Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Bumper harvest: Punjab’s per hectare paddy yield up 850 kgedit
The Indian Express – Online
With 90 per cent of paddy harvesting in Punjab over, the state is now looking at a massive increase in its per hectare yield compared to last year. According to available data, Punjab’s per hectare yield this year is already 856 kg more compared to last year. The average yield has been calculated based on crop cutting experiments (CCEs) being conducted by the Punjab Agriculture Department across the state’s 22 districts. So far 73 per cent CCEs have been completed, and experts said that there may be a minor shift in per hectare yield once 100 per cent CCE results are in.
How is the yield calculated
These experiments (CCEs) are conducted in the field ...
Farmers to the rescue: India pins hope of economic revival on rural sectoredit
Business Standard – Online
India’s economy left cratered by the pandemic is drawing energy from one of its invisible and often-neglected engines: farmers.
Business leaders, policy makers and politicians alike are pinning hopes on the rural sector as bountiful rains have set the stage for another year of record crops. Higher disposable incomes with farmers are expected to boost demand from automobile to cement to gold jewelry.
That contrasts with the urban areas, where companies are still struggling to boost their sales following the pandemic that has hit business activities, hurt demand and caused labor shortage. The adverse impact of the world’s strictest lockdown in March continues to haunt, but the hinterland is holding out hope.Explained: In a mirror of economy, agricultural exports grow amid overall declineedit
The Indian Express – Online
India’s agricultural exports are up 4.6% year-on-year in dollar terms during April-September. This comes even as the country’s overall merchandise exports for the same period have registered a 21.2% annual decline. It also mirrors a larger trend — of the farm sector doing reasonably well amid an economy that, according to the Reserve Bank of India, is likely to contract by 9.5% in 2020-21 (April-March).
Commodity-wise foreign trade data from the department of commerce shows exports of farm goods from India during April-September at $18.12 billion, 4.6% higher than the $17.32 billion for the first half of 2019-20.
Dairy Farming
Andhra govt ties up with Amul to boost dairy farmingedit
The Indian Express – Online
To encourage women dairy farmers and to boost dairy farming in the state, the Andhra Pradesh Government has tied up with Gujarat-based Amul to procure milk from the state’s dairy farmers.
Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development S Appalaraju said that milk procurement under the AP-Amul project will start from November 20 in Prakasam, Chittoor, and Kadapa districts.
“Andhra Pradesh has signed an MoU with Amul to encourage milk cooperative societies, especially those run by women, and further develop the dairy sector in the State. The MoU aims at boosting confidence among dairy farmers and empowering them economically and socially,” Appalaraju said.
Stubble Burning
‘Don’t burn stubble. Sell it. Green firms have a sweet deal for farmers, and a fix for Delhi’s airedit
Economic Times – Online
The skies of Bara village in Haryana’s Ambala district always wear a glum look around this time of year. One cannot miss the thick black smoke, coming out of the paddy fields, and the lung-choking smell, even from highway approaching the village. But this year the frame appears a bit different. The sky has a blue tinge. For, the Bara farmers have found buyers for their paddy straw. They are not burning them anymore.
‘Severe’ air: SAFAR says improvement unlikely until stubble burning stopsedit
Millennium Post – Online
new delhi: The national Capital’s air quality was recorded in the ‘severe’ category on Sunday as stubble fires continued to be reported in Punjab and nearby regions. According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) mobile app SAMEER, Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 426 which falls in the ‘severe’ category. The Ministry of Earth Sciences’ air quality monitor System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said the situation was unlikely to improve unless a drastic reduction takes place in stubble fire counts. “Surface winds have become calm, which were moderate so far, and are forecasted to stay low in magnitude for the next two days. This is the major ...
Delhi, are you choking? It could be because of Punjab. Here is whyedit
OpIndia – Online
Punjab has recorded 6,318 new incidents of stubble burning on Saturday alone. The highest number of 952 incidents was recorded in the Sangrur district. The state had recorded 37,777 incidents in 2017, 33,687 in 2018 and 45,114 in 2019. As per data released by Ludhiana based Remote Sensing Centre, this year, the state has already recorded 59,228 cases irrespective of the ban on stubble burning and steps taken by central and state governments.
Farmers claim ‘it is inexpensive to burn stubble’Despite efforts to raise awareness about the environmental impacts, farmers are claiming that hiring or purchasing machines like combine harvest, super seeders, and super straw management systems to manage crops is a costly deal for them. Burning ...