Cost of inaccuracy

Aparna Pallavi and Archita Bhatta From what to sow to when to reap, farmers need weather forecast at every step. It can make or break them

In court

ban weed killer: An environmental group in Argentina has petitioned the country's apex court to ban glyphosate, a weed killer used with GM soybean that has helped fuel the soy boom in the country. The lawsuit cited potential health dangers of the herbicide signalled in an unpublished study by a scientist. Andres Carrasco, the scientist, holds a post in the defence ministry, which recently banned planting of GM glyphosate-resistant soy on land it rents to farmers. Carrasco said glyphosate harms development of amphibian embryos.

Plant pests biofuelled

Corn-for-fuel is killing friendly insects

Mighty caterpillars

little did farmers in Maharashtra know, or ever expect, that the thousands of rupees they invested in their soybean crop would be lost to countless colonies of caterpillars. The losses have shaken the region's agricultural economy to the roots. Now, while discussing whether the pest attack was preventable, several allegations and counter allegations are being made and the blame shifts focus from

Brazilian soy traders help preserve Amazon

Bowing to pressure from consumer and environmental groups, Brazilian soy traders have stopped buying soybeans grown in the Amazon basin for the time being. The move is an effort to preserve the world's largest rainforests, the Amazon. The moratorium will continue for two years and apply to soybeans planted in newly deforested land of the Amazon. Soya is the leading cash crop in Brazil. Rapid expansion of soy farming, much of it illegal, is leading to large-scale deforestation in the Amazon.

The powerhouse

sarikah atreya A popular traditional food of the eastern Himalayan region is the kinema. It is nothing more than fermented soybeans, but is a good source of vitamins and minerals. Most importantly, it is the cheapest source of protein in the region. It also helps digest other foodstuff. It is stringy, gooey and deep brown in appearance.

Saving soya

Bani Bhattacharya

Stranglehold tightens

Monsanto Corporation has been granted exclusive monopoly over all genetically transformed soyabean varieties. The Munich-based European Patent Office (epo) upheld a patent held by Monsanto on transgenic research on soyabean.

India's 'no' to GM food aid

the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (geac) categorically rejected for the second time in five months a request by two North-based aid agencies to allow the import of 23,000 tonnes of genetically modified (gm) corn-soya blend into India. Permission was denied because it was felt that the consignment could be contaminated with a particular transgenic corn variety which causes allergies.

Anti-GM suit in Pakistan