The proposal has been discussed between Pakistan and the IMF and a draft of the legal amendment has also been prepared….reports Asian Lite News
The Pakistan government is considering imposing a federal tax on agricultural income to meet a demand by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and legal experts say it is possible without amending the Constitution, Express Tribune reported.
The proposal has been discussed between Pakistan and the IMF and a draft of the legal amendment has also been prepared.
Pakistan tax authorities have told the IMF that the legal amendment could be introduced in the 4th Tax Laws Amendment Ordinance.
The sources said that during the review talks, a major demand by the IMF was to bring the agricultural sector under the federal tax domain.
However, the two sides were unable to agree upon the memorandum for economic policies (MEFP).
“The agricultural income can be brought into the federal tax net without a constitutional amendment,” Federal Law and Justice Minister Farogh Naseem told The Express Tribune.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman and the Finance Adviser have already taken up the issue with the Law Minister, the report said
However, it is unclear as to whether or not Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan would clear the proposal amid the increasing political and economic instability in the country.
Under the 1973 Constitution, the federal government could not impose tax on agricultural income as the matter fell in the provincial domain, the report said.
However, the provincial governments, over a period of time, shied away from the matter due to the influence of landlords, it added.
The federal government in consultation with the law ministry has found a solution where the federal income tax can be imposed on the agricultural income by only amending the Income Tax Ordinance of 2001.
They said the tax authorities were considering restricting the definition of agricultural income to only income from “crops” by amending Section 41 of the income tax law.
Scientists, however, are not exempted from the obligation to notify the Department for environment food and rural affairs (Defra) of any research trials…reports Asian Lite News.
Gene editing regulations in agricultural research would be eased in England as part of a plan to use post-Brexit freedoms to tackle problems related to farming and food security, the UK farming and environment minister, George Eustice, said on Wednesday.
George Eustice (Wikipedia)
“Gene editing has the ability to harness the genetic resources that nature has provided. It is a tool that could help us in order to tackle some of the biggest challenges that we face – around food security, climate change and biodiversity loss,” Eustice said.
The move, marks the first major shift away from European Union laws, which has prohibited gene editing along with genetically modified organisms for decades amid fears that it is unsafe.
EU Flag
Scientists, however, are not exempted from the obligation to notify the Department for environment food and rural affairs (Defra) of any research trials.
It is reported that the government plans to continue taking steps towards relaxation of regulations in this area.
“The next step will be to review the regulatory definitions of a genetically modified organism, to exclude organisms produced by gene editing and other genetic technologies if they could have been developed by traditional breeding,” Defra announced on Wednesday.
The change just applies to England as agriculture is devolved within the United Kingdom and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own rules. (ANI/Sputnik)
Agriculture is one of the most important of the 14 sectors as about 1.7 billion plus people i.e., 22 per cent of the global population lives in BIMSTEC countries…reports Asian Lite News
India, which hosted the 8th meeting of agriculture experts of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries, on Tuesday called for enhancing the engagement in agriculture and allied sectors amongst the BIMSTEC member states.
Highlighting the UN Food System Summit 2021 and the transformations that are happening in the agriculture and food systems globally, India’s Secretary, Agricultural Research & Education and Indian Council of Agricultural Research Director General, Dr Trilochan Mohapatra sought enhanced engagement and deepening of cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors amongst the BIMSTEC member states by encouraging the exchange of knowledge, germplasm, students, and experts.
He also emphasised addressing biosafety and biosecurity concerns and promoting digital agriculture along with the trade of technologies for developing resilient agriculture, food systems and value chains, a release said here.
Mohapatra chaired the daylong virtual meeting with Myanmar’s Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Ministry’s Deputy Director General, Planning, Dr Thanda Kyi, as the co-chair. Experts in agricultural and people from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand participated in the meeting, the release said.
The BIMSTEC member states appreciated the greater engagement of India offering six slots of scholarships each for Masters and PhD programmes in agriculture and its other initiatives for capacity development and training including the development of seed sectors.
The cooperation in the areas of high impact transboundary diseases of livestock and poultry, aquatic animal diseases and biosecurity in aquaculture, and digitalisation to promote precision farming was also discussed in the meeting.
The BIMSTEC provides a unique link between south and southeast Asia with five countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka from South Asia and Myanmar and Thailand from southeast Asia coming together on one platform for cooperation in 14 key economic and social sectors of the economy.
The BIMSTEC was founded in 1997 with an ambition to pursue mutual trade, connectivity, and cultural, technical, and economic development in the region. Initially, six sectors- trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism, and fisheries were included for sectoral cooperation, which was later expanded to 14 areas of cooperation.
Agriculture is one of the most important of the 14 sectors as about 1.7 billion plus people i.e., 22 per cent of the global population lives in BIMSTEC countries and agriculture & allied activities are central to the economic and social development of the region, the release added.
Tomar also said: “The government has not entered into any agreement with private companies for establishing Agristack…reports Asian Lite News.
The government is in the process of bringing out a data policy for the agriculture sector, the Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare has commenced work for creating ‘Agristack’, and for this, it is in the process of finalising the “India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA)” which will lay down the framework, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told Lok Sabha members K. Kanimozhi and Brijendra Singh in a written reply.
The government had constituted a task force and in furtherance, a concept paper on IDEA has been prepared and comments were invited from subject experts, farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), and the general public.
Tomar also said: “The government has not entered into any agreement with private companies for establishing Agristack. However, based on data which is already available in the public domain pertaining to several schemes of GoI and linking them with land records data, a federated farmers’ database is being prepared.”
Once completed, this would serve as the core of Agristack, he said.
“Some data from this is shared on a selective basis with leading technology/agri-tech/start-up companies to develop Proof of Concepts (PoCs). The collaboration is on a pro-bono basis for a period of one year. The PoCs will help us understand the solutions that can be built using available data and some of them if found beneficial to the farmers, will be scaled up at the national level.
“As of now, the federated farmers’ database is being built by taking the publicly available data as existing in various data silos in Government and no private data of the farmers is shared with any private organisation,” Tomar said.
Not just that. The benefits of the existing MSP system have mostly been reaped by the large farmers besides the middlemen…reports Mahua Venkatesh.
India’s farm sector needs critical but rational reforms. But a lot will now depend on the newly formed Ministry of Cooperation under the aegis of Home Minister Amit Shah to streamline and modernise the agri sector, in tune with India’s unique and specific conditions.
“The new ministry needs to figure out ways which would allow the government to take the reform process forward in the agriculture sector,” an insider said. How to strike the balance between farmers aspirations and agri-modernisation in tune with global best practices will be the challenge.
While the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism has been in place since 1965 with a twin objective of preventing agriculture prices from crashing and protecting poor farmers, only 6 per cent of the farming community in the country has benefitted from this system, a recently published study by RIS (Research and Information System for Developing Countries) noted.
Not just that. The benefits of the existing MSP system have mostly been reaped by the large farmers besides the middlemen.
Amul’s managing director RS Sodhi earlier said that while new farm laws are the need of the hour, the government needs to communicate better on the benefits. Besides, adequate tweaking is also required to ensure that the big corporates neither reap all the benefits nor monopolise the situation.
“Government’s intention is good. These farm laws are good. But yes, there are some apprehensions and they need to be removed,” Sodhi said.
The RIS study pointed out that though in the last 50 years, India has evolved to be a food surplus country, with adequate food security, the changing aspirations of farmers have remained unaddressed.
“The recent Farm Bills by seeking to liberate agriculture markets, can achieve twin objectives of providing a larger cover of protection to farmers by ensuring rightful remuneration while at the same time reviving the vast untapped potential of Indian agriculture to be a food basket of the world,” the study said.
The study also pointed out that India’s share in the global agricultural trade in 2019 was a mere 2.3 per cent and the most obvious reason for its low penetration in the global markets is due to a highly regulated export-import trade practised for several years, “robbing India’s potential to be an agricultural powerhouse of the world.”
Even as judicious use of import restrictions is considered necessary for preventing unfair competition due to possible dumping by global cartels, excessive use of import restrictions could end up in speculative trade, hoarding and price distortions, the study said.
At present, about 23 crops are covered under the MSP of which rice and wheat enjoy maximum support.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
Himachal Pradesh which is popularly known as the fruit basket of India produces fruits and vegetables worth Rs 8,000 crore every year…reports Rohit Prashar.
In light of declining production despite the increased use of expensive chemicals in farming, almost 1.16 lakh farmers of Himachal Pradesh have switched to natural farming, according to data provided by the State Project Implementing Unit set up for the promotion, implementation and monitoring of the natural farming program.
Himachal Pradesh which is popularly known as the fruit basket of India produces fruits and vegetables worth Rs 8,000 crore every year. In a state where the agro-horticulture sector contributes 13 per cent to the state’s GDP, 10 per cent of the farmers here have reduced their cultivation costs to the minimum by adopting the natural route and giving up expensive chemicals, insecticides and fungicides.
Instead of buying chemicals and pesticides from the market, the farmers of Himachal have secured profits by preparing natural inputs using cow dung, cow urine and indigenous vegetation. Earthworms also play an important role in natural farming and it is known to recharge the groundwater. This approach, also known as the Subhash Palekar Natural Farming (SPNF) method, encourages that all resources required for the healthy growth of the plant should be taken from its surrounding environment. It is named after a Maharashtra-based agriculture scientist who developed this low-cost, eco-friendly farming technique in the late 1990s. It was developed after a 25-year long research conducted by Padma Shri Subhash Palekar, credited as the father of natural farming.
Though natural farming eliminates the use of agrochemicals, it is different from organic farming. Unlike organic farming, the farmer makes various concoctions from locally available plants and other resources at his own farm. This decreases farmers’ dependence on the market for synthetic or bio-pesticides and fertilizers.
Natural farming thrives in low-water regions
Due to the lack of irrigation facilities in Himachal Pradesh, several farmers had been moving away from agriculture. However, natural farming requires very little water. A vital component of this farming method is ‘Mulching’ i.e. covering the crop with live or straw mulch to retain the humus, which is required for the proper growth of the plant. Mulching reduces the water requirement to a greater extent in agriculture. This farming method is becoming effective even in areas with merely less or no irrigation facility.
Kalzang Lade is a resident of Chichham, one of India’s highest inhabited villages, who started natural farming two years ago. “Our village is situated at an elevation of 4,350 meters and has little rainfall. In such a situation, we face difficulties in saving our crops due to a lack of water. I adopted natural farming methods that require very little water. I am seeing good results,” said Lade, adding that his cultivation cost has significantly reduced from Rs 18,000 to Rs 10,000.
Professor Rajeshwar Singh Chandel, Executive Director of Khushhal Kisan Yojana, said that farmers in all the 12 districts of Himachal are adopting this method very fast. He stated, “In Himachal, more than 80 per cent of the area is rain-fed farming, and in such a situation, this farming method is proving to be more sustainable even in the condition of less rain.”
Reduced agricultural costs
The Himachal Pradesh State Government also introduced the ‘Pratikriti Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana’ three years ago to encourage natural farming with a mandate to enhance farmers’ income while maintaining harmony with nature. To motivate farmers, an incentive of Rs 25,000 for the purchase of indigenous cows, Rs 8,000 for cowshed lining, 70 per cent subsidy on purchase of drums required for input preparation, Rs 10,000 for setting up Sansadhan Bhandar (resource store) along with free hands-on training and exposure visits are being given by the state government. In a departmental survey conducted under this scheme, it was found that the farmers who adopted this method had reduced their agricultural costs by 43 per cent.
Mayaram, from the state’s Mandi district, cultivates garlic, maize, peas and wheat in his 7 bighas (one bigha is about one-third of an acre) of land. Earlier Mayaram used chemicals worth Rs 50,000 every year for farming, earning about Rs 2.50 lakh annually. But after adopting natural farming, his expenditure has dropped by almost 25 per cent. His income has touched Rs 3.5 lakh. Similarly, farmer Ajay Ratna of Bilaspur district has brought his expenses down from Rs 30,000 to Rs 10,000 by preparing the natural farming inputs at home.
Dr Manoj Gupta, Principal Scientist, Agricultural Economics, Palampur Agricultural University, said that, “In the studies done on natural farming, farmers have seen a reduction in the cost of agriculture. Apple horticulture has seen costs reduce by 56 per cent and a 27 per cent increase in net profits of farmers without any special market facility. Apart from this, insects and diseases have also been seen less in the fields of those farmers and gardeners who have adopted this method of cultivation.”
Anil Biswan, a horticulturist from the Shimla district, echoed this claim. Practising apple horticulture in 30 bighas of land, Biswan adopted natural farming five years ago. He claimed that his expenditure on chemicals used to be approximately Rs 70,000, whereas now it’s only Rs 5,000. This switch has also seen Anil’s income rise by Rs 3.5 lakh. As this method advocates the principle of companion crops, Biswan was also able to add to his overall income with his new crops.
A sustainable and healthy future
Shailendra Sharma, who cultivates tomato and capsicum in Solan district, cut down his costs significantly and experienced immense health benefits. “I have been protected from the harmful effects of chemicals by adopting this farming method. I used to get headaches and allergies while spraying chemicals, for which I sought treatment at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGI) in Chandigarh. Now, by adopting natural farming, my health-related problems have been completely relieved,” he stated.
Professor Chandel added that by introducing Subhash Palekar’s natural farming method, the state government is working towards increasing the farmers’ income and reducing the threat of climate change. This farming method also contributes significantly to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.
The Covid lockdowns have seen significant return migration in the northern Himalayan states. People returning home from outside states have turned to agriculture for their livelihoods. This sustainable and inexpensive farming method has emerged as a lifeline for these people.
(The author is Shimla-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)
The opposition members termed the budget a “fraud with the people of Pakistan” and the treasury members dubbed it “the best and growth-oriented budget”…reports Asian Lite News
Taking part in a general discussion on the federal budget in the Pakistan National Assembly, lawmakers from the opposition and the treasury benches castigated the Imran Khan-led government for ‘neglecting’ the agriculture sector and asked it to announce a comprehensive agriculture policy.
According to Dawn, some treasury members also expressed concern over the law and order situation, electricity load-shedding and price hike in Pakistan, besides taking their own government to task over allocation for the agriculture sector.
Moreover, even Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed demanded that electricity charges should be reduced and steps should be taken to reduce price hike.
The opposition members termed the budget a “fraud with the people of Pakistan” and the treasury members dubbed it “the best and growth-oriented budget” in the present scenario amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The opposition members belonging to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan lashed out at the governments of the two provinces. The most hard-hitting speech was delivered by the ruling PTI member from Rajanpur, Riaz Mazari, against his own party’s federal government and provincial government in Punjab, reported Dawn.
Mazari said that poor people had been “crushed” under the price hike, adding that either it was because of the previous governments or because the incumbent government had no capacity to resolve the issue. “I will request the government to bring down price hike,” he said.
He also highlighted that his constituency had become a “no-go area” as though five IGs of Punjab police had been changed, robbers were still roaming in the area freely. He said that he had taken up the issue with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar in the presence of the inspector general of police, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, PTI MNA from Charsadda Fazal Mohammad Khan blasted his own party’s government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying the local officials had issued him completion certificates of 10 development projects in his constituency, but on ground, only three projects had been completed, Dawn reported.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Bashir Virk regretted that no person affiliated to the agriculture sector had become the country’s finance minister. “This is the house of agriculturists. But we make decisions after taking dictation from bureaucrats and technocrats,” he said.
Furthermore, Pakistan People Party’s (PPP) Hassan Tariq regretted that no subsidy had been announced for seeds and fertilisers.
The National Assembly witnessed a chaotic situation over the past few days due to the federal budget passed by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government, which has been slammed by many. (ANI)
The Prime Minister will release the instalment through video conferencing at 11 a.m….Reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the 8th instalment of financial benefits worth Rs 19,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme on Friday to benefit more than 9.5 crore farmers.
The Prime Minister will release the instalment through video conferencing at 11 a.m.
“The instalment will enable the transfer of more than Rs 19,000 crore to more than 9.5 crore beneficiary farmer families,” said a statement issued from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Prime Minister will also interact with farmer beneficiaries during the event. The Union Agriculture Minister will also be present on the occasion.
Under the PM-KISAN scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year is provided to the eligible beneficiary farmer families, payable in three equal 4-monthly instalments of Rs 2,000 each.
The fund is transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. In this scheme, Samman Rashi of over Rs 1.15 lakh crore has been transferred to farmers’ families so far.
Meanwhile, amid a grim scenario brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday released Rs 3,928 crore which was directly credited into the bank accounts of 52.38 lakh farmers across the state.
This was the first tranche of the YSR Rythu Bharosa scheme in its third consecutive year, where each eligible farmer gets Rs 7,500.
The Chief Minister said that despite the Covid crisis, the state government hasn’t held back any welfare schemes, including Rythu Bharosa. The scheme was initiated to benefit the farmer fraternity across the state.
“So far, the state government has spent Rs 68,000 crore alone for farmers in the past 23 months, whereas for Rythu Bharosa alone, Rs 17,029 crore was spent. In all these 23 months, the government had directly credited Rs 89,000 crore into the accounts of the beneficiaries under various schemes without any discrimination or corruption, with full transparency and accuracy,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that Rs 2,000 crore will be credited into the accounts of 38 lakh farmers on May 25 under the YSR Free Crop Insurance scheme.
Sheikh Mohammed launches Food Tech Valley (Twitter)
The initiative aims to create an integrated modern city that will serve as a hub for future clean tech-based food and agricultural products…reports Asian Lite News
Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has launched the ‘Food Tech Valley’ a new initiative that seeks to triple the UAE’s food production.
The initiative aims to create an integrated modern city that will serve as a hub for future clean tech-based food and agricultural products and an incubator for researchers, entrepreneurs, startups and industry experts involved in developing solutions that have the potential to shape the future of the food industry.
The new city will spearhead innovation and leverage collaborative networks to lead regional transformation and export knowledge on sustainable food systems globally.
Sheikh Mohammed launches Food Tech Valley (Twitter)
It will support the use of technologies and applied research in food processing and agriculture and apply modern farming techniques – such as vertical farming, aquaculture and hydroponics – to accelerate self-sufficiency in fresh food produce and reduce wastage of resources.
“Food Tech Valley is part of a series of projects that aim to sustain the UAE’s food, water and agricultural systems in line with the National Food Security Strategy,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said. “Food and medicine represent strategic sectors that help us ensure a prosperous and sustainable future for the next generation.”
Sheikh Mohammed launches Food Tech Valley (Twitter)
Food Tech Valley is the outcome of a partnership between the Ministry of Food and Water Security and Wasl Properties to explore urban planning of future smart and food independent cities. Equipped with cutting-edge technologies, Food Tech Valley aims to achieve the objectives of the National Food Security Strategy 2051 and support a diversified knowledge-based economy.
The Food Tech Valley will host vertical farms, an advanced smart food logistics hub, Research & Development (R&D) facilities and a marketplace. Driven by a circular economy model, the city will bring together companies, investors and researchers in a sustainable agribusiness ecosystem to develop the latest aquaculture and hydroponics technologies. Over 300 varieties of crops will be produced in the new city using modern farming techniques and the latest agri technologies.
