Media Monitor
Govt. Policies
National Logistics Policy Could Minimise Agri & Allied Produce Lossesedit
News 18 – Online
India’s agriculture and its allied adequate produce are not sufficient to ensure food security. Not all food produced is consumed and an enormous amount is wasted due to the unorganised and inefficient logistics sector. The losses impact farmers with reduced income and consumer with increased costs. As per the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, about 33% of India’s agriculture and allied productions are wasted, which would be enough to feed 195 million hungry people. Maximum food loss happens during transit from farm to fork at various stages of the supply chain. It is hoped that the recently launched National Logistics Policy (NLP) will be cost-effective and efficient to limit the losses of perishable commodities ...
How PM-Kisan transfers are easing farmers’ cash crunchedit
The Indian Express – Online
The farm economy has distinct features compared to usual household economic behaviour. About two decades back, when I was working in the farm sector, I observed the dire need for cash for the procurement of agriculture inputs and allied activities every year. Most farmers were short of liquidity and faced issues in the timely purchase of the required resources. Crop loans are available but if an earlier loan is due, it is difficult for the farmer to get a new loan. This forces him/her to take loans from non-institutional sources. The feeling of going and asking someone for petty cash for the purpose of pre-sowing operations causes mental distress and hardship. It is exactly ...
3 big announcements for agriculture sector and farmers made by PM Modi todayedit
Krishi Jagat – Online
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the PM Kisan Samman Sammelan & Agri Startup Conclave and Exhibition 2022. On the occasion, he made 3 big announcement for the agriculture sector and Indian farmers. PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme 12th Instalment PM Modi released the 12th PM Kisan Samman Nidhi instalment at Kisan sammelan organised at New Delhi today. This instalment of 16 thousand crore was credited to more than 8 crore farmers in India and this was also the biggest event of direct bank transfer (DBT) in history in India. Since the launch of this scheme, more than Rs 2 lakh crore has been directly transferred to the bank accounts of farmers. For small farmers who are ...
Paddy in India
Temporary truce over paddy procurement to be effective soon in Keralaedit
The New Indian Express – Online
The impasse over paddy procurement of the first crop of the season could end within a day or two as a temporary truce is on the anvil between Supplyco and the Kerala State Rice Mill Owners Association on the issue. “We had held talks with Supplyco general manager Sriram Venkataraman in which it was agreed that if the High Court orders in its final ruling that the ‘out-turn’ quantity (the paddy that must be returned to the government after milling it) should be retained at 68% instead of 64%, then the government will compensate for the loss sustained by the mills,” said V R Pushpangadhan, president of the Palakkad District Rice Mill Owners ...
Paddy straw formation to be higher than last year: CAQMedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The area under paddy cultivation in both Haryana and Punjab has increased this year and hence the generation of paddy straw is also expected to be higher than last year; however, the number of stubble fires during the past one month has been lower than the number during the same period last year, the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) informed the Parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, environment, forests and climate change headed by Congress leader and former union environment minister Jairam Ramesh, which held its first meeting to review air pollution control measures in Delhi-NCR on Monday.
Crop cycle, quick field turnaround continue to be burning issuesedit
Hindustan Times – Online
Many of the farmers in this Punjab village admit that they are going to burn the paddy stubble left after the harvest — the main source of pollution in the National Capital Region in October and November. Most are also desperate to move out of the paddy-wheat cycle of cropping. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has warned them that they have groundwater left for 15 more years — at a stretch. As they prepare to harvest their nearly mature paddy crop, they say they have realised that farming has become unsustainable for several reasons: a water table that has fallen to the “red”, or “overexploited” category; rising costs of pesticide and other inputs; extreme ...
Stubble Burning
CAQM regularly monitoring stubble burning incidents in NCR and Punjabedit
Livemint – Online
Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and adjoining areas (CAQM) is regularly reviewing the position to contain the problems arising out of farm fire incidents in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Punjab, said the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in a press release on Monday. The Commission has been actively monitoring paddy residue burning events from 15th September 2022 onwards in the states of Punjab, Haryana and 8 NCR Districts of U.P. The current year has seen a reduction from 3431 to 1695 fire counts as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The review meetings with 23 District Collectors / District Magistrates (DMs) of Punjab, 22 DMs/ DCs of Haryana, ...