Daily Excelsior – Online

Subrata Majumder I ndia underwent two phases of agriculture reforms since independence. In 1960’s, it launched Green Revolution to increase productivity of agriculture produces. In the second phase, it introduced three Farm Bills in September 2020 to dismantle the restrictive agriculture marketing. The main aim is to protect the poor and small landholding farmers through corporatization from licensed agents. Eventually, the second phase of reforms triggered farmers’ agitation, alleging that dismantling of APMC and reducing the scope of MSP purchases warrant bad days for poor farmers.

Irony of the protests is that the farmers’ agitation was led primarily by rich farmers in Punjab. Agitations against new Farm Bills, which sparked nationwide initially, are continuing. It is ...

The Wire – Online

India takes pride in producing surplus food-grains, oilseeds, spices, milk, fruits and vegetables.

Many a time, due to a large supply of agricultural produce, market prices crash, leaving the farmers out in the cold. Low bargaining power, lack of storage infrastructure and inadequate cold storage facilities in the designated APMC mandis or nearby make it challenging for the farmers to receive a fair return for their produce.

There appears to be structural imbalances on the supply side, which have to be addressed keeping in view the demand side of the food system. The food habits of people, especially in urban areas, have been changing fast towards more diversified and processed foods due to rising income levels, ...

Qrius – Online

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, women produce approximately 60-70 percent of the food in most developing countries and are responsible for almost 50 percent of all global food production. In India, 48 percent of all self-employed farmers are women. In Sri Lanka and Bhutan respectively, 41.5 percent and 62 percent of women work in agriculture. And in Sub-Saharan Africa, 50 percent of the total agricultural workforce is made up of women farmers.

Despite these figures, the work of women in agriculture is often unaccounted for, rendered marginal, or invisibilised. In addition, women farmers are paid significantly lower than their male counterparts—estimates suggest that, as of 2016–2017, there was close to a 22 percent wage difference. Furthermore, the role of women farmers is often limited to less ...

Businesswire – Online

Infineon Technologies, a world leader in semiconductors, today announced the commencement of its ‘Infineon Solar Pump Motor Drive Challenge 2021′ initiative to encourage affordable and reliable solar powered irrigation systems for farmers – design and manufactured locally. Organized in collaboration with Startup India, AGNIi – housed under Invest India; and in partnership with Avnet India, the program invites the industry, SMEs and Startups to participate and compete for the best design in motor drive solution for solar pumps.

India is an agrarian country with almost 16 percent contributed to its GDP via agriculture, and more than 41 percent of the country’s workforce employed in this sector. A great boon for the environment, enablement of solar pumps across ...