Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Govt allows ICRISAT to use drones for agricultural researchedit
Deviscourse – Online
The government has allowed Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute (ICRISAT) to use drones for agricultural research activities, an official release said on Monday. Granting the institute a “conditional” exemption from some of the rules applicable for deployment of drones, the Civil Aviation Ministry said the institute can gather data for agricultural research activities within the ICRISAT research field using remotely piloted aircraft systems or drones.
The exemption is valid for six months from the date of issuance of permission or until the full operationalization of Digital Sky Platform (Phase-1), whichever is earlier, the release said, adding that the exemption will be valid only if all conditions and limitations are strictly adhered to. “Drones are poised to ...
Technology in Agriculture
Can This Agritech Startup’s Cross-Border Blockchain Marketplace Fix India’s Farm Income Drought?edit
Inc24 – Online
The irony of blockchain is that it is being touted as the saviour of business in sectors which have the least tech penetration — as a result, much of blockchain’s potential stays just that. With very little effort to understand how tech-shy sectors can leverage high-tech standards such as blockchain, the technology has remained unexplored in any meaningful way.
But Nagpur-based agritech startup is looking to break that cycle with a cross-border blockchain-powered agri-procurement marketplace. Founded in 2016, by Sachin Suri and Girish Sawhney, with Dilip Gupta and Ramakant Jha joining as cofounders in 2017, the startup has pivoted from a risk management and agri-advisory platform to a blockchain-powered marketplace for farmers and buyers called Agriota, besides ...
Stubble Burning
Punjab records 73,883 incidents of stubble burning – highest in 4 years – amid farm laws protestsedit
Scroll.in – Online
Punjab has recorded around 74,000 incidents of stubble burning this season, the maximum in four years, data released by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre showed. Experts believe this is a direct fallout of the government’s three new agricultural laws that have been at the center of protests in the state for months, reported PTI.
The state recorded 73,883 incidents of burning of stubble between September 21 and November 14, which is the highest since 2016. Punjab had reported 51,048 agricultural fires in the corresponding period last year, and 46,559 such incidents in 2018. The number of farm fires was 43,149 in the state during the same period in 2017.
Haryana logs 46% rise in farm fires this yearedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Notwithstanding the Haryana government’s claims of zero farm fires this year, the state has reported 46% rise in such incidents than the last year, forcing the authorities to ban the sale and use of fire crackers in 21 districts of the state during festivals.
As per the data released by the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC), the state has this year logged 8,831 active fire locations (AFLs) so far against the last year’s total 6,630 (from September 25 to November 30).
The number may go up further as the stubble burning is still going on with around 200 AFLs being reported in the state in the last 24 hours.
NTPC to procure 5 mt agro-based pellets this yearedit
The Hindu Business Line – Online
In a bid to aid the efforts of the Centre and State governments in containing air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) due to stubble burning, NTPC Limited had started procuring biomass pellets made from farm stubble.
The aim was to provide farmers an incentive for not burning the farm residue.
A Power Ministry statement said that NTPC had envisaged consumption of five million tonnes of pellets in the current year at its 17 power plants including NTPC Korba (Chhattisgarh), NTPC Farakka (West Bengal), NTPC Dadri (Uttar Pradesh), NTPC Kudgi (Karnataka), NTPC Sipat (Chhattisgarh), and NTPC Rihand (Uttar Pradesh).
But sector watchers say there is scope for much improvement to meet the desired ...
Tractor industry
As demand outpaces supply, Oct tractor sales up 9 per cent over last yearedit
Business Standard – Online
Tractor sales, including exports, rose by around nine per cent in October 2020 to 1,23,883 units from 1,13,638 units, a year ago. Though growth has come down year on year, in absolute terms it increased.
Companies say demand has outpaced supply in October and festival season footfall has been good. Analysts at Crisil expect domestic tractor sales to notch up 10-12% growth this fiscal, compared with a de-growth of 1% estimated earlier, as a raft of tailwinds lifts farm incomes despite the Covid-19 pandemic.