Page 36 - Agriculture

India needs to raise maize output to 44mn tonnes in 5 years to meet demand

The Centre on Tuesday said the country's maize output needs to be increased to 44-45 million tonnes in the next five years amid growing demand for the grain for ethanol production and poultry industry. Union agriculture secretary Manoj Ahuja, speaking at the 9th India Maize Summit organied by industry body Ficci here, also stressed on the need to cut down the losses in the entire value chain of maize in a systematic manner. "Currently, maize production in the country is in the range of 33-34 million tonnes. We need a quantity jump in the maize to 44-45 million tonnes in the next five years in order to meeting the rising demand for ethanol and the poultry industry," Manoj said. There is vast potential to harness in the maize value chain. Making better seed availability, providing storage and marketing linkages, public and private partnerships, among others, should be focused on amid growing threat of climate change, he added. Addressing the event, Maharasthra agriculture minister Ab

Civil society, industry take contrasting positions on pesticide ban order

The panel, it is believed, recommended retaining the ban on only three of the 27 pesticides

G20 meeting of chief agri scientists to kick-start on Monday in Varanasi

A three-day Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) under India's G20 presidency will kick-start on Monday in Varanasi and will discuss on sustainable agriculture and food systems for healthy people and planet. Agriculture research and development, including food security and nutrition, climate smart agriculture, digital agriculture, public private partnership etc., will be deliberated in the meeting being organised by the Union agriculture ministry. The 'Millets And Other Ancient GRains International ReSearcH Initiative (MAHARISHI)' is also proposed for deliberations as a G20 initiative during India's presidency, an official statement said. The MAHARISHI aims at advancing research collaborations and generating awareness about millets and other ancient grains during the International Year of Millets 2023 and after, it said. The theme of the meeting is "Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems for Healthy People and the Planet.' The inaugural session will be graced by Union

Despite hoping for better prices this season, rain dampens farmers' returns

Growers are staring at lower margins due to unexpected downpour during the March harvest. However, the FCI has come to their rescue

Agritech firm NBHC appoints Vinod Kumar as Managing Director & CEO

National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC), an agritech company that provides post-harvest service, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Vinod Kumar as its Managing Director and CEO. He takes over the reins of the company from Ramesh Doraiswami, who is leaving the company to pursue his personal and professional interests. As the Managing Director & CEO, Kumar will be responsible for driving and overseeing the development and execution of NBHC's corporate strategy, business development, systems and policies across the company, stakeholder management, delivery excellence, nurturing talent, and leadership development. Kumar holds rich experience in finance, logistics, and related industries. He joined NBHC as the Chief Financial Officer in 2019. Last year, he was promoted to Business Head & SVP to lead the micro agri commodities lending and business correspondent services. NHBC offers procurement, storage, commodity care, collateral management, and supply-chain solutions, ...

Labour churns in March

The labour markets have been weak during the last quarter of 2022-23

Petrol, diesel sales rise as agriculture season picks up: Industry data

India's fuel demand rose in March as a pick-up in agriculture activity helped reverse a slowdown that was witnessed in the first half of the month, preliminary industry data showed on Sunday. Fuel sales soared to the highest levels in February on the back of robust demand from the agriculture sector as well as transport picking up after the winter lull. But a seasonal slowdown kicked in during the first half of March. However, there was a pick-up in the second half, which helped sales rise even month-on-month despite the high base of February. Petrol sales rose 5.1 per cent to 2.65 million tonne in March when compared with the same period of last year. Sales were up 3.4 per cent month-on-month, the data showed. Diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country, saw demand rise by 2.1 per cent to 6.81 million tonne during March when compared with 6.67 million tonne sales in the same period a year back. Month-on-month the demand was up 4.5 per cent. In the first half, petrol sales had

Food security, climate-smart approach focus areas at G20 deputies meeting

The three-day meeting of agricultural deputies of the G20 agricultural working group culminated on Friday as delegates discussed various issues, including sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition with a climate smart approach. Delegates from 19 member countries, 10 invited countries and 10 international organisations participated in the second agricultural deputies meeting (ADM) in Chandigarh. On the concluding day of the meeting, two consecutive sessions focused on drafting the communiqu by the member countries of G20 and was marked by elaborate discussions. Delegates from other invited countries and international organisations also put forth their viewpoints during the session and contributed towards an inclusive discussion on the communiqu drafting exercise, said an official statement here. After the session, secretary, department of agriculture and farmers welfare, Manoj Ahuja said he hoped the discussion on the draft communiqu and the deliberations will pave way fo

Over 30 mn women farmers registered under PM-KISAN scheme: Govt in LS

The PM-KISAN Yojana aims to supplement the financial needs of land-holding farmers

Approximately 11,000 MT of wheat procured in current Rabi season: FCI chief

Procurement of wheat for Rabi marketing season 2023-24 has been to the tune of 10,727 metric tonnes till March 27 as compared to nil procurement last year.

Our sourcing from India has grown from 11% to over 23%: Bayer's Santos

In a Q&A, the president of the firm's crop science division says digital farming will be a key driver of the company's growth in India in the years ahead

India has adequate fertiliser stocks for summer-sown crops: Minister

"There will be no shortages of fertilisers in the kharif season. We have adequate stocks, and our companies have made arrangements in advance," Mansukh Mandaviya said

Agriculture Min ropes in Nafed for promotion of govt's millets initiative

The Agriculture Ministry on Monday said it has roped in cooperative Nafed for promotion of the government's millets initiative at global scale, including installation of millet vending machines and setting up of an experience centre in Delhi-NCR. Nafed, which has entered into a MoU with the ministry in this regard, will set up a millet corner in Nafed Bazaar Retail Stores, install millet vending machines across Delhi-NCR, an official statement said. It will also establish a millets' experience centre at Delhi Haat, to promote nutritious millets and create awareness on the rich history of India through millet-based dishes. Nafed will extend marketing linkage to millets-centric startups, it added. "Nafed has entered into an MoU with the Ministry of Agriculture to extend its support to millets initiatives," an official statement said. India, the world's major millets producing country, is promoting millets as part of the International Year of Millets (IYoM) celebration this year. Tha

Rs 900 cr sanctioned for holistic development of agriculture sector in J&K

An amount of Rs 900 crore has been sanctioned by the Centre for holistic development of the agriculture sector in Jammu and Kashmir, a government official said, participating in a Kisan Mela' here. The day-long Mela evoked a massive response with over 900 farmers and other stakeholders including agri startups turning up to know about the latest scientific farming techniques and different government schemes. Director Agriculture production and farmers welfare department said besides educating farmers and agri-Startups about the latest developments, the event has been organised with a focus to encourage farmers to adopt cultivation of Millets. The central government has sanctioned Rs 900 crore for holistic development of the agriculture sector with focus on doubling the income of farmers in J&K, he said. The Kisan Mela, inaugurated by Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Paul Mahajan, was held at community Hall, marking the beginning of agricultural activities after prolonged winter in the .

World Bank pledges $500mn to support Lebanon's agri, vulnerable population

The World Bank announced that it will allocate about $300 million this year to provide social protection to Lebanon's vulnerable population and invest $200 million in the country's agriculture sector.

Systemic failure

Instability in prices of perishables must be addressed

Par panel pulls up agriculture dept for surrender of Rs 44,016 cr in 3 yrs

A Parliamentary panel has expressed concern over the surrender of funds amounting to Rs 44,015.81 crore in three financial years, including the current fiscal, by the Department of Agriculture and said corrective measures should be taken to ensure full utilisation of the budgeted amount. The Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing has laid its report on the department in the Lok Sabha on March 13 and in the Rajya Sabha on March 14. "The Committee note from the reply of the Department that funds have been surrendered amounting to Rs 23,824.54 crore, Rs 429.22 crore and Rs 19,762.05 crore during 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 (tentative), respectively. That means Rs 44,015.81 crore in total have been surrendered by the Department in these years," the report said. The committee have been informed that the surrender of funds is mainly on account of less requirement under NES (North Eastern States), SCSP (Schedule Caste Sub-Plan) and Tribal Area Sub-Plan ...

BJP has made agriculture an unprofitable proposition: SP's Akhilesh Yadav

He claimed farmers were being exploited because of the anti-farmer policies of the BJP government

Three Centre of Excellence to be set up for fruits, vegetables: Agri Min

The Agriculture Ministry on Friday said three Centre of Excellence (CoE) will be set up for dragon fruit, mango, vegetables and flowers at Bengaluru, Jajpur and Goa. The ministry "has approved 49 CoEs till now, out of which 3 CoEs have been approved on March 9, 2023" under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), an official statement said. One CoE for Kamlam (Dragon Fruit) will be set up by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) at experimental station Hirehalli in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The second CoE for mango and vegetables will be set up under the Indo-Israel Action Plan at Panikoili, Jajpur District, Odisha. The third CoE for vegetables and flowers under the Indo-Israel Action Plan will be established at a government agricultural farm in Ponda, South Goa. Under the MIDH, Centers of Excellence are being established in various states through Bilateral Cooperation or Research Institutes. These CoEs serve as demonstration and training centres

Why falling prices of onions and potatoes are distressing farmers

Prices of these three commodities have seen perhaps the wildest fluctuations in agriculture commodities among all crops for multiple reasons