·      Joint Strategic Plan between India and Italy to boost bilateral ties, especially in agriculture sector: Italian Ambassador to India

·      Working towards establishing Agriculture Attache in Italian Embassy in India to boost bilateral cooperation in agriculture between both nations 

New Delhi, 27 November 2025: Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare today called upon industry to play a pivotal role in shaping Indian agriculture sector’s vision of 2047 by prioritising green-fuel based mechanisation and reduce the drudgery of women farmers by making gender-neutral farm equipment to reduce workload.

Addressing the 9^th International Exhibition & Conference on Agri-Machinery, Equipment & Agri-tech Solutions at EIMA ‘Agrimach India 2025’ organized jointly by FICCI, Italian agriculture industry body FEDERUNACOMA in association with Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Dr Chaturvedi said, “Over the next 5–10 years, we should shift our technologies towards green fuels—whether electrically operated tractors or machines running on CBG (compressed biogas) available for rural CBG plants. This transition will bring down both maintenance and operational costs for farmers. Our schemes will increasingly prioritize green-fuel-based technologies. I would urge our Italian industry counterparts to collaborate in this area.”

Terming women farmers vital for achieving the Vision 2047, the Secretary drew attention of industry towards gender budgeting and exhorted them to focus on production of gender-friendly equipment.

He further stated that the United Nations has declared 2026 as the International Year of Women Farmers. Therefore, equipment must be designed to reduce the drudgery of women. “Often policy makers assume that ‘gender budgeting’ simply means giving ownership of machinery to women but that alone does not reduce drudgery. “Most difficult agricultural tasks are performed by women, and hence we need more gender-friendly equipment, whether manual or motorized, that genuinely reduces their workload,” emphasized Dr Chatuvedi.

Mr Antonio Bartoli, Ambassador of Italy in India hoped to have an agriculture Attache in Italian Embassy in India soon to boost bilateral cooperation in agriculture field between both countries.

“We already have around 20 companies with production facilities here. We want to increase these numbers. Just three days ago, the Prime Ministers of both nations met on the sidelines of the G20 in Rome, where Mr Premier Meloni proposed a new benchmark to reach EUR 20 billion in trade volume by the end of our Joint Strategic Action Plan. We must work towards that,” Ambassador Bartoli said.

Mr T. R. Kesavan, Chairman, Organizing Committee- EIMA Agrimach India & Board Director and Group President, TAFE underlined the need to promote agriculture as services, as farmer will find it unaffordable to buy a seeder which is used just for couple of days. But seeder as an agriculture service can help. So, we need to create a new area of agriculture as a service. Industry has discussed this with the Ministry of Agriculture, and some progress has happened on this front.

Upbeat over future of India-Italy collaboration in agriculture space, Ms. Simona Rapastella, Director General, FEDERUNACOMA said that as per Italian Trade Agency (ICE) report on India, the sector was worth a total of USD 13.7 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow significantly over the next ten years, reaching USD 31.6 billion in 2033, with an annual growth rate of about 9%. In this process, Italian and Indian cooperation will play a key role, in terms of Italian production facilities in India and trade & industrial partnership between the two countries. Federunacoma’s export planning forecast expects significant increase in both imports and exports, she added.

FICCI-PwC report ‘Farm Mechanisation: The Path Towards a Future-Ready India’ was released during the event. While highlighting the report Mr Shashi Kant Singh, Partner, PwC advocated a shift from individual ownership to pay-per-use model in order to accelerate adoption of farm mechanisation.

Ms Sabrina Mangialavori, Deputy Trade Commissioner, Italian Trade Agency noted increasing adoption of modern mechanical solutions, such as tillage, sowing, irrigation, crop protection, and threshing by Indian farmers.

Mr. Subroto Geed, Co-Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee and President, South Asia, Corteva Agriscience emphasized the urgent need of mechanisation in farm sector in the wake of feeding an estimated worldwide population of 1000 crore by 2050, in which India will be contributing the largest share.

Being organized from 27^th to 29^th November 2025, the 9^th edition of EIMA Agrimach India 2025 at IARI, PUSA, New Delhi, is showcasing the best and the latest agri machineries, besides providing the excellent opportunities to both Indian and overseas player catering to the entire value chain of agriculture sector.

The exhibition, which is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, is likely to attract thousands of visitors including thousands of farmers to its fold. Several sessions are being organized for creating awareness among farmers on latest farm technologies and innovations. Launched in 2009, the 9th edition is witnessing participation of over 175 exhibitors and international participation from countries such as Italy, Polland, Japan, Netherlands alongside business visitors from more than 40 countries countries.

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The course was inaugurated at Amity University, with former Member of Parliament Shri Rajendra Agarwal gracing the occasion as Chief Guest. Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director, Promotion Directorate at IN-SPACe, was present for the opening and spoke about the relevance of such academic-industry collaborations in creating awareness around satellite-based tools for modern agriculture. He noted that the program is designed to provide participants with a foundational understanding of how space-based applications can support farming.

In his keynote address, Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director, Promotion Directorate, IN-SPACe, stated, “Space applications have a growing role to play in strengthening India’s agricultural capabilities and resilience. With the help of these applications and geospatial data, farmers can monitor crop health, optimize the use of fertilizers and irrigation, detect pest infestations early, manage fields with precision using GPS-guided machinery, better respond to weather risks and natural disasters, and improve overall farm productivity and decision-making. Through these academic collaborations, we aim to build awareness, share technical know-how, and create a pool of professionals who can apply space-based tools to real-world challenges. These courses are designed to bridge knowledge gaps and encourage deeper engagement from academia and young professionals in space applications across critical sectors.”

The course is part of IN-SPACe’s broader mission to support capacity-building and sector-wide participation, expanding the role of space applications in everyday economic activity. The week-long course, running from July 27 to August 1, 2025, will cover topics ranging from remote sensing and satellite data analysis to their direct application in crop monitoring and resource management.

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मध्य प्रदेश पाइप प्रणाली के माध्यम से अधिकतम क्षेत्र में सिंचाई करने वाला देश का पहला राज्य बन गया है. सिंचाई सुविधाओं का विकास करने के लिए मध्य प्रदेश को कई अवार्ड भी मिल रहे हैं. ये अवार्ड सिंचाई, पेयजल और उद्योगों के लिए जल संसाधनों के अधिकतम उपयोग और विकास के लिए मिल रहे हैं. लेकिन प्रदेश अब भी 65 लाख हेक्टेयर के लक्ष्य से काफी पीछे है तो उसका कारण यह है कि प्रशासनिक बाधाओं ने परियोजनाओं की गति धीमी कर दी. अगर भूमि अधिग्रहण और वन पर्यावरण की रुकावटें न होतीं तो यह लक्ष्य तीन साल में ही हासिल कर लिया गया होता. अभी प्रदेश 45 लाख हेक्टेयर तक पहुंच पाया है.

पाइप प्रणाली का बड़ा योगदानःसीएम शिवराज सिंह चौहान भी मानते हैं कि प्रदेश ने तीन वर्षों में पाइप प्रणाली के जरिए सिंचाई करके काफी पानी बचाया है. नहर के जरिए पानी ले जाने में काफी नुकसान होता है, इसलिए मध्य प्रदेश ने तय किया कि पाइप के जरिए पानी ले जाएंगे और किसानों के खेतों तक आउटलेट दे देंगे. प्रदेश में सिंचाई की क्षमता भी 7 लाख हेक्टेयर से बढ़कर 45 लाख हेक्टेयर तक पहुंच गई है. सरकार ने इसे 65 लाख हेक्टेयर तक ले जाने का लक्ष्य रखा है.

मुख्यमंत्री के इस बयान के बावजूद यह ध्यान रखना चाहिए कि प्रदेश में कई सिंचाई परियोजनाएं राजस्व, वन और पर्यावरण विभाग के फैसलों में देरी के कारण अब भी बीच में लटके हुए हैं.

प्रदेश में चल रहीं प्रमुख सिंचाई परियोजनाएं इतनी बड़ी मात्रा में जल उपलब्ध करा सकती हैं कि शुद्ध पेयजल  के संकट और सूखे से मुक्ति मिल सकती है. एक तरफ जहां भूजल स्तर बढ़ जाएगा, वहीं बेहतर सिंचाई के कारण कृषि उत्पादन कई गुना हो जाएगा. लेकिन प्रदेश में पाइप प्रणाली और नहर पर आधारित परियोजनाएं अब भी लटकी हुई हैं. भूमि अधिग्रहण के कई विवाद अब भी उलझे हैं और वन पर्यावरण की मंजूरियां नहीं मिलने से भी देरी हो रही हैं.

पेश हैं कुछ परियोजनाओं का ब्योरा –

नर्मदा-गंभीर लिंक परियोजना

प्रेशराइज्ड पाइप के जरिए नर्मदा का जल गंभीर नदी में पहुंचाया गया. इससे 50 हजार हेक्टेयर खेतों की सिंचाई का लक्ष्य. बिजली का उपयोग किए बिना किसान सीधे स्प्रिंकलर सिस्टम लगा सकते हैं. इसमें 68 किमी लंबी ग्रेविटी प्रेशराइज्ड पाइपलाइन और 147 किमी लंबी वितरण की मेनलाइन है और 700  किमी लंबी एचडीपीई पाइपलाइन के जरिए जल प्रदाय हो रहा है.
कंस्ट्रक्शनः नवयुगा कंस्ट्रक्शन

पंचम नगर सिंचाई परियोजना

देश की पहली सिंचाई परियोजना है, जो बगैर बिजली खर्च के संचालित होगी.
सिंचित भूमि 25 हजार हेक्टेयर
पेयजल 300 गांव
तकनीक उच्च दबाव वाले पाइप्स (जीआर पाइप्स) और गुरुत्वाकर्षण के जरिए पानी ऊंचाई से निचले इलाकों तक ले जाया जाएगा.
कंस्ट्रक्शनः मंतेना इंफ्रा
कमांड क्षेत्र तक पानी बिना बिजली के पहुंचाने से परियोजना में 20 करोड़ रुपए की बचत
जिला        तहसील           गांव           सिंचाई एरिया
सागर       बंडा                 29             6420 हे.
दमोह       पथरिया            35             10300 हे.
दमोह       बटियागढ़          57             15,280 हे.

रीवा-सतना बाहुती

पूरी नहर की लंबाई 17.85 किमी
टनल की लंबाई 3.7980 किमी
कहां से कहां    बाणसागर के गुलवार गुजारा से छुहिया घाटी तक
सिंचाई एरिया 65481 हेक्टेयर
कंस्ट्रक्शन मंतेना इंफ्रा

छिंदवाड़ा इरीगेशन कॉम्प्लेक्स

परियोजना कन्हान नदी व पलासपानी पर बांध/बैराज और टनल निर्माण
विशेषताः प्रेशराइज्ड पाइप के जरिए कमांड एरिया तक पानी
सिंचित कमांड एरिया 190500 हेक्टेयर
कंस्ट्रक्शन एचईएस और मैक्स इंफ्रा

बदनावर नर्मदा माइक्रो इरीगेशन  (धार जिला)

नर्मदा नदी से बरसात के मौसम में पंपों के जरिए जल उठाया (लिफ्ट) जाएगा. यह जल 60 किमी दूर 500 मीटर की ऊंचाई पर बने एक जलाशय में संचय किया जाएगा. जलाशय में एकत्र किया गया यह पानी उन आठ महीनों के दौरान काम आएगा, जब बारिश नहीं होती और कृषि को पानी की सबसे ज्यादा जरूरत होती है. यह पानी गुरुत्वाकर्षण के जरिए बिना बिजली के ही खेतों तक पहुंचाया जाएगा.
पहले चरण में 101 गांवों की 50 हजार हेक्टेयर जमीन की सिंचाई होगी
दूसरे चरण में बदनावर के गांवों को सिंचाई परियोजना से जोड़ा जाएगा
कंस्ट्रक्शनः एचईएस और रिवर बोल्ट

मां रतनगढ़ बहु-उद्देशीय परियोजना

प्रदेश के 3 जिले ग्वालियर, भिंड एवं दतिया में वर्षों पुरानी सिंचाई की समस्या का समाधान होगा. यह परियोजना दतिया जिले की सेवढ़ा तहसील में सिंध नदी पर बनाई जा रही है.
लागतः 2244.97 करोड़ का बजट
लाभः  59 हजार किसान लाभांवित होंगे और 09 मेगावॉट विद्युत का भी उत्पादन
वन प्रकरण स्वीकृति के अभाव में बांध निर्माण का कार्य रूका हुआ था. अब वन विभाग ने स्वीकृति प्रदान कर दी है.
सेंवढ़ा में 6500 हेक्टेयर कृषि भूमि सिंचित होगी
भिंड जिले को में 49,200 हेक्टेयर
ग्वालियर जिले की 22,784 हेक्टेयर सिंचित
मंतेना और वशिष्ठा

हनोता सिंचाई परियोजना

परियोजनाः बीना नदी पर 40 हज़ार  हेक्टेयर भूमि सिंचित होगी
29 ग्राम सागर जिले के एवं 30 ग्राम विदिशा जिले के प्रभावित होंगे.
सागर जिले में 18 ग्राम मऊ में निजी भूमि एवं 11 ग्रामों में शासकीय भूमि चिन्हित की गई है.
कंस्ट्रक्शनः टाटा प्रोजेक्ट्स और फलौदी

कुंडलिया सिंचाई परियोजना

परियोजनाः कालीसिंध नदी पर कुंडलिया जलाशय से राजगढ जिले में 64,000 हेक्टेयर खेतों की सिंचाई राजगढ़ जिले के सारंगपुर, खिलचीपुर एवं जीरापुर तथा आगर-मालवा जिले के नलखेड़ा एवं सुसनेर विकास खण्ड में कुल 1,30,639 हेक्टेयर रबी क्षेत्र में नवीन तकनीकी यथा ड्रिप, स्प्रिंकलर आदि से 419 ग्रामों में सिंचाई
निर्माताः लार्सन एंड टुब्रो

The post मध्य प्रदेश पाइप प्रणाली से अधिकतम सिंचाई करने वाला देश का पहला राज्य रुकावटें न होतीं तो तीन साल में ही मिल जाता 65 लाख हेक्टेयर सिंचाई का लक्ष्य सिंचाई क्षमता 7 से बढ़कर 45 लाख हेक्टेयर पर पहुंची, कृषि उत्पादन में उछाल appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.

Sharing the news through his twitter wall, IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi tweeted, . This is the Biggest Smart Agri-Solutions in India by procuring 2500 agri drones as Spray Solutions for Nano Urea & NanoDAP.  IFFCO will also establish 5000 Rural Entrepreneurs for spray solutions. Further, IFFCO procuring 2500 Electric Three Wheelers (loader types) to carry Agri-Drones to the farmers’ fields.

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The observation of the bench asking protesting farmers bodies to cooperate assume significance in view of reports that they would not go to any apex court-appointed panel for resolution of disputes and wanted repeal of laws only.

Before pronouncing the order, the bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde commenced the hearing and urged the farmers’ unions to cooperate and go before the committee to be appointed by it to resolve the dispute.

“We are concerned about protecting the lives and proerty of citizens of India and we want to solve the problem,” said the bench which also comprised Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

In the proceedings conducted through video conferencing, it said no power can prevent us from making committee to resolve the impasse on new farm laws.

It reiterated the apex court has powers to suspend the legislation in order to solve the problem.

The government had told the court that the laws “were not hurriedly made”, that they were the result of two decades of deliberations.

In eight rounds of talks with farmers’ unions over the past month, the government had firmly ruled out withdrawing the laws but had offered to make amendments.

Noting that “no solution was in sight”, the Supreme Court said it was trying to solve the problem in the best way and had the power to suspend the laws.

“These are matters of life and death. We are concerned with laws. We are concerned with lives and property of people affected by the agitation. We are trying to solve the problem in the best way. One of the powers we have is to suspend the legislation,” the Chief Justice said.

“We want to solve the problem and that’s why we are making the committee,” he added.

The names suggested by the Supreme Court include agricultural economist Ashok Gulati, Anil Ghanwat (Shetkari Sanghatana), Bhupinder Singh Mann (former Rajya Sabha) and Pramod Joshi (International Food Policy Research Institute). All four are known to support the farm laws.

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Union Minister for Agriculture Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Railways, Commerce and Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri PiyushGoyal and Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Shri Som Prakash participated in the 7^th round of talks with the representatives of 41 Farmers’ Unions at VigyanBhawan, New Delhi . At the outset of the meeting a two minute silence was observed for those who had lost their lives during the agitation.

Shri Tomar said that keeping in mind the discussions during the previous meeting the government is committed to find solutions on farmers issues with an open mind. Both sides need to take steps forward to find solution.

The Minister said that keeping in mind the welfare of the farmerstalks regarding Farm Acts will be held with all farmers Unions representatives from different States. Shri Tomar also said that clause-wise discussion on Farm Acts can be carried forwardto resolve contentiousissues.

In the end of the meeting both sides expressed their opinions and have decided to meet again on 8^th January 2021.Farmers agitating against the farm laws are likely to hold a “tractor march” on Wednesday in protest against the laws. At a press conference on January 1, the farm union leaders had announced that a “tractor march” would be held on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway

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“We make it clear that we recognize the fundamental right to protest against a law. There is no question of balancing or curtailing it. But it should not damage anyone’s life or property,” said Chief Justice SA Bobde.

Justice Bobde, who said yesterday that the matter must be handed over to a committee, said it must have “independent members with knowledge of agriculture and hear both sides and give report on what is to be done”.  Meanwhile, the “protests can continue without violence and the police will not do anything (to stop the protests),” the Chief Justice said.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, who was representing one of the petitioners, said “Protests cannot be just for protest, but to articulate point of view,” the court said, “That is exactly what we mean”

We make it clear that we recognize the fundamental right to protest against a law. There is no question of balancing or curtailing it. But it should not damage anyone’s life or property,” Chief Justice S. A. Bobde said.

Thousands of farmers angered by three agricultural laws that they say threaten their livelihoods have intensified their protests by blocking highways and camping out on the outskirts of the capital New Delhi.

Petitioners had approached the Supreme Court to complain that the protests had hampered drivers and making it difficult for people to access emergency medical services.

“We are of the view at this stage that the farmers’ protest should be allowed to continue without impediment and without any breach of peace either by the protesters or the police,” Bobde said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration in September introduced the farm bills that the government says will unshackle farmers from having to sell their produce only at regulated wholesale markets and make contract farming easier.

Farmers insist that the new laws will leave them at the mercy of big corporations.

Six rounds of talks between government ministers and farmers’ union leaders have failed to resolve the situation.

The government has said while the laws can be amended, it is against repealing the bills. Farmers last week rejected a government’s proposal to amend the legislation.

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The recent Agricultural Reforms, which can support FPOs to setup their own markets to enhance the incomes of farmers are –: the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2020;the Farmers (Empowerment & Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; Liberalization of control orders under the Essential Commodities Act; Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)and operational guidelines for promotion of 10,000 FPOs.

These reforms in Agriculture sector will lead to increased volume of production of horticulture crops and value-added commodities; Institutional credit to strengthen small farmers and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs); will boost the agri-logistic infrastructure in a major way; will develop backward and forward linkages to meet demand of all consumption zones of India; will lead to One Nation One Market and will make the FPO movement a mass movement.

NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.) has been designated as one of the National Implementing Agencies for formation and promotion of 10000 FPOs Programme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. NAFED has acquired FIFA to provide market linkage support to the FPOs for their produce and create markets in partnership with the FPOs under the brand of NAFED e-Kisan Mandi (NeKM) which will be connected to the National Digital Marketing platform being created by NAFED

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“informal” talks between Union home minister Amit Shah and farmer leaders, which took place late Tuesday night, failed to break the deadlock.

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At the outset of the talks Union Agriculture Minister reiterated the Government’s commitment to the welfare of the farmers. He requested the representatives of the Unions to present their point of view and the flag the issues which they felt were contentious. The representatives of the farmers unions raised the question of the constitutional validity of the three laws. The Government side explained the constitutional provisions under which the Central Government legislated these laws. The farmers brought out issues related to the APMCs – They said that there has to be a level playing field between APMCs and Private Markets and Trade Yards. They also said that there is a need for proper registration of Trade  outside APMCs. The issue of protecting the land of farmers in the Contract Farming Act was also raised.The farmers unions also requested that the MSP system should be made legal. Regarding dispute resolution system in the new Farms Acts the unions said that there is a need for an alternate dispute resolution system. The need for registration of contract farming was also flagged.

The Secretary Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Sanjay Agarwal gave a detailed description of the Farms Acts and the measures taken by the Ministry of Agriculture for the welfare of farmers and those measures taken to benefit agriculture during the lockdown period to keep the supply chains active. He said that the Farm Acts  have been framed keeping in mind the farmers welfare.

Agriculture Minister Shri Tomar assured the Unions that the Minimum support price will remain and therefore the farmers should not fear that it will go away.  He thanked the Farmers organisations for flagging their concerns and assured them that the dialogue will continue.

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