Business Standard

India is poised to begin wheat imports after a six-year gap, to replenish depleted reserves and hold down prices that leaped following three years of disappointing crops, sources say, as the approaching end of general elections removes a key hurdle.

The Times of India

The state agriculture department’s Nashik divisional officer has projected kharif crop cultivation on 20.3 lakh hectares of land in Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, and Nandurbar districts. The kharif crop majorly includes maize, soyabean, moong, tur, cotton, bajra, urid, and paddy in the North Maharashtra region.

Mint

Farmers may be looking for alternative avenues of income, but it is too soon to write off the significance of agriculture in rural India, data from the recently released Nabard All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) shows.

The New Indian Express

As the farmers are gearing up for Kharif season, the agriculture officials have increased vigil on fertiliser and seeds outlets. During the last season, the officials conducted inspections and identified that vendors are buying huge quantities of unauthorised fertilisers, repackaging them, and selling them under various names at high prices to the farmers. Following this, the officials are suggesting the farmers to purchase fertilisers at authorised outlets only.

The New Indian Express

The state government on Thursday said Tamil Nadu is self-sufficient in food production and is giving food grains to neighbouring states, thanks to the efficient schemes being implemented by the government headed by Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Times of India

The agriculture department in NTR district is preparing an action plan for the kharif cultivation season following the timely arrival of the forecasted monsoon. Initially, authorities estimate that kharif crops will be sown across 97,340 hectares in the district. Farmers in the Krishna delta region had a difficult time due to the lack of water during the rabi season.

Down To Earth

Wheat procurement reached 25.7 million metric tonnes (mmt) on May 17, 2024, against the government official target of 37.29 mmt fixed for the Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2024-25, according to Food Corporation of India (FCI) data. The current procurement is around 31 per cent less than the target, despite a bumper production year—the government has estimated a production of 112 mmt.

Business Standard

India has bought 25.4 million metric tons of new-season wheat from domestic farmers to shore up its depleted reserves, a 1.55% decline from last year, government sources said on Wednesday. Wheat purchases by the government-backed Food Corporation of India (FCI) got off to a slow start last month, but procurement picked up in recent weeks, said the sources who didn’t wish to be named as they are not authorised to talk to the media.

Hindustan Times

The Punjab agriculture department has set a target of seven lakh acres to be sown under the direct seeded rice (DSR) system of paddy cultivation to save water this kharif season. The last year’s target was five lakh acres but only 1.73 lakh acres witnessed paddy cultivation under the DSR method. The agriculture department has already issued the notification, allowing the farmers to sow paddy through the DSR method from May 15. For the conventional method, the department has fixed June 11 for Muktsar, Bathinda, Fazilka, Faridkot, Mansa and Ferozepur, while June 15 for the rest of the state.

Hindustan Times

Spring maize, sown from February to June, has become a favourite of farmers in the state, forcing the agricultural experts to raise a red flag as the crop, which needs more water to sustain something which Punjab, with its fast-depleting groundwater table, can’t afford.