The Times of India

Most farmers growing rice and wheat in north India prepare their fields for wheat crop in October-November by burning the stubble that remains after rice has been harvested, ploughing the field and sowing wheat using conventional seeders. The study — Fields on Fire: Alternatives to Crop Residue Burning in India — compared 10 common alternatives used by farmers, three of which involve residue burning.

The New Indian Express

Andhra Agriculture department joint director M Vijayabharathi assured that the farmers need not worry about the availability of fertilisers, as adequate stocks were available in the market. Addressing a press conference in Guntur on Friday, she said that the Kharif season had begun and that the government has also announced the supply of water for irrigation for the benefit of the farmers.

Telangana Today

Uttar Pradesh is firm on replicating the success story of the Telangana model of seed development which was recognised even by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). A delegation of officials from UP led by its Minister for Agriculture Surya Pratap Sahi visited Bandamailaram village, 30 kms from the city, to study key aspects of the seed park being developed by the State government.

Business Standard

Growth in agriculture and allied activities recovered a bit to 2 per cent in the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal year (2019-20 or FY20) from 0.1 per cent contraction in the last quarter (Q4FY19). But, in Q1FY19, the farm sector had grown 5.1 per cent. Farmers, however, could pin their hopes for a better future on the rising inflation rate in some crops at 5.9 per cent in the quarter under review. In the year-ago period, the inflation rate was 1.7 per cent.

 

United News of India

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said the farming was a noble profession. Speaking after inaugurating a three-day 5th Edition of “ Aqua Aquaria India 2019”, organized by Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) at Hitex here, Mr Naidu said that that the people were entering into aqua culture and fish culture because agriculture become unviable for farmers. Hence the farmers are taking other professions, he added.

India Today

To promote uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining of procedures across the integrated markets, removing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promoting real time price discovery based on actual demand and supply. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) has been formulated for enhancing agricultural productivity especially in rainfed areas focusing on integrated farming, water use efficiency, soil health management and synergizing resource conservation.

Orissa Post

The state government Wednesday launched a multi-dimensional pilot project for developing agriculture in an attempt to improve the condition of farmers in the district. The pilot project is intended to improve the lives of farmers through application of science and technology, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said after inaugurating the project through video conferencing. The project will enhance the income of farmers through improved productivity in horticulture, cultivation of alternative tuber crops in the maize eco-system, aromatic grasses on unused land and through extraction of aromatic oil from lemongrass, turmeric and eucalyptus round the year. An amount of Rs 520.88 lakh has been sanctioned for the project in the year 2019-20.

Crisil

Farm profit from field crops is expected to increase 10-12% in kharif season 2019 because of expected higher prices and despite lower output, CRISIL Research’s Agriculture Report 2019 said. After three years of healthy growth, kharif output this time could decline 3-5% because of lower sowing acreage and yields being impacted by uneven distribution of rains. Delayed onset of monsoon has already led to a sharp 6.4% decline in paddy sowing as on August 22, 2019. Paddy accounts for over 30% of kharif season acreage. However, area under cotton and maize cultivation would be higher than in the previous season as higher prices have encouraged farmers to sow them.

Business Intelligence

Agriculture is an important sector of the Indian economy, with over 70% of the country\’s population depending on it as their major source of income.India holds the second position in the world in agricultural production. Currently, India is the largest producer of spices, pulses, milk, tea, cashew and jute, and the second largest producer of wheat, rice, fruits and vegetables, sugarcane, cotton, and oilseeds. In terms of agricultural contribution, some of the most developed states in India are Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Gujarat. Mahindra and Mahindra, Escorts, VST, and Force Motors are the major players in the agricultural machinery market in India.

 

Krishi Jagran

Punjab State Farmers Commission (PSFC) has come up with many new initiatives and suggestions to strengthen its agriculture sector including limiting paddy cultivation by a Punjab farmer to a maximum of four hectares, sourcing milk and eggs for mid-day meal scheme, cutting down on agricultural power subsidy for big farmers and setting up of a crop compensation fund for failed crops to boost agriculture sector in the State. As per the report, these recommendations are a part of ‘first-of-its-kind policy’ for farmers in Punjab that the commission has been drafting for some time.

The Economic Times

The government has decided to conduct physical verification of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi beneficiaries by picking 5% beneficiaries randomly to rule out any discrepancy in cash transfer in the minimum income support scheme, under which farmers get Rs 6,000 annually in three installments. Officials said the exercise will ascertain whether cash has been transferred to eligible farmers or not.

Zee Business

 The RBI Annual Report for 2018-19 on Thursday showed that commercial banks overshot their target of agriculture credit for the financial year 2019-20 and lent a total of Rs 9,496 billion as farm loan. The report further noted that the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) has emerged as an innovative credit delivery mechanism to provide adequate and timely bank credit to farmers under a single window for their cultivation and other needs.

The Arunachal Times

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development’s (NABARD) newly-formed regional advisory group (RAG) for Arunachal in its first meeting here on Thursday highlighted the need for the state’s policymakers to pay attention to the scope for formation of farmers-producers organisations (FPO)

Business Standard

Area under horticulture crops rises to 25.49 million hectares in 2018-19. Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare has released the Third Advanced Estimate (2018-19) of Area and Production of various Horticulture Crops. As per the report, the total horticulture production of the country is estimated to be 313.85 million tonnes which is 0.69% higher than the horticulture production of 311.71 million tonnes in 2017-18. The area under horticulture crops has increased to 25.49 million hectares in 2018-19 from 25.43 million hectares in 2017-18.

 

The New Indian Express

Bhuwaneshwar: The State Government on Thursday distributed various departments for supervision among top three administrators. While Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy will supervise 20 departments, Development Commissioner Suresh Chandra Mohapatra has been assigned 15 departments. Agriculture Production Commissioner Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra will be supervising five departments.

The Times of India

The state government will seek additional funds from Centre for farmers’ relief and to provide them agriculture bonus, said sources. “The MP government seeks additional Rs5,000 crore from the Centre for farmer relief and to provide justified price to the peasants suffering from crop loss in the current Kharif season. We have demanded a special package, too, for running farmer welfare schemes in the state,” said a senior official in the agriculture department.

The Times of India  The New Indian Express

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday launched a development project to boost farmers’ income in Nabarangpur district through a video conference. Under the project, farmers will get training in various innovative methods and technological support to improve their farming systems. The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research under ICAR will help farmers in souring improved variety seeds and plants for cash crops. It will also impart training in the establishment of commercial nurseries and promote horticulture-based entrepreneurship activities.

Business Standard

In view of the significant stress in the agriculture sector, bankers at the state-level consultancy meet in Kolkata have called for longer repayment periods for loans under Kisan Credit Card (KCC) from 12 months to 36 or 48 months. There were also deliberations on allowing farmers to take fresh loans even if they fail to repay the entire loan, as long as they service the interest.

 

Orissa Diary

Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment launched the second batch of Krushi Unnat Sahjogi (KUS) Program at the SOA University, Bhubaneshwar. he program focusses on areas like safe usage of pesticides, pest surveillance, fertilizer availability, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, Saura Jalnidhi, Farm Mechanisation. The department has developed a mobile for collecting the data from the associates and also to monitor the presence of associates in the field. The associates mark their attendance using GPS tracker on a daily basis. It is noteworthy that for the first batch more than 96% attendance has been recorded.

The Times of India

As per the Agriculture Census 2015-16, which is the 10th in the series since 1970-71, number of holdings for the marginal group in Punjab were 1,54,000, down from 1,64,000 in the Agriculture Census 2010-11. The number of holdings for the marginal group in Mizoram dropped by 10.45% in the same period. Overall, India saw an increase in the holdings for the marginal group by 8% as compared to the previous census.

The Tribune

To help the Punjab Government in curbing air pollution, a farmer of Barnala district has launched a campaign to convince other farmers against the burning of paddy stubble. “It was a new experience for me to sow the wheat crop without burning crop residue after harvesting the paddy. Apart from lowering input costs, it also saved my time to sow the crop on 50 acres as compared to traditional ways. It also increased my per acre production of crop and encouraged me to continue it for the next season,” said Pavitar Singh.

The Tribune

In order to prevent burning of paddy stubble and save the fertility of soil, the Punjab government is providing subsidised farm machinery for in-situ crop residue management under which 949 applications have been received from the farmers of Mansa district so far. The machines available on subsidy include super SMS machines on combines, happy seeders, paddy straw chopper/shredder/mulcher, hydraulic reversible mould board plough and zero till drill.

The Hans India

In high rainfall areas such as Coastal Andhra Pradesh and districts like Adilabad in Telangana, there is a greater scope for not only increasing crop diversity but also cropping intensity by promoting water harvesting structures (like village ponds or even farm ponds) for providing supplemental irrigation, which will increase scope for cultivation of vegetables and other irrigated-dry crops like cotton.

The Hans India

Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said that the State government is striving hard to increase the income of the farmers by adopting best agricultural practices and utilising best technologies available across the globe. He further added that the project would also provide mechanisation and post-harvest business models, capacity development and knowledge exchange to the scholars, staff, and farmers.

The Economic Times  Live Mint  The Financial Express

To strengthen the country’s agricultural systems, support smallholder farmers and boost incomes, Walmart.org on Tuesday announced $4.8 million (approximately Rs. 34 crores) in grants to Digital Green and TechnoServe. This will help smallholder farmers have access to agriculture technology, training on sustainable farmer methods, enhanced access to formal markets, and skill and capacity building for farmer producer organizations (FPOs).

Krishi Jagran

The government is running different schemes to increase women’s active participation in agriculture like other fields. Recently, with an initiative to strengthen women’s participation in farming, Jharkhand Land Conservation Department has decided to provide agricultural equipment at 90 percent subsidy to women associated with ‘Sakhi Mandal’ in the state.  With this step, the government is planning to inculcate advanced farming at low cost along with the participation of women in the rural economy.

IT News Online

Farmers who grow Golden Harvest® corn or soybeans will soon have more data integration available to enhance their on-farm decision-making. This fall, Golden Harvest is connecting with the John Deere Operations Center through John Deere’s API services so that farmers will be able to receive better recommendations via E-Luminate®, the Golden Harvest digital ag platform.

Financial Express

 

Steep hikes in minimum support prices (MSP) and lower realisation from sales of grains by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have pushed the Centre’s food subsidy bill over the last few years, inflating its unpaid bills to FCI to a staggering Rs 2 lakh crore by the end of FY19.

Times Of India

 

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday urged ‘progressive’ farmers to think of contributing to the country’s farm GDP and set example by making farming profitable without depending on government subsidies.

Tech2 (First Post)

Nanotechnology has been supporting the Indian agricultural market to develop products and processes with higher efficiency and lower costs. With the increasing scope to commercialise this technology, the government has now proposed a set of guidelines to regulate and maintain quality and safety of the products and processes.

News 18

The current state of Indian agriculture theoretically explains a scenario where land holdings are getting fragmented, thereby creating more land owners who, in turn, are irrigating their lands. According to Phase 2 data of agricultural census 2025-16, total land holding area, net sown area and net cultivated area in the country has reduced. But more number of people are buying land for agricultural production, while uncultivated land area has increased.

Times of India

The number has now crossed 3 lacs – that is the number of farmers who preferred to end their lives, to continuing the extremely stressful existence of an Indian farmer since 1995. The phenomena is spread over many states but Maharashtra tops the list with more than 60000 suicides by farmers. And the sad reality is that the suicides continue and we have not been able to find a long term permanent solution to this problem of growing rural distress.

The Hindustan Times

he Narendra Modi government will count on a much wider measure of earnings of a farming household than is captured by agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) while calculating the income of cultivators in 2022-23, the year by which the government has promised to double farmers’ incomes. In 2016, Prime Minister Modi first declared his government would double farm incomes — in other words, raise them by 100% — in six years by 2022-23, a politically significant goal in a country where nearly half the population depends on a farm-based livelihood.

 

The Hindu Business Line

According to official data available with the government, the total number of farmers in the country is around 14.5 crore. If that is the case, how can 16.6 crore farmers register for the NDA government’s flagship crop insurance scheme — Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). As per the official records, only 30 per cent of farmers in the country have opted for PMFBY.

The Tribune

During harvesting of paddy, the Agriculture Department would provide Rs 11.65 crore subsidy to farmers of the district to purchase 1,890 type advanced agriculture tools for stubble management. Besides, the Cooperative Department would offer 82 tools to curb stubble menace to farmers.

 

The Times of India

Dr Shekhar C Mande, secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India and Director General, CSIR visited Centre of Excellence in Farm Machinery (CoEFM), an extension centre of Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) on Sunday. Various farm technologies in the field of agricultural machinery, residue management, precision agriculture, renewable energy, and oil expeller were demonstrated live in the field.

The Times of India

Aimed to promote value addition and primary processing ventures in agriculture sector, the state agriculture department will be launching a project – ‘Promotion of micro, small and medium agro processing units’, through Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) during the financial year 2019-20. The state government has accorded administrative sanction for the project’s implementation expending Rs 5.75 crore and the department will soon be signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the implementing agency.

The Hans India

Minister for Backward Classes M Shankara Narayana has asked agriculture officers to distribute seeds of alternate crops including pulses and millets free of cost. Addressing at the meeting of agriculture officials here on Sunday, Shankara Narayana said that farmers can go for sowing of millets and pulses crops in view of the recent rains as sowing can be carried up to September 15.

The Financial Express

mid growing fears that some agricultural loans may have been diverted to non-farm use, the finance ministry has asked state-owned lenders to review their agri portfolios. The government wants to ensure that the priority-sector credit is utilised for intended purposes and not exploited by unscrupulous elements; the drive is also aimed at correcting a big regional disparity in the flow of farm credit, mostly disbursed at a heavily-subsidised interest rate of 4% and comes after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Friday, the government would upfront a capital infusion of Rs 70,000 crore to help banks step up lending

Telangana Today

Farmers have completed sowing operations in about 37.09 lakh hectare against the normal area of 43.34 lakh hectare for the ongoing Kharif season in the State. Officials are optimistic of reaching their targets in crop production as agricultural activities are on an upswing due to improved irrigation facilities and pro-agriculture measures initiated by the State government.

The Indian Express

At a time when large parts of the state have received excessive rainfall causing floods even as other areas continue to reel under drought, there will be a session titled ‘Moving Towards Sustainable Agriculture’. The day-long conclave will have three sessions on Maharashtra’s agriculture, infrastructure and industry and will see the participation of senior bureaucrats and industry experts from the three fields. The conclave will also include a fireside chat with Anand Mahindra, leading industrialist and founder of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group.

The New Indian Express

In Odisha, paddy comes with a problem of plenty. Come drought or flood, the State has been reporting bumper harvest of paddy which is followed by rising procurement by the Government. Yet, there is widespread distress sale, crop-loss caused by truant weather triggering farmer suicide induced by rising cost of production and agricultural indebtedness.

The Economic Times

The last time agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan worked on a project with his daughter, Soumya, was when she won the national science talent test as a teenager in school. Her topic of choice was chromosomes, which was close to Swaminathan’s field of expertise, genetics. Although her dad was her role model, Dr Soumya’s fascination was more with humans than plants. She joined the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune while Swaminathan was busy helping farmers increase their crop production.

Matrubhumi

Public sector banks are all set to approach the central government to provide more loans to farmers even before their existing loans are settled. It is learned that the matter will be raised in the meeting of public sector bank representatives called by the Prime Minister in the first week of September. Banks hope that this move will help farmers secure loans during time of natural disasters.

The New Indian Express

Renowned agriculture scientist Swapan Kumar Datta emphasised on carrying out more indigenous research, utilising own materials and genetic resources to prevent pest menace while increasing crop production. Speaking at the 58th foundation day of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology here on Saturday, the former Deputy Director-General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research said “If adequate research is not done it will be difficult for us to address the pest menace.”

The New Indian Express

In Odisha, paddy comes with a problem of plenty. Come drought or flood, the State has been reporting bumper harvest of paddy which is followed by rising procurement by the Government. Yet, there is widespread distress sale, crop-loss caused by truant weather triggering farmer suicide induced by rising cost of production and agricultural indebtedness. In fact, there is too much paddy everywhere – with farmers, millers and even with the Government which procures it. Paradoxical as it may seem, paddy production of the State is on the rise but the area under cultivation is gradually declining because farmers are shying away as it increasingly becomes non-remunerative.

Telangana Today

Kaveri Seeds in collaboration with scientists from Professor Jayshankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTSAU) on Saturday conducted a training programme for around 1,200 farmers in Gadwal. The training was focused on best practices and various methods to control pink bollworm infestation in cotton. To improve the yields, best agronomic practices were shared with the farmers during the training, a press release said.

The Arunachal Times

Agriculture Minister Tage Taki advised the officers of the agriculture department to keep the state government and the policymakers “updated on the ground reality, so that policies beneficial for the farming community of the state can be devised by the government well in advance.” The minister was addressing a meeting with the department’s officers here on Saturday to evaluate the progress and achievements under various state- and centrally-sponsored schemes across the state.

The New Indian Express

‘Thaliru’ has boosted the confidence of farmers. “The project helps small scale or landless farmers to get more land for cultivation. Earlier, land owners were unwilling to lease out their unused land fearing that they would face ownership issues in future,” he said. Sreekumaran Nair is a member of the constituency-level committee for the implementation of ‘Thaliru’.

The New Indian Express

With a view to save water for irrigation, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday announced a ploughing subsidy of Rs 600 per acre, to promote direct sowing of paddy in delta districts. “This grant will be given for five lakh acres where direct sowing is adopted. For this purpose, Rs 30 crore has been allocated,” the chief minister said in a statement.

The Financial Express

The proliferation of technologies and digital applications will address many of the agriculture-related issues and give a multi-dimensional push to agriculture. New technologies offer immense opportunities for increasing crop production, improving the nutritional value of crops, reducing input prices for farmers, improving the overall agri-supply chain, reducing wastage in the distribution system, enabling farm mechanisation, and ensuring an ease in connectivity between farmers and the consumers by providing linkages between the consumer and producer.

The Hans India

Speaking at the event, Ram Kaundinya, Director General, FSII said, “It is essential for farmers to get access to the latest technologies. Taking resort to illegal planting is only making farmers vulnerable towards buying seeds at a high price and taking advice from individuals without technical knowledge. The combination of these circumstances will only push the farmer towards more uncertainties and crop failure.”

Reuters

Indian farmers have planted summer-sown crops on 97.5 million hectares, down 2.3% year on year, agriculture ministry data showed on Friday, substantially narrowing the sowing gap compared with last year from previous weeks. The gap between planting figures for equivalent weeks of 2019 and 2018 has narrowed from the 4.1% reported last week. The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare will keep updating provisional sowing figures as it gathers more information from state governments. The planting figures are also subject to revision depending on the progress of the June-September monsoon season.

The Times of India

Maize is an important cereal crop grown in Tamil Nadu and the production area is an area of 3.6 lakh hectares. But a new invasive pest, maize fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) has been causing severe damage to the crop since July 2018 in the state. The South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC), New Delhi along with TNAU, Coimbatore and Department of Agriculture, Government of Tamil Nadu is jointly organising a day workshop on ‘Maize Fall Armyworm and Technology Capsule’ to sensitise the progressive maize farmers and agricultural input dealers of Coimbatore district.

United News of India

Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Minister Ram Lal Markanda on Friday stated that after launching Solar Fencing Scheme gained popularity among farmers and helped them to save their standing crops. Replying to a query raised by the Mr Rakesh Pathania of BJP during the question hour he said that like solar fencing in the high altitude areas chain or barb wire fencing was launched by the department in the foothills or plain area.

The Wire

Nanotechnology has been supporting the Indian agricultural market to develop products and processes with higher efficiency and lower costs. With the increasing scope to commercialise this technology, the government has now proposed a set of guidelines to regulate and maintain quality and safety of the products and processes.

The Times of India

Experts have urged farmers to adopt latest technology such as drip irrigation and shed traditional ways of farming to increase the crop yield while also saving precious water. They were speaking at a ‘kharif mela’ organised by Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Aurangabad, at the Lakhegaon village in Paithan on Wednesday. In her introductory speech, KVK Aurangabad head and farming expert Dipti Patgaonkar said the programme is aimed at sensitising farmers about the advanced agriculture technology and its implementation.

The Times of India

As many as 2.66 lakh ineligible beneficiaries have so far been identified under the Kalia scheme as the state government has completed verification of around 72 per cent of total 51 lakh beneficiaries. State agriculture minister Arun Kumar Sahoo, who chaired a high-level meeting in Bhubaneswar on Thursday to review the ongoing verification process, said scrutiny 36.88 lakh beneficiaries have so far been completed.

Krishi Jagran

Odisha Government has signed two agreements with an NGO of national repute & a Central Government agency to promote agricultural enterprises in tribal regions and provide services to farmers via common service centres. As many as 1000 agri-entrepreneurs will be chosen, imparted training & establish an agri based enterprise. Every agri-entrepreneur (AE) will cater to 200 local growers in a cluster of 4 to 5 villages & act as one stop solution provider in the area. The agri-entrepreneurs will also provide services for livestock rearing & fisheries wherever possible to improve farmers livelihood.

Krishi Jagran

National Center of Organic Farming, NCOF Ghaziabad has developed a product named Waste Decomposer. It is a consortium of few beneficial microorganisms which is isolated by Dr. Krishan Chandra from Desi Cow Dung and took 11 years to standardize the mass multiplication technique at the farm level. Waste decomposer works as Biofertiliser, Biocontrol and as well as Soil Health Reviver. Dr. Chandra told Krishi Jagran,” It can be used in various ways such as quick composting of biowastes, drip irrigation, foliar spray as a biopesticide against most of the plant diseases for all types of agricultural and horticultural crops, in-situ composting of crop residue and steel treatment.”

Down to Earth

A novel approach to vaccinate plants against viruses can be used as an alternative to toxic pesticides that is harmful both to insects and the environment, according to a study. The approach, developed by a team from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), helps to rapidly detect and produce vaccines that can be tailored to combat different pathogens in plants. During a virus attack, plants initiate a two-stage molecular defence programme which protects them “both at the site of the infection and throughout its structure”.

Dev Discourse

To promote agriculture entrepreneurship and enhance the income of farmers in Odisha, a state-government undertaking has signed two agreements with an NGO and a Central government agency, an official said on Thursday. The Agricultural Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited (APICOL) signed an agreement on Wednesday with Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), a national-level NGO, for implementation of agriculture entrepreneurship promotion scheme in tribal selected blocks of the state

The Times of India

Almost half of the total 3.86 lakh hectares of maize crop cultivated last year in the state was affected by the invasive pest fall armyworm (spodoptera frugiperda), said agriculture department officials. The pest originated from the Americas and was first found in India in Karnataka in July 2018, and then in Karur in Tamil Nadu. It was later reported in 17 other districts in the state.

The Times of India

Agriculture minister Chandrakant Kavalekar on Tuesday said his department had not anticipated the extent of losses caused by the recent floods in which 6,336 farmers were hit, crops worth Rs 8.9 crore were destroyed and 1,920ha of cultivated area was ruined. Of this, North Goa alone accounted for 4,763 affected farmers, Rs 6.7 crore in crop losses and 1,463ha of destroyed farmland, he said. Kavalekar also said that although the agriculture department has only Rs 1 crore in funds, the government would try to compensate the affected farmers before Ganesh Chaturthi.

Krishi Jagran

The agriculture department of West Bengal government is installing around 180 meteorological observatories in the agricultural farms as well as research stations across the state to examine the weather conditions in advance and issue guidelines to the cultivators as to what measures should be taken according to climate conditions. It is important to mention that weather system is one of the most important factors that determine the production of crops.

The Times of India

Notwithstanding the recent spell of rains, as many as 14 of the 24 districts in Jharkhand are feared to be nearing towards a drought-like situation, forcing the state government to start ground evaluation work to prepare back-up plans. On Tuesday, state development commissioner Sukhdev Singh held the first high-level meet to review the situation in presence of officials from the state agriculture department, disaster management department and other stakeholders.

The Times of India

The district administration has asked the farmers and registered farmers groups to buy solar dryers with a subsidy of 50% to 60% in order to ensure that their farm produce does not lose its nutritional value and consumers get healthy products. The dryer would help farmers get uniformly dried produce without any husk and stones thereby increasing the quality and fetch more profit, the officials added.

The Times of India

India needs to bring agriculture under the concurrent list, come up with a national agriculture policy, set up an agricultural council on the lines of the GST Council, establish a national crop planning commission and scrap the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism to transform the country’s agricultural sector. These are among a slew of measures suggested by the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) in a letter to the high-powered committee of chief ministers for the transformation of Indian agriculture.

Scroll IN

Twenty-six-year-old Laxmi Salami comes from a long line of farmers who have remained true to the tried and tested ways of cotton cultivation that they know. Unsurprisingly, she was unwilling to stray from the well-trodden path into organic farming, which is unfamiliar territory for her. But when the young cotton farmer, hailing from Gajandoh village in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh, reluctantly agreed to participate in an organic farming project and try something new on her field, the results were a welcome surprise.

Devi Discourse

Seed industry seeks national policy on agriculture Hyderabad, the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) has written to the high-powered committee of chief ministers on the transformation for Indian agriculture seeking its recommendation to the Centre to come out with a national policy on agriculture as 50 per cent of the countrys population depends on it. The FSII has also, among others, requested the committee to speed up the regulatory process for using biotechnology for crop yield and increased production.

Nagaland Post

State Agriculture and Corporation minister G Kaito Aye said Nagaland would be declared an Organic State once an organic policy was adopted, adding that efforts were also on to ensure that farmers were not deprived. The government was also working together with all stakeholders to launch a local organic brand and meet requirements for organic agricultural produce in the State and align them as much as possible with the requirements of the importing countries.

CNBC TV18

The fourth Advance Estimates of production of major crops for 2018-19 have been released by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare on August 19. As per Fourth Advance Estimates, total food grain production in the country is estimated at 284.95 million tonnes which is nearly steady compared with 285.01 million tonnes of production for 2017-18. For the next year, the estimate for the food grain output is at 291 million tonnes, which would be a record high.

Down to Earth

The Government of India is working out a plan to double farmers’ income by 2022, but how would that be possible by halving the farmer population is something that remains a mystery. The government plans to take up a number of measures and expand into allied sectors, promote zero-budget farming, organic farming, etc to double the income of the exiting farmers.

Down to Earth

With increasing population, urbanisation and contagious depletion of natural resources, there has to be a paradigm shift in farmer’s perception from production to productivity and to profitability. In this present scenario, the major challenge arising are shrinking land and depleting water and other related resources in agriculture. In this endeavor, precision farming aims to have efficient utilisation of resources per unit of time and area. Precision farming is a comprehensive information based farm management system to identify, analyse and manage variability within fields for optimum profitability, sustainability and protection of land resources.

The New Indian Express

Telangana Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy on Monday wrote to Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, requesting him to ensure supply of required urea to the State immediately. This will result in increase in the cultivable area of paddy and maize, which are fertiliser intensive crops, especially urea. Thus, the State requires adequate fertilisers, especially urea, to meet the demand

The Times of India

Team from agriculture department on Monday began survey of damaged crops in Kota region. The report of the same would be produced by Tuesday evening. The current spell of showers is believed to be fruitful and productive for the paddy crop but it can be harmful for urad and soybean.

The Hans India

Following heavy discharge of floodwater from Pulichintala Project, commercial crops yam, papaya, chillies, turmeric, cotton and maize were inundated in Guntur district. The agriculture fields were found under a sheet of water for the third consecutive day on Sunday. According to preliminary estimates, so far agriculture crops were inundated in 5,285 hectares. Cotton gardens were submerged in 4,283 hectares, paddy in 85 hectares, maize in 512 hectares and sugarcane in 21 hectares. Floodwater inundated horticulture crops in 6,616 hectares including banana gardens in 1,650 hectares and yam in 1,650 hectares.

The Tribune

Deputy Commissioner Kumar Sourabh Raj has said to make Punjab a “zero stubble-burning state”, the state Agriculture Department has initiated a massive drive to provide more than 28,000 agro-machines or farm equipment to farmers with a subsidy component of Rs278 crore during the current fiscal. He said it was being initiated under the first phase of management of paddy residue, he added.

The Sentinel

Various line departments discussed regarding the organizing of Kisan Mela under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan project to make farmers aware about efficient use of water for agriculture and other sources, at the CEM’s conference hall in Haflong on Friday. Through this Mela, farmers will be made aware about how to use rainwater harvesting techniques and how to increase crop productivity. It is intended to promote efficient water use for irrigation, soil conservation and better choice of crops for water conservation.

The Times of India

The state agriculture department has launched a drive to enrol small and marginal farmers under the Centre’s social security pension scheme. Following the soft launch of the scheme on August 8, the department has directed district-level officials to popularise it and carry out enrolment of eligible farmers with landholding of two acres or less. “On the day of soft launch, more than 1,000 farmers joined the scheme in the state. They have been issued smart policy cards similar to ATM cards,” said an officer.

Krishi Jagran

The State Bank of India (SBI) will organize a Mega Farmers Meet known as ‘Kisan Milan’ at around 14,000 rural & semi-urban branches across the nation on 20th August 2019. Kisan Milan is one of its kind initiatives by the SBI to meet and speak to farmer customers, resolve their complaints and educate them regarding their rights. State Bank of India, which has nearly 1.40 crore farmer customers, intends to connect with at least 10 lakh farmers through this Mega Farmers Meet next week.

The Indian Express

The state government has urged the Centre to allocate more funds under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) to bring at least 50 per cent of agriculture land under micro-irrigation over the next five years.  It has also urged the Centre to promote micro-irrigation to crops beyond high, water-intensive sugarcane and bananas under the ‘More Crop Per Drop’ scheme.

Business World

Growing food sustainably is not something we can ignore without compromising our very future on this planet. So how do we start fixing this? Here are some key ways to think of how we can grow better. There is a lot of focus on organic food today, and cutting back on the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides is a great step forward. It does not just reduce the number of chemicals we eat in our food, but also in the soil, in the water that runs off and seeps into our lakes and rivers, and into the seas and oceans from there. The Black Sea dead zone, previously the largest in the world, largely disappeared between ...

Analytics Insights

Agriculture today is not restricted to old school farming rather farmers are shifting towards modernizing almost every farming process through new-age technology. Agricultural communities are employing Artificial Intelligence in amazing ways to transform food cultivation culture. The AI-centric technologies create a base through predictions – which place is best to grow the seed, what is the condition of the soil, is soil condition favorable for seed, etc. AI is applied to agricultural big data to make farming more productive and efficient.

The Times of India

Burning of crop stubble left after harvesting a crop in Punjab and Haryana, if stopped, can transform rural economy, take care of local energy needs and even provide alternative sources of income for farmers, a study conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has said. Stubble burning is a major source of air pollution in Delhi-NCR, especially around Diwali. Titled “Scoping study on bio-waste and non-ozone depleting substance-non-HFC alternatives in India”, the report points out that additional policies are needed in Punjab and Haryana on crop residues collection and aggregation.

The New Indian Express

Punjab has seen a 12 per cent drop in stubble burning as compared to last year as more and more farmers are opting for mechanised technology to dispose of crop residue which in turn has seen a drop in air pollution levels in the state. The company official added that the company has developed its own indigenous technology to convert multi-feed organic waste into biogas and organic fertiliser which will be sold to the industry and public as Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) and can be used as an In another initiative Punjab Agriculture Department will provide more than 28,000 agro-machines to farmers with subsidy before September 15 under first phase for in-situ management of paddy residue.

 

The Economic Times

The Chief Ministers’ Panel on Agriculture is deliberating with other state governments on whether to permit genetically modified (GM) crops in the country ‘in restricted spaces’. The contentious move may take time as some state governments have opposed the introduction of GM crops. The panel has, however, decided to make substantial changes to the Essential Commodities Act to remove stock limits.

The New Indian Express

Indian agriculture-tech start-ups have turned out to be the darling of investors in recent times, with the sector receiving more than USD 248 million in funding over the first six months of this year. With numbers growing at the rate of 25 per cent year-on-year, India currently has more than 450 start-ups in the agritech sector, according to a report unveiled by NASSCOM.

The Indian Express

Calling genetic modification technology a game-changer, Chief Minister Kamal Nath has urged the Centre to take a policy decision on GM seeds to ensure India does not lag behind in adopting a technology whose rejection may prove disadvantageous for the country and the farming community.

News on Air

Chief Ministers of various states reached a consensus on how to boost agricultural exports. This was stated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis yesterday after he chaired the second meeting of the high-powered committee of Chief Ministers for transformation of Indian agriculture in Mumbai organised by NITI Aayog. The meeting was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar among others.

 

Zee Biz

With an aim to reinforce its commitment of serving the farmers, State Bank of India (SBI) is organizing a Mega Farmers Meet — ‘Kisan Milan’ at nearly 14,000 rural and semi-urban branches across the country on 20th August 2019. Kisan Milan is one of its kind initiatives by SBI to address farmer customers, resolve their grievances and educate them about their rights and various initiatives by the bank. SBI, which has close to 1.40 crore farmer customers, plans to connect with atleast 10 lakh farmers through this mega Kisan Milan.

 

The Times of India

Burning of crop stubble left after harvesting a crop in Punjab and Haryana, if stopped, can transform rural economy, take care of local energy needs and even provide alternative sources of income for farmers, a study conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has said. Stubble burning is a major source of air pollution in Delhi-NCR, especially around Diwali. Titled “Scoping study on bio-waste and non-ozone depleting substance-non-HFC alternatives in India”, the report points out that additional policies are needed in Punjab and Haryana on crop residues collection and aggregation.

The Times of India

Increasing smartphone penetration and availability of low cost data and resulting inclusion of farmers in the information economy has made agriculture-tech startups a darling of investors. Data from research firm Tracxn shows agri-tech sector has already crossed $100 million worth investments in just the first seven months of 2019 compared to $163 million in full year 2018. Further, investments in agri-tech startups grew almost six times (6x) from 2016 to 2018.

The Times of India

As farmers are preparing their lands to begin samba cultivation following the release of water in Cauvery for irrigation, the agriculture department has asked the farmers to use certified quality seeds provided by the department for achieving high yield. In order to avoid low yield in paddy production agriculture department has taken steps to provide good quality of seeds to the farmers, officials said.

Business Standard

The prime minister’s appeal came amid the Centre’s focus on giving a fillip to organic and natural farming and lowering the use of chemicals in agriculture, something what the Budget and the Economic Survey also talked about. However, fertiliser firms, experts and agriculture economists said a “doable” gradual reduction in the use of chemical fertilisers would be tough unless there was a roadmap. Also, the elimination of chemical fertilisers in farming could impact India’s long-term food security, unless suitable alternatives were readily available.

 

The Hindu

“India’s agriculture sector is advancing steadily towards its digital transformation and the start-up ecosystem is playing a critical role here, bringing innovation and disruption in much-needed areas,” says NASSCOM president Debjani Ghosh. “Adoption of technology in agriculture has always needed a structured institutional focus and technology firms are trying to break into the agricultural landscape using newer business models.”

The Economic Times

The Central government has decided to implement a major agricultural trade reform in two north Indian states by directly paying farmers the minimum support price for procurement of grains and removing agents from the process. While the agents, called arthiyas, will continue to be paid commission, payments to grain farmers in Punjab and Haryana will no longer be routed through them. The agents, many of them with strong political connections, are deeply entrenched in the grain trade in Punjab and Haryana and have threatened to launch an agitation against the move.

The Indian Express

Agriculture supports roughly half of India’s population and is the key to its food security. We have, indeed, avoided the spectre of food shortages, thanks to our farmers increasing production using modern inputs and technology developed by agriculture scientists. But there has been a collateral cost to this — in the form of over exploitation of our natural resources, especially soil and water — which has brought issues of sustainability to the fore.

Agri Business Global

The government of India is promoting a method of farming which intends chemical-free agricultural activity known as Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF). The reality of farming without fertilizers and agrichemicals/pesticides could have huge implications for agriculture in India. Crop input veterans have raised a number of questions on the subject to which Pradip Dave, President of the Pesticide Manufacturers & Formulators Association of India (PMFAI), replied giving his opinion.

DNA India

A farmer from of Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand has built a plough with ‘jugaad’ technology. This equipment made with the help of the engine of a discarded scooter is making a splash in the whole area. Located 40 kilometres from Hazaribagh, Unchaghana village of Tathizharia area is now the talk of the town as one man’s resolve to overcome his problems through homemade, self-thought technology invited praises and admiration.

The Better India

Gansu returned with a dream of making his farm fertile enough, to feed his family for not just six months, but the entire year. He strived day and night for 15 days and provided all possible nourishment to the soil of his farm. After working for three years as a labourer, Gansu returned to his barren land and started toiling day and night to make it fertile. Initially, he began by growing ‘Goda Dhan,’ a type of paddy that can be grown on barren land.

Orissa Post

Despite a heavy rainfall deficiency being recorded in Komna block of Nuapada district during June and July, fresh showers of rainfall have covered the deficit to a large degree here. Agricultural activities across the block have picked up owing to fresh showers of rain even though it has been lagging behind owing to deficit rains. “A while back, we were near certain about facing droughts this year. June and July had been tough on us with deficit rains. However, the recent rainfall has given us hope again,” said a farmer while adding that occasion showers such as the current one over the coming weeks will see them through.

The Economic Times

Air pollution due to crop burning in north India is set to fall sharply this year because of extensive use of technology to chop off farm stubble and mix it with the soil to make it more nutrient-rich, the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) said. The practice of stubble burning around October raises the concentration of particulate matter (PM) in the air to 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre, far outstripping the safety limit of 50 micrograms. This triggers a medical emergency  ..

The Financial Express

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has said that incidents of crop residue burning have reduced by 40-45% in Haryana, 25% in western Uttar Pradesh and 14-15% in Punjab after farmers switched to happy seeder machine that helps them to earn more while also reducing air pollution. As harvesting of kharif paddy crop may start from October in these states, ICAR is geared up to distribute over 55,000 happy seeder machines this year.

Krishi Jagran

The center and agriculture ministry have decided to launch a new revolutionary app which will help the rural farmers to access cutting-edge technology in an affordable price at their doorsteps. With this new mobile application, farmers can book and hire all the expensive agricultural equipment which is beyond the reach for any average small farmers. Keeping in mind the popular app ‘Uber’, the government named it ‘Uber for Tractors’ which aims to reach and connect among the grass root level people and farmers as Uber connects to cabs.

The Tribune India

Ahead of the paddy harvest season, there is some good news in store for the farmers in Punjab as a new study published in world’s leading scientific journal, Science Magazine, says farmers in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana can increase their income by over 20 per cent using Happy Seeders and also reduce greenhouse emissions per hectare by 78 per cent. Every year over 25,000 cases of farm fires are reported in Punjab, blamed for poor air quality in Delhi and surrounding states.

 

Inc 42

India’s agriculture ministry has developed a farm equipment rental app for Indian farmers, which lets them hire tractors, rotavator and other farm related machinery on rent for with flexible tenures. The app is reportedly similar to Uber and looks to bring a similar convenience to farmers. “We want farmers to have affordable access to cutting-edge technology at their doorsteps,” a senior agriculture ministry official was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

The Economic Times

The government will soon launch a more farmer-friendly crop insurance scheme to maximise benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), said agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar. “We have seen few shortcomings in the present scheme. We have invited suggestions from states to make it more farmer friendly. The aim of this scheme is just to maximise benefits to farmers and cover their risks,” Tomar said.

The Economic Times

Agriculture stakeholders including farmers, agrochemicals and seeds companies, agricultural experts, researchers and academicians; and ministers and politicians are anxious to promote sustainable farming and the use of agro chemicals. The farmers are concerned that their children are opting for jobs in other industries and services, and are willing to give up their own lands. For farmers to now pursue sustainable farming we must find new ways of using technology that is tailor made to suit the smaller landholdings, say the stakeholders. Micro and drip irrigation must replace the current method of flooding which is also eroding the land of its nutrients.

Krishi Jagran

Agriculture is considered as the backbone of Indian Economy. It plays a strategic role in the process of economic development. Growth in agricultural sector may be well judged by the increase in the agricultural production over time. India is expected to achieve the ambitious goal of doubling farm income by 2022. It is well said that, “Agriculture is an art of growing crops”. As the India is becoming modernized day by day the requirement of organic products is increasing, the certification and regulation of the organic sector come into being and thrived.

Business Today

Indian start-ups in the agritech sector received more than $248 million funding in the first six months this year, according to a report unveiled by NASSCOM on Monday. “Over recent years, the agritech sector in India has witnessed some of the global and sector-focused funds directly investing in agritech start-ups,” the IT industry body said in its report.

Cosmos Magazine

Embracing alternative farming practices would allow some Indian farmers to make more money while also cutting their greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 78%, research suggests. The findings, by an international team of economists and agricultural specialists, add weight to an Indian Government campaign to reduce reliance on traditional burning. To quickly and cheaply clear their fields to sow wheat each year, farmers in India’s northwest burn an estimated 23 million tonnes of straw from their rice harvests. Regulations are in place to reduce agricultural fires but burning continues because of implementation challenges and lack of clarity about the profitability of alternate, no-burn farming.

Free Press Journal

In Jalgaon village, many farmers spend sleepless nights to irrigate their fields, as power for irrigation isn’t available during the daytime for 15 days a month, but Dattaji Balaji Kikole, 62, doesn’t need to strain himself. Reason: Kikole has got a three-horsepower (hp) solar pump installed under the Atal Solar Krishi Pump Yojana launched by the state government in 2017. Now, uninterrupted and free power is available during daytime at the push of a button, he says.

The Times of India

In an effort to boost agriculture in the state, nearly 90,000sqm of land in Loliem, Polem and Sheli in Canacona was brought under cultivation during this kharif season. Using mechanised farming, the exercise has been undertaken on a trial basis and is being executed by 20 farmers. For the first time, readymade organic fertilisers were provided to farmers in a bid to create health awareness.

The New Indian Express

As rainfall subsided in flood-affected Kotpad block in Koraput district, the crop damage reports start pouring in from different panchayats on Saturday. Around 3,000 acres of paddy fields have been damaged in the block. Though no rainfall was recorded in the past two days, the flood water is still running in agriculture fields and crops are under knee-deep water damaging the paddy saplings.

The Times of India

Officials of the agriculture department have begun a crackdown on the spurious firms that claim to manufacture organic fertilisers. The officials have also started to reach out to farmers and other stakeholders to spread awareness on organic fertilisers and the procedure for obtaining licence to manufacture them. Agriculture officers from the district said the mushrooming of spurious companies claiming to manufacture organic fertilisers has increased recently. The officials said that a government order had notified seven categories of organic fertilisers city compost, vermicompost, phosphate-rich organic manure, organic manure, bio-enriched organic manure, bone meal and potash derived from rhodophytes.

The Times of India

Agriculture and related research would flourish more than ever before in Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Ladakh following the revoking of special status to Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week, feel experts. So far, agriculture scientists and scholars were averse to undertake study tours in the regions because of the risk involved, they said. Director general of the Indian Council of Agriculture and Research (ICAR) Trilochan Mohapatra said even before the historic decision was announced, the institution was implementing government schemes and holding discussions with farmers on a regular basis.

The Week

The government aims to cover this year as many as 10 crore farmers under the PM-Kisan scheme, wherein they will be given Rs 6,000 annually in three equal instalments, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday. Around 5.88 crore small farmers have so far received the first tranche of Rs 2,000 each under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) and 3.40 crore peasants have got the second instalment as well, he said.

News Click

A long dry spell during the ongoing “shrawan” month is worrying Dinesh Mahto and Nagendra Yadav. Both the farmers are disappointed with the poor monsoon so far, as they are yet to transplant paddy saplings due to lack of water.  Both Mahto and Yadav are marginal farmers in Paliganj of Patna district and are fearing another drought this year. “We are certain of another sukha (drought) because the rain god is giving us sleepless nights this time like last year.”Mahto said.

The Financial Express

Regulations are in place in India to reduce agricultural fires but burning continues because of implementation challenges and lack of clarity about the profitability of alternate, no-burn farming, they noted. Alternative farming practices such as direct sowing technologies could reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from on-farm activities in Northern India by nearly 80 per cent and help lower air pollution in cities like New Delhi, according to a study. The study, published in the journal Science, shows that the farmers could also increase their profits if they stop burning their rice straw and adopt no-till practices to grow wheat.

Orissa Post The Times of India

The state government Friday released a new draft Agricultural Policy with focus on raising farmers’ income and overall development of the agriculture sector. Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo said that the policy aims to strengthen the economic and social well-being of farmers, sharecroppers and landless labourers. “The policy is focused on farmers’ well-being and has been formulated to build on the inherent strengths of the agriculture and allied sectors, to address the constraints it faces and to make optimal use of resources and opportunities emerging on account of advancement in technology,” Sahoo said.

 

Times Now New

The deficit in southwest monsoon has narrowed and the sowing of summer (Kharif) crops is progressing well across the country, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has projected overall monsoon to remain normal. However, till August 8, rainfall is 5 per cent below the normal level.

Down to Earth

Scientists found invasive weed Emex australis Steinh, that can potentially reduce productivity, in wheat fields at 25 villages of Faridabad and adjoining districts in Haryana. The weed, of the family Polygonaceae, is native to Australia and South Africa. It is commonly known as ‘doublegee’, ‘three corner jack’ or ‘spiny emex’. This weed prospers in conditions such as drought and unseasonal rain. Climate change helps increase its numbers, according to researchers.

The Times of India

Crop residue burning in northern India has contributed significantly to air pollution in the national capital region. To stop this practice, researchers have found a non-burning alternative for farmers called Happy Seeders. Happy Seeder is a tractor-mounted machine that cuts and lifts rice straw, sows wheat into the soil, and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. A research paper ‘Fields on fire: Alternatives to crop residue burning in India’ has found that these machines can reduce air pollution and green house gas emissions per hectare land by more than 78 per cent.

 

The Asian Age

After the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-KISAN), the Union agriculture ministry is going to launch the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Mandhan Yojna, a pension scheme for small and marginal farmers. While PM-KISAN is for all farmers, the pension scheme is only for small and marginal farmers who own less than two hectares of land.

The Weekend Leader

Forest officials are taking help from the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Agricultural Science Centres to create awareness among farmers and provide seeds and other information regarding cultivation of aromatic plants. An agriculture scientist said that the best thing about aromatic plants is that they give three crops in a year which makes them highly profitable. The harvesting months for these crops are March, June and October.

Rural Marketing

Dr Ashish Kumar Bhutani, CEO, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Joint Secretary (Credit), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare today said that the country needs a technological breakthrough to make crop insurance scheme a success in India. Weather based crop insurance scheme can be implemented for some crops in some states. Integration of farmer database by 2020 to weed out cases of multiple insurance on same plots

News on Air (All India Radio)

Agriculture Minister Prem Kumar told AIR that according to preliminary reports, crops worth 353 crore rupees perished because of floods. The Agriculture Minister said free seeds of alternative crops will be distributed among farmers in the flood-affected areas. A compensation of thirty thousand rupees per hectare compensation will be given to farmers in the flood-ravaged areas.

Your Story

Farmers in many parts of Maharashtra are switching from water-intensive paddy cultivation to the innovative Saguna Rice Technique that manages soil and water efficiently while yielding better harvests. In the rice-growing centres of Maharashtra, farmers in increasing numbers are adopting this innovative paddy-sowing technique, which not only assures them abundant yield but also leads to reduced labour costs and helps conserve the top soil.

Observer Research Foundation

Climate and temperature variations will have its most direct effect on agricultural yields. With Indian agriculture composing 18% of the GDP and providing the livelihood for about 50% of the population, we must look at the effects of temperature increase and climate unpredictability on this sector.

The New Indian Express

In a major relief to farmers, the moratorium on agricultural and farmers’ loans has been extended till December 31. A high-level meeting between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) on Wednesday decided to freeze revenue recovery proceedings on farmers’ loans.

Orissa Post

The Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment (A&FE) department launched a mobile app, Wednesday, to generate instant reports on the pest situation in Odisha. The mobile app will also give instant reports on the pest situation and automated release of advisory. Farmers can take a real time photo of the pest situation and directly send it to experts through the mobile app and instantly get advisory regarding control measures.

Krishi Jagran

AGRI & ORGANIC MELA wishes to introduce contemporary agriculture, horticulture, dairy farming and food processing technologies along with their best practices. Agriculture is now a sector with great potential of triggering growth. The AGRI & ORGANIC MELA is witnessing a number of startups in India. The sustainable intensification of agriculture systems offers synergistic opportunities for combined growth of agriculture and capital investment.

VC Circle

Agricultural technology startup Gramophone, which provides actionable insights to farmers through its platform, has raised $3.5 million (Rs 24.78 crore at current exchange rates) in its Series A round of funding from a clutch of investors. Gramophone provides farmers doorstep consultancy services in agronomy during the entire crop cycle through its app. The app provides information on crop diseases and nutrition, prices and weather information. The company has also launched a prototype image recognition technology, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify diseases in a crop based on images shared by the farmer.

Live Mint

Much of farming in this Himalayan state, in common with the rest of India, is rainfed. This is particularly important as 66% of the population of the state is dependent on agriculture. “It is slow, but the transition has begun, especially in areas where the rainfall has seen a gradual decline,” said R.S. Rana, principal scientist of the Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, Palampur. “About 3,400 litres of water is required for sowing 1kg of rice here, while maize requires only 1,200 litres. There is a need to shift from water-intensive crops and maize offers the way, especially in Himachal, which is most suited for such cultivating through terrace-farming,” said Rana.

The Hans India

The newly introduced YSR free crop insurance scheme will benefit 70 lakh farmers covering 56 lakh hectares in the state, said Agriculture Minister Kurasala Kannabau. He held a review meeting with the officials of Agriculture department here on Tuesday and said that the new crop insurance scheme would apply for 22 types of crops in the state from this kharif season. The famers’ contribution for this insurance coverage will be borne by the state government, the minister said.

DNA India

A fortnight ago Kharif sowing in the state came to a grinding halt due to deficit rains across the state. As dry spell continued, farmers feared possible crop damage. However, incessant rains for the past 11 days have washed down the fears of farmers who are hoping for a good yield.

The Tribune

Farmer Darbara Singh from Moolewala village and Nirmal Singh from Gharangna village in Mansa district are perfect examples for paddy cultivators to emulate as they have been managing paddy stubble without burning it for the past four to five years. Agriculture Development Officer Harvinder Singh Sidhu motivated him to give up burning of paddy stubble and minimize the use of pesticides on paddy. Before taking up sowing paddy with Happy Seeder, Darbara did an experiment with other agriculture implements to manage paddy stubble.

The Indian Wire

The ministries of Earth Sciences and Agriculture have launched ‘Meghdoot‘, a mobile application to provide location, and crop and livestock-specific weather -based agro advisors to farmers in local languages. The step has been taken in order to accelerate the Digital India initiative, and make farmers technology friendly.

Odisha TV

As per the data provided by the State Agriculture Minister in Odisha Assembly, enrollment of a total of 4,80,509 farmers was done for the Kharif season. Meanwhile, there are reports that the total acreage of insured land has topped the total acreage of actual agricultural land at some places because several members of a single family have insured the same piece of land. For instance, a farmer of Nuapada, Chudamani Putel has a total of 6.176 hectare of land but 20.884 hectare of land has been insured in his name.

Odisha TV

Following reports of Fall Armyworm (FAW) infestation in acres of maize cultivation in Sundergarh, the hitherto unseen insect has now started infesting maize crops in several regions of Kalahandi district. After receiving complaints from maize cultivators in Narla and Golmunda about the damage caused to their crops by some unknown bugs, the Agriculture department officials visited the blocks for inspection.

Krishi Jagran

The adoption of digital technologies in agriculture is on an upswing today and is changing the way farmers and agri-businesses manage their crops.  Use of digital technologies can help modernise agricultural production practices, leading to more uniform annual returns for farmers, reduced risk of crop failure and better yields.  Some of the major digital technologies in precision farming include mobile applications to collect the ground truth data and combining it with the satellite / remote sensing, GIS and on the ground sensors data which can be analyzed using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.  Some of the applications of these technologies include farm management, crop health monitoring (mostly based on NDVI – normalised difference vegetation index), yield monitoring and forecasting, detection of diseases, pests or weeds, weather forecast, irrigation planning and soil quality testing. 

The Times of India

The Indian state of Sikkim is now the world’s first 100 per cent organic state. The state won the prestigious Future Policy Gold Award from the UN Food and Agriculture (FAO), after beating 51 nominations from around the world. Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling received the coveted award.

Down to Earth

Modern agriculture is driven by continuous improvements in digital tools and data as well as collaborations among farmers and researchers across the public and private sectors. During the Green Revolution in the 1960s, India could achieve self-sufficiency in food grain production by using modern methods of agriculture like better quality of seeds, proper irrigation, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. As time passed, more technological advances appeared in agriculture. The tractor was introduced, followed by new tillage and harvesting equipment, irrigation and air seeding technology, all leading to higher yields and improved quality of the food and fibre that was grown.

The Tribune

Gearing up to make Jalandhar a ‘paddy stubble burning-free’ district, the administration, along with Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare departments have embarked on a special campaign to distribute subsidised paddy straw management equipment among farmers. Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma said instead of burning paddy straw, farmers must adopt effective methods for its in-situ management through latest techniques.

 

The Times of India

To help farmers scientifically, there is no dearth of ‘shelf knowledge.’ The question is, how can we use it best? The system has been suffering policy fatigue and lack of strategies. Although we are competent and equipped, the technology has not been reaching the marginal farmers. To work efficiently, ground conditions need to be defined with right policies and issues need to be addressed in right perspective. In terms of Uttarakhand, migration from hills is a big problem and people are shunning agriculture as a means of living. We fully comprehend the fragile agro-ecology of the mountain zones and will channelise things with the help of the state government and ensure the development of sustainable ...

The Indian Express

Experts said that total pesticide-free Basmati can be grown in Punjab under ‘pest management programme’ and farmers mindset need to be set in that direction. Farmer Harpreet Singh of Gurdaspur said: “I have not been using any recommended or non-recommended pesticide in my fields for the past four years because the sowing time of Basmati is highly favorable for the crop and there is no attack of pest which goes beyond ETL level. But our farmers have been using these because of their mindset without any need

The Indian Express

Soil health cards were rolled out across the country in August 2015 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it a key agenda item. Soil samples are tested for the three macronutrients (nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus), and the micronutrients boron, iron and zinc, along with organic carbon. The soil health cards tell farmers about the nutrient content of their land, and guide them in using fertilisers better. Some 2.59 crore soil health cards have been distributed in Maharashtra in two cycles since 2015.

The Financial Express

In July, two interesting things happened that can, to a large extent, help Indian farmers augment their incomes. First, the Union finance minister (FM), in her maiden budget speech, asked why annadata (farmer) cannot become urjadata (producer of solar power). Second, in the Parliament the Minister of State for agriculture, responding to a question on the prime minister’s promise of doubling farmers’ income (DFI) by 2022, admitted that the existing set of policies cannot double farmers’ real incomes by 2022.

United News of India

Jalandhar, Aug 4 (UNI) In order to transform Jalandhar into a ‘paddy straw free burning’ district, the district administration along with Agriculture and farmers welfare department has embarked a special campaign to distribute subsidized paddy straw management equipments to farmers.

Business World

With a population of more than a billion people, India consumes 100% of its own milk production. Majority of the Indian population being vegetarian, dairy products are the only source of animal protein for them. Venturing into dairy has increased as it attenuates poverty and unemployment, especially in the drought-prone areas. Indian Dairy Industry is booming and it is surely going to take the agri-economy up a notch.

The Times of India

City-based Central Citrus Research Institute (CCRI) has prepared a database of 6,000 orange growers from across India. The data is being used to send advisories through interactive voice response (IVR) calls time-to-time informing the recipients about steps for crop protection, weather updates and crucial reminders. In the wake of prolonged break in monsoon rains, farmers are being told about attack of mites, what spray must be used, switching to drip irrigation during the calls made twice in a day in Hindi and Marathi. Rest of the year, reminders are given about what needs to be done in each month or in case of inclement weather.

Down to Earth

The Ministries of Earth Sciences and Agriculture have launched a mobile application that will provide location, and crop and livestock-specific weather-based agro advisories to farmers in local languages. To begin with, the service would be available for 150 districts in different parts of the country. It will be extended to rest of the country in a phased manner over the next one year. It will provide forecast relating to temperature, rainfall, humidity, and wind speed and direction, which play critical roles in agricultural operations and advisories to the farmers on how to take care of their crops and livestock. The information would be updated twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The News Mill

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on August 2 took part in the inaugural programme of Northeast regional conference on transformation of Indian agriculture organised in Guwahati. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the constitution of a committee consisting of chief ministers for the transformation of Indian agriculture was indicative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on the growth of the sector.

Nav Hind Times

The Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, on Friday, announced that the government intends to make Goa an organic state, further maintaining that use of fertilisers like urea need to be discouraged among the farmers to achieve this goal. Replying to a Zero Hour Mention from the Mandrem MLA Dayanand Sopte as regards farmers in Bardez and Pernem talukas facing scarcity of fertilisers, the Chief Minister said that the department of agriculture will be regularly making available organic fertilisers like cow dung and ash to the local farmers, which would take some time.

The Economic Times

A sharp pick up in monsoon rains in July has led to a rapid revival of summer crop planting across the country. The rainfall deficit, which was around 30% at the start of July, has now narrowed to 9%, boosting prospects of a good agricultural output. The crop area, which was down 6.4% last week compared with a year earlier, has slipped marginally to 6.6% as on Friday, but this is likely to be covered by next week with the weather office predicting above normal rains in August wiping out all the shortfall.

krishiJagran

India is a water-stressed country. Going by the current rate of population growth and consumption trends, India, by as early as 2050, could be a water-scarce country. That means, if this prophecy of doom comes to pass, there will be less than 1000 cubic meters of water available per person in a year. This scarcity of water poses a severe existential challenge to humanity in general. But it presents an all the more grave and immediate threat to regions like Marathwada that rely on agriculture.

The Times of India

A northeast regional conference on transformation of Indian agriculture was held in Guwahati on Friday. Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu, who is a member of the high-powered committee on transformation of Indian agriculture, attended the conference. Speaking on the occasion, he said that a time has come when all the policy-makers and technocrats need to focus on sustainable and resurgent agriculture which will be robust, productive, climate resilient and farmer-oriented.

News Click

Several farmer unions under the banner of the Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Movement, on Wednesday, submitted a memorandum to the Union Minister of State of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, demanding to keep agriculture and dairy out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement.

FnB News

The food & agriculture technology and products market is growing in parallel to the increasing demand and consumption of livestock-based products and seafood. Increasing demand for convenience, packaged, and processed food products and government support to adopt modern agricultural techniques are some of the driving factors for the food & agriculture technology and products market. Use of big data in agricultural farms and new technologies used for food processing is creating profitable opportunities for key players in the market globally.

Forbes

In the age of Internet of Things (IoT), farmers face a bright forecast for integrating emerging tech into their businesses. While agriculture may appear slower than other industries to evolve, many farmers are embracing innovations—from wearables for cows to artificial intelligence (AI)-based machine learning algorithms for insights on weather patterns, crop yield, soil health and more.

The Slap Clap

Farm mechanization automates the agricultural process by utilizing the agricultural machinery with the aim to increase the productivity and profitability of farm workers. This mechanized farming technique helps the farmers to gain accuracy in farm operations, delivers precision in metering and placement of inputs, lowers the available input losses, enhances the utilization efficiency of expensive inputs such as seed, chemical, fertilizer, irrigation, and water, and reduces the unit cost of the total produce. Farm mechanization also aids in the conservation of the agricultural produce and by-products from quantitative and qualitative damages, enables the establishment of agro-processing enterprises for additional income, and employment generation from farm produce.

The Indian Express

Free power to farmers in Punjab is considered a drain on underground water and state exchequer both. While the draft farmer policy proposes no free power to those with over 10 acres land. When the subsidy was rolled out for the first time a motor of 5 hp (horsepower) would suffice to pump out water in the fields. Over the years, the farmers are now using motors between 25 hp to 35 hp as the underground water has receded and the level gone woefully down. As per an estimate of agriculture department, the farmers have themselves spent Rs 17,500 crore on deepening the borewells and installing bigger motors.

The Statesman

The latest report of the UN entitled “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018 states: “Climate variability and extreme conditions are a key-driver behind the recent rise in global hunger and one of the leading causes of severe food crises.’ The rise in mean temperature of the order of 2 degrees C to 3 degrees C will lead to a reduction of the wheat crop in North India, resulting in a loss of 6 to 7 million tons of wheat every year. As temperatures continue to increase, corn (maize) ~ the most widely grown crop in the world ~ appears to be the most vulnerable to heat stress.

The Times of India

As the kharif season is set to end in another 20 days, farmers in Telangana were a bit worried. But, rains in the last few days have raised fresh hopes of completing sowing as per the target. According to a report on pre-final kharif sowing submitted by the agriculture department, out of 1.7 crore acres of estimated acreage in the state, sowing in 1.3 crore acres (70%) has been completed. Also, sowing of cash crops like cotton and turmeric is almost complete with 90% sowing.

Down to Earth

The Punjab and Haryana high court recently recommended that minimum support price (MSP) be made farmers’ legal right and it be set at three times the cost of production. “As far as the agriculture is concerned, the MSP should be three times above the cost of production of major crops to save farmers from distress and also to procure the food grains for public distribution considering the cost including actual expenses in cash and kind, the loan on lease land, impeding the cost of labour, own capital assets, interest on valuable capital etc,” read the HC order.

The Times of India

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found that agricultural income of nearly Rs 500 crore was allowed as exempt by the income-tax authorities without adequate verification. The auditor’s report on direct taxes for the year ended March 2018 focused on exempt income – both agricultural and that which is earned by charitable trusts. CAG has recommended that the I-T department reexamine all cases where agricultural income exceeds a certain threshold – say Rs 10 lakh – to ensure that exemption is allowed only to genuine taxpayers.

The Indian Express

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in early 2016, called for doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022. Meeting that goal requires improving farm productivity and price realisations, especially of smallholders, through dissemination of information relating to agronomic practices as well as marketing. Swayam Farmer Foundation is a non-profit organisation that provides end-to-end training and agri-input financing to smallholders, to enable crop diversification and sustainable cultivation practices, resulting in higher incomes. Our approach has been to get farmers to grow horticultural crops, by training them on proper sowing, irrigation, nutrient management, plant protection and harvesting methods — including through weekly visits and monitoring by field officers — and making available quality inputs on credit.

Business Standard

Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for the maximum number of 23.8 million beneficiaries under PM Kisan, has so far covered 45% of farmers under the flagship minimum farm income guarantee scheme. It entitles beneficiaries to a payment of Rs 6,000 annually, payable in equal installment of Rs 2,000 every four months (Dec-Mar, Apr-July and Aug-Nov cycles). Earlier, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM Kisan) was targetted to benefit 120 million small and marginal farmers, of which UP had topped with 21.5 million or 18% of beneficiaries.

 

The New Indian Express

Even as the State Government is trying to increase the insurance coverage in the non-loanee segment under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), collection of more premiums and misleading advertisements have confused the farmers, affecting its proper implementation in the district. Launched in 2016, PMFBY provides comprehensive crop insurance from pre-sowing to post-harvest period against natural calamities at a low premium rate for Kharif, rabi and commercial crops. While PMFBY is in the seventh season of implementation, farmers are still unaware of the details of the Central-sponsored scheme.

The New Indian Express

In the wake of the agriculture sector suffering extensive loss, the Cabinet convened on March 5 decided to extend the moratorium till December 31. Sunil Kumar said the state government along with banks would promote Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to provide collateral free loans to farmers. He said the number of farmers using KCC would be improved through a promotion drive supported by SLBC.  The state had demanded increasing the limit for collateral free loans from Rs 1.67 lakh to Rs 3.25 lakh.

OMM Com News

Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari presented the Odisha Appropriation Bill 2019 before the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Pujari said that the Government has stressed on agriculture, workers, SC and ST, women, children, youth, senior citizens’ empowerment. Besides, the focus of the Government is on farmers’ welfare, poverty allevation, food security and skill development. For the financial year 2019-20, Rs 70,600 crore has been earmarked for programme implementation which is more than 50 percent of the budget. The Agriculture Budget is of Rs 20,714 crore out of which Rs 9,713 crore has been allocated for development of irrigation infrastructure, Pujari added.

The Motung Express

A one day State Level Training organized by the Department of Agriculture under “Women in Agriculture” (RKVY) was held on July 30 at the Conference Hall, Directorate of Agriculture, Nagaland, Kohima. Representatives from 11 districts participated in the programme which consisted of farmwomen from 30 Self Help Groups (SHGs) comprising of 450 farmwomen under the ongoing RKVY scheme. The programme was chaired by Khrieseno Kikhi, SMS, Directorate of Agriculture who welcomed all and highlighted the purpose, strategies and inputs given by the Department under this scheme.

Down to Earth

In agriculture, big data is often viewed as a combination of technology and analytics that can collect and compile novel data and process it in a more useful and timely way to assist decision making. Data mining is the computing process of discovering patterns in large data sets involving methods at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning statistics and database system. Precision agriculture’s main objective is to ensure profitability, efficiency, and sustainability using the big data gathered to guide both immediate and future decision-making. This could cover everything — from when it is best to apply fertilizers, chemical and seeds, to from where in the field it is best to apply a rate.

Pragativadi

The state government will introduce a new agriculture policy for farmers, minister for agriculture and farmers’ empowerment Dr Arun Kumar Sahoo said today. Replying to the question of BJD MLA Moushadhi Bag and supplementary of Bhupinder Singh, Nityananda Sahu, Pradip Dishari, Suresh Routray, Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Mahidhar Rana, the minister said the assembly on Wednesday that the focus will be on production of highly valued crop.