The Pioneer

The State Agriculture Department has decided to launch a ‘Fasal Surakhya Abhiyaan’ from October 1 in all districts of the State to extend support to farmers in controlling pest attack.

Business Standard

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley must intervene and grant a special bailout package for farmers to bring them under institutional credit cover, Kishore Tiwari, chairman of a task force set up to tackle Maharashtra’s agrarian issues said Sunday.

The Indian Express

The Maharashtra government has sent notices to nearly 60 cotton seed companies seeking a compensation of Rs 1,050 crore for the losses incurred by farmers owing to their sub-standard seeds that were prone to pest attack. The agriculture commissioners’s office, which is conducting hearings of farmers and seed companies on the issue, is nearing the end of the process and the amount of compensation is likely to go up to Rs 1,200 crore, said officials. This could be the highest ever payout sought by the government from the companies. Last year, farmers across Maharashtra reported large areas under cotton as affected by pink bollworm, a major cotton pest. Following the pest attack, the government adopted three ...

Financial Express

While recently releasing the book, Supporting Indian Farms the Smart Way by Ashok Gulati, Marco Ferroni and Yuan Zhou, Arun Jaitley remarked that India needs a good blend of investments and subsidies in its agriculture policy. He said that, luckily, there are no severe constraints on resources to invest in rural areas, be it roads, water (irrigation), sanitation, and even housing. If he could include in this list of rural investments, agri-research and development (R&D) and quality education also, it can pay off handsomely in terms of reducing poverty and propelling agri-growth at a much faster pace than has been the case so far. This is a clear cut message of the book.