Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Agriculture in a state of churn as farmers resist market-oriented changesedit
The Federal – Online
The farmers, mostly from Punjab, who have been protesting at the borders of Delhi for more than a month against the new farm laws, which intend to make agriculture more market oriented, seem to be resisting change.
On the other hand, agriculture is also being animated by feverish innovation. Digital start-ups are connecting smallholder farmers with large buyers, automating farm operations, helping monitor fish ponds, taking the drudgery out of dairying, curing deficient soils, minimising post-harvest losses, matching finicky consumers with farms associated with ethical practices or those that avoid chemicals, insuring farmers against weather risks, incentivising trust among trading parties on remote trading platforms and enabling smallholders to obtain institutional finance by building their credit ...
Doubling farmers’ income: Increasing agricultural exports is keyedit
Financial Express – Online
Achievement of the $5-trillion economy goal by India could be pushed by a couple of years from the original deadline of 2024-25, due to the pandemic-induced recession during 2020-21. Only a V-shaped recovery during 2021-22, and a sustainable growth of 9% per annum over the next five years, can turbocharge the economy to touch the $5-trillion mark. The agricultural sector, which contributes 14.6% to the economy, needs to support this objective by focusing on private investment and exports, while targeting an annual agri-GVA growth of 5%. A focus on reforms in agri-marketing and agri-exports, along with the promotion of high-tech, digital and precision agriculture, is an appropriate recipe for transforming the agricultural sector, while doubling farmers’ ...
Agriculture In India Is At The Cusp Of A Transformationedit
Businessworld – Online
The agriculture sector is critical for the Indian economy contributing to ~15 per cent of the country’s GDP and employing half of the country’s working population. Despite the fall in GDP in the April to June quarter owing to Covid-19, the agriculture sector managed to clock up a growth of 3.4 per cent over the same period, as production continued with far less disruption than in many other sectors. Even export of essential agri-commodities for the cumulative period of April-September 2020 has seen a marked increase compared to the same period last year . However, the sector continues to have significant challenges which have adversely affected the farm sector and farmer incomes.
While a set of challenges ...
CLAAS Global Mentions
Agri-machinery pioneer Helmut Claas passes onedit
ME Construction News – Online
The long-time managing director of the Claas Group, Helmut Claas, has passed away at the age of 94, the machinery company said in a statement.
Claas, the son of the business’ founder August Class, joined the family firm in 1958 and was made managing director in 1962. In 1996, as part of the restructuring of the firm into a joint-stock company, he changed from the role of managing director to the position of chairperson of both the supervisory board and the shareholders’ committee.
On his passing, tributes to Claas were led by JCB chairman Lord Bamford, who hailed him as one of the world’s best-known pioneers of agricultural machinery.
Technology in Agriculture
Agri-tech firm raises Rs 90 cr in debtedit
DT Next – Online
Chennai-based Samunnati said it has raised Euro 10 million from FMO Entrepreneurial Bank as well as Triodos Fair Share Fund and Triodos Microfinance Funds, the two financial inclusion funds managed by Triodos Investment Management (Triodos IM). It said, FMO and Triodos IM have committed Euro 5 mn each in debt to Samunnati Financial Intermediation & Services Pvt Ltd, a NBFC in India, to help the company expand financing and technical assistance to low-income farmers and enterprises throughout the agricultural value chain.Agdhi to use machine learning and computer vision in agricultureedit
Dataquest – Online
Agdhi, an agritech startup based in Bengaluru has introduced vision enabled AI-based technology in agriculture. It has launched machine learning and computer vision techniques in detecting the defects in the seeds and crops thus enabling the farming community to get quality seeds and crops. These quality results are provided in seconds instead of waiting for a long time using traditional methods. This will bring technology disruption in seed testing, seed sampling and crop yield which is the need of the hour, said a statement from the company.
The traditional method of detecting seed defects typically relies on manual inspection, which is resource hectic and subjective. Therefore, an objective and automated seed screening method was required. Thus, Agdhi ...
Govt. Policies
Breaking the deadlock on agriculture reformsedit
The Times of India – Online
With the Supreme Court deciding to set up a committee to suggest the way forward in dealing with the farm laws, it is now expected that an amicable solution will emerge quickly based on the report of the panel.
As the farmers’ agitation is escalating with each passing day, the budget session of Parliament expected to begin on Januray 29, is set to be stormy. What the government needs badly is an escape route to end the deadlock on the farm laws, which keeps these laws alive and provides a window for implementation. Creation of an Agriculture Council on the lines of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) council could be an intelligent move ...
Stubble Burning
SC seeks concrete measures from Centre on stubble burningedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the recently-constituted Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi and Adjoining areas to submit an action plan to curb stubble burning this year.
Finding the problem to repeat itself every year with no solution still in sight, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, “You come back with concrete measures being taken about stubble burning.”
The Court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by two young environmental activists led by Aditya Dubey. The PIL alleged that the spike in pollution caused due to stubble burning could increase health risks caused by Covid-19 leading ...