Agriculture Current Affair 5 March 2020

Faridabad firm develops technology to recover potash from distillery ash

An Indian process engineering firm has come up with a new technology that would help produce potash from boiler ash, a waste byproduct generated in copious amounts by ethanol-making distilleries.

The waste-to-wealth technology developed by the Faridabad-based SSP Pvt Ltd, in fact, has a twin advantage: Apart from safely disposing of a dangerous waste product, it helps the country save precious foreign exchange spent on importing potash fertilisers. India meets its entire potash requirement through imports currently.

In Maharashtra, 7.65 lakh farmers benefit from Mahatma Phule Farm Loan Waiver Scheme

The State Government has till date deposited ₹4,807 crore in the bank accounts of around 7.65 lakh farmers under the Mahatma Phule Farm Loan Waiver Scheme, said Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday.

Interacting with mediapersons at the State Assembly, Thackeray said that loan waiver has been provided to those farmers whose accounts are linked with their Aadhaar cards. The State Government has also started the process of identifying those farmers, who have availed loans up to ₹2 lakh so that they could be made debt-free.

Banana exports up 30% during April-January

India exported 1,27,230 tonnes of banana, fetching ₹447 crore, between April 2019 and January 2020, which is nearly 30 per cent more in terms of quantity and 49 per cent in value terms over the corresponding period last year, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

During the corresponding period last year, India exported 98,044 tonnes of banana valued at ₹301 crore, he said in a written reply to a question raised by Raksha Khadse, a BJP MP from Maharashtra, who said rising temperatures have affected banana crop on 5,000 hectares in Jalgaon in the State.