-Asian Age Children born in India are, on average, shorter than those born in sub-Saharan Africa. Even worse, 255 million Indians remain food insecure, eating less than 2,100 calories daily. Jharkhand reports the lowest per capita calorie intake (1,900 Kcal) in rural areas, while West Bengal hovers similarly (1,851 Kcal) in urban areas. We have attempted to meet this challenge through legislation. Aside from the Right to Food Bill, the landmark...

-Business Standard Swadeshi Jagran Manch asked the Centre to come out with a comprehensive land use policy instead of a piecemeal approach to the issue The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliated economic policy group, along with Communist Party of India (CPI) affiliated All India Kisan Sabha on Tuesday made common cause in criticising the land Bill brought by the Narendra Modi government. In its presentation to the parliamentary...

-The Hindu Business Line ‘Development not at the cost of food security’ After several Farmers’ organisations, it is now the turn of agricultural scientists, representing various research institutions, to criticise the Land Acquisition Bill. On Monday, senior agricultural scientists told the joint Parliamentary panel, looking into the amendments to the 2013 legislation, that reducing cultivable land can pose a serious threat to the food security of the country. Representatives, including Vice-Chancellors of the Indian...

-The Financial Express It is clear from global experience that crop insurance is not economically viable and, in a country like India which is dominated by small landholders, it does not even seem to be feasible The demand for crop insurance stems from two ‘risky’ situations that often erode Farmers’ income and make them vulnerable to economic distress. These include unpredictable weather and volatile prices. Although vulnerability of Indian agriculture on weather-related...

-Business Standard Patna/Nalanda: Baldev Prasad Mandal, a native of Painathi panchayat in Bihar's Patna district, sold 250 quintals of rice to the village-based primary agriculture credit societies (PACS), an agency responsible for procuring foodgrain directly from Farmers at the rate of Rs 1,660 a quintal in March this year. Even as the new kharif season is about to begin, Mandal is one of the many Farmers in the state who are...