Page 3 - Paddy

Stubble burning: Delhi govt launches drive to spray bio-decomposer

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday launched a drive for spraying bio-decomposer in paddy fields in the capital to prevent stubble burning. Since 2020, the Delhi government has been using Pusa bio-decomposer, a microbial solution that decomposes paddy residue in 15-20 days, to prevent stubble burning in the capital. Farm fires are a major reason behind a spike in air pollution in Delhi-NCR in October-November. The government sprayed the bio-decomposer over 4,400 acres of paddy fields last year, Rai said, adding that 5,000 acres of land will be covered this season. The minister said stubble burning is rampant in Punjab, but he hoped that the number of farm fires would come down due to the steps taken by the AAP government in the agrarian state. According to the Union environment ministry, the maximum share of farm fires in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution stood at 34 per cent on November 3 last year and 48 per cent on November 7, 2021.

PUSA 44 paddy variety to be banned from next Kharif season: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said the state government has decided to ban sowing of water-guzzling PUSA-44 variety of paddy crop from the next Kharif season. After formally kick-starting the paddy procurement operations in the state from here, Mann also urged farmers to stop the practice of stubble burning. He directed the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department to ensure smooth and hassle-free procurement during the current Kharif Marketing Season beginning on October 1. "We are committed to procuring every single grain of farmers," Mann said while interacting with a group of farmers. The chief minister urged farmers to stop the cultivation of PUSA 44 variety of paddy crop as it takes more time to ripen, besides generating more crop residue. He said this season, farmers were asked not to sow the PUSA 44 variety but many growers sowed it. From the next season, PUSA 44 variety will be banned in Punjab, Mann said. It takes 152 days for ripening as ag

Paddy acreage rises by 3% to 411.52 lakh hectares, pulses area down 5%

Area under paddy has gone up nearly 3 per cent so far in the ongoing kharif sowing season to 411.52 lakh hectare, while pulses acreage declined 5 per cent, according to the agriculture ministry data. Paddy acreage stood at 400.72 lakh hectare (LH) in the same period last year. As per the data released on Friday, area under pulses declined 5 per cent to 122.57 LH from 128.49 LH in the year-ago period. Acreage of coarse cereals increased marginally to 186.07 LH from 183.73 LH. Oilseeds sowing was down at 192.91 LH as against 196.08 LH. Groundnut area dipped to 43.89 LH from 45.51 LH while the acreage of soyabean rose to 125.59 LH from 124.77 LH. The agriculture ministry data showed that area under cotton decreased to 123.42 LH from 127.57 LH. However, sugarcane area was higher at 59.91 LH as against 55.66 LH in the year-ago period. The total acreage under the ongoing kharif (summer sown) season increased to 1,102.99 LH from 1,099.23 LH. Harvesting of kharif crops generally starts

Wheat farmers lost Rs 40,000 crore due to govt policy: Icrier report

The report says that judicious use of trade policy is needed to tame inflation at home without hurting farmer earnings

Paddy area up 2.71% so far in kharif season, pulse acreage down slightly

Area sown to paddy rose 2.71 per cent to 409.41 lakh hectare so far in the current kharif season, while sowing is underway in a few places, according to agriculture ministry data released on Friday. Paddy-sowing area was 398.58 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. In the kharif season of the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), sowing begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June and harvesting from October. According to the data, area coverage of paddy, coarse cereals, and sugarcane remained higher as so far this kharif season from the year-ago period. Acreage of pulses, oilseeds, jute and mesta and cotton lagged behind, it showed. Coarse cereals acreage rose marginally to 183.11 lakh hectare as on September 15 as against 181.48 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. However, area sown to pulses remained lower at 121 lakh hectare so far this season, as against 127.57 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Area under oilseeds, too, remained marginally lower at 192.20 lakh hectare

Paddy acreage up nearly 4% this kharif season; pulses acreage down 8%

Area under coverage for paddy has gone up about 4 per cent so far in the ongoing kharif sowing season to 398.08 lakh hectares, while pulses acreage declined 8 per cent, according to agriculture ministry data. Paddy acreage stood at 383.79 lakh hectares (LH) in the same period last year. The area under coverage for paddy has increased in Bihar by 5 lakh hectares, Chhattisgarh (4.66 LH), Jharkhand (1.82 LH), West Bengal (1.56 LH), Madhya Pradesh (1.48 LH), Haryana (1.29 LH), Uttar Pradesh (1.21 LH), Telangana (33,000 hectares) and Punjab (31,000 hectares). Paddy acreage has declined in Karnataka by 1.67 LH and Andhra Pradesh by 1.21 LH. As per data released on Friday, the area under coverage for pulses has declined by 8 per cent to 119.09 LH from 130.13 LH in the year-ago period. The acreage of coarse cereals has increased marginally to 181.06 LH from 179.13 LH a year ago. Oilseeds sowing is also down slightly to 190.11 LH so far as against 191.91 LH. Groundnut area has dipped to

BJP MP accuses Telangana CM of planning massive paddy auction scam

He further claimed that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of maladministration and alleged him of looting the money meant for development work to increase his wealth

Area under paddy up 4.4%, pulses down 8.3% this kharif season: Govt

Area under paddy crop increased by 4.4 per cent to 384.05 lakh hectares so far in the ongoing kharif season despite a lag in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, according to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture on Friday. However, pulse acreage was down 8.30 per cent at 117.44 lakh hectares as on August 25 as against 128.07 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Tur, urad and moong acreage, too, remained lower. Kharif (summer) sowing begins with the onset of the southwest monsoon in June, while harvesting starts in October. Paddy is the main kharif crop as more than 80 per cent of the total rice production is grown during this season. "We are quite comfortable in paddy area coverage. Sowing is still underway and the window is till September 15," Agriculture Commissioner P K Singh told PTI. Paddy acreage has increased to 384.05 lakh hectares as of August 25 in the ongoing kharif season as against 367.83 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Maximum increase in paddy coverage was

Paddy sowing rises 4.3% in ongoing kharif season, shows govt data

The area under coverage for paddy has increased 4.33 per cent to 360.79 lakh hectares across the country in the ongoing kharif season as the lag in sowing narrowed in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, and Karnataka, according to official data released on Friday. Paddy, the main kharif crop, was sown in 345.79 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. About 80 per cent of the country's rice is grown during the kharif season, which is generally from June to September. As per the data from the agriculture ministry for the ongoing kharif season till August 18, paddy was sown in 24.80 lakh hectares in Odisha, 0.43 lakh hectares less that the year-ago period. Similarly, it was sown in 16.61 lakh hectares in Assam, down by 0.61 lakh hectares from the year-ago period. Paddy-sowing areas in Andhra Pradesh were at 8.29 lakh hectares till August 18, down by 1.53 lakh hectares from the same period of the previous year. However, pulse sowing was lagging behind as coverage was at 114.92 lakh hectares

Nepal requests India to supply rice, sugar to avert possible food scarcity

The Nepal government has requested India to facilitate the supply of paddy, rice and sugar, a senior official said here on Wednesday, as a precautionary measure to mitigate any possible food scarcity in the upcoming festive season. The request was made through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Indian authorities last week, Commerce and Supplies Ministry Joint Secretary Ram Chandra Tiwari said. "Nepal has requested India to provide one million tonnes of paddy, 100,000 tonnes of rice, and 50,000 tonnes of sugar," he said. Though there is no immediate shortage of rice and sugar in the market, there are rumours about its possible scarcity following India's decision to ban the export of non-basmati white rice to the international market. So as a precautionary measure, the Nepal government has asked India to supply these food items, Tiwari said. There are also concerns that traders might resort to hoarding these goods, potentially driving up prices as the festive season approaches,

Paddy acreage up 3.4% from last year, 28.30 mn hectares brought under crop

An improvement in acreage, coupled with higher stocks than the buffer norm, should help in soothing some of the concerns about rice this year

Centre aims zero stubble burning in current season: Agriculture Minister

The Centre aims to work towards achieving zero paddy stubble burning incidents in the current season, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday. To achieve this, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi governments presented their action plan and strategies for preventing paddy stubble burning at an inter-ministerial meeting on Thursday. Stubble burning is a process of setting on fire the straw stubble, left after the harvesting of paddy. It is a common practice in October and November primarily in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. "The aim in the current season is to work towards achieving zero stubble burning," Tomar said. The Centre is providing sufficient funds under Crop Residue Management (CRM)scheme to the four states and they must ensure proper utilization by providing machine to farmers in a timely manner, he said in a statement. There is a need for proper monitoring at the state level to ensure proper utilization of the machines and the use of ...

India's rice stocks at three times target, easing supply concerns

Coupled with the new season crop that is due to start trickling into the market by October, the surplus will raise market hopes of New Delhi relaxing a recent export ban

Paddy sowing undertaken in 60% of kharif season's average area so far

Paddy sowing increased marginally to 23.75 million hectare so far in the ongoing kharif season and has covered around 60 per cent of the season's average acreage under this major crop. Paddy, a major kharif crop, is cultivated in an average area of 40 million hectare during the kharif season. More than 80 per cent of the country's total rice production is grown during the kharif season. According to the latest data released by the agriculture ministry, paddy sowing remained slightly higher at 23.75 million hectare till July 28 of the ongoing kharif season compared to 23.32 million hectare in the year-ago period. However, the area under paddy coverage was lagging in dozen-odd states with huge gaps in sowing areas in Odisha, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh so far. For instance in Odisha, paddy was sown in 8.71 lakh hectares till July 28 of the kharif season against 12.70 lakh hectare in the year-ago period, the data showed. On the other side, paddy sowing in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Prade

Paddy sowing up 3% to 18 mn hectares in kharif season; pulses area down 10%

Area under coverage for paddy is up 3 per cent to 180.2 lakh hectares till July 21 in the ongoing kharif (summer-sown) season, while the acreage of pulses is down 10 per cent to 85.85 lakh hectares, according to agriculture ministry data. The paddy acreage stood at 175.47 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year. Pulses area was 95.22 lakh hectares in the same period last year. Paddy is the main kharif crop, sowing of which normally starts with the onset of southwest monsoon. About 80 per cent of the country's total rice production comes from the kharif season. As per the data, the acreage of Shri Anna-cum-coarse cereals has risen to 134.91 lakh hectares till July 21, as against 128.75 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year. In non-foodgrains category, area under oilseeds has increased to 160.41 lakh hectares, from 155.29 lakh hectares in the same period last year. Groundnut sowing area has improved slightly to 34.94 lakh hectares from 34.56 lakh hectares.

Paddy price falls following mandi tax exemption by Chhattisgarh govt

In the last kharif marketing season, the government procured 10.7 million tonnes of paddy from the farmers

Farmers hopeful of better paddy cultivation on good monsoon rains

The paddy cultivation has started gaining momentum over the past week across the Jammu division with farmers expressing satisfaction over the good amount of rainfall under the influence of Monsoon winds and western disturbance over the region. The farmers are hopeful for better yield this year compared to the previous years. The cultivation of paddy, especially the world-famous Basmati rice, serves as the sole source of income to a majority of farmers in R S Pura, Marh and parts of Samba and Kathua districts in Jammu region. "Paddy and maize are main crops of the Jammu region which are dependent on rain waterWe had good pre-monsoon rains. The Monsoon has also set on time which is good, Joint Director, Agriculture Department, A S Reen told PTI. He said the sowing of maize that is mostly cultivated in the rain-fed hilly areas was completed sometime back and the frequent rains over the past week are a blessing for the crop. The rice cultivation in Jammu plains and some parts of hilly

Chhattisgarh's paddy acreage falls nearly 8% in 2023 kharif season

The sowing of kharif crops in the state started last week but erratic rainfall played truant. Chhattisgarh is among the top 10 rice-producing states in the country

Govt revises crop residue management guidelines

The government on Saturday said it has revised the crop residue management guidelines, thus enabling efficient ex-situ management of paddy straw generated in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. As per the revised guidelines, techno-commercial pilot projects for paddy straw supply chain will be established under the bilateral agreement between the beneficiary/aggregator and industries utilising the paddy straw, the agriculture ministry said in a statement. The beneficiary or aggregator can be farmers, rural entrepreneurs, cooperative societies of farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), and panchayats, it said. According to the ministry, the move will supplement the efforts of paddy straw management through in-situ options. During the three-year tenure of the interventions, 1.5 million tonne of surplus paddy straw are expected to be collected which would otherwise have been burnt in fields. About 333 biomass collection depots of capacity 4,500 tonne will be built in Pun

Area under paddy down 26% to 26.55 lakh hectare so far this kharif season

Area under paddy is down 26 per cent to 26.55 lakh hectare so far in the ongoing kharif (summer-sown) season amid slow progress of the southwest monsoon. The paddy acreage stood at 36.05 lakh hectare in the corresponding period last year, according to the agriculture ministry data. Paddy is the main kharif crop, sowing of which normally starts with the onset of southwest monsoon. About 80 per cent of the country's total rice production comes from kharif season. Area under pulses is marginally less at 18.15 lakh hectare so far from 18.51 lakh hectare in the same period last year, the ministry said in a statement. Shri Anna-cum-coarse cereals acreage has risen at 36.23 lakh hectare so far as against 22.41 lakh hectare in the corresponding period last year. Area under oilseeds has increased at 21.55 lakh hectare from 18.81 lakh hectare.Cotton acreage is down at 40.49 lakh hectare so far from 47.04 lakh hectare last year. Area under sugarcane stood at 54.40 lakh hectare as against 52.