Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
State govt working on model to unburden agricultureedit
The state government is working on an economic model to bring down the dependence of people on agriculture for their sustenance by providing alternative modes of employment. At present, 50 per cent population is dependent on the agriculture sector in the state. It has become inevitable to explore avenues beyond the conventional agriculture practices to bridge the gap between dependence on agriculture sector and shrinking employment capability, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday.
Farmers take to FB to curb stubble burningedit
With the governments of Punjab and Haryana struggling to end stubble burning in their states, some farmers have taken to social media to suggest ways to manage the menace effectively ahead of paddy harvest. While farmers are reluctant to adopt new technologies, young and tech-savvy farmers are posting videos and pictures of machines and techniques to clear the stubble without starting fires.
Crop colonies a fillip to farm sector: Pocharamedit
Crop colonies will be developed in the State to make agriculture a profitable sector, said Minister for Agriculture Pocharam Srinivas Reddy here on Saturday. After inaugurating a twoday conference on ‘Rejuvenate Indian Agriculture for Sustainability’ at Indian Institute of Rice Research in Rajendranagar, he declared that the idea of crop colonies was initiated by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and he was committed to it.
Tamil Nadu plans to use drones to monitor, assess damage to cropsedit
The project will be monitored and executed by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), which carried out a pilot project at a tea estate in Munnar, Kerala, last year. So far, satellite imageries were used to monitor large areas. Drones with sensors (to capture visual and thermal data) can be used for location-specific monitoring, explains Dr S Pazhanivelan, head of the department of Remote Sensing and GIS at TNAU.
‘Millet consumption on the decline’edit
A steady decline in consumption of millets was a matter of growing concern, said speakers at the eighth edition of Madurai Symposium here on Friday. Entrepreneurs, farmers and scholars discussed emerging trends in processing and value addition of millets. Speaking to The Hindu, M. Karthikeyan, Programme Leader of Rainfed Farming Development at DHAN Foundation, said millet industry faced three problems low production, difficulties in processing, and lack of popularity among general public.
Increase the area of millet cultivation, say expertsedit
To mainstream small millets in regular diets, DHAN Foundation implements an action research project titled “Scaling Up Small Millet Post-harvest and Nutritious Food Products Project”, in partnership with McGill University, Canada, and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, with the support of International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) through Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF).
Art’s port of callingedit
The industry introduced pesticide first, which contaminated the natural soil and then introduced genetically modified seeds to counter the situation, which was a simple business model for profit-making which farmers also got used to and then completely abandoned the traditional practice. I was fortunate to learn about it in my childhood, which has come into my art practice and I wish to carry on with this legacy by meeting several farmers who are also reviving this technique.”