>Expressing concern over the sustainability of small farms, Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh on Saturday said 91 per cent of the total farm holding would belong to small and marginal farmers by 2030.
>According to the Agriculture Census, the total number of operational holdings in India numbered 138.35 million with an average size of 1.15 hectares. Of the total holdings, 85 per cent are in marginal and small farm categories of less than 2 hectares, Singh said.
>"These small farms, though operating only on 44 per cent of land under cultivation, are the main providers of food and nutritional security to the nation, but have limited access to technology, inputs, credit, capital and markets," Singh said.
>He was speaking at the national convention on challenges in agriculture and future strategies for sustainability at Jabalpur.
>Though small and marginal farmers have higher productivity compared with large-sized holdings, they have low marketable surplus and profit.
https://archive.is/upv7h
>As India prepares to import corn for the first time in 16 years, at least one stipulation in its international tender has become much tougher to meet — that shipments of the crop are completely free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
>India, a country of 1.2 billion people, has rules that are supposed to ensure that imports contain no trace of GMOs.
https://archive.is/1EcFQ
Foodgrain production may marginally increase despite drought in 2015-16
>India's foodgrain production in 2015-16 crop year (July-June) is estimated to be 253.16 million tonnes (MT) - marginally higher than the overall production in the year 2014-15.
>Second advance estimate of the country's foodgrain production in 2015-16, which is to be released by the agriculture ministry this week, signals that the better output of Rabi (winter) crops - mainly wheat and pulses - may offset the deficit recorded in Kharif (summer) crops.
>The estimate notes that the foodgrain production during 2015-16 will be 253.16 MT as compared to 252.02 MT in 2014-15. Slightly better output is attributed to contingency measures and promotions of better crop varieties during the Rabi season.
>After facing a setback during the first fortnight of January due to warmer winter, the Rabi sowing could later pick up with return of chill during the second fortnight of last month.
https://archive.is/RXwvf
Flower fascination: India set to be floriculture trade leader
>Though the country had during 2014-15 exported floriculture products worth over Rs 460 crore, its overall share is quite low in the global trade of nearly USD 40 billion or nearly Rs 2,72,000 crore.
>"There is a great demand for Indian flowers in Gulf countries. Besides the major cut flowers, the export of traditional flowers such as jasmine and marigold is also gaining momentum in recent times," said A K Singh, managing director of the agriculture ministry's National Horticulture Board (NHB).
>Explaining how floriculture in the country moved from "dormancy to infancy", backed by growing domestic demand and policy support from the government, Singh said, "The country is bestowed with ideal temperature conditions for commercial floriculture throughout the year in some or other part.
https://archive.is/Gbwjg
Government approves setting up of an exclusive research institution for organic farming
>Setting up the institute in Sikkim assumes significance as it is the only state in the country which has adopted organic farming on a universal basis (as a fully organic state).
>The state has a legislation to back adoption of organic (chemical fertilizer\pesticide-free) farming as the only farm practice. It also has a law that prohibits use of agro-chemicals in the state.
https://archive.is/IgQkE
Blood is new cash crop for drought-hit Bundelkhand’s farmers
http://archive.is/3Xsbw
