Paddy procurement at MSP up 18pc at 614 lakh tn valuing nearly Rs 1.16 lakh cr
Paddy procurement at MSP has risen by 18 per cent so far this kharif marketing season to 614.27 lakh tonnes, valuing nearly Rs 1.16 lakh crore, amid farmers protest at Delhi-borders against three new agri marketing reform laws.
“In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020-21, Government continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at MSP from farmers as per existing MSP Schemes, as was done in previous seasons,” an official statement said.
Sunderbans’ wild honey hunters eye GI tag
For 30-year-old Biswajeet Mondal, a third-generation honey hunter and fisherman from the Rajat Jubilee village in Sunderban, entering the dense mangrove forest infested with man-eating Bengal tigers for catching fish and searching for honey is the only source of livelihood for his family.
Mondal and his fellow members of the Mouli community take the name of Bono Devi, the local deity, and risk their lives for making a few thousand rupees.
IIHR develops chilli hybrids resistant to leaf curl virus
After carrying out research for almost a decade, scientists at the ICAR- Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR), Bengaluru have developed chilli hybrids that are resistant to the leaf curl virus (LCV) disease, a major problem for the growers across the country.
Leaf curl virus disease is the most destructive disease face by chilli growers in terms of incidence and yield loss. The LCV transmitted by the whiteflies and in the affected plants causes the leaf to get curled and rolled resulting in stunted growth.
