Harish Damodaran
Articles By Harish Damodaran
Agra: Not a dearth of cold storage, the real cause of farm distress
UP — Agra — now has an estimated 280 cold stores for potatoes. Given an average capacity of 10,000 tonnes, these sheet bhandar, as they are called, can handle roughly 28 lakh tonnes (lt) of produce.
In Agra shoe bazaar, lingering pinch of GST, note ban
"They successfully portrayed us as tax evaders and were themselves well-prepared to handle the new system. The Narendra Modi government has forced the cyclewallah, who cannot afford to employ chartered accountants, to compete with the carwallah," says Sharvan Singh.
Potato, three years of losses to count in 4 out of 8 seats voting next in Uttar Pradesh
Potato is a major crop in Agra, grown in 57,879 hectares of the district (2017-18 data) that includes both Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. The tuber is also extensively cultivated in Hathras (46,333 hectares) and Aligarh (23,332).
Farm mechanisation: When the field is level
Custom hiring has made it possible for small landholders to avail benefits of precision agriculture.
Low down the social ladder, and small in numbers, why they still matter in Uttar Pradesh
Kurdi Nangal has an estimated 9,000 voters, including Jats (6,000), Kashyaps (700), Jatavs (600), Brahmins (300), Prajapati (150) and Jogi (150).
Sanjeev Balyan interview: ‘Clearing cane dues requires more krantikari kadam’
Sanjeev Balyan, BJP MP from Muzaffarnagar and ex-Union Minister of State in an interview to The Indian Express
Bitter harvest: Ganna and Gai
For western UP’s Jat farmers, sugarcane payments and stray cattle are the only poll issues this time
The Big Picture: A rural meltdown
Given that the average yearly increase in the consumer price index (CPI) for rural India has been 5 per cent during this period, it means crop prices have actually fallen in real terms for farmers, who mostly sell their produce wholesale and buy everything retail.
Challenge for UP govt: Cane dues cross Rs 10,000 crore, half from first phase poll seats
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had swept all the eight constituencies. In the 2017 state polls too, it won as many as 24 of the 30 Assembly segments in the six constituencies, besides 9 of the 10 in Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar.
White gold: How a revolution was reversed
Bt cotton helped India become the world’s No. 2 producer and No. 2 exporter of the fibre. But those gains are now under threat
PoS-linked fertiliser subsidy 80% successful
Under the system of post-sale subsidy disbursal — as opposed to companies being paid on their fertiliser material reaching an approved district railhead point or godown — every transaction, along with the farmer’s details, is to be captured on a PoS machine linked to a central server.
Returns from research: One cane variety lifts a state’s sugar industry
For the first time, Uttar Pradesh is set to surpass Maharashtra in both production and sugar recovery this season.
Swaraj is the kisan’s birthright and he should have it
Agrarian crisis is an opportunity, for the government that assumes office after elections, to enact a law giving farmers the right to sell any quantity of their produce to anybody, anywhere and at any time.
Rural distress deepens: Wage growth dips, non-farm jobs hit
The last five years, in other words, have seen a slowdown in rural wages even after adjusting for inflation, which has been far lower than during the UPA regime.
Wheat that can beat the heat
A new high-yielding variety suitable for sowing in mid-October with zero tillage may be the answer to temperature surges in March.
Sharad Pawar to PM Modi: 63 out of 103 ICAR institutes without regular directors
Currently, out of ICAR’s 103 research institutes, “nearly 63 are without a regular director for the last 2-4 years,” the Nationalist Congress Party chief has written in a recent letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Farm income growth slumps to a 14-year-low in Oct-December 2018
Since for the farmer, it is not mere output but income (output multiplied by price) that matters, growth in nominal agricultural GVA being at low single-digits isn’t good news. Nor would it be so for any ruling party ahead of elections.
Cane dues in Uttar Pradesh may cross Rs 10,000 crore
The only way to prevent a further piling-up of cane arrears would be via improved sugar realisations, according to a miller.
MSP politics: The Price of Rice
The Congress government’s paddy populism in Chhattisgarh could hit a hurdle in New Delhi.
Grain populism: As polls near, states embark on aggressive paddy procurement
Chhattisgarh, Bengal and UP emerge frontrunners in extending MSP-plus support to farmers
