-The Telegraph Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav underscores importance of subsidies and pesticides in agriculture in developing countries New Delhi: India has opposed global targets to reduce subsidies and pesticides in agriculture for the sake of biodiversity, asserting that farming provides livelihood to millions in developing countries and that countries should be allowed to determine their national goals. The Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, delivering India’s national statement at the UN Convention on...

-PTI/Siasat.com Currently, more than 40 per cent of India's total workforce is employed in agriculture, according to the World Bank data released till 2019. Montreal: A numerical global target for pesticide reduction in the agriculture sector is unnecessary and must be left for countries to decide, India has said at the UN biodiversity conference here in Canada. Speaking during a high-level segment of the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on...

One is almost certain to hear this from an economist that if something is available at free of cost or at a subsidised rate thanks to government intervention, then people tend to overuse or overconsume such goods/ commodities. So, the best solution is to create a market for such 'almost freely available' or 'highly subsidised' goods or commodities. Once people start paying to use or consume such goods/ commodities, they...

-The Indian Express If we truly want to ensure the livelihoods of our farmers and provide safe, healthy, nutritious food for our consumers, it is imperative to make policies that go beyond the productivity trope and populist posturing. Proponents of the three new farm laws have claimed that they will engender competition in agricultural markets and will give farmers a choice to sell wherever they like. The opponents of these laws, including...

-The Hindu How Zero Budget Natural Farming could be the model for the future In early June, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced that the State would fully embrace Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), a chemical-free method that would cover all farmers by 2024. Earlier in the year, he had revealed these plans at the meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Even though this revolution has been in the...