Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
India’s foodgrain production to rise 2% in 2020-21: Governmentedit
Business Standard – Online
India’s foodgrain production is estimated to rise 2 per cent in 2020-21 crop year to an all-time high of 303.34 million tonnes on better output of rice, wheat, pulses, and coarse cereals amid good monsoon rains last year, the agriculture ministry said.
Crop year runs from July-June.
In the 2019-20 crop year, the country’s foodgrain output (comprising wheat, rice, pulses, and coarse cereals) stood at a record 297.5 million tonnes (MT).Releasing the second advance estimates for 2020-21 crop year, the agriculture ministry said foodgrain production is projected at a record 303.34 MT.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar attributed the rise in production to efforts of the farmers and scientists as well initiatives of the central government
India expected to harvest record Wheat, Rice crops this yearedit
Successful Farming – Online
India is likely to harvest a record 109.24 million tonnes of wheat this year, the farm ministry said, further boosting stocks at government granaries that are fast running out of storage space due to more than a decade of bumper production. Wheat output in India, the world’s second-biggest producer, is expected to go up by 1.3% in the crop year to June 2021, the Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Ministry said in its second crop forecast for 2020/21. Rice output is estimated to rise by 1.2% to 120.32 million tonnes. India is the world’s biggest rice exporter and second-biggest producer.
The Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Ministry forecast this year’s total grains output at a record 303.34 million tonnes ...
No substitute for state funding of agricultureedit
The Tribune – Online
Gurnam Singh, the first non-Congress CM of Punjab, believed that agriculture was viable only with govt support. Industry, on its own, can’t sustain farming. But a prosperous farming community would sustain the industry by giving it a large consumer base. The govt will find that funding agriculture will pay far more social and financial dividends than subsidising bad industrial loans or promoting crony capitalism.
The 122nd birth anniversary of Justice Gurnam Singh, the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Punjab, falls today. He was one of the architects of the agriculture policy that made India surplus in foodgrains. This is relevant today amid the farmers’ agitation against the Central Government for repeal of the three new ...
Explained: How rising fuel prices will hit input costs of farm operationsedit
The Indian Express – Online
Escalating fuel prices are set to burn a hole in the pocket of an already stressed farming community. The Indian Express explains how rising prices of petrol and diesel are set to increase the input cost of the farming sector by 28 percent compared to last year.
How will fuel price rise enhance the input cost in the agriculture sector?
In Punjab, there are around 11 lakh farm households that own 5.20 lakh tractors, nearly 17,000 combine harvesters including nearly 6,000 with an attachment of Straw Management System (SMS), which are used for harvesting around 36-37 million tonnes wheat and paddy in the state annually.
Budget
Rajasthan to introduce a separate agriculture budget from next year: CM Gehlotedit
Live Mint – Online
During the Rajasthan Budget Session 2021-22, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday announced that a separate agriculture budget will be presented from next year.
Announcing the Budget in the Rajasthan Assembly, Gehlot said: “Gandhiji had said that ‘If India wants to peacefully progress, people with money should understand that the soul of India lies inside farmers’.”
“Our government has also remained friendly with farmers and has been introducing measures regarding relief from agricultural debt. On the three controversial central agriculture laws, keeping the interests of the farmers in mind, we have passed three bills in the last Assembly session and forwarded it to the Governor for approval of the President,” he said.
Technology in Agriculture
Integrating Agri With Technologyedit
BusinessWorld – Online
An Agri-preneur with a deep and practical understanding of Indian agriculture and farmer challenges, Amith Agarwal co-founded Agribazaar in December 2016 to transform the agri value chain through technology.
For over 126 million small Indian farm owners, the platform is attempting to enable digital access to a wider marketplace. For buyers, it assures quality while mitigating counterparty risk while enabling secure payments through ‘One Nation, One Market’ philosophy. These, in turn, will lead to empowering small farm owners and enhancing their livelihoods.
Agarwal has played a key role in realising the company’s vision of building an integrated electronic platform (e-mandi) serving all stakeholders’ needs in the farm-to-fork value chain. Under his stewardship, the company has evolved ...
Stubble Burning
How CII Foundation, ONGC Foundation are working with farmers to fight toxic stubble burningedit
YourStory – Online
Every year, farmers across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan set fire to the paddy harvest residue in their fields to prepare the soil for the sowing of the wheat crop. The controversial practice, called ‘stubble burning,’ follows the ‘combine harvesting’ method, where the straws are not cut close enough to the soil. With pressure to sow in time for a full yield, most farmers resort to burning the residue, as they believe it is the quickest way to clear the soil. It is estimated that 47 million tonnes of rice straw are produced every year in these four states. Of this, 80 percent is burnt in the field. However, one of the serious fallouts of ...
Impact of crop residue burning on environment and human healthedit
Rising Kashmir – Online
As Green Revolution was started in India during 1965, enormous increase in agricultural production led India to become self sufficient in food grains. This increased agricultural production is contributing significantly to increase in green house gases (GHG) concentration in the atmosphere due to excessive tillage, use of fertilizer and improper crop residue management practices. The mechanization of Indian agriculture has resulted in development and adoption of combine harvester, which leaves residue of harvested crop in the field. This residue can be managed in three ways; first it can be collected and transported from field to be used as dry fodder for animals. Second, it can be used for producing electricity and third it can be ...