Madhya Pradesh accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the total area under certified organic farming in the country. Though most of it is due to cotton fields, the state has an immense potential to bring even food crops under organic cultivation.   What may help the state’s cause is that agriculture is already organic by default in many tribal-dominated districts because farmers either don't have the resources to use chemical fertilizers...

Agriculture sector undergoes a historic change as livestock surpasses the economy of food grain Policy makers in India are finally acknowledging a structural shift in the agriculture sector they have been noticing for a decade. Economic contribution of livestock is today more than that of food grain crops. Traditionally, of the three components of the sector—crops, livestock and fisheries—crops drove the growth, and food grains are a major part of it....

  -PTI Experts from the University of Oxford and Indian researchers are looking into the impact of climate change policies on India's informal economy, and to diagnose ways of reducing CO2 emissions and improving jobs.  By and large the global response to climate change has ignored informal economies and yet the larger part of India's economy and almost all its jobs are informal and not directly affected by government policy, a university release...

A high kharif Paddy production 2011-12 coupled with almost zero exports to Bangladesh has pushed down paddy prices in Bengal. Paddy is selling around Rs 850-900 per quintal below the minimum support price of Rs 1,080 per quintal. Bengal, which stands second in rice production, has produced 15% extra this kharif paddy as compared to 2010-11 kharif. A dearth of rice mills in the state is also one of the major...

About 51.54 lakh ryots lost investments Farmers in the State have suffered crop damage in a whopping 85.6 lakh acres during the 2011 kharif season, 44 per cent of the total 1,94,65,000 acres area cultivated. About 51.54 lakh farmers, including 48.33 lakh small and marginal ones, have lost the investment almost completely. In a report submitted to the State government recently, the Department of Agriculture has put the requirement of input subsidy, compensation...