BKC Aggregators: Transforming Lives, One Farmer at a Time

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WEAK MONSOON 2023

As per APCC latest forecast, intensification of EL NINO from June to September 2023 is predicted. Below Normal Rainfall is forecast in entire West-Coast of India during May to July 2023. This coincides with sowing period of major Kharif crops in India such as Paddy, Cotton, Soybean, Tobacco and Groundnut. Through Fasal Salah App (downloadable free from Google Play Store), farmers could get precise information on crop varieties best suited for their area and time window for sowing to counter deficit monsoon. Aug- Oct 2023 forecast further indicates below normal rainfall in Western and Southern India. The package and practices for Kharif crops will have to be carefully modified for optimal use of farm inputs and weather resilient agriculture. Fasal Salah is gearing up to meet the individual challenge of farmers based on their location, crop and Date of Sowing.

WEAK MONSOON TO HIT SOYBEAN, COTTON & GROUNDNUT

Though IMD has been cautious in monsoon forecast, we have mapped districts which would be hit by weak rainfall. Cotton & Groundnut in Gujarat and Maharashtra, Soybean in west and South MP and Maharashtra are likely to be affected. Through our Fasal Salah App, we guide individual farmers for safer date of sowing and likely varieties for weather resilient agriculture. Fasal Salah is a free app for farmers. Farmers are advised to read advisories carefully.

Indian Wheat Export- Yes, No, Maybe, Maybe Not - By Dr B K Singh & Ruchi Sinha

Recent ban on wheat export has come as a jolt for traders and farmers. The decision was taken under the purview of India’s food security concerns, in the wake of the sudden hike in domestic prices, Government decided to ban export of wheat. Later the ban was relaxed to accommodate genuine wheat export contracts backed by SWIFT certified LCs established before the ban kicked in. Euphoria among farmers to have received prices well above MSP for the first time in many years soon evaporated. One of the stated reasons for export restrictions is lower expected production during 2021-22 season because of unusually hot temperature in Feb-Mar 2022. We BKC set out to analyze the losses in yield because of hot weather . We BKC are connected with farmers in one-to-one basis through our App Fasal Salah for day-to-day advisories. We also run crop model for their crop which calculates expected yield in run time from sowing until harvest. We ran sample analysis for over hundred farmers and f

Diversifying Agriculture in Punjab - By Dr B K Singh & Ruchi Sinha

In 1947 British left India as a starving nation and State of Punjab bleeding from partition. Plagued the successive droughts and starvation deaths lead to some adventurous decisions by the Govt of India. Thanks to the then PM Smt. Indira Gandhi, Sri C Subramaniam Minister of Agriculture for their leadership and political will to allow foreign bred seeds into India for adoption on mass scale. (Today we continue to dither on GMOs). The green revolution started in mid 1960s with introduction of high yielding of Paddy verity (IR-8) ex IRRI Philippines and Wheat(K-68) ex Mexico. Both the varieties were dwarf in height compared to crops traditionally grown in India and faced farmers reluctance in adoption. Scientific endeavors of Dr M S Swaminathan and Norman Borlaug, backed by Innovative Extensions Methodologies invented by Dr K N Singh to roll out quickly new verities to selected hard working and innovation guzzling farmers of the then Punjab through National Demonstrations. This meth

LOWER POTATO PRODUCTION EXPECTED THIS YEAR IN NORTH INDIA: Inclement Weather in most growing areas be responsible

Potatoes are the most staple diet of India. It is grown in abundance in northern India. Being a staple diet, it is the most grown vegetable in India. The best season to grow potatoes is between October and December. This year could witness sharp fall in production of Potatoes and prices could remain firm through the season. 2 Major Factors are; Factor1: Low temperatures Winter of 2021-22 has been very harsh in North India for long stretches. Comparison minimum of temperatures for last 7 years which represents major producing districts can be seen from chart below: Temperatures in 2021-22 have persistently be lower than that of corresponding period in 2020-21 An Ideal temperature for growing potatoes is between 18 and 25 degrees Celsius. Anything lower or higher than this range means the potato growth gets affected. When temperatures drop drastically the potato grows at a slower rate. And this happens due to lower oxidation levels which invariably leads to lessened tubular growth. F

One nation, one market

Every farmer’s dream wants an optimum price for their crops. But there is an immense disparity between the actual price and price fetched for the crops. One nation, one market is an agricultural concept developed by the Government for the betterment of farmers. This concept has just been in books and bills till now. But 2016 saw one more step towards the landmark, One nation, one market concept. This is going to be the ultimate revolution when it does become a common platform for the farmers to sell their agricultural products. In 2016, the Government launched the idea for the flagship scheme of One nation, one market. It is based on the progressive idea that all Agricultural products can be sold at one price. It paves way for the unified market without any jurisdiction. One nation, one market will eventually integrate all the APMC’s in one place. Benefits of One nation, one market:- Every farmer has heard about this concept but knows very little about it. One nation, one market