Page 10 - Agriculture

Haryana beefs up security ahead of farmers' planned 'Delhi chalo' march

Agitating farmers and central ministers to meet on Monday for 2nd round of talks

Moody's downgrades agri solutions provider UPL, maintains negative outlook

Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday downgraded agriculture solutions provider UPL to Ba1 and maintained the negative outlook on deterioration in the agrochemical industry. Moody's has downgraded the senior unsecured rating for UPL Corporation (UPL Corp) to Ba1 from Baa3 and has also downgraded the rating on the long-term junior subordinated rating on UPL Corp's USD 400 million undated perpetual Eurobonds to Ba3 from Ba2, the credit rating agency said in a statement. Further, Moody's has assigned a Ba1 corporate family rating (CFR) to UPL Corp and withdrawn the company's Baa3 issuer rating. "The downgrade to Ba1 is driven by a protracted deterioration in the agrochemical industry fundamentals that will keep UPL's credit metrics weaker than our expectation for an investment-grade rating," Moody's Senior Vice President Kaustubh Chaubal said. The Moody's rating action is following UPL's weak operating results for the third quarter of the fiscal ending March 2024 .

No proposal to hike PM-KISAN amount from Rs 6,000 per year: Arjun Munda

The government on Tuesday informed Parliament that it has no proposal to increase the financial benefit to farmers under PM-KISAN scheme to Rs 8,000-12,000 per year. There is no proposal under consideration to increase the amount even for women farmers under the scheme, Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Launched in 2019, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) provides eligible farmers a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 every four months. The fund is directly transferred to bank accounts of the beneficiaries. "No proposal is under consideration," he said replying to question if the government plans to increase the amount to Rs 8,000-12,000 per year. Sharing the progress made under the scheme, the minister said the government has disbursed over Rs 2.81 lakh crore to more than 11 crore farmers in 15 instalments so far. The benefit is provided to supplement financial needs of land-holding farmers,

11 urea companies to get Rs 500 crore on settling gas marketing issue

The marketing margin is charged by gas marketing companies from consumers over and above the cost of gas for taking on the additional risk and cost associated with the marketing of gas

2.33 million farmers enrolled under PMKMY since launch, says Govt

Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday said in Parliament that 23.38 lakh farmers have been enrolled under the farmers' pension scheme PMKMY so far. Launched in September 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana (PMKMY) is meant for old age protection and social security of Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs). It's a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for the entry age group of 18 to 40 years with a provision of Rs 3000 monthly pension on attaining the age of 60 years. "As on date, a total of 23,38,720 farmers have been enrolled across the country...," Munda said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. In Karnataka, total of 41,683 farmers have been enrolled under the PMKMY since the inception of the scheme, he added. As per the operational guidelines of the scheme, the central government matches the contribution made by the beneficiary farmer. As on January 31, this year, an amount of Rs 10,78,51,700 has been collected from farmers of Karnataka under PMKMY and the same

Decadal perspective: Foodgrain production up 20% under the Modi govt

Electronic National Agriculture Market has integrated 1,361 mandis and 180 million farmers over a period of time

Interim Budget 2024-25: For agri and rural, it's continuation of the past

Since it is an Interim Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not make any big announcements nor did she increase allocations for welfare schemes in an election year

IMD decides to shut down all 199 district agromet units across country

The India Meteorological Department has decided to discontinue the services of the 199 district agromet units that provide crucial and detailed weather-related advisories to lakhs of farmers at the block level, helping them reduce crop losses and increase income. In an order issued on January 17, the IMD said the services of the district agromet units (DAMU) will not be extended beyond the current financial year (2023-2024). "Therefore, you are requested to kindly take necessary action for discontinuation of services of district agromet units (DAMUs) and winding up the existing 199 DAMUs," the order said. According to the minutes of the Expenditure Finance Committee (Finance Ministry) meeting held in February last year, a senior advisor of Niti Aayog had advised reevaluation of the "necessity of providing staff at each DAMU". The official suggested the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) may have "centralised units instead of field units as the collection of data is automated". The

Bayer CropScience Q3 results: Profit falls 31% to Rs 93.1 cr on soft demand

The company's profit fell to 931 million rupees ($11.2 million) during the three months ended Dec. 31 from 1.35 billion rupees a year earlier

Seeking balance between controlled, skewed pricing in favour of urea

Some in the industry fear a return of controls while others see positives in a govt circular, but the bigger issue is the skewed pricing in favour of urea

Nova Agritech shares jump nearly 43.39% to Rs 58.79 in debut trade

The stock listed at Rs 56, up 36.58 per cent from the issue price on the BSE. It later jumped 43.39 per cent to Rs 58.79

Delhi's maximum temperature this January second coldest in 74 years: IMD

Unfavourable weather conditions in the world's second-biggest wheat producer after China could oblige the country to import the staple to ensure affordable supplies for its 1.4 billion people

Govt sells 7.1 mn tonnes wheat in open mkt to keep prices under control

The government on Wednesday said 71.01 lakh tonnes of wheat and 1.62 lakh tonnes of rice have been sold through auction so far in the open market to keep prices under control. "In order to increase the availability of wheat and rice in the open market and to control the prices of wheat and rice, the Government has been offloading wheat and rice in the market through weekly e-auction from June 28, 2023," an official statement said. A total of 101.5 lakh tonnes of wheat and 25 lakh tonnes of rice have been allocated by the central government for offloading under the Open Market Sale Scheme. Wheat is being offered at a reserve price of Rs 2,150 per quintal for Fair and Average Quality (FAQ) and Rs 2125 per quintal for Under Relaxed Specifications (URS). The reserve price of rice is being kept at Rs 2,900 per quintal. Till January 24, 2024, 71.01 LMT wheat has been sold under OMSS. The first e-auction of rice under OMSS for 2023-24 was held on July 5, 2023. Till January 24, 2024, 1.62

The Red Sea crisis: Imported fertilisers paint mixed price picture

Annual fertiliser subsidy would remain within the FY24 Budget estimate of Rs 1.75 trillion and could have been lower had the crisis not erupted

Shah launches Rs 225 cr projects to computerise ARDBs in cooperative sector

Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched computerisation programmes for agriculture and rural development banks and Registrar of Cooperative Societies at an estimated cost of Rs 225 crore and said the digitisation efforts will help improve efficiency, transparency and accountability in their working. The launch of computerisation projects for Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (ARDBs) and Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCSs) of states and Union Territories was organised by Ministry of Cooperation in collaboration with National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). Shah said the projects will modernise and enhance the efficiency of the cooperative sector by bringing the entire cooperative ecosystem on a digital platform. "This will help in improving transparency and accountability in the cooperative sector," the minister said. Shah said the total cost of computerisation will be Rs 225 crore, of which Rs 95 crore would be spent on computerisation of ..

Minister Munda launches framework to promote carbon market in agri sector

Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Monday launched a framework to promote the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) in the farm sector and said this will encourage small and medium farmers to avail benefits of carbon credit. Introducing farmers to the carbon market will not only benefit them but also accelerate the adoption of environment-friendly agricultural practices, the minister said. He launched the 'Framework for Voluntary Carbon Market in Agriculture Sector' and 'Accreditation Protocol of Agroforestry Nurseries' here, according to an official statement. He requested cooperation from the ministries concerned of the Centre and the states and other organisations to promote the carbon market in the interest of farmers. "Global challenges like global warming are in front of all of us; hence we have to move ahead with caution," the minister said. Munda said the Accreditation Protocol of Agroforestry Nurseries will strengthen the institutional arrangements for the production and .

Cold snap helps India's wheat crop but warm weather forecasts pose risk

A long cold spell helped wheat during its vegetative growth, but a rise in temperatures, expected in the next few days, could impact the crop during the crucial grain formation stage

Budget 2024: A glance Budget 2023 announcements for agriculture sector

From welfare schemes to infrastructure & digital development, here are the highlights of Budget 2023 for the agricultural sector in India and the expectation for the Interim Budget 2024

Grow Indigo raises $8 mn to drive future of sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture company Grow Indigo on Sunday said it has raised over USD 8 million (around Rs 67 crore) in a funding round with a cumulative capital raise of more than USD 23 million (around Rs 191 crore) to date. The round saw interest from investors globally including participation from Indigo Ag, Mahyco and individuals and the fund raised will be utilised for driving the future of sustainable agriculture, the company said in a statement. Grow India is a joint venture between Indigo Ag and Mahyco that was formed in 2018. The company operates a carbon farming platform for smallholder farmers in India that includes four carbon programs across 13 states and cumulatively aims to reduce or remove emissions by 20 MT of CO2 annually from agriculture. About 8,00,000 acres have already been enrolled in the company's programs. "With sustainability at its core, we have now demonstrated adoption of biological inputs and carbon solutions at scale by farmers," Grow Indigo Executive .

Rice export rates hit record highs on dwindling supplies, firm demand

Traders noted that domestic supplies are accumulating, and that harvest has begun partially in the Mekong Delta, which is expected to peak in March