The Free Press Journal

Telangana, Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao successfully rolled out over 50 incentives and sops that can go a long way in making agriculture in the region flourish. This is predominantly arid regions of Telagnana (without irrigation canals and agri motor run bore well farming).

Deccan Chronicle

The state will receive rainfall slightly less than normal rainfall during the forthcoming monsoon. The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted that the state will get 732 mm between June and September, which is 97 per cent of the long period average (LPA) of 755 mm.

The Wire

In February this year, farmers of Chhani Bari village in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan staged a protest in front of the local State Bank of India (SBI) branch against the extra interest charged on their Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans.After the 58 days of protesting, interest of approximately Rs 16,52,000 was reversed in 350 KCC accounts. However, thousands of farmers of this village are still waiting to get back their hard-earned money.

The Hindu

Although water scarcity is a global issue, solutions such as rain water harvesting must be identified at the local level (Editorial – “Stress test”, May 28). In this, India is fortunate that it is not a water scarce nation. Since the world’s fresh water supply is fixed, we will have to increasingly rely on technologies of water conservation and reuse, including recycled sewage water. Currently, a minuscule part of treated water is used for industrial purposes. The aversion to using recycled water is psychological.

The Free Press Journal

Madhya Pradesh is a state investors need to be watching very carefully. During the past 12 years, the state has witnessed a blistering growth in agriculture of over 10% year-on-year. Moreover, according to the state government in its media releases, “During the last five years, the state has recorded an 18% growth in agriculture – the highest in the country.” Such growth rates are astounding indeed.

Deccan Chronicle

The state will receive rainfall slightly less than normal rainfall during the forthcoming monsoon. The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted that the state will get 732 mm between June and September, which is 97 per cent of the long period average (LPA) of 755 mm.

The Asian Age

Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Pandurang Fundkar died at a hospital here early on May 31 after suffering a cardiac arrest, a BJP office-bearer said.The 67-year old Fundkar is survived by his wife Suneeta, two sons and a daughter.”Fundkar was rushed to Somaiya Hospital in Sion late last night after he complained of uneasiness. He breathed his last there at 4.35 am today,” the party office-bearer said.

CXO Today

There’s a common misconception that farms are simple places. While that’s never particularly been the case, modern agriculture is impressively complex and technologically sophisticated, and is becoming more so with the introduction of a wide array of sensors.

Business Standard

India’s agriculture growth in the January to March quarter of 2017-18 dipped to 4.5 per cent as compared to 7.1 per cent in the same period last year despite a bumper production largely because of higher base.Though, the 4.5 per cent growth in agriculture and allied activities clocked during the fourth quarter of 2017-18 was highest in the year, but it wasn’t good enough to pull overall farm sector growth to over 4 per cent in 2017-18 full year.

The Times of India

Minister-counselor for the foreign agricultural service wing of the United States department of agriculture (USDA) Jeanne F Bailey on Tuesday said the US was keen on strenghening cultural relationship between the two countries through agricultural products.

Northeast Now

Khandu informed that an agriculture conclave was held recently, drawing experts from all over the country, to prepare such a roadmap.The Chief Minister also said the state government has clubbed the departments of agriculture and allied sectors under one ministry for proper coordination and efficiency.

Financial Express

The agriculture ministry is weighing an option to mandate the textile industry to buy cotton and jute from farmers at least at the minimum support prices (MSPs) fixed by the Centre. The move is part of the ...

UNI

The Odisha government has targeted to provide Rs 1,000 crore agriculture term loan to farmers this year, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said here today. Inaugurating an awareness campaign ”cooperative at your door step”, the chief minister said the main objective of the campaign is to sensitise people about various cooperative programmes and how to avail loan without any hassle

The New Indian Express

The Chief Minister said the Government has set a target to provide `1000 crore term loan to the farmers during the year. He directed the Cooperation department to ensure that maximum farmers, who have not taken loan, get benefit from crop insurance. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Odisha State Cooperative Bank (OSCB) for formation of joint liability group to provide loan to small farmers. The CM said each of the primary agriculture cooperative societies should form at least 10 joint liability groups.

Millennium Post

A visionary and a farmer him self, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao successfully rolled out over 50 incentives and sops that have gone a long way in making agriculture – in predominantly arid regions ( without irrigation canals and agri motor run bore well farming ) of Telagnana .

Moneycontrol

The finance ministry today clarified that renting or leasing of land by farmers for agriculture, forestry, fishing or animal husbandry is exempt from the GST.Clarifying on the applicability of GST on farmers, the ministry said support services to agriculture, forestry, fishing or animal husbandry are exempt from the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Mint

The south-west monsoon irrigates over half of India’s crop land. Its arrival marks the beginning of the cultivation of rain-fed kharif crops which are heavily dependent on the monsoon—the quantity of rainfall determines agricultural production. Early showers will help farmers start planting of major crops such as rice, soybeans, cotton and pulses. With farmers reeling under stress due to low crop prices, normal rainfall is expected to help revive the sector and alleviate rural distress.

The Hindu

Agriculture department officials have made a clarification that Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) could get involved in neera tapping if they had completed the requisite registration and consent procedures.“The FPO interested in neera tapping should first register with Coconut Development Board at Kochi in Kerala for the specific purpose and also should obtain the requisite approval for tapping neera from the Board”, explained Deputy Director of Agriculture K. Arasappan.

India Today

India has about 12 crore farmers who form nearly 25 per cent of the 48 crore workforce of the country. Along with dependent population, agricultural farms supply more than 50 per cent of voters. Farm sector has been in distress for more than a decade.

Mint

Earlier this week the agriculture ministry said that India’s production of perishable horticulture crops like fruits and vegetables touched a record 307 million tonnes in 2017-18. This is a good 27 million tonnes more than the quantity of foodgrains harvested last year.

The Economic Times

Saving farmers is the priority of his government, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said today, as he promised to honour his commitment to waive farm loans within 15 days and insisted there was “no going back” on it.

India Today

A new study has suggested 13 measures, including reducing emissions from thermal power plants and cutting use of solid fuel in households, which, it said, can reduce air pollution levels by almost 40 per cent and avoid 9 lakh premature deaths in India every year.

Bangalore Mirror

Most traders who have been allotted stalls have not moved in; the few who did are notching up huge losses. A new agricultural produce market committee (APMC) yard, opened in January in Dasanapura near Huskur (off Tumakuru road), is still to see traders shift into it.Distance from the highway and the old yard, as well as reluctance of traders to shift from Yeshwanthpur for fear of losing out to the competition have been big hurdles.

Business World

One thing is now clear. Whether a case of drought or plentiful rains,  there is farmer distress. The reasons are well known. In a drought, the farmer has nothing to sell and his total earnings fall as he does not get the benefit of higher prices due to limited crop production. In a year of good rains he is stuck with excess production and, in the absence of proper storage facilities, he is forced to unload his stock at low prices to meet his costs.  And the small farmer cannot afford storage costs. Here come the intermediaries who pocket most of the retail price received for any product. The issue is serious enough to constitute the focus ...

Business Standard

Union Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat today said farmers across the country are under pressure, one of the reasons being they are not getting the right prices for their produce.Addressing a press conference here to highlight the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in the last four years, Shekhawat said, “The country’s farmers were under pressure, and I am saying this with responsibility that to a certain extent, they are still under pressure.”

The Economic Times

The finance ministry today clarified that renting or leasing of land by farmers for agriculture, forestry, fishing or animal husbandry is exempt from the GST. Clarifying on the applicability of GST on farmers, the ministry said support services to agriculture, forestry, fishing or animal husbandry are exempt from the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

 

The Arunachal Times 

Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday said the state government is preparing a roadmap to make agriculture a profitable business for farmers.“Arunachal Pradesh is blessed with about 25 lakh hectares of cultivable land, yet only 3.6 hectares of this land are used. To exploit these potentials, the state government has made several key announcements for development of agriculture and allied sectors in the state,” the chief minister said in his address at the Northeast Kishan Morcha Samwad Baithak and Kishan Sabha here.

The Arunachal Times

Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday said the state government is preparing a roadmap to make agriculture a profitable business for farmers.“Arunachal Pradesh is blessed with about 25 lakh hectares of cultivable land, yet only 3.6 hectares of this land are used. To exploit these potentials, the state government has made several key announcements for development of agriculture and allied sectors in the state,” the chief minister said in his address at the Northeast Kishan Morcha Samwad Baithak and Kishan Sabha here.

The New Indian Express

Renting or leasing of land by farmers for agriculture, forestry, fishing or animal husbandry is exempt from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the government clarified on Monday. Support services to agriculture, forestry, fishing or animal husbandry are exempt from GST, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The Pioneer

State Congress president Kamal Nath said that it is very surprising that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who was claiming agriculture as loss making business and suggested farmers to find jobs and do business has suddenly started promising tall claims for farmers and agriculture in the election year.

The Hans India

The inclusion of landless agriculture labour in the insurance scheme exclusively for farming community is under active consideration as Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao instructed departments concerned to come out with modalities immediately. Once landless labour are included, nearly 5 lakh labourers, including the workers registered under employment guarantee scheme (MGNREGS) would be able to avail the benefits of the scheme directly.

The Tribune

Satellite images showing the highest number of stubble-burning cases in the holy city post wheat harvesting has set alarm bells ringing. As per a report of the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), between April 10 and May 22, a total of 11,005 cases of stubble burning were detected in the state, with Amritsar topping the list (1,033 cases), followed by Sangrur (950) and Ferozepur (823).

The Tribune

Reports show that there is no let-up in stubble-burning cases. As many as 11,000 cases have been reported so far which shows that stubble is a big trouble not only for farmers but also for public. The solution lies in modern technology, subsidised machines for making use of stubble. The environment needs urgent attention. This callous attitude and destruction of environment will be harmful for us only. A few days ago, the spill of molasses created havoc in the Beas which led to the killing of thousands of species of aquatic animals.

The Indian Express

Maini Devja Korda, a tribal resident of Vikrangad taluka, set out in search of work in neighbourhood agriculture land. If she managed work for eight to 12 hours, it helped her earn Rs 250. Otherwise, she would have to rely on the agriculture produce from the village farm.

The Times of India

The state’s farming community, which has been on the decline in recent years, has reason to rejoice. Innovating with space, the practice of community farming, wherein multiple members of the farming community join hands to cultivate land together, will soon get a boost.

Financial Express

In its 2014 Lok Sabha election manifesto, the BJP promised to evolve a single national agriculture market (NAM) in the country, with a view to enable farmers to get a better price and for consumers to pay a lower price for agri-produce, a win-win situation at both ends of agri-value chains. After four years, it is only legitimate to ask how far the government has moved on this front. The short answer is very little. An overwhelming majority of farmers still rely on the same broken system of markets under APMC, which is monopolistic and rent-seeking, with high commissions, especially for perishables.

The Times of India

A group of enterprising farmers in Muktsar have formed farming clubs to make agriculture more profitable by processing and marketing their produce. Now with the support from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), 40 local farmers have come together under the banner of SanjhFarmer Producer Company and have opened Sanjh store at Muktsar.

The New Indian Express

The  Centre and state government seem to be on collision course on the draft contract farming and services law, approved by the BJP-led NDA government early last week. Kerala Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar told Express several provisions in the new draft law were against farmers and alleged the law was framed to suit the multinational corporations (MNCs) and big Indian corporate houses. “We don’t think the new contract farming law would help farmers in the state.

The Indian Express

The Centre has provided maximum benefit, both in terms of policy and financial support, to Maharashtra with allocations for irrigation projects alone worth Rs 36,000 crore, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Sunday.He said the financial package to tackle the recurring drought works to Rs 8,000 crore. Whereas, allocations for railway projects for suburban Mumbai alone was Rs 40,000 crore, he added.

The Hindu

Farmers from the region have come out with a 10-point agenda for the new coalition government in the State to ensure the welfare of cultivators and mitigate agricultural distress.The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and Hasiru Sene have sought to remind the Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of his pre-election promise of a loan waiver. They sought an immediate announcement in this regard and the implementation of others measures as long-term solutions to the crisis plaguing the agricultural sector.

The Indian Express

In its 2014 Lok Sabha election manifesto, the BJP promised to evolve a single national agriculture market (NAM) in the country with a view to enable farmers to get a better price and consumers to pay a lower price for agri-produce, a win-win situation at both ends of the agri-value chain. After four years, it is only legitimate to ask how far the government has moved on this front. The short answer is very little. An overwhelming majority of farmers still relies on the same broken system of markets under the APMC, which is monopolistic and rent-seeking, with high commissions, especially for perishables.

The Telegraph

Development of suitable mechanism at gram panchayat level to provide agriculture technology and services to farmers will be a vital step to ensure quicker technology transfer for the development of agriculture and allied sectors, according to the Centre’s Department of Agricultural Research and Education secretary Trilochan Mohapatra.

The Pioneer

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that maximum attention has to be paid on agriculture for the overall development of the state. Keeping this in mind, better implementation of various schemes concerning irrigation, modern farming besides farmers’ welfare is being ensured at ground level. Chouhan was addressing farmers at MP Shreshtha Krishi Kranti programme held at Indore on Sunday.

Quint

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea filed by 38 families living in bonded labour in Madhubani district of Bihar, seeking direction for grant of ownership and possession of agricultural land for their rehabilitation.The 101 victims of the “Kamiya” bonded labour system — who have been exploited in multi-generational agricultural labour for several years — approached the court, seeking direction to the Madhubani District Magistrate to grant ownership and possession of land to them, in compliance with the Patna NHRC order of September 12, 2017.

Mint

Amidst expectations of a magical transformation of the Indian economy, the Narendra Modi government took over the reins in May 2014. During the election campaign, people were led to believe that the Gujarat model of agricultural development, which delivered 8% growth in agriculture during fiscal years 2003-14, would be replicated in the country. Out of the government’s four years , FY15 and FY16 were affected by drought and it did well to manage the crisis. A number of welcome initiatives have been launched in the last four years, including schemes for crop insurance, irrigation, soil testing, electronic national agricultural market (e-NAM), and use of Aadhaar for the public distribution system (PDS) and purchase of fertilizer. While ...

Scroll

Its 8 am on a hot morning in May and Bala Shivaji Patil’s four-acre farm in Uplai Khurd village of Maharashtra’s Solapur district is already teeming with visitors. The 30-year-old dropped out of high school to take up farming and is now known as lakhpati shetkari, the rich farmer. He is showing his guests, many from distant places, around the farm, explaining how shewga (also known as moringa or drumstick) has brought prosperity to his six-member family. It has cost him little effort, investment and little irrigation.

The New Indian Express

Insurance companies have struck gold with the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) — the ambitious crop insurance scheme meant to help the distressed farmers in the country.While insurance companies earned a gross premium of Rs 22,180 crore, they paid out only about Rs 12,949 crore as claims to the farmers, according to the Ministry of Agriculture’s data for last year.

The Hindu

The Rythu Bandhu scheme will, in all probability, result in increased area coming under cotton and soyabean cultivation which will also mean more area under redgram as it is an intercrop. Agriculture experts are of the opinion that the increase, to whatever extent it is, would be seen more in the Agency and backward areas of Adilabad and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts where individual farmers would bring under cultivation some extent of their fallow lands.

The Times of India

Despite the tough stance adopted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), various courts and persistent efforts being put in by state agencies to curtail crop residue burning, the Punjab farmers are still continuing with the practice. Last year, a total of 13,441 instances of stubble burning during the wheat harvest had been detected using satellite imagery, where an environmental compensation of Rs 61.47 lakhs had been imposed. This year, the state authorities have spotted 11,005 cases of stubble burning till May 22. Fresh figures are still awaited.

The Times of India

Climate change has perhaps posed the most extreme challenges that agriculture in India and across the world has to deal with today and in the future. There is now scientific consensus that the world is getting warmer due to climate change and such increasing weather variability and worsening extremes will impact the agriculture sector more and more adversely.

India Today

Horticulture production is estimated to have risen by 2.2 per cent to 307.2 million tonnes (MT) during 2017-18, according to agriculture ministry.Fruits output is estimated to be 2 per cent higher at 94.4 million tonnes, while the production of vegetables is up 2.2 per cent at about 182 million tonnes in 2017-18 as against the previous year, an official statement said today.

UNI

Raising their concern over increasing number of farmer suicides and other agriculture related problems, Members of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee(AIKSCC) on Monday met President Ram Nath Kovind and called on him to summon a special session of the Parliament on the serious issue.

Business Standard

Ministry of Finance has stated that there has been no change in the GST law and taxation relating to farmers since July 2017, when GST was implemented. Support services to agriculture, forestry, fishing or animal husbandry are exempt from GST.

Financial Express

The finance ministry today clarified that renting or leasing of land by farmers for agriculture, forestry, fishing or animal husbandry is exempt from the GST. Clarifying on the applicability of GST on farmers, the ministry said support services to agriculture, forestry, fishing or animal husbandry are exempt from the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The Hindu Business Line

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will implement a massive insurance scheme for farmers in Telangana. Farmers in the age group of 18 to 59 years in Telangana will get an insurance cover of ₹5 lakh. The scheme will commence on August 15.

The New Indian Express

While the entire country is seething over soaring petrol and diesel prices, farmers of Punjab and Haryana, considered the country’s food bowl, are feeling the pinch even more as cultivation costs have gone up by more than 10 per cent. “The cultivation cost of per acre of paddy is now between Rs 20,000-Rs 22,000 or Rs 2,000 per quintal, while the farmer gets a minimum support price (MSP) of only Rs 1,600 per quintal.

FirstPost

The construction of over 6,000 ‘farm pools’ by cultivators to meet the irrigation demand in Maharashtra’s drought-prone Yavatmal has set an example for other districts.With the digging of these pools, around 6,000 hectares of land will get “protected irrigation”, raising hopes of a better rabi crop, an official said.

Daily O

Maharashtra’s sugarcane crushing season has come to an end with the highest ever sugar production at 107 lakh tonne. Though the record-breaking production has left sugarcane growers and mill directors worried, it has brought joy to consumers as sugar rates have fallen from Rs 40 to Rs 38 per kilo.

Business Standard

The construction of over 6,000 ‘farm pools’ by cultivators to meet the irrigation demand in Maharashtra’s drought-prone Yavatmal has set an example for other districts.With the digging of these pools, around 6,000 hectares of land will get “protected irrigation”, raising hopes of a better rabi crop, an official said.

Free Press Journal

The centrally, located state of India, Madhya Pradesh, has over 15 million hectares of net sown area, according to data available from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). But the inability to manage price expectations and price stability has often adversely affected the farm output in post-harvest scenarios.

The Economic Times

Burning of crop stubble is on in Punjab. While it is a worry for Indian Railways now, it also means the national capital and North India should brace for dangerous levels of pollution this winter.

The Economic Times

It was 30 minutes past midnight on May 13. The railway ground staff called for an emergency shutdown of tracks beyond Mirthal station near Pathankot in Punjab. They had spotted a fire in the fields close to the tracks. The Jhelum Express, ...

Kalpan Herald

To bring down air pollution due to , Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University () has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Khanna and a Chennai company (a subsidiary of Doha-based firm Messrs Neway Renewable Energy Private Limited) to convert paddy straw into enriched fodder pellets for cattle. Approximately 20 million tonnes of paddy straw is generated in Punjab every year of which only two million tonnes is used as fodder for cattle, fuel and for making cardboard. Most of the remaining quantity is burnt, leading to air, soil and water pollution, ap

Millennium Post

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has failed on multiple fronts, including agriculture and foreign policy but delivered best in self-promotion.

The Wire

How successful, effective and equitable is insurance as a state policy? Does it address what it is meant to address in the first place, be it in health or agriculture? How does it handle systemic risk, which is essentially uninsurable? Does it also present a lost opportunity for improving the delivery of the existing system, which in turn would have mitigated or reduced the risk?

ANI

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh has met Carola Schouten, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Netherlands in Krishi Bhawan and expressed his desire to further strengthen the existing partnership between the two countries in agriculture and allied sectors.

Millennium Post

If the income of the farmers has to be doubled, the agricultural growth in the country has to be export-driven. There is considerable merit in exporting all the leftover that is not consumed in India, allowing the farmers to earn a higher income for the same. Some farmers have started growing and exporting flowers and allied products, for which they have found a good number of buyers in the USA, Japan and Germany. Similarly, our fruits are being bought by Netherlands and Japan, mangoes and grapes by Belgium, Saudi Arabia and some others. The farmers of these agriculture products have not only been able to secure a better income for themselves but have also helped the government ...

The Hindu

Minister for Agriculture Pocharam Srinivas Reddy has stated that the government is ready with required quantity of seed and fertilisers for the coming kharif season and the investment support given under Rythu Bandhu scheme should be helpful to the farming community to procure inputs without any problem.

The New Indian Express

The Ministry of Chemical and Fertilisers has directed all state governments and fertiliser companies to register all licensed/authorised Mixtures/Customised fertilizer manufacturers for the sale of subsidised fertilisers to mixture/ customised fertiliser manufacturing units under the Direct Benefit transfer (DBT) programme. The directions have also put in place elaborate guidelines to avoid misuse of subsidies.

Deccan Chronicle

Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar has cautioned against the attempts being made by some NGOs with foreign links and private individuals to protect the indigenous seed varieties.     “The state agriculture department views such attempts with suspicion,” said  Mr  Sunil Kumar here on Thursday.  He made the statement while announcing the new 23 seed varieties to be released at the Kerala Agricultural University  by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the occasion of the second anniversary of the LDF government on May 26.

The Times of India

As the Netherlands joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA) here on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutteby enhancing bilateral relations in the fields of energy, agriculture, water and technology during the latter’s second visit to India.

The Times of India

The huge stock of 8.5 lakh tonnes of groundnut procured at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 900 per 20kg has become an burden for the state government as it is finding it difficult to sell it to oil millers or in the open market.In order to resolve issues that have been pending for long, the state government and officials of the nodal agency for groundnut procurement, National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed), have organized a meeting with members of the Saurashtra Oil Millers Association (SOMA) in Gondal on Friday. The main agenda, said sources, was to convince the oil millers to purchase the huge stock for crushing.

India Today

The Netherlands government, institutions and businesses can help India deal with air pollution caused by stubble burning around the national capital, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said today.”It (stubble burning) is happening at two places bordering Delhi. It is creating lot of pollution in winters. I have mentioned in the CEOs forum that we are partnering with Dutch institutions and companies and players here…to see how we can do this,” he said here.

The Telegraph

The Agricultural Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited (Apicol), a state government undertaking, will soon launch a website to ease out the process of doing agribusiness in the state.The website, apicol.nic.in, will go live from the first week of June. It will promote enterprises in agriculture within the state with suitable guidance for project formulation, counselling, enterprise development and assistance in project implementation. Apicol is fast emerging as a promotional organisation for providing assistance to agricultural enterprises in the state.

The Arunachal Times

The act brings in all services in the agriculture value chain, including pre-production, production and post-production services, under its ambit along with contract farming activity. The act lays special emphasis on protecting the interests of the farmers, considering them as weaker of the two parties entering into a contract, the ministry states.

The Pioneer

The Uttar Pradesh Government has sanctioned Rs. 300 crore as first installment of subsidy to the UP Power Corporation (UPPCL) for ensuring power supply to private tube-wells of farmers . For this purpose, a budgetary provision of Rs. 600 crore has been made.

The Times of India

The agriculture department is gearing up to distribute soil health cards to another 67.67 lakh farmers before the end of 2018-19 fiscal and has invited farmers in Trichy district to claim them. The card offers crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilizers required for the land based on a soil test in order to help farmers improve their productivity through judicious use of inputs.

The Telegraph

Scarcity of homestead land has forced the state government to tweak its Vasundhara scheme and lower the quantum of land initially promised to the beneficiaries.Rescinding its earlier decision to give 10 decimal of homestead land to the landless poor, the government has now decided to give four decimal of land. It has also decided to simplify the procedure to ensure that more people got the benefit of the scheme without facing any hurdles.

The Economic Times

Even as the country debates the use of genetic modification technology, some cotton farmers in Maharashtra have decided to defy government directives against the use of illegally propagated herbicide-resistant cotton varieties and other GM crops like brinjal and mustard. They have called their protest an ‘Agitation for Freedom to use Technology’.

The Pioneer

The Netherlands government, institutions and businesses can help India deal with air pollution caused by stubble burning around the national capital, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said today.”It (stubble burning) is happening at two places bordering Delhi. It is creating lot of pollution in winters. I have mentioned in the CEOs forum that we are partnering with Dutch institutions and companies and players here…To see how we can do this,” he said here.

The Tribune

An MoU has been signed between Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and M/s Neway Renewable Energy (Bathinda) Private Ltd (NREBPL), a sub group of Alkindi Group Company, Doha, in Qatar, to convert paddy straw into enriched fodder pellets. The MoU was signed by Dr JPS Gill, Director Research, and Abdul Samad Melath, Chairman, NREBPL, in the presence of Dr AS Nanda, Vice-Chancellor; Dr Parkash S Brar, Dean College of Veterinary Science; Dr SK Uppal, Dean Postgraduate Studies; Dr Manju Wadhwa, Head of Department of Animal Nutrition, GADVASU: and Dr SK Siva Kumar, Director, NREBPL. The university will be looking after the research and development part.

The Tribune

Residents are feeling the pinch of rising fuel prices. Sunil Mehta, a trader, said, “Middle income group families are the worst hit due to hike in fuel prices.” He wondered why the Narendra Modi-led Central Government was in a hurry to introduce GST on almost all items barring fuel.

The Indian Express

26.3 quintals an acre or 6.5 tonnes per hectare. That’s what Bahadur Singh Jaria has harvested from 10 out of his 30 acres land planted to wheat in the recent 2017-18 rabi season. It is being described as the first time a farmer in Punjab — possibly India as well — has broken the 6.5 tonnes/hectare yield barrier in wheat; the previous highest was 6.456 tonnes recorded by a Sangrur farmer in 2013-14.

The Times of India

To bring down air pollution due to stubble burning, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Gadvasu) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Khanna and a Chennai company (a subsidiary of Doha-based firm Messrs Neway Renewable Energy Private Limited) to convert paddy straw into enriched fodder pellets for cattle

The Times of India

Farmers’ suicides has always been a pressing issue in India. And most urban middle-class families feel a sense of helplessness when confronted with the realities that their fellow countrymen face. But, today with the help of crowdfunding, techies are now stepping forward and raised up to Rs 43 lakh for ...

OHerald

Just like the Supreme Court approved the Central government’s recommendation to end the stubble burning menace in States like Punjab and Haryana, Goa’s urbanised areas are also facing the heat of foliage especially dry leaves and twigs from trees.Punjab and Haryana are spending over Rs 65 crores to curb stubble burning which is burning of the hay and dry foliage left behind after the crop is harvested.

The Telegraph

The agriculture department has, for now, stopped transaction of advance money given to 2,963 farmers for promoting organic farming.A decision to this effect was taken in a review meeting headed by department principal secretary Sudhir Kumar on Monday.

The Telegraph

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday visited the project site of Krishi Bhavan to take stock of the progress of the work that is set to open for the public by June.Sources said that the chief minister interacted with the project executor on Tuesday and inspected various portions of the building that is being constructed with state-of-the-art technology.

Mumbai Mirror

Marathwada was reeling from an acute drought when I first visited the agrarian region in 2015. I did two things on that trip. One, I went to the sugarcane belt in Beed. And two, I made a fool out of myself. In an evidently parched corner of the state, where the average rainfall is not more than 700 mm, I asked: Why are farmers cultivating miles of water-guzzling sugarcane instead of a crop that requires less water? As if they had never thought about it.

Mint

In an attempt to combat rural distress, the Union budget announced this year by finance minister Arun Jaitley promised a new deal to farmers—minimum support prices (MSP) that would be 150% of the cost of production.

The government is expected to announce the first set of support prices under the new policy in the coming weeks, just before the kharif sowing season begins. The second phase, to be rolled out in October, would ensure that MSP benefits the farmers of 23 notified crops. The details are being worked out by NITI Aayog.

Financial Express

The Centre has released a model Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion & Facilitation) Act and appealed to states to enact such a law. The model law talks about ensuring buying of entire pre-agreed quantity of the agricultural produce.

Business Standard

The government’s annual budget for fiscal year 2019 provides for support prices for agricultural produce to be increased to 50% mark-up over costs. That’s made the Reserve Bank of India and other market participants wary about the risks to food inflation.Bloomberg Economics’ agriculture input cost index shows that these concerns might be overdone.

India Today

The Delhi High Court today asked the neighbouring states of the national capital what steps they have taken to ensure prevention of stubble burning which it had earlier termed as the “main villain” behind the several pollution levels in the city and adjoining areas.

Down to Earth

To check stubble burning in Gurugram, the district administration has decided to give 80 per cent subsidy on harvesting machines.

UNI

Hundreds of farmers under the banner of J&K Kisan Tehreek on Wednesday held a protest demonstration in Srinagar against alleged anti-kisan policies by the Centre and non-serious attitude by the state government towards the agriculture sector.

The Tribune

Around Rs 72.73 crore will be waived off as a part of agricultural loan waiver scheme of the state government for 4,990 farmers.Deputy Commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha said that seven functions have been planned to make a formal announcement of the loan waiver.

The Pioneer

These farmers could not avail the benefits of Government new projects for farmers and new agricultural equipment for enhancing the yields, thanks to the failure of the agriculture officials in creating awareness and updating the farmers.

The Print

The emphasis on agriculture wasn’t a one-off. Yeddyurappa was merely echoing what the Narendra Modi government is planning to do as part of its strategy to win back farmer support ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Business Today

The Model Contract Act 2018, unveiled by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh in Delhi today brings in all services in the agriculture value chain, including pre-production, production and post-production services, under its ambit along with contract farming activity.

Times Now

The Maharashtra government’s proposed farm loan waiver that some economists termed profligate munificence, has reportedly left the state’s coffers empty. The condition is such that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is likely to approach the World Bank for aid in order to bankroll three major development schemes.

Analytics India

Reiterating his as well as his government’s stance on new technologies, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the use of artificial intelligence in sectors like agriculture.Speaking at the convocation ceremony at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology in Jammu, PM Modi said that the future of agriculture lay in AI and blockchain technology.

Nyoooz

Around Rs 72.73 crore will be waived off as a part of agricultural loan waiver scheme of the state government for 4,990 farmers. The villages were adopted under the United Nations Environment Programme being run by the Punjab Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute. He said that the department would also recommend names of these farmers for the state level awards. Deputy Commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha said that seven functions have been planned to make a formal announcement of the loan waiver. Agricultural engineer Ranbir Singh Randhawa said that atleast 17 farmers were facilitated.

Business Standard

The Pioneer

Apex industry body ASSOCHAM under the aegis of its Corporate Social Responsibility Foundation in collaboration with global consumer product company Reckitt Benckiser and Government of Punjab is launching a massive, year-long campaign aimed at raising public awareness on air pollution caused by burning crop residue in the state.

The Hindu

The small and marginal farmers are missing out on the bulk of agricultural credit, as per information provided by the Reserve Bank of India, which showed they are receiving only 30-40% of loans meant for the sector.As per a report submitted by the RBI to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture in response to its queries, only 42.2% of agricultural credit disbursed in 2016-17 went to small and marginal farmers. The report was accessed by The Hindu.

Business Standard

Come June 1, farmers in many parts of the country are planning to stop supplies of essential items like milk, vegetables and fruit in cities in protest against plummeting farm-gate prices — a phenomenon that has been a recurrent occurrence through the four years of the Narendra Modi government.

The Times of India

There has been a 15% dip in the overall production of food grains and 44% decline in the output of pulses in the state’s 2017-18 kharif season compared to the previous year, estimates show. The key reason was a long dryspell and uneven rainfall between July and September. Cotton production fell by a steep 39% mainly due to pest attack by the pink bollworm, which devastated the crop across regions.

The Free Press Journal

Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh on Friday reviewed the progress of various developmental schemes by the Centre. The schemes included Food Security Mission, Gokul Gram, RKVY, Integrated Farming, Rainfed Area Development and ENAM.

Quint

Farmers in Bihar are forced to sell wheat at Rs 1,400-1,500 per quintal even though the state government promised them of fair and remunerative prices for their crops.

The Free Press Journal

Farmers, who are often at the receiving end of unpredictable weather, will now get detailed information about the climatic conditions in their area, thus allowing them better crop management and damage prevention.This is going to be possible as the Maharashtra government has commissioned 2,060 automatic weather stations (AWS) in as many revenue circles, to provide real time weather-related information to farmers up to the village level. “The idea was to create a decentralised system that would provide accurate weather related information right up to the village level,” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told PTI.

The Economic Times

Parvathi Menon completed the Management Programme for Women Entrepreneurs from IIM Bangalore, worked with top global institutions like Bloomberg Philanthrophies and World Bank Group through her consulting practice Innovation Alchemy Consulting before deciding to take the unconventional route of becoming a farmer.

UNI

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has expressed his satisfaction for successful distribution of cheques under Rythu Bandhu scheme as well as distribution of Pattadar pass books.

The Arunachal Times

The two-day state conclave on ‘Perspective planning for resurgent agriculture & allied sectors in Arunachal Pradesh’ ended at the state assembly auditorium here this evening.Addressing the valedictory function, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that agriculture is the only base for sustainable development of the state.

Nyoooz

Nearly 400 trees were destroyed when they caught fire following stubble burning in Narot Jaimal Singh block of Pathankot district. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sanjeev Tiwari was among the first to reach the spot. We are still trying to ascertain who burnt stubble in the nearby fields. “I immediately alerted my officials and also the fire brigade personnel. It took four hours to douse the flames.

Business Today

The Maharashtra government is likely to knock at the door of World Bank again for the credit capital to fund its ambitious projects, especially after farm loan waiver dented the state’s exchequer. The Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led delegation plans to visit Washington to meet the World Bank president for seeking financial aid for agriculture and solar energy projects, reported Mumbai Mirror. According to sources, the state government is also facing financial constraints in funding projects like urban transport and smart cities.

The Northlines

While addressing farmers in a function, today, organized in community hall of village Patniyal in Sangrampur panchayat by “We The Human”, A K Verma resource person of the trust exhorted farmers to shift back to traditional system of agricultural farming, which is need of the hour and necessary for human survival and restoration of damages caused to nature and environment by excessive use of toxic chemical pesticides, insecticides and chemical synthetic fertilizers. Ecological balance of soil is badly disturbed due to excessive use of toxic chemical pesticides, insecticides & chemical synthetic fertilizers and other mal practices like burning of the roots and left over material on soil in agricultural/ paddy fields by the farmers, which not only ...

The Hindu Business Line

India is losing at least 1.5 per cent of its GDP annually as a direct consequence of extreme weather events, according to Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu.

Quoting experts, he said climate change will impact agricultural productivity with increasing severity from 2020 to the end of the century. The Centre is working with farmers to increase awareness by training knowledge intermediaries at the grassroots, lhe added.

 

The Hans India

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu suggested to Agriculture Department officials to reduce usage of fertilisers in the coming agriculture year.

1. Says the usage of fertilisers should be reduced from 204 kg per hectare to 140 kg per hectare

2. Farmers should be encouraged to store agricultural produce in godowns and cold-storage units

Deccan Chronicle

Actor Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) has demanded the Centre to affirm the implementation of the Supreme Court’s February 16 verdict on Cauvery and also called for a legislation to declare the Cauvery delta area as protected agriculture zone.

Telangana Today

The State government is left with only 606 villages yet to be covered to complete the distribution of Rythu Bandhu cheques and Pattadar Passbooks(PPB) to farmers in the State. Within nine days, the Agriculture and Revenue department officials have covered 10,047 villages out of 10,653 villages in 30 districts. The gigantic exercise was started on May 10.

The Telegraph

Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday flagged off “seed vehicles” to different districts while launching the Kharif Maha-abhiyan to spread awareness and better seeds among the state’s farmers.

The Indian Express

Fields in Haryana and Punjab are on fire again, despite extensive awareness programmes, punitive action and subsidies to farmers.The governments of both states have been recording a steady rise in agricultural stubble burning over the past three weeks, with chairperson of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, K S Panna, saying that more instances are expected to be recorded this week.

The Times of India

As stubble burning continues unabated in and around Ludhiana, there is huge jump in the pollution levels in the city as the Air quality Index (AQI) values have shot up during the last ten days and are in “poor” quality bracket. The neighbouring cities of Khanna and Mandi Gobindgarh however have better air quality than Ludhiana.

The Hindu

Thanks to rapid urbanisation, Gurugram district has witnessed a decrease of 9.9% and 29.9 % in the total agricultural cover and forest land respectively, says a recent study by an agri-insurance company on land use cover over a period of 17 years.

The Times of India

The Centre asked the Uttarakhand government to file a unified proposal after the state horticulture and agriculture departments sent individual proposals worth Rs 700 crore and Rs 600 crore respectively for horticulture development project.

Business Standard

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra today suggested all agriculture universities in the hill states to collaborate in developing new seeds and plants compatible with the changing climatic patterns in the country.Vohra was addressing the sixth convocation of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) here.

India Today

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today stressed on the need to bridge the gap between research laboratories and agriculture fields to attain optimum results in the farming sector.

Business Standard

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today said the country’s farmers should be provided with knowledge and essential resources to make farming viable and attractive.He was interacting with scientists, faculty members and research fellows at the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) here, an official release said.

Business Standard

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today stressed on the need to bridge the gap between research laboratories and agriculture fields to attain optimum results in the farming sector.Addressing the sixth convocation of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Jammu, Mufti said agricultural in the state is comparatively better compared to other states, but there is a need to look into the reasons for the sector not performing up to the expectation.

The New Indian Express

Kerala will soon envy Lakshadweep. For the process to develop the island Union territory into an agriculture destination, to boost the production of coconut and other home-grown vegetables, has been initiated.The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has drawn a detailed plan for the integrated development of agriculture in the island and also empower women by forming ‘Dweep Mahila Sangam’ similar to Kerala’s Kudumbashree.

Swarajaya

Following its failure to contain the burning in crop stubble last year during the winters, the Punjab government has got the Centre to release Rs 685 crore towards tackling the problem. The matter was confirmed by the state’s health and family welfare minister Brahm Mohindra who termed it a huge achievement.

The New Indian Express

While the Rythu Bandhu scheme might have intended to benefit the farmers of the State, quite unintentionally it has also brought smiles on the faces of some IAS officers who are now richer by several lakhs of rupees. Here is how: officials in the state who had purchased agricultural lands just as investment are also being benefited by the scheme otherwise meant only for farmers.

Moneycontrol

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today claimed the response of the Centre on the state government’s repeated requests for a debt waiver scheme had “not been encouraging” and sought its immediate attention to the farmers’ plight to “avoid any socio-economic unrest”. The chief minister urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce a one-time debt relief to ameliorate miseries of the farming community.

Mydigitalfc

After being sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka, the first thing BS Yeddyurappa (Yeddy) said was that he was committed to waiving farmers’ and weavers’ loans of up to Rs 1 lakh. Keeping this poll promise is, however, not a walk in the park for the new chief minister. Experts warn such a populist step could leave a heavy burden on state’s finances.

Nyoooz

So, stubble burning can be contained. Technology can be used to contain it because stubble can help in generating electricity. HAVE YOUR SAYDespite several warnings, farmers in Punjab are still burning their crop residue. It appears the Mohali MC authorities are least bothered to solve the problem. The Municipal Corporation is requested to take immediate measures to solve the problem.

Nyoooz

Despite a ban by the state government, the unhealthy practice of stubble burning goes on unabated in Muktsar district. Besides, a number of farmers were seen burning stubble about 5 pm in the daylight. Though the district administration has issued warnings in this regard, hardly any farmer is penalised for polluting the environment. While travelling along the Kotkapura-Muktsar-Malout-Abohar highway on Thursday, a number of fields were seen reduced to black. Meanwhile, some agriculture experts informed that this illegal practice caused loss to the fertility of soil.

The Northlines

Minister for Agriculture, Mohammad Khalil Bandh today said that bringing improvement in the economic status of farmers is the top agenda of the present government. “Department of Agriculture needs to work with full dedication to achieve the set targets as agriculture and horticulture sectors are the backbone of the economy of the state” he said while taking a detailed review of performance of the department here today.

The Hindu

Designing and implementing research programmes needs a futuristic approach, Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) Deputy Director General (Crop Science) A.K. Singh has said.He was inaugurating the meeting of the All India Coordinated Research Programmes on Biocontrol of Crop Pests hosted by the Kerala Agricultural University at Vellanikkara on Thursday. Biological control was very important in cutting down cost of cultivation and doubling income. Farmers’ income was not feasible without cutting down expenditure on chemical inputs, said Dr. Singh.

The Hindu Business Line

Sowing in the current kharif season has commenced in right earnest with an area of 54 lakh hectares (lh) brought under cultivation till Friday, according to data released by the Agriculture Ministry. A total of 55 lh was covered during the same period last year.

Business Today

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa announced a farm loan waiver soon after taking oath, a move that economists feel could cost the state dear. It’s in keeping with his party BJP’s pre-poll promise of granting waiver to farmers who had raised loans of up to Rs 1 lakh.

Business Standard

Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Dev Vrat today inaugurated the three-day farmers training camp under the Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) organised by the Agriculture department in Kangra district.

The Statesman

With continued debt stress, the number of farmers’ suicides is increasing and there is widespread resentment amongst them, said the CM, stressing the need for immediate attention to the issue by the Central government.

Financial Express

Hours after swearing-in as chief minister of Karnataka BS Yeddyurappa announced a farm loan waiver to the tune of Rs 1 lakh as his first decision. The decision was taken in the first Cabinet meeting chaired by BS Yeddyurappa even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to prove majority.

The Statesman

In order to check pollution by preventing stubble burning, Centre has sanctioned Rs 1100 Crore for three states including Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP).Disclosing this, Haryana chief secretary, DS Dhesi, said an initiative will be rolled out in Punjab, Haryana and UP for management of crop residue.

The Economic Times

Haryana Chief Secretary, DS Dhesi, said that the State Government would focus on setting up Custom Hiring Centres in the State with an investment of about Rs 25 lakh, for which modalities would soon be rolled out.

The Times of India

Punjab government will soon get Rs 395 crore from the Centre to fund its campaign against stubble burning. It will be the first instalment out of the total Rs 665 crore of financial assistance that the state will receive for straw management over the next two years.

The Pioneer

Dhanuka Agritech on Wednesday at Bhopal felicitated seven farmers of Madhya Pradesh for their continuous efforts in improving crop yield by using modern technologies.The company also discussed various approaches which can be adapted by farmers and associated communities that will help in doubling their income. Leading agriculture scientists PS Bhatnagar and SR Sharma were also present to share their ideas for increasing yield.

The Pioneer

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a dedicated Rs 5,000-crore fund to bring more land area under micro-irrigation as part of its objective to boost agriculture production and farmers income. The fund has been set up under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), which will provide this amount to States on concessional rate of interest to promote micro-irrigation, which currently has a coverage of only 10 million hectares as against the potential of 70 million hectares.

Telangana Today

The State government has commissioned the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to conduct an impact study on the prestigious Rythu Bandhu scheme being implemented for farmers in the State.Sources in the Agriculture department told Telangana Today that the government was keen on not only assessing the impact of the unique programme on the farm sector and the lives of farmers but also getting feedback on the merits and demerits of the scheme

The Economic Times

India raised its estimate on food-grain production for the ongoing crop year ending June, with normal rains last monsoon season boosting the output of wheat, rice, coarse cereals and pulses.

The Hindu Business Line

How important is rainfall in affecting agricultural output? In spite of various developments that have taken place in the field of agriculture, dependence on monsoon continues. Over the long run, agricultural production is influenced by a variety of factors which include technological changes, extension of irrigation, availability of credit and land reforms.

The Indian express

The state government on Wednesday gave its nod to fill up over 36,000 vacant posts, to enforce reforms in the agriculture sector across rural Maharashtra in order to uplift the livelihood and income of farmers. All the crucial departments, which are related to agriculture and rural schemes, have been accorded higher priority in providing additional manpower to effectively enforce the agriculture, irrigation and rural development plans across 40,913 villages in Maharashtra.

The Indian Express

While Chandigarh has been ranked the third cleanest city in the country in the Swachh survey, a study by scientists of the Department of Environment has found that ambient air quality in Chandigarh in 2017 was the worst it had been since 2007 at specific locations. The study, commissioned by the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee, identified vehicular pollution due to increasing number of vehicles as the main culprit.

Nyoooz

Despite strict ban imposed by the state government on burning wheat stubble and repeated appeals by the administration, government and non-governmental organisations the practice continues unabated in fields of the area. Meanwhile, the Ludhiana DC was not available for his comments despite repeated attempts to contact him. Even the warning issued by the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner (DC), Pradeep Agrawal, to farmers to not burn wheat stubble, has not yielded desired results. But a majority of them have been opting to burn the wheat stubble in order to prepare their fields for the cultivation of the next crop. With harvesting of wheat almost complete, farmers are busy preparing their fields for cultivating the next crop.

The Wire

It makes sense, then, that many donors, national governments and civil society groups believerebalancing asset and land ownership in favour of women will greatly empower women. The argument is that increasing women’s access, control and ownership of land will lead to stronger bargaining power and higher incomes. It is also posited as a way to strengthen women’s “voice” within households and communities.

Daily Excelsior

In the past nearly two decades condition of farmers in India has been deteriorating fast. According to a rough estimate, nearly 3 lakh farmers have committed suicide so far. For many years farmers’ suicides have been increasing constantly. Government was not publishing data on farmers’ suicides for the last two years. Sometime back Government has published data on farmers’ suicides for the year 2016, according to which number of farmers committing suicide in 2016 is less than this number in 2015. However, some experts don’t believe this number to be real. Plight of farmers is also reflected from the fact that share of agriculture which used to be 25 percent GDP in 1990-91, has dipped down to ...

Telangana Today

Information Technology Minister KT Rama Rao said that Telangana State will be bringing in a new wave of green revolution in the country by introducing innovative schemes in agriculture sector for the welfare of farmers

Nyoooz

The burning of waste heaps is witnessed throughout the year and the government should wake up,” said Savita Mehendru, a homemaker. Garbage heaps at public places and near government offices are often set on fire to get rid of them. Locals demand implementation of ban on setting trash ablazeTribune News ServiceAmritsar, May 15The district administration has registered cases against at least five farmers for burning crop stubble, but the practice of burning garbage in the city has been going on unabated for years. “Employees of garbage collection teams dump the waste near Ranjit Avenue. Residents said the waste collected from the city should only be disposed of at the designated dumping places.

The Times of India

The government on Wednesday released its third advance estimate of the country’s foodgrain productionfor the crop year (July-June) 2017-18, revising the total output figure for the year from 277.49 million tonnes (MT) in February to 279.51 MT now.

Telangana Today

Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali asserted that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao was transforming lives of farmers by introducing a slew of schemes.He was speaking at a programme held for distributing Rythu Bandhu schemes and pattadar passbooks to farmers in Rechini village of Thandur madnal on Wednesday.

 

Blive

Realising that no proper effort has been made to resolve farmers’ agriculture-related problems through technology, an attempt in this direction has been conceived through the launch a unique app. Conceptualized by IIT engineers Nishant Vats, Tauseef Khan, Harshit Gupta and Ashish Singh, who also hold MBA degrees from IIM Ahmedabad, the mobile app christened Gramophone is now working with farmers to solve their problems so that they can get rid of their farming-related issues immediately during the complete crop cycle. Experts’ advice is also available to them as well through the app.

UNI

National Diaster Response Force (NDRF) chief and assiatant secretary of central government Ashwini Kumar on Wednesday directed all the agriculture officials to work for the welfare of farmers by making them aware on right crops, modern agricult

The Economic Times

While the Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is making its presence felt across the spectrum globally, India needs to prioritise AI-based predictive analysis to improve outcomes in three core areas – agriculture, healthcare and education – a top Microsoft executive has emphasised.

The Hans India

 National Agriculture Bank for Rural Development(NABARD), Department of Agriculture, Human Natural Resources Development Society(HANDS), an NGO and the Mana Vittanam Kendras set up by farmers are engaged in producing ‘foundation seed’ for the groundnut farmers in the district under the ‘Community Managed Seed System(CMSS)’ scheme.

The Times of India

Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who is in Vietnam, on Monday met several top leaders of the Vietnam government and discussed economic and other bilateral issues to boost agriculture, trade and commerce in Assam. Discussions were held with a focus on the Act East policy. The CM also urged for commencement of direct flights from Hanoi to Guwahati.

The Hindu

The regional meeting on revision of ICAR Model Act for Higher Agricultural Educational Institutions has suggested uniformity in the administrative set up of all State Agricultural Universities (SAU) and stressed the need for improvement in the quality of education.

Telangana Today

The agriculture departments in Sangareddy, Siddipet and Medak districts are expecting a quantum jump in the net sown area in the three districts, thanks to the Rythu Bandhu scheme for extending Rs 4,000 crop investment assistance per acre per crop to farmers in the State. Though the agriculture department has sent proposals seeking seeds and fertilisers for Kharif cultivation, estimating the expected sown area based on previous year’s area under cultivation, officials that the area under cultivation will definitely go up this Kharif considerably.

Business Standard

Incidents of stubble burning, which contributes significantly to air pollution was spotted in parts of Amritsar. “The practice are being notices in isolated pockets and not all over the district”, said Amritsar DC Kamaldeep Singh Sangha

The Statesman

Already awaiting funds from the Union government to deal with straw management in the state, the cash-strapped Punjab government has sought help from private companies to solve the problem crop residue burning under their Social Corporate Responsibility (CSR).

Deccan Chronicle

Incidents of stubble burning, which contributes significantly to air pollution was spotted in parts of Amritsar. “The practice are being notices in isolated pockets and not all over the district”, said Amritsar DC Kamaldeep Singh Sangha. According to a recent National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) study, stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab has a strong link with PM2.5 levels in Delhi during the post-monsoon months of October and November.

The Asian Age

Farmers from Maharashtra will soon get a chance to learn farming techniques from their Israeli counterparts in Yavatmal. The state government will be setting up an Open Centre of Excellence at Dehani village in Yavatmal district, which has been in the news for farmer suicides. The additional chief secretary of agriculture department, Bijay Kumar, said that the state would invite Israeli farmers to share their farming methods.

India Spend

Karnataka is grappling with income inequality, an agrarian crisis and child malnutrition even though its economy grew at 8.5%–second-highest among 10 states and union territories in 2017–to a gross domestic product of Rs 9.5 lakh crore ($141 billion) in 2017-18, according to the latest economic survey.

Financial Express

Aiming to provide regular power to farmers through agricultural feeders, the Maharashtra government has issued a tender inviting bids for 2 MW-10 MW capacity solar projects totalling 1,000 MW under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana . Although termed a good initiative that would boost agricultural output, the decision to fix ceiling tariff at Rs 3.30/unit under the scheme has seen questions being raised about its viability.

The Pioneer

Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that imposition of tax on agriculture income has always been considered by ‘successive Governments’, even as he cautioned that any such move should be taken once the sector is productive and attached to modern scientific methods.

The Indian Express

Maharashtra government is planning to pump more money into micro-irrigation projects to double agricultural income by 2022. The government’s ‘More Crop Per Drop’ programme aims to increase efficiency of water use through various measures, like diversification of crops and a phased shift in agricultural practices. In 2018-19, the state plans to optimise water efficiency by 20 per cent. The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), in its annual report 2018-19, states, “Currently, gross area under mirco-irrigation is around one million hectares with average area expansed by about 100,000 hectares in five years.”

Mint

Global attention has been devoted to water scarcity and its effect on Indian farmers. However, new analysis from Indian researchers suggests that far more good could come if irrigation were combined with seed improvement.

The Times of India

Millennium Post

Even as the burning of wheat stubble hasn’t stopped in the district and the evidence is in the heaviness of the air, the district administration takes comfort in the fact that there have been no complaints.

 

The Economic Times

Bloomberg Quint

The government will link additional 200 wholesale mandis to the online trading platform eNAM this fiscal and also encourage inter-mandi transactions, Agriculture Secretary S K Pattanayak has said. At present, 585 regulated mandis in 14 states are linked with the electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM) launched in April 2016.

The Asian Age

According to banking experts, the farm loan waiver could be the reason for low credit figures. The drop registered last year has been attributed to drought and other reasons.  The latest data submitted to the state-level bankers’ committee (SLB-C) at the end of March reveals that the crop loan target for the state was Rs 54,221 crore in the 2017-2018 financial year but both public as well as commercial banks have shown a negative year on year growth in crop loan disbursement over last year. “After the government announced the wai-ver last year, fewer farmers opted for fresh credit. The drop could be because of the waiver,” SLBC officials said in the meeting.

The Hans India

About 200 villages under 20 clusters benefitting 1 lakh farmers have been declared ‘natural farming’ villages by the department of Agriculture in the district. The department’s natural farming project is part of the government’s plan to popularise natural farming and bring down the use of chemicals and pesticides in agriculture crops.

The Times of India

The Indian Express Indiatimes

Navbharat Times

A new study by Nasa scientists has concluded that there is a strong link between agricultural fires in Punjab and Haryana and PM2.5 levels in Delhi during the post-monsoon months of October and November.

 

The Hindu

A complaint lodged by the U.S. at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against India’s farm subsidies is baseless, according to Indian diplomatic sources.

The Indian Express

Maharashtra which used to receive the largest share of agriculture credit has been overtaken by states such as Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in fiscal 2017 despite a large number of banks being headquartered in the state. During the fiscal ended March 2017, Maharashtra, which incidentally reports a number of farmer suicides every year, accounted for outstanding farm credit of Rs 98,000 crore while Uttar Pradesh with Rs 122,000 crore and Tamil Nadu with Rs 124,100 crore of outstanding farm credit respectively overtook the largest industrialised state in the country, according to the Reserve Bank of India data.

The Pioneer

Food supplies, Consumer Welfare and Cooperation Minister Surjya Narayan Patro said that the loan would be provided to the landless farmers who take up agricultural tasks in other people’s farmlands on sharecropping basis.

The Hans India

Telangana Today

Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali said the State government’s exercise to purify land records paved way for easy implementation of Rs 12,000 crore Rythu Bandhu scheme, farmers’ investment support scheme. He along with Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari took part in the distribution of pattadar passbooks and cheques to farmers at Kyatanpally under Dharmasagar mandal on Friday.

Moneycontrol

The concept of automation itself is very old, in fact in many areas we take automation for granted without realising it. For instance, can we today think of a bank without ATMs? Automated Teller Machines replaced the manual task of verifying one’s credentials, linking the credentials with the individual’s account, make necessary check and eventually disbursement of the cash.

The Indian Express

In Karnataka’s already tightly triangulated (Congress, BJP, and JDS) electoral race, the contestations and counter-contestations between the political parties have become louder and more ambitious. Political manifestos promise a dream list of good governance, and social media representations of political candidates draw on epic and film hero styles, and there is humour, spoof, and vulgarity between political competitors.

Business Insider

Earlier this week, the Office of the US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, said that it had issued a counter-notification – the first ever of its kind – against India for violating the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture. The US government alleged that India underreported its subsidies and that its scheme of minimum price support (MSP) for wheat and rice was against the rules of the agreement.

The Hindu Business Line

India will prove at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that the allegations made by the US against it on under-reporting of minimum support price (MSP) for wheat and rice are baseless, a senior government official has said.

 

Mint

India has categorically rejected a counter notification from the US that India’s market price support (MPS) programmes for wheat and rice breached New Delhi’s allowable levels of trade distorting domestic support at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Mint

The Telangana government on Thursday introduced Rythu Bandhu, a scheme to provide Rs4,000 per acre each to land-owning farmers for rabi and kharif seasons, and issued special passbooks for them.The programme, which has faced criticism from farmer groups for not including tenant farmers, was flagged off by chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, who distributed 298 cheques to farmers at Huzoorabad mandal in Karimnagar district. Beneficiaries will get the amount even if they do not take up farming. The state government has set aside Rs12,000 crore in the 2018-19 budget for Rythu Bandhu.

Siasat Daily

Along with Finance Minister Eatala Rajender, MPs, MLAs and Chief Secretary SK Joshi, the Chief Minister launched the Rythu Bandhu scheme and demanded that the Centre link up agriculture with Narega. The amount to be paid to the coolies will be borne equally by the Centre and farmers, he said. He also urged the Centre to announce MSP to all crops. The farmers should be cautious and avoid listening to the Congress leaders. The Congress rulers have destroyed agriculture and then chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy vowed not to give a single rupee to Telangana.

The New Indian Express

Public sector lender Indian Bank on Thursday said it is planning to slowly shift focus from the corporate sector to the risk-prone agriculture, retail and MSME (RAM) industries.

BW Businessworld

Technology is the prime mover of productivity in agriculture, where natural resources are fixed. Studies have shown that at least one third of the future growth in productivity should come through innovations in technology. The literature on agro-climatic planning and policies highlight the importance of  holistic approaches, given the resource endowments of a region. These would include agricultural diversification, including animal husbandry and the neglected sector of tree crops and forestry.

BW Businessworld

That agriculture is an enterprise has not been fully appreciated.  An inter-country evaluation shows that India ranks eleventh and twelfth respectively in services and industry – and hold your breath – second in agricultural production, overtaking the USA, Russia and Brazil despite their elephantine land holdings. It is time to celebrate India’s small farms, and recognise their operational proficiency.  Wisdom suggests a new methodological approach to evaluating productivity and profitability norms.

Nyoooz

Karam Prakash Patiala, May 10 The Punjab Government’s claims of making efforts to stop stubble burning have been belied by the fact that farmers have started burn ingstubble without caring about its consequences.

The Hindu Business Line

YES Bank is all set to roll out a capacity building project with farmers in Haryana and Rajasthan under its ‘Livelihood and Water Security’ CSR initiative.Speaking about this initiative, Namita Vikas, President and Global Head – Climate Strategy and Responsible Banking, YES Bank, told BusinessLine that the overall focus of the programme would be on sustainable agricultural practices and digital literacy.

The Hindu Business Line

The Prime Minister’s vision of doubling farmers income by 2022 is worth serious attention. This laudable objective could not only improve the well being of our farmers but can also be a trigger to boost agri-based manufacturing growth in rural India.

Nagaland Post

Nagaland Governor, PB Acharya, has called for empowering farmers with “knowledge and scientific technology” so as to enhance the economy of the state.Governor said this while addressing farmers and officials during field day cum farmers’-scientist interaction on “crop diversification for enhancing cropping intensity in rice fallow land through resource conservation technology with special reference to Nagaland” at ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Nagaland centre, Medziphema here Tuesday.

Moneycontrol

Bankers today decided to lend Rs 85,464 crore to the farm sector in Maharashtra, a growth of 12 per cent over the previous year, amid a prolonged weakness in agricultural activity.

The New Indian Express

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for developing Kerala brands in agriculture. “Branded products have a worldwide demand today. The state could achieve commendable progress in expanding the area of paddy farming. An effective procurement system is in place in Palakkad,” he said in a meeting with farmers’ representatives at the Thycaud guest house here on Wednesday. Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar also attended the meeting.

The Times of India

Adding to the woes of city residents, farmers have started to burn stubble in fields around the city and neighbouring areas.With the rising pollution and the government’s apathy towards the issue, the residents are expected to pay the price by risking their health.

The Hindu

The Congress has described the distribution of input subsidy to farmers under Rythu Bandhu scheme as an effort by the Government to cover up the suicide by 4,000 farmers in the last four years, and just another election gimmick by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekara Rao to project himself as ‘farmer friendly’ leader.

The Tribune

Even after the issuance of several instructions by the state government, district farmers can still be seen engaged in stubble farming. Last year, the government had directed the PSPCL officials and the patwaris to keep an eye on farmers as well as the numberdars who indulged in the burning of straw in their fields. But the way farmers are continuously burning the wheat stubbles, it seems the authorities have failed to initiate any action.

The Pioneer

A three-day International Workshop on Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture and Nutrition Literacy will be organised from May 14 to16  at Amer Greens at Bhopal.The workshop is being organised with the collaboration of Department of Women and Child Welfare, Department of Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Atar, Jabalpur, UNICEF Madhya Pradesh, International Fund for Agriculture Development and Deendayal Research Institute, New Delhi.

The Better India

Karnataka will elect its new government on May 12, and all eyes are on the three-way battle between the incumbent Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular).With 60% of the state’s 28 million-strong workforce dependent on agriculture (according to the Institute for Social and Economic Change, a Bengaluru-based think tank), a significant part of the public electoral discourse has revolved around the subject of farm loan waivers.

The Hindu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his campaign in Tumakuru on Saturday, held Congress and the Siddaramaiah government responsible for the unabated suicides of farmers in Karnataka.In his earlier poll rallies, Mr. Modi pointed out that Karnataka ranked second in farmer suicides in the country. Countering this, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had tweeted a report card by accusing him of benefiting private farm insurance companies at the cost of farmers.

The New Indian Express

Statistics available with agriculture department shows that around 85.86 per cent farmers in Telangana are marginal farmers. Small farmers having less than 5 acres of land possess 55.45 per cent of the agricultural land holdings in the State. Officials stated that Rythu Bandhu scheme, which will give `4,000 per acre to farmers, would mostly benefit marginal and small farmers.

The Hindu

Andhra Pradesh has achieved a growth rate of 11.39% for 2017-18 as against the target of 15.66%. The growth rate, however, is up by 1.04% compared to 2016-17. The all-India growth rate stood at 6.4% during 2017-18 and 7.1% during 2016-17.The government could not achieve the targets for agriculture, industry and service sectors. All the three sectors registered growth rate above the national’s.

The Hindu

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has accused the Centre of coming up with policies detrimental to the interests of farmers in Kerala.Addressing a consultation with representatives of farmers’ organizations here on Wednesday, he stressed the need to focus on value addition and marketing of agriculture produce to ensure remunerative price for farmers.

The quint

Despite limited financial resources, Himachal Pradesh has proposed several new schemes to give impetus to farming, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Monday.Addressing the inaugural function of two-day national workshop on ‘Challenges and Opportunities in Crop Diversification’ organized by the state Agriculture Department here, he said large number of new schemes have been earmarked for prosperity of the farmers.

India today

In January this year, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath got in a war of words over a range of issues, one among them was farmer suicides.

The Week

At a time when the farmers in Thanjavur and the Delta region have upped the ante in protesting against the Centre for betraying Tamil Nadu’s rights in Cauvery, farmers Kanchipuram, with Prabhu and ‘Nel’ Jayaraman—an expert who is a living seed bank for the farmers—have come together to revive the traditional paddy varieties.

The Economic Times

The special task force constituted to tackle the agrarian crisis in Maharashtra has urged the Centre to accept the state government’s proposal to ban some toxic insecticides.

Business Standard

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manifesto for the Karnataka assembly elections 2018 released on May 4, 2018, declared that farm loans upto Rs 100,000 in nationalised banks and cooperative societies would be waived. A few days earlier, the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate and party state president B.S. Yeddyurappa promised a waiver of agriculture loans in both nationalised banks and cooperative societies if his party came to power, hoping, as a consequence, he said, for a 3-4% rise in vote share for his party

ET Energyworld

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has sought the Prime Minister’s intervention to ‘quickly address’ MSP, free powerand crop insurance that have a ‘deep and immediate bearing’ on welfare of the farm sector, which if left unaddressed, would badly hit farmers.

The New Indian Express

India today

Railway traffic between Ludhiana and Jalandhar was hit today and three trains had to be stopped after fire from stubble burning reached near a track close to the Mauli railway station, around five km from here, an official said.

The Tribune

Despite the efforts of the district administration and the Agriculture Department to dissuade farmers from burning wheat crop residue, some of the farmers are burning the stubble during night hours to avoid being caught by the law enforcement agencies.

The Asian Age

Will India’s food production be able to meet the growing demands of its population? The current agrarian situation does not present a particularly optimistic picture. Agricultural productivity in India is extremely low. According to World Bank figures, cereal yield in India is estimated to be 2,992 kg per hectare as against 5,401.4 kg per hectare; 5,362.6 kg per hectare; 7,318.4 kg per hectare and 4,453.2 kg per hectare in East Asia and Pacific, Euro area, North America, Central Europe and Baltics respectively

The Economic Times

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said his government is committed to improvements in agriculture which could help farmers of the state in raising their incomes and ensure that there was at least one dish made from products from the state on every Indian’s plate.

The Indian Express

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said that he has asked agriculture universities in the state to prepare a “earn while you learn” stipend scheme for students to carry out field work. Fadnavis said that, as part of the plan, students of agriculture colleges would be required to send agro advisories to farmers, collect data and ensure that a proper mechanism was created to disseminate information to farmers at the ground-level.

The Telegraph

The capital city will host a global agriculture and food summit in November.Chief minister Raghubar Das made the announcement on Friday while directing officials to start the groundwork for the event at a meeting with the industry and agriculture department officials.

The Hindu

Paddy and sugarcane are India’s most water-guzzling crops — using up over half of the country’s total irrigation water resources — but procurement policies and water and power subsidies are skewing profitability and distorting crop decisions, says a recent study done by agricultural economist Ashok Gulati, and Gayathri Mohan