-Livemint.com Harsh Vardhan says GM mustard is a very contentious issue and said a lot of opinions have been expressed for and against its introduction New Delhi: Even as the government continues to put on hold its final decision on release of genetically modified (GM) mustard for commercial Cultivation, Union science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan said that the proposal has not been shelved and remains under consideration. Vardhan emphasized that GM mustard...

-The Indian Express Area under ‘unapproved’ herbicide-tolerant hybrids likely to fall this year Nagpur: Last year, almost 35 lakh packets of genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds, incorporating unapproved ‘herbicide-tolerance’ or HT technology, were bought and planted by farmers across India. But this time round, state governments seem better prepared to curb this illegal Cultivation, even as sowing of cotton is over in northwest India and is about to commence in the...

-The Hindu Business Line Middlemen can hike prices but producers lose margins Ahmedabad/ New Delhi: With the sharp increase in fuel prices punching holes in agricultural incomes, a section of farmers are reviewing the mechanisation options. Diesel prices are up one-fourth over corresponding time last year. "The cost including transportation and pump-sets operation works out to about 25 per cent of the cost of production in various crops. Fuel costs are going up...

-Frontline.in The women-led climate-resilient farming model created by Swayam Shikshan Prayog in drought-hit Marathwada has yielded encouraging results and is worthy of emulation across the country. “LOOK at our quinoa. It has grown so well,” says a beaming Shailaja Narwade from Masia village near Solapur in interior Maharashtra. Shailaja has planted the traditional South American plant not for consumption but in order to harvest its seeds. “Quinoa seeds are very valuable...

-TheWire.in The Modi government is pushing insurance schemes in both health and agriculture. But are they really making a difference? How successful, effective and equitable is insurance as a state policy? Does it address what it is meant to address in the first place, be it in health or agriculture? How does it handle systemic risk, which is essentially uninsurable? Does it also present a lost opportunity for improving the delivery of...