1.   

Lower export floor price of onions cheers farmers

The government’s move to reduce the floor price to export onion could boost shipments and benefit farmers. Entry of kharif crop from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka had swelled supplies, helping the government cut minimum export price (MEP) for the key agricultural commodity on Monday to $250 per tonne, $100 down from the previous $350. The bar on exporting onion at .....

2.   

FDI a boost for fruit, vegetable growers: NGO

Opening up of the retail sector for foreign direct investment (FDI) will give a tremendous boost to the economy of fruit and vegetable growers in Himachal Pradesh, especially because its temperate climate is ideal for off-season cultivation, says Prakash Thakur, Chairman, People for Environment Horticulture and Livelihood, a non-governmental organisation involved in horticulture-related .....

3.   

Foodgrain productivity has risen by 10%: Government

Productivity of foodgrains in India has increased by about 10 per cent to 1,921 kg per hectare in the last four years, but the yield of most of these crops are still lower than the world average, Parliament was informed today. Productivity of foodgrains in the country rose from 1,756 kg a hectare in 2006-07 to 1,921 kg/hectare in 2010-11, an increase by 165 kg per hectare, Minister of State for Agriculture Harish Rawat said in .....

4.   

Apple rejuvenation project set to take off

The implementation of the Rs 85-crore apple rejuvenation project to replace old and senile plantations with new high-yielding varieties will finally commence this winter. Learning from the mistakes of the past when growers neglected pollinating varieties and mostly planted commercial varieties, the Horticulture Department has made it mandatory to have at least 33 per cent pollinators in every .....