Agriculture Industry
Central team takes stock of drought situationedit
An inter-ministerial central team visited three villages in Madurai district on Monday to assess the damage to crops caused by drought. Director (trade, extension & drought management) at ministry of agriculture Vijay Rajmohan and assistant advisor, ministry of drinking water and sanitation Santosh, along with the managing director of the Tamil Nadu water supply and drainage board, Dheeraj Kumar visited Alampalacheri, Poosalapuram and Kuppalnatham.
Rice industry seeks traceability to boost exports, curb rejectionsedit
The rice industry has urged the government to monitor traceability in paddy to boost exports and check rejections of overseas consignments. More than two dozen industry leaders, who attended a CII round-table on opportunities and challenges in the rice industry in India and the way forward, also sought stronger agricultural market boards, agencies and transparency in price recovery to ensure better returns to farmers.
2017 can be a bumper year for wheatedit
India may see a bumper wheat harvest this year as higher planting, cold waves in the past two weeks and a forecast for more rainfall and chilly weather have boosted crop prospects after worries that a moderate winter would hit yields.
Kissan Union, JKEDA resent 4% budget share to agricultureedit
Kissan Union Samba and JKEDA Jammu have expressed their serious concern over the proposed budget share of 4% for agriculture and its allied sectors in the State and demanded 50% budget for agriculture.
Budget 2017: FM Arun Jaitley likely to include sops for agriculture sectoredit
Finance minister Arun Jaitley may announce several measures to revamp farm infrastructure and support farmers, an official familiar with the matter, told Mint.
Advocating sustainable farmingedit
Anyone who listens to Lakshmavva’s discourse on the basics of agriculture will change the notion that only formal schooling makes one wise and knowledgeable. An illiterate person, she has been inspiring farmers through her talks on the intricacies of farming and practical guidance to make a living out of it. Lakshmavva lives in a modest house in Pattalachinti village of Koppal district, and is an expert in growing short-term crops, mainly floriculture.
UAE optimistic over investments in India: Economy Minister Mansouriedit
Mansouri said that UAE wants to have strong agricultural ties with India. “Agriculture is very important to us and we already had some discussion on that regard. India and UAE can act as a major storage and redistribution for a lot of the agricultural products from India, including rice that could be major redistribution center for the rest of the region,” he added.
Boosting African Agriculture is the need of the houredit
According to the United Nation, by 2050 the world’s population is expected to expand by more than two billion people and half of that will be born in Sub-Saharan Africa and another 30 percent will be born in South and Southeast Asia. While a growing world is certainly a good thing, the tragedy is that the Sub Saharan region is one that is hit the hardest by drought, heat waves and the agricultural output is very poor putting the food supply in danger. Over the years, agriculture has boomed in Southeast Asia and other countries, while Africa has been lagging behind. Famine has come to represent certain African countries like Somalia, Ethiopia and Jordan.
Data Shows Demonetisation Is Hurting More Than Helpingedit
Agricultural growth in India fell 0.2 % in FY 2015 and grew at 1.2 % in FY 2016, largely because of back-to-back droughts. As per Crisil’s Report, “Crisil Outlook Fiscal 2017”, the agriculture sector was expected to grow 4 % in FY 2017 on the back of a good monsoon, but demonetisation is likely to dent this forecast.
Data harvesting makes agri-tech startups hot for investorsedit
Agriculture-technology is emerging as one of the hottest sectors for investors this year, primarily for the mountains of data these startups are able to harvest. Leading venture capital firms including Accel India and SAIF Partners are evaluating several agritech firms to invest in, according to entrepreneurs and investors ET spoke with. IDG Ventures-backed Agrostar, a platform for farmers to procure raw materials, is in advanced talks with Accel to raise $10-12 million.
Indian agriculture: Ripe for deal-makingedit
With more than 150 million hectares of agricultural land and diverse agro climatic zones, India is at a resource advantage in the field of agriculture which plays a vital role in the country’s economy, but the growth rates in agriculture have been fluctuating between 1.5 percent to -0.2 percent in recent years
Budget should frame policy to promote R&D in agriculture: Ankur Aggarwaledit
Focusing on major problems of marginal farmersedit
In India, out of 121 million agricultural holdings, 99 million are with small and marginal farmers, with a land share of just 44 per cent and a farmer population share of 87 per cent. With multiple cropping prevalent, such farmers account for 70 per cent of all vegetables and 52 per cent of cereal output.
Technology in Agriculture
HARYANA GOVT TO PROMOTE STRAW MANAGEMENT PRACTICESedit
To effectively deal with the problem of stubble burning in the State, Haryana Government has geared up to promote straw management practices as per the guidelines of National Green Tribunal (NGT). “The Indian Oil Corporation has decided to set up a paddy straw based ethanol plant in Panipat while the district Karnal has been taken up as a pilot district to adopt straw management practices,” said a spokesman of the Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department.
SUBSIDY FOR BUYING AGRI EQUIPMENT FROM PVT FIRMS TOOedit
The farmers of Chhattisgarh are free to purchase quality agriculture equipment from registered suppliers of Chhattisgarh State Seed and Agriculture Development Corporation or private companies, officials informed. The Agriculture Department will provide subsidy as provisioned, they informed.