Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
The untapped green potential of agroforestryedit
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 ...
Climate Change Fans Spread Of Pests, Threats Plants And Crops: Studyedit
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 ...
Telangana tops in welfare, development and agriculture: Jagadish Reddyedit
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.
Technology in Agriculture
Khammam: Farmers told to adopt modern farming technologiesedit
Hans India – Online
Farmers should adopt modern farming techniques and take up alternate crops for profits, suggested Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar. He took part in ‘Eruvaka festival’ and launched vanakalam agriculture activities at Manchukonda village of Raghunathapalem mandal in the district on Wednesday. He distributed green manure seeds to farmers.
‘As Raghunathpalem mandal is located close to the district headquarters, farmers should cultivate vegetables. In addition, paddy farmers should focus on cotton cultivation due to the huge demand for cotton in international market,’ he said. The Minister warned that serious action will be taken against those, who sells spurious seeds and directed police and agriculture officials to crack the whip on miscreants, who sells fake seeds ...
High-yielding maize variety developed by Punjab Agricultural Universityedit
Krishi Jagran – Online
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has produced and recommended a high-yielding PMH-13 maize variety for planting in Punjab during this kharif season. The new variety can be grown in the rural state’s climatic circumstances. According to Dr. GS Mangat, Additional Director of Research (Crop Improvement), the hybrid maize variety’s average yield was 24 quintals per acre, and it took an average of 97 days to mature. “Long conico-cylindrical ears with pale orange flint grains adorn it. Maydis leaf blight, charcoal rot (after flowering stalk rot), and maize stem borer resistance is moderate, according to him. He recommended using 10 kg seed per acre to get the best yield from this variety.
Why Microsoft’s role in digitizing India’s land records is worrying farmer groupsedit
Newslaundry – Online
“Any definition of farmer must include tenant farmers, fisherfolk, those who collect forest produce, mainly Adivasis,” said Nachiket Udupa of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan. “Even in landowning farming families, records are typically in the name of the male head of the household and excludes women, who work as much, if not more, on farms and are farmers as much as their men. The problem with using land records is that it excludes these large categories of people who engage in farming – women, tenant farmers, fisherfolk, and those dealing with uncultivated foods. Not to speak of landless agricultural labourers.”
Since such farmers don’t have land in their names, they are excluded from subsidies and schemes, ...
Govt. Policies
More uzhavar sandhais will be set up to help farmers: TamilNadu agriculture and farmers’ welfare ministeredit
The Times Of India – Online
The DMK government will act against the Union government’s farm laws and repeal the previous AIADMK government’s farm laws too, agriculture and farmers’ welfare minister M R K Panneerselvam told Julie Mariappan in an interview. Uzhavar sandhais are the best way to ensure good price to the producers as well as the buyers. We will increase the number of uzhavar sandhais to safeguard farmers from exploitation. We will also set up rural markets, run by the government. Instructions have been given to increase production of vegetables. We will increase production, provide employment opportunities in agriculture-allied industries and increase the crop area to 75% from existing 60%, thereby adding 11.75 lakh hectares. Augmenting water ...
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
State agriculture department advises farmers to hold back on sowing till 80mm-100mm of rain receivededit
Hindustan Times – Online
As most parts of the state have witnessed record pre-monsoon showers, the Maharashtra agriculture department has advised farmers not to start sowing unless their respective regions witnesses a rainfall of between 80mm-100mm. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the state agriculture department said farmers can start pre-sowing work in fields. “The soil holds moisture only after 80mm-100mm of rainfall. Therefore, farmers should wait before sowing,” read the statement. The Western region, Marathwada and Vidarbha have received considerable rainfall in the past 15 days. Pune has recorded 145.4 mm of rainfall in May, the highest in a decade.
Tractor industry
Will strive for higher margin in tractor business, says M&M’s Hemant Sikkaedit
CNBC TV18 – Online
Hemant Sikka, president-farm equipment sector at Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), in an interview with CNBC-TV18, said the company will continue to strive for higher-margin in the tractor business. “We have always maintained our long-term guidance; one quarter up because everything came together, commodities were benign and because of that, we were able to hit the margin. I think 22 percent is a very good performance on the financial front by Mahindra and we will continue to strive for higher margins,” said Sikka.
On commodity inflation, he said, “It’s a reality and we have decided that we are not going to pass on all the commodity increases in one go. I think it’s not good for ...
Lockdowns hurt May auto volumes, but 2-wheeler exports, tractor sales give hopeedit
Mint – Online
As anticipated, automobile sales volumes reported by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for May showed the impact of covid-led lockdowns. Restrictions imposed in various states have taken a toll and delayed the recovery in demand for commercial vehicles, and two-wheelers (2W), where optimism had been building. The strong sales momentum for passenger vehicles (PV), and tractors, among others, too, was impacted.
The positive was that export volumes in the 2W segment continued to be strong, benefiting exporters. Bajaj Auto Ltd, and TVS Motors Ltd, among others, performed fairly better led by exports and suffered less from the lockdowns. Even tractor volumes have surprised positively.