MoneyWeb – Online

By the end of this year, 270 million people could be living in famine conditions, according to the United Nations World Food Programme, up from an already staggering 149 million before Covid-19. Add in the disruptive effects of climate change and our planet’s ever-increasing population, and we’re looking at difficult times ahead.

By 2050—the year when a growing list of nations aim to have zeroed out their contributions to climate change—the UN projects the global population will be 9.7 billion, on its way to topping out at 11 billion in 2100. The pressure to produce more food, or at least to make more money from agriculture, is driving nations to clear forests and wetlands for farms and ...

Times of India –  Online

For farmers in Telangana, rules under the new Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, is not significant, officials and experts said on Sunday as 70% of transactions are already happening outside market yards. Instead, there is a growing concern that the non-regulation of trade will impact the small farmers who sell their produce at their places. Telangana produces on an average 25 crore tonnes of 80 different crops including fruits in a year.

 “Based on the arrivals at the market yard and produce, we have estimated that market yard transaction is only 30% because of good direct market linkages. But the new Union government laws don’t guarantee any regulation outside market ...

Hindustan Times – Online

The Uttar Pradesh agriculture and horticulture departments, along with the Jal Shakti department, is rolling out a plan to turn a five-kilometre radius along both sides of the Ganga into an organic farming belt and in the process giving farmers a “new and diversified income platform”.

“According to the plan, the villages and farmers settled on both sides of Ganga will be encouraged to go organic by discouraging the use of chemicals — fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides — and grow grains, fruits, flowers organically. The farmers will also be given training in organic cultivation,” said a state government spokesperson.

The Economic Times – Online

On December 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a day of ‘special joy’ for the millions who provide Indians food: farmers. Farmers were to celebrate GoI’s promise to transfer 35 billion in subsidies to them. Modi did not mean farmers who grew food grains,  who number more than 250million,  but those numbering 15million, at most who sold cane to sugar mills. They would get another 53.61.

Morung Express – Online

Although the COVID-19 pandemic brought almost everything to a standstill, the Government of India made massive exceptions for agriculture related activities throughout the country taking into account the welfare of the farming community as well as those that depend on it for their livelihood. This is turn continued to facilitate availability of agricultural produces throughout the length and breadth of the country even during the lockdown period.

The Nagaland State Agriculture Department continued to play active role to see that the various schemes reach the beneficiaries even during the lockdown period. Taking the pandemic into account, the Department worked out strategic contingency plan in advance for any eventuality and distributed selected Kharif and Rabi seeds to ...