The Food Security and Productivity Enhancement Programme of Small farmers has recorded a significant expansion reached 1012 villages costing Rs 100 million in Punjab. A spokesman of Agriculture department on Friday told Business Recorder that the federal, provincial and district governments in Punjab would jointly carry out the programme. The programme would be carried out in 72 villages of Sialkot while each village would be provided with funds amounting to Rs 1.95 crore for implementation of the programme while initial work on the project has already been initiated in the district.

By Anil Pandey India is being blamed for current food shortage in south asia. How far this is true? A couple of weeks ago Ameri can President George Bush made similar statement blaming the prosperity of the rising Indian middle class for the current food crisis. This is far from truth as the consumption of food grains has been growing three times faster in the US as compared to India, according to Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

The Punjab government gives top priority to agricultural research as reflected in its first budget out-laying Rs 940 million for agriculture. This will not be spent on routine research activities but in research projects selected on competitive basis to resolve targeted high priority issues of this sector.

New Delhi June 25: The Indian government's view that biofuels are responsible for current food crisis, stands vindicated by one more international report. A briefing paper by Oxfam released on Wednesday has blamed biofuels for contributing to the present food crisis. In its report named "Another Inconvenient Truth: How Biofuel Policies are Deepening Poverty and accelerating Climate Change", Oxfam warned that biofuels are not a solution to either the climate change crisis or the oil crisis. The cost of using biofules to improve fuel security are prohibitively high, the report pointed out.