Web India 123

Cultivation in 1.54 lakh hectare land in six districts was affected due to thunderstorms in the past few weeks. The state Agriculture department has carried out a study to assess the loss and the preliminary report in this connection was submitted to the department. The final report in this connection will be submitted within a week in which details of the monetary loss due to the natural calamity in agriculture will be mentioned. In the preliminary report it has been mentioned that agriculture in 64 blocks and 1,953 mouzas was affected due to thundershowers and rainfall.

Fianncial Express 

The Securities And Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) decision to allow options trading in commodity derivatives comes as a shot in the arm for farmers, who can now look to a wider portfolio of derivatives to hedge risks in their produce better. Although detailed guidelines are yet to be out, market participants say even the cost of trading in commodity options (both farm and non-farm items) will likely be only a fraction of that for trading in futures.

The Hans India

The horticulture plantations are giving long-term dividends to the farmers and also standard and guaranteed income to the farmers. Now, the entire village farmers, who installed drip irrigation systems, have taken to horticulture plantations. Sridhar earned Rs 22 lakh net profit in one single crop year prompting other farmers to follow the footsteps of Sridhar. The horticulture plantations are being raised in an extent of 7,344 hectares under drip irrigation systems.

Live mint

Idukki district, which includes Munnar, tops the state’s districts in forest cover (3,770 sq km) and Devikulam accounts for more than one-third of this. There are three national parks in the area, and three rivers originate here. The remote sensing data also shows a massive increase in areas under plantations, agriculture and urban settlements while substantial reduction in open areas in Munnar. The data substantiates official reports of rampant encroachment that has facilitated the emergence of Munnar as a top tourist destination—the single biggest reason for the degradation of the region’s biodiversity.

Financial Express

While distancing itself from Debroy’s comments — “the eventual answer…is also to tax the rural sector, including agricultural income” — the NITI Aayog had issued a press release saying “this is neither the view of the Aayog nor is such a recommendation made anywhere in the Draft Action Agenda document”.

The Economic Times

Haryana chief minister, Manohar Lal said that farmers insured under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana were provided compensation for not only crop loss due to natural calamity, but also for low yield. The chief minister said that it was for the first time that the farmers were also getting compensation for low yield. He also gave away cheques amounting to Rs 61,30,584 as compensation to 27 farmers of different districts of the State for Kharif-2016 under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana here today

Business Standard

Government-owned food grains procurement agency, Food Corporation of India (FCI), has suspended purchase of pulses from farmers under the minimum support price (MSP) operations for the current season.

Business Standard

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has suspended the purchase of pulses from farmers under the minimum support price (MSP) operations for the current season after “surpassing” the procurement target set by the ministry of consumer affairs. The government-owned food grains procurement agency says it is now looking at mechanisms to dispose of its stock.

Zeebiz

Even if one has to club income from farming, livestock, nonfarm business, wages and salary, total annual income of farm households with land holdings of 4 to 10 hectare would be only Rs 2.34 lakh -lower than Rs 2.51 lakh which is the lowest earning limit to pay income tax. Those 0.39% farmers with average land holding of 15 hectare would earn marginally more than Rs 4.28 lakh, at Rs 4.52 lakh in 2012-13.

Financial Chronicle

From being a net importer of urea, India is all set to become a major exporter of the fertiliser by 2021. The government on Thursday unveiled a Rs 55,500 crore plan aimed at reviving mothballed fertiliser units and setting up of gas import and pipeline network connecting eastern India to the national gas grid. India produced 24.5 million tonnes (mt) of urea in 2016-17, while the annual domestic demand stood around 32 mt, making the country import the balance requirement.

Business Standard

India and Cyprus today identified areas of work in the agricultural sector to be rolled out in the current fiscal as per the bilateral pact signed already between the two nations. The work plan was finalised and inked in a meeting between Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Cyprus Agriculture Minister Nicos Kouyialis here, an official statement said.

Web India 123

Poland today concluded an agreement for cooperation in agriculture benefitting from each other’s experience in agriculture. This was among a number of agreements signed in the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari, Minister of State for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Giriraj Singh and their Polish counterparts.

The New Indian Express

The district administration has decided to supply 37,809 quintals of paddy and 2,268 quintals of non-paddy seeds through Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) to the farmers. The Odisha State Seeds Corporation Limited (OSSC) will produce quality paddy seeds in 1,490 ha under Seed Village Programme.

The Hindu

In the wake of consecutive droughts in the State, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development’s Karnataka Regional Office, has decided to launch the ‘Save Water’ campaign’ in seven waterstressed districts — Kolar, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, and Bagalkot — before the onset of monsoon.

The Times of India

Official think tank Niti Aayog is pushing for a legislature to allow direct buying of agriculture produce from farmers, a move meant to help farmers and buyers fetch better prices and do away with middlemen. The model Agriculture Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2017, prepared by agriculture ministry in consultation with Niti Aayog, provides for making entire state’s designated area for farmers to sell their produce, single trader licence, single levy of taxes, and electronic auctioning of crop produce.

The Hindu Business Line

The sectors include education, health, agriculture, rural development, defence, railways, roads and other categories of capital expenditure. Investments in machinery, fertiliser and steel have been named sectors that crowd out investments in activities such as railways, ports, irrigation, power and digital connectivity.

The Hindu Business Line

It is becoming increasingly clear that the Central government has no clear plan to address the problem of low prices faced by pulse growers, especially tur/arhar or pigeon pea growers in States like Maharashtra and Karnataka. The growers’ widespread disappointment over the poor policy responses and tardy procurement can potentially cause New Delhi acute embarrassment in the upcoming kharif season.

The Indian Express

While 960 small farmers would be benefited by the scheme as many as 5,911 farmers coming under “other categories” would be the other beneficiaries. The financial implication for the government as a result of supply of free power to farmers has been estimated at Rs.1.95 crore during the current fiscal, the notification said.

The Hans India

India supports 15% of the world’s population but possesses only 4 per cent of the world’s water resources. World Bank data shows that only 35 per cent of India’s agricultural land is irrigated – defined as the artificial application of water to land or soil. This means that 65 per cent of farming depends on rainfall. Successive Indian governments have done little to conserve water for off-season use.

Bloomberg Markets

The German company is primarily interested in the crop-care assets that Bayer AG is divesting as part of its deal for Monsanto Co., said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. Having remained on the sidelines of the large-scale mergers and acquisitions that have swept across the agrochemical industry, BASF Chief Executive Officer Kurt Bock is in pole position to pounce on the billions of dollars of crop-care assets that Bayer and others are being forced sell to meet antitrust regulator demands.

Reuters

German drugs and pesticides maker Bayer, which is seeking to complete its $66 billion takeover U.S. seeds giant Monsanto, received another boost to quarterly earnings from its best-selling stroke-prevention pill Xarelto.

The Hindu Business Line

A pilot project on direct benefit transfer of fertiliser subsidies has thrown up mixed results and unexpected challenges, which may force the Centreto either delay its targeted rollout date from June or implement it in phases. Sources familiar with the development said that while the pilot study has shown favourable results, there has been difficulty in authenticating fingerprints of farmers on the point of sale (PoS) machine and transaction times have been longer.

The Times of India

Banana and turmeric are long-term crops that require more water and so does tomato to give a good yield. Thus, many farmers have turned to vegetables like onions, chillies and lady’s finger which are less fleshy and require less water,” said Ramakrishnan.

The Wire

Drought management is the main concern in government agriculture departments, NGOs and farmers groups in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The three states are under severe drought and farmers under distress with declining productivity. The delta region, often called the “rice bowl of Tamil Nadu,” is trying to grapple with the situation. In the last ten years, drought has become more common than floods, but has been managed with little success. No scientific data, government steps or research has been able to help farmers overcome drought.

Currently, 3750 hectares have been certified organic and 1000 hectares more are in the final stages of conversions with crops such as large cardamom, ginger, turmeric, pineapple, and vegetables etc. The crops have high market value offering ample scope for development of organic farming in the state, he said. The challenge now, he said, is to identify crops which are in high demand in the organic market and intensify cultivation under organic farming to increase their production to meet the demand of the market; it is also to ensure that farmers earn premium prices for their organic produce.