Page 36 - Agriculture

Ukraine's agri output to drop this year due to landmine contamination

"The demining programme may take many years, but we must begin it now," Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said

Jammu and Kashmir approves Rs 463 cr project for sustainable agriculture

Giving a huge push to sustainable agriculture in the Union Territory, the J&K government has approved a five year project on "Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir", officials said on Wednesday.

Paddy procurement over 70 mn tonnes, Rs 1,45,845 crore MSP paid to farmers

Paddy procurement in this Kharif season has crossed 700 LMT mark and MSP of about Rs 1,45,845 crore has been paid to farmers, officials said on Tuesday.

J&K govt approves Rs 30.40 cr 'Sensor-based Smart Agriculture' project

The project is aimed at establishing a 'sensor-based smart agriculture ecosystem' would prove to be helpful for the agri-economy of the region

India appeals to G20 nations to adopt '3S' formula in agriculture

India on Tuesday called on G20 nations to adopt '3S' strategy - Smart, Sustainable and Serve - for the agriculture ecosystem in order to address the global food security concerns. Addressing media on the sidelines of the first G20 Agriculture Deputies' Meeting here, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said agriculture for India has always been a priority and for the world it has fully come to the fore now. "Our thinking is we have to adopt 3S strategy for the agriculture ecosystem to make a mark on the world food system," Scindia said. The 3S strategy is 'smart' and 'sustainable' agriculture which should 'serve' all, he said. For smart agriculture, Scindia emphasised on adopting drone and other new technologies for increasing the crop yield. For sustainable agriculture, farmers should focus on achieving higher yields, use better inputs besides focusing on advanced technologies and marketing, he said. Stating that India has made a significant progress in agriculture, the minister s

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Over 200K farmers in Rajasthan become self-dependent by producing seeds

Looking at the success of the scheme, the chief minister in the last Budget doubled the size of the plan and announced benefiting 50,000 farmers

Over 5,000 farmers associated with fish farming in Chhattisgarh's Pakhanjur

From Chhattisgarh, fish seed is supplied to different parts of the country. Farmers earn about Rs 125 crore from fish seed alone, the spokesperson said

Rise of India's agritech defies funding winter

The agritech sector in India is poised for accelerated growth owing to the combined effort of enterprising start-ups, private investors and government initiatives

Agriculture students must work for development of sector: Maha guv Koshyari

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Sunday said students of agriculture must work for the development of the sector instead of running after jobs. The governor was addressing students via video-conferencing at the 37th convocation ceremony of Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Agriculture University. Agriculture students should work for the country's agricultural development instead of just running after jobs, Koshyari said. "Agriculture education will never go in vain because agriculture is the biggest sector in the country. When all businesses came to a halt during the coronavirus pandemic, the agriculture sector never stopped," the governor said. Scientists of the university must take their research directly to the farmers, he said. Speaking on the occasion, vice-chancellor Dr Sharad Gadakh said in the future, one village from each district in the university's jurisdiction will be developed as a model village and agriculture and other development activities will be implemented ...

J&K admin sanctions Rs 62 cr project for conservation of herbal riches

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday announced a pioneering project envisaging total transformation in the landscape of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) cultivation in the Union Territory. With a budget of Rs 62 crore, the five-year project aims to cultivate MAPs on 5,000 kanal of land spread across 28 clusters, with a potential to create more than 3,000 jobs and 28 enterprises, an official spokesman said. He said the MAP sector is estimated to contribute about Rs 75 crore every year after five years and the amount is expected to exceed Rs 783 crore by the year 2037. "This ambitious project marks a significant transition from traditional, wild extraction based practices to a more sustainable, modern approach to MAP cultivation, conservation and entrepreneurship. "The mission of this project is to achieve commercial production of MAPs outside the forests, promote organic farming, develop local and international markets besides boosting advanced scientific knowledge ...

Union Budget 2023-24: Boost to agriculture, rural but more push needed

Weak rural demand has been a concern for fast-moving consumer goods and other consumer durables, although we see a few green shoots now

Budget 2023: Govt raises farm credit target by 11% to Rs 20 trn for FY24

The government on Wednesday announced an 11 per cent hike in agriculture credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore for the next fiscal with focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, a moved aimed at providing higher farm loans at a subsidised rates to the farming community. Among other big ticket announcements for agriculture and allied sector, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman -- in her budget speech -- said the government will launch a new sub-scheme of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana with an investment of Rs 6,000 crore to improve value chain efficiencies and expand the fishery market. Customs duty on key inputs for domestic manufacturing of shrimp feed will also be reduced to promote export of marine products, she said. For adoption of natural farming, the FM said the government will facilitate 1 crore farmers for this purpose and will also set up 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres for creating a national-level distributed micro-fertilizer and pesticide manufacturing ...

336,000 quintal paddy procured from 6,500 farmers in J-K: Official

The agriculture department has procured 3.36 lakh quintal paddy from more than 6,500 farmers in Jammu and Kashmir last year, an official said on Wednesday. At a meeting of northern states on the price policy for kharif crops 2023-24 here, Director of Agriculture Jammu K K Sharma said, "The department has established 23 procurement mandis to maintain a reasonable price for agriculture products." "During the year, 3.36 lakh quintal paddy was procured covering 6,549 farmers and crediting Rs 68.88 crore in their accounts within 48 hours through direct benefit transfer," he said. He said the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir stands at the third position in terms of farmers' income as the department worked tirelessly even during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the interests of farmers and holistic development of the agriculture sector. The objective of the department is to provide quality seeds, protecting farmers' interests, maintaining a reasonable price for agricultural products a

Union Budget 2023: What did FM Nirmala Sitharaman announce for agriculture?

Budget 2023: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Centre will encourage one crore farmers to take up natural farming

Indian farm sector performed well, but needs re-orientation: Eco Survey

Indian agriculture has performed well but the sector needs "re-orientation" in the backdrop of certain challenges like adverse impacts of climate change, rising input cost, etc, the Economic Survey for 2022-23 tabled in Parliament on Tuesday said. The other challenges are fragmented landholdings, sub-optimal farm mechanisation, low productivity, disguised unemployment, rising input costs, etc. "While Indian agriculture has performed well, the sector needs re-orientation in the backdrop of certain challenges...," it said. Stating that the performance of the agriculture sector remains critical to growth and employment in the country, the Survey said investment in the sector must be encouraged through an affordable, timely and inclusive approach to credit delivery. It may be noted that more than 75 per cent of rural female workers are employed in the agriculture sector. This implies a need to upskill and create employment for women in agriculture-related sectors such as food ...

Legislation governing multi-state cooperative societies set for big change

The Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, under which the three new co-ops are being formed was last amended in 2002

Refresh the approach to growth, equity

Agricultural credit continues to be subsidised through an interest subvention scheme instead of converting these subsidies into cash transfers to farmers

Govt procures paddy, wheat worth over Rs 2.5 trn in 2021-22: Food Ministry

Procurement of wheat and paddy in quantity and value terms has risen significantly in the last eight years, on account of a hike in the minimum support price (MSP) and purchases made from more states, a senior food ministry official said on Tuesday. The number of farmers covered under the MSP operations has also increased because of the higher quantity of wheat and paddy procurement by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal agency for the procurement and distribution of foodgrains. "The central procurement of wheat and paddy has increased substantially between the 2013-14 and 2021-22 marketing seasons. The procurement has become broad-based and we are purchasing grains from more states now. MSP has increased significantly," said Subodh Singh, additional secretary in the food ministry. The procurement is taking place in Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Tripura, he said, adding that the FCI has started buying paddy from Rajasthan. Production of wheat and paddy has also risen since

US agriculture associations fear market loss to India's FTA partners

In June 2019, India hiked tariffs on 28 items exported by the US, including almonds, apples, walnuts