-Down to Earth Fragments of plastic film have been shown to release potentially carcinogenic substances into soil Plasticulture, or the use of plastics in agriculture, is evident in the form of lining of farm ponds, greenhouse cultivation, micro-irrigation (drips and sprinklers) and plastic mulching. Plastic mulch, in particular, should be of concern to us as it is a potential source of entry into our food system. Why are farmers turning to plasticulture? The Ministry...

-Down to Earth Farmers are in distress owing to low farm prices, poor logistics for transport and government-assured purchases The concept of ‘the more, the merrier’ doesn’t apply to farm produce and farmers’ state as much as the government thinks. Increasing production can’t be directly translated into better financial situation of farmers. According to the agriculture ministry latest estimates, in 2017-18, the total horticulture production of the country was 307.2 million tonnes, which...

-The Hindu It is now clear that the Indian economy is moving along a lower growth path At the end of May the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released much-awaited estimates of national income for the final quarter of the 2017-18 financial year. The timing coincided with the completion of four years in office of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. In a propaganda blitz, surging through the Net, the government embraced the...

-The Indian Express India’s pulses production increased by nearly half in the space of two years, from 16-17 million tonnes to 23-24 million tonnes this year New Delhi: Till recently, there were two agri-commodities in which India was seen as being perpetually and increasingly import-dependent: edible oils and pulses. Between 2010-11 and 2016-17, the import value of the former soared from $4.72 billion to $10.89 billion, while from $2.25 billion to $4.24...

The country’s agrarian sector in the last financial year expanded at almost half the rate at which it grew in 2016-17, shows the recently released provisional estimates by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). As compared to a growth rate of 6.3 percent witnessed in 2016-17, the growth rate in real Gross Value Added (GVA) by the agrarian sector (i.e., increase in agricultural GVA after neutralizing the effect of price inflation)...