Rare. Government and farmers together attempt to conserve water!

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/haryana-farmers-give-up-rice-crop-to-conserve-water-4231431.html

Haryana farmers give up rice crop to conserve water

According to Haryana’s farm department, every hectare (2.4 acre) brought under maize cultivation from rice would save 14,000 litres of water needed for irrigation.

Hindustan Times@moneycontrolcom

 

  

A unique experiment in Haryana could well break a long-standing chokehold on the state’s seriously depleted water table: rampant paddy.

Fifteen thousand farmers in the state, who have traditionally grown only rice, will not be growing the water-intensive crop this summer, the first time in 30 years. They have signed up for a state government drive that rewards them with cash and freebies for ditching paddy for maize.

According to Haryana’s farm department, every hectare (2.4 acre) brought under maize cultivation from rice would save 14,000 litres of water needed for irrigation.

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"India currently holds surplus rice stocks and it was not easy convincing farmers to give up paddy," said Suresh.

The campaign worked because of a string of freebies and a state-backed guarantee that all the maize harvested by farmers, who signed up for the programme, would be bought by the state at federally fixed minimum support prices.

The share of Haryana’s districts that have depleted water reserves to "dangerous" levels has risen from 63 percent in 1995 to 89 percent in 2014, according to Ranjan Aneja, an economist with Central University of Haryana.

The state has seen an alarming fall in its groundwater levels. According to the Central Water Commission’s data, the average depth at which groundwater was available in 1975 was 9.19 metre. It dropped to 18.66 metre in 2016.

Despite a frightening water crisis, farmers prefer paddy, which requires 80 percent more water than, say, maize, because the power needed to draw water is virtually free for farmers. In the 1960s, such subsidies, along with better seeds, had spurred India’s green revolution, whose benefits are now wearing off.

Apart from the assurance to buy the harvest, each farmer who has switched to maize has got Rs 1,200 worth of good quality maize seeds free on a per acre basis, apart from Rs 2,000 in “production subsidy”, which is essentially a cash reward for not growing water-intensive rice crops.

"We tried explaining to farmers that while rice would fetch them Rs 1,750 per 100 kgs, they would get nearly as much for maize, whose minimum support price is Rs 1,700 per 100 kgs. Plus, the cost of cultivating maize is lower on an average by Rs 12,000," Gehlawat said.

Farmer Producer Company success story

Sayadri Farmer Producer company claims to be largest grape exporter in 2018-19 season

By: FE Bureau | 

Published: July 4, 2019 1:12:57 AM

Sahyadri Farms contributes 15% to the country’s grapes export. SFPC is among the major farmers’ producer companies in India with more than 8,000 marginal fruit and vegetable farmers.

The company has facilities in Mohadi, Nashik, with 6,000 tonne of cold storage facilities and has the capability to pack 250 tonne per day in a pack house system employing 2,000 labour on a daily basis.

Sahyadri Farmer Producer Company Ltd (SFPCL) said on Wednesday that it had exported 22,000 tonne (1,459 containers) of grapes to various overseas markets during the season of 2018-19. The company said this makes it the largest grape exporter in India. Sahyadri Farms contributes 15% to the country’s grapes export. SFPC is among the major farmers’ producer companies in India with more than 8,000 marginal fruit and vegetable farmers. As much as 63% of the total farmer population in India is made up of growers with less than 1 hectare of land and Sahyadri provides the infrastructure to allow even the smallest farmers to be part of a global supply chain, chairman & managing director Vilas Shinde said.

From 2010, the group of farmers in the company quadrupled to 550 in 2013. The year 2015 saw the company establish two divisions with the retail division providing 100% traceable produce.

The company has facilities in Mohadi, Nashik, with 6,000 tonne of cold storage facilities and has the capability to pack 250 tonne per day in a pack house system employing 2,000 labour on a daily basis. SFPC is among the country’s largest Global GAP certified groups.

The group’s retail chain extension — Sahyadri Farms — has set up company-owned retail stores for fresh and quality fruits and vegetable. There are 10 stores in function at New Mumbai and Nashik. In the next two years, Sahyadri intends to set up 200 retail outlets .

SFPCL, which is 100 % owned and run by farmers, has bagged exclusive production and marketing rights for India for ARRA grape varieties. Jupiter Group, a major European company, has chosen SFPCL as a growing partner in India for the ARRA varieties.

Sahyadri Farms, the country’s largest FPC, had signed an agreement with Jupiter and started a new era in the agricultural sector of the country. Jupiter’s CEO and Group MD Mark Tweddle and Vilas Shinde, CMD of Sahyadri Farms, recently announced at Sahyadri Farms. As the first table grape breeding programme to enter India, Grapa Varieties, which commercialise the ARRA varieties on behalf of Agriculture Research & Development, is also part of this venture.

After experimenting with ARRA varieties in the region of Nashik on test blocks, the company plans to cultivate ARRA plants by the end of 2019 and to scale it up by an additional 2,000 hectare by the end of 2023. Volume harvest is expected as early as 2020 for export to global markets. This includes many varieties of green, black and red grapes, Shinde said.

Shampoo sachet size health insurance

This is certainly the need of the hour because millions of Indians can't afford the usual luxury products in health insurance. Consider a maid servant or a sweeper in society or a small veggie vendor. A hospitalization is not only cost but loss of daily wages also. Such insurance cover is very helpful for these.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/eye-on-india/videos/mobikwik-offers-mini-insurance-launches-shampoo-sachet-health-plan-with-max-bupa-4138531.html

MobiKwik offers mini insurance, launches ‘shampoo-sachet’ health plan with Max Bupa

The payments platform is also looking to apply for a corporate agent license with the insurance regulator

M Saraswathy@maamitalks

   

Payments service provider MobiKwik wants to bring a “shampoo-sachet” concept to the insurance sector. The company has partnered standalone health insurer Max Bupa to offer a slew of bite-size insurance products in the medical insurance segment.

Upasana Taku, co-founder – MobiKwik, has told Moneycontrol that, while there are multiple insurance products in the country to choose from, a majority of Indians cannot afford to buy them.

“Insurers have products for individuals who have monthly income of Rs 40,000 and above. We want to offer products with premiums as low as Rs 20 so that the masses can buy it instantly,” she added.

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With respect to the partnership with Max Bupa, the company has launched a HospiCash plan that has an annual premium of Rs 135, which provides a daily cash allowance of Rs 500, for up to 30 days, during a hospital stay. There is an inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh. The higher variants of Rs 225 annual premium and Rs 400 annual premium provide Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 per day respectively.

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Taku said that they entered the insurance segment six months ago and have been selling 90,000-100,000 policies a month.

“Currently, we are selling products under the group platform. We will apply for a corporate agency licence with the insurance regulator. This will help us distribute insurance products with the right partners,” she added.

Corporate agents are allowed to sell products of three life, three non-life and three standalone health insurers each.

Ashish Mehrotra, MD & CEO – Max Bupa Health Insurance, has said that they foresee bite sized insurance products driving the insurance sector in the near future, eventually bringing more and more new customers into the ambit of health insurance.

Mehrotra said that they were enabling financial inclusion by making pocket size health insurance solutions available through the Mobikwik platform and plan to acquire one million (Mobikwik) customers over the next three-four years.

More than two decades ago, FMCG firm P&G introduced the concept of shampoo sachets in India. This was to enable price-sensitive customers to experience their products at a cost of Rs 1 and Rs 2 per sachet. This is exactly the idea that Taku aims to emulate in the insurance sector.

Recalling an experience that occurred four years ago, Taku said, when she had delivered a child, another woman had to admit her new-born child to the hospital for several weeks in the same hospital.

“The new parents had not at all planned for this emergency hospitalisation. It was then that I realised that the need of the market is more small-ticket and easy to purchase products,” she added.

Whenever a customer comes to the MobiKwik platform to make payments, Taku said that they target them during that period. For instance, the platform has a product that offers content cover against fire from gas leakage. The premium is Rs 25 per month for an insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh.

Similarly, there is a personal accident cover for Rs 20, Rs 60 and Rs 100 annual premium for sum-assured of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh respectively. Life insurance covers are available for Rs 148 annual premium for sum assured of Rs 1 lakh. Taku said that they would offer quarterly, as well as bi-yearly, premium options in the near future.

Taku also added that once customers started buying/renewing insurance on a regular basis, not only would their credit history improve but they would also be able to avail newer policies at a cheaper premium.

The share of insurance premiums in India’s gross domestic product (called insurance penetration) saw a marginal increase to 3.69 percent in FY18 from 3.49 percent a year ago. According to the Swiss Re sigma report, insurance density or premium per person stood at $73 for FY18 versus $59.7 in the previous year.

eNAM : A game changer for agriculture in India

The farmers having digital knowledge are going to benefit immensely. eNAM is an online live platform for agriculture produce trading across the nation. It gives knowledge to the farmers about the stock and price situation in markets all over India. Very much needed.
changemaker-digital-transformation-enam

Start-up co for farmers help

This is yet another factual story for agriculture. A small startup is helping farmers with technology to provide market information and also running collection centres for their produce. There is a lot of opportunities for young Indians to do a meaningful business with social impact.

Reference : Financial Express

ninjacart-a-tech-enabled-supply-chain-for-farm-produce

MahaFPC for farmers in Maharashtra

This news is not just an announcement but the report of success in helping farmers realise reasonable price for their produce while protecting consumers from high price. Just a beginning of new market model for farm produce in Naya Bharat!

Reference : The Tribune

maharashtra-farmers-take-corporate-route-to-keep-onion-prices-steadyl

The fluctuating prices of onion, which would often leave farmers and consumers in tears, may soon be a thing of the past.

The Maharashtra government has teamed up with cultivators’ companies to buy their stock during times of surplus for release during lean periods.

Be positive

This is information age and all of us are hungry for information on what's happening around. Through social media, we get a lot of news as well as from electronic media but it is mostly sensational and negative. How economy is bad, loss of jobs, farmers suicides, crisis in education etc. One wonders how are people living with so much of distress around. But that's not the case. There are positive things happening. The mass channels of information are not much interested because such news are not sensational. Even if we read or hear such news, we tend to ignore it as one off and turn to negative, dooms day type news. This results not only in supressing information but also builds negativity and frustration. Especially the younger generation suffers from this because they are in the age of dreaming big.
Hence we thought of launching this blog named Harbinger of India 2.0! Harbinger is a bird which announces the coming change. A lot of things are changing in India to usher in the Naya Bharat of new digital age. We simply want to collate the information and news available in public domain related to positive changes happening around. We don't want to give our own opinions on each piece because that will lead to supporting and objecting debates. We just want this to be a wardrobe of positive information. We hope our readers will find this blog interesting. We would love to receive any positive information one comes across but not included in this blog. Just make sure that it is apolitical, unbiased, non religious, non controversial.
Keep reading!