-The Financial Express The urgent need to end world hunger appears to have promoted superfood crops at the expense of nutritional diversity Finally, we know why India is facing a spurt in diet-linked lifestyle disorders while it continues to struggle to feed the hungry. The paradox is seen in several developing economies, the answer is easily hazarded but now, for the first time, a formal study by the International Centre for Tropical...

-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) The official Wholesale Price Index for ‘All Commodities' (Base: 2004-05 = 100) for the month of February, 2014 has remained unchanged at its previous month level of 178.9 (provisional). INFLATION The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 4.68% (provisional) for the month of February, 2014 (over February,2013) as compared to 5.05% (provisional) for the previous month and 7.28% during the corresponding...

As the challenge of global warming looms large, the importance of climate resilient agriculture (CRA) gets recognized by both scientific and farming communities. Countries like India are expected to be intensely affected by climate change since majority of the population is primarily dependent on agriculture for livelihood. CRA, encompassing adaptation and mitigation strategies and the effective use of biodiversity at all levels-genes, species and ecosystems-should, therefore, be India's response towards...

-The Hindu     "We have at last found a solution to labour shortage. I am hopeful of sustainable farming" Chennai: Not long ago, farmers of Kavanthandalam, a village about 10 km from Uthiramerur of Kancheepuram district and situated along Cheyyar river, were extremely worried about the future of farming in their area. Labour shortage was their main problem. Though this feature was nothing unique, the problem got compounded, given the proximity of the village...

-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Agriculture) The two-day National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign has come out with detailed strategy for maximising crop production during the coming kharif season. The focus will be on ensuring timely availability of fertilizers and quality seed and also sufficient credit to farmers. Based on inputs from States and the Fertilizer Ministry, it is established that sufficient quantities of fertilizers and seeds are available in...