Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
To help augment farm-mechanism, state gives aid directly to farmersedit
At a time when there are “apprehensions” over deriving timely benefit out of Rs 1 lakh crore of agriculture-infrastructure development fund as announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bengal government is ensuring direct transfer of benefit of the subsidy that is given to the rural populace for setting up of more Custom Hiring Centres (CHC) and augmentation of farm-mechanisation. It was on Sunday, the Prime Minister had announced Rs 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) under which agri-entrepreneurs, start-ups and farmer groups would be getting credit at subsidised interest. But the state government is considering that it in no way will be helpful for farmers as loans will be disbursed through banks whose lackadaisical ...
Crop insurance scheme falling flat as one state after another exitsedit
States are slowly opting out of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), just two years after the Centre launched the crop insurance scheme with much fanfare.
It is not just states with non-BJP governments (even Gujarat has exited, following Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Jharkhand) that are raising questions about the feasibility of the scheme.
The PMFBY is a voluntary crop insurance scheme for states introduced during the Kharif season in 2016.
Good progress of monsoon in August raises hopes of bumper kharif harvestedit
With rainfall intensifying in August after some deficit in July, India is likely to harvest a record kharif crop if the rest of the monsoon season goes well. Till August 7, the overall area under kharif crops was 10% higher year-on-year, driven by factors such as early onset of monsoon, reverse migration of labour and higher minimum support price for some crops. Good temporal and spatial distribution of rainfall aided crop growth.
India ranks first in number of organic farmers, 9th in area; Sikkim becomes first fully organic stateedit
India ranks first in the number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming. Sikkim became the first state in the world to become fully organic and other States including Tripura and Uttarakhand have set similar targets, according to an official statement.
North East India has traditionally been organic and the consumption of chemicals is far less than the rest of the country. Similarly, the tribal and island territories are being nurtured to continue their organic story.
The illusion of a revival in the country’s agricultural sectoredit
Most recent economic indicators suggest a modest recovery compared to the first two months of India’s lockdown. But when compared to the data of last year, it also becomes clear that an economic comeback is likely to be a long-drawn affair. There is also a consensus that a recovery will be contingent on a revival in consumption demand, which had declined considerably even before the lockdown. The only hope during these grim times seems to arise from the agricultural sector, which is expected to not only show positive growth, but also boost consumer demand. Such hopes are bolstered by a normal monsoon and increased sowing this year, on top of last year’s record production of some crops. ...
Dairy Farming
Punjab farmers to get 40% subsidy on silage baler-cum-wrapper machinesedit
In a bid to promote the dairy development sector, the state government has launched a new scheme to provide 40% subsidy to farmers on silage baler-cum-wrapper machines through Punjab Dairy Development Board (PDDB). Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, minister for animal husbandry, fisheries and dairy development said the state government is making consistent efforts to modernise the production and maintenance of green fodder. With implementation of this scheme, the farmer who buys the machine will be provided with financial assistance of upto Rs 5.60 lakh by the government, he said.
Technology in Agriculture
Adani calls for leveraging new technologies to transform agricultureedit
Chairman of Adani Group Gautam Adani on Thursday called for cluster-based policies and adoption of digital technologies to promote agriculture and food processing units across the country. Cluster policies are crucial for small-scale farmers and agri-business, he said while addressing students at the Institute of Rural Management here.
“It enables them to achieve higher productivity, higher value-added production and minimise the back-breaking costs of logistics, storage, wastage and interference from the middlemen,” he said. “Therefore, an agri-based cluster will be a set of local farmers, agri-businesses and institutions that are engaged in the same agricultural or agri-industrial sub-sector, and work together to build value networks.”