Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Explained | Is income loss the major reason behind farmers’ debts?edit
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.
Digital farm advisory startup BharatAgri raises $6.5 mn in Series A roundedit
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 ...
In Delhi, how urbanisation, economics and environment eroded agricultureedit
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.
Agriculture Ministry inks MoU with 5 firmsedit
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.
Stubble Burning
Yogi govt withdraws 868 stubble burning cases against farmersedit
The Weekend Leader-Online
The order comes two weeks after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced that the government will withdraw cases of stubble burning pending against farmers.
The order was issued on Wednesday night by additional chief secretary, home, Avanish Awasthi. Awasthi said these cases will be withdrawn by each district and intimated to the law and home departments within a week.
Another officer said that the state government is committed to the welfare and betterment of the farmers. As per records available with the police, around 1,500 FIRs were lodged against farmers across 38 districts of the state for stubble burning.
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Make farmers aware of ill-effects of stubble burning: Ludhiana DC directs agriculture departmentedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma directed the agriculture department to initiate a village-level drive to create awareness regarding the hazardous effects of paddy stubble burning among farmers.
The DC said the farmers must be made aware of the ill effects of paddy stubble burning. He said farmers must also be sensitised about the risks the practice poses to the health of individuals and the damage it causes to soil and the environment.
He added that the progressive farmers of several villages have set an example by efficaciously using paddy stubble as organic manure besides fodder for cattle. These farmers should be honoured in village-level meetings so that others are motivated to follow their lead, he ...