Corn-for-fuel is killing friendly insects EXPANSION of corn acreage in four US states

little did farmers in Maharashtra know, or ever expect, that the thousands of rupees they invested in their soybean crop would be lost to countless colonies of caterpillars. The losses have shaken the region

Rituparna Bhuyan & Ajay Modi / New Delhi August 2, 2008, 0:42 IST

Prices of key farm produce like wheat and rice in India are way below international prices, which means rural households will not be robbed of their income if liberal imports of these commodities are allowed.

Data collected by Business Standard show that rice prices in India are less than half of global prices, whereas wheat sells at two-thirds of global prices. While soya oil prices are the same in the two markets, cotton prices are slightly higher in India. These commodities can be exported free of duty to India.

The poor monsoon in Maharashtra, the country's second largest soybean growing state, has forced farmers to resow the crop, and raised concerns over prospects of a record oilseed output, traders and industry officials said. Farmers will have to resow soybean in 20-25 per cent of total covered area in Maharashtra because of irregular showers, said Ajay Balotia, a Nagpur-based soybean trader. "The (soybean) seeds sown have dried up due to lack of water," said another Nagpur-based trader.

P. Sainath The shift from cotton to soybean has major implications for agriculture, livelihoods and the future of the Vidharbha region. "The shift began a few seasons ago but has picked up' "Cotton gets more risky each season' "Soybean input costs are far lower'