It was in April-May 1968, that the country witnessed the wonderful spectacle of large arrivals of wheat grain in the mandis of Punjab like Moga and Khanna. Wheat production in the country rose to nearly 17 million tonnes that year, from the previous best harvest of 12 million tonnes.
The budget comes in the backdrop of an emerging global food crisis, caused partly by extreme weather events in some major food producing countries including China, and partly by escalating petroleum price arising from the battle for democracy in the Middle East. It also comes in the wake of continuing food inflation.
The proposed Food Security Bill should adopt a three-pronged strategy that constitutes a Universal Public Distribution System for all, low-cost foodgrains to the needy, and convergence in the delivery of nutrition safety net programmes.
It is now 42 years since the term "Green Revolution" was coined by Dr William Gaud of the USA to describe advances in production arising from productivity improvement. Even in 1968 I had concluded that if farm ecology and economics go wrong, nothing else would go right in agriculture.
THE TERM "geneticallymodified (GM) foods" refers to crops produced for human or animal consumption using the recombinant DNA techniques. Crop plants are modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits, mainly biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, improved nutritional content, etc.
The successful implementation of NREGA and the Right to Information Act indicates that the climate is conducive for a far-reaching, rights-based legislation to eliminate hunger and deprivation.
In the early 1960s, economist CD. Deshmukh came to me with some seeds of acacia and eucalyptus. He was worried because the seeds had failed to germinate. I x-rayed the seeds and found their embryos normal. So I treated the seeds with acid and thinned their thick coat. After this, Deshmukh was able to germinate the seeds, and acacia and eucalyptus trees grew all over Delhi.
The 2004 calamity marked the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of those who lost their homes, fish boats, and much else. Anticipatory action plans for managing the consequences of seawater intrusion in our coastal areas have become an imperative.
