Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Gujarat farmers adapt to social distancing in agri auctionsedit
Farmers in Saurashtra region are learning to imbibe a new life in a Covid-19 era as they bring their farm produce for auctions at the market yards.
Manjibhai Ribadiya from Kalawad in Jamnagar district says, he has started learning the ropes of social distancing, personal hygiene and most importantly waiting patiently for his turn to come.
“Life isn’t the same anymore. After the harvest, we wait for an intimation from the market yard for our turn to participate in the auction. Once we receive the SMS, we equip ourselves with masks and gloves and reach the APMC yards. Here, we park our trailer in a queue at a distance and wait for our number to be ...
Record fertiliser sales witnessed during lockdownedit
The exemption in agricultural activities during the lockdown has resulted into a record sales of fertiliser during this month.
According to data from fertiliser ministry, fertiliser dealers across the country purchased 15.77 lakh tonnes which is 46% higher that last year’s sales of 10.79 lakh tonnes during first 22 days of April.
The forecast of a normal monsoon this year is likely to increase the crop area and thus the consumption of fertiliser.
Veggie prices crash, so do hopes of Punjab farmersedit
Amid curfew, the prices of vegetables have crashed in wholesale markets across the state. Staring at losses, the vegetable growers have appealed to the state government to buy their stock at a fixed price and bail them out of the crisis.
Vegetable traders here said that cauliflower and capsicum were being sold at Rs 2-6 per kg in the wholesale market. Many growers were unable to even cover the input costs.
As a mark of protest, some growers are even throwing away their vegetables. Farmers of Bhaini Bagha village in Mansa today threw their capsicum on the Bathinda-Mansa highway as no one was paying them more than Rs 2 per kg for their produce. “If the situation ...
Deccan farmers may face long dry spells in June, July like last yearedit
While the India Meteorological Department has predicted a normal monsoon, spatial forecast models show wide variations in rainfall across the country which can have dire implications for farmers, especially on the north eastern coast and the dryland areas of the Deccan.
For instance, there are likely to be long dry spells and low rainfall in June and July, similar to what happened last year, followed by excess rainfall in the later part of the monsoon in August and September, according to the Agriculture Ministry officials working on an analysis of the seasonal forecast before holding State-level meetings on the likely implications.
Nashik farmers sell produce worth ₹4 crore in a monthedit
About 1,200 farmers in Nashik have established a direct supply chain with 57,000 customers in Mumbai, Pune, and Nashik during the lockdown and have sold vegetables and fruits worth ₹4 crore in a month.
These farmers, part of Sahyadri Farms, the leading farmer producer company in Nashik, have used e-commerce, social media, and technology to establish a direct supply chain between producers and consumers.
Lockdown no bar, Jammu region expects bumper crop this season: Agri deptedit
The Department of Agriculture (DoA) on Tuesday ruled out any major impact of the nationwide lockdown on harvesting of rabi crops across the Jammu division and said the region is expecting a bumper crop this season.
A senior government official on Tuesday said over two dozen wheat procurement centres are being set up to facilitate the farmers to sell their produce.
Telangana continues rice supplies to other Statesedit
Living up to its new reputation as the Rice Bowl of India, Telangana State continues to supply rice to different parts of the country. Even as the State government commenced procurement of about 1.03 crore tonnes of paddy, tonnes of rice are being supplied to various States.
Acknowledging the State’s contribution in terms of paddy supply to the nation, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal on Tuesday tweeted that the Centre was maintaining adequate supply of essential goods with boiled rice being transported from Mahabubnagar in the State to Payyanur and West Hill of Kerala.
Unhelpful government is threatening food securityedit
The lockdown measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic make excessive demands on security forces and yet the government has not availed itself of the support offered by organised agriculture in terms of the Rural Safety Strategy due to its apparent inability to reach a positive decision regarding requests for assistance. While the government drags its feet, farmers are suffering enormous losses as a result of an increase in livestock and produce theft and illegal slaughtering and looting of farms, said TLU SA and Agri SA.
“Farmers are fed up with the government’s total disregard for farmers and their needs,” said Tommie Esterhuyse, chair of Agri SA’s Centre of Excellence: Rural Safety. “It is now time for ...
Plummeting Sale of Agricultural Produce May Hit India’s Ability to Feed after Coronavirus Pandemicedit
More than a week after the Centre relaxed norms on agriculture and allied activities, farmers have been unable to sell their produce. Lack of harvesters, labour shortage, lacklustre storage facilities, untimely rains and a dying demand are now starting to point towards a supply constraint that may eventually manifest itself much after India expectedly emerges out of the coronavirus pandemic.
With the non-availability of machines and agricultural labour, Ramesh Prasad and his son took half-a-month to harvest their wheat farm and another three days in storing and transporting it to the ‘mandi’. They have hardly been able to sell anything for the past two days.
Dairy Farming
A new White Revolution: How COVID-19 could benefit the dairy industryedit
When the entire nation continues to be under lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our dairy industry has proved to be more resilient than many other sectors in terms of the extent of supply chain disruptions. Millions of our animal-owning households, the majority being smallholders, particularly those connected to producer-centric institutions continued to milk their cows and buffaloes, and sell the surplus to the village milk collection centres. Milk was then pooled, cooled, and transported to processing centres where it was pasteurised, packaged and dispatched to thousands of marketing outlets, finally finding its way to millions of homes.