Zee Biz

Hemant Sikka, President – Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Ltd., talks about the tractor sales number of August, demand, capacity utilisation, CapEx and product pipeline among others during an interview with Swati Khandelwal, Zee Business. Edited Excerpts:

Q: Your domestic sales of tractors rose by 70% to 23,503 units in August 2020, which is your highest ever August sales. How will you summarize it? Do you think that this is a pent-up demand or robustness will be seen and consistent performance will be seen?

A: We had very good sales in August and our tractor business grew by 70% in the month. This August has been the best-ever August till date, even the previous month of July ...

The Wire

If Punjab’s agriculture sector is to succeed, it has to think beyond short-term crises such as the current pandemic-induced one.

For instance, the Expert Group headed by Montek Singh Ahluwalia has made important recommendations about seeds, agricultural research, livestock, dairy and food processing.

It has been noted that Punjab has been successful in producing large quantities of potato seeds. However, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have emerged as major producers and processors of other seeds. For production of vegetable seeds like radish, cauliflower, turnip, capsicum, brinjal etc. a temperate climate is more suitable. Therefore, the hilly states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are most appropriate for production of these seeds.

The Automobile Times

India’s one of the leading tractor manufacturer and No.1 Exports brand from the country, Sonalika Tractor beats its last month record & registering Highest Ever domestic growth of 80% in Aug-20 with 8,205 tractors as compared to 4,560 sales same period last year. It continues its growth trajectory by surpassing estimated industry growth of 73% in August-20. Overall sales (domestic + exports) stood at 10,206 tractors in August-20 as compared to 6,412 tractors same period last year.

Financial Express

With India reporting a record high kharif sowing which may also lead to a bumper kharif harvest this season and with a recovery in global food prices, Indian farmers are expected to ride high. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index has only gone upward in the last three months and annual food inflation based on the global index has also rebounded from negative territory in August, The Indian Express reported, bearing good news for Indian farmers who will be sitting on a good harvest thanks to timely monsoon rainfall and center’s push to agricultural sector in the first four months of the ongoing financial year.

Financial Express

While the year has not fared well for the economy, India can at least find some respite in its agricultural sector with the sowing of kharif or the summer crops touching a new record in the season. Kharif acreage has been 1,095.38 lakh hectare so far thanks to good rains and timely pre-positioning of crop inputs, the agriculture ministry said in a statement today. The sowing of pulses, coarse cereals, millets and oilseeds is almost over while on the other hand, rice continues to be sown. The final sowing figures for the current kharif season will be closed on 2nd October. A year ago, farmers had sown a total area of 1,030.32 lakh hectare.

Deccan Herald

On the back of favourable rains, farmers across the country have achieved a record acreage of Kharif crops despite the Covid-19 pandemic, raising hopes of a bumper harvest. The total acreage achieved for the ongoing Kharif season is 1095.38 lakh hectares, 6.32% higher than that achieved for the corresponding period of the previous year. Farmers have taken to cultivating oilseeds enthusiastically with acreage touching 194.75 lakh hectares, nearly 12% more than the previous year’s 174 lakh hectares.

Financial Express

Come October-November, onion prices may skyrocket, like they did last year and around the same time in many of the previous years, exposing the absence of a policy paradigm to ensure price stability of India’s staple vegetable, despite it being a political hot potato.

Already, wholesale onion prices have nearly doubled within a span of 10 days at Lasalgaon, the country’s largest wholesale market for the bulb. Retail prices have touched `50 per kg in Mumbai and Pune, and even `70 per kg in Delhi. Yet ironically, farmers are complaining as large-scale crop damage has dented their profitability.

News 18

Pranab Patel, Gandhinagar: Regarding the damage caused by disproportionate rains, Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly Paresh Dhanani today visited Tinmas of Vanthali taluka of Junagadh district, Bamanasa of Keshod taluka, Sarod, Akhodar, Balagam, Osa Ghed of Mangrol taluka and Gadu farmers of Malia Hati taluka and Gadu villages. The farmers were saddened by the information.