New Delhi In the shadow of the monsoon deficit, the Union agriculture ministry has drafted a contingency plan for states that have received scanty rainfall, focussing on alternative or short-duration crops.

The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) blueprint includes a shift, wherever possible, to alternative crops like bajra, groundnut, pigeon peas from water-intensive maize, cotton and paddy. State-specific plans have been prepared for parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana, sources said.

The country’s foodgrain output will touch an all-time high of 257.44 million tonnes in 2011-12, according to the Government’s latest estimates.

Monsanto will roll out the third generation biotechnology product in cotton next year.

Amid growing concern over a slow and weak progression of this year’s southwest monsoon, the government today assured the nation that the situation for most kharif crops, barring coarse cereals, had not turned worrisome yet. Experts, however, cast doubts over the claims, particularly on water-intensive paddy cultivation.

The situation in kharif crops is “not as serious now”, but the department has directed states to prepare contingency plans, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told reporters.

With the southwest monsoon playing truant in northeast and central India, the Centre has asked States to be ready with alternate crops that are hardy, and can withstand dry conditions.

There are reports that in some north-western states, farmers have slowed down sowing, in the hope that the monsoon will arrive or revive in the first week of July. So far, 74 per cent of the country has received deficient rain since the onset of southwest monsoon on June 5, raising serious concerns in the farming community.

A paper published by the charity today highlights the increasing impact of climate change on small-scale producers in the developing world, even suggesting that agricultural productivity in some co

At a time when Bt cotton hybrids are ruling the roost, re-introducing non-Bt varieties may seem like a regressive step.

Now, consumers can make ‘informed choice’ on buying packaged food products

Consumers in India can now make “informed choice” on whether they want to buy packaged food products that are genetically modified or contain genetically modified ingredients. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, in an extraordinary gazette notification, has made an amendment to make labelling of every package containing genetically modified food mandatory from January 1, 2013.

GM crops that make their own insecticide also deliver benefits for their conventional plant neighbours, a study in China has concluded.

Officials Blame Centre’s Lopsided Policy

Gandhinagar: After experiencing a sharp rise in cotton production for two years in continuation, top Gujarat government officials estimate the possibility of an abrupt fall in 2012-13. “The fall may be 25 per cent or more”, a senior state government official told TOI. In fiscal 2011-12, cotton production in Gujarat was around 112 lakh bales, up from 98 lakh bales in the previous year. The rise of 14 per cent took place after cotton production experienced a whopping 33 per cent rise in 2010-11.