Full Coverage: Agriculture

30.11.2005 The role of women as producers and providers of food is often overshadowed by their role as care givers. However, in most of the developing countries, including India, large numbers of women are engaged in agriculture- primarily in the production and processing of food.

30.11.2005 Upbeat with the success of the technology mission in enchancing the cotton production, the Indian Society for Cotton Improvement (ISCI) has now expressed concerns over farmers not getting enough remunerative returns to cover the cost of cultivation.

29.11.2005 Dozens of Indian civil society organizations have formed a People’s Caravan to lobby with the Indian government against the proposed World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. The People’s Caravan, which is holding a mass awareness campaign all over the country, has already reached millions of Indians through rallies, public meetings and street plays. Rahul Kumar attends a press conference by ActionAid and its allies in New Delhi.

29.11.2005 The 2005 Human Development Report paints a bleak picture of the progress made toward those aims six years into the campaign. Among the highlights: The report says the goals for poverty, universal education and child mortality will all be missed in 10 years if current trends continue.

28.11.2005 Although rice farmers essentially feed the world's population, depressed world prices coupled with increasing agricultural costs and exploitative trade policies have left many landless, in debt, and unable to provide for their own families. Fair Trade rice guarantees a fair deal to those who grow the food we eat; find out how to bring it to your community.

27.11.2005 The Coca-Cola company has been condemned across India for using up vital groundwater needed for agriculture, polluting remaining resources, and instigating dubious legal proceedings against its detractors. A large protest is expected in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh Wednesday.

25.11.2005 More than 55 organisations under the umbrella of Jan Caravan, Peole's Caravan, have decided to hold rally in Indian capital New Delhi on 10th December to draw the attention of the Indian government towards pro-people policies at the forthcoming WTO ministerial to be held in Hong Kong.

24.11.2005 The Punjab farmers continue to do their bit even now to ensure the country’s self-sufficiency in food. But not many of us realize that the same farmers, who produce enough food for us, are grossly indebted, suffering from multiple incurable diseases and staring at the severe problem of unemployment of wards and dependents. We need to remedy this situation very fast, through some honest and credible action. It is only then that we can say the country is getting empowered.

23.11.2005 The strength of the chain lies in its weakest link. The face of the poorest is an indicator of the health of the economy of a nation. In a democracy, conducive conditions of people’s participation in all economic activities, as stake-holders and recipients of fruits of their participation, should be created.

23.11.2005 THE Ministry of Food Processing Industry favours rationalisation of tax on processed food. The Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industry, Mr Subodh Kant Sahai, said the issue has been raised with the Finance Ministry and the State Governments. "There should be zero sales tax on perishables and 4 per cent on other food items," he said.

23.11.2005 The EU has squandered the opportunity to revise its sugar reform proposals to help developing countries, said leading aid agency.

23.11.2005
‘Gender equality is essentially an issue of democracy,’ said Ann-Christin Nykvist, Sweden's Minister for Agriculture, Food and Consumer Affairs at a roundtable discussion on gender equality and access to productive resources organized at the 33rd session of the FAO Conference (19-26 November 2005) in Rome.

17.11.2005 The recently concluded Dhaka summit is reported to have agreed to declare the next ten years as the Saarc decade of poverty alleviation. The acknowledgment at the summit level that the magnitude of the poverty problem is a matter of grave concern and should lead the member countries to initiate fresh policy initiatives and more determined efforts to effectively deal with it. The decisions to lay greater emphasis on alleviating poverty, controlling disease and increasing mutually beneficial regional economic cooperation would need firm follow-up action.

17.11.2005 India has been following liberalised and open economic policies since the advent of economic reforms in 1991 and the process has accelerated after its entry into WTO in 1995. However, reforms in agriculture sector have been rather slow during the first phase of economic reforms.

17.11.2005 This Saturday is the biggest supermarket shopping day of the year in the U.S. What better time to let shoppers know about fair trade products and encourage your local store to carry fair trade-certified coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, and fruit?

16.11.2005 Promoting agricultural growth is an effective poverty-reduction tool, but small-scale farmers in developing countries are being excluded from domestic and international markets. Food policy researchers offer three keys to breaking down agricultural barriers and reaching consensus at next month's world trade talks.

15.11.2005 In a region dominated by ethnic divisions and a history of violence, development projects are building more than livelihoods--the dividends of peace, education, and understanding have spread across Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

08.11.2005 MANILA, PHILIPPINES: ADB aims to help alleviate rural poverty in Bangladesh through a new US$42.5 million loan for an Agribusiness Development Project to stimulate commercial activities in the agriculture sector.To promote agribusiness investment and expansion, the project will provide a $36 million credit line that will allow about 28,000 small-scale agribusinesses throughout the country's rural areas to access loans ranging from $500 to $5,000 from reputable and experienced nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and wholesale banks.

07.11.2005 Just 8% of U.S. farms--the largest industrial farming operations--receive the vast majority of government subsidies each year, while family farmers in the U.S. and abroad are driven into poverty. When the senate needed to cut the agricultural budget, though, it chose to slash conservation programs instead of capping subsidies at $250,000 a year, says Oxfam.

02.11.2005 Professor Marijan Jost says it clearly in the interview he gave to ALERT: EU is a big importer and consumer of organic food – therefore, there is no place for GM seeds in Croatia!