THE government is considering a proposal to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in food retail albeit with a caveat that all companies would have to meet mandated export obligations. The Ratan Tata-led Investment Commission has favoured permitting FDI in food retail, especially fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, with export commitments.

The Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that it is necessary to procure maximum quantity of wheat on support price for ensuring success of Mukhya Mantri Annapurna Yojana, under which wheat would be supplied at the rate of Rs three per kg to poor families from fair price shops. Keeping this target in mind, commissioners, collectors and all the concerning officers must act on a war footing and make concerted arrangements for immediate payment to farmers apart from transportation and storage of wheat.

The government has bought 7 per cent more wheat from farmers this year to bolster state reserves that may be used to curb inflation running near a three-year high. India is the world's second-biggest wheat grower behind China. Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other state-firms bought 3.1 million tonnes of wheat from farmers since April 1 and total purchases may reach a target of 15 million tons, Food Corp.

Agriculture experts at a seminar here on Saturday underlined the need for establishing a common food bank for the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation ( Saarc) member countries to face adverse impact of climate change on food production. They also suggested carrying out more researches to invent more saline, drought and flood tolerant crop varieties and improving early disaster warning system, official news agency BSS reported.

the Save Grain campaign, initiated 43 years ago, came to an end on February 29, 2008. The centre wanted states to take it up because agriculture is a state subject but states did not want any "added

Banning use of virgin habitats or ensuring that bio diverse ecosystems are not lost in the pursuit of bio fuels is well intentioned. However such noble objectives are hard to deliver on the ground.

George Monbiot Enthusiasm for biofuels is misplaced and masks the real solution to the problem of the globe's overdependence on oil

workers in warehouses are regularly exposed to respiratory diseases and allergies. Usually, grain warehouses have high concentrations of airborne grain dust which contains very harmful pesticides,