Page 8 - Agriculture Sector

NITI Aayog to rank states on measures taken to increase farmers' income

The NITI Aayog is working on this project with other stakeholder ministries and has developed several indices to rank states annually on measurable parameters

3,700 Indian dams will lose 26% storage capacity by 2050: UN study

Around 3,700 dams in India will lose 26 per cent of their total storage by 2050 due to accumulation of sediments which can undermine water security, irrigation and power generation in future, warns a new study by the United Nations. The Central Water Commission, had in 2015, reported that among 141 large reservoirs which are over 50-years-old, one quarter had lost at least 30 per cent of their initial storage capacity. Trapped sediment has already robbed roughly 50,000 large dams worldwide of an estimated 13 to 19 per cent of their combined original storage capacity. The study by the United Nations University Institute on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), also known as the UN's think tank on water, shows that 6,316 billion cubic metre of initial global storage in 47,403 large dams in 150 countries will decline to 4,665 billion cubic metre, causing 26 per cent storage loss by 2050. The loss of 1,650 billion cubic metre storage capacity is roughly equal to the annual water u

Cropin raises Rs 113 cr funds from investors including Google, JSR Corp

Agritech company Cropin on Monday said it has raised Rs 113 crore funding from new investors Google and JSR Corporation, as well as existing investors ABC Impact and Chiratae Ventures. The funds will aid in expanding Cropin Cloud, the company's recently launched intelligent agriculture cloud platform, to cater to the growing demand for digitization and predictive intelligence in the global agriculture sector, the company said in a statement. "The involvement of new strategic investors like Google and JSR Corporation, and the support of our existing investors, demonstrates confidence in our mission and impact," Cropin Co-founder and CEO Krishna Kumar said. Cropin was founded in 2010. The company has partnered with more than 250 Business-to-business (B2B) customers and has digitized 16 million acres of farmland, benefiting over 7 million farmers. Its Cropin Cloud's intelligence platform has already provided predictive intelligence for over 200 million acres of farmland worldwide.

Philippines rushes to import onions as prices touch nearly Rs 1,000 per kg

The Philippines' agriculture department is planning to import 22,000 tons of onions to boost domestic supply as surging prices of the cooking ingredient push inflation to a 14-year high

GM-free India alleges regulatory lapses in nod granted to DMH-11 mustard

Claims 15 instances of compromise of country's established regulatory regime in report released just days before Supreme Court again hears matter on GM crops

India's agri, allied commodities export up 12% in Apr-Oct to $30 billion

India's export of agriculture and allied commodities rose 11.97 per cent to USD 30.21 billion during April-October period of current fiscal year, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. The exports stood at USD 26.98 billion in the same period of 2021-22, it said in a statement. Wheat, basmati rice, raw cotton, castor oil, coffee, and fresh fruits were major commodities exported from India. The overall export of agri and allied commodities rose 20 per cent to USD 50.24 billion in 2021-22, when compared with USD 41.86 billion in the previous year, it added. The ministry said there was improvement in the farm produce logistics with the introduction of 'Kisan Rail' service in July 2020. Till December this year, Kisan rails were operated on 167 routes in the country. Around 1,260 wholesale mandis in 22 states and three union territories have been integrated with the electronic-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) with 1.72 crore farmers and 2.13 lakh traders registered on the platform

Punjab ranks 2nd in average monthly income per agricultural household: Govt

As per information, Meghalaya tops across the country with average monthly income per agricultural household (Rs 29,348)

Kharif season 2022-23: Paddy procurement gathers pace in Chhattisgarh

The Bhupesh Baghel government is paying a bonus to the farmers under the Rajiv Gandhi Nyay Yojana and facilitating them to get Rs 2,500 for a quintal of yield

Boosted by agriculture demand, petrol, diesel sales see double-digit growth

Rabi crop sowing led to a pick-up in economic activity and a rise in demand

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

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

Govt expects good crop production in rabi season; sowing area up: Tomar

The government expects "good" production of agriculture crops in the ongoing rabi (winter-sown) season on the back of higher sowing area and favourable soil moisture condition, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Saturday. Tomar held a meeting with senior officials of the ministry to take stock of the rabi crops position, according to an official statement. He highlighted that sowing area in rabi season is up 24.13 lakh hectares so far as compared with the year-ago period. Tomar expressed satisfaction that area coverage reported under wheat is 152.88 lakh hectares so far as compared to 138.35 lakh hectares in the corresponding period of last year "For wheat, there is an increase in area coverage by 14.53 lakh hectares over last year and this has been the highest ever since last four years," the statement said. As on November 25, total area sown under rabi crops reported was 358.59 lakh hectares (which is 57 per cent of the normal rabi area) as compared to 334.46 lakh

Pre-Budget meet: Farmers' bodies ask govt to lift export ban on wheat

In a pre-budget consultation with the finance ministry, farmers' organisations on Tuesday asked the government to lift ban on exports of agri items like wheat and restrict import of products that cost below the minimum support price (MSP). They also demanded that the government should focus on increasing domestic output of local oilseeds such as soyabean, mustard, groundnut and sunflower, instead of palm. Imposition of higher taxes on processed foods was another suggestion made by farmers' bodies during the virtual meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The finance minister chaired her third pre-budget consultation with the experts of agriculture and representatives of the agro processing industry here. In his wish list for the Union Budget 2023-24, Bharat Krishak Samaj Chairman Ajay Vir Jakhar demanded that the government should "not allow import of produce where landing costs are below MSP". He also urged the Centre to focus on human resources development in the farm

Assam govt launches initiative 'Assam Millet Mission' to boost agri sector

The Assam government on Wednesday launched a special programme aimed at increasing agriculture productivity and doubling farmers' income. A special initiative, Assam Millet Mission, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for this purpose. Launched Assam Millet Mission, targeted to raise nutrition quotient & doubling farmers' income. To increase productivity, it will also contribute in crop diversification, Sarma tweeted. Distributed power tillers, pump sets, mini trucks, harvesters, crop seeds, financial aids among beneficiaries, he added. The chief minister also inaugurated six soil testing and quality control labs, and two knowledge centres, which will help the state become self-sufficient in agriculture.

World food import bill to be at record high of $1.94 trillion in 2022: FAO

The world food import bill is estimated to rise to US$1.94 trillion in 2022, higher than previously expected, according to the latest Food Outlook forecast released by the FAO

Private channels to have 30-min slot for 'public interest' programmes

Part of new uplinking-downlinking rules prescribed by I&B ministry

Going forward, IOB will be posting very good results: MD & CEO Sengupta

'It has been in the range of 20-30 per cent in almost every quarter'

BKU leader Rakesh Tikait says he will boycott trials of GM Mustard

BKU leader Rakesh Tikait here on Sunday said he will not allow trials of genetically modified (GM) Mustard proposed by the central government. Addressing the mahapanchayat of farmers near Ghungroo intersection of Jhalwa, Tikait said, "The Ministry of Science and Technology has approved the trial of GM mustard. Preparations are being made to conduct trials at two places, Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur in Rajasthan. We will not allow the trial, neither in Uttar Pradesh nor in Rajasthan." The Bhartiya Kisan Union leader said that there was no reason why the GM Mustard should be allowed into the country after objections from scientists from several countries. "When something is banned in the whole world, we have reports of 400 scientists, we have bad results of BT cotton cultivation, then what is the need for the Indian government to allow the cultivation of GM mustard. Is there a shortage of mustard in the country?" he said. Tikait claimed there will not be a dearth of cr

UPL Ltd Q2 net profit up 25.19% on robust sales despite Ukraine impact

Agro-chemicals maker UPL Ltd on Tuesday posted a 25.19 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 969 in the second quarter of FY23 on strong sales, despite some impact faced due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 774 crore during the second quarter previous year. "Due to ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and the sanctions in the region, the Group's business has been impacted to some extent," the company said in a regulatory filing. The Group is having approximately Rs 86 crore of inventory and Rs 54 crore of receivables as on September 30 in this war affected region, it said, adding that the company is continuously monitoring the situation. "The Group continues to do business in these two countries and taking necessary steps to protect itself from various risk involved. Management is confident of realisation of these assets," UPL added. According to the filing, the company's net income rose 18.35 per cent to Rs 12,50

Scientists say GM mustard production can start from this rabi itself

An official clarification made later says approval has come from GEAC, which is authorised to do so, and not from MoEF