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Farmers In India
Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday emphasised the need for "farmer producer companies" for the progress of cultivators. Addressing a workshop on farmer producer organisation, he said all problems of cultivators must be solved at commissionerate level in districts through the farmer producer company. "We need to form a organisation/ apex body of farmer producer company for the progress and development of farmers. With farmer producer company, they can utilise agriculture equipment, tractor, harvester and other things and it will make it easy to pay loans," he said. There is need to reduce cost of production and increase yields, he said. "This would make farmers prosperous," Gadkari said while underlining the need to use technology and AI to improve production. The workshop was organised by Agro Vision, of which Gadkari is chief mentor. The Union minister informed about various initiatives taken by Agro Vision to improve agriculture pattern and crop diversification.
The Gujarat government has announced Rs 947 crore relief package for farmers in five districts for crop damage due to heavy rains in August and September. Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani on Monday said the decision was taken by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who held meetings even on Diwali to ensure the special package is finalised for farmers. Assistance of Rs 563 crore will be provided as per provisions of SDRF, while Rs 384 crore has been added from the state budget, totalling Rs 947 crore, he said. The assistance will be paid to affected farmers from 800 villages in 18 talukas of Junagadh, Panchmahal, Kutch, Patan and Vav-Tharad districts, a government release said. "Financial assistance will be given as per norms fixed by the state government for crop damage assistance, which are different for irrigated and non-irrigated land per hectares. The financial assistance norms are also different for normal and horticultural crops," it added. Vaghani said due to special geographi
The Maharashtra government has sanctioned the disbursal of Rs 3,258 crore financial assistance to farmers who suffered losses due to excess rainfall and floods in 23 districts, state Minister Makarand Jadhav Patil said. The state relief and rehabilitation minister on Friday said that over the past two days, the government has approved the disbursement of Rs 5,364 crore through multiple resolutions to support farmers. The government has now sanctioned Rs 3,258 crore for 33.65 lakh farmers in 23 rain and flood-affected districts, he said in an official statement. The state government had, earlier this week, approved an aid of Rs 1,356.30 crore for 21.66 lakh affected farmers. Earlier this month, the government announced a compensation package of Rs 31,628 crore for farmers, asserting that the total assistance will be Rs 48,000 per hectare. Opposition parties have, however, dubbed the relief package as "too meagre" to help cultivators rebuild their lives. Heavy rainfall and floods i
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched two major schemes for the agriculture sector with a combined outlay of Rs 35,440 crore, including a pulses mission aimed at reducing import dependency. The event coincided with the birth anniversary of socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan. He also inaugurated projects valued at over Rs 5,450 crore in the agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and food processing sectors, while laying the foundation stone for additional projects worth around Rs 815 crore. The 'Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses', with an outlay of Rs 11,440 crore, aims at increasing pulses production from the current 252.38 lakh tonne to 350 lakh tonne by the 2030-31 crop year and reducing the country's import dependency. The Rs 24,000-crore 'Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana' aims to transform 100 low-performing agri-districts. The scheme will focus on enhancing productivity, promoting crop diversification, improving irrigation and storage, and ensuring
The Maharashtra government has announced relief for farmers who suffered losses due to rains in 34 districts of the state, with steps including rationalisation of loans from cooperatives and suspension of recovery for a year. A government resolution (GR) issued on Friday stated that 347 tehsils in the state witnessed large-scale damage to crops, farmland and houses, deaths, loss of cattle and other animals. The GR announced the rationalisation of loans from cooperatives, suspension of farm loan recovery for a year, and waiving of exam fees for students of Classes 10 and 12 in the affected tehsils. Electricity bills for three months will also be waived, it stated. As per the GR, the state agriculture department's assessments have revealed that crops on 65 lakh hectares were damaged due to the rains from June to September. Heavy rainfall and floods in September severely affected Marathwada and adjoining regions. Earlier this week, the state government announced a compensation packa
The Telangana government will hold a public function in Hyderabad to mark the transfer of about Rs 9,000 crore to farmers' accounts in just nine days under the 'Rythu Bharosa' investment support scheme, state Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said. The event, which will be attended by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his cabinet colleagues, will take place on Tuesday evening near the Rajiv Gandhi statue outside the Telangana Secretariat complex, Rao added. The minister, who reviewed the arrangements for the event with officials on Monday, said Rs 9,000 crore has been transferred to farmers' accounts ahead of the monsoon to ensure they have funds to carry out agricultural activities. Recalling the farm loan waiver of Rs 70,000 crore during the UPA regime led by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rao said the present Congress government has already spent Rs 21,000 crore on loan waivers. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy launched the disbursal of funds under the 'Rythu Bharosa'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday several initiatives of his government during the last 11 years have boosted the prosperity of farmers and ensured the transformation of agriculture. He said on X, "It's our privilege to serve our hardworking farmers... We have focussed on issues like soil health and irrigation, which have been greatly beneficial. Our efforts towards farmer welfare will continue with greater vigour in the times to come." Modi said farmers were earlier forced to take loans for meeting small needs, but their lives have been made easier by his government. He cited decisions like annual cash assistance to farmers and the loan insurance scheme. Over the last few days, the prime minister has been highlighting his government's decisions pertaining to specific sectors ahead of its 11th anniversary on June 9, the day Modi took oath in 2024 for a third consecutive term in office.
In a quiet corner of Kerala, a farmer's hopes for a bountiful banana harvest witherednot from drought or disease, but from a promise unfulfilled. Now, a local consumer court has stepped in, ordering a nursery to pay Rs 1 lakh in compensation after the banana plants it supplied failed to bear fruit as expected. The complaint was filed by a farmer from Karimpanthottiyil, Wandoor, in this district, who had taken land on lease for farming. He bought 150 banana saplings, including the 'Nendran' variety, from Chungathara Krishi Nursery, paying Rs 3,425. He was told the plants would bear fruit within 10 months, in time to sell during the Onam season. However, the plants did not bear fruit on time. Worse, instead of the 'Nendran' variety, he received a different type called 'Swarnamukhi'. Other saplings he received were also not the ones he ordered. The farmer filed a complaint with the Consumer Commission, asking for Rs 1.64 lakh in compensation. The local agriculture officer and an a
With ensuing kharif sowing season, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday announced a pan-India 15-days campaign starting May 29, to create awareness among 1-1.5 crore farmers about modern technology and new seed varieties. The campaign named 'Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan' is scheduled during the May 29-June 12 period and the target is to reach out to 1-1.5 crore farmers across 700 districts in the country. The Centre in association with states will form 2,000 teams comprising farm scientists, officials and progressive farmers, among others. Each team will have three meetings every day at district level. The aim is to reach out to 10-12 lakh farmers every day. Addressing a National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign here, Chouhan stressed on improving agriculture extension services to boost productivity and production of all major crops. He emphasized on making available new technologies and research work done in labs to farmers' fields within a fi
Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has not ended his indefinite fast even though he drank a glass of water after farmers detained last week by the state police were released from different jails, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said on Saturday. The Punjab government on Friday told the Supreme Court that Dallewal accepted water and broke his fast. Countering the Punjab government's claims, Kohar said on Saturday Dallewal had made it clear he would take water only after all the farmers are released. "And Dallewal drank a glass of water after farmer leaders were released," said Kohar, a close aide of Dallewal. "We want to make it clear that a false impression was being given that Dallewal has ended his indefinite fast. His hunger strike continues." Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh told the apex court on Friday they dispersed on March 19 the farmers protesting at Khanauri and Shambhu border points with Haryana, and opened the roads and highways that were blocked due to th
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on an indefinite hunger strike in support of various demands, accepted water and broke his fast on Friday morning, the Punjab government told the Supreme Court. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was told by advocate general Gurminder Singh for Punjab that they have dispersed the protesting farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu borders, and opened all blocked roads and highways. The bench lauded the efforts of Dallewal, and said he is a genuine farmer leader without any political agenda. "We know some people did not want settlement of grievances of farmers. We are not sitting in an ivory tower. We know everything," the bench said as it asked the Punjab and Haryana government to file a status report about the prevailing situation on the ground. The top court also asked the high powered committee headed by former high court judge to look into the grievances of farmers, to also file a supplementary status report. It also dropped
A fresh round of talks between protesting farmers and the Centre will be held here on Saturday evening centred around the legal guarantee of minimum support price on crops, among other demands. The meeting between the central team and farmer leaders will take place at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Public Administration in Chandigarh at 6 pm. In the last meeting held on February 14, Union minister Pralhad Joshi had said that Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan would lead the central team for the February 22 meeting with the protesting farmers. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Saturday said a delegation of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha will take part in the meeting with a positive mind. Farmers expect from the government to resolve their issues at the earliest, he said. Farmers had earlier asked for the next meeting be held in Delhi but the government scheduled it in Chandigarh. Pandher said, "Today the sixth round of talks with th