 1.2kg before 1960, say veterinarians and chicken farm owners. Contract farming started in India in the early 1960s, taking...

-IANS West Bengal: In a bid to preserve indigenous rice varieties of India, the West Bengal government has proposed setting up a rice museum to showcase 'folk' varieties of rice, a scientist said Wednesday. Proposed to be set up at the Agricultural Training Centre at Fulia in the state's Nadia district, the unique repository will display over 300 samples. "In the institute's bio-diversity conservation farm, we are maintaining, growing, distributing and characterising over...