Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Radhamohan Singh faces irate farmers in Nagpuredit
Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh had to face farmers’ protest during his visit to Nagpur on Sunday to inaugurate a refurbished milk processing unit of Mother Dairy. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari were also present. A group of farmers shouted slogans during Mr. Singh’s speech at Deshpande Hall. One farmer asked him to stop his speech and demanded that the 7/12 receipts of Maharashtra farmers should be cleared and a proper price should be set for milk. The farmers received support and applause from the audience.
Pocharam distributes subsidised soybean seeds to farmersedit
Mr Srinivas Reddy on Sunday distributed the subsidized soybean seeds at Jakora village of Varni mandal. The Minister said that the Agriculture Department had distributed the required seeds to each and every village to fulfill the needs of farmers. Earlier, the farmers faced problems to purchase seeds and fertilizers, formed long queues, waited for week to purchase seeds and fertilizers, but now the Telangana government had introduced reforms, stabilized the situation and was providing the required inputs on time.
Kharif crop faces many risksedit
A day after the south-west monsoon hit the Kerala coast on May 30, the Union Ministry of Agriculture quietly uploaded the production target for kharif 2017-18 crops on its website. To be sure, the Minimum Support Price for the kharif crops is yet to be announced (as of June 1). Rice, coarse cereals (mainly maize), pulses (mainly tur/arhar or pigeon pea), oilseeds (mainly soyabean, groundnut) and cotton are the most important kharif season crops. Sugarcane, a 11-12 month crop, is also harvested at the end of the season.
‘If Agriculture Goes Wrong, Nothing Else Will Go Right’edit
Keeping in mind that more than half of the Indian population depends on agriculture but the share of agriculture in GDP is nowhere near expectation, in 2002 the then National Democratic Alliance Government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee called upon MS Swaminathan, an agriculture expert, to file a report for the improvement of farmers’ condition in India.
Declare agriculture as a public serviceedit
Even as the Kisan Kranti Jan Andolan Samiti announced on Saturday that it was calling off the farmers’ strike, some disparate farmers’ organisations have decided to persist with the strike and also called for Maharashtra bandh on Monday, 5 June. The Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha announced on Sunday that it would continue an indefinite farmers’ strike and also observe Maharashtra bandh on June 5.
Circle rates of agricultural land to be based on locationedit
Earlier, the government had tried to divide agriculture land into land pooling policy zones and non-land pooling policy zones. In August 2016, the AAP government had issued a notification raising the circle rates of agriculture land from Rs 53 lakh per acre to Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore per acre, in villages where the land pooling policy had been approved.
Centre committed to farmers’ welfare: Radha Mohan Singhedit
Over a thousand farmers were mobilized for the function to inaugurate Mother Dairy’s taking over of government milk scheme plant at Nagpur. “Till now, the industry could not flourish on account of vested interests. Politicians have their own dairy farms whose interests had to be protected,” he said
The Farmer’s Riddleedit
AgroStar, which sells products from brands including Dow Chemicals, UPL and Monsanto, is now busy building a lighter app in other regional languages besides the three it is available in. Sheth says farmers who have smartphones now have at least one agri-app on their phones as an essential.
Donald Trump withdraws from Paris accord: Top executives slam decision, say climate change is realedit
Hundreds of companies had lobbied the Trump administration to remain in the agreement. Apple, Starbucks, Gap, Nike, Adidas, L’Oreal and Monsanto all voiced their support for the Paris deal. Even oil companies like ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) gave their backing, reports CNN.
Honey exports likely to be impacted due to GM mustardedit
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Presently, the US and Europe ask for non-GM labelled honey, for which samples are tested in two private testing agencies in Germany and thereafter the shipments are undertaken. Even, testing costs are also high, he added. Echoing the views, Shiv Gramodyog Sansthan Secretary Devrat Sharma said about 50 kg honey is produced by honey bees from desi mustard crop, while it is only 25 kg from hybrid mustard crop due to reduction in the flowering period.