Down To Earth – Online

Spiralling prices of petroleum products has ushered in tough times for the farmers of Bihar: The cultivation process has turned costlier by almost 40 per cent. The rise in petroleum prices has not only turned ploughing more expensive, but also increased the prices of seeds, fertilizers and insecticides because of a hike in transportation cost. Petrol prices soared past Rs 100 a litre in all 38 districts of Bihar this farming season. Farmers are heavily dependent on petroleum products for farming. Electricity is not available in all fields. This may threaten agricultural practices in Bihar, where 76 per cent population is engaged in agriculture works for livelihood.

Telengana Today – Online

The Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation set an all time record procuring around 92 lakh tonne of paddy during Yasangi 2020-21 which is about 28 lakh tonne more than last year. The paddy procurement by the Corporation came to a close on Tuesday, with the State registering a whopping 594 per cent increase in paddy purchases during Yasangi alone over the 2014-15 season. Paddy cultivation and subsequently paddy production had increased multi-fold in the State over the last seven years following the pro-farmers initiatives of the State government.

Free Press Journal – Online

There is a wealth of information carefully curated by various departments of the government, which can be very relevant to the farmers but on different platforms and not in a manner comprehensible to them. A component of KisanMitr, a national digital platform that caters to farmers, focuses on filling this gap by combining data from various government ministries/departments like Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC), and others and making it available to the farmers through the Atmanirbhar Krishi app.

The Indian Express – Online

With the open market price for paddy witnessing a drop due to the Covid-19 lockdown, farmers across the delta region are showing interest towards direct purchase centres (DPC) this season. Open for the first time this year on request, the summer season DPCs across Tiruchy district have already procured more than 6,300 metric tonnes of the crop. Considered one of the most prosperous seasons in decades, nearly 2,500 hectares have been utilised for cultivating Navarai paddy (summer crop) in Tiruchy. The off-seasonal rainfall and prominent availability of water in irrigation tanks have aided farmers to successfully bring the crop till harvest stage.

Hindustan Times – Online

The sowing of the kharif crop in Maharashtra is currently at 16.2%, lower than the figures of June 28, 2020, which was at 41.98%. In Maharashtra, the total area for sowing kharif seeds is 14.118 million hectares. As of date, sowing has been completed across 2.275 million hectares. The State agriculture department claims that Maharashtra has received, in the first 21 days of June, 145.3mm rainfall. This is lower than the rainfall received over the same duration last year (175.70 mm).

BW BusinessWorld – Online

Agriculture in India has traditionally been the playground of politics. What was required– a few clean policies that empower Indian farmers, open the scope and take the fruits of Indian farmer to the global market. Instead, it became the de-facto sector for MSP- subsidy-only-policy that harmed the sector. And the alarming fact that India’s wastage of major agricultural produce was about INR 92,651 crore in 2016, called for reforms and measures. What is then three Bills offer? A reform, finally, is opposed by a section of farmers in India. Where is agri-technology and last-mile chain of cold storage? BW Businessworld’s Manish Kumar Jha raises such issues with Y. K Alagh, a former union minster who ...

The Times Of India – Online

The Centre will revive the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC) to help farmers in eight northeastern states get remunerative prices of agriculture-horticulture produce, promote climate-resilient and sustainable farming across India, and provide Rs 14,775 crore for additional fertilizer subsidy as part of the stimulus package this financial year. Though the announcement on additional fertilizer subsidy was made on June 16, the Centre on Monday included it as part of the 17 key measures to give a boost to the pandemic-hit economy and support different sections of society.

Financial Express – Online

Sowing of summer crops in the first three weeks of the season has remained below last year’s levels in most parts of the country, according to data gathered by FE from a few states, but these are still very early days to conclude that kharif area will be lower this time around. While the southwest monsoon covered most of the country earlier than the normal schedule, causing sufficient precipitation to create a ground conducive for sowing, a stalling of the phenomenon on June 19 caused some problems for farmers in many areas.

The Indian Express – Online

The relatively low domestic inflation in food items other than edible oils and pulses is attributable to two main factors. The first is, of course, the munificent monsoons that have ensured no supply-side shortages in most crops that are predominantly produced within the country. The second factor has to do with the collapse of demand from successive Covid-triggered lockdowns. With hotels, eateries, sweetmeat shops, hostels and canteens shut or operating at low capacity, besides no wedding receptions and other public functions, food demand has been confined mostly to households. Even that has been impacted by many households experiencing job and income losses from contraction in overall economic activity.

Amarujala – Online

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, while supporting the farmers’ movement that has been going on for 200 days, said, despite the huge crisis, the concerns of farmers are not visible in the policies of the government. He said, the farmers are protesting against the agricultural laws and demanding to save their livelihood. Rahul has also shared a video in his post on Instagram, narrating the plight of coffee growers of his parliamentary constituency Wayanad.

Krishi Jagran – Online

Under the Crop Diversification Scheme, the Haryana government said on Friday that it will provide incentives to farmers this year to cultivate water-saving crops instead of paddy. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal has approved the implementation of ‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat Yojana’ as part of the crop diversification scheme for Kharif-2021. Mr JP Dalal, who was presiding over a meeting of Agriculture Department officers, State Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, stated that instead of paddy, farmers should be encouraged to cultivate alternative crops that use less water.

Krishi Jagran – Online

Agriculture producers and agribusinesses are often confronted by business-related decisions like what price to expect, which crop to be planted, given the known input costs and expected harvest time prices, or should one store the crop and sell later, etc. Agribusinesses must also have to determine price expectations to know what forward price to offer. Commodity futures exchange markets facilitate the mechanism for price discovery on an aggregate level through arbitrage between multiple buyers and sellers.

The Wire – Online

Protesting farmers have planned to march in several areas on Saturday, to mark seven months of agitation against the Union government controversial farm laws. The Punjab police used water cannons to disperse farmers as they broke through barricades at the Chandigarh-Mohali border, trying to march towards the Punjab governor’s house in Chandigarh. Officials said heavy police force was deployed in Chandigarh following a call by farmers to march towards the governor’s house here and submit a memorandum to mark the completion of seven months of their agitation against the Centre’s three new farm laws.

Business Today – Online

Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the national coalition of farmer organisations protesting against the Centre’s agricultural reforms, has requested President Ramnath Kovind to direct the Union government to repeal the three ‘anti-farmer’ laws and enact a law that will guarantee remunerative minimum support price (MSP) for the crops. The SKM functionaries made the representation to the President through the office of the Governor of each state on June 26.

Rising Kashmir – Online

While interacting with the Board members, Aijaz Ahmad Bhat said that the J&K government aspires to see the farmers marching towards prosperity and self-reliance. He said that the government is working under a well-knit plan towards addressing the Covid-19 lockdown implications on Agriculture, Horticulture, Dairy, Fish farming, Floriculture and other related activities so that target of doubling the income of farmers is not affected. In this regard, he made a mention of several steps like streamlining of the department of Agriculture Kashmir, JKHPMC and Horticulture department, the launch of the marketing campaign for vegetables and fruits, providing refrigeration vans for carrying fresh vegetables and fruits directly to the end-users besides other similar initiatives.

Down To Earth – Online

For almost six months a year, the tribal communities of Lahaul and Spiti valley remain isolated behind the Rohtang Pass as it gets covered with thick snow. Last year, their isolation was longer. After being shut for almost a year because of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the cold desert mountain valley was all set to welcome tourists in February this year. The Spiti Tourism Society, travel agents, hoteliers and community leaders were jubilant because the recently inaugurated 9 kilometres Atal tunnel, built to bypass the Rohtang Pass, had brought the high-altitude tribal valley closer to the rest the world and opened up new business opportunities for the residents.

The Indian Express – Online

A day after Congress high command asked Punjab CM Amarinder Singh to work towards reducing high power tariffs in the state, power consumers in both urban and rural areas were up in arms over frequent outages amid peak demand. Through the day, farmers’ gheraoed several grid stations across villages, domestic consumers complained of frequent power cuts even as industrial consumers in urban areas fumed over hefty penalties being imposed over minor overloading. Farmers staged dharnas outside several grid stations claiming they were being denied assured 8 hour supply in paddy sowing season.

The Indian Express – Online

V P Singh and social justice go hand in hand. From an early age, he rebelled against social injustices by participating in inter-caste meals, shramdan and bhoodan. From his days as chief minister of UP, to exposing corporate corruption as Union finance minister between 1984-87, he never abandoned his talisman. He even championed the cause of farmers and the global south at various GATT meetings by vehemently opposing the inclusion of agriculture in GATT and, later, WTO. He was reprimanded for his honesty and transferred. But that didn’t stop him from exposing corruption in defence contracts. As defence minister, he unearthed the HDW submarine scam, right before the Bofors scandal broke out. Soon after, ...

Money Control – Online

One hectare land : When used by Agriculture employs 10 people. When used by Industries, employs 100 people. When used by Service economy, employs 1,000 people. With the migration of jobs across sectors, the workplace has secularly been getting densely crowded. However, the new movements called WFH ( Work From Home) and WFA ( Work From Anywhere) have suddenly turned the workplace from ‘Crowd’ to ‘Cloud’. And this disruption has bought about several interesting nuances

The Weekend Leader – Online

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has sought President Ram Nath Kovind’s intervention to ‘Save Agriculture and Save Democracy’ on the occasion of the 47th anniversary of the Emergency and the completion of seven months of the ongoing farmers’ agitation, a top farmer leader said here on Thursday. “We are sending a memorandum from all over India to the President, expressing our deep anguish and indignation, and appeal to him to protect both our agriculture and democracy,” said All India Kisan Sabha President and SKM leader Dr Ashok Dhawale.

The Economic Times – Online

Climate change could expose half of all global cotton-growing regions, including India, to high risks from temperature increases, changes in rainfall patterns and extreme weather events by 2040, according to a global study. Under a worst-case climate scenario, all global cotton-growing regions will be exposed to increased risk from at least one climate hazard by 2040, according to the study “Adapting to climate change – physical risk assessment for global cotton production”, which was commissioned by the Cotton 2040 initiative and climate-risk specialists Acclimatise, part of Willis Towers Watson’s Climate and Resilience Hub.

The Times Of India – Online

Since the pandemic-initiated lockdown started in March 2020, most of us have been confined to our homes and have been working from home. People living in the metro cities have found themselves struggling with the size of their abode. Indeed, a place that was previously being used just to sleep became the whole habitat of the person and that instigated a lot of emotions. People started realizing the stress of living in the city and the importance of a bigger home along with the necessity of a getaway and travel. And that has brought a lot of changes not only to our lifestyles but to our mindsets as well. Some companies and employees ...

Hindustan Times – Online

Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday directed the secretary, food and civil supplies department, to ensure elaborate arrangements for smooth paddy procurement during the kharif marketing season 2021-22. The agriculture department has fixed the target of 197.47 LMT of paddy production during current season with sowing of crop over 30 lakh hectares across the state. The department procured 202.83 LMT Paddy in the kharif marketing season 2020-21 and 132.10 LMT wheat in the rabi marketing season 2021-22.

The Indian Express – Online

AFTER GETTING good results from ‘Direct Seeding of Rice’ (DSR) last year, Punjab farmers are adopting this technique this year too, and may bring large areas under it if initial trends are taken into account. The state agriculture department plans to bring around 1 million hectares under DSR this year — a huge target to achieve, and double the area that came under DSR last year. Though the chief agricultural officers of various districts of the state say that due to availability of migrant labourers for paddy transplanting this year, DSR is being used a little less as compared to last year. However, until June 14, 2.23 lakh hectares (around 5.51 lakh acres) area ...

Telengana Today – Online

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao called upon the people of Vasalamarri village to work towards self-governance and self-reliance by developing the village into a model for all. He wanted them to work with the motto ‘one for all and all for one’ and weed out discrimination and hatred towards each other in order to progress together. During the meeting, the Chief Minister assured to provide all support for development of the village including funds for village development, skill development programmes, houses, community hall, roads and other basic infrastructure. “All are equal in the village as the society cannot survive without any profession. All of us should work in unison without any differences. We will sanction ...

Mint – Online

BJP president J P Nadda Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done more for the interest of farmers than what was done in the past 70 years. He also said people spreading myths that the minimum support price would be withdrawn should note that this time record procurement has been made on wheat and paddy. This, Nadda said, has benefitted crores of farmers, according to a statement. He made these remarks at a meeting of BJP Kisan Morcha office bearers here.

Krishi Jagran – Online

Maize is not gaining popularity among farmers. Farmers in Doaba (Jalandhar) a more suited locale for the crop are resisting the Agriculture Department’s efforts to persuade them to cultivate maize as an alternate kharif crop. Farmers believe the low market price, lack of government procurement, and difficulties in drying collected produce have made sowing maize less profitable this season. Even last year, the area under maize dropped down to 1.08 lakh hectares, and the government has set a goal of bringing 1.5 lakh hectares under the crop this year, as sowing for the kharif variety of maize has commenced. Even today, when spring maize begins to arrive in mandis, farmers are resenting the fact that ...

Gaon Connection – Online

The economy of the northeastern states in India is primarily agrarian and at least seven out of 10 people in the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram are occupied in agriculture-related activities. Yet, the region depends on supplies from other states to meet their demand. “The northeastern region accounts for only 1.5 % of country’s food grain production and continues to be a net importer of food grains even for its own consumption,” states the Union Ministry of Science and Technology in its press statement on the launch of a new scheme for the region.

The Indian Express – Online

A year since it began, the farmers’ protest in Punjab has now acquired a larger space. Interestingly, it may be for the first time that the state government is supporting the farmers’ movement against the Central government. Not only this, the movement is being supported by all political parties in the state, except the BJP — Congress, Akalis, AAP. It has enormous support among retired and even serving civil servants, teachers, students, civil society activists, artists and professionals. In other words, the class which has ruled this state since the mid-’60s in the post-Green Revolution phase has joined this protest.

Hindustan Times – Online

Sowing of paddy in Punjab and neighbouring Haryana has pushed the demand for power in the two states. The maximum demand in Punjab on Monday was recorded at 12,406 (megawatt) MW in the afternoon hours while it was 9,750 MW in Haryana. In Punjab, two units of the Rupnagar thermal plant and three units of the Lehra Mohabatt plant are generating power. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials said the third unit of the Lehra Mohabatt plant could not be operated during the night as engineers agitating for their demands refused to do extra hours. The unit was started on Monday morning.

News18 – Online

In the gloom and doom surrounding every discussion on the Indian economy, what is being ignored are the sustained efforts by farmers and the proactive policies of the government to ensure that India’s post-COVID rural economy is poised to grow at a fast pace. In recent months, the government has delivered the country’s largest-ever direct cash transfer in Indian agriculture. This reform is the single most important factor that will boost the rural economy. The pumping of thousands of crores directly into the pockets of farmers will significantly impact the consumption cycle—which will, in turn, create the demand to kick-start the economy.

Down To Earth – Online

Wastewater usage, water-efficient agriculture, knowledge of soil moisture, and convergence in agriculture could be possible methods to deal with the twin scourges of climate change and the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to experts at a recent conference on water. The conference provided an opportunity to policymakers, academicians, researchers, and students to gain expertise from technical experts on matters of water resource engineering and management for water source sustainability by including a combination of theory, conceptual, and applied science.

The New Indian Express – Online

In the wake of large scale shortage and hoarding allegations, the government’s attempt to control raw jute stocks by passing an order on holding of 500 kg of the natural fibre has invited mixed reaction from stakeholders. The Jute Commissioner (JC) in an order on Friday had said that transactions of 500 kg of raw jute and above without registration and approval will be held void and liable for prosecution.

Deccan Chronicle – Online

Lorry owners in the state seem to be up in arms against the authorities as they are allegedly being harassed by officials of various government departments in the process of paddy procurement from farmers. According to the Telangana Lorry Owners Association, their vehicles were forcibly engaged in transporting paddy from market yards to rice mills by officials of revenue, civil supplies, transport and police departments.

Financial Express – Online

Agricultural exports touched $41.8 billion (bn) in FY21—a growth of 18% over FY20—bringing cheer in government circles. Juxtaposed against a target of $60 bn the Modi government had set out to achieve by 2022, it falls much short. From a strategic point of view, the key issue is whether this rate can be sustained? For that, we look at the composition of agri-exports. Rice ranks first in agri-exports, with 17.7 million tonnes (mt) valued at $8.8 bn. It is followed by marine products ($6 bn), spices ($4 bn), bovine (buffalo) meat ($3.2 bn), sugar ($2.8 bn), etc

The Indian Express – Online

THE STATE agriculture department has issued an advisory, urging farmers not to rush for kharif sowing after a few spell of rain. Agriculture centres across 355 talukas have directed farmers to wait for a while to ensure adequate showers. They have been told to gradually start the sowing process from July first week. A senior secretary in the agriculture department said, “After the first few spells, farmers tend to start sowing kharif crops. They utilise the entire stock of seeds and fertilisers. But if after sowing, there is a long dry spell, their efforts are wasted. It also incurs huge financial loss.”

Hindustan Times – Online

Bathinda For the first time in six years, Punjab’s area under cotton cultivation this kharif season has crossed the 3 lakh hectare mark. This is an increase of 17% over 2020, when cotton was sown on 2.5 lakh hectare. The state, however, is still 41% short of the golden phase in 2011-12 when the area under the traditional cash crop was 5.2 lakh hectare. In 2015, cotton was sown on 3.25 lakh hectares in southern districts. After a devastating period of the worst whitefly attack on cotton that year, farmers turned away from sowing the crop. Before 2014, over 4 lakh hectare was under cotton.

The New Indian Express – Online

In the last eight years, Rukmini Nayak of Sankilo village under Nischintakoili block did not only empower herself by shifting to high quality rice varieties but has also changed the fortunes of several other women in her village and neighbouring areas while giving a boost to the rural economy. To overcome financial crisis, Rukmini joined her husband Sanjay to take up paddy cultivation in 2012 on less than an acre of land. But with meagre land holding, the income from traditional paddy crops was low. She decided to seek help from local agriculture officials to grow high-yielding varieties of rice by adopting modern methods. “I convinced my husband to grow high-yielding paddy seeds ...

The Times Of India – Online

With the mercury touching new highs, the number of power outages is increasing, particularly in rural belts. Power utilities in Haryana are gearing up to enhance infrastructure and arrange electricity supply for peak summer, that is in the first week of July, in time for paddy sowing season in the state. There are around 70.55 lakh electricity consumers of all categories, including domestic, non-domestic, agriculture, institutional and industrial. Uttar Haryana Bijli Vittran Nigam (UHBVN) has a total of 32.85 lakh while Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vittran Nigam (DHBVN) has around 37.71 lakh consumers.

NaiDunia – Online

Every farmer is writing his own destiny in Atur village of Kanker, which is 155 km away from Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur. Farmers have doubled their income by doing integrated farming here. The story of development started from the year 2012. The scientists of Indira Gandhi Agricultural University first advised farmer Lalluram Kureti in the village for integrated farming. Here the pond is dug and the tube well has been dug. Farmers have already sold fish worth Rs 25,000 in the first year. There is not much profit in paddy cultivation. Here, poultry, pig farming, duck rearing, cow and goat rearing have also started in the hut. He has now started earning two lakh 40 thousand rupees ...

The Quint – Online

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday, 18 June, stated that Centre has completely ruled out repealing the three contentious farm laws. He, however, said that the government is ready to resume talks with regards to the provisions of the legislations with the protesting farmer unions. In a video posted on his Twitter account on Friday, the Union minister said: “Government of India is ready for talks with farmers. Except for repeal, if any farmers’ union wants to talk on provisions of the Act even at midnight, I will welcome it.”

Inventiva – Online

The pandemic of 2020 iterated a different story for Rural India and as the official reports by NSO gave about, the rural sector being the economic savior was all everybody could talk about. And how can we not? At the time when value added contracted for all significant sectors ranging from manufacturing to construction and mining, agriculture sector not only reported a positive productivity but also one of the strangest outcomes in the longest time. Strange because every time the country has reported a negative gross product, droughts in the agriculture sector have been the drivers for it, primarily because agriculture still forms the broadest economic sector of the economy.

Krishi Jagran – Online

The Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) requested the Centre on Friday to intervene in the country’s rapid increase in illicit herbicide-tolerant (HT) Bt cotton cultivation this year. It added in a statement that if the selling of unlicensed HT-BT cotton seed is not banned, it will be disastrous for the industry and farmers. According to the NSAI, regulators only inspect licensed dealers and seed producers, while most unlawful HT seed sales are carried out by unorganized and fly-by-night operators. The emphasis must be turned to catching them and enforcing exemplary and severe penalties.

BW People – Online

FMC Corporation today announced the appointment of Ravi Annavarapu as the new president of FMC India, effective July 1, 2021. Annavarapu will be responsible for the company’s business strategy and performance in India. He will succeed Pramod Thota, who is taking on the role of president of FMC U.S.A. Annavarapu will report to Bethwyn Todd, FMC vice president and president of FMC Asia Pacific. “Ravi is a proven team leader with an in-depth knowledge of the crop protection industry and has a strong understanding of the local market and customer needs,” said Todd. “I am confident that under Ravi’s leadership, FMC will continue to serve India’s agriculture sector by bringing innovative technologies, developed through localized ...

Deccan Chronicle – Online

The Telangana state government said it had set a new record by directly purchasing the highest-ever 1.4 crore metric tonnes (MT) of paddy from farmers in the recent kharif and rabi seasons. The rabi procurement season for the year has just concluded. The food grain purchases by the state have increased by 576 per cent in the seven years since the formation of Telangana state in June 2014, the government said. TS Civil Supplies Corporation (TSCSC) chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy released the details of kharif and rabi procurement for the season. At a media briefing, Reddy said the largescale irrigation facilities created by the government like the Kaleshwaram project, the TRS government’s schemes like Rythu ...

The Times Of India – Online

Launching Agriculture and Environment Centre (AEC), a group of Sikh activists have taken the initiative to carry out ‘jal chetna yatra’ (water awareness march) under ‘jhona ghatao Punjab bachao’ (reduce paddy, save Punjab) from June 7 to motivate people not only to reduce area under paddy and diversify, but also to turn to agro-forestry and planting small forests of traditional trees in parts of their lands to increase the forest cover in the state.

Krishi Jagran – Online

June 16, 2021 was a beautiful day for the state of Karnataka, as the Union Minister for Agriculture, Narendra Singh Tomar, unveiled three Centers of Excellence in the state. Out of the three centers, one is located in Kolar for mangoes, the second one is located in Bagalkot for pomegranates, and the third one is located in Dharwad for vegetables. The inaugural ceremony also saw the esteemed presence of Chief Minister of Karnataka B. S. Yediyurappa and Deputy Chief Ministers Govid M. Karjol, along with Horticulture Minister N. Shankar through video conferencing.

News18 – Online

Rabindranath Tagore held the Santal tribes in special regard for their unique way of life in which they combined farming with poetry, music and dance. Spread all across rural West Bengal, the Santals often own tiny pieces of land but largely work as daily wage labourers in rice fields. In one of their old traditional songs, ‘Har har dharti rima baha bagan; Baha bagan rima hunar Baha’, the Santalis celebrate the green earth teeming with incredible diversity. But with the widespread adoption of modern agricultural practices, often wasteful and harmful, much of this biodiversity got lost.

Hindustan Times – Online

Farmers of eight districts of Haryana under the watch of experts will grow paddy on 20,000 acre during the current paddy cultivation season, in what is the first-of-its-kind incentive-driven push to promote direct-seeded rice (DSR) technique. Farmers opting for this cost-effective and less water-consuming method of growing rice will receive ₹5,000 per acre. Each farmer opting for this scheme can grow the crop using DSR technique on maximum 2.5 acre. This piece of land will be called ‘demonstration plot’ to popularise the technique among the peasants.

Outlook Krishi – Online

Speakers at the ongoing 42nd Session of the FAO Conference have expressed concerns while addressing challenges the world faced today, mainly from the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. “The COVID 19 pandemic has further put the spotlight on the sector. India with her tremendous growth trajectory in the field of agriculture will continue to share best practices and build capacities of other developing countries,” said Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar while addressing the session on Tuesday, June 15.

Business Standard – Online

Covid-19 compels the realisation that development paradigms need to integrate livelihood goals with those of sustainability and health. The most important livelihood in India remains agriculture. But we have never applied the sustainability or nutrition lens to farming. A narrow pre-occupation with raising yields at any cost has ultimately resulted in a serious farm crisis, whose underbelly has been exposed by the pandemic.

In a recent paper commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Niti Aayog (“Symbiosis of Water and Agricultural Transformation in India”), P S Vijayshankar and I argue that a move away from the monocultures and technologies of the Green Revolution and a shift in cropping patterns to match India’s diverse ...

Hindustan Times – Online

With Bihar experiencing early monsoon, the agriculture department aims to distribute subsidised seeds to registered farmers including at their doorstep by June 25 to ensure early sowing of paddy as part of the state’s climate resilient agriculture programme. It is also encouraging crop diversity to guard farmers against losses caused by damages to conventional crops due to exigencies of weather. The department has set the target of distributing 113,000 quintal seeds (mainly paddy) for the kharif season, of which, 37,000 quintal has been distributed including delivery of around 10,000 quintal at farmers’ doorsteps, a programme launched last year.

Business Standard – Online

Agriculture and allied activities are expected to clock a growth of 3.6 per cent at constant prices in FY21, slightly lower than 4.3 per cent in the previous financial year, but closer to the long-term trend for the sector at 3-4 per cent. At current prices, the growth is expected to be around 6.6 per cent in FY-21, down from 12.5 per cent in FY20. This means that the inflation impact, which some experts also attribute to a measure of farmers’ income provided there is perfect transmission, is expected to be 3 per cent in FY21, down from 8.2 per cent in FY20.

The Times Of India – Online

A number of farmers on Tuesday blocked the Patiala – Chandigarh national highway near Daun Kalan village of Patiala against the PSPCL for its failure to resume the power supply in the agriculture sector after the supply was hit following damage during wind storm. The villagers of Daun Kalan said they had made efforts and erected themselves around 80 per cent of damaged electricity poles but the power supply was not resumed at the Agriculture Pumpset (AP) following which they staged protest for around two hours. The villagers claimed that the paddy sown has been affected as the farmers could not irrigate their paddy fields following shortage of power supply.

Hindustan Times – Online

Four days after the Haryana government claimed that farmers of BJP state president OP Dhankar’s native village Dhakla in Jhajjar have decided not to cultivate paddy this time after getting influenced by government’s ‘Mera Pani, Mera Virasat Yojana’ and will switch to other less water-consuming crops, two dozen farmers have criticised the government’s statement and announced that they will transplant the water guzzling paddy crop. These farmers said they have prepared paddy nursery in their fields and will go for paddy transplantation in the last week of June.

The Print – Online

Despite the centrality of the agriculture sector in India and the widespread recognition of the distress most farmers have to live with, there is no standard measure of farmers’ distress in the country. The most commonly cited measure is the number of farmer suicides. There is also a measure of damage to crops that is undertaken under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme), but that is particularly for areas and farmers covered under the scheme. In 2020, out of the 14.65 crore Indian farmers (Agricultural Census 2015-16), only 2.68 crore (18.2 per cent) were covered under the PMFBY. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 10,269 farmers committed suicides in 2019 and ...

Rising Kashmir – Online

Access of farmers to state of the art agricultural inputs can play an important role in the growth of agricultural productivity and food security. In order to bolster agriculture production in the valley, it needs deep introspection and scrutiny from all the stakeholders of the agriculture sector. In the past, the dwindling agriculture production has led to suicide of farmers in many parts of India. During the past few years the agriculture sector in the valley is portraying a grim picture as the contribution from the primary sector to GDP has slipped down considerably. It is a fact that more than 75 percent rural population and 50 percent rural workforce is directly dependent on agriculture. ...

BW Business World – Online

Principal Economic Adviser in the finance ministry Sanjeev Sanyal’s work in chaos theory and his belief that economic growth demands perpetual imbalance may be the right recipe for the Indian economy given its complexity. The government though is very conservative on fiscal balance. He talks to BW Businessworld’s Manish Kumar Jha about fiscal support and its multiplier effect, the bold steps and disruptions in opening the economy further, pushing pending reforms, gyrating out of pandemic-led economic disruptions, and more.

DNA – Online

With arrival of paddy sowing season, farmers in Amritsar are dealing with power cuts and shortage of labours. Farmers stated that there’s an irregular power supply and labour shortage in the state. Govt promised 8-hour supply, as against their demand for 15 hours. But that promise remains unfulfilled as power supply is irregular. Famer said that their paddy sowing season has been delayed because of inadequate supply of power.

Hindustan Times – Online

In Bihar’s Seemanchal, maize and fox nut (locally known as Makhana) have replaced paddy and jute as cash crops and resulted in better income for farmers. The state government says the change is encouraging businesses to set up food processing units in the area. Md Taimur Alam (67) of Chhatiya village in Purnia says he switched from growing paddy and jute to cultivating makhana in 2005. “These two crops were not bringing as much return as I had expected,’ he said, explaining the move.

News18 – Online

Good food never fails to bring people or, in some cases, even nations together. Last winter, in a pleasantly surprising cultural exchange, black rice grown in Chandauli, a small district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, found itself on the dining tables in Oman and Qatar. One of the 112 districts under the Aspirational Districts Programme, Chandauli is known as the ‘rice bowl of Purvanchal’. Given the popularity of paddy cultivation in the region, the district administration decided to diversify the agricultural produce by encouraging farmers to grow fertiliser-free organic black rice. The experiment was remarkably successful, with Chandauli adding to the thriving global market of black rice and exporting to even countries like Australia and New Zealand.

Devdiscourse – Online

imited access to funding and land, including bureaucracy, are among the key challenges facing young people in the agricultural sector. These issues were raised on Monday by young farmers during a webinar on the role of youth in agriculture. The Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), hosted a webinar that aimed to highlight the role that young people must play in the agricultural sector, and address issues of land reform and opportunities available for young people in terms of access to land, finance and access to markets.

The Times Of India – Online

The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has alleged that the Union finance ministry in a recent covert move has tried to disincentivize those states which provide power subsidies to agriculture and farmers. The SKM claimed that the government is indulging in anti-farmer move by offering additional borrowing space to state governments, based on certain conditions and performance criteria including on the agriculture front that coerce state governments to bring down subsidies for farmers. It has evolved a scoring system giving more marks to those states which have no power subsidy for agricultural connections, or for those states which have metered consumption including agricultural connections, or for DBT system for subsidies, the morcha said.

Hindustan Times – Online

Asking farmers to adopt micro-irrigation where the groundwater level has gone down, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said the previous governments did not pay attention to increasing water availability for agriculture. Presiding over the first meeting of Haryana Water Resources Authority in Chandigarh on Sunday, the chief minister expressed concern over the groundwater level going down to 80 feet in districts such as Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal and Panipat. “The farmers should give priority to micro-irrigation in areas where the groundwater has gone down. The condition of Shahabad and Ismailabad in Kurukshetra district is worst,” he said.

The Times Of India – Online

Power demand has gone up exponentially in Telangana after the TRS government began providing 24×7 free power to the agriculture sector. Over five lakh new agriculture connections have been added in the state since 2014. Agriculture power demand has witnessed a steep 62% jump in the past few years, especially after the government began providing uninterrupted power supply to the agriculture sector. As a result, irrigation facilities and free power helped the state occupy the top slot in paddy cultivation in the country.

The Times Of India – Online

Despite a decline in 2018-19, the proportion of non-performing assets (NPAs) in Punjab’s agriculture loans has been over 11% since the beginning of the financial year 2019-20. A study about the performance of the banking sector in Punjab during the pre-Covid-19 and the Covid-19 period has revealed that during the lockdown quarter (April-June 2020), NPAs were lower at 10.68% compared to over 11% in the pre-Covid quarters (see box). The largest proportion of bank branches in Punjab are located in rural areas (44%) compared to semi-urban areas (29%) and urban areas (27%) as of September 2020.

The Times Of India – Online

The state agriculture department has pulled up its socks to speed up distribution of seeds and help farmers in kharif season. The early arrival of southwest monsoon in Bihar has made the condition favourable for the farmers to sow paddy seeds. The department has set the target to distribute 1.13 lakh quintals of paddy seeds, including 10,000 quintals of hybrid seeds (DRRH3, DRRH2, 27P31 and Arize) and the remaining of open pollinated variety seeds (IR-64, Swarna MTU-7029 and Sabour Shree). Under its home delivery scheme, the districts have distributed seeds to 56,000 farmers against 1.60 lakh registration. So far, 26,000 quintal of seeds have been distributed to the farmers by the district agriculture ...

Hindustan Times – Online

Chandigarh The Punjab government is set to integrate land record of farmers with foodgrain procurement from this kharif season. Farmers will get their payment (Minimum Support Price or MSP) for their produce (wheat and paddy) only when revenue record of their agriculture land is linked to the payment system. The Centre has asked the state government to implement the integration for kharif (paddy) procurement scheduled in October and November. In rabi (wheat) procurement season this year, the state government implemented the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system by transferring crop payment directly into farmers’ bank account. This bypassed the traditional system of routing payment through the arhtiyas (commission agents).

The New Indian Express – Online

A few days after the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas invited bids for oil and gas fields in Vadatheru block in Pudukottai district, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to drop the proposal. In another bid to protect federalism, Stalin also requested the Prime Minister to direct the Union government officials to consult the State government before bringing any area in the State for auctions in future for hydrocarbon exploration and extraction. The area identified for auction falls in the Cauvery basin and also in the Protected Agricultural Zone declared by the State government, under the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Development Act, ...

The Indian Express – Online

A silent discontent is brewing between farmer unions and farm labourers, both of who are camping at Delhi’s borders at the moment to protest against the three contentious agriculture laws that were passed by the Parliament in September last year. Sources claimed that farm labourer unions are unhappy with the response of farmer unions over the issue of alleged discrimination against farm labourers in Punjab. Some labour unions have claimed that some farmers and villages in Punjab were fixing labour prices for paddy sowing arbitrarily in “a self-styled manner”.

Hindustan Times – Online

As we build back after Covid-19, the challenge of the climate crisis and its ecological, economic and social impact must be prioritised. There have been discussions on green jobs and businesses, clean energy sources, and sustainable agriculture. All of this is, of course, needed — but it must also be more inclusive. Women are among the most affected by the climate crisis, and face relocation and displacement, loss of income and health deficiencies, among other adverse effects. But they have little voice in shaping the response to the crisis, nor are they considered an integral component of the transition that must be made to a green economy.

The Indian Express – Online

The political fallout of the movement against the Centre’s farm laws is showing. The Narendra Modi government has raised the minimum support price (MSP) of the 2021-22 paddy crop by Rs 72 per quintal, to Rs 1,940 for common and Rs 1,960 for ‘Grade A’ varieties. This increase, of slightly over 4.8 per cent, might seem modest. It is also true that cultivation costs — particularly on account of diesel used for powering tractors, irrigation pumps and harvester combines — have gone up. But that does not justify an MSP increase now, when rice and wheat stocks in public godowns have, for the first time, crossed the 100 million tonnes (mt) mark. Government agencies ...

The Millennium Post – Online

The National Statistical Office’s latest GDP data for the 2020-21 fiscal reiterates what was expected. But, the current financial year indicates the country’s economy already slipping into a deep paralytic state. Lack of demand and consumption in rural areas that sustain two-thirds of the country’s population is the reason behind this. This is also despite agriculture being the only sector that registered a positive growth with a gross value added of Rs 20.40 lakh crore in 2020-21. This year the monsoon is going to be above normal as well. Between 2019-20 and 2020-21, India’s GDP has reported a loss of Rs 10.56 lakh crore, or a -7.3 growth. But the data on consumption reiterates ...

Krishi Jagran – Online

FPO stands for Farmer Producer Organizations. FPO is an organization, where the members are farmers itself. Farmers Producers Organization provides end-to-end support and services to the small farmers, and cover technical services, marketing, processing, and others aspects of cultivation inputs. The idea behind the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) was that “Farmers, who are the producers of their agricultural products, can form the groups and can register themselves under the Indian Companies Act”. 

Telengana Today – Online

Following the massive increase in agriculture output, the State government has decided to set up a food processing zone in 250 acre of land in Andole Assembly constituency in the district. Since State formation in 2014, agricultural output, particularly paddy, has been increasing year-on-year in the State. Sangareddy district too has witnessed the same trend with paddy production doubling in the district compared to previous year. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar has also instructed officials to ground the works of Sanagameshwara and Basaveshwara Lift Irrigation Projects which will provide irrigation water to 3.84 lakh acre that will further enhance agriculture production in the district.

The Weekend Leader – Online

India’s agriculture exports (including marine and plantation products) have beaten the pandemic registering a growth of 17.34 percent to $ 41.25 billion in 2020-21, a top commerce ministry official said on Thursday. Speaking to the media, commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan said that excellent growth of Agri exports in FY21 has come after it remained stagnant for the past three years (USD 38.43 billion in 2017-18, USD 38.74 billion in 2018-19 and USD 35.16 billion 2019-20). In rupee terms, the increase is 22.62 percent with exports during 2020-21 amounting to Rs 3.05 lakh crore as compared to Rs 2.49 lakh crore during 2019-20.

Hindustan Times – Online

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy much higher than the amount approved by the Centre on Wednesday — a demand that experts said could exacerbate the problems surrounding India’s cropping patterns. The Centre on Wednesday announced new MSPs for the summer-sown or kharif crops. In line with a policy to promote more planting of scarce commodities such as oilseeds and pulses, the new MSP rates are relatively higher for non-cereals, such as lentils, soya, groundnut and mustard.

Devdiscourse – Online

Punjab government had made elaborate arrangements for paddy season, including uninterrupted supply of power from June 10, said the State Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department on Wednesday. It has fixed a target to bring 10 lakh hectares area under direct sowing of paddy for this year. Director of the department Sukhdev Singh Brar said paddy will be sown over 30.20 lakh hectares of area out of which 5.35 lakh hectares area will be under Basmati cultivation whereas remaining will be under non-basmati cultivation. “This sowing is already going on and the state government was supplying adequate power supply to the farmers,” he said.

The Hans India – Online

Paddy farmers of the district are facing tough time as the millers are denying stocking the farmers’ paddy after the government procures it. According to Ramchander, a farmer from Shankarayapally village and Srinu from Bandamidipally, after repeated requests to Agriculture Officer (AO) and the PACS members for more than one month to procure their paddy stocked in their villages through Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society (PACS), the officials have given gunny bags and tokens 15 days ago. After literally fighting and pressurising the AO and PACS society members, paddy stocked in the village was weighed, but again transport became another problem for the farmers, as the PACS society members cleared that it’s farmers’ responsibility to ...

Down To Earth – Online

Group farming involves the voluntarily pooling of land, labour and capital and cultivating in groups. This can help small farmers overcome their production constraints. The majority of Indian farms are too small to be economically viable. Some 86 per cent of farmers cultivate under two hectares, in fragments. Most lack access to irrigation, bank credit, up-to-date technical information, new technologies, and bargaining power in markets. A large proportion are women. Group farming can provide an institutional solution. By forming groups, farmers can enjoy economies of scale, have more investible funds and skills, reduce input costs, and take measures to address climate change. Women can transcend social norms that restrict their access to institutions and ...

The Economic Times – Online

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday said the government is ready to resume talks with protesting farmers but asked the unions to point out their objections to the provisions of the three farm laws with sound logic. The government and unions have held 11 rounds of talks, the last being on January 22, to break the deadlock and end the farmers’ protest. Talks have not resumed following widespread violence during a tractor rally by protesting farmers on January 26.

The Tribune

Experts of the Agriculture Department, Punjab Agricultural University and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) are jointly make efforts to increase the area under direct seeding of rice (DSR) in the district. The farmers, who seeded rice crops directly, faced several issues and many of them again returned to the puddling method to transplant the paddy.

Taking it as a challenge, this year agricultural experts came up with the “tar-wattar” (high moisture condition) technique to address the issue of seed germination.

Dr Narinderpal Singh, district extension specialist at Farm Advisory Service Center, KVK, Amritsar, said, “Germination of seed was the major issue being faced by farmers in direct sowing of rice. The farmers used to sow ...

The Better India

Dr Priyadarshini Karve was born in Pune but spent her childhood in Phaltan, a small town about 100 km from her hometown in Maharashtra. Walking or cycling her way to school and back home, she passed through lush green sugarcane fields, a popular crop in the region.

Besides enjoying the scenic view, she also happened to see the lifecycle of a sugarcane crop from its plantation until the post-harvest waste management. She also witnessed the farmers casually burning the dry leaves and organic waste after the harvest, releasing toxic smoke into the air.

“The dense smoke polluted the air, spread throughout the vicinity and affected the breathing and visibility of villagers and animals,” Dr ...

India Today

The United Nations (UN) will organise the world food summit later this year in a bid to bring focus on agriculture and farming and transform the way the world produces and consumes food. Unsustainable food production has emerged as a major challenge for countries across the world as in the past 100 years, more than 90 per cent of crop varieties have disappeared.

The UNEP in a statement said that just nine plant species account for 66 per cent of total crop production, contributing to several health risks globally. The organisation maintained that intensive farming also has a role in zoonotic disease like Covid-19 as deforestation and reduce the major clearing of natural buffers that ...

Times of India

With urbanisation creating more environmental issues, it is time we looked forward to unique rural models to progress towards a sustainable carbon-neutral society, said C Balagopal, former IAS officer and founder of Terumo Penpol, India’s largest blood bag manufacturer.

Delivering the 19th edition of the ‘Beyond Square Feet’ Lecture organized on the World Environment Day by Asset Homes in Kochi, Balagopal said that time has come to promote the unique homestead farming, which not only sustains the rural population economically but also finds a way forward for better protection of the environment.He said that we are living in an age when increased urbanization has created enough and more problems and challenges.

The Tribune

Punjab Agricultural University Farm Advisory Service Centre (FASC) experts organised a training camp on seed/nursery treatment of basmati rice in a Tarn Taran village, Kot Mohammad Khan, adopted by the centre.

More than 40 farmers participated in the camp organised under the ‘Farm Advisory Service Scheme’.

Extension specialist (Plant pathology) Dr Parminder Kaur demonstrated how to do seed treatment and root dip treatment of basmati rice with Trichoderma harziamum (a fungus) to avoid foot rot disease which sometimes causes huge losses to the crop. She also distributed the strain among farmers and explained the various activities being conducted by FASC experts and asked the farmers to adopt new technologies invented by the PAU. She told ...

News18

As paddy sowing season begins, farmers in Punjab await the return of migrant labourers from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. While some are coming back, a large section of the highly skilled labourers are yet to show up mainly due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that has restricted movement across the country. Dearth of labourers also threatens to mount costs for the farmers with the per-acre wage going up from Rs 1,700-2,000 in pre-Covid times to Rs 3,000 at present.

Skillset is another major concern why local labourers are not favoured. “The migrant labourers have a knack of sowing each paddy seedling transplanted into the ready field. Not one seedling goes waste. Due to their ...

The Tribune

Not waiting for the official June 10 date for the start of the paddy transplantation, several farmers with the support of unions have started transplantation in many villages of Mansa and Bathinda districts in the region.

At some places even leaders of farmer unions are making farmers transplant paddy, giving thumbs down to the state government’s schedule. Even activists are holding farmer union flags in the fields while planting paddy.

The BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) has also announced that their village unit will keep a vigil on the paddy transplanted and would gehrao police or Agriculture Department officials if they try to stop the work. They also assured nobody will be allowed to uproot the planted ...

The Tribune

With the mass exodus of migrant workers, who went back to their native states after the Covid-induced lockdown, the paddy sowing season that officially begins from June 15 is facing an unprecedented crisis.

The sowing depends heavily on domestic farm labourers, who are demanding higher wages, forcing local farmers to put a cap on the paddy transplant wages.

Farmers of Budhanpur Viran village near Nissing, around 17 km from the district headquarters, fixed the wages of paddy transplantation for local labourers after holding a meeting on Tuesday. “We have the fixed paddy transplantation wages and no farmer will pay more than Rs 2,700 per acre to labour. Those paying above the fixed wages will be fined Rs ...

Hindustan Times – Online

Notwithstanding the farm experts’ advisory and Punjab government’s directions, paddy growers have already started the transplantation of water-guzzling Pusa-44 variety in Punjab’s southern districts of Bathinda and Mansa. While the direct seeding of rice had started on June 1, the state government had directed farmers to wait for transplantation till June 10. However, backed by farm unions, the transplantation of Pusa-44 variety, which is considered environmentally hazardous, and other parmal rice (PR) varieties is going on in full swing in scores of villages in this belt.

The Times Of India – Online

Ahead of paddy transplantation, farmers are worried about high input costs caused by regular increase in diesel prices. According to agriculture experts, the diesel component has nearly 13% to 14% share in determining the input cost of the crop. Even with direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique, diesel has almost a similar share in determining input cost. Any fluctuation in the price of diesel has a direct bearing on input cost. In the last one month, diesel price increased by over Rs 5 per litre while over the past year, from June 2020, it increased by Rs 22 to Rs 23 per litre. In June 2020, diesel price was between Rs 63 and ...

The Times Of India – Online

Having realised the importance of sustainable living during Lockdown 1.0, two young entrepreneurs from Salcete have taken to agriculture, and scripted success stories within a short time. Significantly, both these agripreneurs were remotely connected with agriculture before the lockdown. Nitin Naik from Seraulim, who was working in Kuwait for the preceding 10 years, returned to Goa in February 2020 on his annual vacation. The extended nation-wide lockdown that followed cost him his job. Loss of livelihood forced him to explore other options and ultimately, he decided to make his living from the agricultural land he had inherited that was lying barren for the last 30 years. Naik is thankful to the agriculture department ...

Telengana Today – Online

Niti Aayog Member (Agriculture) Ramesh Chand on Sunday said the second COVID-19 wave will not impact the Indian agriculture sector in anyway as rural areas saw spread of infections in May when agriculture activities remained at bare minimum. In an interview with PTI, Chand said that India’s policies on subsidy, price and technology have remained too much in favour of rice, wheat and sugarcane, and there is need to make the procurement and minimum support price policy favourable to pulses.

Millenium Post – Online

With around 2.22 lakh hectares of agricultural land getting affected, the preliminary report prepared by the state Agriculture department revealed that the sector witnessed a loss of more than Rs 2400 crore due to Cyclone Yaas. It is the sesame plantation that got mostly affected in the state. The report revealed that the sesame crop on 1.20 lakh hectare was badly affected. Though a prior advisory issued by the department on May 19 helped in completion of the harvest of boro paddy using combine harvester machines, the same on 29063 hectares were affected. Similarly, peanut cultivation on 37964 hectare, pulses on 4329 hectare, maize on 5021 hectare, 22898 hectare, sunflower on 145 hectare and sugarcane ...

The Times Of India – Online

To take care of the declining water table and encourage farmers to move away from the water-guzzling paddy, the Haryana government has set a target to bring two-lakh acres of land under the crop diversification scheme, “Mera Pani Meri Virasat.” Farmers can switch to crops that require less water like maize, pulses (urad dal, arhar dal, Moong, moth, Soyabin, Guar), til, cotton, groundnut, castor, kharif onion and all Kharif fodder. However, the government dropped Bajra crop from the scheme this season. Under the scheme, an incentive of Rs 7,000 per acre will be given to farmers for making the switch from paddy.

The Indian Express – Online

Has Punjab been able to reduce five lakh hectares (12.35 lakh acres) under water-guzzling paddy (non-basmati) and shift it to other crops in the last two years? Despite Punjab Agriculture Department repeatedly claiming to have done so and CM’s office relying on the same figures in its statements, data from the office of the Director of Land Records, Punjab (Revenue Department), does not support this tall claim. While Agriculture Department has been claiming that area under paddy came down from 25.92 lakh hectares (LHS) in 2018-2019 to 20.86 LHS in 2020-21, the state’s Land Records Department claims that in 2020-21 area under paddy rice was 27.43 LHS, which is in fact highest ever in ...

The Economic Times – Online

Farmers burnt copies of the Centre’s three farm laws near residences of BJP leaders and at other places in Punjab on Saturday as they observed ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’ to mark the day when these legislations were promulgated as ordinances last year. Farmers carrying black flags raised slogans against the BJP-led central government for not scrapping the legislations which, they said, will “destroy” the farming community. Police personnel were deployed and barricades put up near protest sites to maintan law and order.

CNBC TV18 – Online

Approximately 40 percent of the Earth’s land surface is now being used for food production. All governments, world bodies like the UN and development financial institutions are pursuing policies to improve food security and support human development. However, it is well worth being cautioned that farming—unrestrained and unplanned farming in particular—is also associated with a wide range of negative environmental impacts.

These can include increased emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and ammonia; depletion of freshwater; and increased soil compaction, depletion and erosion. Not to forget eutrophication, in which a water body becomes overly enriched with nutrients, leading to excessive growth of algae which produce toxins that are harmful to higher forms of life. This can ...

Financial Express – Online

The covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the country’s economy has been colossal. Nevertheless, Indian agriculture to date has resisted the onslaught. Though in the FY 2020-21, India’s GDP contracted by 7.7 percent, including negative growth in industry and services agriculture delivered a positive increase of 3.4 percent during the same period. Agriculture’s share in GDP has increased to 19.9 percent in FY 2020-21 from 17.8% in FY 2019-20. Agriculture has established itself to be the most dependable economic activity during the testing times and continues to be a potent means to keep our economy impelling even during the post-pandemic days. Nonetheless, today it needs to be backed by complementary policies, quality inputs, and agile markets to ...

CNBC TV18 – Online

India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu had a virtual meeting with Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, during which they held discussions over renewable energy, agricultural trade, and educational partnerships. The discussion was on expanding India’s ties with the state, Sandhu said in a tweet. Discussed renewable energy, agricultural trade, educational partnerships, and the strength of the diaspora in the region, he said after the virtual meeting.

India has a strong relationship with Kansas. India’s exports to Kansas stand at USD 122.8 million and imports at USD 81.5 million. Two Indian companies, Cambridge Technology Enterprises, and VVF have a presence in Kansas. Garmin, a Kansas-based GPS technology company, has a presence in India, along ...

Money Control – Online

Cotton futures gained for the fifth day and scaled a fresh lifetime high of Rs 23,940 a bale intraday on June 3 as participants raised fresh bets as seen from open interest. The agriculture commodity traded in the positive territory after a gap-up start, tracking firm global cues. On the MCX, Cotton futures for June delivery rose Rs 130, or 0.55 percent, to Rs 23,860 a bale at 1501 hours on a business turnover of 7,284 lots. For the July contract, it jumped Rs 160, or 0.67 percent, at Rs 24,130 a bale with a business volume of 425 lots. The value of June and July contracts traded so far is Rs 23.05 crore and ...

Scroll – Online

Before 2018, Ranjita Pegu lost a major portion of her rice crop every year during the kharif season, from June to October. Flash floods would hit her 1.6-hectare low-lying farmland in Assam two to three times during the monsoon. Submerged underwater for long periods, the crop would scarcely be enough to meet her needs. The 28-year-old farmer from Namoni Serepai village in the district of Majuli could not even dream of selling any for extra income. Then, three years ago, Seven Sisters Development Assistance, a civil society organisation operating in India’s northeastern states, introduced Ranjita to new varieties of rice. The Bahadur Sub-1 and Ranjit Sub-1 are flood-tolerant varieties developed by the Assam Agricultural University.

Hindustan Times – Online

The practice of having trees on farms simulates nature. This aligns with our heritage farming, enriching the ecosystem’s biodiversity with trees complementary to crops. The loss of biodiversity in ecosystems is closely linked to the emergence of pandemics. Deforestation, changes in forest habitat, monocultural farming, poorly managed agricultural landscapes and runaway urbanisation impact the composition of wildlife species, disturbing the niches that harbour micro-organisms and protract the interface with humans.

Agroforestry helps diversify the income stream of farmers to buffer risks, while providing environmental benefits from deep-rooted perennials. Tree-based farming systems lead to improved livelihoods, better nutrition, women’s empowerment, revitalised soils, nutrient recycling, cleaner water, less polluted air, productive and resilient cropping environments, together ...

Outlook Krishi – Online

Due to the impact of climate change, plant pests that ravage economically important crops are becoming more destructive and posing an increasing threat to food security and the environment, finds a new scientific review.

‘The Scientific Review on the Impact of Climate Change on Plant Pests – A global challenge to prevent and mitigate plant pest risks in agriculture, forestry and ecosystems’ by Professor Maria Lodovica, University of Turin (Italy), and 10 co-authors from around the world was prepared under the auspices of the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention, hosted by FAO, and is one of the key initiatives of the International Year of Plant Health, which is coming to an end this ...

Telengana Today – Online

Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy on Wednesday said Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao ensured that Telangana State, which was achieved after prolonged agitation, occupies the top position in the country in development, welfare and agriculture.

Speaking after hoisting the national flag on the occasion of Telangana State Formation Day at the District Collectorate here, Jagadish Reddy said several welfare schemes taken by the Chief Minister had turned out to be role models for other States in the country. The State government, he said, had succeeded in providing irrigation facility to 1.4 crore acres of land and was also providing free electricity supply to 30 lakhs agricultural pump sets in the State.

News18 – Online

hawani Pal Shah was among the first graduates in his remote village in Chattisgarh. He passed out in 2000 – the year the state was formed – and went looking for greener pastures in Rajasthan. After fifteen years of working in an agri firm there, he decided to return to his village, Gudma in Bijapur district, and take up farming. This was a better alternative, he thought, to sweating it out in the desert state. Besides, at his job, he had learnt about modern farming techniques for better yields that could be practised at his farm.

Shah faced little success with paddy, which is predominantly grown in the state, as it requires a lot of water. ...

The Wire – Online

“Sannu saal ho chaleya, Modi da pit syapa kardey” (‘We’ve been crying against Modi for over a year now but we won’t stop’), exclaimed Gurpreet Kaur, a woman in her late thirties who is the movement in-charge at Baras village in Patiala district. Her two children and her husband accompany her everywhere. “We have just come back from Delhi. Right now I am at a morcha near my village and our next trip to Delhi will take place after May 30,” she speaks loudly over the phone. A nearby loudspeaker at the protest site she was at kept drowning her voice.

Gurpreet leads a village-level committee for her union, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan). She mobilises ...

Telengana Today – Online

With an objective to help the farmers earn more profits in paddy cultivation besides reducing cost on cultivation, Siddipet district administration led by Finance Minister T Harish Rao has decided to sensitise the farmers to opt for direct sowing of paddy in place of raising nursery and then transplanting of the saplings. During a meeting with the farmers at a farmer’s field at Peddalingareddy Pally in Siddipet rural Mandal on Tuesday, the Finance Minister sensitised the farmers saying that the direct sowing will cut the cost of paddy cultivation besides increasing the productivity which would eventually enhances profits to the farmer.

Elets – Online

During a DISCOMS’ performance review meeting, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot, on May 30, asked the state’s power distribution companies (DISCOMS) to expeditiously provide agricultural power connections to more farmers to aid the country’s agriculture sector. The CM asked the DISCOMS to prepare special plans for the cause. Highlighting the importance of farmers and the agriculture sector, CM Gehlot deliberated that the agriculture sector has kept the economy from falling during the critical time of the COVID pandemic outbreak. For this, farmers should be encouraged and supported.

Krishi Jagran – Online

The weather has been favorable in the state of Karnataka for the farmers to reap a good produce in this season.  Karnataka Agriculture Minister Mr. B.C. Patil has issued a press statement saying that there are chances of record yield of agricultural produce in this Kharif season. Sowing is already done over three lakh hectares in the state because of good pre monsoon rains. The state government targets a sowing area of 77 lakh hectares. 

Agriculture is one of the most essential attribute of Karnataka economy. The topography of Karnataka such as the city’s relief, soil, and climate immensely supports the agricultural activities in Karnataka. The Kharif crops in Karnataka comprise millets, paddy (rice), maize, ...

Business Standard – Online

In a significant decision, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a private airline for the transportation of perishable horticulture and agricultural produce to various destinations across the country. The MoU between the Horticulture Department and Go-Air was signed in the presence of Principal Secretary Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Horticulture departments, Navin Kumar Choudhary at Civil Secretariat here, an official spokesman said. Terming the step as significant, the principal secretary said the move will empower the fruit growers of Jammu and Kashmir and will increase their income as well as boost the rural economy.

Hindustan Times – Online

The farmers of five villages situated along the India-Pakistan border in Amritsar district’s Ajnala sub-division are a worried lot these days as they are still to till their land ahead of the paddy-sowing season. They alleged that the Border Security Force (BSF) has restricted their access to the causeways along the barbed fence on both sides, making it difficult for them to visit their fields. Scores of farmers of Kakkar, Manjh, Lodhi Gujjar, Hetampur and Tanjurai villages said due to the closure of the causeways, they were forced to carry their agricultural equipment, including tractor-trailers, to their fields through fields of others.

Fortune India – Online

In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, India had a record-breaking harvest in wheat, rice, and pulses, more than 305 million tonnes, according to the third advance estimates for the 2020-21 crop year. In another record, in Punjab alone, the state has procured around 130 lakh tonnes of wheat, the highest in a decade, and the state has, using direct benefit transfer (DBT), which means a straight transfer of money to the bank account without any layers in between, transferred most of the money for the rabi season directly to farmers.

The Times Of India – Online

The state agriculture department has decided to provide a unique identification (UID) number to every farmer to ensure seamless transfer of benefits under agri-related schemes. But for the time being, the department has begun allotting ‘seed tokens’ to farmers. The tokens carry details of seeds distributed, land available with the farmer and his/her Aadhaar and mobile number, among others. In the coming months, the department will provide every farmer a digitised chip-based card along with their unique ID number that will carry all relevant information pertaining to the transactions between them and the government. Talking to TOI on Monday, state agriculture director Nisha Oraon said that the move has been conceived to bring ...