Agriculture Current Affair 29 July 2020

Unique atmospheric research testbed in M.P. village will help predict monsoon better

It’s often said that the Indian budget is a gamble on the monsoon. Therefore, a lot rides on calling rainfall patterns correctly. With a number of agencies — both national and international — in the business of forecasting monsoon, predictions are getting better.

But to make monsoon forecasts even more accurate, India is now building an atmospheric research testbed (ART) in Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore district. To be situated in Silkheda village, this would be the first such facility in the world to observe and study tropical clouds.

Cotton carryover seen at 5-year high of 55.5 lakh bales

Amid Covid-19 disruptions, India will witness record cotton carryover stock in the past five years at 55.50 lakh bales (each of 170 kg) for the crop year 2019-20 (October-September).

Trade body Cotton Association of India (CAI) has estimated the carryover stock of 55.50 lakh bales (lb) at the end of the season on September 30, 2020, which indicates the next season will start with a five-year high carryover stock.

Per the CAI data, in 2014-15 the carryover stocks of the fibre were reported at a high of 67.23 lb.

Poor pollination causes annual loss of ₹15,000 crore to farm sector

Highlighting the role of natural pollinators such as honey bee in farming sector, an expert from the apiculture sector has said that the poor pollination or insufficient pollination is causing a loss of around ₹15,000-20,000 crore to farming sector.

Delivering the keynote address at a national-level webinar on ‘Future prospects of apiculture in India’, organised by the Bengaluru-based University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) on Tuesday, Balraj Singh, Project Coordinator of AICRP (All-India Coordinated Research Project) on Honey Bees and Pollinators under the ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research), said the annual economic contribution of pollinators such as honey bee stood at around ₹1.5-lakh crore in farming sector.