The New Indian Express

Paddy procurement for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) will begin in the district from November 23. The decision was taken at the District Level Procurement Committee (DLPC) meeting held here on Saturday. The meeting, chaired by Collector Samarth Verma, resolved that the procurement process in Sadar Sub-division will begin from November 23 while at Kuchinda and Rairakhol sub-divisions, it will start from November 28.

The Times of India

State cooperative minister Alok Mehta on Saturday launched the department’s specially developed software to facilitate online registration of farmers so that they could sell their kharif season paddy to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies(PACS) at the minimum support price (MSP) rate of Rs 1,470 per quintal to comply with the state’s paddy procurement drive for the current fiscal.

The Financial Express

The Digital India initiative might be a game-changer in many aspects, but when it comes to agri marketing, the e-platform of the National Agriculture Market (NAM), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April this year, has seen only tepid response. NAM is yet to provide farmers’ choice of buyers within states, let alone allowing inter-state trade, which would have boosted agricultural income. Sources told FE that only 250 regulated wholesale markets (the country has 585 such mandis) spread across 12 states under the respective agricultural produce marketing committees (APMCs) have so far been integrated with the NAM platform. However, trading is being carried out at present only in 220 mandis.

The Indian Express

Laws on conservation of agro-biodiversity should not hamper growth of agriculture in developing nations like India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said, while asserting that use of technologies for crop enhancement must not be at the cost of sustainable development. Addressing the first ever International Agro-biodiversity Congress in the national capital, Modi cautioned against growing threat to plant and animal species and said there is a need to adopt a “shared vision” for conserving them through focused research and proper management of genetic resources.

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A paradox is playing out in Indian agriculture. Even though more than 58% of rural households in Asia’s third-largest economy depend on farming, investors – especially private equity funds –aren’t really chasing businesses in this sector. So far this year, private equity investment in the Indian food and agriculture industry has been at a five-year low, according to data from News Corp VCCircle, an information and news provider focused on startups and investments.

The Hindu

A comprehensive report on drought situation in the State would be submitted to Union Government on Nov. 14, said Minister for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda, during a press conference at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, on Sunday. As per the preliminary survey conducted by State government, standing crops worth over Rs. 12,000 crore had been destroyed due the dry spell, he added.