Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Rural unemployment doubles to 14% in 1 weekedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Rural unemployment shot up to 14.34% in the week ended May 16 from 7.29% in the week ended May 9, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed. Rural unemployment has nearly doubled in a week as lockdowns and surging Covid infections in villages brought economic activity to a halt. A lull in farming is adding to joblessness. Economists said the high infection rate and lack of employment opportunities in urban clusters due to lockdowns forced people to leave for their villages. But in rural pockets, there aren’t enough income opportunities.
TAFE donates Rs 1 crore to TN govt for procurement of oxygen cylindersedit
The New Indian Express – Online
Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE) on Tuesday said it has donated Rs 1 crore to the Tamil Nadu government for procurement of oxygen cylinders as part of efforts to aid COVID-19 relief measures in the state. The company has also offered 500 oxygen concentrators to the state government, it said in a statement.
Senior officials called on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday and handed over a cheque for Rs 1 crore for the procurement of oxygen cylinders, it added.The distribution and installation of the oxygen concentrators in small hospitals and primary healthcare centres of Ranipet, Trichy, Madurai, Kanyakumari and Virudhunagar have been commenced by the Tamil Nadu government, ...
Govt procures 30% more wheat from farmers than last yearedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The government has procured 36.6 million tonne of wheat so far in the current season, which is nearly 30% more than the quantity bought from farmers during the corresponding period last year, food ministry data shows. This trend suggests that foodgrain stocks are poised to be more than what is required for subsidised distribution among the poor through the public distribution system or PDS. The government’s procurement operations have covered nearly 3.7 million farmers, who have been paid a total minimum support price (MSP) of ₹72,406 crore, the government figures show. Procurement operations refer to the state-run food agencies’ buying of farm produce at federally fixed floor prices.
Alarming Food Insecurity: Climate change may wipe out a third of Global food productionedit
The Indian Wire – Online
According to a new research, one-third of global food production in under critical risk by the century end, if greenhouse gas emissions continue to register unbated growth at this current rate.
This will happen as many food bowls of the world will see temperature and precipitation variations, making it difficult for vegetation to survive if temperatures rise by about 3.7C.
Researchers from Aalto University in Finland involved with the study, have concluded that about 95% of current crop production takes place in areas categorized as “safe climatic space”, or conditions where temperature, rainfall and aridity fall within certain limits.
Technology in Agriculture
Just 2% farmers use mobile app in field; little IoT post-harvest: Nasscomedit
Business Standard – Online
As India looks to scale up use of technology in agriculture, a recent study has found that with just 2 per cent of the cultivators in India using mobile applications for farm-related activities and real-time alerts, adoption of tech solutions such as Internet of Things (IoT) remains at a nascent stage.
It also found almost 90 per cent of the existing start-ups and tech-based companies have solutions that are focused only on pre-harvest operations and not on post-harvest which has a higher investment potential due to the presence of big companies.
Govt. Policies
Farmer groups demand rollback of DAP price riseedit
Financial Express – Online
“We demand the government to withdraw the increased rate immediately. The rising prices of DAP and diesel are primarily a sign of dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system. The input cost in agriculture is increasing and the farmer is not getting the fair price of the crop,” Samyukt Kisan Morcha (United Farmers’ Front) said in a statement. Farmers unions, protesting against the three farm laws, on Tuesday demanded immediate roll-back of increase in prices of diammonium phosphate (DAP), a decontrolled fertiliser, saying costs of agricultural inputs have already gone up with high prices of diesel.
Niranjan Reddy asks farmers to avoid excess use of chemicals, fertilizersedit
Telengana Today – Online
Agriculture Minister S Niranajan Reddy suggested that the farmers should increase usage of organic manure and compost to increase the fertility of their farm lands. Niranjan Reddy explained that the State government allocated a total of Rs 22,000 crore directly for the agriculture sector, including Rs 14,800 crore for Rythu Bandhu, Rs 1,200 crore for Rythu Bima, Rs 5,225 crore for crop loan waiver, Rs 1,500 crore for farm mechanisation and seed subsidy. “If construction of irrigation projects and free power supply are also taken into consideration, about Rs 60,000 crore are being spent only on agriculture sector this year. Considering the priority being given to the agriculture sector, Telangana climbed to the top position ...
Stubble Burning
Clouds of worry: Farm fire count doubles from last summeredit
The Times Of India – Online
With the rabi crop harvest season going on in the northern plains, the intensity of stubble burning has increased significantly over the last few weeks. The VIIRS satellite data (375m) analysed by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) has recorded over 4,000 more farm fires in Punjab between April 1 and May 16 this year as compared to the same period last year. The figure is also higher than that of 2019. Similarly, fire counts in Haryana are almost double than what were recorded during the same period last year, the data shows.
Tractor industry
Tractor sales might grow by just 3-5% in FY22 as covid impacts rural Indiaedit
Mint – Online
Sales of tractors in the domestic market could grow by just 3-5% in the current fiscal due to the intense spread of covid-19 infections in rural areas and high base of FY21. Sustained increase in prices of steel and other commodities could also lead to contraction in the operating margins of the tractor manufacturers, according to ratings agency Crisil.
“The operating margin of tractor makers will shrink on average by 200 basis points (bps) due to the firming of steel prices, which is the primary raw material and accounts for bulk of the cost. However, operating margins will still remain healthy. The credit profiles of tractor makers will continue to remain stable, supported by strong and ...