AGP Executive Report

Market Watch: Premium Nashik onions reached ₹60/kg at Chennai’s Koyambedu market as arrivals dipped; Tamil Nadu is selling onions at ₹35/kg through ration shops, while traders expect supplies to improve. Weather Risks: Odisha has restricted fishing and tourist access in six districts as Cyclone Arnab approaches, and officials are urging farmers to protect crops. Rajasthan declared 80 tehsils drought-affected, while water and power shortages have left Telangana farmers reporting severe crop losses. Crop Innovation: A Caraga farmer harvested 52% more rice than usual from 1.2 hectares using hybrid seed, government inputs and agronomic guidance. Separately, European trials found seed-treated wheat averaged 4.3% higher yields, with stronger results under drought and heat stress. Water Security: Luxembourg farmers are pressing for faster approval of water-retention basins, after the project’s review process stretched to seven years. Harvest Safety: Drivers should slow down and give tractors, combines and grain wagons room; farm equipment may be wide, slow to stop and make wide turns.

Cyclone Readiness: Odisha urged farmers to harvest mature crops ahead of a possible cyclone, with response teams deployed across vulnerable southern districts. Water Access: Queensland plans to unlock 2,000 megalitres in Cape York, addressing chronic shortages that have constrained farming on fertile land. Climate Pressure: El Niño has damaged rice, corn and other crops across the Philippines, affecting more than 288,000 farmers and causing reported losses of 220,307 tonnes. Andhra Pradesh officials also warn that heat and dry conditions threaten horticultural crops. Farm Technology: Qatar and a Japanese delegation are exploring AI and robotics for agricultural research, while software tested on Montana tractors aims to cut fuel, fertilizer and fieldwork costs. Markets and Relief: High open-market prices for fine paddy could draw Telangana farmers away from government procurement, complicating rice supplies for ration shops. In the U.S., a new $8 billion farm relief program aims to offset part of growers’ 2026 losses; Tennessee has extended dyed-diesel relief through year-end.

Farm Data: USDA and NASA have signed a deal to use satellite observations and analytics to improve farm statistics, including acreage and yield estimates. Crop Innovation: A palm-sized test detects six potato viruses in five minutes and is now used in China and more than 10 partner countries. Traditional Crops: Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Northeast communities for reviving millet cultivation and building new opportunities around traditional crops. Harvest Watch: Farmers in Nepal’s Jumla district are racing to bring in Kalimarsi rice before forecast rain, while elephants threaten paddy fields in Assam. Weather Readiness: Cebu has proposed a 142% increase in its agriculture budget to prepare for El Niño; Odisha has kept agriculture officers on duty as it braces for a possible cyclone and heavy rain.

Harvest Update: Central Alberta’s harvest is 99.8% complete, while provincial progress has reached 94%. Wet fields and cool temperatures are slowing the remaining work, though major-crop yields are forecast above average. Water and Crop Losses: Drought and irrigation shortfalls are drying paddy fields in Telangana, where one farmer burned a nearly ready 20-acre crop after water failed to reach his land. Elsewhere in the state, traders are offering strong prices for fine rice varieties even as overall paddy planting has fallen. Farm Costs: High diesel prices and tight margins are straining growers during harvest. The Trump administration’s $8 billion fuel-relief payments are expected to arrive after the election, an official said. Soil Health: Illinois will offer crop-insurance discounts of up to $5 an acre to farmers planting cover crops, with 190,000 acres available for the 2026-27 program.

Farm Markets: A Mumbai teenager has launched FasalForward, a website that compares mandi prices and forecasts crop values for 30 days to help farmers decide when to sell. Soil Health: India has begun a nationwide campaign urging farmers to curb excessive chemical use, follow soil-health advice and rotate crops. Farm Relief: The USDA’s $8 billion fuel aid is expected near year-end, after the Nov. 3 election; separate farm safety-net payments are forecast to hit a record $13.8 billion for 2025 crops. Machinery: Second-hand equipment sales fell 34% in the third quarter as uncertainty and tight farm finances delayed purchases. Harvest Outlook: USDA’s Brazil attaché forecasts a record 184 million-tonne soybean crop in 2026-27, though severe weather could affect development and harvest. Iowa farmers, meanwhile, face weak grain prices and tough storage decisions, while corn growers criticized a USDA crop-data error they say further pressured markets. Drought & Livestock: Maharashtra is expanding its silage drive to head off fodder shortages as drought grips most of the state. Olive Harvest: Palestinian farmers face attacks, crop theft and restricted access to groves during the West Bank harvest.

Drought Response: Telangana is preparing for a severe El Niño, with plans to identify drought-hit areas by Oct. 31 and promote crops that need less water. Officials are also prioritizing drinking water, electricity and rural jobs. Harvest and Costs: Warm, dry weather is helping U.S. farmers advance corn and soybean harvests, with many reporting solid yields. But high diesel prices are squeezing margins, and the administration’s announced $8 billion relief program is not expected to set payment rates until November. Grain Markets: Fast harvest progress is weighing on corn and soybean prices, even as strong demand offers some support. Grain handlers also face higher financing and transport costs as they manage larger inventories. Climate Adaptation: Across Latin America, researchers and businesses are exploring whether agricultural technology can help farmers prepare for El Niño’s sharply different regional impacts. In Zambia, school gardens are also turning to water-saving hydroponics to support meals. Olive Harvest: Palestinian farmers in the West Bank face reports of attacks and olive theft during harvest. A widely shared video purporting to show bulldozers uprooting trees was AI-generated.

El Niño Readiness: A new solar-powered irrigation system in Leyte will supply water to 155 hectares and 66 farmers as the Philippines braces for prolonged dry conditions. Central Visayas growers are also preparing fields while water remains available. Drought and Food Security: El Niño-driven drought is worsening Sudan’s already severe hunger crisis. Rainfall during the peak season was the lowest in more than three decades, threatening crops and livestock. Farm Innovation: An Australian poultry farmer plans to process 35,000 tonnes of litter a year into electricity, fertiliser and natural food colouring. Solar on Farmland: Odisha is developing a policy targeting 1 gigawatt of agrivoltaic capacity by 2030, while requiring at least 90% of project land to stay in cultivation. Harvest Update: Saskatchewan’s harvest is 97% complete after favourable weather helped producers bring in the remaining crops. Climate-Resilient Crops: Bangladesh increased rice production by about 8% even as cultivated area fell 2%, with improved yields supported by varieties suited to drought, floods and salinity.

Rice Reserves: The Philippines’ National Food Authority says its Negros Occidental buffer stock has fallen to just one day’s supply, against a 15-day target. It aims to buy 100,000 bags of palay and is collecting directly from farms, where a shortage of mechanical dryers can make grain harder to meet quality standards. Crop Choices: With water shortages looming in Telangana, officials are urging farmers to avoid paddy unless irrigation is assured. El Niño-related farm losses in the Philippines have reached 8.57 billion pesos, affecting nearly 300,000 farmers. New Markets: New Zealand quinoa growers are pitching the crop as an option for struggling arable farmers, with export demand rising as vegetable-processing closures squeeze growers. Farm Costs: The USDA’s newly announced $8 billion fuel-relief program promises help with harvest costs, though eligibility details remain unclear. Harvest Safety: Maryland officials urge drivers to slow down and pass farm equipment only when safe; the state recorded more than 280 crashes involving farm machinery from 2020 to 2025.

Farm Fuel Relief: USDA has announced $8 billion in one-time payments to help U.S. farmers cover soaring harvest fuel costs, but eligibility details are still pending. Farm groups welcome the aid while warning it won’t fix broader cost pressures. Harvest Conditions: Saskatchewan growers are contending with high diesel prices and wet fields; meanwhile, early reports point to strong corn yields despite a difficult growing season. West Bank Olive Harvest: Palestinian farmers face escalating violence and theft during the harvest. A Palestinian commission reported 23 incidents in 12 hours, including assaults, arrests, stolen olives and blocked access to groves; detained volunteers, including congressional candidate Brad Lander, were later released. Climate Resilience: India is planning an agrivoltaics push to combine solar power with crop production, with safeguards to keep farmland productive. In drought-hit Bohol, cloud-seeding flights have begun as estimated agricultural damage approaches 300 million pesos. Food Prices: A Kenyan central bank survey warns that fuel costs, dry weather and rising farm expenses could push food prices higher in the coming weeks, though farmers hope seasonal rains will improve supplies.

Farm Costs: USDA’s $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief program will provide one-time payments to farmers facing high diesel costs, with payment rates due in November. Corn growers welcomed the help but called for lasting solutions to farm costs and weak returns. Water and Harvest: Low storage at India’s Tungabhadra Dam threatens Rabi planting, while Iowa farmers are racing to harvest after a wet September left fields waterlogged. Markets and Trade: China’s opening to South African cherries offers growers a new export market as trade ties with the US sour. Farm Innovation: ICAR plans to test mud crab farming in Goa, adapting Andhra Pradesh methods to coastal lands and aiming to ease pressure on wild stocks. Crop Protection: UN experts warn that violence and restrictions are keeping Palestinian farmers from olive groves during harvest, putting crops and livelihoods at risk.

Farm Fuel Relief: Trump announced an $8 billion USDA program to offset high diesel costs, with payments based on acreage and crops. Farm groups welcomed the help but said it is only a stopgap. Food Prices: Global food prices are nearing a four-year high as conflict disrupts energy and fertilizer shipments and El Niño threatens crops. Harvest and Trade: Cambodia’s rice exports topped 1 million tonnes for the first time; Afghanistan’s wheat harvest rose 13.4% to 5.15 million tonnes, but still fell short of national demand. Water and Crops: Orellana farmers completed an exceptionally long irrigation season after a dry spring and prolonged heat, while Brahmaputra erosion swallowed farmland in Bangladesh, forcing farmers to cut half-ripe paddy. Farm Innovation: Tanzanian researchers say sisal waste can be converted into animal feed, organic fertilizer and energy, while India is promoting agrivoltaics to combine crop production with solar power.

Farm Relief: USDA will make $8 billion in one-time payments to farmers facing high diesel and other input costs. The Harvest Fuel Relief program will use planted acres and modeled crop-year losses to calculate support; payment rates are expected in November. Harvest Update: Dry weather is helping Iowa producers get back into fields, but corn harvest is 26% complete and soybeans 57%—24 and 17 percentage points behind their five-year averages, respectively. Crop Damage: In Perak, Malaysia, elephants have damaged crops and plantation infrastructure across 80 hectares, prompting oil palm smallholders to seek urgent help.

Market Pressures: Malaysia is weighing new measures to protect vegetable growers from a glut of imported produce. In the US, soaring diesel costs are squeezing harvest budgets; the administration has announced $8 billion in farmer support, while a grain-delivery calculator can help producers compare fuel costs with prices at different buyers. Weather and Crops: Coffee farmers in Uganda are trying to restore drought-stressed trees as rains return, but recovery will take time. A prolonged dry spell is also threatening rice crops in the Philippines, where local officials are seeking fuel subsidies to run irrigation pumps. Harvest and Trade: Uganda’s Okere Shea Cooperative shipped 23 tonnes of shea butter to the US, up sharply from its first shipment, with 1,000 women collectors contributing. Irish grain output could fall below 2 million tonnes this year as poor yields and high costs squeeze growers. Farm Safety and Losses: Farmers are urged to review grain handling and drying systems after harvest. Meanwhile, UN officials report more than 200 attacks on Palestinian farmers since the West Bank olive harvest began, with a farmer killed and thousands of trees damaged.

Olive Harvest Safety: UN experts urged Israel to protect Palestinian farmers as the West Bank harvest begins, citing rising violence and orders that could affect olive trees on 84 acres of farmland. Harvest Costs: Kansas farmers face diesel prices more than $2.50 a gallon above last year, adding to rising costs and squeezed profits. PFAS Support: Michigan committed $3.5 million over five years to help farmers monitor PFAS, access testing and protect crops, livestock and farmland. Farm Payments: Kentucky farmers and landowners have received $259.4 million in federal safety-net and conservation payments. Disease Watch: Tanzanian researchers trained in rapid testing for wheat blast, a serious crop threat confirmed in neighboring Zambia. Policy Uncertainty: The farm bill extension expired without a replacement, and new Conservation Reserve Program enrollment is paused.

Water at Risk: Western Kansas is split over plans to curb irrigation and slow the Ogallala Aquifer’s decline, with farmers and officials disputing whether proposed cuts go far enough. El Niño Aid: Iligan City has set aside P3.35 million for farmers facing drought, including funds for seeds, irrigation kits and water storage as a severe El Niño looms. Harvest Violence: Israeli police arrested suspects over attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters, a US journalist and visiting diplomats in the West Bank. Farm Leadership: Maharashtra farmer Sunita Nehare raised cotton yields on her family’s 12-acre farm and diversified into pulses and millets after taking charge of cultivation. Food Costs: The FAO warns that drought and shipping disruptions could drive food inflation higher into 2027. Grain Markets: Chicago soybean prices edged up on renewed Chinese buying, while a large US crop outlook kept corn near a multi-month low.

Farm Profitability: Scottish farms averaged just £500 in agricultural profit in 2024–25, prompting NFU Scotland to seek emergency energy support and stronger safeguards for domestic food production. Olive Harvest: Attacks on Palestinian farmers and harvesters are intensifying in the West Bank; the EU has called for accountability and protection for farmers and journalists. Farm Support: Haiti is distributing vegetable seed kits to more than 2,000 farmers to diversify crops and boost local food production. Crop Protection: Researchers say spectroscopy can detect potato blight before visible symptoms, potentially giving growers time to intervene early. Olive Oil Finance: Tunisia’s central bank urged lenders to fund the full olive-oil chain, from harvesting and milling to storage and exports. Weather Risks: El Niño could threaten 44,772 hectares of rice and corn in the Philippines’ Cordillera region, while drought has devastated some UK pumpkin crops ahead of Halloween.