Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Chhattisgarh to set aside paddy for wild elephants to stop them entering villagesedit
The Indian Express – Online
AS PART of the state forest department’s pilot project to stop wild elephants from entering villages, the Chhattisgarh government has set aside paddy acquired in 2019-2020 for “elephant management” in nine districts. “For management of elephants, it has been directed to provide paddy of 2019-2020 to the forest department at the cost of procurement in Gariyaband, Balod, Sarguja, Raigarh, Surajpur, Korba, Dhamtari, Kanker and Mahasamund,” the Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Marketing Federation said in a letter to the Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) dated July 22.
18% decline in area under paddy in Haryanaedit
Hindustan Times – Online
As per figures collected from the state agriculture department till date, paddy has been sown on around 12.25 lakh hectare and may go up to around 12.50 lakh hectare as the transplant in some areas is still on. This is around 18% less than last year’s 15.27 lakh hectare and nearly 20% below the 15.59 lakh hectare of 2019, when the state had the highest percentage of area under paddy cultivation, showed the government figures. Area under bajra, another major Kharif crop, and procured on MSP has come down to 3.40 lakh hectare against 5.69 lakh hectare of the last Kharif season.
Crops’ share in agriculture and allied sector drops to 55.5%, shows dataedit
Business Standard – Online
Share of crops in gross value of output for agriculture and allied activities has dropped to 55.5 per cent in 2018-19 from 62.4 per cent in 2011-12. Within the crop group, cereals in 2018-19 commanded a lower share in value of output as compared to fruits and vegetables, which had the largest share at 28.3 per cent, the latest data from the MoSPI showed. Fruits and vegetables have less state intervention in terms of their marketing and sale as compared to cereals.
Competition
Escorts Agri Machinery Segment records 23% growth in July tractor salesedit
Business Standard – Online
Escorts Agri Machinery Segment (EAM) in July 2021 sold 6,564 tractors, the company’s highest ever July sales and registering a growth of 23.3 percent against 5,322 tractors sold in July 2020. Domestic tractor sales in July 2021 stood at 6,055 tractors as against 4,953 tractors in July 2020, registering a growth of 22.2 percent. The three-week slowdown in monsoon activity from mid-June to mid-July temporarily affected sowing of Kharif crops leading to some slowdown in sales in July. However, monsoon has now caught up to be normal, and sowing has also picked up pace in the last few days.
Technology in Agriculture
How technology is enabling smart farmingedit
Mint – Online
Like Sariya, millions of farmers in India, who often rely on luck or favourable weather for a decent harvest, could do well with access to better technologies. It also doesn’t cost much. Gramophone’s farm management services, for instance, are priced at ₹1,999 per crop season. For long the domain of district-level agriculture department officials, crop advisory is finally getting the attention of startups in many parts of India. These agritech upstarts often have access to better technology, claim to offer more reliable and timely information, and their channel of communication is via intuitive apps.
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
Food production could contract in FY22 thanks to erratic rainsedit
Mint – Online
Even as a few regions in the country are afflicted by devastating floods, monsoons have been erratic and deficient in many parts. As a consequence, sowing in India’s main agricultural season, kharif, has been slower than in 2020. In that pandemic year, a bountiful monsoon and a bumper crop alleviated the economic distress in rural areas. How the monsoon’s progress will have a bearing on food prices, the rural economy, and aggregate demand this year.
Stubble Burning
Scrap penal provisions on farmers in Air Pollution bill: Kisan Sansadedit
The New Indian Express – Online
The ongoing ‘Kisan Sansad’ organised by the agitating farmer unions on Monday demanded the scrapping of sections in a bill on checking air pollution that penalise farmers for stubble burning, according to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM). In a statement, the SKM, which is an amalgam of 40 farmer unions that have been agitating against the three central agri laws, expressed concern over the ‘Commission on Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas’ Bill 2021; that was introduced in the Lok Sabha earlier during this monsoon session.