Agriculture Economy

State govts boost farmer incentives amid concerns over fiscal strain

States are topping up PM-KISAN disbursement with own allocation to keep their poll promises. But can a rise in direct benefit transfer and bonus over MSP go hand in hand? Sanjeeb Mukherjee writes

BL Agro launches Rs 1,000 crore dairy breeding project in Bareilly

Leading FMCG company BL Agro on Saturday inaugurated a high-tech cattle breeding and dairy centre in Bareilly at an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore with an aim to transform local agriculture. The state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence for Cow Breeding and Dairy Technology, a part of the subsidiary firm BL Khamdhenu, was inaugurated by Union Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan, the company said in a statement. The project, "Satat Kamdhenu", with a focus on circular practices in dairy sector was unveiled on the occasion. The "BL Kamdhenu Farms" will initially house 5,000 indigenous cows, eventually doubling to 10,000, as part of the company's Satat Kamdhenu initiative. "The initial investment in the project is around Rs 1,000 crore and the whole project once it is up to full capacity will cost Rs 3,000 crore," BL Agro Managing Director Ashish Khandelwal said. The key focus has been to create a sustainable and a circular economy that minimises agri-waste and boosts

Only 15% paddy, 9.6% wheat farmers benefit from MSP system, says paper

However, the MSP system also gives farmers a 23.2 per cent income bump from paddy and 9.6 per cent more income from wheat cultivation

Google building digital agri stack for India using satellite imagery

Global tech giant Google is building a digital agri-stack using satellite imagery and has started with a base layer that will help identify farm boundaries, a senior official said on Saturday. Data and analysis of this base layer of the stack can be used in a slew of applications like bettering the subsidy payments, farm insurance or farm loans, Manish Gupta, a senior director at Google DeepMind said. ".. we have built the first such model that using satellite imagery analysis can now start to identify field boundaries based on usage pattern start to identify what crops are being grown and so on," Gupta said, speaking at the Mumbai Tech Week here. The model has taken inspiration from UIDAI's Aadhar, ascribing a unique ID to each farm and is intended to act as a base layer of the "digital agri stack", he said. Gupta said it is upon the startups and other agri-tech players to build solutions which will provide loan crop insurance and also subsidies using the data churned out by the .

PM calls for speedy implementation of agri budget, keeping focus on action

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged stakeholders to suggest ways to make ongoing schemes more effective and implement this year's budget in a speedy manner on the ground level. Addressing virtually the post-budget webinar on "Agriculture and rural prosperity", Modi said the government has presented a full budget in the third term, ensuring consistency in policy and reflecting the vision of Viksit Bharat. Modi said before the budget, inputs and suggestions from all stakeholders helped in framing it. "Now this budget needs to be implemented more effectively on the ground," he said. Agriculture is considered as the first engine of growth and the government is moving ahead with the target of achieving agricultural growth and rural prosperity, he said. Modi highlighted the need to enhance production of pulses to reduce the country's dependence on imports, and also asked private sector to focus on high-yielding crop seeds. He urged the stakeholders to discuss how the ongoin

BS Manthan: GM only way to lower edible oil imports, says NITI's Chand

NITI Aayog Member Ramesh Chand says GM is only way to lower edible oil imports

Govt achieves goal of setting up of 10,000 farmer producer organisations

The government on Friday said it has achieved the target of establishing 10,000 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) under a flagship central scheme. The 10,000th FPO, registered in Khagaria district in Bihar, focuses on maize, banana and paddy and was launched recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The central scheme for Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs" was launched on February 29th 2020 with a budget outlay of Rs 6,865 crore till 2027-28. According to the agriculture ministry, the successful formation of 10,000 FPOs marks a "transformative milestone for the agriculture sector." This achievement not only boosts agricultural productivity and income but also contributes to rural job creation and economic resilience. "As India moves forward, the continued support and expansion of FPOs will be instrumental in shaping a self-reliant, efficient, and prosperous agricultural ecosystem," the ministry said in a statement. Since the launch, Rs 254.4 crore in equity grants has bee

Scorching March likely to put India's wheat crop production at risk

India, the world's second-biggest wheat producer, is counting on a bumper harvest in 2025 to avoid costly imports, after three consecutive years of poor crop yields since 2022

'Aatmanirbhar means readiness for uncertainty', says Principal Secy to PM

BS Manthan: PK Mishra, principal secretary to the Prime Minister of India, believes the country must adopt an 'anti-fragile' approach in an uncertain world

Operative Kisan Credit Card loans hit Rs 10 trn, benefiting 77.2 mn farmers

The finance ministry on Tuesday said the amount under operative Kisan Credit Card (KCC) accounts has crossed Rs 10 lakh crore, benefiting 7.72 crore farmers as of December 31, 2024. The operative KCC amount stood at Rs 4.26 lakh crore in March 2014. This indicates a significant increase in the quantum of affordable working capital loans provided to farmers for agriculture and allied activities, the finance ministry said in a statement. It is a reflection of credit deepening in agriculture and reduced dependency on non-institutional credit, the ministry added. KCC is a banking product that provides farmers with timely and affordable credit for purchasing agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides, as well as for meeting cash requirements related to crop production and allied activities. In 2019, the KCC scheme was extended to cover the working capital requirements of allied activities like animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries. The government, under the Modifie

Govt mulling ways to curb distress sale of farm produce: Shivraj Chouhan

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said the government is working out measures to ensure that farmers do not have to sell their produces, especially fruits and vegetables, at throwaway prices. Speaking after inaugurating the 'Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela' 2025 -- being held in the national capital from February 22-24 -- he emphasised the need to take new seeds varieties and farm technologies from labs to agriculture filed at the earliest. Chouhan said the government is holding discussions with farmers directly as well as through their organisations to understand the problems and then making schemes to address the issues. "Jahan-Jahan takleefein dekh rahe hain, hum yojana bana rahe hain (wherever we are seeing problems, we are making schemes to address those)", the minister said, listing out steps taken by the government in the last few years to protect the interest of farmers. Chouhan said the government has removed exports restrictions on rice and onions while

Farm facelift: Budget offers hope for agri, but is it enough to modernise?

Besides the tech issue, the Budget may not have addressed some other concerns relevant for the agriculture sector

Before GIS, MP releases key policies including industrial and export policy

According to officials from the industry department, the government has made key changes in its policies to attract industrialists, multinational companies, and investors ahead of GIS

Over 20.5 mn farmer IDs created under Digital Agriculture Mission: Govt

More than 2.05 crore farmer IDs have been generated under the Digital Agriculture Mission, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur, in his written reply to the Lok Sabha, said the State Farmer Registry under the Digital Agriculture Mission covers all landholder farmers, including women farmers. Farmers Registry application also has the provision to onboard the tenant and lessee farmers. A state can decide to include such farmers in the Farmers Registry as per the state's policy. "As of February 2, a total of 2,05,26,912 farmer IDs have been created...," Thakur said. This includes 1.02 crore farmer IDs in Uttar Pradesh, 41.87 lakh IDs in Madhya Pradesh, 36.36 lakh in Gujarat, 22.54 lakh in Maharashtra, 1.42 lakh in Assam, and 75,593 in Rajasthan. About 14,343 farmer IDs have been created in Chhatisgarh, 9,843 in Odisha, 3,054 in Tamil Nadu, 424 in Andhra Pradesh and 19 IDs in Bihar. The Digital Agriculture Mission, with an outlay of Rs

Soy, groundnut purchase deadline extended as prices remain below MSP

Extends deadline for soybean, groundnut procurement as prices stay below MSP

Govt to upgrade e-NAM platform to promote inter-state trade: Chouhan in RS

Chouhan said agricultural marketing is a state subject and agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) are regulated by the respective State Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act

Govt adds 10 additional commodities to e-NAM platform for trading

The Agriculture Ministry has allowed trading of 10 additional commodities on the electronic-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), taking the total number of tradable items on the platform to 231. The newly added commodities include dried Tulsi leaves, Besant (Chickpea flour), wheat flour, chana sattu (Roasted Chickpea Flour), water Chestnut flour, asafoetida, dried fenugreek leaves, baby corn, dragon fruit and water Chestnut, the ministry said in a statement. The decision follows extensive consultations with stakeholders, including state agencies, traders, subject matter specialists and the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC). Several of these items, particularly chana sattu, water Chestnut flour, asafoetida and dried fenugreek leaves, fall under secondary trade category, which can help Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to market value-added products and formalize trade in the sector. The Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) has formulated tradable parameters fo

Boost for agriculture: Budget proposals will help farmers and consumers

In terms of Budget allocation, agriculture and its allied sectors have seen a healthy jump of about 22 per cent to about Rs 1.71 trillion

Budget 2025 FAQs: Key tax, insurance and investment changes explained

Budget 2025 brings key tax, insurance, and investment changes. From ULIP taxation to NPS benefits and Kisan Credit Card updates, here's a breakdown of FAQs to help you understand the new provisions

Charting a new growth path: Budget sets sights on greener pastures

Uncertain rainfall remains a significant challenge