Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Andhra Pradesh: Sale of Agriculture and commercial vehicles spike up in the stateedit
The Hans India – Online
According to statistics, people bought 1,366 tractors in March this year for commercial purposes and another 1,891 tractors for private use. Also bought 430 Trillers in March this year for agricultural purposes and another 960 Trillers for commercial purposes. On the other hand, auto sales have been spiked this time around. In March last year, only 158 autos were sold. In March this year, 1,842 autos were sold. Sales of motorcycles and cars also increased in March this year as compared to March last year. All in all, over 32,814 vehicles were sold in March last year and a total of 84,509 vehicles were sold in March this year.
What a food park in Bihar’s Khagaria can tell us about the future of corporate agriculture in Indiaedit
The Caravan – Online
On 30 November 2018, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, then the union minister of food processing, was set to inaugurate a food park owned by a Delhi-based company Pristine Logistics & Infraprojects Private Limited in Ekania village, in Bihar’s Khagaria district. After a brief inspection of the food park—then just two sheds and a vestigial wall—she left in a huff, refusing to inaugurate a project that was far from complete. “Nobody will be allowed to cheat farmers and youths,” the Hindustan Times quoted her as saying. “Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor any of his ministers will inaugurate any incomplete project.” Three years earlier, at a foundation laying ceremony in Ekania, Badal told the media that the park would be completed in two ...
Futures and Derivatives: Can Farmer Producer Organisations Take Some of the Risk out of Farming?edit
The Wire – Online
One of the more important arguments in favour of free agricultural markets, but one that has not been discussed widely in India, is how farmers will be able to participate in commodity derivative exchanges.
When the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government restored the commodity future exchanges in 2003, it was hoped that farmers will take signals from future prices and take cropping decisions based on such signals. However, the Indian government over the years continued to intervene in the futures market whenever there was excessive volatility. On several occasions, trading was suspended or banned. For example, trading in rice, tur and urad remained suspended for more than a decade. In addition, the margins were increased for potato (100% in August 2014), ...
Winter drought in Himachal impacts agriculture and drinking water supplyedit
Mongabay – Online
Lack of sufficient rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, between January and March, has caused major losses in the crops sown in winter. With weather variations causing overall precipitation deficiency during winter, water sources in villages and small towns in the state have already started drying up and this could lead to drinking water shortage. Snowfall rate has decreased not only in Himachal Pradesh but across the Himalayan region in past several decades. Temperature over the Himalayas warming due to climate change, has led to a significant melting and decline in glacier mass over the Himalayan region in the recent decades, say experts.Pandemic tears through India’s agriculture commodity demand; exports show resilienceedit
S&P Global – Online
India’s agriculture industry is in a wait-and-watch mode amid the worsening pandemic situation, as localized lockdowns have stagnated market demand, while any subsequent stricter restrictions in the coming days are expected to slow down trading activity and disrupt supply operations. Even though agriculture and allied activities are exempted from government restrictions so far, several markets across India remain closed as cases continue to skyrocket. As a result, India’s domestic demand for palm oil, grains, as well as sugar is absent from the markets, sources told S&P Global Platts. India is the world’s largest buyer of palm oil, and a major consumer of grains and sugar.
Meanwhile, agricultural exports for commodities like sugar are steady, which are supporting ...
Technology in Agriculture
Indian state of Maharashtra tenders 1.3 GW solar for agricultureedit
PV Magazine – Online
Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. (MSEDCL) has opened up bidding to develop an aggregate 1.3 GW (AC) of ground-mounted solar capacity across 29 districts in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
The projects are to be set up under the “Mukhyamantri Saur Krishi Vahini Yojana” program, which is designed to give daytime power to agricultural consumers. Foreign companies, registered according to the rules of their countries of origin, will also be allowed to participate in the bidding process.
MSEDCL will enter into 25-year power purchase agreements with the successful developers. The maximum tariff payable to the developers has been fixed at INR 3.05 $0.04) per unit for the entire duration of the PPAs.
Artificial Intelligence & its Role in Agricultureedit
Daily Excelsior – Online The rise of artificial intelligence in the modern times is quite evident with it increasingly replacing many aspects of our day to day lives. In the modern era, countries around the globe are getting increasingly acquainted with the economic benefits of adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) in various sectors including agriculture. Subsequently, over the years, multiple nations have adopted a multitude of activities and various naive approaches aimed at developing AI based ecosystem on the agricultural sector. Furthermore, the resulting augmentation in agriculture facilitated by the use of artificial intelligence has also resulted into significant increase in the per capita income of the rural community. Thus proving that laying greater emphasis on agriculture will be more rationale ...