Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
A foreign touch!edit
The Tribune – Online
Spread over 15 acres, ‘Centre of Excellence for Vegetables’ (an Indo-Israel project) in Kartarpur, Punjab, came into existence on December 24, 2013 and since has been fulfilling its purpose of providing a suitable platform for a rapid transfer of technology to farmers. The project was inaugurated by Punjab’s then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Israel’s ambassador to India Alon Ushpiz aiming at proper implementation and adaptation of Israeli techniques to multiply the production drastically and raise the quality.
The centre has shown a new way to farmers by moving on from using primitive techniques and adopting new agriculture technologies such as protected cultivation, drip irrigation, fertigation, now being implemented by them to increase their yield ...
For timely settlement of insurance claims, DGCA allows agri dept to fly dronesedit
Times of India – Online
To ensure timely settlements of claims under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has approved the proposal of the department of agriculture for flying drones over 100 districts growing rice and wheat, said Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
“To ensure timely settlements of claims under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has approved the proposal of Department of Agriculture for flying the drone over 100 districts growing rice and wheat,” Tomar tweeted.
The Big Tech takeover of agriculture is dangerousedit
Aljazeera – Online
On January 15, Liu Jin, a 45-year-old driver for Alibaba’s food delivery platform in the Chinese city of Taizhou, set himself on fire in protest over unpaid wages. “I want my blood and sweat money back,” Mr Liu said in a video shared widely over social media.
Meanwhile, across the border in India, millions of farmers were refusing to vacate the streets of New Delhi. They had been protesting for months, stubbornly defying the central government’s attempt to impose reforms that would put them at the mercy of giant corporations.
Climate resilient agriculture systems: The way aheadedit
Down To Earth – Online
Climate change can reduce agricultural income by 15-25 per cent; it is high time that rationale of climate-resilient agriculture (CRA) is valued and implemented more rigorously.
Following are crucial to address the climate change and achieve sustainable development goals (SDG) in India:
Adaptation of appropriate mitigation technologies such as the cultivation of tolerant breeds to overcome the climate stress Water and nutrient management for efficient productivity and resource utilisation Agro-advisories for timely crop monitoring Conservation agricultural practices to build soil organic carbon and to build congenial environment for plant growth, manure managementKeeping these challenges in view, ...
Technology in Agriculture
India’s DeHaat Raises $30m in Equity for Agricultural Technology from Prosus Ventures, RTP Global, AgFunder, FMO, Omnivore, Sequoia Indiaedit
Microcapital – Online
DeHaat, an India-based agriculture technology (agritech) company, recently raised USD 30 million in Series C funding. Prosus Ventures, a technology investor based in the Netherlands, led the round, with RTP Global, a Russia-based venture capital firm, also investing in DeHaat for the first time. The following entities increased their stakes in DeHaat : Sequoia India, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) of the Netherlands, India-based Omnivore and US-based AgFunder. While the sizes of the other sub-investments and the shares held by each investor are not available, FMO’s new investment was in the amount of USD 1.8 million
DeHaat was founded in 2012 and offers an app for farmers. The app offers services such as reminders of how much fertilizer ...
Conversations with farmers in Bihar led IIT alum to found agritech startup DeHaatedit
YourStory – Online
The IIT-Delhi alumnus, then working at Beacon Advisory Services, would also interact with clients on the supply chain, retail chain, and FMCG. During this stint, he became interested in the hurdles institutional buyers faced in procuring agricultural produce directly from farmers. “There was clearly a big gap on both sides. It was then that we decided to found DeHaat.” Shashank founded the agritech company in 2012 along with IIT-Kharagpur alumnus Manish Kumar, who is no longer a part of DeHaat. The core founding team includes Amrendra Singh, Shyam Sundar, and Adarsh Srivastav.
Buy Dhanuka Agritech; target of Rs 953: Prabhudas Lilladheredit
Moneycontrol – Online
DAGRI reported better than expected EBITDA growth of 46% to Rs 502 mn (PLe Rs 405 mn) driven by better sales mix and sharp growth in fungicides segment. Q4 is expected to be another good quarter driven by demand, due to deferment of season from Q3 and low base effect due to lockdown in Q4. Its robust pipeline of 10 new products will drive growth for the next 2 years. DAGRI plans to invest Rs 2 bn to set up a technical manufacturing plant at Dahej for backward integration and venturing into exports. The announcement highlights the intent and project specification will be finalised in the next 6 months. The plant is likely to be commercialised after ...
Govt. Policies
‘Opposition, Unions Failed To Point Out One Flaw In Farm Laws’: Agri Min In Parliamentedit
Republic World – Online
Addressing the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar listed out the efforts of the PM Narendra Modi-led government’s efforts to double the income of farmers and emphasized on the benefits of the three farm laws recently introduced. Downplaying the two-month-long agitation by farmers against these laws, the Union Minister remarked that the protests are restricted to only one state and attacked the Congress for instigating farmers. He also claimed that the farm unions – with which the Centre has held 10 rounds of discussions – and the Opposition have ‘failed’ to point out even a ‘single flaw’ in the three agri laws.
Tractor industry
Mahindra’s Q3 net zooms 40% on robust tractor sales, cost controledit
Business Standard – Online
Led by robust volumes of tractors and stringent cost control measures, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) posted a 40 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit to Rs 531 crore for Q3FY21.
The bottom line of the standalone entity (including vehicle-making unit MVML) was pegged back by impairment provisions taken on account of Korean subsidiary SsangYong Motor Co (SYMC). Excluding the exceptional item, net profit was up 78 per cent.
SYMC will come under “discontinued operations” identified for bankruptcy on December 21. M&M will stop reporting financials of the firm from the next quarter.
Up 13% in 5 days! Why these two tractor stocks are in the limelight againedit
Economic Times – Online
ET Intelligence Group: Stocks of leading tractor makers Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Escorts are in the limelight once again following hopes that the tapering pent-up demand would be oset by buoyant replacement and rising demand from the construction sector. These stocks have gained 13% in the past ve trading sessions. Given their lower valuation relative to the benchmark indices, the momentum in the stocks is likely to continue. Analysts expect tractor volume to remain either at or grow marginally in FY22 as the pent-up demand subsides gradually. However, the forecast is likely to be revised upwards given the gradual pick up in the replacement demand amid Rabi sowing season and improving construction activities that augurs ...