Recent Initiatives
Agricultural exports increase to Rs. 2,68,469 Crores.
As per report published for the period from Apr 2013- Feb 2014, India has exported agriculture products worth Rs 2,68,469 crores. Agricultural exports stood at Rs. 41,600 crore in the year 2004-05 and thus there has been an increase of 6.45 times in the last 10 years.
Second Advance Estimates for Horticultural Production Released
Horticultural production in India scales new heights. Second advance estimate for the year 2013-14 is 280.77 million tonnes. Estimates for broad categories of commodities is as follows:
| Commodity | Production in Thousand Tonne |
| Fruits | 84411 |
| Vegetable | 170248 |
| Aromatic | 905 |
| Flowers Loose | 1847 |
| Plantation | 17462 |
| Spices | 5834 |
Third Advance Estimates of Agricultural Production Released
Third advance estimates of agriculture production have been released. Estimates for some of the crops are:-
| (In Million Tons) | ||
| Crop | Targets | 3rd Advance Estimates |
| Rice | 105.00 | 106.29 |
| Wheat | 92.50 | 95.85 |
| Maize | 22.50 | 24.19 |
| Pulses | 19.00 | 19.57 |
| Total Food Grains | 259.00 | 264.38 |
NCCD Conclave with Nodal Officers for Cold-chain Development organised on May 9, 2014.
The conclave was held to have consultative meeting with the State governments on the components relating to cold chain covered under MIDH guidelines. Special focus was on new add-on technologies under these guidelines.
Minimum Support Prices for the Year 2014-15 Announced
Acting on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, the Government has fixed Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for the Agricultural Year (July-June) 2014-15. MSP for Paddy and Moong have been increased to Rs 1360 and Rs 4600 per quintal.
Amendment in Guidelines for Exports of Pesticides and Insecticides Rules
Guidelines for export of pesticides have been reviewed and approved. Amendment in Insecticides Rules, 1971 have also been approved to facilitate industrial production for benefit of farmers.
Draft Plant Quarantine Amendment Order, 2014
Draft Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) (Third Amendment) Order, 2014 notified.
What's New
SMS Portal for Farmers completes one year and 115 crore messages
Within a year of its launch on July 16, 2013, SMS Portal for Farmers has achieved stupendous success by transmitting more than 115 crore SMSs to farmers. This unique and possibly the biggest ever initiative in m-Governance has so far enabled 2660 officers and experts from the Government of India (Department of Agriculture & Cooperation; Indian Council for Agricultural Research, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries and India Meteorological Department) and State Governments & its organisations down to Block level, State Agriculture Universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Agro Met Forecast Units for giving information/services/advisories to farmers by SMS in their language, preference of agricultural practices and location. Urgent agricultural advisories related to weather are also sent. The messages are being sent in 12 different languages based on easy phonetic typing. Advisories & services provided & the number of farmers receiving it are 78618 and 43.56 crore respectively as many farmers receive multiple messages.
Availability of Short and Medium Duration Varieties of Seeds as Part of Contingency Plans
District-wise Contingency Plans to inter alia take care of deficient monsoon have been prepared and the same are available at here and here . Seed-availability is an important part of any Contingency Plan. Therefore, just before the Zonal Seed Review Meeting held in February, 2014, the State Governments had entered seed availability & requirement data for various varieties of seeds of different crops in the Seednet Portal. The following document has been prepared to indicate availability of short and medium duration varieties of seeds as in the second and third week of February, 2014.
Click here to download Seed Availability Document.
A searchable detailed database of Seed Availability has also been prepared wherein seed varieties of different maturity durations can be found along with detailed information with respect to every such variety. This database can be found Here Yield-wise sorting & search on recommended ecologies also can be done Here You can also get specific information about seed varieties for your District by visiting Farmers’ Portal (www.farmer.gov.in >> State >> District >> Crop >> State / Central Variety)
35 CCC of IT Act - Formats to be filled up by applicants for seeking Ministry of Agriculture's recommendations for approval of the projects for notification as extension projects
In order to simplify and expedite the scrutiny of applications received from various companies/ organizations under Section 35 ccc of the Income-Tax, 1961, a standard format has been prepared. This format will enable objective and comprehensive scrutiny of the proposals in keeping with the statutory provisions read with Rule 6 AAD of Income Tax (4th Amendment) Rules, 2013. All existing and future applications are requested to fill this format completely to enable the Screening Committee to take an appropriate decision regarding recommendations to be made to the Central Board of Direct Taxes. this format is in addition to the presentation that the Company may like to make before the Screening Committee.
Second Meeting of the Screening Committee to consider proposals received from various companies for approval of their Agriculture Extension Projects seeking Tax benefit under Section -35CCC of the Income Tax Act, 1961 will be held on 25-07-2014 at 3 PM.
Click here for meeting notice and Click here for the format.
National Workshop on ICT Applications in Agriculture held on
19 & 20 June, 2014 in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
A National Workshop on ICT Applications in Agriculture was held in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 19 & 20 June, 2014. The response from participants from the entire country was overwhelming. In fact, nearly 220 participants from State Departments of Agriculture and Allied Sectors in 17 States, State Units of NIC, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, State Agriculture Universities, Indian Space Research Organization, Insurance Companies took part in deliberations. Besides, this representatives of Agro-Industries and Progressive Farmers also made valuable contributions during deliberations of the 6 Working Groups on the following subjects
Report of the Committee to Review the Implementation of Crop Insurance Schemes.
Report of the Committee Conotituted Under the Chairmanship of Dr.P.K.Mishra, Ex-secretary ,Department of Agriculture & Cooperation to Review thw Implementation of crop Insurance schemes in india.
Report of Expert Committee setup on the Orders of High Court of Delhi to frame a policy for Monitoring of Pesticide Residues in Fruits & Vegetables.
On the directions of the Hon,ble High Court of Delhi in W.P. No. 7495/2010 –Court on its own motion Vrs. U.O.I. & others an Expert Committee was setup to frame a policy for Monitoring of Pesticide Residues in Fruits & Vegetables.
Guidelines for Sub Mission on Agriculture Extension
As a part of National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (NMAET), guidelines for various components of Sub-Mission on Agriculture Extension have been issued.
- Please Click the link below to download the Guidelines
- ICT (including NeGP-A) Guidelines
- Extension Reforms Guidelines
- Mass Media Guidelines
