Media Monitor
Govt. Policies
Unseasonal rains impact small farmers; govt’s crop insurance scheme provides protection: Tomaredit
The New Indian Express – Online
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday said unseasonal rains in some parts of the country have affected small farmers and are getting compensation under the government’s crop insurance scheme. At a conference on ‘Enhancing Agricultural Productivity: Integration of Improved Seeds and Agri Inputs’, the minister also said the Indian agriculture sector as well as profit or loss in farming are dependent on nature. “You all must be experiencing now that unseasonal rains have caused losses to small and marginal farmers,” he said. According to him, farmers have security cover as they get compensation under the crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). The scheme provides protection to farmers from crop ...
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
Crop losses in Uttar Pradesh: Nature’s double whammy leaves farmers reelingedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The double whammy of scanty rainfall during the monsoon in about 50 districts and now widespread excessive rain and floods post-monsoon has left farmers in Uttar Pradesh with massive crop losses, people aware of the situation said. The latest spell of rain, which continued for more than a week across Uttar Pradesh, is said to have widely damaged standing crops like paddy, maize, pulses, oilseeds and potato as fields were submerged. “The drought during monsoon delayed plantation of paddy already causing losses and now unprecedented rainfall in October has flattened standing paddy and other crops,” said Mahesh Verma, a small farmer of Lakhimpur village in Kasganj district. “The government must make a fair assessment of ...
Paddy in India
Haryana: 34 lakh acres paddy area, only 8,600 acres registered for aidedit
The Times of India – Online
As Delhi-NCR tiptoes to that time of the year when smog chokes the region for days at stretch, the Haryana government has said that only a handful of farmers have shown interest in its scheme to offer incentives to those who do not engage in burning stubble. As of Wednesday, less than 1% of the total land where paddy was harvested was registered for the scheme. In absolute numbers, farmers had opted for in-situ and ex-situ activities on only 8,584 acres of 34 lakh acres across the state. Farmers who opt for these modern techniques of cultivation – that are not as polluting as stubble burning – are offered Rs 1,000 per acre ...
Stubble Burning
Paddy stubble management: Farmers prefer super seeders, not keen on buying other machinesedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Failing to secure sanctions for the sought-after super seeder management of stubble and other machinery of choice in the draw of lots, a big chunk of applicants being awarded subsidised paddy straw management machines and equipment have steered clear of the purchases. Out of the total successful applicants, only 41% purchased the machines before the end of the deadline. The state agriculture department has sanctioned 2,230 machines, having previously earmarked ₹18 crore for the district to award subsidies to individual farmers. Of the 2,230 machines, only 925 found takers. Super seeder, one of the big draws for farmers, helps plough the standing paddy residue and sow seeds for the next wheat crop, in a single ...
Rains delayed harvesting, expect clustering of stubble burning incidents: Expertsedit
The Print – Online
Two prolonged spells of rain — in late September and October — have delayed paddy harvesting by a week in parts of Punjab and Haryana which could lead to a spike in stubble burning incidents, experts said on Wednesday. They said the delay could result in farmers racing against time to prepare their fields for the next crop and hence, a sharp increase in farm fires was possible. Though the Centre and the Punjab government have made serious interventions to reduce the number of farm fires this year, officials said the shortening of the window for sowing of Rabi crops could mean more stubble burning in the days to come. Along with unfavourable meteorological conditions, ...
How Punjab is trying to manage stubble burningedit
Daily News Post – Online
Management of paddy straw, which has become the biggest environmental problem in Punjab, has started changing the picture of the state. Though the state is yet to get rid of this problem completely, but the aware farmers of the state have started making alternative use of stubble instead of burning it. Seeing its bad effects on the environment, Amarjeet Singh, a farmer who grows crops on more than 100 acres of land, instead of burning the stubble, is selling it to a nearby factory which converts it into fuel. He along with some other farmers give machines like Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Plow, Mulcher to prevent polluting the environment. Avtar Singh of Theri village ...