Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
‘Remove Agri Produce from Essential Commodities Act’edit
The idea is good but two policies cannot co-exist, meaning there cannot be simultaneous MSP for agri products if we want to remove them from the Essential Commodities Act,” DK Pant of India Ratings said. According to Pant, opening up trade of agriculture commodities to a handful of big players would also require the government to put in place a stringent checks and balances mechanism so that no hoarding and price manipulation happens.
Pulses ride up and downedit
Within a gap of just 18 months, the prices of major pulses categories have witnessed their peak and trough. The latest WPI inflation data of July’17 shows a fall of 32.56 per cent (YoY) in the overall prices of pulses. Currently, majority of the pulses, especially tur, moong and urad, still trade below their minimum support prices despite imposition of import curbs.
New urad crop arrivalsedit
Arrivals of the new urad crop started in some parts of Karnataka on Thursday last week. A total of 100-150 bags (1 bag=100 kg) arrived in Gulbarga on Thursday, unchanged from a year ago, while prices ruled at Rs 6,000-6,100 per 100 kg compared with Rs 5,500-6,000 per 100 kg a year ago, traders said. Arrivals of urad have also started in the Sedam and Chittapur regions in Gulbarga, Karnataka.
India, China jointly propose removal of US, EU farm subsidiesedit
The six industrialized countries (the EU is regarded as a single unit, although it is made up of 28 countries) are entitled to providing farm support through de minimis. In addition the US and EU provide more than $150 billion through what are called the green box subsidies that are also found to be trade-distorting.
Farm inputs sale through IFFCOedit
The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) will sell farm inputs such as fertilisers, agro-chemicals and insurance services on the government’s Common Services Centre website. Village-level aggregators will be able to place bulk orders that will be transported by IFFCO at district levels to be supplied further to villages. Products like plant growth regulators, telecom services, voice based agricultural information services can also be purchased through IFFCO’s link on the Common Services Centre website.
Doubling farmers income by 2022: Here are the whopping numbers requirededit
The prime minister, in his Independence Day speech, referred to farmers 12 times. He mentioned several specific achievements in agriculture, from soil health cards given to 9 crore farmers to enhanced crop insurance scheme, from completion of 99 projects under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana by 2019 to encouraging FDI in food-processing and handholding farmers, from supply of inputs to marketing of produce.
AAP to launch campaign for national policy on agricultureedit
Mr. Sisodia, who holds the Education portfolio, said that along with the agriculture sector, the education sector needs to be strengthened. The Delhi Government has led by example by spending 25 % of the total budgetary allocation on education. As a result, government-run schools have been empowered by providing necessary infrastructure and trained teachers.
Technology in Agriculture
Meghwal asks farmers to maximise use of modern agri equipmentedit
To help farmers increase their income, the government will also provide modern agricultural equipment as well as provide fertilisers and other facilities, the Union Minister of State for Finance said while addressing farmers at a fair organised by Marudhara Rural Bank in Chomu today. On this occasion, Meghwal distributed a loan of Rs 2 crore to the cultivators under the Mrida Scheme. He announced that soon a new technology will be unveiled which will result into increased agriculture production. He said that loan disbursal process will be simplified for the farmers and the government will provide urea as per convenience of the cultivators.