-Financial Express For this, there is a need to have scientific research and adequate data to establish a case. The Cabinet approved the first Agriculture Export Policy in December 2018, with the aim to double farmers’ incomes and increase agricultural exports to $60 billion by 2022. The policy also focuses on a stable trade regime, diversify exports by products and destinations, and promote perishables and high value-added products. In fact, a sum...

-Financial Express With elections approaching, every party is swearing by farmers and trying to woo them for their votes. The Modi government has already announced a package of Rs 75,000 crore for about 12.6 crore small and marginal farmers. While in absolute terms it looks sizeable, when it is divided by the number of farm families to be covered, it is miniscule—just `6,000 per family per year, which is about 6%...

-The Indian Express Demonetisation, coupled with daily limits on cash transactions and fear of being tracked by revenue authorities post the Goods and Services Tax regime, have made traders less inclined to purchasing and stocking up produce during the harvest season. The defining feature of Indian agriculture in the last five years — much of it under the Narendra Modi government’s tenure — has been low prices for farm produce. The accompanying...

-PTI The Commerce Ministry is planning a series of workshops in states including Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to implement its export policy for agricultural goods with a view to boost overall shipments, an official said. The Ministry has suggested states to set up a nodal agency dedicated for the implementation of the agriculture export policy. Workshops would help identify bottlenecks, get feedback and suggestions to improve and overcome difficulties in the...

-News18.com Acclaimed journalist and Founder-Editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India, P Sainath attributes the existential crisis confronting India’s agrarian society to macro-economic policies set in motion 25 years ago. Talking to Anuradha SenGupta, Sainath makes a case for state intervention in agriculture and says the Modi government, with its shifting positions and policies like demonetisation has only aggravated the assault on agrarian livelihoods. Dismissing the buzz about imminent new initiatives...