-The Economic Times A late revival of monsoon may have narrowed the rain deficit to single digit (9%) but it is unlikely to help boost food grains production. "There would be a decline in the overall food grains production. There would be some drop in the production of pulses and coarse cereals," said Agriculture Secretary Ashish Bahuguna. He said the indication will start coming after the first advance estimates of the kharif...

-The Hindu Centre mulling alternative crops The Union Government is looking at the possibility of replacing rice crop in Punjab and Haryana with alternative crops such as pulses, fodder and oilseeds that help in nitrogen fixation. The water-intensive rice cultivation over the years has become unsustainable in these two States and the water table has fallen to precarious levels. Giving this information to members of Parliament’s Consultative Committee for his Ministry, Agriculture Minister...

-The Business Standard Cautious optimism about the revival of the monsoon  A progressive improvement in the monsoon, after a dismal June that saw rainfall deficient by over 30 per cent, has eased some worries over kharif crop production. Since then the rainfall deficit has been halved to 15 per cent, dispelling fears of a situation as bad as in 2009, when severe drought lowered foodgrain production by seven per cent. In addition,...

-Frontline A recession-hit world is only just waking up to the prospect of the coming food crisis resulting in a period of political turmoil with unexpected consequences.  For the third time in five years, the world is braced for another food crisis. Bad weather conditions are leading to projections of major production shortfalls in some of the world’s leading food suppliers. Substantially reduced access and sharp price increases are, therefore, expected to...

-The Hindu Sowing of kharif paddy has improved thanks to rain in some parts of the deficient areas, but it is still lower by 11.40 lakh hectares as compared to last year. If compared with last year’s sowing — a record foodgrains production year — at this time of the year, the area under paddy, pulses, coarse cereals, oilseeds and cotton is still lower. An inter-Ministerial group that reviewed the situation on Friday...