Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Fuel price hike ahead of kharif sowing riles farmers in Punjabedit
The hike in petrol and diesel prices in Punjab just ahead of sowing of various kharif crops has riled farmer outfits in Punjab, who have decided to oppose the government move tooth and nail.
“At this time of the year, Punjab’s 18.50 lakh farmers are major users of diesel in the state as around 42 lakh hectares area is to be cultivated under agricultural crops like cotton, paddy, maize, basmati of kharif season as well under horticulture crops in a coming couple of months,” said Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Dakaunda, General Secretary Jagmohan Singh.
Haryana to give ₹7,000/acre to farmers for non-paddy cropsedit
Much before the beginning of paddy transplantation season in mid June, Haryana government has started rolling out incentive- linked crop diversification plans to push farmers towards the cultivation of maize and pulses in place of rice.
The rice cultivation has been losing traction as every year, groundwater table of Haryana depletes about one metre due to non-stop paddy sowing.
Just 1kg rice production consumes 2,000-5,000 litre water, Haryana agriculture and farmers’ welfare department has said in its crop diversification scheme.
Why India’s rural economy stands to gain after the lockdown is liftededit
As India eases the lockdown this week, there is fear that nothing has been gained in the past few painful weeks, and the novel coronavirus will started spreading again. Looking at liquor queues in urban India, it may be tempting to think so, but the fears may be overblown at the scale of the economy as a whole.
The behaviour of governments, individuals and businesses will reshape the Indian economy, and safer activities and locations will flourish more. If supported by the right policy framework, agriculture and rural industry could be one of India’s biggest strengths.
Yogi Govt Ushers In Sweeping Agriculture Reforms For Substantial Cost Saving To Farmers, All You Need To Knowedit
The Yogi Adityanath led Uttar Pradesh government has introduced sweeping reforms in the agriculture sector which includes abolishing the mandatory condition to bring farm produce to state mandis and has also scrapped the mandi tax, Times of India has reported.
This was a result of the state government abolishing a few provisions in the Uttar Pradesh Krishi Utpadan Mandi Act via an ordinance passed by the cabinet on Wednesday (6 May).
After Sweeping Agriculture Reforms, MP CM Shivraj Chauhan Announces Radical Recasting Of Labour Laws To Lure Investmentedit
Following up on his sweeping reforms in agriculture sector that he unveiled to end the monopoly of APMC’s and permits farmers to directly connect to markets, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced a slew of reforms in labour laws that will effectively end ‘ inspector raj’ for new factories in the state
The series of labour law reforms announced today will provide significant relaxations for industries from departmental inspections, exempt them from maintaining registers and allow them to schedule shifts to ensure maximum productivity.
Farm to market: Indian farmers struggle to mend losses amid coronavirus lockdownedit
The freshly-grown fruits had turned ripe, rabi crops like barley were ready to be harvested, and bright-coloured vegetables were seen dangling from the plants. However, most of these were either left to rot in the farms, or sold at an extremely nominal price in the market. The nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in severe labour shortages, transport impediments, and reduced market access, leaving thousands of farmers in the lurch. Though the Indian government made it a point to relax some of the restrictions for the farming sector, the community is still striving to cope with the losses.
It’s win-win as farmers sell mangoes to city consumers via WhatsApp amid lockdownedit
When the nationwide lockdown was imposed, mango farmer Asif Shahbazker was staring at huge losses. But technology and an enterprising agriculture officer came to his rescue.
The Bandra resident who owns the 200-acre Ranse Farm in Uran in the Konkan region was able to seal orders for 20,000 Alphonso mangoes in a month through WhatsApp. Asif said they are not only getting a fair profit but also contributing a portion of it to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to fight COVID-19.
Nagaland government focuses on agriculture to revive economy =edit
The Nagaland government, which is facing a financial crunch in the wake of the lockdown, has focused on strengthening the agriculture and allied sectors to revive the state’s economy, a minister said. The government will hold a meeting with the representatives of the farming community and entrepreneurs on Friday to discuss various issues to improve these sectors, state planning and coordination minister Neiba Kronu said.