BHUBANESWAR: The Krushak Morcha of the BJP on Wednesday assailed the State Government for its failure to solve the farmers’ problems. Presiding over a meeting of the State functionaries of Krushak Morcha here on Wednesday, president of the farmers wing Mahesh Sahu said that the farmers are yet to get compensation for crop loss they sustained last year due to natural calamities.

: Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) will distribute the seed of New Rice For Africa (Nerica), a high yielding variety, for the first time to some 37,000 farmers during the upcoming Aman season.
The rice seed will be distributed in 83 upazilas of 30 districts.
According to the BADC officials the country will get an additional 18,000-20,000 tonnes yield by cultivating the high yielding and short duration variety of paddy.

Agriculture scientists will be encouraged to develop new crop varieties to enhance the production of all crops meanwhile sale of unapproved seeds will not be accepted.

Strict action will be taken against breeders if found guilty in supplying unapproved seeds to farmers.

This was stated by Punjab Agriculture Secretary, Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmad, while chairing a meeting with agriculture scientists and breeders, said a spokesman of the department here on Friday.

Cooperative Minister Shri Gaurishankar Bisen has directed that maximum quantity of certified seeds should be made available to farmers with a view to increasing agricultural production. Shri Bisen was addressing a meeting of Board of Directors of Madhya Pradesh Seed Federation at Mantralaya on Tuesday. Farmers’ Welfare & Agriculture Development Minister Dr. Ramkrishna Kusmaria, Agriculture Production Commissioner Shri M.M. Upadhyay, Principal Secretary Cooperatives Shri P.C. Meena and Director Agriculture Dr. D.N. Sharma were present on the occasion.

The Obama administration has drafted some of the world’s largest food and finance companies to invest more than $3 billion in projects aimed at helping the world’s poorest farmers grow enough food to not only feed themselves and their families but to earn a livelihood as well.

KOCHI: The ambitious ‘Matsya Samrudhi’ project, mooted in a bid to shore up fish production levels in the rural belts of the state, will be launched in June this year. The state government-sponsored project will jointly be implemented by the Fish Farmers Development Agency, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and the Agency for the Development of Aquaculture Kerala (ADAK).

The `195-crore project targets to increase the production by one lakh tonnes within a period of three years. The project is expected to make the state coffer richer by `481.5 crore.

The Central team touring the State to assess the drought situation has concluded that the drought in Chitradurga district is severe.

A member of the team, D Rajashekar, Deputy Advisor, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, New Delhi, told mediapersons in Chitradurga on Tuesday that the water table had depleted and borewells have dried up. The team will recommend to the Centre in its report to roll out development schemes to alleviate the sufferings of the drought-affected, he said. He commended the officials for the drought-relief works taken up in the district.

Genetically Modified (GM) seeds are the need of the hour to bolster farm production in the face of rising demand, and a way to match productivity of countries such as China and Vietnam, according to food scientists and experts here. With GM crops seen with suspicion by most, the scientists said there is an inherent lack of awareness about its advantages among people.

Emphasising the need to adopt technical know-how, Dr N. Sesikiran, director, National Institute of Nutrition, said, “Nature has evolved by continuous genetic modification.

Tension prevailed at some places in Haveri district on Tuesday, due to protests and stampede during distribution of Bt cotton seeds.

Farmers break barricades in a bid to collect seeds from an outlet of Bt cotton seeds company in Haveri district on Tuesday. The increase in demand for the ‘Kanaka’ variety of seeds and shortage of supply led to the rush. In Haveri city, police resorted to mild lathicharge as around 12,000 farmers fell over each other to collect the seeds.