Page 8 - Agriculture Sector

LT Foods, ICAR-NCIPM ink initial pact to give sustainable farming training

LT Foods on Monday said it has signed an initial pact with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Research Centre for Integrated Pest Management (ICAR-NCIPM) to train 10,000 farmers in four states on sustainable farming practices. As per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the training would be provided to farmers in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the company said in a statement. The farmers will be trained to make optimum use of resources like water, pesticides and fertilisers, to keep the agricultural process regenerative, and support the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals of reducing GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions and water consumption, it said. ICAR-NCIPM will prepare written content on the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) in rice as a component of Sustainable Rice Production (SRP) and provide consultancy in managing key pests and diseases in the crop. It will also help disseminate rice-ICM technology as a component of SRP to .

India agri-based sector to get opportunities amid EU's deforestation norms

The European Union's (EU) stringent deforestation regulation would provide new opportunities for domestic agro-based industry players, as against their global competitors, as forest cover in India is increasing significantly, an official said. While several countries in Latin America and Africa have cleared their forests for agricultural purposes, India's forest cover is increasing and there is no practice here in the country to cut forest for agri activities. The government official said these regulations provide an opportunity for "our industry because our forest cover has increased, our reserve forest is strong and it is increasing. "Our forest land is different from agri land. We can demonstrate these facts to the EU and converge to some kind of understanding on this regulation". According to a report by think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India's exports of products like coffee, leather hides and paperboard worth USD 1.3 billion annually to the European Union w

Agri sector can scale new highs with AI, other emerging technologies: WEF

The agriculture sector in India can be transformed by promoting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, according to a new World Economic Forum report. Releasing the phase-1 report of the 'Saagu Baagu' ('agriculture advancement' in the Telugu language) being implemented by the Telangana government in collaboration with it, the WEF said its AI for Agriculture Innovation (AI4AI) initiative has helped more than 7,000 chilli farmers get access to agritech services in the first phase. These agritech services include AI-based advisories, soil testing, produce quality testing and e-commerce -- all in the project's pilot phase. The state government plans to scale existing and additional agritech services in phase II (from 2023 onwards) to 20,000 chilli and ground nut farmers in three districts. The digital public infrastructure will also be introduced in phase II, while in phase III (by 2025), the target is to reach 1,00,000 farmers in the state. The projec

India to cut import duty on Washington apples to 50% by September end

An import duty of 70% is imposed on Washington apples, which is 20 percentage points more than the 50% import duty applicable for the apples imported from Iran and Turkey

Diesel sales fall in June as monsoon sets in, cuts demand in agri sector

Diesel sales dropped in June as the arrival of monsoon cut demand in the agri sector and reduced vehicular movement, preliminary industry data showed. Demand for diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country -- accounting for about two-fifths of the total demand, fell 3.7 per cent to 7.1 million tonnes in June compared to the year-ago period. Diesel had soared 6.7 per cesalesnt and 9.3 per cent in April and May, respectively, as agriculture demand picked up and cars yanked up air-conditioning to beat summer heat. Month-on-month sales were almost flat compared to 7.09 million tonnes of diesel consumed in May. Petrol sales, however, rose 3.4 per cent to 2.9 million tonnes in June 2023 compared to the year-ago period. Sales were unchanged month-on-month, the data showed. Petrol and diesel sales have been on the rise since the second half of March on the back of a pick-up in industrial and agriculture activity. But the arrival of monsoon has cooled temperatures and reduced demand for

Govt spending over Rs 6.5 lakh cr annually on agriculture, farmers: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government is annually spending over Rs 6.5 lakh crore for the agriculture sector and farmers and asserted that the Centre is delivering rather than just talking about promises, in an apparent dig at the Congress party over poll guarantees. Addressing the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress here, the prime minister asked cooperatives to become carriers of social and national policy instead of politics. He asked them to become a model of transparency and corruption-free governance, and adopt digital tools in a big way. Modi called upon cooperatives to work towards increasing production of oilseeds and pulses, and help the country become self-reliant in cooking oils. Speaking at the event, the prime minister highlighted achievements of his government in the last nine years in the field of agriculture and related sectors. Modi said the government has ensured supply of fertilisers at cheaper rates compared to other countries, bought large

Rs 250 cr agriculture fund launched in Assam to boost agribusiness

A Rs 250 crore fund has been created in Assam by multiple stakeholders, including World Bank, to promote small and medium units in the agriculture sector, officials said on Tuesday. Venture capital fund Caspian Impact Investment Adviser said it has joined hands with the Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) Society to roll out the agribusiness investment firm. The Hyderabad-based company said that according to the agreement, ARIAS will be the nodal agency for establishing and implementing a contributory and determinate investment trust -- the Assam Agribusiness Investment Fund (AAIF). "With a corpus of Rs 250 crore, AAIF is a unique sector-specific fund, focusing on boosting agricultural productivity and employment generation in the state. It will mainly invest in small and medium enterprises in the agribusiness and allied sectors to achieve accelerated growth," it said in a statement. ARIAS is designated as the anchor investor for the AAIF, which will be ...

Monsoon has arrived, agri sector looks healthy: CEA V Anantha Nageswaran

CEA Nageswaran said that India is 'well covered' in handling the impact of monsoon on output and prices

Agriculture, fisheries subsidies on agenda at WTO meet in Paris next week

In the previous ministerial (MC12), India was hoping to get a permanent solution to the public stockholding issue for food security

Canada needs 30,000 new immigrants in agriculture sector, says report

Canada's agricultural sector is among the most diverse in the world though the degree of demand for foreign workers differs significantly by province and operation

Statsguru: Six charts explain India's contradictory monsoon forecasts

Research suggests rainfall distribution can be affected by global warming. Indeed, monsoon temperatures themselves have been rising in recent years

Empowering women in food and agriculture untapped source of growth: FAO

It also reveals that despite improvements over the last decade or more, women remain "significantly disadvantaged in landownership compared with men"

El Nino after La Nina year tends to result in rainfall deficit: Experts

With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting a normal monsoon this year despite El Nino concerns, experts say an El Nino that follows a La Nina year tends to result in a significant rainfall deficit. The evolving El Nino conditions this year follow three consecutive La Nina years. La Nina, which is the opposite of El Nino, typically brings good rainfall during the monsoon season. The IMD on Tuesday predicted normal rainfall (96 per cent of the long-period average of 87 cm) in the country during the southwest monsoon season which be of great relief for the agriculture sector. The IMD forecast came just a day after private agency Skymet Weather predicted "below-normal" monsoon rains (94 per cent of the long-period average) owing to the evolving El Nino conditions, which are generally associated with the weakening of monsoon winds and dry weather in India. Raghu Murtugudde, visiting professor, Earth System Scientist at IIT Bombay and Emeritus Professor at University of .

Citi, JICA announce co-finance loan to IndusInd Bank for agriculture sector

This includes a $30 million loan by Citi and JPY 13 billion loan by JICA

Yara International looking aggressively at clean ammonia: Global CEO

In a Q&A, Svein Tore Holsether says his company is looking at more expansions in India as well

India's FY24 urea imports likely to dip by 33%, say trade sources

According to trade and industry sources, in FY24 domestic production is expected to be around 30 million tonnes, up from the more than 28 million tonnes in FY23

Facing price crash: Mustard farmers cry for help, better market avenues

Samay Singh, a mustard seed grower in Gudawali village, is busy harvesting but is worried that he may not get a better price for his produce this year as the wholesale rate in mandi here has already crashed below the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,450 per quintal. Last year, Singh had harvested three quintals of mustard seed in his half acre land and sold at an average rate of Rs 7,000 per quintal. This year, yield is higher as there was no pest infestation and he expects production of at least four quintals but fears he may not get even MSP this time. Harikishan Sharma, a farmer from Dheeg block, is shocked at the mustard prices which began falling from October 2022 onwards, much before the harvesting and somewhere feels the cheaper palmolien imports is the culprit. In the last three months, mustard prices have fallen from Rs 8,000 per quintal to Rs 5,200 per quintal in Bharatpur mandis, the hub for mustard production and processors, according to these farmers. Farmers in thi

Farm sector to grow 3.7% in Oct-Dec on kharif output: 2nd advance estimates

At current prices, the growth in the third quarter of this financial year is projected at 8.6 per cent, which is almost at the same level in the corresponding quarter of FY22

GDP growth rate seen below 5% in December quarter on a normalising base

FY23 quarterly, annual estimates may be revised on Tuesday

Annual agri-budget rose 5-fold to Rs 1.25 trn since 2014: PM Modi

India's agriculture sector's annual budget has increased five-fold to Rs 1.25 lakh crore since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, as he stressed that his government is focusing on progress of the farm sector and working on mission mode to reduce import dependence of food items like edible oils. The Prime Minister was addressing a post-budget webinar on 'Agriculture and Cooperatives'. It is the second of a series of 12 post-budget webinars organized by the government to seek ideas and suggestions for the effective implementation of the initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2023. Modi also outlined the various steps announced in the budget to attract young talent in the sector, and expansion of the cooperative sector across the country. He stressed that various decisions are being continuously taken in the budget to promote the agricultural sector so that the nation becomes 'atmanirbhar' and the funds used for imports can reach farmers. Highlighting the importance