India will import food to make up for shortages caused by a drought thought to be affecting 700 million people, the finance minister has said. [...]
The farm minister, Sharad Pawar, said the government would take action to ensure prices remained stable.
He added: "[The] situation is grim, not just for the crop sowing and the crop health but also for sustaining animal health, providing drinking water, livelihood and food, particularly for the small and marginal farmers and landless labourers."
The farm minister, Sharad Pawar, said the government would take action to ensure prices remained stable.
He added: "[The] situation is grim, not just for the crop sowing and the crop health but also for sustaining animal health, providing drinking water, livelihood and food, particularly for the small and marginal farmers and landless labourers."
The extended drought in China's north and northeast regions now threatens over 8 million hectares of farmland.
Asian agriculture registered dramatic advances during the 1960s and 1970s through a combination of irrigation, improved crop varieties and fertilisers.
The resulting Green Revolution made it possible to avert widespread hunger and raise living standards. From 1970 to 1995, the area under irrigation in Asia more than doubled.
Today, the option of expanding irrigated land area in Asia to feed a growing population is becoming increasingly problematic due to land or water constraints.
Innlegg
