Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Secondary agriculture unlikely to ‘double’ farmer income in Karnatakaedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The setting up of a secondary agriculture department in Karnataka to help value addition to agricultural produce as a means to increasing–or doubling–farmer income is part of an additional “bureaucratic process” that will be of little consequence to the sector, experts say. The idea stems from the possibility of adding value to farmer-grown produce, which would help increase revenues, but overlooks the systemic challenges the sector and its practitioners face, they say. “This (secondary agriculture department) will definitely not help as they (government) could not find solutions to existing problems,” Dr Prakash Kammardi, a farm expert and former chairman of the Karnataka Agricultural Prices Commission (KAPC), said. According to the Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party ...
Budget
Budget 2022: Focus on agriculture to revive India’s economyedit
The Free Press Journal – Online
The finance minister will be announcing her Budget measures soon. Once again, you can expect her to assure the country that all-is-well. This is a song we have heard for the past several years. Yet each year, GDP growth has been dismal. (See chart). True, GDP grew in 2021, but when compared with the negative growth of 2020, we are actually back at 2019 levels. The finance minister will be announcing her Budget measures soon. Once again, you can expect her to assure the country that all-is-well. This is a song we have heard for the past several years. Yet each year, GDP growth has been dismal. (See chart). True, GDP grew in ...
Technology in Agriculture
Farming going hi-tech: Govt to fund drone use in agricultureedit
The Times of India – Online
In a major boost to drone use in farming, the Union agriculture ministry has issued funding guidelines to make this technology affordable by assisting in purchase, hiring and demonstrations of agriculture drones. The “sub-mission on agricultural mechanisation” (SMAM) scheme envisages granting upto 100% or Rs 10 lakh as grant funding for drone purchase by ICAR institutions, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and State agriculture universities. It provides for 75% grant funding for drone purchase to farmer producer organisations (FPOs). The financial aid and grants shall be applicable till March 31, 2023. “Rs 6,000 per hectare (will) be given as contingent expenditure to implementing agencies that hire drones for demonstrations. Rs 3,000 per hectare to be ...
Paddy in India
Centre may reduce moisture content limit for wheat, paddy. Why this will hurt farmersedit
DownToEarth – Online
A recent draft proposal by the Union government to change the moisture content limit for wheat and paddy has farmers worried ahead of the rabi procurement season that begins April 2022. The ideal moisture content in wheat may be reduced to 12 per cent from 14 per cent and in paddy to 16 per cent from 17 per cent, according to the discussions between the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution and the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which procures food grains from farmers on a minimum support price (MSP). At present, farmers have to take a price cut on MSP when selling wheat stocks above the 12 per cent limit to ...
Stubble Burning
Use of biomass pellets to generate power picks up in NCRedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The use of biomass pellets along with coal to generate electricity has picked up pace around the national capital region (NCR), where 50% of thermal power plants have already launched the co-firing process, power ministry data showed. But nationally, only about 40 out of over 180 coal-fired plants of 25 megawatt (MW) and above have started using biomass pellets for power generation.This comes after the power ministry on October 8 last year notified a policy mandating all coal-fired power plants to use biomass pellets as at least 5% of fuel mix (with coal) to generate electricity. The policy was first notified in November 2017, but in October last year, the “revised policy for biomass utilisation ...