The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, April 10, 2008

CULTIVATION
Indigenous method
Vanishing scene: The traditional irrigation methods such as using a manually-operated wheel are rare sights now. A farmer is at workat the Thottara Punja in Ernakualam district in Kerala. ... More

INSIGHT
It’s dosas and idlis still, Mr Pawar, not parathas!
The decline in production and procurement of wheat over the last three years, far from being a result of changing food habits in the South, is an outcome of successive governments advising farmers to move away from food-grains production to a more di verse produce basket, points out S. GURUMURTHY. More

RUBBER
Spot rubber prices decline
Kottayam, April 9 Spot rubber declined on Wednesday. According to sources, the market failed to sustain at higher levels on buyer resistance though there has not been much selling pressure from growers or dealers. Sheet rubber closed extremely ... More

FOODGRAINS
Maharashtra drive to check hoarding
Conducts raids on wholesale traders for verifying stocks More

AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
Nabard sets higher short-term refinance target of Rs 22,000 cr
Mumbai, April 9 The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development plans to raise around Rs 14,000 crore in 2008-09 through market borrowings.“In the last fiscal also we had raised around Rs 14,000 crore. But this year we ... More

TOBACCO
Tobacco farmers want excise duty to be cut
Hyderabad, April 9 Irked by the steep increase in excise duty on non-filter cigarettes, tobacco farmers have asked the Union Government to withdraw the decision immediately.They alleged that the decision would wipe out the non-filter ... More

COMMODITY MARKETS
Chana futures gain on improved demand
Mumbai, April 9 Guarseed futures fell to its lower circuit of 2.21 per cent at Rs 1,818 per quintal, while guargum shed 1.91 per cent to Rs 4,471 per quintal on favourable monsoon forecast by the meteorological department.A good ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Edible oil duty waiver throws trade out of gear
Lack of clarity on settlement terms puts local buyers on the defensive More

NATURAL CALAMITIES
All-party delegation from Kerala to meet PM on crop loss
Thiruvananthapuram, April 9 An all-party delegation from Kerala, led by the Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, will soon leave for Delhi to meet the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and submit a memorandum seeking assistance to the ... More

OUTLOOK
No short-term relief in world food prices: FAO
‘Grain supplies are at their lowest since the 1980s’ More