KOCHI: The blueprint of the Twelfth Plan envisages a shift from primary agriculture to secondary and setting up of 100 incubation centres. The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) is on a farmer-first drive. Scientists will devote 25 per cent of their time in providing better technology for farmers, said S Ayyappan, Director-General ICAR and Secretary, DARE.

Agartala: Worried at the frequent outbreak of bird flu and its effect on the poultry industry, the Tripura government has decided to urge the Central government to send special expert-teams to study the sporadic resurfacing of the contagious disease, an official said here Saturday.

“Sporadic outbreak of bird flu has been badly affecting the poultry industry in the north-eastern States, bordering Bangladesh, where avian influenza is rampant in many districts,” Animal resources development department director Manoranjan Sarkar said.

The path drawn up by the government’s first-ever official agriculture survey in suggesting more private investment in farming is likely to find resonance in this year’s Budget.

Officials said apart from infrastructure and skill development, agriculture could be the next big focus area. In 2009-10, private sector investment in agriculture stood at Rs 1.09 lakh crore, constituting 82 per cent of the total investment in the farm sector.

MUMBAI: Scientists in a quiet neighbourhood in Versova are testing the waters to see if Mumbai can be turned into a Gold Coast of sorts.

AFTER GUNNING for American seed major Monsanto and its Indian subsidiary Mahyco for violating the Biological Diversity Act in the Bt Brinjal case, the Karnataka State Bio-diversity Board has decide

Assam has made a significant turnaround in attaining self-sufficiency in rice in the last one decade or more, prompting the Assam Agricultural University (AAU) to set for itself a target of helping

CUTTACK: Assistant Director-General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Dr RP Dua on Tuesday stressed the need for provisioning quality seeds to the farmers for achieving the goals of

A recent international conference on climate change and sustainable agriculture in New Delhi brought forth the shocking realisation that there are no conclusive studies in India on the prospective impact of climate change on the agriculture sector including livestock and fisheries.

Much of the country's understanding comes from global data provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Meteorological Organisation and other world bodies.

SHILLONG: With an aim to bring holistic approach to development in the agricultural sector, the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), a strategic policy initiative to secure overall development of the Scheduled T