Business Standard

As per preliminary reports received from the States, the total area sown under Rabi crops as on 30th December, 2016 stands at 582.87 lakh hectares as compared to 545.46 lakh hectare this time in 2015. Wheat has been sown/transplanted in 292.39 lakh hectares, rice in 10.68 lakh hectares, pulses in 148.11 lakh hectares, coarse cereals in 52.21 lakh hectares and area sown under oilseeds is 79.48 lakh hectares.

The Economic Times

According to the Central Water Commission, which monitors 91 major reservoirs in the country, the levels in key reservoirs are higher than a year ago. The reservoirs collectively held 92.586 billion cubic metres of water, 26% more than a year ago, suggesting better availability of water for winter crops. The water level, however, was 2% less than the 10-year average.

BW Disrupt

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the share of agriculture was 15.35% of the gross value added (GVA) making the agriculture sector a sweet spot for investors and entrepreneurs. There is huge scope for new technological innovations and startups, as day to day farming activities continue to involve many barriers. India produces a variety of agriculture supplies ranging from seeds, fruits, spices to farming machinery and equipment. Technology can be used to our advantage to increase the productivity or the yield per unit input.

The Financial Express

Another promising initiative of the government this year was the launch of e-National Agriculture Market which has the promise of integrating the fragmented marketing structure of agricultural produce. In its first year itself 250 mandis in 10 states have been linked to e-NAM platform and till December 16, 31.13 lakh tonnes of agriculture produce worth R6,13,890.61 crore has been transacted on this platform. Several states have achieved significant success in using the platform for trading of agricultural produce.

The Assam Tribune

“By providing seeds of various crops to farmers after the sowing period is over, the State Agriculture Department has actually favoured only a few departmental officials and some middlemen. In reality, no farmer has benefited from the Government scheme of providing seeds to farmers free of cost,” a group of farmers of Bhakat Chapori area of Majuli told this correspondent. Bhakat Chapori of Majuli is famous for its large production of farm produce like sugarcane, pulses, peas, mustard, potato, cabbage etc.

The Economic Times

Agriculture growth will be good this year after two years of back-to-back drought, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has said. And if rates fall below the minimum support price (MSP), the government will intervene and procure crops, he assured.

Business Standard

A “normal” monsoon brought much-needed relief to farmers after two consecutive years of drought. However, the demonetisation drive during the harvest season has devastated them, with one expert estimating they would need a bailout package of a staggering Rs 3 lakh crore ($44 billion), slightly less than India’s defence budget.

The New Indian Express

The Union Government has extended the timeline for farmers to get enrolled in the rabi crop insurance scheme till January 10, Maharashtra agriculture minister Pandurang Fundkar said on Saturday.

The Indian Express

State-run Bank of Baroda today said it has launched an agricultural investment credit for the farmers of Rajasthan. The first loan has been disbursed in Sri Ganganagar, the bank said in a statement here today. Under the scheme, farmers can avail of loan from the bank’s branches for construction of farm ponds, installation of solar pumps, installation of micro irrigation, and for any other viable agriculture and allied activities.

IANS Live

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced a 60-day interest waiver for farmers who have taken loans from district co-operative banks and co-operative societies.

Business Today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Digital India on July 1, 2015 to create digital infrastructure for empowering rural communities, enabling digital delivery of services and promoting digital literacy. Given that 68 per cent of India’s population is rural and agriculture is the main source of livelihood for 58 per cent of the population, one must consider the role of Digital Agriculture within Digital India.

The Financial Express

There were genuine apprehensions about its impact on one of the largest sectors that employs about 50 % of the population. More so, since after two years of sluggish growth, agriculture had just made a turnaround with a growth forecast of at least 4% in 2016-17, even by conservative estimates.

The Economic Times

The agriculture ministry plans to use remote sensing technology to map the area under potato and onion cultivation for the entire country to provide an accurate estimate of the likely production of the respective crops. This would be extended to cover orchards in the next phase. “We are working on producing robust estimates of the area and production of important crops like potato and onion for the whole country through remote sensing,” said an agriculture ministry official.

Hindustan Times

But before it could capitalise on nature’s bounty, the demonetisation exercise delivered a body blow to agriculture and its allied sectors, which primarily deal in cash. The prices of vegetables — both at the wholesale and retail level — have crashed, leaving farmers, especially the small and marginal ones, in a perilous situation.

Your Story

There are drones, of V Drone Agro, flying over Bengaluru’s Ramanagara district helping farmers identify dying crops. Farmers in Telangana are using an app called Plantix, built by Progressive Environment and Agricultural Technologies, which helps in identifying plant diseases. Then there is Kisan Network (a Y Combinator company) in Madhya Pradesh, which works directly with the farmers to create standards in produce. They buy the produce from the farmers and assure them of market prices before they sell the produce to large corporates.

First Business

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said that in view of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, farmers, whose short term crop loan repayment date falls between 1 November and 31 December, will get an additional 60-day grace period. Representational image. Reuters “In view of the constraints faced by farmers for timely repayment of loan dues on account of withdrawal of legal tender status of Specified Bank Notes (SBNs), it has been decided by the government to provide an additional grace period of 60 days for prompt repayment incentive of 3 percent to those farmers whose crop loan dues are falling due between 1 November and 31 December,” RBI said in a notification.

The Hindu

They demanded constitution of Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulatory Authority, waiver of all crop loans, sanction of Rs.30,000 an acre as compensation to farmers, Rs.25,000 to families of agricultural labourers and Rs.25 lakh as relief to families of farmers who committed suicide

The Financial Express

State-run Cot-ton Corporation of India (CCI) has resorted to commercial purchase of cotton at market rates from various parts of the country to ensure supplies for its customers in the textiles industry. The corporation has is-sued notices reaching out to buyers informing them that the Corporation will shortly commence e-auction of FP bales for the cot-ton season 2016-17.

The Hindu

Expecting higher profits, many farmers, even the small and medium ones, are shifting to aquaculture by leasing lands or converting their existing land holdings into aquaculture ponds but this is eventually landing them in losses and debts because of failed crops caused by substandard inputs and other factors.

The Financial Express

The Hindu Business Line

Business Standard The RBI on Monday said the government has allowed an additional grace period of 60 days for prompt repayment incentive of3% to those whose crop loan repayments are due between November 1 to December 31, if such farmers repay the same within 60 days from that period.

IB Times

Embracing digital economy may face resistance from the urban classes, but farmers, it seems, are embracing it in a big way. The story of farmers in Gujarat paying digitally for purchase of fertilisers was used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to blunt the case against rural India not yet ready to go cashless.

Deccan Chronicle

With the state facing a drought with monsoon failure, Tamil Nadu Vivasaigal Sangam on Sunday demanded the state government to declare the state as drought hit and pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to family of farmers who have committed suicide or died of shock following crop failure.

The Times of India

Agriculture and jobs will form the focus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discussions on Tuesday with top economists and experts from India and abroad at a time the government has been criticised for the country’s ‘jobless growth’. The theme of the Niti Aayog meeting is ‘Economic policy: The road ahead’, but the PM has asked the premier government think-tank to concentrate on two areas: agriculture and education, skills and jobs.

Mint

The sowing of rabi or winter crops has been completed in 87% of the seasonal area and that of wheat, the main crop of the season, is above normal for this time of the year, shows data released by the farm ministry on Friday. Though sowing of wheat was delayed initially, the data shows that farmers have managed to plant the crop despite the cash crunch following the government’s demonetization exercise.

HT Media Syndication

The day-long programme was ceremonially inaugurated by Binanda Kr Saikia, MLA, Sipajhar LAC, by lighting the ceremonial lamp in presence of Dr Raju Mani Bordoloi, Principal Scientist, Agriculture Technology Application Research Institution (ATARI) based in Shillong; Indrajit Kaman, Deputy Director, Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), Guwahati ; Bhagawan Ch Bharali, District Agriculture Officer, Darrang; Biswajit Deb, District Devel…

Business Standard

With the government pushing for cashless transactions in the agri-economy, around 213,000 farmers have activated mobile banking accounts and about 81,000 are now using e-wallet platforms across India. The government expects the numbers to double in the next one to two months.

The Financial Express

Noting that most infra projects are financed by the government or through banks, helamented that capital markets are rarely used for infra financing and opined that for infra projects to be viable, it is very important that the borrowing should be of long duration. (Agriculture)

Aaj Samaj Dainik Tribune Ajit Samchar Dainik Jagran Amar Ujala

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said the state planned to set up wheat crop and paddy crop stubble-based industrial units in the private-public partnership (PPP) mode. Addressing a ‘vikas’ rally in Rania town of Sirsa district, Khattar said the government planned to rope in private companies for setting up paper mills and power generation units from stubble.

Business Standard Nabard’s deputy managing director, H R Dave, says their aim is to give RuPay cards to 34 million farmers. “Generally, farmers buy seeds, fertiliser, and other farming related things on cash or credit. By providing RuPay cards, they will also be able to go cashless soon,” he said.

The Indian Express

But the moment we moved to mixed caste villages, the story was different. Padmacharan Parida, a middle farmer with seven acres of farmland in Haripur village in Nayagarh, had employed 34 workers to harvest his paddy; he owed them Rs 12,600 in wages. He took a long bus ride to his bank to withdraw this. He was turned away twice. The third time, the bank gave him Rs 3,000.

The Hindu Business Line

Pulses, wheat and oilseeds sowing in the on-going rabi season have picked up pace and out-stripped average acreage of the previous five years, as per the Agriculture Ministry’s latest sowing data (till December 23) circulated on Friday. Sowing of rice and coarse cereals, however, remain lower than the average acreage in the previous five years (normal of the corresponding week).

The Economic Times

The acreage under rabi crops increased by 7% in the last one week, data from the agriculture ministry shows. Till Friday, rabi crop planting was completed on 554.91 lakh hectares, up from 519.27 lakh hectares at the end of the previous week.

Anupam Bharat Nakshatra Jyoti

Angul the agriculture officer had shown the crop cuttings new technology to farmers. Nearly 30 farmers had taken the training at the agriculture research center.. The farmer must utilize the benefits of govt schemes.

The Hindu

Scanty rainfall has made our life miserable as we have lost all our crops. Kindly waive our loan which will give us some relief.” This was the earnest request by farmers to the Cabinet sub-committee on drought, headed by Minister for Large-Scale Industries R.V. Deshpande.

Deccan Herald

Karnataka on Thursday demanded a Rs 5,064-crore relief package to offset the crop loss due to drought in most parts of the state and excess rain in three districts. Karnataka Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa and Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and submitted a memorandum seeking a Rs 4,702-crore relief package for loss of kharif crop this season.

The Economic Times

Rice stubble, a cause of air pollution due to open field burning, is set to catalyze investment of Rs 2400 crore in a string of biomass based energy projects and ethanol manufacturing facilities in Haryana and Punjab.

Web India 123

Andhra Pradesh stood top in the production of maize and third in the production paddy in the country. Informing this at a power point presentation during the District Collectors conference here today, Agriculture Department Secretary B. Rajasekhar said Paddy and Maize have recorded incredible yields in the state. The target set for total food grains production this year is 77.63 lakh metric tonnes.

First Post

The impact of demonetisation on agriculture is an indirect one. There are two cropping seasons in India. The monsoon crop, which is kharif, was in the midst of harvesting while the winter crop, or rabi, was in the first stages of sowing when the announcement was made. A good monsoon ensured that the kharif crop across all commodities was good, while the moisture retention meant that the rabi crop would follow suit. The demonetisation exercise began on 8 November, which was at the confluence of these two phenomena and had implications for both the activities.

Live Mint

Renowned agriculture scientist and architect of India’s green revolution, M.S. Swaminathan has rapped the Centre for abolishing the import duty on wheat, saying cheap imports will put the clock back on sustaining the wheat revolution. In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Swaminathan said that “sustaining wheat revolution is important for success of food security and fundamental to safeguarding livelihood security of wheat farmers.”

Business Standard

As the government pushes for cashless transactions in the agri-economy, so far, over 213,000 farmers have activated mobile banking accounts and about 81,000 farmers are now using e-wallet across India. The government hopes that the numbers would double in the next one to two months.

Siasat

The agriculture sector is all set to bounce back leaving two years of drought behind and may well pull off record foodgrain output of 270 million tonnes in 2016-17 on good rains, but farmers’ woes may continue due to adverse impact of notes ban and low sales realisation.

Hindustan Times

Kisan Swaraj, or the farmers’ movement, in pre-budget consultations with the government, has demanded that in the immediate run there be an exemption from demonetisation to all farm-related transactions. Contrast that with the view from the finance minister who declared that the cashless economy and its associated changes were the new normal. Assuming that this was the new normal or new quasi-normal, what could a quintessential farmer wish from the upcoming union budget? Below I present five natural fallouts of demonetisation for the budget wishlist now that the chinks in the armour of liquidity-driven non-arm’s length spot transactions for agricultural products have been somewhat laid bare.

The Times of India

Western Maharashtra is known for its success in the agriculture sector and the industry backing the farmers in the region with modern equipment always boomed. However, demonetisation has cast its shadow on this sector too. The demand for electric pumps, trollies, tractors, ploughs and fertilisers has plummeted owing to cash crunch as bills of cane, milk and other agricultural produce are stuck in cooperative banks.

The Times of India

Burning of agriculture waste and paddy straw is one of the main reasons behind rising levels of pollution. To resolve this issue, scientists in Chhattisgarh have devised a way to collect leftover paddy straw from the fields by using a steel-mesh attached to a tractor. With the use of this low-cost steel net, one can collect up to seven quintals of paddy husk from an acre without the help of human hands.

The Times of India

The agriculture ministry on Wednesday launched an ICAR data centre -connecting 274 specialised institutions and universities -which will act as an information hub for the farm sector and eventually link the rural population with high speed internet network.

The Financial Express

The sowing of key rabi crops —wheat, oilseeds and pulses — is expected to be completed within next two weeks, thus belying concerns over large-scale delays because of the demonetisation drive, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Wednesday.

The Times of India

Renowned agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan on Wednesday said farmers should be given very serious consideration based on a careful analysis of the impact of wheat imports at subsidised rates.

Morung Express

If women farmers were given the same access to land, tools and credit as men, the boost to crop yields would dramatically cut world hunger, but this must be done fast before climate change closes the window of opportunity, hunger experts said on December 16. Agricultural yields would increase by almost a third if women had the same access to resources as men, said Neven Mimica, European Union commissioner for international cooperation and development.

The New Indian Express

Unlike other blocks, farmers of 16 villages in Dhenkanal Sadar and Kankadahada blocks have scripted several success stories in multicropping of paddy and non-paddy varieties. The technical expertise of German-based ‘Climate Change Knowledge Network’  in Indian Agriculture has helped them in boosting crop output. The network is in use in Ganjam district besides Dhenkanal to facilitate agriculture and cash crops.

The Indian Express

The agriculture sector is all set to bounce back leaving two years of drought behind and may well pull off record foodgrain output of 270 million tonnes in 2016-17 on good rains, but farmers’ woes may continue due to adverse impact of notes ban and low sales realisation. The farm growth is estimated to rise at over 5 per cent this fiscal, from 1.2 per cent in the previous year, on the back of record kharif foodgrain production at 135 million tonnes (mt) and likely bumper output in the ongoing rabi season, helped by good monsoon in most parts of the country.

The Hindu

The State government announced its intention of taking the burden of interest charged by banks from farmers despite the crop loan waiver scheme being in operation in the State. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said his government was resolved to repay farmers the interest they paid to the banks. “We are willing to pay even though the fault is not ours,” he said. The Chief Minister directed Finance Minister Etala Rajender and Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy to review the loan waiver scheme and obtain details, bank-wise, on the interest charged from farmers so that they could be reimbursed.

Siasat

Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy today informed the Assembly that the TRS Government was committed to strengthen farm sector by providing timely succor to the farmers. During a short discussion on agriculture, Harish Rao slammed the Congress and other members for faulting the government on crop loan waiver. The government had released Rs 16,500 crore out of Rs 17,500 crore committed by the government and the rest will be released by making allocations during the next budget, he said. The TRS Government proved that agriculture was yielding positive results though it was proved otherwise during previous regimes, he said.

Business Standard

The agriculture sector is all set to bounce back leaving two years of drought behind and may well pull off record foodgrain output of 270 million tonnes in 2016-17 on good rains, but farmers’ woes may continue due to adverse impact of notes ban and low sales realisation.

Zee Biz

In an attempt to curb people from converting black money into white, economists in their pre-budget consultative meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on Tuesday suggested the minister to bring certain type of agriculture income under tax net. Moreover, the economists expressed their need to widen the tax base and to reduce the tax slabs, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in recent press release citing the Government of India as stating.

The Pioneer

To keep a check on the practice of burning paddy stubble in the state, Haryana Government is contemplating to prepare bio-fuel from stubble. “Talks are on with various companies to prepare bio-fuel from stubble. Besides, the Government will also provide agriculture implements to the farmers on subsidised rates to control burning paddy stubble,” said Chief Minister Manohar Lal.

The Financial Express

Demonetisation has slowed down the sowing of rabi crops —wheat, pulses and oilseeds — in Uttar Pradesh to an extent, but things have picked up lately and the target could be met. According to state agriculture department data, around 90% of the target of 129 lakh hectare has been sown till now. “Sowing of rabi crops usually continues till the end of December and some farmers sow in January, too, especially the wheat crop. We are sure to achieve the target,”, Gyan Singh, state director (agriculture), told FE. He also said in comparison to last year, the sowing has been better this year.

The Hindu Business Line

The Centre’s decision to scrap import duty on wheat should be withdrawn immediately, farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Outer Delhi–all members of farmers’ body Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU)–have demanded. Instead, a 40 per cent cess should be imposed on imports to prevent distress sale during harvest, they suggest.

Business Standard

Falling wheat prices have partially offset the benefit offered to traders through import duty waiver. The import duty was brought down to nil from 10 per cent, in order to ensure cheaper supplies of the cereal in Indian markets.

The Indian Awaaz

Centre has decided to provide additional grace period of 60 days to farmers, whose crop loan dues fall between 1st of November and 31st December, 2016. Agriculture Ministry said, the decision was taken in view of the constraints faced by the farming community in repayment of loans due to demonetization of high value notes.

The New Indian Express

The Haryana government is in talks with various companies for the domestic production of bio-fuel from stubble and also has plans to provide agriculture implements to farmers on subsidised rates to keep a check on the practice of burning paddy stubble in the State, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said.

Scroll.in

After November 9, when notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 – 86% by value of Indian currency in circulation – were declared invalid, the government pushed for cashless transactions and digital payments. Patil, with access to banking and a cell phone, could, in theory, move to cashless transactions, but in reality there is no Internet access where he lives, the closest ATM is at least 25 km away, the closest nationalised bank is 15 km away and the government has currently placed restrictions on the district cooperative bank that hosts his account.

Business Standard

With the government pushing for digital payments ecosystem even in rural areas and agriculture sector, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has planned to provide RuPay cards to over 34 million farmers in villages across India. These cards will be provided through cooperative banks and farmers’ credit cooperative societies.

Tech Story

Agricultural sector is a lucrative field for investors and budding entrepreneurs. There is a huge potential for technological innovations and startups as the farmers are facing lots of problem such as lack of labourers, unavailability of water, inability to access fair market apart from other problems. India is either first or second in the world in terms of overall production of many agricultural commodities, but it is very much behind in terms of productivity, that is the yield per unit input.

The Hindu

With the samba paddy crop in vast areas of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts comprising the Cauvery delta facing a certain failure, farmers have called upon the Central and the State governments to draft an integrated approach to mitigate the increasing suffering of the cultivators and agricultural workers.

The Better India

Gacherigaon village is located in Mundigarh gram panchayat in Tumudibandh block of Kandhamal district, Odisha. The village has 156 people in 26 households and all the residents belong to the Panga Kondh community. Historically, members of the Kondh community depends on agriculture and forest their livelihood. They practice millets-based, biodiverse farming and are involved in pulses and paddy cultivation in low lands.

The Hindu

With the monsoon playing truant and almost nil water flow down the Cauvery, farmers even in areas adjoining the banks of the river and channels are faced with the daunting prospect of irrigating their standing crops.

The New Indian Express

With the harvesting of paddy crop drawing near, the age-old practice of ‘Badalia’, a system of exchanging labour services prevalent in coastal districts, is showing signs of revival in some pockets of Odisha. A small and marginal farmer like Jugal Kishore Lenka is all set to work in a fellow farmer’s plot during harvesting to cut down his need for cash in the post-demonetisation scenario.

The Telegraph

An apprehension about availability of cash in rural banks and a delay in harvesting the monsoon produce in the absence of enough currency notes have hampered the Bengal government’s plans to procure paddy from farmers. “The government has allotted Rs 5,000 crore to start the procurement process so that farmers are not forced to sell their paddy at lower rates. The registration of farmers started across 280 blocks on December 10. But the response has been lukewarm,” said an official in the food and supplies department.

The Financial Express

In the thick of the Christmas season, Kerala has emerged short of subsidised rice in the godowns of its government’s grocery arm Supplyco. This is after state Food Minister P Thilothaman had set aside R1,171 crore for rice distribution, alleging that, in the open market, the wholesale suppliers from Andhra Pradesh were creating artificial rice shortage.

Money Control

Farmers in Uttar Pradesh, a poll-bound state, is struggling to meet their wheat output targets owing to a severe cash crunch, reports Business Line . Sowing of wheat, a key Rabi crop, is being delayed as result. Rural banks, a prime source of cash for farmers to buy seeds and fertilisers, are not replenishing their coffers adequately.

Live Mint

The cash crunch in rural and agricultural markets after the centre’s surprise move to demonetise high-value currency notes has taken a toll on prices of perishable farm produce, denting farm incomes.

The Hindu

K.K. Shylaja, Health and Social Welfare Minister of Kerala, said on Monday that demonetisation of currency in the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination has hit the farm workers hard. She was here to inaugurate the three-day State conference of the All-India Agricultural Workers Union.

The Hindu Business Line

The cash-dependent Indian farm sector has been hit by the demonetisation of high-value notes and the resultant currency shortage. The prevailing cash crunch has hit the growers of perishables more compared to those who grow bulk crops such as paddy and cotton, says Ramesh Chand, member of NITI Aayog. Despite the impact of demonetisation, growth in agriculture for the current year will be still above 5 per cent, Chand told BusinessLine in an interview.

The Times of India

NABARD along with the public and private sector banks in the state have prepared a state focus paper and has tried to implement the union government’s call to boost agricultural activity in the country. The share of total agricultural credit projections in the total priority sector projections works out to 14% during 2017-18 as against 13.6% during the previous year. It is estimated that loans for crop production, maintenance and marketing could increase by nearly 22% to 450.04 crores in 2017-18.

The Financial Express

As is well known, the Modi government was hit by back-to-back droughts in the first two years of its term, and agri-GDP growth collapsed to just 0.5%. Some regions like Marathwada experienced acute distress. But sometimes, bad times are good for policy. The Modi government launched a new crop insurance scheme, the PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in February 2016, with a view to de-risk agriculture of vagaries of nature. Kharif 2016 was when the scheme was piloted, and government seems to have incurred a spending of more than R16,000 crore. It would be good to evaluate its performance with a view to improvise it further.

The Times of India

Similar resolutions were also adopted at the meeting held in Tiruvarur, organized by various farmers’ bodies on Friday. During the seminar, jointly organized with the association of TNEB Engineers, A Veerappan, state secretary of senior PWD engineers’ association, said the Centre should constitute Cauvery Management Board (CMB), without passing a resolution in Parliament, as it did in the case of Narmada, Gothavari and Krishna river disputes. The ruling AIADMK government should pressurize the Centre in this regard.

The Hans India

As per recent reports of agricultural department, Government of India, many of the rural youth are moving away from agriculture or its related professions in rural areas. The average age of farmers and agri-wage workers in the country was found to be 52 years, while majority are around 40-65 years of age. Only around 3.5 per cent of agriculturists are in the age group of 20-30 years, while the average strength of this group in rural India is found to be around 27 per cent.

The New Indian Express

When Sony Koithara, a farmer from Thiruvarpp panchayat in Upper Kuttanad region of Kottayam district sowed seeds on his 10acre paddy field at Thiruvaykkarai on November 10, the banks across the country had just reopened after the demonetisation of Rs 500/Rs 1,000 notes. Since he had made preparations for the Puncha cultivation prior to the Centre’s decision to discontinue the high value denomination notes, it didn’t affect him initially stage. But he started feeling the heat within two weeks, when pesticides had to be used.

The New Indian Express

Farmers, who are dependent on three-tier cooperative structure in Sundargarh district, are reeling under the impact of demonetisation during the ongoing rabi season. About 60 per cent agriculture loans are disbursed by 16 rural branches of Sundargarh District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd (SDCCBL) through 44 LAMPSs (Large And Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies). However, cash supply to the SDCCBL has been curbed drastically, while the LMAPSs are banned from rendering banking services, adding to the woes of the farmers.

Live Mint

It is important to recognize the kind of budget India needs at this point in time. There are times when a country needs a budget that can spur growth. There are other times when a country needs a budget that can cut expenditure. There are still other times when a country can get by with a middle-of-the-road budget that maintains the status quo. Then, there are times when a budget has to focus on a specific sector—agriculture, for instance. The budget which finance minister Arun Jaitley will present on 1 February needs to have a different and singular objective.

Live Mint

The numbers around India’s agriculture sector are staggering. It accounts for nearly 15% of India’s gross domestic product. It constitutes 10% of the overall exports. Over 58% of rural households depend on the sector as their principal means of livelihood. Most importantly, it feeds more than 1.2 billion people.

The Economic Times

The rocks that dot the film are still there, grim and haunting. All the land around it is parched as the entire district has suffered an average 81% rainfall deficit in the last two months. The district administration has put the crop loss at nearly 90%, despite most of Ramanagara growing the dry crop ragi, which requires very little water.

Business Standard

Union Minister Vijay Sampla today blamed the policies of previous Congress governments for the “agricultural crisis” in the country and said the BJP government is working on a far-sighted policy for the sector. “The policies of the successive Congress governments during the past seven decades are responsible for the agricultural crisis in the country,” he said.

The New Indian Express

Cash shortage in cooperative banks has hit the farmers hard. Cooperative banks are important for farmers and lower income groups in rural areas, who avail smaller loans and get it quickly.  Post-demonetisation, these institutions are gasping for breath,  directly affecting the farmers.

The New Indian Express

Paddy procurement for the current kharif season began on Friday in the market yards at Sarbahal and Mudrajor areas under Laikara block of Jharsuguda district. Though the farmers agreed to the decision of deducting 3 kg paddy per quintal for family consumption, they opposed the sale of only 15 quintal paddy per farmer margin. They insisted on adopting  the practice followed in the neighbouring districts to sell 100 per cent paddy.

The Times of India

Scientists at Birsa Agriculture University (BAU) are encouraging farmers to take up zero tillage cultivation of wheat, which helps in high yield at a low input cost. Supported by the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) under the programme ‘farmers first,’ the zero tillage farming aims at making furrows in the field and direct sowing of wheat with the required fertilizers. The process not just saves the farmer from burden of tilling the entire field but also catch up with the optimum sowing time.

The Hindu Business Line

Wheat output in Uttar Pradesh could go down sharply in the ongoing rabi season as demonetisation has sucked out most of the cash from the rural economy. Cash-strapped farmers are not able to buy seeds, fertilisers and other inputs as rural banks are running dry.

Daily Excelsior

It is now officially learnt that the Union Ministry of Consumer  Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has stopped the  supply of CAPD wheat/ atta to over 45 lakh J&K consumers, falling under non-priority house hold category (NPHH/ tide over) from this month. The wheat/atta supplies will remain suspended for four months from this month while the supply of rice to the valley will not be affected by this order.

Sentinel Assam

Deputy Commissioner of Hailakandi, Moloy Bora inaugurated the Krishak Sibir (Mela) in Hailakandi on Saturday, stated a press release. Inaugurating the mela at the premises of the District Agricultural Office, Deputy Commissioner Bora said the farmers must come forward to avail farm machineries and equipment at subsidized rates through direct bank transfer system (DBT). Bora said it was a good opportunity for the farming community to avail farm equipments at subsidized rates.

Nagaland Post

The New Indian Express

This time of the year during Rabi, farmers in Kurnool take up cultivating millet, oil seeds, pulses like Bengal gram, red gram and chillies with paddy to a lesser extent. Several had completed sowing and started the process of weeding, using fertilisers and spraying pesticides, before the announcement of demonetisation. Now, a majority are facing problems in getting workers for weeding, spraying another round of pesticides and harvesting, which starts in the last week of December and continues till the end of January. Even if the cash problem eases in January, farmers are worried about recovering the minimum support price. Rates falling is another concern. Prices of red gram, black gram fell by `30 per kilo ...

The Hans India

Agriculture Minister Prathipati Pulla Rao said that the State government is giving highest priority to agriculture and allied sectors and encouraging the poor farmers to get higher yields with lowest costs. He participated as the chief guest at the Udyana Mela, a horticulture exhibition, held at Dr YSR Horticulture University at Venkataramannagudem village in Tadepalligudem rural mandal on Saturday.

Himvani

HP Governor Acharya Devvrat urged the farmers to adopt zero budget natural farming so that Himachal Pradesh emerges as the organic State in near future like Sikkim which was declared organic state of the Country. The Governor was speaking in a seminar on organic farming organized by CSK, Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur at Karsog in Mandi district today.

The Times of India

As part of its smoke-management strategy, the Karnataka government has issued a diktat to farmers: Stop burning sugarcane thrash in the fields. The move comes in the backdrop of the recent Delhi smog which was fueled by the burning of paddy straw in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. In fact, the soaring pollution levels and falling visibility levels in the National Capital Region had not only set alarm bells ringing a fortnight ago but also triggered a blame game between the Delhi government, the neighbouring states and the Centre.

The Financial Express

While area under wheat was down 8% from normal on December 2, it was just 1% below normal on Friday. With just a couple of weeks left for the sowing season to end, it is clear that the rabi crop hasn’t taken a big hit due to demonetisation. Area sown till Friday was 51.9 million hectares, up 6% from the comparable period last year and marginally higher than what is described “normal” for the period. Sowing of wheat, the crop that accounts for about half of the rabi area, recovered smartly over the last fortnight. While area under wheat was down 8% from normal on December 2, it was just 1% below normal on Friday, according ...

The Hindu

Collector promises to recommend to the State to declare the district ‘drought-hit’ Collector M. Karunakaran has assured the farmers that he would recommend to the State Government to declare the district as ‘drought-hit’ after the agriculturists, carrying withered crops in the monthly farmers’ grievance redressal meet, urged him to give adequate compensation for the loss they had suffered after the northeast monsoon belied. During the meet held at the Collectorate on Friday, agriculturists from Sankarankovil and Surandai, carrying withered black gram and groundnut crops, entered the District Development Council Hall and asked the Collector, who was chairing the meeting, to forward the proposal to the government for disbursing compensation for the crop loss.

The New Indian Express

“The government today informed the Parliament that it was not considering imposing higher customs duty on wheat to discourage overseas purchase. Last week, the government had reduced import duty on wheat to zero from 10 per cent to boost domestic supplies and check price rise.”

The Hindu

They also demanded waiver of crop loans taken by farmers and to compensate them for their losses. Pointing out the abysmal level of water available in the combined Periyar credit in the Vaigai dam, N. Palanichamy, president of Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Farmers’ Association, said that the present harvest season was going to be an almost total failure.

India Infoline

The prices of non-horticultural crops in India have so far held steady despite the impact of demonetization. However, the arrivals at the local mandi present a somewhat mixed picture where the arrivals of onions and cotton seem to have picked up in recent weeks, but the arrivals of paddy remain depressed post demonetisation. Rabi acreages are near normal despite the strain on farmer finances. Overall, while it appears that the agricultursl markets have so far coped fairly well with demonetisation, delays in arrival of new currency could create problems. Meanwhile, the demand for agri-inputs has slackened.

The New Indian Express

Attired in her trademark salwar-kameez-dupatta and a string of pearls, Mallika Srinivasan sits with ease behind the wheel of a giant tractor, justifying the epithet ‘Tractor Queen of India’. And why not? Farming in India has long been a male dominated activity. But Srinivasan—a Wharton graduate—has defied all odds to make her company the world’s third-largest tractor manufacturer.

The New Indian Express

The BJP is doing a U-turn by scrapping farmers’ loans following ground-level information about demonetisation adversely impacting the voter-heavy rural sector. On the cards are interest-free floaters too. NITI Aayog, the agriculture ministry and senior ministers compiled reports on farming losses due to the cash crunch.

The Hindu

Holding withered crops, scores of farmers from various villages of Kovilpatti, Ettayapuram and Vilathikulam taluks laid siege to the Collectorate here on Thursday ahead of grievances redressal meeting and demanded the State government to declare Thoothukudi as a ‘drought-hit’ district.

The Times of India

For the ongoing rabi season, four crops will be covered under crop insurance scheme in Kurukshetra district. The district agriculture department has stated that farmers would be provided insurance cover for wheat, mustard, barley and chana (chickpea).

The Economic Times

Wheat imports by flour mills are likely to continue as a lower-than-expected rabi crop is insufficient to meet India’s demand for wheat flour and maida. Agriculturists feel the drop in rate of wheat seed replacement due to cash crunch would affect yield this season. This coupled with foggy conditions are likely to raise India’s reliance on imports.

Assam Tribune

Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan said today agriculture should be made an attractive career option for the vast majority of youth looking for jobs. Inaugurating the conference on “Linking Prospective Food Entrepreneurs with Government Schemes and Markets,” at Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR), Umiam, Shanmuganathan said the Government, industries and scientists should work closely and formulate policies to make the agriculture sector attractive for the youths. “Unemployment is very high in Meghalaya and agriculture and food processing can play a vital role in developing the State.”

The Economic Times

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today pitched for increased use of cutting-edge technologies including transgenics to address challenges of unknown biotic stress in crops/animals due to climate change. He called for development of biotic stress resilient crops and breeding of animals using indigenous as well as wild resources, while emphasising the need to strengthen domestic and global quarantines to prevent movement of infected products to pest-free areas and countries.

The Indian Express

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal inaugurated the new building of Punjab Kisan Vikas Chamber (PKVC), a farmers’ advisory body, near the international airport on Thursday. The chief minister said the chamber, on the pattern of industrial organisations like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), PHD Chamber of Commerce, Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), would provide an affirmative say on behalf of the farmers in the policies and programmes related to agricultural and allied activities.

Business Standard

A Parliamentary panel today pulled up the Agriculture Ministry for not taking adequate measures to address the problem of fodder shortage, which is estimated to increase to over 100 million tonnes by 2025. It also observed that the area under fodder cultivation is only about four per cent of the cropping area, and it has remained static for a long period of time.

The New Indian Express

Gopi, a farmer hailing from Wayanad district, was expecting a bumper crop from his paddy fields, but unfortunately things went awry and he suffered heavy losses at the end of the harvest. Blame it on the deficient monsoon rains, which resulted in low yield. Like Gopi, there are several farmers across the state who have suffered monetary losses after crop failures.

The New Indian Express

Farmers of Sundargarh district are resorting to distress sale of paddy with the local administration deciding to procure a maximum of 1.32 lakh tonnes of paddy at the minimum support price (MSP). Apparently, farmers are left with the surplus stock of 2.88 lakh tonnes, which they would be forced to sell below the MSP of over Rs 1400 per quintal.

Deccan Chronicle

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday once again targeted the Centre over demonetisation, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes has questioned the honesty of the Indian farmers. “A farmer needs money for seeds and fertilizers. India’s farmer is the most honest. He does not have any black money. He only puts in his sweat and blood in his work. Narendra Modi ji’s demonetisation has inflicted a major injury on farmers. A farmer’s honesty has been questioned,” he said.

Business Standard

The New Indian Express

The Odisha Government, which is in the midst of bringing a tenancy reforms law, has little clue about the exact status of its farmer population. If information furnished by Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Department is any indication, the number of farmers could be 46 lakh, 41 lakh or even 32 lakh. The Agricultural Census of the State Government shows that the total number of cultivators in the State stood at 32.79 lakh in 2010-11 while population of farm labourers was 24.20 lakh.

The Economic Times

Demonetisation will lead to availability of more funds for new projects, farm mechanisation, new small and medium enterprises at a lower interest rate, Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said. In an interview with ET , she also said misuse of black money in elections will reduce. The minister is also hopeful the government may include some items such as soaps and shampoos in the 100 per cent foreign direct investment in food retail, which ..

India Blooms

In a report issued last week, the UN Food and Agriculture (FAO) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific warned that if investment in agricultural research is not increased, particularly in Asia, home to 60 percent of the world’s hungry people, global efforts to achieve the zero hunger target by 2030 – Goal 2 SDGs – could fall short.

Business World

Agri-tech is a short form for “agricultural technology.” It involves using environmentally sound and sustainable farming methods in agriculture to increase yield, efficiency and profitability. This could include equipment like water filters and water pumps or digital services like apps that connect buyers to sellers in the rural markets or heirloom seeds, chemical-free fertilizers, and smart agriculture techniques.

Assam Tribune

As a part of the Pre-Rabi Campaign, an exhibition was arranged which exhibited various technologies of AAU implemented by the KVK Morigaon farm and farmers field as trial and demonstration by showcasing varieties of high-yielding boro paddy, toria, lathyrus, linseed, grass etc. Also live quail, dual purpose poultry Vanaraja, Rainbow Rooster, Kamrupa and duck breeds like White Pekin, Khaki Campbell were a part of the exhibition under reference.

The Times of India

More than 2,100 farmers from different blocks of the district registered themselves to sell paddy to the government’s entrusted agency. The dismal figure resulted in minimum procurement of paddy this year despite the lucrative price of Rs 1,600 per quintal fixed by the government, to be paid to the farmers, inclusive of Rs 130 as bonus.

The New Indian Express

Despite cash crunch, Odisha Government has procured 3.58 lakh tonne of paddy from 53,000 farmers in nine districts of the State. Though the total value of the procured paddy is about Rs 526 crore, the Government has already paid Rs 409 crore to farmers online, said Minister of State for Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Sanjay Dasburma on Tuesday.

The Times of India

While the prevailing chilly weather is giving a tough time to people in general, agriculture experts claim it would have positive impact on the winter farming in Bihar. They said extremely low temperature would increase the yield as it would help in the growth of crops like wheat, maize and potatoes. “The low temperature is augmenting the growth of wheat saplings, which are in the early tillering stages. The number of tillers is likely to be comparatively more this time. The crisp weather is likely to have positive impact on maize and potato plants as well,” said Abdus Sattar, assistant professor of meteorology, Rajendra Agriculture University, Pusa (Samastipur).

Business Standard

The ongoing wheat sowing will not be affected due to duty-free import of the grain as the state-run FCI will procure it at MSP and protect farmers’ interest, Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said today. Last week, the government had brought down import duty on wheat to zero from 15 per cent to boost domestic supplies and control rising prices.

The Hindu

The Centre’s decision to waive import duty on wheat has predictably attracted flak. Opposition parties have questioned the move, which comes days after the government’s assertion that demonetisation of high-value currency notes did not impact the sowing of the rabi crop, with a greater area being cultivated compared to the same time a year ago. Assembly polls are due soon in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, both large wheat-producing States, making this a plausible rallying point for the Opposition. Farmer unions have warned of dumping of wheat stock in India at a time when the minimum support price (Rs.1,625 a quintal) is higher than international prices.

Kashmir Images

Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh today said that awareness camps are being organized throughout the State to abreast the farmers about the latest techniques in farming sector. He said procurement centres are being established to ensure optimum returns to the agriculturists for their yield. The Deputy Chief Minister was addressing public at Sangare Mandli in Billawar after inaugurating Mega Kissan Mela cum Awareness Camp today. The Mela was organized by the J&K State Advisory Board for Development of Kisans under IEC scheme.

The Hindu Business Line

India is not only among the world’s fastest growing significant economies but also world’s third largest producer of food with abundant natural endowments. Yet, agriculture growth rate has been rather low over last 15 years or so, falling well below the annual target of 4 per cent. In the country’s growth story, agriculture is a laggard. The contribution of agriculture and allied sector to national GDP is a mere 14-15 per cent; but over 50 per cent of the country’s workforce is dependent on farms for livelihood.

Business Standard

The Times of India

Since the demonetisation decision was announced on November 8, the KDCC banks were prohibited from accepting cash from the farmers and disbursal of funds were also restricted. KDCC is the apex bank for lending credit to the farmers across the district. It is well connected through several bank branches and eases the credit lending societies at the village level. It also has a tie-up with the co-operative establishments such as milk industry, sugar mills and small infrastructure development societies running on co-operative basis.

Business Standard

The Times of India

As the state has been facing a drought like situation, and farmers across Tamil Nadu incurring heavy losses as their crops withering away, drip irrigation has come in handy for farmers in Gobichettipalayam taluk in Erode district. Many farmers said the technique, apart from helping them sustaining their crops, has also provided “decent to good” margins on their yield.

The Hindu

Paddy farmers in East Godavari district heaved a sigh of relief on Monday, as they escaped the fury of cyclone Vardah. At a time when harvesting was nearing completion in the district, the farmers were alerted about the possible cyclone and were told to postpone harvesting. It is a common practice for paddy farmers to keep the produce idle in the open fields for a few days after the harvest to maintain proper levels of moisture in the grain. The early alerts given by the government and non-government organisations, however, prompted them to swing into action and safeguard their produce.

The Indian Express

While Punjab is at its wit’s end over stubble burning, one of the kandi (semi-hilly) area districts of the state has shown the way to manage the crop residue. Pathankot district, which was carved out of Gurdaspur district some years back, has not put its fields on fire this year after harvesting paddy. According to the state agriculture department, though 1,755 FIRs have been registered against farmers this season for burning the straw after harvesting paddy, not a single FIR was registered in Pathankot district.

The Hans India

Paddy purchase by rice millers, which typically begins in the second week of December, is likely to be hit by the cash crunch. The millers are worried on how to get cash to pay not only farmers, but also for transportation and labour. A mill owner needs cash in lakhs only to pay lorry owners and hamalis.

Hindustan Times

Cash crunch following demonetisation has not affected sowing of major crops during rabi season in Madhya Pradesh. On the contrary, cultivation area has increased this season as compared to last year. According to the latest available data, total rabi crop sowing has exceeded 81.58 lakh hectare in the state as compared to 61.59 lakh hectares at this time last year, an increase of 20.68 lakh hectare.

The Times of India

Uttarakhand may record a 7% dip in wheat yield this year, according to agricultural scientists who largely blame climate change for this. As per the latest report compiled by the state agricultural department, scanty rainfall is primarily responsible for this dip in output. Although final numbers are still being tabulated, sources in the department said that the districts of Nainital, Almora, Bageshwar, Tehri and Pauri — which have been observing the adverse impact of warm climate on the crop yield for some time — will be the most affected. Uttarakhand has been recording a downfall in overall production of wheat for the past few years. Wheat production in the state fell down from 9.80 MT ...

The Economic Times

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has asked for doubling of farm research budget in the next fiscal from the current Rs 800 crore as it wants to develop high-yielding varieties that can cope with the challenges of climate change and boost farmers’ income.

Odisha News Insight

Governor Dr. S.C. Jamir on Monday inaugurated the National Seminar on ‘150 th Year of Na-Anka (Great Odisha Famine-1866) and Food Security in contemporary Odisha’, organized by Pipili Sanskrutia Parisad and National Seminar Committee on Na-Anka.

The New Indian Express

With the Centre pushing for digital transactions after demonetisation, the  National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will launch a digital financial literacy and awareness drive in the state. NABARD will conduct 1560 digital financial literacy and awareness programmes (dFLAP) in the state.

Business World

The Punjab government is doing a lot of posturing in the name of defending its river water rights. This is reflected in the termination of Inter-state River Waters Agreements, denotification of land acquired for the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal construction, a state rally in Moga on 8 November named “Pani Bachao Punjab Bachao (Save Water, Save Punjab)” and hoardings of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal with vows that he would defend Punjab’s rights.

The Sentinel

Where is the journey towards feeding the world population at a reasonable price? The overall situation on the food front has been – in the recent past especially – remain far from being satisfactory with food prices ruling high all over the globe. Food prices are going up on a continuous basis – demonstrations as well as social unrests have badly affected a number of capital cities. Time is ripe for dealing firmly with the agricultural disarray.

The Hitavada

THE State Forest, Planning Minister Dr Gaurishankar Shejwar said, “Increasing the income of peasants two fold is the priority of State Government.” He was addressing the district-level Krishi Vigyan Mela organised at Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidhyalaya (JNKVV) premises. He also distributed claim amount worth Rs 17 crore 91 lakh amongst the 6, 363 peasants under the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme.

The Indian Express

The chief minister also defended the Centre’s demonetisation decision. Claiming that the demonetisation would prove advantageous to the unorganised sectors and farmers by protecting them against exploitation from the rich and powerful, he said, “Economic reforms are linked to the social upliftment of the poor. Maharashtra will be a leading state in the fight against corruption and in bringing greater transparency to the system.”

The Pioneer

Moving one step further towards making the State cashless within no time, Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Sunday told farmers to use cashless ways of transactions in their further financial activities. Speaking on the occasion of Cashless Jharkhand Krishak Samvad, the Chief Minister also announced a number of pro-poor measures for farmer fraternity of the State, including those in poultry farming, fisheries, dairy products, honey bee farming and allied farming businesses.

Bangalore Mirror

Studies have shown that soils in many parts of the country, including Karnataka, suffer from widespread multiple nutritional deficiencies (ranging from 18 to 100 per cent). This is a major constraint in improving crop yields. To address this issue, soil-health mapping was done in Karnataka, which provided the status of location-specific nutrient deficiencies. Based on these deficiencies, the national agricultural research system made crop- and site-specific nutrient recommendations.

Nagaland Post

National Co-operative Union of India (NCUI), Co-operative Field Project, Kohima in collaboration with Indian Farmers Fertilizers Co-operative Ltd, New Delhi organised a programme on “promoting women agri & allied co-operative societies” of Kohima district at NCUI project office Kohima on December 5.

Hindustan Times

Nek Singh Khokh fears he might wilt, just the way the saplings in his sprawling nursery might. Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled his demonetisation plan, scrapping big denomination currency to drain the economy of black money and counterfeits, Khokh has been struggling to pay labourers to tend to his saplings.

The Times of India

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday promised to revive the economy of Punjab with dairy farming as its mainstay. Speaking at the Annual Pashu Mela of Progressive Dairy Farmers Association (PDFA) at Jagraon, Kejriwal said that dairy farming will be the bedrock occupation for removing unemployment in Punjab when the Aam Aadmi Party forms government here. He announced that interest free loans will be given to dairy farmers when AAP comes to power.

The Economic Times

Corn and soyabeans that are close to wind turbines grow in more favourable conditions as turbulence created by wind influences temperature and carbon dioxide concentration, a new research has revealed. The researchers from the Iowa State University (ISU) installed research towers on a 200-turbine wind farm in Iowa and collected data from 2010 to 2013 on wind speeds and directions, temperature, humidity, turbulence, gas content and precipitation.

The Hans India

The acute cash crisis triggered by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surgical strike against black money casts a shadow over the khariff harvest in the Krishna and the Godavari deltas. The growers are forced to defer harvesting paddy crop for want of cash to engage workers.

The Hans India

The Central Government’s move to waive import duty on wheat has come in for a huge criticism from the Telangana Rythu Sangham. It may be noted here that Centre slashed duty on wheat imports a couple of days ago; citing that the decision was made to keep inflation under control after the wheat prices hit a record high.

Business Standard

The Centre’s decision to cut the import duty on wheat from 10 per cent to zero during the peak sowing season might look like an anti-farmer measure. But, officials and traders say that with stocks in government godowns falling, the move is to prevent any chance of import on government account to run the public distribution system (PDS) next year (2017-18)   India annually requires 27-30 million tonnes of wheat to run its PDS, which should not be difficult to procure if private players have adequate stocks in their pipeline.

Free Press Journal

“We will ensure that crop insurance is not merely a relief but it covers the entire loss due to destruction of crops,” said rural development minister Gopal Bhargava at a programme organised here to disburse insurance claims amounts to farmers. The audience also watched live the CM addressing a similar programme at Sehore.

The Hindu

M. Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, has called upon farmers in the State, especially those from the Hyderabad Karnataka region, to take up dairy farming. He was here to inaugurate Krishi Mela, a three-day annual expo of farm technology, at the agricultural research Station, off Aland Road, on Friday. The event was organised by University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur (UAS-R), its allied institutions, the Department of Agriculture and the Hyderabad Karnataka Region Development Board.

The Hindu

Krishi Mela, an annual expo of farm technologies, began on the Agricultural Research Station premises here on Saturday. Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge inaugurated the three-day event. Thousands of farmers and farm enthusiasts arrived from different parts of the district on the first day. Over 100 stalls were put up for displaying newer agricultural technologies, farm equipment, machineries, pesticides and fertilizer apart from non-agricultural commercial products. Government departments too established couple of shops to spread awareness about the schemes and programmes introduced by the government for the welfare of farmers.

The Times of India

The Krishi Vidnyan Kendra (KVK) of the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) in Nashik is not only helping farmers know about the soil health of their farms, but is also informing them about crop change pattern. It was only after the help from the KVK, Suresh Gholap, a young farmer in Trimbakeshwar tehsil, decided to opt for a pulse crop instead of paddy. “The soil health card suggests taking pulse crop at least once in order to keep the soil health intact. This will benefit me next time when I will sow paddy again,” said Gholap.

The Times of India

Despite Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh’s claim that demonetisation has not adversely affected rabi farming and the coverage of land by rabi crops has been more than the previous year in the country, farmers of Bihar feel that even their recourse to ‘jugaad’ has failed to yield positive results after scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

The New Indian Express

At a time when the Indian economy is faced with a slowdown, it is the farming sector that stands crippled. Suffering from back-to-back drought for two years, demonetisation has struck a severe blow. I am sure it will be sometimes before a clearer picture emerges. But all efforts to paint a bright picture for agriculture are now beginning to fall apart. While the serpentine queues in the urban areas show no signs of ending even after a month of demonetisation, the picture in the rural areas remains too bleak. With the bank branches not getting adequate cash, I know of villages where the farmers had to return empty handed even after seven days of queuing up.

First Post

As cash is the primary mode of transaction in agriculture sector, demonetisation is bound to cause temporary stress in the system. But as they say ‘No pain, no gain’, for I believe this historic move has the potential of bringing about transformational changes in the sector like better access to credit for farmers, elimination of middlemen, direct transfer of subsidies to farmers and ultimately linking the Indian farmer to the global agricultural market.

Business Standard

IANS

Farmers’ organisations and agriculturists are upset over the decision of the central government to waive the import duty on wheat and bring it down to 10 per cent. Though the move to lower the import duty for wheat follows the recent marginal rise in retail price of wheat flour, which has gone up by Rs 1-2 per kg in different parts of the country after the November 8 demonetisation move announced by the government, farmers are worried that traders will take advantage of the situation to import more wheat while the local produce will not be preferred.

The Times of India

The farmers were already reeling under a crisis as the government was yet to clear the arrears due to them for procuring paddy. Adding to their woes, cooperative banks and other nationalized banks have now stopped disbursing loans.

The Hindu Business Line

For the cash-dependent Indian farm sector that was hoping for a recovery on near normal monsoon this year after two consecutive droughts, the demonetisation and a resultant currency crunch, which coincided with the kharif harvest season, has dealt a major blow, aggravating the hardships of not only farmers, but also of the labourers dependent on the sector for their livelihoods.

Business Standard

In Haryana, farmers have so far completed sowing of wheat and other crops over 29.32 lakh hectares in rabi season 2016-17, surpassing 29.31 lakh hectares covered in the corresponding period last year. Stating this here today, a spokesman of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department said that “demonetisation has not adversely impacted sowing in the state.”

The Financial Express

With the winter season setting in gradually across northern India, wheat-sowing activity across key growing states is expected to gather pace and be completed by the end of this month. According to data released last week by the agriculture ministry, though wheat sowing has been so far been lower by around 8% from the normal sowing area, agriculture ministry officials said that eventually, total sowing will be close to normal sowing areas this year.

The Economic Times

The government has scrapped the 10 per cent import duty on wheat amid rising domestic prices and concerns of a dip in buffer stocks following two consecutive drought years. Traders anticipate a pickup in imports of the commodity and global prices to rise 3-5 per cent despite a bumper harvest in Australia, Ukraine and Russia. However, with prices staying firm in India, imports will still be cheaper and help lower prices in the domestic market, they said.

The Times of India

State agriculture department will impart training to its officials on procedures related to setting up of industries for the effective implementation of memorandum of understanding (MoUs) during the global Rajasthan agri-tech meet (GRAM). With no experience and knowledge of facilitating industries, officials attached with each MoU were facing issues on its execution. To overcome this shortcoming, these officials will now undergo training modules, understanding the rules and regulations of setting up plants.

The Hindu

With the weather department predicting a warmer winter this season across the country, agriculture experts are wary of wheat crop’s yield dipping in the ongoing rabi season, even as they believe that right now there is nothing to be alarmed. Wheat sowing is in full swing across most of northern and central States of the country, including Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Till last week, wheat had been sown in 173.93 lakh hectares during the ongoing rabi season as against 152.56 lakh hectares in the corresponding period of last year.

The Indian Express

To improve the supply of wheat, the government on Thursday removed a 10 per cent import duty on the grain. Earlier, in September, the wheat import duty was brought down to 10 per cent from 20 per cent. According to sources, the move is aimed at ensuring that retail wheat prices, which have seen an increase in the last few weeks, are kept under check till the new crop arrives in the market from April 1, 2017.

The Indian Express

Punjab farmers have so far got only about Rs 19,350 crore, out of the Rs 24,915 crore that was due for the 16.50 million tonnes paddy they had supplied to government agencies in the recent kharif procurement season at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,510 per quintal.

The Wire

Almost a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, the socio-economic fabric of Bundelkhand – one of the poorest regions in central India comprising parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh – is slowly crumbling. The shortage of cash in banks, a parallel black economy, an illegal cash-barter system and deepening feudal repression have intensified the woes of this largely agricultural belt, which is already reeling under the impact of three consecutive droughts and then a flood this past monsoon.

First Post

One sector of the economy which has been bearing the brunt of demonetisation is agriculture. This piece in Mint says cash is the primary mode of transaction in agriculture sector with formal financing in many parts, especially Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala coming significantly from cooperative banks. These have been barred from exchange-deposit of demonetised currency. Agriculture is impacted through the input-output channels as well as price and output feedback effects. Sale, transport, marketing and distribution of ready produce to wholesale centres or mandis, is dominantly cash-dependent. Disruptions, breaks in the supply chains feedback to farmers as sales fall, increased wastage of perishables, lower revenues that show up as trade dues instead of cash ...

The Times of India

Farmers are among the worst hit because of government’s demonetisation move. Ready paddy is either dumped in their store houses or they’re selling it off at a nominal price. Because of the cash crunch, many farmers who had sown seeds for Rabi are not able to purchase fertilizers. Quite a few haven’t been able to procure the seeds for sowing. The problem is prevalent all over; be it the villages of Manda, Meja, Karchana, Bara, Jari etc of the trans-Yamuna blocks or those of the trans-Ganga area of Phaphamau, Soraon, Mauiyama, Sahson, Phulpur and Manjanpur.

The Hindu Business Line

Even as the farm sector is widely believed to be facing the unintended consequences of the recent currency demonetisation, ground reports of planting for the upcoming rabi harvest provide some consolation. Three weeks after the decision to withdraw high-denomination currencies was announced, the impact on rabi planting appears rather limited.

The Economic Times

In a big shift in the food security policy, the government is set to include crops other than wheat and rice that are now more in demand due to higher incomes and changing nutritional requirements. This will mean greater production of crops such as pulses, subsidy for fertilisers for other crops and incentivising farmers to diversify the crop basket.

The Economic Times

The Centre is mulling scrapping import duty on wheat to boost domestic supplies amid rising prices and concerns about the 2016-17 wheat crop in view of IMD’s forecast of warmer winter.  The government had in September lowered wheat import duty to 10 per cent from 25 per cent till February.

WebIndia123

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Telangana today organised the ‘Agri Business Partners’ meet, focusing on ‘Robust Agri Business Value Chain’. The meet was organised to address some of the critical issues of concern to the stakeholders of Agri-business in Telangana, to update the agri-business fraternity with the latest changes in Agricultural policies of the country and the state of Telangana, to deliberate on agri technologies towards sustainable precision farming among other issues.

Livemint

That demonetisation will cause Indian economic growth to slow is no longer a matter of speculation. While clear estimates of the extent of deceleration will only emerge after some time, preliminary estimates of automobile sales and the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for manufacturing suggest a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. The PMI for manufacturing fell from 54.4 in October to 52.3 in November. The PMI for services fell to 46.7 in November from 54.5 in October, suggesting a contraction in service sector activity. Given that the construction sector has already been muddling along at its lowest pace of growth in two years, the hope of an economic miracle now rests on the agricultural sector.

Business Standard

The Centre is mulling scrapping import duty on wheat to boost domestic supplies amid rising prices and concerns about the 2016-17 wheat crop in view of IMD’s forecast of warmer winter. The government had in September lowered wheat import duty to 10 per cent from 25 per cent till February.

The Indian Express

A month after the withdrawal of high-denomination notes, agricultural remains one of the sectors hit hardest by demonetisation, as it grapples with major losses. While some farmers have incurred a loss as high as 60-70 per cent, rabi sowing has also taken a hit due to the cash crunch.

Business Standard

State holds vast potential in growing medicinal, herbal & horticulture crops. Uttarakhand needs to promote a separate hill farming policy as the state has a meagre 14 per cent net sown area, more so as 3/5th of the state’s total working population is engaged in agriculture, noted a recent ASSOCHAM-RNCOS joint study.

The Hindu

Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has exhorted farmers to adopt drill sown rice (DSR) pattern to cultivate paddy. “Unlike the conventional method of cultivating paddy in the command areas, adopting the DSR technique will have many advantages. It is not only cost effective, as the input cost is less, but would also help maintain soil health, conserve water, which has become very precious, and get better yield. Therefore, I appeal to paddy cultivators to give a thought to shifting to DSR technique after seeing the success of the farmers who have adopted it,” he said.

The Hans India

Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Pocharam Srinivas Reddy said that the farmers need not face any problems during this season in cultivating their crops. Addressing the farmers at Srinagar village of Varni  mandal in the district on Wednesday, he said that as there were bountiful rainfall this season, there is sufficient quantities of water for sowing Rabi and Kharif crops. The Agriculture Minister got on to a tractor and personally went around the fields ploughing the land.

The Pioneer

The Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme has been implemented for the Rabi season 2016-17 in the entire State, officials informed. The crops covered are wheat, (irrigated) wheat (unirrigated), Alsi, potato and ‘Tiwda’ and several other crops. Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal directed the Department officials to spread awareness among the farmers regarding the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Crop Insurance Scheme during the current Rabi season.

Deccan Herald

The state government will buy fodder from farmers to help them in the wake of the drought, Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said on Tuesday. A government order in this regard would be out in a week, the minister said. He was speaking at a programme at Charakunte village in the taluk. The purchased fodder would be sold to farmers in districts where there is a dire need for it, Gowda said.

Telugu People

Deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party in Assembly T Jeevan Reddy on Tuesday demanded the state government to provide minimum support price (MSP) for paddy farmers. The Congress MLA visited the Jagtial Agriculture Market and interacted with the farmers. He also inspected the facilities at the market yard.

India Today

The process of procurement of paddy has begun at the specified procurement centres across the state, Jharkhand Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Affairs Minister Saryu Roy said. The minimum support price (MSP) for the paddy, as specified by the Union Government will be Rs 1,470 per quintal, he said here.

The Economic Times

Post demonetisation, Manjit Singh, a farmer in Punjab, is grappling with a new financial reality — a queer mix of debit and credit in cashstarved villages where farmers are beginning to get some payments in cheques while their suppliers want currency notes.

The New Indian Express

The District Agricultural Strategy Committee (DASC) has set a target to increase production of crops, including paddy, during the ensuing rabi season in Bargarh district, which is also known as the rice bowl of the State. The DASC has planned to grow different crops, including paddy, pulses, oilseeds, vegetable, condiments and sugarcane on 1,22,720 hectares during the ensuing rabi season 2016-2017 in the district. During the rabi season 2015-16, crops were grown on 1,18,130 hectares.

Indian Cooperative

The veteran leaders across the country celebrated World Soil Day and participated in various functions organized on this occasion. The theme for the day is “Soil and pulses, a symbiosis for life.” Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh addressed a gathering at the College of Engineering, Roorkee, Uttarakhand on the occasion and tweeted “”Swasth Dhara, Khet Hara”.

The Times of India

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stepped in to help farmers hit by the double whammy of severe drought and demonetization. The central bank asked banks to ensure cash availability for the current rabi crop season, and disburse crop loans to farmers on priority. “At a time when there is a cash crunch, we’ve taken note of the fact that some scheduled banks are selective in loan disbursal and are ignoring farmers,” said a senior RBI official.

The Economic Times

India’s wheat production could be impacted this year if temperature rises in the crucial February-March as predicted by the Met Department, a top ICAR official said today. He also said the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is hastening research on developing new wheat varieties to cope with high temperature due to climate change. But still, it will take a couple of years to reach farmers.

The Indian Express

In view of demonetisation drive of the central government, the West Bengal government has decided to provide instruments and technical assistance for harvesting to paddy growers of the state. According to a source at the Agriculture department, the decision was taken on Tuesday keeping in mind the problems farmers, mainly those cultivating paddy, were facing due to demonetisation.

Business Standard

Due to the outbreak of many diseases following the use of chemical fertilizers for growing crops, Rajkot has initiated a new process of pranic healing in the field of agriculture. With the implementation of this healing, there is an improvement in the quality and amount of wheat, peanut and vegetables production.

The Financial Express

In a bid to deal with cash crunch, the Punjab government has allowed farmers, who are affiliated to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), to buy inputs like fertilisers using post-dated cheques which are payable by January 15, 2017. Sources told FE that farmers could buy agricultural inputs worth R7,000 per acre for wheat from respective PACS using post-dated cheques. This amount would be adjusted against the loan availed by the farmers.

The Times of India

Karnataka has seen a rise in farmers’ deaths over the past year and a half, primarily due to the failure of cash crops. The Agriculture Development and Rural Transformation Centre (ADRTC), during the course of its survey in four districts of Mandya, Haveri, Belagavi and Mysuru, collated data that 1,490 farmers committed suicide between 2014 and March 2016.

Business Standard

Demonetisation has not only impacted the arrival of agricultural-commodities in the market, but the export orders in commodities such as cotton, groundnut and soya meal have also taken a toll. With exporters facing difficulties to source products from the markets, non-fulfilment of orders in November has led to order book cancellations and fall in forward contracts.

The New Indian Express

The state government will provide Soil Health Cards to 16.5 lakh farmers in the state by end of 2017, Agriculture Minister Krishna Byregowda said on Monday. Speaking at a World Soil Health Day event at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, the minister said officials are visiting fields to collect soil samples that are being tested for 12 different parameters. Apart from details on soil health, the card will have suggestions to farmers on measures that helps increase yield.

The Indian Express

Nearly 16 major APMCs across Maharashtra will be part of an initiative launched by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) to promote cashless transactions between farmers and traders. As part of the initiative, the DMI, which comes under the agriculture department, will hold special meetings across these APMCs to ensure that farmers, traders, labourers and transporters open bank accounts to facilitate cashless transactions.

The New Indian Express

Agriculture should not be allowed to fall into the hands of corporates that are out to make a profit, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday. When profit alone becomes the goal, the equilibrium of the environment and measures taken to protect it will be destroyed, Vijayan said, inaugurating the valedictory of VAIGA-2016, the five-day international workshop on agro-processing and value addition organised by the Agriculture Department.

The Indian Express

Ahead of the two-week-long winter session of the state legislature that begins in Nagpur on Monday, Fadnavis dwelt on the agriculture sector to pre-empt the Opposition strategy to corner the government on the impact of demonetisation on the agriculture sector. Throughout the day, it was evident that the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena had decided to make demonestisation a common plank to corner the BJP-led government in Maharashtra in the House.

The New Indian Express

Besides, 11,000 students of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas were provided 15 kg of rice per student at Rs one per kg while rice was also supplied to 11,775 beneficiaries under different schemes at Rs 6.30 per kg. Replying to a separate question from Ray, Dasburma said 1,07,00625 applications were received for ration cards under National Food Security Act (NFSA) out of which 85,91,447 were provided cards. He said 2,45,705 ineligible persons have returned their cards and 45,859 have withdrawn their applications.

The Hans India

Agriculture scientists have developed methods that offer scope for minimizing water usage in paddy cultivation. Maximum quantity of water consumption occurs during the transplanting phase. The crop is transplanted in 5 inches of water which through certain methods can be avoided.

Deccan Chronicle

Farmers in rural India are bearing the brunt of the demonetisation of the Rs 500 notes. They have seen the prices of vegetables and fruits crash, as the traders do not have cash to pay them. Even if they accept cheques there is the limit of `25,000 that they can withdraw. Vijay Jawandhia who calls himself the Tata/Birla/Ambani of his village in Waifad in Vidarbha as he owns 50 acres of land where he grows cotton and soya says he cannot sell his crop as the traders have no cash.

The Times of India

Earlier, cash was deposited at the bank and transferred directly to the state government’s accounts. This year, banks have asked seed centres to deposit the money in their own accounts and then transfer them electronically to the state government. However, such accounts do not exist and opening them would require meandering through a maze of paperwork. “This is the best time for sowing. Wheat is usually cultivated over 1.20 lakh hectares in the district, but so far only 22,000 hectares have been sown and the numbers are just not picking up. It seems the total area on which wheat will be grown this season will be far lower than usual,” an agriculture department official said.

The Times of India

Farmers are not able to pay wages to the labourers due to shortage of change. Farm hands have to settle with part payment, said Subhash Amjere from the same village. Traders are offering cheques some times, but insisting that it should be deposited a few days later, added another farmer.

Live Mint

The winter or rabi crop sowing has gathered pace after a setback. The past two readings from the ministry of agriculture show crop sowing growth of 4-8% from the year-ago levels. In the first week after demonetisation, sowing dropped 0.7%. Sowing has now been completed in more than three-fifths of the normal winter crop area. But the readings are bringing no cheer for agriculture inputs providers.

The Hindu

Agriculture loans to the extent of Rs. 7.68 crore have been disbursed so far to 3459 farmers in the district during this cropping season.

DNA

I am glad the Government has taken several steps to help farmers obtain the necessary inputs. The monsoon and the market are the two major determinants of a farmer’s wellbeing. Of late, the monsoon is becoming erratic. The market is also very volatile particularly with reference to perishable commodities. Therefore, we should promote a monsoon-smart agricultural system in the 15 major agro-climatic zones of our country.

The Times of India

The farmers of Chitturpuzha irrigation project area who had taken up the second crop paddy cultivation in 20,000 hectares in October have abandoned it as the state government had failed to get its due share of 7.25 TMC feet water from Tamil Nadu under the inter-state Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) Agreement.

The Hindu

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said his government is committed to expanding rice cultivation in the State by three lakh hectares in five years. The Chief Minister, who explained the action plan while handing over paddy seedlings to labourers marking the launch of a large-scale kole land farming initiative at Avalapandy in Cheruvannur panchayat, said the State was currently going through a severe crisis with the shrinking of paddy cultivation to just 1.9 lakh hectares.

Business Standard

Government is keeping a close watch on temperature-sensitive wheat crop as the Met Department has predicted warmer winter this year, Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said today. He also said the ongoing rabi sowing has not been impacted much due to demonetisation. A central team sent to rural areas has found no significant impact on sowing so far.

The Hindu Business Line

The demonetisation of high-value currency notes seems to have crushed the tender green shoots of economic recovery in rural India by choking off life-sustaining money supply and impeding the wheels of commerce from spinning. From FMCG firms to two-wheelers to tractor makers, companies had been looking forward to an increase in rural demand in the wake of an adequate monsoon after two years of sub-normal rains. But just as things were beginning to look up, the withdrawal of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes has hit rural India hard.

The Economic Times

Farmers who were actually in distress, several of whom had signed up for crop insurance and paid premium, got ripped off in the process. Insurance companies, faced with huge claims, discounted the payout all across and genuine farmers got much less than their due; while the politician and his cronies made huge gains. “Due to such scams, the farmers don’t have confidence in crop insurance schemes,” says Rajeev Chawla, principal secretary, horticulture, Karnataka, who has determinedly set out to address the problem that has haunted the country ever since crop insurance was thought of in the 1970s.

The Indian Express

In the season of demonetisation, sowing in many areas is a story of rural distress. There is one remarkable sowing story, though, that marks its 50th anniversary — that of the high-yielding Mexican wheat which launched India’s Green Revolution. The Indian Express travels to Jaunti, the now largely forgotten village on the outskirts of Delhi, where it all started and where parched fields today tell a story of decline.

DNA 

The energy needs for agricultural equipment and rural households can be feasibly met by micro-grids. The entrepreneurial drive in our youth has to be redirected here and investors have to be fostered through tax benefits on clean energy investments. Biofuel and biogas based ad-hoc power generation for agriculture is not a far-fetch.

Scroll.in

Punjab is heading for record paddy production this year. The state agriculture department has estimated the harvest for the 2016-’17 kharif (monsoon) season will be 186 lakh metric tonnes, nearly 10 lakh metric tonnes more than last year’s yield. State officials are jubilant as it is “an all-time high output”. With an eye on the Assembly elections next year, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has ordered the immediate lifting of the paddy crop from farmers and sought daily reports on the progress in procurement. Punjab’s high-steroid growth, which started with the Green Revolution in the 1970s, it appears, is refusing to slow down.

The Times of India

Demonetization has hindered trading activities in agricultural markets across the country but Karnataka, a pioneer in the IT sector, has managed to minimize the damage, thanks to the automation of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) markets. Data provided by the state agriculture marketing department revealed that a record number of farmers are using the unified marketing platform (UMP) run by Rashtriya e-Market Services (ReMS), a joint venture of the state and NCDEX Spot Exchange Ltd to sell their produce. About 152 of the 158 APMC markets have been linked to UMP in the state.

Hindustan Times

The Centre’s demonetisation move has hit the farmers in MP’s Bundelkhand hard who were hoping for good rabi crops after facing four years of hardships owing to drought in the region. Farming is the main occupation in the region, and heavy rains this year had brought smiles on the faces of farmers. As the sowing for winter crops was almost complete in this part of the state before demonetisation was announced, the farmers had little problem in arranging seeds, fertiliser etc.

The Hindu

The impact of drought and lack of moisture has extended to the Rabi season bringing to a halt agricultural activities in Mysuru district. Sowing of crops like cow pea, horse gram, maize, and Bengal gram has been hit owing to failure of rain. In view of the persistent drought in the region, farmers, who otherwise would sown different crops by this time, are still languishing under the impact of the failure of the Kharif crops. However, a few farmers have cultivated some of the crops on a small swathe of land in the district in anticipation of showers or release of water from the reservoir.

The Indian Express

Farmers in Haryana have so far achieved 86.17 per cent of the target set for sowing of wheat and other crops in Rabi season 2016-17, an official said on Saturday. Farmers have covered 28.41 lakh hectares against the target of 32.97 lakh hectare, a spokesman of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department said, adding that the demonetisation of old currency notes has not caused any adverse effect on sowing of Rabi crops in the state.

The Hindu

Andhra Pradesh received 82 per cent deficit rainfall during the North-East Monsoon (October to December) affecting the sowing of Rabi crop. The deficit in Rayalaseema during the NE Monsoon is higher compared to the rest of the State at 92 per cent.

Business Standard

The Asian Age

The government’s move to start replacement of high-value currencies has delivered a body blow to the farmers and farm labourers who rely on the Narela anaj mandi, wholesale market for crops in the outskirts of Delhi. The farmers who rely mainly on cash transactions are in acute distress and some even spoke of mortgaging whatever land they have.

The Times of India

Uttarakhand’s agriculture sector, which contributed 22% in gross state domestic product (GSDP) in 2004-05, has nosedived to touch an abysmal 9% in one decade, a joint research carried out by industry body ASSOCHAM and RNCOS have said. According to the study — ‘Agri Business Outlook in Uttarakhand’ – that was released on Thursday, the primary reason for the decline in agricultural output is shrinking of land holdings in the state. “Low level of land holdings is a key challenge as over 70% of the state’s farmers hold less than one hectare of land,” the report said. ASSOCHAM officials said while this was a major issue being faced by the farm sector, it had indirectly impacted ...

The New Indian Express

The state’s transition from a producer state to a consumer state was the saddest development in recent years, Governor P Sathasivam said on Thursday. Underlining the need for adequate storage facilities for farm produce, he said farmers will pursue their profession only if it is profitable on a regular basis. The Governor was inaugurating VAIGA-2016 – short for Value Addition for Income Generation in Agriculture – a five-day workshop on agro-processing and value-addition organised by the Agriculture Department.

Business Standard

Uttarakhand needs to promote a separate hill farming policy as the state has a meagre 14 per cent net sown area, more so as three-fifth of the state’s total working population is engaged in agriculture, a study has recommended. “The performance of Uttarakhand in agriculture and allied activities has not been up to the mark as its share in the gross state domestic product (GSDP) had declined sharply from over 22 per cent in 2004-05 to just over nine per cent in 2014-15,” the study conducted by ASSOCHAM jointly with research firm RNCOS said.

The Indian Express

The state government has decided to route subsidies through direct benefit transfer to help farmers, facing a severe shortage of cash because of the demonetisation, procure fertilisers, farm equipment and seeds. For this, the government has introduced a simple form, which the farmer has to submit in bank stating the amount required and purpose. By showing the acknowledged receipt to dealers, farmers can procure fertilisers, seeds or farm equipment.

The Hindu

A five-day international workshop and expo on value addition of crops beginning here on Thursday will provide a platform for exchange of ideas on global trends and emerging technologies, marketing, and investment opportunities in agro processing.

Meri News

The Times of India

The present liquidity crunch, however, has left him jittery. There was a bumper crop this time and he expected a better price. Before demonetization, the price of paddy per quintal was around Rs 1,300. But after November 8, it came down to Rs 1,200. Residents of Chintamoni’s Burigram village in Singur are afraid that they might have to go for distress sale. I heaved a sigh of relief after the government announced the minimum support price at Rs 1,490 per quintal, he said.

The Times of India

With the state facing a 69% deficit in rainfall, a team of senior bureaucrats has fanned out to assess the impact of the water shortage on crop production and livestock in the state. The development also comes in the wake of the opposition clamoring for declaring the state as drought-hit, akin to 2012-13, but the government is undecided since a revival of monsoon is forecast from December 1.

The Indian Express

As we complete three weeks since the government’s demonetisation announcement, it appears that the various economic agents in the agricultural value chain have adjusted smartly to the reality of a temporary drying up of cash in the system.

The Indian Express

There are four major crops currently being planted or in the early stages of growth — wheat, onion, potato and chana (chickpea) — whose status needs close monitoring in the coming weeks, to ensure least production disruptions from demonetisation-imposed cash crunch. In three of the four commodities, tight supplies have already led to price rise. Wheat is now retailing in Delhi at Rs 24 per kg, up from Rs 19 at this time last year. This, even as stocks in government warehouses have depleted to a 9-year-low. Retail prices of milled chana dal and potato are, likewise, averaging Rs 140 and Rs 20 per kg, respectively, as against their corresponding levels of Rs 70 and Rs ...

DNA India

India remained the fastest growing major economy with its GDP accelerating to 7.3% in the September quarter, pushed mainly by farm output, although the momentum may be hit in the coming months by the impact of demonetization.

Business Standard

Vice Chancellor, National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, Dr. Ajit Kumar pitched for corporatization of farming sector to integrate agriculture and farmers with prosperity and well being as this could be the single Mantra to double the farmers’ income as is being intended by the government of the day under Prime Minister Mr. Modi.