The Economic Times

A slump in prices of crucial food items over the past month has provided some relief to households even as food price inflation in the CPI basket has declined steadily over the year through March. Traders and economists reckon that prices are likely to moderate further. While tomato prices have plunged by 31% at the retail level over the past month, those of spices at the wholesale level have slumped 6-27% between April and now.

Money Control

In a move that could structurally change the agriculture sector, the government is working on creating a common agricultural market. The goal is to create a ‘one nation, one market’ model for farmers in line with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) model for industries. For this to be a success the inter-state trade should move smoothly, said Pattanayak, adding that they have been trying to convince different states to amend their Act to permit inter-state trade.

The Hindu

The ‘Four Waters’ concept developed by irrigation expert late T. Hanumantha Rao has been gaining momentum.

Down To Earth

Spurious inputs and deficit rain are the major reasons why Telangana farmers are suffering, says Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister of Telangana, Jupally Krishna Rao while addressing the audience at the Natural Farming Summit 2017 organised by the Sri Sri Institute Agricultural Sciences & Technology Trust in Bengaluru today.

Hill Post

Mr S.S.Ahluwalia, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Parliamentary Affairs, has asked the farming community to make use of new programmes and schemes to double their income. He was addressing the farmers, scientists and agriculture officers at Krishi Vigyan Kendra(KVK) of CSK H.P. Agriculture University at Kangra, around 40 KMs from here today.

The New Indian Express

The issue was discussed in the Environment Ministry’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) last month and it was suggested to convene a meeting with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at the earliest to understand and resolve this issue of processed GM food. The committee was of the view that currently there is a vacuum with respect to GM processed foods in the country and it was also agreed that GEAC should look into applications related to import of GM processed food till FSSAI comes with regulations.

5dariya News

To take stock of the avenues for technology adoption and dissemination through Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), Director Agriculture, Ashok Kumar Malhotra, today visited Vegetable Growing Belt of Kanachak-Mishriwala area and attended a field day organized by M/S Seminis Private Ltd at village Panjore of zone Mishriwala. Chief Agriculture Officer, R. L. Bhagat, Deputy Director of Agriculture (Central), C. M. Sharma, ADO (Vegetables), S. Matinder Singh and SDAO, Marh, T. K. Atri and progressive farmers including Sham Lal, Ex-Sarpanch Panjore and Sudesh Kumar were present on the occasion.

Hindustan Times

To increase the procurement of wheat from farmers, the district administration of Shahjahanpur is set to develop the first model procurement centre of the region. The proposed centre is to be developed in Yakupur village under Roza tehsil.

The Economic Times

India’s foodgrain production is forecast to hit a record in the crop year ending June 2017, with good monsoon rains last year boosting the estimated output of wheat, rice, coarse cereals, and pulses. The agriculture ministry’s third advance estimates of major crops pegged the production at 273.38 million tonnes (MT), 0.51% higher than the second advance estimate.

The Hindu Business Line

Since the 1960s, India’s groundwater irrigation has increased dramatically, playing an important role in its economy and people’s lives — supporting livelihoods of over 26 crore farmers and agricultural labourers who grow over a third of India’s foodgrains. These benefits, however, have come at the cost of increased pressure on groundwater reserves.

The Economic Times

In its third estimate released today, the agriculture ministry has revised the 2016-17 wheat output marginally upward by 0.8 MT from its earlier estimate as yields got better in the absence of any major weather aberrations. Pulses output also has been revised upward slightly to a record 22.40 MT as against the actual output of 16.35 million tonnes in the last year

India Infoline

According to the referred reports, union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh wrote a letter to the CMs of all the states and union territories asking them to review the state’s ability to deal with drought-like situations, in case the south west monsoons fail or get disrupted by El Nino, besides directing the states to set up drought management centres.

Yahoo News

“We have stopped formula-based assistance to states, which is a problem in deciding which state will get how much,” he says. Agriculture expert Devinder Sharma adds: “It is good that the Union minister has alerted the state governments in advance. Now, the government should ensure that there are enough seeds available to the farmers for sowing short term crops in case of a delayed or less monsoon.

Live mint

The issue of GM foods is contentious in India amid unresolved concerns surrounding safety. The environment ministry and GEAC are yet to take a final cal. on allowing commercialization of GM mustard crop. If it is allowed, it will become the first transgenic food crop to be commercially cultivated in India, where only GM cotton is grown.

The Pioneer

Ramesh would be also aware that Gujarat was one of the first States to adopt Bt cotton, and the primary reason for this was that Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister then. It is no secret that Modi has been a pro-progress, pro-technology mass leader and an able administrator who understood primacy of infusion of technology in agriculture. Gujarat farmers were vociferous in singing paean of how Bt cotton metamorphosed their lives — and one wonders if, among others, Ramesh’s act had to do with preventing replicating this story in the rest of India for the fear that it would have genetically ‘modified’ discourse on agriculture in the country.

Money Control

Cotton futures on MCX closed lower on Monday amid reports of higher supplies this season through imports and good stocks with the farmers. According to CCI, about 302 lakh bales of cotton arrivals were recorded till 4 th May in the country. The domestic cotton arrivals in April are higher by 49% on year at 2.64 lakh tonnes (lt) compared to 1.77 lt last year, as per Agmarknet data. As per CAI, the arrivals during March 2017 are higher than that of the corresponding month during last year.

Down To Earth

Highlighting different peer-reviewed studies on the damaging aspects of GM crops, he referred to the fact that countries were refusing to import BT crops. Shah also pointed out how the World Health Organization suspected in 2015 that glyphosate used in Monsanto’s herbicide and HT seeds are “probably carcinogenic to humans.

Geospatial World

Prior to this acquisition, Monsanto Growth Ventures (MGV), the venture capital arm of Monsanto Co., saw promise in the developing company and was an early investor in HydroBio, incorporating it into the MGV portfolio that includes a wide range of independent companies active in key areas of agricultural productivity.

The Wire

The Niti Aayog has also mooted the modernisation of farms and adoption of new technologies like adopting GM crops and using new farm equipment. However, this is not as easy as it seems. For example as per Agriculture Machinery and Manufacture Association in India, tractor penetration is 38% for large farmers, 18% for medium farmers and just around 1% for marginal farmers.

BW Business world

A stringent voluntary global standard for the entire post-harvesting process (including spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and manufacturing) of apparel and home textiles made with organic fibre (like organic cotton or organic wool), the GOTS includes both environmental and social criteria. Some key provisions include a ban on the use of highly hazardous chemicals (such as azo dyes and formaldehyde), genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and child labour, while requiring strict waste water treatment practices and strong social compliance management systems.

The New Indian Express

The issue was discussed in the Environment Ministry’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) last month and it was suggested to convene a meeting with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at the earliest to understand and resolve this issue of processed GM food. The committee was of the view that currently there is a vacuum with respect to GM processed foods in the country and it was also agreed that GEAC should look into applications related to import of GM processed food till FSSAI comes with regulations.

The Pioneer

Ramesh would be also aware that Gujarat was one of the first States to adopt Bt cotton, and the primary reason for this was that Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister then. It is no secret that Modi has been a pro-progress, pro-technology mass leader and an able administrator who understood primacy of infusion of technology in agriculture. Gujarat farmers were vociferous in singing paean of how Bt cotton metamorphosed their lives — and one wonders if, among others, Ramesh’s act had to do with preventing replicating this story in the rest of India for the fear that it would have genetically ‘modified’ discourse on agriculture in the country.