Page 35 - Agriculture

Odisha government to provide free crop insurance to farmers for 3 years

The Odisha government on Monday announced that it will provide free crop insurance to all farmers in the state for the next three years. Cooperation Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak made the announcement after a review of his department by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. "The Cooperation Department would bear the premium of the insurance from the 2023 Kharif season to the 2025-26 Rabi season. Odisha is the first state in the country to provide free crop insurance to farmers," he said. He said the department has been providing short terms agriculture loans to the farmers at low interest rates. As promised during the elections, the state government has increased the interest-free loan cap from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Under the scheme, more than 7 lakh small and marginal farmers have been provided loans, amounting to Rs 16,683.57 crore during the 2022-23 financial year, Nayak said.

Spread cultivation of millets in newer ares of Andhra Pradesh: Governor

Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer on Monday called for an action plan to ensure cultivation of millets is taken up in different parts of the state. The Governor made these remarks while presiding over the 55th convocation of Acharya N G Ranga Agicultural University (ANGRAU) at Bapatla. "The Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) of the United Nations has set a target to achieve food security, end hunger, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030," said the Governor in a press release shared by the Raj Bhavan. In this effort, Nazeer noted that millets should be brought into cultivation in newer areas in collaboration with the Agriculture department. As millets are a rich source of nutrition, besides being climate resilient, he said India is promoting a diet based on this rich source. According to the Governor, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative, 2023 has been declared as the 'International Year of Millets' by the United Nations General Assembl

Rs 2,000 note withdrawal might disturb business, but not much: Traders

"In central India mandis, an average trader does a business of Rs 10-15 lakh a day during peak season, much of which is still in cash

Over 100,000 farmers from 1,000 panchayats attend orientation in J&K

At least 1.10 lakh farmers from 1,000 panchayats of Jammu and Kahsmir took part in the orientation programme which has been organised in four rounds to create awareness about various agricultural schemes of the government, officials said. The 'Kisan Sampark Abhiyan' has been rolled out under the Holistic Agriculture Development Plan (HADP) with 29 proposed projects with an outlay of Rs 5,012 crore to be implemented in the next five years. The latest round, conducted from May 15 to May 17, saw a remarkable turnout. The programme has covered 1,097 panchayats thus far. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also joined the campaign, visiting Dooru panchayat in Anantnag district and Hardpanzoo panchayat in Budgam district. "Over 1.10 lakh farmers have participated in the orientation programme in 1,000 panchayats held over four rounds in Jammu and Kashmir. The latest round, conducted from May 15 to May 17, saw a remarkable turnout. The programme has covered 1,097 panchayats thus far," said Ata

Circular economy necessary to promote livelihood security: Agri scientist

Circular economy is the need of the hour to promote entrepreneurship and livelihood security for better health index of the people, Padma Bhusan awardee agriculture scientist R B Singh said on Tuesday. Singh emphasised the importance of agricultural and industrial waste management for environmental sustainability and entrepreneurship after inaugurating a five-day training programme here, an official statement said. Singh also mentioned that zero waste is important for achieving 'zero hunger' and focus needs to be given on 3Ps, i.e. People, Planet and Prosperity. The training programme on "entrepreneurship opportunities on agricultural and industrial waste management for environmental sustainability" is being organised by Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI)'s Division of Environmental Sciences, in collaboration with Zonal Technology Management and Business Plan Development Unit, and Young Professionals for Agricultural Development India. The aim is to raise awareness and ..

Uttar Pradesh govt aims to double maize output to 2.75 mt in 4-5 years

Globally, maize is referred to as the "queen of cereals" owing to its high genetic yield potential among the cereal crops

Himachal Pradesh govt to cover 1,800 hectares for orange production

The Himachal Pradesh government has proposed to cover 1,800 hectares of land in the state for orange production, under HP Subtropical Horticulture, Irrigation and Value Addition (SHIVA) project, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said. State Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi-led delegation, which is on a six-day tour to Australia as part of the project, observed the micro-grafting technique in orange cultivation, besides discussing citrus pathology programme and national citrus repository programme, a statement issued here on Saturday said. The HP SHIVA project has been funded by the Asian Development Bank. Citrus fruits are grown in plain areas of the state where the maximum temperature is between 30 and 40 degrees Celsius. This is a key initiative of the state government to gain technical knowledge from Australia and utilise it to guide local horticulturists for improving the sector, the chief minister said, adding that this will help in preparing high quality orange plan

MoS Agri pitches for adoption of new farm tech for achieving $5 trn economy

Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary on Friday said mass adoption of new technologies like drones, artificial intelligence (AI) and precision farming in the agriculture sector is essential for India to achieve USD 5 trillion economy milestone. "... we need to leverage new technologies, such as drones, AI, precision farming, blockchain in farming to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's near future target of USD 5 trillion economy," the minister said while addressing an event organised by agro-chemical firm Dhanuka Group. Choudhary also urged scientists to identify untapped areas, such as rain-fed districts to increase agriculture production substantially by empowering farmers with new agri technologies. The potential of most of the agri-land in the country has been exhausted, only the area dependant on rains is left whose potential needs to be tapped, he said in a statement. Making a strong pitch for genetically modified (GM) crops, Deepak Pental, former Vice ...

Wheat output may surpass govt estimate of 112.18 mn tonnes on higher yields

India's wheat production may surpass the government's estimate of record 112.18 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) on a likely jump in crop yields in major growing states despite inclement weather affecting the grain quality in some parts, Agriculture Commissioner P K Singh said on Thursday. Weeks before the untimely rains, the government in its second estimate released in February projected wheat output at 112.18 million tonnes for the 2022-23 crop year. The previous record in wheat production was 109.59 million tonnes in 2020-21 crop year. "Overall, the wheat production is likely to surpass the estimate of 112.18 million tonne on account of better crop yields," Singh told PTI. The crop yields have improved in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh even as the untimely rainfall during the harvesting stage in the March-April period has caused damage to the grain in terms of lustre loss and high moisture, he said. The yields have improved on account of climate resistanc

Livestock, fishing see highest decadal gross value of output growth

"During 2011-12 to 2020-21, there has been a steady growth in the real output of 'fruits and vegetables'

Rajasthan farmers to get Rs 500 cr in FY24 to build greenhouses, shade nets

"In the next two years, there is a proposal to give a subsidy of Rs 1,000 crore to 60,000 farmers to promote protected farming," the official said

UPL's profit declines by 42% in March quarter as raw material costs surge

The Mumbai-based company's revenue from operations rose 4.5% to 165.69 billion rupees, with its Latin American operations raking in about 39% of the total revenue

Odisha govt inks pact with ICRISAT to develop agri marketing network

The MoU was signed between the two organisations in the presence of Cooperation Secretary Sanjeeb Kumar Chadha

Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma turns up in Japan as college professor

Jack Ma is expected to conduct research, in sustainable agriculture and food production. He will also give seminars on entrepreneurship and innovation

Govt making efforts to boost production, consumption of millet: Tomar

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday said the government is making efforts to boost the production and consumption of millets. He was speaking after inaugurating the 'Millets Experience Centre (MEC)' at Dilli Haat, INA, in the national capital. Co-operative NAFED in collaboration with the agriculture ministry established this centre to create awareness about the benefits of millet and encourage its adoption among the general public. Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja and Nafed MD Rajbir Singh were present at the event. "We are making efforts to enhance production, yield, processing and consumption of millers in the country," Tomar said. The minister highlighted that there are multiple health benefits of consuming millet as it is nutritious. Tomar said millets are climate resilient and can be grown in less water and with minimal use of fertilisers and pesticides. He said an increase in the production of millet will also boost the income of farmers, especially

Compensation for crop damage to farmers goes up in Madhya Pradesh

The Congress has alleged the state government is trying to deceive farmers by presenting incorrect figures in the survey of crops

Need to improve crop productivity to meet demand of the world: Tomar

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday stressed on the need to improve crop productivity as the country requires to increase farm production to meet domestic requirement and export to global markets. The minister inaugurated a Summit on Farm Machinery Technology organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Tractor and Mechanization Association (TMA). Addressing the event, Tomar highlighted that the agriculture production has increased substantially over the years thanks to the hardwork of farmers and scientists as well as policies of the government. He said the country's population will rise by 2050, and therefore there is a need to prepare a roadmap to meet the requirement of foodgrains and other farm products. "...we do not have to rest on our laurels, rather we have to prepare a roadmap keeping in view the requirement of the population that will increase by 2050...," Tomar said. With the growing importance of India in the world, Tomar said there

With El Nino looming large, Centre to prepare contingency plan for farmers

The agriculture ministry has reportedly set up a system for advisory services and forecasts for the main agricultural belt of India based on the rainfall scenarios

Rajasthan to provide Rs 444 cr for barbed wire fencing on agri fields

The Rajasthan government has decided to provide Rs 444.40 crore to one lakh farmers for putting up barbed wire fences to protect crops from stray animals, according to an official statement on Saturday. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved the proposal to construct a total of 40 million meters of barbed wire fencing. He has also approved reducing the minimum limit for fencing to 0.50 hectares due to the small size of the holdings of the farmers belonging to Scheduled Tribe communities. Following this, community participation in fencing will now get more grant than before. In the 2023-24 financial year, about Rs 444.40 crore will be spent on fencing. Of this, Rs 391 crore will be borne from the Farmers Welfare Fund and Rs 25 crore from the state scheme 'Grant for crop protection through wire fencing'. The remaining Rs 28.40 crore will be spent from the National Food Security Mission, the statement said. Notably, Gehlot had in the 2023-24 budget announced to continue the wire ...

Beyond good rains: The making of a 'normal monsoon'

Their timeliness, distribution and spread are of vital importance for Indian agriculture