The Telegraph

Agriculture minister Prem Kumar on Tuesday directed field officials to generate awareness about the benefits of micro irrigation among farmers.The directions to spread word on the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana were issued at a review meeting to assess the implementation.

Outlook

According to the latest figures released by the government, farmer suicides in 2016 have come down to 6351 from 8007 in 2015, a drop of 21 per cent. Suicides among agricultural labourers, however, have gone up by about 10 per cent, from 4,595 farm labour suicides in 2015 to 5,019 in 2016.

CNBC TV18

Scores of dairy farmers demonstrated here on Tuesday and spilled milk on the road, demanding subsidy in exports and fixed minimum price of their produce from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Gathered under the banner of All India Progressive Dairy Farmers Association (AIPDFA), they threatened of a nation-wide agitation if their demands were not met within 15 days and submitted a list of their demands to the Prime Minister.

News Patrolling

The agricultural drone has joined the league of smartphones to become farmer’s choice when it comes to the use of technological-driven tools on the farm. Farmers make use of them to perform various operations on the farm ranging from plant health monitoring to other activities such as pest control and the likes. Drones are easy, cheaper and more autonomous due to the achievement recorded in the development of its software, this rapid software development saves the farmer from the use of a specialized drone Pilot.

Analytics India

AgriTech in India has become a booming field with numerous startups working with technologies such as data analytics, machine learning and satellite imaging, among others, enabling farmers to maximise their output. According to a NASSCOM report, the Indian Government specifically supports AgriTech startups through its Startup India program. In 2016, more than 350 AgriTech startups raised $300 million in investment globally, out of which Indian investment accounted for 10 percent.

The Pioneer

More than two years after its formal launch, the Centre has decided to impose financial penalties on State Governments, banks and insurance companies for delay in claim settlement under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Insurance Companies and State Governments will have to repay with 12 per cent interest if they fail to clear claims of farmers for loss of crop loss within two months. The decision was taken by the Ministry of Agriculture after reports that insurance companies, banks are not settling claims of farmers for their crop loss despite insurance of crops.

Telangana Today

The Niti Aayog is in the process of chalking out a draft national policy on linking National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) works with the agriculture sector, Union Secretary for Rural Development Amarjeet Sinha Singh said here on Tuesday. Speaking at a workshop conducted by the Telangana State government in association with NITI Aayog, he said several States were already reaping the benefits of NREGA by utilising labour in agriculture activities. “Deploying employment guarantee scheme workers in agriculture works will increase income levels of farmers besides reducing investment costs,” he said.

The Pioneer

Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development Minister Gaurishankar Bisen has said that the Government has fulfilled the challenge of increasing agricultural production in the state. Arrangement is being made for better marketing of agricultural produce of farmers.