The Indian Express

After being pulled up by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ...

India Today

The farmers led by union minister Satyapal Singh who is also MP from Baghpat and former union minister Sanjeev Balyan, MP from Muzaffarnagar were addressed by the PM for about 40 minutes on the agriculture policies of the government.

In uth

After Delhiites launched their own version of the ‘Chipko Movement’ to save the trees of the city, the government has asked authorities supervising redevelopment projects to ensure that no designs entail chopping-off trees in the city.

The Indian Express

Sweden is exploring ways to come up with innovative technology to address the issue of stubble-burning in parts of north India that leads to pollution in Delhi-NCR, a Swedish diplomat said today.“Delhi has seen this problem of air pollution and smog and the air quality gets worse around November. And,stubble-burning has been a major issue. So, we are looking into ways to bring an innovative technology to address this issue,” Gautam Bhattacharyya, Deputy Head of Mission at Swedish Embassy, said.

The Tribune

To prevent farmers from stubble burning, Haryana government will set up Custom Hiring Centres at the cost of Rs 215 Crore in the state, under a special action plan for crop residue management.While giving this information, an official spokesman said that as many as 90 Custom Hiring Centres would be set up in district Jind.

The Times of India

Sweden is exploring ways to come up with innovative technology to address the issue of stubble-burning in parts of north India that leads to pollution in Delhi-NCR, a Swedish diplomat said today.

“Delhi has seen this problem of air pollution and smog and the air quality gets worse around November. And, stubble-burning has been a major issue. So, we are looking into ways to bring an innovative technology to address this issue,” Gautam Bhattacharyya, Deputy Head of Mission at Swedish Embassy here, said.

The Indian Express

After tasting some success in wooing Punjab’s cycle and textile industry, a Bihar government delegation visited Ludhiana Thursday and held a meeting with representatives of the farm machinery manufacturing industry. At the meeting facilitated by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the Bihar government presented a list of incentives which included no fee for change of land use (CLU) from agriculture to commercial, self-certification for seeking all sorts of permissions, a single-window system to grant all permissions within a 30-day period failing which it will be considered deemed approved and so on.

The Economic Times

The government has decided not to sell milk to Delhiites any longer, and has instead invited milk cooperatives to run Delhi Milk Scheme (DMS) — a dairy retail unit started by the first President of India Rajendra Prasad in 1959 — on lease for 30 years.

 

The New Indian Express

Capital city is all set to host a two-day ‘AgriVikas-2018’ conclave from June 29 to showcase the potential of agriculture and allied sectors.As many as 1,000 progressive farmers from various districts along with agro-entrepreneurs, investors, central organisations as well as corporate bodies will gather under one roof during the event to be organised in SOA University campus here.

The Hans India

Deputy Chief Minister KE Krishnamurthy gave a call to farmers to adopt latest techniques in farming for better harvest. He participated in the Eruvaka Pournami programme organised at Pandikona village in Pathikonda constituency on Thursday.

Deccan Chronicle

The state’s agriculture production could take a massive blow unless the monsoon revives in the near future. The continuous dry spell for the past few weeks in all districts has hit farming operations in the ongoing kharif season badly.

The New Indian Express

Bharat Bhavan is organising a programme linking agriculture and theatre titled Organic Theatre. About 50 persons, including farmers and theatre artists, will participate in the workshop to be held as part of the programme.

The workshop will be held at Kalamachal in Vamanapuram grama panchayat on Friday and Saturday. It will be led by K Ushakumari, professor, Soil Science Department, Kerala Agricultural University, Suresh, DRTC trainer, theatre personality Pramod Payyannur, Prof Aliyar, Vattaparambil Peethambaran and Raja Warrier.

 

The Economic Times

Farmers are paying up to 20% more for fertilisers this sowing season because of increases in global prices of key raw materials phosphate and potash. Urea prices are steady due to government controls but input costs will raise the subsidy bill, says industry.

 

Financial Express

One of the highlights of the While Revolution was a technological innovation in 1956 that helped Amul manufacture powder from buffalo milk. The innovation helped in converting surplus milk into powder and store it for use during summer, when production is usually low. This also enabled farmers to sell all their milk ...

The Pioneer

Agro-entrepreneurs, investors, central organisations, corporate bodies and farmers will be gathering under one roof here for the first time to showcase the potential of the agriculture and allied sector on June 29 and 30.

 

The Economic Times

The government is likely to soon launch a Rs 500-crore programme that aims to end distress sales by farmers of tomato, onion and potato (TOP) crops.

 

The Indian Express

Maharashtra has banned the sale of five moderately-to-extremely toxic insecticides and cancelled the licences of six companies for the current kharif season, as part of steps to prevent the recurrence of last year’s pesticide inhalation accidents that caused the deaths of 62 farmers and agricultural labourers across the state.

The Hindu

The German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture has assured the Telangana government of support for the setting up of the Global Seed Valley at Banda Mylaram in Medak district.

The week

A pause in the progress of southwest monsoon and the delay in the announcement of this year’s Minimum Support Price (MSP), despite promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Union budget, have slowed sowing of the 23 Kharif season crops.

 

News D

Mandsaur, in Madhya Pradesh, which formed the epicentre of farmer’s protests that began last year, is still protesting. Six protesting farmers had died after state police opened a fire on the group. However, justice still eludes their family. To mark the anniversary of the firing angry farmers have planned a 10-day protest in the area. However, after the ten-day strike began, Radha Mohan Singh, Union minister for agriculture and farmer welfare, dismissed it saying ‘organisations with the scant following are resorting to “unusual deeds” to “appear in the media”.

The Hindu Business Line

Hitting back at WTO members that have questioned India’s Minimum Support Price (MSP) programme for food, including the US and the EU, New Delhi has teamed up with Beijing to formulate a step-by-step proposal for rich members to eliminate their farm subsidies where the World Trade Organization (WTO) has allowed them higher amounts beyond de minimis (ceiling) levels.

The Hindu Business Line

Theory and practical classes and periodic evaluation of students on farming are now part of the curriculum of a school in Mangaluru taluk.

Sharada Vidyanikethana Public School, which is affiliated to the CBSE, has introduced agricultural science as a compulsory subject for students from the 5th to the 10th standard.

Business Standard

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was on Wednesday apprised of agreements signed between India and Denmark for cooperation in the fields of animal husbandry and dairying, and on cooperation in the field of science, technology and innovation, an official statement said.

The New Indian Express

Walmart Foundation today said it has granted USD 2 million fund to a two-year agriculture project that would help over 6,000 farmers in Andhra Pradesh in getting better market access.

Tech 2

Crop residue burning in Punjab and Haryana is often blamed for worsening air quality in the Delhi National Capital Region. Now a new study by scientists working in the US and India has found that impact of crop residue burning in the Northwest region can spread as far as central and southern states — Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chattisgarh and even parts of Odisha. Delhi and surrounding areas experience dense haze, fog and smog every year during the crop residue burning season spanning from mid-October to mid- November, along with worsening air quality. In 2016, when the crop residue burning season coincided with Diwali, the region suffered foggy days for about a week disrupting vehicular traffic and ...

Business Standard

Ambassadors to five countries called on Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore and held discussions on various issues.The delegation discussed various issues, including education, agriculture and horticulture, food processing, tourism and environment, an official spokesman said.

The Times of India

Deviation from traditional farming practices over the years – especially past two decades – has taken toll of the quality of soil in Uttar Pradesh, suggests an assessment by the state agriculture department. The organic content in samples of soil gathered from different parts of the state were found to be 0.2% against the expected standard of 0.8%.

The Hindu

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday lashed out at the Central Government, accusing it of triggering a crisis by failing to cushion the impact of international trade treaties on domestic agriculture. Delivering the inaugural address at a national workshop organised by the State Agricultural Prices board and the WTO Cell, he said the Centre had failed to address the concerns raised by States over the impact of trade pacts.

The Times of India

Becoming self-reliant through ‘Make in India’, investing in agriculture and a greater emphasis on digital economy and new-age technologies like artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and tele-medicine were the highlights of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to India Inc here on Tuesday.

The Times of India

After payments under the prime minister crop insurance scheme were delayed by over three months, the state government has cleared as much as 80% of the claims till last week. Another 11.03 lakh farmers are awaiting insurance claims.The insurance scheme was launched under the BJP regime two years ago and this is the biggest ever claim payout so far. Of the 82 lakh farmers having gone for the insurance, 45 lakh are eligible for a compensation of over Rs2,300 crore.

The Hindu

The government allotted a budget of Rs. 1.5 lakh to every district from Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) funds. In addition, each Assembly constituency would get Rs. 20,000 to conduct the programme. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will launch the programme programme at Ravikantipet village of Srikakulam district .

The Pioneer

Work is being undertaken on research and uses of Bio Fertlizer/ Vermicompost in the Khandwa Road nursery of Indore. Bacteria Culture Trichoderma, etc is being used in the preparation of bio-fertiliser for the preparation of plants. This has reduced the cost of preparing plants. Moreover, the use of chemical fertilisers and insecticides has almost come to an end.

The New Indian Express

A large number of farmers of Aul block in Kendrapara district are cursing their fate for sowing hybrid seeds which have not germinated. The annoyed farmers have brought allegations of supply of spurious summer (dalua) paddy seeds by the suppliers and the Agriculture department. The seeds were sown in February and were to flower by June but there is no sign of the saplings bearing fruit so far.

The New Indian Express

Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s ‘Raitha Belaku Yojane’, an ambitious income guarantee project aimed at benefiting at least 70 lakh farmers, is likely to take a hit in the coalition government’s first budget which will be presented on July 5. This is because Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is now attempting to balance fiscal prudence and farm loan waiver.Former Chief ...

The Hindu

During his inspection, he verified the travel plan of agricultural officers to the field and also achievement of targets for drip irrigation systems in the block. He asked officials to ensure that agriculture engineering gadgets available for farmers should be explained clearly to the beneficiaries so that productivity is improved.

The Times of India

Becoming self-reliant through ‘Make in India’, investing in agriculture and a greater emphasis on digital economy and new-age technologies like artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and tele-medicine were the highlights of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to India Inc here on Tuesday.

The Hindu

The government allotted a budget of Rs. 1.5 lakh to every district from Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) funds. In addition, each Assembly constituency would get Rs. 20,000 to conduct the programme. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will launch the programme programme at Ravikantipet village of Srikakulam district .

The Times of India

Even as protests and opposition continue to rock the Chennai-Salem eight lane greenfield project, a group of farmers have raised their apprehensions about land acquisition for the six-lane greenfield road project connecting Coimbatore and Karur.

The Hindu Business Line

Foreign flagged ships have been allowed to transport fertilisers between Indian ports without a licence as the Centre freed yet another cargo from a law that reserved this business for Indian flagged ships.

The Times of India

East India Climate Change Conclave organized by the state environment and forest department concluded here on Saturday with three brainstorming technical sessions on climate resilient agriculture, water and finance. Over 100 environmental experts, leaders and practitioners from across the country deliberated on the ways to build adaptive capacity across the six east Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Assam and identify potential opportunities for exchange of ideas between states on climate change.

The Hindu

The Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday said the decision of the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government to delay paddy transplantation in the State has shortened the sowing season of the crop, resulting in a steep increase in labour charges. Former Punjab Minister Bikram Singh Majithia of the SAD said it was imperative that the State government announce a compensation package for farmers owing to the loss.

The Hindu

In order to ensure that safe and quality produce is available to consumers, we have always engaged with the entire value chain linking different players and stakeholders from farm to fork, with stringent quality and monitoring parameters. We have been making various agronomic interventions, such as crop planning, guidance on good agricultural practices, post-harvest practices and handling, and packaging of harvested produce.

The Pioneer

Madhya Pradesh was honoured with the Best State Award in New Delhi on Saturday for best performance in integrated agriculture production. The award was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture, Radha Mohan Singh at the India Today magazine’s Agro Summit and Award-2018 function.

The Times of India

The lure of good perks in cities has bereft villages of farm labourers across Uttar Pradesh. As the time of sowing ‘kharif’ (monsoon) crops closes in, farmers scramble to find workers. Even wealthy sugarcane farmers find it hard to hire labourers to cultivate the cash crop.

Business Standard

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said climate change has been affecting the state over the years and its impact is visible, with monsoon getting delayed every year and the volume of rain also showing a downward trend.

The New Indian Express

Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy said Rythu Bandhu scheme had helped mostly small and marginal farmers in the state. Speaking to reporters in Delhi on Saturday, the Minister said that of the total farmers in the state, 98.24 per cent were marginal and small farmers, and the big farmers, who had 25 acres or more, were only 0.11 per cent.

Down to Earth

Monsoon did arrive three days early in Kerala and managed to flood some states, but for the rest of the nation it has been nothing but weak. Almost a month after the onset of the southwest monsoon, 290 districts—more than 42 per cent of the country—have received deficient and largely deficient rainfall. Out of the 290 districts, 164 received deficient rainfall (-20 per cent to -59 per cent) and 126 received largely deficient rainfall (-60 per cent to -99 per cent).

The Times of India

The Met office’s assurances of an active monsoon spreading across the state have done nothing to assuage the fears of farmers who have had their agricultural operations delayed severely by the weakened monsoon. Having hit the state on June 8, two days before its ‘official’ arrival date, the rains weakened considerably, keeping farmers off the fields ...

The Hindu

International trade treaties signed by the Centre without taking States into confidence are posing a serious crisis for farmers in Kerala, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar has said.

Business Standard

The World Bank recently released an important report on climate change-induced migration, titled ‘Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration’. It covers three major regions of the world comprising Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), South Asia (SA) and Latin America (LA), and projects that by 2050 climate change could potentially cause 143 million additional people to migrate internally. The estimates for individual regions include 86 million, 40 million and 17 million for SSA, SA and LA, respectively.

The Economic Times

Dairy farmers in Maharashtra’s once prosperous milk belt are struggling to get remunerative prices for the milk they sell in the market.In Kolhapur, which is known as the milk hub of Maharashtra, some of the dairy farmers are lucky to get Rs 23 per litre for cow’s milk while most earn in the range of Rs 17-19 per litre. The price they get is even less than the price of bottled water which costs Rs 20 a litre, a report in Times of India said.

 

The Hindu

The government should give an impetus for development of agro-based industries to make agriculture sustainable for the small and marginal farmers, said SKM Maeilanandhan, chairman of SKM Group of Companies, here on Saturday.

The New Indian Express

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has set a target to sanction around `2500 crore to Odisha Government for rural infrastructure development during 2018-19. Speaking at a State level Planning and Sensitisation Workshop, Chief General Manager (Odisha Region) of Nabard KC Panigrahi said Odisha is the number 1 State in the country for loans sanctioned under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).

The Economic Times

First, two things you need to know, in case you don’t already, about India’s agriculture sector and India’s startups.

One: Nearly half of India’s population works in agriculture. But it contributes less than a fifth of India’s GDP. In other words, it has very poor operational efficiency.

 

The Hindu Business Line

The Gujarat government on Saturday launched a solar power scheme for farmers- Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) enabling them to generate electricity for their captive consumption as well as sell the surplus power to the grid and earn an extra buck.

The Hindu

Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar has said that the State government is planning to establish an enforcement mechanism to control the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in the State.Speaking after inaugurating the State-level function to launch Diploma course in Agricultural Extension Services for Input Dealers (DAESI) at Vellanikkara on Saturday, the Minister said new generation pesticides would not be allowed in the State.

The Pioneer

Refuting the statement of Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal that the State farmers are prosperous and happy, former Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee President and farmers’ leader Dhanendra Sahu had said that the debt ridden farmers in the State are facing a tough time in the State.

The Pioneer

The 24th meeting of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Regional Committee II comprising members from the States of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, commenced on Friday here.

Financial Express

The data released by agriculture ministry show that sowing area under all the kharif crops including rice, pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals has declined to 11.6 million hectare as of June 22 against 12.84 million hectare in the corresponding period of previous year. India has received 10% lower than normal monsoon rainfall during June 1-22.

Business Standard

Delayed arrival of the southwest monsoon in eastern, central and northern India has affected the sowing of kharif crops, which was 9.7 per cent less during the week ended June 22 compared to the same period last year.

However, government officials and agriculture experts are of the opinion that sowing of kharif crops, particularly paddy in eastern India, oilseeds and pulses in central and northern India and cotton in western parts of the country should pick up once the monsoon revives in these parts.

The New Indian Express

Making agriculture sustainable and profitable should top the agenda of both central and state governments as food security is the key foundation of national security, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said here today.He was speaking at the concluding session of the two-day National Consultation on Agriculture at Vaikunth Mehta National Cooperative Institute of Management here.

Telangana Today

Banking sector in the State is hoping to see increased renewals of crop loans this year. Once they renew farm loan accounts, banks enhance the credit limit enabling the farmers to invest more in farm activities.

“23 renewals have commenced from May. We are hoping a 20 per cent increase in renewals over last year as liquidity position of farmers has improved,” said J Swaminathan, Chief General Manager, Hyderabad Circle, State Bank of India and Convener of State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC).

The Hindu

Higher secondary students from the science stream hardly look towards career opportunities in agriculture and related courses. However, the fact remains that courses in the field are unique.

A statement issued by Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) said food safety and nutritional security were global challenges owing to reasons like population explosion and climate change.

The Hindu Business Line

The Kerala cabinet has waived plantation tax and declared a moratorium on agriculture income tax, meeting a long-pending demand of the plantation sector. The Chief Minister is expected to make an announcement on the floor of the State Assembly during its ongoing session.

The Hindu Business Line

As the Narendra Modi administration nears the end of its term, a key initiative of its, ‘Make in India’, appears not to have made much of a difference. In the four years to 2017-18, the index of industrial production has registered an average growth rate of 3.8 per cent and industry’s share in GDP has actually fallen over the 2014-16 period. So was this focus on manufacturing dated, if not misconceived?

The Telegraph

The agriculture department, after launching its scheme to promote organic corridors in Bihar, will help farmers get their products checked for authenticity as part of its third agricultural roadmap.

The Times of India

Private sector lender Karnataka Bank is targeting to disburse about Rs 9,000 crore agriculture loan this fiscal, seeing potential opportunities in the sector.

The Economic Times

Kharif sowing saw a drop of 9.70% to 11.59 million hectare owing to monsoon deficit, Agriculture ministry data showed on Friday.

 

Moneycontrol

Hailing Baramati as a role model for agriculture research centres in the country, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today said Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) must act as a bridge between scientists and farmers in providing knowledge and latest techniques.

The Economic Times

The Janata Dal(S)-Congress coalition in Karnataka may limit itself to waiving only crop loans in the first phase and not cover all agriculture loans under the programme, multiple sources in the government told ET.

 

Money control

Claiming that farmers who take up allied activities such as poultry and dairy along with traditional farming, do not commit suicide, he said cultivators must be able to export their products for better returns.

Financial Express

Vice-president Venkiah Naidu on Friday emphasised the need of increasing the income of the farming community and said loan waivers can’t be a permanent solution. “In the long term, loan waiver will affect the agriculture sector and hurt farmers. As huge population is dependent on agriculture for livelihood, increasing the income and purchasing power of this group is extremely important,” Naidu said. The vice-president was speaking at the national consultation on ‘Making Agriculture Sustainable and Profitable’ in Pune.

The Economic Times

Farmer leader Raju Shetti has demanded a subsidy of Rs 5/litre on milk for farmers – like that provided in Karnataka – as dairies are paying only Rs 15/litre, which is less than the production cost.“As export of milk powder has almost stopped due to subdued international prices, we had asked central government to facilitate exports. However, the union agriculture minister strangely asked us to set up co-operative like Amul to use the excess milk, a thing we cannot do overnight,” the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana said at a press conference on Wednesday.

 

 

The Pioneer

Addressing Block Agricultural Festival-cum- Agriculture Chaupal in Gagi village, Kanke, on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target to double the income of farmers by 2022. “The Jharkhand government is working towards achieving this goal. For this, work is going on to provide better road, irrigation and power facilities to the villages. From January next year, the work of making separate farm feeders for farmers will start,” he pointed out.

The New Indian Express

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Cabinet colleagues turned farmers on Wednesday, planting vegetables in the Secretariat compound for making this year’s Onasadya a pesticide-free one.The vegetables were planted in specially-arranged pots set up in the sprawling Secretariat garden. Ministers, including E Chandrasekharan, A K Saseendran, Ramachandran Kadannapally, V S Sunil Kumar, A K Balan, Kadakampally Surendran, M M Mani, P Thilothaman, K K Shylaja, J Mercykutty Amma, T P Ramakrishnan and K Raju planted saplings. The produce will be harvested before Onam, the government said. Last year too, the Secretariat successfully implemented a similar vegetable farming project. The Agriculture Department had launched ‘Onathinorumuram Pachchakkari’, a statewide project last year, to ensure adequate quantities of ...

The Economic Times

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised farmers a good price for their harvest and low input costs as his government’s initiatives to double their incomes by 2022 will help the nation’s food producers at every stage from sowing to selling.

 

The Hindu

As bio-fertilizers have become an important component of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), scheme launched to promote organic farming, Collector S. Natarajan has asked the Agriculture department to popularise Amma bio fertilizers among farmers.

The New Indian Express

WITH uncertain weather conditions affecting agriculture and insecure land ownership being a major hurdle for a large number of farmers, including sharecroppers, limiting their access to capital and farm inputs, Centre has decided to set up a World Bank assisted project in 6 states including Odisha to enhance farmers’ resilience.

UNI

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday called for making agriculture viable, profitable and sustainable to improve the lot of farmers and ensure home-grown food security

Financial Express

As Delhi and parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plains were getting engulfed in a thick cloud of dust last week, a question kept coming to my mind: Is there any similarity between the recent dust storms in India and the dust storms that hit the Great Plains of the United States (US) in 1930s and turned it into a Dust Bowl? I will stick my neck out and say that there are. Let me elaborate.

Business Standard

Government has set up a Chief Ministers Subgroup to Coordinate Policy Approaches for Agriculture and MGNREGS with the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh as the Convener and CMs of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim along with the Member NITI Aayog, Shri Ramesh Chand as its members. The move comes in the backdrop of the vision of the Prime Minister towards Doubling Farmers’ Income by 2022 which requires a multi-dimensional and inclusive approach. It comes close on the heels of the unanimous decision taken at the 4th meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog on 17 June. During the deliberations it was suggested to come out with approaches with special emphasis on ...

Millennium Post

Following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s direction, the state Agriculture department has initiated all necessary steps to ensure round-the-year training programmes for farmers at Mati Tirtha in Burdwan.

 

Financial Express

Gujarat has witnessed a huge fall in sowing in kharif season this year due to delay in monsoon and water scarcity. As per the latest data of the state agriculture department, kharif sowing has reached 2,25,231 hectare as on June 18, which is 74.16% down from 8,71,700 hectare in corresponding period of 2017. “Sowing of kharif crops is slow this year on account of delay in monsoon. Once rain comes, farmers will gear up the sowing. We are hoping for good progress in sowing area in July,” said an official of agriculture department of Gujarat.

The Hindu

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said the State government is considering amending the Universities of Agricultural Sciences Act to prevent privatisation of agriculture education.The Chief Minister, who was on his way to work from his house, stepped out of his car to meet students studying the subject who were protesting in front of Town Hall. Later, in the evening, he convened a meeting with Agriculture Minister N.H. Shivashankara Reddy and other officials of the department along with students and farmer leaders.

Moneycontrol

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today met his Nepalese counterpart Chakra Pani Khanal and assured full support for the growth of agriculture sector in the neighbouring country. Khanal, the minister for agriculture, land management and cooperatives in Nepal government, met Singh in the national capital, an official statement said.

The Wire

Amid the growing chorus for opposition unity to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in next year’s general elections, the chief ministers of non-BJP ruled states used Sunday’s meeting of the NITI Aayog’s governing council to mount a coordinated attack on the Centre over its economic policies, especially those relating to the agricultural sector, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the national “Team India” spirit.

The New Indian Express

In a move aimed at curbing pollution caused by stubble burning, the Centre has released Rs 269 crore to the Punjab government to enable it to subsidise the prices of crop residue management equipment.Punjab generates 17.5 million tonnes of wheat residue and 19.7 million tonnes of paddy residue every year. A Harvard study done by using NASA’s satellite data has found that agricultural fires caused nearly half the pollution in Delhi last October and November, the peak stubble-burning season.

The Indian Express

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, in his address at Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi in Delhi Sunday, made a case for a national debt waiver scheme for farmers. He urged the PM to constitute a committee of the Union Government and some Chief Ministers to formulate a blueprint for a debt waiver scheme for farmers in consultation with states, said a government statement after the meeting.

Financial Express

It is not clear why India’s political class keeps talking of what is required for the country to grow its GDP in double digits. UPA politicians would talk of how, since India’s GDP was growing at 8-9% per annum, it was just a matter of time before it grew at 10%, and now prime minister Narendra Modi has done the same thing at the weekend meeting of NITI Aayog’s governing council. He said that while the economy grew at 7.7% in the fourth quarter, the challenge was to take this growth to double digits. Though India’s growth has averaged 7.3% in the four years of the Modi government, the prime minister’s statement seems to assume that such a progression ...

Business Standard

Haryana Agriculture Minister O P Dhankar today urged officials to encourage farmers to adopt crop diversification in view of the changing climate scenario and help them come out of the traditional wheat-paddy cycle to enhance their income.

The Indian Express

By the third week of June, less than 15 per cent kharif sowing was recorded across Maharashtra. The state agriculture department has now advised farmers to wait for the monsoon to stabilise before taking up full-fledged sowing. A senior secretary in the ministry of agriculture said, “The climate change leading to new rainfall patterns are a serious cause of concern. We expect the monsoon to stabilise by June end or first week of July.”

The Asian Age

The policy of doubling farmers income by FY 2022-23 is primarily about acquiring abilities of doubling farmers income in a remarkable short period and maintaining that strides for fairly long period of time . A few however argue that accomplishment of the goal is subject to achieving more than five times the average agricultural growth rate witnessed in the last two decades.

The Hindu

Venkatesh N. Hubballi, Director of Directorate of Cashewnut and Cocoa Development (DCCD), Kochi, on Monday suggested that the Directorate of Cashew Research (DCR), Puttur, adopt a village a year to promote cashewnut cultivation.

The Times of India

Some claim India won’t be able to feed itself without the government playing a hands-on role in agriculture. But countries like New Zealand and Australia with liberalised agriculture have become more productive. Each Australian farmer produces enough to feed 600 people, 150 at home and 450 overseas. Liberalisation of agriculture in 1991 in India could well have made us a middle-income nation by now. Instead, our small farmers remain under chronic stress.

The Hindu

Members of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and students of the College of Agriculture on Monday staged a demonstration outside the college, at VC Farm Zonal Agricultural Research Station, on the outskirts of the town. They were opposing the State government’s move to allow private agricultural institutions in Karnataka.

The Hindu

The Tamil Nadu Farmers Association on Saturday urged the Central and State governments not to force farmers into allowing construction of high tension (HT) towers on their lands.

The Indian Express

The state government is taking steps, including use of emerging technology, to increase the income of agriculture labourers under its project to double farm production and income of farmers by 2022. Of the total 52 per cent rural population working in the agriculture sector in Maharashtra, 25 per cent are cultivators and 27 per cent agricultural labourers, and the state government believes doubling the income and production cannot become a reality unless the concerns of agricultural labourers are addressed.

The Times of India

At the fourth general council meeting of Niti Aayog in New Delhi on Sunday, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the Union government should give more space to states in doing work in sectors such as health, education, urban development, agriculture and rural development. “The Centre should also remove rigidity in certain ...

The Hindu

Since all six taluks in the district are receiving good rainfall, officers of the Agriculture Department should make necessary preparations for the proper supply of seeds and fertilizer to farmers, zilla panchayat Chief Executive Officer P.N. Ravindra has said.

Deccan Chronicle

Taking serious note of 69 farmers committing suicide after the Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in Karnataka just three weeks ago, the department of agriculture has decided to act on a war footing to check the suicidal tendency among farmers through counselling and other remedial measures.

First Post

Chakri Bai of Arjunnayak hamlet near Zaheerabad in Telangana cannot help teasing the assembled crowd which has travelled 120 kilometres from Hyderabad. “You people are not able to withstand this mild sun even for a while, you have already become shrivelled. But barring a two-hour break during the day, we women farmers are in the field from dawn to dusk. We can withstand it because of the food we eat. You people are like broiler chicken, we are like country chicken,” said Bai.

Outlook

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today pitched for tax incentives to fast-growing states and stressed on transfer of various subjects from the Centre to the states.

Business Standard

Flagging the agrarian crisis gripping the country, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Sunday urged the Central government to bear 50 per cent of the farm loans the state government plans to waive soon.

The Economic Times

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today requested the Central government for 50 per cent support to his government’s farm loan waiver scheme.

The Free Press Journal

Continuing his latest drive to directly connect with the beneficiaries of the government’s flagship programmes, Prime Minister Modi has fixed a date with India’s farmers on Wednesday from 9.30 am interact on what ails agriculture.

The Hindu

It is a case of surfeit supply with few takers. The agriculture department in this district has found that many people were not keen on buying coarse variety rice supplied through the government-run fair price shops. Add to that abundant supply every year, its storage was becoming a major challenge for the government with limited godowns in the district. So, the agriculture department has stopped supply of coarse variety paddy seeds in spite of farmers’ uproar.

The Hindu

Speakers at the eighth annual general body meeting of Sri Satya Sai Farmers’ Mutually Aided Cooperative Society of Penukonda mandal, held at Makkajipalle thanda, called upon groundnut growers to inculcate collective responsibility and take the prospects of their 14,000 member society to the global level, ushering in big economic boom.

The New Indian Express

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute a committee of the Union Government and some chief ministers to draw up a blueprint of a national debt waiver scheme for farmers in consultation with states.

The New Indian Express

The dilly-dallying by the state government over farm loan waiver has put the farming community in a fix. For farmers who have availed crop loans at 0% interest, there are immediate concerns as June 16 is the last date for them to renew it, failing which they will have to pay 12% interest.

The Hindu

Indian agriculture needs to stop being “obsessed” with the land productivity and instead start worrying about water productivity, says a report released by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) this week.

International Business Times

Agriculture has not only been the oldest occupation for individuals to earn their living but it has also thrown a considerable and lasting impact on the environment. A new study conducted by the University of British Columbia-led team of international researchers has been published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances that revealed the significance of agriculture in bringing environmental changes.

The Times of India

With the country’s top think tank, Niti Aayog rating Tamil Nadu as a medium performer in management of water resources, experts have called for stringent measures for better use of water in agriculture sector, restricted supply of free electricity for farmers and conservation of groundwater table. The state, among a few to provide free power to farmers, has been ranked seventh among non-Himalayan states with a score of 51.

The Hans India

Officials  are making arrangements to use drones in crop management following Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s instruction for their deployment extensively in the sector. He directed the officials to take steps to use drones in the agriculture sector for spraying pesticides and chemicals. Following his directions,  senior official propose to train the agriculture department officials on drones use.

The Indian Express

It’s a big challenge in Punjab to re-look at all the mechanisms available to move to non-chemical means of agriculture, which people here refuse to accept, food expert Devinder Sharma said on Friday. He was addressing a gathering from academic and research institutions of the country at the 3rd National Dialogue on Himalayan Ecology. Agriculture experts have gathered in Chandigarh to address the issue of imparting an economic cost to the ecological cost of agriculture produce.

The New Indian Express

In a move aimed at curbing pollution caused by stubble burning, the Centre has released Rs 269 crore to the Punjab government to enable it to subsidise the prices of crop residue management equipment.

The New Indian Express

The strong onset of the Southwest monsoon in the state has raised the prospects of higher farm output and economic growth this year as it is expected to aid farm output in the state — about 85 per cent of its total 25.84 lakh hectares (ha) cropped area is rain-fed.

The Hindu

To check suicides of farmers and to boost the agricultural sector in the region, members of the Hyderabad Karnataka Raitha Sangh has sought exclusive allocation for agriculture in the Hyderabad Karnataka Regional Development Board (HKRDB).

The New Indian Express

With a view to promote cultivation of millets and vegetables, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced benefits worth Rs 127.45 crore in the Assembly on Thursday. He informed that 500 solar-powered pumpsets, apart from an equal number announced in the kuruvai package, would be installed in non-Delta region. The government would spend a combined amount of Rs 50 crore for setting up 1,000 solar-powered pumpsets with a subsidy of 90 per cent.

The Week

Blame for heavy atmospheric pollution during winter in north India in 2017 was laid at the doors of farmers in Punjab burning stubble. But the Punjab government hopes that the coming winters will be clear—not just in Punjab, but also in Delhi and across the Indo-Gangetic plains.

The Economic Times 

CITI has estimated the production of Indian cotton crop for the cotton season 2017-18 at 373 lakh bales (170 kg each) which is estimated to be 8.11% higher from the previous year because of the increase in area under cotton cultivation by almost 13% i.e. from 108.45 lakh hectares to 122.59 lakh hectares.

Nagpur Today

Former state minister Anil Deshmukh said that farmers were not getting any relief despite several assurances from the State Government. Farmers’ problems were getting bigger with non-availability of agriculture loans. Deshmukh recalled that when he was the minister, he had ordered to register an FIR against those banks rejecting agriculture loans to farmers

The Times of India

A city-based trust, Dialogue Highway, will be organising its third national dialogue on ‘Himalayan Ecology’. A seminar on this would be held at a hotel in Sector 24 on Friday and Saturday. As many as 30 environmental and agricultural economists from across the country are all set to participate in dialogue. Devinder Sharma, managing trustee of Dialogue Highway, said the theme of the conference would be ‘Measuring the Economics of Food & Agriculture Ecosystems’.

Business Standard

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the continuation of the Three Year Action Plan (2017-2020) of the scheme for Agricultural Education Division and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes, with an outlay of Rs. 2,225.46 crore for strengthening and developing higher agricultural education in India.

The Hindu

People of Dariyapur villages in Shahapur taluk became anxious after seeing a deep ditch in an agriculture field belonging to a farmer Somanna on Wednesday.

Deccan Chronicle

The rollout of GST appears to have made the cost of agricultural operations higher, thanks to a 12 per cent rise in fertiliser prices. According to latest prices, the price of urea bag has been increased by Rs 36 compared to the pre-GST regime and a bag of complex fertiliser is priced Rs 80 more.

Telangana Today

Banking on the forecast of a normal monsoon and completion of Kaleshwaram and other projects this year, coupled with the Rythu Bandhu scheme and 24×7 free power supply to agriculture, the government is confident of bringing more area under cultivation and achieving record production. The government is devising an Agriculture Action Plan in consultation with agriculture and irrigation experts.

The Telegraph

Matthew Morell, the director general of International Rice Research Institute, Manila, The Philippines, on Wednesday had a meeting with state agriculture minister Prem Kumar and other senior department officials.The participants discussed the avenues through which the premier research institute could help Bihar to enhance rice productivity and help the state in providing seeds of paddy of such a quality which could withstand vagaries of weather.

The Indian Express

The K Chandrashekar Rao-led government in Telangana has issued cheques totaling around Rs 5,600 crore to 57.33 lakh land-owning farmers in the state ahead of the current kharif crop season under its flagship Rythu Bandhu agricultural subsidy scheme.

The Times of India

Agriculture scientists associated with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Manila on Thursday claimed they had developed varieties of paddy with which farmers could expect good yield in the flood as well as drought-prone districts of Bihar.

Telangana Today

IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao on Wednesday said that the State government was giving top priority to protect the interests of farmers and development of the agriculture sector.“No government in the past had bothered about the plight of farmers and the farm sector but Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is taking all possible measures to rescue the ryots from distress,” the Minister said, after laying the foundation stone for agriculture college at Sardapur of Sircilla mandal. Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy also participated in the programme.

The Hindu Business Line

Negative net margins have precluded attempts at enabling effective price realisation for India’s farmers, season after season. That this is despite burgeoning production levels, with a record production of nearly 275 million tonnes in the last fiscal, indicates that the fault might lie elsewhere than merely in our production capacities.

The Times of India

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to conduct an investigation into the distribution of Rs 88 crore worth of seeds during the previous Samajwadi Party government’s tenure. All district magistrates have been directed to verify seed distribution before clearing the dues of the supplier companies.

The Times of India

Newly appointed agriculture minister N H Shivashankar Reddy on Thursday said as many as 69 farmers committed suicide in the beginning of the 2018-19 financial year.Newly appointed agriculture minister N H Shivashankar Reddy on Thursday said as many as 69 farmers committed suicide in the beginning of the 2018-19 financial year.

The Times of India

The cyclonic circulation over northwest Madhya Pradesh coupled with a trough extending from northwest Rajasthan to Bihar has thrown the dust from the Thar desert up into the atmosphere forcing Punjab to experience ‘severest’ air quality in the last ten years.

The Economic Times

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today announced the disbursement of Rs 209 crore to 38,000 marginal farmers, who are members of cooperative societies, within the next ten days to complete the first phase of his government’s debt relief scheme.

The Economic Times

India’s cotton exporters have signed contracts to ship 500,000 bales (85,000 tonnes) of their new season harvest to China as the world’s biggest consumer of the fibre looks to raise its imports in the next crop year, industry officials told Reuters.

Quint

The ten-day farmer strike, called by Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, ended on 10 June 2018. The strike was largely limited to northern and western India, and from the looks of it, was not very successful. But I guess that is not the point here. This strike and other protests by farmers that have happened in the recent past tell us very clearly that the Indian farmer is angry.

Business Standard

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said the mindset of the governmental “system in Delhi” is “anti-farmers and anti-villages”, comments which come in the backdrop of Congress’ relentless attack on the government on the issue of addressing “farm distress”.

The New Indian Express

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday reiterated that the Chennai-Salem Green Corridor project would be implemented without affecting farmers and that acquisition of lands would be made prudently – i.e., land acquisition would be done only where it is absolutely necessary and sufficient compensation would be paid to farmers and others.

Mint

About three years ago, Pawan Kumar, working as an IT professional at Hyderabad, decided to quit his job and return to his village to become a farmer. His father, a small farmer in West Godavari district, tried to discourage him but Kumar who had read about a new method of “natural farming” would not listen.

The Times of India

As the Centre figures out ways to achieve its target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, farmers in some villages have already multiplied their income by conserving every drop of water and making agriculture a profit-making venture, says Radheshyam Jadhav in the fourth of the series for TOI’s Water Positive campaign

The Hindu

A new legislation — the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Produce Contract Farming (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2018 — would be enacted during 2018-19, and brought into force for the benefit of farmers and contract farming sponsors, Agriculture Minister R. Doraikkannu informed the Assembly on Tuesday.

The Hans India

The district administration has targeted to raise crops in over 1.73-lakh hectares during the current kharif and kept readied 22000 quintals of seeds and 1.20 lakh tonnes of fertilisers.

The Times of India

The state agriculture department, in a crackdown against farmers defying the government directive on paddy transplantation, on Tuesday ploughed paddy transplanted in four acres and booked five farmers in Ferozepur for violating prohibitory orders.

The Times of India

The state agriculture department, in a crackdown against farmers defying the government directive on paddy transplantation, on Tuesday ploughed paddy transplanted in four acres and booked five farmers in Ferozepur for violating prohibitory orders.

Business Standard

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved continuation of the Three Year Action Plan (2017-2020) of the scheme for Agricultural Education Division and ICAR Institutes to strengthen and develop higher agricultural education in the country.

The Pioneer

To rid Punjab of stubble burning pollution, the State Government has entered into agreements with four big companies and has also started work on setting up the biomass power plants.“With the commencement of these projects in Punjab, on one hand, pollution from crop residue will decrease, and on the other, the farmers will reap economic benefit. The project commencement will also generate employment for local people,” said the state Power and Renewable Energy Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar on Monday.

The Indian Express

If there is one thing that has changed in Indian agriculture in recent times, it is supply response — the ability of farmers to increase production when prices go up. Traditionally, the supply curve in most crops was near vertical: No matter the price, the quantity harvested and sold remained virtually the same. Take pulses. Through the 1980s and till the 2000s, the country’s output averaged just over 13 million tonnes (mt), falling to 11-12 mt in droughts and short of 15 mt even in the best years.

The New Indian Express

Farmers in Bonai sub-division of Sundargarh district are irked over limited supply of subsidised high yield varieties of seeds. Sources said a large number of farmers are yet to get subsidised seeds supplied by  Odisha State Seed Supply Corporation (OSSSC). The agitated farmers locked the office of Bonai LAMPS in protest on Wednesday.

The Hans India

These work sheds will help the farmers in making compost from cattle dung which would generate income for them, Chandrababu Naidu explained during a review meeting on Neeru-Pragati on Monday. The compost must be transported to agricultural fields in the State as part of promoting Zero Budget Natural Farming, he added.

The Times of India

Dozens of farming groups determined to stall supply of fruits, vegetables and dairy products to major Indian cities is a clear indicator of growing rural discontent that the Modi government has been struggling to deal with for quite some time, amidst supply glut and depressed farm produce prices.

The Hindu Business Line

Agriculture issues are haunting the Narendra Modi-led government leading to some State governments announcing farm loan waivers. “There is no other way out,” Kumar told BusinessLine adding “If you (banks) are prepared to take a haircut for your corporate loan of ₹10,000 crore, then there is no reason why you cannot give farm loan waiver.”

The Times of India

Openly defying the orders of the state agriculture department to starting paddy sowing from June 20, many farmers — supported by various farmer organizations — on Sunday started sowing paddy at various places across the Malwa region.

The Times of India

The southwest monsoon is a summertime reversal in wind direction that provides nearly 70% of the Indian subcontinent’s annual rainfall. Monsoon winds originate from the southern Indian Ocean. They get deflected southwestwards towards India after crossing the equator. These winds are driven by air pressure differences caused by the more rapid heating up of the land in summers compared to the ocean. The land heats up the air over it, causing it to rise and create a low-pressure zone, which attracts winds from the highpressure regions over the ocean.

The New Indian Express

Even though the State Government has launched a campaign to create awareness among farmers to use the services offered by Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS), around 11 lakh farmers will not be able to access institutional credit this kharif season as they have defaulted in loan repayment.

The Financial Express

At around Rs 775 per quintal, onion prices in April were the lowest they have been in this harvest month over the last four years — they were Rs 1,499.1 in April 2014 (see graphic). At Rs 464.7 per quintal, February potato prices were also the lowest in four years, over a third lower than in the same month in 2014. And yet, tractor sales were up 16.6% in FY18 on top of an even more impressive 18% in FY17.

The Financial Express

The Punjab State Farmers’ and Farm Workers’ Commission proposal to start charging better-off farmers for electricity is a step in the right direction, but more than that, what is important is the thought process that has gone behind the recommendation. According to the recommendation, farmers who pay income tax or farmers who own more than four hectares of land are to pay Rs 100 per BHP of their pumps per month and, over time, the annual power subsidy, of around Rs 6,300 crore at present, be rationed further—while free power meant electricity consumption in agriculture has grown 1.2 times between FY02 and FY15, the share of agriculture in the Gross State Domestic Product has come ...

Financial Express

With the BJP-led NDA government recently having completed four years in office, there is a major media campaign, claiming “48 months of transforming India”. Several infographics and tweets by the government show happy farmers whose lives have been transformed in these 48 months. Cut to news channels telecasting live visuals of farmers protesting in the 10-day bandh, cutting off supplies of essential commodities like milk and vegetables to urban areas. The idea is to attract government attention to their myriad woes, especially low agri-prices.

Business Standard

Awareness programmes will be conducted at the village, block and district levels for farmers in Haryana from June 20 to July 15, a top official said today.These programmes will generate awareness about the negative effects of stubble burning, its alternatives and various farmer welfare schemes and will be supervised by senior officials, Principal Secretary of Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Abhilaksh Likhi, said.

The Indian Express

After it completed four years in office, the BJP-led NDA government launched a major media campaign that claimed, “48 months of transforming India”. Several infographics and tweets by the government show happy farmers, their lives having being transformed in these 48 months.

Telangana Today

Farmers commenced agriculture activities with a sense of hope. Unlike in the past, they are not tensed about investment for buying inputs of agriculture as they are given financial assistance through Rythu Bandhu scheme. They are also happy with the district witnessing showers in the past few days.

The Asian Age

With the main arena for the 2019 battle being rural India, Opposition parties, particularly the CPI(M), is all set to stir the rural pot. After its mammoth farmers’ rally in Maharashtra, the CPI(M) affiliated trade union CITU has called for a “massive march” to Parliament on September 5. The march aims to “expose the failures of the BJP-led Modi government at the Centre and its neoliberal policies.” Workers and farmers from across the country will converge in Delhi for the march. Besides CITU the march is being organised by All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU).

The Times of India

Confrontation between farmers of Malwaregion and the state government is on the cards over the date to start transplantation of paddy. Contrary to the directions of the government to begin transplanting paddy from June 20, farmers are adamant to start from June 10.

The Hindu Business Line

In India, where millions of people go hungry every day, the act of spilling thousands of litres of milk on road, as was seen last week in Jaipur and Bhopal, is unacceptable. Prices of vegetables shot up.

The Hindu

Selco Foundation, an organisation deploying clean energy solutions for alleviating poverty in rural areas, will, in collaboration with Bharathiya Vikas Trust (BVT), establish a world class training centre to promote research and innovation in the fields of agriculture, healthcare and well-being in rural areas in the district.

WebIndia123

The West Bengal Government has set an example for other States by increasing the income level of farmers three times. The average annual income of farmers in the State has gone up threefold during financial year 2017-18 than what it was seven years ago.

The Times of India

The coastal areas of Ernakulam district witnessed a 15% reduction in vegetation and agricultural land in the past 25 years from 1991 to 2016. According to a study by researchers by the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, (NCESS) Thiruvananthapuram, there is also a 15.6% increase in built-up area due to urbanisation.

The Times of India

Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday underlined the need to create a task force to formulate a separate bamboo policy for the state.Addressing a ‘bamboo conclave’ in Patna, Modi said the central government’s National Bamboo Mission under the agriculture ministry would function under the state environment and forests department.

 

Outlook

Awareness programmes will be conducted at the village, block and district levels for farmers in Haryana from June 20 to July 15, a top official said today.These programmes will generate awareness about the negative effects of stubble burning, its alternatives and various farmer welfare schemes and will be supervised by senior officials, Principal Secretary of Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Abhilaksh Likhi, said.

The Hindu

Congress senior leader and former Union Minister Renuka Chowdhury on Sunday disbursed financial aid to the bereaved families of four farmers of the district, who had committed suicide due to agrarian distress in the past few months.

The Pioneer

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Saturday said the Union Government is working consistently towards  doubling the income of farmers and animal rearers.Singh was here to lay foundation stone of the country’s first  sex-sorted semen laboratory in Rishikesh under the Rashtriya Gokul  Mission Yojana.

The Indian Express

A 52-year-old farmer at Arsodia village in Sabarkantha district has committed suicide by consuming pesticide allegedly over crop failure. His family said that Bharat Govind Parmar had taken a farm loan of Rs 3.5 lakh from Union Bank of India and was finding it difficult to repay it due to “repeated failure of crops for the last three years”.

Telangana Today

The Indian farmers have for long been on the brink. Their story is the same in over one-third of the States barring Telangana, which has emerged as a role model with a remarkable turnaround of its farm sector.

`The New Indian Express

Pointing out that even during the past DMK regimes, Mettur dam could not be opened for irrigation on June 12, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday underscored the fact that despite less storage, the Kuruvai package would ensure cultivation in 3.15 lakh acres – the extent of cultivation which would have taken place if the dam is opened on June 12.

The Hindu

A three-day Agriculture Summit and Exhibition, organised by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, opened in the city on Friday with District Collector K. Rajamani calling upon farmers to focus on value addition of farm produce to get better returns.

The Better India

Parthasarathy, a farmer from Govindapuram village in Tirupur district, Tamil Nadu, won the Innovative Rice Farmer Award in 2015, for his use of drip irrigation in rice cultivation. Under the aegis of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Mr Parthasarathy, along with 23 other farmers, successfully managed to grow paddy, maize, and onions. The paddy yield was around 6 tonnes per hectare compared to India’s average of 2.5 tonnes.

The Times of India

Out of 3,548 primary cooperative agricultural service societies (PACS) in the state, 36% were in loss last year. The number has arisen to 40% as on March 31, Punjab cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said here on Friday.

Business Standard

Under the protocol, Indian rice exported to China would have to comply with Chinese quarantine laws and regulations. The Indian department of agriculture will ensure that the rice exported is free of six identified pests which are of concern to China. Each batch of rice which is being exported has to be accompanied by a certificate issued by the agriculture ministry saying that it complies with China’s phytosanitary requirements.

The Times of India

After forming a high-level task force for identifying key sources of air pollution, especially particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM1) in Ahmedabad, the Gujaratgovernment has circulated the first detailed Air Action Plan draft plan for the city amongst 10 departments that will in future co-ordinate and conduct joint raids to enforce the plan. Once enforced in Ahmedabad, the AAP will be extended to Surat city in a few months’ time.

The Tribune

Agricultural scientists and stakeholders from different departments held prolonged deliberations to contain stubble burning menace that has affected the air quality levels in the region during a meeting in Bathinda.

The Times of India

Concerned over the impact of stubble burning on the lives of people and impact on the air quality of Delhi, two environment-friendly organisations and researchers have decided to conduct an exhaustive study in Punjab using behaviour change intervention.

The Hindu

Making a statement under Rule 300 in the House, he said the government was committed to making agriculture a profitable venture and ensuring remunerative price for crops. “Of the ₹217 crore recommended by the Farmers’ Debt Relief Commission, an amount of ₹189.21 crore has been sanctioned for release.”

The Times of India

The department of agriculture marketing and agri business has been working to implement supply chain management scheme at seven blocks in the district. The scheme will provide cold storage facilities for farmers to store perishable produce and also equipment for sorting and packing the produce, said officials of the agriculture marketing department. Work on constructing the building facilities for the project, which has been undertaken at a cost of Rs 38.33 crore, is almost complete. “We would buy equipment such as pre-cooling equipment, cold storage, grading and packing equipment within August,” said deputy director of agriculture marketing MR Palanisamy.

Mint

Rudyard Kipling once described Shimla as a “centre of power and pleasure”. The power faded with the Raj. Now, pleasure is at a premium. Shimla is struggling with a water crisis that is an echo of Cape Town’s distress earlier this year. It has run out of municipal drinking water supply during peak tourist season. Citizens are being forced to queue up to collect water from tankers. Schools have been shut down for 10 days. This crisis is a reflection of a wider problem confronting India.

The Indian Express

Last year, almost 35 lakh packets of genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds, incorporating unapproved ‘herbicide-tolerance’ or HT technology, were bought and planted by farmers across India. But this time round, state governments seem better prepared to curb this illegal cultivation, even as sowing of cotton is over in northwest India and is about to commence in the main western, central and southern growing regions with the advance of the monsoon rains.

The Hindu

Three years ago, Jitendra Prasad turned from his multiple tech-related startups towards agriculture. “I wanted to try my hand at it, but realised that the amount of chemicals that goes into it is phenomenal. I also realised that there were plenty of farmers trying to change this, but were all in need of support,” he recalls, explaining the motivation behind his startup, Door 2 Door Organics

Scroll

The suicide of several farmers across India in the past month has put the spotlight on an issue that has plagued the country for several years. In May, at least six farmers committed suicide in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, reportedly for reasons that included debt to an unexpected fall in the prices of agricultural produce. As political parties attempt to use the tragedies to attack their rivals, the deaths are a reminder that the government of India is yet to publish data on farmer suicides after the figures for 2015. Government officials say that this is due to problems with the data sent in by a few states.

The Times of India

A day after the Mandsaur incident anniversary, eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan on Thursday called for immediate action on the proposed national policy for farmers, saying if “farming goes wrong nothing will go right in a country like ours”.

The Hindu

The annual credit plan for Adilabad district for the year 2018-19, with an outlay of ₹2,22 crore was launched late on Wednesday by Collector D. Divya. The outlay shows an increase of nearly 13.5 % over last year’s ₹2,134.83 crore.

Business Today

Narendra Modi government has substantially increased allocation of resources for the agriculture sector as compared to the previous regime and is well on its way to achieve its targets in a mission mode, says Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. In a response to Business Today, Singh said greater emphasis is being given to agricultural education, research and extension activities and extension of the facilities for irrigation, low-cost organic farming, crop insurance, national agricultural market, horticulture development and agro forestry remain focus areas.

The Pioneer

Punjab was the only state that was talking about an integrated solutions-based approach to the problems relating to water, agriculture and power, said the World Bank Country Director India Junaid Ahmad who met Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh along with a delegation.

The Pioneer

The National Farmers Commission was constituted in February 2004. After that, the national policy for farmers was approved on the basis of the Commission’s recommendations in the country, which aimed at improving the economic condition of the agricultural sector as well as the net income of the farmers.Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act, 2016 issued to states, which is a very important step in terms of agricultural reforms through which not only the needs of landlords but the needs of the lease holders are also taken care of. Through this act, land holders can legally lease the land with mutual consent for agriculture and allied sectors.

The Pioneer

The last four years have seen a number of announcements towards strengthening the foundations for accelerated agriculture growth and the Government’s pledge of “doubling farmers’ income by 2022.” What is required now is to unleash the full potential of agriculture with a paradigm shift in public-private partnership and the spirit of cooperative federalism.

The Hindu

On Wednesday, Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam said, “The plastic ban was essential to save the rivers, the seashore and the sea. While it is affecting biodiversity, it also has serious impacts such as a rise in temperature. At the same time, unregulated use of chemical fertilisers in agriculture leads to poisonous traces in foodgrains. This affects consumers’ health. As a result, my department is seriously considering the option to ban chemical fertilisers on the lines of the plastic ban.”

Financial Express

It is ironical. The richer we become, the more resources we command; the longer we live, the more pessimistic we become about the present and future and start panicking. From a food importing nation in the 1960s to a food exporting one now, India has made significant strides in the field of agriculture. Science and technology has successfully tackled food shortage, a problem till the 1980s. It, therefore, exited our minds. Its space has since been occupied by imaginary fears like poison in our plate, impending cancer epidemic, etc.

Business Standard

The Punjab government today directed the agriculture department to intensify the efforts to make farmers aware about the judicious use of fertilisers.Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Viswajeet Khanna said that instructions have been issued to officials of agriculture and farmers welfare department to ensure disseminating requisite information regarding use of fertilisers judiciously at the grassroots level so that the input cost of farmers could be reduced.

Down To Earth

Plasticulture, or the use of plastics in agriculture, is evident in the form of lining of farm ponds, greenhouse cultivation, micro-irrigation (drips and sprinklers) and plastic mulching. Plastic mulch, in particular, should be of concern to us as it is a potential source of entry into our food system.

Moneycontrol

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the government is taking several steps to promote young entrepreneurs in the country, adding that startups are no longer confined to big cities.Smaller towns and villages too are emerging as vibrant startup centres, the Prime Minister said while interacting with young entrepreneurs from across the country, including cities like Dehradun, Guwahati and Raipur.

The Arunachal Times

Informing about the union government’s schemes and flagship programmes to boost the agriculture sector, the Bhartiya Janata Kishan Morcha’s (BJKM) state president Dunggoli Libang on Thursday urged the agriculture department to ensure that the benefits of the schemes reach “only the genuine farmers of the state.” Addressing media persons at the press club, Libang said the Centre has launched several schemes, “from irrigation to soil health management, organic farming to crop insurance,” under various schemes and flagship programmes to improve productivity and double the farmers’ income by 2022.

The Print

Mandava Prabhakar Rao is a man on a mission. And how his mission ends could largely determine the future of India’s hybrid farm seeds, cotton and textile industries.Rao is the chairman and managing director of Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd (NSL), a 45-year-old Telangana-based seeds company which claims to be India’s largest hybrid seeds firm.

The Hans India

Special Commissioner of Agriculture Muralidhar Reddy informed that if any trader sells seeds in the black market, he will take stern action.

Mint

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in agriculture is an integral part of agro-industry in the developed world. In India too, drones are being sought out for functions such as crop field scanning. This is what prompted 23-year-old Pranav Manpuria to return to India after completing his bachelor’s in business administration from Illinois Tech in Chicago, US. Along with Kunal Sharma, an engineering graduate from RNSIT, Bengaluru, he co-founded the agro-tech enterprise, VDrone Agro, last year.

The Hindu

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has ruled out the demand from certain organisations and political parties to extend Rythu Bandhu investment support scheme to tenant farmers too.Addressing the awareness meeting on Rythu Bandhu Life Insurance Scheme here on Monday, Mr. Rao said some leaders do not know how to face the TRS and hence come up with such demands.

The Asian Age

Today is the first anniversary of the killing of some half a dozen farmers by the police at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, and the country’s farmers are on the move once again. A large numbers of agriculturists have been on a 10-day “strike” from June 1. Their “gaon bandh”, or village shutdown, is planned to culminate in a Bharat Bandh on June 10.

The Hindu Business Line

With the crisis in agriculture telling on its recent electoral fortunes, especially the by-poll to the Kairana Lok Sabha seat, the BJP on Tuesday made a peace offering to agitating farmers for a “dialogue without condition”.Reports of the Centre’s plans to announce a package of ₹8,000 crore to clear sugarcane arrears coincided with the BJP’s Kisan Morcha President Virendra Singh Mast making a fervent appeal to “all farmers in distress to initiate dialogue”.

The Pioneer

To ensure that the State’s beleaguered farmers reap what they sow, Punjab will soon have a full-fledged agriculture policy. The State’s Farmers’ Commission, which has been working on the same, has come up with a draft policy recommending doing away with the power subsidy to big farmers and setting up a special fund for the non-MSP crops, among other things.

Financial Express

Thank God for asymmetric information. Without it, many leap-of-faith enterprises, floating on hope, driven by optimism but ending in failure, would not have been attempted. We would not embark on journeys whose destinations changed in the light of experience along the course. Life, in short, would not be an adventure. It is inadequate information and the audacity of infatuation with the idea of pristine agriculture that goads Venkat Iyer to privilege “Moong Over Microchips” (the title of his book, published by Penguin) and extinguish a 15-year career in the information technology industry to be reborn as a farmer.

Mumbai Mirror

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently shared a report with the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture. Among other things, the report showed that small and marginal farmers are getting only 30 to 40 per cent of the credit meant for the sector. Basically, those who need financial assistance the most are being left out.

The Hans India

The agriculture department and Tobacco Board officials organised an awareness camp for the farmers on green manure fertilisers and seeds at the Ongole 1 Tobacco Auction Centre on Tuesday.

The Times of India

National Agriculture Cooperatives Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) would start procuring pulses at the minimum support price (MSP) from the farmers of Nalanda, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura and Patna districts “very soon”, said state cooperative department minister Rana Randhir Singh on Monday. “The phrase ‘very soon’ here means a fortnight or so,” he said. The types of pulses to be procured are gram, moong, arhar and masur.

The Free Press Journal

The farmer’s stir in parts of the country seems to be petering out. On Monday, under pressure from the producers of milk and vegetables, the leaders of the farmers’ unions in Punjab spearheading the protest decided to call it off. They faced the wrath of the vegetable growers and dairy farm owners and vendors who all feared loss of incomes as a result of the ill-considered and politically-motivated stir. Not all farmers’ unions were party to the protest.

The Tribune

Mansa Deputy Commissioner Balwinder Dhaliwal honoured 123 farmers from 44 villages who have not burnt paddy stubble this season in Mansa. The farmers were given letters of appreciation by the Deputy Commissioner for not burning the paddy stubble in the 1,700 acres of agricultural land in their respective villages

The Statesman

State’s agriculture produce commissioner Raj Pratap Singh said that soon 90 lakh Rupay credit cards will be given to small and marginal farmers. This would be done through NABARD and is sure to come as a respite to those farmers facing financial crises. Singh was in Meerut to discuss ways and means to improve income of farmers during divisional meeting about Kharif crop on Monday.

The Times of India

Over 33 lakh farmersin the state are waiting to get their crop insurance claims of the previous season. Even as it is the fifth season of Prime Minister Agriculture Insurance Scheme, the claims for last year’s cropping season have been delayed by over two months.

The Economic Times

Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy can make a meaningful programme out of farm loan waiver by including all loans without a cut-off date, say bankers with direct knowledge of agriculture lending in Karnataka. The government could also set a cap on the loan amount eligible for waiver, they suggested ahead of a meeting the CM plans to hold with officials of public sector banks on the subject.

The Hindu

Parthasaradhi, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and G. Satyanarayana Shastry, Regional Manager, LIC signed the MoU on behalf of the State Government and the LIC and exchanged the documents in the presence of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and LIC Chairman V.K. Sharma. Farmers aged between 18 years and 59 years will be eligible for the insurance scheme, which will come into effect from August 15.

Mint

The ongoing 10-day strike by farmers across the country is the latest episode of the crisis in agriculture spilling out on to the streets. Meanwhile, the chief minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, and the Union agriculture minister, Radha Mohan Singh, have made rather insensitive remarks about the strike, gloating about what they think have been the successful policies of their government. Data shows, however, that the farm crisis is real and persisting.

Odisha TV

Farmers of Bargarh district staged protests and locked up banks alleging that even though crop loss reports have been submitted to the concerned insurance companies, they are being deprived of their claims.As per reports, the insurance companies have denied disbursal of insurance claims due to anomalies in data related to crop cutting and actual yield for Kharif Season 2017.

The Northlines

Director Agriculture Jammu, Hari Krishan Razdan today reviewed the progress of the implementation of ongoing farmers’ welfare programmes and schemes in Poonch district here at a meeting of officers and field functionaries of the district.

Business Standard

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the flagship crop insurance scheme of the Narendra Modi government, has entered its third year of operation, albeit with a substantial decline in farmers’ enrolment in its second year, the data reveals.Between FY16 and FY17, the number of farmers enrolled in the scheme declined from about 57.3 million to about 48.5 million, a fall of around 15 per cent.

The Tribune

Twenty million tonnes of stubble is produced in Punjab, out of which only 2 million tonne is utilised, while the remaining 18 million tonne becomes a threat to the air, water and earth, thereby badly damaging the natural bio-diversity.

Deccan Chronicle

Ahead of World Environment Day on Tuesday, experts said India must take a pledge to minimise the use of plastic. Creative use of plastics must be made to reduce the burden at dumpsites.Environmentalist B.V. Subba Rao said, “Plastic usage should be minimised especially the usage of plastic bags which has many safe alternatives but continue to be ignored. Plastic carry bags, flexi bags and others should be replaced by bags made of cloth or jute.”

The Economic Times

The ongoing 10-day farmer strike called by the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh has so far made no major impact on the market, although traders said they are watching the situation closely. Supplies and prices of fruits and vegetables remained stable in most places, including the big cities of Delhi and Mumbai, with the impact of the agitation remaining limited to isolated pockets like parts of Punjab and Maharashtra.

Jagran Josh

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and farmers’ welfare has launched the Krishi Kalyan Abhiyaan from June 1, 2018 till July 31, 2018 to aid, assist and advice farmers on how to improve their farming techniques and raise their incomes.

The Times of India

The Punjab Farmers’ Commission has proposed restricting the state’s power subsidy to non-income tax-paying farmers in its draft Punjab State Farmers’ Policy. The objective is to stop giving subsidy to those farmers who have other sources of income.The draft policy was released on Monday by chairman of the Punjab State Farmers’ Commission Ajay Vir Jakhar and state agriculture commissioner Balwinder Singh Sidhu. It also proposes a flat rate of power initially at Rs 100 per BHP per month for a farmer owning four hectares of land or more.

The New Indian Express

The State government and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Monday singed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for providing life insurance coverage to around 50 lakh farmers in the state.  Telangana farmers group will be the largest group for LIC. The insurance scheme will come into effect from August 15.

Pune Mirror

As far as the state government is concerned, a selfie is a solution for all manner of problems. In a bid to woo farmers amidst their ongoing strike, minister for agriculture Sadabhau Khot has ordered officials from his department to reach out to farmers and click selfies with them. The minister has claimed that this way, officials will understand the problems that farmers are facing first-hand. Unsurprisingly, farmers and organisations have criticised the move.

The Pioneer

Worried over farmers’ anger reflecting in the recently-concluded bypolls which the BJP lost badly and their ongoing agitation in eight States, the Narendra Modi Government has decided to aid, assist and advise the farmers on how to improve their farming techniques and raise their incomes in 115 ‘aspirational’ districts. The Government has also deputed director-level officers to get feedback for its flagship programmes, including schemes launched for welfare of farmers and rural development.

The New Indian Express

Farmer activist Kishore Tiwari today condemned Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh’s remark that the protest by farmers in various parts of the country were attempts to get media attention.Tiwari, who heads Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavalamban Mission, said the minister’s remark are “unfortunate” and amount to “rubbing salt on the wounds of dying agrarian community”.

Deccan Chronicle

Nature has almost fulfilled human beings’ requirements. But on World Environment Day, I recall the words of Mahatma Gandhi which we should imbibe: “There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.” Kerala’s agriculture ministry has decided to make the farming sector environment-friendly on the occasion of another World Environment Day. The important step towards environment-friendly farming is to achieve self-sufficiency. We have to evolve ourselves from commercialisation to attaining self-sufficiency. If we start cultivating organic farming in all the homesteads, the pesticide-laced vegetables will disappear. A mass drive to have organic farming across the state has come as a revolutionary change. Last year, organic farming was done in 67,858 hectares ...

The Hindu

“Time has come for intelligent and technique-based farming to realise good returns from agriculture. With unity comes better bargaining power and with it prosperity for farmers and the State. About 50% of people are dependent on agriculture and the State will soon show how one can thrive on agriculture,” he said adding there was pressure from farmers in other States to implement Investment Support scheme, he added.

The Hindu

Since June 1, many farmers are on an unusual 10-day ‘strike’ to draw the government’s attention to distress in the fields. A federation of 130 farmer bodies has decided to stop supplies of vegetables and dairy produce to major cities and hold a dharna on 30 national highways, without blocking vehicular passage. Prices of vegetables and fruits are inching up in urban centres given the supply shock created by this ‘Gaon Bandh’; in cities like Mumbai fishermen have joined the cause. The farmers’ demands are not new — enhancement of the minimum support price regime for crops in line with the M.S. Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, higher prices for milk procurement and loan waivers to offset low or negative returns ...

The Times of India

The state government has come up with another bonanza for farmersand will provide subsidy to procure agricultural machinery, including tractors and harvesters. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced this at HICC here at a meeting of farmers’ coordination committee members and officials to educate them on the farmers’ insurance scheme.

Free Press Journal

Meet Anil Pachauri, a farmer from Lamhetaghat village of Jabalpur district, whose agricultural income skyrocketed after he went for Solar Pump Scheme. His annual farm income has spiralled from paltry Rs. 25000 to over Rs. 3 lakh, thanks to Chief Minister Solar Pump Scheme. He is not the only farmers reaping benefit of the scheme as a total of 7,000 solar pumps of different capacities have been installed in farms.

Business Standard

Quint

Farmers across the nation are on strike, cutting off vegetables and milk supplies to cities, demanding better prices, loan waivers, power supply and ethanol as fuel — all this hailing from the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations. It makes one wonder if the agricultural sector is indeed competitive, given its vulnerability to temperature changes and dependence on monsoon. Are we forgetting the agriculture sector and allied activities in the name of progress?

The Statesman

Banks have come forward to provide lending facility to farmers in a big way under this scheme to meet out their short term credit needs of crops cultivation, he said, adding that more than 1.62 lakh farmers have availed credit facility of Rs. 3000 crore under this scheme during last year.

Mint

Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Sunday directed his administration to cut down on all “unnecessary expenditure”, including reviewing proposals to buy new cars, refurbishing and renovating government offices or residences, to help strengthen the state’s finances.

The Statesman

Banks have come forward to provide lending facility to farmers in a big way under this scheme to meet out their short term credit needs of crops cultivation, he said, adding that more than 1.62 lakh farmers have availed credit facility of Rs. 3000 crore under this scheme during last year.

The New Indian Express

Even as Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has assured that his government is in the process of working out the modalities to implement the farm loan waiver as promised in the JD(S) manifesto, farmers in Karnataka have sought a “complete waiver.” The consequences of such a waiver, economists and political observers say, will affect more than just the farming sector.

Deccan Chronicle

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will address a meeting of agriculture officials on Monday  ahead of the beginning of the kharif season on setting up crop colonies, farm mechanisation and establishment of food processing units.

The Times of India

An international group of experts has thrown its weight behind a ban on hazardous insecticides, now under consideration by the Indian government, arguing that such restrictions would help reduce suicide deaths in India.UK-based Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention (CPSP) has urged agricultural commissioner S K Malhotra, who heads the committee on the issue, to ban not only the 12 pesticides under review but also several others. Such a ban is “not only imperative for saving health and the environment but for saving lives of vulnerable populations in India,” said the centre in its expert submission. Because suicides are often impulsive, removing easily-available lethal means can help reduce fatality, said experts, citing evidence from countries.

The Times of India

Farmers in Bihar are under stress as the prices of agricultural commodities like pulses have fallen sharply in the past few months. Traders claim the prices of pulses and spices have plunged 20% below the minimum support price (MSP) in the last eight months.

The New Indian Express

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday assured mango farmers of providing all possible assistance to scale up production and improve market linkages. Inaugurating the Mango Festival-2018 at the Central Horticultural Experiment Station (CHES), here on Sunday, Naveen said Odisha is one of the leading producers of mango in the country.

UNI

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Sunday said the Government has decided to connect 22,000 rural markets under online marketing system to ensure better pricing of farm produce.

The Hindu Business Line

Agitating farmers on Sunday sought an apology from the Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh even as their ‘Gaon Bandh’ entered the third day, partially affecting the supply of vegetables and milk in some cities and towns, especially in North India.

The Hindu

Nearly a month after completing ‘Gram Swaraj Abhiyan’ (GSA), a village self-governance campaign in 34 Dalit-dominated villages and ensured they attained saturation in seven flagship pro-poor programmes, the district administration has extended GSA to 302 more villages, which had population of more than 1,000 people.

Telangana Today

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday exhorted farmers to switch over to natural and organic farming while congratulating the 1.63 lakh farmers who are already practising it.Participating in the launch of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) programme near Nagarjuna University here on Saturday evening, the Chief Minister said that a target has been set to bring 60 lakh farmers under ZBNF by 2024 at a cost of Rs 16,000 crore.

Financial Express

In a major policy initiative aimed at benefitting farmers, the government has done away with the licensing permits for foreign vessels for coastal movement of agriculture, fishery and animal produce, besides allowing Indian citizens to charter ships for these, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said. The move is also aimed at promoting processing of seafood at Indian hubs under Sagaramala initiative rather than processing of Indian seafood in Singapore before further exports to countries like Japan. “We have done away with the licensing requirement for plying of foreign flag vessels by foreign players on the coastal line of India for four kind of cargos – agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and animal husbandry.

Outlook

Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Saturday the protest by farmers in various parts of the country were attempts to get media attention, triggering demands by opposition parties for his removal.Singh said the farmers opted for “unusual deeds” to draw media attention as they belong to organisations with only a few thousand members.

The Times of India

In a bid to ensure that there is no leakage in the fertilizer subsidy distribution, the state agriculture department has made Aadhaar mandatory for farmers who buy fertilizer from retail sellers. The subsidized fertilizer will distributed only after matching the biometric details of the farmers with the documents they produce.

The Times of India

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday said that the state should be in a position to export flowers, fruits and vegetables, reversing the present situation with agriculture officials providing guidance to farmers. He said this at a review meeting held with officials and ministers at Pragathi Bhavan.

Millennium Post

Concerned over a large number of farmer suicides across the country in the recent past, the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM) wants to churn out professionals who can reach out to the farmers and train them on modern agriculture so that they can market their produce and at the same time preserve them for a longer period.

The Pioneer

Quint

Farmers continued their protests against the policies of the Central government towards them and dumped agriculture produce and milk on the roads at several places in Punjab and Haryana on Saturday.The farmers dumped vegetables and fruits on the roads and spilled milk. They did not allow other farmers to carry vegetables and milk towards urban areas.

The Times of India

The Tribune

The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and district administration on Friday honoured 117 farmers from Bathinda for suitably managing paddy and wheat stubble instead of putting it on fire during the 2017-18 crop seasons. They were honoured during a function held at the Central University of Punjab (CUP), Bathinda.

The Hindu

In a few years from now livestock is likely to cease to be a major component of agricultural economy even in the backward Adilabad and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts. The changing trend has even poor tribal farmers going in for mechanisation and the Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS) of investment support to farmers in the State has only given a boost to use of machinery.

Millennium Post

With prediction of “below normal” rainfall in East and North-East India by the Met department, the state Agriculture department is ready to tackle any situation, with all sorts of preparation in place to ensure that farmers do not face any loss.

Financial Express

At the end of the day, it was probably the acute distress in Uttar Pradesh’s sugar belt that really cost the BJP the Kairana by-poll that captured the public imagination—since all major Opposition parties came together to defeat the BJP, it was seen as a harbinger of what is in store in 2019. To be sure, the Muslim community is numerically powerful in this constituency, with just over a third of the vote, but the fact is that the BJP won here the last time around, even if you assume Muslims will never vote for the BJP. However, the economic woes of the region—cane arrears, agriculture distress, and disastrous livestock regulation—undoubtedly made things tougher for the BJP, apart from ...

Hindustan Times

Mission for millennium city Expressways and underpasses, CNG buses, more Metro routes, and a new metropolitan authority — Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar shares his government’s plans for one of India’s fastest-growning urban sprawls that has its share of problems but the promise of an even brighter tomorrow.

Mydigitalfc.com

Sonalika International Tractors, India’s third largest tractor maker by sales, is investing Rs 200 crore to set up a new research and development (R&D) facility in the national capital region (NCR) to double its annual sales to two lakh tractors over the next five years.

The New Indian Express

Acute shortage of quality seeds and lack of drive by the Agriculture Department to increase the seed replacement rate are likely to hit the paddy production target set for the Kharif 2018. Anticipating normal monsoon, the State Government has set a target to produce 85.75 lakh tonnes of rice with the productivity of 2450 kg per hectare, spreading over of 35 lakh hectares of land.

India Spend

The annual economic loss due to degraded land and change in land use in India was valued at Rs 3.17 lakh crore ($46.90 billion) in 2014-15–2.5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014-15–according to a recent study commissioned by the ministry of environment and climate change.

The Hans India

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will announce a permanent roadmap for farmers’ welfare and strengthen the agriculture sector further at a major conference involving more than 3,000 officials of the Agriculture department to be organized on June 4 in Hyderabad.

O Heraldo

The BJP government boasts about the various schemes they have successfully implemented in the country which include the Start-Ups and Make in India. A farmer, who invented two machines on his own, is still wondering whether government agricultural officers in Valpoi have not heard of these schemes.

Mint

Agriculture forms the problematic nucleus of the macroeconomic knot which ties us up. It called out for attention even before the pressing necessity of having to cope with a 10-day farmers’ agitation starting 1 June. What led us to this terrible state of affairs?

The Times of India

Getting farmersto use increased Minimum Support Price (MSP) to dispose of paddy and wheat straw is the most effective way of stopping them from burning paddy stubble, said Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Kahan Singh Pannu.

Swarajya

Sins of omission and commission have plagued Indian agriculture for as long as one can remember. This is a perversity, for — at least in terms of popular beliefs — India lives in its villages, and villages are essentially about farming even today. This over-dependence on agriculture for livelihoods should have spurred the creation of competent policies that serve both farmers and the country well. But over the last 70 years, we have got almost everything wrong in terms of agricultural and land policies. Even where we got things right, we have managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.