Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Retail inflation for farm, rural workers eases to 2.89%, 3.16% in Septedit
Business Standard – Online
Retail inflation for farm workers and rural labourers eased to 2.89 per cent and 3.16 per cent, respectively, in September, mainly due to lower prices of certain food items. “Point-to-point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL (Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers and CPI-RL (Consumer Price Index-Rural Labourers) stood at 2.89 per cent and 3.16 per cent in September 2021 compared to 3.90 per cent and 3.97 per cent respectively in August 2021,” the labour ministry said in a statement. The inflation rates based on CPI-AL and CPI-RL had stood at 6.25 per cent and 6.10 per cent, respectively, in September 2020, it added.
Agriculture Sector Hopes For Recovery, Possible Third Wave A Risky Time?edit
BW Business World – Online
The recent Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of agricultural households for 2018-19 by the National Statistical Office presented the unprecedented crisis in India’s agriculture sector with the intensification of the ongoing months-long farmer protest against three controversial farm laws by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre government. Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, Insecticide India, said, “Agrarian distress has become a major cause of concern due to a series of natural calamities in various parts of the country as well as rising input costs in view of the global situation and lack of timely payments by processors in some crops like sugarcane. While natural calamities are not in immediate human control, taking care of the other aspects ...
Govt. Policies
Govt will ask all vehicle makers to produce flex-fuel engines: Gadkariedit
ET Auto – Online
Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that the government will ask all vehicle manufacturers to make flex-fuel engines under the Euro VI emission norms in the next six-eight months. Flex-fuel, or flexible fuel, is an alternative fuel made of a combination of gasoline and methanol or ethanol. Addressing an event, Gadkari further said in the next 15 years, Indian automobile industry will be worth Rs 15 lakh crore. “We were planning to submit an affidavit in the Supreme Court to allow manufacturing of flex-fuel engines under the Euro IV emission norms…But now I feel that we will ask all vehicle manufacturers to make flex-fuel engines (that can run on more than one fuel) under ...
Gujarat Government Announces “Agriculture Relief Package” to Compensate Crop Lossesedit
Krishi Jagran – Online
After the reports of Crop loss due to heavy rains last month the State Government had ordered a survey to assess agricultural damage. Following which on Tuesday, October 19, the Officials announced that the affected farmers of 4 districts namely, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagarh and Porbandar will be covered under the “Agriculture Relief Package”. No specific amount of the entire package has been announced, the government said each eligible farmer would get a compensation of Rs 13000 per hectare with a limit of 2 hectares if the crop loss was equal to or above 33%.
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
West Bengal’s Paddy Harvest Under Threat Due To Unseasonal Rainsedit
Krishi Jagran – Online
Unseasonal rainfall is expected to impact the harvesting of early paddy variety in West Bengal. Paddy harvesting (of the common kind) generally begins in the State by the end of October or early November. Harvesting of early varieties, on the other hand, begins after Durga Puja. Due to a low-pressure system that has formed over north Telangana and a strong south-easterly wind from the Bay of Bengal, the India Meteorological Department forecast significant rainfall in West Bengal and Odisha till October 20. It should be mentioned that floods recently occurred in parts of the state’s southern districts, including Howrah, Hooghly, and East Medinipur, as a result of heavy rains and overflowing rivers.
Oct rain wreaks havoc on ready paddy crop in Biharedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Heavy October rainfall has not only caused damage to standing mature paddy crops in several parts of Bihar but has also affected the prospects of rabi crops, officials said, adding though that they were yet to make an assessment of the damage. Chief minister Nitish Kumar too held a meeting with senior officials to review the loss of crops due to rains on Wednesday evening. Incessant rainfall in Nepal and in the state have also increased the threat of floods in Supaul and Kishanganj districts in north Bihar, where the district administrations have sounded alert following a surge in Kosi and Mahananda rivers.
Paddy in India
Farmers stage dharna after Haryana bans entry of paddy-laden vehiclesedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Hundreds of farmers along with Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) activists staged a dharna on Bidauli bridge in Shamli district on Wednesday after neighbouring Haryana government stopped entry of paddy-laden tractor trolleys into the state. Angry farmers sat on dharna in the middle of the bridge, which connects UP to Haryana, and blocked movement of traffic on both sides by parking over 150 paddy laden tractor trolleys. It resulted into jam on Meerut- Karnal highway since morning. BKU’s district president in Shamli Kapil Khatiyan said paddy farmers of Shamli and adjoining districts take their paddy to Karnal and other districts of Haryana to sell on MSP.
Stubble Burning
Delhi’s Enactus Hansraj craft alternative measures to help farmers dispose crop residueedit
The New Indian Express – Online
In north India, the month of October marks the harvest period for Kharif (fall harvest) crops like rice and maize. In this month, farmers pack their produce and transport it to the mandis (marketplace) for sale while beginning to prepare for the next sowing period in December. It’s the spell between harvesting and sowing when a spike in stubble burning is seen in states like Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The activity of stubble burning is identified as a major contributor to air pollution in Delhi and other northern Indian states. Even though the state governments have tried to adopt alternative measures to curb the low-cost practise of straw disposal, crop residue burning ...
Ferozepur biomass power plant generates power with stubble, Know how Punjab deals with stubble burning issueedit
Jagran Josh – Online
A biomass power plant in Ferozepur in Punjab is generating electricity using paddy stubble amid increasing concerns over air pollution due to stubble burning by farmers in the state. “The Sukhbir Agro Energy Limited biomass power plant is 18 MW per hr. It is a stubble-based plant that uses 600 tons of stubble in a day and around 2 to 2.5 lakh tons of stubble in a year,” said Sukhbir Agro Energy Limited’s General Manager (Commercial) Satish Bedi told ANI. The initiative by this biomass power plant in Ferozepur has been termed favorable for farmers as they will be paid for selling stubble to the plant. The initiative if scaled up could also aid in ...
Delhi’s air pollution, stubble burning menace finds cure? Thousands of farmers trying PUSA bio-decomposer to solve stubble problemedit
Financial Express – Online
As Diwali is fast approaching, along with the enthusiasm of festivals, a fear is enveloping the residents of north India, especially Delhi, about the return of the pollution. Air pollution is rampant in northern parts of India in the period between Diwali and Dussehra, with the winter fog approaching and, of course, the stubble burning in the neighbouring agriculture-extensive states. The problem of stubble burning has been highlighted over the past few years, especially since the major pollution spell that Delhi witnessed in November 2017. Since then, several organisations have worked to come up with solutions that could provide farmers with an alternative to burning stubble.
Stubble burning: Many measures but complete elimination still off the markedit
Business Standard – Online
Though the spectre of stubble burning seems to have receded temporarily due to sudden showers in many parts of North India last week, the menace is likely to be back as soon as weather opens up. This is because paddy harvesting will be delayed further due to unseasonal rains, squeezing the already short window before next sowing starts. Till October 14, less than six per cent of the estimated 41.14 million hectares under paddy this year has been harvested. This also means that over 90 per cent paddy is yet to be harvested and this will mean that once the wet spell passes away.
In just a week, stubble burning in Punjab goes up by 218%edit
The Indian Express – Online
In the last one week, Punjab has witnessed a 218 per cent increase in stubble burning cases. With the progress of paddy harvesting and wheat sowing time approaching, there has been a spike in farm fires. According to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), the state has recorded 2,942 stubble burning cases from September 19 to October 20, out of which 2,017 were reported from October 13 to 19 only, as there were only 925 cases in the first 24 days of paddy harvesting, which started between September 10 and 15 as early varieties like Pusa 1509 Basmati are harvested in this month.