Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
‘Kisan Rath App’ launched to facilitate transportation of foodgrains & perishables during lockdownedit
This mobile application is developed by the National Informatics Centre to facilitate farmers and traders in searching transport vehicles for movement of Agriculture and Horticulture produce.
Speaking on the occasion, Tomar said that agricultural activities have to go on amidst the lockdown. He said, concessions have been given to the Agriculture sector on directions of the Prime Minister.
He said, Kisan Rath’ App will greatly facilitate farmers, FPOs and Cooperatives in the country to have the choice to find a suitable transport facility to transfer their agriculture produce from farm gate to markets.
To beat the virus, a village in Telangana goes lock, stock and barrel into quarantine in fieldsedit
The lockdown announcement has been taken literally to its heart by a village in Kamareddy district of Telangana. The villagers of Komatipalli in Lingampet mandal, which is nearly 30 km from Kamareddy town, have locked their houses and shifted to their agricultural fields. The villagers have set up temporary shelters, each in their own field, and are engaged in agriculture. The agricultural fields are located 2-3 km away from the village. All the families packed their belongings and food provisions and have been living there since March 28 a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days from March 24.
Unsold Rabi, Unsown Kharif Crop – Farmers in Gujarat Dread a Looming Agrarian Crisisedit
Every single day since the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wijay Kantibhai Dabhi, 30, a farmer from Patana Bhal village of Valabhipur taluka, Bhavnagar district, has tried to sell crop harvested a month ago. But, all his attempts have been in vain, as the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market is closed and there are too many farmers desperate to sell their harvest to a handful of private buyers.
“This year we had a good harvest and were looking forward to a decent income. But we have been unable to sell our crop so far with APMC being closed. Many from our village sell to private buyers from Surat, but only a handful of ...
Farmers let rabi 30% veggies rot in fields, start ploughing for kharifedit
In a major setback for farmers and consumers alike, vegetable cultivators have started ploughing their fields for kharif sowing despite some 30 per cent of the crops remaining unharvested due to a sharp drop in demand and disruption in marketing infrastructure following the coronavirus lockdown in the country. Kharif sowing time for vegetables will begin after a week or two.
The situation emerged due to the countrywide lockdown that began on March 25, and was later extended for 19 days to contain spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. A major chunk of the demand was from hotels, restaurants and small eateries, all of which have been forced shut.
Trump Announces $19 Billion Relief For Farmers Amid Coronavirus Pandemicedit
President Donald Trump on Friday announced a $19 billion financial rescue package to help the agriculture industry weather the staggering economic downturn sparked by measures to defeat the coronavirus.
Trump told a press conference the government “will be implementing a $19 billion relief program for our great farmers and ranchers as they cope with the fallout of the global pandemic.”
The program will include direct payments to farmers, ranchers and producers who Trump said have experienced “unprecedented losses during this pandemic.”
Farmers again the ‘lockdown’ losersedit
While availability of foodgrains, vegetables and fruits is abundant at least for the time being, agriculture experts and the FAO (Food & Agriculture Organisation) have cautioned about a looming crisis if the relaxation in the lockdown from April 20 fail to restore the supply chain. Even prices, which have plunged or remained stable because of the sudden disappearance of bulk demand by hotels, restaurants etc., could also rise later this year. Harvesting and marketing of crops have been hit by the lockdown, noted R.
Bitter Harvestedit
At the beginning of this year, things looked good for Indian farmers. As per advance estimates of the agriculture ministry, the country was expected to produce a record 106.21 million tonnes of wheat in 2019–20, 2.61 million tonnes more than what was produced the previous year. This increase was mainly attributed to increased acreage under wheat production and optimum soil moisture on account of a good monsoon between June and September 2019.
The first blow to farmers was unseasonal rains and hail storms in mid March. Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh saw severe damage to their crops. Around seven hundred thousand acres of land under wheat cultivation was affected in Punjab alone. Even as farmers were in ...