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Finance

The record performance assumes great significance as production activities remained suspended for more than three months during the nationwide lockdown

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has recorded its highest-ever turnover amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In the year 2020-21, KVIC registered a gross annual turnover of Rs 95,741.74 crores, as compared to Rs 88,887 crores turnover in 2019-20, thus, registering an increase of 7.71 per cent.

KVIC’s record performance in 2020-21 assumes great significance as production activities remained suspended for more than three months during the nationwide lockdown announced on March 25 last year. During this period, all Khadi production units and sales outlets too remained closed that severely affected the production and sales. The innovative marketing ideas of Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Nitin Gadkari further diversified KVIC’s product range, scaled up to local production and paved the way for Khadi’s successive growth.

Compared to the year 2015-16, the overall production in Khadi and Village Industry sectors in 2020-21 has registered a whopping growth of 101 per cent while the gross sales during this period increased by 128.66 per cent.

A host of initiatives like the launch of Khadi e-portal, Khadi masks, Khadi footwear, Khadi Prakritik Paint, Khadi hand sanitisers, etc., setting up of a record number of new PMEGP units, new SFURTI clusters, Government’s push to ’Swadeshi’ and KVIC’s historic agreements with paramilitary forces for the supply of provisions increased the turnover of village industry sector during the pandemic. Compared to the production of Rs 65,393.40 crores in 2019-20, the production in the village industry sector increased to Rs 70,329.67 crores in 2020-21. Similarly, in FY 2020-21, the sales of village industry products stood at Rs 92,214.03 crores as compared to Rs 84,675.29 crores in 2019-20.

The production and sales in the Khadi sector, however, slightly declined as spinning and weaving activities across the country took a major hit during the pandemic. The overall production in the Khadi sector in 2020-21 was recorded at Rs 1904.49 crores as compared to Rs 2292.44 crores in 2019-20, while the overall Khadi sales stood at Rs 3527.71 crore as compared to Rs 4211.26 crore in the previous year.

Vinai Kumar Saxena, Chairman, KVIC said that during the pandemic people responded enthusiastically to the calls of ’Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and ’Vocal for Local.’

He further mentioned that during this period, KVIC’s main focus was to create sustainable employment for artisans and unemployed youth. Faced with economic distress, a large number of youths took up self-employment and manufacturing activities under PMEGP which increased the production in the village industry sector. At the same time, the sales of Khadi and village industry products grew significantly following the Prime Minister’s appeal to buy Swadeshi products.

The record performance assumes great significance as

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agro Universities

The researchers studied pesticide contamination at more than 100 monitoring sites on streams flowing through predominantly agricultural lowland regions in 12 federal states in Germany

In a nationwide monitoring programme, a consortium of scientists led by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) has shown that the governmental thresholds for pesticides are generally too high and that even these excessively high levels are still exceeded in over 80 per cent of water bodies. As they published in the scientific journal Water Research the loss of biodiversity can only be halted if the environmental risk assessment of pesticides is radically revised.

For two years, the researchers studied pesticide contamination at more than 100 monitoring sites on streams flowing through predominantly agricultural lowland regions in 12 federal states in Germany. They found significant exceedances of the RAC value- the concentration of an active ingredient specified in the official approval procedure for a pesticide, which should not be exceeded in the water body in order to prevent negative effects on aquatic organisms. In most of the small streams investigated, the RAC values were exceeded (81 per cent). In 18 per cent of the streams, such exceedances were detected for more than 10 pesticides.

The researchers were able to reveal that pesticides affect aquatic invertebrate communities at much lower concentrations than previously assumed by the pesticide risk assessment. The concentrations depend on which species are to be conserved. For example, sensitive insect species such as caddisflies and dragonflies require much lower (1.000-fold) threshold values than snails and worms.

In the course of the project, the scientists also found that the type of sampling has a drastic influence on the concentrations of pesticides measured.

The researchers studied pesticide contamination at more

AgroPolicy

Write to the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India and GEAC to take immediate steps to stop the malpractice

Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) have highlighted the sudden surge in the cultivation of illegal HTBT Cotton this year. Both the associations have written to the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India and GEAC to provide suitable instruction to the authorities for taking necessary action to stop the spread of such illegal activities and take immediate strict action against the offenders.

 

Illegal HTBT Cotton is being grown in major cotton-growing states for several years at a lower intensity, but the sale has suddenly shot up this year posing a serious threat to the environment, farmers, legitimate seed companies and government revenue.

 

During 2017, it was highlighted in Lok Sabha that farmers were cultivating unapproved herbicide tolerance (HT) transgenic cotton hybrids illegally in many states. Thereafter, the Field Inspection and Scientific Evaluation Committee (FISEC) was set up under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) by the Prime Minister Office and this committee confirmed that HT genetically modified cotton is illegally grown across the country. The FISEC panel, after testing several thousand samples, concluded that about 15 per cent prevalence of unapproved HT cotton are in major states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat.

 

Dr M Ramasami, Chairman, Rasi Seeds and Chairman, FSII said, “The area under cultivation of illegal HT cotton has been increasing over the years. However, this year there is a big jump in such illegal cultivation especially in the major cotton states from estimated 35 lakh packets last year to about 70 lakh packets this year. The packs show the presence of many technologies which could pose a very serious situation in the field. If it is not controlled immediately by the governments, it will spell disaster for the industry and farmers.”

 

Prabhakar Rao, President, NSAI said, “It will not only decimate small cotton seed companies but also threatens the entire legal cotton seed market in India. To make matters worse, the illegal seeds are sold using the brand name of prominent companies. With this, farmers are at risk with such illegal cotton seed sale as there is no accountability of the quality of seed. It pollutes the environment, the industry is losing legitimate seed sale and the government also loses revenue in terms of tax collection. Regulators are only limiting their checking to licensed dealers and seed companies while this illegal activity of HT seed sales is carried mostly by unorganised and fly by night operators. The focus must be shifted to catching them and taking exemplary and strong punitive action.” 

 

The spread of illegal seeds can also contaminate legitimate seed production thereby putting seed production farmers to heavy losses. 

Write to the Ministry of Agriculture, Government

AgroPolicy, Interaction

The new identity will officially debut at the inaugural ’Carbon Farming Connection’ learning session on June 23

Indigo Agriculture plans to unveil a new brand identity for its carbon farming programme: Carbon by Indigo. The refreshed identity will officially debut at the inaugural ’Carbon Farming Connection’ learning session on June 23. The session will bring together farmers with private industry and scientific experts supporting the development of a robust global market for agricultural carbon credits.

 

Supported by committed purchasers of verified agricultural carbon credits, carbon works with growers at every step of the carbon farming journey, from those who are just beginning to think about implementing their first cover crop, to those who are further along down the regenerative path.

 

By leveraging Indigo’s technological and scientific capabilities, Carbon provides stakeholders across the full carbon farming ecosystem with digital solutions and market insights to ensure the ag industry’s knowledge base keeps pace with the rapidly developing carbon market. To facilitate this understanding and mark the identity refresh, Carbon by Indigo has built on its programmatic experience with the launch of several new components available to all growers for free, regardless of their enrollment status. The cornerstone of these educational efforts is ’Carbon Farming Connection’ a virtual community learning session held Wednesday, June 23.

 

The company also recently launched Carbon College, a free online series designed to deepen understanding of the agronomic foundations of regenerative farming practices and reduce barriers to practice change adoption.

 

The new identity will officially debut at

Dairy

Arla Foods will train and suppt up to 1,000 local dairy farmers

Denmark-based dairy co-operative Arla Foods will build a state-of-the-art commercial dairy farm in Northern Nigeria. Arla Foods will train and suppt up to 1,000 local dairy farmers as part of its long term commitment to public-private partnerships that support the development of the Nigerian dairy sector as part of the country’s efforts to increase local food production.

Located in Kaduna State, the 200-hectare farm, scheduled to open in 2022, will house 400 dairy cows, modern milking parlours and technology, grasslands and living facilities for 25 employees. The facilities and expertise provided by Arla will ensure a first-class opportunity to train local dairy farmers to improve milk yields and quality, animal welfare, and farm profitability, contributing to the country’s aims to develop local milk production.

Over time, the farm is expected to produce over 10 tonne of milk per day which will be processed by Arla’s dairy plant in Kaduna State, to supply locally produced dairy products to Nigerian consumers.

Since 2017, Arla has been the lead business partner in a partnership to develop a sustainable dairy value chain in Nigeria together with The Danish Agricultural and Food Council, Danish Agricultural Knowledge Center Seges, Care Denmark, the Nigerian pastoralist organization CORET, and the dairy farm cooperative MILCOPAL. The Milky Way Partnership programme is supported by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The dairy farm will be led by Arla’s farm management expert Snorri Sigurdsson, who will also head up the training agenda.

Arla Foods will train and suppt up

Agrotech, Start ups

The knowledge series by Arya is aimed to provide farmers and the rural youth alternative sources of employment as well as income in these pandemic times. 

India’s largest post-harvest Agri-Tech player, Noida based Arya Collateral is organising a knowledge series for farmers across India as an outcome of their National Program ‘Samvad 4 Safalta’ organised earlier this year. The first session to be held on June 22, 2021 is a training in Mushroom cultivation by expert Mushroom Cultivator Rajesh Singh. 

The global mushroom industry has grown rapidly in recent years in terms of beneficial effects, market value, and demand. India has a wide range of agro-climatic conditions and is largely an agricultural country with a cultivated area of about 4.37 %, generating about 620 million tons of agro-waste annually. Mushroom cultivation not only helps recycle agro wastes but also fills the nutritional gap prevalent among a large population of India. Mushroom cultivation needs very less space and investment which is suitable for small farmers in the country.

Rajesh Singh runs his mushroom plant in Gaya, Bihar and will help strengthen the knowledge base of the farmers with his experiences. This will especially help a lot of casual and daily wage workers who have been forced to return to home due to a lack of livelihood options during this pandemic. Given the limited availability of land in the rural parts of the country and limited opportunities, workshops like these open up possibilities for an additional source of income to farmers. 

The knowledge series by Arya is aimed to provide farmers and the rural youth alternative sources of employment as well as income in these pandemic times. There are over 100 FPOs registered for the event from Maharashtra, UP and other cities.

The knowledge series by Arya is aimed

AgroPolicy, Agrotech

The centres of excellence generate knowledge, demonstrate best practices and train officers and farmers

BS Yediyurappa, Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka and Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India jointly inaugurated the three Centers of Excellence (COEs) established in Karnataka under Indo-Israel Agricultural Project (IIAP).

MIDH Division of Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare, Government of India and MASHAV – Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation – are leading Israel’s largest G2G cooperation, with 29 operational Centres of Excellence (CoEs) across India in 12 states, implementing advanced Israeli Agro-Technology tailored to local conditions.

Out of these 29 fully functional CoEs, three are from Karnataka, viz., COE Kolar for Mango, COE Bagalkote for Pomegranate and COE Dharwad for Vegetables. The centres of excellence generate knowledge, demonstrate best practices and train officers and farmers.

Tomar said, “The centres will help the farming community of Karnataka get access to the latest innovative Israeli technologies and adopt them to increase production and productivity, which will help in increasing the farmer’s income. The CoEs have the capacity of 50,000 grafts production and 25 lakh vegetable seedlings production annually. About 20,000 farmers have visited these CoEs to gain knowledge about the modern cultivation practices in horticulture”.

R Shankar, Minister of Horticulture and Sericulture, Government of Karnataka, said “There is a lot of scope for adoption of new technologies in crop production and post-harvest management to increase the production and productivity of the horticulture produce in Karnataka. To provide these latest technologies to the farmers, the Government of India in collaboration with Israel has helped establish these centres of excellence for mango in Kolar, Pomegranate in Bagalkot and vegetables in Dharwad under the Indo Israel Agriculture Project (IIAP).

Dr Ron Malka, Ambassador of Israel to India, Embassy of Israel said, “We are proud and excited to collaborate with the Government of Karnataka in agriculture, which is a significant part of the Indo-Israeli partnership. This is a milestone in the development of the state’s agriculture sector and will give local farmers a competitive edge in the national and international market. This will also enable them to double their income.”

The centres of excellence generate knowledge, demonstrate

Agro Universities, Agrotech, IT

IoT solutions to help protect crops from wild animals and long-distance control room-based system for animal detection, surveillance and repellent

The ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation(IISWC), Dehradun, Uttarakhand recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, Uttarakhand for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT)-based solution for agricultural field protection from wild animals.

Dr M Madhu, Director, ICAR-IISWC and Dr Veena Datta, Registrar, UPES, Dehradun signed the MoU on the behalf of their respective organisations. As per the MoU, both the organisations have agreed to take up a collaborative project for designing, developing, implementing and analysing the cost-effective IoT solution for crop protection from wild animals and long-distance control room-based system for animal detection, surveillance and repellent.

The two growing technologies- AI and IoT can effectively provide practical solutions to protect crops from wild animals in both the hills and plain areas. The senior officials of both the organisations were also present during the occasion.

IoT solutions to help protect crops from

Agro chems – Fertilizers, AgroPolicy

GoI will make available urea and 22 grades of P&K fertilizers to farmers at subsidised prices through fertilizer importers

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for fixation of nutrient-based subsidy rates for P&K Fertilizers for the year 2021-22 (till the present season). The approved rates for NBS effective from the date of notification shall be as under:

Per Kg Subsidy rates (in Rs)

 

N (Nitrogen)

 

P(Phosphorus)

 

K(Potash)

 

S(Sulphur)

 

18.789

 

45.323

 

10.116

 

2.374

 


The Government of India is making available fertilizers, namely urea and 22 grades of P&K fertilizers (including DAP) to farmers at subsidised rates through fertilizer manufacturers/ importers. The subsidy on P&K fertilizers is being governed by the NBS Scheme w.e.f. 01.04.2010. In accordance to its farmer-friendly approach, the government is committed to ensuring the availability of P&K fertilizers to the farmers at affordable prices. The subsidy is released to fertilizer companies as per NBS rates so that they can make available fertilisers to farmers at affordable prices.

In the last few months, the international prices of raw materials of DAP and other P&K fertilisers have increased sharply. Prices of finished DAP etc. in the international market have also increased. DAP prices in India were initially not increased by the companies however, some companies increased the DAP price in the beginning of this financial year.

Accordingly, as a first step, the government has already directed all the fertilisers companies to ensure the sufficient availability of these fertilizers in the market for farmers. Considering the crisis of pricing of DAP in India as an extraordinary situation and distress for the farmers, Gol has increased the subsidy rates under NBS Scheme as a special package for farmers in such a way that MRP of DAP (including other P&K fertilizers) can be kept at the last year’s level till the present kharif season.

 

GoI will make available urea and 22

Agro Universities, Agrotech, Interaction

Chief Minister of Manipur dedicates eight crop varieties of ICAR to the farmers

The ICAR-Research Complex for North-Eastern Hill Region, Umiam recently organised a national webshop on ’Potential Crops of North-East India: Prospects and Challenges & Ceremonial Release of Crop varieties and Agro-Inputs Distribution Programme’.

N Biren Singh, Chief Minister, Government of Manipur, who was the chief guest, stressed addressing the key challenges of agriculture in the state, taking into consideration the changing agri-scenario, demand, quality food, nutritional requirement and diversification.

O Lukhoi Singh, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Manipur, highlighted the importance of variety replacement rate from existing 10 per cent to 40 per cent for achieving the target of yield enhancement by 20 per cent more.

Dr Suresh Kumar Chaudhari, Deputy Director General (Natural Resource Management), ICAR, underlined the importance of underutilised crops in contributing to food and nutritional security, health, income generation, and environmental services.

Dr AK Tripathi, Director ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Zone- VII, Umiam underlined the KVKs’ role and contribution in promoting the new technologies to achieve higher productivity and profitability in the North-Eastern States in general and Manipur in particular.

Dr VK Mishra, Director, ICAR-Research Complex for North-Eastern Hill Region, Umiam emphasised the importance of the agricultural sector in the economy of North-East India and the systematic research and extension efforts of the Institute in developing and populating the technologies for the larger benefit of the farming community of the region.

A total of 175 delegates from pan India virtually participated in the webshop.

Chief Minister of Manipur dedicates eight crop

Machinery - Pre-harvesting, R&D

Mahindra Planting Master Paddy 4RO is India’s first 4-row ride-on type rice transplanter

 

 Mahindra & Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector,  today launched a new range of rice transplanters in Telangana. A rice transplanter is a specialised machine, to transplant paddy seedlings into paddy fields, to ensure uniform transplanting which helps to increase yield, it is labour and time saving as compared to manual transplanting. The new technology can help farmers overcome issues related to labour shortage especially during these difficult times.

Mahindra launched the Mahindra Planting Master Paddy 4RO, India’s first 4-row ride-on type rice transplanter. The company had previously introduced the Mahindra MP461 walk-behind rice transplanter. Mahindra’s rice transplanters are designed by Mitsubishi Mahindra Agricultural Machinery of Japan and are customized to the specific needs of Indian rice farmers. The new rice transplanters of Japanese technology offers state-of-the-art features, quality and ease of operation.

At a price of Rs. 7.5 lakhs the Mahindra Planting Master Paddy 4RO ride -on type transplanter is the only affordable product of its kind in the country.  This rice transplanter is best suited for farmers with larger holdings and rental entrepreneurs and comes with sophisticated features such as 4-wheel drive technology, power steering, smile U-turn – 180 degree turning radius, and a host of features for driver comfort and convenience.

Commenting on the importance of mechanisation in rice farming, Hemant Sikka, President – Mahindra Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “At Mahindra we want to change the way rice farming is done. In spite of India being the second largest rice producing country in the world, our rice cultivation continues to be under-mechanised. While mechanisation in land preparation and rice harvesting is widespread, less than 1% of rice transplanting is mechanised. Mechanisation of rice transplanting will allow timeliness and speed of operations, lower cost of cultivation and increased yields. With the introduction of our new portfolio of rice transplanters, with our partners Mitsubishi Mahindra Agricultural Machinery of Japan, we want to enable income growth for millions of Indian rice farmers, including in Telangana, where farmers are also experiencing challenges related to labour shortage due to COVID.” 

Talking about the launch of the Mahindra PlantingMaster Paddy 4RO, Kairas Vakharia – Senior Vice President, Farm Machinery, M&M Ltd. “At Mahindra we are proud to launch our portfolio of rice transplanters in Telangana. Farmers in Telangana who have tried this new technology last season, reported a growth in crop yields of 10% and more. Designed and developed by our partners Mitsubishi Mahindra Agricultural Machinery of Japan, the new rice transplanters will offer high precision, are durable and a have lower operating cost. They are also backed by Mahindra’s extensive service and spares network and help augment our presence in the rice transplanter market in India.” 

 

 

 

 

Mahindra Planting Master Paddy 4RO is India’s

AgroPolicy, Agrotech

The MoU will ensure better food security for Maharashtra and give farmers access to cutting-edge data from anywhere in the state

The United States Government through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Foreign Agricultural Service and the Maharashtra Department of Agriculture signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will ensure better food security for Maharashtra and give Maharashtra’s farmers access to cutting-edge data from anywhere in the state.  

 

US Consul General David J Ranz, and Government of Maharashtra (GoM) Agriculture Secretary Eknath Davle publicly signed a joint statement at the Mantralaya expressing their support for the MoU. The joint statement was signed in the presence of GoM Agriculture Minister Dadaji Dagdu Bhuse. 

 

The MoU will provide a framework for technical cooperation between the USDA and Maharashtra’s Department of Agriculture in the development of robust agricultural market information systems, along with potential collaboration in other areas. Through this MoU, USDA will aid Maharashtra’s efforts to support farmers by enhancing agricultural value chains, facilitating agribusiness investment, and developing resilient agricultural production systems through its Balashaeb Thackeray Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART) Project, supported by the World Bank. 

 

Ranz said, “This MoU represents the most ambitious bilateral capacity-building effort between the USDA and an Indian government entity to date. Maharashtra is an agricultural powerhouse, as is the US, and we play an important role in ensuring global food security, as well as meeting the growing demand for fibre and fuel. This MoU demonstrates our commitment to enhancing farmer welfare and making our agricultural production systems more efficient and sustainable through the sharing of best practices and skills.”   

 

Bhuse said, “The campaign ‘Vikel te Pikel’- ‘Produce that can be sold’ is being implemented in the state for an assured market for farmer’s produce. As part of that, SMART Project is implemented in the state with the help of the World Bank. The $300-million SMART project is to support the development of inclusive and competitive agri-business value chains with a focus on smallholder farmers. As a part of SMART project, Department of Agriculture with the help of USDA will increase the capacity of state machinery in the field of agriculture statistics, agricultural marketing, market intelligence, organising commodity stewardship council etc.” 

 

 

Other dignitaries present were Dheeraj Kumar, Commissioner Agriculture, Lazaro Sandoval, FAS Attaché, Sushil Khodwekar, Dy Secretary (Agriculture), GoM, Dasharath Tambhale, Additional Project Director, SMART, Shrikant Andge, Under Secretary, (Agriculture), GoM and other officials from the US Consulate General and Department of Agriculture, GoM. 

The MoU will ensure better food security

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agrotech

Gourisaria was till recently the general manager-finance, home care (South Asia) at Hindustan Unilever (’HUL’). 

Agrochemical major, Rallis India has announced that the board of Rallis India has appointed Subhra Gourisaria as the chief financial officer (CFO) and Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) of the company from 15 June 2021 on the superannuation of Ashish Mehta, the current CFO, from 14 June 2021.

Gourisaria has over 17 years of experience in business finance, financial strategy, P&L management, controllership and handling financial operations in multi-geographical businesses. Gourisaria was till recently the general manager-finance, home care (South Asia) at Hindustan Unilever (’HUL’).

Rallis India is a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals and a part of Tata Group. It is one of India’s leading agro sciences companies.

 

Gourisaria was till recently the general manager-finance,

Agrotech

By Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director, Federation of Seed Industry of India and Alliance for Agri Innovation

Monsoon plays an important role in Indian agriculture. While awaiting the arrival, farmers have already begun initial tasks of kharif sowing. As the country is still reeling under the pandemic, farmers will face challenges for a second consecutive year. Moreover, farmer will have to be more cautious as the second wave of Covid-19 has proven more intense. The agriculture sector has endured disruptions and there are chances the entire kharif season may see strict lockdowns. This will create additional and unseen obstacles for farm operations. Farmers must think of measures to ensure farm operations are carried out smoothly. Besides, different stakeholders in the agriculture supply chain must think of strategies to ensure uninterrupted availability of farm inputs and equipment to farmers and to ensure smooth farm-to-fork supply.  

 Agriculture sector had emerged as the only bright spot when the Indian economy faced headwinds of Covid-19 last year. India witnessed record production of food grains (303.34 million tonnes), which was 2 percent higher year-on-year. This year too, the government is optimistic about the good performance of the agriculture sector. The Agriculture Ministry expects rice output to increase to 121.10 million tonnes in 2021-22 from 120.32 million tonnes a year ago. Rice is a major crop for India as it feeds 60 percent of population in India. Monsoon is forecasted to be normal this year, which brings good news for rice cultivation. 

While the central government is reviewing and assessing the preparedness for crop management, local agriculture agencies too will have to ensure optimum and timely availability of input materials such as seeds, pesticides, fertilisers, farm machinery and tools. Proper communication channels should be established among farmer groups, local traders, wholesalers and government agencies. So, that farmers can get timely and accurate updates about farming materials and techniques, weather forecasts, and market dynamics. Creating such platforms in the age of ICT will not be a difficult task. Farmers too will have to follow health advisories as the possibilities of Covid-19 infection remains. They must follow social distancing, use masks, sanitise farm machineries and avoid rushing to crowded markets to buy crop inputs.

There are uncertainties in commodity markets due to disrupted farm sector and volatility in demand and supply. In case of sudden slump in demand, commodity rates can drop and hurt farmers. This is a key area where government agencies will have to look at. Proper communication and advisories through different channels including Kisan Call Centres can help reach out to farmers effectively. Satellite remote sensing can be used to get precise and up-to-date information on the crop situation.    

Also, we must encourage agri-tech start-ups with suitable policies and incentives. They can play an important role in providing artificial intelligence and digitization- based technological solutions when access of farmers to the outside world has become restricted due to lockdowns. Also, these start-ups can help farmers obtain farm tools and equipment as well as certified seeds and nutrients. Ecommerce companies too can pitch in to deliver crop inputs to farmers wherever possible. 

Though, there might not be shortage of labour this time, the fear of rapidly spreading coronavirus –can lead to sudden drop in labour availability. And farm mechanisation is a practical alternative. Farmers must rely on machinery and technological solutions for safe, stable and efficient farm operations. Cooperative and private ‘custom hiring centres’ (CHC) can play a crucial role in providing farm machinery and equipment, especially to the small and marginal farmers. The government can extend the scope of Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) to set up hubs for hi-tech and high value farm equipment and create awareness.

 

 

By Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director,