Govt to promote 20 indigenous and globally popular exotic fruit crops this year: Narendra Singh Tomar
The Centre will promote expansion of area and production of 10 globally popular exotic fruit crops of commercial importance and as many indigenous fruit crops with high nutrition in the current year, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday. “During the current year, 8,951 hectares area for exotic fruits and 7,154 hectares area for indigenous fruits will be brought under cultivation,” Tomar said addressing a conference to commemorate the international year of fruits and vegetables.
The state governments have been given targets for 2021-22 for area expansion of these crops, an official statement quoted Tomar having said at the event.
The event was organised by the Union Agriculture Ministry in collaboration with the UN body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
CAI estimates cotton production at 360.13 lakh bales for 2021-22 crop year
The Cotton Association of India (CAI) on Saturday estimated cotton output at 360.13 lakh bales for the crop year (October-September) 2021-22, due to expectation of better yield. The total cotton production in the last season is estimated at 353 lakh bales, which is 7.13 lakh bales less than the current season, the CAI said in a statement.
“The cotton yield is estimated to be excellent and the farmers are expected to go for the third and fourth pickings due to good availability of water following a good monsoon,” CAI president Atul Ganatra told PTI.
The total estimated cotton supply till end of the 2021-22 season, that is up to September 30, 2022, was at 445.13 lakh bales, which consists of the opening stock of 75 lakh bales at the beginning of the season, crop for the season estimated at 360.13 lakh bales and imports for estimated at the same level as in the last year at 10 lakh bales.
Crop insurance claims at Rs 9,570 cr for 2020-21 lower by over 60 pc from previous year
There has been more than 60 per cent decline in the crop insurance claims of farmers at Rs 9,570 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for the 2020-21 crop year from the previous year as there were no major crop losses, according to official data.
However, much of the crop insurance claims reported for 2020-21 and 2019-20 crop years have been cleared by the government. Crop insurance claims stood at Rs 27,398 crore in the 2019-20 crop year (July-June).
PMFBY was launched in 2016-17 with many improvements over the erstwhile crop insurance schemes. The operational guidelines of the scheme were revised with effect from Rabi 2018 and Kharif 2020, respectively, to ensure the benefits reached farmers adequate and timely.
