Page 20 - Agriculture Economy

Urea production up 12% in first 9 months of FY24, sales remain flat

Urea demand could re-emerge in a big way for the 2024 kharif season from May and June with the advent of monsoon

Three union ministers meet Punjab farmer leaders, another round to be held

A three-member team of Union ministers on Thursday held a detailed discussion here with the leaders of farmer organisations which plan 'Delhi Chalo' march to press for their demands, including a law to guarantee a minimum support price for crops. After the meeting, the farmer leaders said the Central ministers have assured them that they would hold second round of the meeting soon. However, the farmer leaders said their proposed 'Delhi Chalo' march on February 13 still stands. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who coordinated with the farmer leaders for arranging the meeting, also participated in it. Mann, however, said the ministers and farmer leaders agreed on many things including withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during the previous agitation against the now-repealed farm laws and strict punishment for fake seeds and chemicals. The Central team comprised Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai, who flew down to Chandigarh to reach out to farm

Google partners with Maharashtra govt to provide AI-led services

As a part of the collaboration, Google will leverage its AI capabilities to provide solutions in sectors like agriculture, healthcare, sustainability, education, and startups

Farmers protest: Noida Police steps up security along its Delhi borders

Noida Police on Thursday stepped up security along its borders with Delhi in view of the proposed farmers' march to the Parliament, officials said. This also led to slow movement of vehicular traffic at various routes, including the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and DND. "In view of the farmers' movement, barriers are being installed at all the borders of Delhi and at Kisan Chowk and other places. Each vehicle is being checked and passed due to which the traffic is moving slowly," a police spokesperson said. "Senior officials and other personnel are present at various locations to control the traffic. The traffic is being monitored continuously," he added. The farmers led by the Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) are proposed to assemble at the Mahamaya Flyover in Noida at 12.30 pm on Thursday. "From Mahamaya Flyover, the farmers shall march towards the Parliament in Delhi to press for our long-pending demands," BKP leader Sukhbir Yadav 'Khalifa' said. Ahead of the protest demonstra

India, Israel discuss agro-tech collaboration; grape, date farming in focus

The meeting, held at the ministry building, included the Chief Secretary of Agriculture and Horticulture, Vaibhav Galaria, and Horticulture Commissioner Laxman Singh Kudi

Why is achieving 'atmanirbharta' in edible oils a difficult ask?

Unless the focus comes back on high-yielding seeds that have a higher oil content than currently available varieties, self-sufficiency in edible oils will continue to be a mirage

Moody's downgrades agri solutions provider UPL, maintains negative outlook

Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday downgraded agriculture solutions provider UPL to Ba1 and maintained the negative outlook on deterioration in the agrochemical industry. Moody's has downgraded the senior unsecured rating for UPL Corporation (UPL Corp) to Ba1 from Baa3 and has also downgraded the rating on the long-term junior subordinated rating on UPL Corp's USD 400 million undated perpetual Eurobonds to Ba3 from Ba2, the credit rating agency said in a statement. Further, Moody's has assigned a Ba1 corporate family rating (CFR) to UPL Corp and withdrawn the company's Baa3 issuer rating. "The downgrade to Ba1 is driven by a protracted deterioration in the agrochemical industry fundamentals that will keep UPL's credit metrics weaker than our expectation for an investment-grade rating," Moody's Senior Vice President Kaustubh Chaubal said. The Moody's rating action is following UPL's weak operating results for the third quarter of the fiscal ending March 2024 .

No proposal to hike PM-KISAN amount from Rs 6,000 per year: Arjun Munda

The government on Tuesday informed Parliament that it has no proposal to increase the financial benefit to farmers under PM-KISAN scheme to Rs 8,000-12,000 per year. There is no proposal under consideration to increase the amount even for women farmers under the scheme, Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Launched in 2019, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) provides eligible farmers a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 every four months. The fund is directly transferred to bank accounts of the beneficiaries. "No proposal is under consideration," he said replying to question if the government plans to increase the amount to Rs 8,000-12,000 per year. Sharing the progress made under the scheme, the minister said the government has disbursed over Rs 2.81 lakh crore to more than 11 crore farmers in 15 instalments so far. The benefit is provided to supplement financial needs of land-holding farmers,

2.33 million farmers enrolled under PMKMY since launch, says Govt

Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday said in Parliament that 23.38 lakh farmers have been enrolled under the farmers' pension scheme PMKMY so far. Launched in September 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana (PMKMY) is meant for old age protection and social security of Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs). It's a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for the entry age group of 18 to 40 years with a provision of Rs 3000 monthly pension on attaining the age of 60 years. "As on date, a total of 23,38,720 farmers have been enrolled across the country...," Munda said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. In Karnataka, total of 41,683 farmers have been enrolled under the PMKMY since the inception of the scheme, he added. As per the operational guidelines of the scheme, the central government matches the contribution made by the beneficiary farmer. As on January 31, this year, an amount of Rs 10,78,51,700 has been collected from farmers of Karnataka under PMKMY and the same

Kerala Budget: Support price of rubber hiked, agri sector gets Rs 1,698 cr

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Monday presented the state's budget for the financial year 2024-25 in the assembly by allocating Rs 1,698.30 crore for the struggling agriculture sector and increasing the minimum support price for rubber to Rs 180 from Rs 170. He also set aside Rs 50 crore for extreme poverty eradication and announced Rs 134.42 crore for the cooperative sector. Tabling the fourth budget of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, Balagopal said that though the state is facing an economic crunch and the Centre allegedly imposing financial restrictions, the LDF government would not show any compromise in the development front. Indicating that the state government would go ahead with its development plans, the finance minister said investments worth Rs three lakh crore would be brought to the southern state in the next three years. He said Rs 1,698 crore would be set aside for the traditional agricultural sector and investments worth Rs 5,000 crore would be ...

Govt to sell Bharat Rice at Rs 29/kg in retail; traders to disclose stocks

The government on Friday said it will sell 'Bharat Rice' in the retail market at Rs 29 per kg from next week to give relief to the common man and has directed traders to disclose rice stock, as part of its efforts to control prices. In a press conference, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said retail and wholesale prices of rice have increased by around 15 per cent in the last one year despite restrictions on exports of various varieties. To control prices, he said the government has decided to sell subsidised 'Bharat Rice' at Rs 29 per kg in the retail market through two cooperatives the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) as well as retail chain Kendriya Bhandar. E-commerce platforms will also sell Bharat Rice. He said Bharat Rice will be available in the market from next week in 5kg and 10kg packs. In the first phase, Chopra said the government has allocated 5 lakh tonne

IMD decides to shut down all 199 district agromet units across country

The India Meteorological Department has decided to discontinue the services of the 199 district agromet units that provide crucial and detailed weather-related advisories to lakhs of farmers at the block level, helping them reduce crop losses and increase income. In an order issued on January 17, the IMD said the services of the district agromet units (DAMU) will not be extended beyond the current financial year (2023-2024). "Therefore, you are requested to kindly take necessary action for discontinuation of services of district agromet units (DAMUs) and winding up the existing 199 DAMUs," the order said. According to the minutes of the Expenditure Finance Committee (Finance Ministry) meeting held in February last year, a senior advisor of Niti Aayog had advised reevaluation of the "necessity of providing staff at each DAMU". The official suggested the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) may have "centralised units instead of field units as the collection of data is automated". The

Bayer CropScience Q3 results: Profit falls 31% to Rs 93.1 cr on soft demand

The company's profit fell to 931 million rupees ($11.2 million) during the three months ended Dec. 31 from 1.35 billion rupees a year earlier

Nabard's Rs 34,490 cr scheme to boost agri, other key sectors: Himachal CM

A credit potential scheme of Rs 34,490 crore has been prepared by Nabard for agriculture, MSMEs and other priority sectors in 2024-25, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday. The scheme's allocation is 8 per cent higher than the current fiscal, he added. Inaugurating the State Credit Seminar for the financial year 2024-25 organised by Nabard, he said the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has a major role in making Himachal Pradesh self-reliant. "I urge banks to extend their active support in providing loans for proper implementation of schemes so that farmers, horticulturists and youth can avail maximum benefits of these schemes. "As per a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report, none of the districts of the state falls in the category of 'credit deficient' districts. Although the credit flow in these districts is normal, the loan-to-deposit ratio of the state is 36.39 per cent," the chief minister said in a statement issued here. He

Govt working to support agri, focus on overall development: Prez Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said that the government is making efforts to increase the profitability of agriculture and is focusing on people-centric development

Shah launches Rs 225 cr projects to computerise ARDBs in cooperative sector

Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched computerisation programmes for agriculture and rural development banks and Registrar of Cooperative Societies at an estimated cost of Rs 225 crore and said the digitisation efforts will help improve efficiency, transparency and accountability in their working. The launch of computerisation projects for Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (ARDBs) and Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCSs) of states and Union Territories was organised by Ministry of Cooperation in collaboration with National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). Shah said the projects will modernise and enhance the efficiency of the cooperative sector by bringing the entire cooperative ecosystem on a digital platform. "This will help in improving transparency and accountability in the cooperative sector," the minister said. Shah said the total cost of computerisation will be Rs 225 crore, of which Rs 95 crore would be spent on computerisation of ..

Policy consistency needed to expand production choices for farmers: FinMin

Innovation, tech needed for nutritious food basket

Minister Munda launches framework to promote carbon market in agri sector

Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Monday launched a framework to promote the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) in the farm sector and said this will encourage small and medium farmers to avail benefits of carbon credit. Introducing farmers to the carbon market will not only benefit them but also accelerate the adoption of environment-friendly agricultural practices, the minister said. He launched the 'Framework for Voluntary Carbon Market in Agriculture Sector' and 'Accreditation Protocol of Agroforestry Nurseries' here, according to an official statement. He requested cooperation from the ministries concerned of the Centre and the states and other organisations to promote the carbon market in the interest of farmers. "Global challenges like global warming are in front of all of us; hence we have to move ahead with caution," the minister said. Munda said the Accreditation Protocol of Agroforestry Nurseries will strengthen the institutional arrangements for the production and .

Cold snap helps India's wheat crop but warm weather forecasts pose risk

A long cold spell helped wheat during its vegetative growth, but a rise in temperatures, expected in the next few days, could impact the crop during the crucial grain formation stage

Budget 2024: A glance Budget 2023 announcements for agriculture sector

From welfare schemes to infrastructure & digital development, here are the highlights of Budget 2023 for the agricultural sector in India and the expectation for the Interim Budget 2024