-The Economic Times Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has given ample hint that Budget 2018 is going to be a farmer's Budget. Jaitley has said the agriculture sector is the top priority for the government because the country's economic growth is not justifiable and equitable unless the benefits were clear and evident in the farm sector. After launching options trading in guar seed on commodity exchange NCDEX yesterday, Jaitley said, "We see in...

-Livemint.com The committee’s suggestions on major reforms include an overhaul of the Union agriculture ministry New Delhi: In a detailed action plan for doubling farmers’ incomes, a top government panel has proposed major reforms to the existing administrative structure. This includes an overhaul of the Union agriculture ministry, setting up a three-tier planning and review mechanism through district, state and national level committees and an annual ease of doing agribusiness survey. The committee on...

-The Times of India blog With little over than a year left for the 2019 general elections, the Narendra Modi led NDA government has finally remembered the farmers of the country. Last week, finance minister Arun Jaitley said agriculture sector is the government’s top priority in this year’s budget. This has left many surprised considering BJP had promised to ensure a minimum of 50% profit over cost of production in their...

-The Hindu Agricultural policy should look to address the problem of severe price fluctuations There appears to be no end in sight to the cycle of boom and bust in the prices of agricultural goods. Over the last few weeks, across India the price of potatoes has fallen sharply after a year of bumper production. With the price of a kilogram of potato dropping as low as under a rupee in certain...

-Down to Earth That explains why agrarian riots have increased by over 600 per cent in the last three years Whenever agriculture makes headlines, ironically, they hide more stories of distress. For sixth consecutive year, horticulture (fruits and vegetables) production has outstripped food grain production. Apparently, it is encouraging news given that farmers earn more from vegetables and fruits than food grains. But around the same time, reports of farmers dumping...