-Hindustan Times Farm policymaking slowed down after the repeal of three laws in 2021. But the climate crisis, geopolitical instability and inflation have exacerbated the urgency for reforms In November 2021, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi repealed three contentious farm laws in a dramatic turnaround. The entire episode — from the passage of the laws, the protests that followed and the turnaround — had stalled national agriculture policymaking. Yet, as this column...

-Livemint.com Tackle deficiencies of capital mobilization, access to state provisions and women’s participation to boost FPCs across India. In 2017, the Indian government reaffirmed its commitment to reduce rural distress among nearly 93 million farming households through efforts to double farmers’ income. What has been remarkable is the emergence of farmer producer companies (FPCs) as a viable way of supporting this approach. The last two years have been tumultuous. Pro-market legislation introduced in...

-The Pioneer Ludhiana: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said that the state is fully ready to adopt Crop diversification but the Central Government must provide an assured mechanism to give remunerative prices for these crops. “The Centre must take this step for ensuring that the state’s farmers shift from water guzzling crops to less water consuming crops,” said the Chief Minister while addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Kisan Mela...

-TheWeek.in Efforts on to substitute wheat and paddy crops with other market-driven crops Madhya Pradesh government launched a Crop diversification promotion scheme with focus on natural farming and on substituting wheat and paddy crops with other crops that are suitable for local climate and are market driven. The Crop diversification scheme has been launched for three years starting the current financial year (2022-23), to encourage demand-based Crop diversification, keeping in mind the economic...

-Down to Earth Low returns and high risks from alternative crops among reasons past efforts failed, says report The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) has recommended promotion of Crop diversification, favouring oilseed crops amid the global inflation in oilseeds and vegetable oils prices. Global inflation creates a structural risk as vegetable oils account for about half of India’s agricultural import, subsequently raising the country’s agri-import bill, the commission wrote in its...