Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
’Farm output to grow at least 3% despite lower rice harvest’edit
Livemint – Online
Rainfall deficit in the North-east could lead to lower production of rice, while erratic monsoons elsewhere could impact some vegetables. However, overall growth in agriculture output in FY23 is expected to come in at 3% or more, compensated by other crops and shoring up rural consumption, NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand said. Farm output accounts for about 20% of the economy. Edited excerpts from an interview.
CLAAS Global Mentions
CLAAS ANNOUNCES NEW ROUND AND SQUARE BALERSedit
Successful Farming – Online
Claas has announced a lineup of round and square hay balers for this year with a series of new upgrades. “Each of these machines are designed to provide maximum performance, easy maintenance, and the reliability you expect from Claas,” says Matt Jaynes, product manager for Claas. “By listening to the needs of our customers and bringing our brightest thinking into research and development, Claas is providing customers with a truly innovative portfolio of tools in the baler and hay market.” QUADRANT SERIES SQUARE BALER The Claas Quadrant Evolution series brings some new technical upgrades to the Quadrant 5300 series. Leading the upgrades is its pick-up with two cam tracks, designed for torsional resistance. The pick-up ...
Govt. Policies
Second Meeting of MSP Committee to be Held on September 27 in Hyderabadedit
Krishi Jagran – Online
On September 27 in Hyderabad, the government’s committee on the minimum support price (MSP), natural farming, and crop diversification will hold its second meeting. In the first meeting held on August 22 in the national capital, the committee which is led by former Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agrawal formed three internal sub-groups to deliberate on the mandated topics. The panel has 26 members, including the chairman, while three membership slots are kept aside for Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) delegates. However, the SKM has decided to skip the meeting and has rejected the committee. On the condition of anonymity, a committee member told PTI, “The second meeting will be conducted on September 27 on the campus of ...
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
Monsoon starts withdrawal, rainfall distribution unevenedit
The Financial Express – Online
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday announced the commencement of withdrawal of the south-west monsoon from parts of southwest Rajasthan and Kutch, signalling the end of its four-month (June-September) journey. The Met department has predicted heavy rainfall spells over Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and east Madhya Pradesh during the next 2-3 days, because of a low-pressure area over north-west Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Odisha-West Bengal coasts. During the monsoon season, the country receives more than 70% of the annual rainfall, which play a crucial role in boosting production of kharif, or summer, crops — paddy, pulses, oilseeds, cotton and sugarcane. The complete withdrawal of the monsoon usually takes about a month.
Paddy in India
Can paddy pellets be answer to the stubble-burning menace in Punjab- Explainededit
The Financial Express – Online
In order to cut down on the pollution caused by stubble burning and reduce the use of coal-based fuels, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has suggested that brick kilns use paddy-based pellet fuel for their energy requirements instead of coal. The Pollution Board of the state in its letter mentioned that it is formulating a policy where 20 per cent of the coal will be replaced by paddy straw-based pellets. The policy is being made based on a study conducted by the board and the Punjab State Council For Science and Technology (PSCST) a regarding the use of paddy pellets to reduce air pollution while still taking care of the economic benefits of ...
Paddy procurement from Oct 1: 1,804 purchase centres notifiededit
Hindustan Times – Online
In view of the impending paddy procurement season commencing from October 1, chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday reviewed the arrangements aimed at hassle-free and seamless procurement of paddy. Officials say 191 lakh metric tonnes of the crop is expected to arrive in various mandis across the state. The CM, while presiding over a meeting of the officials of the procurement agencies, directed that purchase, lifting and payment should commence from the first day of procurement itself and warned of strict action if the farmer is put to any inconvenience. He directed the state procurement agencies and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to be fully geared up for procurement of paddy in the ensuing ...
Stubble Burning
Reducing air pollution: Stubble burning needs economic solutionsedit
Business Standard – Online
With the paddy-harvesting season almost at hand, none of the northern rice-growing states seems to have a workable strategy in place to prevent farmers from burning crop residues, which aggravates air pollution in the National Capital Region in October-November every year. The massive amount of smoke and toxic gases that the crop fires exude causes health problems, ranging from eye and breathing troubles to more serious illnesses. The offer of the Delhi and Punjab governments to spray the microbial stubble decomposer, developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, on the harvested paddy fields has been rejected by the farmers as an impractical proposition. It takes 20-25 days to decompose the leftover biomass, which is too ...