CULTIVATION
Area under most rabi crops down — Wheat, rapeseed/mustard coverage up
RABI sowing has commenced in most parts of the country but the area under most crops, barring wheat, gram and rapeseed/mustard, has declined compared to the same period last year. According to the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, the ... More

AQUACULTURE

HORTICULTURE/FRUITS & VEGETABLES
Thanjavur belt farmers resort to distress sale
THE recent heavy rains have affected not only the samba crop but also the alternate crops in the Thanjavur belt. Farmers in the district had taken to raising alternate crops, cultivating pumpkins, ashgourds, brinjals, radish, betelvine and ... More

INSURANCE
`New farm insurance norms needed'
The policy should enable establishing an objective assessment of impact of adverse monsoon conditions and appropriate relief to farmers. It should facilitate farmers to assure themselves of a price for all their products through a well-regulated netw ork of forward, futures and options markets. More

RUBBER
Rubber softens on moderate sales
Though the covering groups and purchase agents were active, they kept the quotes low expecting enhanced arrivals in a weakening market. The remaining major grades were steady on nominal demand from different sectors but the activities were not ... More

TEA
Tea Board worried over fall in leaf quality
Fall in premium for quality tea has led to growers losing interest. More

HLL ropes in Elephant Design to give shape to Lipton kiosks
MOVE over, coffee. Drinking tea is soon going to be the coolest thing to do for India's Gen Next and working hard to make this happen is the Pune-based design company Elephant Design, which has been roped in by FMCG major Hindustan Lever to make ... More

GOLD & SILVER
Gold at all-time high
DRIVEN by a bull run in the global market, gold prices in the country have touched an all-time high. While early trade on Tuesday saw prices register Rs 6,495 per 10 gm, prices actually touched even higher last weekend when most markets were ... More

COTTON
Cotton fibre quality worries consumers
THE size of the cotton crop projected for the current year may be staggering but if one goes by the market information, there may be problems with the quality of the fibre. Informed cotton trade circles say key cotton varieties from Gujarat, ... More

Maharashtra Govt in a fix over cotton procurement
WHEN the Maharashtra Government decided to dilute its hugely loss-making monopoly cotton procurement scheme two years ago, it did two things: it allowed private operators to come and pick up cotton and began to slash the staff strength in its ... More

SPICES & CONDIMENTS
Karnataka, TN growers find vanilla prices remunerative
VANILLA growers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are finding the current prices of Rs 250 to Rs 300 a kg for green beans remunerative, but it is not so for their counterparts in Kerala. According to a grower in Kodagu region of Karanataka, some ... More

AGRICULTURAL POLICY
Nominal price increase irks AP sugarcane growers
THE Andhra Pradesh Sugarcane Growers' Association has lashed out at the Union Government for pegging the cane price at Rs 745 per tonne for the 2004-05 season, a hike of mere Rs 15 from the last season's price. In a statement issued here on ... More

CO-OPERATIVES