Page 4 - Agriculture Ministry

Centre to expedite crop insurance for kharif 2021 season to Barmer farmers

The Centre on Wednesday said it will expedite the payment of a Rs 540 crore claim of the kharif 2021 season to eligible farmers of Barmer district, Rajasthan

Huge potential to boost exports of processed food: Trade Promotion Council

India's agri exports are growing at a healthy pace and there is a need to focus on the processed food sector as it holds huge potential to boost the country's outbound shipments, Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) said on Sunday. Keeping this in mind, the council's three-day IndusFood expo kickstarted on January 8 in Hyderabad. It was inaugurated by Additional Secretary in the commerce ministry Rajesh Agrawal and Joint Secretary in the ministry Srikar K Reddy. Speaking on the occasion, Agrawal said there is a need to create global brands in the food and beverages industry. Ideally, we need to create 50 brands, then we will be able to do our job well. We must think globally and build brands. We must pay serious attention on how to promote Indian cuisine abroad, TPCI said in a statement quoting Agrawal. He added that though India is doing well in the agri exports front, our share of processed food is less than 1 per cent in exports of processed food category. We must aspire to

Agri Min sets up 30,934 organic clusters, benefitting 1.5 mn farmers

Giving special impetus to organic farming, the Agriculture Ministry has set up 30,934 clusters and an area of 6.19 lakh ha, benefitting 1.54 mn farmers, which increased to 32,384 clusters

Wheat acreage up 3.18% at 31.2 million ha so far; crop prospects bright

Area sown to wheat has increased by 3.18 per cent to 312.26 lakh hectares (ha) so far in the ongoing rabi (winter) season with higher acreage reported from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, according to the agriculture ministry's data released on Friday. Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja on Thursday had said the crop prospects were bright as the current weather conditions are conducive for plant growth and better yields. Sowing of wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, begins in October while harvesting in April. Mustard seed and gram are other major crops sown in the rabi season of the 2022-23 crop year (July-June). As per the ministry's data, wheat has been sown in 312.26 lakh ha as of December 23 of the ongoing rabi season, as against 302.61 lakh ha in the year-ago period. "Thus 9.65 lakh hectare more area has been covered compared to last year," the ministry said. Higher area is reported from Rajasthan (1.99 lakh ha), followed by Gujarat (1.74 lakh ha), Uttar Pradesh (1.57 la

Amaravati farmers protest against AP govt's plan for three state capitals

A large number of farmers from Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh organised a protest here against the state government's plan for bringing a law to develop three capitals instead of one, with MPs from various parties joining them to extend their support. TDP members, including Jayadev Galla and K Rammohan Naidu, BSP's Danish Ali and YRS Congress' K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, a dissident leader in the state's ruling party, were among the MPs besides several other leaders, including from the Congress and the Left, who expressed their support to the farmers protesting under the banner of the 'Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi', according to a statement. Farmers have demanded that the state government should stick to the earlier plan of having one capital city in Amaravati as envisaged by former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. "Farmers want the government to honour its earlier commitment. Their land has been taken in lieu of developing the capital in Amaravati but now the government is ...

Nafed buys 24,000 tonnes moong so far under price support scheme

The government has procured 24,000 tonnes of green gram (moong) under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) so far this crop year, according to a senior agriculture ministry official. PSS, which is under the Agriculture Ministry, is operationalised only when prices of agri-produce fall below the minimum support price (MSP). Cooperative Nafed is undertaking procurement on behalf of the central government. The ministry has approved procurement of 4,00,000 tonnes of kharif moong in 10 states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha and Maharashtra. "So far 24,000 tonnes of moong has been procured, out of which maximum 18,000 to 19,000 tonnes has been procured in Karnataka alone," the ministry official told PTI. The ministry has also given approval for the procurement of 2,94,000 tonnes of urad and 14 lakh tonnes of groundnut crop grown in the 2022-23 Kharif season. However, the procurement couldn't take place as the mandi prices are .

Wheat sowing up 5.36% in first two months of rabi season, shows data

Area sown to wheat has increased by 5.36 per cent annually to 211.62 lakh hectares in the first two months of the ongoing rabi (winter) season, with higher coverage being reported in Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, according to the agricultural ministry data released on Friday. Sowing of wheat, the main rabi crop, begins in October and harvesting in March-April. Besides wheat, rice and pulses, such as gram, urad as well as oilseeds such as groundnut and mustard are also grown in this season. According to the ministry's latest data, wheat has been sown in 211.62 lakh hectares so far in the current rabi season as against 200.85 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Higher area has been sown in Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab. Area sown to rice has increased marginally to 10.62 lakh hectares as on December 2 of the ongoing rabi season as against 9.53 lakh hectares in the same period last year. Pulses acreage has also increased ...

Agriculture, allied activities clock a buoyant 4.6% growth in 2nd quarter

Gross value added (GVA) for agriculture, forestry and fishing during the comparable period of last year was 3.2 per cent

Re-design and deliver

Govt crop insurance scheme needs radical rethink

Is DBT the solution for agri subsidy transfers? There is no direct answer

In India, farmers receive subsidised supply of inputs as agriculture subsidies and the difference between the actual cost of supplying and the price paid by the farmers is reimbursed to the suppliers

Wheat sowing up 15% to 10.14 mn hectares so far; pulses coverage dips: Data

Area sown to wheat has risen by 15 per cent to 101.49 lakh hectares while pulses acreage has declined in the current rabi (winter) season so far compared to the year-ago period, according to the Agriculture Ministry data released on Friday. Sowing of wheat, the main rabi crop, begins in October and harvesting starts in March-April. Besides wheat, gram and mustard are other major crops grown during the rabi season of the 2022-23 crop year (July-June). According to the latest sowing data, wheat has been sown in 101.49 lakh hectares till November 18 of this rabi season as against 88.46 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. The higher area under wheat has been reported from Punjab (7.18 lakh ha), followed by Rajasthan (4.24 lakh ha), Uttar Pradesh (2.59 lakh ha), Maharashtra (1.05 lakh ha), and Gujarat (0.67 lakh ha), data showed. However, the area sown to pulses remained lower at 73.25 lakh hectares so far this rabi season as against 76.08 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Among .

Agriculture Ministry okays setting up 100 fodder-centric FPOs in 2022-23

The government has finally designated National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as the implementing agency for setting up of 100 fodder-centric Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) during this fiscal to address the fodder deficit situation in the country. The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in 2020 had proposed the establishment of fodder-centric FPOs and requested the agriculture ministry to allow such FPOs under the central scheme "Formation and Promotion of 10,000 new FPOs". The proposal was considered seriously and the agriculture ministry finally issued an order on November 4. "The competent authority in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has approved to designate NDDB as implementing agency under the scheme of formation and promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to form and promote FPOs, primarily fodder centric, and animal husbandry activities as a secondary activity (fodder plus model)," the order said. NDDB has been ...

India opposes group consultation on food subsidies programme at WTO

The members had expressed concern with India's "lack of full transparency" in taking recourse to the Bali Decision as well as in replies to certain questions raised in the Agri Committee

Wheat arrivals in India at 12-year high during Aug-Sept across markets

According to the agriculture ministry's data, wheat arrivals are the highest since 2010 when the amount was 4.38 MT

How genome sequencing could open several prospects for pomegranate farmers

The sequencing, the result of six years of hard work, has unlocked several mysteries about pomegranates which are sometimes called 'wonder-fruits' due to their immense nutritional value

Kharif sowing nears to end; paddy acreage down by 5.51%: Agri Ministry

As sowing of kharif (summer) crops almost comes to an end, paddy planting continued to lag behind as sown area under this crop fell 5.51 per cent from last year to 401.56 lakh hectare so far, according to the agriculture ministry. Besides paddy, there is marginal lag in sowing of pulses, oilseeds and jute/mesta. Consequently, the total sown area under kharif crops declined 1.24 per cent to 1,097.57 lakh hectares so far this kharif season, as against 1,111.36 lakh hectares in the year-ago period, it said. Sowing of kharif crops had begun with the onset of southwest monsoon from June. Harvesting of some kharif crops has started and will be in full swing from October. Releasing the latest sowing update, the agriculture ministry said area planted to paddy remained lower by 5.51 per cent at 401.56 lakh hectares (ha) so far this kharif season of the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), as against 425 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Less coverage in paddy area was reported from Jharkhand

Deficit in paddy sowing narrows to 4.5%; Jharkhand worst hit: Agri Ministry

The deficit in paddy sowing has reduced to 4.52 per cent at 399.03 lakh hectares so far in the ongoing kharif season on revival of rains in some states, but it is badly affected in Jharkhand, according to agriculture ministry data released on Friday. Paddy sowing in Jharkhand has halved to 8.25 lakh hectares so far this kharif season, compared to 17.62 lakh hectares in the year-ago period, the data showed. Paddy is the main kharif crop, sowing of which begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June. Paddy sowing is now almost over as the crop will be harvested from October. About 80 per cent of India's total production comes from this season. The government expects 6-7 million fall in kharif rice production based on the crop condition till last week. According to the ministry data, there was 12.39 per cent lag in paddy sowing till August 12 of this kharif season. However, the deficit in paddy coverage has reduced to 4.52 per cent at 399.03 lakh hectares now when compared to

RBI to run pilot for digitising Kisan Credit Card lending in MP, Tamil Nadu

Project aims to prune costs and turn-around time for borrowers, will entail automation of various processes within banks and integration of their systems with those of service providers

Centre provides 1.5 mn tonnes of chana at discount for states' programmes

Procurement limit for tur, urad and masur raised

Ministry to seek Cabinet nod for allowing projects access agri fund: Tomar

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday said his ministry will soon seek the Cabinet nod for a proposal to allow emerging technology-based farm projects like hydroponics