-The Hindu Batting for about 30 lakh sugarcane farmers of Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has expressed his reservation over the Central Government’s proposal to de-regulate the sugar and cane sectors, which would effectively signal an end to the State’s control over reserving the cane area of the sugar mills and fixing the procurement price for the growers. At his meeting with the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council,...

-The Times of India MIDNAPORE: A farmer from the former Maoist stronghold of West Midnapore village landed in jail on Saturday for putting uncomfortable questions to chief minister Mamata Banerjee at a public meeting at Belpahari. Hours after the meeting, police charged him with non-bailable offences such as criminal intimidation, the maximum punishment for which is death. Police started sniffing at his "criminal intent" when the bus conductor-turned-farmer, Shiladitya Chowdhury, broke through...

-AFP Annual monsoon rains, crucial to India's economy, covered the country on Wednesday but remained 23 percent below average, sparking fears of their impact on two cereal-producing states. The pounding rains that sweep across the continent from June to September are dubbed the "economic lifeline" of India, which is one of the world's leading producers of rice, sugar, wheat and cotton. "The monsoon is covering the entire country today with parts of Gujarat...

-FAO Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture play a crucial role in food and nutrition security and in providing for the livelihoods of millions of people. FAO's latest flagship publication on the state of fisheries and aquaculture, launched at the opening of the 30th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, highlights the sector's vital contribution to the world's well-being and prosperity, a point reflected in the recent Rio+20 Outcome Document. The State of...

-Inclusion.in There is good news. And there’s bad news. The good news first. There’s been a bumper wheat crop and the granaries are overflowing. And the bad news? Where do we begin? A lot of that grain will rot. Millions will still remain hungry. Heavily in debt and distressed, farmers are committing suicide. Food prices are soaring. There’s more… Farmers don’t have money. Their land is too small and isn’t yielding much. Fertilisers and...