-The Hindu Business Line At an organic market in Odisha, middle-class consumers get to interact with the producers of their food and appreciate traditional knowledge systems One Sunday morning in January, I visited an organic produce market located amidst dense bougainvillea creepers and rows of trees, on the grounds of the six-decade-old Christian Hospital in Bissamcuttack, a town in western Odisha’s Rayagada district. In policy and public imagination, Odisha, particularly its western districts...

-The Hindu Business Line Basmati, bovine exports have already plateaued New Delhi: With export earnings from basmati and bovine meat — the flagship agricultural and processed export sectors — hitting a plateau, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is exploring newer avenues, Chairman Devendra Kumar Singh said on Wednesday. According to data available with APEDA, export earnings from agricultural and processed food products have drastically dropped from $21.5 billion...

-The Hindu The issue of food wastage must be fully understood, so that an effective strategy can be drawn up When Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought up the issue of food wastage on his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme about two months ago, he endorsed a valid point when he asked people not to waste food. Though he raised an extremely critical issue of national importance, he could also have used the occasion...

-Hindustan Times India needs a paradigm shift in agriculture for economic and ecological sustainability Whenever flashpoints are reached, such as the current farmers’ agitation, there is a clamour for immediate palliatives. This is understandable, as those in acute distress need relief. But what we must not overlook are the profound possibilities of reform that such crises open up. Take Madhya Pradesh (MP), the epicentre of the agitation, which best exemplifies the required...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Farmers have started preparing land for growing kharif crops following onset of monsoon rains in some parts of the country. This time round, farmers are expected to bring 107 million hectares under cultivation for paddy, soyabean, pulses, cotton, bajra, jowar, groundnut and maize, raising hopes of a bigger grain harvest this year. Companies and analysts said the acreage under cotton could surpass soyabean and pulses as prices are...