Page 3 - Agriculture

Rainfall 15% above normal, but 33.5% of districts remain monsoon-deficient

It is in these 33.5 per cent districts where agriculture activities would be under most threat

10 years on, time to reassess PM Fasal Bima Yojana: AIC of India's Mundayur

Single national scheme predominantly funded by the Centre is best option, says Lavanya R. Mundayur

India-US BTA negotiations throw up tricky farm trade riddles to solve

Any decision on granting access to maize from the US may send the ruling JD(U)-BJP-led coalition back to the drawing board in poll-bound Bihar, writes Sanjeeb Mukherjee

PM Modi emphasises India's commitment to BRICS, begins 5-nation visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India is committed to BRICS as a vital platform for cooperation among emerging economies as he left on a week-long visit to five countries, including Brazil where he will attend the bloc's meeting. "Together, we strive for a more peaceful, equitable, just, democratic and balanced multipolar world order," he said in his departure statement. During the week-long travel, the PM will visit Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Brazil and Namibia. Ghana will be his first port of call. Modi said that at the invitation of President John Dramani Mahama, he will be there on July 2 and 3. Ghana is a valued partner in the Global South and plays an important role in the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, he said, adding that he looked forward to talks aimed at further deepening the two countries' historical ties and opening up new windows of cooperation, including in the areas of investment, energy, health, security,

MoSPI launches GoIStats app for easy access to official statistics

The National Sample Survey Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), on Sunday launched the GoIStats mobile application, an all-encompassing data ecosystem for seamless access to official data. The application features an interactive "Key Trends" dashboard showcasing important socio-economic indicators with dynamic visualizations of critical metrics including GDP, inflation, employment data. Currently the android version of the mobile application is available free of charge on google play store. The iOS version will be released shortly, an official statement said. Advanced filtering and search capabilities with comprehensive metadata, and mobile-optimized data tables are also available for seamless viewing. In another statement, MOSPI said on the occasion of 19th Statistics Day, on June 29, it released publications on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These publications are the National Indicator Framework Progress Report, 2025; Data

Centre issues draft rules to ease tree felling on farms, boost agroforestry

The Centre has issued model rules for the felling of trees on agricultural land in a bid to promote agroforestry with the aim of doubling farmers' incomes, increasing tree cover outside forests and mitigating climate change. In a letter sent to all state governments on June 19, the environment ministry said the objective of 'Model Rules for Felling of Trees in Agricultural Lands' is to enhance the ease of doing business in agroforestry and incentivise farmers to integrate trees into their farming systems without facing undue procedural hurdles. The government has been promoting agroforestry to double farmers' income, enhance tree cover outside forests, mitigate climate change, reduce timber imports and ensure sustainable land use. It also supports India's climate goals under the Paris Agreement. A key barrier is the lack of clear, harmonised rules for felling trees on agricultural land which affects cultivation and marketing of agroforestry produce, according to the ...

Will take up fertiliser export curbs by China as required, says MEA

India before the curbs used to import around 1-2 million tonnes of urea from China out of the total imports of around 6-7 million tonnes

Farmers want DBT for schemes, AI based price forecasting tools from govt

On DBT, sources said the officials in the agriculture ministry feel that as of now, financial assistance for lots of schemes, such as farm mechanisation, goes directly into the bank account of farmers

Landed prices of imported edible oils move up despite halving of duty

While exporters have raised prices to nullify duty cuts, concerns over the Israel-Iran conflict, and the expected global diversion of additional vegetable oil for biofuel blending schemes are factors

Maharashtra urges farmers to delay sowing as monsoon lags until June 15

The Maharashtra agriculture department on Tuesday appealed to farmers not to rush into sowing till June 15 as the southwest monsoon is expected to become fully active in the latter half of this month. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) stated that thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are expected in some areas and advised farmers and fisherfolk to exercise caution. The state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the monsoon situation, crop water availability, and dam water storage levels, an official release stated. Principal Secretary of the Agriculture Department, Vikaschandra Rastogi, told the cabinet that the monsoon is likely to be active across all regions of the state only after June 15 and appealed to farmers to wait for the monsoon to settle before beginning sowing. "So far, 17 districts have received less than 25 per cent of the average, while 12 districts have received between 25 per cent and 50 per cent rainfall. Four districts received between

AP EAMCET 2025 results out: Check scores, pass percentage & next steps

The APSCHE has released the AP EAMCET 2025 results. Candidates can check their results through the official website, cets.apsche.ap.gov.in/EAPCET, using their login credentials

Rural youth should be trained to become agripreneurs: VP Dhankhar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday emphasised the need to empower the rural youth to become instruments of change in India's enormous but "underutilised" agricultural economy. Interacting with students, faculty and researchers during his visit to Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in Solan, he also called for giving direct subsidy to farmers and claimed it will increase their annual income by Rs 30,000. Dhankhar said that instead of giving indirect subsidies on fertilisers, seeds and other inputs, farmers should get monetary assistance directly which will give them the choice to purchase fertilizer or opt for natural farming. He said that the income of a farmer's family in the US is higher than that of an average household in that country because farmers receive direct government support. Advocating for a hike in Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi, he said that this amount needs to be factored along with inflationary component, and added that like Samman .

Bihar has tremendous potential for agricultural development, says Shivraj

Maintaining that Bihar has tremendous potential for agricultural development, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said for a "developed India, agriculture must develop and farmers must also prosper". Chouhan said this on Monday when he visited Motihari, the district headquarters town of East Champaran district and interacted with farmers as part of his nationwide tour under the VKSA campaign. "I have come to Bihar to support and serve the farmers here and help increase agricultural productivity. For me, serving farmers is like worshipping God... 'Ek Rashtra, Ek Krishi, Ek Team' (one nation, one agriculture, one team) is the motto of this campaign," he said. "The Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan (VKSA) of the Central government is a landmark initiative aimed at transforming Indian agriculture. For a developed India, agriculture must develop and farmers must also prosper.....Bihar has tremendous potential for agricultural development.....and

VP Dhankar urges farmers to explore agro products to increase income

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday asserted that the income of people has to increase eightfold to define Viksit Bharat and urged farmers to look beyond agriculture and explore agro-based products to increase their income. Talking to reporters after paying tributes to former prime minister Charan Singh on his death anniversary here, the vice president said Viksit Bharat, or a developed India, does not refer to the rank of the nation's economy in the world. He felt that to define Viksit Bharat and make it a ground reality, people's income has to increase eightfold. Expressing confidence that such a development will certainly happen, provided farmers are far-sighted, Dhankar said farmers make a lot of effort in cultivating and harvesting crops, but beyond that their role is negligible. He also called on farmers to increase their participation in the animal husbandry and agro-based industry. Dhankhar highlighted that the entire food processing industry is based on farm produ

Horticulture deserves better amid export hurdles and safety norms

Horticultural crops are characteristically more productive and remunerative than food crops

Mission LiFE may be merged into national action plan on climate change

Currently, the NAPCC has eight active missions across sectors like water, energy, and agriculture, aimed at addressing climate change

Japan's agriculture minister resigns after inappropriate remark on rice

Japan's agriculture minister said Wednesday that he has submitted his resignation over his inappropriate remark on rice that angered the public. Taku Eto said Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba accepted the resignation. Eto came under fire earlier this week after saying that he never had to buy rice thanks to his supporters' gifts, triggering an uproar at a time when consumers are struggling with rice shortage and skyrocketing price.

LTIMindtree bags record $450 million deal with global agribusiness firm

As part of the deal LTIMindtree will implement an AI-powered operating model to deliver application management infrastructure support and cybersecurity services

APEDA mulls strategies to boost agricultural, processed food exports

The commerce ministry's arm APEDA is mulling formulation of strategies to boost export of agricultural and processed food products from India, an official statement said on Sunday. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Authority (APEDA) held an inter-ministerial dialogue to deliberate on the strategy last week here. Representatives from state governments, policy experts, industry leaders from agri trade and processed foods sector also participated in the discussions Speaking at the forum, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the government is committed to reducing logistical barriers and enhancing market access for Indian agri and processed food products. He added that academia and research institutions must be part of multi-sectoral consultations so that research and development can be a major focus for innovation and sustainability in agri exports. Agricultural production and productivity both are the need of the hour, the secretary has said, adding the ministry wi

For a sector to flower: Tapping India's vast floriculture opportunities

Studies have indicated that cultivation of flowers is more profitable than many traditional crops, especially in small and marginal farms, which constitute more than 90% of country's landholdings