Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Surplus rains bring cheer to paddy growers in Odishaedit
It has been a good start for agricultural activities in the ongoing kharif season as Sambalpur received surplus rainfall by over 45.29 per cent in June.
As per reports, the district has received 321.11 mm rainfall in the month against normal 221 mm. Of the nine blocks in the district, Kuchinda block received the highest rainfall of 543.80 mm, followed by 390.10 mm rainfall in Bamra block. Last year, Sambalpur had recorded only 140.32 mm of rainfall in June.
How Farmers Are Adjusting to the ‘New Normal’: A View From Haryanaedit
It’s 7 am, my phone is fully charged and I have a long list of telephone numbers in front of me. We are now in middle of June and the men and women I am trying to get in touch with are in a hurried panic. Without wasting their time, I try to talk to them before they set off to their fields, along with the rest of their families, to begin the back breaking task of paddy transplantation.
India, much like rest of the world, went into complete lockdown in March, anticipating a steep rise in the curve indicating the number of new COVID-19 cases recorded each day. More than two months later, today, the country ...
All possible steps being taken to stop cultivation of poppy, cannabis across Valley: Div Comedit
In order to stop the illegal cultivation of poppy and cannabis crops across the Kashmir, the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole Tuesday convened a meeting to discuss the measures being taken to curb the menace of cannabis and poppy cultivation. Divisional Commissioner said that all possible steps are being taken to stop cultivation of Poppy and Cannabis crops across the valley as early as possible so that drug menace will be weeded out completely from our society. He directed the concerned authorities to devise a concrete strategy so that cultivation of these harmful crops destroyed in government and private lands.
Kharif sowing at 40% in Maharashtraedit
Of the 151.34 lakh hectares of land under kharif cultivation, including sugarcane, sowing on 60.56 lakh hectares (40 per cent) has been completed in Maharashtra.
Kharif cultivation, except sugarcane, is done on 141.99 lakh hectares, of which sowing operations have been completed on 59.60 lakh hectares by June 22.
Notwithstanding the germination-related complaints by soybean farmers, the State Agriculture Department, in its report, has stated that germination of all kharif crops is satisfactory. The State has received an average 207.6 mm rainfall in June. By June 22, the state has received 176.80 mm (85.10 per cent) rain.
Farmers & Farmingedit
With China trying to threaten us, Coronavirus infections peaking and the economy faltering, it may not seem the right time to discuss agriculture but with a number of major policy changes in the offing, we urgently need to have a look at the long-term future of farmers and farming. It has been more than six weeks since the Finance Minister announced a stimulus package of Rs 4.30 lakh crore for farmers, out of which Rs 2.80 lakh crore were in the form of credit and Rs1.50 lakh crore were in the form of Government spending.
From the sketchy details, available in the public domain, one gathers that Rs one lakh crore has been set aside for an ...
Why Punjab stands to lose from farmers’ produce trade and commerce ordinanceedit
The Union government announced three agriculture-related ordinances as part of its novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) relief package — permitting agricultural trade outside the boundaries of market committees, easing regulation and control under the Essential Commodities Act and facilitating contract farming.
Out of these, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce Ordinance, 2020, seems to have the most far-reaching implications, particularly for the agrarian state of Punjab.
Horticulture Sector, Prospects and Policy Imperatives to Support Farmersedit
The horticulture sector is poised to grow more rapidly in the upcoming years in J&K, despite disruptions it faced due to subsequent lockdowns. At a time when all the sectors are in shambles, the fruit industry remains a beacon of hope for many unemployed youths and local families in Jammu and Kashmir, Mukhtar Dar writes.
Throughout history, farmers in Kashmir have been known to suffer immensely. Their economy was badly shaped by ill-conceived laws that did nothing to serve the interests of the cultivators. They had to go through periods of stagnation, characterized not only by poverty but also by the lowest level of income imaginable, due to harsh taxation policies of rulers and the Jagardari system before ...
India buys record amount of wheat, grain bins spill overedit
Government-backed Food Corporation of India (FCI), which buys grain from farmers at a state-set guaranteed price, has bought a record 38.83 million tonnes of wheat, a government statement showed. Last year, the FCI procured 34.13 million tonnes of wheat.
“It now looks like that we’ll end up buying 40.5 to 41 million tonnes this year,” said an official who oversees the government’s wheat purchase programme, declining to be identified in line with government policy.
In 2012, the FCI bought a then-record 38.18 million tonnes of wheat, exposing stocks to rot.
Dairy Farming
Tech saves the day for India’s leading dairy brands as lockdowns become new normaledit
When the Centre announced nationwide lockdown in the last week of March to contain the spread of Covid-19, it left several retailers engaged in the supply of essential items nervous. RS Sodhi, the indefatigable managing director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, popular by its dairy brand Amul, was not one of them, though. “There will not be any problem,” he declared with an air of confidence, back then. And, he walked, or is still walking the talk as the lockdown has stretched beyond three-weeks, and parts of India, including Mumbai, are still in a gridlock.