Tomato prices are up through the roof. Retail prices are in the range of Rs 120-150 per kilogram in most mandis across India, making the household vegetable more expensive than petrol. Prices, which at the beginning of the year were in the range of Rs. 25 a kg, have increased by an order of between 500-600 percent.   What does the data show? The National Horticultural Board is a body under the...

Reuters Unseasonal rains and hailstorms have damaged ripening, winter-planted crops such as wheat in India's fertile northern, central and western plains, exposing thousands of farmers to losses and raising the risk of further food price inflation. Torrential rains on Sunday and Monday lashed Punjab, Haryana parts of Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh state, which account for the bulk of wheat output in India, the world's biggest producer after China, flattening crops and...

Editorial team, Carbon Copy  Ongoing shifts in rainfall and temperature caused by climate change are likely to increase the debt burden faced by rural households, particularly of marginalised groups in dry areas, an editorial in Carbon Copy magazine said. The piece cited a study in the journal Climate Change that argues that changes in climate, along with existing socio-economic differences - caste and landholding in particular — will deepen the size...

-The Hindu Business Line Enhancing resilient and agroecological strategies is vital for the environment and welfare It is widely accepted that it takes nearly thousand years for formation of top soil, but when not cared for, can be damaged quickly. India adopted intensive agriculture practices in a few pockets, ushering in the Green Revolution. But this had consequences — loss of soil structure and fertility. Research shows that nine major minerals and nutrients...

-ThePrint.in The two states earned a lot of flak during the farmers’ agitation for demanding continuation of the existing system of APMCs and MSP operations. The global events of the last one year, especially during the Russia-Ukraine war, have again shown the importance of food security to the world. It is critical for India too as it has to provide food to a large population of about 1.39 billion people. Punjab and...