-PTI New Delhi: India has called for creating a level playing field for developing countries in agri-trade to safeguard livelihood of millions of poor farmers. The issue, among others, was discussed during the mini-ministerial gathering of key Trade Ministers of WTO in Oslo on October 21-22. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman represented India. In the meeting, she “underlined the need for creating a level playing field for the developing countries in Agricultural Trade...

-The Indian Express Inclusive agricultural growth is key to removing poverty by 2030. Eradicating poverty from the planet was the top-most target in a set of 17 goals adopted by the UN last September as a part of its sustainable development agenda. Nations across the globe, including India, endorsed it. The strategies to achieve this goal have been left open to countries. In this context, the Rural Development Report (RDR) 2016 of...

-The Hindu Business Line In Uttar Pradesh, women find their calling in rearing small livestock The ten women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) or samoohs of Naithu village of Badaun, Uttar Pradesh are doing such good business in goat rearing that they call them their ATM cards. The 120 women of these samoohs were not affluent enough to buy buffaloes and cows despite the loans available, so they settled for rearing goats, paying Rs....

-Livemint.com Pulses are important from the perspectives of food security, environmental sustainability and balanced nutrition Most pulses such as pigeon pea (tur dal), black gram (urad), green gram (mung), field beans (waal), moth beans (matki) and horse gram (kulith) are native to the Indian subcontinent and have been an integral part of our diet for centuries. However, the single-minded focus on cereals over the last 50 years—the green revolution in wheat and...

-Livemint.com The APMC legislation has in effect created fragmented markets—small trading zones that can quite easily be captured by trader cartels Makeshift markets have sprung up in several cities in Maharashtra over the past few weeks, after the state government led by Devendra Fadnavis allowed farmers to sell vegetables and fruit directly to consumers. They are now allowed to bring their produce directly to cities rather than sell them in markets...