Page 18 - Agriculture Sector

Agri infrastructure fund to create jobs, develop rural economy: Amit Shah

Shah said many unprecedented steps have been taken to double the income of farmers and for the development of the agriculture sector

Centre releases Rs 553 crore to states for agricultural mechanization

The Centre has released Rs 553 crore to states under a scheme to promote mechanization in the agriculture sector. The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) was launched in April 2014 with an aim to have inclusive growth of farm mechanization to boost productivity. "In the year 2020-21, budget of Rs 1,033 crore has been provided for the scheme, out of which Rs 553 crore has been released to state governments," an official statement said. Agricultural mechanization helps in increasing production through timely farm operations and cut in operations by ensuring better management of inputs. Mechanization also enhances the productivity of natural resources and reduces drudgery associated with various farm operations. The agriculture ministry pointed out that paddy straw burning is one of the major problems in the northern region of the country causing pollution. With an objective of moving away farmers of this region from the practice of crop residue burning, the scheme of C

Tweak FCI's procurement strategies to boost rice exports: Expert panel

Rice is among the biggest agriculture exports from India along with buffalo meat and cotton

Finance Commission group suggests to set up state-led plan for agri exports

The high-level group is of the view that India's agricultural export has the potential to grow from $40 billion to $70 billion in a few years

UPL: Favourable conditions in key markets to boost growth in coming qtrs

However, strong India business and margin gains were better than expectations

Three months on, locusts remain a threat as FAO warns of fresh swarms

WMO finds direct correlation between increased locusts attack and climate change

How tech start-ups are working to solve problems, challenges of agri sector

Themes such as farm-to-fork, factory-to-farm, financing and mechanisation enablers will be of significant interest in the coming months

Locusts enter Haryana districts; agri minister says necessary action taken

The minister said the agriculture department deployed fire tenders filled with chemicals and tractor-mounted spray guns to kill the insects

Kharif sowing 44% more than last year, southwest monsoon to boost further

In June, the first month of the season, rainfall over north India was 4 per cent above normal, which was the lowest among the four major subdivisions.

Agritech start-ups to attract $500 mn in investments in next 2 years

In 2019 alone, $244.59 million were invested in the sector, an increase of over 350 % YoY

Kharif sowing: Farmers hope monsoon will help make up for lockdown losses

The final of a two-part series looks at how farmers are hoping a good monsoon will help make up for lockdown disruptions and losses

Kharif sowing: Labour shortage in Punjab, abundance in UP amid Covid-19

The first of a two-part series looks at the problems cultivators are facing during the pandemic

Foodgrain stocks top 100 million tonnes, triggering calls for liquidation

The massive build-up could also pose a grave storage challenge as the monsoon keeps advancing.

Can MGNREGA, farming sustain recent bump in rural employment post-lockdown?

While rural India has shown a faster drop in unemployment rates than urban after the lockdown, experts say there is limit to which agriculture and MGNREGA can absorb labour

Farmers tap into agritech start-ups to overcome pandemic-induced woes

Apart from helping the cultivator sell his produce at a time when the markets are under lockdown, these start-ups are also using AI and IoT to help him get better yields and employ efficient sowing te

After helping ITC cut costs, now e-Choupal model set for an upgrade

Depending on who and where, the e-Choupal model has resulted in higher farmer incomes, anywhere between 70 per cent and 300 per cent

Covid-19 crisis: Indian economy's road to recovery still has long way to go

Agriculture was expected to be the only silver lining in the economy in the current financial year

M&M: Rural demand, normal monsoons and higher MSP to support volumes

Capital allocation, urban volumes, new regime key factors to be seen

India Inc waits for dust to settle before firming up farm strategies

The final of a two-part series looks at why investment is unlikely to be forthcoming until industry sees the new ground reality

Monsoon rains spread over a third of India, says weather office

The rains are critical for farming, which makes up about 15% of Asia's third-biggest economy at a size of nearly $2 trillion, since about 55% of arable land in the south Asian nation is rain fed.