Live Mint

Mahindra has launched a new potato planter under its Farm Equipment Sector (FES). The new advanced Precision Potato Planting machinery, the new ‘PlantingMaster Potato +’ is designed and developed in collaboration with Europe-based partner Dewulf. According to the Indian company, PlantingMaster Potato + has been developed to suit Indian farming conditions, to offer higher yields and enhanced quality.

Live Mint

Lower exports of livestock and marine products led the decline in India’s agriculture exports in the June quarter of 2020-21, according to an analysis of government data.

Exports of major farm products were recorded at ₹43,894 crore between April and June, a fall of 1.8% from the year-ago period.

The overall decline in value is despite a 70% increase in the export of non-basmati rice and a 61% increase in the export of sugar.

Down To Earth

Indian states essentially depend on the Union government’s schemes to promote organic and natural farming. Some states also utilise funds from other schemes such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture to do the job.

A few states, on the other hand, walked the extra mile and started initiatives of their own.

Chhattisgarh, for example, recently took initiatives to promote rural livelihoods along with organic farming. The new Godhan Nyay scheme was launched by Chhattisgarh government in July 2020. The scheme aims to increase income of farmers and cattle ranchers, promote organic compost, reduce chemical fertiliser usage and improve soil health.

Telangana Today

Keeping in view of the demand for edible oils and increasing imports from abroad, the State government will be focusing on promoting oil palm cultivation on a large scale in the State. India had spent approximately Rs 79,000 crore of its foreign exchange last year to import edible oils from abroad of which over Rs 40,000 crore were spent for importing oil palm alone from countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.

Responding to questions raised on oil palm cultivation during the Question Hour in the Assembly on Thursday, Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy emphasised the need for crop rotation and cultivation of alternate crops like oil palm to increase yield and also cater to the market demand. He ...

Business Standard

In a bid to support agri sector amid COVID-19 crisis, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday said it aims to disburse Rs 1.20 lakh crore crop loan to farmers for meeting production expenses this fiscal.

Apex agriculture financial institution Nabard annually disbursed Rs 90,000 crore crop loan at a concessional rate.

“It has been enhanced to Rs 1.20 lakh crore this fiscal. Of this, Rs 40,000 crore has already been disbursed,” National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) Chairman G R Chintala said.

The Hindu

A rather confident statement heard in the midst of India’s COVID-19-induced economic slowdown is this: “Agriculture will lead India’s economic revival”. But how valid is this claim put forward by government spokespersons and some observers?

Four major arguments are offered. First, India’s food grain production in 2019-20 was 3.7% higher than in 2018-19. The procurement of rabi wheat in 2020-21 was 12.6% higher than in 2019-20. These indicate, it is argued, resilience in the agricultural sector. Second, food inflation in the Q1 of 2020-21, at 9.2%, was higher than in the previous year due to “sustained demand for food”. This shows a shift of terms of trade in favour of agriculture. Third, the area under kharif sowing in 2020-21 was ...