Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Punjab agriculture dept plans to deploy drones to curb farm firesedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The Punjab agricultural department plans to deploy drones to conduct aerial surveys to map farms where crop residue is burnt in violation of government orders during paddy and wheat harvest seasons. The problem is especially grave during the paddy harvest, when at least 120 lakh tonnes of straw is set ablaze in Punjab to prepare the fields for the next crop, leading to a thick blanket of smog up to Delhi in October-November. According to the proposal submitted to the Union agriculture and farmers’ welfare ministry, the state department has sought ₹53 crore funds under the Centre’s sub-mission on agricultural mechanisation (SMAM). The funds will be partially used for procuring at least 70 multipurpose drones, ...
Sowing of kharif crops picks up pace, acreage touch 27.872 million hectares till July 1edit
The Economic Times – Online
Sowing of kharif crops has picked up pace with the southwest monsoon entering an active phase, which has pushed up rainfall across the country to normal levels. The acreage under kharif as on July 1 was 27.872 million hectares, up from 14.05 million hectares on June 24, reducing the drop in acreage to 5.3% from 24%, according to data from the agriculture ministry. In the current kharif season, sowing had been done on 27.872 million hectares till July 1 compared with 29.443 million hectares in the corresponding period last year. “There is sufficient availability of quality seeds of all major kharif crops for kharif 2022, and availability of fertiliser has also been comfortable,” an ...
Ryots urged to make use of Agri Infra Fund Schemeedit
The Indian Express – Online
TSAGROS Managing Director K Ramulu stated on Friday that out of Rs 3,075 crore target set by the Centre for Telangana for interested farmers, Farmer Producers Organisations and agripreneurs to seek loans as part of the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), only Rs 359 crore has been utilised till now. Speaking at the awareness programme on the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund Scheme held jointly by TS Agros, MANAGE and the Union Ministry for Agriculture in Hyderabad on Friday, he encouraged 300 operators of agros service centres, farmers and FPOs to make use of the scheme which is a major boost for those planning to start their agri-based ...
70% Indians can’t afford healthy diet: UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisationedit
The Financial Express – Online
India had one of the highest percentage of people who can’t afford a healthy diet at 70.5%, according to a study by the United Nations’s Food and Agricultural Organisation. As for the health indicators among the population groups, India fared somewhat satisfactorily for the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for infants aged less than 5 months old at 58% as of 2020. For children, however, the picture was alarming. The prevalence of child wasting (insufficient nutrient intake) is highest in India among its neighbours at 17.3% as of 2020, while the prevalence of stunting (being underdeveloped for one’s age) (30.9%) was only second to Pakistan (36.7), showing that child nutrition remains a prevalent issue in ...
Dairy Farming
Indian taxes on cottage cheese will hit the cottage industry and dairy lovers alikeedit
Business Insider – Online
It hasn’t been a good year for Indian households as the prices of every second food product has gone up in the last four months. So much so, most consumers have been trading down their grocery purchases to smaller packs, cheaper brands and regional brands. Looks like the long arm of GST is catching up on this trend too. In its 47th meeting held last week, the GST council imposed 5% tax on dairy items like ‘pre-packed, pre-labelled curd, lassi, paneer, and buttermilk’ and increased GST on dairy machinery from 12% to 18%. It also withdrew the exemptions given to pre-packaged and pre-labelled meat/fish (except fresh and frozen). Such food items will now be taxed ...
Technology in Agriculture
Application of Artificial Intelligence in Horticultureedit
Krishi Jagran – Online
India, with its diverse soil and climate conditions and varied agro-ecological regions, provides a possibility to grow a large number of horticultural crops. Horticultural crops, which include fruits, vegetables, medicinal, aromatic, and ornamental plants, are key dietary healthy ingredients, sources of medicines and aroma, as well as have numerous aesthetic qualities for humans. In the country, 90% of the total horticultural production is contributed by vegetables and fruits. Presently, our country is next to China in the area and production of fruits and vegetable crops, producing 10 percent of fruits and 14 percent of vegetables in global production. Horticulture crops play a unique role in India’s economy by improving the income of the rural people ...
Govt. Policies
Govt sets up new approval framework for wheat flour exportsedit
Business Today – Online
After banning wheat exports in May, the government has decided to put in place a new approval framework for outbound shipments of wheat flour. Exporters of wheat flour would now need approval of the inter-ministerial committee for shipments of atta. The new requirement will be applicable from July 12. “Export policy of wheat flour (atta) remains free but export shall be subject to recommendation of inter-ministerial committee on export of wheat,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification. The new approval framework will be applicable for wheat flour (atta), maida, samolina (rava/ sirgi), wholemeal atta and resultant atta. According to the notification, the necessary modalities with regard to quality of wheat ...
Paddy in India
Paddy sowing down by 24%, oilseeds 20% due to less rains in some parts: Govtedit
Business Today – Online
The area under coverage for paddy declined 24 per cent to 72.24 lakh hectares so far in the ongoing Kharif sowing season, while oilseeds acreage is lower by 20 per cent at 77.80 lakh hectares because of delay in the progress of monsoon rains in some parts of India, the agriculture ministry data showed. Paddy was sown in 95 lakh hectares and oilseeds in 97.56 lakh hectares in the same period of the 2021-22 crop year (July-June). The sowing of Kharif crops begins with the onset of the southwest monsoon in June. Paddy is a major Kharif crop. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a normal monsoon this year and the overall rainfall was ...