Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Aggregation in agriculture is still a challengeedit
The New Indian Express – Online
The average landholding size in India is shrinking with the increase of rural population and fragmentation of families. Around 88% of households have landholding below two hectares with 0.5 hectare as the median size (Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestocks Holdings of Households in Rural, 2019). This is a structural problem the nation has to contend with. Clearly, this militates against scale and makes attempts at aggregation a complex challenge. However, there is a silver lining. In recent times, there has been a spurt in the number of entrepreneurs venturing into agri-startups that are connecting farmers. The increase in mobile connectivity and low price of data have aided their reach. ...
Dairy Farming
Solar-powered milking machines: Sunny side to dairy products from Chitradurgaedit
The New Indian Express – Online
Cattle form an integral, sacred bond with the Indian farmer. Apart from their role in tilling the soil, bovines also provide milk as a source of both sustenance and income. Considering that dairy farming constitutes an important aspect of the country’s agro-oriented economy, a lot of time and energy goes into milking cows and buffaloes, which is a tedious task, especially when done manually. Farmers often spend hours every day, early in the morning and late in the evening, to draw milk, which they hand over to cooperatives or supply at doorsteps. To make milking of cows and buffaloes a quicker, hassle-free, and cost-effective process, several farmers in Chitradurga district have adopted solar-powered ...
Paddy in India
Alternate crops to paddy gain momentum in Telanganaedit
Telangana Today – Online
In a remarkable and welcome development during this Yasangi season’s sowing operations that are nearing completion, many farmers across the State have opted for alternative crops to paddy. More importantly, cultivation of pulses and oil seeds has hit a new high in Telangana that is in tune with the State government’s appeal for crop diversification. The Centre’s refusal to purchase parboiled rice from Telangana during Yasangi too appears to have discouraged the farmers from taking up paddy farming. As per the latest reports of the Agriculture Department, compared to previous Yasangi season in 2020-21, extent of land under oil seed cultivation increased by about 1.09 lakh acres from 3.46 lakh acres to 4.55 lakh acres. ...