Agriculture Current Affairs

• India Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was established in 16 July 1929 in New Delhi.

• The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) was founded on April 1st, 1905.
• On July 12, 1982, NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) was established.
• National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC) Percentage production of basmati rice expected to decline for the year 2018-19  is  9.24 percent
• Haryana State hosted the 4^th Agriculture Leadership Summit
• 14th  Agricultural Science Congress was held in New Delhi
• The Bihar government launched the largest “Krishi Kumbh” in Eastern India
• The Prime Minister’s KISAN scheme was officially launched from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.
• Soil Health Card Scheme aims to promote soil management practices and restore soil health
• India’s second-largest urea fertilizer consumer.
• In 1998, the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme was launched.
• Government sets foodgrain production target at the record- 298.3 mn tonnes for 2020-21 crop year
• Improved Samba Masuri (ISM) rice has been produced by the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR). High cholesterol and a low glycemic index ICRISAT researchers have developed strategies to keep groundnut free of- Aflatoxin and fungal toxin
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare has designated the Union Territory of Lakshadweep as an Organic Agricultural Area.
• On November 1, 2020, Chhattisgarh inaugurated the Fortified Rice Distribution Scheme.
• First Indian state to fix the Minimum Support Price for sixteen agricultural items- Kerala
• The sowing area of Kharif crops has increased by 44 percent and that of pulses has increased by 2.5 times in 2020
• On June 11, 2020, Indian American soil scientist who has won the World Food Prize for mainstreaming and developing soil centric approach to increase food production is- Dr. Rattan Lal
• In the event of a pandemic, the National Informatics Centre has developed a mobile app KrishiRath to assist farmers and dealers with primary and secondary transportation of their agriculture and horticulture produce.
• India has established its first center for wetland conservation in Chennai
• NITI Aayog launched the first-ever Agricultural Marketing and Farm Friendly Reforms Index.
• India is the world’s second-largest producer of fruits.
• India is concentrated on Jute cultivation in the delta area of- the Ganga river
• Indian agriculture is commonly described as a land-scarce, labor-scarce economy.
• India has a total net irrigated area of 68.38 million hectares.
• The total gross irrigated area in India is- 96.45 million hectares
• The total gross sown area in India is- 198.36 million hectares
• The total net sown area in India is- 141.89 million hectares
• In India, milk output and availability per capita are 187.75 million tonnes and 394 grams per day.
• Rice has the highest production in India in the year 2018-19 i.e.– 116.48 million tonnes
• In 2018-19, the rice crop has the highest cropping area in India approximately- 44 million hectares
• Total cereals production in India in the year 2019-20 is- 273.50 million tonnes
• Total pulses production in India in the year 2019-20 is- 23.15 million tonnes
• The largest quantity of pulses producing state in India- Madhya Pradesh
• World Pulses day has been designated on Feb 10 every year since 2019 by the S73rd session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly
• ‘The initiative ‘Mee Annapurna’ was launched for the welfare of farmers across the state of Maharashtra.
• Govinda Rajulu Chintala has been appointed as the chairman of NABARD recently till- July 2022
• World Cotton Day is celebrated on- the 7^th of October
• World Food Day is being celebrated on- the 16^th of October
• The rank of India in the World Global Hunger Index Report 2020- is 94th (out of 107countries)
• In 2019, Kerala Agricultural University IPR cell has been selected for National Intellectual Property Award
• Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) is located in Hyderabad
• Palm oil is the highest imported by India
• 2015 was designated as the International Year of Soils.
• First National Conference on Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna was held at Lucknow
• National Horticulture Fair 2020 was held in Bengaluru
• Andhra Pradesh State government signed MoUs with 11 Agri institutions to provide technical assistance to farmers
• 1^st Solar Lift Irrigation Plant was inaugurated at Kargil
• Implementation of the Solar Fence Farmland Protection Programme has started by Tamil Nadu
• The state with the highest micro-irrigation area is- Rajasthan
• Andhra Pradesh has the most area covered by drip irrigation.
• The state with the highest area under sprinkler irrigation is- Karnataka
• The first state in the country to flag off India’s first fruit train was- Andhra Pradesh
• Among oilseeds, the crop with the highest production and largest area under cultivation is- Soybean
• Among pulses, the crop with the highest production and largest area under cultivation is- Chickpea
• The state that ranks first in oilseed production in Rajasthan
• The first state to enact a law on contract farming in India is- Tamil Nadu
• The first state in the country to implement a “land leasing policy” is- Uttarakhand
• Indian ranks 5^th in terms of the cultivation of- Genetically modified crops
• The only transgenic crop cultivated in India is- Bt cotton
• India’s first Aqua Mega Food Park was established in Andhra Pradesh
• The first state in India to use Automated Weather Stations (AWS) to provide an accurate report on the weather to farmers in Maharashtra
• The nodal agency for procurement, storage, and distribution of oilseed and pulses is- NAFED
• Asia’s first Rice Technology Park was established in Karnataka
• Government announces minimum support prices (MSPs) for 14 Kharif crops
• The top State in terms of forest cover as a percentage of the total geographic area is- Mizoram
• India is the third-largest producer of fertilizer and the second-largest consumer.
• The year 2020 is declared as- International Year of Plant Health
• The international year of Fruits and Vegetables is- 2021
• Goods and Service Tax (GST) on fertilizers is- 12 percent
• India’s top agricultural imported product in terms of value is- Vegetable oil
• Earth Sciences Ministry has launched a mobile app for the India Meteorological Department called- MAUSAM
• State Bank of India rolls out “KCC Review Option” for farmers
• Harsh Vardhan launched FSSAI’s handbook recently named as- Eat Right India
• State which has recently started an awareness campaign for farmers to protect sugarcane crop from locusts is- Uttar Pradesh
• In the Malkangiri district of Odisha, the government has initiated a project to weed out illegal ganja cultivation by promoting- Organic turmeric as a profitable cash crop
• Uttarakhand is the first Indian state to calculate Gross Environmental Product (GEP).
• University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Karnataka has developed a new red paddy variety to resist blast disease named as- Sahyadri Megha
• Kisan Pragati Card for farmers has been introduced by Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
• Manthan” Summit is held in Gujarat
• Central government targets to install 175 Giga Watt renewable energy by 2022
• The title of Ladakh Food Processing Summit 2020 was- Building Partnerships for Inclusive Growth in Food Processing Sector
• A total budget outlay for the fortification of rice and its distribution under the PDS scheme is- Rs. 174.64 crores
• 2011 was observed as World Veterinary Year
• E-Gram Swaraj app will monitor the events organized for the rural areas
• Anthurium plant removes harmful airborne chemicals like- Formaldehyde, ammonia, toluene, xylene, and allergens
• Milk availability per capita in India is 229 gm/day.
• A satellite was launched on 7th November 2020 by ISRO for agriculture, forestry, and disaster management named- EOS-01
• The largest excise revenue comes from- Tobacco
• A super-grain rich in antioxidants, minerals, and a member of the Amaranthaceae family- Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa)
• Peste des Petits ruminants (PPR) in sheep and goats, Foot and Mouth Disease, Brucellosis in cattle will be eliminated by 2025
• The target for agricultural credit has been increased from- ¹ 12 lakh crore to ¹ 15 lakh crore
• By 2022-23, fish production will be raised to 200 lakh tonnes
• By 2025, milk processing capacity will be doubled to 108 MT

ICAR Awards

India’s Worldwide Position in Agricultural Scenario

Pioneer Work on Agriculture

• First detected viral disease- Leaf curl of tobacco
• The first detected plant-parasitic nematode was- Anguina tritici discovered by Needham
• The first detected plant-parasitic bacteria was- Fire blight of apple discovered by T. J. Burrill
• First developed a dwarf variety of rice- TN1
• First developed aromatic rice hybrid- PRH10
• First developed high yielding semi-dwarf basmati rice variety- Pusa basmati1
• First developed Bt-cotton variety- Boll guard I
• The first country to adopt hybrid rice- China
• The first country to introduce zero tillage- USA
• First developed super rice variety for alkaline(saline) condition- Lunishree developed by CRRI, recent name NRRI
• First developed transgenic crop in India- Bt-Cotton
• First developed transgenic crop in the world- Tobacco
• First developed hybrid in India- Pusa Meghdoot
• A first interspecific hybrid of the world- Fairchild’s Mule
• First genetically modified commercial crop- Flavr save (Tomato)
• First systemic fungicide- Carboxin
• First organic fungicide -Dithiocarbamate
• First inorganic fungicide- Bordeaux mixture (Millardet)
• First used fungicide used- Sulphur (powdery mildew of grapevine)
• First used insecticide- Paris Green
• First used fumigant used- HCN
• First used fertilizer in the world- Sodium nitrate
• First fertilizer manufactured in the world- Superphosphate
• First fertilizer produced in India- SSP
• First used organophosphate compound- Parathion
• First used organochlorine compound- DDT
• First used carbamate compound- Carbaryl
• First world food prize winner- M. S. Swaminathan
• First agricultural university in India- G. B. Pant University (1960)
• First KVK in India- Pondicherry (under TNAU, 1974)
• First honey Testing Laboratory in India- Anand, Gujarat

Designation Used for some Important Crops and its Designation

Remembering Points

• The term nanotechnology was coined by Nario Taniguchi, in 1974 at the University of Tokyo
• Example of nano-based Smart Delivery System- Halloysite
• Application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology for management of biological information- Bio-informatics
• Crops that have been genetically modified with genes from another organism to make the plants more agriculturally productive- Transgenic plants
• Transgenic plants have been developed for a variety of reasons like- Longer shelf life, disease resistance, herbicide resistance, pest resistance, and improved product quality
• The first transgenic plant- Flavr SavrTM tomato for delayed ripening was released in 1994 by Calgene (Company)
• Research of seeds/plants that produce sterile seeds refers to Terminator technology
• The technology used to prevent any gene flow between biotechnology and traditional crops- Terminator technology
• Method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water and without soil- Hydroponics
• Hydroponics is a subset of- Soilless culture
• A system wherein roots are continuously or discontinuously kept in an environment saturated with fine drops of mist or aerosol of nutrient solution- Aeroponics
• Cultivation of plant or animal life within skyscrapers or on vertically inclined surfaces- Vertical farming
• An alternative rice-growing system that yields significantly higher yields with fewer plants per hill and per square meter and with fewer inputs than either traditional or modern methods. Rice Intensification System (SRI)
• Super rice is also known as New Plant Type (NPT)
• Super rice is developed by IRRI
• The yield of super rice-12-15 tones/ha
• Scientists from IRRI inserted the SUB1 gene into popular local rice varieties known as Scuba rice.
• Golden rice or GM rice is genetically engineered rice rich in Vitamin A
• Wheat is resistant to deadly stem rust fungus Ug99 and provides 15 percent better yields than today’s varieties- Super wheat
• Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) is also known as Kishan khad
• Cotton with Bt gene (Bacillus thuringiensis) is resistance to the pest- Helicoverpa
• Bt cotton is developed by U.S. based seed company Monsanto and registered with the name- Bollgard
• Kisan Call Centre (KCC) is started on- 21st Jan 2004 (toll-free No. 1551)
• The Kisan Credit Card Scheme was launched in August 1998.
• National Agricultural Insurance Scheme was introduced in- 1999-2000
• Crop yield insurance and crop revenue insurance are the two broad categories of crop insurance.
• Technique or method for determining the use of appropriate inputs and technology, lowering the cost of cultivation decisions and optimizing outputs for food safety and security based on-site or soil conditions. Farming with pinpoint accuracy
• System for the production and supply of agricultural products under forwarding contracts between cultivators and buyers- Contract farming
• LEISA is an agricultural technique that makes the best use of locally available natural and human resources such as soil, water, vegetation, local plants and animals, human labour, knowledge, and skill while remaining economically viable, environmentally sound, culturally and socially appropriate.
• The extraordinary increase in Earth’s surface temperature due to an increase in greenhouse gases concentration in the atmosphere is- Global warming
• Heat-trapping greenhouse gases are- Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and CFC
• Protective layer in our atmosphere which is about 19 to 30 km in distance from the Earth’s surface- The ozone layer
• Ozone blocks the harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays that come from the sun and the concentration of the layer is- 10 parts ozone per million
• Ozone layer concentration is measured by Ozonometer
• The ozone layer is made up of the action of sunlight to oxygen and the amount is stabled by the existence of- Nitrogen
• To produce artificial rain, clouds are seeded with a seeding agent such as dry ice, sodium chloride, and silver iodide from an aircraft or a ground generator.
• Acid rain has carbonic acid with a pH of- Less than 5.6