Page 17 - Agriculture Economy

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

ISO raises forecast for size of global sugar deficit for current season

A Reuters poll of analysts and traders this month gave a median forecast of a small surplus of 500,000 tons in the 2023/24 season

Moderation in industrial growth, agri likely to drag down GDP growth in Q3

Meanwhile, services which are the major contributor to the Indian economy display an improvement in Q3, led by trade, hotels, transport and communication services

AISTA urges govt to extend sugar sale of February quota by two weeks

Trade body AISTA on Tuesday urged the government to extend the deadline of selling sugar of February quota by two weeks in March as millers were not able to sell their monthly allocated quota in the domestic market. At present, the government fixes a monthly quota for the sale of sugar in the domestic market. On average, about 21 lakh tonne quota is fixed for a monthly sale for mills. For the current month, the nodal food ministry has fixed 22 lakh tonnes for the sale of sugar for mills. Mills are required to sell at least 90 per cent of the monthly quota as per the stock holding limit order of the ministry. Speaking to PTI, All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA) Chairman Praful Vithalani said the association has written a letter to Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra sharing constraints faced by mills in selling the February quota of sugar. He said most sugar mills have not been able to complete their sales quota during the current month and "we have requested the Secretary to

Centre's 5-crop MSP proposal: Why Punjab farmers are reluctant to diversify

As Centre proposes purchase of alternative crops at MSP, a look at why Punjab farmers are reluctant to diversify

Economic growth likely slowed to 6.6% as agriculture lagged: Poll

Strong capital expenditure by the Indian government ahead of a national election due in May was a primary driver of growth in the previous few quarters

Highlights: Traffic affected at Delhi-UP borders due to farmers' stir

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

WTO meet: India to seek permanent solution to food security issues

India will strongly oppose a China-led proposal for an investment facilitation pact besides pressing for finding a permanent solution to public stock holding of grains for food security and protection of the interests of fishermen at the WTO ministerial meeting beginning Tuesday. The Indian delegation is led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The four-day 13th ministerial conference (MC13) will start on February 26 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Trade ministers of 164 member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are meeting against the backdrop of the uncertain global economic situation due to the Red Sea crisis, the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Hamas conflict. The key issue of India's interests at the meeting relates to finding a permanent solution for its minimum support price (MSP) issue for food security, agricultural reforms, fisheries subsidies, e-commerce moratorium on import duties, dispute settlement, and WTO reforms. *Food securi

PM inaugurates world's largest grain storage plan in cooperative sector

The power of cooperation has a huge role in strengthening the foundation of agriculture and farming and this has led to a separate Ministry for Cooperation

Arjun Munda calls for suggestions amid impasse between Centre, farmers

The Centre however expressed readiness for the fifth round of talks with the farmers while urging them to find a solution through 'dialogue'

Tractor sales drop by 4% in FY24, signalling rural economic trouble

Maharashtra recorded a 33% drop, Karnataka 21%, and Telangana 36% in tractor sales. This decline can be attributed to erratic weather conditions and insufficient rainfall

No impact of MSP turmoil on wheat buying: Food secy Sanjeev Chopra

The wheat procurement season usually starts from April 1 in most parts of the country but in the coming season the government has given freedom to the states to advance the purchase dates

Farmers' protest highlights: Noida farmers call off Feb 23 Delhi march

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

Govt allows onion exports to Bangladesh, Mauritius, Bahrain and Bhutan

Consumer Affairs Secretary said the decision has been taken following a recommendation from the external affairs ministry

Agri credit crosses Rs 20 trn till Jan in FY24, sharp jump from 2013-14

The Modi government has enhanced the institutional credit into the agriculture sector sharply in the last 10 years, with banks disbursing Rs 20.39 lakh crores during the April-January period of this fiscal as against Rs 7.3 lakh crore in the entire 2013-14, according to a senior official. In the Budget for 2023-24 fiscal, the government set an agriculture credit target at Rs 20 lakh crore. Banks have already breached the target and the number could cross Rs 22 lakh crore this fiscal. To ensure the availability of agriculture credit at a reduced interest rate of 7 per cent per annum to the farmers, the Union Agriculture Ministry implements an interest subvention scheme for short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh. The scheme provides interest subvention of 2 per cent per annum to banks on the use of their resources. Moreover, an additional 3 per cent incentive is given to the farmers for prompt repayment of the loan, thereby reducing the effective rate of interest to 4 per ...

Govt should boost Green Revolution 2.0 for less water-intensive crops: GTRI

India needs to usher in Green Revolution 2.0 with a view to promote farming of less water-intensive crops such as pulses and oil seeds and discourage free power for the agri sector, economic think tank GTRI said on Thursday. There is a need to "promote less water-intensive crops like pulses, oil seeds, and vegetables that can significantly reduce water demand and the government can guarantee MSP (minimum support price) on these crops," the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) report said. It said that awareness among farmers should be increased about adopting water-saving technologies such as drip irrigation, laser land levelling, training on water-efficient techniques and precision agriculture to improve water use efficiency. It also suggested ending free electricity for agriculture and introducing water pricing mechanisms that can discourage overuse and encourage conservation, besides educating farmers about the long-term consequences of unsustainable practices. These ...