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

1. Bengal: Women Farmers Start Revolution With Organic Rice

Two female farmers of Bengal – Panchabati Baske and Nirmala Mahato have started a new farming trend in their area. Both of them have started growing indigenous varieties of organic rice. They are not using any chemical fertilizers for their crops. Now, other women in their areas have followed suit. To date, 55 women from Damodarpur village and 21 women from Murakathi village have started organic rice farming. They are growing varieties such as Kalabhat (black rice), Mallifullo (brown rice), Kerala Sundari, and Red Rice. Read more here.

2. Big Profits Attract J&K Farmers To Grow Lavender

Lavender or ‘Purple Gold’ is reaching new heights in the market. It’s giving big profits to the farmers too. The state government has not started many schemes to boost lavender cultivation. According to official statistics, around 5000 agriculture entrepreneurs are now cultivating lavender on 200 acres of land. Not only this, but lavender cultivation has also increased the income of farmers by four to five times. These farmers were earlier growing maize, rice, and millet but they are now rapidly switching to lavender. Read more here.

3. Maharashtra: Govt To Release Comprehensive Policy For Farmers

Maharashtra government announced that they will release a comprehensive policy to boost agriculture in the state. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde assured that the government is implementing programs to increase agricultural production, crop diversification, the strength of agricultural universities, and research and development. The policy will also address the issue of farmer suicides. According to experts, state farmers are facing major issues regarding yield, price, credit, income, and weather. Read more here.

4. Punjab: Govt To Provide Wheat Seeds To Farmers At Affordable Rates

Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the government will soon provide quality wheat seeds and fertilizers at reasonable rates to farmers. He assured that the market won’t sell a single duplicate seed going further. He said that the government is making policies to avail seeds to farmers through government agencies such as Punseed, National Seed Corporation, etc. Farmers will soon get seeds only from authorized dealers. There will be no delay in seed supply and they will also have a subsidy on it. Read more here.

5. Leh: Micro Irrigation Helps Revive Farming In Abandoned Village

Climate change is a big challenge in the agriculture scenario of Leh district. However, the agriculture department has sought a way out of it. With the application of micro irrigation technologies, agricultural activities have been restored in Kulum village. Due to the 2010 cloudburst and flash floods, the water sources of this village witnessed washout. Now, with this new irrigation system, new water sources have being created in their place. During 2021-22 a large-scale micro irrigation program was started in the Leh district. Read more here.

6. Farmers To Get Single Brand Fertilizers

Center has implemented the ‘One Nation One Fertilizer’ plan. They have directed all the fertilizer companies to sell all their products under a single brand name, ‘Bharat’. This policy will be applied to all public or private sector manufacturers. The manufacturers will not have to print the logo of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janurvarak Pariyojana (PMBJP) on all their product bags. This new system will take effect from October 2, 2022. Read more here.

7. Mysterious ‘Dwarfing’ Disease Creates Problems For Rice Crop

A new and mysterious dwarfing disease has started affecting Punjab and Haryana’s rice cultivation. Agricultural scientists are still clueless about this new disease. Due to this, planted crops are not growing after some days. Up to 40% to 70% of crops of some farmers have been affected by this. Apart from Punjab and Haryana, states such as Uttrakhand and UP have also reported similar issues. Officials from Punjab Agriculture Department have asked farmers to spray zinc and urea on their fields in an attempt to stop the disease. Read more here.

8. Rain and Pests Forces India To Import Cotton

India is the top cotton-producing country in the world. However, due to heavy rains and pests, it’s now suffering a decline in cotton production. Due to this, cotton prices have increased by 30%. To deal with the shortage, India is now importing cotton from other countries. This climate change effect has been seen in other countries too. China has already raised concerns about its production, US farms have been affected by drought and Brazil is dealing with extreme heat and drought. Read more here.

9. PAU Develops High Heat Tolerant Wheat Variety

To avoid any more wheat loss due to high temperature, the Punjab Agricultural University has developed a new heat-tolerant wheat variety, namely PBW 826. According to the officials, this variety has better heat tolerance in comparison to the existing varieties. After four years of trials, the PBW 826 has shown 31% and 17% more yield than the existing HD 3086 and HD 2967. This new variety takes 148 days to mature. Currently, the crops take 150 days to mature. Read more here.

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