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Indian Agriculture
Global tech giant Google is building a digital agri-stack using satellite imagery and has started with a base layer that will help identify farm boundaries, a senior official said on Saturday. Data and analysis of this base layer of the stack can be used in a slew of applications like bettering the subsidy payments, farm insurance or farm loans, Manish Gupta, a senior director at Google DeepMind said. ".. we have built the first such model that using satellite imagery analysis can now start to identify field boundaries based on usage pattern start to identify what crops are being grown and so on," Gupta said, speaking at the Mumbai Tech Week here. The model has taken inspiration from UIDAI's Aadhar, ascribing a unique ID to each farm and is intended to act as a base layer of the "digital agri stack", he said. Gupta said it is upon the startups and other agri-tech players to build solutions which will provide loan crop insurance and also subsidies using the data churned out by the .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged stakeholders to suggest ways to make ongoing schemes more effective and implement this year's budget in a speedy manner on the ground level. Addressing virtually the post-budget webinar on "Agriculture and rural prosperity", Modi said the government has presented a full budget in the third term, ensuring consistency in policy and reflecting the vision of Viksit Bharat. Modi said before the budget, inputs and suggestions from all stakeholders helped in framing it. "Now this budget needs to be implemented more effectively on the ground," he said. Agriculture is considered as the first engine of growth and the government is moving ahead with the target of achieving agricultural growth and rural prosperity, he said. Modi highlighted the need to enhance production of pulses to reduce the country's dependence on imports, and also asked private sector to focus on high-yielding crop seeds. He urged the stakeholders to discuss how the ongoin
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release 109 high yielding, climate resilient and biofortified varieties of crops at Indian Agricultural Research Institute here on Sunday, according to an official statement. The prime minister will also interact with farmers and scientists during the event, the statement said. The 109 varieties of 61 crops to be released include 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops, it added. Among the field crops, seeds of various cereals, including millet, forage crops, oilseeds, pulses, sugarcane, cotton, fibre and other potential crops will be released, the statement said. Among the horticultural crops, different varieties of fruits, vegetable crops, plantation crops, tuber crops, spices, flowers and medicinal crops will be released, it added. Prime Minister Modi has always encouraged sustainable farming and adoption of climate resilient methodologies, the release said. He has also emphasised on promoting biofortified varieties of crops by linking them
An agreement between India and Taiwan to facilitate trade in organically-produced goods, including tea and medicinal plants, has come into force from July 8, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday. The mutual recognition agreement (MRA) will ease the export of organic products by avoiding dual certifications, thereby reducing compliance cost, simplifying compliance requirements by adhering to only one regulation and enhancing trade opportunities in the organic sector. It said the pact will pave the way for export of major Indian organic products such as rice, processed food, green/black and herbal tea, medicinal plant products to Taiwan. The implementing agencies for the MRA are India's Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Taiwan's Agriculture and Food Agency. "The MRA for organic products between India and Taiwan has been implemented w.e.f. July 8," it said in a statement. Under the pact, agricultural products produced and handled ...
Research and sharing of best practices among nations are crucial for high-yield, disease-resistant sugarcane varieties and innovative uses of the commodity, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Tuesday. The Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution also said that sugar production is expected to be good this year depending upon the rains. He made the remarks at the 64th International Sugar Organisation (ISO) Council Meeting in the national capital. "Sharing best practices and fostering research collaboration across nations is vital. Let us work together to develop high-yielding, disease-resistant sugarcane varieties, explore innovative uses for sugarcane, and promote sustainable practices throughout the value chain," Joshi said. He said that advanced technologies across the sugar value chain should be increasingly adapted as they will be crucial for reducing waste and ensuring the sustainability of the industry. The nation is committed to actively collaborating wit
The government's focus on improving the state of agriculture in India and several initiatives taken by it to drive higher rural incomes are likely to support to sustain the tractor demand momentum despite industry sales witnessing a decline of 7 per cent, according to Swaraj Engines Ltd. The company, which supplies diesel engines for tractors manufactured by M&M Swaraj Division, in its annual report for 2023-24, said the growing horticultural segment in the country also offers good opportunities to increase tractor penetration in the lower horsepower (HP) market. "The domestic tractor industry for FY24 at 8,75,700 units registered a degrowth of 7 per cent over last year's (FY23) 9,45,300 units mainly because of erratic and uneven rainfall distribution that impacted kharif output, coupled with the high industry base of FY23," it said. On the outlook and opportunities, Swaraj Engines in its management discussion and analysis said factors like increasing affordability with adequate ..
Drone company Drone Destination on Monday said it has signed an agreement with cooperative major IFFCO for spraying agricultural products on up to 30 lakh acres of farm land. According to company officials, under the agreement Drone Destination could get paid in the range of Rs 400 to Rs 800 per acre at prevailing market rates, implying that the deal will fetch a revenue of Rs 120 crore in the lower price band and up to Rs 240 at upper price band. "We have secured a mandate for agri spray over 30 lakh acres. The prevailing market rate of such agri spray is in the range of Rs 400-800 per acre depending upon the region and the crop," Drone Destination managing director and CEO Chirag Sharma said. As part of the agreement, Drone Destination will undertake drone spray in 12 states across the country. These states include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand. "We are elated to partner wit