Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Is there a smart way towards feeding world at a reasonable price?edit
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!
Maharashtra: Failed policies, low yield led to sluggish growth in agriculture sectoredit
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 ...
Delayed monsoon keeps farmers on edge in Telanganaedit
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.
Diversifying crops will mitigate climate impact in India: Studyedit
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.
How a deficient monsoon impacts the economyedit
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.
Strict action will be taken against firm selling unapproved cotton seeds: Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Khotedit
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.
Development through Agripreneurshipedit
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.
PM Modi brainstorms with key secretaries to finalize 100-day agendaedit
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.
Desertification is one of the biggest challenges for Indian agricultureedit
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.
Maharashtra budget will provide sustainability in agriculture sector: Devendra Fadnavisedit
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.
To stay truly organicedit
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.
World Seed Testing Congress in Hyderabad from June 26edit
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.
Maharashtra Budget 2019-20: Rs 31,000 crore allocation for agriculture, irrigation sectorsedit
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.
EU to India: How will you double farmers’ income by 2022?edit
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.
Budget
Maharashtra Govt presents additional budget for 2019-20 with revenue deficit of Rs 20,292 croreedit
Maharashtra government on Tuesday presented additional budget for 2019-20 with a revenue deficit of Rs 20, 292 crore. The government has estimated revenue expenditure of Rs 3.34 lakh crore against the revenue receipts of Rs 3.14 lakh crore.
Budget targets struggling agricultural sectoredit
In a bid to provide relief to farmers, the state government has stressed on the agricultural sector in its budget. However, the budgetary allocation for agriculture and allied activities in the current financial year is lower than that in the previous two years.
Technology in Agriculture
Submit applications to get subsidy on farm machinery by June 30edit
To ensure that farmers do not pollute the environment by burning the paddy straw, the agriculture and farmers’ welfare department, Punjab, has started a scheme where subsidy will be given to farmers on farm machinery used for managing paddy straw. While providing information, Dr Baldev Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO), Ludhiana, said like last year, this year also, subsidy on farm machinery would be given to farmers of the Ludhiana district under the in-situ management of crop residue scheme.
Stubble Burning
Accept, address, alleviateedit
A number of Indian cities find their coveted place in the list of ‘most polluted cities in the world’. As per WHO’s 2019 report, 15 out of the 20 most polluted cities belong to India – Gurugram topping charts with average annual PM 2.5 at 135 g/m3, while Delhi sits at the 11th position, down from the last time. WHO advisory will tell you that fine particles, less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, should not be exceeding 10 micrograms/m3. Such fine particles called particulate matter (PM) – microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the atmosphere – cause a wide array of health issues such as respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, pregnancy complications and can even be fatal. ...