News 18

Agriculture loans worth Rs 10,253 crore disbursed by Syndicate Bank have turned into non-performing assets (NPAs) in the last five fiscal years until March 2018, revealed an RTI query.

The New Indian Express

A month after launching Agriculture Exports Policy, the Central government is now banking on promotion of organic produce and organic processed food to help increase the income of farmers. It is likely to announce more incentives for organic farmers and food processors.“We cannot increase the income of farmers if we do not encourage them to go for value-added agriculture. In the next few months, our focus will be to promote organic farming in a big way, bringing farmers and organic food producers together,” said a senior official from the Agriculture Ministry.

Odisha TV

The revenue generation of Odisha has seen a growth of 19 per cent until the end of December against the corresponding period of the previous financial year, said an official on Tuesday.

Financial Express

Recent state elections have made it very clear that the key agenda of the coming Lok Sabha elections will revolve around the farm sector. It appears that farm loan waiving scored more weight than numerous productivity enhancement and risk reduction schemes (such as higher minimum support prices, soil health cards, irrigation schemes, e-NAM, agricultural insurance, and many others). This is despite of the fact that, at the all-India level, as high as 48% of farmers are non-borrowers, and only 23% borrow from formal sources (Situation Assessment Survey 2012-13).

The Hindu Business Line

The Commerce Ministry has asked States to set up nodal agencies dedicated to the implementation of the agriculture export policy approved by the Union Cabinet recently.

Krishi Jagran

As per the information provided by the Minister of State for Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shri Parshottam Rupala, with a view to ensure availability of agriculture credit (including loans taken against Kisan Credit Card) at a reasonable cost/at a reduced rate of 7% per annum to farmers, the Government of India, is implementing an interest subvention scheme of 2% for short term crop loans up to Rs.3 lakh.

The Times of India

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu Tuesday asked states to set up a nodal agency dedicated for the implementation of the agriculture export policy. Last month, the Cabinet approved the agriculture export policy with an aim to double farm shipments to USD 60 billion by 2022. Prabhu was speaking at the inauguration of the first national workshop on the policy. The minister “exhorted all state governments to set up a nodal agency dedicated for the implementation of the policy,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.

The Better India

The hilly region in the state of Uttar Pradesh saw a crippling drought for the fourth time in five years in 2018, where hundreds of farmers were pushed to kill themselves due to mounting debts and crop failures or completely abandon their ancestral profession.

Business Standard

In a bid to give a boost to the agriculture sector and agri-allied businesses, the state cabinet Tuesday approved the Maharashtra State Agriculture and Rural Transformation (SMART) project.

The Economic Times

The Narendra Modi government is looking at yet another relief package for sugar companies, and this one could be twice the size of the one announced in September 2018, ET Now learns from sources in the government.