Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Crop-neutral income support programme can give agriculture a sustainable boostedit
Moneycontrol – Online
To raise the income of farmers, successive Indian governments have been raising minimum support prices (MSP) and ramping up government procurement. Yet, farmers are not happy as profit margins from farming have been declining, even though the government subsidies on chemical fertilisers, electricity and bank credit have steadily risen. On the other hand, steadily rising floor prices of farm produce aid food inflation and create macroeconomic complications that stifle GDP growth. Against this backdrop, a crop-neutral income support programme will incentivise farmers to cultivate crops based on market demand and local climatic conditions, leading to optimal use of inputs, irrigation water and chemical fertilisers thereby reducing the subsidy burden for the government. Therefore, it is worth ...
Budget
TN: Ahead of Budget Session Agri Workers Hold Protests, Demand Minimum Wageedit
News Click – Online
To address the issues of agriculture workers, AIAWU has demanded a separate department under the state. The All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) held protest demonstrations in front of district collectorate offices across Tamil Nadu on March 16. They demanded a separate department to be set up for agricultural workers in the state. “There are departments for various sections of society, but there is no space to raise the issues of agriculture workers. So we demand a separate department,” V Amirthalingam, Tamil Nadu secretary, AIAWU told NewsClick.
Competition
Tractor running entirely on Cow manure launched by Italy-based companyedit
Hindustan Times – Online
The New Holland T6 is as powerful as a diesel tractor, but it’s fueled with liquified methane. Its 49-gallon tank spews 62% less nitrous oxide and up to 15% less carbon dioxide, all while running indefinitely on the manure of roughly 75 cows. Trenance Farm sits at the extreme southwest spit of England, six hours from London and a kicked clod from the Celtic Sea. It’s a dairy farm whose owners, Kevin and Kate Hoare, still milk their cows by hand — 120 bovines, twice a day. But the Hoares are also working with some of the most vanguard climate technology on the planet.
Govt. Policies
Telangana government will support farmers, assures Niranjan Reddyedit
Telangana Today – Online
Assuring that State government would extend all support to farmers, who suffered severe crop loss due to hailstorm on Thursday, Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy stressed on the need for farmer-centric crop insurance coverage. Following the instructions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, the Minister inspected rain affected fields in Marpally, Mominpet and other neighbouring areas in Vikarabad district on Friday. He was accompanied by Education Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy, Rythu Bandhu Samithi president Palla Rajeshwar Reddy and senior officials.
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
Unseasonal rains, hailstorms damage over 18,000 hectares of agricultural land in Maharashtraedit
Down To Earth – Online
After a devastating crop loss in early March this year, Maharashtra farmers received another blow as heavy rains and hailstorms on March 16-17, 2023, flattened their ready-to-harvest crops. Thousands of farmers have been affected by the unseasonal rains and hailstorms that led to complete harvest losses in Marathwada and the north Maharashtra regions, according to farmers. At least four villages in the Nanded district were affected after hailstorms destroyed wheat, vegetables, gram and other crops. Bharad, Neuga and Mutkhed are other regions affected by the hailstorms, said Sainath Shirmevar, a farmer from Dongargaon village.