Pawar’s Report Card The Negatives Per capita availability of cereals and pulses has fallen in last eight years No improvement in irrigation, 60% of agriculture still dependent on monsoons Farmers growing cereals, sugarcane, oilseeds and pulses assured higher MSP, but majority don't benefit Production up, but not productivity. Farmer suicides are on the rise. Poor market advisory on exports being misused to buy cheaply from farmers and make profits overseas Pawar...
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How barefoot lawyers bring food security to India's tribals & landless families
-Reuters KHAMMAM (India): It was a deal struck almost 40 years ago by a poor, illiterate Indian farmer, driven by desperation after a drought wiped out his crops and left his family close to starvation. The agreement: 10 acres of land, the size of four soccer pitches, for a mere 10 kg (22 lbs) of sorghum grains. "My father-in-law pawned the land for food," said Kowasalya Thati, lifting the hem of...
More »A good monsoon is an occasion to invest in a major overhaul of farm policy
-The Economic Times India will have a normal monsoon this year, says the Met office. This is good news, even though the forecast does not rule out some slack during the second half of the season. What matters finally is the distribution of rainfall across space and time rather than the aggregate percentages. However, a good monsoon is only one side of the story to have a strong farm sector. Reforms are...
More »Brace for price rise, kharif MSP may be raised up to 30%-Rituraj Tiwari
Consumers may have to pay substantially more for pulses, oilseed, and rice in the coming months if the government accepts the recommendations of an expert panel to increase farm-gate price of these commodities by up to 30%, further stoking food inflation. The Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), under the ministry of agriculture, has recommended a 25% rise in the floor price of cotton, 16% rise in paddy, 30% rise...
More »The Raja Who Stole From The Poor-Ashish Khetan
As food and civil supplies minister in the previous SP regime, Raja Bhaiya swindled Rs 100 crore from the PDS. As he presides over the food ministry once again, Ashish Khetan exposes the shocking loot A LITTLE MORE than a month ago, Akhilesh Yadav, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, earned a landslide victory on the idea of hope: Ummeed ki cycle. He had promised clean governance and a corruption-free government. When...
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