Indian firm finds new way to create GM hybrids
Rice -- the staple food of 65 per cent of India's population -- is in for a revolution. An Indian firm has developed a technique to develop …
Orissa faces acute food insecurity
It is well known that farmers of Orissa are not the 'privileged ones'. What is not known, albeit, is the fact that their plight is all set to …
Breach of trust
The world’s premier rice research institute tilts towards intellectual property rights
Ragi is back - but only as exotica
No body knows for sure how the ragi bandwagon started, but all of a sudden the urban elite became curious about the grain. Today, it is being …
"We have to produce more rice using less water"
Robert Zeigler, director general of the Manila, Phillipines-based, International Rice Research Institution (IRRI) talks to Sourav Mishra about …
Researchers develop transgenic rice with reduced arsenic accumulation
Lucknow-based CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute researchers developed transgenic rice by inserting a novel fungal gene, which results in …
Goodness of the unpolished
The popularity of polished white rice has killed the red and black varieties that have medicinal properties. A few Tamil Nadu farmers are …
Fukushima rice passes radiation tests for first time since disaster
The earthquake that hit Japan nearly four years ago had forced the country to stop export of fish and other produce from the area near Fukushima …
Keeper of grains
An ecologist has been guarding seeds of more than 750 rare rice varieties for over a decade
Don’t worry, experts say after Pakistan gets GI tag for its own Basmati rice
Basmati joint heritage of the subcontinent; Pakistan’s exports will not dent India's share
In Search of the Forgotten Rice Varieties
If the current trend towards genetic uniformity in rice varities continues, our food security will be severely imperilled
Three crops rule the world: What it means for the planet’s wildlife
Over-dependence on wheat, maize and rice threatens the future of wildlife survival and global food security
Will climate change bring back the age of famines in Kashmir?
A quick glance at government data shows that climate change has eaten into the output of top food crops in Jammu and Kashmir
Commercialisation of GM rice turns out to be a dud: report
Countries across the world continue to promote golden rice even though there is evidence to show vitamin A deficiency can be reduced without …
Cupfuls of misery
Nothing more than a vote-catcher, Andhra Pradesh's cheap rice scheme has resulted in an ecological disaster in its drought-prone areas
Getting more with less
System of crop intensification, specially in rice, has shown sizeable savings in water and seed usage. Yet its adoption has not spread despite …
The Green Revolution and a dark Punjab
Punjab has paid a price for food security. The use of pesticides and fertilisers has resulted in a number of health issues for the state’s …
Nigeria is Africa’s leading rice producer, but still needs more — reusing wastewater for irrigation would boost farming
If a quarter of Lagos's daily volume of wastewater were to be recycled for rice production, nearly 75 per cent of Nigeria’s rice …
Malnourished but diabetic: An atypical form of ‘the rich man’s disease’ is spreading among Chhattisgarh’s tribals
Lean diabetes arises from intermittent starvation, overload on carbohydrate metabolism; lack of guidelines compounds problem
Staple spikes: Has an abnormal Kharif 2022 caused rice prices to rise
The United States Department of Agriculture has said rice production in India may decline by 0.9% in 2022-23 due to uneven rains
India’s water is being exported as agri-exports; is there a solution
It is critical for us to adopt the circular water management model of treating and rejuvenating wastewater at source, along with efficient water …
The ‘qissa’ of Basmati
As the European Union gets set to pronounce whether to give a GI tag to India’s Basmati rice, we explore the history of a grain that …
Five points on food inflation and onions
Retail inflation hitting double digit being attributed to high food prices, but is it so?
Jammu and Kashmir farmers suffering due to rain, snow and lockdown
Unseasonal weather has destroyed apples in Kashmir and paddy in Jammu even as government promises to procure crops have rung hollow
Why companies are lobbying to push for hybrid paddy seeds in India
Most of India still cultivates rice from pure-bred seeds, something which prevents companies backed by multinationals from expanding their market