-The Indian Express The new year could witness the first national elections being fought on farmers’ issues. And it could test both the ruling BJP pushed to the defensive, particularly in the larger sugar-producing states, and the Congress under pressure to deliver loan waivers If 2017 saw the beginnings of agrarian unrest in large swathes of the country, 2018 brought it centrestage as the numero uno political issue. And almost everyone’s...
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Lower soil moisture slows down pace of rabi crop cultivation
-The Hindu Business Line Wheat sowing only major aberration New Delhi: The threat of lower soil moisture levels and delays in kharif harvests across States seem to be having an adverse impact on rabi sowing. Most crops barring one or two saw lower acreage under planting till the end of the week, according to data released by the Agriculture Ministry on Friday. During the current rabi season, farmers have planted only around 85...
More »Centre hikes import duty on crude, refined soft edible oils
-The Hindu Business Line Palm oil imports slow down in May Bengaluru/ Ahmedabad: The Centre has increased the import duty on crude and refined soft edible oils such as soy oil, sunflower oil and rapeseed on Thursday. Duty on crude soft edible oils has been hiked to 35 per cent and on and soft oils to 45 per cent. Earlier, crude soy oil attracted an import duty of 30 per cent, and sunflower...
More »Why MSP at cost plus 50% is no big deal -Rajalakshmi Nirmal
-The Hindu Business Line The MSP for many crops is already 1.5 times cost; and procurement is either absent or very minimal except for paddy and wheat There has been much speculation on the Budget promise to farmers of 50 per cent return on cost of production. But this may not help farmers much, as many crops already enjoy 50 per cent profit at minimum support price (MSP), according to the price...
More »From plate to plough: The MSP smokescreen -Ashok Gulati & Ranjana Roy
-The Indian Express Government’s claim that it has given support prices that are 50 per cent over input costs to farmers is a sleight of hand. Tall talk could increase farmer resentment The finance minister (FM) has made a smart move by announcing in the Union budget speech that the government has already fulfilled its election promise of giving minimum support prices (MSPs) of at least 50 per cent higher than their...
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