Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
‘We are not going anywhere’: Farmers observe ‘black day’ to mark 6 months of protests against farm lawsedit
India Today – Online
Farmers took out protest marches and raised anti-government slogans in Delhi, Punjab on Wednesday as the protesters observed ‘black day’ to mark the completion of six months of agitation against the three Central agri laws. Joining the call given by farmers’ unions against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws, farmers at several places in Punjab put up black flags atop their houses on Wednesday. Farmers on Wednesday put up black flags and burnt effigies of government leaders at Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri in New Delhi to register their protest against the three laws as well as the Centre.
Govt to buy paddy with 17% moistureedit
The Times Of India – Online
Civil supplies corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas has said that the state government would purchase rain soaked paddy with a maximum of 17% moisture, as per central government guidelines. Of the total 80 lakh metric tonnes of paddy targeted to be procured, 60.50 lakh metric tonnes vealready been procured at a cost of Rs 11,414 crore.
The pluses and the potential pain points for farmers in the upcoming seasonedit
Business Standard – Online
Data suggests the following four worrying factors:
Productivity growth of Indian agriculture is tapering. After a phenomenal growth in 2020, tractor sales are getting on to the slow track. Share of rural Covid-19 cases is rising late into the second wave. Government schemes may be reaching smaller share of beneficiaries due to lockdowns and restrictions. But at the same time, the government seems to be acting with a sense of urgency, as the following four developments suggest:
Close to 100 million farmers are set to receive their cash support for the April-July period in May/June itself. A higher share of insured farmers are benefitting from the national insurance scheme. Fertiliser subsidy has been hiked 140% ...
How Covid-19 has Changed the Rules of the Game for Agri- Sectoredit
BW Disrupt – Online
The Covid-19 pandemic, right at its onset disrupted supply chains across agriculture and its allied sectors. A similar situation grips India as the country battles with the second wave of the deadly virus. How has the impact been on the agri sector this time around? The nation-wide lockdown last year took a heavy toll on all its financial resources, causing enormous losses to the agriculture sector, an integral part of the Indian economy that reached a valuation of INR 56,564 Billion in 2019.
Undeniably, the impact on horticulture was the highest during the nationwide lockdown as wholesale prices of the produce collapsed in April despite witnessing a sharp reduction in their mandi arrivals. However, disruptions ...
Government Releases Third Advance Estimates of Major Agricultural Crops for 2020-21edit
Krishi Jagran – Online
The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare has released the Third Advance Estimates of production of major agricultural crops for 2020-21. The total foodgrain production is estimated at 305.44 million tonnes. Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture Minister said, “This positive situation is the result of tireless efforts of our farmer brothers & sisters, contributions of agricultural scientists, policies of the Government of India & better cooperation and coordination from State Governments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus is on the development of the agricultural sector.”
India’s agricultural output increases by 2.6% in crop year 2020-21edit
CNBC TV18 – Online
India’s foodgrain production is projected to rise 2.66 percent and touch a record 305.43 million tonne in the current crop year 2020-21, the union ministry of agriculture announced on May 25. This rise is due to the increased output of rice, wheat, and pulses. The monsoon rains have also been bountiful last year. In the crop year 2019-20, the output of food grains stood at 297.5 million tonnes. Compilation of data shared by various states to the ministry of agriculture reveals that under the food grain category-rice production is 121.46 million tonnes in the 2020-21 crop year as against 118.87 million tonnes in the previous year.
CSR and COVID Initiatives
Adilabad NGO does its bit to battle Covidedit
Telengana Today – Online
Deshpande Foundation, an Adilabad-based voluntary organisation, which works for sustainable agriculture, donated two oxygen concentrators for Covid-19 patients. Shodhan Muneshwar, manager of the foundation, handed over the devices to DMHO Dr Narender Rathod in Adilabad on Wednesday.
Dr Narender said the services of the foundation were laudable and the gesture would bring respite to the needy patients of the disease. He sought other voluntary organisations to do their bit for helping the infected. He said that efforts were being made to provide better medical services to those who contracted the virus.
Technology in Agriculture
Geographic Information Systems: Applying GIS to fight the pandemic betteredit
Financial Express – Online
One of the underlying technologies in several of the daily digital services people use today is geographic information systems (GIS). More recently, it has been helping governments tackle Covid-19 for over a year. “Epidemic/disease outbreak management has been an important application of GIS,” says Kumar. Even during normal times, it is part of people’s lives in the form of maps, telecom services, utilities such as electricity, water, in healthcare, weather applications and agriculture.”
Availability of clean and meaningful data is also a challenge in a country like India where billions of data is created and shared across every day. “Agriculture and healthcare are two important sectors where data needs extra care,” says Kumar. This becomes ...
Govt. Policies
Gujarat government declares Rs 500-crore relief package for farmers affected by cycloneedit
The Indian Express – Online
The Gujarat government on Wednesday declared a relief package of Rs 500 crore for farmers who sustained damage to their agriculture and horticulture crops in the extremely severe cyclone Tauktae that hit the state on May 17, causing widespread damage in Saurashtra region and parts of South Gujarat. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced the package after holding a meeting of the core committee attended by senior ministers and officials of the state government.
Quoting CM Rupani, an official release made the announcement late Wednesday evening while stating that the larger impact of the cyclone was seen in the districts of Gir-Somnath, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar and Botad of Saurashtra region and Navsari, Surat, Valsad, and ...
Farmers to Centre: DAP Subsidy Is Not Enough, Address High Input Cost and Repeal Farm Lawsedit
The Wire – Online
A week ago, when the Central government announced 140% subsidy on diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were quick to hail it as a historic decision aimed at improving farmers’ lives. Farmers will continue to get DAP at the previous price of Rs 1,200 as compared to the whopping increase of Rs 1,900 per bag. But farmers aren’t buying the BJP’s line – they say that farming is not just confined to subsidies on DAP; the major concern is still the high input cost of farming.
After a bumper wheat crop, farmers in Punjab were getting ready for the paddy season beginning mid-June. Apart from the existing high input costs of agriculture, ...
Stubble Burning
Ministry of Power to Set Up National Mission on Biomass Use in Coal-Fired Thermal Plantsedit
Mercom – Online
The Ministry of Power (MoP) has decided to set up a national mission on the use of biomass in coal-powered thermal power plants. The main purpose of the mission is to address rampant air pollution caused by the burning of farm stubble and reduce the carbon footprint in thermal power generation. The proposed national mission on biomass will also contribute to the National Clean Air Program.
The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission while determining the levelized tariffs for biomass power projects last year addressed the serious environmental issues arising from the burning of paddy stubble in the state and the National Capital Region. The Commission said that such power projects using paddy straw as a fuel could ...