Devdiscourse

Indian agriculture has taken a great leap over the last five decades and provides significant support for economic growth and social transformation of the country, Punjab Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor Baldev Singh Dhillon said on Friday. Even studies have indicated that one percent growth in agriculture is two to three times more effective in reducing poverty than one percent growth in non-farm sectors, Dhillon said in his address at the 40th Convocation of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University here.

The Times of India

State agriculture minister Kurasala Kanna Babu and joint director of agriculture KSV Prasad visited rain-affected paddy fields in Kadapa mandal in East Godavari district on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, the agriculture minister said that the state government will extend required support of rain-affected farmers. The minister assured that the condition of farmers has been brought to the notice of chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy and asked agriculture department officials to evaluate losses and take measures to protect the standing crop.

The Times of India

Crop-residue fires in Punjab and Haryana are up 5% as compared to the same period last year, as per Nasa satellite data, but officials and experts say this figure could be misleading as the number of fires per unit area of harvested rice is so far lower this year, at least in Punjab.  Data from state agencies reveal that 10.2 lakh hectares of paddy crop had been harvested in Punjab by October 22, 18% higher than the corresponding acreage in 2018, which was around 8.6 lakh hectares.

Economic & Political Weekly

Public extension played a major role in ushering in the green revolution in Indian agriculture. Though agriculture development in India is basically a state subject and the agricultural sector plays a crucial role from the perspective of ensuring food and livelihood security of its large population, the central government plays a major role in formulating policies that has direct bearing on the growth of the agricultural sector. the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an apex body at the national level that supports research and extension activities to evolve effective transfer of technology (ToT) models.

ANI News

The project “The Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture” will be implemented in Odisha’s rural areas which are vulnerable to droughts and largely dependent on rainfed agriculture. “It will benefit about 125,000 smallholder farmer households from 15 districts of Odisha managing 128,000 hectares of agricultural land. The project will strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers against adverse climate by improving access to resilient seed varieties and production technologies, diversifying towards more climate-resilient crops, and improving access to better water management and irrigation services,” read an official release by the Finance ministry.

Krishi Jagran

A press statement said that the partnership with Pixxel will give Skymet access to the former’s high-resolution satellite imagery, which is designed to observe & map changes in agricultural phenomena such as crop & soil health, soil moisture & chlorophyll content. This will help boost small farm output and yield in India while reducing the costs, minimising the environmental impact with precision agriculture practices & better-managing agriculture production.