Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Cotton farmers fear damage due to legal impasse in seed technology rowedit
Following representations by cotton farmers claiming Monsanto charged different seed prices across states, the government issued the Cotton Seeds Price (Control) Order, 2015, under the Essential Commodities Act to fix seed prices based on the “trait value” along with a patent fee for the developer.
‘A farmer should know the price he will get at the time of sowing’edit
A fundamental transition is happening from a production-led agriculture to demand-driven agriculture. Agriculture in the past primarily catered to shortages — because there’s not enough food, we need to produce more. We’re in a transition to a multi-consumer segment based, demand-driven agriculture.
Dry spell in state may affect crops on 20 lakh hectaresedit
“There has been an issue with sowing due to the long, dry spell and crops like soyabean, moong, tur, rice and sugarcane will be hit. Cotton which is grown on a large scale in the state will not see a lot of problems as it sustains on the moisture of the soil, but if the dry spell continues then cotton too will be affected,” said a senior official.
Maharashtra: Banks meet only 27% of kharif credit target in Q1edit
Institutional lenders have met only 27% of their total crop credit target in Maharashtra for the current kharif season, data released by the Pune-based State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) says. Of the total crop credit target of Rs 40,547 crore set for the kharif season in Maharashtra, banks have disbursed just Rs 11,034 crore to more than 1.6 million farmers in the quarter ended 30 June.
Agriculture dept uses WhatsApp to reach out to farmersedit
In a bid to help farmers stay abreast of its latest schemes, the agriculture department in Uttara Kannada has decided to leverage technology by using WhatsApp to reach out to the peasants and farmers’ associations.
ASSOCHAM seeks review of GST rates for specific agriculture inputsedit
Apex industry body ASSOCHAM has urged the union government to review GST (Goods and Services Tax) rates for select agriculture inputs like bio fertilizers, bio pesticides/bio control agents (BCA), organic manures/vermicompost/farmyard manure (FYM) and others.
New doppler weather radar commissionededit
A state-of-the-art, indigenous doppler weather radar, capable of predicting with increased accuracy weather events such as cyclone occurring in 500-km radius from Kochi, was inaugurated by Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, Forest, Environment and Climate Change, at Palluruthy in West Kochi on Wednesday.
Agricultural agencies should come together for research, development’edit
The chairman of Punjab State Farmers’ Commission, Ajay Vir Jakhar visited Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to have an overview of latest research developments at PAU on Wednesday . During his visit, Jakhar interacted with vice-chancellor Baldev Singh Dhillon and extended his support in the agricultural development of PAU. “We can make a difference,” he said.
Hindustan Times The executive members of Communist Party of India (CPI), Ludhiana, has opposed levying of goods and services tax (GST) on the agricultural inputs which would further add to the farmers’ sufferings.edit
Apart from that, other benefits given to farmers are per every acre annuity for crop loss will be paid Rs. 30,000 for dry and Rs. 50,000 for Jareebu lands for a period of 10 years. Ten percent of enhancement of annuity is assured. One time additional payment up to Rs. 1 lakh for gardens like lime, sapota, guava, amla and jasmine will be given and up to Rs. 1.50 lakh in agriculture loans has been waived for each family.
CPI members oppose GST on agricultural inputsedit
The executive members of Communist Party of India (CPI), Ludhiana, has opposed levying of goods and services tax (GST) on the agricultural inputs which would further add to the farmers’ sufferings.
Soil health card scheme in shamblesedit
The central government’s flagship soil health card scheme seems to have been detailed by shoddy implementation as some states have hired private agencies, which have employed not properly qualified people for testing the condition of the soil, a Niti Aayog study has found.
State think-tank wants to further ease loan waiver schemeedit
Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalamban Mission (VNSSM), a state government think tank on agriculture, has put forth proposals to further relax conditions of the farm loan waiver scheme. This comes after Devendra Fadnavis announced extension of the scheme to cover farmers who had defaulted on loans from April 1, 2009, to June 30, 2016, also. The earlier plan only covered defaults from April 2012 to June-end 2017.
TN farmers urge Centre to implement Swaminathan Commission reportedit
Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi had time and again assured that the right minimum support price (MSP) would be fixed for farmers’ produce on the lines of the recommendations, the NDA government had so far failed to act, Federation of Tamil Nadu Agriculturists Associations secretary, S Nallasamy said in a statement.
Cotton Prices Likely to Riseedit
Indian cotton prices, which have remained range bound for one-and-a-half months, are expected to increase by about 3% once the cotton-based yarn, fabric and textile industry, thrown out of gear post-GST, resumes work in full swing in a couple of weeks. “Cotton selling declined by about 30-40% after the new tax code came into force. We hope revival in demand after the cotton-based industry comes back to normalcy,” said a Maharashtra-based ginner, who did not want to be identified.