Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
With no clarity on loan waiver, farmers, co-op banks take a beating in Karnatakaedit
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.
Time to shift focus from land to water productivity in farming, says NABARDedit
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.
Agriculture has not been an occupation alone but an environment influencer, finds studyedit
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.
Experts call for strict measures to conserve water in Tamil Naduedit
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.
Agriculture varsity readies to deploy dronesedit
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.
Big challenge in Punjab to move to non-chemical means of agricultureedit
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.
Central fund for mowing stubborn stubbleedit
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.