Agriculture Current Affairs (January- April 2023)
International Year of Millets
- India’s proposal to observe an International Year of Millets in 2023 was approved by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2018 and the United Nations General Assembly has declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
- This was adopted by a United Nations Resolution for which India took the lead and was supported by over 70 nations.
Read more…Millets- Cultivation, Production & Nutrition
SAIME Initiative
- Under Sustainable Aquaculture in Mangrove Ecosystem (SAIME) initiative, farmers have taken up cultivation of shrimp at 30 hectares in West Bengal.
- The community-based initiative of sustainable shrimp cultivation is being conceived by NGOs- Nature Environment and Wildlife Society (NEWS) and Global Nature Fund (GNF), Naturland, Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS).
- The mangrove ecosystem is integrated with shrimp cultivation, but when fisheries were expanded inwards, the mangrove ecosystem was excluded.
- Fishing, particularly shrimp cultivation, is one of the key occupations of the people of Sundarbans, which is a complex network of rivers and low-lying islands that face a tide surge twice a day.
- Shrimp cultivation is practised in about 15,000 to 20,000 hectares of the unique ecosystem in India.
Green Urban Oases (GUO) Programme
- GUO program contributes to FAO’s Green Cities Initiative (2020) which aimed to improve the livelihoods of urban and peri-urban populations in at least 100 cities in the next 3 years.
- The objectives of the programme are to turn dryland cities into “green urban oases”, Strengthen their overall resilience to climatic, health, food, and economic crisis, and to reduce the impact of urbanization on biodiversity and the surrounding natural environment.
FSSAI standards for Basmati Rice
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have specified the identity standards for Basmati Rice.
- Accordingly Basmati rice shall possess natural fragrance characteristics and be free from artificial colouring, polishing agents and artificial fragrances.
- It was issued to Brown Basmati Rice, Milled Basmati Rice, Parboiled Brown Basmati Rice and Milled Parboiled Basmati Rice.
- The standards are aimed at establishing fair practices in the trade of Basmati rice and protecting consumer interest, both domestically and globally. These standards will be enforced from 1st August 2023.
Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Key initiatives announced are:
- PM PRANAM (Prime Minister Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth): This programme will seek to incentivise states and union territories to promote alternative fertilisers and the balanced use of chemical fertilisers.
- Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-Input Resource Centres: Under this10, 000 Bio-Input Resource Centres will be set up, creating a national-level distributed micro-fertiliser and pesticide manufacturing network.
- GOBARdhan scheme: Five-hundred new ‘waste to wealth’ plants under GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme will be established for promoting a circular economy.
- Agriculture Accelerator Fund: The Fund will aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers. It will also bring in modern technologies to transform agricultural practices, and increase productivity and profitability.”
- Cotton crop productivity enhancement: To enhance the productivity of extra-long staple cotton, the government will adopt a cluster-based and value chain approach through Public Private Partnerships (PPP).
- Centre of excellence for millets: Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad will be made into a Centre for Excellence and it will be supported for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level.
- Agriculture credit to be increased: The agriculture credit target will be increased to Rs 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries.
Agricultural exports
- The agriculture sector in India has experienced buoyant growth in the past two years. The value of farm exports in April-December 2022 was 7.9% higher (USD 39 Billion) than the USD 36.2 billion for the corresponding period of the previous year.
- The two big contributors to India’s agri-export growth have been Rice and Sugar.
- Rice: India in 2021-22 shipped out an all-time-high 21.21 million tonnes (mt) of rice valued at USD 9.66 billion.
Sugar: Sugar exports hit a record value of USD 4.60 billion in 2021-22, as against USD 2.79 billion in last fiscal. - India’s total edible oil imports rose from 13.13 mt in 2020-21 to 14.03 mt in the 2021-22 oil years (Nov-Oct), and increased further by 30.9% from 2.36 mt in Nov-Dec 2021 to 3.08 mt in Nov-Dec 2022.
- India has turned from a net exporter to a net importer of cotton.
Millet International Initiative for Research and Awareness
- The GOI is to launch Millet International Initiative for Research and Awareness in line with the United Nations’ plans for the International Year of Millets, 2023.
- India brings in the concept of “SEED MONEY” in the initiative.
- Indian Institute of Millet Research located in Hyderabad will provide technical support to the initiative.
Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS)
- Union Cabinet recently approved the establishment of new Primary Agricultural Credit Society in 2 lakh panchayats in the next 5- years
- PACS are village-level cooperative credit societies that serve as the last link in a three-tier cooperative credit structure headed by the State Cooperative Banks (SCB) at the state level.
- Individual farmers are members of the PACS, and office-bearers are elected from within them.
- There are 02 lakh PACS in India (As per the RBI report of December 2022).
Nationwide Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries (AHDF) KCC Campaign
- While celebrating Aazadi Ka Amrit Mahostav, the Union Ministry for Fisheries, Animal husbandry and Dairying has launched the Nationwide Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries (AHDF) KCC Campaign from 1st May 2023 to 31st March 2024.
- The campaign aims to expand the benefits of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to all eligible farmers engaged in animal husbandry, dairy, and fishery in the country.
- The campaign will provide credit facilities to small landless farmers engaged in animal husbandry and fisheries activities.
- During the campaign, District Level KCC Camps will be organized every week by the KCC Coordination Committee coordinated by Lead District Manager (LDM) for on-the-spot scrutiny of applications sourced by the officials of the State Animal Husbandry and Fisheries department from the farmers.
Millets Experience Centre (MEC)
- The Indian government has launched Millets Experience Centre (MEC) in collaboration with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED). The establishment of the MEC is a step in the direction of India’s goal to become a “Global Hub” for millet.
- This initiative comes in light of the UNGA’s declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023).
- Millet has been referred to as ‘Shree Anna’ in Union Budget 2023-24.
- The MEC will promote millets as a versatile, healthy grain by showcasing its dietary benefits and offering customers a unique dining experience.
- The MEC will also popularize millet as a nutritional powerhouse fit for cooking a variety of dishes such as millet dosa and millet pasta.
- Visitors to the center can purchase a variety of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products from local millet start-ups.
National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)
- e-NAM is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
- It was launched on 14th April 2016, with aim to promote uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining procedures across the integrated markets, removing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promoting real-time price discovery based on actual demand and supply.
- It is completely funded by the Government of India.
- Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing eNAM under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)
- The Government of India has launched the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) as a separate and independent scheme to promote chemical-free and climate-smart agriculture.
- NMNF has been formulated by upscaling the Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) to promote natural farming across the country.
- NMNF will cover a 7.5 lakh hectare area by developing 15,000 clusters.
- The farmers willing to implement natural farming on their field will be registered as cluster members; each cluster shall comprise 50 farmers or more with 50-hectare land.
- NMNF provides financial assistance of 15, 000 per hectare per year for three years for the creation of on-farm input production infrastructure. However, the incentives would be provided to farmers only when they do natural farming only.
Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Raw Jute (2023-24)
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister of India, has given its approval for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Raw Jute for the 2023-24 season.
- India is the largest producer of jute followed by Bangladesh and China.
- Jute is mainly grown in eastern part of India. Major jute-producing states are West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura.
Cultivation of Dragon fruit
- Under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a roadmap is being prepared for the cultivation of dragon fruit in the identified potential area to increase the production of exotic and niche area fruits.
- The target for area expansion under MIDH for Kamalam is 50,000 ha. in 5 years.
- Dragon Fruit is a herbaceous perennial climbing cactus widely known as Pitaya, has its origin in Southern Mexico, Central America and South America.
- It grows in all types of soil, sustains yield for more than 20 years, and is high in nutraceutical properties (medicinal effects) and good for value-added processing industries.
- Other names are pitaya, pitahaya, and strawberry pear.
Nano liquid DAP
- The Government recently approved the launch of nano liquid DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) fertilizer in India and has been notified in the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO).
- Nano liquid DAP is a concentrated phosphate-based fertilizer which provides phosphorous nutrition throughout the crop growth and development cycle.
- Nano-DAP are jointly manufactured by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) in association with a private player Coromandel.
- Nano-DAP will be sold at Rs. 600 per bottle of 500 ml. One bottle will be equivalent to one bag of DAP, which currently costs Rs. 1,350.
- Nano-DAP will help to bring down India’s fertilizer import bill and bringing down the annual subsidy on non-urea fertilizers.
HP become the first state to have organized cultivation of Mulethi
- Himachal Pradesh has recently begun the commercial cultivation of licorice (Mulethi) to become the first state in India to have organized cultivation of Mulethi.
- Scientific name: Glycyrrhiza glabra, commonly known as licorice.
- Mulethi is a perennial shrub; its roots have a sweet taste due to the presence of glycyrrhizin, which is 50 times sweeter than sucrose.
- It has been traditionally used as medicine in Ayurveda (known in Ayurveda as ‘Yashtimadhu’) for rejuvenation.
IARI New wheat variety HD-3385
- Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has recently developed a new wheat variety HD-3385. It is the third HD variant wheat variety which looks most promising. IARI has registered HD-3385 with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA).
- It is the least lodging-prone and most amenable for early sowing.
National Conference on Agriculture for Zaid
- Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister chaired the National Conference on Agriculture for Zaid (summer) Campaign-2023 in New Delhi.
- Zaid or summer crops are grown in the short season between Kharif and Rabi crops, between March and July. These crops are mostly grown on irrigated lands and therefore, the farmers do not wait for the monsoon.