Indian Education Diary – Online

A “Mass Awareness Campaign for Large-Scale Dissemination of Climate Resilient Technologies and Methods” addressed by the Prime Minister of India , Shri Narendra Modi was attended by the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University on September 28, 2021, at 11.00AM via video conferencing The programme was represented by Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, AMU through virtual mode under the supervision of Dean Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Prof Rais Ahmad, who welcomed all participants (teaching, non-teaching and farming community) during the virtual programme,

Hindustan Times – Online

The recently released Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019 (SAS) serves as an important reminder of the diverse and regionally specific nature of agriculture in India. Agricultural incomes and the interlinkages between farm and non-farm activity vary significantly by state. Thus, pathways for “doubling farmers income” or enhancing productivity through market competition have to be determined in consonance with state-specific realities. This is the primary reason why agriculture is a state subject and why the Centre’s farm laws are fundamentally flawed.

The Indian Express – Online

Indian agriculture’s major challenge in the initial decades after Independence was to increase crop production and yields at any cost. Today, it’s about boosting farm incomes, while simultaneously ensuring production that is cost-competitive, resource-use efficient and climate-smart. The release of a new herbicide-tolerant rice variety by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) that can be directly sown, instead of requiring transplantation, is therefore welcome. Farmers transplant and grow paddy in flooded fields mainly to control weeds, which cannot emerge under water that acts as a natural herbicide. The IARI variety contains a mutated gene making the paddy plant “tolerant” to Imazethapyr, a herbicide effective against a wide range of weeds. This chemical when now ...

Krishi Jagran – Online

The Annual Conference of Vice-Chancellors of Agricultural Universities across the country was held at the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) Campus, New Delhi. On this occasion, Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar who joined the virtual team, said that agriculture education being multidisciplinary, multi-dimensional and comprehensive is very important for the progress of the country.

Hindustan Times – Online

The Union ministry of food and public distribution has rejected the Punjab government’s revised estimate of total paddy arrivals of 190 lakh tonne for releasing extra cash credit limit (CCL) for the upcoming procurement season starting October 1. Even as the fresh estimates were submitted by the state agriculture department after it predicted a bumper crop, the Centre has only allowed the CCL against the old estimate of 170 lakh tonne. The issue was flagged in a meeting with Union food and public distribution secretary Sudhanshu Pandey, who was in Chandigarh to meet the state food and civil supplies department officials last week. The previous kharif paddy procurement had broken all arrival records with 203 ...

Telangana Today – Online

With 6.59 per cent, Telangana is ranked second in the country in the growth rate of income from the agriculture sector in the last decade between 2011-12 and 2019-20. Tripura is the only State to have performed better than Telangana recording an agricultural income growth rate of 6.87 per cent during the period. Sikkim too secured second place with 6.59 per cent growth rate, while Andhra Pradesh stood fourth with a growth rate of 5.41 per cent. However, if larger States are taken into consideration, Telangana tops the list.

Hindustan Times – Online

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched 35 crop varieties which are climate resilient. He said that climate change is a big challenge for agriculture and the entire ecosystem and stressed on the need to step up efforts to fight it. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the crops launched today have special traits and will lead to awareness about the adoption of climate resilient technologies.

CNBC TV18 – Online

The climate crisis will change the agricultural landscape in Karnataka by 2035 and increase the risk of a market glut, a latest study has said. While major crops such as rice, ragi, groundnut, soybean and red gram will witness a drop in yield, other crops like cotton and sugarcane will see yields increasing, the vulnerability assessment by Professor H.S. Shivaramu, Dean of Horticulture College in Kolar, showed. Shivaramu, who is also the former head of agrometeorology in the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru, used a crop simulation method for the study.

Web India 123 – Online

Amid conflicting claims about Monday’s Bharat Bandh being successful or not, a question that comes up repeatedly is why is that the farmers’ agitation, including the latest agitation, gets more response from northwest India compared to other parts? Is it because the farmers in the states of Punjab, Haryana or western Uttar Pradesh are rich? Is it because they have large land holdings? Or there are more reasons than what meet the eyes? Not the landholdings but it is the procurement under Minimum Support Price (MSP) that is the driving issue of the whole agitation and because farmers from Punjab, Haryana, parts of Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh benefit more from MSP, they are the ...

Hindustan Times – Online

That Indian agriculture has been distress-ridden is an accepted fact in post-reform India. However, this is often discussed more in terms of farmers’ suicides, especially during the last decade, or abysmally low farm incomes. Both underline the crisis in farming, but neither is helpful in framing a forward-looking approach. If farm incomes have to improve in India, it is important to understand the business of farming. This entails a holistic look at the entire process, from the farmer buying inputs for cultivation to selling his produce. Any such analysis requires information on farm balance sheets.

The Times Of India – Online

More than 50% of the population in India relies on agriculture as their livelihood. The share of agriculture in GDP increased to 19.9 percent in 2020-21 from 17.8 percent in 2019-20. The share of agriculture in GDP has touched 20% after 17 years which is an indication of strong momentum in the agriculture sector at the moment. Like every sector, Indian agriculture is also going through exciting advancements which are driven by the digitalization wave in India, technology solutions introduced by new-age start-ups, and farmer’s rapid digital adaptation, especially pushed by Covid lockdown.

The Indian Express – Online

After two successive droughts in 2014-15 and 2015-16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set out an ambitious target to double farmers’ incomes by 2022-23. Many analysts thought he was talking about nominal incomes. But the Ashok Dalwai Committee, which was set up to chalk out a strategy to achieve this, made it clear that the target of doubling farmers’ incomes was in real terms and the goal was to be achieved over seven years with the base year of 2015-16. It clearly stated that a growth rate of 10.4 per cent per annum would be required to double farmers’ real income by 2022-23. According to an estimate of farmers’ income for 2015-16 by NABARD in ...

The Wire – Online

While the latest decennial NSS 77th round Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households (SAS) shows some improvement in the total income of farmers from various sources, a 10-percentage fall in the share of income from crop cultivation has also been reported during this period, which should be a cause for concern to policy makers. Smaller land holdings having low economic viability and increasing expenses are making farmers and their family members migrate to cities and look for alternative employment.

Mint – Online

With  the  farm  sector  seeing  a  growth  of  4.5%  in  the first quarter of FY22 and a record foodgrain production of 150.5 million tonnes (mt) during the kharif season, the hard work of farmers, proficiency of scientists, and near normal monsoons have given positive returns. The Indian farm sector exhibited a robust growth of 3.4% in FY21 and 4.5% in Q1FY22, and the exports of farm and allied products saw an increase of 21.8% in April-August. With a target of 307.3 mt of foodgrain production for FY22, the first advance estimates of the production of major kharif crops for FY22 show a record foodgrain production of 150.5 mt, 7.8 mt higher than the average foodgrain production ...

The Hans India – Online

Former Minister and senior TDP leader Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Sunday held the Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s ‘anti-farmer’ policies responsible for the deepening crisis and steep fall in agricultural growth rate in the State. Yanamala expressed concern that both agriculture and its allied sectors were caught in a steep crisis. As a result, the percentage of population dependent on agriculture fell from 70 per cent to 50 per cent, which was an alarming fall of -20 per cent. All round problems have made the lives of cultivators very difficult to lead in Andhra Pradesh. They were getting stuck in debts and losses. The growth rate also went down by over -4.9 percent under the Jagan ...

The Times Of India – Online

The Punjab government on Saturday requested the central government to revise the paddy procurement target from170 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) to 191 LMT during the kharif marketing season (KMS) 2021-22. The request was made during the visit of Union food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey to Punjab to review the procurement arrangements during the upcoming season. He was apprised that Punjab was expecting a bumper paddy crop due to favourable weather conditions at the time of maturation of crop. As per paddy production estimates of Punjab’s department of agriculture and farmers welfare, gathered through remote sensing, production of 191 LMT of paddy is expected during the KMS 2021-22.

Jagran – Online

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday (September 26) appealed to the farmers to stop protesting and engage in talks with the Center. He also said the Centre is ready to discuss the issues raised by the farmers. “I urge farmers to adopt the path of discussion by leaving the path of protests. Central govt is ready to discuss any issues raised by farmers,” said Tomar.

Deccan Chronicle – Online

Department of Agriculture in Kadapa is drawing up plans to make seeds available to farmers of the district treating Rythu Bharosa Kendram (RBK) as unit. All officials under a kendram are expected to contact farmers and make a detailed inquiry, so that a consolidated figure could be arrived at. Tentatively, it is expected that 9,000 quintals of Narayani variety and 11,000 quintals of K-6 variety of groundnut seeds, apart from 65,000 quintals of Bengal gram will be supplied to farmers at subsidised rates. Prices of seeds have not yet been finalised. It is also not known whether procurement of groundnut seeds will be through contractors or farmers. However, tenders will be called for making available ...

Money Control – Online

Record procurement of paddy at support price in Chhattisgarh is now weighing heavy on the state government. Failing to ensure its proper usage, the state government is now feeding excess paddy to wild elephants. Around 500 wild elephants are estimated to be in the state. Since the last three years, human-elephant conflict has emerged as a serious concern in the state. State government considers feeding paddy to elephant as a solution to this conflict as elephants will not venture into villages in search for food. However, recent incidents indicate that this might backfire and cause adverse effects instead of solving the human-animal conflict.

The Economic Times – Online

The migrant workers’ long walk — from the cities they helped build to their homes in faraway villages — defined the first nationwide Covid lockdown in India. Three crop cycles, half a dozen festivals and two Covid-19 waves later, several lakhs of these workers have still not returned. The pandemic has had a profound impact on labour migration patterns — and this could shape work in rural as well as urban centres. The rural-to-urban migration is probably at one of its lowest ebbs, say labour ministry officials, consultants and economists ET spoke to. There has been a near-10% decline in blue collar workforce moving to cities for jobs. This is enough to choke the ...

The Statesman – Online

With record production of food grains, pulses and oilseeds India has ensured food security in the world, said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar here on Saturday. Addressing the first-ever United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021, the Minister said India had record production of 308 million metric tons of food grains, through which it is not only meeting its domestic requirements but also ensuring food security to the world. He said despite Covid-19 pandemic, India’s foodgrains production continued to increase. “India is leaving no stone unturned to make agriculture a profitable business for our farmers,” the Minister said.

Live Mint – Online

Earlier this month, the National Statistical Office released the Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of agricultural households for the 2018-19 agricultural year, which runs from July to June. This is the third survey of the SAS series; the earlier two were for 2002-03 and 2012-13 agrarian years. The latest one holds importance, given the unprecedented crisis in India’s economy driven by declining demand and supply disruptions, but also in the context of agrarian issues taking centre- stage with the intensification of the farmer agitation against three farm laws enacted last September.

Telangana Today – Online

Breaking its own record, Telangana’s paddy production in the Vaanakalam (kharif) season could be a whopping 1.6 crore tonnes, a quantum jump from the 1.13 crore tonnes of paddy produced last Vaanakalam, on account of the increase in area under cultivation as well as increased yield per acre in the State. The first advance estimations released by the Directorate of Economic and Statistics had placed paddy production at 1.38 crore tonnes this Vaanakalam, despite a marginal drop in the extent of cultivation area from 52.77 lakh acres last year to 52 lakh acres this season. The increased production is on account of higher yield per acre this Vaanakalam season, officials told Telangana Today.

Hindustan Times – Online

In view of the ensuing paddy procurement season, deputy commissioner Isha Kalia asked the police department to be extra vigilant on 16 interstate checkpoints to check smuggling of paddy in the district from other parts of the country. In a meeting with the police, and food supply, agriculture and other allied departments, the DC said that strict monitoring of rice shellers should be ensured so that the menace of recycling of paddy could be checked. Instructing officials to be extra conscious on 16 interstate entry points of the district, she said that proper arrangements in tandem with all stakeholder departments should be made to check smuggling of paddy.

News18 – Online

The writing on the wall is crystal clear. There is no scope for any complacency. It is the need of the hour to take care of small and marginal farmers on the ground, and not just politically. The latest National Sample Survey (NSS) report titled Land and Livestock Holdings of Households and Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households has reinforced the fact that farmers urgently need a cushion which catapults them towards wholesome financial empowerment as 87.5 per cent agricultural households have less than two hectares of land. It is an eye-opener as majority of farmers are into subsistence farming. With less than two hectares of land, a rural household with four to six members cannot meet ...

Hindustan Times – Online

An analysis of the report of the latest Situation Assessment Survey (SAS), the findings of which were first reported on September 11, offers an insight into the reasons for the problems in the agriculture sector not finding a resonance in politics. A large majority of the population at the bottom of the social hierarchy in India does not have significant stakes in agriculture. The social groups, who are still invested in farming, are also the ones who are more successful in getting out of villages. This creates a political vacuum for a social-economic class that can build pressure for an effective policy framework to rescue Indian agriculture from its current crisis. Even those who are ...

Financial Express – Online

The government has issued new quality specifications for rice and paddy procurement for the coming season. According to a statement, the government has established uniform criteria for fortified rice kernels (FRK) for grade A and common rice in case of purchase of fortified rice stocks, where 1% FRK shall be blended with regular rice. These criteria have been given in respect of paddy, rice, and other coarse grains such as jowar, bajra, maize, and ragi, as is customary practice. These requirements include rice criteria for distribution under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and other welfare schemes, which are based on the unified rice specifications for Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020-21.

Hindustan Times – Online

India has projected a record foodgrain output of 150.5 million tonne from summer crops (2021-22) despite an erratic monsoon, up 4% from the previous year, official estimates on Tuesday showed. The government’s first of the four quarterly estimates of food production, a key indicator of the country’s farm sector that employs half of all Indians, pointed to plentiful harvests of rice, coarse cereals, maize, higher pulses, oilseeds, etc. Farm-produce output and agricultural gross domestic product (agri GDP) was robust in 2020-21, too, when the wider economy came to a standstill due to strict Covid-19 restrictions, pointing to resilience of the rural sector.

Down to Earth – Online

By next year, India has a promise to keep: To double farmers’ income from 2015-2016 levels. The 77th round of the National Sample Survey, Land and Livestock Holdings of Households and Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households, by the National Statistical Office has some indicators on whether this promise can be kept. The survey covers situations in 2018-2019; before this a similar survey was done in 2012-2013. Thus, this survey is also the first to point out the state of farmers during the tenure of the incumbent government. Monthly income of agricultural households has increased by 59 per cent since 2012-2013. So, it is an annual growth rate of 7.8 per cent. To get a ...

Jagran – Online

District Magistrate Akhilesh Singh instructed all the combine harvester owners of the district that it would be mandatory to use super straw management system or stripper or stirrer and baler along with the combine harvester to be used during harvesting. He said that if any combine harvester super straw management system, stripper, If found running without straw and baler, immediate action will be taken and the combine will be released only after installation of Super Straw Management System at the expense of owner. He said that all the combine owners should be present in the office of the sub-divisional agricultural extension officer of their tehsil within a week and obtain a no-objection certificate from the agriculture ...

Telangana Today – Online

Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K T Rama Rao urged farmers to cultivate alternative crops instead of paddy. Since the Union government had refused to procure common variety of paddy, it was necessary to shift to crops other than paddy from the next Yasangi season, he said. “Farmers can earn more with less work if they cultivate alternative crops such as oil palm, groundnut, sunflower, redgram and others. Public representatives and agriculture officials should motivate farmers to go in for other crops,” Rama Rao said, participating in the 2021-22 Yasangi crop shifting awareness programme in Sircilla on Monday.

Fortune India – Online

Covid-19 seems to have unleashed the potential of agritech start-ups by making farmers aware about the need for technology as they became more open to innovation and digitisation. Between January and August this year, agritech startups in India raised $426 million, across 38 deals, over three times more than the same period last year, according to data from analytics firm Tracxn. They had attracted $127 million in January-August 2020. This includes seed, early and late stage deals. “India’s agriculture sector has shown resilience in the face of the pandemic. It has piqued investor interest. With singular digital access to farmers, significant reforms and exceptional government support, agritech has empowered rural India by increasing income levels ...

Telegraph India – Online

The Bengal government has achieved the target of sowing kharif paddy this season despite Cyclone Yaas and floods and the officials are giving the credit to the welfare schemes initiated by the state for farmers. “This year, the target of kharif cultivation was 42.06 lakh hectares. A total of 100.80 per cent of the target area was cultivated in the kharif season this year. This is a success considering the challenges we faced because of the cyclone and floods,” said a senior government official. But, sources said, schemes like Krishak Bandhu scheme and Kisan Credit Cards played an important role in drawing farmers to the fields despite the cyclone and floods that had inundated their ...

The Times Of India – Online

Civil supplies minister Gangula Kamalakar on Sunday appealed to farmers to take up cultivation of other crops too by reducing paddy sowing area keeping in view the central government’s decision not to procure coarse variety of rice. Addressing the farmers of Karimnagar rural mandal, the minister said the farmers would face severe hardships if they don’t take the state government’s advice to switch to other crops. “You can cultivate sunflower, groundnut, millets and cotton among others,” he said. With Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao personally taking up the matter with the central minister, Food Corporation of India (FCI) has agreed to procure the paddy of last Yasangi and the next Vanakalam season. However, ...

Hindustan Times – Online

Amid continuous protests against the contentious farm laws, a Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of Agricultural Households, Land and Livestock Holdings of Households of Rural India, 2019, conducted from January to December 2019 revealed a 59% surge in farmers’ incomes that are not adjusted for inflation, on a nominal basis. The survey also showed that farmers’ incomes adjusted for inflation — which economists call real income — have risen by about 2%. However, when the inflation-unadjusted incomes are distributed among the number of farming households to derive per capita farmers’ incomes, one gets a figure of ₹27 a day, as reported by HT earlier.

Hindustan Times – Online

There is a need for a continuous dialogue between the farmers and the government, and the interests of the agriculturists should never be mixed with politics, Vice-President (VP) M Venkaiah Naidu said during the launch of a set of works on the life and writings of prominent Haryanvi farmer leader, Sir Chhotu Ram. Naidu credited Ram for major agricultural reforms in the erstwhile province of Punjab. Referring to Sir Chhotu Ram’s contributions, Naidu said that he was instrumental in making laws that freed farmers from the exploitation of moneylenders, and vicious debt cycle. He also got the mandis formed at the local level so that farmers could set the right price for their produce, Naidu ...

Business Standard – Online

Ministers for Agriculture from the G20 nations have committed to shift their sector policies to better ensure sustainability and security of food systems in the world. After a two-day summit in central Florence, Italy, the Ministers approved a final statement made of 21 points, mostly focused on “identifying and overcoming the major hurdles to meeting the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals provided by the 2030 Agenda)”, reports Xinhua news agency “We recognise the need to identify paths for sustainable and resilient food systems and to find appropriate institutional, collaborative, and financial frameworks for their implementation, to overcome short and long-term challenges,” they stated.

The Leaflet – Online

September 17 marks one year of the passing of the Narendra Modi government’s three contentious farm Bills in Parliament. In 10 days, the Bills became Acts after getting Presidential assent. The three laws are — The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The three laws together pave the way for corporate entry into production, marketing, storage and even pricing of agricultural produce and farmers fear that powerful corporate entities may even acquire control of their lands. It is also feared that the present system of support prices will get ...

The Times Of India – Online

The Punjab cabinet on Friday approved the Punjab Custom Milling Policy for kharif 2021-22, for conversion of paddy procured by state procurement agencies (Pungrain, Markfed, Punsup and PSWC) into custom milled rice and its delivery into the central pool. The kharif marketing season (KMS) 2021-22 will start from October 1 and the operations would be completed by December 15, said a spokesperson. During KMS 2021-22, the paddy so procured would be stored in eligible rice mills in the state. The policy provides for timely linking of rice mills to procurement centres, as per the purchase centre allotment list issued by the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department. The paddy would be stored ...

Money Control – Online

India on Saturday stressed at G20 agriculture meeting that there is a need to increase investment in agricultural research and development amid the challenges of climate change and expected increase in food demand by 2030. The G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting is one of the ministerial meetings organised as part of the G20 Leaders Summit 2021 to be hosted by Italy in October. Addressing a session on the topic ‘Research as a driving force behind sustainability’, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar shared that agricultural research has played a major role in transforming India from a net food importer to exporter.

WION – Online

Current focus of public discourse in agriculture is on marketing system in the backdrop of the three contentious farm laws enacted last year. Early this year, the Supreme Court ordered a temporary stay on their implementation and appointed an expert committee whose report is lying unactioned since March. The Government’s offer to seek suggestions on specific changes in the law have fallen on deaf ears and the protests seeking outright scrapping of laws have now turned distinctly political.

This focus on marketing has eclipsed attention on important issues of growing water deficit, soil erosion and environmental degradation – particularly nitrogen pollution or air and water — caused by current farming practices. Here is a brief explainer ...

Mint – Online

Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. are among technology giants lining up to harness data from India’s farmers in an ambitious government-led productivity drive aimed at transforming an outmoded agricultural industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, which is seeking to ensure food security in the world’s second-most populous nation, has signed preliminary agreements with the three U.S. titans and a slew of local businesses starting April to share farm statistics it’s been gathering since coming to power in 2014. Modi is betting the private sector can help farmers boost yields with apps and tools built from information such as crop output, soil quality and land holdings. 

The Times of India – Online

At present around 58% Indian population is engaged in agriculture as primary source of income. With the aim of becoming global economic powerhouse by 2024-25, increasing income of this large chunk of population becomes inevitable.

The government of India has drafted a policy to double farmer’s income and also announced budget for the same. With highest yield of pulses, milk, jute and second highest yield of groundnut, vegetables, rice, wheat, fruits, sugarcane, and cotton; production is not a matter of concern for Indian agricultural sector. But the major concern lies in small size of land owned by many of farmers which do not provide sufficient income to them. And above all, negative impact ...

India Today – Online

n the last eight years, farmers’ debts have increased much more than their income. Does this signal a debt trap farmers are getting into?

Farmers’ income rose by 30 per cent while their debt surged around 58 per cent between 2013 and 2019. As a result, farmers’ debt as a percentage of their annual income shot up by 13 percentage points, according to latest data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

But is the rising credit culture among farm households a bad outcome per se? If the loan is taken to buy farm machinery or to invest in crop diversification, it may boost future income.

Business Standard – Online

Digital farm advisory startup BharatAgri has raised $6.5 million in a Series A round led by Omnivore, with participation from existing investors India Quotient and 021 Capital.

BharatAgri offers farmers an app-based platform for AI-based agronomy services on a paid subscription basis, which claims to increase farm incomes through systematic implementation of scientific farming techniques.

Based in Bengaluru, BharatAgri was founded in 2017 by Sai Gole and Siddharth Dialani, both alumni of IIT Madras. The startup intends to use this Series A funding to expand its subscriber base beyond Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, accelerate the growth of its inputs marketplace, and refine the existing technology offering. BharatAgri plans to aggressively scale up in the Rabi ...

Hindustan Times -Online

The dip in farming in Delhi is now established by data. Cropped area in Delhi dropped from 33,700 hectares in 2010 to 29,000 hectares in 2020, according to the government’s statistical data records.

Also, between 2010 and 2020, production of wheat dropped from 92,480 metric tonnes to 82,870 metric tonnes (MT). The production of paddy dropped from 28,512 MT in 2010 to 25,200 MT in 2020. The government does not maintain production and yield data on the cultivation of vegetables, fruits, etc.

Between 2010 and 2020, the estimated number of farmers in Delhi reduced from around 40,000 to 21,000, said government records.

The Indian Express – Online

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare on Tuesday signed 5 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for pilot projects with five private companies­ — CISCO, Ninjacart, Jio Platforms Limited, ITC Limited and NCDEX e-Markets Limited (NeML).

According to the Agriculture Ministry, Jio Platforms Limited will conduct its pilot project to provide advisories to farmers in two districts of Maharashtra– Jalna and Nasik. The ITC Limited has signed the MoU for building a “Customized ‘Site Specific Crop Advisory’ service.”

“The proposal will be implemented in identified villages of Sehore and Vidisha districts of Madhya Pradesh and support Wheat crop operations,” the Ministry said sharing the details about the MoU done with the ITC Limited.

Down To Earth – Online

Only about 24 per cent paddy and 20 per cent wheat is sold under minimum support price (MSP) in India, according to the findings of the 77th round of the National Sample Survey report. The data from the report, titled Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019, is from 2018-2019 agricultural year (July 2018-June 2019). The report also underlined the percentage of farmer families aware of the procurement agency under MSP they should sell the crop to. Only 14.5 and 18.5 percent farmer families sold their produce to the government procurement agency under MSP in the Kharif and Rabi season respectively. This figure was even less ...

North East Today – Online

On Tuesday, September 14, the Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Department Minister has organized a token distribution programme for the beneficiaries of Namchebong constituency. The programme has been conducted at Gram Prashashanik Kendra, Assam Lingzey. During the programme, over one hundred farming households from Namchebong constituency received various agricultural machinery tools and tokens, including Power Tiller, Power Weeder, Chaff Cutter, Mini Rice Mill, Brush Cutter, Spices Grinder, Rice thresher, Garden Hand Tools.

The Times Of India – Online

It has rained substantially till Monday and the Canacona farmers seem to be happy, director of agriculture Nevil Alphonso and managing director horticulture, Sandip Faldesai said. Alphonso told TOI that most of the paddy, which is grown in the uplands, is healthy and since the sheaves are in grain-formation stage the rain spell is very favourable. As of now no cases of crop damage have been reported at the nodal agriculture office but any heavy rain hereafter may partly damage the crop.

Deccan Chronicle – Online

The state government seems to have failed in achieving the target for sowing of most crops in the ongoing kharif season except paddy, soybean and maize, according to data available with the agriculture department. Only two weeks are left for the season to end, on September 30. The data obtained from all districts as of Tuesday showed that the area under paddy exceeded the target at 124 per cent, while jowar, red gram, groundnut and mustard crops were not sown on even half the stipulated target area for kharif. The government is setting targets for cultivation of different crops every year to discourage the trend of the majority of farmers opting for paddy. Crop diversification ...

The Times Of India – Online

Global population will surpass 9 billion people by 2050. Those 9 billion people will have, in general, a higher quality of life and higher demand for food per capita. To meet that demand, we need to grow at least 60% more food than is produced today. A daunting task in and of itself, an increase of this size seems nearly impossible in the face of continued destruction of arable land and increasing weather volatility due to climate change. Dry lands will become drier, floods will become frequent and disastrous and harvests more unpredictable. Over 500 million smallholder farmers, who support some 2 billion family members and produce an estimated 70% of the world’s ...

Lokmat – Online

The Rs 235 crore and Rs 141 crore for Punjab and Haryana respectively for crop residue management and the other measures taken by the Central government will solve the problem of air pollution to a large extent, according to Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal. Including this year’s allocation, under the central sector ‘Promotion of agricultural mechanization for in-situ management of crop residue’ scheme, the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare has allocated Rs 1050.68 crore for Punjab and Rs 640.9 crore for Haryana since 2018-19 for crop residue management machines on subsidy to the farmers and for undertaking information, education and communication (IEC) activities for mass awareness. These machines ensure that the crop residue is weeded ...

Hindustan Times – Online

In an authoritative official study of the transformation in Indian agriculture, the National Statistical Organisation (NSO) has published a report — Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Holdings of Households in Rural India — based on a survey conducted in 2019. The headline numbers seem attractive. Farm incomes have risen by 57% between 2012-13 and 2018-19, at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3%. The share of agricultural families in debt has decreased from 51.9% to 50.2% in the same period.

Mid-day – Online

Now it has turned its attention to things which are highly beneficial to the Indian market. There’s no doubt that agriculture in India can influence markets not only in India but across the globe. It has been the case all along if you have read the modern history of the world and how most of the agricultural base existed in India and China. But what’s Amazon really trying to do here? How is India’s agriculture going to pave ways for Amazon to succeed further in this group and solidify it’s business?

Deccan Chronicle – Online

Union minister of state for agriculture and farmers’ welfare, Shobha Karandlaje, said that the Centre would work closely with the Telangana government to promote agricultural exports in order to double the income of farmers within a reasonable time-frame. The union minister reviewed the implementation of Central schemes in the agricultural sector in Telangana at BRKR Bhavan here on Monday. State agriculture minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, chief secretary Somesh Kumar and senior officials of agriculture department were present in the meeting.

Deccan Chronicle – Online

The farmers’ movement gave the Union government last year a set of eight demands. First, to repeal the law that allowed the tax-free trade of agricultural produce outside of regulated mandis, stop corporates from entering the agriculture sector and provide a guarantee for the Minimum Support Price. Second, to repeal the law allowing contract farming. Third, to repeal the law amending the Essential Commodities Act, decriminalising the hoarding of agricultural produce. Fourth, to withdraw the amendments proposed in the Electricity Ordinance 2020, which would end power subsidies and replace them with a cash subsidy. Fifth, to eliminate the taxes on fuel to align the price of petrol and diesel to international crude prices. Sixth, to ...

The WEEK – Online

The country’s foodgrain production is likely to touch a new record of over 150 million tonnes in the Kharif season of the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) due to good rains, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal said on Monday.Sowing of Kharif (summer) crops like paddy, which begins with the onset of the Southwest monsoon from June, will get over by the end of this month. Harvesting in most of the parts will commence from October.“We have received good rains so far this year. Total Kharif foodgrain production was 149.56 million tonnes last year as per the fourth estimate. As there is likely to be an increase in area under pulses and paddy, foodgrain production will definitely be ...

Telangana Today – Online

With the Central government refusing to purchase paddy beyond the allocated quota, the State government will procure only 60 lakh tonnes of paddy through the procurement centres for the Vaanakalam (Kharif) season. The officials of Agriculture Department were asked to sensitise people in this regard. The State government had procured the entire yield during the past three crop seasons since Yasangi 2019-20 to ensure that farmers do not suffer losses due to the Covid pandemic and subsequent lockdown. At a high level meeting on ‘crop cultivation and paddy procurement’ held at Pragathi Bhavan on Sunday, the officials stated that following the Centre’s decision not to purchase boiled rice, the rice mills in the State were ...

The Times Of India – Online

Pest attaacks have affected different varieties of paddy, including the popular Indrayani, cultivated across 250-hectare area in the hilly region of seven tehsils, including Maval and Mulshi, in the district. “We have so far recorded white grub attack on 250 hectare of the total 61,000 hectare of the paddy cultivation in seven tehsils. This usually occurs when there is a lack of rainfall. The white grubs grow under the soil and eats the roots of the crop,” district agriculture officer Dnyaneshwar Bote told TOI.

The Times Of India – Online

A total of 54% of the rural families are agricultural households, with 70% of them possessing land less than 1 hectare, the latest survey on land holdings and rural households has found. It is further been found that just 0.4% of the agricultural households possess land above 10 hectare. In contrast, of the total non-agricultural households, which forms 46% of the total rural households, those possessing land less than 1 ha is almost 99%. The survey, carried out by national statistical office for the year 2019, has found that nearly 77% of the agricultural households are self-employed, with 69% into crop production. The remaining households which are into employment include 7.7% as into ...

Financial Express – Online

From a trading company MSTC, under the ministry of steel, has transformed itself into an e-commerce company over the years. The Centre expects it to play a major role in the government’s drive to monetise assets. While the company has already created a deep footprint in e-auctioning agri commodities, it is moving ahead to recycle end of life vehicles in an ecofriendly manner. Chairman and managing director, MSTC, Surinder Kumar Gupta speaks to Indronil Roychowdhury about the company’s current focus and its days ahead.

Free Press Journal – Online

Paddy in kharif season and wheat in rabi season are still the preferred produce in highest percentage of agricultural households across rural India, the National Statistical Office (NSO) reported in its 77th round of survey. For the Kharif season, 53.2 per cent rural agriculture households grew paddy, followed by maize (11.3 per cent); bajra (8.3 per cent); cotton (7.2 per cent) and soyabean (six per cent) of the households. The remaining crops such as jowar, ragi, arhar (tur), urad, moong, sugarcane, potato, groundnut and coconut were all each 4.1 per cent or less, said the survey conducted during January 1 to December 31, 2019.

Republic World – Online

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on his visit to Jammu and Kashmir spoke on several factors concerning the agriculture sector in the Union Territory. Tomar who has been in J&K along with his two deputies, Kailash Choudhary and Shobha Karandlaje on Friday visited the “Sher-e-Kashmir” University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu and later laid the foundation stone of Gene Bank and Cold Storage facility at Mega Seed. Speaking on the matter, he emphasized the need for development in the agricultural sector of Jammu and Kashmir. He further also informed that the central government has been making efforts towards agriculture in India as it has already transferred Rs 1,58,000 crores to the bank ...

Scroll – India

“A day’s farm work pays about Rs 250 but women earn even less, sometimes around Rs 100,” said Kranti Azad, 27, a farmer from Devlaha village in Ayodhya, 135 km east of Lucknow. “But now that those who work in the cities are back, women’s daily earnings are almost down to Rs 50.” Like Azad, millions of women for whom agriculture is the only source of income in rural India are now struggling with diminished savings and lost livelihood opportunities. Though the pandemic led to a recession in India, agriculture has managed to grow, with the Reserve Bank of India describing the sector as the “bright spot” in the economy. But despite undiminished farm output, agricultural ...

Navbharat Times – Online

Have you ever thought that weeds from crops can also make wonderful clothes? Yes, there is a startup in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which is working to convert waste from crops into cloth with the help of circular technology. The name of this startup is AltMat, whose founder Shikha Shah told news agency ANI why he chose to make clothes from agriculture waste.” Humans use 11 million tonnes of fibers such as polyester, cotton and man-made cellulose to manufacture clothing,” she explains. Polyester is a source of plastics and microplastics which are hazardous to both environment and health. He further said, ‘Man-made cellulose contains rayon, which causes deforestation and its chemical processing is also harmful to the ...

Hindustan Times – Online

The Punjab food and civil supplies department has asked the state’s agriculture department to provide district-wise estimated paddy yield for the last procurement season. This will help the state meet norms that call for integrating land records with the food grain procurement, which is scheduled to start from October 1. The system is being implemented for the first time in state. The Centre has mandated Punjab and other paddy growing states to link procurement to farmers’ land and to the yield to check bogus billing and the malpractice of adding previous seasons’ produce to the current procurement. On getting the average figures, per acre purchase by state purchase agencies and the Food Corporation of India ...

Telangana Today – Online

Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy emphasised the need to bring radical changes in farming and asked farmers to focus on cultivating all types of crops, instead of paddy alone. He instructed the officials to expedite the crop enumeration which was started on August 15 and conduct field visits to complete it within next 10 days. Based on the report submitted, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will announce a special plan for agricultural progress in the State. The Minister reviewed Vaanakalam (Kharif) crop acreage, crop pattern, production and paddy procurement during the monsoon season at the office of Agriculture Commissioner in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Business Standard – Online

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday asked members of farm mechanisation industry body TMA to manufacture affordable tools and machines so that small and marginal farmers are able to purchase them. Addressing the annual meeting of Tractor and Mechanization Association (TMA) here, the minister also asked the industry to focus on increasing the exports of agriculture implements.

Krishi Jagran – Online

In the current marketing year, which ends in September, the government has purchased over 890 lakh tonnes of paddy at MSP, which is an all-time high. This comes in the midst of farmers’ protest on Delhi’s borders. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, have been demonstrating for over nine months, demanding the repeal of three new agricultural laws as well as a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP). The food ministry stated in a statement that the Centre had acquired 889.62 lakh tonnes of paddy in the ongoing 2020-21 Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) through September 5.

The New Indian Express – Online

State Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, requested the Centre to extend the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund to cover agriculture and its allied sectors, including poultry, dairy and fisheries. He was speaking at a virtual meeting held by Union Minister for Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Minister for Industries, Commerce, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal. The meeting was attended by chief ministers and ministers from various states as well as departmental heads. Niranjan Reddy also urged the Centre to approve 100 per cent procurement of pulses at minimum support price (MSP) for Yasangi season and also approve distribution of mini kits to cover one lakh acres of groundnut ...

The Indian Express – Online

The southwest monsoon hasn’t turned out great this year, unlike in 2019 and 2020. Rainfall in the season (June-September) has so far been 7.9 per cent below the historical average for the country. But more than the aggregate figure, it’s the temporal distribution that has raised question marks. A three-week long dry spell from around June 20 resulted in farmers missing the main kharif sowing window between mid-June and mid-July. The monsoon did revive from July 12-13 and so did plantings. But August recorded 24 per cent rainfall deficiency. Even if the September rains match the India Meteorological Department’s “above-normal” prediction, it would primarily benefit the rabi season crop. And with current water levels ...

Business Standard – Online

Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said agriculture exports have an important role to play in doubling farmers’ income, and stressed the need for boosting India’s outward shipments to be among top-5 nations in farm exports. Goyal and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday addressed the second day of the Chief Ministers’ Conference on initiatives and schemes of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, according to an official statement

India TV – Online

Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday said that the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is set up to drive infra investments and will facilitate and drive speedy sanctions through a user-friendly online portal. In his address on the 2nd day of the Chief Ministers’ conference on initiatives and schemes of his Ministry, he urged the states to take advantage of the fund so that the benefits can percolate to the small and marginal farmers, who lack warehousing and cold storage facilities at the farm gate, a Ministry release said.

Financial Express – Online

Excess agricultural workers are getting into less-privileged, less-wage employment as maids, cooks or security guards, failing to find their usual way, during this time around of the year, into the construction and manufacturing sectors, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said. “Excess or seasonal labour released from agriculture usually finds its way to construction sites. In better times, this is part of the transition from farms to factories. But, the construction industry itself shed over half million jobs in August. And, manufacturing also shed nearly a million jobs. In the circumstances, labour seems to have found employment in the household sector as maids, cooks, gardeners, security guards and the likes, a transition that could be ...

The Indian Express – Online

The Centre has created a database of 5.5 crore farmers, which will be increased to 8 crore by December this year, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Monday. Addressing the chief ministers’ conference on initiatives and schemes of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoAFW), held via video conferencing, Tomar asked the states to create their own database using the federated farmer database prepared by the Centre, and allow linkage to state land record data.

The Times Of India – Online

In a bid to increase farmers’ income and improving efficiency of the agriculture sector, the state government plans to promote digital agriculture in the state. The move is being claimed to offer proactive and personalised services to farmers. According to a state government spokesperson, the plan is expected to be launched as a pilot project in Mathura, Mainpuri and Hathras. Under the concept, the data of farmers in around 10 villages of these districts will be collected.

Jagran – Online

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said that the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) will sell saffron from Kashmir at all its outlets across the country. This will provide another option to the farmers to sell the produce at attractive prices. Apart from saffron, Jammu and Kashmir is number one in the entire country in the production of apples, walnuts and almonds. It is expected that the income of farmers will increase manifold in the coming days in the food processing sector.

Republic World – Online

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday said mechanisation of farming is one of the important factors to transform the agriculture sector and it will lead to sweeping changes and help farmers produce more. As a part of agricultural mechanisation support to the farmers for broader economic transformation, the lieutenant governor handed over sanction letters for 100 tractors to the farmers and 1,035 threshers for panchayats at Agriculture Complex, Lal Mandi here. Speaking on the occasion, Sinha congratulated the beneficiary farmers and Panchayat members who received sanction letters.

Money Control – Online

The severity of the second COVID wave is not hidden from anyone. When it comes to the economy, higher penetration of COVID-19 across the rural society was particularly worrying. Prior to the second wave, the rural economy was the only shining spot in the economy. It managed to grow while all the other sectors declined. The rural sector did weaken under the impact of the second COVID wave as rural consumption took a beating with the rising number of COVID cases. Rural consumption managed to grow 6.6 percent YoY in Q1FY22. However, it moderated from 16.4 percent YoY growth in the same quarter a year ago. However, it was still stronger than the average growth ...

Telangana Today – Online

Finance Minister T Harish Rao informed that Telangana State has reached a position where it can feed the entire country. Earlier, Telangana was known for suicides, starvation deaths and migrations. However, the situation changed after the formation of Telangana State, he said. Telangana State occupied the top spot in paddy production by pushing down Punjab, which was the largest paddy producer in the country. Telangana has set a record by producing 3 crore tonnes of paddy in the Yasangi season. It was materialised only because of Chief Minister’s vision and planning, the Minister said.

Krishi Jagran – Online

Amazon has launched a new store meant exclusively for farmers called the Kisan Store. It is a combined initiative of Amazon and the Government of India. Farmers can buy seeds, equipment, and other farming-related products in five Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada. Before this, Amazon Retail had announced the launch of its agronomy services for farmers

The Economic Times – Online

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said that the whole country is supporting famers in their fight to repeal three central farm laws. “Farmers are the voice and pride of this country. No power can beat the farmers’ voice for their rights. The whole country is supporting the farmers in their fight to save agriculture and their hard work,” she tweeted with hashtag #Muzaffarnagar_Kisan_Mahapanchayat. Sanyukt Kisan Morcha on Sunday organised Kisan Mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar against the three central farm laws.

Money Control – Online

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the prices of agricultural produce were falling down in the country as the Union government was not paying attention to the problems being faced by the farming community. Speaking at a farmers’ congregation at Junnar in Pune district, he said that when he was the Union agriculture minister for 10 years in the UPA government, he ensured that farmers get good prices for their agricultural produce. “There are several questions before the farming (community) today. The prices of agricultural produce have gone down. People (farmers) are throwing their agricultural produce…even the input cost is not recovered. There is a worrying situation for all,” he said.

Hindustan Times – Online

They say farming isn’t for women, more so, for city women. Breaking all such stereotypes, Sanna Masood, 35, a biotechnologist with a Masters in Business Administration, has been helping orchardists in remote areas of Kashmir adopt progressive farming and maximise their profits. Currently serving as the chief executive officer and managing director of the post-harvest division of Farm2U, a leading cold storage chain in Kashmir, Sanna puts into use her knowledge of plant biotechnology and plant tissue culture to guide the farmers. She also leads a team of 300 people, who specialise in high-density plantation and work towards bringing innovation in the horticulture sector, which is the Valley’s largest trade.

Krishi Jagran – Online

Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that the free power supply for the agricultural sector would continue. He emphasized that the farmers were not against fixing metres to their agricultural pumpsets. There has been an increasing realization among them that metres will help them get better power services. The CM also alleged that opposition parties were trying to create a controversy over the fixing of metres. He assured that he had studied the activities of the agriculture department, other related departments, and a number of officials. He further said that all measures have been taken to ensure free power supply to the agri-sector and that so far there hasn’t been any ...

Devdiscourse – Online

India lags behind in after-harvest infrastructures such as cold storage, marketing, and branding opportunities. This prevents the fare discovery of prices and leads to wastage. it harms consumers as well as producers by making the process cyclical. In harvest season the prices are very low as the farmers must dispose of their produce similarly after harvest the product is expensive. Watch the video to understand how AIF can help in establishing balance.

The New Indian Express – Online

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday said the government is serious in tackling all the challenges faced by India’s farm sector, including the impact of climate change. Addressing the 16th Sustainability Summit of industry body CII, the minister said along with climate change, there are other challenges in the agriculture sector. To deal with these challenges, the government of India is seriously playing its role and fulfilling its responsibilities.

The Times Of India – Online

In a heartening development in water-stressed Punjab, cultivation area under the water-guzzling non-basmati paddy crop has come down by over four lakh acres (1.62 lakh hectares). In comparison, area under the less water-guzzling basmati crop has increased by 1.97 lakh acres (79,000 hectares). Taking both into account, area under basmati and non-basamaati paddy shrunk by 2.08 lakh acres (83,000 hectares). As basmati is sown late, when monsoon has already set in and evapotranspiration (ET) ratio has down, it consumes less water. For less consumption of underground water, paddy transplantation through water-saving direct seeded rice (DSR) technique too has increased to 6 lakh hectares from the previous 5 lakh hectares. In this technique, 12% ...

Hindustan Times – Online

The burgeoning farm debt in Punjab is a concern not only for economists and sociologists but also for the central and state governments. Political parties tend to make considerable noise about this issue, especially in the build-up to the Vidhan Sabha elections. The fragmented farmer and agricultural labour organisations have been sporadically protesting but the subject has paled into insignificance after the farmers’ ongoing agitation against the three central farm laws. The latest official figure from Nabard is ₹71,305 crore of farm debt from the organised sector alone is in the hands of about 15 lakh families. This does not include the debt from the unorganised sector, more particularly the arhtiyas (commission agents-cum-moneylenders), the amount ...

Down To Earth – Online

India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021-22 grew 20.1 per cent, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) August 31, 2021. April-June 2021 became the fourth consecutive quarter of economic growth, indicating a revival after two waves of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. All the eight industry types that MoSPI took note of reported growth over the corresponding period of 2020-2021. In the year-ago quarter — coinciding with the first national lockdown to prevent the pandemic — agriculture was the only “industry type” to report a growth of 3.5 per cent; the overall economy contracted 22.4 per cent.