-Down to Earth Local food crops should be preferred over GM crops to address deficiencies, say experts at Bhubaneswar food sovereignty meet. A recent study has found that Gandhari saag, a leafy wild plant found in Odisha, can be a much better source of Vitamin A than golden rice, a genetically modified variety, which was being looked at as a revolutionary solution to check the vitamin deficiency. “Gandhari saag has 9 per cent...

-The Hindu Urge parties to frame policies to preserve MUNDRI: For southern Rajasthan’s tribals, the Assembly elections are an opportunity to press their demand with the contesting political parties for framing policies that ensure food security, even while helping them preserve indigenous practices, and assist in forming new linkages with the local health and financial services. The region’s tribal population wants political representatives to make interventions to help the community improve resource management...

-Financial Express Grain production plummeted from 89.4 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 1964-65 to 72.4 MMT in 1965-66. India became heavily dependent on PL 480 food aid from US and underwent a ‘ship-to-mouth’ crisis. October 16 is celebrated as ‘World Food Day’ to mark the creation of United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. It envisions zero world hunger by 2030. Perhaps the occasion is incomplete without remembering Nobel Peace...

-Livemint.com The production of ‘mahua’ is finally entering the formal economy as new initiatives seek to upscale this indigenous drink, selling it across the country and even the globe It is a cloudy morning in Nangur village in Bastar district, Chattisgarh. It is a settlement of a little over 400 families, considered fairly large in these parts. We make a bumpy journey down a narrow, unpaved road intermittently shaded by sargi (sal)...

-The Hindu Business Line Mangaluru: An expert from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has said agro-biodiversity conservation approach has not received the attention from the stakeholders concerned in the country. Speaking at the inauguration of the national workshop on ‘Agro-biodiversity conservation for sustainable socio-ecological development’ at Mangalore University on Monday, KG Saxena, Professor, School of Environmental Sciences, JNU, New Delhi, said agriculture has remained the focus area for many. Long-term approach Following this, agro-biodiversity conservation...