Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
New farm laws are meant to usher in modern practices in agricultureedit
Indian Express – Online
The latest round of talks between the government and farmers’ representatives has once again concluded without an agreement. The good news is that the two sides have agreed to meet again on January 15. Let’s hope the farmers from the country’s northern states show flexibility in understanding why the government has undertaken to reform the agriculture sector.
Time is non-partisan and it judges us ruthlessly. If we do not embark on reforms in agriculture and allied sectors now, we will have failed the future generations. They will not forgive us when they look back at today’s stubborn but misguided opposition to the new farm laws.
An Expert Explains: Farm protests, big pictureedit
Indian Express – Online
The farmers’ agitation on Delhi’s border is now 45 days old, and the government appears to have made up its mind that it will neither put on hold nor repeal the three laws hurried passed by Parliament in September 2020.
Government ministers have been explaining the beneficial provisions of the laws, and social media is full of stories about how farmers in Punjab have been “exploiting” the system of procurement of crops at minimum support price (MSP). While Punjab and Haryana have become the focus of the farmers’ agitation, the current scenario in agriculture is not very hopeful in other states too. Some important issues are discussed below.
Deal activity in agritech space takes a hit amid covidedit
LiveMint – Online
Deal activity in agritech startups was impacted last year due to widespread disruptions from the pandemic and the strict lockdown. These startups garnered $152 million through 30 deals in 2020, declining from $232 million through 32 deals in 2019, shows data from Venture Intelligence. The figure, however, marked a sharp rise from $69 million in 2018 and $43 million in 2017 through 17 deals each, underscoring continued strong investor interest in the sector.
“This (2020 performance) is a significant number and shows there is positive sentiment. We should not forget we had a pandemic in the middle of all this,” said Siddharth Pai, founder and managing partner, Siana Capital Management.
Role of agriculture: Why this economic slump is different from past onesedit
The Indian Express – Online
The 7.2% fall in gross value added (GVA) for 2020-21, as per the National Statistical Office’s first advance estimates released on Thursday, would be the sharpest ever recorded in India.
Earlier slumps
There have been four earlier occasions when the country’s GVA — which is GDP net of all taxes and subsidies on products and, hence, a more accurate measure of economic activity — has suffered contraction.
The extent of negative growth in those years — 1979-80 (minus 5.2%), 1972-73 (minus 0.3%), 1965-66 (minus 3.7%) and 1957-58 (min
CLAAS Global Mentions
Sad passing of ‘claasy’ icon of global farm machinery industryedit
North Queensland register – Online
Helmut Claas, a towering figure in the global farm machinery industry, has died, aged 94.
He was the long-time managing director of Claas which started in 1913 as a small family-owned farm machinery manufacturing business in rural Germany.
The company is still family-owned but is now a global powerhouse in the farm machinery sector.Helmut Claas was born in 1926 in Harsewinkel, Germany, where his parents, August and Paula Claas, were involved in the family’s small agricultural machinery firm.
Technology in Agriculture
IoT-enabled devices are proving handy in cutting water wastage on farmsedit
Business Standard – Online
For most urban households, the need to conserve water when supply is scanty is a no-brainer. However, overwatering of fields is common in the agriculture sector, because Indian farmers often do not know the exact water requirement of their crops at different stages.
Enter Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled, sensor-based technologies, which are proving handy in cutting such water wastage. Fasal, an agritech start-up, captures real-time data on conditions in farms through IoT devices that deliver farm-specific, crop-specific and crop-stage-specific actionable recommendations to farmers …
Govt. Policies
Supreme Court has no role in resolving ‘political deadlock’ over agriculture laws: Farm unionedit
The Times of India – Online
The government should resolve the “political deadlock” over new farm laws without the involvement of the Supreme Court, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) said on Sunday and warned that the protesting farmers “will soon close down all borders” of Delhi if their demand for repeal of the legislations is not met.
A day before the apex court hears a clutch of pleas challenging the new farm laws as well as the ones raising issues related to the ongoing agitation, the outfit said the Supreme Court “does not and cannot have any role in resolving a political deadlock” over the legislations enacted by the government “under pressure from corporates”. It said there ...