Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Rabi acreage up 7%; rice, coarse cereals take a hitedit
Sowing in the on-going rabi season maintained its pace of low growth in the new year with rice and coarse cereals posting a decline and oilseeds remaining stagnant compared with the average of the last five years. Total sowing till January 6 increased 2.76 per cent to 602.75 lakh hectares (lh) compared with the previous five year’s average (normal of corresponding week) of 586.55 lh in the comparable period, according to figures released by the Agriculture Ministry on Friday.
January rains expected to boost planting of wheat, chickpea & mustard cropsedit
A spell of rain is expected to lash the northern and northwestern regions over the next 24 hours, which agriculture experts say would help boost planting of wheat, chickpea and mustard. Rains at this time of the year are beneficial for the standing wheat crop as well. Agriculture officials and companies said this would help improve yields and production will be higher than last year.
Late winter rains lower demonetisation pains for farmersedit
Delay in sowing of wheat, mainly due to demonetization, seems to be beneficial to farmers this Rabi season in Northern states where winter rains are late and the prevailing temperature is higher than normal. Sowing period was extended by 10-15 days by farmers due to demonetization in many districts in Punjab and Haryana this season.
Rain in Punjab, Haryana raises hopes of bumper wheat yieldedit
A dip in temperature following rainfall in the country’s key wheat-producing States of Punjab and Haryana will boost the wheat crop, easing concerns about the adverse impact of unusual warm weather on the crop, officials and experts told The Hindu on Saturday. The showers during the past 24 hours have been widespread and ended the long dry spell in parts of Punjab and Haryana. A mercury dip is a good sign for the “temperature sensitive” wheat crop, they said.
Twitterati roots for agriculture on finance ministry’s Budget polledit
In an effort to make budget-making exercise more transparent and inclusive, the Finance Ministry is seeking people’s views on Twitter on the focus of Budget 2017. The ministry is running a poll on its official Twitter handle—@FinMinIndia—which is on for six more days, till January 13.
CACP recommends interest subvention on non-crop agri loansedit
The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has recommended to the Centre to extend interest subvention to non-crop agri loans to boost farmers’ investment in technological upgradation. “In a recent Niti Aayog meeting with the Prime Minister, we have recommended extending the benefit of interest subvention even for non-crop agri loans,” CACP Chairman Vijay Paul Sharma said here today.