Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
After stirs, paddy procurement via conventional method allowededit
DT Next – Online
After repeated protests from the farmers against the e-DPCs, the TNCSC has been allowed to procure paddy through conventional method as well, said Senior Regional Manager (SRM) Uma Maheswari on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, Uma Maheswari said, as the current procurement season commenced on October 1 and the drive continued on October 2 and 3 during the holidays for the benefit of the farmers. “The same practice will continue on all Saturdays and Sundays and all the DPC staff have been informed about it,” she said.
Agriculture: Paddy will be procured in Himachal from October 15, mandis are being opened hereedit
Amar Ujala – Online
In order to give the benefit of minimum support price to the farmers in Himachal Pradesh, the state government is going to purchase paddy through the Food Corporation of India. With this, mandis are being opened in Paonta Sahib, Una, Nalagarh, Riyali F Tehpur, Anaj Mandi F Tehpur and Tiora Indora. The tentative date for starting paddy procurement in the state is October 15. Paddy is to be procured from farmers in the state through online portal. Which has been prepared by the Food Civil Supplies Department in collaboration with NIC. Farmers can register themselves on the procurement portal after October 7. Food Supplies Minister Rajindra Garg informed that this procurement is being done by ...
Punjab to put a cap on per acre yield of paddyedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The Punjab food and civil supplies department is working on putting a cap of 34 quintals on the paddy yield per acre of crop. This is mandatory under central norms that call for integrating land records with grain procurement, to be implemented for the first time in the state. Introducing changes in the procurement system, Centre’s food and public distribution ministry has asked the state to ascertain how much paddy per acre is expected to be purchased by state agencies and the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
Home truth of Indian agriculture: Farm income declined in India in 7 yearsedit
Down To Earth – Online
In popular imagination, rise in food production is often confused with the income and prosperity of farmers. The quarterly data on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Gross Value Added (GVA) is produced by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation or MoSPI). It is related to the various sectors of the economy such as ‘agriculture, forestry & fishing’, ‘constructions’, ‘manufacturing’, etc. But even it does not shed much light on the incomes earned by the farmers or farming households. The most reliable estimates on agricultural households’ income (and not the average income of a farmer in a particular time period) is produced by the National Statistical Office (under the MoSPI). However, agricultural ...
Technology in Agriculture
From crop advice to selling cattle, Krishify is building a click-to-use network for farmersedit
The Economic Times – Online
Agriculture is one of the few sectors in India which has registered pandemic-defying growth despite enduring breakdown in supply chains and disruptions in logistics. The total food grain production in India in FY20 grew by 11.44 million tonnes to 296.65 million tonnes. In 2020-21, exports of agriculture and allied products jumped to $41.25 billion, an increase of 17.34%, said Anup Wadhawan, Secretary, Department of Commerce, in June. While many traditional factors like improved infrastructure and farm technologies along with a surge in commodity prices have primarily contributed to this growth, one other recent factor–the emergence of agri-tech, digital enablement and adoption – is quietly bringing a transformation in the agriculture sector.
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
Farmers worried as rain delays paddy, cotton harvest in Malwaedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Punjab’s cotton and paddy growers are left worried about the loss of quality of their ready-to-harvest produce after untimely rain lashed south Punjab on Monday evening. According to an official survey conducted by the field staff of the state agriculture department, Muktsar was the worst-hit district where about 10% damage to the paddy was assessed. Muktsar agriculture officer Gurpreet Singh said Malout, Lambi and Gidderbaha bore the maximum brunt of rains. Farmers of Bathinda and Mansa districts said they were already braving losses caused by pink bollworm attack and the inclement weather would hit them further.
Monsoon withdrawal to begin from north-west India today: IMDedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The southwest monsoon will begin withdrawing from many parts of northwest India from Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, pointing out that it will likely be the second most delayed withdrawal since 1960. “Rain has stopped in many parts of northwest India. There is still some rain over Ganganagar region in Rajasthan. Water vapour has also reduced significantly, and an anti-cyclone is getting established, leading to change in wind direction to northwesterly. All these conditions favour gradual monsoon withdrawal and establishment of dry conditions with marginal fall in temperature,” said K Sathi Devi, head, national weather forecasting centre. Delhi, however, saw localised thunderstorms on Tuesday. “The thunderstorm activity over some parts of Delhi is ...
Stubble Burning
Delhi: Green War Room will work 24×7 through the winteredit
The Times Of India – Online
In the Green War Room set up at Delhi Secretariat, environment experts analyse the Air Quality Index (AQI) of 13 hotspots from the past 24 hours. They observe that only two — Mundka in west Delhi and Wazirpur in northwest Delhi — have recorded an increase in AQI levels by 16% and 3%, respectively. They then start finding the reasons behind it. A few members of the team of 21 experts monitor farm fires on satellite images, some closely watch complaints received on the Green Delhi app, while others keep a tab on the real-time air quality at 26 monitoring stations. As the air quality in Delhi is expected to deteriorate from this ...
Stubble burning down 82% this year so far but the days ahead look hazyedit
Business Standard – Online
There has been an 82 per cent drop in incidents of paddy stubble burning between September 15 and October 4 across India, with Punjab and Haryana leading the way. However, experts said that how far this trend will be maintained needs to be observed, as excessive rains in September have delayed harvesting of the paddy crop in several major growing states. This could explain why the waste has not been set on fire. Data shows that September rains in Punjab were 77 per cent above normal, and 139 per cent above normal in Haryana.
What is a 10-point action plan against air pollution announced by Delhi Government?edit
Jagran Josh – Online
The Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal on October 4, 2021, announced a 10-point ‘winter action plan’ to tackle the problem of air pollution in Delhi. The plan also includes the formation of teams to check dust, garbage burning, and vehicular emissions. Chief Minister Kejriwal while announcing the 10-point action plan said that it will help in combating air pollution which deteriorates during the winter season because of a number of factors, including the stubble burning by farmers in nearby states.
North India’s air pollution concerns return as stubble burning resumes in Punjab and Haryanaedit
Money Control – Online
Air pollution concerns have resurfaced in northern India, which typically is smothered by a blanket of smog that throws life out of gear in the winter, as farmers resume burning crop residue after harvesting the crop in Punjab and Haryana. Satellite images from the US space agency Nasa show that farmers have already begun burning crop stubble in parts of the two northern states that’s blamed for the winter-time phenomenon that holds up flights and trains and reduces road traffic to a crawl. Data from the agency’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), a key instrument on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite, shows a gradual jump in detection of fires in farmlands ...