For the first time, Nagaland, the North Easter region state has come out with a perspective plan for 2020. Some of the key achievements are: The “social capital” and resilience of the Naga village communities have remained intact and are beginning to help overcome several difficulties. “The village councils, village development boards and the recently…
Category: Agriculture
Agricultural extension : Make agri/horti dept. officials and scientists spend time in villages!
Time to partly privatise and for private participation. There was this news recently. The Union Minister for Planning M.A.Raja Shekaran, a senior politician from Karnataka had participated at the Bangalore based Agriculture University on a, mouthful topic, called “Extension of methodological issues in impact assessment of agriculture and rural development programmes”. From the way this…
A higher growth rate in agriculture?
Such claims invite more cynicism than optimism! A mid-term review of the year, the economy projects a higher economic growth in agriculture. Some newspapers gave such figures like three to four per cent for agriculture, while others, more sober newspapers simply omitted the exact figures and simply talked of a ‘slightly higher growth rate in…
Agriculture continues the growth decline!
PM talks theory, theory, and theory! The Prime Minister had called a meeting of the full Planning Commisssion. What is the urgency? Obviously, the government is worried over the agri sector’s continuing growth decline. Farm growth decelerated since 1997 from 2.5 per cent to currently to a shameful 0.1 per cent! There is a decline…
Sharad Pawar violates Election code!
Served notice for election-eve promises! We request Sharad Pawar for some more promises! Sharad Pawar, the Union Agri Minister, is supposed to be a very competent politician. And yet he is held responsible by the Election Commission for violation of election code! The reason? He promised several helps to farmers after the assembly elections! What…
Experts debate agri policy : Innovations in agriculture possible!
There was this recent debate on constrains on agri growth. India’s well-known experts participated. Prof.C.H.Hanumantha Rao is a senior agri economist/expert. R.S.Deshpande heads the Bangalore-based Institute for Social and Economic Change. Sharad Joshi is a farmer’s leader and an MP. With them comes M.S.Swaminathan with his Commission on agriculture. In short, all agree on the…
Open Letter to Agriculture Minister
PM talks of timely information in agriculture : Only IT revolution can change agriculture too! Sharad Pawar may be a competent administrator and an agri expert. But is days in the agri ministry hasn’t shown any dramatic initiatives Our agri sector is deprived of latest information and innovations There is simply no public-private sector interaction…
AP Govt. opens WTO cell in agri dept
WTO is here to stay! India and farmers have to learn to make a success of WTO! WTO is a necessary good for the world agriculture. Without our agriculture or for that matter any country’s agriculture goods and services entering into the world trade the concerned agriculture goods and services won’t get the maximum prices….