Indian Farmers

Haryana CM Saini accuses Oppn parties of doing politics in farmers' name

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday said it is unfortunate that the Congress and the other opposition parties are doing politics in the name of farmers, even as he asked why some opposition-ruled states are not procuring all crops at MSP like Haryana. During an interaction with mediapersons here, Saini was asked if he would like to make any appeal to the protesting farmers from Punjab, who claim the authorities in Haryana are preventing them from marching to Delhi from the Shambhu border. "I am the son of a poor farmer. I know the problems farmers face... I have done farming myself. I want to thank the prime minister, who in the past 10 years took several steps to empower the farmers," Saini said. A large number of farmers have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces. Besides legal guarantee of MSP for crops, their other demands include debt waiver and .

Farmers call off 'Jatha' amid injuries, opposition slams govt's actions

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher had earlier accused the Punjab government of siding with the central government to suppress the protest

Farmers resume 'Dilli Chalo' march towards Delhi, stopped after few metres

A group of 101 farmers resumed their foot march to Delhi shortly after 12 noon on Sunday from the Shambhu protest site on the Punjab-Haryana border to press the Centre for various demands, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP). However, after walking for a few metres, they were stopped at the barricading by Haryana Police. Haryana Police asked the farmers to show them the requisite permission to take out the foot march. The Haryana Police had earlier asked the farmers not to proceed further and cited a prohibitory order clamped by the Ambala administration under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) that bans unlawful assembly of five or more people in the district. Protesting farmers had on Friday suspended their march to the national capital for the day after some of them suffered injuries due to tear gas shells fired by security personnel, who stopped them at the Punjab-Haryana border. The farmers have been pressing for various deman

Farmers resume 'Delhi Chalo' march, security tightened at Shambu border

SKMU's Ayyakannu mentioned that recommendations of MS Swaminathan report for farmers' welfare were not considered during Congress regime, and the same issue persists under BJP government

Modi govt will purchase all farm produce at MSP: Agri minister Shivraj

The Narendra Modi government will purchase all farm produce at minimum support price, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Rajya Sabha on Friday. He gave the assurance while answering supplementaries during Question Hour on the issue of MSP to farmers. The assertion came on a day when farmers are planning to embark on a foot march to Delhi with their demands. "I want to assure the house through you that all produce of farmers will be purchased at minimum support price. This is the Modi government and the guarantee to fulfil Modi's guarantee," Chouhan told the house. "When our friends from the other side were in power, they had stated on record that they cannot accept the M S Swaminathan Commission recommendations, especially on giving 50 per cent more than the cost of produce. I have the record," he said. He cited former MoS Agriculture Kantilal Bhuria, Agriculture Ministers Sharad Pawar, and K V Thomas to back his claim. After his remarks, Chairman Jagdeep ..

Self-help groups, farmers struggling to get loans : RBI Deputy Governor

MSMEs led by women underserved in borrowing system, says Swaminathan J in speech

Karnataka CM seeks more agricultural loans, meets FM for farmers' interests

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, urging her to intervene and increase the Short Term Agricultural Loans (SAO) limit for the fiscal 2024-25. In the meeting held at North block, the chief minister highlighted a sharp decline in the proposed loan allocation by NABARD, which has sanctioned only Rs 2,340 crore against the state's applied limit of Rs 9,162 crore, a 58 per cent reduction compared to the previous year's Rs 5,600 crore. Presenting a detailed representation, Siddaramaiah emphasised that Karnataka aims to disburse short-term agricultural loans worth Rs 25,000 crore to 35 lakh farmers in 2024-25. In 2023-24, the state has already disbursed Rs 22,902 crore through the cooperative credit structure. The state government said that the drastic reduction in the SAO loan limit could significantly impede agricultural cooperation and potentially disrupt food grain production. NABARD attributed the reduced allocation to a ..

Waqf row: K'taka govt warns officials issuing eviction notice to farmers

The Karnataka government has warned that disciplinary action will be taken against those officials who change the land mutation records and serve eviction notices to farmers under the Waqf Act. In a letter, the Revenue Department Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar Kataria reminded all regional commissioners and deputy commissioners in the districts that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently had a meeting following complaints about certain land properties being made in favour of the Karnataka Board of Waqfs. In the meeting it was decided that all the directions issued previously by any government office or authority to change the mutation records has been withdrawn, the letter said. It added that all the notices served in the past have also been withdrawn and no action should be taken against the farmers who are cultivating on the said land. On the directions of the chief minister, the previous letters and the latest reminders served on November 7 to the farmers and land owners have

Bayer, Mitsubishi, Shell, Temasek to generate carbon credits for farmers

Bayer and Mitsubishi are global leaders in the agriculture space while Shell is big in energy

Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh holds meeting with farmers' union

Discussion was aimed to address crucial issues that affect the farmer communities and analyse the challenges faced in agriculture sector

Insufficient unity of farmers movement led to Haryana election result: SKM

Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) said on Tuesday that a lack of network of workers and farmers movements across villages and insufficient unity among them failed to decisively unite people against the BJP in the Haryana polls. In a statement, the SKM, which led the farmers' protests of 2020, said there are lessons to be learnt from Haryana election results and work towards uniting farmers and workers to fight the "corporate loot and anti-farmer policies" of the BJP-led Union government. "Even though the majority of the people had voted against the anti-worker, anti-farmer BJP, the opposition political parties failed to displace it from governance due to disunity and internal conflicts among them," they said. "Insufficient unity of the kisan movement and lack of network of workers and farmers movements across the villages to decisively unite the people caused the failure to isolate and oust BJP," SKM said. Appealing for greater unity of the farmer organisations, the SKM said it will take

Corteva launches initiative to support 2 million women farmers by 2030

Global agriculture company Corteva Agriscience on Tuesday unveiled a programme aimed at empowering two million women farmers across India's agri-value chain by 2030. The initiative seeks to bolster the role of women as farmers, researchers, and entrepreneurs through targeted support and resources. Subroto Geed, President of Corteva Agriscience South Asia, emphasised on the critical role of women in agriculture, stating, "Women are the backbone of rural life and agriculture. We hope this focus will accelerate India's path to becoming a developed nation." The programme's key components include promoting climate-smart practices through women-only farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and cooperatives; capacity-building and mentorship for female STEM students; and prioritising health, wellness, and financial literacy for women farmers. At a roundtable discussion following the launch, Subha Thakur, Additional Secretary in the Union Agriculture Ministry, called for increased public-privat

Cabinet approves PM-AASHA scheme extension with Rs 35,000 cr outlay

Schemes under PM-AASHA aim to regulate price fluctuations to ensure fair prices for farmers. The Centre has also updated the policies under this scheme and added new components. Details here

Govt implements many farmer-friendly policies in first 100 days: Amit Shah

The government has implemented several farmer-friendly policies in its first 100 days of the third term with focus on improving agricultural productivity and exports, Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference on the completion of 100 days of the Modi 3.0 regime, Shah said the government has implemented policies worth Rs 15 lakh crore across 14 sectors. Listing works initiated for the welfare of the farmers, he also said the Modi government has launched the agriculture fund to support startups and rural enterprises, driving agricultural innovation. The minister said the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund has been expanded to enhance agricultural infrastructure and support to farmers, and Rs 14,200 crore has been allocated across seven schemes to improve farmers' lives and livelihoods. The minister highlighted key achievements in the farm sector, including the disbursement of Rs 20,000 crore to 9.3 crore farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman .

Kisan Mahapanchayat: Farmers not to support or oppose any party in polls

In the Kisan Mahapanchayat held at Uchana in Haryana's Jind district on Sunday, it was decided not to support or oppose any party in the elections, a farmer leader said. A large number of farmers from Haryana, Punjab and other states attended the Mahapanchayat held under the aegis of the Bharatiya Kisan Naujawan Union. Farmer leaders like Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Shravan Singh Pandher, and Abhimanyu Kohad participated in it. Providing information about the decision taken in the Mahapanchayat, Dallewal said, We (farmers movement) have nothing to do with the elections. Our aim is to strengthen the movement. We will neither help anyone nor oppose anyone in the elections. To strengthen our movement, we will make people aware of the failures of the government and the decisions taken against the farmers.' He said, 'The next Mahapanchayat will be held on September 22 in Pipli, Kurukshetra. The demands for which we are protesting are not only of Punjab, Haryana, but of the farmers of the whol

Govt to begin farmer registration for Aadhaar-style IDs from October

In a major push towards digitising the agriculture sector, the government will soon begin registration of farmers across the country to provide them with a unique ID similar to Aadhaar, Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi said on Monday. Chaturvedi, speaking to PTI on the sidelines of an Outlook Agri-Tech Summit and Swaraj Awards, said the guidelines for the registration process will be issued soon, with the implementation set to begin in the first week of October. "Our target is to register five crore farmers by March next year," the secretary said, noting that the initiative is part of the government's Rs 2,817-crore Digital Agriculture Mission approved by the Cabinet recently. A pilot project was earlier conducted in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and 19 states have already onboarded the project, he said. Once the farmers' registry is created, an "Aadhaar-like unique ID" will be provided to each registered farmer. Chaturvedi said the unique ID will help farmers access vario

Rahul slams BJP over Kangana's comment, says 'grave insult' to farmers

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the BJP over Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut's remarks on the farmers agitation, saying the "shameful anti-farmer" comments are a "grave insult" to the farmers of western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab as well as the entire country. Ranaut had posted a clip of her interview with Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar in which she suggested that a "Bangladesh-like situation" could have erupted in India but for the country's strong leadership. She then alleged that bodies were hanging and rapes were taking place during the farmers' protest against the now-repealed three farm laws. She alleged the involvement of China and the US in the "conspiracy". In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "The propaganda machinery of the Modi government, which has failed to fulfill the promises made to the farmers, is constantly engaged in insulting the farmers." The BJP MP calling the farmers, who sacrificed 700 of their own people during the 378-day ..

Govt launches satellite-based agricultural decision support system

The government on Friday launched a satellite-based agricultural decision support system to provide farmers with critical data for crop management and productivity enhancement. Minister of State for Agriculture Bhagirath Choudhary unveiled the Krishi-Decision Support System (Krishi-DSS), a geospatial platform that will offer real-time information on crop conditions, weather patterns, water resources, and soil health. "This platform is a new milestone for farmers amid growing climate challenges," Choudhary said at the launch event. Krishi-DSS, developed using technology similar to the government's Gati Shakti initiative, will utilize satellite imagery to deliver early warnings about potential disasters such as pest attacks and extreme weather events. The system will aid in crop mapping, monitoring, and promoting crop rotation and diversification. It will provide data on crop patterns across regions and track crop conditions throughout various growth stages. Agriculture Secretary De

PM Modi to release 'PM Kisan' 17th instalment on June 18: Check details

PM-Kisan is a direct benefit transfer initiative under which beneficiary farmers receive an annual sum of Rs 6,000 in three equal instalments.

Govt to procure tur, masur dal directly from farmers to bolster stocks

At the end of February, the central stock declined to approximately 1.97 million tonnes against the buffer norm of 3.1 mt. DoCA aims to procure 80% of buffer stock requirements