Page 15 - Agriculture Economy

Govt to begin procurement of 500,000 tonnes of rabi onion in 2-3 days

Amid concern over likely fall in mandi prices in view of extension of onion export ban, the government on Tuesday assured farmers that it will start procurement of 5 lakh tonnes of rabi onion in next 2-3 days to protect their interest. Last week, the commerce ministry extended the ban on onion export till further orders. The ban on onion shipment was valid till March 31. "We want to assure farmers that their concern will be taken care of. ...We will begin procurement of 5 lakh tonne of rabi (winter) crop in the next 2-3 days for maintaining a buffer stock," Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told reporters. The onion export ban is affecting traders and not farmers as average mandi (wholesale) prices are ruling currently at around Rs 13-15/kg in Maharasthra, which is almost double from the previous year level, he said. "Even if prices crash, we will protect the interest of farmers," he added. The secretary said the government normally buys onion for the buffer stock at a

India lags behind in geospatial patents but is scrambling to catch up

Geospatial technology data helps in urban planning, transportation, environment management, agriculture, public health and natural resource management

'Make agriculture more productive, don't move millions out of it'

Greeshma Kuthar, Ritika Chopra joint winners of Chameli Devi award

Oilmeals exports increased 9% in Feb to nearly 516K tonnes, says SEA

Oilmeals export rose 9 per cent year-on-year in February to nearly 5.16 lakh tonnes on higher outward shipments of soyabean meal, according to trade data. In a statement on Friday, Solvent Extraction of India (SEA) said the export of oilmeals in February stood at 515,704 tonne as compared to 4,71,770 tonne in the year-ago period. Of the total oilmeals export last month, the shipments of soyabean meal stood at 3,47,905 tonne and rapeseed meal 1,44,372 tonne. The data showed that the total export of oilmeals during the April-February period of this fiscal increased 19 per cent to 44,90,055 tonne as compared to 37,60,329 tonne in the corresponding period of the previous year. The export of soybean meal during the April-February period of the 2023-24 fiscal rose to 19.34 lakh tonne compared to 7.87 lakh tonne in the same period of the previous year as Indian soybean meal was most competitive in the international market. However, SEA said that soyameal exports might slow down because

Rajasthan govt to give free seed kits to boost millets production

Some of the hotels and restaurants in the Rajasthan are also serving dishes made with millets after a request made by the CM

Three new coop societies will help solve many agri problems: Amit Shah

Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the three new cooperative societies -- NCOL, NCEL and BBSSL -- will help solve many problems of Indian agriculture and enhance farmers' income by promoting exports of farm products, including organic foods. He was speaking after inaugurating the new office building of three national level multi-state cooperative societies -- Bhartiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Ltd (BBSSL), National Cooperative Organics Ltd (NCOL) and National Cooperative Export Ltd (NCEL) at World Trade Centre, Nauroji Nagar here. Shah stressed on the need to promote organic and natural farming, while discouraging use of chemical fertilisers. He announced that there will be a laboratory in every district over the next five years to certify organic farm and products. Shah said NCOL will promote organic farming in the country apart from cooperative Amul, which has already introduced many organic products in the market. He noted that the total global organic market is Rs 10

Lack of non-agri data hinders computation of farmers' income: Niti member

The lack of data on cultivators and their income from other sources has become a hindrance in determining whether farmers' income has actually doubled or not, Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand said, pointing out that they are earning more from non-agricultural sources. The Niti Aayog member further said that prices of agricultural commodities can not be fixed by a law as it has serious implications, which are neither in the interest of the agriculture sector nor individual farmers. "The government had fixed the goal of doubling farmers' income so that we make more efforts. There is a need for this assessment, where we are in terms of this goal. (But) the required data is not available with us," Chand told PTI in an interview. In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government set a highly ambitious target of doubling farmers' incomes by 2022. An inter-ministerial committee on "Doubling of Farmers' Income" was set up in April 2016 to recommend strategies to achieve this goal. The ..

Chhattisgarh launches scheme to provide input assistance to farmers

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday launched 'Krishak Unnati Yojna' to provide input assistance to farmers and released Rs 13,320 crore to 24.72 lakh cultivators. The scheme was launched at a function at Saryu Prasad Agrawal stadium in Balod district. Speaking on the occasion, Sai said another guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been fulfilled with the launch of this scheme. Input assistance worth Rs 13,320 crore was transferred to the bank accounts of 24.75 lakh farmers under the Krishak Unnati Yojana, he said. Of these cultivators, 24.72 lakh sold paddy this year in the kharif marketing season 2023-24 at minimum support price, and they were paid the difference amount of Rs 13,289 crore, the chief minister said. Similarly, more than Rs 31 crore was paid to 2,829 farmers producing paddy seeds through the seed corporation, he said. "The state government fulfilled its promise to farmers, by disbursing pending paddy bonus of two years (2014-15 and 2015-16

Processed pulses to attract GST, says AAR in case involving agri broker

Andhra Pradesh-based Gayatri Enterprises' GST policy was challenged by parties all over the country

Centre willing to procure jute, cotton crop if prices fall below MSP: Goyal

The government is willing to procure the harvest of jute and cotton from farmers if the market price is lower than the Minimum Support Price (MSP), Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. The minister further said that the Centre is working towards increasing the production of jute and cotton and is willing to provide quality seeds and fertilisers for quality produce to fulfil the vision of farm to foreign exports. The Union Minister for Textiles, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Commerce & Industry made the remarks during his interaction with beneficiaries of the Textile Sector here as he also urged them to be vocal for local. "Be vocal for local and take local to global. That's the clarion call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to showcase our products on the world stage", Goyal said. The minister further noted that ramping up textile production in the country will spur income, open up employment opportunities and play a vital role in making the ..

Farmers' march highlights: Traffic affected at Delhi borders, say police

Farmers' march latest news updates: Catch all the latest updates on the farmers' protest here

Parboiled rice exports slow on confusion over duty calculations: Dealers

The 20% duty slowed India's parboiled rice exports, but still traders ship around 500,000 metric tons per month as prices jumped in competing countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Myanmar

UP waives electricity bills of farmers with private tube wells from April 1

In a major decision, the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to waive electricity bills of farmers with private tube wells with retrospective effect from April 1, 2023. The decision taken at the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will benefit around 1.5 crore farmers, an official release said. The government has provided Rs 1,800 crore in the 2024-25 budget for implementation of the scheme. Furthermore, the government has put forth a proposal for a scheme aimed at assisting farmers with outstanding electricity bills predating April 1, 2023, in bill settlement without accruing interest and offering them convenient installment options. Energy Minister A K Sharma said through this decision the government has kept its promise of providing 100 per cent exemption from power tariffs to the farmers owning private tube wells in the state. A total of 14.78 lakh tubewells will benefit from the decision of the Cabinet. According to Sharma, on average, 8-10

Nabard estimates Rs 3.62 trn priority sector credit potential for FY25

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has projected a priority sector credit potential of Rs 3.62 lakh crore for 2024-25. This projection reflects a remarkable 32 per cent rise from its previous year's assessment, a bank official said Tuesday. The announcement was made during the State Credit Seminar held today, where NABARD launched the State Focus Paper (SFP) for FY 2024-25. The SFP serves as a consolidated document, outlining district-wise realistic potential in physical and financial terms for Rajasthan. Akhil Arora, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance), officially released the State Focus Paper in the presence of key dignitaries. Arora highlighted the role of NABARD and the banking fraternity as integral components of the development ecosystem. He stressed the importance of empowering youth and strengthening the Agri and MSME sectors, pitching for collaboration between the government and banking sector to achieve the mission of a 'Vikasit Rajastha

Farmers can sell sand that got deposited in fields during floods: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said farmers can sell sand which got deposited in their fields along the Sutlej and Beas rivers during last year's floods. Mann stated this on the second day of the budget session in the Punjab assembly after Independent MLA Rana Inder Partap Singh raised the issue. The legislator from Sultanpur Lodhi said that four to five feet of sand got deposited in agriculture fields in some villages of his assembly constituency following floods. The chief minister said the state government will allow farmers to sell up to four feet of sand that got deposited in their fields during the floods last year. "This sand will belong to the landowners and the state government will not charge any tax on it," said Mann, adding that a notification in this regard will be issued soon. Meanwhile, while participating in the discussion on the governor's address, Punjab Cabinet minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the AAP government created a "record of development

Goyal launches platform to enable loans against produce to farmers

Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday launched a digital platform to facilitate farmers in getting loans against their produce stored in registered godowns and said it would help boost the farming community's income and make agriculture an attractive proposition. The minister also announced that the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) would soon lower the security deposit paid by the warehouse owner to 1 per cent of the value of the stock from the current 3 per cent. At an event here, Goyal launched the digital gateway named 'e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi', which aims to facilitate farmers in obtaining post-harvest loans from banks against their stocks stored in the WDRA registered warehouses. The loans are provided against electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (e-NWRs). At present, there are more than 5,500 registered warehouses under WDRA, while the total number of agri-warehouses is estimated at around 1 lakh. The minister emphasised the need to .

WTO MC13: Abu Dhabi meet ends with no consensus on agri, fisheries

Countries agree to renew the e-commerce moratorium until next ministerial

WTOs 5th day meet: Talks begin to break impasse over agri, fisheries issues

The meeting of the highest decision making body of the WTO on Friday entered the fifth day with key members including India, the US and EU holding talks to iron out differences on issues such as agriculture, fisheries subsidies, and duty moratorium on e-commerce trade. The 13h ministerial conference (MC), which was to end on February 29, extended for a day as developing and developed nations were unable to find a common ground on these key issues. The members are talking to end the impasse and so far things have not moved much, an official said. "There are nine countries in the Green Room meeting including Brazil and China. The negotiations have been extended as WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is pushing for outcomes," the official said. However, officials here are not sounding positive so far about bridging the differences and coming out with a ministerial declaration, which is a must for the success of the conference. India has clearly stated that finding a permanent solution to t

Monsoon woes: Farm sector contracts in Q3, a first in 19 quarters

The growth stood at 5.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2022-23 which also played a part in pulling down agriculture and related sector's GVA

Tea industry body welcomes move to sell dust tea through auction route

Tea Association of India (TAI), a body of planters, on Wednesday hailed the decision of the Tea Board for selling dust tea fully through the auction route. On February 26, the board issued an order saying that 100 per cent of dust grades of tea manufactured in a calendar year through the auction mode under Tea (Marketing) Control (Amendment) Order which will be effective from April one, 2024. President of TAI Sandeep Singhania said in a statement that dust grades constitute approximately 20 per cent of total production in North India. Therefore, transitioning to 100 per cent auction of dust tea will be a small step towards restructuring the existing system, he said. TAI said that the tea industry is facing unprecedented challenges and urgent action is required to revitalise the industry. The association is also committed to compliance with the maximum residue levels (MRL) of pesticides and market teas as a healthy beverage. TAI has urged all the stakeholders to collaborate with t