Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Commodity options to help farmers, investorsedit
With Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) setting the stage for launch of commodity options, market participants are excited about this new product offering, which has the potential to change the landscape of exchange traded commodity markets. Till date, the only instrument available for commodity price risk management is futures.
New safflower strains promise same benefits as olive oiledit
“Scientists in the US have been able to increase oleic content in salower through genetic modification, but that may not be a preferred mode as India is yet to approve any GM food crop,” the scientist said.
Dow, DuPont get China’s conditional approval for mergeredit
DuPont and the Dow Chemical Company have got conditional regulatory approval of their proposed merger of equals from China’s Ministry of Commerce. The approval is conditional on the two fulfilling their commitments in connection with the clearance. The two companies have been seeking regulatory clearances around the world for the proposed merger.
Kaveri Seed’s valuations may be ignoring industry risksedit
The change in the mix can benefit Kaveri as the company derives three-fifth of its revenues from cotton seeds. It has a wide reach and products with good brand recall. “Kaveri is likely to gain market share on the back of new product launches such as ‘Money Maker’ which has got encouraging results during trial last year. Jadoo and ATM are also expected to see good demand,” Emkay added.
Australia interested in assisting Haryana in agricultureedit
Australia today evinced keen interest in assisting Haryana in technology transfer for best practices in agriculture, silo technology for food storage, fisheries and animal husbandry. This was informed by Australian High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu who met state Agriculture and Farmers? Welfare Minister Om Prakash Dhankar here.
Crop fires reduced, Delhi’s air quality better this yearedit
5 lakh hectares in Punjab and state expects a bumper harvest this year. The state pollution control board, agriculture department and the districts are keeping a watch over burning of straw through remote sensing. Nearly 200 farmers have been fined in various districts till May 3. On Thursday, seven farmers were fined Rs 17,500 for burning straw in Muktsar district.
Defer development plan debate, Uddhav Thackeray tells Sena corporatorsedit
The Sena chief also expressed concerns about security as vehicles entering the city would no longer be checked after octroi is scrapped. In the wake of opposition parties’ state-wide campaign seeking farm loan waiver, Uddhav asked party legislators to assess problems of farmers in 46 Assembly constituencies of Marathwada region, the source said.
Efforts on to produce quality basmati riceedit
The Agricultural And Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is making all efforts to ensure production of export-compliant basmati rice in the country, according to a senior official from the body. It will be working closely with the governments of seven states that produce basmati rice and run awareness campaigns among the rice farmers for selective use of pesticides in cultivation, keeping in view the target market.
Maha farmers suffer, politicians tour Australia, New Zealand and Singapore to study agricultureedit
A 16-member delegation, including two ministers, legislators and presiding officers of the Maharashtra legislature left for a 14-day study tour of Australia, New Zealand and Singapore on Sunday. On the agenda: A visit to local parliaments and studying their laws on farm loans. The delegation, comprising state agriculture minister Pandurang Fundkar, food and civil supplies minister Girish Bapat and his wife, chairman and deputy chairman of the legislative council Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar and Manikrao Thakre respectively, speaker of the Assembly Haribhau Bagde and four MLAs from the state legislative council.
Agricultural income may increase in farmingedit
The state of Madhya Pradesh (MP) saw a 30 per cent increase in agricultural output last year. While it came on the back of two weak years, since 2008 the annualised growth has been 20 per cent (a remarkable 10 per cent a year in real terms). Agriculture has now increased to 38 per cent of its total output, versus 17 per cent (and falling) for India on average. The state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) did not see much of a slowdown in its agricultural output even during the drought years:
Not just farm, sectors like dairy, poultry, FMCG also facing muted growthedit
Rural economy in many parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh has been affected with distress in the farm sector impacting allied sectors such as dairy and poultry, wherein deteriorated spending led to pressure on farm inputs, mechanisation, FMCG, automobile and lending. Analysts and sectoral observers say the consecutive near-drought conditions in the two Telugu-speaking states, which contribute to a major share of businesses, are responsible for the subdued and muted growth in man .
If NITI being anti-national we could do with moreedit
In this sector, it is NITI’s suggestion that price control on seeds be done away with in order to encourage seed R&D that has upset SIM, as has the one on how GM technology must be encouraged given its potential to raise yields and to come up with solutions for flood/ drought/ saline/high-temperatures that will increasingly be the norm. Sadly, NITI seems to have fallen for urban legend on seed companies ripping off farmers, so it recommends “limiting GM seeds to those varieties discovered by our own institutions and companies”.
Krishi Kranti Raths benefit over 7 lakh farmers in first 12 daysedit
Two Krishi Vigyan Melas and 62 block level seminars were organised in the first 12 days of Krishi Mahotsav. Information on various techniques, new farming methods, new seeds, agriculture equipments, balanced fertiliser, agriculture produces, change in crops cycle, agriculture forestry, less input cost in agriculture, organic farming, horticulture crops etc. were provided to over 7.2 lakh farmers in 13,082 gram panchayats by agriculture experts, progressive farmers and officers.
Cut corporate tax to 18%, remove all incentives: CIIedit
Broadly backing NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy and Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, new CII president Shobana Kamineni has batted for taxation of agricultural income above a certain threshold, but also pitched for steps including cutting corporate income tax to 18% along with removal of all incentives, to help India achieve a 10%plus GDP growth by 2019-20.
Sena on a mission to appease Maha farmersedit
Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray has deferred his summer vacation and will instead reach out to farmers from across the state. In a clear indication that the Sena is now going rural to cash in on the anti-government sentiment in the farming community, Uddhav will embark on a tour of Marathwada from May 6 to reach out to farmers. While the Sena is known to be a largely urban party, as most of its ministers and key leaders belong to cities, the party is now looking to increase its footprint in rural areas in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.
Agriculture policy Gaps leading to crash in crop pricesedit
Agricultural commodities are witnessing a slide in A prices in recent days. It is important to appreciate that there are many factors responsible for suppressed prices. I still consider this to be a short-to medium-term phenomenon.
West Bengal starts organic farming activities across the stateedit
The food processing industries and horticulture department has asked the rural agricultural farms to begin organic farming and assured them of technical assistance as well as help in promotion and marketing. The department will supply greenhouses and pack houses along with organic fertilizers. It will also provide cars to ferry those farm products to the markets.
Praj Industries commences 2G smart bio-refinery for ethanoledit
Praj Industries, the global process solutions company, on Thursday said it has commenced its first integrated second generation technology (2G) smart bio-refinery to produce ethanol from agri-waste in Gujarat. The 2G demo plant produces ethanol by processing a variety of agri-residue like rice and wheat straw, cotton stalk, bagasse, cane trash, corn cobs and stover, into ethanol, with superior product yields, the company said in a statement issued here.
Biotech/GM Crops Surge to a New Peak of 185.1 Million Hectares in 2016edit
Today, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) released its annual report showcasing the 110-fold increase in adoption rate of biotech crops globally in just 21 years of commercialization – growing from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 185.1 million hectares in 2016. ISAAA’s report, “Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2016,” continues to demonstrate the long-standing benefits of biotech crops for farmers in developing and industrialized countries, as well as consumer benefits of recently approved and commercialized varieties.
PAU inks pact with Chhattisgarh firm for hybrid veggiesedit
Under this agreement, the product would be labelled as “the hybrids developed by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and seed produced and marketed by VNR Seeds Pvt. Ltd,” he informed. A S Dhatt, head, department of vegetable science, said the dark purple colour brinjal hybrid is good for bartha making.