-Down to Earth Low returns and high risks from alternative crops among reasons past efforts failed, says report The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) has recommended promotion of crop diversification, favouring oilseed crops amid the global inflation in oilseeds and vegetable oils prices. Global inflation creates a structural risk as vegetable oils account for about half of India’s agricultural import, subsequently raising the country’s agri-import bill, the commission wrote in its...

-Press release by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International and 430 civil society and indigenous peoples organizations from 69 countries dated June 9, 2022  Reminding the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of its obligations to uphold human rights, 430 civil society and Indigenous peoples organizations from 69 countries across the globe today called on the FAO Council to rescind the agency’s partnership with CropLife International, the industry association representing the world’s largest...

-The Tribune Target 12 lakh hectares | Land under DSR 72,000 hectares Chandigarh: The State Government has extended the deadline for farmers to opt for Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) to June 30 after its ambitious plan to bring 12 lakh hectares under the water-saving technique has come a cropper. Official sources say that of the targeted 12 lakh hectares, only 72,000 hectares have been brought under the DSR. With paddy transplantation set...

-Hindustan Times During the Covid pandemic-induced lockdown in early 2020, nearly 25,000 migrant workers reached Saharanpur on bicycles while heading back to their native places in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from their places of work in Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Meerut: The Saharanpur district administration has auctioned 5,400 bicycles left behind by migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar while rushing home during the nationwide lockdown in the wake of...

-Livemint.com India’s wheat export proscription was the first signal of awareness that moves on many fronts are needed for inflation control The Indian export ban on wheat in mid-May drew much negative attention. For the record, it is a ban on private sector wheat exports, and leaves open government-to-government contracts. The widespread criticism of the ban was misplaced in my opinion. Private wheat traders had responded exuberantly to the global demand for wheat...