Business World

With Indian Meteorological Department projecting a welcome southwest monsoon season during 2020, the agriculture industry has started showing a spike in trade. In a recent report CRISIL has projected tractor industry likely to be unhurt from Covid-19. Unlike rest of the automobile industry that is facing double digit drop in sales,  tractor may still do well despite  37 per cent on-year decline combining April and May this year.

The IMD has forecast the south-west monsoon to be at 102 per cent of the long period average (LPA) in calendar 2020. Crucially, it sees rains well-distributed at 96-107 per cent of the LPA in all the four regions. The monsoon’s approach so far has been timely with rains ...

Hindustan Times

Businesses are banking on a bumper harvest and high rural incomes to drive demand for goods after the coronavirus pandemic stunted growth in the country’s cities, where most of the factories and offices are located.

Business leaders expect a normal monsoon, record sowing of summer crops, improved winter harvest and a raft of government measures to help farmers and boost rural incomes to boost demand for goods ranging from two-wheelers to tractors. Among others that stand to benefit are consumer durables makers, farm inputs producers, cement companies and essential goods manufacturers.

Tractor sales, a bellwether for rural demand, have picked up strongly across rural belts and are headed for a record growth in June, industry executives said.

Early Times India is the land of villages and agriculture is the main source of income for the farmers.70 per cent of the Indian population still thrives on the income generated through cultivation. Farmers are the spine of India. Agriculture sector is unquestionably the largest livelihood provider and is considered as the largest private enterprise in India. This sector provides the commodities and raw material required in non-agriculture and industrial sector. Although the contribution of this sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is declining year after year but still this sector is significantly contributing to the GDP of the nation. By 2030, when India’s population is estimated to be around 150 crores, the requirement of food grains will ...

Indo Asian Commodities

The normal onset and steady progress of monsoon have increased the sowing area under kharif crops to more than double the level a year ago until June 26, improving chances of another year of record grains production.

The area under all kharif crops was at 315.6 lakh hectare as on June 26, nearly 30 per cent of the ‘normal area’ of 1,064 lakh hectare. Monsoon covered the entire country on June 26, 12 days earlier than the normal schedule and at the fastest pace since 2013.

Though the government is betting on a bumper harvest to increase the overall agriculture growth and boost the rural economy, farm-gate prices will remain a key concern. A big positive ...

Business Standard

After three years of muted growth, agri input companies are eyeing a double-digit sales jump in the current kharif sowing season due to timely start and evenly distribution of the south west monsoon rainfalls, which triggered 30 per cent increase in acreage in June 2020.

Agri input companies faced multiple challenges like demonetisation, erratic monsoon and low prices of agri produce which battered farmers’ profitability and cash flows, leading to poor demand for agri inputs like fertilisers and pesticides. Their revenues, therefore, clocked a mere 5.8 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) between FY17 and FY19. But now their revenues are expected to grow 12-15 per cent and net profit by 30 per cent in FY21.

Auto Car Pro

The automotive industry in India may have witnessed one of the worst periods in a decade, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic just further added to it. But going by the gradual restarting of industry, and expectation of a well-distributed and normal monsoon – as forecast by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) recently – rating agency CRISIL expects there will be just 1 percent contraction in tractor sales volumes this fiscal.

The company says despite a 37 percent YoY decline in April and May combined, tractor volumes will likely be barely a percent below last fiscal’s level, in sharp contrast to a double-digit decline expected for the rest of the automobile industry. That, and lower raw material ...

The Hindu

The government remains tight-lipped on the possible extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of the first rescue package during the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme ends on June 30.

The scheme, announced for a three month period, covered 80 crore ration card holders. Each household was provided 5 kg of food grains (rice or wheat) and 1 kg of pulses (only channa) free of cost. Already, 21 states — both BJP-ruled and Opposition-led governments — have appealed to the Centre to extend the scheme for another three months till September.

Tribune India

Even as the department of agriculture had been trying to encourage mechanisation of paddy transplantation, it failed to convince farmers as they felt no need for the same.

However, this season, with the restrictions on movement of labour from other states for manual transplantation of paddy, the farmers are were more interested in mechanical transplantation or direct seeding techniques which do not require much labour.

The Hindu Business Line

The latest ‘All India Crop Situation’ report of the Agriculture Ministry shows a massive increase in planted acreage for various kharif season crops as of June 26, compared with the same time last year; but it may not be time to celebrate yet.

Crops such as cotton, oilseeds, maize and pulses have shown a remarkable increase in planted area for this time of the year, as can be seen from the adjoining data. If one went by the previous three years’ planting data, the current year’s numbers appear exceptional and, in some sense, too good to be true.

Telangana Today

Appealing to the citizens to be even more careful in the time unlock, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India is unlocking, be it in sectors like coal, space, agriculture and more and it is now the time to work together to make India self-reliant and technologically advanced.

“We are in the time of unlock. But, we have to be even more careful. India is unlocking, be it in sectors like coal, space, agriculture and more and it is now the time to work together to make India self-reliant and technologically advanced,” said Prime Minister during his monthly-radio programme Mann Ki Baat.

The Tribune

Migration from rural India to urban areas has been a matter of discussion since the beginning of this millennium. One of the main reasons identified for this trend is the agrarian crisis that emerged during the early 1990s, a detrimental product of factors like market-oriented agriculture reforms, land degradation, climate change, etc.

Financial Express

The steady and steep rise in borrowings by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) over the past few years to keep its operations uninterrupted by a liquidity crunch caused by delayed/inadequate release of funds by the government is inflating an already high food subsidy bill even further. As the chart shows, stepped-up FCI borrowings, though it largely comprises relatively low-cost National Small Savings Fund loans, have still led to a steep rise in FCI’s debt servicing cost.

Financial Express

The normal onset and steady progress of monsoon have increased the sowing area under kharif crops to more than double the level a year ago until June 26. By June 19, the increase was 39%. This has boosted the prospects of another year of record grains production.

The area under all kharif crops was at 315.6 lakh hectare as on June 26, nearly 30% of the ‘normal area’ of 1,064 lakh hectare. Monsoon covered the entire country on June 26, 12 days earlier than the normal schedule and at the fastest pace since 2013.

Indian Express

Reasserting his commitment to the farmers’ cause, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana president, Raju Shetti, in an interview with Shubhangi Khapre says the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) offer of one seat on the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) cannot undermine his political identity.

New Indian Express

Regular rainfall since monsoon entered the State nearly three weeks ago has brought smiles on the faces of farmers. The reason for their happiness is that during the same time last year, there were no rains after they commenced agriculture operations. From June 1 to 24, the State received 81.1 mm rainfall as against the normal rainfall of 79.6 mm, which is 1.9 per cent more. In 2019, only 40.9 mm rainfall was recorded in the State during the same period, and it was 68.5 mm only in 2018. It clearly shows why the farmers are happy this Kharif season.

News Gram

Sowing of crops in the current kharif season has gained momentum due to good monsoon. The area under sowing of all kharif crops increased by 104 per cent over the previous year. While the area under oilseeds increased by 525 per cent from the previous year and the sowing of pulses increased by about 222 per cent. The planting and sowing of paddy, the main crop of the Kharif season, has been 35 per cent higher than the previous year.. Read more at: https://www.newsgram.com/kharif-sowing-area-increases-104-good-monsoon/

Free Press Journal

Agriculture is the sector we are all banking on this year to drive growth. This is logical considering that this is the only sector which has so far been insulated from the pandemic and also been outside the purview of the lockdown. With few impediments on account of the shutdown, which were only transient in April for rabi crop of 2019-20, the focus on this sector this year is sharper.

The Print

The Modi government’s decision to import maize and milk under reduced import duties has irked domestic producers of the two products as local prices have already been crashing.

The government has in a notification dated 23 June allowed the import of 5 lakh MT of maize and 10,000 MT of milk and milk products at a concessional customs duty of 15 per cent each under the Tariff Rate Quota Scheme.

News Track Live

During the Corona period, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Chaudhary said that if the Rajasthan government had cooperated, locusts would not have progressed beyond the state. He would be overcome there. He said that locusts can be effectively controlled only in the border areas. This work could have been done more effectively if Rajasthan government supports. He said this clearly in the discussion with the media.

The Hans India

Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said that ‘Farmer is the King’ is not a mere slogan, but an official State policy of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s government. Addressing a series of meetings after laying foundation stones to the Rythu Vedika works in Achampeta Assembly segment on Sunday, he said that for decades the vision of making farmer a king remained a mere slogan leaving the agriculture sector to lurch driving farmers into mass migration for work in other places.

The Wire

During the last three months of varying degrees of restrictions on movement and economic activity, one of the biggest challenges faced by the Indian government – apart from the public health challenge posed by COVID-19 – has been to ensure food security for India’s population – millions of whom have had their incomes wiped out or drastically reduced leading to a curtailed ability to afford food.

The government’s key measure to deal with the situation was the announcement that for the months of April, May and June, about 800 million beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) would be provided five kilograms of food grain (wheat or rice) in addition to the usual allocation of five kilograms per person ...

Republic World

The Chhattisgarh government on Saturday announced that 7.65 lakh farmers were granted interest-free agricultural loans worth Rs 2,721 crore for growing Kharif crops in the state.

This year, the government aims to disburse loans worth Rs 4,600 crore to the farmers in the Kharif season. To achieve this target, interest-free short-term agricultural loans worth Rs 2,721 crore was granted to 7.65 lakh farmers for the current Kharif crop season.

Agricultural loans worth Rs 1,538 crore were disbursed to farmers in 2019. An additional loan amounting to Rs 1,183 crore has been granted this year, compared to the previous year.

Tribune India

As Southwest Monsoon covered the entire country on Saturday, 12 days ahead of the normal date, farmers registered more than 100 per cent increase in sowing during kharif helped by good rains during the season.

Despite the Covid-19 crisis, they have so far planted an impressive 316 lakh ha, which is more than double of 154 lakh hectare planted during the corresponding period last year and higher than the average 187 lakh ha in past five years, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

Appreciating the contribution of the “competent Indian farmers” at a webinar organised by the ministry, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal also attributed it to the “path-breaking futuristic steps taken by the Government during the pandemic”.

Indian Express

DESPITE THE labour shortage amid the Covid-19 pandemic, around 55 per cent of sowing of kharif crops has been completed in Punjab, 5 per cent more than last year. The state agriculture department attributed this to mechanisation and good pre-monsoon showers.

There is over 41 lakh hectares of cultivable area in the state — including both agriculture and horticulture.

The Wire

The success of procurement of wheat produced in 2019-20 is being celebrated across India and especially by Mumbai’s financial markets, which see in it a sign of a relatively healthy rural economy.

What should be noted though is that a major contribution to this bumper procurement was made by the state of Madhya Pradesh.

Out of 38.5 million tonnes wheat procured in the country – despite the scare of COVID-19, shortage of labour and gunny bags, restrictions in mandis and government recommendations of physical distancing – Madhya Pradesh (MP) procured 12.93 million tonnes, putting Punjab in second place with 12.71 million tonnes.

Hindustan Times

In line with the “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, or self-reliant India, stance spelt out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recent weeks, India aims to double farm exports from US$ 30 billion now to US$ 60 billion by 2022, scout new markets hit by Covid-19, and put China at a disadvantage in bilateral farm trade, according to details of consultations to “recalibrate” the country’s agriculture trade policy set in 2018.

An interministerial assessment last week showed there’s room to export more to the US, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, South Korea, Malaysia, Iran, and to China and its rival Taiwan, an official familiar with the developments said

Republic World

As sowing of kharif crops picks up, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday announced that the government will bear the farmers’ share of crop insurance premium under the PMFBY and collect a nominal amount of Rs 1 from them. A pending claim payout to the tune of Rs 596.36 crore has also been released to 5.94 lakh farmers after the current government paid the pending state’s share of crop insurance premium of Rs 122.61 crore for the 2018-19 rabi season, he said in a statement.

Swarjyamag

There are tell-tale signs of the Indian economy returning to the path to recovery from the current novel coronavirus pandemic, which has slowed down economic activities.

Leading the revival is rural India, which is witnessing a rise in expenditure and purchase of agriculture-related products such as tractors and seeds.

Also, reflecting rural India’s buoyant outlook is a sharp rise in pre-kharif and kharif sowing of crops aided by a classic monsoon pattern for the first time in three years.

Business Standard

The Union government’s recent initiative to create much-needed agriculture infrastructure through a Rs 1-trillion policy announcement should not be seen as an end in itself, but as a means to an end. It needs to be seen as a part of the broader strategy of enhancing farmers’ incomes and achieve nutritional security.

The Financial World

The country has received the rainfall of 155.2 mm against the normal of 128.2 mm during the period from 1.06.2020 to 25.06.2020. There has been satisfactory progress of sowing area coverage under Kharif crops, the status of which is given as under:

DNA India

The flow of water from Bhutan to the Indian state of Assam continues with locals pitching in to make sure irrigation channels are maintained.

The irrigation channel is usually maintained by the farmers from Assam who cross the border for the work. However, due to the COVID-19 situation and restrictions on movement across the border, the irrigation channel was not being maintained, thus interrupting the supply at the crucial sowing time of Kharif crops.

The Bhutanese officials and local communities then stepped in to maintain the irrigation Channels.

Farmers Weekly

Investing in 9.5m forage merger has helped improve silage quality and production for a family-run dairy unit in Scotland.

Brothers Robert and David Veitch run 340 milking cows at Greenside Farm, Cumnock, Ayrshire, and had a persistent issue with soil and stones affecting silage quality.

“There was a visible stone content in the clamp and we were always sweeping up grit left lying in the feed passageways,” says David.

Feminism India

The “Global Risks Report 2020” published by World Economic Forum lists climate change as the top global threat over the next decade while the Global Climate Risk Index places India at the fifth position among the countries most vulnerable to the climate change crises. The past few years have seen an increase in awareness of the impacts of climate change on the Indian agricultural ecosystem both among policymakers as well as the general population. The increased emphasis on sustainable living is an example of this shift.

However, as data indicates, despite continued efforts at sustainable living and life choices, India’s agricultural productivity is in the danger of getting severely impacted. Issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, increased frequency of ...

Tribune India

Unlike passenger vehicles, it seems the tractor industry has been immune to the Covid impact. According to statistics, the sale of tractors in the domestic market witnessed a 4% hike in May as compared to the corresponding month last year.

Inventia

The prominent sectors, Agriculture, Manufacturing, and Services sectors, have shown signs of recovery because the government and therefore, the reserve bank of India took appropriate steps to contain the damage by coronavirus lockdown.

The Ministry of Finance released a press release that claimed early economic revival have emerged in May and June with real activity indicators like fuel consumption, and electricity, inter and intra-state movement of products, retail financial transactions witnessing devour. The statement added that the govt and RBI took prompt policy measures in both the future and short term to revive the economy at the earliest with minimal damage.

Deccan Chronicle

Several major reservoirs have recorded live storage levels two-three times more than last year, as inflows have been encouraging during the first month of the monsoon season. This is a good sign for farmers and citizens in general as reservoirs with enough water will not lead to a drinking water problem.  The Almatti reservoir, the backwaters of which witnessed unprecedented flooding last year, is almost half-full in the first month itself, with inflows set to increase due to good rainfall in River Krishna’s catchment region.

Indian Express

There are many parallels one can draw between the novel coronavirus-induced lockdown (gharbandi) and demonetisation (notebandi), in terms of their impact on India’s farm economy. Both resulted in the same thing – demand destruction – albeit through different routes.

Hindustan Times

With the commencement of Kharif season, farmers in Kalaburagi district have started sowing seasonal crops-Cotton and pigeon pea, anticipating a good rainfall in the state.

Farmers in the region said they could not grow enough crops due to low rainfall.

A farmer in Kalaburagi, who is sowing the Kharif crop in the hope of bumper crop said: “Due to less rain for the last 3 years, we have not been able to grow cotton. But during this year’s monsoon, we are sowing cotton and tur (Pigeon pea) in our 2-acre land.”

“Although, there is no guarantee of rain this year as well but we can only hope for it,” he added.

The Kharif season begins in June ...

Scroll

With the launch of the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, or RGKNY, on May 21, Chhattisgarh became the sixth Indian state in two years to initiate a direct cash transfer scheme for farmers. The scheme aims to supplement the income of the state’s 1.9 million farmers by Rs 10,000-Rs 13,000 per acre of land owned. Cash transfers for Covid-19 relief and stimulus are also gaining salience, with the Centre announcing frontloading of PM Kisan payments.

Rural Marketing

Farming is one of the ancient works human beings have undertaken and continue till date. However, with time, some processes followed have become dated and a need to replace them with better and innovative ideas arises. Much of it took place to increase production so that the demand can be fulfilled. However, even in 21st century, when phones are said to be smarter than humans, farmers are dependent on a seasonal phenomenon called monsoon that decides whether they can afford to sow their crop or not. There is an urgent need to up the game in Indian agriculture which can both feed its own people and export to other countries.

Live Mint

The locked rooms lining the courtyard of Dilip Patidar’s sprawling ancestral home once smelled like a spice box. That was some years ago when crop prices had crashed. Patidar, a well-to-do farmer from the agriculturally-prosperous Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, would store most of the harvest, from spices like coriander and cumin to pulses and grains, waiting for better days.

Patidar is familiar with the inherent risks in farming. He has seen bountiful harvests razed to the ground after a night’s freak hailstorm, and the winding queue of vehicles outside wholesale markets—farmers would spend sleepless nights on top of their tractor-trolleys laden with harvest, desperate to sell their garlic and onion despite making a heavy loss. Patidar ...

Goa Com

Opposing the procurement of Chinese made milk testing machines, the Goa Dairy farmers on Tuesday stated that the machines supplied by the State government don’t have the capacity to handle the testing of milk samples.

The farmers said, “When conflict with China is escalated, the Goa Dairy should scrap the plan of procuring the Chinese milk testing machines.”

While addressing the media persons, Goa Dairy farmer Sanjeev Cuncolienkar along with Bhartiya Kisan Sang Goa Pradesh Secretary Shrirang Zamble made the demand.

UNI India

The agriculture sector remains the foundation of the Indian Economy and with a forecast of a normal monsoon, should support the rebooting of the Indian Economy.

New Indian Express

The Finance Ministry on Wednesday said that the economic activity has increased with agriculture leading the pack. “Agricultural sector remains the foundation of the Indian economy and with a forecast of a normal monsoon, should support the rebooting of the Indian Economy,” said the Finance Ministry’s press release.

Hindustan Times

Cotton cultivation tops the preference of Haryana farmers who have opted for the financial incentive-linked crop diversification drive of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP-JJP coalition government.

The key objective behind encouraging farmers to choose alternative crops is to reduce area under paddy, cultivation of which is being blamed for a sharp dip in groundwater table of Haryana.

The state produces nearly 68 lakh metric tonne (LMT) paddy, including more than 25 LMT basmati, sown on about 32 lakh acres of land. For the first time, the farmers switching over to an alternative crop in place of paddy will be paid Rs 7,000 per acre incentive.

Since the ‘Mera Pani, Meri Virasat’ policy was launched in the first ...

Hindustan Times

The finance ministry on Tuesday said the agricultural sector would be the foundation of the country’s economic growth and “early green shoots” of economic revival are visible with pickup in agricultural procurement, fertiliser sales, energy consumption, freight movement, digital transactions and forex earnings.

“Agricultural sector remains the foundation of the Indian economy and with a forecast of a normal monsoon, it should support the rebooting of the Indian economy,” it said in a statement.

Procurement of wheat from farmers by government agencies has been a record 382 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) as on June 16, which surpassed the earlier record of 381.48 LMT in 2012-13.

“This has been accomplished during the trying times of Covid-19 pandemic under the social distancing restrictions. ...

Scroll

Three ordinances approved at a cabinet meeting on June 3 were hailed as landmark decisions that would benefit Indian farmers and transform the agricultural sector.

One of these, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, amends the existing act to remove all agricultural commodities from the list of essential commodities. The government assumes that “the freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute and supply will lead to harnessing of economies of scale and attract private sector/foreign direct investment into agriculture sector. It will help drive up investment in cold storages and modernisation of food supply chain.”

The Hindu

The State government is committed to finding good markets for agricultural produce and ensuring good income to farmers, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday.

As part of its Subhiksha Keralam project, the government aims to launch wholesale markets, district-level procurement centres, and block-level and weekly markets, the Chief Minister said, inaugurating the Thiruvathira Njattuvela markets and Karshaka Sabhas and the distribution of one crore fruit tree saplings and coconut saplings via videoconference.

India Info Line

Indian stock markets have had a long affair with monsoons. A good and timely monsoon ensures a good Kharif crop, low food inflation and robust equity market performance. One can argue that agriculture forms a very small portion of India’s GDP but that is missing the point. Here is a look at how various sectors contribute to the Indian economy.

Hindustan Times Auto

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Monday said it has introduced its new Sarpanch Plus range of tractors in Maharashtra, with the launch of the 575 Sarpanch Plus model priced at ₹6.60 lakh (ex showroom, Maharashtra).

The 575 Sarpanch Plus is an upgrade of the company’s popular 575 Sarpanch and the new series offers models spanning multiple horsepower-points from 30 HP to 50 HP category, M&M said in a statement. It offers 2 HP more power, higher max torque and back-up torque, to cover more land quickly, the company added.

The new Sarpanch Plus series comes with a 6-year warranty and can be booked online for an initial payment of ₹5,000 and is available with special finance and customer ...

India Info Line

The start of this year’s monsoon season has been good and fruitful for farmers. Led by the strong monsoon, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare said the sowing area of important Kharif crops more than in the corresponding period last year. Also, the ministry pointed out that there was a big jump in area coverage under Oilseeds, Coarse Cereals, Pulses and Cotton.

Data given by the ministry reveals that there were 39.38% rise Kharif crops sowing to 131.34 lakh hectares compared to 94.23 lakh hectors in the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the country has received the rainfall of 108.3 mm against the normal of 82.4 mm during the period from June 01 ...

Indian Express

Soyabean farmers in parts of Maharashtra have started reporting early germination failure, which has put them in a fix.

Growers in some parts of the state have blamed inferior quality of seed, while in some cases, insufficient soil moisture is being blamed for the failure of the seed to germinate. Agriculture Commissioner Suhas Diwase confirmed the problem but said it is restricted to some talukas of particular districts.

Telangana Today

The State government on Monday deposited a whopping Rs 5,294.53 crore into the bank accounts of 50.84 lakh farmers towards financial assistance under the Rythu Bandhu scheme. In a record of sorts, the entire amount was disbursed on a single day as per the directions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao who wanted the amount to reach the eligible farmers to enable them commence farm operations in a smooth manner.

Scroll

In the past few weeks, the government of India has made significant announcements on reforming agriculture, particularly the regulatory framework for managing markets across the country. The reforms have been described as path-breaking, long-term changes that will significantly alter the terms of trade in favour of the farmer.

What are these reforms, what do they mean in practice, and what impact are they likely to have on the everyday lives of India’s farmers and markets?

Tribune India

The paddy-sowing season, which officially began on June 15, is witnessing an unprecedented crisis owing to labour shortage in Haryana, triggered by the exodus of migrant labourers who went back to their native states during the Covid-induced lockdown. Farmers have to rely on local labourers, who are demanding higher wages than the migrants.

Tribune India

Punjab’s farmers are grappling with labour-related issues during the ongoing paddy-sowing season. Their losses are likely to go up this year as a sharp rise in the input cost is imminent.

Economic Times

ITC is planning to create export-oriented fruit and vegetables clusters, grabbing the opportunities created by recently announced agricultural reforms, such as allowing contract farming and the expected change in global purchasing patterns.

ITC’s business head for agriculture and information technology S Sivakumar said international buyers were diversifying their sources of supply in the wake of the pandemic. “For example, the Middle East countries will be keen to procure fruits and vegetables from diverse sources, both fresh and as well as processed products,” he said.

Financial Express

They might be in a minority but their work is inspiring. We are referring to some of the homegrown agritech startups that are transforming agriculture by developing innovative digital solutions to maximise productivity, improve market linkages, increase supply chain efficiency and provide greater access to inputs for agri-businesses. Microsoft has now introduced a programme for such agritech startups.

The Microsoft for Agritech Startups programme is designed to help startups build industry-specific solutions, scale and grow with access to deep technology, business and marketing resources. The programme offers advanced technology and business enablement resources to help agritech startups innovate and scale fast.

India Retailing

Dairy foods company Milk Mantra on Friday said US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed US$ 10 million (over Rs 76 crore) for structured debt financing to the company.

DFC has also approved US$ 3,71,000 (about Rs 2.8 crore) in technical assistance to support the company’s agriculture extension services and ethical milk sourcing programme, according to a statement.

New Indian Express

Andhra Pradesh, which achieved a foodgrain-production record of 180.54 lakh tonnes in 2019-20, has now set itself a target of 183.63 lakh tonnes for the 2020-21 fiscal. The target for the Kharif season is 95.28 lakh tonnes, and for the Rabi season is 88.35 lakh tonnes. As per the final advance estimates provided by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, the total foodgrain production in 2019-20 (Rabi and Kharif) was 180.54 lakh tonnes, as against 149.56 lakh tonnes in 2018-19, an increase of 30.98 lakh tonnes, Andhra Pradesh State Agriculture Mission (APSAM) vice-chairperson MVS Nagi Reddy told The New Indian Express.

Jagran

State Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi was in the Karil area of ​​the district on Sunday. He inspected the cucumber and strawberry in Pankaj Rai’s Pali House in Karimuddinpur and inquired about its management. After this, the foundation stone of the seed processing unit costing about 60 lakhs being constructed by the Shivansh farmers FPO, under the project of Jogamusaahib, was laid. Earlier, he garlanded the idol of Hid Keshari Mangla Rai and distributed free seeds to the farmers.

The New Indian Express – Online

Andhra Pradesh, which achieved a foodgrain-production record of 180.54 lakh tonnes in 2019-20, has now set itself a target of 183.63 lakh tonnes for the 2020-21 fiscal.

Krishi Jagran

India is considered as the top producer of many types of crops and depending on the seasons’ crops there are three segments namely Rabi, Kharif, and Zaid crops. Out of which here we will elaborate more about Kharif crops which are also known as monsoon crops.

Kharif crops are grown in wet and hot conditions. For instance, rice, maize, bajra, corn, & peas are few of the Kharif crops grown during monsoons in India. Mentioning in detail the top main crops to grow in monsoon below:

Hence, hereby were the top 5 crops that are grown in monsoon and its statistics about what the average rainfall which is required.

Times Of India

Transport ministry has decided to defer the roll out of the next stage of emission norms for construction vehicles, agricultural combined harvesters and tractors by six months – from October 2020 to April 2021 – in view of the Covid pandemic. The move comes after the agriculture ministry and construction equipment manufacturers suggested deferring the timeline because of the global health crisis. They have suggested the need to give more time for implementation of the new emission norms.

Tribune India

Even as paddy transplantation is in full swing in the state, the state government has failed to provide the compensation of Rs 2,500 per acre in the accounts of marginal farmers who didn’t burn paddy stubble last year.

News 18

At a time when farmers in Madhya Pradesh are struggling to sell their wheat at the minimum support price (MSP), several farmers are turning to a hybrid variety of wheat which carries significant medicinal value and also promises two to four times the return compared to the normal wheat crop.

However, with the lack of awareness for this variety and unavailability of government support, the farmers who have stocks of this special black wheat are finding it hard to locate buyers.

New Indian Express

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said a special scheme will be launched to promote local produce like Kandhamal turmeric, Kuchinda chilli and milk-based products of Nimapara in international market.

Addressing a virtual rally of farmers organised by the BJP Krushak Morcha on completion of one year of Narendra Modi Government’s second term, Pradhan said the scheme will be launched by adopting a cluster-based approach for micro food enterprises.

Krishi Jagran

Bayer AG, a German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company which is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world has reached out to more than 4,00,000 smallholder farmers and migrant labourers across India. This initiative was inaugurated by Honourable Agriculture Minister, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh Surya Pratap Shahi.

The company firmly believes that farmers need innovation not only to grow enough but to grow better for our planet and its people. Bayer has leading research capabilities in biotechnology, crop protection, and data science to deliver tailored solutions to farmers faster than ever before. The company seek digital tools that help drive innovation, and collaborate with external partners large and small so we can create lasting ...

The Hindu Business Line

A combination of large production, decent level of stocks with public agencies and weak demand growth has kept the domestic pulses market under leash over the last two years. Inventory pressure — from record imports three years ago as also court-order-enabled import last year — has substantially reduced.

New Indian Express

Andhra Pradesh witnessed a turn around in the agriculture sector in the last one year. From massive decline of 17.66 lakh tonnes of food grain production in 2018-19 compared 2017-18, the State witnessed a substantial increase of 21.81 lakh tonnes of food grain production in 2019-20.

As explained in the Socio-economic Survey 2019-20, if decrease in rainfall was the main reason for decline in food production, timely rains in significant amount was the reason for the turnaround.  But, it is not the only reason. The State government’s proactive approach with a focus on improving basic infrastructure and providing a helping hand to the farmers in time is an important reason.

The Hindu Business Line

India has questioned the rationale of joint statements issued by some countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO) pushing for greater opening of markets for agricultural products. It has argued that for developing countries, export restrictions are a tool to prevent domestic shortages and are essential.

The country made a case against permanent tariff concessions or a dilution of the tariff bindings at a special meeting of the Committee on Agriculture (CoA) in Geneva recently. “Members reviewed a number of farm-support packages and export-restrictive measures adopted as response to the Covid-19 crisis,” a trade official in Geneva told BusinessLine.

The Tribune – Online

New zoonotic infections like Covid-19 are known to spread to humans due to destruction of natural habitats and forests. The intensity and frequency of cyclonic storms is linked with global and regional climatic changes. Even human migration is a result of changing weather patterns. People from drought affected and regions with less rainfall tend to move to urban areas for livelihoods as agriculture comes under stress.

Krishi Jagran – Online

With the monsoon having reached the central parts of the country, there is a sigh of relief that it will provide comfort from the scorching heat that the country is facing. But for the farmers, it is not at all good as they fear that short burst of excess rainfall will do more harm to their crops.

Krishi Jagran – Online

Monsoon is the lifeblood for India’s agriculture-dependent $2 trillion economy, as at least half the farmlands are rain-fed. Here’s the current scenario and future implications of Monsoon on agriculture;

The Indian Express –  Online

Sources in the BBMB said water was released continuously downstream in summer months, irrespective of whether there was a demand for irrigation on several days, to create the space so as to prevent flooding during monsoons in Punjab.

The Economic Times – Online

In the absence of American leadership, India and other developing countries need to champion the cause of WTO and global trade.

The Hindu Business Line – Online

Telangana’s bold move to dictate what crops should be sown where will be a win-win for both farmers and the government.

The Hindu Business Line – Online

Many SMEs are turning digital to survive the current Covid crisis, but are keen on continuing the transformation journey. There’s a need to build the right support system to help them.

Zee News – Online

While spraying machine is awaited from the United Kingdom, India has manufactured and assembled one that can be fitted in the helicopter for spray of pesticides and insecticides to kill locusts.

The Hindu – Online

India faces challenges linked to infrastructure and skill sets; and its policies are unpredictable.

Krishi Jagran

Himachal Pradesh is divided into three zones outer Himalaya/Shiwaliks, inner Himalaya/ Mid Himalaya and greater Himalayas. There is a gradual rise in average elevation from south to north. The physiography of state is a complex mosaic of hills, valleys and snow-clad peaks.

Agriculture plays an important role in the prosperity and economic development of Himachal Pradesh. Around 76% of people are dependent on agricultural and allied activities for their livelihood.

The CSR Journal

International Journal of Research

“The door for change is open for all time. The next moment we take the first step from us, the universe will create all the forces for achieving it,” said , Nammazlvar – The agriculture scientist This proverb is very consistent with the changes of the emerging 2020s. It is time for change. * Food is the medicine and the medicine is the food* where this line gets immunity nowadays in this pandemic of Covid 19 to grow up our immune system. The claim is that this community is growing and growing. With the economic downturn, hunger, disease and long-distance migrant workers, all they can expect is just a good meal. Agriculture is the backbone of ...

Tribune India

Procurement of wheat by the government agencies reached an all-time high of 382 lakh metric tonnes this year with Madhya Pradesh emerging as the largest contributor to the central pool with 129 LMT, surpassing Punjab with 127 LMT.

The record was achieved on June 16 when wheat procurement surpassed the earlier record of 381.48 LMT during 2012-13 with Haryana contributing 74 LMT, Uttar Pradesh 32 LMT and Rajasthan 19 LMT, according to the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry.

The Hindu Business Line

Spending on agri inputs rises as demand for seeds, fertilisers and tractors sees spurt

The Covid-19 lockdown and supply chain disruptions over the past few months have hit many industries. But the farm sector appears to have escaped these with the minimum impact.

Business News This Week

TAFE – Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, India’s second and world’s third largest tractor manufacturer by volumes, had launched a Free Tractor Rental Service for farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, from April 1, 2020, for a period of 90 days spanning till June 30, 2020, through its JFarm Services platform. The scheme received an overwhelming response from the farming community and within 75 days of its implementation, over 160,000 acres have been cultivated and rental service has been providedbenefiting thousands of farmers in this crucial cropping season.

This CSR initiative by TAFE aimed to rescue the farming community from the economic implications of COVID-19, and mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus threat ...

The Hindu Business Line

Bayer, the global agriculture input company, plans to support 4 lakh smallholder farmers in 204 districts across 17 States in view of the ongoing Covid crisis and lockdowns.

Devdis Course

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday announced development of crop specific agriculture clusters to provide ancillary support to farmers and ensure proper road connectivity to various markets, an official spokesman said. The annual plan for financial year 2020-21, amounting to Rs 16.53 crore, already stands approved for the success of clusters, an official spokesman said.

He said Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam chaired a meeting of State Food Security Mission Executive Committee to review the achievements under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) with special focus on progress made in the field of Oil Seeds (OS) and Tree Borne Oil Seeds (TBO). Highlighting the importance of the Mission in doubling farmer’s income, the chief secretary emphasised on ...

Deccan Herald

The Karnataka cabinet’s decision to amend the Land Reforms Act to enable non-agriculturists to buy farm land irrespective of their income from other sources is a welcome move as long as enough safeguards are put in place to ensure that the provisions are not misused by real estate sharks and speculators.

Indian Express

Last month, just a week before the Union government introduced far-reaching agricultural marketing reforms, in Nashik’s Vani region, farmer leaders had gathered to demand immediate payment for a batch of onions sold at a local mandi by a farmer. The trader had handed over a post-dated cheque for 20 days later. Eventually, local leaders had to threaten a protest.

“The Agricultural Produce Market Committee’s (APMC) near-complete control over the farmers’ ability to market their produce is a big disadvantage. That’s why the alternative to the APMC system, now promised by the Union government’s three ordinances, are a welcome change, but with riders,” said Hansraj Wadghule-Patil of the Shetkari Sangharsh Sanghatana in Nashik.

Indian Express

Despite Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s instructions to banks to facilitate fresh farm credit including for farmers who haven’t been able to avail the Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s promised waiver of outstanding dues owing to pandemic-related delays, agriculturists across the state are experiencing difficulties in accessing fresh loans as sowing season kicks off. Simultaneously, notwithstanding the promise of a good monsoon, disbursal of agricultural credit in Maharashtra has taken off to a very slow start.

Tribune 

A new study claims global corporations increased milk production by 8 per cent in 2015-17, pushing several family-owned farms out of business and left a significant carbon footprint.

The report called ‘Milking the Planet: How big dairy is heating up the planet and hollowing rural communities” by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) says corporations have left several small dairy farmers with mounting debts and declining farm incomes in four major dairy producing regions—Europe, the US, New Zealand and India.

Forbes India

For years, Dnyandev Hon travelled 20 km with his produce in a rented vehicle, twice a month, to the Kopergoan Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandi in Maharashtra. On some days, he even travelled about 200 km when he needed to sell his produce—onions, wheat or soyabean grown on his 1.5 hectare farm—at the Pune APMC mandi.

“The involvement of middlemen didn’t allow us to get a fair price for our produce. It was painful to see that all our hard work and sacrifices had no value, with the middlemen pocketing 50 to 60 percent,” recalls the farmer, adding that sometimes they were unable to recover even the transportation costs.

The Wire

Of the three agriculture-related ordinances promulgated on June 5, 2020, the most predictable was ‘The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020’.

Put simply, it provides a legal basis to the existing practice of contract farming in India’s agriculture and allied sectors.

In 2018, the Union Ministry of Agriculture circulated a model law on contract farming. It was called ‘The State /UT Agricultural Produce Contract Farming (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2018’. The Ordinance draws from this model Act.

Dailyo

The missing helping hand, which was a firm push from the regime in Punjab, cleaned up the procurement process and enhanced minimum support price. With this, a few of the farmers in Punjab are dumping the water guzzler paddy crop to sow cotton during this Kharif season. Along with paddy, some farmers also dumped the guar crop in the Abohar, Mansa and surrounding regions.

Reuters

Indian farmers are set to speed up the planting of summer crops as annual monsoon rains have covered more than half of the country and delivered more rainfall than normal, a weather department official and an agriculture analyst said on Tuesday.

The Hindu Business Line

Developed countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and EU, have been attacking India on the support it offers its farmers. They have been seeking a cut in India’s de minimis entitlement under the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA).

Why are these developed countries irked by the support the Indian government offers its farmers? Do they not support their own? The queries call for some number crunching.

A BusinessLine analysis of the numbers showed that the per-farmer Amber box entitlement for India is a small fraction of that of developed nations. (In WTO terminology, subsidies are identified by ‘boxes’ — Green for ‘permitted’, Amber for ‘slow down; needs to be reduced’, and Red for ‘forbidden’.) For instance, while an ...

Rising Kashmir

Covid-19 pandemic has hit hard. Nothing and nobody has remained unaffected. Failure of containing inter human transmission is a challenge. Agriculture and livestock have also suffered. Small and marginal farmers are the worst hit. Dairy, poultry and fishery losses seem irreparable.

Agriculture organizations and institutions are not able to compensate losses via fruitful advisories and online platforms. The Ebola Virus outbreak (2014-16) in Sierra Leone and the 1918 Spanish flu (most severe pandemics) serve historic lessons to tackle and consider hunger spike and malnutrition due to extended lockdowns.

Telangana Today

After a good night’s spell, farmers across the district have resumed their farming activity for the current Vaanakalam season. Most of the farmers have already prepared their lands and some of them have also started tilling their fields and women farm workers have begun sowing seeds.

Due to the onset of southwest monsoon at the very right time this year, almost the entire district except three mandals have received excess rainfall as compared to the last year this time. The district’s average rainfall as compared to last year has doubled, prompting farmers to focus on the new pattern of crop selection as suggested by the State government.

Economic Times

Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) Rs 3,255 crore loss in the fourth quarter was largely on account of Rs 2,780 crore worth of write-downs in South Korea arm SsangYong, and the US electric two-wheeler business that it has exited.

While a 35 per cent revenue fall for the quarter was in line with Street expectations, a rise in market share of the tractor segment was a positive surprise. But analysts particularly appreciated the management’s plan to exit loss-making businesses, where losses mounted to nearly Rs 5,260 crore in FY20 from Rs 53 crore in FY17.

Hindustan Times

Households consumed more milk, cheese and yogurt during the lockdown, raising sales by up to25% in large dairies, such as Amul. But that has not been enough to offset the sharp decline in demand from commercial buyers, such as hotels, confectioners and restaurants, which account for nearly 20% of the organised dairy sector’s revenues.

This has triggered an inventory build-up crisis.

This year should have been a bright one. Good rains during winter made for cheaper fodder, the key input for cattle. As a result, the flush season (typically from October to March), which sees higher milk output production, stretched into April and May, leading to a two-month oversupply.

A limping hospitality sector, however, has cut sales ...

Telangana Today

From procurement of just 24 lakh tons of paddy for both Vaanakalam and Yasangi in 2014-15, Telangana State has truly emerged as the rice bowl of the country this year with a record procurement of 1.12 crore tons of paddy. The massive transformation came as a result of the unflinching grit and determination of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to make the State the Rice Bowl of India.

Addressing the media here on Monday, Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation Chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy said a record 47 lakh tons in Vaanakalam and 65 lakh tons in Yasangi were procured during 2019-20 taking the total to 1.12 tons. “Within six years of the formation of the State, a ...

Indian Express

A Vaidyanathan, who passed away last week, belonged to the first generation of post-Independence economists, who formulated the public policies that addressed the formidable challenges the young republic faced, including facilitating economic growth and generating employment as well as the eradication of hunger, poverty, and other deprivations. He worked with stalwarts such as B S Minhas, V M Dandekar, K N Raj, C H Hanumantha Rao and many others to realise the dreams of independent India.

Economic Times

Export and import account for 40% of India’s GDP, but the COVID-19 pandemic has particularly hit the Indian exporting community hard. To figure out where Indian export community stands, and when a meaningful recovery can take place. ET Digital spoke to Ajay Sahai, DG & CEO, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), Edited excerpts.

Money Control

Bayer CropScience on Monday said it has partnered with agri business division of ITC to extend the reach of its crop protection products through ITC’s e-Choupal 4.0 platform. The partnership has commenced as a pilot project in Mysore in Karnataka and will gradually be expanded to other geographies across India, Bayer said in a statement.

With COVID-19 disrupting farming operations and on-farm advisory, this initiative will help farmers avail agri-inputs and digital advisory on a timely basis, it added.

India Today

On May 25, farmer leader Mandeep Nathwan led a rally of 3,000 tractor-borne farmers to the district headquarters in Fatehabad in Haryana. The farmers were protesting against the M.L. Khattar-led government’s diktat to cut down the area under paddy cultivation in the kharif season. The state’s farmers start transplantation of paddy from June 15. The protest rally, one of the biggest this year (and even as a lockdown was on), underscored the difficulty of weaning Punjab and Haryana’s farmers off paddy, a crop which has proved to be problematic for the ecology and economy of both states in recent years.

Money Control

India’s agriculture sector stands out as a ray of hope as it has been relatively less affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

India is the largest exporter of rice globally and second-largest producer of wheat and rice after China. But the country’s legal framework, so far, discouraged private sector investment in warehousing. It put stock limits on any trader, processor or exporter. When farmers brought their produce to the market after the harvest, there was a glut and due to lack of storage facilities they did not get desired price.

CNBC TV18

Right now, demand for tractor is so strong that M&M can sell whatever it makes, Pawan Goenka, President, Mahindra & Mahindra said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

“Tractors are coming back surprisingly fast and it was kind of expected because everything is going right for agri sector. We had a very good rabi crop, we had good pricing, we have a good reservoir level, we have a monsoon that is already setting all over India, the Kharif sowing is started, which is going very well, so everything is positive for tractor industry.

I haven’t seen anything so positive coming together in the month of May and June like the way it is this year. Therefore it was ...

New Indian Express

Forced to follow the government diktat on the new cropping pattern, farmers are worried as they point out that there exists no policy on paper by the government regarding the procurement of produce, especially cotton, and whether the farmers will receive the Minimum Support  Price (MSP) from the State government.

With the onset of monsoon, farmers have started sowing seeds for Kharif season in their agricultural fields in erstwhile Warangal district. However, the elected representatives and district officials are yet to create awareness on the new farming system introduced by the government. The government aims to improve the income of farmers by creating a conducive environment, in which farmers would be able to fix the price ...

Asia Net News

Monsoon rains are spreading across the district and farmers are preparing for sowing.  Monsoon rain have been raging in Hosanagar, Tirthahalli and Sagar taluks in the district for the past three days.

Indian Cooperative

Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar has emphasized on increasing private investment in the field of agriculture. This will lead to self-reliance and prosperity in the country, he emphasized.

Addressing an international webinar organized by Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut and a national webinar organized by Junagadh Agricultural University, Tomar said also called upon scientists to contribute in increasing agricultural production and mitigate difficulties.

Tomar said that in connection with attracting private investment in the agriculture sector, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has announced a provision of Rs One lakh crore for developing agricultural infrastructure.

Similar provisions have also been announced for the fisheries, animal husbandry, bee-farming, herbal farming, food processing etc, sectors. ...

Financial Express

The ordinance titled The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (promotion and facilitation) Ordinance 2020 has been hailed as a game-changer, creating new opportunities for farmers to sell their produce wherever and to whomsoever they like. The virtual monopoly of Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) is expected to end sooner rather than later. Will this mean a death knell for APMCs, an institution created to do exactly the same, i.e., price discovery through a competitive auction process, proper weighing, payment on time, quality grading, etc? Will farmers benefit?

Krishi Jagran

With the country in the middle of a pandemic, every sector is now looking with caution towards the future. Agriculture is also one of those sectors even though it has performed very well in these testing times. The agriculture sector is now an important part of the government in helping to move over this crisis.

The Agriculture situation is now at a crucial juncture with the sowing of kharif season to begin and also with the monsoons approaching this season is quite important for the farmers to get good crops to help them get over their loss in the previous cycle due to lockdown.

FNB News

Telangana Today

With increased irrigation facilities in the State and the government encouraging farmers to diversify from traditional farming patterns, oil palm cultivation could be the next big thing happening in the agriculture sector in Telangana. Currently, oil palm is being grown in Nalgonda, Suryapet, Khammam and Bhadradri districts of the State with a cumulative area coverage of around 45,000 acres, producing around 30,000 tonnes of crude palm oil.

Hindustan Times

Farmers have planted kharif or summer-sown crops, which account for half of India’s annual food output, on 9.3 million hectares – 13.2% higher than last year’s level for this time of the year – in an indication that the agriculture sector has largely escaped the impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak so far.

The area sown is a critical gauge of the progress of cultivation, which depends on availability of inputs, such as fertilisers, seeds and pesticides, apart from weather. A larger sown area, aided by good weather, is an early sign of ample harvests.

Sunday Guardian Live

Agriculture is India’s most asymmetric workforce-economic dynamic. 43% of India’s workforce depends on the sector which contributes only 17% to national GDP. This results in low average per-capita farmer income at Rs 55,000 compared to a national average of Rs 1.5 lakh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise to double farmer incomes by 2022 is an opportunity to break out of a 70-year stagnation. At the heart of this is to empower farmers to realise the full consumer-price for their crops and other products. Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (ANBA) is a transformational step towards this. Further, the composition of agricultural gross value add (GVA) is rapidly changing, and we must evolve a strategy that capitalises on these market ...

Outlook India

Rating agency S&P will give credence to reforms in the agriculture and labour market as well as easing of bad loan stress of the banking sector, while deciding future rating action on India, a senior official has said.

S&P Director and Lead Analyst Sovereign & IPF Ratings APAC Andrew Wood also said that the return of insolvency provision under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which was suspended for at least six months, and stronger regulator framework would be important in improving the health of Indian banks.

ANI

Odisha government has said that procurement of paddy (Rabi Crop) has crossed the target 10 Lakh MT. So far, more than 11,86,000 MT of Rabi paddy has b been procured.

The Hindu Business Line

Even amid the pandemic, WTO members are engaged in negotiations to discipline the trade-distorting support to agriculture.

Telangana Today

With rains lashing the district for the past three days, agricultural activity has gained momentum in Nalgonda district with farmers taking up sowing of seeds and growing paddy nurseries for the Vaanakalam crop season.

Speaking to Telangana Today, K Rajaiah, a farmer and native of Cherlagowraram village in the district, said that Arudra Purugulu (giant red velvet mites or rain bugs) were spotted in the agricultural fields after the rains in the past three days, which is the traditional green signal for farmers to go ahead with cultivation works for the monsoon crop season.

Krishi Jagran

With the country in the middle of a pandemic, every sector is now looking with caution towards the future. Agriculture is also one of those sectors even though it has performed very well in these testing times. The agriculture sector is now an important part of the government in helping to move over this crisis.

The Agriculture situation is now at a crucial juncture with the sowing of kharif season to begin and also with the monsoons approaching this season is quite important for the farmers to get good crops to help them get over their loss in the previous cycle due to lockdown.

Money Control – Online

After the recent highs seen for most agri commodity prices, profit booking at the higher levels limited the uptrend for agri prices. Reports of rains in parts of North-West and Central India too adversely affected the sentiments. Rains at these stages are considered good for the crop sowing later on.

The Indian Express – Online

Only half a dozen districts out of total 43 districts, including 22 districts of Punjab, received deficit rain while all other districts have witnessed surplus pre-monsoon rain.

Millenium Post – Online

At a time when the Indian economy is faltering and welfare systems are buckling under crushing pressure, reforms in the agriculture sector can help put the economy back on track and provide much-needed employment opportunities on a cost-effective and urgent basis.

The Hindu Business Line – Online

Defying Covid scare, farmers across the country have planted kharif crops in 13 per cent more area till Friday as compared to corresponding period last year.

Hindustan Times – Online

For example, it can be expected that at least two sectors; agriculture and government, will not see a contraction. In 2019-20, these two sectors had a share of almost 30% in total Gross Value Added (GVA). This means that the economic pain will be far more severe in the rest of the economy. Let us assume that the growth rate of agriculture and government sectors in the next two years will be the simple average of what they were in the past three years. This comes to 4.1% for agriculture and 9.7% for government.

Scroll – Online

Several economists and businessmen have expressed their disappointment with the contents of the financial package announced by the government to face the unprecedented economic crisis brought about by the Covid-19-induced lockdown, the suddenness and severity of which had itself surprised many epidemiologists.

The Week – Online

With fake news on chicken spreading coronavirus having done its damage, maize and poultry farmers stare at unbearable losses. The government has not helped.  But, rumours linking the spread of COVID-19 to consumption of chicken meat and eggs continue to appear every now and then. “The vegetarian lobby keeps pushing these rumours. Just the other day a fake letter was circulated which claimed that the Punjab government had banned chicken because it causes coronavirus,” Dhull said.

Energy Infra Post

The State government has directed the power utilities to submit an action plan to meet a likely spurt in demand during the kharif season, and focus on upgrading agriculture feeders to ensure 100% free power to the sector.

In a teleconference with AP-Transco Joint Managing Director K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu, JMD (Vigilance) K. Venkateswara Rao and CMDs of Discoms Nagalakshmi Selvarajan, H. Haranatha Rao and J. Padma Janardhana Reddy, and Director (Grid & Transmission, AP-Transco) K. Praveen Kumar on Wednesday, Energy Secretary N. Srikant instructed the chief engineers to submit the completion certificates of periodic and preventive pre-monsoon maintenance activities, and said they would be held responsible for any technical snags that cause disruptions in power supply.

Business World

Ease of doing business due to ammendment in agriculture produce marketing commeette act (APMC) as well essential commodities act (ECA), has been PM Narendra Modi’s first statement during his address to ICCs Annual Plenary session.  PM said that farmers will emerge as a brilliant marketing force due to these amendments.

PM has stressed that Sikkim has emerged as successful model of organic farming produce and said entire North East can follow the footsteps. He has also asked ICC member to help mould Northeast India as regional organic hub.

Indian Express

Pre-monsoon showers in the first week of June has encouraged farmers to sow Kharif crops earlier than usual. Kharif crops have been sown on more than 2.18 lakh hectares of agriculture area, which is almost four times the acreage during the last season.

Compared to a normal rainfall of 17 mm, Gujarat has received 258 mm of rains in month of June so far, most of which were in Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions of the state, according to figures from the Indian Meteorological Department. The Kharif sowing too is concentrated largely in these areas.

Financial Express

With the onset of the Kharif sowing season, the fertiliser industry has been witnessing a sharp surge in sales with industry volumes spiking to as high as 25% in the month of May. Sales have been aided by the large demand for urea as well as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK), shows data compiled by brokerage and research firm Prabhudas Lilladher. Analysts are upbeat on agricultural and allied activities owing to the low impact that the sector has faced of the coronavirus pandemic and the healthy monsoon predicted ahead. The recent locust attack that a few Indian states witnessed is also likely to pull farmers closer to fertilisers in a bid to save their harvest.

Krishi Jagran

Monsoon is one of the most important factors that determine the fate of millions of farmers every year, it can decide the contribution of Agriculture in GDP, it determines whether many of the marginal farmers will be able to feed their families and this phenomenon has been going on for centuries. The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted a good monsoon this year and we need to have a good monsoon now more than over.

Krishi Jagran

Amid the growing cases of coronavirus and uncertainty of the Indian economic future, the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) this year’s prediction of a normal monsoon in 2020 is a hope for the agricultural economy which adds as a major part of Indian GDP.

IMD predicted southwest monsoon this year to be 100 per cent of the long period average (LPA). Timely prediction of cyclone Amphan helped farmers in West Bengal and Odisha to reduce the effect. This prediction won praise from the World Metrological Organisation.

Financial Express

India’s farm sector may create a big economic crisis for the country as the minimum support price (MSP) for crops is higher than the market and international prices. The most important problem in this sector is that the international price for agriculture commodities, the market price, and the MSP, are very different, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a webinar, PTI reported. Highlighting the roadblocks in the farm sector, Nitin Gadkari added that some political problems are also there, which makes it difficult for the government to take decisions.

Telangana Today

In a novel initiative that would bring immense relief to the farming community, the State government proposes to construct one lakh multi-purpose cement ‘Kallams’ (drying platforms) across the State for farmers to dry their agriculture produce, particularly grains.

These platforms will do away with the existing practice of farmers drying grains on the roads which often led to fatal accidents in the past.

Live Mint

Abhishek Raghuwanshi, a young farmer from Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh, is a keen follower of any policy announcement that affects agriculture. Being a large farmer, with over 200 acres of land, Raghuwanshi often stock grains and pulses for months in order to sell them at a later date, unlike small growers who sell their produce at harvest time when prices are often low. In short, Raghuwanshi tries his best to time the market for a better price.

Deccan Herald

In a big policy move, the Cabinet on Thursday decided to amend the Karnataka Land Reforms Act that will allow anyone to own agricultural land.

Financial Express

The milk consumption in the country dropped significantly after the government imposed coronavirus lockdown. As hotels, restaurants, sweet marts and the unorganised tea stalls remained shut across the nation, the milk consumption fell by 25-30% during April and May 2020, a CARE Ratings report said. While some of this consumption fall was cushioned by an increased demand in households, dairy players also have some tricks up their sleeves to survive the pandemic. “Shift to branded and packaged milk from loose milk due to fear of contracting the disease will also be favourable for the demand of products of organised players,” the report said. Dairy players’ margins will also be aided by the fact that procurement of SMP/milk has been ...

Krishi Jagran

Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for around 58 per cent of India’s population. Gross Value Added (GVA) by agriculture, forestry and fishing is estimated at Rs 18.55 lakh crore (US$ 265.51 billion) in FY19 (PE). Growth in Gross Value Added (GVA) by agriculture and allied sectors remained at 2.1 per cent in H1 2019-20.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ (or Self-reliant India Mission) on May 12 with an economic stimulus package of worth Rs 20 lakh crores which has aimed towards achieving the mission. The Mission focuses on the importance of promoting local products and it is expected to focus on land, labour, liquidity and laws. The mission is also expected to complement Make in India Initiative which intends to encourage manufacturing in India and agriculture sector to have great potential.

Krishi Jagran

Due to the Corona outbreak, many people who were living abroad have returned to their homes, so there is a shortage of workers in many factories and manufacturing companies. Tractor making companies like Mahindra tractors and Farm Equipment (Tafe) and Sonalika are struggling with customized hiring schemes. These three companies are now trying to take the chance to gain advantage on increasing demand as their workers are moving back to their homes in other states. These companies have now found an easy way to provide tractors on rent to deal with this problem.

Indian Express

The acute shortage of migrant labour to transplant paddy has helped Punjab achieve what the state government has been unsuccessfully trying to do for over a decade. For the first time ever this year, the area under ‘Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR)’ is set to be the highest ever from the year the technology was introduced in the state in 2009-10. The increase in area under DSR, even according to initial trends, is already 8.60 times higher than last year, and paddy sowing will continue till the end of this month. Experts estimate that by the time sowing ends around 22 per cent to 26 per cent of the total targeted area of paddy will be brought ...

Economic Times

The government is looking to create 3,500 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) in next three years to ensure farmers get remunerative prices for their produce, a top official said.

“Most of these FPOs will be based on government’s one-product-one-district initiative where in FPOs will primarily promote and trade particular commodity besides other produce in small quantities,” said Neel Kamal Darbari, managing director of Small Farmer Agribusiness Consortium, the government’s nodal agency for promoting FPOs. “This will help clusters and FPOs in getting identity,” she said.

The Print

My friend Ajay Vir Jakhar, who runs Bharat Krishak Samaj and is currently the Chair of Punjab Farmers’ Commission, has tweeted a mischievous request asking for names and contact details of those farmer organisations that support the three “historic” ordinances passed recently for the agriculture sector.

He asks this question even as he knows the answer: none. None of the myriad farmers’ organisations, unions, coalitions with any mass base, with the possible exception of the BJP’s own Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, have welcomed or even supported the Narendra Modi government’s three laws on agri-marketing. All the organisations that I know of and work with have vehemently opposed them. That should set everyone thinking. Are these ‘historic’ moves really going ...

Swarajya Mag

The Central government has allocated Rs 4,000 crore as annual allotment to states for the current financial year under ”Per Drop More Crop” component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY-PDMC).

The state governments have identified the beneficiaries to be covered under the programme, said an Agriculture Ministry statement, adding that the process to release funds to some of the states is already under way for the year 2020-21.

Swarajya Mag

Direct Cash Transfers (DCT) have emerged as one of the most effective methods in the hands of the welfare state. Studies have shown their positive effects on outcomes related to household consumption, education, healthcare, etc.

Since 2014, India has bet big on DCTs. The Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhar and Mobil trinity has helped Indian government transfer subsidies worth lakhs of crores over the last few years while eliminating corruption and pilferages worth tens of thousands of crores.

Down to Earth

The Punjab government has decided to deploy direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique instead of the traditional transplantation of paddy this year due to the shortfall of agricultural labourers triggered by reverse migration in the wake of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The state government wants to bring about a quarter of the paddy sowing area under the technology, claiming that doing so will help slash cultivation cost in terms of labour and water.

The cultivation technique involves fertilising and planting directly into the soil in one or two steps. The soil is mildly disturbed by the seeding machine.

Financial Express

Tribal areas have ramped up income generation activity after the government announced a hike in MSP for minor forest produce to help tribals tide over the coronavirus pandemic. “There has been an encouragingly positive response from the states as the government continues its efforts to help the poor and marginalized people find their feet in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Ministry of Tribal Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday. Earlier, the government had asked states to increase MSP for procurement of minor forest produce. Since then, 17 states have initiated procurement with Rs 50 crore worth of minor forest produce already being collected.

KNN India

To meet the demand of Saffron and Heeng in the country, which are imported from other countries,  the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) and the Department of Agriculture, Government of Himachal Pradesh, have forged strategic and implementation partnership based on their mutual strengths to increase the production of the two.

Saffron and Heeng (asafoetida) are the most valuable spices of the world and widely used in Indian cuisine since time immemorial.

In India, the annual demand for Saffron spice is 100 tons per year but its average production is about 6-7 tons per year.

Tribune India

India has always been an agricultural state, characterised by small holdings, where bulk of its farmers are small and marginal, depending on subsistence farming, yet they feed 1.3 billion people. Agriculture employs about 55 per cent of the population and contributes roughly 17 per cent to the GDP. India is second in agricultural production, next only to China. We produce 12 per cent of the entire world’s agricultural out.

Hindustan Times

Madhya Pradesh claimed to have surpassed Punjab in wheat procurement this rabi harvest season, to become the top state to procure the grain. The government said in an official communiqué that it had procured over 12 million metric tonnes of wheat by June 8.

“Madhya Pradesh has reached the first position in the country in procurement of wheat on support price. Punjab ranks second in the country. Thus, 33% of the total wheat procured by all the states of the country has been procured in Madhya Pradesh,” the statement said. “As much as 38,654,000 metric tonnes of wheat have been procured throughout the country. Wheat procurement in Madhya Pradesh has increased by 74% as compared to that ...

Vijay Karnataka

The impact of the Kovid-19 crisis may cause many people to be uncertain about employment. The lockdown, implemented to prevent coronavirus, may result in the loss of employment and returning home. The central government has arranged a loan scheme under the Mudra scheme to set up a Dairy unit for them to earn better income.

5 lakhs for you. You can start your own Dairy Business with the help of investment and stamp credit. 70,000 per month Until then earnings. Under the Mudra Tarun Scheme, Rs. Loans can be earned. This is a great way to earn more than a month’s salary in the city with the pride of setting up its own dairy unit. A variety of flavored milk products including yogurt, buttermilk, butter and ...

Times Of India

The area under cotton in Punjab, which is the state’s second biggest kharif (summer sown) crop, has touched a seven-year high this season. According to the Punjab agriculture and farmers welfare department, cotton acreage stood at about 4.80 lakh hectares till Monday, surpassing the seven-year high of 4.45 lakh hectares in 2013-14.

Krishi Jagran

With the positive corona cases skyrocketing and climatic changes, India is going through a dark period. Even during such difficult times, our farmers are working tirelessly in their fields to feed the growing population in the country. The monsoon season is very important for the farmers. It is during the monsoon that the fields are irrigated and reservoirs are filled for irrigating crops during water scarcity.

Krishi Jagran

The southwest monsoon has arrived in India and the farmers are hoping for nature to shower them with the best. In India, agriculture largely depends on the monsoon for the irrigation of the farms. If the pattern of the monsoon stands erratic or the rainfall gets irregular, then it could pose serious threats to the farming in India. However, IMD (India Meteorological Department), the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology in India, has predicted that the monsoon 2020 is going to be ‘normal’, we shouldn’t forget that these are just prediction and no one knows how the monsoon is going to turn out. Thereby, precautions are necessary for farmers farming in the dryland ...

Rural Marketing

Spodoptera frugiperda, aka Fall Armyworm (FAW) – a highly invasive pest with substantial appetite, landed on Indian soils for the first time in May 2018. The pest quickly became a nationwide nuisance. By the end of 2018, FAW spread across the major maize growing regions and emerged as a significant threat to Indian farmers and agriculture.

Tribune India

To promote crop diversification and save the depleting groundwater, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department is set to double the area under maize cultivation by encouraging farmers to shun the cultivation of the water-guzzling paddy crop.

The department has started providing quality maize seeds to the farmers and set the target of increasing the area under maize cultivation from 8,800 hectares to 16,500 hectares in the district.

The Hindu

The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to at least 12 States allowing direct marketing of agriculture produce, which offered greater options to farmers during the lockdown, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal says. The two new ordinances pushing agricultural marketing reform will widen choices for small farmers, he adds.

The Hindu BusinessLine

Cotton is seen making early gains in the kharif sowing season 2020-21 as farmers in the North zone – consisting of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab – have brought more area under the fibre crop this year.

As on June 4, cotton acreage across the country was up 23 per cent at 16.69 lakh hectares as against 13.51 lakh ha in the same period last year, according to data released by the Agriculture Ministry.

In Rajasthan, cotton acreage has gone up by 83 per cent to 4.52 lakh ha, as on June 4, as against last year’s 2.46 lakh ha. In Punjab, it was up by 12.5 per cent at 4.5 lakh ha (4 lakh ha in ...

Indian Express

With agriculture coming out relatively unscathed amidst the current economic carnage — retail fertiliser sales nearly doubled in May over last year, marking the seventh consecutive month of double-digit growth — the Narendra Modi government has done well to introduce long-delayed supply-side reforms in the sector. The ordinances issued last week to amend the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) and end the monopoly of agricultural produce market committee (APMC) mandis in farm products trading will send out a positive message. Agriculture’s value for policymakers has primarily been for controlling inflation or supplying wage goods and surplus labour for industrialisation and urbanisation. Few have viewed it as a sector in its own right and farmers as businessmen who must first earn ...

Indian Express

Madhya Pradesh on Monday became the largest wheat-procuring state for the central pool during the 2020-21 Rabi marketing season after surpassing Punjab.

Data available with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) shows that as of June 6, Madhya Pradesh has procured 125.59 LMT wheat — 98.62 per cent of the total arrival of 127.34 LMT wheat in the state. Madhya Pradesh has contributed 33 per cent of the 386.54 lakh MT wheat procured in the country, the highest in its history.

Economic Times

Tractor makers Mahindra, Tractors and Farm Equipment (Tafe) and Sonalika that have been struggling with customised hiring schemes are looking to cash in on rising demand as the migrant workforce scramble back to their homes in other states.

So far, 65-70% of the districts remain Covid-19 free, fuelling belief that agricultural activities will see an uptick.

Economic Times

Assam has decided to set up 100 Farmers’ Producers Company in the state for ramping up agricultural production, collection and ensuring linkage with the national and international markets.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today reviewed the functioning of agriculture department city and directed the Assam Seeds Corporation Limited to produce the seeds required by the state’s farmers in the state itself.

New Indian Express

With the onset of monsoon in the state, Kharif crop cultivation is steadily picking up momentum. The cultivation target for all crops (food grains, oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane and other crops) in Kharif season has been set at 39.59 lakh hectares as against the normal crop acreage of 37.54 lakh hectares.

Farmers are hopeful of reaping another bumper crop yield this season with the met department predicting a normal monsoon this year. All the major reservoirs in the State are holding 337.58 TMC of water as of June 3 as against 196.76 TMC on the same day last year. Hence, the State may not face any irrigation water problem during Kharif.

Financial Express

Let us start with some good news on the economic front. During the first year (FY20) of the second term of the Narendra Modi government, gross value added (GVA) in the ‘agriculture and allied’ sector registered a growth of 4%. This is commendable, especially when juxtaposed with the overall GVA growth for the country’s economy clocking 3.9%, and overall GDP (including net taxes) clocking 4.2%. And even in FY21, when the impact of Covid-19 will be on full display, and when the overall GDP of the economy may register a negative growth of as high as minus 5%, agriculture may still surprise with a positive growth of 2.5%, as per CRISIL’s recent forecast.

Zee News

The farmers in India have shown a lot of courage and they emerged as corona warriors said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar at India’s DNA E-Conclave.

Farmers are at the center of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s decisions, claimed Tomar. The government has taken appropriate measures and policies that have made the life of the farmer much easier than before.

The Dispatch

If wishes were horses “one India one farm market” would have flown under then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee 20 years ago. This time round, Narendra Modi government’s move is good but it’s not going to be easy. The changes in the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) and attempt to bypass the APMC under State governments through The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (promotion of and facilitation) Ordinance 2020 does have pros and cons.

New Indian Express

Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE) has cultivated one lakh acres of land for free over  60 days during the current cropping season in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The initiative was aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic on operations of small and marginal farmers during the critical rabi harvest and kharif sowing season, the company said.

First Post

Mukhtar Halgare, 50, has a dark analogy to describe the issuance of crop loans. “A glass of water when you are thirsty is more meaningful than a tanker after you are dead,” he says, “We are farmers, and farming is a time-bound profession. We need crop loans to prepare for the Kharif season that begins in mid-June. The sowing process is just days away, but the bank isn’t releasing the loan.”

Tribune India

On June 3, the Union Government approved three ordinances focusing on agricultural marketing reforms and development of post-harvest infrastructure in order to facilitate better prices for farmers. Farmers across the country were expecting relief measures to mitigate the economic hardships faced by them amid the Covid-19 lockdown and thereafter. No short-term financial support was provided for the farmers to offset the losses incurred due to compression of demand. The message seemed to be: don’t worry about the present, you have a golden future.

Indian Express

Let us start with some good news on the economic front. During the first year (2019-20) of the second term of the Narendra Modi government, gross value added (GVA) in agriculture and allied sectors registered a growth of 4 per cent. This is commendable, especially when juxtaposed with the growth of overall GVA of the economy at 3.9 per cent, and overall GDP (including net taxes) at 4.2 per cent. And even in 2020-21, when the impact of COVID-19 will be on full display, and when the GDP may register a negative growth of as high as -5 per cent, agriculture may still surprise with a positive growth of 2.5 per cent, as per CRISIL’s recent forecast.

Money Control

Even as COVID-19 has hit all sectors of the economy, India’s agriculture sector is a point of hope, which experts believe, has been relatively less affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

With the prospects of a normal monsoon, this hope is bolstered now. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its second and detailed forecast said monsoon this year is likely to be ‘normal’ at 102 percent of the long-period average (LPA) with a model error of (+/-) 4 percent.

Krishi Jagran

Dairy business is rapidly growing as the most demanding agri-business not only in India but across the globe. The demand for milk and products made from milk is also increasing in the market which has given good employment to the millions of people in the country. In such a situation, the demand for those animals which are at the forefront of milk production has increased. There are many breeds of cow, from which more than 50 litres of milk can be obtained daily. Cow’s milk is also considered very nutritious, so its demand always remains in the market.

The Cattle Site

Milk production growth at 1.4 percent was significantly below the long-term average (2.3 percent) in 2019. This was driven mainly by India, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East. Meanwhile, the rising popularity of milk alternatives in rich countries and lower milk availability in emerging economies slowed down demand growth.

Dairy farm economics looked more positive as the world milk price increased by +6 percent to a level of USD 37.3 / 100 kg in 2019. Still, for many farmers, especially in the US and EU, this milk price is often “too little to live on and too much to die”, to quote Dr Torsten Hemme.

Live Mint

Market forces could make or mar the success of measures taken for the evolution of a seamless national market for farm produce and for opening up new avenues for farmers to sell their wares, said experts, even as President Ram Nath Kovind signed three ordinances on Friday removing the legal hurdles in the process.

The changes, effective immediately, prohibit setting stock limits on agriculture produce, except in times such as a war or famine, when prices shoot up abnormally. They also permit trading of farm produce outside wholesale markets without being subject to state levies.

The government also introduced a legislative framework for farmers to reduce their risks by entering versatile contracts with agri-businesses for sale of crops. Such contracts, when ...

My Voice

We have been facing Agrarian crisis or farmers distress from few decades. Suicide has become a most undesirable curse to our nation. It is a sad part that famers have been used as vote bank to get elected to power by giving some freebies rather than solving their issues at the core to make them self-reliant and better financially.

M.S. Swaminathan revolutionized crop yielding, he is the one who knows issues related to farmers to a much deeper level, I always follow his views on current government’s actions related to agrarian crisis. He is very supportive and helping government on various agriculture and farmers developmental activities.

Indian Express

Over Rs 5,400 crore flowed to rural Gujarat during the lockdown, with over 16.35 lakh farmers selling their produce at Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) across Gujarat during the period between March and May, 2020 . However, farmer bodies said that not only were the agricultural transactions way lesser compared to previous years, the farmers also sold their produce at lesser prices.

Data provided by the state government revealed that over 5.45 lakh farmers sold 91.67 lakh quintals of agricultural produce at APMCs and earned Rs 3,702 crore between March 24 and June 1. Similarly, 10.89 lakh farmers sold an additional 84.01 lakh quintals of fruits and vegetables for about Rs 1,742 crore during the same period.

The Hindu

The farmers in Punjab are expected to plant around 25% of the total area under paddy crop through direct seeding of rice (DSR) technology this khairf season, moving away from the traditional practice of sowing nursery and then transplanting it. The key reason behind the shift is attributed to labour shortage.

New Indian Express

The heart-rending pictures and stories of migrant workers from Odisha trying to return home after the nationwide lockdown have made headlines both nationally and internationally. Apart from rehabilitating lakhs of returning migrant workers, the State should be addressing the core of the problem: why are these young people, in the first place, leaving the State for odd jobs in hotels, restaurants, agriculture and construction. For this trend to slow down or stop, agricultural sector, in which 60 per cent of the workforce is engaged, will have to play a key role.

News Click

Silently, and in double quick time, changes in laws related to cultivation, sale, stocking and pricing of agricultural produce – food grain, vegetables, etc. – have been proposed and disposed by the Narendra Modi government. Three ordinances relating to these key dimensions were given Presidential assent late on June 5 night, and they came into force “at once”. These were put on the table only last month by the finance minister as part of the so-called stimulus and cleared by the Cabinet only a couple of days ago.

Hindustan Times

With people looking for healthy food to boost their immunity in the situation created by Covid-19, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that demand for “nutritious and chemical-free food” is going up exponentially in the world and agroecology is the only option to save the planet.

Kumar said Niti Aayog recently organised an online high-level round table where international experts from countries like US, Australia, Germany, UK, Netherlands and officials from the United Nations acknowledged India’s pioneering leadership in agroecology, an integrated approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social concepts and principles to the design and management of food and agricultural systems.

Live Mint

India has long been recognized as an agriculture powerhouse, but has performed much below its potential when it comes to agricultural exports. In spite of being the number one producer of dairy, mango, banana and second largest producer of cereals, fruits and vegetables, India ranks 10th among the countries with highest agricultural exports. Small countries like Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, etc. export much higher value of agricultural goods than us.

Indian Express

When Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh termed the Centre’s move to end the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) monopoly through an ordinance as “a brazen attempt to erode and destabilise the country’s federal structure,” he was only giving voice to fears being raised by the farm experts, who besides calling the Union Cabinet’s move “anti-farmer and anti consumer”, say that it will land a huge blow on the state coffers.

The Union Cabinet earlier this week cleared three ordinances, which will lead to the Essential Commodities Act of 1955 being amended, and is aimed at lifting restrictions on key commodities such as cereals, pulses, onion and potato, and giving farmers the freedom to sell their produce directly ...

Indian Express

Madhya Pradesh has emerged as only the second state in the country to procure more than 100 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat, and is set to surpass Punjab to become the largest wheat-procuring state for the central pool during the 2020-21 Rabi marketing season.

Data available with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) shows that as of June 6, Madhya Pradesh has procured 125.59 LMT wheat — 98.62 per cent of the total arrival of 127.34 LMT wheat in the state.

The Policy Times

The saying “all models are wrong, but some models are useful” sounds true in the case of coronavirus. In all probabilities, the downcast of economy will last for a year or so. This is testing time and both Central and State Governments are working to their full capacity in fighting the novel corona virus. Under these circumstances, after health, food security and sustaining livelihoods should be the priority for the people. As per a United Nations report published in 2019, 69% of India’s population live in rural areas, which comprises to more than 700 million people constituting mostly marginalized society like farmers, agricultural labourer, old-aged, single-women-headed families,self-employed and micro-enterprises.To attain food security both food availability and universal ...

EPW

Adoption of modern technologies is one of the most promising strategies to increase farm incomes. Among the constraints in technology adoption, the most prominent ones are the lack of information and credit (Varshney et al 2019). Banerjee et al (2017) also show that access to formal credit significantly increased the investment in existing small businesses. In India, more than half of the farming households do not have access to formal credit. In such a situation, the introduction of a cash transfer scheme, namely the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) in December 2018, to ease liquidity constraints of farmers for procuring inputs, is quite salient. While the scheme is pitched as a general cash transfer scheme for the ...

News Indian Express

Farmers of Prakasam district are eagerly waiting for the purchase of their Bengal gram produce at a support price by the government. Due to lack of support price and lockdown, Bengal gram purchases came to a halt and huge stocks got accumulated with farmers. Hence, the state government has decided to purchase 15,000 MTs of Bengal gram from Prakasam farmers through MARKFED (Andhra Pradesh State Co-operative Marketing Federation Ltd).

The Better India

In the past two instalments of our series on agriculture in India, we have looked at the possible impact of the Central government’s agriculture sector reform announcement on 15 May, which seeks to free farmers from the shackles of outdated regulation, give them greater access to markets, expertise and formal credit, and the role private sector could play in propelling that change.

In this instalment, we will be looking at two other fundamental concerns—irrigation and crop insurance—and how gaps in these areas can be addressed, in addition to what the future holds for farmers in India.

Business Standard

A day after the Centre promulgated three ordinances to free up inter-state trade in agricultural commodities, provide a regulatory framework for contract farming and amend the Essential Commodities (EC) Act, experts raised several questions on some key provisions of the Acts. However, the Centre’s move has largely been welcomed.

Amendment to Essential Commodities Act

One big point of discord that relates to the amendments to the Essential Commodities Act is the provision to invoke its controlling powers on exempted food items. That is, 100 per cent increase in retail price of horticulture produce or 50 per cent increase in retail price of non-perishable items as compared to the previous 12 months or last five years average, whichever is lower.

The Hindu

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asserted on Friday that no procured wheat was damaged in the untimely rain following cyclone Nisarga.

Hindustan Times

Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday rejected the “so-called” agricultural marketing reforms approved by the Centre two days ago, dubbing them as yet another brazen attempt to erode the federal structure of the country.

The CM warned that these changes could pave the way for disbanding the minimum support price (MSP) regime as well as the foodgrain procurement system, triggering unrest among the state’s farmers. “The present system has been working successfully for almost 60 years. We will not allow this. Agriculture is a state subject. This is encroachment of federal structure. We will challenge it,” he told reporters at a press conference held via video-conferencing.

Hindustan Times

In order to boost the immunity of the people of the state amid coronavirus pandemic, HimRRA – a state group of Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture (RRA) Network has decided to run a state-wide farmers awareness campaign incorporation with various NGOs, civil society organisations and individuals of the state to motivate farmers to grow food crops in some portions of their landholding along with others crops.

Various tools such as video, posters and pamphlets are prepared for information and communication purposes under this campaign to answer questions such as what are the source of good nutrition, why to grow food crops, which crops to prefer, how to grow and process the millets and why it is important to grow ...

Economic Times

Gone are the days when working in agriculture meant being restricted to traditional roles of being a farmer, labourer or a trader. Indian agriculture has come a long way since the Green Revolution of the 1960s when modern methods were adopted to upsurge crop yield. Agriculture and its allied sectors still remain to be the largest source of livelihood in India.

NDTV

India may face devastating climate change effects, including killer heat waves and severe floods, in the next 80 years, says a study that calls for urgent steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avert associated risks to the country’s population, ecosystems and economy.

Annual mean temperatures across India are likely to increase by 4.2 degrees Celsius under a high emission scenario by the end of the 21st century, the researchers, led by Professor Mansour Almazroui from the King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, said.

Swarajyamag

President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday (5 June) promulgated the ordinances for major agricultural reforms which aim to give freedom to the farmers to sell their agriculture produce anywhere in the country and pave the way for contract farming.

The Union Cabinet had on Wednesday (3 June) cleared Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Ordinance 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020 which were notified on Friday.

Swarajyamag

Promulgating three ordinances to implement its sweeping agricultural reforms in the country, the Narendra Modi government has come up with provisions allowing farmers and traders to buy or sell agricultural produce in any part of the country or a state without facing any problem.

Auto Car Pro

Automotive and tractor major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) estimates that it lost sales of 23,400 vehicles and 14,700 tractors in the last month of FY2020 due to the rampant spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has severely impacted industry worldwide and triggered significant downside risks to the overall global economic outlook. The company says all its manufacturing facilities and offices were shut down entirely during lockdown period of almost 40 days (March 25 to May 3).

The Hindu BusinessLine

India needs to focus on key sectors with a ‘pull effect’, such as automobiles, real estate and hospitality, logistics and transport, to emerge from the economic slowdown that has worsened due to the Covid-19 disruptions, said Suresh Prabhu, India’s Sherpa to the G-20 and former Union Minister.

Youth Ki Awaaz 

The 10th Agricultural Census reported a gradual rise in input cost, including seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, labour and other pieces of equipment and machinery. There was, however, nothing surprising in this as it has been in the discourse for a very long time that rising input cost has been a crucial factor behind declining farm incomes.

Now, one way to ensure that the input cost doesn’t rise for cultivators is through subsidization by the government. Over a period of time, it has been established that subsidization is not a foolproof long-term solution since there are various issues pertaining to it, including leakages, accurate identification of beneficiaries and so on. Subsidization becomes a cause of concern when we ...

Rural Marketing

Beating the blues of COVID-19 lockdown, India’s one of the leading tractor manufacturing company, Sonalika Tractors registered 18.6 percent growth with sale of 9177 tractors in domestic as well as overseas market in May 2020 as compared to 7737 tractors in May 2019. The company has strengthened its No.1 tractor exports position from India by registering 25 percent growth with exports of 1537 tractors in May’20.

Nai Dunia

This may have happened for the first time in India when a company’s tractor sales for a month were higher than that of the largest car and SUV manufacturer. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) sold 24017 tractors in India in May, while Maruti Suzuki 13865 only sold cars / SUVs during the same period. The nationwide lockdown implemented to prevent corona virus infection significantly affected the sales of auto companies. Tractor sales jumped during this period due to the relaxation of lockdown for farming.

Inc42

As a means to improve agricultural income for farmers and lift restrictions on sales of produce, the Union Cabinet, on Wednesday (June 4), announced that it has cleared three major ordinances, which have caused a dampening effect on the agri value chain in the past.

Firstly, the new policy aims to lift restrictions on key commodities such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes, and gives farmers the freedom to sell their produce directly to processors, aggregators, wholesalers, large retailers and exporters across state borders, through the available e-trading as well as other platforms of their choice instead of being confined to state mandis.

Indian Express

Over Rs 5,400 crore flowed to rural Gujarat during the lockdown, with over 16.35 lakh farmers selling their produce at Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) across Gujarat during the period between March and May, 2020 . However, farmer bodies said that not only were the agricultural transactions way lesser compared to previous years, the farmers also sold their produce at lesser prices.

Data provided by the state government revealed that over 5.45 lakh farmers sold 91.67 lakh quintals of agricultural produce at APMCs and earned Rs 3,702 crore between March 24 and June 1. Similarly, 10.89 lakh farmers sold an additional 84.01 lakh quintals of fruits and vegetables for about Rs 1,742 crore during the same period.

Financial Express

Anticipation of good prices and availability of water has encouraged farmers in Gujarat to go for early sowing of groundnut as there has been ten-fold increase in pre-monsoon sowing of peanuts during the year 2020 compared to previous year. As per the official data of the state agriculture department, till May-end last year, pre-monsoon or pre-kharif groundnut sowing was hardly on 1,319 hectare land. During the current year, groundnut sowing has already crossed 13,900 hectare mark by the beginning of June, indicating possibility of massive sowing of groundnut in Gujarat.

Business Today

Managing the consequences of coronavirus pandemic on agriculture is becoming increasingly important and someone looking at this closely today is M S Swaminathan, the father of India’s Green Revolution. In these trying times, he shared with BusinessToday.In, some important suggestions on ways to double farmers’ income. Swaminathan, who is arguably a go-to guru on issues related to farmers, believes that we can double farmer’s income through appropriate marketing and by ensuring that they get a fair price. “Based on the NCF proposal, namely C2 (total cost of production) plus 50 per cent, the government should help farmers through agencies such as the Food Corporation, Horticulture Development Board and others that farmers can rely upon,” he said.

Greater Kashmir

With the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent enforcement of lockdown, resumption of agriculture activities was seen as a distant thing. The cessation of farming activities would mean a substantial decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country thereby upsetting our economy as agriculture alone accounts for nearly 15 percent of the national GDP. Realizing the fragility of our economy and the significance of agriculture for that matter, the government of India decided to resume and recommence essential activities especially the farm related activities across India. The government of J& K too followed the suit and did not lag behind in any respect. The director agriculture Kashmir, while issuing the guidelines for resuming the ...

Money Control

The Centre on June 3 presented a set of ordinances to push forward its ‘One India, one agriculture market’ project and allow farmers to trade freely.

The move is aimed at building a seamless national market for farmers to sell produce, protect them from price risks, and improve their earnings and better agricultural investments.

The Cabinet had earlier cleared the way by approving the Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Facilitation and Promotion) Ordinance, 2020 aimed at a barrier-free trade between states. It will allow farmers to sell across the country and utilise electronic platforms.

Money Control

In light of the current COVID-19 crisis, we look at the rural economy which has been less affected by the pandemic so far. Rural India plays a very important role, as it contributes 53 percent to India’s GDP.

Except for the villages very close to urban areas, rural areas were not much impacted by the COVID-19-led lockdown. Most of the mandis had got re-opened,  which led to an upbeat sentiment in the last two months. Rabi crop flow has been smooth, with 85 percent of the harvest having arrived at the mandis. The government which generally buys 15–20 percent of the produce for 38 commodities, has continued with its buying program and has managed the current situation ...

India Today

Mushtak Ali (47) of Dabkodi village in Panchkula district is one of the 8.12 lakh wheat farmers in Haryana who benefitted from digitization after the novel coronavirus induced lockdown compelled people to stay indoors.

Mushtak showed us the text messages he received from the state-owned procurement agency telling him about the time of arrival, weight, value and payment details of his wheat crops. He is one of the progressive Haryana farmers who is registered on a state government portal ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’.

Hindustan Times

The rain caused by Cyclone Nisarga led to damage of crops in various parts of Madhya Pradesh. The wheat and other crops were procured by the state government.

The Opposition has now attacked the government, accusing it of being “careless”.

The rain came as Madhya Pradesh was already facing the challenge caused by swarms of desert locusts, which remain uncontrolled. However, the downpour brought down temperature in the state considerably low giving a relief to people from rising temperature.

As per meteorological department’s Madhya Pradesh unit, as many as 23 districts received moderate to heavy rains in the past two days with Bhopal, Raisen, Betul, Hoshangabad in central region, Rewa and Satna in Vindya region, Chhatarpur, Sagar ...

Financial Express

Agriculture and allied activities are likely to see 2.5% growth in FY21 as the effects of the pandemic on the sector, thus far, have been varied because these activities are not a homogeneous group, each having its own set of dynamics, said rating agency Crisil.

Gross value added (GVA) in India’s agriculture and allied sectors grew 4% in FY20 while the sector’s average growth in the past six years was about 3.2%.

Indian Express

CLEARING THE way for significant reforms in the agriculture sector, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared three ordinances aimed at lifting restrictions on key commodities such as cereals, pulses, onion and potato, and giving farmers the freedom to sell their produce directly or through e-trading platforms to entities of their choice instead of being confined to state mandis.

They also offer a legal framework that will enable farmers to enter into an “agreement” with private sector players on pricing and purchase — a step that can provide for contract farming.

New Indian Express

Microsoft announced on Wednesday the launch of a programme for agritech startups in India that it said are committed to driving transformation in agriculture.

It is designed to help startups build industry-specific solutions, scale and grow with access to deep technology, business and marketing resources, the company said in a statement.

Hindustan Times

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday announced far-reaching steps to unshackle the country’s farm sector, approving amendments to the six-decade-old Essential Commodities Act and pushing two ordinances, one aimed at freeing up farm trade from all restrictions and the other guaranteeing a legal framework for pre-agreed prices to farmers.

All these steps, which bring the full force of liberalisation to the farm economy, were announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 15 in the second of her series of briefings last month on proposed reforms.

On May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced a package worth Rs 20 lakh crore to spur growth.

The Print

The lockdown has hit the tea industry in West Bengal and Assam hard, with losses in revenue so far totalling around Rs 2,100 crore, according to a statement issued by the Indian Tea Association last week.

Around 1,000 tea gardens in the two states have lost their ‘first flush’, a major contributor to their revenue. This is usually harvested in March, but this time, due to the lockdown and the social distancing and other norms that needed to be maintained upon resumption of activity, production has taken a hit.

Indian Express

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an amendment to the Essential Commodities Act of 1955 to “deregulate” agricultural commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onions and potatoes besides promulgating an ordinance to allow farmers to engage with processors, aggregators, large retailers, exporters.

Addressing a media briefing, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the Cabinet had approved “The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020” to ensure barrier free trade in agriculture produce. It will not bind farmers to sell their crop only to licensed traders in the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) mandis of their respective talukas or districts.

Swarajya Mag

Following up on the reform announcements made as part of its Rs 20 Lakh crore economic stimulus package in the area of agriculture and allied activities, Union Cabinet today (3 June) approved an ordinance removing restrictions on the sale of farm goods and enabling farmers to sell produce outside APMC including via electronic platforms without incurring taxes.

Hindustan Times

Farmers in Punjab donated nearly 50,000 tonnes of wheat to the the community kitchens of various shrines, particularly gurdwaras and temples, during the last 45 days of the lockdown when the harvesting season started in the state, the agriculture department estimate reveals.

Of the 6,260 tonne grain the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)-run gurdwaras received during the same period, the Sri Guru Ram Das langar in the Golden Temple, Amritsar, got 3,650 tonne in charity against 1,600 tonne last year.

Republic World

Highlighting the importance of the Union Cabinet’s decision regarding farmers taken on Wednesday, PM Modi tweeted that it will have a very positive impact on rural India. He added that the Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020 will pave the way for the creation of One India, One Agriculture Market. Moreover, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 will give farmers greater freedom to engage with retailers while protecting their interests.

Indian Express

Farmers in Maharashtra are gearing up to sow non-approved Genetically Modified (GM) seeds of crops like cotton, maize, soyabean, and brinjal this season. Led by the Shetkari Sanghatana, this movement will be undertaken across the state, with farmers setting up boards on their fields proclaiming the nature of their crop.

Anil Ghanwat, president of the Shektari Sanghtana, said this movement is an extension of their ongoing one to make technology freely available for the farm sector. Last year, the Sanghatana had led thousands of farmers in Akola district in a civil disobedience movement, which saw farmers sowing the non-approved herbicide-tolerant (Ht) variant of GM (Bt) cotton. Akola district authorities had filed FIRs against the organisers in this ...

Tribune India

Two major challenges encountered in Punjab during the current pandemic were wheat harvesting and migration of workers. The security of life and the livelihood of millions of people dependent on agriculture were threatened. But, Punjab’s indefatigable farmers have defeated the nasty coronavirus, sustaining the state’s rural economy. “Coronavirus is the creation of riches,” believed many of the farmers who remained steadfast in mandis. No case was reported in any of the 4,000 purchase centres that were frequented by about 13 lakh farmers, labourers, transporters and arhtiyas.

Economic Times

This year onions are not likely to bring tears as the government expects 17% rise in the onion output from last year. As per the second advance estimate, the production onion is likely to be 26.74 million tonnes in 2019-20 as against 22.82 million tonnes in 2018-19.

The second advance estimates also places total horticulture production in 2019-20 to be at 320.48 million tonnes – 3.13% higher than last year.

Ndtv

The Central government has devised a plan to use drones and specialised imported machines against locusts which have started damaging crops in some states, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Tuesday.

He said the government is hopeful of completely repulsing attacks by locusts by September-end.

“A plan is put in place to use drones to fight off locusts which are damaging crops in some parts of the country,” Mr Tomar said, adding that pesticides will be sprayed using drones.

Times Of India

The preference towards coarse cereals like bajra, ragi, maize and jowar over water guzzling paddy in the revised minimum support prices for kharif crops signals a clear direction for farming in India. Massive groundwater exploitation and diversion of river water for irrigation is proving unsustainable. Large parts of India are facing desertification. A transition to short duration millets with less water requirement and tolerance to arid climates is long overdue. Coarse cereals are also highly nutritious, thus dovetailing into better addressing the malnutrition problem too.

Indian Express

Rejecting the MSP hike announced by the central government on paddy as totally inadequate, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said farmers ‘wanted their due, not charity’.

“The debt-ridden and stressed farming community was looking to the Centre to come to their rescue in these times of unprecedented woes, but the much-needed support once again eluded them,” Amarinder said, describing the Rs 53 per quintal hike in paddy MSP as “shamefully woeful”.

Live Mint

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra on Monday tweeted that India’s economic revival will find its saviors in the farmers. Anand Mahindra was commenting on M&M tractor sales report for the month of May which outperformed the analysts’ expectations.

Mahindra, who is more active in comparison with his industry peers, added that its a ‘back to basics’ moment for the auto industry and the economy as a whole.

Business Standard

Unseasonal rains along with other adverse weather conditions in February and March, coupled with lack of manpower to harvest crops during the coronavirus lockdown, will hit the output of rabi crops like cereals, pulses and oil seeds, according to a report.

The production of cereals, pulses and oilseeds is estimated to decline by 1.95 per cent, 2.22 per cent and 13.48 per cent, respectively, in 2019-20 compared to last year, according to the report by the National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC).

Times Of India

PMK leader S Ramadoss has urged the central government to raise the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 3,000 per quintal for the year 2020-2021. The marginal rise of Rs 53 per quintal of both common and A-grade paddy would not help farmers in anyway, said Ramadoss in a press statement. He noted that a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had fixed the MSP for common and A grade paddy varieties at Rs 1868 and Rs 1,888 (per quintal) respectively. He urged Tamil Nadu government to recommend to the Centre to revise the MSP for paddy after looking into various factors. The government should fix the MSP at Rs 3,000 per quintal to ensure 50% profit to the ...

DD News

Briefing media in New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar informed that the Cabinet has further revised the definition of MSMEs, a decision which will lead to inclusion of many industrial units under it’s ambit.

Those enterprises with investment upto 50 crore rupees and turnover of upto Rs. 250 crore will now be able to avail the benefits of MSME sector.

All export turnovers of such enterprises will also remain exempted from the total turnover.

Indian Express

Pranav K.Singh & Inderpreet Kaur on why milk must be an integral part of the school meal programme.

To recognise the importance of milk as a global food, June 1 is celebrated every year as World Milk Day, as declared by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. This day provides an opportunity to focus attention on milk and raise awareness about importance of milk in a healthy diet, besides celebrating the achievements of the dairy sector.

India is the world’s highest milk producer with an annual milk production of around 187.70 million tons in the year 2018-19, which is around 21.39% of the world milk production (FAO, 2019), and that is why the importance of this ...

Times Of India

Last month, when Karnataka State Mango Development and Marketing Corporation signed an MoU with Flipkart for sale of mangoes, it was evidence enough of the government encouraging more private retailers and ecommerce platforms to purchase directly from farmers. While the government has decided to gauge the MoU’s success — it’s valid for 45 days — before going ahead, the agriculture and horticulture departments are already laying the ground for entry of private companies in the market.

Economic Times

The revolution of artificial intelligence, which is brewing silently in India with an increasing number of AI startup organizations, is to get a major face-lift this year. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meit), whose vision is to develop India as the engine for transition into a developed nation, has bigger plans for ‘Powering India’ into the new decade using AI solutions.

To promote AI solutions in various sectors, the ministry has launched a knowledge resource portal titled Indiaai (indiaai.in). It is a joint initiative of the MeitY, National e-Governance Division and NASSCOM, an industry body. The website aims to be the trusted content powerhouse in the backdrop of India’s journey to global prominence in AI.

Hindustan Times

The Union Cabinet on Monday approved federally fixed minimum support prices (MSP) for 14 kharif or summer-sown crops, which will offer 50-83% profit over cultivation cost, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said.

The announcement came as the June-to-September monsoon for 2020, predicted by the India Meteorological Bureau to be normal, made its onset over Kerala, its first port of call in the Indian mainland, on June 1, as predicted.

A normal monsoon will likely lessen the strain on the agriculture economy from widespread disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The summer rains are critical because nearly 60% of India’s net arable land lacks irrigation and nearly half the population depends on a farm-based livelihood.

The MSP for ...

Times of India

The government on Monday decided that farmers who availed short-term crop loans at a concessional rate of 4 per cent per annum and missed their repayment after March 1, can now repay by August 31 without paying any penalty. The decision, taken by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to extend the loan repayment date will help farmers in avoiding travelling to banks for renewal or repayment of loans during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic period, an official statement said.

Indian Express

Retail sales of fertiliser have surged almost 98 per cent year-on-year in May, marking the seventh consecutive month of double-digit growth, and also pointing to agriculture doing relatively well in an otherwise dismal economic landscape.

Data from the Department of Fertilisers shows all-India nutrient sales at 40.02 lakh tonnes (lt) in May 2020. Not only was this nearly twice the 20.24 lt sales for May 2019, but also more than the 22.61 lt in the same month of 2018.

Times Of India

The government on Monday hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy marginally by Rs 53 per quintal to Rs 1,868 per quintal for the 2020-21 crop year, while the rates for oilseeds, pulses and cereals were also raised. The decision, taken by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will help farmers take a call on which kharif (summer) crop to grow as sowing picks up with the arrival of southwest monsoon.

Hindustan Times, The Indian Express  – Online

CM complimented agriculture and food and civil supplies departments, along with agencies including Markfed, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, PUNSUP, as well as the FCI, on this feat.

The Print – Online

Cotton production in India is likely to witness a severe decline with losses to the tune of thousands of crores in the current season, according to estimates released by the Cotton Association of India (CAI).

Business Standard – Onlie

Agriculture and public spending are the only green shoots of the economy, and the concentration of the slowdown in the core economy is becoming sharper . Core GVA is the gross value added in the economy without that in the farm sector and public administration. Consumer spending grew at 2.7 per cent in the March quarter, while investments contracted for a third straight month, falling faster than the preceding quarter every time .

Republic – Online

Uttar Pradesh Government’s Agriculture Department on Sunday asked 15 districts to remain vigilant following locust attack in four districts of the State.

Hindustan Times – Online

With farmers in states like Rajasthan battling swarms of locusts invading their farmlands, the Odisha government on Sunday asked its farmers to get ready for a similar attack in June.