Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
What ails India’s agriculture and farmers? Three experts share their viewsedit
V M Singh, Harish Damodaran and Mekhala Krishnamurthy explain why India’s farmers, with their stressed finances, have been protesting and demanding better policies, and how the government could address their issues
16 villages in Bhagalpur to adopt smart agricultural practicesedit
Agriculture department sources said agriculture scientists and experts would monitor the CSVP, which will take into consideration weather conditions and forecast, environmental pollution, tolerant (drought and waterlogged soil) variety of crop besides soil and water conservation, rise in temperature and other factors before embarking on cultivation, so that the vagaries of nature have minimal effect.
More than 60% markets sell agricultural produce below MSPedit
Chand Singh, 70, a farmer who owns 4 hectares of farmland in Kalajhar village, says traders rejected 20 tonnes of paddy that he cultivated as it was affected due to humidity. “If traders don’t accept it, I will have to sell it to a private agent at a much lower price than the Minimum Support Price (MSP).”
Despite ban, farmers continue to burn stubble in Haryana’s Fatehabadedit
Even after prohibition, farmers in the state’s Fatehabad district continues to burn stubble in the region.
The state’s Agriculture Department Director Balwant Saharan said that they have identified 180 cases of stubble burning between September 25 and October 21.
Can Delhi breathe cleaner air this winter or ‘stubborn’ stubble burning will choke the capital again?edit
The air pollution in Delhi NCR, especially in winter months, is mainly contributed to by heavy concentration of PM 2.5 (ultra-fine) and PM 10 (coarse-dust) particles, and gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and nitrous oxides, among others. By devising a scientific methodology, these parameters are combined into a single quantitative measure called Air Quality Index (AQI) to assess overall air quality.
Punjab: Over 2,500 stubble burning cases so far, figure likely to shoot upedit
WITH JUST one-fourth of the total estimated paddy arrival in mandis till now, a total of 2589 fire incidents have been reported as per remote sensing data of the PPCB. Punjab’s air quality index has been rated as ‘moderate’ by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and also by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) as of now.
Over 50% fall in stubble burning so far, but worst is yet to comeedit
Fire incidents during the 2018 stubble burning season in Punjab and Haryana have reduced by almost 55% between September 1 and October 23 compared to last year, according to the latest data available with the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
Technology in Agriculture
Delhi’s smog is back, as the problem of crop residue burning persistsedit
Come October end, and the National Capital Region is enveloped in a noxious smog. The Air Quality Index, developed by the Central Pollution Control Board, in Delhi is in the region of 300 now — which is considered ‘poor’. The immediate reason for the AQI spike at this time of the year is the hectic burning of rice straw to clear the fields as soon as possible for the sowing of wheat. While satellite images suggest that straw burning has reduced, following a punitive ‘ban’ by the National Green Tribunal in December 2015, the practice continues for compelling economic reasons.