The data show that rural families simply cannot subsist on farm incomes alone There must be a bit of Gandhi in all of us because often our idea of India ultimately boils down to the kisan as the standard bearer of the lakhs of villages that comprise India. Perhaps that is why I tend to look for the signs of transformation in the lives of Indian farmers. The changes in...

If the malnourished in India formed a country, it would be the world's fifth largest — almost the size of Indonesia. According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 237.7 million Indians are currently undernourished (up from 224.6 million in 2008). And it is far worse if we use the minimal calorie intake norms accepted officially in India. By those counts (2200 rural/2100 urban), the number of Indians who cannot afford...

—Xinhua Deepening degradation and scarcity of land and water resources pose a severe challenge to the world's capacity to meet human demands by 2050, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director-General Jacques Diouf said on Monday. FAO report In the last 50 years, a significant increase in food production combined with demographic pressure and unsustainable agriculture practices have spoiled the land and water systems upon which food production depended, Diouf told a press...

-The Hindu   Scanty rainfall coupled with long dry spells plays havoc A large deficit in rainfall coupled with long dry spells have played havoc with farmers in Ranga Reddy district this year as the kharif as well as the rabi crop have been badly-affected. Rain-fed crops like cotton, maize, paddy and red gram have borne the brunt of unfavourable seasonal conditions. Farmers who cultivated rain-fed crops are in deep distress as their investments...

-Reuters   India is assuming grain purchases at around 30 percent of output in plans to expand its welfare programme, the food minister said, relying on increased yields and lower wastage to cover extra requirements and keeping exports on the agenda.  "We have made the calculation (for the Food Security Bill) on the basis of the grains we can produce and procure. We will procure only 30 percent of our production, 70 percent...