Current facts in Agriculture (For JRF, SRF and IARI

Ph. D. entrance exams)

Prepared and Compiled by
Dr. Manjunatha, N.
Scientist
ICAR-IGFRI,
Jhansi (UP)
&
Dr. Neelkanth S. Hiremani
Scientist
ICAR-CICR,
Nagpur (MH)

2016-17
 WORLD AGRICULTURAL SCENARIO AND POSITION OF INDIA (2016-17)

RICE: CHINA > INDIA > INDONESIA

MAIZE: USA>CHINA >BRAZIL (INDIA 4th)
WHEAT: EUROPE UNION> CHINA > INDIA
GROUNDNUT: CHINA > INDIA>USA
SUGARCANE: BRAZIL > INDIA>CHINA
TOTAL CEREALS: CHINA > USA > INDIA
COARSE CEREALS: USA > CHINA > BRAZIL > INDIA
TOTAL PULSES: INDIA – 1st
MUSTARD & RAPESEED: CHINA > CANADA > INDIA
VETETABLES: CHINA > INDIA> USA
FRUITS & VEG: CHINA > INDIA
COTTON: CHINA > USA > INDIA
TOBACCO: CHINA > BRAZIL > INDIA
TEA, JUTE & ALLIED FIBRES: INDIA – 1st
COFFEE-INDIA- 7th
CATTLE POPULATION: 1st INDIA (16.5%)
BUFFALO POPULATION: 1st INDIA (56.7%)
MILK PRODUCTION: 1st INDIA (15%)
EGG PRODUCTION: CHINA>USA>INDIA
TOTAL AGRICULTURAL LAND IN THE WORLD: 7.5%
TOTAL AREA OF INDIA- 328.7 m ha-2.4% of world-7th position
TOTAL ARABLE LAND in INDIA- 162 m ha-2nd after USA
LOWEST AGRICULTURAL BASED COUNTRY: U.K. (6%)
HIGHEST AGRICULTURAL BASED COUNTRY: MALAVI (92%)
TOTAL AGRICULTURAL BASED POPULATION in INDIA 50 %
Important facts of agriculture (2016-17)

 India stands 97th position in Global hunger index (2016)

 GDP Growth of India in 2015-16 was 7.9 % and present is 7.1 % (2016-17) (CSO,
Advance estimation @ basic price 2011-12)
 Gross value added (GVA) growth rate of India in 2015-16 was 7.8 % and present is
6.7 % (2016-17)
 GVA contribution of Agriculture & Allied sectors
17.5 % (2015-16) and 17.3 % (2016-17) (Advance estimation @basic price 2011-12)
 GVA growth rate of Agriculture and allied sector
0.8 % (2015-16) and 4.4 % (2016-17) (Advance estimation @basic price 2011-12)
 Total production of milk : 155.5 mt (2015-16)
 Per capita availibity of milk :337 gms/day
 Total production of coffee in 2015-16 was 355600 metric tonnes (MT)
 India stands 7th in coffee production and first is Brazil
 Karnataka stands first in coffee production in India
 Total egg production – 78. 48 billion
 Andra Pradesh stands first in egg production
 India stands 3rd in Egg production
 Total fish production in 10. 8 mt (2015-16) ie around 6.4 % of world fish
production
 Marine fish production in the country stood at 3.58 mt in 2015-16
 Total wool production in 2014-15 is 48.14 million kg (raw wool)
 Top wool producing state in India is Rajasthan
 Total meat production in 2016-17 is 7.37 million tons (Target estimated)
 Uttar Pradesh is top meat producing state in India
 Poverty of India: 21.9%
 Contribution of agriculture and allied sectors in Grass domestic product was
54.5% in 1950-51 and is reduced to 17.30 % in 2016. Agriculture is the primary
source of livelihood for about 58 % of India’s population
 Agriculture accounts for about 10 % of the total export (2014-15)
 Agriculture accounts for about 3.4 % of the total import.
  Highest exported: Cereals
 Highest imported: Edible oil and pulses
 There are 46 export authorities in India
 Cropping intensity of India is 138.9 % (2015-16) and 137 % (2011-12)
 USA is having highest area under coarse cereals 37.5 mha and India stands 3rd
(29.0) mha
 Rajasthan has highest area under coarse cereals 7.13 mha

Recent Environmental facts (2016):

 Total forest cover of India 79.42 mha (2015), which is 24.16 % of Total geographical
area
 The theme of earth day 2016 was “Trees for the earth”
 Madhya Pradesh has largest forest cover area
 On percentage basis Mizoram has highest forest area
 Norway has become the first country to ban deforestation
 Scientists of UK developed outdoor laboratory named ‘Sci-fi’ to track how forest trees
respond to level of CO2 concentrations
 Light pollution is artificial brightening of the night sky caused by man-made lightening
sources, which has a disruptive effect on natural cycles and inhibits the observation of
stars and planets.

Nano technology

 The term 'nanotechnology' can be traced back to 1974. It was first used by Norio
Taniguchi in a paper entitled "On the Basic Concept of Nano-Technology".
 Nanotechnology deals with the matter considered at Nano-scale (1-100 nm)
 In India, IIT Mumbai is the leading organization in the field of nanotechnology
Important facts about irrigation in INDIA and World (2016-17)
 42% of the world irrigation is located in only 2 countries: China and India

 78 % of the world's harvested irrigated crops area is in the Asian continent.

 Rice is the world's largest irrigated cereal, covering 29% of the total irrigated crop area
and almost half of the irrigated cereals area

 Total irrigated area in India: 64.7 mha

 Punjab (98.1 %)>Haryana (87.6%)>UP (75.9%)

 Highest area under irrigation in India: U. P

 Sugarcane (93.7 %) highly irrigated crop in India

 Highest non-irrigated area in India : Mizoram

 Potential area for micro irrigation in India : 69.5 mha

 Area under micro irrigation system in India: 7.73Mha (2015)

 Area under drip irrigation in India : 3.37 mha

 Area under sprinkler irrigation in India : 4.36 mha

 Highest area under micro irrigation in India : Rajasthan (1.68 mha)

 Sources of irrigation tube well (57 %), Canals (32 %)

 USA is having highest micro irrigation system: Sprinkler

 Majority of the area covered under micro irrigation systems comes under sprinkler
irrigation with 56.4 % while 43.6 % comes under drip irrigation.
 Rice is the world's largest irrigated cereal, covering 29% of the total irrigated crop area
and almost half of the irrigated cereals area
 90 % of irrigation in Israel under micro-irrigation
 Over 324 mha are equipped for irrigation worldwide.
 42% of the world irrigation is located in only 2 countries: China and India
 China with the largest irrigation area
 Total sprinkler irrigation in the world 35 mha
 Revolutions related to agriculture
Green Revolution – over all crop production
White Revolution – Milk production
Blue Revolution – Fish production
Black Revolution – Petroleum Production/crude oil production
Brown Revolution – Leather/Cocoa production
Golden Fibre Revolution – Jute Production
Golden Revolution – Fruits/Overall Horticulture development/Honey Production
Grey Revolution – Fertilizer
Red Revolution – Meat & Tomato Production
Round Revolution – Potato
Silver Fiber Revolution – Cotton
Silver Revolution – Egg/Poultry Production
Evergreen Revolution – Overall development of Agriculture

Fertilizer consumption scenario (2016-17)

 Per hectare consumption :1st is Punjab – 266 kg/ ha, 2nd is Andhra Pradesh – 244
kg/ ha, 3rd is Tamil Nadu – 227kg/ ha, 4th is Haryana -225kg/ha
 All India average is 144 kg/ha.
 Lowest fertilizer consumption states are Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim.
 U.P has highest total fertilizer consumption state
 Imported fertilizer- Potash from Jordan and Tunesia
 India is third in fertilizer production and second in consumption
 China is first in fertilizer consumption
 NPK ratio in 2013-14 was 8.2:3.2:1 ( India )
NPK ratio in 2013-14 in Punjab was 61.7:19.2:1; in Haryana, it was 61.4:18.7:1;
in Rajasthan, it was 44.9:16.5:1; and in Uttar Pradesh, it was 25.2:8.8:1
 Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Policy (2010) where a fixed rate of subsidy is
announced on nutrients. The NBS covers three macro nutrients (Nitrogen,
Phosphorus and Potassium) and two micro nutrients (Zinc and Boron).
  New Urea policy-2015: the government allowed the urea producers to produce up
to 100% of production as Neem coated urea.

Pesticide consumption scenario (2016-17)

 The per capita consumption of pesticides in India is 0.6 Kg/ha which is the lowest
in the world.
 It is also noted that about 15-25% potential crop production is lost due to pests,
weeds and diseases (in India)
 Punjab, Maharashtra are the top pesticide consuming states
 The major pesticides applications are found in rice and cotton crops (1st Paddy,
2nd Cotton)
 Rice and wheat crops are the major application areas for herbicides.
 Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana & Seemandhra), Maharashtra and
Punjab are top three states contributing to 45% of pesticide consumption in India.
 Andhra Pradesh is the leading consumer with 24% share.
 Total registered pesticides in India- 275
 Total banned pesticides in India- 28
 Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIB & RC)-To
facilitate the registration of safe, efficacious and quality pesticides for domestic
use and export

Transgenic crops scenario (2016-17)

 India has the 4th largest area planted under genetically modified (GM) crops,
according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech
Applications (ISAAA).
 Final approval committee on release of transgenic in India – is GEAC (Genetic
Engineering Approval Committee)
 Leading countries in transgenic use - USA>Brazil > Argentina>India (4th)>Canada
 Leading transgenic crops - Soybean >Cotton>Maize > Canola
 Area under transgenic plants in India (2014)-11.6 mha.
 Total area in world under GM crops 181.5 mha
  Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana has claimed developing
country’s first genetically-modified (GM) varieties of cotton – PAU Bt 1 and
F1861. Cotton is the only GM crop allowed to be cultivated in India. The Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) also has identified three Bt cotton
varieties –F1861, PAU Bt 1 and RS2013 for cultivation in Punjab, Haryana and
Rajasthan.
 Area under Bt- cotton (96 % of cotton production): Gujarat stands first
 In the past year, the government has approved field trials of GM crops for field
trails include transgenic Rice, Cotton, Maize (corn), Mustard, Brinjal and
Chickpea

List of awardees in agriculture sector 2015-16

 Dr. Amrita patel- Mahindra samriddi India agri life time achievement award
(Krishi Siromani Samman) for implementation of NDDB operation flood
programme
 Sir Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh - 2015 winner of the World Food Prize.
He is the founder of Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC, has been
hailed as the most effective anti-poverty organization in the world
 World food prize 2016: The three-person team from the International Potato
Center (known by its Spanish acronym CIP) Dr. Maria Andrade (Cape Verde), Dr.
Robert Mwanga (Uganda) and Dr. Jan Low (USA) – is being honored for their
achievement in developing the single most successful example of micronutrient and
vitamin bio-fortification – the orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP).

ICAR at Glance
 Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer welfare is the ex-office President of the
ICAR society (President- Radha Mohan Singh).
 In last Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that
Seven decade-old Agriculture Ministry will be renamed as ‘Agriculture and
Farmers’ Welfare Ministry
  Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research &Education Ministry of
Agriculture, Govt, of India & Director General, ICAR-the Principal Executive
Officer of the Council. (Present DG – Dr. T. Mahapatra)
 Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board ,Chairman-Dr. Guru Bachan Singh
 Deputy Directors-General (8)
 Assistant Directors-General (24)
 Directorates /Project Directorates -13
 National Bureaux-6 [New- NBAII, Bengaluru and NBAIM, Mau (UP)]
 Deemed Universities-4
 Agriculture Universities- 73
 National Research Centers (NRCs) – 15 ( Newly added: National Research
Centre on Integrated Farming (ICAR-NRCIF), Motihar)
 AICRPs- 60
 Institutes- 64
 Network projects-19
 Chairman of National Commission for Farmers- Dr. M.S. Swaminathan
 Central Agricultural Universities-3 (Imphal, Jhansi and Bihar)
 Network projects-18
 ATARI (Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes) – 8
 KVKS- 665
 The Council launched a new initiative “Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Unnat
Krishi Shiksha Yojana” for training of farmers in organic farming and
sustainable farming.

New varieties of field and horticultural crops (2016)

 Early maturing summer Mungbean: Virat

 High zinc rice variety: DRR Dhan 45
 High protein rice variety: CR Dhan 310
 Bacterial leaf blight disease resistant rice varieties: Pusa 1592 and Punjab Basmati-3
 Blast disease resistant rice variety: Pusa 1609
 Bacterial wilt resistant tomato hybrid: Arka Samrat
  Pusa Betakesari variety of cauliflower- 1st indigenous bred bio-fortified for beta
carotene developed by IARI
 New variety of pigeon pea developed by IARI is Pusa arhar-16 (120 days maturity and
determinate in growth)
 World earliest maturity variety of cotton genotype was identified by CICR scientist
(2017)- variety name: Yugank
Digital resources of ICAR
 KIRAN (Knowledge innovation repository agriculture in North East): Scientific plat
form for North East region to help in crop production
 CANE info: information on Sugarcane
 KRISHI- Knowledge based Resources Information Systems Hub for Innovations in
agriculture, is an initiative of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to bring its
knowledge resources to all stakeholders at one place.
New initiatives:
 To promote agricultural education among several students, we declared and celebrated 3rd
December as the National Agricultural Education Day.
 To appreciate the role of women in agriculture, we declared and also observed 15th
October as Mahila Kisan Diwas
 The ICAR observed the year 2016 as the International Year of Pulses as declared by the
United Nations. To this effect, we established 150 seed hubs for pulses to help increase
the availability of quality seeds.
 The Council launched a new initiative “Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Unnat Krishi
Shiksha Yojana” for training of farmers in organic farming and sustainable farming.
 Leaf rust of wheat is the most widespread among all rusts and causes maximum loss in
India.
 A new leaf-rust resistance gene LrLWH in LWH-2 was identified in a bread wheat
landrace (Hango-2), from Hango, Himachal Pradesh.
 India's first fully organic state Sikkim to now have institute on Organic Farming National
Organic Farming Research Institute (NOFRI) is all set to come up in Sikkim.
 Sikkim has become India’s first fully organic state by converting around 75,000 hectares
of agricultural land into sustainable cultivation.
  National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) NIHSAD is located in
Bhopal. Its old name was High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), a regional
station of Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar.
 National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (NIVEDI)
NIVEDI located in Bengaluru.
 National Research Centre on Integrated Farming System (ICAR-NRCIF) will come up
in Motihar, Bihar.

Chief/Director of Institutes of National and International bodies

 ICAR: DG- Dr. T. Mahapatra
 ASRB: Dr. Gurubachan Singh
 UN Secretary: Mr. Ban Ki Moon
 UN Members- 193 countries
 International Monetary Fund(IMF) New chief: Christine Lagarde
 DG of FAO: Jose Graziano Da sliva
 Chairman of NABARD: Dr. Harish Kumar Bhanwala
 IFPRI: DG: Shenggen Fan
 PPV &FRA-R. R. Hanchinal
 Governor of RBI: Urjit Patel
 President of World Bank: Jim Yong Kim
 World bank chief economist : Kaushik Basu
 Niti (National Institution for Transforming India) ayog CEO: Amitabh Kant
 Niti Ayog chairman: Narendra Modi
 Niti ayog Vice Chairman: Arvind Panagariya
 Director of IMD: K J Ramesh
 Chairman of National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) : Hem Pande
 Secretary general of world meteorological organization : Petteri Taalas

FAO International year

 2015- International year of soils
 2016- International year of pulses
 2017- International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development
The CGIAR’s International Agronomical Research Centers
1. CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre) Turrialba, Cartago,
Costa Rica
2. CIAT (Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical) Cali, Columbia
3. CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), Mexico City, Mexico
4. CIP (International Potato Center), Lima, Peru
5. IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute), Washington D.C., United States
6. ICRAF (World Agroforestry Centre formerly International Center for Research in
Agroforestry), Nairobi, Kenya
7. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya
8. IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture), Ibadan, Nigeria
9. CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research), Bogor Barat, Indonesia
10. ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), Patancheru,
India
11. IRRI (International Rice Research Institute), Los Banos, Philippines
12. IWMI (International Water management Institute) Colombo, Sri Lanka
13. Biodiversity International, Rome, Italy
14. CGIAR Consortium Office, Montpellier, France
15. ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), Beirut,
Libanon, Syria
16. WARDA (West Africa Rice Development Association)
17. ISNAR (International Service for National Agricultural Research), Netherlands
Agriculture production scenario 2016-17
 The growth rate for the agriculture and allied sectors is estimated to be 4.1 per cent for
2016-17.
 Estimated food grain’s production of food grains 270.10 -271.98 million tonnes (mt). It
is 7% higher than the 252.23 mt of production estimated for 2015-16.
 USDA reports India has estimated production of 370 lakh bales making it the largest
cotton producing nation in the world.
Table: Area under production of different kharif crops
Crops 2015-16 2016-17
(mha) (mha)
Rice 38.10 39.12
Pulses 11.32 14.62
Pigeon pea 3.76 5.28
Black gram (Urad bean) 2.85 3.56
Green Gram 2.56 3.41
Coarse cereals 18.58 19.05
Jowar 1.98 1.96
Bajra 7.05 7.04
Ragi 1.16 1.04
Kahrif Maize 7.79 8.44
Oilseeds 18.51 19.03
Groundnut 3.67 4.70
Soybean 11.62 11.47
Sunflower 0.15 0.17
Others
Sugarcane 4.96 4.61
Jute & Mesta 0.77 0.76
Cotton 11.7 10.36
Total 103.97 107.57

Production of some important crops (2016-17, estimated)

Rice – 108.86 mt Wheat – 96.64 mt Coarse Cereals – 44.34 mt
Maize – 26.15 mt Pulses – 22.14 mt Gram – 9.12 mt
Tur (Redgram) – 4.23 mt Urad – 2.89 mt Oilseeds – 33.60 mt
Soybean – 14.13 mt Groundnut – 8.47 mt Castor seed – 1.74 mt
Cotton – 32.51 million bales (of 170 kg each) Sugarcane – 309.98 mt

Pulses scenario in India

 Production of Gram (chickpea) is the highest among all pulses produced in the country
 Chickpeas contributes the single largest share in India’s export basket of pulses registering
85.64% and 84.87% share in the total pulses export during 2014-15 and 2015-16
respectively.
 Peas forms a major share in the total import of pulses
 India is largest pulse processor in the world
  Gujarat is having highest productivity of pulses
 Canada is largest exporter of pulses
 India’s average pulse productivity 730 kg/ha whereas, Canada’s 1900 kg /ha
 Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka are the top five
pulses producing States
 State wise rank in pulses production: MH>RJ>UP>MP (Kharif pulses), MP>UP>RJ>MH
(Rabi pulses)

Top producing states with respect to different crops

Apple: Jammu & Kashmir
Bamboos: Assam
Cashewnut: Kerala
Wheat: Uttar Pradesh
Jute: West Bengal
Mustard: Rajasthan
Paddy: West Bengal
Rubber: Kerala
Soyabean: Madhya Pradesh
Tobacco: Andhra Pradesh
Pigeon pea: Uttar Pradesh
Total Food Grains – Uttar Pradesh
Total Spices – Andhra Pradesh
Rice: West Bengal Bajra: Rajasthan
Bananas: Tamilnadu Barley: Uttar Pradesh
Chillies: Maharashtra Cotton: Gujarat
Gram & Pulses: Madhya Pradesh Groundnut: Gujarat
Mango: Uttar Pradesh Maize: Uttar Pradesh
Onion: Maharashtra Pepper: Kerala
Potato: Uttar Pradesh Ragi: Karnataka
Silk: Karnataka Sugarcane: Uttar Pradesh
Sunflower: Karnataka Tea: Assam
Turmeric: Andhra Pradesh Wheat: Uttar Pradesh
Coconut: Kerala
Total Fruits – Andhra Pradesh
Total Vegetables – West Bengal

Recent advances/Schemes/ in agriculture

 Revenue Insurance Scheme for Plantation Crops (RISPC): a new Digital Green App
started by Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry for protecting the growers from the
risks such as pest attacks, yield loss and income decline caused by fall in prices.
 Rubber Soil Information System (RubSIS): RubSIS is an online system for application
of appropriate mix of fertilizers to specific plantations of robber growers based on the soil
nature.
 The adoption of the Delhi Declaration on Agro-biodiversity Management was made in
1st International Agro-Biodiversity Congress was held in New Delhi from 6th -9th Nov,
2016
 NITI Aayog on 31st Oct 2016 launched the first ever Agricultural Marketing & Farm
Friendly Reforms Index.
 Mars soil is suitable for growing vegetables according to Dutch scientists.
 India recorded the highest ever tea production at 1233 million kilos during 2015-2016,
and exports crossed 230 million kilos during this period.
 IARI has developed early maturing (120 days) Pigeon pea variety which is of
determinate habit, short stature and suited for close planting.
 First Mega Food Park is started in Madhya Pradesh
 KISAN [C (K)rop Insurance using Space technology And geoiNformatics] project was
launched by of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & FW, Ministry of Agriculture
and FW and ISRO.
 Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn], has become one of the mandate crops of
ICRISAT.
 Gujarat is becoming the first state in the country to launch ‘Agro-Solar policy’ to
encourage the farmers tap the solar energy.
 The BHIM app (Bharat Interface for Money) is introduced by Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley
 Mrida Parikshak:
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal has developed a mini lab named Mrida
parikshak’. It is a digital mobile quantitative mini lab to provide soil testing service at
farmers’ doorsteps.
 Soil health card scheme
The GOI has initiated the ‘Soil Health card scheme’ in February 2015
 Farmer FIRST (Farm, Innovations, Resources, Science and Technology)
It is an ICAR initiative to enhance farmers-scientists contact with multi stake holder’s
participation.
 Mera Gaon – Mera Gaurav
 It is launched by ICAR to provide farmers with required information, knowledge and
advisories on regular basis.
 Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA)
Scheme ICAR has initiated a programme on “Attracting and Retaining Youth in
Agriculture” to empower youth in rural areas to take up agriculture, allied and service
sector enterprises for sustainable income and gainful employment in selected districts.
 M-Kisan
M-Kisan is a mobile-based agriculture advisory services that enables all Central and State
government organizations in agriculture and allied sectors to give
information/services/advisories to farmers by SMS in their language, preference of
agricultural practices and location
 STUDENT READY
READY refers to “Rural and Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana”.
Student READY is a skill development initiative to strengthen students with skills to take
up global challenges and also to improve both their employability as well as ability to set
up a venture.
 Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
It is a central scheme that aims at providing irrigation facilities to every village in the
country by converging ongoing irrigation schemes implemented by various ministries.
 Soil Health Card
The scheme is launched to provide every farmer a Soil Health Card in a mission mode. The
card will carry crop wise recommendations of nutrients/fertilizers required for farms,
making it possible for farmers to improve productivity by using appropriate inputs.
 Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana/ Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana
(Traditional Farming Improvement Programme) has been launched by Government of
India to support and promote organic farming and thereby improving soil health.
 National Agriculture Market (NAM)
NAM is envisaged as a pan-India electronic trading portal which seeks to network the
existing Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) and other market yards to
create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
  Krishi Dak
Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has initiated a novel scheme – Krishi Dak
in 20 districts in which postmen supplies seeds of improved varieties of crops to the farmers
in remote areas.
 Apurva
 Apurva is a new cloned buffalo calf from the somatic cell of urine, an excretory material
of elite female Murrah buffalo. It was produced by scientists at the National Dairy
Research Institute in Karnal.
 Deepasha
Scientists at the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal, Haryana have produced a
female clone (named Deepasha) of endangered wild buffalo (named Asha) of Chhattisgarh
in December 2014. It was cloned through hand-guided cloning technique. Asha is a
schedule-1 animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and is in the red list of the
International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is an endangered animal as there is only
one wild buffalo in the country.

Minimum support price (MSP) for agriculture commodities in India

Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to
insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. The minimum support prices
are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops
on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices
(CACP).
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), National Cooperative
Consumers’ Federation (NCCF), Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and Small Farmers
Agri Business Consortium (SFAC) will be the nodal agencies for procurement of oilseeds and
pulses, and losses if any, incurred by the nodal agencies in such operations would be fully
reimbursed.
MSP are currently announced for 25 commodities or 23 crops. They are as follows,
Cereals (7): Paddy, Wheat, Barley, Jowar, Bajra, Maize and Ragi
Pulses (5): Gram, Arhar/tur, Moong, Urad and Lentil (in 2016 pulses are considered
as bonus commodities for MSP)
 Oilseeds (8): Groundnut, Rapeseed/mustard, Toria, Soyabean, Sunflower seed,
Sesamum, Safflower seed and Niger seed
Others (5): Copra, Raw cotton, Raw jute, Sugarcane, Virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco

Table: Minimum Support Prices Recommended by CACP and Fixed by Government

Crops 2015-16 2016-17

(Rs/Qt) (Rs/Qt)
Kharif crops
Paddy (Common) 1410 1470
Paddy (Grade A) 1450 1510
Jowar (Hybrid) 1570 1625
Jowar (Maldandi) 1590 1650
Bajra 1275 1330
Ragi 1650 1725
Maize 1325 1365
Tur (Redgram) 4625 5050
Moong 4850 5225
Urad 4625 5000
Groundnut 4030 4220
Sunflower seed 3800 3950
Soybean black - -
Soybean yellow 2600 2775
Sesamum 4700 5000
Niger seed 3650 3825
Medium staple cotton 3800 3860
Long staple cotton 4100 4160
Rabi crops
Wheat 1525 1625
Barley 1225 1325
Gram 3425 4000
Lentil 3325 3950
Mustard/ Rapeseed 3350 3700
Safflower 3300
Commercial crops
Jute - -
Sugarcane - -
Copra (milling) 5940 -
Copra (ball) 6240 -