Page 18 - Farmers

Kerala farmer ends life due to financial crisis; Guv, Oppn criticise govt

A farmer ended his life in the Kuttanad region in this southern district on Saturday allegedly due to financial problems as he did not get payment for paddy procurement. A suicide note, purportedly written by the farmer K G Prasad, accusing the Left government and some banks of being responsible for him taking the extreme step, triggered a political row in the state. Governor Arif Muhammed Khan, who visited a hospital in nearby Thiruvalla where the deceased man's mortal remains were kept, said farmers have been facing a huge crisis in the state and his "heart goes out to Prasad's family". Expressing deep grief over the death, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan alleged that the government failed in paddy procurement and payments for farmers were due for months. The 55-year-old Prasad, a paddy farmer hailing from Ambedkar Colony in Thakazhi here, had consumed poison on Friday night, police said. Though he was admitted to a hospital in Thiruvalla, he died in the wee

To check pollution, Bihar to 'name and shame' farmers who burn crop residue

Amid rising air pollution caused by the burning of crop residue, the Bihar government has decided to identify farmers who are indulging in this practice and put up their names at the block offices, officials said on Saturday. Besides naming and shaming, directions have also been given to initiate action against such farmers under CrPC section 133 that deals with unlawful obstruction or nuisance, they said. "The state government has banned crop residue burning to check air pollution, and protect the fertility of the soil. It has issued a strict warning to farmers that if they indulge in stubble burning, financial assistance and subsidies under government schemes would be denied," Agriculture Minister Kumar Sarvjeet told PTI. "The state offers electricity to farmers at a cheaper rate, and diesel at subsidised prices, among others. Therefore, farmers must take the matter seriously for the benefit of the people and also the environment," he added. It was also decided at a meeting chair

India's choking Diwali smoke billows from a failed stubble burning policy

The main focus of efforts to end the stubble-burning in recent years has been mechanization

Afghan farmers lose income of more than $1 bn after Taliban banned poppy

Afghan farmers have lost income of more than USD 1 billion from opium sales after the Taliban outlawed poppy cultivation, according to a report from the UN drugs agency published on Sunday. Afghanistan was the world's biggest opium producer and a major source for heroin in Europe and Asia when the Taliban seized power in August 2021. They pledged to wipe out the country's drug cultivation industry and imposed a formal ban in April 2022, dealing a heavy blow to hundreds of thousands of farmers and day labourers who relied on proceeds from the crop to survive. Opium cultivation crashed by 95 per cent after the ban, the report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said. Until 2023, the value of Afghanistan's opiate exports frequently outstripped the value of its legal exports. UN officials said the strong contraction of the opium economy is expected to have far-reaching consequences for the country as opiate exports before the ban accounted for between 9-14 per cent of the national .

AP Govt making efforts to supply water to benefit farmers: Officials

The statement claimed that the government has made a necessary plan to protect the crops planted by the farmers

BBSSL to provide scientifically produced certified seeds to farmers: Shah

Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday stressed on the need to provide quality seeds to farmers for increasing crop production and said a new cooperative society, BBSSL has been established to boost domestic production as well as exports of certified seeds. The minister was speaking at 'National Symposium on Production of Improved and Traditional Seeds through Cooperative Sector' organized by newly established Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Ltd (BBSSL) here. Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO), Krishak Bharati Cooperative Ltd (KRIBHCO), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) have jointly promoted BBSSL. During the function, Shah unveiled the logo, website and brochure of BBSSL. He also distributed membership certificates to BBSSL members. Addressing the event, the minister said BBSSL has made a small beginning but this cooperative

Coop export body NCEL gets Rs 7,000 cr orders so far, says Amit Shah

Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the newly established National Cooperative for Exports Ltd (NCEL) has bagged orders of Rs 7,000 crore so far. Shah, who launched the new logo and website of NCEL here, said the cooperative will ensure that benefits of exports reach member farmers of cooperatives and will share with them about 50 per cent of the export profit over and above the minimum support price. "Currently, NCEL is operating from a temporary office. We are recruiting staff. So far, we (NCEL) have received orders worth Rs 7,000 crore...," the minister said addressing a national symposium. NCEL will not only focus on making profits from exports but also handhold farmers to manufacture products for the export market. It will also share profit with the member farmers of cooperatives, he said. NCEL will purchase the commodities to be exported from member farmers at the MSP. Out of the total profit the NCEL earns from the exports, about 50 per cent of it will be transferr

As Delhi's AQI turns 'very poor', stubble-burning reported in Haryana

"We are forced to set fire to the straw as we have to sow the next crop, we are getting late in it, that is why we have to burn it," a farmer said

Kisan Vikas Patra Yojana 2023: check eligibility, interest rates, and more

Kisan Vikas Patra is an Indian government scheme which was launched by the Indian government. It was initially started to help farmers but now anyone can leverage its advantages

Farmers across Telangana are with CM: BRS MLC K Kavitha ahead of polls

Telangana will go to polls on November 30 and the votes, along with those of four other poll-bound states, will be counted on December 3

Modi govt weighs giving small farmers more cash ahead of LS polls in 2024

If approved, the plan would cost the government an extra Rs 20,000 crore, according to the people, on top of the Rs 60,000 crore budgeted for the programme in the current fiscal year

Govt's liberal import policy cause of worry for farmers: Congress

The Congress on Tuesday said the liberal import policy of the Modi government is causing a "huge crisis" for the farmers in the country. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said soyabean is being sold by farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan at rates lower than the minimum support price and they are also not getting good prices for milk in several states. "The liberal import policy of Modi government is causing huge crisis for farmers in various states. In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, soyabean is being sold below the MSP because cheap imports have been allowed," he said in a post in Hindi on X. "In these states and in other states too, milk prices are falling due to import of cheap palm oil, which is encouraging adulteration of vegetable fats in cheap pure ghee. Farmers are suffering huge losses due to low prices of milk," Ramesh said. Both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are going to polls next month.

'Farmers' interests to be protected: Karnataka CM 's advice to central team

The CM, explaining the prevailing situation, said that there is a "green drought" in the state

Farmers' income doubled mainly due to govt's aroma mission: CSIR DG

Farmers' income more than doubled primarily due to the government's 'aroma mission', CSIR Director-General N Kalaiselvi said on Monday. Addressing the media on the preparations of 82nd Council of Scientific & Industrial Research Foundation Day celebration on Tuesday, Kalaiselvi said the CSIR has been working towards doubling farmers income and under the aroma mission of CSIR, "farmers' income has increased to the tune of 2.5 times". The 'aroma mission', also known as Purple Revolution, began in Jammu and Kashmir and aims to generate rural employment for farmers engaged in cultivation in aromatic crops. The mission's objective is to spur entrepreneurship in the manufacturing of aromatic oils and other aromatic products, and to lower import of essential and aromatic oils. Kalaiselvi said lemongrass exports have increased 600 times under the Purple Revolution. Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the event, she said under the mission, farmers have been not just provided with seeds and

LIVE updates: Curfew reimposed in Manipur's Imphal valley, say officials

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

Odisha CM Patnaik disburses financial assistance to over 4 million farmers

He stated that to date financial assistance worth Rs 12,500 crore has been given to the farmers of the state under 'Kalia Yojana'

Odisha CM disburses Rs 900 cr for farmers under income assistance scheme

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday disbursed Rs 900 crore for the state's 44.56 lakh farmers, under an income assistance scheme on the occasion of Nuakhai, an agrarian festival celebrated mostly in the western region of Odisha. According to an official, an amount of Rs 2,000 each was directly transferred to the bank accounts of 43.88 lakh small and marginal farmers and other 68,750 landless farmers in Odisha under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme for Rabi crop. The state government launched the KALIA scheme in 2018, under which farmers are given Rs 4,000 in two equal instalments. So far, the state government has disbursed Rs 12,500 crore to farmers under the scheme. Today, on the occasion of Nuakhai, the farmers are paid Rs 2,000 as KALIA assistance for Rabi crop. Nuakhai is the festival of Mother Earth. Mother Earth blesses us with resources that are made available to us through the hard work of our farming community. They

Wheat farmers lost Rs 40,000 crore due to govt policy: Icrier report

The report says that judicious use of trade policy is needed to tame inflation at home without hurting farmer earnings

Madhya Pradesh farmers bet on medicinal crops to boost their income

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan recently emphasised the need to change the crop production pattern to reduce crop losses and make agriculture more profitable

Kerala govt rejects UDF's claims of not addressing plight of farmers

The LDF government in Kerala on Thursday rejected the opposition UDF's allegations that it was not addressing the plight of farmers and the agriculture sector in the state was in doldrums. The Left Front contended that the Congress-led UDF's allegations were baseless and politically motivated as the state government has been taking steps to protect the interests of the farmers and the agricultural sector in Kerala as a whole. State Agriculture Minister P Prasad said in the Assembly that the agricultural sector was affected by the adverse policies of the Centre and climate changes, despite which the state government was working to help the farmers. Prasad, responding to a notice moved by UDF MLA Sunny Joseph seeking to adjourn the House to discuss the plight of farmers in Kerala, also said the LDF has followed through on the promises made by it. Moving the notice, Joseph, MLA from Peravoor, alleged the Left government betrayed rubber cultivators by not increasing the minimum support