Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Make India climate smart: We have big infrastructure plans but forget to review them through a climate change lensedit
India will invest billions of dollars in public infrastructure over the next few years. Government policies also aim to massively increase private investments across sectors – manufacturing, services and agriculture. Each of these policies and investments will have time horizons spanning five to 50 years. Examples of planned infrastructure include – 100 new airports with an investment of $60 billion, interlinking of rivers at a budget of Rs 5.5 lakh crore, a linked network of ports through Sagarmala at an outlay of Rs 4 lakh crore. At a different scale, just one project – the 29.2 km coastal road planned in one city, Mumbai – will cost Rs 10,000 crore.
Maharashtra Farmers’ Shattered Hopes in Onion Fieldsedit
When the market falls badly, farmers turn to other crop than onions. So, in the next season the rate of onions shoots up to sky. This gives a good amount to the farmers directly. Then, in the next season, large number of farmers again shift to onions. The extra produce results in the falling of prices. And so on. This is the cycle of crisis. Over the last thirty years, this has been happening season after season.
Agriculture: The Green Fistedit
The Modi regime’s focus from the start had been to reshape the entire farming system in India through an income revolution. The government’s rather larger – than- life – vision is to double farmers’ income by 2022. Yet, the years 2017 and 2018 will probably be best remembered for attempts to “use farmers as a tool” to serve political ends. In 2019, a year that will prove decisive for the electorate, what then should the farmer expect – beyond promises that is?
Budget
Budget 2019 to be dedicated to farmers: Agriculture Ministeredit
India TV Business Insider Business Standard DNA
Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Wednesday said the Budget will be dedicated to farmers in the country as part of the government efforts to double their income by 2022. “It was a matter of pride that due to the implementation of various farm schemes, India has become among the leading economies in the agriculture sector,” he said at a conference organised by the Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) here on ‘Government, Industry and Farmer can work together to make farming more profitable’.
Stubble Burning
These UP farmers reduced their carbon footprint by 22 lakh kilos, using this methodedit
Several parts of North India continue to move towards the red zone of the air quality index, majorly due to stubble burning. A commonly used method, it involves intentionally setting fire to the straw stubble remains of crops, after the harvest is complete. Due to its adverse effects on the environment, it was banned by the state governments of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. While sections of farmers continue to protest against the ban, claiming that the alternative options are not effective enough, farmers in Meerut have proved them wrong.
CSR: Eco-Friendly Alternative to Stubble Burningedit
Stubble burning is a norm among farmers in northern India. The practice includes intentional burning of the straw stubble remains of the crop after it is harvested. However, this activity was causing extreme pollution in the environment. In fact, in October 2018, stubble burning in Punjab was responsible for 32% of the pollution in Delhi, according to a report by the Centre-run system of Air Quality Forecasting and Research.