India-Canada MoU, Fresh baby corn..

1. India and Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding here to extend co-operation in agriculture, including sharing of knowledge technology, marketing of farm products and animal development.

2. Indian baby corn has now carved itself a very definite niche in the regular cuisine of a growing retailers such as Sainsbury, ASDA, Morrison and Sommerfield.

Punjab green fields have become the country’s biggest producers of the commodity for export markets. Bharti Del Monte India Pvt. Ltd, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and DMPL India Ltd. (a subsidiary of Del Monte Pacific Ltd.) has become the country’s largest exporter of fresh baby corn, preferred over the frozen variation, more in the world’s fine dining and haute cuisine. The company's total baby corn exports currently exceed 200 tons, all from Punjab.

Gold Rush, Vertical Farming and Bt corn

1. Rich countries and companies are eying land in poorer countries as an investment in future for food security. Some poor countries are happy to trade it with other desirable options like dollar and oil. More details here.

2. This article discusses about rooftop farming and vertical farming. Rooftop farming is nothing but planting the crops on the rooftop. Though it sounds very simple, it is not so. Check out this company called SkyVegetables. Vertical farming was coined by Dickson Despommier, an environmental health sciences professor at Columbia University. His idea is to grow and harvest food in multistory structures specifically designed for this purpose. Though it is an interesting idea, but an expensive solution.

3. Monsanto sees India adopting bt corn in five years.

Quiet revolution, Cashing on floods, Corn export ban and Rice output

1. P.K. Joshi, director of the New Delhi-based National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, in an interview with NEWSWEEK's Jason Overdorf about the challenges India faces.

2. MS Swaminathan, one of India's best-known agricultural scientists and a Rajya Sabha member suggests that "Bihar now needs to change its short-term farm strategy and switch to short-haul cash crops that do rather well after floods. The idea is to grow crops that mature quickly — in about two months — and have a good market."

3. ET reports that Government can lift ban on corn exports.

4. The Union Food and Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar,says that the country’s rice production during the current kharif season “will exceed 84 million tonnes (mt)”.

Cotton output, Corn futures and organic farming

1. Cotton output seen good this year because if good rains and better seeds. But will the farmers benefit?
India Cotton Output May Top Estimate as Rains Improve (Update3)
Bloomberg - USA
India starts cotton planting in June and the harvest begins in October. China is forecast by the US Department of Agriculture to produce 35.5 million bales ...

2. Corn futures rise
India corn futures rise on lower acreage, exports
Reuters India - Mumbai,India
"We think despite lower acreage, yield will be higher this year," said a senior official with state department of agriculture of Andhra Pradesh, ...

3. South Asian Farmers Discuss Organic Farming
Indian Catholic - New Delhi,India
South Asian farmers visited a Garo tribal woman to learn how she practices organic farming and conserves 64 varieties of indigenous rice.