Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Punjab: Farmers drum up decibels to beat locustsedit
After a few dead locusts were spotted in some Punjab areas bordering Rajasthan, the panicked farmers and horticulturists in Fazilka district are banking on ear-shattering sound power to rock the locust threat. While some are buying crackers, others have already deployed farmhands to beat utensils in the fields and to drum up the dhols to scare away some locusts that have entered Punjab. No swarm of locusts has been seen so far in Punjab, but reports from adjoining Rajasthan are giving them sleepless nights. The farmers are accusing the agriculture department of failing to foresee the danger and suggesting carrying out of aerial spraying as a pre-emptive move to handle locusts that enter Punjab.
Boosting agri co-operation: Brazilian Minister meets Tomaredit
The Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar held a bilateral meeting with the Brazilian Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply Ms. Tereza Cristina Correa da Costa Dias at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi.
The two leaders discussed various bilateral trade opportunities, interests and issues. Both Ministers affirmed that agriculture is a priority for both Brazil and India and resolved to strengthen cooperation in the agriculture and allied sectors.
Kadapa women doing miracles through adoption of ZBNF method in cultivationedit
Despite the women of the district lagging behind in literacy rate comparatively to other districts, but their participation in various Central and state governments sponsored schemes like Podupulakshmi, moment, Social Auditing related to NREGS, organizing paddy procurement, Running Dairy Farms and Fair Price Shops, and cottage industries as their participation is larger.
US wants India to buy $6 billion worth of farm goods to seal trade dealedit
The United States wants India to buy at least another $5-6 billion worth of American farm goods if New Delhi wants to win reinstatement of a key US trade concession and seal a wider pact, four sources familiar with the talks told Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump cited trade barriers last year when removing India from its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme that allowed zero tariffs on $5.6 billion of exports to the United States. In retaliation, India slapped higher tariffs on more than two dozens US products.
Padma Shri: ‘Beej mata’ wants seed movement to reach every farmeredit
Rahibai Soma Popere, a proponent of tradition farming with indigenous seeds who was awarded the Padma Shri by the centre on Saturday, wants her movement to reach the doorstep of every farmer in the country
Only Rs 10 crore of Rs 2,000-crore farm fund used in two yearsedit
A ~2,000-crore fund to set up a chain of modern markets for farmers, announced in the Union Budget 2018-19, has largely gone unspent in what experts see as a sign of how overregulated agricultural markets have kept farmers chained to outdated policies.
These markets, essentially village-level bazaars, were meant to act as aggregation points for farm produce, where farmers and traders could transact freely with minimal rules. The aim was to provide an alternative to existing supply chains that are rigged by middlemen and, as a result, drive down farmers’ share of profits.
Data accessed by the HT shows that nearly two years since its announcement, only a negligible amount — ~10.45 crore, or just 0.5% of ...
‘Biggest challenge in any sector is poor customer demand’edit
Do not cut expenditure, but focus on other means of resource generation to keep the economy on track, various stakeholders have advised Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, as she sets out to present her second Budget on February 1.
The suggestions, which have been submitted to both Prime Minister Minister Narendra Modi and the FM, came from various stakeholders who were tapped by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to identify the immediate issues to be addressed in the Budget and the larger policy initiatives that need to be rolled out.
How farmers are fighting locusts: Beating empty utensils, squishing them manuallyedit
Surinder Sihag, a progressive farmer from village Dhingawali in Fazilka district’s Abohar was seen Saturday beating an empty steel utensil with a wooden stick as he moved in his kinnow farm and wheat fields. A group of farm workers, also beating empty tin cans and boxes, accompanied him.
The commotion was loud enough to scare away any wild animal. The trick is often used by villagers and foresters to scare away wandering elephants.
Alathur farmers save money as drones take up task of spraying pesticides, fertilizers..edit
Drones have arrived in the paddy fields of Alathur too. Fertilizers as well as pesticides were spray with the drones here, under an initiative of the agriculture development project ‘Nira’ and the Haritha Mitra Society.
Maharashtra Govt Trying To Make Farmers Stress-free & Debt-free: Guvedit
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Sunday said that since agriculture is the foundation of the state’s economy, the government is trying to make farmers “stress-free and debt-free”. Giving his Republic Day speech in Marathi at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, he said that Maharashtra is an industrially advanced state and the government will give priority to solving the problems faced by the industry.
Koshyari also said that the state has made remarkable progress in agriculture, education and employment in the past 60 years, and the government intends to bring about a radical change in all these fields through the contribution of entrepreneurs. He lauded the Marathi theatre movement for completing 175 years and announced that a museum ...