1.   

Bumper onion harvest fails to cheer farmers

With Nashik reporting bumper onion production in the karif season, the wholesale price of the key vegetable has hit a new low. A fall in onion exports due to higher minimum export price (MEP) and sluggish domestic demand, have kept the price low. A Nashik-based trader told FE that prices have crashed from R500 a quintal just two weeks ago to a low of R300-350 a quintal at present. Due to higher MEP compared with global competitors like .....

2.   

Basmati prices up with demand

Pure basmati (raw) rice remained in demand and prices rose further by Rs 200 a quintal while all other aromatic and non-basmati rice varieties were ruling firm on Friday. It's unlikely to see any major uptrend in rice prices in near future as export demand for aromatic rice is quite sluggish at present. Domestic demand alone pushed prices upwards, said Mr Amit Chandna, proprietor of Hanuman Rice Trading Company. A bumper .....

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Government plans to launch satellite to improve farm-forecast accuracy

The government intends to launch a satellite for agricultural monitoring as part of its plan to improve the accuracy of farm output forecasts. But a critical element of this plan - better field-level survey of farmers' sowing preferences - is yet to get off the ground, thanks to a statistical stand-off between the agriculture ministry and an expert panel on farm statistics, which submitted its report last February. "The problem is that the .....

4.   

White Revolution-II: NDDB to invest Rs 2,040 cr in first phase, import 400 bulls

Rolling out the ambitious Rs 17,300 crore National Dairy Plan (NDP), that will run for the next 15 years, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is all set to launch the first phase, NDP-I, involving an investment of nearly Rs 2,000 crore in the next five years. The first phase of NDP (October 2011-September 2017) is expected to commence in full force in the next couple of months across 14 States of India, possibly heralding a .....