The New Indian Express

It’s been almost a month since the monsoon season officially set in, but the continued dry spell in many parts of the state has led to water levels in most major reservoirs depleting to alarming levels. The total quantum of water available in the four major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin, as of Saturday, is just about 14 tmcft.

Newsgram

In order to improve women’s lives and household nutrition and health outcomes in rural India, policies need to be context-specific, taking into consideration factors such as caste and location, says new research led by an Indian-origin scientist from University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, England. . Read more at: https://www.newsgram.com/research-policies-need-context-specific-improve-womens-rural-india

The Sangai Express

Inadequate rainfall has been posing a serious challenge to paddy cultivation both in the hills and valley of the State. A top official of Agriculture Department said that the total area under paddy cultivation in the valley districts of the State is 1,13,000 hectares while 82,000 hectares in the hill districts are used for jhum cultivation of paddy. It is reported that Chief Minister N Biren would hold a high level meeting tomorrow and discuss about several measures which can help cultivation of paddy in the valley. An action plan may be formulated at the meeting which would be attended by officials of Agriculture Department, Water Resources Department, Minor Irrigation Department and other relevant departments in order ...

The Hans India

Stating that the government would definitely say ‘no’ to costly power hereafter, Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has categorically directed officials to take stringent steps to plug loopholes and revamp the existing system in AP power sector to make it more transparent and accountable to protect the interests of people and provide cost-effective power, according to Minister for Energy, Forest, and Environment Balineni Srinivasa Reddy.

The Economic Times

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through his radio address, implored the nation to make a collective effort to tackle India’s water crisis. The country must, indeed, wage a war on water usage before it runs dry. GoI has to aggressively manage demand, and recycle sewage water. Unpopular as it may seem, a system of incentives and disincentives is necessary to alter how consumers use water. Without this, and mass citizen participation, this water crisis will sink us.

The Hans India

India is an agricultural country and students who opt courses pertaining to agriculture have a wide scope of job opportunities in the government sector, said Venkat A Naidu, managing director of Dr KN Modi University.

Business Standard

The government is planning to make the certification and labeling process of organic agricultural products simpler and cost effective to narrow the price difference between conventional and hybrid products.

Quint

Shifting the major chunk of rice production to India’s central and eastern states like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, while encouraging wheat cultivation through sustainable irrigation in the rice-growing regions of Punjab and Haryana, could help India prevent an impending water crisis by 2030, according to a 2018 study by the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development and Indian Council for Rural Development and Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. Water demand by 2030 is projected to be twice the available supply, a WaterAid India report from March 2019 showed.

Yourstory

Located along the eastern coastline, Odisha contributes a significant share to the agricultural sector in the country. According to the Activity Report of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, about 62 percent of its total workforce was engaged in the cultivation of 40 percent of its geographical area as of 2017-18.

Moneycontrol

India’s monsoon rains were below average for the fourth straight week, with rainfall scanty over central and western parts of the country in the week ended on June 26, raising concerns about major crop production and the impact on the nation’s economy.

The Indian Express

The Karnataka Poultry Farmers and Breeders Association (KPFBA), as part of its recommendations for the upcoming Union Budget 2019-20, has urged the Government of India to consider all poultry farming activities as ‘Agriculture’ under the Income Tax Act.

Millennium Post

Indian women’s unaccounted contribution in agricultural work has a detrimental impact on the nutrition levels of the households, leading to malnutrition among children, a study suggests. According to the research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK, recognition of Indian women’s roles in both agriculture and domestic work is key to improving household nutrition outcomes.

Krishijagran.com

Multi-layer farming means growing compatible plants of different heights on the same field and at the same time. It is generally practiced in orchards & plantation crops for utmost use of solar energy even under high planting density.

News 18

Agriculture accounts for almost one in every two jobs in India and occupies nearly 16 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) pie. It is the single biggest source of livelihood for Indians but depends on several vagaries, including those of the weather.

The Economic Times

Loan schemes don’t reach almost 60 per cent people in rural India, says a new survey which also finds climate change to be the biggest challenge for one in five farmers.

Millennium Post

The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is mulling to give the status of farmers to landless beekeepers while recognising honeybees as inputs to agriculture and diversify the basket of beekeeping products. The move is aimed at doubling farmers’ income by 2022.

The Economic Times

The US and Australia have raised doubts about India’s new farm sector support scheme,Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) announced in March this year, at the World Trade Organization (WTO) saying it was trade distorting and perhaps, inconsistent with global norms.

Krishihagran.com

As the Kharif season is on, Maharashtra’s agriculture commissioner issued an advisory about a possible infestation of the Fall Armyworm (FAW) in the state. The department has asked maize growers to be careful about sowing the crop, given the large-scale destruction the pest had caused in the last season.

News 18

India’s monsoon rains were below average for the fourth straight week, with rainfall scanty over central and western parts of the country in the week ended on Wednesday, raising concerns about major crop production and the impact on the nation’s economy.

Arunachal Times

Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein has asked the officers of the agriculture and allied departments to come up with pragmatic schemes and prepare long-term (five years) and short term (one year) plans to boost the agriculture and allied sectors and achieve the target of doubling the farmers’ income by 2022. Mein said this while addressing the officers during the pre-budget consultative meeting here on Thursday.

The Hans India

Loan schemes don’t reach almost 60 per cent people in rural India, says a new survey which also finds climate change to be the biggest challenge for one in five farmers.

The Indian Express

AT THE start of the kharif season, Maharashtra’s agriculture commissionerate has raised a red flag about a possible infestation of the Fall Armyworm (FAW) in the state. In an advisory uploaded on its website, the department has asked maize growers to be careful about sowing the crop, given the large-scale destruction the pest caused in the previous season.

The Hindu

The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University on Wednesday released the rank list for admission to undergraduate courses. Revathy of Kanniyakumari, with an aggregate of 200/200, secured the first place this year, which also saw the highest number of applications in the last 10 years, Vice-Chancellor N. Kumar said while releasing the list.

The Hans India

Agriculture continues to be one of the largest livelihood and employment generating sector in the country, with over 50 per cent of the population deployed in it.

Business Standard

Food processing sector witnesses FDI equity inflow of US$ 3.28 billion in April 2014 to March 2019

Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY) is expected to leverage investment of Rs 31400 crore, handle of 334 lakh MT agro-produce valuing Rs 104125 crore, benefit 20 lakh farmers and generate 530500 direct/ indirect employment in the country by the year 2019-20. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Rameswar Teli, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

The Indian Express

Since the Green Revolution, successive governments have emphasised raising agriculture production to make India self-reliant in feeding its growing population. However, agricultural marketing hasn’t received the corresponding attention, despite being a corollary to increased crop production.

The Indian Express

This is the third year Surjit Singh is growing paddy through “direct seeding”. In these three years, he has doubled his area using this technique, as opposed to normal transplanting, to 8 acres. That includes 6.5 acres under PR-126 and PR-127 varieties, sown on June 3. The balance 1.5 acres are under Pusa-1121 basmati paddy, which he will plant in early July for harvesting towards October-end.

The Hans India

The rains with the influence of monsoons occurring since last five days brings cheer to the farmers who were in despair due to continues dry spell now they are preparing for Kharief crop in the district. Farmers of the district have proposed to irrigate around 1.50lakh hectors in the current season.

Down To Earth

Once again, while speaking during the motion of thanks on the President’s speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear in the Lok Sabha that agriculture would be his government’s top priority.

“Agriculture is the backbone of our economy,” he said. His diagnosis is right, and the acknowledgement has come at the right time. Even though more and more people are quitting farming, it continues to employ most in the country

Mint

Monsoon rains have covered most parts of cane, cotton, and soybean fields in western India and some parts of rice-sowing areas in central and northern India, the country’s weather office said on Tuesday.

The Hans India

The Centre is likely to come out with a technology that would facilitate the traceability of seeds by June 2020, said a senior official of the ministry of agriculture here Wednesday. “The major step which the country is going to take is in terms of traceability of seeds. The government is coming out with a software systemin association with seed manufacturers associations and we expect it by June 2020,” Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture said.

Krishijagran.com

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Institute of Agriculture Extension Management (MANAGE), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad at Krishi Bhawan, Delhi.

Business Standard

CropLife India, an association of 18 R and D drove member companies, today, organized a workshop for Pesticide Dealers at Vadodara. The workshop was organized with the help of Kruti Charitable Trust, implementing NGO partner of CropLife India at Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), Karjan District, Vadodara.

The Wire

In a first in Maharashtra, at least 12 farmers from Akola district have been booked for allegedly sowing banned herbicide-tolerant Bt (HTBT) cotton seeds, police said Wednesday.

Krishijagran.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Agriculture is the backbone of rural economy. But we need to change the old ways of thinking. We need to think beyond partisan lines to hand-hold the farmer. The corporate world has no investment in agriculture beyond making tractors. There needs to be more investment in food processing, building warehouses, facilitating the movement from seed to the market. We need to have a futuristic vision for agriculture.”

The Economic Times

Government is considering giving status of farmers to landless beekeepers while recognizing honeybees as inputs to agriculture and diversifying the basket of beekeeping products as it aims to double farmers’ income by 2022.

Sentinelassam

Despite agriculture being the mainstay of a huge majority of people for livelihood across the country, there has been a sustained lackadaisical and callous attitude towards the sector, with different political parties hardly having to say anything meaningful on the issue in their manifestos – quite like when it comes to education imperatives.

Business Standard

Indian women’s unaccounted contribution in agricultural work has a detrimental impact on the nutrition levels of the households, leading to malnutrition among children, a study suggests.

Zee Business

Will the upcoming budget make a path-breaking announcements in the field of agriculture as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Lok Sabha yesterday that the government will now focus on promotion of oilseed production because the nation has gained self-sufficiency in production of pulses. To discuss the focus of budget on rural and agriculture sector, Zee Business discusses the expectations from upcoming Union Budget 2019 with a panel of experts.

Financial Express

Women farmers in Maharashtra have now joined the wave of pro-GM crop protests in Maharashtra by sowing the unauthorised varieties of herbicide-tolerant Bt (HT Bt) cotton in Pusada village, Amravati, on Sunday.

Financial Express

The tardy progress in the spread of southwest monsoon and prevailing heat wave conditions in many parts of the country have delayed planting in the current kharif season, with the area sown remaining nearly 8% lower than in the previous year, top officials in the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) said.

The Indian Express

FARMERS IN seven major paddy-growing districts of Haryana have agreed to opt for maize and other alternatives after the Manohar Lal Khattar-led state BJPgovernment offered major incentives for crop diversification in an attempt to address the rapidly falling groundwater levels in the state.

BW Businessworld

Bernard Baruch, a financier who was economic advisor to the United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Vote for the man who promises least, because he will be the least disappointing”.  Is it a homily, we wonder, that farmers in Madhya Pradesh (MP) should have heard? Before the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly polls, the Congress Party promised to waive loans of up to Rs 2 lakh of some 51 lakh farmers who had applied for the relief. As a poll strategy, it was scarcely innovative, for the tradition of wooing the populous community of Indian farmers with promises of debt write-offs dates way back to 1987.

The Print

Himachal Pradesh’s farmers have been traditionally credited with turning the state’s rugged mountain valleys into India’s best farming hubs, and with bringing in the apple revolution and high-yield cash crops.

The Times of India

Congress leader and former CM Prithviraj Chavan questioned the state’s data in the latest economic survey, saying it showed the agricultural growth rate being revised by as much as 11 percentage points in the same year.

The Wire

Now the robots are coming for our farms. The Washington Post tells us “farmworkers could be replaced by robots sooner than we think.” The Guardian paints a picture of “space bots with lasers, killing plants.” The New Yorker calls ours the “age of robot farmers,” forecasting that “the future of fruit-and-vegetable farming is automation.”

The Economic Times 

With the Union Budget around the corner, the Karnataka Poultry Farmers and Breeders Association (KPFBA) wants the Government of India to consider all poultry farming activities as ‘Agriculture’ under the Income Tax Act.

The Times of India

The Telangana high court on Tuesday directed the principal secretary of the state’s agriculture department to be present before the court on July 1 to explain the reasons as to why the authorities failed to pay compensation to the farmers of Adilabad district whose crops were severely damaged in the heavy rains of August 2018.

The New Indian Express

At a time when the State Level Banker’s Committee (SLBC) is putting its foot down to initiate steps including attachment of property to recover loans to farmers, it has emerged that the bad loans in the agriculture sector in Kerala is as low as 2.75 per cent.

Orissa Post

Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal Tuesday said the government will emphasise on agriculture development and farmers’ welfare for bringing poverty below five per cent over the next five years.

Addressing the inaugural session of the 16th Odisha Legislative Assembly, the Governor said the government will provide interest free crop loans to small and marginal farmers up to Rs 1 lakh.

The New Indian Express

A division bench of Telangana High Court on Tuesday directed the principal secretary to agriculture to appear before it on July 1 and explain the reasons for the delay in payment of compensation (input subsidy) to the farmers of Adilabad district, who suffered crops damage due to unprecedented rains in August last year.

DNA

Demands to lift ban on the use of herbicide-tolerant Bt (HTBT) cotton in the state are growing stronger. Several farmers organisations have argued that the state government needs to take action in this regard soon to avoid the illegal sale of such seeds annually. HTBT is the herbicide tolerant (Ht) third-generation of genetically-modified (GM) cotton.

The New Indian Express

After the moratorium on agriculture loan and SARFAESI Act, the state government is now bracing to take on the public sector banks on the ‘agriculture gold loan scheme’ under the interest subvention scheme (ISS) of the Centre.

NDTV

China’s Qu Dongyu has been elected the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) – a race from which India withdrew its candidate earlier this month. Qu won the election held in Rome during the 41st session of the FAO Conference on Sunday by polling 108 votes. He defeated France’s Catherine Geslain-Laneelle, who got 71 votes, and Georgia’s Davit Kirvalidze, who received only 12.

Bloomberg Quint

“Climate change in India will soon become critical.” That is the warning delivered by NH Ravindranath, the scientist who is tasked with preparing the first national study on the impacts of climate change, even as he describes how unprepared India is in terms of data and planning. Climate change is likely to make rainfall erratic, lead to rising seas and make extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods and heat waves.

Mint

Indians are facing a crippling water shortage and the government has not adequately responded to the situation. Illegal water mafias have emerged, profiting from the distress of the poor, while offering just enough water at exorbitant prices to get through another day. The solution to better manage water and prevent these local water mafias is to introduce water markets in India in a more systematic way.

MoneyControl

Before the Budget on July 05, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has submitted a set of recommendations to the Centre. Priority should be given to revitalise the agriculture sectorthrough increased investments in irrigation (including micro-irrigation), strengthen the agricultural supply chain to reduce wastage, and better prices for farmers.

MoneyControl

The Union Budget 2019-20 will be presented on July 5 and the foremost challenge before the new government is to initiate measures that spur economic growth. An equally important task is to generate employment and, hence, accelerate the pace of poverty reduction. The uproar on job creation triggered following the NSSO periodic labour force survey, which showed the unemployment rate in the country at a 45-year high of 6.1 percent during 2017-18.

Hindustan Times 

More than half of India is reeling from drought-like conditions, the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) latest data shows, with millions struggling for drinking water as lakes dry up and groundwater levels deplete amid a sluggish monsoon that, as per the agriculture ministry, has impacted the sowing of key summer crops over the past two weeks.

The Economic Times

Farmer leaders fear agrarian crisis issue may get pushed to the side on the government’s priorities, as the concerns including farmer suicides that they had raised during elections seem to have had little impact on the way people voted.

The Times of India

Vizianagaram district administration is planning to set up seed villages in a bid to promote seed stockage so that farmers do not procure seed from the government or private agencies. Sources in the agriculture department said increasing dependency on government agencies for seed procurement has meant that farmers have forgotten the art of seed drilling, which was a common practice. They added that seed stocking helps acclimatise the seed to local soil and climatic conditions, ensuring a better crop production.

The Times of India

A month after the agriculture department stopped the winter vegetable zone project at Vattavada and Kanthalloor panchayats, including Devikulam block, agriculture minister V S Sunilkumar has announced another project to encourage winter vegetable and fruit farming at these panchayats. A special meeting held at the minister’s chamber announced the project.

The New Indian Express

Reacting to the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) advertisement that appeared in major dailies on Sunday, stating that recovery procedures on agricultural loan defaulters will proceed unhindered, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said SLBC’s attitude is a double standard.

The Times of India

Farmers in the district expect a reasonably good monsoon and are gearing up for the kharif season, given the rainfall over the last few days. Tilling for kharif will start after another good shower

The Indian Express

The word satyagraha, meaning polite insistence for truth, is associated with the political movements of Mahatma Gandhi for civil rights — first in South Africa and, later, in India. The famous 24-day Dandi March (also known as the Salt March), a non-violent civil disobedience act against the British monopoly on salt in 1930, became a symbol of satyagraha.

Deccan Chronicle

Direct sowing technology introduced by Agriculture department in 1980s when there was a water crisis for cultivation has helped farmers in Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts (then called east Thanjavur area) to sustain their crops overcoming the water problem said Mr. P.R. Pandian, coordinator of ‘Thamizhaga Anaithu Vivasaya Sangangalin Orunginaippu Kuzhu’ here on Saturday.

State Times 

Director Agriculture Kashmir Syed Altaf Aijaz Andrabi on Sunday made an extensive visit of sub-division Sogam district Kupwara. He inspected the various developmental activities being undertaken under different prestigious state and central sponsored schemes and monitored the impact of technological interventions on the ground. During his visit, the Director inspected the water harvesting dam at Chandigham Nai. He urged upon all stakeholders to conserve water by adopting modern scientific practices for better tomorrow by having sustainable agriculture practices on a long term basis.

Down To Earth

We are fairly sure by now that the upcoming Budget would be the first government instrument towards the prime minister’s ambitious plan of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024. Currently, India is nearly a $2.8 trillion economy. It is obvious we don’t need just economic growth to achieve this target but must also ensure a fair distribution of the bounty among all.

The Hans India

Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham has alleged that the government is supplying inferior quality seeds to the farmers. Leaders of the sangham submitted a memorandum in this connection to agriculture Joint Director Gousia Begum.

The Morung Express

Manipur Chief Minister, N Biren Singh has assured that his government is ready to provide all possible support to farmers to enhance production. He was speaking as the chief guest at the closing function of the five-day long Festival of Pineapple and Summer Fruits at Sangaithel Park in Imphal West district on June 23.

The Indian Express

The average size of land holdings among Maharashtra’s farmers has reduced from 4.28 hectare in the 1970s to 1.34 hectare in recent years, rendering crop losses owing to drought or other causes much more critical for farmers.

Orissa Post

Agricultural activities have picked up in Odisha’s Ganjam district following widespread rainfall in last three days, officials said. “The much awaited rains will help the farmers to start agriculture operation, particularly sowing and transplantation of paddy,” said Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA) of Ganjam district, Manoj Kumar Behera.

The Week

Agriculture operation has picked up in Odisha’s Ganjam district following widespread rainfall in last three days, officials said. “The much awaited rains will help the farmers to start agriculture operation, particularly sowing and transplantation of paddy,” said Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA) of Ganjam district, Manoj Kumar Behera.

ET Now

Ahead of presentation of Union Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an interactive session with economists and experts on key issues of macro-economy, employment, agriculture and water resources, exports, education, and health on Saturday.

Asian Age

In a bid to double farmers’ income by the year 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is set to use digital technology to modernise and organise agricultural activities in rural India.

“Digital Technology, like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Blockchain Technology, Internet of Things, etc can play a transformational role in modernizing and organizing how rural India performs its agricultural activities,” Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar told the Rajya Sabha in a written statement.

PSU Connect

Prime minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi has set the ambitious target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022. Taking the clue from this, SJVN Limited has set for itself an ambitious targets for skilling over 6000 farmers by 2022 in latest farm techniques and knowhow. In this direction, as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, SJVN entered into an MOU with CSK Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur. The agreement has been entered for conducting 6 days residential skill development programs in farm technology for 800 farmers. The total cost of the project is around 63 Lakh

Firstpost

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has kick-started its second term by setting the ball rolling for “structural” reforms in agriculture, by announcing a task force under the NITI Aayog. The fundamental problem to be solved is that agriculture supports 48.9 percent of the population but contributes only 14 percent to the GDP. This implies a very low standard of living for half the population. As India strives to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024 ($3 trillion today), the challenge is to reverse this trend.

The Hindu Business Line

Recently, there has been an intense discussion on the strategies needed for addressing farmer distress in India. Among others, assured and greater access to institutional credit has been proposed as a way forward.

BW Businessworld

The Narendra Modi government is giving special focus on improving connectivity in the Northeast and make life easy for the people of the region, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Thursday. In his address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament, Kovind said tourism, agriculture and other allied sectors will also benefit from better connectivity in the Northeast.

The Times of India

The monsoon onset in the state was delayed the most this season in the past nine years, casting a shadow on Kharif crops’ cultivation. Data from IMD revealed that monsoon reached the state between June 4 and 11 since 2011, except in 2016. It touched the state on June 19 then. This year, monsoon covered some parts of Maharashtra on June 20 — the longest delay in its onset in the state since 2016.

The Times of India

Agriculture minister V S Sunilkumar on Thursday sought to allay the fears regarding the validity of moratorium on repayment of loans taken by farmers in the state. Refuting the rumours, the minister said the Reserve Bank of India hasn’t said no to the extension of moratorium which the state-level bankers’ committee (SLBC) had committed to grantfollowing the government request.

The Indian Express

Kharif sowing in Gujarat quadrupled to over 2.07 lakh hectares in the past one week, thanks to the rains induced by Cyclone Vayu. Most of the sowing has happened in regions where there was widespread rain. However, sowing has been high even in districts like Surendranagar and Kutch where the rainfall deficiency is over 60 per cent, despite the recent cyclonic activity.

Financial Express

Ignoring the warning issued by the state agriculture department of Jalna, some farmers at Revgaon village in Jalna came together on Thursday and held a symbolic sowing ceremony of HTBT cotton.

Mint

There is nothing remarkable about Jeevan Saini. He is one among millions of marginal agriculturalists trying to eke out a living from farming in India. He grows a basket of crops—rice, wheat, vegetables and cotton—on six acres of leased land in Nathwan village of Haryana’s Fatehabad district. He has crop loans of ₹2 lakh.

Business Standard

In order to enhance agricultural productivity, an investment of Rs 25 lakh crore will be made in the coming years, said President Ram Nath Kovind while addressing the joint sitting of Parliament on Thursday.

ET Auto

Automotive and industrial lubricant maker Castrol India on Thursday launched its health outreach program for the farmer community.Named as Castrol Khet Aasana, the campaign will extend specially curated yoga aasanas to farmers to help reduce health adversities they face caused by their stressful and laborious schedules, the company said in a release.

Krishijagran.com

Keeping in view the farming sectors distress in Maharashtra since 2016 and the pitched battles faced by CM Fadnavis government over farm loan waiver, Finance Minister said that  Rs. 24,102 crore has been sanctioned to around 50.27 lakh account holders under the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari SanmanYojana – farm loan waiver scheme.

India CSR

JSPL Foundation, the CSR arm of Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) organised a one-day training programme on capacity building for farmers of Deojhar gram panchayat at Gobardhanpur. The interface meeting was attended by around 50 local farmers, agriculture officers and bank officials.

BW Businessworld

The Narendra Modi government is giving special focus on improving connectivity in the Northeast and make life easy for the people of the region, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Thursday.

The Wire

Vasant Mule, a 41-year-old farmer of Umrad village near Karjat in Maharashtra, in a first of its kind arrest in India, was picked up by Maharashtra police for possession of the banned herbicide-tolerant BT (HTBT) variety of cotton seeds.

Moneycontrol

The Narendra Modi government is giving special focus on improving connectivity in the Northeast and make life easy for the people of the region, President Ram Nath Kovind said on June 20.

UNI

President Ram Nath Kovind said on Thursday that to increase the income support of farm community, the government has extended ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ to every farmer in the country and an investment of Rs 25 lakh crore will be made in the coming years to enhance agriculture productivity.

The Indian Express

Baljinder Singh (55) of village Banur in Mohali cultivates 30 acres of land, which includes 5 acres of his own and remaining on rent. But he does not draw a single drop of ground water to irrigate his farm. He does not own a tubewell either.

The Wire

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon is likely to hit Bihar by June 20 – late by close to a week. Ordinarily, monsoon hits the state by June 12-13. Though the IMD is sticking to its previous prediction of near-normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon (June to September) across the country, the monthly and region-wise forecast is not encouraging.

Mathrubhumi

Thiruvananthapuram: Reserve Bank of India has denied permission to the state government move to issue a new moratorium for all kind of loans that farm…

The Better India

If you’ve followed recent developments in the agricultural sector, you would have heard about the Odisha government’s Rs 10,000 crore-Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme covering 54 lakh farm households in the state. Many have touted this scheme as a paradigm shift in the approach to agriculture, but this is just one of the many facets of the ADAPT initiative.

The New Indian Express

With biometric attendance made mandatory, farmers have to spend hours together to purchase seeds from seed distribution centres. In some cases the farmers were rejected as the land shown in the web land portal was not linked with Aadhaar card. In such cases, the farmers have to rush to revenue office to link the Aadhaar.

The Hans India

The financial condition of tenant farmers in erstwhile Mahbubnagar is in a pathetic condition as they are not recognised by the government and thus not eligible for Rythu Bandhu scheme benefits and also for crop loans.

Deccan Chronicle

Delay in monsoons is adversely affecting agricultural operations in the current Kharif season. There has been no rainfall in undivided Nizamabad district in the last fortnight. According to the Meteorological Department, both Nizamabad and Kamareddy districts have been facing large deficit of rainfall ranging from 60 per cent to 99 per cent.

The Economic Times

After dilly-dallying over implementing the PM Kisan Nidhi scheme before the elections and coming under fire from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this count during the poll campaign, Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Rajasthan have finally come on board and fixed a month’s deadline to send names of all 13.5 million beneficiary farmers to the Centre.

The Indian Express

A farmer was arrested in Buldhana district of Maharashtra on Wednesday for allegedly selling unapproved seeds of herbicide-tolerant (Ht) Bt cotton. The accused, identified as Vasant Mulay, has been charged under provisions of the Seeds Act and Cotton Act, said Narendra Naik, a senior officer of the district agriculture department.

Financial Express

As early as 380BC, the noted Greek philosopher Plato cautioned that politicians seeking elections take advantage of citizens’ desire for easy answers. The warning held true in India in the context of the leaked Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) ahead of the 2019 general elections. During the elections, the headline unemployment rate of 6.1% from the survey dominated the discourse on jobs, but it did not capture the complexities of India’s labour market.

OrissaPost

India is one of the largest producer and exporter of spices in the world. It is also a big consumer of spices. We have an illustrious history of producing and exporting spices to around 80 countries.

Krishijagran.com

Telangana Government has issued advisory urging growers not to rush into sowing. The sporadic rains of the last few days are not monsoon rains.

A spokesperson for the Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) said “Going by the forecasts, rainfall in June is likely to be 60 to 70 percent lower than the average figures. But we expect 60 to 70 percent more rainfall in July & September”

The Sentinel

The overall situation on the food front – in the recent past especially – remains far from being satisfactory, with food prices ruling high all over the globe. Food prices are going up on a continuous basis – demonstrations as well as social unrests have badly affected a number of capital cities – think of South Sudan. Time is ripe for dealing firmly with the agricultural disarray. Climatic change has already been telling upon farm growth!

DNA

A drop of 50% in the net arable land led to an abysmally low 0.4% agricultural growth in the state. The state economic survey report revealed that state agriculture growth has consecutively declined over four years. In the production of food grains, cereals, pulses and oilseeds, the state ...

Telangana Today

With farmers in Telangana showing signs of nervousness over delayed onset of monsoon resulting in deferment of kharif crop season operations, agriculture department officials have been reaching out to them with advice on holding back on planting traditional crops such as paddy and instead explore shorter duration crops suited for the emerging conditions.

Business Standard

Diversifying the crops in India can be an effective way to adapt its food-production systems to the growing influence of extreme climate change, said US researchers including Indian-origin.

The team studied the effects of climate change on five major crops: finger millet, maize, pearl millet, sorghum and rice which make up the vast majority of grain production during the June-to-September monsoon season in India — with rice contributing three-quarters of the grain supply for the season.

Mint

The southwest monsoon has started advancing to more parts of eastern India. The advance is slow and the strong winds that typically accompany the monsoon current are missing. A low pressure area is likely to form in the Bay of Bengal in 4-5 days and this may accelerate the current, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Private forecaster Skymet expects rainfall in June to be about 40% below normal. Rainfall is likely to be below normal for the third year in a row, with rains seen at 93% of the long-period average, according to Skymet. IMD has forecast a better monsoon with rainfall seen at 96% of the long-period average.

Business Standard

Strict action will be taken against the companies which are selling unapproved cotton seeds to farmers in the state, said Agriculture Minister Sadabhau Khot on Tuesday.

“Strict action will be taken against the company which is found indulging in selling unapproved cotton seeds to farmers in the state. A committee has also been formed to look into the matter,” said Khot, while speaking to ANI.

Navhind Times

The word ‘agripreneur’ was coined to refer to an entrepreneur in agriculture. Farmers rarely know how to do business and economists only lament that the ‘middleman’ or trader makes the quick buck. Rare is the agency that helps the farmer learn how to do business. All holy protestations notwithstanding, many NGOs simply replace the middleman with themselves. That is changing now with techies entering into farming to produce a new breed of farmers. Perhaps, they can be role models to the sons and daughters of traditional farmers. The ABC of education stands for ‘Attitude, Behaviour Change’ and this is important for entrepreneurship to happen in agriculture.

Mint

Ahead of the maiden budget of his second term in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday brainstormed with top bureaucrats of finance and other ministries to finalize the government’s 100-day agenda with a focus to revive the sagging economy and create jobs.

Down To Earth

Desertification and land degradation are major threats to agricultural productivity in our country. According to the State of India’s Environment 2017: In figures book by Centre for Science and Environment, Desertification has increased to 90 per cent of states in India.

Yahoo news

Maharashtra Chief Minister praised state’s Finance Minister for presenting a well-balanced budget today and said that it has provisions that will provide sustainability in agriculture sector. “Budget was presented by State Finance Minister today is a very balanced one. Through this budget, several policies have come in light that will take Maharashtra forward, especially it has provisions that will provide sustainability in agriculture sector,” said CM Fadnavis while addressing a press conference in Mumbai today. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will attend the 53rd foundation day event of Shiv Sena in Mumbai on 19 June.

Deccan Chronicle

With fake organic products flooding the markets across the state, the Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety (KCFS) has decided to step up measures to ensure quality organic produce for the consumers. Currently, unorganised players without any mandatory certification are selling organic products at exorbitant rates as the state has failed to regulate them.

The Hans India

The Telangana government is gearing up to organise the 32nd International Seed Testing Association Congress-2019 here from June 26 to July 6. The ISTA-2019 is being held here for the first time in South Asia.

The Indian Express

WITH AN eye on the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections, the Maharashtra Budget made a total allocation of Rs 31,000 crore, an increase of Rs 6,000 crore from last year, for two crucial sectors — agriculture and irrigation — to cover new schemes as well as old, some of which have been expanded to include those left out earlier.

Financial Express

India’s plans to double farmers’ income by 2022 and the PM-Kisan scheme are amo-ng a clutch of interventions that have come under the heightened scrutiny of various World Trade Organization (WTO) members, including the EU, New Zealand and the US, in early signs of potential trade tussle.

The Tribune

Congratulations to all… we have achieved 50 degree temperature this year. Let’s cut more trees to achieve 60 degrees the next year,’ a sarcastic tweet the other day came as a jolt. It was, however, hard to tell whether the quiet sarcasm was lost on a majority of the readers who are following Twitter or had made more and more people sit up and think.

Orissadiary.com

The Report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI) is documented in fourteen volumes. The Committee focuses on seven major sources of growth, operating within (6) and outside (1) the agriculture sector. The priority assigned to each will vary depending on the status of agricultural development in States and Union Territories. These sources are:

The Hindu

A month ago, Bt brinjal genetically modified (GM) to resist the brinjal fruit and shoot borer (an insect), was found growing illegally in Haryana. This was a different Bt brinjal from the one developed by the Indian company, Mahyco, in which Monsanto has a 26% stake. Mahyco’s Bt brinjal has been under a moratorium since 2010. Even as the government clamped down on the illegal GM crop, some farmer groups have demanded the release of Mahyco’s Bt brinjal and other GM crops in the regulatory pipeline. It is true that the moratorium was imposed by the then Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, despite being cleared by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the apex regulatory body for ...

DNA

A drop of 50% in the net arable land led to an abysmally low 0.4% agricultural growth in the state. The state economic survey report revealed that state agriculture growth has consecutively declined over four years. In the production of food grains, cereals, pulses and oilseeds, the state ranks fifth after Andra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, Madya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Andra Pradesh has achieved the number one rank in the country.

The Tribune

Agriculture is among the sectors expecting a major push in the Budget for 2019-20. Marathon meetings are being held between Finance, Agriculture and related ministries to fine-tune Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s first presentation that is expected to underline Prime Minister Narendra Modi intent at the recent Niti Ayog meeting — to push for structural reforms in the distressed sector to boost private investment, strengthen logistics and market support to farmers.

Mint

Planting of summer-sown crops in India such as soybean, cotton, rice and corn has been delayed by at least two weeks because of the slow progress of monsoon rains in central and western parts of the country, raising concerns over lower production.

The Hindu

As India has achieved self-sufficiency in food production, the Union government has shifted the focus to empowering farmers economically by enhancing their incomes, said Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) director-general Trilochan Mohapatra on Monday.

DNA

With almost 151 tehsils across Maharashtra reeling under a drought-like situation due to scanty and uneven rains, the agriculture and allied production activities took a massive hit over the last year. While agriculture has grown by a paltry 0.4% in 2018-19 against the 3.1% in the previous year, crop production slipped to (-) 8% against a 0.8% growth last year, according to the Economic Survey 2018-19 that was tabled by state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar in the Assembly on Monday.

News 18

Massive farm-support plans in the United States and India are being scrutinised by other World Trade Organization members, questions submitted to the WTO’s quarterly agriculture committee meeting showed on Monday

The Economic Times

A buffalo breeder in Ambala sounds like an unlikely YouTube star but Harvilas Singh’s video showcasing the innovative automatic drinking bowl he’s come up with so that his farm animals get 24×7 water supply has notched up 5.1 million views on YouTube. The video has been shot by Darshan Singh, a farmer, who runs a popular farming channel.

Newsroom Post

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the creation of a high-level task force on structural reforms in agriculture. Briefing media after the Fifth Meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog chaired by the Prime Minister, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said the Committee will be formed in near future and report will be submitted in next 2 to 3 months.

The Hindu Business Line

The Modi government’s second term in office has begun with the country’s foreign trade policy facing multiple challenges. The day the government took office, President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw the benefits of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), effective from June 5.

Business Standard

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Saturday called on Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to discuss issues relating to farmers’ welfare such as the Kisan Kalyan Nidhi Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

A delegation led by Rupani, Gujarat Agriculture Minister R C Faldu, Chief Secretary J N Singh, Chief Principal Secretary to CM K Kailashnathan, Additional Chief Secretary (Agri) Sanjay Prasad and officers of the agriculture department met Tomar, according to an official statement.

The Hindu

Revival of agriculture poses a major challenge in today’s world, G. Sivaraman, writer and practitioner of alternative medicine, said here on Saturday.

Dr. Sivaraman was the chief guest at the inaugural session of ‘Uzhave Thalai’, a day-long seminar on agriculture and its various practices. Organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Coimbatore (ICCIC), the event is held for the third consecutive year.

The Hindu

The Department of Agriculture has launched a campaign to create awareness among farmers in the district on precautions to be taken to prevent infestation of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) for maize crop in wake of the possibilities of extension of the area of its cultivation in this kharif season owing to enhancement in price and scanty rainfall.

The Economic Times

A buffalo breeder in Ambala sounds like an unlikely YouTube star but Harvilas Singh’s video showcasing the innovative automatic drinking bowl he’s come up with so that his farm animals get 24×7 water supply has notched up 5.1 million views on YouTube. The video has been shot by Darshan Singh, a farmer, who runs a popular farming channel.

India Today

he agricultural sector in the country has been suffering a crisis due to a chain of issues that have not only reduced the overall output of the sector but also led to a massive reduction in farmers’ income. As finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to announce India’s full budget for the year 2019-20, experts want the government to provide a boost to the ailing sector and look beyond short-term measures such as loan waivers and cash transfers

Mint Business Standard The Hindu The Indian Express

Federal policy think tank Niti Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday decided to set up a task force of state chief ministers and central ministers to prepare a blueprint for structural reforms in agriculture, vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar said during a briefing. The members of the task force and the timeframe for making recommendations will be announced shortly.

The Times of India

States and Union Territories should speed up the enrolment of all eligible farmers under the Rs 87,000 crore PMKISAN scheme for the timely transfer of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said Thursday.

The Times of India

The Mukul Madhav Foundation (MMF) and Finolex Industries Limited signed a memorandum of understanding with Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth to give scholarship to 59 students for study in agriculture sector. Mukul Madhav Foundation is partner of Finolex industries for corporate social responsibility

International Business Times

Ahead of the first budget by the new government, a multi-stakeholder consultation meeting was organised by Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) to deliberate upon the various issues of agriculture and allied sector.

The New Indian Express

The State government on Thursday gave administrative sanction for budget release orders regarding a few important agriculture and marketing schemes.

Financial Express

The Governing Council of the Niti Aayog will meet on Saturday to deliberate on measures to address pressing issues such as drought situation, rain-water harvesting and structure reforms in agriculture.

Business Standard

Farmers in the country are expected to contribute Rs 100 per month under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Pension Yojana that seeks to provide minimum monthly pension of Rs 3,000 on attainment of 60 years of age, the Union Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday.

The Siasat Daily

Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister K Kannababu accused the former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of not fulfilling his promises made to the people.

Mint

States and Union Territories should speed up the enrolment of all eligible farmers under the ₹87,000 crore PM-KISAN scheme for the timely transfer of ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said Thursday.

Mint

Farmers will have to contribute ₹100 per month under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Pension Yojana that seeks to provide minimum fixed monthly pension of ₹3,000 on attainment of 60 years, according to the government.

Business Standard

Everybody wants everything. The challenge for finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s first budget is to give everybody something. Here is a look at some common demands from across the country from Modi 2.0 government’s first budget.

News 18

After tall promises by the BJP-led NDA parties during the election campaign, Union Budget 2019 is expected to incline itself towards the growing farm distress in the country.

Dissatisfied farmers formed a major part of the BJP manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections. As newly elected finance minister Niramala Sitharaman will present her maiden budget on July 5, the stress on the rural economy will be a major factor of her debut.

India Today

Three out of every four working children in India are virtually denied of their right to education, said an NGO, adding that majority of them are engaged in agriculture and related industries. Going by the census 2011 data-sets released in 2016, a whopping 62.5 percent of working children and adolescents below 18 years of age engaged in agriculture and related industries.

The Indian Express

The Karnataka Poultry Farmers and Breeders Association (KPFBA) has urged the Government of India to immediately drop the notification called ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (egg-laying hens) Rules 2019′ as it would have an ‘adverse impact’ on the entire poultry sector as both the organised and unorganised poultry farmers would end up giving up poultry farming, in due course of time.

The New Indian Express

Yet another June 12, the date on which Mettur dam is to be opened for delta irrigation,  has passed without release of water.  This is the eighth consecutive year this has happened and farmers in the Cauvery delta are worried kuruvai crop would be lost forever if governments do not take decisive steps and ensure water.

The Times of India

Even as farmers in Punjab have started sowing paddy early, the state agriculture department claimed that it did not find any major violation. Punjab agriculture director Sutantar Kumar claimed that they got some complaints of farmers planning to sow the paddy crop early, but there were no such reports on which action could be taken.

The Times of India

Paddy transplantation will officially begin in Punjab from Thursday. The crop is expected to be transplanted on nearly 28 lakh hectares, down from 31.4 lakh hectares last season.

The New Indian Express

The district agriculture strategy committee has decided to grow both paddy and non-paddy crops in 1,85,100 hectares (ha) of land in the ensuing kharif season.

Crop diversification and mixed cropping, including mango and cashew cultivation, have been given priority.

The Times of India

The agriculture department has busted a gang involved in supplying spurious pesticides to farmers by seizing eight quintals of Imdeclopreed 0.3 GR pesticide.Chief agriculture officer Dr Naazar Singh said, “The pesticide was being sold to farmers in the name of Meerut-based pesticide company.”

Business Standard

In a bid to alleviate the woes of distressed farmers in the state, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday sought a hike from the Centre in the minimum support price (MSP) of various crops for the 2019-20 Rabi season.

On the directive of the Chief Minister, the state Agriculture Department has come out with a detailed proposal for hiking the MSP of wheat from Rs 1,840 per quintal in 2018-19 to Rs 2,710 in 2019-20, and of barley from Rs 1,440 per quintal to Rs 1,974.

Financial Express

Protesting against government restrictions on BT Cotton and other genetically modified crops, farmers affiliated to the Shetkari Sanghatana in Maharashtra said they will continue to plant the banned herbicide-tolerant cotton in their fields in public ceremonies from Thursday.

Business Standard

Experts on Wednesday underlined a need to set up and effectively implement a fodder policy inMaharashtra to ensure survival of livestock in the coming years. Citing examples of states like Gujarat and Rajasthan, they opined that a smooth supply of fodder for domestic animals throughout the year augurs well for rural areas in Maharashtra.

Business Standard

The Punjab government has sought a hike in the minimum support price (MSP) of various rabi crops from the Centre for the 2019-20 season.The state agriculture department has sent a proposal for the increase in the MSP to the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP), an official release stated here.

UNI

Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Department of this district has achieved its target to cover more than 72,000 hectare under cotton cultivation for current year. Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Baljinder Singh Brar here on Wednesday announced that the area under cotton cultivation was 72,011 hectare this year against over 54,000 hectare of last year.

Financial Express

The biggest challenge for finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting her maiden Union Budget on July 5 will be the crisis in the country’s agriculture sector. The interim Budget presented by Piyush Goyal in February had taken a bold step to address the crisis by introducing the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme for providing support to the country’s small and marginal farmers. The Modi government in its second term further sweetened the deal in its first Cabinet meeting by expanding the scope of the scheme to cover all the farmers who will now get Rs 6,000 each a year in their bank accounts, irrespective of the size of their land holdings. The reworked scheme will ...

Krishijagran.com

Saurabh Garg, Agriculture Secretary said the state government will change the Agriculture Policy 2013 with a new one that will concentrate on the income enhancement of farmers. He told that the Agriculture Department had asked for suggestions from various departments concerned to prepare the new policy. The departments were asked to submit their inputs within 2 weeks.

The Times of India

The state government is expected to come up with a new agriculture policy by July-end. “The old policy was framed six years ago. New technologies and marketing conditions have emerged in the past few years. In view of this, a new updated policy is being worked out,” said agriculture secretary Saurabh Garg. The agriculture secretary said allied departments have been asked to suggest their views within two weeks following which the final draft policy will be prepared. Sources said chief secretary AP Padhi, at a meeting, directed increasing farmers income through appropriate production, marketing strategies and creating the right ecosystem for flourishing of farmer producer groups and mobilising private investment.

The Economic Times

Promote agri- startups particularly in rural regions, expand micro-irrigation, treat solar energy as third crop to augment income of farmers and enact labour reforms to push creation of off-farm jobs, were few of the suggestion which representatives of the agricultural and rural development sectors submitted to the Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to boost investment in agricultural sector and enhance market access to farmers.

The Times of India

More than 600 students will be appearing for the Agriculture Aptitude Test (AAT) on Friday at three centres of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). The maximum number of students will sit in the DS Dev Examination Hall, and others in the lecture room complex of the College of Agriculture. The test is meant for the 2+4 year programme for admission to B.Sc (Hons) in Agriculture. The test shall be of one- and-a-half hour duration, comprising 100 multiple choice questions (each of one mark) to be attempted on OMR sheet. Each correct answer will carry one mark, whereas 1/4 mark will be deducted for every wrong answer. The medium of question paper will be both in English ...

IndiaBioscience

G.V. Ramanjaneyulu is the executive director of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA), Hyderabad. CSA attempts to understand farmers’ crises, design remedies and make agriculture productive and ecologically sustainable. Fifteen years since its establishment, CSA has rescued several crisis-stricken villages by introducing organic and sustainable farming, organising farmers into producer organisations and engaging with policy changes.

Financial Express

The government could soon mandate a high-level panel under the Cabinet secretary to review curbs on exports of major farm items — including onion, rice, wheat, cotton and sugar — that witnessed periodic restrictions in the past, in a bid to have a predictable trade regime and add to farmers’ income.

DNA

Maharashtra, otherwise among the more developed states in India, is a classic case of why the power sector has not taken off in India despite two-and-a-half decades of economic liberalisation. Consumers are simply not prepared to pay for using electricity and the country’s mammoth power distribution system is in a mess.

The Telegraph

A new scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, was announced in the interim Union budget presented earlier this year. It was stated that under this scheme farmers holding up to two hectares of land would be entitled to Rs 6,000 every year, to be paid from the budget in three equal instalments. There was a standard exclusion list of institutional owners, professional owners, and owners who paid income tax. This scheme was supposed to benefit 12 crore small and marginal farmers with an aggregate outlay of Rs 75,000 crore. The first instalment was paid retrospectively from December 2018, and many have already received the second instalment. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s election manifesto had promised to expand ...

The Times of India

To encourage organic farming among farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Kisan Pathshalas, known as ‘The Million Farmers’ Schools’, have been launched in the state. The schools aim is to encourage farmers to adopt eco-friendly organic farming and improve the technical know-how of those who have already taken it up. By switching to organic farming, it is hoped, farmers will shift from dependency on pesticides and other chemicals that have robbed the soil of its nutrients and lend a hand in recharging groundwater at the same time. The lectures are being conducted by the agriculture department officials and scientists with examples of farmers who have taken to organic farming and become market leaders by selling organic crops ...

Money Control

Monsoon season becomes very important as it is the life blood of Indian economy. This can be understood with the fact that 70 percent of the summer sown kharif crop is depend on it along with 60 percent of agriculture also dependent on it.

Morung Express

Southwest monsoon this year has become a thing of concern for policymakers as it has not just been delayed by a week, but it is also likely to be sluggish and erratic, which may spell trouble for the farm sector.

The Economic Times

Farm experts and agriculture organisations Tuesday suggested that in the 2019-20 budget, the government should focus on increasing farmers’ income by promoting food processing and farm exports besides addressing certain taxation issue. They said that raising farm output alone cannot ensure better prices to farmers, there was a need to promote food processing and allied farm activities like animal husbandry, fishery and poultry.

Financial Express

A group of officers from the state agriculture department on Tuesday visited houses of farmers in Maharashtra’s Akoli Jahagir village to collect samples of seeds of genetically-modified (GM) HT Bt cotton.

Moneycontrol

Former finance minister Arun Jaitley, who opted out of Modi-2.0 government due to ill-health, is likely to move to a new official residence soon after vacating the palatial bungalow he got as a minister, sources said.

Business Standard

With a view to enrolling nearly 90 million farmers under the expanded PM-KISAN scheme by July, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar has called a high-level meeting with state agriculture ministers on Thursday.

So far, senior officials said database of almost 57.6 million eligible farmers is available with the Centre of which a sizeable chunk has received the first installment of Rs 2,000 under PM-KISAN and have become eligible for the second tranche.

The Hans India

Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said Rs 2,233 crore have been deposited into the accounts of 21.22 lakh farmers under the Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS) in four phases. Directing the senior officials of the agriculture department here on Tuesday, the Minister asked them to ensure that the farmers are not faced with any problems in receiving the RBS funds.

Telangana Today

The State government disbursed Rs 2,233.16 crore to 21.22 lakh farmers under Rythu Bandhu scheme for the current kharif season in four instalments as on Tuesday. The government issued orders releasing Rs 6,900 crore for the scheme about a week ago.

The Times of India

Even as farmers in Punjab have started early sowing of the paddy in various parts the Punjab Agriculture department had not found any major violation. The Punjab Agriculture director claimed that complaints were received from some specific areas about farmers planning to sow the paddy crop. He said that there are no reports of any paddy sowing in the districts on which any action could be taken against the farmers. The farmers in the state have been challenging the government on their decision to sow paddy early from June 1 instead of June 13, scheduled date. However, the farmers are not getting the required labour for the paddy sowing in their areas and ultimately it ...

Business Standard

Odisha government has initiated steps to bring out an updated and dynamic “Agricultural Policy” keeping in tune with the changing conditions of agriculture and its market.

A high-level intersectoral meeting to discuss the matter was held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi in the secretariat conference hall on Tuesday wherein Principal Secretary Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Sourav Garg outlined the issues for discussion.

Financial Express

With southwest monsoon hitting Kerala seven days behind the usual onset date, 82% of the country’s geographical area has seen deficient/no rainfall till Tuesday.

This, coupled with the cyclone Vayu hampering monsoon’s progress — IMD says it will lose momentum only by June 14 — has heightened the concerns over a likely drop in kharif-sowing area.

Orissa Diary

A high-level inter-sector meeting for the purpose was held under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi wherein Principal Secretary Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Sourav Garg outlined the issues for discussion.

Nagaland Post

India is losing 5,334 million tonnes of soil every year which is about one millimeter of top soil being lost due to soil erosion because of indiscriminate use of fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides over the years (The Hindu, 2010). The organic matter content, on an average, has gone down to a critical level and several micro-nutrient deficiencies are surfacing rather quickly in different parts of the country (The Hindu, 2017).

The Times of India

Until a decade ago, agriculture was not a career option for urban students. Aspirants and their parents’ associated agriculture jobs with working in the fields in a remote, rural area. However, that perception has changed over the last few years with the state and central government’s focus on this sector. Experts speculate that there will be more jobs in agriculture and allied industries, than ever before. “India being a land of agriculture, the future of agriculture education must grow in an extravagant way,” says Rajendra Prasad, vice-chancellor, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore.

The Free Press Journal

Southwest monsoon this year has become a thing of concern for policymakers as it has not just been delayed by a week, but it is also likely to be sluggish and erratic, which may spell trouble for the farm sector.

Business Standard

Several hundred farmers Monday sowed genetically modified Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) cotton and brinjal in Maharashtra’s Akola district in protest against the Union government’s ban on their use in agriculture, a farm outfit functionary said.

Mint

In a series of major decisions in its first cabinet meeting, the Andhra Pradesh government on Monday said all women who send their children to school will receive ₹15,000 from the state government from 26 January next year.

The Economic Times

An Indian farm group said its members had planted a variety of genetically modified cotton seeds which have not been approved by the country’s government, an offence that could result in five years imprisonment.

The Indian Express

After half a century, India is under a major locust attack from breeding grounds in Balochistan, Pakistan. Other international tidings are also not favourable for Indian farmers. In 2014, crude prices had hit rock bottom and the government received a bonanza of a few lakh crore. Circumstances have changed today: India’s finances are in a perilous state and we face the spectre of a drought.

State Times

Advisor to Governor K K Sharma on Monday called for tapping state’s growth potential in Farming sector. “Take determined efforts to bridge the gap between farmers, researchers, policy makers and development agencies for formulation and implementation of need based plans to facilitate growth of farming as a viable and lucrative venture in the state” he was speaking at an interactive meeting with statutory officers/officers of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Science and Technology (SKUAST) Jammu.

The Times of India

The report on Periodic Labour Force Survey 2017-18 has now been released. Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made much of the leaked estimate of unemployment rate of 6.1%. Hoping to turn voters against him, they repeated ad nauseam that unemployment rate had turned the highest in 45 years. But with their blinkered vision, they failed to see that the flip side of unemployment rate is employment rate, which stood at a hefty 94%. For most voters, unemployment was not an issue.

Rising Kashmir

Director Agriculture, P S Rathore, today reviewed the stocking of inputs like seeds, fertilizers, machinery for Kharif season and implementation of various farmers’ welfare schemes, here at a meeting. The meeting was attended by Joint Director of Agriculture (Inputs), Bule Kumar Zuti, Joint Director of Agriculture Extension, Anil Arora and Chief Agriculture Officers and Sectoral Officers. The implementation of action plans under the schemes like Ratriya Krii Vikas Yojana (RKVY), National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), Seed Village Programme (SVP) were discussed in detail. The improvement of infrastructure facilities at the grass roots level also came up during the discussions in the meeting.

The Times of India

Agriculture minister Vijai Sardesai on Monday floated the idea of developing Agricloud, a digital platform for management of agriculture activities in the state, the tender for which will be issued soon. The interface will enable the government to register farmers and keep track of all subsidies and inputs provided, while allowing farmers to make informed decisions through customised information provided by the system. “If my idea of setting up 500 organic clusters in Goa by this year actually works, we can have an Agricloud. We are in the process of finalising the tender for Agricloud,” Sardesai said.

The Indian Express

The Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) of Unjha in Mehsana district is set for a change of leadership after current chairman Gaurang Patel’s ‘Vishwas Panel’ on Monday lost to Dinesh Patel’s ‘Vikas Panel’ by as many as 10 seats to the election for 12 positions in the farmers and traders categories.

Qrius

As of June 8, the government said that it will implement the PM-KISAN scheme for farmers across India. After a cabinet meeting, the NDA government notified the ministry of agriculture to work with the states on implementing the programme.

ET Rise

Agri-focused accelerator and investor Pioneering Ventures has launched its Rural India Impact Fund, a private equity fund with a targeted corpus of $70 million, to provide growth capital exclusively to companies it has backed so far.

Financial Express

As several industries reel under the impact of rural slowdown, raising farm productivity could be one step towards increasing the demand from the rural sector, according to one of the foremost agriculture economists. For achieving this, India needs to rev up its agri-GDP growth which is below the desirable level of 4% per annum, Ashok Gulati, Chair Professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, wrote in The Indian Express today. “India has never had any major agri-reforms and farmers’ incomes have remained very low,” he added.

Mathrubhumi

The opposition in the House moved a notice for an adjournment motion to discuss the farmers suicide in the state. Congress MLA I C Balakrishnan moved the notice for adjournment demanding a discussion in the wake of not waiving farmers loans

Yourstory.com

How often do you come across a person who has the fortitude to quit a high-paying corporate job to make a difference to the livelihood of farmers? Well, not every day.

Venkat Iyer was leading a comfortable life in Mumbai. He was at the peak of his career in his role as Project Manager at International Business Machines (IBM) when he resigned from his position.

The Economic Times

The monsoon, which hit Kerala on Saturday after a week’s delay, has advanced into more areas in the state, southern Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep among other regions, including the southern Arabian Sea. Rain is likely to be lower than average across the country in June and July before strengthening in the final two months of the season, an official said, underscoring worries about rural weakness amid sluggish overall growth.

The Indian Express

As per the last report of National Statistical Office (NSO) released on May 31, the Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (2011-12 prices) for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2018-19 has slumped to 5.7 per cent for the overall economy, 3.1 per cent for manufacturing, and -0.1 percent for agriculture, forestry and fishery. However, for the entire financial year, FY19, GVA growth is more respectable — 6.6 per cent for the economy, 6.9 per cent for manufacturing and 2.9 per cent for agriculture.

The New Indian Express

After formulating a comprehensive policy for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Odisha Government has prepared an operational guideline for promotion of such organisations and their sustainability.

The Times of India

With water-guzzling paddy transplantation already begun, the Punjab government is thinking up ways to take control of the fast depleting underground water table. One such measures at sustainable water management is its latest attempt at promoting drip irrigation in maize crop. The state agriculture and farmer welfare department has fixed a target for sowing maize: 1.50 lakh hectare. A pilot project of micro irrigation on maize crop will be taken up in 1,000 acre this season under state government’s ambitious project Tandrust Punjab.

The New Indian Express

The State Government will allot funds to the tune of Rs 3.17 crore to the district for revitalising vegetable farming and for implementing various projects in this regard.

The Times of India

The delay in the onset of monsoons and a lack of pre-monsoon showers has turned out to be a cause of concern among Goa’s farmers. With the state receiving only 0.6 mm of pre-monsoon showers in May this year, as against the 105.8 mm received in May 2018, the Goan farmers are apprehensive about sowing the paddy crop. Sources said that some overcautious farmers are planning to sow short duration varieties like Jyoti with a harvesting time of 110 days as compared to the traditional Jaya variety, which is a long duration variety

The Times of India

After the introduction of slip-based sale for fertilisers, Telangana agriculture department, for the first time in the country, is offering diplomas to dealers to help them sell pesticides in a rational manner. Telangana sees an annual sale of about 4,000 tonnes of pesticides, and with this new initiative, officials hope to reduce it by 10%. There are about 6,000 dealers across the state.

Financial Express

As per the latest report of the National Statistical Office (NSO), released on May 31, the Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (2011-12 prices) for fourth quarter (Q4) of FY19 has slumped to 5.7% for the overall economy, 3.1% for manufacturing, and -0.1% for agriculture, forestry and fisheries. However, for the full financial year, FY19, GVA growth is more respectable: 6.6% for the economy, 6.9% for manufacturing and 2.9% for agriculture.

The Wire

A farmers’ body has announced that it will be sowing genetically modified seeds of brinjal and cotton in Maharashtra on June 10, even though the varieties are banned in the state. Around 5,000, under the aegis of the Shetkari Sanghatana, are expected to gather in Akola to plant the transgenic varieties as a mark of protest against the government’s ban.

DNA

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold her first pre-budget consultation meeting with farm bodies and agricultural experts on Tuesday amid delayed monsoon and drought in some states like Maharashtra.

This would be the first interaction of Sitharaman, who took over as India’s first full-time woman finance minister last month after the BJP-led NDA government won the second term. Sitharaman will be presenting the Modi 2.0 government’s first full budget on July 5.

Deccan Chronicle

The farmer and his cattle have been inseparable companions across the centuries and when he decides to sever the bond by selling off his bovines at the local cattle market, the pain no doubt, is unbearable. But when the skies fail to open up and the farmer has loan sharks breathing down his neck, there is hardly anything else he can do, Cattle are costly to maintain and with no land to till and no crop to reap, the sale is happening with increasing frequency in parched North Karnataka. Cattle markets are  getting more and more crowded as villagers look beyond agriculture to measly jobs in the state or elsewhere to keep the pot boiling. Vittal Shastri ...

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