Farmer

Urgent need for processing units as cherry harvesting picks up in Himachal

As cherry harvesting is in full swing, horticulturists as well as farmers in upper Shimla region see an urgent need for fruit processing units at village level to protect the crops from the impact of unpredictable weather conditions. Cherry growers are getting good prices for their crops ranging between Rs 100 to Rs 1,000 per box (each weighing between 400 and 650 grams). However, they often have to struggle with logistics issues while sending the crops to the markets due to sudden change in weather conditions. According to experts, setting up small-scale processing units at local level will help farmers in getting their crops processed quickly. Cherry is considered a high-value fruit crop in Himachal Pradesh in the months of April and May but due to short shelf life, timely transportation of produce to the market becomes important. At present, about 500 hectares of land in Himachal Pradesh are under Cherry cultivation which adds up to Rs 200 crore to the state's economy. Cherries

Day before protest, several SKM leaders put under 'house arrest' in Punjab

Farmer leaders have claimed that several Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leaders, including Jagjit Singh Dallewal, were put under house arrest by the Punjab government on Monday, ahead of their scheduled protest outside the Shambhu police station. The May 6 protest was called against the Punjab government over its alleged use of repressive methods to evict protesting farmers from Shambhu and Khanauri border points in March. The farmer leaders claimed that Punjab Police personnel reached their houses early morning to detain them. They said police wanted to prevent them from mobilising people for Tuesday's protest. "Dallewal was put under house arrest at around 4 am at his house in Faridkot district," a farmer leader said. Several other leaders faced a similar ordeal in different districts of the state, the farmer leaders said. Among those detained are Manjit Singh Rai and Davinder Singh. The farmers' body had recently announced to hold a protest outside the Shambhu police stati

Six years on, has PM-Kisan lived up to its promise of farmer relief?

The programme, meant to give a helping hand to small farmers, is the world's largest direct benefit transfer scheme and unarguably the Modi-led government's most ambitious

Farmers vs RCF: CCI complaint alleges unfair fertiliser trade practices

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd has been accused of using coercive tactics such as 'product tying' or 'tagging' to force farmers to purchase higher-than-necessary quantities of fertilisers

First cabinet of 2025 dedicated to enhancing prosperity of farmers: PM Modi

The Cabinet decision on extending the One-time Special Package on Di-Ammonium Phosphate will help our farmers by ensuring DAP at affordable prices

National Farmers' Day 2024: History, significance, and how to celebrate

National Farmers' Day is celebrated across the country on December 23. The day is observed on the birth anniversary of India's fifth Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh

Need to ensure fish farmers get benefits under govt schemes: Union Min

Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Thursday stressed the need to bring fish farmers into the organised sector to enable them to take benefit of various government schemes, besides tackling challenges of marine pollution and illegal fishing. Addressing an event on 'World Fisheries Day', the minister of fisheries, animal husbandry & dairying highlighted that India is the world's second-largest fish producer and expressed confidence that the country will soon become top producer globally. India's fish production has surged 82 per cent to 175.45 lakh tonnes in 2022-23 from 95.79 lakh tonnes in 2013-14. Singh credited the sharp rise in fish production to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's various measures in the last 10 years to boost growth in the fishery sector, including Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and Fisheries and Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF). He said 3 crore people are directly involved in the fishery sector. Listing out the challenges faced by

Modi clears PM-Kisan 17th instalment: How farmers can check payment status

Some 93 mn farmers will benefit from the disbursement of over Rs 20,000 cr

40 trains on Ambala-Amritsar route cancelled as farmers' stir continues

Rail traffic on the Ambala-Amritsar route was hit as farmers squatted on rail tracks in Shambhu near the Punjab-Haryana border for the third day on Friday, demanding the release of three farmers arrested by the Haryana Police, officials said. About 40 trains have been cancelled, while the routes of 54 trains have been diverted, they said. The farmers have been protesting under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) in Patiala district's Shambhu. They squatted on the tracks on the Ambala-Ludhiana-Amritsar route on Wednesday, demanding the release of three fellow farmers who were arrested by the Haryana Police during the ongoing stir. With their protest continuing fir the third day, the railway authorities on Friday said has been hit on the Ambala-Amritsar route, on which some goods trains also run, according to the officials. The disruption in rail movement was causing inconvenience to passengers, they said. Farmer leader Sarwan Sing

Union ministers talk with farm leaders, farmers demand guarantee to MSP

A team of Union ministers on Monday evening held talks here with farmer leaders in a bid to dissuade them from their 'Delhi Chalo' march, and the Centre is learnt to have agreed to withdraw the cases against the farmers registered during the 2020-21 agitation. However, sources said farmer leaders were adamant on a legal guarantee to minimum support price for crops, which is one of their key demands. The ministers -- Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal and Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda -- held the second round of talks with the farmer leaders at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26. Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher, among others, were part of the meeting, which began at around 6:30 pm. The meeting continued till late night. During the meeting, the delegation of the Centre is learnt to have agreed to withdraw the cases agai

Farmers' protest update: Section 144 in Delhi; Punjab-Haryana border sealed

Rajasthan govt charts plan for export promotion of agricultural commodities

The state is one of the top producers of mustard, moth beans, bajra, guar, and Isabgol

Kisan Credit Card Scheme: Farmers to get Rs 300000 loan at 4 per cent

The government has issued the Kisan Credit Card scheme to help farmers become self-reliant and worry-free. Under the scheme, farmers can get a loan amounting to Rs 3,00,000 at a 4 per cent interest

Farmers should be given financial aid to prevent suicides: Maha official

The Aurangabad divisional commissioner has suggested that in order to stop farmers in Marathwada from committing suicide, they should be provided a financial assistance of Rs 10,000 per acre before the commencement every crop season. This conclusion has been made after the revenue department reached out out nearly five lakh families of farmers in the region as part of a survey conducted in December last year, Divisional Commissioner Sunil Kendrekar told reporters on Tuesday. The Marathwada region, which comprises Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani districts, reported 1,023 farmer suicides in 2022. As many as 10,431 farmers committed suicide in this region since 2001, as per figures provided by the divisional commissioner's office. Kendrekar said the administration studied the socio-economic condition of farmers and their families in the eight districts of Marathwada. "The survey was conducted to find the families where farmers were vulnerable t

Farmers breaks through barricades to join wrestlers' protest in Delhi

Several farmers broke through police barricades on Monday to join the wrestlers' protest against Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh here even as Delhi Police denied any untoward incident at the site. Purported videos showed farmers climbing the barricades and even dragging and pushing some of them away in a bid to enter the protest venue. Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal said the incident occurred when some farmers were "in a hurry" to reach the dharna site. The barricades were removed to escort the farmers into the site and the meeting was being held peacefully, he added. "A group of farmers were escorted to Jantar Mantar. At entry barricades they were in a hurry to reach the dharna site and some of them climbed the barricades which fell down and were removed by them. Policemen kept the barricades aside to facilitate their entry," the DCP said in a tweet. "The protestors have reached the dharna site and the meeting is going on ...

Water, livelihoods dry up for fish farmers of East Kolkata Wetlands

The wetlands (macher bheris in Bengali) are drying up mainly due to the diversion of wastewater from Kolkata city into river Vidyadhari

PepsiCo Foundation, CARE bring global women farmer programme to Bengal

The programme 'She Feeds the World' focuses on strengthening the role of small-scale women producers across three dimensions: economic, social and environmental

On average, Haryana sees 100 stubble fires per day; farmers blame govt

The impact of farm fires has been visible on Delhi's air quality. The AQI of the Delhi-NCR region is getting worse and will deteriorate post-Diwali

How genome sequencing could open several prospects for pomegranate farmers

The sequencing, the result of six years of hard work, has unlocked several mysteries about pomegranates which are sometimes called 'wonder-fruits' due to their immense nutritional value

Maharashtra govt sanctions Rs 3,501 crore relief for rain-affected farmers

The Maharashtra government has sanctioned Rs 3,501 crore as compensation for farmers who suffered losses during heavy rains and floods in different parts of the state over the last three months, an official said on Saturday. As per a government order issued on Thursday, a compensation of Rs 13,600 per hectare will be given for loss of non-irrigated crops, Rs 27,000 per hectare for irrigated crops and Rs 36,000 per hectare for perennial crops. Farmers suffered crop losses due to floods and heavy rains witnessed in parts of the state between June and August this year, it stated. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had earlier announced that his government will hike the compensation for flood-affected persons and the cabinet had also approved the proposal. Accordingly, rain-affected farmers will get Rs 3,501 crore, including the contribution from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the state government.