HEADLINES:
Agriculture to strengthen Indo-African trade ties
Two more ports for basmati exports
States encourage online sales of farmers` produce
Nabard, commercial banks at loggerheads
Kisan Credit Card loans also eligible for waiver: Govt
Govt expense on food subsidy to go up by 3.55%
Fertilizer tab up from Rs 31k cr to 90k cr in 2 weeks
Annual wastage of agricultural food items worth Rs 58,000 crore: govt
Agriculture Today
19th March, 2008
Agriculture to strengthen Indo-African trade ties
Addressing the fourth CII-EXIM Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership Dr. Ali Mohammad Shein, Vice president of
The Economic Times
Two more ports for basmati exports
THE government has allowed export of basmati rice from Mundra and Pipavav ports in
Business Standard
States encourage online sales of farmers` produce
In a bid to bring down the number of intermediaries and help farmers get better realisation for their produce, many state governments have decided to encourage alternative platforms for farmers to reach the end consumer directly. Recently, the state governments of Gujarat and
The Tribune
Nabard, commercial banks at loggerheads
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Bank (Nabard) and the commercial banks are at loggerheads over the success of the ambitious Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme in Haryana. While Nabard has pulled up the banks for failing to make the scheme fully operative, the latter claim that the scheme is a huge success.
Nabard has claimed that various studies conducted under KCC reveal that the benefits of flexibility under the scheme have not reached the farmers in various respects like drawals and repayments. In the State Focus Paper released for Haryana, the bank has claimed that the drawals and repayments are being made on a seasonal basis once or twice a year, and not on a need-based approach. Nabard further said that the banks have failed to make flexibility of availing kind component in cash to the KCC holders. In fact, a number of KCC holders are not even availing credit against the cards, thus making the scheme inoperative. Officials in State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) of Haryana maintain that the scheme has met with a stupendous success in Haryana. Figures available from SLBC reveal that the number of KCC holders in Haryana till December 31, 2007 was 17,08,391 as against 16, 56,725 till March 31, 2007. The total amount disbursed by banks to KCC holders has increased from Rs 7,589.41 crore to Rs 8,252.73 crore during this period, thus showing that the scheme has been a huge success, said an official. The official also said that all bank branches are authorised to issue KCCs and as per the norms and there is no delay in issue of KCCs. However, Nabard contends that inspite of the increasing number of kisan credit card holders, farmers are not availing credit against these cards, thus making it inoperative. It also says that the KCC format has been devised to show details of short-term loans, long-term loans ad consumption loans issued to farmers. But banks are only indicating disbursements under short-term loans. The commercial banks have now been advised to suitably revise their approach and delivery mechanisms, besides sensitising farmers to avail maximum benefits under the scheme.
Business Standard
Kisan Credit Card loans also eligible for waiver: Govt
The government on Tuesday said farmers, who took agriculture loans through Kisan Credit Card, will also be eligible for the loan waiver scheme announced in the Union Budget 2008-09. Replying to questions in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal said the loan waiver scheme would be applicable to production credit and short term inventory credit taken on the Kisan Credit Card. Since 1998, over 7 crore Kisan Credit Cards have been issued to farmers till date. In 2006-07, 85.11 lakh cards were issued and Rs 46.72 lakh credit extended to farmers through these. The aim of the government will be to extend the Kisan Credit Card to all eligible farmers in the country, he said. All categories of farmers including tenant farmers, share croppers, oral lessees are eligible for a Kisan Credit Card from the co-operative banks, regional rural banks and commercial banks throughout the country.
The Financial Express
The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has found moderate to high incidence of aphid (insect) attack on wheat crop in the state, which can cause substantial loss in yield.
The Pioneer
Govt expense on food subsidy to go up by 3.55%
The Government’s expenditure on food subsidy will go up by 3.55 per cent in 2008-09, according to the budget estimate approved by the Finance Ministry. The Food Ministry, which controls the public distribution system through which wheat, rice and kerosene are supplied to people at subsidised rates, has been allocated Rs 32,666 crore to pay the difference between actual price and the PDS rates of foodgrain and other items. According to the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, which was presented before the Parliament on Tuesday, the total food subsidy for the next fiscal will be to the tune of Rs 32,666 crore. In 2007-08, the budget estimates for food subsidy was pegged at Rs 25,696 crore, but it was later revised to Rs 31,545 crore. The food subsidy bill of the Government was Rs 24,013 crore in 2006-07. With rising level of food subsidies, the Government has been considering various measures to minimise its impact on the exchequer. The Government had last month decided to cap at 85 lakh tons allocation of wheat and rice to states for distribution to Above Poverty Line (APL) families through the PDS during 2008-09 financial year. States have been given the choice to decide the scale of issue to the beneficiaries within the allocation. The Centre currently supplies 35 kg of rice and wheat per family every month to those covered under Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) schemes at cheaper rates than market price.
The Times of
Fertilizer tab up from Rs 31k cr to 90k cr in 2 weeks
What is the anticipated fertilizer bill for 2008-09? Barely two weeks after the Budget was presented, you might think there would be a simple answer to this question. But, it turns out that there are at least four different figures being quoted by UPAs ministers in Parliament. When finance minister P Chidambaram presented the Budget, the figure mentioned in the documents was Rs 30,986.34 crore. On March 13, minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers B K Handique in his reply to a question in Lok Sabha said the fertilizer subsidy for 2008-09 was estimated to be Rs 60,649.36 crore. A day later, his cabinet minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, while replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on March 14, said the subsidy for the coming year is likely to increase to Rs 75,000 crore. Finally, on Tuesday, minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh told the Lok Sabha that the estimated bill for 2008-09 was Rs 90,000 crore. But while a soaring fertilizer subsidy bill can put the governments fiscal management under pressure, it is not necessarily bad news in political terms. Ramesh made the point in Lok Sabha when he said the Rs 90,000 crore fertilizer subsidy only underlined UPAs commitment to farmers. He added that a Rs 1,200 crore subsidy for sulphate of potash for tobacco farmers was not an issue. While it has been argued that massive subsidies may curb government ability to efficiently allocate resources, even for politically important flagship schemes, this is not an immediate issue. For a poll-bound government, floating bonds or simply deferring hard decisions will make more sense than fiscal prudence. In Planning Commission meetings, Chidambaram has often argued that subsidies are badly targeted, reward inefficiency and constrain the government when it is faced with demands like increasing support prices. But arguments that make economic sense are not the order of the day. The FM himself has led the way with the Budgets Rs 60,000 crore farm bonanza. In recent days, Paswans figure came in the context of an explanation for the rise in subsidy on urea, which he said was mainly because of the gap between domestic production and demand, necessitating imports of the commodity. Ramesh was speaking in response to a calling attention motion and said his ministry had proposed to the fertilizer ministry that sulphate of potash should also be covered under the fertilizer subsidy scheme. Despite the fact that the subsidy bill was already likely to be Rs 90,000 crore in 2008-09, the proposal had been accepted and would be put to the Cabinet for its approval, he said. Interestingly, Paswans response to the Rajya Sabha question had also mentioned that the fertilizer subsidy bill for the current year, 2007-08, was estimated to be Rs 45,000 crore. Yet, the revised estimates presented in the Budget by Chidambaram was only Rs 30,501.01 crore, up from the Rs 22,451.01 crore provided in the budget for 2007-08. All of this raises questions about what the real subsidy bill is. If it is indeed Rs 90,000 crore, the latest figure quoted, that would mean the Budget would have to provide an extra Rs 60,000 crore over what has been provided for. The government has to give subsidies on fertilizers as it sells them at below the prices at which it either buys from private producers or imports. In the case of urea, the government buys it at an average cost of Rs 15 per kg, but sells it to the farmer at Rs 4.83 per kg. Similarly, DAP is bought by the government at an average cost of Rs 25 per kg but is sold to the farmer at Rs 9.3 per kg. The bill has been increasing sharply in recent years and if the latest figures being thrown about are any indication, it appears that it is all set to balloon very sharply in the coming year. Loan waiver: Govt takes relook after Sonia, Rahul pitch
The Financial Express
Annual wastage of agricultural food items worth Rs 58,000 crore: govt
The country loses more than Rs 58,000 crore worth of agricultural food items due to lack of post harvesting infrastructure such as cold chains, transportation, and storage facilities. According to the Union minister for food processing Subodh Kant Sahai, the wastage of food items could be stopped through promoting food processing industries, developing cold chains infrastructure, and filling the gaps in the supply chain system. Wastage of food items occurs at various stages of handling after harvesting due to fragmented land holding, Sahai told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Food processing industries had entrusted Rabo India Finance to prepared a report on food wastage. Officials said that losses due to lack of infrastructure would be reduced substantially with the growth of the food processing industry. The food processing sector has witnessed an annual growth from 7% during 2003-4 to 13.14% during 2006-7. The Ministry of food processing plans to triple the size of the processed food sector by increasing the level of processing of perishables from 6% to 20%, the value addition from 20% to 35%, and increase the share in global food trade from 1.5% to 3% by 2015. Financial assistance to states for promotion of the food processing sector has increased from Rs 88.13 crore during 2004-5 to Rs 211.98 crore during 2006-7, Sahai said. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), post-harvest losses of selected fruits and vegetables are about 25% to 30%. Even marginal reductions in these losses are bound to give better returns.