-The Economic Times The government should liquidate wheat stocks through exports and sales in the open market and share the proceeds with farmers to raise their income levels, a government panel suggested. In its latest report to the agriculture ministry, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which recommends a minimum support price (MSP) for agriculture crops, is said to have maintained that there is no reason to lift the...

-The Hindustan Times Children’s Day coinciding with Diabetes Day now has an ominous ring to it. One in every four children under 18 being diagnosed with diabetes in urban India has type-2 diabetes, which typically affects only adults in their 50s and 60s and is caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. Five years ago, adult-onset diabetes affected one in 10 children diagnosed with the disease, while almost no cases were reported a...

-Live Mint Charges that NREGA has pushed up agricultural wages fails to account for changing productivity In the debate over the costs and benefits of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), one of the most controversial and unsettled issues is its effect on agricultural labour market. Last year, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar even went to the extent of recommending a 50% subsidy to farmers in wage costs due...

-The Economic Times AHMEDABAD: Wheat output may remain stable this season due to remunerative prices and sufficient water availability. However, agriculture officials feel that the delay in announcing wheat MSP for rabi season might deter farmers. "We don't see a drop in wheat acreage this year and the production should clock similar to that of previous year's 93.90 million tonne. It will be too early to say that the area will increase...

-IPS News Environmental activists are cautiously optimistic that a call by a court-appointed technical committee for a ten-year moratorium on open field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops will shelve plans to introduce bio-engineered foods in this largely agricultural country. “We are now waiting to see whether the Supreme Court will accept the recommendations of its own committee at the next hearing on Oct. 29,” said Devinder Sharma, chairman of the Forum...