-The Hindu Centre to reward high-performing States States may soon start receiving extra funding for the Agriculture Ministry’s flagship schemes on the basis of their performance in encouraging agri-business, especially with regard to marketing, land and governance reforms. The Centre expects to roll out a new Ease of Doing Agri-Business Index early next year, which will rank the States on the basis of such reforms, as well as their investment in agriculture, increased...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Two museums in Mandya are saving native paddy grains from extinction -R Krishna Kumar
-The Hindu A farmer’s house in the nondescript Kirugavalu village is the country’s largest private rice museum A serpentine road from Mysuru cuts through lush green fields and leads to an obscure village dotted with run-down houses and petty shops with thatched roofs. Sidestepping a passing herd of sheep, I enter a narrow lane and reach a 75-year-old house with a row of pillars. It is this house, in the nondescript Kirugavalu village in...
More »Mechanical solutions -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express Forcing machinery on farmers without giving a thought to the economics of their utilisation can prove counter-productive. There are three main impediments to farm mechanisation in India. The first is cost, which, for a standard 50-horsepower tractor, today averages around Rs 6.5-6.8 lakh. But a tractor is just a source of power and traction, and only as good as the farm implements it can pull. The most basic tractor-drawn tiller/cultivator...
More »Subsidies may be a hidden culprit in India's farm crisis -Zia Haq
-Hindustan Times Every Rs 10 lakh invested in farm research pulled 328 people out of poverty; 26 people were helped by the same amount spent on subsidies. New Delhi: Are Indian farmers paying a price for sweeping agricultural input subsidies they enjoyed for decades and which they have taken for granted, from virtually free power to extremely low-priced fertilisers? Data from a landmark new research seem to suggest so. The research, by economist...
More »Modi's farm irrigation scheme: Are big funds serving the purpose? Data tells a sad story
-Financial ExpressWhen Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched PMKSY in July 2015 and set the target to complete the 99 projects by December 2019, the total cost was estimated at Rs 77,595 crore, including Rs 29,000 crore for command area development. While the ministry of water resources says 33 irrigation projects among the 99 implemented on a priority basis under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) are ?complete? citing reports...
More »