Page 5 - Agriculture Sector

Lulu Group aiming to up agri sourcing from India to Rs 15,000 cr in 2 yrs

UAE-headquartered retailer Lulu Group is looking to increase the quantum of Indian agri procurements to Rs 15,000 crore in the next two years as it expands its network globally, a top company official said on Tuesday. Its Chairman and Managing Director M A Yusuff Ali told reporters that the company plans to have a special focus on the organic good procurement and sees the value of such goods going up to Rs 2,000 crore in a year. "About Rs 10,000 crore imports (of agri products) we are doing every year. We are looking to increase it to Rs 15,000 crore within two years because we are also expanding our footprint in many countries," he said. The imports primarily include commodities such as fruits, vegetables, rice, tea, sugar, spice and millets, he said, pointing out that the produce goes to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and other far-east countries. Ali said his group has tied up with the Indian government-promoted Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export ...

Govt to begin farmer registration for Aadhaar-style IDs from October

In a major push towards digitising the agriculture sector, the government will soon begin registration of farmers across the country to provide them with a unique ID similar to Aadhaar, Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi said on Monday. Chaturvedi, speaking to PTI on the sidelines of an Outlook Agri-Tech Summit and Swaraj Awards, said the guidelines for the registration process will be issued soon, with the implementation set to begin in the first week of October. "Our target is to register five crore farmers by March next year," the secretary said, noting that the initiative is part of the government's Rs 2,817-crore Digital Agriculture Mission approved by the Cabinet recently. A pilot project was earlier conducted in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and 19 states have already onboarded the project, he said. Once the farmers' registry is created, an "Aadhaar-like unique ID" will be provided to each registered farmer. Chaturvedi said the unique ID will help farmers access vario

How falling farm prices worry BJP ahead of Haryana and Maharashtra polls

Falling prices of agricultural produce are worrisome for the BJP in Haryana and Maharashtra, where elections are due, Sanjeeb Mukherjee reports

Canada's Vitera invests Rs 250 cr in Karnataka's Vijayapura for agriculture

Vitera, a leading Canadian agricultural product manufacturing company, has invested Rs 250 crore to develop agricultural infrastructure in Vijayapur district in Karnataka, state Minister M B Patil said on Friday. Vitera made this capital investment decision during a meeting with the Minister held here today. Vitera's investment will help reduce post-harvest losses faced by farmers by building state-of-the-art cold storage facilities for the agricultural community in Vijayapur district, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the production, supply, and sale of agricultural products, Patil who holds medium and large industries portfolio, said in a statement. The company will utilise advanced manufacturing technology to achieve this, he added. Patil also mentioned that the use of modern Canadian agricultural technology, along with this capital investment, will increase agricultural production, thereby boosting the overall economy of the state.

Centre approves expansion of Agricultural Infrastructure Fund scheme

The government on Wednesday expanded the scope of Rs 1 lakh crore-Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme to make it more attractive, as part of its objective to strengthen farm-related infrastructure facilities in the country. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the "progressive expansion in central sector scheme of financing facility under the AIF to make it more attractive, impactful and inclusive", an official statement said. In a significant move to enhance and strengthen the agricultural infrastructure in the country and support the farming community, the government has announced a series of measures to expand the scope of the AIF scheme. "These initiatives aim at expanding the scope of eligible projects and integrate additional supportive measures to foster a robust agricultural infrastructure ecosystem," it added. The government has allowed all eligible beneficiaries of the scheme for creation of infrastructure covered under 'viabl

Shivraj Singh Chouhan lays down 6 priorities for growth of agri sector

The minister also said the agriculture sector was ignored, and priorities were misplaced during the Congress rule

MGNREGA demand dips 19% as agriculture activities pick up pace

July and August are usually considered lean months for the scheme in terms of demand for work as agricultural activities are in full swing in the rural parts of the country

Godrej Agrovet Q1 results: PAT up 28.3% at Rs 135 cr, total revenue falls

Godrej Agrovet's total revenue from operations fell 6.4 per cent to Rs 2,351 crore while total expenses fell nearly 8 per cent, led by a fall in the cost of materials consumed

Statsguru: Six charts explain the agriculture sector's next decade

In her Budget speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a review of the agriculture research framework to increase productivity and develop climate-resilient crop varieties

WayCool lays off over 200 employees, aims to achieve profitability

The layoffs have impacted employees across Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad

Budget 2024: Govt sets aside Rs 1.52 trn for agriculture, allied sectors

In her seventh Budget presentation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman focused on sustainable practices, digital infrastructure, and boosting production

Budget 2024: Agri sector's wish list for developed, self-reliant India

The Budget is an opportunity for the government to create an agricultural sector that will ensure food security and economic prosperity for the nation

Govt asks retailers to cut profit margins on pulses for relief to consumers

The government on Tuesday pointed out that retail prices of tur, urad and chana dals have not declined in proportion to about a 4 per cent fall in major wholesale markets in the past one month and asked retailers to charge reasonable profit margins for providing relief to consumers. The government warned that it would take stern actions against unscrupulous speculation and profiteering by market players. On Tuesday, the Department of Consumer Affairs organised a meeting with the Retailers Association of India (RAI) here to discuss the price scenario in respect of pulses. The meeting, chaired by Nidhi Khare, Secretary, the Department of Consumer Affairs, also reviewed compliance with the stock limits for tur and chana. The meeting was attended by representatives of RAI, Reliance Retail, D-Mart, Tata Stores, Spencer's, RSPG, and V-Mart, among others. RAI has more than 2,300 members, having over 6,00,000 retail outlets in the country. According to an official statement, the secretary

Pre-budget wish list: Set up Credit Guarantee Fund for agri loans, says SBI

The SBI report said that this fund is expected to boost fresh agriculture credit multiple times

On Budget table: 100% MSP for oilseeds, pulses; Centre may tweak PM-AASHA

India's dependence on imports for meeting its domestic demand for edible oils has increased during the last few decades and roughly 60 percent of domestic consumption is met through imports

Govt to review performance of FPOs as support period coming to end

The government will conduct a thorough review of the performance of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) as the three-year support period for these entities coming to an end, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced on Monday. Chauhan made the statement after visiting 55 FPOs who displayed their products at a fair organised at Dilli Haat INA here. The FPO Scheme, launched in 2020, is aimed to form and promote 10,000 new FPOs by 2024 with a budgetary provision of Rs 6,865 crore. Under the programme, the government provided financial assistance of Rs 18 lakh per FPO for three years, along with a matching equity grant and credit guarantee facility. However, the minister acknowledged that outcomes have been varied, with some FPOs achieving significant success while others continue to face challenges. "Some FPOs are standing on their feet in three years, while some are struggling. We will conduct a thorough review of all FPOs to understand their progress and identify gaps w

Budget: Farm bodies for higher agri R&D spend, more PM-KISAN allotment

The farmers' groups pitched for the rationalization of fertilizer subsidies and infrastructure development to boost the sector's resilience against climate change

Monsoon rains a fifth below normal so far, raising agricultural concerns

Summer rains, critical to economic growth in Asia's third-largest economy, usually begin in the south around June 1 before spreading nationwide by July 8

Govt revises upwards wheat output to record 112.92 mn tonne for 2023-24

The government has revised upwards wheat production at record 112.92 million tonne for the 2023-24 crop year (July-June) in its third estimate. The output, which has been revised upwards by 0.91 million tonne from the second estimate, is also higher than the previous record high of 110.55 million tonne achieved in the 2022-23 crop year, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday. Wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, has been harvested and over 26 million tonne has already been procured by the central government at minimum support price. In its third estimate, the agriculture ministry has projected increase in rice output to 136.7 million tonne for 2023-24 from 135.75 million tonne in the previous crop year. However, the total foodgrain output is estimated slightly lower at 328.85 million tonne as compared to the level achieved in 2022-23 but higher by 21.1 million tonne from the last five years' average of 307.75 million tonne. Among pulses, tur output is pegged higher at 3.38 millio

New govt needs to fight inflation while bringing back focus on farm reforms

A favourable monsoon in 2024 should keep production worries at bay