The Hindu

An endeavour to promote cultivation of traditional paddy varieties which can withstand drought condition has yielded results in Pudukottai district. A couple of farmers of Maangankollaipatti village near Mazhaiyur have not only registered a harvest of 1.2 tonnes an acre of paddy raised in their fields but also could market them immediately.

The Indian Express

The Centre on Thursday said it would welcome if the new BJP government in Uttar Pradesh waives farm loans as promised by the party before the recent assembly polls. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said in Lok Sabha during Zero Hour that the central government has full sympathy for the distressed farmers and was providing assistance to them in whatever way it can. The Congress members later walked out of the House in protest against the Minister’s reply.

 

 

The Wire

Farmers, for instance – suppose they buy a tractor at an interest rate of 12%. Big entrepreneurs can buy a luxury car at an interest rate of 7%. For a farmer, a tractor is necessary to improve crop production, which directly contributes to an increase in his income. The role of mechanisation to improve farming has never been in question, but for the rich, luxury cars are more of a status symbol.

Business Standard

As the new Uttar Pradesh (UP) government gets down to work, a paper by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) lays down a road map for the state to double its annual farm sector growth to over five per cent from the current 2.5 per cent.

FnBNews

The app allows users in rural areas to avail as many as 135 services, including Kisan Credit Card, gold loan, farm equipment loan and loans to self-help groups (SHGs). The app also enables them to undertake an array of frequently-used banking services from their smartphones, without using mobile Internet services.

The Economic Times

Uttar Pradesh government would soon come out with a concrete decision on the issue of farm loan waiver which would benefit two crore small and marginal farmers, Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi said here. “The state government is seriously working on this front and a concrete decision would be taken soon. We are working to evolve the best possible solution,” the Minister told PTI while replying to a query on loan waiver.

The Hindu

The 2016-17 agriculture season is likely to go down into record books as the year of hope and turnaround for Telangana as the production of foodgrain, including cereals and millets, is expected to increase by a whopping 76%, thanks to good south-west monsoon.

Live Mint

Wheat was seeing large overseas purchases as an import duty was scrapped in December, 2016. The reintroduction is being seen as a move to aid Indian farmers as they ready to harvest their crop this season. Biscuit manufacturers and flour millers were resorting to imports going into millions of kilo to meet a shortfall after two years of drought. Wheat import in FY17, till December, increased by 60% over the whole of FY16 in volume.

Nagaland Post

Indian Council Agriculture Research emphasized the need of adopting location specific farming approaches for doubling farmer’s income in the northeastern states with particular reference to Assam. “Additional 5-6 million tonnes of food-grains are needed in the next few decades to feed the population of region and Assam will have to play a pivotal role for the same,” ICAR for North Eastern Hill Region, Director Dr. S.V. Ngachan said. Ngachan was speaking at exposure cum training programme for the senior officials of NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) Assam, on ‘‘improved farming practices for enhancing productivity and income of farmers.”

The Indian Express

A new variety maturing within 125 days, yet yielding nearly as much as those now grown over 135-160 days, could provide the ultimate solution to Punjab’s woes stemming from farming of water-guzzling paddy. Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has released a paddy variety PR-126 that gives an average of 30 quintals per acre. This is only marginally below the 30.5 quintals from PR-121 and PR-124 or the 32 quintals of the other popular variety Pusa-44.

The Indian Express

We stand at a critical point in India’s economic history, when jobs finally appear to have started shifting away from agriculture. During the past few decades, even as policymakers celebrated a decline in the share of agriculture in jobs, the number of workers in agriculture was still rising as the population was growing; it grew from 10 crore in 1951 to 26 crore in the 2011 census.

The Hindu Business Line

A normal monsoon in the Kharif 2016 season has resulted in lower claims under the Centre’s flagship scheme — Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana — keeping insurance companies happy. The provisional figures from Maharashtra, which accounted for a fourth of the total premium collected under the scheme, is testimony to this.

Live Mint

AI, the report states, can also be consumed in traditional industries like agriculture. The department of agriculture cooperation and farmers welfare, ministry of agriculture runs the Kisan Call Centres across the country to respond to issues raised by farmers instantly and in their local language.

Business Standard

If the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent pronouncements and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s budget are any indication, agriculture and allied industries in India are set to see the much-awaited turnaround. The fact that ‘farmers’ and ‘rural development’ figured in the key focus areas of the Union Budget and the allocation for these sectors (Rs 1.87 trillion) is up by 24 percent is good news. The slew of new schemes, including the model law for contract farming that the government plans to bring in, is also an indicator of the government’s resolve to revitalise the rural economy. The new law is likely to fetch farmers a better price for their produce and be a win-win for both farmers ...

NDTV

In Lalgudi near Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli district, farmer SR Kannan’s two acre field is almost barren. In addition to the worst drought in Tamil Nadu in years, just before the paddy was ready for harvest, neighbouring Karnataka stopped the Cauvery waters. Mr Kannan’s near ripe crop died in front of his eyes. Now his children pay a heavy price.

The Asian Age

The Mamata Banerjee government has sought financial assistance from the Centre for compensating around 27,000 farmers of Nadia and Murshidabad districts whose crops have been damaged due to Wheat Blast disease barely a month back. Around 8,000 hectares of wheat in the two districts had to be burnt to prevent the disease from spreading.

The Economic Times

The pre-monsoon rains will be negligible this season leading to excessive heat in April and May, but this is a good sign for farmers, weather analysts said on Tuesday. The India Meteorological Department has already declared heatwave condition in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. On Monday, Barmer in Rajasthan sizzled at 44 degrees Celsius.

The Times of India

The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana and the Indian Meteorological Department, Chandigarh, conducted a meeting of the research fellows of Rural. Agriculture Weather Services Project at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Noormahal on Tuesday. Surinderpal, Director, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Chandigarh, attented the meeting.

The Times of India

Expecting record foodgrain production this crop year (July, 2016-June, 2017), the Centre on Tuesday imposed 10% import duty on wheat and tur or arhar dal (pigeon pea) with immediate effect— a move which is aimed at protecting interest of farmers as prices of pulses fell below the minimum support price (MSP) across key producing states.

Live Mint

An election promise to farmers in the politically sensitive state of Uttar Pradesh is coming back to haunt Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as other states demand the Union government offer an agriculture bailout package across the country.

The Times of India

The budget presented by the Alappuzha district panchayat for the fiscal year 2017-2018 on Tuesday gave thrust to agriculture and other production sectors.

The Hindu Business Line

“There is no wateror fodder this year, and it has become tough to manage my three cows,” says Nagamma, a dairy farmer at Maradevanahalli village in Maddur taluk. The cows and her one-acre farm are her only sources of livelihood. “The milk yields have reduced: these days I get only about 5-6 litres, against 10-12 litres earlier,” she adds.

Telangana Today

Soil is said to be a farmer’s most important asset and resource. And Chinthala Venkat Reddy, who already has a patent for a soil management technique that replaces fertilisers and pesticides with soil, is proving it yet again.

The Times of India

Thodupuzha native George Thomas has been cultivating paddy for the past three years. Every year, he leases land and cultivates three or four kinds of rice and vegetables. At 63, he says all his enthusiasm seems to be draining because of the hardships. “There are challenges for farmers. Everybody wants to eat ‘safe’ food. Not all can take up large scale cultivation. If there is practical support from government departments, I would like to continue. The last three years haven’t been so.”

The Times of India

The farmer community of Greater Noida welcomed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s relief announcements in terms of debt waivers and buy back proposals of stacked up wheat produce. The twin announcements have given hope to the community which has been suffering under financial distress over last three years because of cash crunch and inclement crop damage.

The Economic Times

While Mahindra & Mahindra tractor business can continue to do well on the back of achieving the highest market share in FY 17 and robust growth, dearth of new launches in the utility vehicle space and market share loss may eventually hurt the homegrown automaker in the short to medium term, according to a research.

The Hindu

The budget proposed to strengthen agriculture by increasing productivity of crops across the district. Steps will be taken to expand paddy cultivation. Incentives will be given to farmers for starting cultivation of crops. Agro-clinics with modern implements will be launched.

India Infoline

The monsoon in India 2017, for the four-month period from June to September, is likely to remain below normal at 95% (with an error margin of +/-5%) of the long period average (LPA) of 887 mm, according to Skymet Weather. This is likely to decide the fate of Kharif crop which is majorly dependent on the performance of the south-west monsoon and may cause trouble for the farmers.

Live Mint

Hope: The Narendra Modi government says it wants to double farm income by 2022 through the transformation of Indian agriculture. Reality: The political discourse continues to focus perversely on farm loan waivers.

 

Free Press Journal

The state government has been tom-tomming its ‘kisan hiteshi’ (pro-farmer) policies and repeating ad nauseam that it is committed to making agriculture profitable and to doubling the income of the farmers over the next five years. However, its actions do not seem to match its words.

The Times of India

Addressing the agitating party workers here at Kranti Chowk, Namdeoroa Pawar city district president of Congress said that the government has been turning blind eye towards the burning issues of the farmers. “It is visible from the incident that took place in Mantralaya.

The Indian Express

But here we focus on “sabka saath, sabka vikas”, which we feel cannot be achieved unless agriculture is revved up in the state. Agriculture employs the largest proportion (47 per cent) of the workforce (in 2015-16, as per the Labour Bureau) in UP, and its growth rate has been just 2.5 per cent per annum during 2000-01 to 2014-15. This growth is lower than the all-India growth rate of agri-GDP of 2.9 per cent during the same period.

Pune Mirror

The idea of exporting manpower for the agriculture sector is not as bizarre as it sounds because growing vegetables requires careful husbanding of plants, almost on a par with raising children. And this is when we urban folks have a tiny vegetable garden and not the market garden required for business.

The Hitavada

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday told the Legislative Assembly that a proposal is being prepared to make farmers “debt-free”, which will be forwarded to Centre. The CM’s statement came at a time when the Congress and the NCP have been vociferously raising the demand for complete loan waiver for farmers in Maharashtra.

FNB News

He rued the fact that when people get access to water, they immediately switch over to water-intensive crops, which is not the right practice. “We must try to economise the use of water in the sense that you can share it with others or by growing more crops.” Pattanayak stated that the government was laying special emphasis on the watershed approach to agriculture.

The Free Press Journal

Over 300 farmers participated in the meet. Agriculture scientists introduced them to Food and Legume Research Platform and the new techniques. They were also told about new varieties of various crops developed by the ICARDA. The director of the Institute Dr Ashutosh Sarkar said that the new varieties are sturdier and more nutritious.

India Info Line

Top News India’s monsoon may duck El Nino unscathed -IMD India’s monsoon is likely to come unharmed from the El Nino weather pattern as it is expected to set only during the end of the 4-month monsoon season as reported by the weather department.

The New Indian Express

The Assembly on Saturday adopted a unanimous resolution recommending to the State Government to urge the Centre to increase the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to `2,930 per quintal. Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathy said a House Committee comprising members from all political parties will be set up under the chairmanship of Speaker Niranjan Pujari to take up the matter with the Centre. The committee will meet the Prime Minister and take up the issue in the interest of the farmers, he added.

Business Standard

With the State facing the worst drought in the past 115 years, the Government of Kerala asks the Centre to release a relief assistance of close to Rs 1,000 crore. Kerala Ministers are expected to meet Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh and others on March 28.

The Morung Express

On an early morning of early March, a group of Gorkha farmers—from the Lepcha and Subbah communities of Kalimpong district, West Bengal—are on a visit to Chakhesang terrace paddy fields in Enhulumi village, Phek district. But it is not the terrace fields that hold the fancy of the guests. It is the uncultivated biodiversity that grows alongside the wet and dry terrace paddy fields that fascinate them—some herb is a cure for kidney diseases, another for stomach ailments; snails, fish and frog have their own stories.

Scroll

Spades and shovels will soon hit the banks of the Ken river in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh. On February 11, a committee of officials from the Union Ministry of Water Resources and the NITI Aayog approved an investment of Rs 18,000 crores for a project that will channelise water from the Ken to the Betwa river, about 250 km away.

The Hindu Business Line

India’s agricultural growth has been a cause of concern for some time now. Though the sector is poised to grow at 4.4 per cent in GVA for 2016-17, an impressive jump from the previous year’s growth rate of 0.8 per cent, the swing only indicates the high dependency on the monsoons and the continued reliance on traditional farming methods.

Business Standard

Punjab should seriously consider implementing the crop insurance scheme for farmers as it has neither sent a memorandum to central government for drought relief nor done crop insurance in the last five years, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan told the Rajya Sabha today. “I have seen the record of last five years. Punjab and its farmers do not do crop insurance there.

The New Indian Express

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government’s goal of doubling the farmer’s income by 2022. Simple math tells us that this would require the farmer’s income to rise by around 12 per cent per year on average, over the next five years. This is in nominal terms, i.e. not adjusted for inflation. It’s an audacious goal if you consider the fact that agriculture growth (in real terms) has never averaged more than five per cent over any continuous five-year period, in recent history.

Outlook

The country is expecting “bumper” crop of pulses this year but the supply will fall short of the demand, the government said today, adding India will take two to three years to become self-sufficient in production. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, while replying to questions in the Rajya Sabha, said as per advance estimates, production of pulses is expected to be 22.14 million tonnes.

The Hindu

The organic farming policy of the State envisages sustainable and safe-to-eat farming systems, Minister for Agriculture V.S. Sunil Kumar has said. The Minister was inaugurating an outlet of the Startup Village project, a joint venture of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, the Pullazhi Kole Sahakarana Sangham and the Thrissur Urban Development Authority at Olari, near here, on Friday.

DNA

Around 94 per cent farmers in Chhattisgarh have been provided with soil health cards against the national average of 50 per cent, a union minister said today. “The government in Chhattisgarh has provided soil health cards to 94 per cent farmers in the state,” Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh informed members in Rajya Sabha.

The Telegraph

The Assembly today passed a unanimous resolution to demand enhancement in the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy from the Centre. The state will now ask the Centre to increase the minimum support price of paddy to Rs 2,930 a quintal. Serious debates on the issue had been going on in the Assembly during the past few days.

NDTV

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that in the last two years government has sanctioned 40 percent extra funds for the agricultural universities in the states. He also said that, central government has presented a guideline to establish Central Agricultural Universities to ensure quality assurance in agricultural education. The Minister was speaking at a seminar on Agriculture for Prosperity and Sustainable Development organised by Vidyarthi Kalyan Nyas, Bhopal and Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Pusa, New Delhi.

Sify

Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Y.S. Chowdary on Thursday called for finding ways and means to help farmers increase their income levels and reduce the cost of living. He was speaking here at the inauguration of India’s first “Rural Innovators Startup Conclave 2017” (RISC).

Hindustan Times

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today ruled out farm loan waivers by the Centre but said states can utilise their own resources in this regard. He clarified that the Centre will not adopt a selective approach by helping one state and not the others. “This issue (loan waiver) has cropped up in several states. The Centre has its policies for agriculture sector under which we provide interest subvention and other support. We will continue to give all that.

Money Control

Government is considering bringing back import duty on wheat to protect farmers’ interest after a bumper domestic crop, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today. Responding to concerns expressed by the opposition on farmers being forced to sell wheat below the minimum price set by the government, Paswan said import duty on wheat was zero between 2006 and 2015.

The Hindu Business Line

The Reserve Bank of India is concerned around blanket farm-loan waivers, as they undermine credit discipline among borrowers, said SS Mundra, a Deputy Governor of the apex bank. This observation comes in the context of the poll promise of the BJP to waive farm loans in Uttar Pradesh if it won, the opposition in Maharashtra piling pressure on the BJP-Sena government to forgive farm loans, and the newly-elected Congress government in Punjab seeking a loan waiver from the Centre.

Live Mint

Sticking to its electoral promise, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh (UP) under chief minister Yogi Adityanath is giving top priority to farm loan waivers. Once implemented, loan waivers would mitigate the debt woes of the farmer, but pose a fiscal burden on the state government.

Kashmir Reader

Financial Commissioner emphasized upon the officers to gear up extension agency to reach the farmers fields for transferring technology and providing quality inputs to increase the production. He also laid emphasis on integrated farming to raise the economic standards of farmers. Jain urged upon the officers to cover the remaining farmers under KCC scheme upto ending April 2017, so that they are benefitted well by the scheme.

Deccan Chronicle

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while taking part in debate over Finance Bill that was tabled in Parliament this week said that there will be no tax on farm or agriculture income. “Income from agriculture will not be taxed,” he said. According to him, in a few days government will bring Goods and Services Tax Bill in Parliament so that it is able to meet its July 1 deadline.

The Economic Times

The government is considering imposing import duty on wheat in order to protect farmers amid projections of a record output this year, Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said today. On December 8, the government had reduced customs duty on wheat to zero from 10 per cent to boost domestic availability and check retail prices.

The Better India

The success of Akal farm has become an inspiration for the local farmers who now come to the Akal Farm to learn about farming equipment and arid land cultivation. Darshan and Manmohan Singh are often invited by the District Collector to address the local administration and farmers from the region.

State Times

Agriculture is the backbone of India which contributes approximately 14 per cent of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The diverse agro-ecosystem and varying climate of the nation provides very limited opportunities for the small and marginal farmers to diversify. Government of India is making tremendous efforts to support farmers through various central schemes, states schemes, subsidies, technologies etc. but still the benefits are being taken by the few end users.

The New Indian Express

The government is considering imposing import duty on wheat in order to protect farmers amid projections of a record output this year, Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said today. On December 8, the government had reduced customs duty on wheat to zero from 10 per cent to boost domestic availability and check retail prices.

Money Control

NABARD has projected an exploitable credit potential of Rs 1.72 lakh crore towards the priority sector lending by the banks in Rajasthan for the year 2017-18. This is 14 percent higher than the credit projection made for the year 2016-17 by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

Outlook India

The Odisha Assembly witnessed uproar for the sixth consecutive day today over farmers’ issues forcing Speaker Niranjan Pujari to adjourn the House twice till 3 pm. BJP legislature party leader K V Singhdeo said he had already given a notice to the Speaker for passing a resolution demanding increase in the rate of the MSP on paddy. The farmers spent Rs 1800 per quintal for paddy production, while they got only Rs 1450 per quintal. Therefore it should be at least Rs 2800 per quintal of paddy.

The Hindu

A recent study conducted by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) here concluded that paddy wetlands are multifunctional agro-ecosystems that play a crucial role in ‘carbon’ sequestration and support faunal diversity, apart from filling food basket.

The Hans India

Joint Collector M Ramkishan has assured paddy farmers of establishing purchase centres within their reach and advised them against making a distress sale of paddy to the middlemen. He was reviewing arrangements for lifting paddy with officials of Civil Supplies department, rice millers, market committee secretaries, lorry owners and farmers here on Tuesday.

PR NewsWire

The report “Smart Agriculture Market by Agriculture Type (Precision Farming, Livestock Monitoring, Fish Farming, Smart Greenhouse), Hardware (GPS, Drones, Sensors, RFID, LED Grow Lights), Software, Services, Application, and Geography – Global Forecast to 2022”, published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is expected to grow from USD 5.18 Billion in 2016 to USD 11.23 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 13.27% between 2017 and 2022.

The Economic Times

Millions of Indian farmers look set to switch from growing pulses and oilseeds after a government campaign to boost output became a victim of its own success by flooding markets with the crops, used in everything from fragrant curries to sticky desserts.

The Free Press Journal

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government’s goal of doubling the farmer’s income by 2022. Simple maths tells us that this would require the farmer’s income to rise by around 12 percent per year on average, over the next five years. This is in nominal terms, i.e. not adjusted for inflation. It’s an audacious goal if you consider the fact that agriculture growth (in real terms) has never averaged more than five per cent over any continuous five-year period, in recent history.

The Times of India

The Narendra Modi government, calling for doubling farmers’ income by 2022, needs to take the recommendations of a recent study by Junagadh Agricultural University (JAU) into consideration. The first-of-its-kind study has recommended 5% annual increase in funds for agricultural research to achieve additional 1% growth in Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in agriculture sector.

The Times of India

District magistrate Uday Kumar Singh on Tuesday declared open an agriculture and tools fair at the local Polo ground as part of the Ang Mahotsava which was inaugurated on Sunday. The DM said farmers should know about the modern tools of agriculture to cultivate their land. The conventional methods have become outdated and the time and energy consumed in tilling of land by bullocks could be utilized for some other jobs.

The Times of India

Even as the entire state is in the grip of a severe drought, a small bunch of farmers in Mailam and surrounding villages in Villupuram district hold out some promise. On the World Water Day, the rest of Mailam, like most other parts of Tamil Nadu, is bone dry without a drop of water for irrigation, but thanks to a comprehensive project undertaken for rejuvenation of agricultural wells in the region with technical and financial assistance from MSSRF (MS Swaminathan Research Foundation) and Wabag, a multinational company involved in waste water treatment, a few dozen farmers in five village panchayats in Mailam region are still involved in agricultural and horticultural operations.

India Today

Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Prabhulal Saini today said that efforts would be made to double farmers income by 2022. He also announced that 900 veterinary doctors and 4,000 livestock assistants would be appointed in the state soon. “To double the income of farmers by 2022, we need to increase production and productivity both,” Saini said.

Telangana Today

Telangana is all set to post a bumper rabi harvest, thanks to the marked improvement in water availability in the irrigation sources covered by Mission Kakatiya and major irrigation projects, Minister for Irrigation and Marketing T Harish Rao said on Monday.

The Indian Express

Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki on Monday said the progress of the country lies in the progress of farmers and to realise the concept of a ‘New India’ we have to take them along. He was speaking at the prize distribution and closing ceremony of the three-day ‘2nd Agri-Leadership Summit’ at Surajkund in Faridabad district.

The Hindu

Reduced allocation to Agriculture in the 2017-18 Telangana Budget was questioned by the Opposition in the legislative Assembly on Monday, during a debate on demands for grants. Telugu Desam Party member R. Krishnaiah too raised the issue of budget reduction for agriculture, and said that the sector needed innovation and modernisation in a big way. The agricultural university should be linked to the department and modernised, towards turning around the sector as a profit-making vocation by encouraging exports, he said.

The Asian Age

The Bharatiya Janata Party led state government tried to project its state budget 2017 as an “agricultural budget”. In reality, however, the government has allotted almost Rs 4,000 crore less to agriculture and related departments than in the previous year.

 

Money Control

After the Bharatiya Janata Party won a massive mandate in Uttar Pradesh,  Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s first challenge will be fulfilling the election promise to waive off loans given to small and marginal farmers. The Uttar Pradesh government stands to lose Rs 27,420 crore, or 8 percent of its total revenue, if the farm loan waiver scheme becomes a reality, according to State Bank of India.

Jagran Josh

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) on 15 March 2017 signed a collaborative agreement for crop improvement.

The Sentinal

The Union government is set to begin procuring wheat from farmers in an “active” mode as stocks with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have plummeted to 6.5 million tonnes — less than half the average maintained — due to the drought in the 2015-16 season. Food Ministry officials said the procurement process will start from Madhya Pradesh in the next few days and will, in April, extend to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Nagaland Post

The event was marked by participants from various farming groups exhibiting and sale of farming produce and homemade products. Agri clinic was also set up where Kethoneilhuo Vimera, agriculture officer II, gave expert services and advice to farmers to enhance productivity of crops. Display and sale of bio-manures, improved seeds and agro tools were also part of the event.

India Education Diary

The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh, while inaugurating the new Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs), West Tripura said that the second green revolution will have to come from the eastern region of the country and to realise it, the north-eastern states will have to be brought under the national mainstream for the equitable agricultural development in this region. He further said that the Government is committed to developing the agriculture sector of the region.

Live Mint

Last week, the Indian National Congress at the Maharashtra assembly submitted a breach of privilege notice against State Bank of India chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya for “insulting farmers and the House” by her remarks on farm loan waiver. The leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, was upset with Bhattacharya because she “did not apologise for her remarks despite the Congress’s demand”.

The Hindu

Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunilkumar on Sunday announced the decision of the State government to consider a major revision of the existing crop insurance benefits for farmers as part of the government’s special support schemes with focus on those engaged in paddy and coconut cultivation.

India Today

The Centre today said it is yet to receive a proposal from Tripura to link the state with the electronic-national agriculture market (e-NAM) and asked it to take steps in this regard. “No proposal has been received by the Government of India from the Government of Tripura to link with the E-NAM so far,” Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said.

Hindustan Times

Our budget will be a push to agricultural and aligned activities. We have made a significant allocation for the infrastructure schemes and for the youth. We have a substantial allocation of Rs 35,000 crore for capital investment, much higher than that Congress-led governments. The investment will be done for roads, ports, irrigation and agriculture. The economic survey predicted a growth rate of 9.4% in this fiscal, but I am sure, with the huge amount allocated for capital investment, we will soon achieve the double digit rate. I can proudly say that we could achieve the growth rate of the 9.4% from the 5.4% it was during the Congress-led government.

The Hindu Business Line

Wheat farmers in Uttar Pradesh are a worried lot. Procurement of the foodgrain by government agencies in the State is meagre and a likely bumper harvest this year is stoking fears of a further slide in prices. UP contributes almost a third to the country’s total wheat production, with an annual output of around 25-27 million tonnes. But the procurement target set by the Food Ministry for UP is just 3 million tonnes for this year.

The Times of India

NCP president and former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar defended the Rs60,000-crore farm loan waiver in 2008, stating it revived agriculture when it had come to a standstill. “The waiver scheme freed the farmers (from loans), increased productivity and increased exports,” Pawar said at the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) in the city.

The Hindu

The Andhra Pradesh Government wants to double the income of farmers in four years and enhance the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) from ₹31,961 crore to ₹60,000 crore by 2021-22. To double the income of farmers, the Government has set for itself a target of increasing food productivity from 2,641 kg per hectare to 4,409 kg per hectare using various strategies.

The Hans India

The main opposition Congress in Telangana today said the state can achieve double digit growth if agriculture sector also fared well. Congress member G Chinna Reddy expressed displeasure over the performance of farm sector under the TRS rule. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Reddy said, “The agriculture area (under cultivation) has come down and production too has dropped, the budget this year (allocation) is Rs 5,299 crore.

The Indian Express

In order to ensure fair price for agricultural produce, government provides Rs 50 crore for expansion of Sant Shiromani Savatamali weekly market scheme for doubling the income of farmers. With the goal of ensuring double productivity of farmers by 2021, the government announces that they would be looking into investments in the agriculture sector this year.

The Financial Express

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today made an assurance that farmers’ income will double by 2022 while terming agriculture as a sunrise sector of the 21st century with ample growth potential. Allaying fears that prospects of agriculture are bleak, the minister maintained that on the contrary, farmers have a bright future.

The Economic Times

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, while delivering the keynote address at the CII Western Region Annual Regional Meeting special session on – Growth Transformation: The Madhya Pradesh Story said that the cycle of economic growth starts from agriculture sector and unless farmers prosper, demand for products manufactured by other sectors cannot really pick up.

The New Indian Express

Beating Shiv Sena’s bravado and the deadlock strategy of the Opposition Congress-NCP combine, BJP government in Maharashtra presented its third budget on Saturday amidst pandemonium in both the Houses of legislature. Contrary to expectations there was no announcement of loan waiver, but there were several pro-farmer provisions. Shiv Sena supported the government on the Budget despite its call for loan waiver, while Opposition leaders burnt copies of budget outside the Assembly after it was presented in the House.

The Asian Age

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday assured the Maharashtra Assembly that a state government delegation will be meeting Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh for assistance in the agriculture sector. Addressing the Maharashtra Assembly, Fadnavis said the economy is focused on agriculture, investment and increasing agriculture productivity and not just relief and rehabilitation.

Money Control

Narendra Modi-led government has unveiled a grand plan to double income for farmers by 2022. If attained, this could lead to numerous political and economic gains for the government. The government’s rural spending in FY17 percent shot up by 40 percent as compared to 14 percent in FY16.

The Hindu Business Line

Climate risk management firm Weather Risk Management Services Pvt Ltd (WRMS) plans to approach 30 lakh farmers across 150 districts in 2017 to connect them with the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana (the Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme). Last year, the company had approached about 15 lakh farmers, encouraging them to opt for crop insurance.

The New Indian Express

For farmers who have seen their fortunes ebb due to drought over the past few years, the state budget failed to meet the expectations. Though initiatives to encourage judicious use of water, achieving self-sufficiency in production of Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine has been introduced, critics believe that such schemes would do too little to provide any relief for agriculture and allied sectors.  Ryot organisations, whose primary demand has been loan waiver of farmers, too aren’t happy with the budget.

The Pioneer

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh has said that development and upliftment of farmers is the first priority of the government and to achieve it, the government aim is to double the income of farmers by 2022. Singh said this on the inauguration of three days Krishi Unati Mela being held in Indian Institute of Agriculture Research.

The Hindu

A two-day meeting of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in Kerala and Lakshadweep has stressed productivity enhancement through climate resilient agriculture, organic-based integrated pest and disease management measures, introduction of stress-tolerant crop varieties, and hi-tech agriculture.

The Indian Express

Recalling a small incident may serve to illustrate the irony of agriculture’s poor performance in UP, despite its naturally fertile soils and water from perennial rivers. In May 2015, as head of the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), an autonomous society under the Union Agriculture Ministry, I visited Jayapur, the adopted village of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi.

Millennium Post

The rate of agriculture growth in the state declined over nine years, from 0.95 per cent in 2005-06 to -3.4 per cent in 2014-15, according to Punjab government data, affecting 6.3 million people of the working population engaged in agriculture, according to the 2011 Census.

 

The Indian Express

Water management expert Dr Madhav Chitale believes a loan waiver is not a solution to agrarian crisis. He says such populist measures often pitched by politicians never serve the larger objective of farmer welfare. “If any government is attempting such a decision, it can be best described as ‘tatpurta malam patti’ (temporary ointment and bandage to cover a wound’,” says Chitale.

The Indian Express

One of the key findings of the committee was if farmers have to be incentivised to grow more pulses, and on a larger irrigated area, they must receive a sufficient profit from growing pulses. Given the levels of technology, it was realised that if farmers get about Rs 7,000/quintal for their produce, then pulses can compete with other crops.

State Times

Given the importance of the agricultural in the Indian economy and the sector being a source of livelihood for more than half of the population in the country, the farm and the farmer needs to be put first. From the community development programme of 1952’s to the Training and Visit of eighties to present day Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) under National Mission on Agricultural Extension Technology (NMAET), the agriculture sector has always been on the forefront.

Live Mint

In addressing rapid urbanization, one should not forget that most Indians still live in rural areas. Their livelihoods depend on agriculture. What is already a hard way to make a living is becoming harder still due to the rapid depletion of water resources and climate change. Indian agriculture will need to become more climate resilient to continue delivering crop yields as the climate heats up. As the country’s leaders are aware, India as a whole will need to address the long-term issues of environmental sustainability.

India Today

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh will tomorrow inaugurate a three-day Krishi Unnati Mela for providing information on new farm schemes and technologies that will help farmers double their incomes by 2022. Singh will also give away Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Protsahan Puraskar to recognise contribution of Krishi Vigyan Kendras.

Kashmir Reader

Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura Tuesday flagged-off two groups of farmers comprising of 188 progressive farmers from Jammu Division for participating in Krishi Unnati Mela IARI Pusa New Delhi being held from March 15 to 17 and Kissan Mela on 15th of March at KVK Gurdaspur, Punjab respectively. The Minister also flagged-off a group of 30 progressive vegetable growers of Block Marh under Chief Minister’s Special Project-Intensive Vegetable Development Cluster to Punjab Agriculture University Ludhiana for a study visit.

Live Mint

State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday said it would allow one-time settlements for tractor and farm equipment loans that make up about Rs6,000 crore of doubtful and loss cases on its books. SBI is willing to take an up to 40% haircut on such farm loans, said Rajnish Kumar, managing director (national banking) at State Bank of India. “From time to time, we open up the OTS (one-time settlement) scheme for certain segments of our customers to boost our recovery rate. That is what the aim is here,” Kumar said.

Deccan Chronicle

The Telangana government on Monday presented a welfare-oriented, tax-free budget, focusing on irrigation and reviving traditional occupations of the backward classes, for 2017-18 with a proposed expenditure of nearly Rs 1.50 lakh crore (Farmers)

Daily Kashmir Images

The optimum beauty of the place reinforces sweetness in every crop and produce that grows around here. But unfortunately this is not the whole picture of the state of agriculture in the state. Fact of the matter remains that Jammu and Kashmir desperately lags behind in agriculture and allied sectors so much so that the state is not able to fulfill its own needs of food.

The Financial Express

A group of software professionals from Chennai have come together to provide succour to families of farmers who had died in Nagapattinam district recently distressed over failure of crops due to drought. The group of 500 software professionals formed the ‘Vivasaayanadu Trust’ last month and initially, they have identified ten families in the distict to provide immediate assistance like groceries and rice.

Deccan Herald

Until a few years ago, I knew only two varieties of wheat. Now, I have 11 in my collection,” says Kalmesh Mallad, a farmer, who has recently joined the band of seed conservers in Belagavi district. Visiting the farm of Kalmesh Mallad in Betsur village of Savadatti taluk in Belagavi district can be a revelation to many farmers in the region who have limited knowledge about heritage wheat varieties.

Odisha TV

The session is set to be a stormy one with opposition parties all set to corner the agriculture minister on a wide range of issues such as farmers’ suicides, the short-term pains and the structural problems and crisis of state agriculture.

The Hindu Business Line

Repeat failure of the monsoons may have heralded the worst-ever drought in in Kerala in over 100 years. Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharantold the State Assembly on Wednesday that vast tracts of farmland have been decimated. The crop loss estimated is to be ₹225 crore, over 30,353.06 hectares. Paddy farmers are the worst hit, staring at damage worth ₹106 crore over an area of 26,499.42 hectares.

The Hindu Business Line

The near-normal monsoon in 2016 may have helped most parts of the country come out of two successive droughts and perhaps propel foodgrain output to a new high, but not in the South. The drought has extended its grip in the South, with the South-West monsoon falling significantly short and the North-East monsoon proving a total failure.

The Times of India

Two years since Mission Kakatiya was launched, the government intends to keep up the pace of the programme even as it seeks a debate on the need to switch over to less water-intensive crops, irrigation minister T Harish Rao said on Sunday.

Telangana Today

The State budget for 2017-18 establishes the government’s commitment to ensure that the Agriculture sector is made drought-proof besides ensuring release of the final installment of farm loan wavier amounting to Rs 4,000 crore. The total loan waiver as promised by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in its election manifesto would be fulfilled with this allocation.

Nagaland Post

One day farmers’ training on ericulture and its economics and integrated fish farming was organized by Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) Kohima on March 7 at DAO conference hall. During the programme, ATMA, Kohima deputy PD, Rokoshuno Angela, stressed on the importance of income generation for farmers which can be obtained from various farming activities.

Odisha TV

Unseasonal rain and hailstorm for the past few days has damaged standing crops which may adversely affect the production output thereby compounding miseries of farmers in several parts of Odisha. Apart from the rabi field crops, vegetables mostly peas, tomatoes, bitter gourd, cucumber, brinjal have suffered damage in areas of Balang, Astarang, Gop, Kakatpur in Puri district.

The Hindu Business Line

“When there is no water to drink, what can we say about irrigation?” asked K Venkatesan, a farmer near Vridhachalam. Whether canal dependent or bore well irrigated, all crops have withered, he said. Insurance compensation and the disbursement of the State government’s relief package have to be expedited, said farmers’ representatives. Farmers have to be fully compensated and the cap of 5 acres for relief has to be removed, they observed.

India Infoline

There is no proposal this year to import wheat on the Government Account, as the stock of wheat as on January 1,2017 stood at 13.747 million against the norms of 12.8 million tonnes for the quarter ending in March every year, which is sufficient to meet the demand under the Public Distribution System. Till December 1, 2016, foodgrains’ stock in the central pool stood at 27.55 million tonnes out of which rice stock stood at 11.05 tonnes; and wheat accounted for 16.5 million tonnes.

The Hindu

Supplyco has procured over 5,000 tonnes of paddy in Alappuzha district till Saturday. The harvesting and procurement operations, which began a month ago, are in progress across the district. The Agriculture Department has set a schedule for harvesting in different areas to facilitate smooth operations.

The Hindu

Mudukappa Kattikar of Mole village in Chikodi taluk left farming which became unsustainable due to the vagaries of nature. But, for him and other farmers there is a new ray of hope. On Friday, a Rs. 2.20 crore Lift Irrigation Scheme financed by Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) was formally inaugurated by its chairman S. Ravindran .Under the scheme, nearly 109 acres would benefit from the irrigation facility.

The Hans India

Finance Minister E Rajendar on Saturday indicated that the subsidy burden on State exchequer in the next financial year could be more than Rs 35,000 crore. He said  the main reason for this is because the government is planning to  introduce several  highly subsidised community- based developmental programmes like schemes for shepherds, fishermen, washermen, weavers, barbers and other communities like artisans in the budget.

The Hindu Business Line

Additional budgetary support needs to be given to the Agriculture Ministry to meet its requirements under the interest subvention scheme, as there is likely to be a shortfall of up to ₹26,000 crore due to the huge backlog of dues, the Standing Committee on Agriculture has said in its report.

India Infoline

A proposal regarding levying of higher import duty on pulses amid the bumper output this season, which pushed the prices of pulses downwards, is under GoI’s perusal currently. A major chunk of annual demand, over the years has been met by imports from Canada as domestic output cannot fulfill the demand.Since January, the estimated imports have come in around 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes.

The Hindu

“Growth in the auto industry, agriculture sector and the earth moving industry has given us new hopes. Once the mines reopen, business is set to grow,” he added. The growth is expected to come from agriculture, infrastructure, water pipes, wind turbines, automotive, railways, defence and oil & gas sectors, industry players said.

News Nation

The decision of the central govt comes after Kharif farm gate prices of pulses, especially tur or arhar and urad, have been falling below the minimum support price (MSP) in mandis across key producing states, As per media sources, the government had been pursuing a zero percent duty on imports since 2006 so as to bridge the gap between demand and supply of pulses,. However, this year (2016-17), in anticipation of a bumper crop, the government has decided to restrict import in a bid to protect domestic farmers.

Business Standard

The government is creating a dynamic buffer of up to two million tonnes of pulses, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution C.R. Chaudhary told the Rajya Sabha on Friday. Around 14.25 lakh tonnes of pulses were procured and contracted for imports for the buffer as on March 6, he informed the house.

The Times of India

Demonetization has pushed many farmers to go digital. Platforms like The Agrihub, AgroStar, Big Haat, and RML AgTech that provide services and products to farmers say there’s been a significant increase in payments done through debit cards, credit cards, net banking and other digital modes. Big Haat, an e-commerce platform that sells agricultural products, including seeds and fertilisers, has seen its online payment transactions grow from 5% of overall transactions six months ago to 30%.

Money Control

A good monsoon in 2016 helped in achieving record Kharif crops output, and India is set to replicate the performance in Rabi or winter sown crops too, said a study by economic think-tank NCAER. As per the NCAER’s report on the short-term agricultural outlook for the 2017 Rabi season, Gross Value Added (GVA) in agriculture and allied sector registered a significant 3.3 percent year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2016-17 as compared to 1.8 percent growth in the previous quarter.

The Hindu

Using a novel route, an Indian researcher has been able to increase wheat grain yield by 20% and also improve the resilience of wheat to environmental stress such as drought. By using a precursor that enhances the amount of a key sugar-signalling molecule (trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P)) produced in wheat plant, Dr. Ram Sagar Misra, from the Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford and currently with the Department of Chemistry, Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, has been able to increase the amount of starch produced and, therefore, the yield.

The Times of India

Demonetisation has pushed many farmers to go digital. Platforms like TheAgrihub, AgroStar, BigHaat, and RML AgTech that provide services and products to farmers say there’s been a significant increase in payments done through debit cards, credit cards, netbanking and other digital modes.

The Wire

There are two proven ways to earn income in agriculture related work – either you set up a tissue culture lab (which doesn’t require much space) or set up a nursery to supply seedlings. Of course, along with these two enterprises, farmers can add vermicompost pits, manufacture and market one’s own bio inputs, etc. It is multiple activities like these which can increase the income revenue.

The Economic Times

Rain and snow in North has brightened prospects of wheat procurement this Rabi season as the change in weather has favourably lowered temperature below normal. The dip in temperature is expected to boost the output especially in states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Hindu

The Alumni Association of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, and the Forum of Former Vice-Chancellors of Karnataka have demanded that the State government allocate Rs. 20,000 crore for agriculture and allied sectors in the budget for 2017–18.

Telangana Today

Since our’s is an agrarian economy, we are focusing on drought proof measures such as completion of the existing near to complete projects then the productivity would increase, explained Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Rama Krishnudu. As most of our population depend on the primary sector, majority of people would get employment if the agriculture sector is strengthened, he informed, in a pre-budget interaction with the journalists at secretariat at Interim Government Complex, on Thursday.

The Economic Times

In every Union Budget presentation, agriculture is given a place of prominence. This is not surprising, given that 50% of India’s population is dependent on agriculture. Budget 2017 was no different. Both the Economic Survey and the Budget speech stressed heavily on improving agricultural infrastructure and augmenting farmer incomes.

Voice and Data

The intervention of mobile phones has simplified our lives to a large extent, by enabling calling, messaging, transacting and much more. But what’s catching our attention these days is the ability of a mobile phone playing a significant part in India’s evolving agriculture practices. It has become an indispensable tool for a farmer, so much so that it can evade human intervention send commands or can automate agricultural equipment switching these on/off. Here is Mobitech Wireless Solutions that includes a farmer in Digital India’s dreams.

Hindustan Times

Rain in certain parts of Punjab on Wednesday morning is being perceived as good for the wheat and other rabi crops. As meteorology officials have predicted sporadic rain in the region over the next few days, agriculture department says rain without strong winds is good for crops.

The Indian Express

The light showers which was experienced at various parts of the state Wednesday is being considered as a boon for the standing wheat crop. If Agricultural experts are to be believed then this season will witness a bumper crop if all goes well. The met department, however, has predicted strong winds in the next two days, which may damage the crop. Experts have therefore advised the farmers to be extra cautious.

Live Mint

The agriculture sector has been facing a crisis due to climate change and limited investments, among other things. While the early 2000s were characterised by the ‘feminization of agriculture’, in more recent years, this trend has also changed. Rural female labour force participation is rapidly declining, and stands at 35.8% as compared to 81.3% for men. More women than men now migrate in search of jobs.

The Economic Times

The Centre has directed states to spend 30 per cent of funds allocated towards farm schemes for empowering women farmers, whose share is significant in the country’s agri workforce, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said today. He, however, expressed concern over negligible number of women cooperatives in India and emphasised on the need to strengthen by providing financial help to them.

Business Standard

Bihar Agriculture minister Ram Vichar Rai today told the Legislative Council that the state is expected to witness a record production of paddy and wheat, despite slashing of funds by the Centre. He said the Centre slashed its funds with regard to Centrally sponsored schemes relating to agriculture besides getting meagre amount of Rs 80 crore out of Rs 3094 crore as announced by the Prime Minister for agriculture package.

Russia and India Report

The Indian government has asked wheat exporters from Russia, France and Ukraine to fumigate their cargoes with methyl bromide, an insect control gas that is formally banned in these countries. Previously, food shipments were fumigated at India’s ports, and now New Delhi has put an end to this practice.

Money Control

India needs to make significant investments in modernisation of agriculture as well as food processing if the country wants to double farmers’ income by 2022, German ambassador Martin Ney said. The German companies could help India immensely in transforming the agri-business in the country, he said.

Money Control

The Maharashtra Government has taken a slew of measures to double farmer income in the next five years and address the issue of agrarian distress, said Governor Vidyasagar Rao. The state remains a preferred destination for foreign investment as it accounted for 50 percent of the total FDI inflow in India in the past six months, he said.

The Hindu Business Line

The Budget was expected to provide agriculture with a shot of intravenous adrenaline. What we got, instead, was familiar lines. The finance minister’s offer consisted in the main of agricultural credit, crop insurance and electronic trading platforms. The farmer would dearly love to see electronic trading eliminate middlemen, but when and how would this happen? What is on offer is not some gritty action but expression of intent, which is already old hat. The farmer does, of course, need credit, but how would he pay it back without a decent price for his produce? Insurance, finally, is a complete no-no.

The Hans India

The Congress found fault with the Minister for Roads and Buildings Tummala Nageswara Rao for criticising the AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh. Speaking to media persons here on Tuesday, Congress Legislature Party Deputy Leader Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy said Tummala who himself hails from agriculture family should not have criticised Singh for pointing out the issues faced by the farming community.

Hindustan Times

In order to give a boost to the farm sector, the Haryana government has announced an increase of 19% in the budget allocation for agriculture and allied sector. An outlay of Rs 3,206 crore has been proposed in 2017-18 against Rs 2,699crore in revised estimates for 2016-17. The allocation includes Rs 1,516 crore for agriculture, Rs 747 crore for animal husbandry, Rs 397 crore for horticulture, Rs 458 crore for forests, and Rs 89 crore for fisheries, finance minister Capt Abhimanyu said, presenting his third consecutive budget in the state assembly.

The Hindu

Breaking the silence on the state of agriculturists, the Supreme Court has stepped in to call for relevant governmental addressal of agriculturists’ issues. The Supreme Court is right in calling for appropriate policies that prevent the epidemic of suicides instead of the post-facto provisioning of compensation. More particularly, what the Court has highlighted is that the institutions that should be catering to the needs of agriculturists have failed to do so, for the very fences that should protect crops have now turned rapacious.

Business World

Mallika Srinivasan stepped into her father’s shoes to become the Chairman and CEO of TAFE and its subsidiary TAFE Motors and Tractors (TMTL) after her father A Sivasailam’s demise. Today, she is known as a thought leader and a strategist and widely recognised for her contribution to Indian agriculture machinery business and academia.

Greater Kashmir

Women constitute about 49% of our population & play multiple roles and responsibilities not only   for food production & processing but also for their household duties. In the present era of agriculture farm women take up an active role in farming, higher farm production and productivity. Women have a bright future in the field of agriculture as it is an evergreen profession & involves much scope for future.

India.com

Bihar Agriculture Minister Ram Vichar Rai today announced in the Assembly that the state is expected to witness a record production of paddy and wheat, despite slashing of funds by the Centre. The department has made significant achievements due to successful implementation of agriculture roadmaps – first, from 2008 to 2012, and then again from 2012 to 2017, he said.

The Hindu

Crop area during the current rabi season has more than doubled in Nirmal district thanks to last monsoon’s good rainfall. The rainy season, which saw about 5 % excess rainfall, filled up tanks and projects besides recharging the ground water across the district.

Money Control

India is likely to import about 2-3 million tonnes of wheat in the crop year starting in July, even as the country is set for a bumper domestic harvest, the head of conglomerate Adani Enterprises’ agribusiness division said on Monday. India is expected to produce about 95 million tonnes of wheat from the upcoming harvest, Adani Agribusiness chief Atul Chaturvedi told Reuters in an interview, up from last year’s 85 million tonnes estimated by traders.

The Huffington Post

Despite rising population and affluence, food is likely to be abundant and relatively cheap until 2026, say the latest long-term projections by the US Department of Agriculture. On the flipside, farmers across the world will have to cope with low prices and may struggle to book profits, unless weather plays truant.

Business Standard

More than 19 million hectares have come under the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) during the current rabi season, covering around 30 per cent of the total sown area of 64.5 million hectares. According to preliminary estimates by insurance companies and state agencies till Friday, the total sum insured for the winter crops has jumped almost 50 per cent to Rs 68,230 crore, compared to the earlier season.

Telangana Today

Three educated youth has taken up community farming in two acres of land at Duppalapally village of Thipparthy mandal in the district, to exhibit the benefit of the cultivation method and to make it a master piece to encourage the Self Help Groups (SHG) women to take up farming method in their areas.

The Times of India

India needs to make significant investments in modernisation of agriculture as well as food processing if the country wants to double farmers’ income by 2022, German ambassador Martin Ney said today. The German companies could help India immensely in transforming the agri-business in the country, he said.

The Financial Express

Given the likely 22 million tonne production of pulses this year, up more than a third compared to last year, it is not surprising prices have crashed. In the case of tur, for instance, retail prices are down from R118 per kg in Delhi on October 1, 2016 to R89 on March 1. As a result of the surge in pulses inflation last year, rabi sowing increased by more than 11%. While it is not clear what will happen next year, if it goes the boom-bust way of many other crops, production will slow and prices will rise again. It was to try and stop this cycle, and to incentivise production that, last year, apart from ...

The Hindu Business Line

Germany has a lot to offer to India in terms of technology in agriculture and also skill creation, but “proper and predictable’’ policy interventions are required for transferring technology. “German companies have invested large amounts in India. In the last few years there have been a number of agreements in areas such as food safety standards, risk management and seed development. With a reliable regulatory framework there could be closer cooperation,” said Arnd Nenstiel, Chairman, German Agribusiness Alliance at a seminar on financing of agriculture on Monday.

The Times of India

The concept of climate-smart agriculture or risk agriculture has already been adopted in some countries to meet the challenge posed by climate change. For instance, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is an initiative to meet such challenges, he added.

The Indian Express

Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Sunday said this year’s state budget will focus on employment generation and agriculture. “Around 2.60 crore people in the state depend on agriculture for source of income. Our focus will now be on agriculture-based employment,” Mungantiwar said.

The Pioneer

The Supreme Court’s advise to the Union Government to strike at the root cause of farmers’ suicides rather than just be content with giving compensation to the victims’ families, deserves attention. While the compensation is a humane gesture and cannot be faulted per se, it indeed does not tackle the core issue. Now that the apex court has asked the Centre to get back to it within a month with a roadmap to handle the problem, one should expect a meaningful response to the crisis.

The Tribune

Faced with new challenges in agriculture sector, the Haryana Government has initiated the process to prepare the farmers to adopt new concepts like Peri-urban agriculture, Climate–smart agriculture and give impetus to adoption of organic farming and micro irrigation, besides marketing and branding of agricultural products.

The Hindu Business Line

A bumper crop notwithstanding, farmers of pulses have several reasons to complain. And why wouldn’t they? Spurred on by the Centre’s assurance to procure their produce at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), many had increased the area under cultivation (acreage). But the government’s procurement target at MSP is only 10 per cent of the year’s total output.

The Asian Age

As India stares at another harsh summer with the prospect of drought across the country, the issue before us is simple –  how to manage our water resources and end our over-reliance on the monsoon. Year after year, the blame game is the same – hold the ‘below normal’ monsoon rains responsible for our water woes in summer without acknowledging that the ‘below normal rainfall’ that creates water stress is the new normal across the country. More so, because our water demands are growing, and to some extent, is linked to the rapid growth in economy.

The Indian Express

Faced with new challenges in the agricultural sector, the Haryana Government has initiated a process to prepare farmers to adopt new concepts like Peri-urban agriculture, climate-smart agriculture and give impetus to adoption of organic farming and micro-irrigation, besides marketing and branding of agricultural products.

The Indian Express

With the government initiating several steps on the rural front, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) is getting ready to raise around Rs 60,000 crore from the market, almost 50 per cent more than last year. “While we seek that farmers should get benefits, we’re not in favour of waivers,” Nabard chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala said in an interview to George Mathew.

The Hindu Business Line

Father of the Indian Green Revolution and renowned agri-scientist, Prof MS Swaminathan, in an interview with BusinessLine, states emphatically that the Centre’s promise of doubling farmer income can become a reality if careful thought is applied and a comprehensive plan is drawn up. The role of the State and the public are crucial here, he stresses.

Odisha TV

More than 30 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured by the Odisha government at mandis across the State so far this season and Rs 4,579 crore has been deposited in bank account of farmers for the procurement, said Supplies Minister Sanjay Dasburma on Saturday.

 

The Hindu

Conducive weather conditions in the country’s key wheat-producing State of Punjab are likely to boost wheat output, easing concerns about the adverse impact of unusual warm weather raised earlier. Dr. R.S. Gill, head, Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, stated that cloudy weather without rainfall is highly favourable for the development of aphids, and farmers need to be cautious about it.

The Hans India

Paddy farmers Potha Reddy and Narayana set their crops ablaze at Langdhapur village in the district on Thursday. A farmer tried to commit suicide while others of Lagdhapur, Pentanlan and Pegadapalli in Bodhan mandal turned their paddy crop lands into grazing lands as the crops got dried up due to lack of irrigation water.

Kashmir Reader

Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura Thursday asked for promotion of Integrated Farming to make agriculture a profitable  activity. He asked the agriculture department to establish Integrated Farming Units in each village to realize maximum return from the agriculture land.

The Times of India

Haryana government is implementing a number of schemes to uplift the farmers through provisions of subsidies, increased productivity and marketing of produce to help them in making farming profitable. Agriculture and farmers’ welfare minister OP Dhankar said on Thursday in a written reply to a question put up by INLD MLA Parminder Singh Dhull during ongoing budget session of state assembly here.

Daily Excelsior

Establishing non-serious approach towards fast shrinking farm land in Jammu and Kashmir, the Agriculture Production Department has failed to come up with new Agriculture Policy which was first announced six years back and subsequently after regular intervals not only in official meetings but also on the floor of the State Legislature. As per the official figures, 70% of Jammu and Kashmir population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture and its allied sectors and these sectors constitute the mainstay of the State’s economy and contribute nearly 50% to GSDP.

Live Mint

In a bumper crop year when farmers across the country have been battered by lower crop prices, farmers’ groups are using futures contracts to hedge against price dips during the harvest season.

The Times of India

Concerned over stagnation or even a decline in the growth of agriculture and allied sectors, the Economic Review-2016, has called for devising strategies to deal with the adverse conditions affecting them to revive the growth momentum.

 

Hindustan Times

The state government released Rs893.83 crore as insurance for farmers whose crops was damaged due to hailstorm and unseasonal rains in the 2015-16 rabi season. The state government released the amount which will be distributed to 26.88 lakh farmers in various parts of the state. The highest compensation, Rs402 crore, will be distributed to 13 lakh farmers. Farmers in Aurangabad and Pune divisions will get Rs340.57 crore and Rs 107.36 crore respectively. Farmers in Marathwada district had lost soyabean and other crops due to the rains.

Business Standard

While increases in population and wealth will lift global demand for food by up to 70% by 2050, agriculture is already feeling the effects of climate change. This is expected to continue in coming decades.

Business Standard

India could impose a 25 per cent import tax on wheat by the middle of March, two government sources said on Wednesday, reinstating the tariff after a gap of nearly three months in response to recent large purchases from overseas.

The Indian Express

Crop diversification and moving away from the entrenched paddy-wheat cycle has been the buzzword among Punjab’s policymakers for at least two decades now. It will remain so even when the next government takes over in a couple of weeks’ time. But on the ground, farmers are still planting paddy during kharif and wheat in the rabi season as before. Some have gone in for diversification, but not the way policymakers, both in the state government and the Centre, would want them to. There’s no better example of this ‘diversification dilemma’ than spring season maize; and it should be an eye-opener for future policymaking.

Live Mint

Once again the Indian monsoon is under the shadow of the weather phenomenon known as El Nino. There is a 50% chance of El Nino occurring later this year, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) said. Consequently, once again Indian agriculture, which suffered two back-to-back droughts (2014-15, 2015-16) will be beset by uncertainty. Farmers in parts of India have been in the grip of a drought for a third year. Any impact on agricultural production can potentially also have a fallout on food inflation.

Manorama Online

Massive allocation is made for agriculture in the budget. But agriculture is almost extinct in Kerala. The state government has initiated a Green Kerala Project. Massive amounts were allocated for campaigns, advertisements and propaganda but nothing much is being done on the ground.

The Indian Express

Climate resilient agricultural practices coupled with greater thrust on promoting investments in food processing sector to improve lives of farmers is likely to get greater impetus in the forthcoming state budget. Highly placed sources in the government revealed to The Indian Express, “Agriculture sector will remain the highest concern of the state budget this year too.” However, unlike last year when the prime concern related to relief for the drought hit, the focus in 2017-18 would be on sustainable agriculture.

Sky Met Weather

Fresh spell of rains are all to drench several parts of Punjab and Haryana and during the next 24 hours. In fact, few places could also witness isolated hailstorm. Places such as Amritsar, Chandigarh, Pathankot, Nawanshahr, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Ambala, Panchkula, Karnal are mostly likely to witness rain activity.

Deccan Chronicle

With farmers steering clear of jowar and wheat during both the kharif and rabi seasons for two consecutive years owing to the poor monsoon,  several taluks of  North Karnataka are facing a severe shortage of fodder. Although the district administration has set up fodder banks, they have failed to meet the requirements of farmers, who are worried their troubles  will only worsen  in summer.

The Times of India

Already upset with the abnormal weather conditions during March and April for two consecutive years, the farmers in Hadoti region and other parts of the state are jittery again.Though no abnormal conditions hinting at hail or dust storm have been witnessed so far, the farmers are praying to their local deities asking for favourable weather.

Sentinel Assam

India would be reaping a record harvest of foodgrains in  2016-17 with pulses being the high point of the country’s achievements in the farm output, providing a food for thought about  how  policy  interventions and reaching out to farmers can motivate them to turn things around from severe shortages to near self-sufficiency.

DNA India

Agriculture, which accounts for 15% of GDP, is expected to have a strong showing in FY17, with whole-year food grain production estimated at a record high of 272 million tonnes. Ashutosh Khajuria, Executive Director, Federal Bank, said, “With the bumper kharif crop and the expected bumper rabi crop, agriculture is going to be a big contributor to the GDP numbers. The better-than-expected GDP numbers could also be as the white economy was not impacted and the adverse impact was borne by the parallel black economy.”

Hindustan Times

In a major boost to development in the state, the World Bank has agreed to invest more than one billion dollars (more than Rs7,000 crore) in the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) III and the Climate Resilient Agriculture Project formulated for the drought-affected districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada. World Bank’s chief executive officer Kristalina Georgieva made the announcement on Tuesday. This is the highest investment by World Bank in any Indian state.

The Hindu Business Line

That drones have tremendous practical applications can no longer be disputed. Some of India’s startups are revolutionising drone applications in areas as diverse as disaster management, precision agriculture and crop insurance, mining, infrastructure projects, and land records.

Daily Excelsior

Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Abdul Rehman Veeri today said that agriculture and its allied sectors are vital for growth of rural economy and should be tapped to optimum on a sustainable basis for changing the landscape of rural areas of the State.