Forecasts of heavy rains across key central and western growing regions have stoked fears of potential crop losses in the second half of September, industry officials said.Last week, the weather office said the monsoon, which turned patchy in the first week of September, will pick up in most parts, with rains expected in some of the key farm belts.Spurred by monsoon rains, farmers have planted a record acreage with crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane.Rains were 17% above average in June but July rains were 10% below average. The monsoon picked up again in August and were 27% above average.Heavy rains in August damaged some cotton, pulse and soybean crops in a few pockets. In the
Tag: farmers
ICICI Bank to use satellite data to assess credit profile of farmers
The practice will employ satellite data to measure an array of parameters related to land, irrigation and crop patterns. ICICI Bank has announced the introduction of usage of satellite data—imagery from earth observation satellites—to assess credit worthiness of its customers belonging to the farm sector.The bank, the first in India and among few globally, will use satellite data to measure an array of parameters related to land, irrigation and crop patterns and use it in combination with demographic and financial parameters to make faster lending decisions for farmers, it said.“This use of technology helps farmers with existing credit to enhance their eligibility, while new-to-credit farmers can now get better access to credit,” it added.Additionally, since the land verification is done
Copious monsoon rains spur summer crop sowing in India
Farmers generally start planting rice, corn, cotton, soybeans, sugarcane and peanuts, among other crops, from June 1, when monsoon rains typically arrive in the country Indian farmers have planted 79.9 million hectares with summer crops so far, according to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, up 18.3% from last year as robust monsoon rains spurred sowing in the world's leading producer of farm goods.Farmers generally start planting rice, corn, cotton, soybeans, sugarcane and peanuts, among other crops, from June 1, when monsoon rains typically arrive in India. Sowing usually lasts until July or early August.Monsoon rains play a crucial role in agriculture, which employs 50% of India's 1.3 billion people, as nearly half of the country's farmland lacks
Government procured just 3% of pulses, seeds targeted under PM-AASHA scheme
Under the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan scheme, only 1.08 lakh tonnes have been procured so far. Less than 3% of this season’s sanctioned amount of pulses and oilseeds have actually been procured so far under the once-hyped PM-AASHA scheme, Agriculture Ministry data show. Arrivals of these crops began in October and will end by February.A total of 37.59 lakh metric tonnes of procurement had been sanctioned under the Centrally funded scheme. However, only 1.08 lakh tonnes have been procured so far, according to data placed in the Lok Sabha on December 3. In fact, of the eleven States that opted for the scheme this season, procurement has not even started in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.Direct purchaseThe
Crop insurance claims of ₹9,046-cr paid to 80 lakh farmers in kharif 2018: Govt.
The government currently offers two crop insurance schemes– the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the Restructured Weather-based Crop Insurance Scheme. The government has paid crop insurance claims worth ₹9,046 crore to 80 lakh farmers for the kharif 2018 season under PMFBY and RWBCIS, Parliament was informed Tuesday.The government currently offers two crop insurance schemes– the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the Restructured Weather-based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS). In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said ₹9,046 crore worth claims have been paid to 80 lakh farmers under PMFBY and weather index-based RWBCIS for the kharif 2018 season. He said this was provisional data as some claims of kharif 2018 have
Budget 2019: The road to agriculture and rural prosperity
A truly agriculture and rural development-focussed Budget, it has adequately met the twin objectives of growth and inclusiveness. When doubling of farmers’ income agenda is being rigorously pursued by the government, a fresh slew of measures through this Budget will only firm up the prospects of the agriculture and rural development sectors. The crux of the Budget is ‘sustainability’ in every aspect, be it agriculture practices or economic viability. An announcement of formation of 10,000 new FPOs over the next five years is a step towards the same. With this, the economies of scale can be harnessed to achieve the goal of doubling farmer’s income by reduction in input costs and assuring better price realisations by the farmers for
As you reap, so shall you add value to farm produce
A fusion of traditional practices, management expertise and technology has taken agriculture to a higher level at a farm located in Udayampuli Village of Tirunelveli district. Jaycee Agro Farms has emerged as a model in which the farmer is in control of the food chain — from production to marketing.The farm, spread over 200 acres (and an additional 250 acre of leased land), adopts a biodiversified cropping pattern (paddy, fruits and vegetables) and is home to about 51,000 trees, all belonging to native species. It has an interconnected drip irrigation network with six percolation ponds, six open wells and 28 borewells, in addition to rainwater harvesting infrastructure. The water grid, which can be operated with an Android phone, ensures
Farmers hit by slump in pepper prices
‘Cheaper imports from Vietnam, via Sri Lanka, benefiting from duty pacts; southern producers in a fix’ A sharp fall in the price of black pepper, coupled with low production of the spice, has put farmers in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka — the three major pepper producing States in the country — in a fix.Black pepper prices crashed from ₹760 a kg in 2017 to ₹600 a kg and then to ₹500 a kg. The spot price of pepper in Wayanad, a major pepper-producing region in Kerala, on Tuesday, was ₹300-₹310 as against ₹500 during the corresponding period last year, said M.C. Abdu of Ideal Spices, a pepper dealer in Wayanad.“The influx of imported pepper from Vietnam via Sri
For a slice of exotica: from broccoli to zucchini, exotic crops charm Nilgiris farmers
The weather conditions at Kookalthorai are conducive for cultivation of the exotic vegetable varieties For M. Kari, a farmer at Kookalthorai area in the Nilgiris, cultivation of broccoli and iceberg lettuce for the past 10 years has meant an assured income from agriculture. On his four-acre farm, he grows carrot, beetroot and also some varieties of exotic vegetables.More than 100 farmers in Kookalthorai area of the Nilgiris are into cultivation of exotic vegetables such as broccoli, zucchini, iceberg lettuce, brussels sprout, red cabbage and leek. These are available at departmental stores and served cooked at star hotels.The weather conditions at Kookalthorai are conducive for cultivation of these exotic vegetable varieties. Hence, the yield is better compared with other parts
PM promises farmers income doubling by 2022
Critics call Modi’s video interaction a ‘pre-scripted TV show’ that failed to address suicides due to agrarian distress At a time of acute agrarian distress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke in glowing terms of his government’s schemes and programmes in a video interaction with farmers from nine States on Wednesday. Reiterating the government’s promise to double farmers’ income by 2022, Mr. Modi claimed that the budget allocation for agriculture between 2014-19 was ₹ 2.12 lakh crore, almost double the amount — ₹ 1.21 lakh crore — allocated in the previous five years by the UPA government.Worry-free nowBecause of the government’s efforts, farmers were now “chinta mukt” or worry-free, protected from nature’s fury by insurance schemes such as the Pradhan