Parthasarathi Biswas

The worst-hit areas are Nashik and Marathwada divisions, where the major reservoirs have not filled up to their capacity this monsoon.

Higher prices this year little consolation as poor monsoon hits yields

On Wednesday, the central government had declared a hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of rabi crops, meant to placate farmers who have been receiving lower returns on agricultural produce.

Almost 14 months since the enactment of the scheme, the credit crisis in the farm sector shows no sign of abetting as crop loan disbursal by the banks remain abysmally low.

Cane dues has become a major issue with the sector as sugar mills have failed to pay the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for the current season

The laboratory will work towards propagation of indigenous breed of cattle, using in-vitro propagation of embryo production.

Now, farms with more than 5,000 poultry birds or with capacity of hatching 500 eggs per cycle will require compulsory registration.

About 190 sugar mills are expected to take season this year, Minister for Cooperation Subhash Deshmukh told The Indian Express.

The Cabinet cited the measure as one of the government’s initiatives towards doubling farmers’ incomes. However, it remains to be seen how these schemes end up being implemented on the ground.

The students are planning to file a police complaint against the contractor and others.

Soybean, tur and cotton are some of the crops that the farmers fear will be hit if it does not rain in the next few days.

The Centre has no time to lose to address an unprecedented sugar glut ahead of the next crushing season — in an election year.

Traders in Maharashtra have been protesting against the state cabinet’s decision to make purchases below MSP punishable with a year’s jail sentence and a fine of Rs 50,000.

For the last few days, wholesale markets in Maharashtra have wore a deserted look as traders have kept away. Traders are protesting against the state Cabinet’s decision to penalise below-MSP trade with a year in jail as well as a hefty fine of Rs 50,000.

While wholesale markets are supposed to grade commodities right at the market gates, not a single market committee in the state has such a facility.

As regards “notified areas”, the officials said that these would basically refer to those watersheds — Maharashtra has 1,531 of them — that are categorised as over-exploited or critical, where the rates of groundwater extraction exceed annual recharge level.

The Maharashtra government has decided to penalise trade below the government-mandated Minimum Support Price (MSP) by introducing amendments in the Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 1963.

While the above amendment amounts to a significant reform, what may not be so, however, is the decision to make purchase of a farm commodity below the government’s MSP a punishable offence.

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