26-November-2022: Kisan Credit Card, Wheat Sowing, PM Kisan Scheme, Araku Valley’s Tribal

26 November 2022

• New Countries from Asia & Pacific Join Seeds Without Borders Initiative

  Seeds Without Borders is a regional seed policy agreement that aims to accelerate the spread of modern rice varieties across Asia, particularly in South and Southeast Asia. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) facilitated the signing of the agreement by India, Bangladesh, and Nepal in 2014. Bhutan, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka are currently party to the agreement. The Philippines, Vietnam, and Fiji are joining the agreement this year. Fiji is the first Pacific Island nation to join Seeds Without Borders, marking the expansion of the agreement from South and Southeast Asia to the Pacific Islands.

• High Price Records Lead to Wheat Sowing in India by Approx. 11% Y/y

  According to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare's weekly report of sowing statistics, farmers have boosted the area under rapeseed, the main winter-sown oilseed, to 7.1 million hectares as of Nov. 25, up from 6.2 million hectares the previous year. According to agriculture experts and producers, a severe run of post-monsoon rainfall in October and November increased soil moisture levels and helped farmers plant more wheat, the key winter crop.As per the official data, Indian farmers have planted wheat on 15.3 million hectares since October 1, when the current sowing season began, up roughly 11% from a year earlier, as record high prices have spurred planting.

• Kisan Credit Card: Interest Subvention on KCC Loans Approved, Only 4% Interest on Loans Upto Rs 3 lakh

  On November 23, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the interest rate for short-term loans up to Rs 3 lakh made using Kisan Credit Cards (KCC). For agriculture and related enterprises including animal husbandry, dairy, fishery, beekeeping, etc., a short-term loan is made available through KCC. The central bank announced that the continuation of the Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) with modifications for the fiscal years 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 had received government approval.

• PM Kisan Scheme: Financial Benefits Likely to be Extended to More Farmers

  Farmers asked the authorities to assist more farmers during the monthly grievance meeting held on Friday after a decline in beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) in 2022. All India Kisan Sabha district president N. Perumal reported that 46.8 lakh farmers benefited from the scheme in 2019. (Farmer families receive Rs 6,000 in three installments of Rs 2,000 every year.) He stated that "after the distribution of the 11th installment of cash, the numbers of beneficiaries dropped drastically to 23.04 farmers in 2022" and added that not enough people were aware of the situation. They need to raise awareness, contact them, and have more camps to increase the number."

• Araku Valley’s Tribal Coffee Growers Reap Rich Profits from Walmart-TechnoServe Tieup

  M. Nittapattu Mutually Aided Cooperative Society (MNMACS), a farmer-producer organisation (FPO) working with coffee growers in Andhra Pradesh's tribal Araku Valley, was named the Best Organic Business FPO in the South at the Jaivik India Awards 2022. The award could have gone to the best organic business. Still behind it are efforts not only by MNMACs, but also by seven other FPOs working in the valley to not only improve tribal growers' economies but also to make their lives more sustainable.

• Absolute & DigiSafe Jointly Launches Digifasal-DIY Insurance for Farmers

  Absolute, a plant bioscience company, has launched the country's first do-it-yourself insurance product, Digifasal. The product is introduced on Upaj, Absolute's agcloud ecosystem that serves a million farmers at every stage of crop production with services such as soil testing, advisory, and now, insurance. According to a statement from the company, Absolute has used DigiSafe's InsureTech capabilities to increase insurance penetration in the country. DigiSafe Insurance, founded by Anupam Shrey and Suman Roy Choudhury, is a rural insurance provider.