-The Times of India VIJAYAWADA: The farm credit disbursal system in the state remains crippled for a long time now as a majority of tenant farmers, who constitute about 80 per cent of the cultivators in the state, are unable to avail of the loan facility. Experts say the latest recommendations by the bankers' sub-committees also do not reflect the reality. In fact, they fear the recommendations will only aggravate the...

Rising prices of dal: How to deal with it? The 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. In India, however, ordinary citizens are under enormous duress due to the skyrocketing prices of dal/ lentils since the last one year. The website of Price Monitoring Cell of the Department of Consumer Affairs shows that dal prices varied across places. For example, the...

-PTI NEW DELHI: With bollworm developing resistance to Bt cotton crop, the government has decided to promote cultivation of indigenous varieties of the crop in a big way this year. In 2015-16 crop year (July-June), there was a significant damage to cotton crop because of whitefly and pink bollworm pest attack in states like Haryana, Punjab, Rajashtan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Almost 90 per cent of the country's cotton cultivation area is under...

-Livemint.com With global population set to hit 11 bn by 2100, gene banks are vital links in a chain of steps needed to avert hunger New Delhi: From the outside, the tapering building in classic brick red and cream standing by a quiet stretch of road in west Delhi has the unmistakable look of a government office block, an impression reinforced by its manicured lawns and the acronym NBPGR embossed at...

-PTI NEW DELHI: The Centre has issued directives to cotton-producing states like Punjab and Haryana to ensure timely sowing of the crop and use of only recommended seeds for preventing whitefly attack, which caused significant damage to the crop last year. States have been directed to keep a close watch on the movement of whitefly and ensure timely sprinkling of pesticides to check its menace. "Union agriculture and farmers welfare ministry has issued...