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New Delhi, Nov 15 () India will host a four-day global conference on agriculture statistics beginning November 18 in the national capital and billionaire Bill Gates is scheduled to give a keynote address.
 The agriculture ministry is organising the international conference, held every three years, in partnership with the United Nation's FAO, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the World Bank, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation and other agencies.
 Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and two ministers of state for agriculture will be present at the event, which is expected to see a participation from 108 countries and over 600 delegates.
 The theme of the conference would be 'Statistics for tranformation of agriculture to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
 After unveiling the logo of the conference, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General Trilochan Mohapatra said Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation co-chair Bill Gates will deliver a keynote address.
 Stating that agri-data plays an extremely important role in evidence-based policy making, he said currently, agri-data in India is scattered and efforts are being made to collate at one place. The event will help India learn from global experiences and chalk out a proper policy.
 It will also help in achieving the SDGs, he added.
 Mohapatra said, "By 2030, we have to achieve SDGs. Eliminating hunger and malnutrition are some of the major concerns not only for India but also for other countries. The conference will deliberate on policy measures and global cooperation in farm statistics required to be taken for achieving the SDGs."
 The first conference on agriculture statistics was held in 1998 in Washington and the previous one was in Brazil in 2016.
 Besides agri-statisticians from all over the world and representatives of National Statistics Offices, the conference will also open its doors to the participation of producers, suppliers and users of agri-statistics as well as policy makers, researchers and analysts.
 The occasion will also help young statisticians from India to present their work and create better employment opportunities in the future, Mohapatra added. LUX MKJ

India to host 8th global conference on agri-statistics; Bill Gates to address

New Delhi, Nov 18 () Better statistical information and innovative tools will help minimise the damage of climate change on the farm sector, billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Monday said.
 As the effects of climate change on smallholder farmers will increase in future, there is an opportunity for engaging with the private sector in the field of agriculture and play an important role in boosting the crop yields, he said.
 "At a time when we have to increase productivity, climate change is making it far difficult. Understanding how the changing weather is affecting our crops and productivity and how we can adapt to that -- requires best work in agriculture statistics including use of new tools," Gates said in his keynote address at the 8th global conference on agri-statistics here.
 Referring to India's soil health card, he said the soil quality data helps farmers determine what fertilisers to use. However, there are opportunities to add additional data to the existing one and make a detailed soil mapping.
 "Better soil, better information and better statistics will help minimise the damage of climate change," he added.
 Gates, who is also co-chair in the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, further said since the issue of climate change is "complicated", different interventions are required to be taken including developing new variety of seeds and their distribution to farmers.
 There is an opportunity to engage with the private sector in agriculture, as there is a need to make available the innovative models and products to the farmers for tackling the challenge of climate change, he added.
 Noting that smallholder farmers are most affected by the climate change across the world, Gates said these farmers are very poor and their children suffer from malnutrition, especially stunting issues.
 "One drought and one flood is enough to wipe out any savings of their family. The intensity and frequency of both drought and flood is going to change. The effects of climate change will increase," he said adding that this is also an issue in India.
 Inaugurating the event, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, "India is an agriculture-based economy. The government depends on data for policy making."
 He also said the subject of statistics and probabilistic ideas in India seem to be of ancient origin in India.
 The treatise Arthashastra by Kautilya during the Mauryan period had a detailed description of the system of data collection related to agricultural, population and economic censuses in villages and towns during the period, he said.
 A four-day global conference is being organised by the agriculture ministry in partnership with the United Nation's FAO, the US Department of Agriculture, the World Bank, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation and other agencies. LUX HRS

Better agri data to help tackle climate change challenges: Bill Gates

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="8931586" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19-relief">COVID-19 relief</keyword> bill has a $5 billion provision that will forgive debts for farmers of color.</li><li>Democratic Sen. <keyword id="307904" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Raphael-Warnock">Raphael Warnock</keyword> of Georgia led the push for the inclusion of the funding.</li><li>Farmers of color, and especially <keyword id="10886284" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="black-farmers">Black farmers</keyword>, faced years of discrimination by federal officials.</li></ul>For over a century, Black farmers <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/04/opinion/black-farmers-covid-relief.html">faced discrimination</a> from the US Department of Agriculture and were largely excluded from federal loans and farm improvement initiatives.In an effort led by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the $1.9 trillion <a href="https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr1319/BILLS-117hr1319eh.pdf">COVID-19 relief bill</a> that passed on Saturday includes a $5 billion provision that will forgive debts for Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other farmers of color, to enable reforms that will assist farmers with building generational wealth.Last week, Warnock, Georgia's first Black senator, praised the incorporation of the <a href="https://www.warnock.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Emergency-Relief-for-Farmers-of-Color-Act-of-2021.pdf">Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act</a> into the COVID-19 bill.He said that Democrats sought to "ensure equity in our recovery efforts and address longstanding injustices that have left some communities behind for far too long" and pledged that the aid "will not only help farmers of color, but will also lift up the economies of our rural communities working to recover from the economic turndown," <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/reparations-black-farmers-warnock-covid-relief-package-1136193/">according to Rolling Stone</a>.Due to systemic racism from both private lenders and government officials, many Black farmers did not have set deed structures that allowed for properties to be passed down in whole, which created fractional ownership setups.Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, strongly backed the effort, lauding Warnock for "coming in and and working to embrace this and get it over the line right away," according to Rolling Stone.In 1910, 14% of farmers in the US were Black, compared to 2% today, something that Stabenow highlighted."When you look at one of the very first ways that there was racial discrimination after slavery was legally abolished, it was lack of support for black farmers," she said, adding that they "were discriminated against in terms of land ownership."Last year, Democratic Sen. <keyword id="941882" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cory-Booker">Cory Booker</keyword> of New Jersey introduced "The Justice for Black Farmers Act," <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/bill-black-farmers-reclaim-millions-acres-step-direction/story?id=74394647">which would allow</a> Black farmers to individually reclaim 160 acres through a system of land grants to address racial discrimination in federal agricultural policy."Overtly discriminatory and unjust federal policy has robbed Black families in the United States of the ability to build and pass on intergenerational wealth," he said in a statement. "When it comes to <keyword id="6386447" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="farming">farming</keyword> and agriculture, we know that there is a direct connection between discriminatory policies within the USDA [US Department of Agriculture] and the enormous land loss we have seen among Black farmers over the past century."Booker reintroduced his bill last month with cosponsors Warnock, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

The COVID-19 relief bill includes $5 billion in aid for farmers of color who have long faced discrimination by federal officials

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesHouse Speaker Paul Ryan</div></div></div><ul><li>Republicans created a massive loophole in their recently passed tax law that could have serious consequences for the agricultural industry.</li><li>Lawmakers are trying to fix what's become known as the "grain glitch" as part of the negotiations over this week's massive spending bill.</li><li>Negotiations are at an impasse after House Speaker Paul Ryan rejected a deal from Democrats.</li></ul>Republicans are trying to correct one of the biggest mistakes in their recently implemented tax overhaul but are having trouble agreeing on a fix.A tweak to taxation of agricultural corporations and co-ops in the new law <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/agriculture-firms-decry-provision-in-new-tax-law-1515529022">opened up a loophole</a> that could cause a significant distortion for the industry and lawmakers, particularly from farming-heavy states. Lawmakers are trying to put a fix in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/government-shutdown-march-2018-omnibus-bill-details-2018-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this week's massive spending bill</a>.The error, which has become known as <a href="https://www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-today/legislation-and-lawmaking/lawmakers-working-fix-tax-laws-grain-glitch/2018/02/06/26vpj">the "grain glitch,"</a> stems from a provision in the tax law that allows for a new 20% tax deduction on income derived from a pass-through business - in which the owner of the business takes the profits directly as income.Due to a last-minute change that was added by Republicans from farming-inclined states, farmers can not only take the 20% deduction on the net income of crops they sell to distributors that are classified as corporations, but also take the same deduction on gross sales to cooperative distributors. The different is significant, as Scott Greenberg of the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/grain-glitch-needs-fixed/">explained in a February report</a>:"Consider two identical businesses with $300,000 of revenue and $200,000 of expenses, where one business is a regular pass-through business, while the other business receives all its income as co-op dividends. The regular business would be entitled to a deduction of up to $20,000 (or 20 percent of the business's net income of $100,000). By contrast, the co-op member would be entitled to a deduction of up to $60,000 (or 20 percent of the business's gross amount of qualified cooperative dividends)."Greenberg said other technical differences mean the deduction "could be large enough to wipe out a farmer's federal income tax bill entirely."There are a variety of reasons that this glitch is a problem:<ul><li>The change would likely drive some smaller agricultural distributors classified as corporations <a href="http://www.agweek.com/business/agriculture/4386659-fix-fix-hoeven-studies-co-op-tax-benefit-impact">out of business.</a></li><li>And it opens up a loophole through which high-income individuals could <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/grain-glitch-needs-fixed/">funnel money through farms.</a></li></ul>Agricultural businesses have<a href="http://www.agweek.com/business/agriculture/4408400-market-cloud-tax-fix-tips-scales-15-centsbu-co-ops"> called for Congress to pass a bill</a> to tweak the language and make sure that the tax code is not overly preferential. <h2>Omnibus decision</h2>The biggest obstacle to fixing the grain glitch is a larger divide over fixes for the tax law.Republicans almost immediately admitted that the law would need technical corrections, as do many laws of massive size. Democrats, who universally opposed the tax law, have been reluctant to support any such move, noting that the GOP has <a href="https://www.axios.com/gop-tax-fixes-different-from-health-care-fixes-ce315dd6-8cfb-4ad4-ad88-6259d34a649c.html">refused to help shore up</a> the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.While Republicans argue the tax law is a different beast, the two sides have been left at an impasse searching for a hard-to-find fix.To ensure the grain glitch - one of the biggest mistakes in the bill - gets corrected, Republicans are attempting to add a correction to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/government-shutdown-march-2018-omnibus-bill-details-2018-3">the must-pass spending bill</a> this week to avert a government shutdown.Democrats have reportedly offered to attach the grain glitch to the omnibus bill in exchange for an expansion of the low-income housing tax credit, which incentivizes states and cities build such housing. House Speaker Paul Ryan <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/20/ryan-grain-tax-473643">rejected the offer</a> on Tuesday, but reports Wednesday indicated a last-minute negotiation may have gotten the change into the bill. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nra-extremism-hurts-gun-owners-members-america-2018-2">HENRY BLODGET: The NRA's extremism hurts gun owners, NRA members, and America</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Republicans made a huge mistake in their tax bill - and they're scrambling to fix it

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a new bill banning Chinese citizens from buying land in Florida.</li><li>DeSantis cited concerns that Chinese investors have been buying up too much farmland in the state.</li></ul>Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Monday that bans most Chinese citizens from purchasing land in his state. The new bill, <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/264" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SB 246</a>, prevents Chinese nationals from buying land in Florida unless they are also American citizens or permanent residents. "Today, Florida makes it very clear we don't want the CCP in the Sunshine State," DeSantis said at a press conference on Monday. "We want to maintain this as the free state of Florida."There's an exception to the new rule. Lawmakers added an amendment allowing anyone holding a non-tourist visa to buy one property of up to two acres, as long as it's not within five miles of a military installation. Russian, Cuban, Iranian, North Korean, Syrian, and Venezuelan citizens are also banned from buying property within 10 miles of military bases — but were not wholly banned from purchasing land in Florida.DeSantis called the latest measure a response to a "concerted effort" by the Chinese Communist Party to acquire farmland in Florida.He referenced an incident where a <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/news/desantis-sounds-alarm-over-chinese-purchase-of-florida-land-for-primate-breeding-facility/jtnews/2022/11/06/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese-owned drug developer tried to buy 1,400 acres in Levy County for $5.5 million</a> in late 2022."Our food security is also national security, and so we don't want the CCP in charge of any food production," he said.Florida has more than 21.8 million acres of privately held agricultural land, around 6% of which is owned by foreign investors, <a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/EPAS/PDF/2021_afida_annual_report_through_12_31_2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the US Department of Agriculture's 2021 data.</a>The agriculture department's report doesn't say how much of this farmland is owned by China. But it noted that Chinese investors in 2021 owned 383,935 acres of land worth $2.1 billion across the entirety of the US. That accounts for about 1% of all foreign-held US land.Investors from Canada own the most US land out of any foreign country, holding 12.8 million acres worth around $11.6 billion, per the department's 2021 report. <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/20/chinese-groups-protest-at-florida-capitol-fearing-discrimination-in-bill-china/70129709007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dozens of Chinese-American and green card holders protested the new bill at Florida's capitol</a>, saying the legislation's language is too broad and could open the door to discrimination.Representatives for DeSantis and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Ron DeSantis is banning Chinese citizens from buying land in Florida, accusing China of taking up swathes of farmland: 'We don't want the CCP in the Sunshine State'

In order to give a fresh boost to start-ups, the Indian government has amended the <keyword id="123776" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Finance-Bill">Finance Bill</keyword> to drop capital gains tax if shares of an unlisted company were held for more than two years. 
 
As of now, there is no capital gains tax on share transactions in listed companies if those stocks are held for 12 months, however, shares of unlisted entities face capital gains tax of 20% even after three years. This area proves to be of concern for international investors that are investing into Indian start-ups. 
 
After the exemptions, the government is hoping for a rise in the number of mergers and acquisitions. 
 The amendment was a part of finance minister <keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword>’s several changes to the Bill, which was later cleared by the Lok Sabha. 
 
The government has added that new companies opting for a lower tax rate of 25% but foregoing all exemptions cannot go back to a regime with exemptions. 
 
Additionally, companies with agricultural income are expected to pay tax only when income starts accruing post their conversion from trusts. Jaitley has promised strict action against those who pass off their income from other sources as farm income. 
 
"There are two categories. One is honest agricultural income. You may have a large income which is a separate case. That is a rare case. But there are some cases where people are passing off income from other sources as agriculture income. That is a case of evasion. That will be dealt with under the law. That the assessing officer can deal with," he said. 
 
<a href="http://s4.scoopwhoop.com/anj/downlaod/440739570.jpg">Image source</a>

No capital gains tax for start-ups over 2 years old

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Carlo Allegri/Reuters</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/bill-gates">Bill Gates </a>has a $1 billion fund, collected from a who's who of fellow billionaires, ready to invest in startups and research to solve <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/climate-change">climate change</a>.</li><li>On Tuesday, in his annual letter with wife Melinda, he points out that really fixing climate change involves way more than renewable electric energy, though he's encouraged by progress there.</li><li>Manufacturing and agriculture are overlooked problem areas.</li><li>He's looking for climate friendly ways to make concrete and steel, as well as ideas on dealing with methane produced by cows "when they belch and pass gas."</li></ul>"I wish more people fully understood what it will take to stop climate change," Bill Gates laments in his annual letter published on Tuesday.Each year the Microsoft founder and his wife Melinda publish a letter that outlines the areas that cheer, worry and surprise them. The topics in the letter are taken from the couple's experiences trotting the globe to combat poverty, disease and other problems.Bill Gates is tackling climate change through programs funded by the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation">Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation </a>as well as through Breakthrough Energy Ventures. BEV is a $1 billion investment fund he's spearheaded, <a href="http://www.b-t.energy/ventures/board-investors/">backed a who's who of billionaires including </a>Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff, Richard Branson, Reid Hoffman, Jack Ma, George Soros, Tom Steyer, Meg Whitman and Mark Zuckerberg.BEV is looking to invest in startups and research that tackle five areas, which he calls "grand challenges." These are agriculture, buildings, electricity, manufacturing and transportation.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Rick WilkingMicrosoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates talks with a colleague before the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. May 6, 2017.</div></div></div>In the letter Gates points out that promising progress has already been made with renewable energy for electricity.But he says there are two areas that account for 21% and 24% of worldwide greenhouse emissions, respectively, that are sorely ignored: manufacturing of building materials and agriculture.Making building materials like steel and cement requires a lot of fossil fuels and processes that belch out carbon, he says.The world is currently on track to double its buildings by 2060 which Gates points out is like building "an entire New York City every month for 40 years.""We need to find a way to make it all without worsening climate change," he says.Agriculture is another gas-producing culprit. Despite the healthy, pastoral image of cows grazing on green rolling hills, Gates notes that cattle "give off methane when they belch and pass gas. (A personal surprise for me: I never thought I'd be writing seriously about bovine flatulence.)"He's not advocating that cattle farming be banned, nor is he saying that we end construction or transportation. He just wants the world to focus more on solutions to all the areas hurting the climate."Solar panels are great, but we should be hearing about trucks, cement, and cow farts too," he says. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-galaxy-s10-phone-launch-what-to-expect-2019-2">Everything we know about the Galaxy S10, which is shaping up to be Samsung's best phone yet</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Bill Gates warns of the dangers of cow farts - and the world should take his words seriously

(Eds: Adding more details)New Delhi, Feb 12 () A bill to regulate pesticides business and compensate farmers in case of losses from usage of spurious agro-chemicals will be introduced in the Budget session of Parliament, the government said on Wednesday. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Pesticides Management Bill, 2020, which seeks to replace the Insecticides Act, 1968, for regulating the pesticide sector by fixing prices and setting up an authority. It would also regulate advertisements of pesticides and provides for heavy penalty as well as jail term for any violation of the law. "As far as farmers are concerned because that is our primary concern, Pesticides Management Bill, 2020 will be introduced in this session of Parliament. Today, pesticide business is regulated by 1968 rules which have become age old and needs immediate rewriting," Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters. The minister said this is an important bill for farming community and yet another step by the government for the welfare of farmers. Highlighting various features of the proposed law, Javadekar said the main objective is to protect the interest of farmers and ensure they get safe and effective pesticides. "Secondly, he (farmer) will not get spurious pesticides. Because many times he is at the receiving end if he gets spurious pesticides," the minister said. Javadekar informed that all pesticide manufacturers have to be registered under the new Act, once it is passed. "Even their advertisements will be regulated that there should be no confusion or no cheating in any way of the farmers," he added. Javadekar also said that if there is any loss because of the spurious or low quality of pesticides, then there is a provision for compensations. This is a unique feature of the bill, he added. "The penalties collected from the companies and money put, if required, by the government will form a central fund which will take care of compensation," he added. That apart, Javadekar said farmers would be empowered to get all information as the data would be in open source and in all languages. "More importantly, he (farmer) will know about the strength and weakness of pesticides, the risk and alternatives and this will be an open data in digital format also," he noted. The minister said farmers would essentially get these information from the dealers selling pesticides. The bill also intends to promote organic pesticides. Javadekar informed that a bill in this regard was presented in 2008. In 2008, a Pesticide Management Bill was approved by the Cabinet and introduced in the Rajya Sabha. After that, it was referred to the standing committee on agriculture. During the first term of the Modi government, a draft bill was prepared by the in 2017-18. The draft bill sought to regulate the import, manufacture, export, storage, sale, transport, distribution, quality and use of pesticides with a view to control pests. Other provisions included ensuring availability of quality pesticides, permitting use only after assessing its efficacy and safety and minimising the contamination of agricultural commodities by pesticide residues. Pesticide companies would have to pay a huge penalty ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50 lakh for violation of any rules and regulations, according to the earlier draft. The new bill also proposes imprisonment of up to five years, up from two years at present. The second phase of the Budget session starts from March 2. NKD MJH CS RAM

Pesticides Management Bill gets Cabinet nod

<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41284017@N08/6302435631/in/photolist-aAVCxi-7H4min-atCg2V-aAVBGD-8tx5VE-8yUNDv-8yUNEM-caeurb-caeXJC-caeYdL-bUcNMv-cbyZKs-cbz1qj-bUcQCB-caWBuQ-a9XYKU-ctQoeo-aAYmoh-bqzRxm-chMYXy-chMZ3q-chMZ23-chMYWo-chMYU1-chMYZq">USDA</a></div></div>
Congress passes a bill that gives bipartisanship a bad name
WHILE Congress was gridlocked it was easy to forget how ugly the smooth functioning of government can be. After a delay of two years, a reminder came on February 4th when the Senate passed the farm bill, a strange piece of legislation which costs nearly a trillion dollars. It mixes benefits that mostly go to the poor (food stamps) with agricultural subsidies that mostly go to the rich (crop subsidies for large farms). Given a blank slate, nobody with an interest in either alleviating poverty or improving farming would construct such a law. Yet here it is again.
The alignment of rural and urban interests, which dates from when the two bits of legislation were yoked together in the 1970s, had temporarily broken down, largely thanks to some House Republicans who wished to treat food stamps (which account for 80% of farm-bill spending) and agricultural subsidies separately. They were motivated by fiscal prudence and the belief that welfare discourages work.
However, the imminence of November's mid-term election persuaded enough Republicans to change their minds for the bill to pass. Some of those who failed to secure farm subsidies for their constituents might have been vulnerable. Another concern was the "dairy cliff": the failure to pass a new bill would have invoked a 1949 price-support law, written when the need to produce enough milk for thirsty infant boomers was paramount, under which the government would have been obliged to buy dairy products at about twice the going rate. Even people who had trouble understanding that shutting down the government before Christmas would be politically damaging quickly grasped that doubling the price of breakfast would.
The bill passed with some pretend reforms to the food-stamps programme designed to be spouted in election campaigns, such as ending the supposed scourge of millionaires receiving the benefit. Democrats complained about savage cuts to food stamps, which actually amounted to a mere 1% over ten years compared with an earlier version. And the big picture is that food-stamp spending has exploded since 2000. The number of people receiving the benefit rose from 17m in 2000 to 26m in 2007 and then, as the recession bit, to 48m in 2013--though it is projected to shrink again as growth revives.
Those who think this expansion is a bad thing point to a study by James Ziliak of the University of Kentucky, which found that only half the recent rise was due to the stodgy economy. The remainder was caused by demographic change and a determined effort to make more people eligible, something that irks Republicans who suspect Democrats of expanding welfare to buy votes. However, Mr Ziliak, who studies poverty, likes food stamps because they are counter-cyclical.
America is unusual among rich nations in trying to tackle deprivation by giving away free food, a quirk that dates from a moment during the second world war when the government wanted people to buy up agricultural surpluses. Food stamps have high administrative costs and are open to corruption: some beneficiaries buy big packs of fizzy drinks and sell them back to the store for cash, minus the middleman's cut. The federal government runs a confusing mess of 126 anti-poverty programmes, many of which overlap, but there is no serious talk of making the system simpler and more effective.
The part of the farm bill that actually deals with farming is even worse. Farmers are not the only people whose businesses have ups and downs; there is no reason why they should get special treatment. The new law shifts away from direct payments, by which farmers received cheques for doing nothing very much, towards an insurance model, where farmers get paid if crops fail or prices fall too far. This sounds reasonable, but the insurance schemes lock in high prices when farming is profitable, as it is at the moment: since 2008 the value of farm assets has increased by half, says the Congressional Research Service.
Crop insurance has two other defects. The first is that while the risk of crop failure or low prices is largely underwritten by taxpayers, the policies are provided by insurance companies, so, in effect, they enjoy a subsidy too. Calculations by Vincent Smith of Montana State University found that between 2005 and 2009 for every dollar in crop insurance that went to farmers, $1.44 went to insurance companies. The second problem is that crop-insurance payments are skewed towards wealthier farmers. The Environmental Working Group, which campaigns against wasteful farm spending, calculates that more than 10,000 policyholders received over $100,000 from crop-insurance subsidies in 2011. The new bill tries to cap the amount that any one farmer can receive; but if the weather is bad, it could lead to higher payouts than planned.
<h3><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">The Economist</div></div></div></h3>
<h3>Sweet deals</h3>
Taken together, these subsidies distort behaviour and trade in unhelpful ways. They have created products that make no economic sense in the rest of the world, such as making sugar from corn. As a penalty for keeping cotton subsidies in place, the World Trade Organisation's rules require the American government to pay $147m a year to compensate farmers in Brazil. The new bill is unlikely to resolve that, either.
How could Congress write such a law? One answer can be found in the register of political donations. The ten members of the House, nine Republicans and one Democrat, who accepted most money from agriculture lobbyists took in an average of $225,000 in political contributions during 2013, according to Open Secrets, which tracks donations--almost as much as some farmers received in return.
Click <a href="https://subscriptions.economist.com/nwcd">here</a> to subscribe to The Economist

The Farm Bill: A Trillion In The Trough

Congress passes a bill that gives bipartisanship a bad name
WHILE Congress was gridlocked it was easy to forget how ugly the smooth functioning of government can be. After a delay of two years, a reminder came on February 4th when the Senate passed the farm bill, a strange piece of legislation which costs nearly a trillion dollars. It mixes benefits that mostly go to the poor (food stamps) with agricultural subsidies that mostly go to the rich (crop subsidies for large farms). Given a blank slate, nobody with an interest in either alleviating poverty or improving farming would construct such a law. Yet here it is again.
The alignment of rural and urban interests, which dates from when the two bits of legislation were yoked together in the 1970s, had temporarily broken down, largely thanks to some House Republicans who wished to treat food stamps (which account for 80% of farm-bill spending) and agricultural subsidies separately. They were motivated by fiscal prudence and the belief that welfare discourages work.
However, the imminence of November's mid-term election persuaded enough Republicans to change their minds for the bill to pass. Some of those who failed to secure farm subsidies for their constituents might have been vulnerable. Another concern was the "dairy cliff": the failure to pass a new bill would have invoked a 1949 price-support law, written when the need to produce enough milk for thirsty infant boomers was paramount, under which the government would have been obliged to buy dairy products at about twice the going rate. Even people who had trouble understanding that shutting down the government before Christmas would be politically damaging quickly grasped that doubling the price of breakfast would.
The bill passed with some pretend reforms to the food-stamps programme designed to be spouted in election campaigns, such as ending the supposed scourge of millionaires receiving the benefit. Democrats complained about savage cuts to food stamps, which actually amounted to a mere 1% over ten years compared with an earlier version. And the big picture is that food-stamp spending has exploded since 2000. The number of people receiving the benefit rose from 17m in 2000 to 26m in 2007 and then, as the recession bit, to 48m in 2013--though it is projected to shrink again as growth revives.
Those who think this expansion is a bad thing point to a study by James Ziliak of the University of Kentucky, which found that only half the recent rise was due to the stodgy economy. The remainder was caused by demographic change and a determined effort to make more people eligible, something that irks Republicans who suspect Democrats of expanding welfare to buy votes. However, Mr Ziliak, who studies poverty, likes food stamps because they are counter-cyclical.
America is unusual among rich nations in trying to tackle deprivation by giving away free food, a quirk that dates from a moment during the second world war when the government wanted people to buy up agricultural surpluses. Food stamps have high administrative costs and are open to corruption: some beneficiaries buy big packs of fizzy drinks and sell them back to the store for cash, minus the middleman's cut. The federal government runs a confusing mess of 126 anti-poverty programmes, many of which overlap, but there is no serious talk of making the system simpler and more effective.
The part of the farm bill that actually deals with farming is even worse. Farmers are not the only people whose businesses have ups and downs; there is no reason why they should get special treatment. The new law shifts away from direct payments, by which farmers received cheques for doing nothing very much, towards an insurance model, where farmers get paid if crops fail or prices fall too far. This sounds reasonable, but the insurance schemes lock in high prices when farming is profitable, as it is at the moment: since 2008 the value of farm assets has increased by half, says the Congressional Research Service.
Crop insurance has two other defects. The first is that while the risk of crop failure or low prices is largely underwritten by taxpayers, the policies are provided by insurance companies, so, in effect, they enjoy a subsidy too. Calculations by Vincent Smith of Montana State University found that between 2005 and 2009 for every dollar in crop insurance that went to farmers, $1.44 went to insurance companies. The second problem is that crop-insurance payments are skewed towards wealthier farmers. The Environmental Working Group, which campaigns against wasteful farm spending, calculates that more than 10,000 policyholders received over $100,000 from crop-insurance subsidies in 2011. The new bill tries to cap the amount that any one farmer can receive; but if the weather is bad, it could lead to higher payouts than planned.
<h3>Sweet deals</h3>
Taken together, these subsidies distort behaviour and trade in unhelpful ways. They have created products that make no economic sense in the rest of the world, such as making sugar from corn. As a penalty for keeping cotton subsidies in place, the World Trade Organisation's rules require the American government to pay $147m a year to compensate farmers in Brazil. The new bill is unlikely to resolve that, either.
How could Congress write such a law? One answer can be found in the register of political donations. The ten members of the House, nine Republicans and one Democrat, who accepted most money from agriculture lobbyists took in an average of $225,000 in political contributions during 2013, according to Open Secrets, which tracks donations--almost as much as some farmers received in return.
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Why The Trillion Dollar Farm Bill Is Such A Disaster

<ul><li>American philanthropist and <keyword id="10387" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> Co-Founder <keyword id="45830" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bill-Gates">Bill Gates</keyword> recently regained his status as the world’s richest man, dethroning Amazon’s <keyword id="191583" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jeff-Bezos">Jeff Bezos</keyword>. </li><li>The Bill and <keyword id="131379" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Melinda-Gates">Melinda Gates</keyword> Foundation works to develop innovative ways to counter the socio-economic gaps in the country. </li><li>The trust works across four sectors — health, financial services, sanitation and agricultural development — to improve the quality of life. </li><li>The foundation has also invested in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Institute (WASHi) — which trains over 100 sanitation professionals.</li></ul>American philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates — who recently regained his status as the world’s richest man dethroning Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — has been putting his wealth to good use. And India has a lot to gain from it. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation develops innovative ways to counter the many socio-economic gaps in the country. In India, its focus is on Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The trust works across health, financial services, sanitation and agricultural development. Its initiatives in India includes Digital Green organisation, PCI (<keyword id="8347466" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Project-Concern-International">Project Concern International</keyword>), Bharat, BioE and Serum amongst others. Here is a look at all the activities of Bill and Melinda Gates’ Foundation in India. Healthcare The foundation has been working with Bihar government for over a decade to eradicate malnutrition in mothers and children. The move aims to bring down child mortality rate. After its many initiatives, the child mortality rate in Bihar fell by a third. In the early 2000’s, Bill and Melinda Gates met women from the commercial sex industry — who were suffering from <keyword id="6363554" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="HIV">HIV</keyword>. In 2002, it announced a <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/media-center/press-releases/2002/11/hivaids-prevention-effort-in-india">$100 million fund</a> to lessen the spread of HIV/AIDS in India. “Many of them were despised and stigmatized in their own communities. Why they ended up having to trade sex was basically survival, and what it meant to them to have people from outside come and listen to their stories, be willing to hug and embrace them, and treat them like human beings was a very moving moment,” Physician Helene Gayle<a href="https://fortune.com/longform/bill-melinda-gates-worlds-greatest-leaders/"> told </a>Fortune. In 2010, the Gates Foundation also developed and tested new techniques to improve healthcare. It developed teaching aids, undertook nurse-mentoring programmes amongst others. Sanitation In 2012, PCI (Project Concern International) project — <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/where-we-work/india-office">‘Parivartan</a>’ — encouraged self-help groups to take up healthy and hygienic practices. “The Parivartan project found that the key was providing a range of healthier options instead of prescribing a single solution that might not work for everyone,” the Gates Foundation said. Soon after, it launched ‘Jeevika’ programme in Bihar to promote sanitation. The foundation also invested in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Institute (WASHi) — which extends technical assistance to various state governments along with training programmes for communities. The initiative has trained over 100 sanitation professionals. Agricultural Development Digital Green is a global development organization that empowers small farmers. In the last few years, the organisation has educated over 1.3 million smallholder farmers. Particularly in Bihar, it helped rice farmers improve their yields by 20%. It is also helping farmers collect and transport produce in a way that generates better prices in the market. Financial Services The Gates Foundation also extends digital financial services to government and private sector entities which help the disadvantaged make safe payments. It aims to protect the poor from unexpected financial shocks. It also works with corporates to design digital financial products.

Bill Gates — now the world’s richest man — is invested in India, its people, their health and land

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Kevin Lamarque/ReutersPresident Donald Trump</div></div></div><ul><li>US manufacturers and agricultural producers are starting to worry about President Donald Trump's trade fights.</li><li>The latest ISM manufacturing survey showed that metals producers are concerned about the steel and aluminum tariffs.</li><li>A new index of agricultural producers also showed farmers getting hit by Trump's trade battle with China.</li></ul>US businesses are showing signs of concern with President Donald Trump's recent international trade crackdowns, according to new surveys of manufacturers and farmers.The Institute for Supply Management's <a href="https://www.instituteforsupplymanagement.org/ISMReport/MfgROB.cfm?SSO=1">latest manufacturing survey</a> dipped for the month of April, down to 57.3 from last month's 59.3. While the reading signifies that the US manufacturing sector is growing, manufacturers in the survey expressed worry about Trump's new <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/trump-tariff">tariffs on steel and aluminum</a>.Those surveyed said the 25% tariff on steel and 10% tariff on aluminum is already driving up prices and introducing uncertainty.The "232 and 301 tariffs are very concerning," one manufacturer told ISM. "Business planning is at a standstill until they are resolved. Significant amount of manpower [on planning and the like] is being expended on these issues."Another fabricated metal manufacturer responded that the tariffs have made it difficult to find materials needed to produce their products."The recent steel tariffs have made it difficult to source material, and we have had to eliminate two products due to availability and cost of raw material," the manufacturer said.Trump on Monday decided to delay the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-steel-tariff-eu-canada-mexico-trade-war-2018-4">implementation of the steel and aluminum tariffs</a> on six key US allies, but the tariffs that apply to the rest of the world have already <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/metal-buyers-race-to-secure-supplies-ahead-of-tariff-decision-1524913209">caused the metals' prices to spike</a>. Manufacturers also expressed concern in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/beige-book-trump-tariff-trade-war-with-china-businesses-2018-4">the Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book</a>, which surveys businesses from around the US.Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the ISM index shows the tariffs are starting to depress activity."In one line: Trade war talk seems to be hurting, a bit," Shepherdson said.Shepherdson said that while the declines in the index were modest, the slip reflects manufacturers' concerns over Trump's trade battle."Relatively cold and snowy weather likely hurt a bit, but the bigger story, we think, is uneasiness over tariffs, which might be inducing a bit of caution, at the margin," he said.Manufacturers aren't the only group feeling the tariffs' pain. The new <a href="https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/ageconomybarometer/barometer-declines-for-second-month-in-a-row/">Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer</a>, a measure of the US agricultural sector's health, also showed sharped declines due to trade worries.According to the report, agricultural producers' opinions of current economic conditions and future outlook tumbled from the previous month. The overall index fell to its lowest level since March 2017.In response to Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, China's government announced new restrictions on US exports of pork, soybeans, and other agricultural products. That crackdown is already hitting US farmers, according to the barometer."There seems to be a spillover effect that is driving concern among agricultural producers," said James Minert, director of Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture. "Negative perceptions about exports spill over into lower expectations for commodity prices, and then that changes producers' views about farmland prices." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-crown-prince-salman-met-trump-oprah-bill-gates-2018-4">Why the Saudi crown prince met with Trump, Oprah, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "new agricultural bills" and got 12 results

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