Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Govt to shell out Rs 1.40L cr for procuring paddy at MSPedit
Amid farmers’ protests against new laws, the Centre on Wednesday asserted that buying of kharif crops at Minimum Support Price is continuing and that Rs 1.40 lakh crore will be spend for procuring 738 lakh tonnes of paddy at MSP from more than 156 lakh farmers. Around Rs 35,000 crore will be shelled out for buying 125 lakh bales of cotton at MSP this year. Even pulses and oilseeds are being procured at the respective MSPs, it said. Seeking to send out a clear message to the protesting farmers that the Centre has no intention of scrapping procurement at MSP, senior officials held a press conference on Wednesday on steps being taken for procurement of the kharif ...
Slowing farm reforms: Centre says open-ended purchases at minimum support prices to continueedit
With the furore over the new laws governing marketing of agriculture produce threatening to erode its political capital, the Narendra Modi government seems to be slowing the pace of, if not abandoning, the all-important subsequent reforms in the sector.
On Wednesday, three top government officials – Union agriculture, food and textile secretaries – asserted that the policy of open-ended procurement (OEP) at minimum support prices would continue. Over the last few days, senior government functionaries have been assuring the farming community that the recent reforms won’t undermine the MSP system.
Rice procurement to rise by 22% to ₹1.4 lakh crore this year, says senior officialedit
The government is increasing its procurement of grains, oilseeds, pulses and cotton from farmers, with spending on rice expected to rise by 22% to ₹1.4 lakh crore, senior officials said.
The secretaries in the food, agriculture and textiles ministries sent a strong message to farmers that the government is strengthening the procurement system, not abandoning it. They said this year’s procurement has begun earlier than normal and official purchases from farmers is rising much faster than the growth in output. The officials were addressing reporters on Wednesday.
FARM EQUIPMENT RENTAL MARKET TO WITNESS UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH IN COMING YEARSedit
The global farm equipment rental market is estimated to account for a value of USD 46.8 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.3% from 2020, to reach a value of USD 66.4 billion by 2025. The growth of the farm equipment rental market driven by factors such as shortage of skilled labor and an increase in mechanization in developing countries, rising demand for productivity and operational efficiency, and limited availability of arable land. The increasing government subsidies for farming equipment further provide open opportunities for growth of the farm equipment rental market.
Farmers planted Kharif crops at record high, says Agriculture Ministryedit
Farmers planted Kharif crops on 10 lakh acres more compared to the previous record of 1,085 lakh hectares and the figure is about 28 lakh hectare more than the normal sowing of 1,067 hectares, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal said on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference here, Agarwal said there has been a record sowing area in Kharif 2020.
“Pulses has been sown in an additional 7 lakh hectares, oilseeds in an additional 18 lakh hectares and rice in four lakh hectares,” he said.
Top officers defend new farm laws: There will be procurement based on MSPedit
Amid protests by farmers against the new farm laws, the government on Wednesday fielded top bureaucrats to allay concerns about the minimum support price (MSP), and announced that approximately Rs 1.40 lakh crore is “projected” to be paid to nearly 1.57 crore paddy farmers during the ongoing kharif marketing season.
“MSP poorv mein bhee thee, vartamaan mein bhee hai, aur bhavishya mein bhee rahegee (MSP was there in the past, it is in the present, and will remain in future),” Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal said in response to a query during a press conference.
Centre rejects raw jute import plea by millsedit
The Centre has turned down mills’ plea to import raw jute from Bangaldesh, contending that there is enough stock for the next few months. Mill owners are witnessing extremely high demand for jute bags this year, owing to large orders from Food Corporation of India and the West Bengal government.
“Considering the monthly consumption of raw jute which has been indicated to be in the range of 5.5 lakh bales, and the current arrival in the market, there is enough raw jute available for the coming months and there is no urgency for immediate import,” the Jute Commissioner’s Office said in a communication to the Indian Jute Mills Association.
Govt sets up 18 paddy procurement centres in Jammuedit
Principal Secretary Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare Department, Navin Kumar Choudhary, Wednesday said that government has established 18 procurement centres in the current kharief marketing season to facilitate procurement of paddy at the minimum support price in districts of Jammu, Kathua and Samba respectively. He was speaking at a meeting convened by him here at Civil Secretariat Jammu. Deputy Commissioners of Samba and Kathua districts attended the meeting through Virtual Mode along with their Chief Agriculture Officers while ADC Jammu Gansham Singh, Deputy General Manager Food Corporation of India (FCI) Sidhart along with representatives participated in the meeting from here.
Kharif sowing at record high, says Agriculture Ministryedit
Farmers planted Kharif crops on 10 lakh acres more compared to the previous record of 1,085 lakhs hectares and the figure is about 28 lakh hectare more than the normal sowing of 1,067 hectares, Agricultural Secretary Sanjay Aggarwal said on Wednesday.