The Centre is offering onion from the buffer stock stored at Nashik, Maharasthra, at the procured rate of ₹26-28 per kg to States. In a bid to cool down retail onion prices that are ruling over ₹75 per kg in some places, the Centre has stepped up efforts and asked States and Union Territories to take the kitchen staple from the central buffer stock for retail intervention. As per data maintained by the Consumer Affairs Ministry, retail onion prices in Mumbai were ruling at ₹86/kg, Chennai at ₹83/kg, Kolkata at ₹70/kg and Delhi at ₹55/kg on October 22.“We have stepped up efforts to check the price rise. We have requested State governments and Union Territories to take onion from our
Month: October 2020
Centre steps in to check onion prices, to offer buffer stock to States and UTs
The Centre is offering onion from the buffer stock stored at Nashik, Maharasthra, at the procured rate of ₹26-28 per kg to States. In a bid to cool down retail onion prices that are ruling over ₹75 per kg in some places, the Centre has stepped up efforts and asked States and Union Territories to take the kitchen staple from the central buffer stock for retail intervention. As per data maintained by the Consumer Affairs Ministry, retail onion prices in Mumbai were ruling at ₹86/kg, Chennai at ₹83/kg, Kolkata at ₹70/kg and Delhi at ₹55/kg on October 22.“We have stepped up efforts to check the price rise. We have requested State governments and Union Territories to take onion from our
₹10,000-cr. scheme for agri coops to set up health infra in rural areas
Loans can be used to set up PHCs, support medical education, diagnostic services, pharmaceutical businesses, blood banks etc. Agricultural cooperatives will soon be able to access a ₹10,000-crore fund for the creation of health infrastructure. With COVID-19 putting a spotlight on the shortage of health facilities in rural areas, the National Cooperative Development Corporation, an autonomous institution under the Agriculture Ministry, rolled out the Ayushman Sahakar scheme to extend term loans worth ₹10,000 crore to co-ops for the next five years.“Our primary motivation is access to healthcare for farmers in rural areas. That driving spirit gets amplified because of COVID-19. The pandemic has re-emphasised the gaps in healthcare in the country,” NCDC Managing Director Sundeep Nayak told The Hindu.Over
Kharif foodgrain production likely to be record 144.52 million tonnes in 2020-21: Agriculture Minister
Foodgrain production stood at 143.38 million tonnes during the 2019-20 kharif season, as per official data Foodgrain production is pegged at record 144.52 million tonnes in the 2020-21 kharif season notwithstanding COVID-19 crisis, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday.Foodgrain production stood at 143.38 million tonnes during the 2019-20 kharif season, as per official data.Currently, harvesting of kharif crops is underway. Rice is the main kharif crop.“Foodgrain production will be better than last year. As per the initial estimates, foodgrain production is projected to be 144.52 million tonnes in the 2020-21 kharif season,” Mr. Tomar said addressing a digital conference organised by industry body CII.Production of cash crops such as sugarcane and cotton is also expected to be good,
World Food Day: FAO is as relevant today as in 1945
The UN’s food agency was born in the wake of catastrophe. Three quarters of a century later, its mission has been made more relevant to the world at large by another global scourge I won’t deny it: when I took over as Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) last year, I could barely contain my emotion. FAO’s foundation, after all, had preceded — if only by a matter of days — that of the United Nations itself. That I, born into a Chinese
Changes in South Africa’s rainfall seasons could affect farming and water resources
Trends across different rainfall zones demonstrated patterns that can be linked to changes recorded for large-scale climate systems, the study found Most of South Africa’s seasonal rainfall occurs during the warmer summer months, from October to March. As a result, October is an important period for farmers to begin planning when to sow crops (such as maize, wheat and sunflowers) for the growing season. October is also an important period for the tourism industry to think about water supplies for the upcoming summer holiday season. The timing of summer
Onion crisis: ‘High time Union govt invested in low-cost storage’
Country director, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics talks to DTE on onion price volatality, amendement to Essential Commodities Act, 1955 It is a crisis that repeats itself year after year: A poor yield of onion crop leads to supply crunch — and a sharp spike in its price. The Union government on September 18, 2020 issued a notification prohibiting the export of onions to check the spiralling prices. Being a key crop, onion often suffers from supply crunch and price volatility. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, country
Meet Padma Bombale, a Maharashtra onion farmer fighting the odds
A landless farmer from Vetale village near Pune, she has to work for Rs 100 a day to make ends meet Her fragile frame may belie reality for she has nerves of steel. Padma Bombale is a farmer from the village of Vetale that falls in the Khed block of Pune district in Maharashtra. She is a landless farmer who has seen many adversities apart from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from November 2019 onwards. She works as a daily labourer like many women from her village
Simply Put: What a New Deal!
Book excerpt: How the ‘Pagri Sambhal Jatta’ Movement resonates with the 2020 anti-Farm Bills agitation
The century-old movement by Bhagat Singh’s uncle was against unjust British efforts to exploit Punjab’s farmers, notes author Amandeep Sandhu's 2019 book Excerpted with permission from Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines by Amandeep Sandhu, published by Westland, October 2019 The crisis is not only of Panjab. It is a national agrarian crisis. The reason Panjab is relevant is that this was the original laboratory of the so-called Green Revolution that later spawned the White (milk), Blue (fish), Golden (honey and fruits), Pink (onion), Silver (eggs), Red (meat and tomato),