Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
‘Contract farming will pull farmers out of poverty’edit
The New Indian Express – Online
Asserting that the root cause of farmers’ poverty was the availability of limited markets, Shetkari Sanghatana president Anil Ghanwat, who is on the four-member panel set up by the SC, says the “new agri laws will open new avenues to farmers”.
“Farmers will be able to see their produce in the open market as well as agriculture produce market committees. In Maharashtra, the farmers have been following this practice for the last 10 years. This should be replicated across India. If the produces are purchased at the farmers’ doorsteps, it will help reduce the market management cost that’s generally recovered from the farmers only,” he told this newspaper.
How the small Indian farmer can turn the wheels of sustainable agricultureedit
YourStory – Online
Indian farmers are the key custodians of agriculture and play a crucial role in contributing to the economy. A report by the World Trade Centre highlights that India can be among the top five exporters of agro commodities by shifting focus to cultivation and handholding farmers,. Agriculture is the fuel that powers the engines of economic growth in the country, with 50 percent of the Indian population dependent on it. The sector not only plays a crucial role in improving food and national security, but also creates job and income growth for other sectors.
Budget
Budget 2021-22: Govt should provide additional funds, incentives for agri sector, say expertsedit
Indian Express – Online
The government should provide additional funds as well as incentives in the upcoming Budget to promote indigenous farm research, oilseeds production, food processing and organic farming for the overall growth of the agriculture sector, according to industry experts.
The direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme should be utilised more to support farmers instead of giving subsidies, they added.
“Food processing industry has played an important role in better price realisation for the farmer and reducing the cost of intermediaries. The budget must provide special incentives to food processing through incentives such as interest subvention, lower taxes, access to technology and so on,” DCM Shriram Chairman and Senior MD Ajay Shriram said.
Budget 2021: Govt should provide additional funds, incentives for agri sector, say expertsedit
India TV – Online
The government should provide additional funds as well as incentives in the upcoming Budget to promote indigenous farm research, oilseeds production, food processing and organic farming for the overall growth of the agriculture sector, according to industry experts.
The direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme should be utilised more to support farmers instead of giving subsidies, they added.
“Food processing industry has played an important role in better price realisation for the farmer and reducing the cost of intermediaries. The budget must provide special incentives to food processing through incentives such as interest subvention, lower taxes, access to technology and so on,” DCM Shriram Chairman and Senior MD Ajay Shriram said.
Competition
Mahindra eager to set up farm machinery assembly plantedit
The Daily Star – Online
Indian automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra is keen on establishing an assembly plant in Bangladesh for agricultural machinery.
The Mumbai-based company will also take the initiative to build up skilled manpower capable of using and maintaining modern technology at the marginal level.
It also plans to give loans to farmers taking into consideration financial constraints and the high prices of agricultural machinery.
Technology in Agriculture
Agdhi Introduces Vision Based Intelligence in Agricultureedit
Krishi Jagran – 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 is provided in seconds instead of waiting for 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.
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 through AI (Artificial Intelligence) Vision technology, ...
Govt. Policies
SC has hurt both itself and govt on farm lawsedit
Financial Express – Online
Almost as soon as the Supreme Court’s (SC) hearing on the farm laws began on Tuesday, it was obvious its plan to keep the laws in abeyance—while a court-appointed committee came up with a solution—was going nowhere since the lawyers for the farmers were not even present at the hearing; Dushyant Dave, Colin Gonsalves, HS Phoolka and Prashant Bhushan were the farmers’ lawyers. While Dave later told CNBC-TV18 that he did not go to court since the matter was listed ‘for orders’—that means the bench will pronounce its ruling/decision, not hear more arguments—on Monday, he also added that, in any case, the farmer unions had made it clear on Monday itself that they were not going to participate ...
Tractor industry
Tractor Sales Dec 2020 – Mahindra, Sonalika, TAFE, Escorts, Eicheredit
RushLane – Online
Tractor sales noted a 35.49 percent increase in the past month with market leaders being Mahindra and Swaraj
The tractor sector grew exponentially both in terms of YoY and MoM sales. These increased sales could be attributed to a better monsoon, easy finance schemes and increased MSP and also indicated that the pandemic situation in the country did not have any major impact on the agricultural sector. Sales increased by 35.49 percent in Dec 20 to 69,105 units, up 18,101 units over sales of 51,004 units sold in Dec 19. Total MoM sales also noted a 40.14 percent increase from 49,313 units sold in Nov 20. Mahindra, Swaraj and Sonalika were in top 3 spots, commanding a ...