Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Can rural India continue to be the economic savior of the country?edit
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.
FSII and NSAI urge government to take action against illegal cultivation of HT-Bt cottonedit
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.
Technology in Agriculture
Solving real-world challenges with cloud techedit
Fortune India – Online
Agriculture, for instance, even though a key contributor to the country’s GDP, has been struggling. The sector largely remains unorganised. This combined with insufficient resources, high risk of natural calamities, and other market uncertainties makes the future concerning. Utilising technological advances with cloud computing for weather forecasting, soil fertility evaluation, precision farming, and fertilisers and pesticide information can boost the agricultural economy. Countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand have been using cloud-powered smart farming and marketplace apps to increase harvests, simplify supply chains, and sell to larger markets. This adoption of cloud in India can similarly help bridge the gap between technology, information, and agriculturists of India.
Govt to link innovative agriculture technologies to farms to help farmers in North East regionedit
Financial Express – Online
The Centre will work towards linking innovative agricultural technologies with the farms to benefit small and marginal farmers, specially women in the Northeastern region under its Biotech-KISAN programme, the S&T ministry said. The Department of Biotechnology has issued a special call for North East Region as a part of its programme to understand local issues of farmers and provide scientific solutions to those problems, it said.
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
Adilabad cotton, soya farmers bear the brunt of heavy rainsedit
Deccan Chronicle – Online
Unseasonal heavy rains that lashed last week have resulted in only 60 to 70 per cent of germination of seeds that were sown for Kharif in Adilabad district. The heavy rains have added to the woes of farmers by a lack of appropriate germination of seeds. In some places, agriculture fields that are adjacent to overflowing rivulets and streams were completely inundated. As a result, farmers have to go in for purchase of additional cotton or soya seeds to fill the ‘gaps’ as many of those sown were washed away.
Tractor industry
TAFE Introduces New Tractor: Revolutionary DYNATRACK for Agriculture and Tractionedit
Puthiyathalaimurai – Online
TAFE (Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited) – the world’s third largest tractor company and maker of Massey Ferguson tractors – has launched its new DYNATRACK tractor. The new tractor is designed to be a single-powered tractor that combines advanced advanced performance, sophisticated technology, unmatched usability and versatility. TAFE’s over 60 years of proven engineering expertise has enabled it to develop this premium type tractor without any compromise between its in-depth knowledge and understanding of Indian agriculture, both farming and traction.