-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...
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In the Year of Millets, Coarse Grains Remain Neglected Despite Nutritional Benefits -Siraj Hussain
-TheWire.in The government cannot procure the entire production of millets in the country and the only way to ensure profitability for millet farmers is to promote domestic consumption. On October 3, the government announced the minimum support prices (MSP) for Rabi crops that will be sown between October and December. While the MSP for wheat has been raised by 6.1%, that of safflower has seen an increase of 20.6%, the highest. These...
More »India targets slight increase in 2018-19 foodgrain output -Priscilla Jebaraj
-The Hindu M.P., Gujarat likely to opt for new payment scheme Despite patchy rainfall in some parts, the Agriculture Ministry has set a foodgrain production target of 285.2 million tonnes for 2018-19, a marginal increase from the previous year’s harvest of 284.8 million tonnes. Rainfall deficit during the current monsoon season is now at 10%, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. “Some areas got extra rainfall, some areas were deficient. But in spite of...
More »Steps to stop the rot: on dangers of storing foodgrains in the open -Peter Smetacek
-The Hindu The government must stop storing millions of tonnes of foodgrains in the open under tarpaulins In India, the height of the rainy season is a time that one prays will pass — flooded roads, wet clothes, masses of insects and mould. No place is safe from the growth of fungi that spring up overnight. With the humidity in the air and the warmth of summer, all that fungi need is...
More »Minimum support price: Unkept promises on cost mitigation, bad formula to determine MSP compound farm woes -Angarika Gogoi
-Firstpost.com Farmers across India are sceptical about the promised benefits of the minimum support price (MSP) promised by the government for their kharif crop. In a press release, the government announced that the MSP would be set at 50 percent over the cost of production and vowed to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. As Amrinder Singh Punia, a farmer and general secretary of the Punjab Agricultural University Kisan Club, points out, “Government...
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