Page 19 - Farmers

Free power supply to Telangana farmers, discussing more options: Congress

The Congress' Telangana in-charge Manikrao Thakre on Wednesday said free power supply to farmers will be among the Assembly poll promises of his party and it is considering what more can be provided to them. His comments come in the wake of state Congress president A Revanth Reddy's alleged remarks that three hours of free power is enough for farmers and that round-the-clock free electricity supply is not required. While Reddy, who is currently on a visit to the United States, denied making any such remark, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha and other party leaders in Telangana held protests in Hyderabad against the Congress. Addressing reporters in the national capital, Thakre claimed that BRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) was indulging in "politics of lies" by "misinterpreting" Reddy's remarks to stop the rise of Congress in the state. "The Congress party is with farmers. KCR has said 24x7 free electricity is given for three crops. The ...

Farmers hopeful of better paddy cultivation on good monsoon rains

The paddy cultivation has started gaining momentum over the past week across the Jammu division with farmers expressing satisfaction over the good amount of rainfall under the influence of Monsoon winds and western disturbance over the region. The farmers are hopeful for better yield this year compared to the previous years. The cultivation of paddy, especially the world-famous Basmati rice, serves as the sole source of income to a majority of farmers in R S Pura, Marh and parts of Samba and Kathua districts in Jammu region. "Paddy and maize are main crops of the Jammu region which are dependent on rain waterWe had good pre-monsoon rains. The Monsoon has also set on time which is good, Joint Director, Agriculture Department, A S Reen told PTI. He said the sowing of maize that is mostly cultivated in the rain-fed hilly areas was completed sometime back and the frequent rains over the past week are a blessing for the crop. The rice cultivation in Jammu plains and some parts of hilly

Rice prices set to rally further as weather threatens producers' yields

Rice is a staple for more than 3 billion people and nearly 90% of the water-intensive crop is produced in Asia, where the El Nino weather pattern usually brings lower rainfall

Irrigation coverage: Farms in majority of states are still rain-dependent

Twenty-two out of 36 states and union territories have less than 50 per cent irrigation coverage for their agricultural land

Welfare and politics: PM Modi makes 2024 poll pitch with four schemes

The schemes-Modi promotes them as examples of his commitment to the poor-address four distinct bands of voters: artisans, street vendors, women in rural households, and farmers

Over 60,000 farmers avail benefits of PM Kisan Yojana in J-K's Udhampur

The PM-KISAN scheme entails direct cash support of Rs 6,000 for farmers and is estimated to cost the exchequer Rs 75,000 crore

Every farmer getting benefit of Rs 50k; that's Modi's guarantee: PM

The government is giving Rs 6.5 lakh crore to the agriculture sector every year with each farmer getting a benefit of Rs 50,000 annually in one form or the other, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday while asserting it's "Modi's guarantee" and not just a promise. In what was seen as a veiled dig at the poll promises made by Congress and other opposition parties in recent times, Modi listed benefits provided to farmers mainly in form of fertiliser subsidy, foodgrains procurement and PM-KISAN and said: "This shows what a guarantee looks like and what massive efforts are needed to change the lives of farmers". "The government is making sure that every farmer in the country receives around Rs 50,000 every year in some way or the other. This means, under the BJP government at the Centre, there is a guarantee that every farmer gets Rs 50,000 in various forms," he said while addressing the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress here. "Ye Modi ki guarantee hai. Aur maine jo kiya hai, woh

Govt spending over Rs 6.5 lakh cr annually on agriculture, farmers: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government is annually spending over Rs 6.5 lakh crore for the agriculture sector and farmers and asserted that the Centre is delivering rather than just talking about promises, in an apparent dig at the Congress party over poll guarantees. Addressing the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress here, the prime minister asked cooperatives to become carriers of social and national policy instead of politics. He asked them to become a model of transparency and corruption-free governance, and adopt digital tools in a big way. Modi called upon cooperatives to work towards increasing production of oilseeds and pulses, and help the country become self-reliant in cooking oils. Speaking at the event, the prime minister highlighted achievements of his government in the last nine years in the field of agriculture and related sectors. Modi said the government has ensured supply of fertilisers at cheaper rates compared to other countries, bought large

Govt spending Rs 6.5 trn annually on agriculture, farmers' welfare: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government was spending Rs 6.5 lakh crore annually for the agriculture sector and farmers' welfare, and called upon cooperatives to help in making the country self-reliant in cooking oils. Speaking at an event on the occasion of International Day of Cooperatives, the prime minister also highlighted the work done by his government, like PM Kisan scheme, MSP operations, and fertilizer subsidy since coming to power in 2014. In the last 9 years, Modi said more than Rs 15 lakh crore have been given to farmers by procuring their produce on the MSP. The government, he said spent Rs 10 lakh crore towards fertilizer subsidy last year. In other words, the government is spending around Rs 6.5 lakh crore per year on agriculture and farmers, the prime minister said. "This means that every year the government is providing an average of Rs 50,000 to every farmer in some form or the other. "That is, in the BJP government, farmers are guaranteed t

Need to transform agricultural practices for a sustainable future: IFPRI

India needs to think about alternative ways of doing agriculture so that the country doesn't run out of groundwater resources and destroy the soil, said Dr Shahidur Rashid, Director-South Asia the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). In an exclusive interview with PTI on the sidelines of the recent launch of the Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) in Kathmandu, Nepal, Rashid stressed on the importance of developing heat-tolerant crop varieties and adopting sustainable irrigation techniques. Flood irrigation, prevalent in rice cultivation, leads to water wastage and decreases water use efficiency. Implementing innovative irrigation methods and embracing solar power for irrigation can reduce carbon footprints and alleviate water scarcity issues, he said. Rashid emphasised that while India currently has sufficient food production to feed its population, challenges lie in ensuring accessibility, nutritional value, and long-term stability. The biggest challenge, he said, f

Women's group, farmers protest outside Karnataka CM's house to clear loans

Women groups and farmers protested outside Karnataka CM's house for failing to fulfil his promise to clear all loans taken by women under the Stree Shakti Sanga scheme

20% duty removal on apple imports to have zero impact on farmers: Official

The decision to remove 20 per cent retaliatory customs duty on imported American apples will have a "zero" impact on Indian farmers as the government has sufficient policy space to support growers if there is any implication of the move, a senior government official said on Monday. Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Peeyush Kumar said that India is not giving anything "extra" by removing this duty and it was not that "we have opened a floodgate" for American apples. In fact, it is a win-win deal for India as it restores market access for domestic steel and aluminium products in the American market, which was impacted due to the imposition of high duties by the US in 2018. The decision to remove these additional duties was part of an agreement reached between India and the US, during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington and New York. India and the US have also agreed to terminate six trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Thes

Farmers no longer need permission for soil mining: UP govt after complaints

The step has been taken in response to the complaints from farmers in various districts of the state after the Chief Minister had abolished the royalty on general soil mining

Pakistan farmer seeks newly developed rice seeds for cultivation from BHU

A farmer from Pakistan has sought seeds of newly developed 'Malviya Manila Sinchit Dhan-1' paddy variety for cultivation from the Banaras Hindu University (BHU)

Khap, farmer activists block Rohtak-Delhi NH in Haryana's Jhajjar district

Activists of some Khaps and farmers on Wednesday blocked the Rohtak-Delhi national highway in Jhajjar district as part of a 'Haryana Bandh' call given in support of protesting wrestlers, farmers and other issues. Ramesh Dalal, a senior leader of the Bhumi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti outfit, led the protesters who squatted on NH-9 in Bahadurgarh and imposed a blockade. Vehicles were seen stranded on the road as a result of this. Jhajjar Superintendent of Police Arpit Jain told PTI that they were trying to persuade the protesters to lift the blockade. Dalal told reporters at the site that as part of his outfit's Haryana Bandh call, 25 demands had been raised, including justice for wrestlers protesting against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, loan waiver for farmers, legal guarantee of crop MSP and enhanced compensation for land. Meanwhile, in most parts of Haryana, the call for the strike failed to evoke any response and life remained normal. In .

Protesting farmers keep NH in Haryana's Kurukshetra shut for second day

Protesting farmers, demanding procurement of the sunflower crop at the MSP as announced by Centre and release of arrested agitators, continued with their protest on National Highway-44 in Pipli

Bayer partners Cargill to bring digital solutions, market info to farmers

Global life sciences firm Bayer on Monday said it has signed an agreement with US-based food major Cargill to empower smallholder farmers with digital solutions, including comprehensive information on market prices, weather forecasts, and pre- to post-harvest insights. Drawing upon the capabilities of innovative platforms such as Cargill's 'Digital Saathi' - a mobile-first, AI-driven service platform tailored to hyper-localised needs, and Bayer's Better Life Farming Centres that supports over 5,00,000 smallholder farmers, this strategic partnership is dedicated to improving market access for smallholder farmers, it said in a statement. "This partnership between Bayer and Cargill endeavours to connect with 3 million farmers across India within the next five years. Initially, the partnership will be implemented in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh and subsequently expand to other regions," the company added. Bayer's e-commerce strategy involves expanding tailored solutions through the ...

Farmers threaten agitation if sunflower is not procured at MSP in Haryana

With farmers at 'mahapanchayat' threatening agitation if sunflower is not procured at MSP in Haryana, wrestler Punia extended support

Haryana farmers hold 'mahapanchayat' along Delhi-Chandigarh highway

Traffic on the Delhi-Chandigarh National Highway was disrupted on Monday as farmers gathered there after holding a mahapanchayat in this district to press for minimum support price for sunflower seed. Apart from leaders of various khaps and Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, Olympic medal-winning wrestler Bajrang Punia, one of the grapplers who have been demanding action against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, were present at the mahapanchayat. The "MSP Dilao, Kisan Bachao mahapanchayat", called by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni), was being held at a grain market in Pipli close to National Highway-44 which was blocked by farmers a few days ago demanding that the government procure sunflower seed at MSP. After the mahapanchayat the farmers started marching towards the highway. Farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni had June 6 blocked the national highway near Shahabad for over six hours demanding tha

Farmers gather in Haryana for MSP on sunflower crop, release of leaders

BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, who is expected to reach the protest site Pipli in Kurukshetra district, has already threatened a larger agitation than the year-long protest