Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Tripura to procure paddy from farmers at Rs 18.15 per kgedit
In an effort to boost the primary sector as part of its lockdown exit strategy, the Tripura government has announced it will procure 20,000 MT paddy from farmers at Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath Wednesday said the state government would spend Rs 41.63 crore to procure the second crop of the Kharif season. Farmers would be provided Rs 18.15 per kg paddy under the MSP rates during the procurement drive.
Punjab unsure of arrival of farmhands for paddy transplantedit
Punjab is worried about its paddy cycle as around 10 lakh workers are required for the crop’s transplantation in the state. “A large number of migrant labourers come to Punjab by June 20 every year for sowing paddy. They return to their home states by July 30. So, such labourers will not be able to come this year because of Covid-19 crisis if similar situation continues,” state’s agriculture secretary Kahan Singh Pannu said. In midst of this, the number of migrants who have registered with the Punjab government for help to return to their home states crossed 17.18 lakh on Wednesday. This comes to around 6% of the total 3.04 crore projected population of Punjab in 2020. Similarly, 74,135 have registered ...
COVID-19: Reverse migration sparks concern for Punjab’s paddy seasonedit
The exodus of thousands of migrant workers during the countrywide lockdown to curb the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has put a question mark on paddy sowing in Punjab.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, on May 18, 2020, asked the Union government to allow labourers and cardholders under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme to work in farm operations for both rabi and kharif crops during 2020-21 in the state as a special case.
Some economists and farmers feel this is a step in the right direction, as this coupled with an infusion of Rs 40,000 crore in MGNREGA announced by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, may help address rural distress.
India’s tractor industry expected to recover from lockdown ahead of othersedit
India’s tractor industry may recover before other sectors impacted by the pandemic-led disruption, given the government’s focus on helping rural economies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration will spend 1.5 trillion rupees ($20 billion) to help its farmers and fishermen boost exports and profits as the nation gradually reopens from the world’s biggest lockdown. While India’s economy is set for its first annual contraction in four decades, the government forecasts agriculture output will grow faster than expected, emerging as the lone bright spot.
Chhattisgarh to launch cash transfer scheme for farmers todayedit
The Chhattisgarh government will on Thursday launch a scheme named after Rajiv Gandhi on the late former Prime Minister’s 19th death anniversary for direct cash transfers to around 2 million farmers in four instalments, officials aware of the matter said.
The officials said a five-member committee was constituted to study how Rs 2,500 per quintal for paddy could be ensured for the farmers as per the Congress pledge in its manifesto ahead of the 2018 assembly elections. The panel was constituted after the government procured paddy from farmers at the rate fixed by the Centre–~1,835 per quintal–in November 2019 and promised to pay the balance amount later.
“The committee recommended that ~10,000 per acre should be given ...
‘Assam’s Farmers, Agri Entrepreneurs Did Business Worth Rs 357 Crore During Lockdown Period’: CM Sarbananda Sonowaledit
Around Rs 357 crore worth of business was done by Assam’s farmers and agriculture entrepreneurs during the lockdown period by supplying agricultural products to various parts of the country, state Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Tuesday (19 May), reports Economic Times.
Sonowal visited Maloibari in Kamrup Metro district and took stock of agricultural activities being carried out by the farmers there. He also interacted with the farmers engaged in the harvesting of paddy in the agricultural fields and inspected the functioning of paddy reaper machines distributed by the agriculture department to the farmers.
Monoculture not viable for farmers, environment: Experts on KCR’s new farming policyedit
“Those who cultivate a paddy variety other than what the government has instructed will not get the Rythu Bandhu assistance. The government will recognise which variety of paddy is having high demand in the market, so that your crop will be sold like hotcakes and gives you a profit.”
This was the pitch made by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) to farmers in the state, as he announced a policy on ‘regulated cropping pattern’. The CM said that cultivable land will increase to 1.33 lakh acres from existing 1.23 lakh acres in this Kharif season considering the average 900 mm rainfall and irrigation facilities in the state.
Game changer: Telangana to begin regulating crop patternedit
Telangana has taken a giant leap in Indian agriculture. In the first move of its kind in the country, the southern state has decided that it will tell its farmers what they should grow, when and how much.
Agriculture is a concurrent subject, which means both state and the central government have a say in the matter. Agri-economists and other thinkers in the farming sector have often complained that state governments do not take enough interest in this vital sector of the economy. As a result, most farmers follow herd mentality and grow the same crop, leading to a glut.
India To Ban 27 Harmful Insecticides Used By Farmers That Are Already Banned In Many Countriesedit
The Government is set to ban the usage of over 27 insecticides which are presently allowed to be used in India, despite having long been banned in many other nations across the globe because of the threat they pose to human and animal health, reports The Times of India.
A draft proposal for the same was issued by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare seeking objections or suggestions from the stakeholders within a span of 45 days. It is expected that the government will issue the final order in this regard in July.