Monsoon rains, which have entered the key soybean-growing areas, are likely to be weak in the next three days, weather officials said on Monday. But industry officials said sowing of soybean, the main summer-planted oilseed, would not be hit due to good soil moisture after recent pre-monsoon showers in the region. Weather officials said rains are likely to gather momentum from 25 June. “We expect monsoon flow to strengthen over central India from...

The revolution of the 1960s saved decades worth of greenhouse gas emissions. The Green Revolution of the 1960s raised crop yields and cut hunger — and also saved decades worth of greenhouse gas emissions, a study concludes. U.S. researchers found cumulative global emissions since 1850 would have been one third as much again without the Green Revolution's higher yields. Although modern farming uses more energy and chemicals, much less land needs...

Biodiversity drives sustainable and climate-resilient farming and the biotechnology industry. Everything should be done to spread bio-literacy for an era of bio-happiness in rural and urban India through the conversion of bio-resources into jobs and income.  Biodiversity provides building blocks for sustainable food, health and livelihood security systems. It is the feedstock for the biotechnology industry and a climate-resilient farming system. Given its importance, a Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)...

Global biodiversity has been declining alarmingly despite a pledge by world leaders in 2002 to help curb the loss of earthly life forms, a new United Nations-supported study shows. “Our analysis shows that Governments have failed to deliver on the commitments they made in 2002: biodiversity is still being lost as fast as ever, and we have made little headway in reducing the pressures on species, habitats and ecosystems,” said...

The Centre has so far not addressed the problem of climate change impact on agriculture and food sector, a panel of experts participating in a national conference on ‘Ensuring Food Security in a Changing Climate' observed here on Saturday. While it is estimated that agriculture in the productive areas of South Asia will be amongst the worst affected, with predictions that almost 40 per cent of the production potential could be...