-The Pioneer While the Government has done its bit to boost the output of pulses, it has done little to check the nexus between politicians and grain traders For several decades, production of pulses in India has fallen substantially short in terms of consumption. This persistent deficit has led to intermittent bouts of spike in prices as imports (needed to plug it) have often come after lag and have failed to reach...

Much to our surprise, a careful relook at the newly released estimates on farm production from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare would reveal that the foodgrain production during the Rabi season is likely to fall by almost 1 million tonne between 2013-14 and 2016-17. Please see chart-1. Amidst the celebration of a bumper harvest in the ongoing crop year, it needs to be explained why the Rabi foodgrain output...

-Deccan Herald Madivalappa Totagi, an organic farmer based in Mugad village near Dharwad, is known for his innovative approach and eco-friendly farming methods. This year, his experiment reached a new level with the cultivation of 20 heritage jowar varieties. The seeds of variety conservation were sown in his mind when he met seed saviour Shankar Langti from Khanapur in Belagavi district. Shankar, has formed a farmers’ group in his village, Gundenatti, and...

-The Financial Express Thanks to normal monsoon rains last year after two consecutive years of ‘deficient’ rainfall, India’s foodgrain production is estimated to touch an all-time high of 273.38 million tonne (MT) in the 2016-17 crop year (July-June), which is 8.7% more than the previous year. The previous record output was 265.04 MT in 2013-14. According to the third advance estimate released on Tuesday by agriculture ministry, the output of rice, wheat,...

-The Hindu Business Line Short tenure of the policy is its biggest drawback. With El Nino expected to mar the monsoon this year, insurers may stay away A normal monsoon in 2016, after two years of drought, has not only led to a bountiful harvest for farmers, but also filled the coffers of private insurers. The Kharif 2016 season resulting in lower claims has helped private insurers in particular rake in good profits...