Want to know what is going on in the agricultural sector of India? Here’s a round-up of the top 10 news.

 1. India’s Sugar Exports Accelerate On Global Price Rally

Indian sugar mills signed contracts to export 550,000 tonnes of sweetener in recent days, as surging global prices and a weak rupee made overseas sales lucrative. Higher exports will also help India reduce its stockpile and support the local prices of the sweetener, crucial in ensuring millions of cane farmers get government-mandated prices. India is likely to produce a record 33.3 million tonnes of sugar in 2021/22, nearly 7% more than a year ago. Read more here.

2. New Schemes To Promote Natural Farming

The Agriculture Ministry is ready with a new central scheme to promote natural farming in the country, with an estimated outlay of ₹2,500 crores. The new scheme has been designed months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the need to keep looking at alternatives for existing fertiliser and pesticide-based farming while addressing a national conclave on natural farming in Gujarat in December last year. Modi had also said natural farming offers much better products with no side effects. Read more here.

3. LULU Group Of Hypermarket To Start Sourcing Ginger From Assam

Agriculture and horticulture from across Assam displayed a wide range of their products to importers from Sri Lanka, Dubai, Bangladesh, Oman, Netherlands, Singapore and Greece. Zulfikar, Director, LULU group of Hypermarket, declared that due to the positive approach of Assam Government and APEDA, they have decided to start trials of sourcing ginger from Assam. The group declared that they will be starting trials with 150 million tonnes of ginger sourced from Assam. Read more here.

4. Government Working On Fast-Tracking Drone Adoption In Farm Sector

Three concerned departments of the government are working jointly to fast-track drone adoption in the farm sector, according to a senior official of the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage (DPPQS), Ravi Prakash. The Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIB&RC), under the DPPQS has received applications from eight crop protection companies seeking permission for conducting trials of drones. Discussing the issue virtually, he said drones are affordable for farmers and help with superior produce. Read more here.

5. Andhra Pradesh To Expand Electronic Marketing Of Agriculture

Riding on the success of the pilot project implemented in four districts, the state government has decided to expand the electronic marketing of agricultural produce to other districts. The pilot project was implemented in Chittoor, Kurnool, Ananthapuram, and Kadapa districts where 6 crores worth of transactions were handled in the last few months. The moves aim at providing more options to the farmers to market their produce and help them gain more profits. The state government will also certify the quality of produce before displaying the stocks on a mobile app or web portals. Read more here.

6. MP Dal Mills Want Cut In Mandi Tax On Pulses Imported From Other States

Dal millers in Madhya Pradesh have petitioned the state government to lower the tax on pulses imported from other states, claiming that increased mandi taxes are causing businesses to flee to neighbouring states. Madhya Pradesh’s mandi tax is 1.7%, about double that of Maharashtra’s (0.8%) and more than three times that of Gujarat (0.5%). When the pandemic hit in 2020, the state government imposed a 1.7% mandi tax, according to Suresh Agarwal, President of the Indore-based All India Dal Mills Association. Read more here.

7. FMC Launches New Insecticide For Tomato, Okra

FMC India, an agricultural sciences business, has introduced Corprima, a new pesticide. Corprima will provide tomato and okra farmers across the country with exceptional crop protection against fruit borers, one of the biggest pain points for Indian farmers, powered by FMC’s world-leading Rynaxypyr insect control technology. Corprima, a novel insecticide, has been shown to provide farmers with higher returns on investment by providing longer-lasting pest control and improved flower and fruit retention, resulting in larger, higher-quality harvests. Read more here.

8. Organic Cotton Production On The Rise, Led By M.P. And Odisha

India’s cotton production of over 360 lakh bales accounts for around 25% of the global output of the fiber. The production of organic cotton in India is 1.23 million tonnes, which constitutes 51% of global organic cotton production of 2.40 million tonnes. The other organic cotton-producing countries are China, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Tanzania, USA, Uganda, Greece, Benin, Peru, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Brazil, Mali, and Argentina. However, organic cotton production is limited to a few states owing to the high production cost, lower demand, and farmers turning to illegal genetically modified seeds. Read more here.

9. Co-Branded Credit Card Launched Exclusively For Farmers

BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (BoB) together with CreditAI Fintech Pvt Ltd (CAI), a Singapore & Bengaluru based farmer digitization and credit scoring company have launched Unnati – a co-branded credit card exclusively for farmers. The card has been launched as a contactless offering on the Visa network. The Unnati Credit Card will empower Farmers to avail agricultural inputs at any time during the cultivation process. Read more here.

10. ChargeERP Launched An Independent Seller Bill Feature

ChargeERP, the easiest, fastest, and most secure mandi accounting software from Bijak has introduced an independent ‘Seller Bill’ tab to address the on-ground needs of commission agents. Along with this, they are offering ‘Bill Sundry’ and ‘Sales Expenses’ customization features which will be available in the ‘Settings’ section of this mandi accounting software. Commission agents will now be able to customize expenses and other charges, charged to Suppliers and Customers.

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