Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
World Bank offers ₹3,500 cr agri loan to U.P.edit
Hindustan Times – Online
The World Bank has offered a soft loan of ₹3,500 crore to Uttar Pradesh to promote food processing and crop diversification with a view to enhance the income of the state’s farmers, people in the know of things said. The loan offer was made by John Roome, regional director, South Asia, World Bank, in a meeting with chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra and officials of agriculture and forest departments, here, on Tuesday. “The World Bank has offered us a loan of ₹3,500 crore for a period of five years, for the promotion of food processing, crop diversification and to encourage micro-entrepreneurship involving farmer producer’s organisations in UP,” additional chief secretary, agriculture, Devesh Chaturvedi confirmed. “Now, ...
Kharif sowing picks up in Mysuru districtedit
The Times Of India – Online
With the advancement of the southwestern monsoon, kharif sowing has picked up in Mysuru district. On the targeted 3.95 lakh hectares, the district had registered 52% progress in sowing as on Tuesday. Farmers have sown crops in 2,07,744 hectares this year. Last year, the district had achieved 43% progress in sowing in the corresponding period. The district has targeted to cover sowing in 2.81 lakh hectares of rain-fed land along with paddy, sugarcane and other crops in 1.41 hectares of irrigated land for this kharif season. Farmers have sown hybrid maize, hybrid jowar, ragi, millets, tur dal, sunflower, black gram, sesame and other crops. The district has reported exceeding the 100% target in ...
Technology in Agriculture
Technology Driving The New Age Agricultural Revolution In Indiaedit
BW Disrupt – Online
Agriculture contributes about 19% to Indian GDP but as much as 58% of the population depend on that for their livelihood. While agriculture is hugely important for Indian economy, it also remains inadequate to serve the growing needs of the farmers and the sector as a whole. Good news is that we now have a host of technologies available and many intrepid entrepreneurs are finding ways to bring efficiencies and improvements in each and every aspect of agriculture value chain. The digital transformation of farming using AI and Communication technologies is promising to turn agriculture into a tech-intensive industry from a traditionally labour-intensive one. The fusion of agri-science and data science is making heads turn ...
Govt. Policies
Govt approves Rs 2,516 cr for computerisation of 63k Primary Agriculture Credit Societiesedit
The Economic Times – Online
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved computerisation of 63,000 functional Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) over 5 years with a total budget outlay of Rs 2,516 cr. The Centre’s share would be Rs 1,528 crore. The PACS constitute the lowest tier of the three-tier short-term cooperative credit (STCC) with 130 million farmers as its members. The government said the majority of PACS have so far not been computerised and still functioning manually resulting in inefficiency and trust deficit. “In some of the states, standalone and partial computerisation of PACS has been done. There is no uniformity in the software being used by them and they are not interconnected. It has ...
Telangana launches ‘Rythu Bandhu’ investment support scheme for farmersedit
The Siasat Daily – Online
The Telangana government on Tuesday launched ‘Rythu Bandhu’ investment support scheme for farmers, an official release said. State Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said on the first day Rs 586.65 crore was deposited in the bank accounts of as many as 19.98 farmers across Telangana covering 11.73 lakh acres. Telangana is the only state in the country that provides investment assistance to farmers while none of the national parties such as the BJP and Congress ever implemented it in states ruled by them, Reddy said. ALSO READTelangana: Gherao TRS leaders’ residence, says Shabbir Ali to farmers The state government provides Rs 5,000 per acre per season to the farmers for purchase of inputs like ...
UP Government to Hold Special Campaign to Provide Crop Insurance to Farmersedit
Krishi Jagran – Online
The state government has decided to conduct a special drive during the first week of July in order to give insurance coverage to farmers against probable crop damages. The ambitious PM Crop Insurance Scheme (PMCIS) from the Center’s agriculture department is proposing to carry out the drive between July 1 and July 7 on those development blocks with lesser farm insurance coverage. A compensation of Rs 3,074.6 crore has reportedly been transferred into the accounts of 27.5 lakh farmers in UP as of this point under PMCIS, according to sources in the UP government. “3,000 Crore In Compensation Transferred To 27.5 Lakh Farmers” The drive would cover a few development blocks in each of the ...
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
Monsoon Abnomalies Impacting India’s Growthedit
News Click – Online
Monsoon has been the centre of discussions for scientists and experts from the very start of the current season. Its erratic behaviour is coming to the fore. As it was predicted by meteorologists, the monsoon made a promising start on May 29, though on a weak note, it somehow got better by June 10. Still, the gap made has put it behind schedule. It has registered a high rainfall deficiency, despite swaying over the eastern part of India. Dr RK Jenamani, Senior Scientist, National Weather Forecast Division, India Meteorological Department (IMD), said, “Easterly winds, which are responsible for bridging onsoon rains, have been completely absent so far in June. We are witnessing southwesterly winds, which ...
Monsoon delay in Chhattisgarh affecting sowing of kharif cropedit
The Times Of India – Online
Monsoon is playing truant, raising concerns of farmers as they wait for sufficient rains for carrying out sowing operations for Kharif crops in several districts of the state. Though monsoon entered tribal Bastar on June 16, there is a shortfall of about 30% rains till date. During the last two years, monsoon rains had gained strength by June 20. Farmers say that sowing operations for the kharif crop is yet to gain momentum due to deficit rains. Many districts of the state have been worst-hit by deficient monsoon. Balrampur district recorded a 60 per cent rainfall deficiency while Durg has recorded 48 per cent rainfall deficiency, Jashpur 72 per cent, Kondagaon and Kanker ...
Poor monsoon Hits Paddy Cultivation in Biharedit
News Click – Online
Kamlesh Yadav and Dhirendra Singh are among hundreds of thousands of farmers in Bihar who are uncertain about paddy sowing during the Kharif season due to poor monsoon. “June-end is the best time for paddy transplantation but our farmlands are dry due to poor monsoon. We expected good rainfall like last year and before when heavy rains were recorded in June. After a gap of two years, poor monsoon has again triggered fears of deficit rainfall which could result in a drought-like situation,” Yadav, a marginal farmer in Itawan village, under Aurangabad district’s Haspura Block, told Newsclick. Yadav had managed to prepare a nursery of paddy saplings, locally known as Dhan Bichra, with the help ...
Due to rain deficit, crop sowing in Gujarat sees falledit
The Statesman – Online
After normal rainfall, crop sowing in Gujarat should have been on 25 lakh hectares till June 27, but this year it was just on 19 lakh hectares. It is just 22 percent of the total sowing of the Kharif (monsoon) season, it is six percent less than last year, shows the state agriculture department’s weekly data. In Gujarat, monsoon sets in around June 15 every year. Till June 20 this year, the sowing was 10,29,422 hectares, it was 11.27 percent of season’s total sowing, however it was five percent higher than 2021’s sowing till June 20, which was on 6,89,472 hectares. Agriculture In-charge Director S. J. Solanki and Additional Director Rajput were busy in meetings ...
Paddy in India
In Punjab, paddy sown area rose by 7.18% in 2014-19, says CAG reportedit
The Indian Express – Online
Even after spending Rs 274 crore on Crop Diversification Programme (CDP), sown area of paddy in Punjab increased by 7.18 per cent during 2014-19, adversely affecting the consumption of groundwater, a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India for the year ending March 31, 2019, has noted. The report was tabled in Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday during the on-going budget session. The report pointed out that the cases of stubble burning increased from 43,660 in 2017-18 to 49,905 in 2018-19, owing to “lack of systemic spread of awareness amongst stakeholders”. While paddy is a water guzzling crop – blamed for depleting water table in the state – the issue of ...