-TheWire.in The government cannot procure the entire production of millets in the country and the only way to ensure profitability for millet farmers is to promote domestic consumption. On October 3, the government announced the minimum support prices (MSP) for Rabi crops that will be sown between October and December. While the MSP for wheat has been raised by 6.1%, that of safflower has seen an increase of 20.6%, the highest. These...
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Wheat price up but 'not enough'
-The Telegraph The 6.1 per cent hike in the MSP is expected to disburse a cumulative additional income of Rs 62,635 crore. New Delhi: The Centre has increased the minimum support price for wheat, the main rabi crop, by Rs 105 to Rs 1,840 per quintal (100kg), a day after police clashed with farmers demanding a higher support price and loan waivers. The 6.1 per cent hike in the MSP is expected to...
More »In UP's sugar bowl, harvest is rich but not sweet -V Kumara Swamy
-The Telegraph With an overload of cane price arrears, V Kumara Swamy warns of a looming crisis for farmers Until a few years ago, you could tell the seasons in western Uttar Pradesh when you drove down its highways just by looking at the standing crops. In winter, one would see an unending landscape of swaying wheat and mustard, during summer it would be all sugarcane and paddy. These days, almost through the...
More »Culture has helped millets survive -Deepanwita Gita Niyogi
-Down to Earth Throughout ages, many rituals have been associated with millet cultivation and women are to be thanked for this As millets make a comeback to our fields and plates, the formal launch of an extensive campaign beginning from Pune to promote these nutri cereals assumes great significance. According to B Dayakar Rao, principal scientist at the Indian Institute of Millets Research, "The Pune event is basically an extension of the National Millet...
More »Punjab labour shortage: Rising scarcity of farm workers pushes up production cost, inclination towards machine farming -Arjun Sharma
-Firstpost.com Ludhiana: Free meals, payment in advance, free liquor to ease aching limbs after a hard day’s work. Migrant labour in Punjab, mainly from Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, the mainstay of the state’s agriculture sector, has never had it so good. The problem, however, is the decreasing availability of this labour. Ask Baljinder Singh, a farmer with a 10-acre holding in Dakha village. Come sowing season in mid-June, Baljinder...
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