Page 6 - Ministry Of Agriculture

Farmers protest: Noida Police steps up security along its Delhi borders

Noida Police on Thursday stepped up security along its borders with Delhi in view of the proposed farmers' march to the Parliament, officials said. This also led to slow movement of vehicular traffic at various routes, including the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and DND. "In view of the farmers' movement, barriers are being installed at all the borders of Delhi and at Kisan Chowk and other places. Each vehicle is being checked and passed due to which the traffic is moving slowly," a police spokesperson said. "Senior officials and other personnel are present at various locations to control the traffic. The traffic is being monitored continuously," he added. The farmers led by the Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) are proposed to assemble at the Mahamaya Flyover in Noida at 12.30 pm on Thursday. "From Mahamaya Flyover, the farmers shall march towards the Parliament in Delhi to press for our long-pending demands," BKP leader Sukhbir Yadav 'Khalifa' said. Ahead of the protest demonstra

Govt to sell Bharat Rice at Rs 29/kg in retail; traders to disclose stocks

The government on Friday said it will sell 'Bharat Rice' in the retail market at Rs 29 per kg from next week to give relief to the common man and has directed traders to disclose rice stock, as part of its efforts to control prices. In a press conference, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said retail and wholesale prices of rice have increased by around 15 per cent in the last one year despite restrictions on exports of various varieties. To control prices, he said the government has decided to sell subsidised 'Bharat Rice' at Rs 29 per kg in the retail market through two cooperatives the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) as well as retail chain Kendriya Bhandar. E-commerce platforms will also sell Bharat Rice. He said Bharat Rice will be available in the market from next week in 5kg and 10kg packs. In the first phase, Chopra said the government has allocated 5 lakh tonne

Budget 2024: A glance Budget 2023 announcements for agriculture sector

From welfare schemes to infrastructure & digital development, here are the highlights of Budget 2023 for the agricultural sector in India and the expectation for the Interim Budget 2024

Devanahalli land acquisition row: K'taka ministers meet farmer groups

Two Karnataka ministers held meetings with farmers groups in favour of and against the land acquisition for development of Palya 2nd Phase Industrial Area of Channarayapatna Hobli in Devanahalli

Pixxel to launch six home-built hyper-spectral satellites from June

Bengaluru-based space start-up Pixxel plans to launch a series of small, home-built satellites -- Fireflies -- from June that could have a finer look at the Earth with its five-metre resolution hyper-spectral imagery. Pixxel recently launched its satellite manufacturing unit -- Mega Pixxel -- in Bengaluru where it can assemble, integrate and test 40 satellites weighing 100 kilogrammes every year as the nascent company aims to take a leap in the space sector. "If you are looking at 100-kilogramme micro-satellites which are able to do a whole lot of stuff in terms of actual commercial viability, we can do 20 of them at a single point in time. The turnaround time from getting them assembled to ship-to-launch is about six months. That makes it 40 every year," Awais Ahmed, founder and CEO Pixxel, told PTI. Ahmed said Pixxel aims to launch six 100-kilogramme satellites, named Fireflies, by June, and add another 12 next year to monitor in over 250 spectral bands at five-metre spatial ...

Wheat production likely to be good this year: Agri Minister Arjun Munda

The country's wheat production is expected to be good this year amid higher coverage, according to Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda. The sowing of wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, that began in October has been completed. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab are the top three states having the maximum area under wheat coverage. "As per the sowing data, wheat has been covered in more area and we expect good production this year," Munda told PTI. As per the ministry's data, the total acreage under the wheat crop remained higher at 336.96 lakh hectares till the last week of the current rabi season of the 2023-24 crop year (July-June), as against 335.67 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. On January 3, Food Corporation of India Chairman and Managing Director Ashok K Meena indicated that the country could achieve a new record in wheat production at 114 million tonnes in the ongoing 2023-24 crop year provided weather conditions remain normal. Wheat production stood at a record

India estimated to have harvested 355.35 MT horticulture crops in 2022-23

The country is estimated to have harvested 355.35 million tonnes of horticulture crops in the 2022-23 crop year, about 8.07 million tonnes more than the previous year, as per agriculture ministry data released on Thursday. The ministry has come out with the third production estimate after the harvesting of the 2022-23 horticulture crops. Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said despite challenges surrounding climate change, horticulture production has gone up, thanks to efforts of farmers and agri-scientists. As per the third estimate released by the ministry, total production of horticulture crops has increased 2.32 per cent (8.07 million tonne) to 355.25 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year -- July-June -- from 347.18 million tonnes in the previous year. Of the total horticulture production, fruits production rose to 109.53 million tonne in 2022-23 from 107.51 million tonne in the previous year. Vegetable production, too, increased to 213.88 million tonnes in 2022-23 from 209.14

India's corn exports plunge as domestic prices rally on strong demand

India usually exports around 250,000 to 300,000 metric tons of corn every month but in December its exports fell to around 30,000 tons

Exports of oilmeals rise 16% to 1.22 mn tonne in December quarter

The country's oilmeals exports rose 16 per cent to 12.20 lakh tonne in the third quarter of the current fiscal compared to the year-ago period, industry body SEA said on Thursday. Around 10.53 lakh tonne of oilmeals was exported during the October-December quarter of 2022-23. According to the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), the country exported 6.24 lakh tonne of soybean meal, 4.79 lakh tonne of rapeseed meal, 1.14 lakh tonne of castor seed meal and 2,642 lakh tonne of groundnut meal in third quarter of the current fiscal. In December alone, total oilmeals exports were at 5.32 lakh tonne, up by 23 per cent from 4.33 lakh tonne in the year-ago period, it said. SEA said the country's export of soyameal rose due to price competitiveness amid shortage of Argentine export supplies in recent months. The major consumer of Indian soybean meal is South East Asia, where India has a logistic advantage and also can supply in small lots, it added. The industry body also mention

Supreme Court reserves order on environmental release of GM mustard

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a pleas seeking moratorium on release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Sanjay Karol heard submissions from Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicior General Tushar Mehta and advocates Prashant Bhushan and senior advocate Sanjay Parikh. The top court directed the parties to file written submissions by January 22. Observing that the issue of genetically modified crops is very technical and scientific, the top court on Wednesday had said it will decide a plea on environmental release of GM mustard on the basis of what is good for the country,. The apex court had earlier questioned the Centre about why reports of the court-appointed Technical Experts Committee (TEC) on biosafety of genetically modified (GM) crops were not looked into by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). It asked Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, whether th

Union cabinet approves increase in copra MSP for upcoming 2024 season

The agriculture ministry said that the MSP for the 2024 season has been hiked by Rs 300 per quintal for milling copra and Rs 250 per quintal for ball copra over the previous season

Urea, DAP fertilizers availability comfortable in ongoing rabi season: Govt

The availability of two key fertilisers, urea and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), has remained comfortable during the ongoing 2023-24 rabi season, Parliament was informed on Friday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Bhagwanth Khuba said about 132.77 lakh tonne of urea has been made available for the October-December period of the ongoing rabi season, which is higher than the requirement of 91.05 lakh tonne for the same period. Total urea requirement for the entire 2023-24 rabi season is pegged at 185.41 lakh tonne, he said. Even the availability of DAP has remained comfortable in the country during the ongoing rabi 2023-24 season, he added. The minister also mentioned that there is no such report of artificial demand/shortage of urea that has come to its notice. Urea and DAP are two widely used fertilisers in the country. Currently, sowing of rabi crops like wheat and pulses is underway. Sowing begins from October and harvesting fro

Centre says certain onion consignments can be exported till Nov 30

The government on Thursday clarified onion consignments that have been handed over to the customs authorities and are registered in their systems before October 29 can be exported till November 30. On October 28, the government imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of USD 800 per tonne on onion exports till December 31 this year with a view to increase availability of the vegetable in the domestic market and to contain prices. "Where onion consignment has been handed over to the customs before October 29, 2023... and is registered in their system/ where onions consignment has entered the customs station for exportation before this notification and is registered in the electronic systems of the concerned custodian of the customs station with verifiable evidence of date and time stamping of these commodities having entered the station prior to October 29. "The period of export shall be up to November 30 this year," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said. It added that th

Crop insurance scheme PMFBY makes comeback, enrollments jump

Number of farmers availing of the scheme reaches all-time high of 25 mn

India exports mangoes worth $47.98 million, up 19% from last year

India expanded its mango exports to 41 countries, exploring new markets in Iran, Mauritius, Czech Republic, and Nigeria

Bihar govt promoting cultivation of aromatic, medicinal plants: Minister

To encourage farmers to diversify from traditional paddy cultivation to commercially viable farming, the Bihar government has come out with several incentives and subsidies for planting aromatic and medicinal plants in the state. The state agriculture department has come out with several incentives for farmers to promote cultivation of 'lemongrass', 'palmarosa', 'shatavari', 'tulsi', mulberry', 'khas', 'gooseberry', 'bael', 'tamarind', 'jackfruit', and lemon plants. Bihar Agriculture Minister Kumar Sarvjeet told PTI on Saturday that, "The government is coming out with several incentives and subsidies to farmers to help cultivate aromatic and medicinal plants in the state. The growing health awareness has created a lot of opportunities for innovation in the agriculture sector and the government is helping farmers to exploit this opportunity. This is the time Bihar farmers must opt from traditional paddy cultivation to commercially viable farming". This scheme will be implemented main

US, EU criticise India's rice export ban, request immediate resumption

Representatives from Japan, Australia, Brazil, the EU, the UK, and the US raised concerns over the impact of the ban on the global food market

Tech firm revolutionises silk cocoon trade with tech-enabled bidding

ReshaMandi has built a technology-driven bidding process to ensure that farmers receive the best prices for their yields, given the short shelf life of silk cocoons

Explained: Why are Russian export prices roiling the wheat market

In March, sources told Reuters that the Russian government was recommending exporters ensure prices were high enough to cover farmers' production costs

India exporting 75,000 tonnes non-basmati white rice to UAE via NCEL

The government on Monday cleared exports of 75,000 tonnes of non-basmati white rice to the UAE through National Cooperative Exports Ltd (NCEL). Though there is a ban on rice exports, India is shipping rice to friendly and neighbouring countries on their request to meet their food security demands. "Export of 75,000 MT of Non-Basmati White Rice (under HS code 1006 30 90) to UAE is permitted through NCEL, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification. Earlier, the government permitted the export of broken rice to Senegal (5 lakh tonnes), Gambia (5 lakh tonnes), Indonesia (2 lakh tonnes), Mali (1 lakh tonnes), and Bhutan (48,804 tonnes). The government has also allowed exports of non-basmati rice to Bhutan (79,000 tonnes), Mauritius (14,000 tonnes) and Singapore (50,000 tonnes) through the NCEL. On September 9 last year, the government banned the export of broken rice to check rising retail prices and boost domestic supply. On July 20, it banned exports of .