-The Times of India A patch of wheat found growing in fallow field in Oregon, USA, has sent tremors across the world with some East Asian countries cancelling wheat import orders from the US, and the 27 member European Union to raise testing levels for US imports. The reason is that the wheat patch was found to be a genetically modified variety developed and tested by biotech giant Monsanto between 1999 and...
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Misplaced largesse for food security-Kathyayini Chamaraj
-Deccan Herald The very first announcement made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on taking charge as the new CM is that the unit system under the Public Distribution System (PDS) would be scrapped and 30kg of rice at Re 1/kg would be given to each Below Poverty Line (BPL) household, irrespective of the size of the family. This is estimated to cost Rs 2,373 crore a year, almost double the estimated Rs 1,200...
More »A story of a banker turned farmer in Bihar-MJ Prabu
-The Hindu "Farming is fascinating. The only thing is that it requires continuous hard-work and devotion without any distraction" says Mr. Barun Singh, a government bank manager-turned-farmer. Mr. Barun Singh maintains a vermi-composting unit in a portion of his 10 acre land. A dairy unit is attached to the composting unit so that the cattle dung can be easily utilized for the process without much labour involvement. Waste materials like dried leaves, rotten...
More »Push supplier states to curb chemical use -Jayashree Nandi
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: If Delhi government has to make sure that residents don't eat pesticide-laced food, it will have to push neighboring states to reduce their pesticide usage. Most of Delhi's fruits and vegetables come from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Agricultural experts say that while High Court-appointed panel's recommendations on monitoring pesticide residue levels are welcome, much more needs to be done. According to the latest report...
More »Who killed Namdeo?-Sreelatha Menon
-The Business Standard The latest suicide in Vidarbha underlines the need for flexible loan repayment norms for farmers Is it better to give compensation to dead farmers, or to provide loans and insurance to those who are alive? In the case of a majority of cotton farmers in Maharashtra, who are struggling against shrinking land size, production costs and debts, there is neither credit or insurance when alive nor compensation on death. Farmers caught...
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