The Times Of India – Online

Civil supplies minister Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao (Nani) has assured farmers that the government will procure the entire paddy produced in the state from the farms. The minister said that the government will buy paddy by issuing coupons and make payments online. He said other states including Telangana were following the AP model of farm gate procurement. Speaking to the media here on Wednesday, the minister said that they have made arrangements for procurement of about 45 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from farmers for the current season.

Hindustan Times – Online

Farmers in Punjab are staring at a severe shortage of labour for transplantation of paddy amid the Covid-19 lockdown that has forced thousands of migrant workers to return to their native states, particularly Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The same trend was witnessed last year when restrictions were imposed for the first time in the wake of the pandemic. Since the majority of paddy growers opt for transplantation of paddy, the conventional and labour-intensive method of sowing of the crop in Punjab, they need lots of manpower besides water for irrigation. Though local workers are roped in for the task, they alone are not enough to fulfill the required need. Paddy transplantation is expected to begin ...

The Indian Express – Online

Once a part of Malwa’s cotton belt, the farmers in Moga district of Punjab, slowly and steadily weaned away from this cash crop and drifted towards water guzzling paddy over the past two decades. The result was that last year in 2020, miniscule 150 hectares were under cotton cultivation in Moga, of overall 5 lakh hectares on which cotton was sown across the state.

In an effort to revive cotton cultivation in Moga and more so, to reduce pressure on water resources by weaning away farmers from paddy, the Punjab agriculture department has now started a unique project in the district under which farmers are being encouraged to sow cotton using ‘bed plantation technique’ ...

The Times Of India – Online

Locusts are likely to enter the state from Pakistan again soon. According to the bulletin issued by the FAO of UN, there is a possibility of locust attack from Pakistan in May-end or beginning of June. Jaisalmer district collector Ashish Modi has issued orders to eliminate locusts at the start and directed locust control officer, agriculture department officers, revenue department officers and personnel, CAZRI, agriculture science centre scientists to coordinate and maintain continuous communication regarding information related to locusts.

According to the order issued by Modi, locust control unit Jaisalmer has been directed to immediately inform about possible arrival of locust groups and will keep minimum 10 modern sprayers with vehicle, technical staff ...

Krishi Jagran – Online

Indian Agriculture sector has always been sensitive and facing crises at multiple levels, which will exacerbate the food security crisis, the environmental crisis and the farm crisis being faced by all of us. This year again, the prices of tomato and capsicum have crashed drastically at the time of harvest, leading to massive losses for Haryana farmers. A lot of farmers have chosen to destroy the crop in the fields itself, to minimize their losses. As per sources, last week itself, a group of farmers in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district spoiled their harvest of tomatoes and other green vegetables to demonstrate their protest against low prices which are not even covering their total cost of production. ...

The Times Of India – Online

According to the preliminary assessments of the Gujarat government, Tauktae has caused a loss of over Rs 1,085 crore to horticulture and agriculture in the state. The bulk of the damage to agriculture and horticulture has occurred in four districts of Saurashtra — Gir-Somnath, Junagadh, Amreli, and Bhavnagar. However, other districts have also reported significant losses. Government sources said, “A detailed survey of the losses to agriculture and horticulture is ongoing.” “However, estimates as of now suggest that the loss to the horticulture sector is about Rs 710 crore and the loss to the agriculture sector is about Rs 375 crore.”