Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Labour a worry as Punjab prepares for procurementedit
As Punjab braces up for staggered wheat procurement from April 15 amid the Covid-19 crisis, it faces an uphill task of smooth purchase while maintaining proper social distancing. There is also an apprehension that shortage of labour could turn into a major problem for the farmers in the state. Punjab’s secretary, agriculture, K S Pannu said distribution of coupons to farmers has begun and those identified to sell their produce on April 15 have already got them. On Monday, the chairman of market committee in Patran issued passes of farmers to arhtiyas (commission agents). As per the plan, the agriculture department is moving three days in advance and will try and engage labour of the same ...
Karnataka government readies plan to revive agriculture sectoredit
The government has lined up a slew of measures to kickstart agricultural activity in the state, which came to a halt after the nationwide lockdown was imposed. Agriculture minister BC Patil on Tuesday said the government will consider demands for a minimum support price (MSP) for vegetables and other horticulture crops.
Speaking to reporters in Chikkaballapura, Patil said farmers have been facing problems marketing vegetable crops. “Huge quantities of vegetables are rotting as the marketing network has been crippled due to the lockdown. The government will support the demand,” Patil said. The government also plans to ensure hassle-free movement of farmers, farm labourers, equipment, fertilizers and other essentials across the state by issuing special curfew passes.
Amid lockdown, small farmers’ body to add 415 eNAM mandisedit
Amid extensions of lockdowns in states due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), which is implementing the electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM) project under the agriculture ministry, plans to add 415 mandis to the existing 585 mandis. This will take the total number of eNAM mandis to 1,000 across 21 states and Union Territories, helping farmers to get real-time payments. SFAC is working to on-board more banks to broad-base the options for farmers and traders. The existing network of 585 mandis across 16 states and two Union Territories has a user base of 16.6 million farmers, 128,000 traders and 70,934 commission agents.
Govt assures farm exporters to remove export bottlenecksedit
The government has assured exporters to bring farm exports back on track by ironing out the difficulties and hurdles exporters are facing.
Agriculture secretary Sanjay Agarwal said that the government will look into all the issues related to transportation, international freight and permission for a lower strength operation.
“We will consider issues pertaining to port, ocean freight services, courier services for necessary resolution. The Home ministry has already issued directives allowing interstate transportation of goods,” he said while addressing exporters and agri industry representatives through video conference.
Amid Lockdown Extension, UP Farmers Hope For Profit In Harvest Seasonedit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3 while assuring safeguards for the farmers in the middle of the Rabi or winter crop harvest.
Hours after the Prime Minister’s address, the Uttar Pradesh government confirmed that the procurement of the Rabi crop by state and private players would begin as scheduled on Wednesday.
Around 5,500 wheat procurement centres are being set up across the state by the Uttar Pradesh government, where farmers can transport their produce and also sell grain at the government-mandated Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 19.25 per kg.
COVID-19: Punjab begins wheat procurement under shadows of pandemic todayedit
With Punjab set to start wheat procurement on Wednesday under the shadows of Covid-19, the state food and civil supplies, and agriculture departments have dispatched hundreds of gallons of sanitisers and thousands of gloves and masks to all 1,864 grain markets (mandis) and purchase centres besides rice shelling mills temporarily designated as procurement stations.
With a bumper crop likely this time, the total wheat arrival is n expected to surpass the targeted 135 lakh tonnes. Due to rainfall and fall in temperatures at the maturing stage of the crop, both harvesting and procurement were postponed by a fortnight. To maintain social distancing to avoid the spread of coronavirus, procurement will be made in a staggered manner as ...
Podcast: How did Covid-19 break down India’s food supply chain – and how can it be fixed?edit
The agricultural sector in India has come to halt with the 21-day national lockdown. Supply chains have broken down, labour is in short supply and there has been a surge in food prices, leading to a drop in availability. This comes at a time when farmers were gearing up to harvest the rabi crop. As a result, they are now facing issues over harvesting and supplying crops to the market.
What role does agriculture play as we think about the economic consequences of Covid-19? And what can India do to ensure that challenges we’ve experienced in the past 21 days do not continue, even if the lockdown does?
Rajasthan: Crop Procurement Portal ‘Suspended’ Amidst Lockdown, Rates Fall Below MSPedit
After the Ministry of Home Affairs said that agricultural activities would continue during the lockdown period, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) issued a national advisory enumerating precautions that farmers must take while harvesting, threshing, storage and marketing produce.
Despite this, states like Rajasthan have not taken up any effort to initiate procurement operations.
In Rajasthan, E-mitra, an e-governance service platform, has been suspended amid the lockdown, making it impossible for farmers to begin registering themselves for the procurement process.