Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
How these agri-startups are helping farmers battle drought and povertyedit
Farmers suicide, droughts, debt, crop failure, and poverty— these words echo the massive scale of problems faced by the agrarian community in India. However, technological innovations, agriculture startups and aggregators, primarily driven by the youth, have helped the farmer community to mitigate some of these challenges.
Farm debt crisis: 70% of agricultural families spend more than they earnedit
Business Standard Hindustan Times
Nearly 70% of India’s 90 million agricultural households spend more than they earn on average each month, pushing them towards debt, which is now the primary reason in more than half of all suicides by farmers nationwide, according to an India Spend analysis of various government data.
Rice traders launch campaign to educate farmers on pesticidesedit
According to a commerce ministry official, “Only those pesticides should be used by farmers which are recommended by the state agriculture universities for application on paddy crop. In addition, the correct dose of the recommended pesticide.” The official said the country is largest exporter of rice in the world since last five years. “However, export of rice has faced problems in last few years in different markets like USA, EU and Iran due to detection of residues of pesticides exceeding prescribed MRL,” he noted.
We can’t afford to lose farmersedit
The bulk of the so-called agricultural subsidies go to fertiliser companies so that they produce and sell fertilisers at cheap rates to farmers. The rest of the food subsidy, if we can call it that, is the purchase of food for distribution. So, there is an extremely unequal playing field out there. It needs to be understood. It is time we talked about the real cost of our food, about how to benefit the farmers who grow our food.
Agriculture secretary inspects work under ‘kuruvai’ packageedit
At Kodangudi village in Mayiladuthurai Union, he inspected the fields where mechanised transplanting was already carried out and where the crops were in good condition. Mr. Bedi visited the fields of a farmer P. Kalyanam at Arupathy village in Sembanarkoil Union. He instructed the officials to expedite the works on constructing an agricultural extension centre at Thirukkadaiyur. He also gave away benefits to 40 farmers under the special kuruvai package during the visit.
Greenhouse scheme of government has failed, say farmersedit
Traders fret over government move to credit tax only on stock less than 1-yr old NDA has disappointed people on agriculture front as well: Mani Shankar Aiyar Haryana farmers to gherao Niti Aayog office on July 3 Greenhouse Farmer Association (GFA), a registered body of more than 600 greenhouse farmers in Gujarat, Tuesday alleged that the Greenhouse scheme of Gujarat government has failed due to lack of prior planning and has left hundreds of farmers in debt.
GST rates: Punjab’s pesticide dealers shut shop in protestedit
To protest the proposed ‘high GST rates’ on fertilisers and pesticides in the country, fertilisers and pesticide dealers in Punjab on Tuesday kept their shops closed. They also submitted memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through their respective Deputy Commissioners, demanding repeal of the decision in the interests of dealers and farmers alike.
Innovative schemes will pay for loan waiver: Fadnavisedit
He said the government has already borrowed money to finance several other development works. Mr. Fadnavis was speaking to a delegation of farmers from around 40 villages, including Puntambe in Ahmednagar district, which had turned out to be the nerve centre of the farmers’ agitation earlier this month. The delegation met him at the Sahyadri guest house on Tuesday afternoon.
Maharashtra to continue agri investments despite farm loan waiver burdenedit
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday that the state government will continue to make long-term investments in the farm sector to double the income of farmers in five years. Fadnavis told a delegation of farmers that the state government had already invested around Rs18,000 crore in the farm sector in two-and-a-half years to expand irrigation network, crop insurance coverage, and establish market-linkages for farm produce.
State hits jackpot with the humble jackfruitedit
Agricultural scientists from Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR) at Hesaraghatta have certified jackfruit as perhaps the only vegetable free from pesticides, triggering huge demand for the fruit. As a result, villages around Toobagere near Doddaballapur and Dobspet have witnessed large-scale jackfruit plantation. Noted agriculture activist Sri Padre told BM that of late people began to understand the importance of jackfruit. ICAR-IIHR had organised two-day interaction of scientists, farmers and general public about jackfruit.
Cotton crop in top grower seen at three-year high on local priceedit
Business Standard Bloomberg Quint
Cotton output in India, the world’s biggest grower, may increase to a three-year high as some farmers plant more of the fiber on better returns compared to other crops. Production will probably climb to 37.5 million to 38 million bales in the harvesting season starting October 1, from 34.1 million bales a year earlier if the monsoon is normal in main growing areas, said Nayan Mirani, president of the Cotton Association of India.
Biased and one-sided coverage on GM cropsedit
The single objective appears to be to support Monsanto, an MNC with deep pockets, and target M Prabhakar Rao, the chairman & managing director of Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd (NSL), who opposed Monsanto’s monopolistic business practices, and also levelling upon him personal aspersions in the ongoing legal matter, which is sub judice before the High Court.