-The Economic Times Sowing has picked up in Andhra Pradesh following good rains in the last two days. But farmers in Maharashtra are worried with the scarce reservoir water being kept aside for drinking purpose.  "Only 8% sowing has been completed till now. Crops of moong and urad have been affected the most. Standing crops are also getting affected due to water shortage as groundwater has gone down and there is no...

-World Watch Institute An estimated 70.2 million hectares of Agricultural land worldwide have been sold or leased to private and public investors since 2000, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute (www.worldwatch.org) for its Vital Signs Online service. The bulk of these acquisitions, which are called “land grabs” by some observers, took place between 2008 and 2010, peaking in 2009. Although data for 2010 indicate that the amount of...

-The Times of India India is among the top 10 nations to acquire land in both domestic and transnational deals, according to a report released this month by the Washington-based World Watch Institute (WWI). It lists India as a big investor in land globally and among the top 'land grabbers' because what is acquired is Agricultural land.  The data has been sourced from an international coalition of NGOs and research groups called...

-The Business Standard   Lopsided fertiliser policy is damaging farm output Even as the indifferent monsoon is threatening to affect crop sowing in the current season, the recent spike in the prices of some fertilisers and related developments in the fertiliser sector are adding to disquiet over kharif production prospects. The government’s move to slash subsidies on non-urea fertilisers early this year, coupled with the rupee’s depreciation, has led fertiliser companies to substantially...

Tata Motors welcomes verdict; Mamata says people’s choice will prevail In a setback to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court struck down the “Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act of 2011”, terming it unconstitutional and void. The law was enacted in 2011 to vest farm land acquired by the previous government for Tata Motors’ Nano small car factory in Singur...