Down To Earth – Online

Paddy farmers protested across Odisha, alleging that not all of their produce have been procured. They sought an extension of 2021 kharif procurement beyond June 30. Around 21,000 paddy farmers in Odisha have not been able to sell their produce despite being registered under the paddy procurement system. The minimum support price (MSP) of paddy is Rs 1,868 per quintal. “The farmers in the region will be forced to distress sell paddy at Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 per quintal if the government fails to procure their entire produce,” Lingaraj Pradhan, a farmers’ leader, said.

Gaon Connection – Online

Paddy cultivation traditionally requires a lot of water. However, methods have evolved over the years that use less water, yet yield more produce. The aerobic method is one of them that is becoming increasingly popular with paddy cultivators across the country, because it requires neither the expensive field irrigation nor transplantation. “The conventional technique is water-intensive because considerable water is consumed in the nursery first. Then, once the saplings are transplanted, they have to be watered once again,” Vinod Kumar Srivastava, scientist at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, told Gaon Connection. The aerobic method of sowing can be adopted even where there are few irrigation resources, he added.

Krishi Jagran – Online

Assam is a paradise for many forms of agriculture, producing a wide range of crops, and then manufacturing things from them. You will be pleased to learn that, unlike other agricultural hubs like Karnataka, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab etc. this region is a haven of farming naturally rather than artificially. To increase productivity, cultivators in these areas employ more artificial machinery and chemical fertilizers; yet, Assam is a natural center. Assam does not require these items in the same way that these states do.

The New Indian Express – Online

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has appreciated Italy for highlighting food security and said the Matera Declaration reflects the Indian concern on issues including the welfare of small and medium farmers, and recognising agri-diversity. Jaishankar shared his views on contemporary challenges at the G-20 Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting in Matera, Italy, on Tuesday. “Appreciate Italy for highlighting food security. The Matera Declaration reflects the Indian concern for the welfare of small & medium farmers, promoting local food cultures and recognising agri-diversity,” he said in a tweet.

Business Standard – Online

Climate change is likely to affect agricultural productivity in Maharashtra, especially in four major crops soybean, cotton, wheat and gram, according to a report. Maharashtra faces an increasing risk from climate change that is likely to impact the production of the four crops grown in the state, according to a report by a global not-for-profit organisation Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC). The report, titled ‘Climate Change Impacts on Maharashtra Agriculture’, has examined week-wise 30-year averages of years 1989-2018 and predicted rainfall and temperature data for years 2021-50 for eight districts across Khandesh, Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of the state.

The Indian Express – Online

A farmer for the last 15 years, Amrik Singh (40) says that it is for the first time since he began farming that he has been forced to use generator for over four hours daily to run his tubewells to water paddy fields. The 40-year-old, who ploughs 20 paddy fields including 10 on rent, says that his village, Sansarpur in district Jalandhar, is only getting 5 hours power supply against 8 hours promised by PSPCL. And there are days when there is no power throughout the day due to faults. “I am getting power supply on our tubewells in the village from 5 pm to 10 pm which is not sufficient to keep the ...

Financial Express – Online

The first month of the June-September monsoon season has recorded rains 10% above normal with each of the four regions — East and North-East, North-West, Central and South Peninsular — reporting surplus precipitation. However, the surplus rains could not help sowing activities as monsoon has been stalled since June 19 and is unlikely to revive before July 7, as per latest forecast. For the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year’s southwest monsoon season’s rainfall until June 30 has been about 10% above the Long Period Average (LPA) with actual rainfall recorded at 18.29 cm against normal of 16.69 cm, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement.