Post-harvest loan to be offered at 7% for using warehouses
The finance ministry has launched a concessional loan scheme for farmers to prevent distress sale of agricultural produce.
Farmers who park their produce at warehouses will be able to avail short-term post harvest loan at 7% as against the prevailing rate of 11%-12%. Farmers making timely payment of the loans will further enjoy 3% interest subvention, bringing the real interest rate to 4%, according to the finance ministry directive.

A draft of the proposed Nepal Food Safety Act has envisioned establishment of an independent food safety authority which will implement life, food and consumer rights as fundamental rights.

Facing a glut of potatoes owing to two bumper crops in Punjab and neighbouring states, the farmers here, not being able to find buyers or good rates, have started dumping their crop by the side of the roads.
With their produce getting just Rs 1.5 per kg to Rs 3 per kg, farmers have been forced either to go for distress sale of the crop, or feed the potatoes lying in the cold storage to the cattle. .

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday strongly defended his government’s decision to allow 51% foreign direct investment in the multi-brand retail sector saying the move would benefit the country and help create jobs.
Addressing a Youth Congress meet, Singh said the decision to open up the sector would help improve rural infrastructure, reduce wastage of farm produce and enable farmers to get better prices for their crops.

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday formally implemented one of the major recommendations of Justice Wadhwa Committee, the abolition of Storage Agent chain in order to streamline the Public Distribution System and avoid irregularities and corruption.
The food supplies and consumer welfare department abolished the age-old Storage Agent system in four backward districts- Sonepur, Deogarah, Nuapada and Boudh.

As paddy procurement season is set to commence on Saturday (October 1), Punjab and Haryana are looking to procure 168 lakh tonne of paddy for the central pool in the Kharif Marketing season (KMS) 2011-12, which will be 9 per cent more than the last season’s crop lifting.

Punjab, which contributes 30 per cent rice to central pool, has set a target to procure 140 lakh tonne of paddy through 1,745 procurement centres it has set up across all the grain markets in the state.

GUWAHATI, Sept 29 – Stating that the Centre has laid special emphasis on the Northeast, the Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Prof KV Thomas today informed that the proposal for construction of storage godown totalling capacity 5.4 lakh tonnes, at an estimated cost of Rs 568 crore, has been approved by the department for the region.

The Government has announced a time bound action plan to set the second phase of Green Revolution in motion. This will involve increasing the production of pulses and oilseeds in the eastern region with the help of high-yielding seeds.