Despite high prices of Fruits and vegetables, India's area under horticultural crops - mainly Fruits, vegetables, spices and flowers - has doubled in around twenty years (between 1991-92 and 2012-13). This has resulted in increase in production of horticultural crops nearly threefold (2.8 times). A new report from the Ministry of Agriculture says that the area under horticultural crops during this period rose from 12.77 million hectares to 23.69 million...

-The Times of India Kanpur: Scientists of Chandra Shekhar Azad (CSA) Agricultural University have come up with insect monitoring traps that can control the pest population in a farm. Pests damage crops and thereby affect productivity of crops, including pulses, vegetables and Fruits. The trap was displayed at the three-day Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Mela which began in the university on Wednesday. Insect traps, use pheromone lures (attractants) and other trap kits for...

-The Hindu Kozhikode: The recent resurgence in organic farming seems to have given sales of organic fertilizers and pest control prescriptions a huge boost in the market. Different city-based groups and collectives engaged in promoting organic farming and marketing organic products including vegetables and Fruits testify to this trend. Besides other channels, the recently launched, NABARD-funded exclusive outlet for locally cultivated organic vegetables under Niravu Vengeri, a progressive residential forum here, sees...

-The Hindustan Times Mumbai: With space constraints, creating a garden in Mumbai to grow pesticide-free vegetables and Fruits may seem like a far-fetched idea. But one group of organic farming enthusiasts has shown how growing an organic kitchen garden in the city is quite an achievable feat. For the past five years, Urban Leaves India - a group of amateur organic farmers - has been spreading awareness about urban farming in Mumbai....

-The Hindu Dr. Mickey Chopra, global head of UNICEF's health programmes explained to R. Prasad why he was very encouraged by the efforts taken by the government to reduce child mortality, and how these efforts are paying off, especially in States like Bihar. * How is India doing as far as meeting the MDG 4 target is concerned? India is changing very quickly. We are seeing very encouraging signs... we are starting to...