Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

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V_Raman
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by V_Raman »

will the president sign or hold off on the agri bills? looks like pushback from unexpected quarters like baba ramdev etc.?
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Vips »

Govt sets foodgrain output target at record 301 mn tonnes for 2020-21.

The government has set foodgrain production target at a record 301 million tonnes for the 2020-21 crop year, up nearly 1.5 per cent from the previous year's output, on the back of good monsoon rains and higher acreage in the kharif season.The target for the 2020-21 crop year (July-June) was set at the National Conference for Rabi Campaign 2020, which was held on Monday to review the progress of the kharif (summer-sown) season and plan for the rabi crops.

Addressing the event, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar congratulated farmers and state governments for record foodgrain production of 296.65 million tonnes in the 2019-20 crop year. "The conference set a target of 301 million tonnes of food grains production for 2020-21." an official statement said.

Rice production target has been fixed at 119.6 million tonnes (MT) in 2020-21 as against 118.43 MT output in the last year. The target of wheat output has been set at 108 MT as compared to 107.59 MT. Coarse cereals output target is almost at at 47.80 MT as against 47.48 MT in the previous year. Pulses production target has been is xed at 25.60 MT, up from 23.15 MT output in 2019-20, while that of oilseeds was set at 37 MT as against the estimated output of 33.42 MT last year.

Tomar also complimented the farming community and states for higher sowing in the kharif season despite the COVID19 pandemic and lockdowns.
Kharif sowing during this year up to September 11 stood at 1,113 lakh hectares, which is 46 lakh hectares more than normal. Tomar said the government is taking revolutionary steps to strengthen agriculture infrastructure and economic condition of the farmers. Recently, the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme worth Rs 1 lakh crore for four years was launched for creating Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar congratulated farmers and state governments for record foodgrain production of 296.65 million tonnes in the 2019-20 crop year.

Recently, the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme worth Rs 1 lakh crore for four years was launched for creating facilities for cold storage, warehouse, packaging, ripening and waxing plants by agri-entrepreneurs, farmers' association and local government agencies.

The minister further said that two bills relating to freedom of marketing for farmers have been passed in Parliament. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Bill 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill 2020 will give a boost to farmers engaged in agriculture and allied activities, he added.

Farmers will get freedom to sell their produce at different places. The government will continue the practice of procurement at minimum support price (MSP) through the existing network, he added.

Tomar further said the government has set a target of covering 100 lakh hectares in five years under micro-irrigation. A dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) of Rs 5,000 crore has been created with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for expanding coverage of micro-irrigation. In the year 2019-20, about 11 lakh farmers have benefitted by the adoption of drip and sprinkler irrigation system. During the last five years, an area of 47.92 lakh hectare has been covered under micro-irrigation in the country, which includes 11.72 lakh hectares for the year 2019-20 which is a significant achievement, he said.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by darshan »

If Modi doesn't remind to change diaper, then it won't get changed. Poor chap has to tend to everything. Obviously capabilities and expertise were there but no one wanted to utilize it till wanting to look good in front of the boss. Bunch of non self starters.

Real thanks goes to xitler.
GSFC’s indigenous variety of ‘Calcium Nitrate’ & ‘Boronated Calcium Nitrate’ launched
https://www.deshgujarat.com/2020/10/09/ ... -launched/
New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers and MoS ( I/c) for Shipping Shri Mansukh Mandaviya launched indigenous variety of Calcium Nitrate’ & ‘Boronated Calcium Nitrate’ manufactured by Gujrat State Fertilizers and Chemicals -GSFC India Ltd through video Conference .

‘Calcium Nitrate’ & ‘Boronated Calcium Nitrate is being manufactured for the first time in India. Till now, it was imported from other countries.
...
GSFC launched these two products in the retail market for the first time from Solan in Himachal Pradesh and Bhavnagar in Gujarat. Currently total production capacity of GSFC for these two products is 10,000 Metric Tons (MT) per year. Within three months, production is expected to increase to 15000 MT per year. The Minister was informed that GSFC plans to increase it to 30,000 MT in 9 to 12 months.
....
Last year, around 1.25 lakh metric tons (1,23,000 tons) of Calcium Nitrate was imported in the country. Of this, 76% was imported from China and the rest from other countries like Norway and Israel. The total import value of this 1.25 Lakh Tons is Rs. 225 crore. The GSFC itself imported and sold 4600 MT last year.

Calcium nitrate is used as a water-soluble fertilizer in agriculture. In addition, this product is also used in wastewater treatment and to increase the strength of cement concrete.
V_Raman
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by V_Raman »

Unbelievable that an economy of our size does not manufacture these things!! And we cry about employment generation!!
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Kakkaji »

Prof Ashok Gulati's take on the Farm Bills:

From Plate to Plough: MSP in the age of surplus
Having analysed the MSP business over decades, let me say clearly that the regime was the creation of the era of scarcity in the mid-1960s. Indian agriculture has, since then, turned the corner from scarcity to surplus. The policy instruments of dealing with shortages are different from those dealing with surpluses. In a surplus economy, unless we allow a greater role for markets and make agriculture demand-driven, the MSP route can spell financial disaster. This transition is about changing the pricing mix — how much of it should be state-supported and how much market-driven. The new laws are trying to increase the relative role of markets without dismantling the MSP system. Let me also say that, currently, no system is perfect, be it the one based on MSP or that led by the markets. But the MSP system is much more costly and inefficient, while the market-led system will be more sustainable provided we can “get the markets right”.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by nandakumar »

Kakkaji wrote:Prof Ashok Gulati's take on the Farm Bills:

From Plate to Plough: MSP in the age of surplus
Having analysed the MSP business over decades, let me say clearly that the regime was the creation of the era of scarcity in the mid-1960s. Indian agriculture has, since then, turned the corner from scarcity to surplus. The policy instruments of dealing with shortages are different from those dealing with surpluses. In a surplus economy, unless we allow a greater role for markets and make agriculture demand-driven, the MSP route can spell financial disaster. This transition is about changing the pricing mix — how much of it should be state-supported and how much market-driven. The new laws are trying to increase the relative role of markets without dismantling the MSP system. Let me also say that, currently, no system is perfect, be it the one based on MSP or that led by the markets. But the MSP system is much more costly and inefficient, while the market-led system will be more sustainable provided we can “get the markets right”.
It is more than 10 days since paddy would have been harvested in Punjab, Haryana, Western UP etc. Is there any information on private procurement outside of the mandis? I haven't come across any.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

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darshan
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by darshan »

It may be worth for companies in India to venture into this field as water and food issues are only going to get worse.
It could also help generate IP and know how to setup similar systems in other countries. I'm sure that there are many graduates coming out of universities that could be put to work.
Inside Singapore’s huge bet on vertical farming
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/1 ... -security/
From the outside, VertiVegies looked like a handful of grubby shipping containers put side by side and drilled together. A couple of meters in height, they were propped up on a patch of concrete in one of Singapore’s nondescript suburbs. But once he was inside, Ankesh Shahra saw potential. Huge potential.

His grandfather had founded the Ruchi Group, a corporate powerhouse in India with offshoots in steel, real estate, and agriculture; his father had started Ruchi Soya, a $3 billion oilseed processor that had been Shahra’s training ground.
...
With VertiVegies, Sekaran was farming vertically: growing vegetables indoors, with towers of crops stacked one on the other instead of in wide, sprawling fields, and in hydroponic solution instead of soil. He was growing food without exposure to weather or seasons, using techniques pioneered by others, in a country that was badly in need of a new way to meet its food needs.
...
Without production of its own, Singapore saw its food supplies take a big hit. Imported raw food rose 55% in price in 12 months, and commodities such as rice, grain, and maize as much as 31%. The state was forced to absorb hikes in the costs of basics like cooking oil, bread, and milk—something made even tougher by the fact that China, from which Singapore imports around $600 million worth of food each year, had experienced its worst winter weather in 50 years, destroying crops and further pushing up regional food prices from late 2007 to mid-2008.
...
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by ashbhee »

I did not know every bit of Heeng / Asafetida used in India was imported. It looks like they have started a project to cultivate now.
I hope they succeed. This will cash crop for the barren regions of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... 751722.cms
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

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rrao
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by rrao »

For the last 15 days rains have brought havoc both in TS and AP destroying rice ,cotton and other crops. thousands of farmers have suffered losses. this time the yield was good in TS. all got washed away !!! in hyd many suburbs got inundated in rain water for days and water was flowing through colonies reminding of rivers in fury. all happened due to many illegally legal colonies have come up on nizam's era ponds and naalaas!! news forecast is now a days is so bad that none of the local news channels refer to the Insat weather images and project an analytical weather forecast!!! many roads and bridges got washed away and its love all !! ultimately the poor farmer suffers!!! onions have gone to Rs90/kg and tomatoes also varying from Rs 40-60 /kg
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by SBajwa »

Paddy is being sold at 1800 rs per quintal in Punjab and Haryana while 1000 rs on UP. Lots of farmers from UP are transporting to Punjab Haryana
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Yagnasri »

As they should be doing. I am all for farmers getting a better price than dalals looting farmers. While it may be a loss for the middle class in the short run but one can be sure that UP dalals and GoUP will wake up and increase the price.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by SBajwa »

Grain Drain: Farmers in Uttar Pradesh sell paddy below government rate to repay loans
While the Centre continues to assure farmers that it will stand by the minimum support price of Rs 1,888 per quintal, farmers are being compelled to sell their paddy at Rs 1,200 a quintal or less.


Arvind Shukla
| Updated: Last updated on October 13th, 2020,

Jarnail Singh from Kabirganj in Pilibhit district in Uttar Pradesh has just returned from Paliya Mandi a dejected man. The 50-year-old was unable to sell his 250 quintals of ‘good quality’ paddy. “I had taken a trolley of paddy to the mandi, but no trader bought it even though I was willing to sell it at a much lower price than the government’s minimum support price (MSP) of one thousand eight hundred and eighty eight rupees per quintal,” Singh told Gaon Connection. The farmer was offering to sell his paddy at Rs 1,100 a quintal, Rs 700 less than the government fixed rate; even then, there were no takers, he said despondently.

Despite repeated assurances by the central government that it would safeguard the minimum support price (MSP) for the farmers, and that the latter would not be adversely impacted by the new agri laws that caused such an uproar in the agrarian community, the story on the ground is unfolding rather differently.

Farmers like Singh are finding it almost impossible to sell their produce at the MSP. They are desperate to sell because they have no godown to store their unsold paddy in and they need money to sow the next crop of potatoes or wheat. “The bank loan has to be repaid, the workers need their payment…” the distraught farmer trailed off. They find themselves holding unsold paddy, hard pressed for money and vulnerable to exploitation by middlemen to whom they are forced to sell their paddy at a throwaway price.

While the agri acts had also assured the farmers that they could directly sell their produce at the mandis, that is also not happening. “The government procurement centres invariably find fault with the quality of the paddy if brought to them directly by the farmers. But, when we sell the same farha (bad grain) to the traders at throwaway prices, it miraculously becomes all right,” Jarnail Singh complained to Gaon Connection.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by SBajwa »

Modi and yogi did good but now we have problem of way too much paddy and traders exploiting by not paying MSP
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Rishirishi »

SBajwa wrote:Modi and yogi did good but now we have problem of way too much paddy and traders exploiting by not paying MSP
You can't blame the traders. They actually provide a way out for the farmers, by stocking oversupply. Yes it is very unfortunate that the farmers do not get more for their produce and India needs to find a way to fix the problem. Farmers can't live with such a problem. Maybe farming should be taken over by larger corp. style farms, with economies of scale. But for that to happen, small farmers have to sell the land to big ones (or leases it).

The average farm in India is only 1 hectar v USA where the average farm is 175 hectar. Small farmers strugle to implement modern farming techniques.
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Then why the government of India sets the Minimum support price? If the traders are already using capitalist means to buy/sell grain?

Problem is the government of India got its farmers very much dependent on Wheat, Sugarcane and Paddy and now with plenty problem., market cannot support it.

The only solution is to have Amul type cooperatives where farmers sell them their crops and these coop., converts them into finished products (biscuits, breads, flour, etc, etc)
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by nandakumar »

SBajwa wrote:Then why the government of India sets the Minimum support price? If the traders are already using capitalist means to buy/sell grain?

Problem is the government of India got its farmers very much dependent on Wheat, Sugarcane and Paddy and now with plenty problem., market cannot support it.

The only solution is to have Amul type cooperatives where farmers sell them their crops and these coop., converts them into finished products (biscuits, breads, flour, etc, etc)
The single biggest impediment to replicating Amul model (milk) to other agricultural crops is the nature of the product itself and its manner of consumption. In India, predominant mode of consumption of milk is in liquid form (packed in sachets or bottles. Now excess milk can be converted to powder, milk fat and non-fat solids (SNF) and reconverted to liquid milk. Grains or fruits and vegetables don't offer this flexibility. Oil seeds is perhaps the only other category which lends itself to orgainsing farmers into cooperatives. Also edible oils can be stored for a reasonable length of time to smoothen out volatily in oilseed output. Amul has successfully demonstrated it with the hugely popular 'Dhara' brand of sunflower and groundnut oil. But then Amul had already become huge brand and 'Dhara' could ride piggyback on it. Other State milk cooperatives have not been able replicate it because unlike GCMMF other State Government managed cooperatives don't make money (actually incur huge losses) and hence haven't ventured into this.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by V_Raman »

why did the govt. bring in the law change so close to harvest? would it have been better if the effective date was set to be like Dec?
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Yagnasri »

I read a report that farmers are sending their crop to Punjab as the price is 1800 Rs there whereas in UP it is 1100 Rs.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Uttam »

Sugar consumption stagnant in India; need to bust myths about its use: Govt
Joint secretary in the food ministry Subodh Kumar Singh said there is “a campaign against sugar and sugar products in India that they are harmful and are the main cause of obesity and diabetes”. “We are a sugar producing country and have surplus sugar. But our per capita consumption is very less. This is because rich people who can afford do not want to eat sugar… If sugar is harmful, it should be harmful in all developed and other countries where sugar consumption is more than the world’s average,” he said.
The above statement is really misinformed and I desperately hope that this official is taken to task for making such a statement. There is enough highly substantiated evidence against health affects of added sugar. The west is suffering big time because of high sugar consumption. Indian with a high rates of diabetes will see even worse health if sugar consumptions rate go up. Here are some papers about detrimental affects of sugar:

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1203388
https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMp0902392
https://doi.org/10.2337/dc13-2085

I am not on twitter. I hope somebody here can share it with policy honchos.
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Post by V_Raman »

Indian govt should plan for sugar consumption going down worldwide - reduce our output gradually - the awareness is going up pretty fast and we might not be able to export soon - in a decade...
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Uttam »

Sugarcane is also water intensive crop. All the more reason to not lean on sugar.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by nachiket »

Uttam wrote:Sugarcane is also water intensive crop. All the more reason to not lean on sugar.
This is easier said than done unfortunately. The sugar industry in places like MH and UP is heavily politicized. Too many politicians own profitable sugar mills which incentivize local farmers to plant sugarcane rather than any other crop because of guaranteed sales to the local sugar mills. This causes huge problems in water stressed regions like Marathwada where irrigation is practically non-existent and a shortfall in rain causes chaos with farmers attempting to pump as much of the scarce groundwater as they can to save their crop. But they can't or won't shift to any other crop and the local politicians have a vested interest in making sure they don't. The local economy also depends on the sugar industry. No one has been able to untie this knot yet.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by kvraghav »

India is having lot of diabetes cases. The consumption of Rice and Sugar will only go down.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by pandyan »

USA will be very happy to supply corn syrup at discounted rates for important partner. Don't get high hopes about reducing sugar consumption.

Look at this title
World’s Largest Consumer of Sugar Wants Its People to Eat More
Pratik Parija

More like correct title should be "Sugar Mills in india wants its people to eat more sugar"
In a world where sugar has attracted increasing scrutiny for its impact on health and obesity, there are moves afoot in the biggest consuming country to persuade people to eat more of the sweetener.

Mills in India are eyeing increased consumption as a way to cut the nation’s chronic oversupply, which stems partly from the favorable incentives provided to growers in politically powerful rural areas. High production costs mean the country finds it hard to sell sugar on the global market without subsidies.
Consumption in India has stagnated at 19 kilograms per capita per year compared with a global average of 23 kilograms
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by disha »

Here is how UP government is slowly stumbling into a beautiful solution for cow slaughter, stubble burning and organic farming.

1. UP government has 135 gaushalas. It can have more, say one for each district where cows (and buffaloes) can be retired.

2. Stubble from all the crops is sent over to the gaushalas as feed.

3. Cows eat the feed and give off valuable manure which is recycled into the fields.

4. Several farms into organic and semi-organic practices will benefit. Less use of chemical fertilizers and less outgo of subsidy.

This is what Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and every other state can do.

https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/yogi ... dy-farmers

^Read the rest above.

And there is more:

5. Infirm cows (and buffaloes) on dying can give their skin off for ahimsa leather. <- This becomes an excellent value add. The carcass can be used for wild animal parks.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Haresh »

disha wrote:Here is how UP government is slowly stumbling into a beautiful solution for cow slaughter, stubble burning and organic farming.

1. UP government has 135 gaushalas. It can have more, say one for each district where cows (and buffaloes) can be retired.

2. Stubble from all the crops is sent over to the gaushalas as feed.

3. Cows eat the feed and give off valuable manure which is recycled into the fields.

4. Several farms into organic and semi-organic practices will benefit. Less use of chemical fertilizers and less outgo of subsidy.

This is what Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and every other state can do.

https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/yogi ... dy-farmers

^Read the rest above.

And there is more:

5. Infirm cows (and buffaloes) on dying can give their skin off for ahimsa leather. <- This becomes an excellent value add. The carcass can be used for wild animal parks.
"The Uttar Pradesh government had also looked at the option of buying machinery to tackle stubble burning. It has asked farmer cooperatives to buy the machinery and offered them various incentives."

What sort of machinery is available ? is it manufactured in India, can the state govts license it for manufacturing, this would help provide jobs.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

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disha
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by disha »

Stubble burning is more a failure of the babooze and the polity.

India produces millions of tons of stubble from rice and wheat. All of that stubble can go to gau-shalas that can take the cows and buffaloes into retirement and get back valuable manure. This manure can go back into the fields for free.

Problem is that the babooze and the polity have not been able to price the manure. It is actually green gold. Once it is prized instead of treated as waste, the entire equation changes.

Here is how other countries do it: https://swarajyamag.com/ideas/power-fro ... le-burning
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by tandav »

rrao wrote:For the last 15 days rains have brought havoc both in TS and AP destroying rice ,cotton and other crops. thousands of farmers have suffered losses. this time the yield was good in TS. all got washed away !!! in hyd many suburbs got inundated in rain water for days and water was flowing through colonies reminding of rivers in fury. all happened due to many illegally legal colonies have come up on nizam's era ponds and naalaas!! news forecast is now a days is so bad that none of the local news channels refer to the Insat weather images and project an analytical weather forecast!!! many roads and bridges got washed away and its love all !! ultimately the poor farmer suffers!!! onions have gone to Rs90/kg and tomatoes also varying from Rs 40-60 /kg

In USA most developments have a mandatory detention pond on the premises that are designed to hold storm water and release it over 48 hrs. In India these rain water retention ponds have become real estate causing all these problems. Poor city planning illegal colonies and even worse implementation is to blame
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by SBajwa »

https://indianexpress.com/article/india ... l-6317369/

IT’S A happy time for the potato farmers of Punjab, with their crop hitting the highest rate ever known due to low production in other states owing to a delayed monsoon last year.

Farmers are currently getting Rs 1,600 per quintal for their table crop, which is being lifted from their fields by the traders. For the past four years, they had been getting Rs 300 to Rs 400 per quintal. Traders and stockists of other states like Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are hoping to get higher prices after purchasing the crop at this rate from Punjab.

Before this, the highest rate for their potato crop was recorded in 2013-14, when it was Rs 1,200-1,300 per quintal.


“My family has been cultivating potato for the past four decades. I have been doing for the last three decades. I never got Rs 1,500 to 1,600 per quintal for my crop,” said farmer Gurmail Singh, who sows potato on a 150-acre plot.

“I hope to recover half my losses which I suffered in the past 5-6 years due to the abysmal rate of the crop,” he added.

Apart from the high rate of the table crop, the varieties meant for processing purposes to make chips, potato fingers, etc. are being sold at the rate of Rs 25 to 30 per kg by farmers to traders. The rate of seed is also between Rs 18 to 22 per kg currently.

Jagtar Singh, a farmer from Nakodar, said, “This is the highest rate I have seen, and I have been growing potatoes for over two decades. “I am selling the seed potato as well as table potato when the market is up instead of storing the crop in cold stores as I want to recover all my losses,” he added.

State Nodal Officer Dr Paramjit Singh said, “It is an excellent year for potato growers of Punjab who are fetching the highest ever rate due to less production in other states last year, when heavy rains lashed several potato-growing states in September–October.”

“We are expecting that several cold stores of potato will either remain vacant or fill partially because farmers are clearing the stock side by side the harvesting, which is nearly 90 per cent complete and is expected to be over by the end of this month,” said the officer.

Punjab is expected to produce around 28 lakh tonnes of potato from around 1.05 lakh hectares this harvesting season. While 65 per cent of the state’s potato is used for seeds across the country as well as in the state, the remaining is used as table crop. The yield of table crop in the state is 12-14 tonnes per acre while the yield of seed potato is 8-10 tonnes per acre. Farmers are spending Rs 6.50 to grow 1 kg potato.

The Doaba region has the best conditions for seed potato production not only because of the region’s deep sandy loam soils, but also because the October-December period is relatively free of aphid attacks here. There are big potato farms here, apart from and the Central Potato Research Institute’s regional station and Potato Center for Excellence in Jalandhar.

Varieties like Kufri Jyoti, Kufri Chipsona, Kufri Pukhraj, Badshah, Diamond, Chandramukhi and Sultana are grown here.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Vips »

Rabi acreage up 5% to 565 lakh ha.

Higher than usual planting of wheat, pulses and oilseeds has pushed up the area under rabi season till Friday to 565 lakh hectares (lha), nearly 4.7 per cent higher than around 539 lha sown in the corresponding week last year, according to data released by the Agriculture Ministry.

The area under wheat till this week is 294 lha, which is 5.5 per cent more than around 279 lha planted in the same week last year. Madhya Pradesh, which planted an additional 11 lha, Maharashtra (2.4 lha) and Gujarat (1.67 lha) accounted not only for the increase, but also covered the lower planting in Rajasthan and Haryana.

At 141 lha, the pulses area is up by nearly 7 per cent, thanks to an over 10 per cent in gram area which covered nearly 98 lha. Maharashtra (which planted 18.59 lha) as against last season’s 13.40 lh and Gujarat (which has a gram area of 7.5 lha) against last year’s 2.75 lh, accounted for most of this increase in pulses cultivation.

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The area under oilseeds crops is up by 6 per cent to 77 lha mainly due to an increase mustard-rapeseed area, which went up 8.4 per cent to 70 lha till this week. Jharkhand with an additional area of 1.7 lh and Rajasthan with 1.28 lh accounted for the increase.

All major coarse cereals are planted in lower areas taking the total area down by over 5 per cent to a little over 41 lh whereas winter rice is planted 11.39 lh, which is around 8.5 per cent lower than that in the same week last year.

Meanwhile, 128 reservoirs monitored by the Central Water Commission has a cumulative water storage of 131 billion cubic metre (BCM), which is nearly 12 BCM lower than around 142 BCM in the corresponding week last year.
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Post by Vips »

2020-21 rabi foodgrains output may surpass previous record: Agri Minister Tomar.

The country’s rabi foodgrains production including wheat in the ongoing 2020-21 crop year is expected to be better than the previous year’s record of 153.27 million tonne, according to Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

Sowing of rabi (winter) crops is underway. The rabi sowing begins from October immediately after the harvest of kharif (summer) crops. Wheat and mustard are major rabi crops. The crop year runs from July to June.

Speaking to PTI, Tomar said the country’s agriculture sector performed well during 2020 as foodgrains production rose to a record in the kharif season with farmers working hard despite the COVID-19 pandemic and proving their relevance. “This year, we hope better foodgrain production in the rabi season than last year (same season),” he said.

For the 2020-21 crop year, the Centre has set a target of a record foodgrains output of 301 million tonne, out of which it expects 151.65 million tonne to come from the rabi season.

Further, the minister said progress to be made in the recent government initiatives including two new farm laws on marketing, formation of 10,000 FPOs (Farmer Producers Organisations ), Rs 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, will also benefit farmers and boost the sector.

“I hope farmers’ hard work and the Modi government’s pro-farmer policies will strengthen the agriculture sector. New reforms will also benefit the sector,” he added.

According to the official data, wheat sowing area has increased by 4 per cent so far this rabi season to 325.35 lakh hectare, while pulses acreage grew 5 per cent to 154.80 lakh hectare on better monsoon rains.

The paddy coverage was down marginally to 14.83 lakh hectare so far this rabi season from 15.47 lakh hectare in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The area under coarse cereals was down so far this rabi season at 45.12 lakh hectare as compared to 49.90 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. However, the sowing area for oilseeds was up at 80.61 lakh hectare from 75.93 lakh hectare a year ago.

Total sowing under various rabi crops has increased to 620.71 lakh hectare from 603.15 lakh hectare, the data showed.

In the 2019-20 crop year, the country’s overall foodgrains production stood at a record 296.65 million tonne, as per the government’s fourth advance estimate.
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Post by darshan »

UP: Yogi Govt Making Women Self-Reliant With 'Bud Chip' Method Of Cane Plantation
https://swarajyamag.com/insta/up-yogi-g ... plantation
The Uttar Pradesh government is trying to change the lifestyle of rural women in the state. The sugarcane department has been training these women on the 'Bud Chip' method for cane plantation, to make them self-reliant.

The 'Bud Chip' technology reduces the mass and enables quick multiplication of seeds. This method has proved to be more economical and convenient than the traditional method of planting two to three bud sets. The returns are relatively better, with substantial savings on the seed material used for planting.

At least 812 women self-help groups (SHGs) have been constituted across 36 districts in the state till date, where 9,117 women entrepreneurs have been trained by them.

According to officials, 3.51 crore seedlings have been planted by the SHGs till now.

The Yogi Adityanath government has rolled out two initiatives -- 'Mission Shakti', which lays emphasis on respect towards women and making them self-reliant and 'Kisan Kalyan Mission' for the overall development of farming by increasing the income of farmers.
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Post by Vips »

Set for a record: Rabi sowing at 644 lakh ha on higher wheat area.

Rabi sowing is in full swing and it seems to be heading for covering a record area with planting so far covering 644 lakh hectares (lha), 2.6 per cent more than nearly 628 lha sown in the corresponding week in the previous season, according to data released by Agriculture Ministry on Friday.

Farmers have planted wheat over 335 lha as against nearly 327 lha covered in the same week last year.adhya Pradesh, which planted nearly 88 lha, nearly 10 lha more than same period last year. Bihar and Maharashtra with an additional area of 1.7 lha and 1.4 lha, respectively not only covered the shortfall in sowing in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh but helped register an increase in overall wheat area in the country.

Record pulses area seen
Another crop that headed for a record area is pulses which is close to 160 lha (153 lha).

Gram — which is sown over 108 lha so far — accounted for much of the increase in pulses area. The area under gram is nearly 4.4 per cent higher as compared to same period last year.

Oilseeds showing has already touched the record mark with an area of nearly 82 lha. The area planted in the same period last year was less than 78 lha.

The area under rapeseed-mustard crop is around 73 lha, nearly 5 lha more than same week in 2019-20.

Coarse cereals, on the other hand, registered a nearly 7 per cent dip in area as compared to same period last year.

The area under coarse cereals was a little over 48 lha (52 lha).

Winter rice planting is yet to pick up momentum. The area covered so far is only around 19 lha and half of it in Tamil Nadu.

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Post by Kakkaji »

Government saves Rs 15,000 crore by reducing pulses import
New Delhi: The government has saved Rs 15,000 annually reducing the dependence on imports for pulses. Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that the production of pulses has gone up from 14 million tonnes to 24 million tonnes over 5-6 years.

“We are working towards achieving self sufficiency in pulses production since the Modi government took over. Now we need to work towards meeting requirement which is likely to go up to 32 million tonnes by 2050. We have focused heavily on cultivation of pulses. This has reduced the import of pulses drastically,” Tomar said, while addressing on the occasion of world pulses day.

He said that the government has promoted cultivation of pulses by purchasing pulses at minimum support price (MSP).

“We have increased MSP of pulses by 40-73% in last 6 years. The payment to pulses farmer has gone up by 40 times to Rs 10,530 crore,” he said.

The sowing of pulses in this winter season has gone up by 3% to 16.73 million hectares. The acreage in summer season was also up by 5% to 14 million hectare.

“The production is likely to cross 24 million tonnes this year also meeting the needs of the country. The dependence on imports has been reducing over the years. It has come down to 2-3 million tonnes from 14 million tonnes in last 5-6 years. We are working towards zero import,”

The government is also focusing on increasing production of oilseeds to reduce dependence on edible oil imports. The country imports 15 million tonnes of edible oil every year resulting into import Bill of Rs 75,000 crore.

“We are surplus in food grains production. We intend to become self sufficient in oilseed and pulses production also,”
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Post by Kakkaji »

NABARD lays emphasis on farmer producer organisations
Coimbatore: NABARD has said the strategy of achieving higher growth in agriculture needs to be based on forming new farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and nurturing the existing ones, an official said on Wednesday.

As of January 2021, about 8,500 FPOs have been promoted in the country by various agencies with 4,868 of them by NABARD alone, its chairman Dr G R Chintala told reporters at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) here.

NABARD conducted an internal study on FPOs in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan covering 1,886 farmers having membership in 39 FPOs and 971 farmers without any membership, he said.

Farmers reported receiving a higher average price for their produce after obtaining membership in FPOs besides an increase on income by 13.35 per cent to 25 per cent, Chintala said.
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Post by Ambar »

Kakkaji wrote:Government saves Rs 15,000 crore by reducing pulses import
New Delhi: The government has saved Rs 15,000 annually reducing the dependence on imports for pulses. Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that the production of pulses has gone up from 14 million tonnes to 24 million tonnes over 5-6 years.

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The import of pulses has gone up not just because of bad crops and unseasonal rains but also because of MSP. For wholesalers it makes sense importing lentils from abroad despite duties because it still works out cheaper than buying locally. For ex : the international price for masoor dal (red lentils) is around $250 to $300/tonne, the current MSP puts it at $700 per tonne. The poor consumer gets shafted twice - first while footing the bill for the MSP which is twice the international prices and next in the retail store. It is any wonder that the avg. retail price of lentils today is more than 4x what it was 12 yrs ago ? One of the fears i have about the fall out of the farm bills is that to calm the fear of farmers the govt is not just increasing its MSP purchases but also increasing the MSP itself, this puts a burden on exchequer and worsens retail inflation which has already taken a hit due to the fuel price hikes.
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Post by Suraj »

The problem with comparing 'international price' to MSP is that they are different things. The former is a dynamic spot price and the latter is a fixed price by fiat. You cannot compare the two. The spot prices may change every day. They may change up to 20% in a day.
Current MSP:
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That's $660. Recent red lentil Canadian market price:
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0.30 CAD/lb translates to approx $530 per tonne.

Several years ago in the economy thread I posted an article describing the chronic gap between Indian dal production and consumption. This was around 2014. It was fascinating. It showed how domestic production was just 40-60% of demand at times, and hard to fix immediately. Due to the slow growing nature of crop, GoI signed MOUs with African countries e.g. Kenya was contracted to supply 4MT . However they fell far short of volume.

At that time a multiprong approach was devised, consisting of spot purchases, MOUs for supply, and efforts to increase domestic acreage - the latter supported by an artificially high MSP. What you're talking about is just one small part of a large multi-year problem with several moving parts:
* Canadians and Aussies trying to maximize their profits exporting to us
* African contractual agreements falling short
* Trying to simultaneously spend 4-6 years expanding domestic acreage through high MSP.

So try to understand - the government is doing what it's supposed to do - ensure food security. Quoting a fixed MSP and a conveniently low spot price at a particular time, does not help the argument.
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