-PTI MUMBAI: Lack of cold and frozen supply chains leads to loss of Fruits and Vegetables worth over Rs 13,600 crore annually in the country, according to a report. The report 'A Tank of Cold: Cleantech Leapfrog to a more food secure world' by UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers calls for urgent action to encourage roll-out of sustainable cold chains in India to prevent unnecessary food loss, help alleviate hunger and improve...

-The Hindustan Times   The government is planning a "grow safe food campaign" that could entail new policy initiatives on pesticide use and an awareness drive among farmers in the wake of a study that shows at least 2% of commonly consumed Fruits and Vegetables could be poisonous. The government-sponsored study, ‘Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level', continuously tracked pesticide use between April 2009 and March 2013 for possible presence of organo-chlorine,...

-IPS News SUNDARBANS: November is the cruelest month for landless families in the Indian Sundarbans, the largest single block of tidal mangrove forest in the world lying primarily in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. There is little agricultural wage-work to be found, and the village moneylender's loan remains unpaid, its interest mounting. The paddy harvest is a month away, pushing rice prices to an annual high. For those like Namita Bera,...

-The Hindu Business Line   Polyhouse farms yield more than a same-size land holding in this salubrious corner of the country Until a few years ago, monkeys and pigs destroyed everything the farmers grew in the villages around Jubbar Hatti, 25 km from Shimla. Today the same farmers earn big money from growing exotic vegetables like bell capsicum or carnation flowers, but inside a cluster of polyhouses spread across five panchayats in a...

-DNA Aided schools flout norms, give glucose biscuits, poha, pav bhaji The mid day meal (MDM) scheme has been repeatedly hit by allegations of corruption and lack of hygiene. Now, dna tours the BMC schools or the aided ones in the city to find that not only is there blatant violation of norms, but also siphoning of good ration to replace them with sub-standard things is still rampant. The state government's resolution...