Full Coverage: Agriculture

31.01.2008 A massive debt relief package for farmers is being finalised by India’s agriculture ministry. The scheme will provide debt relief to small and marginal farmers who own land up to two hectares and large farmers. The total outgoings over four years are expected to be around INR 700 billion.

29.01.2008 Two documentaries, A Pinch of Salt and Warriors of Chinnaganjam, poignantly capture the plight and struggles of salt workers in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. These are tales of survival on the fringes; as one elderly worker in one of the films put it succinctly: “Our life is a constant confrontation with death.”

29.01.2008 Bangladesh’s poor are increasingly finding it difficult to buy food. The increase in wages across sectors over last year is disproportionate to the overall rise in food prices, which have increased by 27% in last four months alone. Recurring floods and cyclones destroying standing crops have only added to the woes.

28.01.2008 First of its kind in India, the Rajasthan State Cooperative Department has launched the ‘Kisan SIM card’. Farmers can now get free tips on various aspects of farming from weather updates to guidance on livestock rearing to crop infection through SMS and voice messages.

24.01.2008 NEW YORK, Jan 24 (OneWorld) - A broad coalition is urging consumers and grocery stores to refuse burgers, milk, and other products from cloned animals, following a U.S. government decision to lift a ban on the controversial foods.

22.01.2008 Vandana Shiva continued to stand up for the rights of women, small farmers, and others marginalized by modern society, particularly in the face of corporate-led expansions in the agriculture and biofuel sectors.

21.01.2008 As the debate on Special Economic Zones (SEZ) continues, a novel idea has been proposed by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) to make farmers direct shareholders in an agri-based food processing venture at Nellore, in southern Andhra Pradesh. SEZs are lands earmarked for industrial growth with massive subsidies granted to capitalists.

18.01.2008 Palm oil companies are clearing forests with fires for plantations, says the latest Greenpeace report: Cool farming: Climate impacts of agriculture and mitigation potential. The report says that industrial agriculture is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases and suggests alternative methods and techniques to prevent the damage.

16.01.2008 Until now all efforts were going in improving the crop yield, but global warming is forcing scientists to change their research agenda and look for ways to make crops climate-proof, so that they are resilient to the vagaries of weather. Journalist T.V. Padma, in her article takes an overview of the situation.

14.01.2008 New technological innovations in agriculture, electronics and medicine have helped boost income and reduce the number of people living in poverty, says a new World Bank report. Developing countries also need to strengthen the spread of technology through better infrastructure and improved research, the report adds.

14.01.2008 The Harry Chapin Media Awards were created in 1982 to encourage the media to tell stories of hunger and poverty. These global awards recognise work on causes of economic poverty and forces leading to self-reliance of poor. The current deadline for submitting entries is February 1, 2008.

10.01.2008 The use of urea deep placement (UDP) increases rice yields by 25 per cent while using up less quantities of urea. The Bangladesh government now plans to extend this technique to various sub-districts for effective fertiliser usage and increased food production.