-The Times of India   AURANGABAD: The agriculture department has initiated a scheme for farmers to help them sell vegetables in the city. The department would spend a sum of Rs 17 crore in the next two years for the same. Janardhan Jadhav, divisional joint director of agriculture, here said that the government allocated Rs 300 in 2011-12 under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana for implementation of a vegetable initiative for urban clusters. It...

-The Hindu   The regional consultation was organised by MSSRF in partnership with FAO Global experts will gather in Chennai for an Asia Pacific Conference for the International Year of Family Farming to emphasise the importance of diversified cropping patterns and integrated farming. "In the ATMosphere of need to shift from food to nutrition security, the International Year of Family Farming provides a unique opportunity towards achieving this at the national and global level,"...

-IANS   Bangalore: A study by an international team using satellite and ground-based instruments has shown that crop residue burning, a common practice in northern India and particularly in Punjab, is contributing to ATMospheric pollution over the entire Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) that may have climate and health implications. "Every year, during the post-monsoon season (October-November), extensive agricultural crop residue burning takes place mainly in the northwestern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, and western...

-FAO   FAO publication highlights success stories in "climate-smart agriculture," stresses need to transition to new approach to food production Rome - Shifting world agriculture to a "climate-smart" approach will not only help prevent future food security crises but holds the promise of sparking economic and agricultural renewal in rural areas where hunger and poverty are most prevalent, argues a new FAO publication. On the one hand, the magnitude and scope of climate change's...

-The United Nations   Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the ATMosphere have crossed a new threshold, the United Nation's weather agency today confirmed, warning that time is running out to curb rising greenhouse gas emissions. In April, monthly concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ATMosphere topped 400 parts per million (ppm) throughout the northern hemisphere, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported. "This threshold is of symbolic and scientific significance and reinforces evidence...