20th March 2021, marginal farmers, Satellites, PMFBY, France Bird Flue

20 March 2021

• Government making every effort to uplift small and marginal farmers

  Government is implementing a number of schemes and policies to help the small and marginal farmers. These schemes include PM-KISAN, PM-KMY, PMFBY, RWBCIS, Interest Subventions Scheme, E-NAM, Soil health Cards, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, PM-AASHA, KCC, PKVY, Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region, MIDH and NFSM. Government has released data to show the progress that has been made with these schemes.

• Satellites to be used for data collection

  Government has declared that Satellites can play an important role in data collection from farms across India, hence aiding in good governance. Satellites will provide data such as how much of areas in each state are under cultivation, estimate on yields, areas where crops have failed among others.

• Funds distributed to Insurance Companies under PMFBY

  Central government and state governments share the funds that are to be paid to Insurance Companies under PMFBY (Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana). There are a number of factors or instances where a farmer can insure himself, his crops, his property, his machines, his equipment under PMFBY. This year Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd has released Rs. 13902.79 Crores in the current financial year of 2020-21, to these companies.

• Bird flu cases minimal in South Western France

  With drop in bird flu cases South Western France has resumed normal activities in poultry farming. Government had taken extreme measures like cull of birds to guard the public, even though rarely the disease passes from birds to humans.

• Indian COVID serums not to be exported to UK

  Serum Institute of India was expected to export 10m doses of COVID serums to UK. However an unexpected increase in Corona cases in India has forced the government to keep these vaccines  within India by disallowing their export. India first policy followed by the Indian government is the same as any country in the world.

• Similipal wild fires still uncontrolled

  Similipal park houses priceless varieties of flora and fauna. These are now endangered as the fires have been consuming these over a month. There are no roads and not enough fire fighters to control these fires. The locals have tried everything to extinguish the fire as their living space is now under threat. What makes it worse is that summer season has started and there is no help from the heavens.

• Rain in Brazil slows Soybean exports

  Unexpected rain in the harvesting season has slowed the harvesting of the crop and has impacted the exports as movement of cargos across land and sea have slowed down. Brazil was able to export to China in Jan-Feb this year about 20% of what it was able to export last year.

• Report on procurement under MSP released by government

  Indian government has released a report detailing its procurement operation since 2017 till 2021. It lists the crops against the production quantity, procured quantity and the number of benefactors. For instance in 2020-21, so far 12,03,20,000  MT of rice has been produced out of which 98,46,617 MT has been procured by the government benefitting almost similar number of farmers, 98,46,517. A report on horticulture crops in storage has also been released.

• Mens only farmers protests

  Very few women have come forward or participated in the farmers protests. Although on some occasions like Women's day some of them did protest but not on as large a scale as was expected.