-Down to Earth India requires policy changes to make millets an effective tool against malnutrition Nutrient-rich millets, which have been a crucial part of human diet since ancient times, have lost their importance due to globally commercialised agronomic practices to produce more foodgrains. Though awareness has been growing among the public in the recent years about the health benefits of a millet-based diet—high fibre, low carbohydrate, protein-rich and gluten-free—gaps persist on several...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Farmer and food activists have alleged that genetically modified soya bean seeds are being imported "illegally" for Cultivation, in violation of a directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) notification of 2006 that prohibits the import of GMOs without approval from the genetic engineering appraisal committee (GEAC). Some activists have also found imported packaged foods containing GM ingredients being sold in departmental stores, one of which is...

-ThePrint.in Farmers’ bodies and experts say the key to any benefit to farmers lies in how the production cost or the cost of Cultivation is calculated. Chandigarh: One of the most significant takeaways from the Union Budget presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley Thursday was the proposed increase the minimum support price (MSP) for all unannounced kharif crops to at least one-and-a-half times the production cost. The announcement is expected to directly impact...

-TheWire.in The finance minister has made a big announcement on minimum support price, but he should make it clear whether all he is promising is to take the prices back to the UPA-II levels. The government has done it again. Like last year, there has been much hype about a pro-farmer Budget, but in actuality it rests on misleading claims which don’t address the farming crisis. Last year, the agriculture credit target...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: As different states have come out with various schemes to protect farmers from price volatility, the Centre has expressed its willingness to support them all within the existing schemes and may even spend more in 2018-19 to procure agricultural and horticultural commodities at remunerative prices. "We will not reject states' requests. We would like states to procure as much as required to reduce farmers' pain and...