Can a middle ground between farmers and the government on MSP be reached by reimagining a US ‘New Deal’ Farm programme? The US New Deal in the 1930s saved agriculture in the US from a multi-year slump. It involved production quotas, assured guaranteed incomes through...
With climate disruptions wreaking havoc on agricultural seasons and output, the Indian and Russian governments can consider an agri treaty to last until 2030 covering foodgrains and fertilisers. Russia can sell India its surpluses in wheat in good years and for bad years, wheat exports...
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in its first advance estimate for the kharif crop has projected a dip of about 9 million metric tonnes (mmt) of foodgrains on year Agricultural support to total GDP remained subdued in Q2 on account of erratic monsoon thereby leading...
It’s not only our lungs but perhaps our brains that have become fogged. We have failed to see that historically, stubble burning contributes only 6% to the pollution, yet the public is quick to make the farmers the scapegoats, and not the policymakers. As the sun...
An immediate solution could come in the form of assured MSPs for basmati or organic varieties of rice such as PR126, Pusa Basmati-1509, Pusa Basmati-1692, instead of the current widely used PUSA-44 variety, farm expert Indra Shekhar Singh says. While farmers may be open to switching...
What is needed is transparency on food and weather data, and stricter control on agri-processors and food warehouses, so that India doesn’t get trapped in a food speculation trap again. November brings doubts about the fate of India’s food security. Compare kharif production estimates for 2023-2024...
From air pollution to degrading soil nutrients to depleting groundwater levels, North India is facing ecological disasters on multiple fronts. This is where India needs to make the shift to regenerative farming sooner than later. It will also help both the soil and the air...
For over three and a half decades, C.C. Culver has been the driving force behind the conservation and re-wilding of the quaint rural high desert village of La Madera, New Mexico. Dark clouds hung low over the high desert country. Shining through the clouds, bursts of...
Canada has historically been a dependable potash source. It possesses the world’s largest potash reserves, a vital mineral for industrial agriculture and muriate of potash (MOP) fertilizer production. Would the current stand-off between India and Canada impact India's food economy? Indra Shekhar Singh, Former Program...
The Indian sugar export ban will have a direct bearing on domestic and international markets. It will benefit countries like Brazil, which is a major producer as it will boost their fortunes. If the domestic production dips further, it will impact the biofuel production. Indra...