Page 20 - Agriculture Economy

China expands imports, planting approvals of additional gene-modified crops

The agriculture ministry approved the domestic production of six more varieties of genetically modified corn, two of soybeans and one of cotton, and another two of gene-edited soybeans

India's corn exports plunge as domestic prices rally on strong demand

India usually exports around 250,000 to 300,000 metric tons of corn every month but in December its exports fell to around 30,000 tons

Supreme Court reserves order on environmental release of GM mustard

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a pleas seeking moratorium on release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Sanjay Karol heard submissions from Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicior General Tushar Mehta and advocates Prashant Bhushan and senior advocate Sanjay Parikh. The top court directed the parties to file written submissions by January 22. Observing that the issue of genetically modified crops is very technical and scientific, the top court on Wednesday had said it will decide a plea on environmental release of GM mustard on the basis of what is good for the country,. The apex court had earlier questioned the Centre about why reports of the court-appointed Technical Experts Committee (TEC) on biosafety of genetically modified (GM) crops were not looked into by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). It asked Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, whether th

Govt can look at taxing rich farmers, says MPC member Ashima Goyal

Having taken care of poor farmers by transferring funds into their accounts, the government can contemplate imposing income tax on rich farmers to bring about fairness in the taxation structure, Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Ashima Goyal has said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the interim Budget on February 1 in the Lok Sabha. "Government transfer payments to farmers are like a negative income tax. Along with that, a positive income tax can be applied for rich farmers as part of a movement to a data-rich system with low tax-rates and minimum exemptions," Goyal told PTI. She was responding to a query on whether agriculture income should be taxed in India. Asked if coalition governments or single-party regimes produced better economic growth rates, the eminent economist said growth rates depend on many things, but in judging a government it is also necessary to see what growth rate they inherited and what they left the country with. "Coalitio

Crop-killing weeds spread across US farms as chemicals lose effectiveness

Farmers say their losing battle with weeds threatens grain and oilseed harvests at a time when growers are grappling with inflation and extreme weather linked to climate change

Masur production may touch record 1.6 mn tons this Rabi season: Govt

The country's masur (lentil) production is estimated to touch an all-time high of 1.6 million tonnes in the 2023-24 rabi season on higher acreage, according to Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh. Masur production stood at 1.55 million tonnes in the 2022-23 rabi season, as per the official data. Despite being the world's largest producer and consumer of pulses, India imports certain pulses, including masur and tur, to meet domestic shortages. "This year, masur production is going to be at an all-time high. Our masur production will be the highest in the world. The acreage has increased. The dynamic is changing," Singh said at an event organised by the Global Pulse Confederation (GPC) on Friday. In the ongoing rabi season, more area has been brought under the masur crop. The total masur acreage has increased to 1.94 million hectare as of January 12 in the ongoing rabi season, when compared to 1.83 million hectare in the year-ago period, according to the agriculture ministry

India set to become largest lentil producer in 2023-24 crop yr: Official

Says pitching for self-sufficiency in pulses, but imports will have to continue for sometime

Govt eyes doubling cash handout for women farmers ahead of Lok Sabha polls

The plan is likely to be announced in the budget on Feb. 1 and could cost the government an additional Rs 12,000 crore, said two of sources, all of whom declined to be named discussing budget proposal

Jeera prices halve after sowing increases on 2023 hopes, shows data

Experts are saying the slump could be due to expectations of a bumper crop this year. Farmers had sown the crop in a larger area after prices hit multi-year highs last year

Govt wants current generations ṭo not face issues that earlier ones did: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said his government wants to get a large part of the population out of the struggle for small daily needs so that the present and future generations don't face the problems experienced by earlier generations. Asserting that the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra has not only become the journey of a government but of the country, he said when the poor, farmers, women and youth are empowered, the nation will become powerful. Addressing the Yatra in various parts of the country via video conferencing, the prime minister said that under earlier governments, the scope of discussions on agricultural policy was only limited to production and sale, neglecting the various issues faced by farmers daily. "Our government has made all-out efforts to ease every difficulty of the farmers," Modi said. In his remarks, Prime Minister Modi also talked about the transfer of at least Rs 30,000 to every farmer through PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, promotion of cooperation in ...

ATM agriculture requires imagination

In this agriculture, conventional science is turned upside down

Agri growth pegged at 7-year low of 1.8% in FY24 due to poor Kharif harvest

However, some experts said the GVA numbers could stand to be revised as the initial estimates are based on extrapolation of figures for five-six months and a final picture will emerge only around Feb

The Red Sea conflict: Agri, textile exporters hold back shipments

The cost of freight and insurance has risen due to ships being compelled to avoid the region and take a longer route around the Cape of Good Hope

Rajasthan farmers rejoice at cold weather, say it's a boon for rabi crops

Commodity traders also feel that the production of Rabi crops will increase due to severe cold conditions

Chhattisgarh government achieves over 50% of paddy procurement at MSP

The BJP government has increased the cap and is procuring 21 quintal/acre of paddy from farmers

Govt has strictly no plans to put MEP on all agri commodities: Comm Min

The government on Friday said there are "strictly" no plans to impose the minimum export price (MEP) on all agricultural products. Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal said that there is no such intention of the government to look into exports of all agri products. "Just want to clarify that the government has no intention to put in MEP on all agri products or review all agri products from the export perspective. There is no such decision. The government has strictly no such plans," he told reporters here. An inter-ministerial committee, which looks into MEP on onion, has recently decided on basmati rice. He said that the committee getting a wider mandate does not mean that "the committee is there to look into each agri product and start recommending MEP for that". He informed that despite banning exports of non-basmati white rice, India has allocated 13 lakh tonnes of rice for exports to over 14 countries for their food security issues.

Cotton acreage may drop by 10% on falling yield, low price, says CAI

In the 2023 kharif season, as per government data, cotton crop was sown in around 12.38 million hectares, which was over 3 per cent less than the previous year

Govt plans to sell FCI rice under Bharat brand, price not yet decided

In order to check rice inflation, the government is considering a proposal to sell FCI rice under the 'Bharat' brand but the discounted rate has not yet been decided, a food ministry official said on Wednesday. The ministry's efforts to check retail rice prices by boosting domestic availability through sale of FCI rice via e-auction under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) has received a lukewarm response. "There is a proposal to retail 'Bharat rice' but the price has not yet been decided," the official told PTI. Under the OMSS, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is offering quality rice at a reserve price of Rs 29 per kg. "Whether to sell Bharat rice at the same rate or reduced rate, the decision has to be taken by the Group of Ministers," the official added. The government is already selling wheat flour (atta) and pulses under the Bharat brand through outlets managed by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), National Cooperative Consumers' .

Agriculture exports relying on 5 items make sector volatile: GTRI

India's agri export basket is dependent on just five commodities including rice and sugar and this makes the sector vulnerable to fluctuations in global prices and demand, a report by economic think tank GTRI said. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that these five products -- basmati rice, non-basmati rice, sugar, spices, and oil meals -- account for 51.5 per cent of India's total agriculture exports. Furthermore, India grapples with various domestic challenges, including infrastructural deficits, quality control issues, and non-tariff barriers, all of which impede the growth and competitiveness of the country's agricultural sector, it said. "This makes them (agri exports) vulnerable to fluctuations in global prices and demand," it said, adding these commodities also face frequent export bans in India. At present export of non-basmati rice is banned from India and the country is also fighting at the WTO (World Trade Organisation) to protect subsidies to rice and whea

'Wheat sown in 30.86 mn HA, climate resilient seeds planted in 60% area'

After facing loss due to terminal heatwave last year, more farmers are cultivating climate resilient wheat varieties which has been sown in more than 60 per cent of the planted area of 30.86 million hectares so far, according to agriculture commissioner P K Singh. Wheat is the main rabi (winter) crop, sowing of which normally begins in November and harvesting is done from March-April. As per the agriculture ministry data, wheat sown area stood at 30.86 million hectares till December 22 of the ongoing rabi season, slightly lower than 31.44 million hectares in the year-ago period. "This is because there was a delay in wheat sowing in some parts where paddy harvesting got late. Otherwise, wheat sowing is progressing well," Singh told PTI. Keeping in mind the terminal heat problem that wheat farmers faced last year, the government this year has promoted climate resilient wheat varieties and kept a target to cover 60 per cent of the total cropped area, he said. "We have exceeded the ta