Implementing SC order on foodgrain distribution not possible: Pawar   New Delhi, August 19, 2010: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that it was not possible to implement the Supreme Court order that had asked the Central government to distribute the foodgrain for free to the poorest instead of allowing it to rot due to lack of storage facility. "The food grains are rotting. You can look after your own people. As a part of short-term measure, distribute it to the hungry for free," a bench, headed by Justice Dalveer Bhandari, had told Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran on Aug 13, reminding the Centre of its responsibility to ensure food security. As much as 17.8 million tonnes of food grain, enough to feed 140 million people for a month, is being wasted because of shortage of storage facilities.    India foils Chinese bid to patent 'pudina'   NEW DELHI, June 24, 2010: India has foiled a major Chinese bio-piracy bid to patent the use of medicinal plants 'pudina' (mint) and 'kalamegha' (andrographis) for the treatment of H5N1 avian influenza or bird flu. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with the help of India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), dug out formulations from ancient Ayurveda and Unani texts, like 'Cakradattah', 'Bhaisajya Ratnavali', 'Kitaab-al-Haawi-fil-Tibb' and 'Qaraabaadeen Azam wa Akmal', dating back to the 9th century, to show that both 'pudina' and 'kalamegha' have been widely used in India since ages for influenza and epidemic fevers.   After receiving exhaustive evidence from CSIR that confirmed India's stand, the European Patent Office (EPO) on June 10 cancelled the decision to grant patent to Livzon, a major Chinese pharmaceutical company, on the medicinal properties of pudina and kalamegha for treating bird flu. It all began when Livzon, on January 19, 2007 filed a patent application at EPO claiming usefulness of pudina and kalamegha for the treatment of bird flu to be novel. Impressed with the data, EPO decided to grant patent to Livzon on February 25, 2010.   However, on April 27, director of TKDL Dr V K Gupta shot off a letter to the EPO informing the examiners that the medicinal properties of pudina and kalamegha have been long known in Indian traditional medicine. The letter said, "The patent application number EP1849473, titled Chinese traditional medicine composition for treatment of avian influenza, method for preparation, and application thereof, may kindly be referred to wherein the usefulness of andrographis (kalamegha) and mint (pudina) for treatment of fever, detoxification and for the treatment of avian influenza, has been claimed to be novel."    The letter added, "In the TKDL, there are several references where andrographis and mint are used for the treatment of influenza and epidemic fever. Hence, there does not seem to be any novelty or inventive step involved in the claims made in the above referred patent application."    Following the letter, the EPO set up a three-member panel to study the evidence. On June 10, the panel decided to cancel the Chinese patent claim. TKDL is a collaborative project between CSIR and Union health ministry's department of Ayush.Source: The Times of India

Farmers brace for monsoon forecast after drought   NEW DELHI, April 23, 2010: India's hundreds of millions of farmers braced on Friday for this year's official monsoon forecast, with the 2010 rains of critical  importance after the worst drought in three decades. The forecast from the national weather office relies on data from local and foreign climatologists to make the best possible prediction for the monsoon, which lasts nationwide from June to September.   More than 70 per cent of Indians depend on farm incomes, and about 65 percent of the nation's farms are not irrigated, meaning they depend entirely on the rains that fall in intense bursts over the wet season.The drought of 2009, when the rains were 30 percent weaker than their long-term average, has hit crop yields and farm incomes,  leading to much higher food prices and an increase in rural hardship.    According to a report in The Indian Express newspaper on Friday, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) will forecast normal rains this year within the range of 96-104 percent of their long-term average. "Monsoon rainfall rarely fails for two consecutive years," P K Bandopadhyay, a spokesman for the IMD, said. Data from the weather office shows that out of the roughly 20 droughts India has suffered since 1901, 17 were followed by near-normal rainfall. India is the world's second-biggest producer of rice, wheat and sugarcane. Source: The Economic Times

Decision on Bt Brinjal only after national consultations   New Delhi, January 30, 2010, Union Minister for Environment & Forests Jairam Ramesh today said his Ministry would try to arrive at a consensus on the basis of public consultations across the country before taking a final decision on introducing Bt Brinjal. Mr Ramesh was speaking at one such interaction in Chandigarh, where farmers, scientists, doctors, environmentalists and representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other groups were present. An official press release said as many as 500 participants took part in the open  session and expressed views for and against Bt Brinjal at the interaction which  was organised in collaboration with the Centre for Environment Education    Bt Brinjal violates our right to safe food, say youngsters. ‘Better fast today, than eat GM food tomorrow’, so said the banners held up by youngsters protesting against the possible introduction of genetically modified Bt Brinjal for commercial cultivation.  Nayani Nasa of ‘Youth for Safe Food’ group said: ‘We have the right to safe food and genetically modified (GM) food likes the Bt Brinjal violates that. The multinationals have been wooing the farmers saying that GM seeds would give good produce and will not be infested by insects.’ ‘Can you imagine how poisonous those seeds must be that not even insects can infest them,’ she added.

Introducing Bt Brinjal.

Pawar says India well-stocked for 13 months   New Delhi, July 10, 2009 (PTI): Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Thursday the Centre has enough foodgrains to meet the country's demand for 13 months but affirmed that the monsoon situation is improving "every alternate day". "I (have) about 13 months' stock (of foodgrains) in the country's kitty. Moreover, from October onward, I will get paddy from this year's crop," Pawar said in New Delhi on Thursday. Pawar said he was briefed by the Cabinet Secretary along with the Secretaries of Agriculture, Food and Water Resources yesterday, who told him that "subdued"  rainfall is expected over north-western India (Punjab, Haryana and some parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) over the next five days. But situation in the country as a whole is improving, he said.   The minister also expressed confidence that any setback in kharif sowing can be more than offset during the rabi. "In the kharif last year, we had a little setback but we made up in the rabi. Now, we will keep preparedness not only to make up but to see improvement in some rabi crops," he said.    Cheaper farm credit to help achieve 4 per cent farm growth     New Delhi, July 7, 2009 (PTI): Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Monday hailed the Budget 2009-10 as "pro-farmer" and said that measures like cheaper agriculture credit will help the farm sector achieve growth of 4 per cent.     "I am happy as Agriculture Minister about the Budget. It is a pro-farmer Budget and agriculture credit is the most important measure taken, as for the first time farmers are getting cheaper agriculture loans like their counterparts in other western countries," Mr. Pawar told PTI. He termed a major development the cut in the interest rate on farm loans to 6 per cent from 7 per cent for farmers who pay their dues in time.     Meet to focus on agri research    DHARWAD, July 1, 2009: Alliance for Democratising Agricultural Research in South Asia (ADARSA) will hold Farmers' Jury (Prajateerpu) in Karnataka in November, said P V Satheesh, director of Deccan Development Society, which is pioneering the cause in India. Addressing the participants at a preliminary meeting here recently, he said the event will focus on assessing agriculture research activities from farmers' judgment.     "Globalization has had an irreparable impact on agriculture and agricultural economy in India. The focus of agriculture research has changed. Researches in the universities are hardly need-based. There  is a disturbing shift towards biotechnology and genetic engineering as the engine to drive Indian agriculture. Technology is imposed on the farmers' knowledge, which is evolved over generations. To narrow the gap, civil society organizations which share similar interest around the world, have initiated ADARSA. The Jury is one of the steps towards achieving democratization of agriculture research," he  said. Farmers, agriculture scientists, representatives of civil society organizations, journalists, academicians and development activists actively participated in the meeting held in Dharwad.    It is everyone's knowledge that while India boasts of having the largest number of billionaires in the world, it is 125 in the Human Development Index. It also is home to largest number of farmers'  suicides in the world. Over the last 10 years, nearly 150,000 farmers have committed suicides. While the country claims increasing level of productivity in food production over the years, India also  has the highest number of hungry people. It also has the distinction of having more children suffering from malnutrition than the sub-Saharan Africa.  source: The Times of India     Centre's SMP on sugarcane disappointing for farmers    LUCKNOW, June 27, 2009: The UPA government's decision to fix Rs 107 per quintal as statutory minimum price (SMP) for sugarcane has been disappointing for the farmers in the state. The Congress in its manifesto had promised to implement recommendations of the Commission on Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) but the sugarcane SMP announced by it after coming to power are much below the price recommended by CACP. Significantly, it's second year in continuation that the government has overlooked CACP rates.     For 2007-08, the CACP had recommended Rs 125 per quintal SMP for cane and Rs 30 bonus per quintal at nine per cent recovery but the government fixed low prices. The same was repeated in 2008-09. Due to low gains in cane in comparison to wheat and paddy the farmers switched over to latter. As a result, sugarcane cultivation came down by 30% in India and sugar production from to 28.32 metric ton  in 2006-07 to 14.2 metric ton in 2008-2009, leading to steep rise in sugar prices.   Farmers' associations have slammed the government for the move. Prof Sudhir Panwar, president of the Kisan Jagriti Manch and executive member of the National Alliance of Farmers' Associations (NAFA),  said that the price of sugarcane was static since 2005-06, hence this time farmers were expecting realistic SMP but the government decision had been disappointing.  Source: The Times of India    'Poor pesticide use causing crop loss of Rs.1,000 bn'   New Delhi, May 22, 2009 (IANS) Non-judicious use of pesticides is leading to an annual loss of more than Rs.100,000 crore (Rs.1,000 billion/$21 billion) in the agricultural sector, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham). 'Poor and inadequate use of pesticides is the primary cause of poor yield of Indian crops due to which a great deal of agriculture production has been suffering,' said Assocham president Sajjan Jindal in a statement.    'The impression is that pesticide consumptions in India are significantly higher as compared to many developed and developing countries but official records show that per hectare use of pesticide in India is just 0.33 kilogram,' Jindal said. This is against 3.07 kilogram a hectare consumed in France, 4.17 kilogram in Italy, 13.1 kilogram in Japan and more than 15 kilogram a hectare in Britain, Canada and the US.  Assocham also quoted a recent estimate of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Chemicals that India's farm sector loses over Rs.90,000 crore annually on account of unwise and non-judicious pesticide use. According to the chamber, the biggest challenge facing Indian farmers is a knowledge gap and inadequate transfer of technology to them.    Sugarcane output declines by 17 pc: Govt    New Delhi, May 12, 2009 (PTI):: The Agriculture Ministry has said that India is estimated to have produced 289.23 million tonnes of sugarcane in 2008-09 season, which is nearly 17 per cent less than the output a year ago. According to the latest estimates, the sugarcane production is pegged at 289.23 million tonnes. The output is marginally less than 290.45 million tonnes arrived at the release of second advance estimates in February 2009. In 2007-08 season (October-September), sugarcane production was 348.19 million tonnes.    The cane production estimates has greater significance this year as the industry claims lower output as one of the factors for the high sugar prices. According to the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), sugar production in 2008-09 season is expected to decline by 43 per cent to 14.7 million tonnes from 26.4 million tonnes in the previous year. Even Food Ministry officials have said that the sugar production  would be about 15 million tonnes.    Govt should focus on infrastructure and agriculture   MUMBAI, April 23, 2009: The government needs to focus on infrastructure and agriculture to achieve a GDP growth of 8-10% in 2009-10, said Venu Srinivasan, the newly-appointed president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at a media briefing in Mumbai. Both the sectors, according to him, are grossly under-invested compared to China.    “Infrastructure is way behind what it needs to be. As a result India Inc’s transaction costs on logistics and power transmission are much higher compared to other countries,” said Mr Srinivasan as he  underlined CII’s priorities for the Indian economy in 2009-10. He maintained that the burgeoning fiscal deficit could detract the government from its objective of inclusive growth.    Rice Intensification technology gaining popularity in India    Coimbatore, December 15, 2008 (ANI): Rice Intensification technology known as System of Rice Intensification (SRI) for having bigger yields with less seeds, water and fertilizers is gaining popularity in India. Inaugurating a national symposium on “System of Rice Intensification in India - Policies, Institutions and Strategies for Scaling Up” at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, here recently, Norman Uphoff, a scientist from Cornell University of the United States, said that the SRI technology is being extended to several other crops besides rice in India.   “Farmers in India working with various NGOs are now using this ideas for sugarcane, rabi and even for mustard. In Orissa, there are farmers who developed system mustard intensification using this idea for mustard crops. So we don't know where this is going to end. I keep emphasizing we are only beginning in the new direction,” he added.   Uphoff said that ”SRI” is not merely a technology but a science, a paradigm and a movement. The SIR technology is reported to have been successfully tried out in 25 countries. Many research institutes have initiated experimental trials on SRI across the country in several states including, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tripura, Punjab, West Bengal, Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh to promote among farmers SRI in paddy cultivation.   SAARC nations to set up Food Bank to ward off crisis   New Delhi, November 5, 2008 (PTI):  India today pledged to contribute 1,53,000 tonne of food grain to set up a Food Bank with an initial capacity of 2,43,000 tonne for meeting demand of SAARC countries during emergency-like situations. The Food Bank, proposed at the Colombo Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meet in August, is expected to be operationalised next year. The proposal was today ratified at a meet of Agriculture Ministers of the region here.   "We have formalised the process for operationalisation of the Food Bank," India's Agriculture Minister and Chairman of the meet, Sharad Pawar, told reporters here. While India remains the largest contributor to the bank, both Pakistan and Bangladesh will offer 40,000 tonne each. Nepal and Sri Lanka will provide 4,000 tonne each followed by Afghanistan (1,420 tonne), Maldives (200 tonne) and Bhutan (180 tonne).   Agricultural Insurance covered over 1.84 crore farmers in 2007-08    RAJYA SABHA, October 24, 2008: Over 1.84 crore farmers were covered under the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) in 2007-08. Nearly half (48.72%) of Rajasthan’s farmers took the cover, followed by about 30% in Madhya Pradesh. On all India basis, 15% farmers were covered under NAIS. The objective of NAIS is to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops as a result of natural calamities, pests and disease; encourage adoption of progressive farming practices and to stabilize farm income, particularly in disaster years. Flat rates of premium for food and oilseeds crops and actuarial rates of premium for annual commercial / horticultural crops are charged.     The scheme operates on area approach. Accordingly, the loss/claims in a notified area becomes payable if there is a short fall in yield. Small and marginal farmers are provided a subsidy of 10%  on the premium payable by them. This information was given by Shri Kanti Lal Bhuria, Minister of State for Agriculture in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.    India ups rice outlook    NEW DELHI, September 25, 2008 (Reuters): India expects a bigger rice harvest than forecast earlier and is optimistic about next year's wheat crop, easing concerns of shortages, but has scaled down the outlook for sugarcane, oilseeds and corn, a top official said.   India, which banned wheat and corn exports and allows shipments of only some premium grades of rice to avoid scarcity, has adequate food stocks after a bumper wheat harvest this year but the government is in no hurry to ease trade controls ahead of next year's general elections.   The government will review restrictions on rice exports in November, while the ban on corn exports, which lapses on Oct. 15, will only be extended if the crop is poor. Rice output is expected to surge to a record 83.25 million tonnes, higher than July's forecast of 82.81 million tonnes due to a larger area planted with the crop.    Spurious pesticides destroy crops worth Rs 6,000 crore a year    New Delhi, September 15, 2008: Spurious and substandard pesticides worth around Rs 1,200 crore are palmed off to unwary farmers every year. This results in a net loss to the farmers of crops worth about Rs 6,000 crore. These estimates have been compiled by the Agrochemicals Policy Group (APG), a pesticides industry body that aims to promote the safe use of plant protection chemicals. Indeed, a sizeable number of suicides by cotton growers in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and other states over the past few years have been attributed to the use of spurious pesticides that caused widespread crop losses.     According to APG chairman S Kumarasamy, most spurious pesticide-making units are located in western Uttar Pradesh, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and western Maharashtra. Indira Market in Delhi is said to have become the leading centre for the sale and distribution of these fake pesticides.  India’s pesticides industry is overseen by the Central Insecticides Board (CIB), a regulator created under the Insecticides Act, 1968. It is also responsible for the registration of agro-chemicals.   Biofuels lift food prices 75 percent says World Bank   July 07, 2008: Demand for biofuels in Europe and the United States has forced up food prices 75 percent around the world, according to a World Bank report that was leaked and published in The Guardian newspaper on Friday. The number stands in sharp contrast to the 3 percent contribution to higher food pricing estimated by the United States Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile, a study commissioned by food manufacturers pegs the contribution of biofuels on food prices at between 25 percent and 35 percent.    The World Bank argues that these policies have distorted the market for grains in three ways, according to The Guardian. First, crops that would have been sold for food have been diverted for biofuels production. Second, land is now being used for fuels rather than food. And third, the mandates have set off speculation in financial markets. "Without the increase in biofuels, global wheat and maize stocks would not have declined appreciably and price increases due to other factors would have been  moderate," The Guardian quoted the report as saying.    India urged to focus on farming    Washington, June 18, 2008: The vast bulk of India's population still rely on farming India must focus more on its agricultural sector in order to sustain long-term economic growth, a leading industrialist has said. Bharti Group boss Sunil Bharti Mittal called for "serious intervention".  He said the government, private sector and foreign investors all needed to play their part if they wanted to see India's economy grow at the same rate. "Without agriculture, India cannot move forward," said Mr Mittal in an exclusive interview with the BBC.    Mr Mittal said the biggest concern for the Indian economy today was not rising oil prices but the huge disparities that exist in India.  Some reform in this sector has meant that the country has gone from being unable to feed itself to being the world's largest producer of milk and second largest producer of fruit and vegetables. Yet the average size of a farm is just four acres and at least 40% of the harvest is wasted. "A significant policy change is needed in terms of land reforms, cold-chains, farming techniques, alternate cropping and so on,''  said Mr Mittal, who is a former president of the Confederation of Indian Industries.    PepsiCo boss Indira Nooyi echoed similar thoughts, saying one could not imagine a successful India unless its agricultural practices improved markedly with the application of new technologies and techniques. "India needs a second green revolution," Ms Nooyi told a gathering of US and Indian corporate executives and opinion makers in the US.  capital, Washington.  Source: BBC News   Agriculture should be left out of WTO    NEW DELHI, June 12, 2008: A high-profile meeting here of representatives of farmers, fisher folk, farm workers, rural women, adivasis and civil society organisations on Wednesday urged the government to reject the two drafts on Agriculture and Non-Agriculture Market Access that are coming up at the Doha Development Round next month.    The meeting passed a resolution that called for leaving agriculture out of World Trade Organisation negotiations as it was a “one-sided deal [in favour of developed nations] and a futile exercise.” The day-long meeting, organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development with the United Kingdom Department for International Development and the Ministry of Commerce, unanimously passed a resolution that said both the drafts were “an orchestrated attempt” to open up Indian markets to highly subsidised cheaper imports. Some of the participants said that in the garb of tackling inflation, the government had already done away with import duties on several important farm commodities. “Importing food is importing unemployment that will destroy livelihoods and the country’s food self-sufficiency.”   Expressing concern at the “dilution of the government’s position at the WTO,” the resolution observed that what was being offered by way of Special Products and Special Safeguard Measures was a “smokescreen” and offered no real protection to Indian agriculture, fisheries and forestry. “We do not see any efforts by rich countries to remove their agriculture subsidies that depress global prices and insulate their transnational corporations against market volatility.”  The meeting had representatives from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, M.P., Gujarat and Maharashtra.   Source: The Hindu    India's Food Grain Export Ban Temporary, Says Food Minister    Delhi, June 7, 2008:  Indian government would lift the ban on export of major food grains when the supply situation improves, reported the media. The Agriculture and Food Minister, Sharad Pawar, expressed confidence that the prices would be under control soon and the supply situations of food grains also would improve.    The government banned the export of wheat, non-basmati rice, and pulses, and imposed duty on exports of basmati rice, to tame inflation that surged to a 45-month high of 8.24%. Pawar said that though the world leaders propose lifting the ban, India imposed these limits to protect the poor people in the country. - RTTNews   Food prices to stay high   PARIS, May 29, 2008 (Reuters): Food prices will remain high over the next decade even if they fall from current records, meaning millions more risk further hardship or hunger, the OECD and the UN's FAO food agency said in a report published on Thursday.   Beyond stating the immediate need for humanitarian aid, the international bodies suggested wider deployment of genetically modified crops and a rethink of biofuel programmes that guzzle grain which could otherwise feed people and livestock. The report, issued ahead of a world food summit in Rome next week, said food commodity prices were likely to recede from the peaks hit recently, but that they would remain higher in the decade ahead than the one gone by.   Beef and pork prices would probably stay around 20 percent higher than in the last 10 years, while wheat, corn and skimmed milk powder would likely command 40-60 percent more in the 10 years ahead, in nominal terms, it said. The price of rice, an Asian staple expected to become more important also in  Africa in the years ahead, would likely average 30 percent more expensive in nominal terms in the coming decade than over the 1998-2007 period.    "In many low-income countries, food expenditures average over 50 percent of income and the higher prices contained in this outlook (report) will push more people into undernourishment," the report said.   India feels let down by WTO proposals on agriculture  New Delhi May 20, 2008: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) today released new negotiating texts on agriculture and industrial products, but India feels let down by not getting enough policy space to protect its farmers and nascent industries in the draft proposals for a Doha trade deal.   The revised text, released by the negotiating group on agriculture, proposes less number of products which India and other developing countries can protect from unrestricted imports from the agro exporting countries like the US, Canada and Australia. Likewise, India's plea for greater flexibility for protecting its industries, including small and medium units, has not found much favour in the draft proposals for duty cuts on manufactured goods, official sources said. "The American pressure seems to have played a role on the revised proposals," an official said.  Pressure seems to be mounting on bigger developing countries, like India, China, Brazil and South Africa to "yield their market" while the developed countries do not appear prepared for sacrifice, he said.   The Doha negotiations, launched in 2001, for a market opening multilateral trade agreement have remained inconclusive amid differences between developed and developing countries. The talks were mandated to be concluded by end of 2004. Source: Press Trust of India

India’s wheat worries  The international seminar on ‘Wheat and Wheat products: Vision 2020’ that concluded a few weeks ago in Bangalore brought together a diverse group of participants, including Indian policymakers as also industry and trade representatives from within the country and outside. The meeting took note of the emerging issues of the wheat sector and possible responses to address the challenges. The effect of climate change was one of the key issues for scrutiny. Grain prices, in general, and wheat, in particular, have reached new highs in recent times. Across the world, there are howls of protest against rising food prices. Why are grain prices so high?    Clearly, demand-side and supply-side factors are at work. Traditionally a food crop, wheat is currently used as food, feed and fuel. Asia has emerged as major consumer of wheat for food purposes. Two of the world’s most populous countries, China and India, are the top two wheat producers and consumers. Wheat demand as feed is also rising rapidly. Expansion of the livestock industry in Asia and the West is leading to rapid growth in feed consumption.    Emergence of bio-fuels — bio-ethanol, in particular — has also meant diversion of wheat for fuel purposes in the US, Canada and elsewhere. Wheat is one of the minor feed-stocks for ethanol, which is produced mainly from either corn (maize) or sugarcane. So, the demand side looks rather robust with diversified and expanding uses of the grain. The supply side, on the other hand, is becoming increasingly uncertain.     Weather aberrations, competition for acreage and trade barriers skew the market. Weather has emerged as a big risk factor in the last two years, sending the grains market into a tailspin. For instance, one of the important suppliers to the world market, Australia, suffered drought two years in a row in 2006 and 2007, which affected availability and, consequently, prices. Some others too suffered minor weather hiccups. India, for instance, had a less-than-satisfactory crop in 2005 and 2006. Competition for acreage is becoming increasingly fierce. In the US, one of world’s largest producers and exporters of grains, wheat, corn and soyabean compete for acreage.

Grain prices, in general, and wheat, in particular, have reached new highs in recent times. Two of the world’s most populous countries, China and India, are the top two wheat producers and  consumers.

Wheat procurement crosses 10 million tons in current season    New Delhi, April 25, 2008 : (PTI): The wheat procurement has crossed 10 million tons in the current season, government data released said on Friday. The Food Corporation of India and other agencies have procured  104.48 lakh tons of wheat till yesterday out of 110.87 lakh tons arrival in the market so far. Last year, the total wheat procurement by the government was 111 lakh tons. "With today's wheat procurement, the total purchases will cross 11 million tons," a senior government official said.    Out of 55.54 lakh tons wheat arrived in Punjab, the government has been able to procure 54.31 lakh tons while in Haryana, the purchases are 35.03 lakh tons out of 35.23 lakh tons arrival. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had recently exuded confidence in government procuring 170 lakh tons of wheat this year as against the target of 150 lakh tons. During the last 10 days post-Baisakhi, the minister had said that wheat procurement was over 60 per cent of the set target.    According to the 3rd crop estimate, India's food grains production is estimated at 227.32 million tons (MT) for the crop year 2007-08 ending May, which is 10.04 MT higher than in 2006-07. The foodgrains demand in the country is projected at 214.03 million tons for 2007-08. The Agriculture Ministry scaled up wheat production to 76.78 MT against an estimated domestic demand of 71.19 MT. Wheat estimate was 74.81 MT for this year according to the second estimate in February.    Poor Farmers Commit Suicide in UP LUCKNOW, April 11, 2008 : Authorities in northern India have banned the sale of a cheap variety of hair dye after debt-ridden farmers were found to be drinking it to end their lives, an official said Friday. At least 11 farmers have died from swallowing the hair dye in a drought-hit region of Uttar Pradesh state in the past three months, said Rajiv Agarwal, a senior state official. In UP most of people depend on agriculture, and most have  been left out of India's economic boom. In parts of western and southern India, the dire economic state of farmers has been blamed for thousands of suicides in recent years.   Farmers not to celebrate holi     Ghaziabad, March 20, 2008 (PTI): More than 10,000 farmers in Murad Nagar on Thursday declared that they would not celebrate Holi in protest against government's reluctance to pay them "fair price" for the lands to be  acquired by the authorities.   The farmers said they decided in a Mahapanchayat that they would not celebrate the festival in protest against the government's reluctance to pay them a "fair price" for their lands which were to be taken up by the government for construction of the peripheral express highway and demanded a rate equal to Noida land rate.  However, farmers leader and MLA Rajpal Tyagi has appealed to the farmers to withdraw their decision. He said the matter would be settled as Chief Minister Mayawati has assured all possible help to the farmers. Tyagi said he would be with the farmers whatever be their decision and would fight for them.   Rajasthan Government announces cash relief package for farmers  Jaipur, March 17, 2008 (PTI): In an apparent bid to woo farmers, the BJP government in Rajasthan on Monday announced a cash relief package for about 25 lakh poor farmers in the state. Replying a debate on appropriation and finance bills, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said about 25 lakh small and marginal farmers would get relief of Rs 1500 each in the coming fiscal.    She also announced that small and marginal farmers, who have paid loans at a rate of seven per cent, would be given a concession of two per cent. The state government would bear the rebate. This would benefit another 15 lakh farmers, she said, adding about 35 to 40 lakh farmers would get benefit out of the entire package. Criticising the UPA government's loan waiver, Raje said so far there was no action plan for the purpose. As per estimates, the small and marginal farmers in the state would get no major benefit from the central scheme, she claimed.     Crop planning, organic farming recommended by experts    IMPHAL, March 16, 2008: The need for proper strategy and crop planning for future food security and organic farming practices to reduce problems like global warming due to green house effect were among the recommendations of the agricultural scientists who participated in the recently concluded national seminar on soil health and food security with special reference to the north east region of India in Imphal.   The food production in Manipur needs to enhance by double from the present level by 2025 AD observed the  participants during the technical session on food security. To achieve the target of increasing the present food production level to 30% the scientists recommended the need for imparting training to the farmers on the proper crop management practices.   They also recommended the need for rain water management technology to the farmers and adoption of seed village concept for good seeds which has a great role in increasing crop productivity to meet the requirement.   Exploring organic farming practices can reduce problems like global warming due to green house effect, the  recommendation said while also putting down the need for imparting technical support to the organic growers.   "Biodegradable city wastes after proper screening of heavy metals should be converted to compost so as to  support the organic farmers and which also help in keeping the city clean," the recommendation said.   Regarding the farming system, the scientists recommended that integration of different enterprises like poultry, piggery, dairy and crop husbandry should be introduced among the poor and marginal farmers for maintaining soil health and productivity in the long farming system approach. Acknowledging that agro- pastorial farming system can help in increasing socioeconomic status of the rural masses as dairy farming is one of the most profitable and feasible enterprises in the north eastern India, it recommend fodder production of guinea grass and broom grass round the year by growing in the terraces. Source: The Imphal Free Press  Govt downplays FAO's note on wheat fungus  NEW DELHI, March 07, 2008: The Directorate of Wheat Research on Thursday downplayed the alerts by UN agency Food and Agriculture Organisation that a deadly fungus may enter India from Iran where its outbreak has been confirmed. FAO on Wednesday sounded alerts to six countries, including India, on dangerous fungus ‘UG 99’, which, it is said, can wreak havoc on wheat production.    “We do not see the fungus coming to India in near future,”  Directorate of Wheat Research director B Mishra said. The Karnal-based Directorate of Wheat Research is the nodal body for wheat. He said though the outbreak of virulent wheat fungus has been confirmed in Iran, the disease may not spread beyond that country. FAO on Wednesday sounded alerts to six countries, including India, on the fungus. “Countries east of Iran, like Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, all major wheat producers, are the most threatened by the fungus and should be on high alert, FAO had said.    India, the third largest producer of wheat in the world, has not seen any epidemic of stem rust (fungus) in the past 35 years, he said , adding: Even if the disease spreads, India is much ahead of other countries with its systems to tackle the disease. Currently, four UG 99-resistant varieties have been released in the country. Since last two years, India has been researching jointly with International Wheat Research Centre to develop new UG 99-resistant varieties.  Source: Economic Times   Rs. 60,000 crore debt relief package benefiting four crore farmers   New Delhi , February 29, 2008:  Presenting the budget  in the Lok Sabha today the Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram, announced Rs. 60,000 crore debt relief package benefiting four crore farmers, in the Union Budget for 2008-09. Under the debt waiver and relief package, small and marginal farmers (with holdings up to 2 hectare) there will be a complete waiver of all loans overdue on December 31, 2007 and which remained unpaid until February 29, 2008. For other farmers, there will be a one-time settlement (OTS) scheme. Under the OTS, a rebate of 25 per cent will be given against payment of the balance 75 per cent. Loans re-scheduled in 2004 and 2006 through special packages and those re-scheduled in the normal course will also be eligible for a waiver or an OTS. The debt relief scheme will be implemented by June 30, 2008 and the covered farmers will be entitled to fresh farm loans from banks in accordance with normal rules. The total value of overdue loans being waived is estimated at Rs. 50,000 crore and the OTS relief at Rs.10,000 crore. The scheme is likely to benefit about three crore small and marginal farmers and one crore other farmers.    Expressing the hope that the target of agricultural credit for 2007-08 would be exceeded, the Finance Minister has set the target of Rs. 280,000 crore farm credit in 2008-09. Short-term crop loans will continue to be disbursed at interest rate of 7 per cent per year.

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