As devastated farmers begin to come to terms with the fallout, 4 lakh hectares of land under paddy cultivation across state is flooded. Punjab is among the biggest contributors to PDS.
Removal of restrictions is expected to contribute towards economic stability. Exports were prohibited from 8 Dec 2023 due to an estimated 20% decline in Kharif and late Kharif production.
Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal said total food grain production for the agricultural year 2022-23 is projected at 330.5 million tonnes.
High exports driven by demand from China led to shortage in country, where broken rice is used to make ethanol & as cattle feed. Lower & delayed planting likely to hit production too.
In 5 east UP districts, where rice is primary rain-fed crop, the overwhelming sentiment is despair. For most, planting has been delayed by over a month, which means a drop in yield.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the bumper crop is being achieved on account of 'tireless hard work of farmers and scientists besides farmer-friendly govt policies'.
We have failed terribly at two important things. One, we are reacting to this issue only emotionally, not logically. And two, we are not asking the right questions.
WhatsApp privacy policy case is among a string of matters involving practices like restrictive platform rules, pricing & billing policies, reflecting India’s tight scrutiny of market dominance.
Bihar is blessed with a land more fertile for revolutions than any in India. Why has it fallen so far behind then? Constant obsession with politics is at the root of its destruction.
So, there will be a shortage of rice for ethanol? I say that’s a good thing. This whole business of growing more subsidized rice from tax money, and then selling the ethanol again to the taxpayer, needs to stop. Ask Punjab farmers to switch to pulses and oilseeds and cotton instead, to reduce our imports. Everyone will benefit from this.
Punjab is not India’s rice bowl. Telangana is.
So, there will be a shortage of rice for ethanol? I say that’s a good thing. This whole business of growing more subsidized rice from tax money, and then selling the ethanol again to the taxpayer, needs to stop. Ask Punjab farmers to switch to pulses and oilseeds and cotton instead, to reduce our imports. Everyone will benefit from this.