Category: Agriculture

Yes, says the new US President! See, agriculture is not just a job! It is a way of life, a belief system, you know? Yes, we have been running this magazine for years now. What is our experience? We find that agriculture in India is being neglected by all sections of society. The government is…

Sharad Pawar, Santosh Mohan Dev and Kapil Sibal How they are failing the agri/food/technology sectors? And the huge cost the country is paying! There is no committed policy to protect and promote farmers’ welfare! See the various areas of agriculture. Is there anything worthwhile under the Sharad Pawar-led Agriculture Ministry’s agenda? Pawar is busy with…

What is dangerous about agriculture imports? The conclusion of the so-called Doha Round, that talk  that started  in the Qatar capital in 2001,really called Doha Development Round to indicate  the trade talk  was for promoting. There is almost a total ignorance among the farmers; I dare say the same thing about our agriculture experts and…

Organised retail is going to change the fortunes of farmers! Yes, organised retail can ensure better prices for farm products, say the leading consultancy. McKinsey is a big name in consulting. But consulting in agriculture is almost nil. We have our own in-house consultancy (Vadamalai Consultancy Services-VCS) and we know from our experience that in…

Lift ban on maize exports! The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council is a set of retired officials. As such they are the ones who had lost touch with the ground level realities long ago. They have now invited themselves severe criticism from paddy farmers. The government agreed for an MSP of Rs.1,000 per quintal and…

Subject the ICAR to social adutdit! By farmers bodies! Even high ceremonial speeches must shed cliches and get to the more earthy and ground level realities! There was this ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the ICAR auditorium in the name of C.Subramaniam. And another to commemorate Annasheb P.Shinde, the two who presided over…

PSBs badly managed! Inefficient, wasteful of customers’ time and resources! You can’t but revamp the co-operative credit institutions if you are serious about saving the farmers! Serving the farmers’ long-term interest! The Finance Minister must revamp a whole lot of banking and financial institutions! The debt waiver scheme is okey but not the end of…

Almost more than double the size of food grains! What is the secret of the high Chinese farm production and productivity? We have so many experts and so many travellers to China. They must bring back some useful insights into the Chinese farming development strategy. It looks there is a heavily subsidised farming practice, there…