Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Woman farmer develops six rice varietiesedit
Asawari Poshattiwar, a woman farmer from Talodi village, has carved a niche for herself not just among farmers but also among scientists by developing six new varieties of rice in the past 17 years by using ‘selection method’. Another fifteen varieties are in the pipeline, including three to be released in immediate future. All these varieties are grown organically.
1.85 lakh farmers to get first installment of ‘Samman Nidhi’ before votingedit
Even though the agriculture department has no direct responsibility in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, but officials are making sure the farmers get first installment of Rs 2,000 under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme. So far, data of 2.28 lakh farmers of Agra district has been uploaded on the online portal of the scheme. Around 43,000 farmers received the first installment earlier this month. 1.85 lakh farmers are yet to get the amount credited to their bank accounts. According to the department officials, all the eligible farmers will get Rs 2,000 before the election on April 18.
Punjab: Watered down waiver, lack of reforms has farmers in a bindedit
Two years on, the government claims that it has fulfilled its promise and waived Rs 4736-crore debt of 5.83 lakh farmers. The truth, however, is that this watered down ‘debt waiver scheme’ came with several riders.
Budget
67.82 lakh farmers miss benefits as states didn’t upload details on the PM-KISAN portaledit
Over 67.82 lakh farmers will be left out of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme as West Bengal, Sikkim and Delhi have not uploaded their details on the PM– KISAN portal, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Sunday.
Stubble Burning
57% drop in stubble burning in Punjab: PAU VCedit
As the two-day Kisan Mela concluded at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Saturday, shor duration rice seed varieties PR 121, 114 126 and 122 sold like hot cakes on the last day of the fair. Farmers were also drawn to the stalls of basmati varieties 1121, 1509 and the newly released 1718. However, field functionaries advised them to not grow basmati on large areas as there has been a significant drop in crop prices.