Page 2 - Kharif Season

Kharif sowing keeps lead over 2023 tally in fillip to inflation battle

Data showed that till August 9, kharif crops had been sown in around 98 million hectares, 1.39 per cent more compared to the same period last year

Chhattisgarh sets a target to produce 12.11 MT foodgrain in kharif season

Chhattisgarh procured 14.7 MT of paddy in the kharif marketing season of 2023-24 from 2.4 million farmers

Goldman Sachs ups India 2024 GDP forecast to 6.7%; sees RBI rate cut in Q4

RBI's MPC has sounded caution on sticky food inflation, Goldman Sachs says, owing to supply-side disruptions due to the ongoing hot weather conditions in many parts of India

Urea consumption to fall 2.5 mn tonne on efforts to cut chemical fertiliser

India's conventional urea consumption is estimated to decline 25 lakh tonnes this fiscal on increase in demand of nano liquid urea and the government's efforts to discourage use of chemical fertilisers, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday. Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also highlighted that the Cabinet on Thursday approved a Rs 24,420 crore subsidy on Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilisers for the kharif season. The prices of all fertilisers, including urea and Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), will not increase, he said. "The Modi government has made a lot of efforts to promote alternate fertilisers and discourage use of chemical fertilisers. The use of nano liquid urea is also gaining momentum," Mandaviya said. As a result, the minister said, "The consumption of urea in 2023-24 is estimated to decline by 25 lakh tonnes." Mandaviya said the urea consumption stood at 357 lakh tonnes during FY23. "During April-January period of this fiscal, the ...

Govt approves Rs 24,420 cr subsidy for P&K fertilisers for kharif season

The government on Wednesday announced a Rs 24,420-crore subsidy on phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers for the upcoming kharif season and said the farmers will continue to get key oil nutrient DAP at Rs 1,350 per quintal. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for fixing the Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for the Kharif Season 2024-25 from April 1 to September 30 on P&K fertilisers. Briefing reporters, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said, "A nutrient-based subsidy of Rs 24,420 crore on P&K fertilisers has been approved for the kharif season starting April 1 till September 30." The minister said the subsidy on Nitrogen (N) has been fixed at Rs 47.02 per kg, phosphatic (P) at Rs 28.72 per g, potassic (K) at Rs 2.38 per kg and Sulphur (S) at Rs 1.89 per kg for 2024 kharif season, he said. The subsidy on phosphatic fertilisers has been increased to Rs 28.72 per kg for the 2024 kharif ...

Urea production up 12% in first 9 months of FY24, sales remain flat

Urea demand could re-emerge in a big way for the 2024 kharif season from May and June with the advent of monsoon

Govt procures 25,000 tonnes of kharif onion so far for buffer stock

The Centre has so far procured 25,000 tonnes of onion grown in the 2023 kharif season for maintaining a buffer stock, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said on Monday. The government is procuring onion to maintain a buffer stock and use it for market intervention to boost domestic availability and keep prices in check. The government has raised the buffer stock target to 7 lakh tonnes for the 2023-24 fiscal, against the actual stock of 3 lakh tonnes last year. According to the Secretary, the government had procured 5 lakh tonnes from last year's rabi season and is purchasing 2 lakh tonnes of kharif onion as the buffer stock target has been raised. "About 25,000 tonnes of kharif onion has so far been procured from mandis. The procurement is underway," he told PTI. Of the 5 lakh tonnes of rabi onion lying in the buffer stock, the government has offloaded 3.04 lakh tonnes of onion through cooperative Nafed and NCCF in the market to check prices. As a result, the all-India

Kharif crop prices will guide inflation fight in coming months amid polls

The ongoing elections in the three states could also be influenced if inflation rears its head again.

Paddy politics heats up in Chhattisgarh ahead of Assembly elections

Paddy procurement during the current season is a key issue as Chhattisgarh goes to polls in two phases on November 7 and 17

Soy output likely to decline by 4.3% this kharif season, says SOPA

Low soybean output could have a bearing on the prices, as it is one of the largest oilseeds grown in the kharif season

Kharif season: Over 0.8 mn MT paddy, 0.114 mn MT millet procured in Haryana

Haryana has procured 8.06 lakh Metric Tonnes (MT) of paddy and 1.14 lakh MT of millet at its mandis in the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season. The procurement of paddy and millet is progressing seamlessly at the mandis in the ongoing season, an official statement said here on Tuesday. "The state has so far procured 8.06 lakh Metric Tonnes (MT) of paddy and 1.14 lakh MT of millet. A total payment of Rs 690 crore has been disbursed directly into the accounts of over 32,000 farmers for their crop purchases through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system," it said. The statement said in a farmer-centric move to accommodate the early arrival of kharif crops, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar decided to start procurement in September, ahead of the traditional October 1. Paddy procurement started on September 25, based on farmers' demands. To facilitate this, 231 mandis were established across the state. "The set target for paddy procurement during the Kharif Marketing Season 2023 is 60 l

PUSA 44 paddy variety to be banned from next Kharif season: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said the state government has decided to ban sowing of water-guzzling PUSA-44 variety of paddy crop from the next Kharif season. After formally kick-starting the paddy procurement operations in the state from here, Mann also urged farmers to stop the practice of stubble burning. He directed the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department to ensure smooth and hassle-free procurement during the current Kharif Marketing Season beginning on October 1. "We are committed to procuring every single grain of farmers," Mann said while interacting with a group of farmers. The chief minister urged farmers to stop the cultivation of PUSA 44 variety of paddy crop as it takes more time to ripen, besides generating more crop residue. He said this season, farmers were asked not to sow the PUSA 44 variety but many growers sowed it. From the next season, PUSA 44 variety will be banned in Punjab, Mann said. It takes 152 days for ripening as ag

Paddy acreage rises by 3% to 411.52 lakh hectares, pulses area down 5%

Area under paddy has gone up nearly 3 per cent so far in the ongoing kharif sowing season to 411.52 lakh hectare, while pulses acreage declined 5 per cent, according to the agriculture ministry data. Paddy acreage stood at 400.72 lakh hectare (LH) in the same period last year. As per the data released on Friday, area under pulses declined 5 per cent to 122.57 LH from 128.49 LH in the year-ago period. Acreage of coarse cereals increased marginally to 186.07 LH from 183.73 LH. Oilseeds sowing was down at 192.91 LH as against 196.08 LH. Groundnut area dipped to 43.89 LH from 45.51 LH while the acreage of soyabean rose to 125.59 LH from 124.77 LH. The agriculture ministry data showed that area under cotton decreased to 123.42 LH from 127.57 LH. However, sugarcane area was higher at 59.91 LH as against 55.66 LH in the year-ago period. The total acreage under the ongoing kharif (summer sown) season increased to 1,102.99 LH from 1,099.23 LH. Harvesting of kharif crops generally starts

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana enrolments highest in 6 years, shows data

A rise in the number of non-loanee farmers under PMFBY is an indicator of voluntary acceptance of the scheme

Nine states and seven crops under pressure, says CRISIL's DRIP Index

The deficit is currently the highest in North-East India (-20% of LPA on September 14), followed by South Peninsula (-10%), central India (-8%) and North-West India (-1%)

Area under millets except bajra lower than last year this season

Jowar, along with bajra and ragi, constitutes almost 70 per cent of the millets produced in the country

Pulses sowing down 8.58% so far in kharif season due to monsoon deficit

Area sown to pulses remained lower by 8.58 per cent at 119.91 lakh hectares till last week of the ongoing kharif season due to 11 per cent monsoon rain deficit in the country, according to the agriculture ministry data. Sowing of kharif crops begins with the onset of the southwestern summer monsoons that occur from June through September. Paddy is the main kharif crop, besides pulses, oilseeds, cotton and sugarcane. As per the data released by the agriculture ministry, total area sown to paddy remained higher at 403.41 lakh hectares till September 8 of the ongoing kharif season, as against 392.81 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. However in case of pulses, the sowing was lagging and coverage was lower at 119.91 lakh hectares as against 131.17 lakh hectares in the said period a year ago. Pulses acreage was down maximum in Madhya Pradesh, followed by Karnataka, and Maharashtra. In Madhya Pradesh, the pulses acreage remained less at 19.72 lakh hectares till September 8 of the on

Paddy acreage up nearly 4% this kharif season; pulses acreage down 8%

Area under coverage for paddy has gone up about 4 per cent so far in the ongoing kharif sowing season to 398.08 lakh hectares, while pulses acreage declined 8 per cent, according to agriculture ministry data. Paddy acreage stood at 383.79 lakh hectares (LH) in the same period last year. The area under coverage for paddy has increased in Bihar by 5 lakh hectares, Chhattisgarh (4.66 LH), Jharkhand (1.82 LH), West Bengal (1.56 LH), Madhya Pradesh (1.48 LH), Haryana (1.29 LH), Uttar Pradesh (1.21 LH), Telangana (33,000 hectares) and Punjab (31,000 hectares). Paddy acreage has declined in Karnataka by 1.67 LH and Andhra Pradesh by 1.21 LH. As per data released on Friday, the area under coverage for pulses has declined by 8 per cent to 119.09 LH from 130.13 LH in the year-ago period. The acreage of coarse cereals has increased marginally to 181.06 LH from 179.13 LH a year ago. Oilseeds sowing is also down slightly to 190.11 LH so far as against 191.91 LH. Groundnut area has dipped to

Govt sets target to procure 52.1 mn tonnes of rice from kharif crop

The government has set a target to procure 521.27 lakh tonnes of rice being cultivated during the ongoing kharif season. It has procured 496 lakh tonnes of rice from last year's kharif crop. Paddy is grown in both the kharif (summer-sown) and rabi (winter-sown) seasons. Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra chaired a meeting of State Food Secretaries and Food Corporation of India (FCI) on August 21 to discuss the procurement arrangements for the Kharif crop in the ensuing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2023-24, which runs from October-September. "A quantity of 521.27 lakh tonnes rice has been estimated for procurement during the forthcoming KMS 2023-24 (Kharif crop) as against the previous year estimates of 518 lakh tonnes wherein 496 lakh tonnes was actually procured during KMS 2022-23 (Kharif crop)," the food ministry said in an official statement. During KMS 2023-24 (Kharif crop), rice procurement in Punjab is estimated at 122 lakh tonnes, Chhattisgarh (61 lakh tonnes), Telangana (50 la

Punjab to provide 22,000 straw management machines for 2023 Kharif season

The Punjab government plans to provide more than 22,000 crop residue management machines on subsidy under a Rs 350-crore action plan for the 2023 Kharif season to check stubble burning incidents in the state, said a senior official. Under the paddy straw management plan, the state agriculture department is also targeting zero-stubble burning incidents in seven districts Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, Mohali, SBS Nagar and Malerkotla and 50 per cent reduction in stubble fire cases in Patiala, Sangrur, Faridkot and Muktsar districts, said the official. In the 2022 Kharif season, Punjab had seen a 30 per cent drop in stubble-burning incidents to 49,907 from 71,304 in 2021. "We have an action plan of Rs 350 crore for the paddy straw management," said Punjab Agriculture Director Gurwinder Singh. Under this action for paddy straw management, around 21,000 machines for in-situ management (mixing crop residue in fields) and 1,800 balers for ex-situ (using stubble as fuel) will