Page 6 - Agriculture

Uttar Pradesh faces fertiliser supply shortage amid rising demand

The total stock comprises 918,000 tonnes of urea and 558,000 tonnes of phosphatic soil nutrients such as Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Nitrogen Phosphorus Potash (NPK)

A fresh approach needed to manage demand and supply of fertilisers

India is the second-largest consumer of fertilisers in the world, but lacks the natural resources to manufacture them

Maharashtra agro corp to set up units to manage farmers' crop surplus

The state-owned Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation (MAIDC) plans to procure mobile processing units to help farmers manage excess production of certain crops by enhancing their shelf life by 12-18 months, an official has said. Oversupply in the market forces farmers to sell their produce, particularly the perishable ones, at throwaway prices or even discard them. The MAIDC initiative aims at ensuring good returns to the growers, said the managing director of the corporation, Mangesh Gondavale. The official said they will procure two machines and deploy them in two districts by the next monsoon season on a pilot basis. Each machine can process 16-18 products and can be customised depending on the region, he said. Processing includes washing, peeling, drying, chopping, slicing and liquefaction. For instance, tomatoes can be converted into puree, while onions can be dried for longer storage. Sometimes, the overall production of a crop in a region becomes high. To ensu

No need for wheat open market sale as supplies comfortable: Food Secretary

Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra dismissed the need for wheat sales under the open market scheme, citing adequate supplies and stable prices. Wheat procurement season has ended, with stocks sufficient

House panel expresses concern over 30% staff gaps in Krishi Vigyan Kendras

KVKs are the frontline of agriculture extension and are run by a plethora of organisations, starting from state agriculture universities (SAUs) to even social organisations and state governments

Targeted intervention: Aiming at low-productivity districts to boost growth

Backed by performance-based monitoring through 117 indicators, the scheme signals a clear intent for systemic reform

Domestic DAP makers take a lesser hit than importers amid price surge

Price of raw materials used by local players has not spiked

Cabinet clears ₹24,000 cr for PM Dhan Dhaanya Yojana to boost farm output

The Rs 24,000 crore scheme will converge 36 programmes across 11 ministries and run for six years from FY26 with the goal to raise yields and farm credit access

Consumption will be robust from July on, says AWL MD Angshu Mallick

Our B2B business was very good, but it got impacted because of the same reason that industry expected the market to come off, says Angshu Mallick

Kharif sowing update: Cotton, soybean show slower progress than last year

In the case of soybeans, traders said that total acreage covered could be lower than last year as farmers have struggled to get adequate price for their crops due to unregulated imports of edible oils

France's agriculture-food sector worst impacted by Trump tariffs

Officials from the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, are also trying to win concessions for particular sectors as part of a possible agreement

Chouhan writes to CMs on tagging nanofertilisers, crackdown on fakes

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has written to state CMs to end the forced tagging of nano-fertilisers with conventional products and take action against counterfeit fertilisers

Will talk to environment ministry on HtBt cotton issue, says Chouhan

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan says the agriculture ministry will discuss the illegal cultivation of HtBt cotton with the environment ministry, addressing concerns raised by farmers

Google focuses on India's farms and languages in new AI initiatives

Google unveils open-source AI initiatives targeting India's agriculture and linguistic diversity, aiming to enhance farming productivity and cultural representation in AI models, boosting partnerships

Resilient supply chains needed for agri sector, says Piyush Goyal

While the minister did not refer to any country, the statement came at a time when China has reduced exports of a critical fertiliser - di-ammonium phosphate - creating a global supply squeeze

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

High-yielding seeds, increased acreage to boost mustard production: Experts

Mustard crop, an indigenous oilseed grown in Rabi season, can play an important role in achieving self-sufficiency in domestic output of edible oils and there is a need to increase acreage, promote use of high-yielding seed varieties and provide assured prices to farmers to boost yield and production, according to industry experts. According to the latest government data, India's rapeseed and mustard production stood at 126.06 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 crop year (July-June) with acreage of 86.29 lakh hectares and an average yield of 1,461 kg per hectare. The area and production have declined from 2023-24 when acreage was 91.83 lakh hectares while output was 132.59 lakh tonnes. Puri Oil Mills Ltd Managing Director Vivek Puri said, "The idea that mustard oil should play a vital role in bridging the edible oil demand-supply gap and in reducing import dependency is an integral part of our company's vision." He noted that there is a huge scope to expand mustard cultivation as well as yield

DBT of central, state aid in agriculture still riddled with challenges

What remains the Holy Grail of DBT is the direct transfer of input subsidies into the bank accounts of farmers, and within it, the transfer of fertiliser subsidies

Best of BS Opinion: US trade deal or not, India must cast its net wider

Today's pieces cover a wide expanse, from India's trade deals with the rest of the world to China's attempt to trip Indian manufacturing, to the world's struggle to enforce rules