The government should incentive orthodox tea production and encourage tea exports to specific markets, said P.K. Bezboruah, Chairman, Tea Board.The annual tea exports need to hit 300-million kg to have a positive impact on the average prices, Mr. Bezboruah told The Hindu here on Friday on the sidelines of the annual conference of UPASI.Exports now are about 250 million kg. It increased 10% last year and this year, it is expected to increase by 10 million kg to about 260 million kg. The average price of tea is ₹140 a kg this year and was the same last year. While the price of tea increased from ₹7 a kg in 1954 to ₹140 a kg in 2014, the hike
Month: September 2018
India to ship first consignment of common grade rice to China
China is a leading importer of rice and sugar, while India is the world's biggest exporter of rice. India will send its first consignment of common grade rice to China on Friday, the government said, following intense lobbying by New Delhi after relations thawed between the two countries.A consignment of 100 tonnes would be shipped to China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp (COFCO), one of China's state-owned food processing holding companies, India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement on Thursday.China is a leading importer of rice and sugar, while India is the world's biggest exporter of rice.Prime Minister Narendra Modi finalised an amended agreement in June related to the export of non-basmati varieties of rice
Lending a helping hand to coconut farmers
For R. Prabhu, a farmer who has nine acres under coconut trees at Kodingam, a village located 25 km from Pollachi, there are several challenges in maintaining the farm. Water availability is a major issue, he says. Ground water is available at 1,000 feet and he has been using borewell for water supply for almost 20 years. Mr. Prabhu raises both traditional and hybrid varieties of coconut trees. Apart from the challenges in managing water supply, he says, there have been pest attacks on hybrid trees for which he used common pesticides available in the market. Guidance to farmers However, about seven months ago, he came across a poster at a local dairy society about a project called Kalpavriksha
A bid to bring ‘romance back into farming’
India’s farm sector could soon glean insights of a 100-year old Dutch University that focuses on ‘healthy food and living conditions’, under a new corporate philanthropy initiative to boost farmer incomes and spur the rural economy.The Sach Foundation, Essel group’s philanthropic arm, has tied up with the Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands, to ring in its expertise and help farmers in India deploy technology and best practices to boost yields and be an active part of the farm-to-fork value chain. A team from the University held meetings with farmers in U.P., Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan last month.1,000-acre campus“The Netherlands is a small country with 16 million people, but is the world’s second largest food exporter.
Ravaged by a caterpillar: on the armyworm invasion in India
First detected in Karnataka only in May this year, the fall armyworm, a native of the Americas, has already spread as far as West Bengal and Gujarat, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Priyanka Pulla reports on the deficiencies in India’s quarantine regime It is a hot day in September, and two men are prising open the leaves of maize in a field in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district. The crop is two months away from being harvested, but the leaves look diseased. Some have streaks of white on them, while others are peppered with holes. Soon, one of the men, entomologist Arakalagud Nanjundaiah Shylesha, spies the culprit behind these holes — a small greenish-brown worm with dark lines along
India targets slight increase in 2018-19 foodgrain output
Despite patchy rainfall in some parts, the Agriculture Ministry has set a foodgrain production target of 285.2 million tonnes for 2018-19, a marginal increase from the previous year’s harvest of 284.8 million tonnes.Rainfall deficit during the current monsoon season is now at 10%, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. “Some areas got extra rainfall, some areas were deficient. But in spite of the patchy rains, we are expecting that the overall production will still be good for the kharif season,” Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala told participants at the Ministry’s annual conference on strategies for the rabi, or winter crop season, on Tuesday.The 2018-19 targets for rice, at 113 million tonnes, and wheat, at 100 million tonnes, are
Blending subsidy with investment
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said the government was fast moving towards gradual blending of subsidies with public investment, especially in the agriculture sector, for sustainable growth.Speaking at the launch of a book, ‘Supporting Indian Farms the Smart Way’, he said with the formalisation of economy, the “government would have adequate resources to spend on different sectors, including the agriculture sector.”“There is lot of formalisation of economy taking place in several other sectors... We can see visible results, and it is leading to additional resources in the hands of the government. I don’t think this process will now be reversed,” he said. Important areas which required investment include physical infrastructure, social sector and farm sector, he
NITI Aayog for clear policy on ‘jhum’ cultivation
Proposes that land for shifting cultivation be recognised as agricultural land under agro-forestry A recent NITI Aayog publication on shifting cultivation which is particularly practised in the northeastern States, has recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture should take up a “mission on shifting cultivation” to ensure inter-ministerial convergence.“Central as well as State government departments of forests and environment, agriculture and allied departments often have divergent approaches towards shifting cultivation. This creates confusion among grass-roots level workers and jhum farmers,” said the report titled, “Mission on shifting cultivation: towards a transformational approach”. The document that calls for policy coherence, said land for shifting cultivation should be recognised as “agricultural land” where farmers practise agro-forestry for the production of food rather
An experiment in unity: collective farming in T.N.
An experiment in collective farming, involving only women, is gaining momentum in Tamil Nadu with small groups engaged in raising minor millets and vegetables in 16 districts at a micro level. The model, evolved by Tamil Nadu Women’s Collective (TNWC) whose members are mostly widows, single women and Dalits, has improved the nutrition value of these marginalised families besides ensuring economic freedom for their women.Organic farming Groups of about 20 members, among whom about 10 actually work in the farm, take up organic farming in small tracts of land in villages. About 90 groups, working all over Tamil Nadu, also propagate the value of minor millets and organic farming, according to Ponnuthai of Vasudevanallur, State secretary of TNWC.
What does a bumber kharif crop mean for the economy?
What is it? With the summer (kharif) sowing picking up across the country on account of improved distribution of monsoon rain during the last fortnight of August, another bumper harvest is expected this season, if weather conditions continue to be conducive. While the increase in crop acreage has eased the fear of a fall in grain production, the bright harvest outlook also throws a challenge to the government to deal with a situation of abundance of produce. A good kharif harvest means an increase in supply, which could result in a drop in crop prices, hitting farm income.Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Secretary S.K. Pattanayak, anticipating a good harvest, recently pointed out that the challenge with a “situation