Media Monitor
Agriculture Industry
Cut grain procurement from states with high mandi taxes: CACPedit
The Financial Express – Online
The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices has said the procurement of grains should be reduced from the states who impose high mandi fee and other levies as this restricts inter-state trade and makes markets inefficient. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) also urged the government to take appropriate policy measures to promote rice cultivation in suitable areas and reduce the area under rice in Haryana, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh. High taxes restrict inter-state trade and makes markets inefficient, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) said in its report on price policy for kharif crops (2023-24). “Moreover, it has not led to any discernible improvement in the mandi infrastructure,” ...
Increasing income of smallholder farmers in Indiaedit
The Hans India – Online
Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy. Although its contribution to gross domestic product is now around one sixth, it provides employment to 56% of the workforce. Also, the forward and backward linkage effects of agriculture growth increase the incomes in the non-agriculture sector. However, there have been exclusion problems like problems of poverty, unemployment, inequalities in access to health and education and poor performance. Real development in terms of growth shared by all sections of the population has not taken place. One of the excluded sector during the reform period was agriculture which showed low growth and experienced more farmers’ distress. There are serious concerns on the performance of agriculture sector in the ...
Purchase price for kharif crops up 6-10.4%edit
The Financial Express – Online
The government on Wednesday hiked the minimum support prices (MSP) of the key kharif crops for 2023-24 season (July-June) by 6-10.4%, the highest increase since 2018-19. The MSP for paddy, the key kharif crop, is fixed at `2,183/quintal, up 7% on year. The higher-than-expected MSPs will drive the gross value added (GVA) in “agriculture and allied services” in the second half of the current year, as procurement begins in October. Agri GVA grew a healthy 5.5% in Q4FY23. Elevated MSPs, backed by procurement, could potentially boost rural income and purchasing power.
Monsoon + Indian Agriculture
Monsoon delay hits sowing of Kharif crops in Odishaedit
The New Indian Express – Online
Even as Kharif operations have started with field preparation from Akshaya Tritiya (April 22), the sowing of crops mostly paddy has been pushed back due to delay in the onset of southwest monsoon. The state government is yet to prepare its kharif (foodgrain production) plan fixing crop-wise targets and areas to be covered under specific crops for Kharif season 2023-24. This has affected planning at the district level as well.
Stubble Burning
Punjab farmers set to stick with pollution-causing variety of riceedit
Hindustan Times – Online
PUSA 44 is an unrecommended non-basmati variety of rice, clearly tagged as an environmental hazard that takes a month longer to mature than other varieties. As a result, farmers have less of a window to clear the fields after its harvest to plant the winter wheat crop – and so, it is well known as a key contributor to the stubble burning that causes chronic air pollution over Delhi and the northern plains. The variety remains popular among rice cultivators of Punjab because of its higher yield. In 2022-23, this long-duration variety was sown on almost 1.2 million acres despite the state government trying to make farmers switch to short-duration varieties such as PR 126 ...