What is the problem?After the recent Assembly elections, the new governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh announced farm loan waivers, a key promise. Last year, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu announced waivers as farmers were in distress. Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Haryana are likely to announce sops ahead of elections. According to SBI Research, around ₹70,000 crore will be spent on farm debt waivers till May 2019. The clamour for farm loan waivers has been growing, but this “'populist” measure alone cannot be a permanent solution to mounting agrarian distress, according to experts. Since the post-reforms policy regime in 1991, agriculture has been facing multiple crises. The rising pressure of population on land and agriculture, besides
Month: December 2018
Venezuela cocoa growers fear new pest: the government
Nationalisation has crippled country’s oil and manufacturing sectors as well as agricultural industries, including coffee and sugar Venezuela cocoa trader Freddy Galindo has battled highway robberies, kidnappings of family members and declining quality in his 19 years spent on exporting the nation’s legendary beans.This year’s harvest brought a new worry: meddling by the socialist government.He said trucks filled with beans leaving his warehouse in central Venezuela were stopped by soldiers at checkpoints and held for days; drivers were forced to unload some cargo at government warehouses. Mr. Galindo claims that some 87 tonnes of his cocoa, worth $1,30,000, were missing when the trucks were finally released. Other traders here in Miranda State, Venezuela’s number two producing region, have reported similar
Coffee growers hit by sharp decline in prices
A steep fall in the price of Robusta coffee during the harvest season and low production owing to climate change are worrying coffee growers in south India, a major coffee cultivating region in the country.Spot price of raw Robusta coffee in Wayanad on Saturday was ₹3,618 a bag (54 kg) compared with ₹4,320 about 40 days ago.The price of coffee beans declined to ₹120 per kg from ₹140 in the period. “Recent reports on bumper coffee production in Brazil, a major coffee-producing country, in the coming season, and increase in production in Vietnam this year owing to favourable climate in coffee growing areas is the major reason for the price fall,” says C.K. Salu, coffee exporter and secretary, Kerala
Cabinet clears policy to double agri exports
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the Agriculture Export Policy, aimed at increasing India’s exports to $60 billion by 2022 from the current $37 billion, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu announced.“We have managed to increase agriculture exports to $37 billion from $30 billion in just one year,” Mr. Prabhu said at a press conference. “With this policy, we aim to increase that to $60 billion by 2022. This is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of doubling farmers’ income.” The objectives of the policy are, apart from doubling farmers’ income, to diversify the export basket and destinations, and to boost high-value and value-added exports, with a focus on perishables. The policy also aims to promote the export of