4 lakh hectare under natural farming now; Niti Aayog to prepare roadmap to scale up: Minister
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday said about 4 lakh hectare has been brought under natural farming so far as part of a sub-scheme of the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana and think-tank Niti Aayog will prepare a roadmap to scale this up.
Tomar, while addressing a national workshop on innovative agriculture here, said the need of the hour is to do farming that works in harmony with nature, reduces the cost of production, ensures good-quality produce and profits to farmers.
Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, parts of Haryana and Gujarat are gradually adapting to natural farming. More farmers will join after seeing the success stories, he said.
Wheat procurement from Punjab expected to remain below 100 lakh MT
Punjab, which is known as the food bowl of the country, grows wheat at over 35 lakh hectares of land
Wheat procurement from Punjab will miss the target of 132 lakh metric tonne on account of expected lower yield, said officials on Monday.
According to the officials, wheat procurement from the State for the central pool is expected to be between 90-100 lakh metric tonne. A target of 132 lakh metric tonne of wheat purchase was fixed before the start of the procurement of crop from April.
Out of 88.77 lakh MT of total arrival of crop in grain markets, the government agencies procured 83.60 lakh MT of wheat till Sunday, said the officials.
Punjab’s wheat output is expected to be lower this season because of the adverse impact of the early onset of the summer season followed by sudden rise in temperatures.
T.N. reaching saturation level in foodgrain production
On an average, the State has been able to produce around 100 lakh tonnes a year
Despite the State recording 9% higher production of foodgrains during 2021-22 when compared to the previous year, it appears to be reaching the level of saturation.
A perusal of the production data, available with the State Agriculture Department, since 2011-12 reveals that on an average, the State has been able to produce around 100 lakh tonnes a year. In the last 11 years, the highest production was in 2014-15, with 127.95 lakh tonnes, followed by last year’s production – about 118 lakh tonnes.
[If one is to go by the data of the Reserve Bank of India, the State’s highest production was recorded in 2015-16, with 114.78 lakh tonnes. For the year 2014-15, the figure was 94.60 lakh tonnes only.]
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