| State to relook at MoUs for hybrid seeds
JAIPUR: The state will take a relook at the memorandum of understandings (MoUs) signed with various multi-national companies for supplying hybrid seeds to it.
The decision comes after the umbrella organisation of various farmers bodies in the states expressed their ire over the MoUs to agriculture minister Hajiram Budak and chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday.
The organisation said the agriculture minister has assured of addressing their grievances.
According to Bhagwan Sahay of Kishan Seva Samiti Mahasangh, "Some of these companies with whom the state government has signed an MoU have been banned from other states. The government move is anti-farmer."
Recently, the state signed MoUs with various companies for supplying hybrid seeds for several crops including cabbage, cauliflower, cotton, wheat, pulses etc. The state had signed these MoU with an aim to increase the productivity for farmers, but those opposing it feel once these seeds are sown, the soil will never be able to support the indigenous seeds.
"It is feared that the companies supplying these seeds may hike their prices unproportionately in the coming seasons, and since by then, farmers would have got used to such hybrid seeds they will be forced to buy it," said sources.
On Monday, the umbrella organisation led a strong delegation that staged a protest outside the assembly. The protesters later handed over a memorandum to Gehlot. They demanded a ban on hybrid seeds by the government.
According to former finance minister Manikchand Surana, the agreement will eventually bleed the farmers. "Currently 70 % of the seed business in India is in the hands of the farmers. The entry of multi-nationals will snatch away the business from them. Moreover, we don't know how these seeds will adapt to the local climate," he said.
How India missed the bus for top FAO post India missed a unique opportunity to place one of its leading lights in the field at the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as their candidacy was offered too late for the 2005 election, a leaked cable dated July 28, 2004 (19191: confidential) from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations has revealed. The names of Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, the driving force behind India's Green Revolution, and Dr. Amrita Patel, veterinarian and Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board, were proposed for the post of FAO Director-General by India's Permanent Representative Himachal Som at a private meeting with U.S. Ambassador to the Agencies for Food and Agriculture Tony P. Hall, on July 26, 2004. In Mr. Hall's view, the proposals were “welcome,” but they came too late and were too disorganised. “Som had not done his homework to assess the current state of play, and was probably at too early a stage in his thinking to be able to table a serious initiative,” he wrote. “This was a discussion we should have had four months ago.” The proposed candidacies came at a key moment when they might have gathered broad support, because it was the first serious proposal for the choice of an alternative Director-General. Dr. Jacques Diouf of Senegal, who was elected the FAO's first Director-General on November 8, 1993, had run the FAO for 12 years by the time of the 2005 election. Leadership style His “autocratic” leadership style had drawn ire from countries such as Britain, which in November 1999 threatened to withdraw funding for the agency if limits to the term of office were not introduced. After years of debate, in 2003 FAO members restricted a Director-General's tenure to two terms totalling 10 years. But a loophole in putting this into effect in 2006 enabled Mr. Diouf to run again in 2005. This was clearly a cause for concern for India, as Mr. Hall reported: “Som said the GOI supports term limits for UN agency heads, and is concerned that another term for Diouf would result in benign neglect (or worse) of FAO by major donors.” The cable reveals both the extent to which “the great game” is still played from diplomatic offices around the world, and how far from practised India could be. Mr. Diouf had already lined up “considerate, possibly sufficient” G77 support. In comparison, “Som's seeming unawareness of Diouf's recent successes in lining up Caribbean and Islamic countries' endorsements, his lack of information about vacillation on term limits within the EU, and his failure thus far to even approach tentative Indian candidates,” Mr. Hall wrote, made India's “trial balloon … fairly limp.” Two terms later, Mr. Diouf is still FAO Director-General. His tenure will be over in 2012. | Rs 350 cr for climate resistant crops set aside in Budget: Pawar | | The Centre has set up a Rs 350 crore National Initiative for Climate Resistant Agriculture to study the impact of global warming on agriculture, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar informed the Rajya Sabha today.
Responding to Members' queries on the falling agricultural production due to rising temperature levels, the Minister said the Government was paying attention and studying the impact on crops.
Referring to milk production, he said India was the largest milk producing country in the world and produced an estimated 112 million tonnes annually.
Admitting that worldwide milk production figures were falling as pointed out by Mr Rajiv Pratap Rudy, BJP, the Minister said budgetary provision of Rs 300 crore had been made to take care of this issue.
He said that last year, a drop in milk production was noticed in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. One of the ways out was to go in for improved cattle breed for higher milk yield.
Replying to supplementaries, he said milk prices were rising in other countries and temporarily decision to go in for import liberalisation had been taken. Milk powder was being imported at lower prices. The National Dairy Development Board had called for tenders for supply of milk powder at the price of Rs 180 a kg for skimmed milk powder and Rs 212 a kg for full milk, he said.
Regarding Basmati rice production, Mr Pawar maintained that there had been no serious impact on basmati rice productivity and export was also high.
The Minister dismissed reports of falling basmati production, saying the study was carried out "on a limited area and for a limited period". Minimum two years' study was required for it to be acceptable.
He said export of basmati rice was encouraged while non-Basmati rice was not being exported "as we have to protect demand of our domestic population." India's first hi-tech wholesale market to come up in city SURAT: By the end of 2011, the diamond city will have India's first modern wholesale market to be set up by the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC). It will offer to consumers vegetables, fruits and flowers directly plucked from the farmlands of south Gujarat, neighbouring states and imported from abroad at cheaper prices. The Rs 350 crore state-of-the-art wholesale market at Sahara Darwaja on the sprawling 17,000 square yard land would be equipped with all amenities like separate display racks for vegetables, fruits, flowers, cereals and pulses, general shopping mall for grocery, clothes, jewellery, shoe etc. A brainchild of 65-year-old APMC chairman Ramanbhai Jani, the wholesale market will be a one-stop shop for city residents. They will be able to shop anything and everything under one roof at discounted prices. Each of the green vegetable and fruit displayed in racks inside the mall will provide vital information on health benefits and other advantages. Facilities like testing and certification laboratory, central electronic auction system, online spot commodity trading platform, ripening chamber and cold storage, agriculture training centre for farmers, banking facilities, mechanised material handling system etc. will be set up inside the market. In the second phase of the market project, the APMC plans to develop facilities like setting up a five-star hotel for foreign traders and visitors, rest rooms for farmers, commercial office space for dealers, collection centre for farmers in the villages and towns in south Gujarat, facilities like grading cleaning, packaging and weighing, banking facility, information kiosks, agri-clinic and extension services, total banking support etc. "I have been to many countries like Germany, France, Paris, London, US to gather information on the concept of modern vegetable market before zeroing on the concept of modern wholesale market," Jani said. "About 95 per cent of the building construction is over and we intend to start the market sometime in the end of this year," he said. According to Jani, the dream of every farmer to sell their commodities without the interference of middlemen will come true in this market. Moreover, the market would benefit the end consumer who would be satisfied not only with the quality of the commodities, but also on the price front. "Today, the end consumers are paying 100 per cent more on the purchase of vegetables and fruits from the retail shops. At the wholesale market, the same products will be available at much cheaper prices," Jani added. | Haryana loses rev due to crop diversion | | | Haryana is losing substantial revenue on account of market fee incurred on the crops diverted by the farmers to other states. This was corroborated in the annual Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report that the difference between the production and arrival of agri-produce in mandis increased from 25.5 per cent in 2005-06 to 31.6 per cent during 2008-09. The shortfall in the arrival of the crops was due to it being diverted to open market as the rates there were higher than the Minimum Support Price (MSP) offered by the government. The sources in the Accountant General’s office said the reply of the Agriculture Marketing Board in this regard was not based on any survey. It said PAPM (Punjab Agriculture Produce Marketing Act) did not restrict any farmer from selling produce outside the state or anywhere in India. But the CAG report says, “As the variations between production and arrival were significant, the board should have examined the issue in depth and take corrective action to ensure realisation of market fee of the entire quantity of agriculture produce for the concerned years. The report also finds discrepancies in the estimation of market fee. It says, “The estimates of market fee were to be prepared with reference to production of crops of the previous years. However, these were prepared on the basis of fees realised in the previous years.” An amendment in the PAPM Act could be brought to check the leakages of grains, said an official. The other anomalies noticed by the CAG in Haryana Agriculture Marketing Board were non-recovery of outstanding plot installments of Rs 15 crore, 410 plots worth Rs 36.5 crore remained unsold, agri business information centres were set up in two districts against the target of 21 districts by March 2008 and liquidated damages of Rs 10.3 crore for delays in works were not recovered from contractors. UN Report Reveals Overwhelming Benefits of Eco-Farming The latest report out from the United Nations reveals farmers in developing nations can double food production in ten years' time by simply transitioning from the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to ecological agriculture. The report released last week points to the success in eco-farming projects in 57 nations, where adopting natural methods for soil enrichment and protection against pests has resulted in an average of 80% in crop yield. Olivier De Schutter is the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and author of the report,Agro-ecology and the Right to Food. “We won’t solve hunger and stop climate change with industrial farming on large plantations,” De Schutter said in a press release. “The solution lies in supporting small-scale farmers’ knowledge and experimentation, and in raising incomes of smallholders so as to contribute to rural development.” He points out that agriculture "is at a crossroads," and growers will have to implement methods that allow continued crop yield in a time when industrial farming — heavily dependent on oil — is simply not sustainable, nor affordable, for many farmers in developing nations. "If food prices are not kept under control and populations are unable to feed themselves...we will have increasingly states being disrupted and failed states developing," De Schutter explains. And because the cost to produce food is so closely linked with the cost of oil, the agriculture system as we know it is in a certain and long-term state of threat... Industrial farming is the way of life for most developed nations, where farming methods rely heavily on oil. The report details why these nations will eventually need to shift to agroecology to sustain crop production — and to increase farms' resilience to the natural disasters (floods, droughts, a rise in temperature and sea level) projected as a direct result of climate change in coming years. This includes the good ol' U.S. of A. (The price of oil is in the triple digits as I write this.) "Sound ecological farming can significantly boost production and in the long term be more effective than conventional farming," De Schutter told Reuters, going on to mention methods like increasing the use of natural compost or high-canopy trees to shade coffee groves. Just take a look at twenty African nations, where eco-farming projects have resulted in overwhelming results. Crop yields doubled within three to ten years of implementing ecological practices... The report sites specific recommendations for governing bodies to ensure sustainable agriculture in their nations... - making reference to agroecology and sustainable agriculture in national strategies for the realization of the right to food and by including measures adopted in the agricultural sector in national adaptation plans of action (NAPAs) and in the list of nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) adopted by countries in their efforts to mitigate climate change;
- reorienting public spending in agriculture by prioritizing the provision of public goods, such as extension services, rural infrastructures and agricultural research, and by building on the complementary strengths of seeds-and-breeds and agroecological methods, allocating resources to both, and exploring the synergies, such as linking fertilizer subsidies directly to agroecological investments on the farm (“subsidy to sustainability”);
- supporting decentralized participatory research and the dissemination of knowledge about the best sustainable agricultural practices by relying on existing farmers’ organizations and networks, and including schemes designed specifically for women;
- improving the ability of producers practicing sustainable agriculture to access markets, using instruments such as public procurement, credit, farmers’ markets, and creating a supportive trade and macroeconomic framework.
As well as providing examples of just how farmers are swapping conventional farming methods for ecological methods: Thousands of Kenyan farmers were planting insect-repelling desmodium or tick clover, used as animal fodder, within corn fields to keep damaging insects away and sowed small plots of napier grass nearby that excretes a sticky gum to trap pests. De Schutter explains other parts in the world that stand to benefit are Latin America and parts of Asia. And aside from the obvious benefits of crop yield, sustainability, and a transition from oil reliance, ecological farming allows for genetic diversity — a key factor missing in many genetically modified seeds and crops... Sustainable and organic farms offer a diversity of crops that improves nutrition among those who eat them, as well as builds a resilient food system. Genetic uniformity lends itself to crop failure from climate changes and disease that can affect a harvest... Just consider the recent news of a disease-ridden banana crop in Uganda. The Guardianreported today that GM science will not save a crop that is not genetically diverse enough to fend against a plant disease. De Schutter discusses the general need for crop diversification around the globe; the importance for farmers to shed their reliance on wheat, corn, and rice in diets. For eco-farming to really take hold around the globe, education and training are necessary — especially in parts of the world where industrial farming and the use of genetically modified seeds have been enforced for generations of farmers. But where there's a will, there's a way. And many farmers, especially those in developing nations, are eager to shift from industrial farming and regain ownership of their seeds and farming methods. De Shutter's study highlighted success among rice growers in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, where "Farmer field schools" by rice growers resulted in a decrease in insecticide usebetween 35 and 92 percent. Peter Proctor is one such person devoting his life to the education and training of ecological farming. Well-versed in biodynamic agriculture, a higher form of organic farming, Proctor is sharing his work with farmers in Asia. Originally from New Zealand, Proctor retired in India and has spent the last several years visiting, educating, and even cultivating crops among communities in rural India. His goal is to empower Indian farmers in their battle to turn away from chemical farming and utilize organics and biodynamics to save their soil, their crops, and their communities, many in ruins from industrial farming. Proctor's experience with Indian farming communities, his interactions with Indian farmers as they become self-sufficient and free of external agriculture market forces, was made into a documentary in 2008. One Man, One Cow, One Planet brings to life the importance of biodynamics and organic farming. Admittedly, I knew nothing of the importance and power biodynamics. Proctor's work with a bucket of cow dung and his travels through the Indian countryside are inspirational, and something everyone should at least be aware of. Farming — be it industrial and chemical, ecological, biodynamic — is the method by which we get our food. Pretty important stuff, if you ask me. Why do a PhD in agriculture? Want to be like the ubiquitous potato a la Indian Agricultural Research Institute’s (IARI’s) alumni. The Delhi-based institute’s students are compared to the tuber because they are found in diverse sectors in different parts of the world.
If you wish to join their ranks, then the time is now. IARI has started the application process for PhD admissions. The institute offers PhD programmes in 22 specialisations for potential researchers interested in more than just shoots and leaves.
Hari Shankar Gaur, joint director - education and dean, IARI, explains why a bright student should pursue a doctorate in this field.
“So far we have been going on about the strengths of our soil, manpower, climate conditions and crop biodiversity. But as the population grows, landing holdings decrease, greater urbanisation takes place, we have to produce more from less to feed our population.” The green revolution happened long ago. India needs “another boost” for the agricultural sector to meet domestic demands. “Plus we have to export food and other products like oil and textiles to earn foreign exchange,” Gaur elaborates. “So, we need more scientific input and cutting-edge technology,” which germinate from bright minds.
The bright young minds have an array of options in this vast field. Gaur says, “People have a notion about agriculture – this is the art of growing crops. But this involves much more. For example, there are many avenues in chemical research for pesticides. If you wish to study physics, there’s a lot of scope in research on physical properties of soil, remote sensing to locate resources, and understand climate patterns etc.” Then of course, there are many engineering applications.
Those inclined towards the medical line can research plant as well as animal diseases. The number-crunchers may go for agricultural economics or statistics.
Gaur adds, “A lot of biotechnology is required to understand plant physiology and biochemistry and apply molecular techniques to understand gene-level controls of various processes.”
Further, he says, people specialising in food technology are much in demand.
What more? The residential institute has financial awards too – R10,500 per month for three years plus a contingency grant of R10,000 a year to buy books, equipment etc. About one-third of all its students are on IARI scholarships at any given time while the others win bigger rewards from government bodies such as the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research.
As regards job prospects, the institute boasts 100% placements of its students. “Nearly 70% of our students get into research and teaching, about 10% into other public services, around 10% into the private sector and the rest go for further studies,” says Gaur.
As per official data, there has been a surge in the number of admission-hopefuls. The institute received 2200 applications for 128 PhD places last year, up from 1400 the year before. Selection is through a test (70% weightage), academic score (20%) and an interview (10%). The entrance test will consist of one paper of three parts: Part I (general agriculture) and Parts II and III (subject paper). The academic score is calculated on the basis of percentage of marks in exams from Class 10 onwards. Phd programmes offered
. Agricultural chemicals
. Agricultural economics
. Agricultural engineering
. Agricultural extension
. Agricultural physics
. Agricultural statistics
. Agronomy
. Biochemistry
. Entomology
. Environmental sciences
. Genetics
. Horticulture
. Microbiology . Molecular biology and biotechnology
. Nematology
. Plant genetic resources
. Plant pathology
. Plant physiology
. Post-harvest technology
. Seed science and technology
. Soil science and agricultural chemistry
. Water science and technology | India should attain global standards in agriculture education, says Pawar Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries Sharad Pawar has called for evolving global standards to enhance quality and relevance of agricultural education and research in the country. Addressing a two-day Conference of Vice Chancellors of Agriculture Universities and Directors of ICAR Institutes here, Pawar said that requisite models of public-private partnerships must be evolved for educational activities as well as for development. He underlined the need for application and flow of technologies from lab to the market place and for strengthening of national agricultural research and education system infrastructure through active interface with the industry. "In order to effectively address the emerging needs of agricultural sector, we require highly competent human resources," he added. Referring to the revised course curricula now implemented in agricultural universities, Pawar said that new curricula focuses on development of knowledge, skills and attitude. "To make it demand driven new courses have been added including the Experiential Learning with the objective of entrepreneurship development in students," he added. The Minister further said: "Degradation of natural resources and unpredictable shifts in climatic patterns have been impacting the farming practices. "Competitions posed by globalization and opening up of economies, ethical issues of trade related intellectual property rights, genetically modified foods and organisms and enforcement of strict quality regimes need immediate attention while developing technically qualified manpower," he added. Pawar said the infrastructure including the laboratories, farm and other facilities in some of the institutions are quite old and need renovation and upgradation. He said that though the ICAR supports agricultural universities to the possible extent to develop globally competitive infrastructure for technology generation and dissemination and human capacity building, the States should also rise to the occasion by extending adequate support. He called upon the Vice Chancellors to expeditiously take steps for adoption of the Model Act developed by the ICAR for agricultural universities. Expressing happiness over increase in number of woman students in higher agricultural education in the recent years, he said that 60 new girls hostels in 38 agricultural universities have been completed that can accommodate 3,000 more girl students. Pesticides banned abroad are being used in India: Pawar
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 08:00 IST
As many as 67 pesticides that have either been banned or severely restricted by some countries have been allowed for use on crops in India, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has admitted in the Rajya Sabha. He said 27 pesticides, including calcium cyanide, had been banned for manufacture, import and use in India. Nicotin sulfate and Captafol had been banned for use in the country but their manufacture was allowed for export, he said, adding four pesticide formulations had been banned for export, manufacture and use while even others had been withdrawn. Some 13 pesticides including Endosulfan had been allowed with restricted use.
“However, there are 67 pesticides allowed for use in India which have been either banned or severely restricted by some countries,” Pawar said. When asked why these pesticides were being allowed for use in India, he said some countries had banned use of these pesticides, but others like Brazil and Australia continued to use them. “We take all precautions (in allowing the use of pesticides). Certain countries have banned them but certain countries have allowed their use. We have taken the opinion of the scientific community and considered interest of the farming community in allowing their use,” he added. Mega strike plan may hit agriculture sector Over seven lakh agriculture employees across states are planning phased agitation, seeking an Indian agricultural service. Since they include scores of scientists and specialists, the strikes could affect politically-sensitive agriculture schemes, including those announced in this year’s Budget. The demonstrations — to be spearheaded by the All-India Federation of Agriculture Employees’ Associations —includes central and state-level officials, faculties of 52 premier agricultural universities, the Agriculture Research Scientists’ Forum, All-India Technical Officers’ Association and the All-India Agricultural Students’ Associations. Together, these form the backbone of the agriculture sector, which offers livelihoods to two-thirds of Indians. According to the federation, the lack of a cadre has affected promotion, perks and pay of staffers, resulting in a brain-drain. Nearly 40% of 60,000 posts of scientists and teachers are unfilled, the federation said. The employees say they want their own cadre, which would comprise recruits trained in agriculture. They resent officials being drafted from other services. The director seeds, for instance, is from the Indian Coastal Service, which is totally unrelated to agriculture,” Sahadeva Singh, president of the All-India Technical Officers’ Association told HT. “Despite being recommended twice by Parliament with two-thirds majority, an exclusive agriculture cadre has not been created. We will not rest till this happens,” Singh added. There are about 450 category A and 633 category B “highly technical” officers and scientists in the farm ministry. Let us go back some 37 years and see the plight of agricultural scientists. The ICAR Inquiry Committee (Gajendragadkar Committee) appointed to inquire into the circumstances that led to Dr Vinod Shah's suicide, had recommended that ICAR be taken back into the Government as a department of the government. The govt did not do that, but played a trick on the scientists by first instituting a new Department of Agricultural Research & Education (DARE), and then starting a pseudo-commissioned all-India service called Agricultural Research Service (ARS). ICAR and DARE were virtually identical, but ICAR and its staff were denied the status of being a part of the government, and the consequential benefits -- like constitutional protections of service -- that accrue to government employees. Actually, ICAR has been functioning like a holographic image of DARE. ICAR's function is to shield DARE against legal action (e.g. writ petition) for its misdeeds: you cannot attack a holographic image. Also, ICAR is functioning as a fake UGC, having arrogated to itself all functions of UGC in respect of agricultural education and research. There is no legislation or any other legal provision for permitting ICAR to function like UGC. It cannot be done, because ICAR is a "Society" even today, and not a statutory body like the UGC. Unfortunately, UGC itself has abdicated its responsibilities and duties vis-a-vis agricultural education and research, and acquiesced in ICAR's illicit or illegal functioning like a fake UGC.
Further, with the regard to ARS, it is NOT a commissioned service like IAS (as it was made out to be by govtr and ICAR) but a service under the society called ICAR. Further, ICAR and govt falsely claim that the Agricultural Service Recruitment Board (ASRB) is an independent body like UPSC, but ASRB is actually a wing of ICAR, and under the control of ICAR. Chairman of ASRB is actually subordinate to Director General, ICAR, not only in rank, but also in actual functioning.
In a nutshell, agricultural scientists of the country have been taken for a ride. India wheat, non-basmati rice export ban may continue: USDA NEW DELHI: India is unlikely to lift ban on export of wheat and non-basmati rice in the wake of high food inflation and food security concerns, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said in its latest report. India had suspended wheat exports in early 2007 and non basmati rice in 2008 due to high inflation in the country. "The government of India may continue to ban exports of wheat and non-basmati rice due to ongoing food price inflation and food security concerns," the report said. Pegging India's wheat output at 83 million tonnes (MT) in 2011-12 marketing year (April-March), the USDA said, "Despite forecasted record production, strong government procurement and abnormally high stocks, the government is unlikely to lift the ban on wheat exports due to continued food inflation concerns". Currently, food inflation is still ruling high at 10.39 per cent for the week ended February 19. According to the USDA, with the expected continuation of the export ban, overseas sale of wheat from India in the 2011-12 marketing year would be 3,00,000 tonnes and mostly confined to neighbouring countries like Nepal on humanitarian grounds. Similarly, rice exports from the country are pegged at 2.5 Million Tonnes (MT) for the current year, which includes basmati rice, premium non-basmati and some concessional exports to neighbouring countries on humanitarian grounds, it said. The USDA has forecast rice output from India at 94.5 MT, as compared to 89 MT last year. Wheat output in last year was 80.8 MT. India's domestic wheat and rice demand is estimated at 84.5 MT and 96 MT, respectively for 2011-12 marketing year. India's wheat ending stocks are seen more than double the government's desired stocks of 7 MT as on March-end of 2011, while rice ending stocks as on October 1, 2011 are expected to be three times higher than the desired stock of 7.2 MT, it said. Presently, the government's rice procurement is underway and will continue till September 2011. Wheat purchases would start from next month and total purchases are likely to be higher than 25.5 MT on record output and good MSP, the USDA added. On domestic prices of these two staples, the USDA said local prices of rice and wheat are expected to remain steady this year on sufficient domestic supplies and expected continuation of the export ban. | Unseasonal rains cost Rs 3,312 cr to state agriculture | | | Heavy damages estimated for in cotton, chana, castor crop. Unseasonal rains in the state of Gujarat during September - November, 2010 has cost the state agriculture sector Rs 3,312 crore with key cash crops including groundnut, cotton, castor seed and pulses taking a major blow among other agriculture commodities. The state minister for agriculture, Dilip Sanghani on Thursday informed that as of December 31, 2010 the total damage to the state agriculture sector was estimated at around Rs 3,312.82 crore. "We have made a representation to the union government on January 19, 2011 to provide a relief for the damages due to the unseasonal rains witnessed during the year 2010," the minister said in a written reply to a question in the the state assembly on Thursday. The minister further informed that the rains during the month of November, 2010 had damaged the crops of cotton, chana (chick pea), jowar and some of the horticulture crop cultivated in the Surendranagar district. The district alone saw an estimated damage worth Rs 382.15 crore. Among oilseeds, castor and soybeans were badly affected. The state tops in castor production in India. This year, the castor production was estimated at around 8.60 lakh tonnes up 17 per cent over previous year. The crop was sown on 4.83 lakh hectares in the state. Meanwhile, the Rapeseed-Mustard production in Gujarat was expected to rise by 15,000 tonnes during the current rabi season 2010-11 as the area under the crop also rose by 4 per cent at 216,700 hectares over last year. A survey by Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) had estimated the state's rapeseed production at 3.30 lakh tonnes against 3.15 lakh tonnes registered in 2009-10. The Banaskantha district, which is among the worst affected due to unseasonal rains, had seen a growth of 22 per cent in the area under rapeseed cultivation against to 123,100 hectares for the current season against 101,000 hectare in 2009-10. Other badly affected districts included Kutch, Sabarkantha, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar and Rajkot. The state assembly was informed that over 16,000 hectares of crop area was affected due to the ill-timed rains covering as many as 21 districts across the state. The minister further noted that so far the central government had not responded to the representations made by the state government to give relief for the damage. | Indian expert on new climate change panel
Rita Sharma, Secretary of India's National Advisory Council (NAC), has been appointed to a new commission on climate change to be chaired by Britain's chief scientific adviser Sir John Beddington.
The new Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, has been set up by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research's Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security program (CCAFS). Sharma is among 13 members of the commission which, in the next 10 months, will seek to build global consensus on a clear set of policy actions aimed at influencing negotiations to help global agriculture adapt to climate change, achieve food security, and reduce poverty and greenhouse gas emissions, a release by CGIAR said. The Commission brings together senior natural and social scientists working in agriculture, climate, food and nutrition, economics, and natural resources from Australia, Brazil, Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, France, Kenya, India, Mexico, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the US and Vietnam. Sharma has worked at various levels of government in India, including as secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Rural Development; special secretary in the Department of Agricultural Research and Education; and commissioner of land resources and extension in the Ministry of Agriculture. Speaking after the announcement, Beddington said: "Extreme weather like the droughts in Russia, China and Brazil, and the flooding in Pakistan and Australia have contributed to a level of food price volatility we haven't seen since the oil crisis of 40 years ago.” "Unfortunately, this could be just a taste of things to come because in the next few decades the build-up of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere could greatly increase risk of droughts, flooding, pest infestation and water scarcity for agriculture systems already under tremendous stress." Mohammed Asaduzzaman, Research Director of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and the Commission's Deputy Chair, said: "I think policymakers are eager for a clear set of recommendations supported by a strong scientific consensus for achieving food security in a world where weather extremes seem to becoming more and more common. This Commission is confronting a problem not just of the future but, for places like Bangladesh, a problem of the present. We already are seeing major changes in growing conditions caused by higher temperatures and loss of productive lands to rising sea levels." The new commission will synthesise existing research to clearly articulate scientific findings on the potential impact of climate change on food security globally and regionally. It will then produce a set of specific policy actions for dealing with these challenges, the release added. The Commission's findings will be primarily directed to international policy, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Rio+20 Earth Summit, and the Group of 20 (G20) industrialised and developing countries. Agri land shrinks by 2.76 mn hectare in last 2 decades NEW DELHI: Agricultural land in India has shrunk by nearly two per cent in the last two decades, a fact which does not augur well for the predominate agrarian country. Total agricultural land in India in 2008-09 was 182.385 million hectare against 185.142 million hectare in 1988-89, a fall by 2.76 million hectare, according to the data provided by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in Parliament recently. As per the 2001 census, the percentage of population employed in agriculture was 58.2 per cent of total workers population of 402.2 million in the country, Minister of State for Agriculture Arun Yadav had informed Parliament last week. The country witnessed a gradual decline of farm land with the progress of every year during the period, Pawar had said quoting from report of Directorate of Economics & Statistics. Pawar said the land shrinkage did not have adverse impact on the foodgrain production which in fact saw a rise by nearly 38 per cent during 1988-89 to 2008-09. The production of foodgrains has increased from 169.92 million tonnes in 1988-89 to 234.47 million tonnes in 2008-09, the minister said. On steps taken to arrest the decline in the agricultural land, he said that as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, land falls under the purview of the state governments and, therefore, it is for the state governments to bring in suitable policy to prevent the diversion of agricultural land for non-agriculture purposes. The Union government has formulated the National Policy for Farmers and the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy in 2007 which also envisage prevention or minimisation in utilisation of agriculture land in non-agriculture purposes. | NIIT appointed training delivery partner by Ministry of Agriculture | | NIIT has been appointed as the training delivery partner by Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, to offer specialized IT training program to the users of National Animal Disease Reporting System (NADRS). The training program was unveiled by guest of the honor Shri M. Moni, Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre, in the presence of Shri T.P.S. Arora, General Manager, NIIT Ltd. Other eminent guests present on the occasion were Dr. P.K. Suri, Sr. Tech Director, NADRS, Shri Naveen Kumar, Technical Director, (National Project Head, NADRS,) Shri Anil Mittal, PSA.
The program will be implemented through National Informatics Centre. The objective of the training programme is to equip users of NADRS with basic computer knowledge which can help them manage their work more efficiently. The training program that will be offered across the country will facilitate the users of NADRS to stay updated with contemporary IT knowledge. In the first phase NIIT is expected to train approximately 7700 users over the next 15 days.
Shri M. Moni, Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre, remarked, "The evolution of Information Technology in Animal Husbandry sector has changed the face of the livestock farming sector across the globe. I am confident that the training conducted by NIC through NIIT for the State, District and Block level Veterinary officers, who are the backbone for the National Animal Disease Reporting System (NADRS) Project of the Central Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, being implemented by NIC, will help users adopt modern approach in livestock health management system in the Country."
Mr. Manish Mohan, Head- India Enterprise Solutions, NIIT Ltd, said, "We are delighted to partner with NIC for the implementation NADRS project of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India to offer this specialized computer training program that will immensely benefit livestock farmers across the country."
NIIT has specially designed and customized a two day capsule program for the users of National Animal Disease Reporting System. The training program for Delhi commenced from 8th March 2011 at NIIT Model Town centre.
The stock was trading at Rs.50.10, up by Rs.1.05 or 2.14%. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.51.50 and low of Rs.48.50.
The total traded quantity was 4.85 lakhs compared to 2 week average of 0.97 lakhs. | Students protest for separate farm cadre NAGPUR: Students of Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV) on Friday closed the gate of Maharajbagh zoo and garden and blocked traffic on the road through it as they staged a dharna in college campus. Under the banner of All India Agricultural Students Association (AIASA) they demanded the creation of a new all India service 'Indian Agricultural Services' on the lines of Indian Administrative Services. The protests are being held across the country from March 10-12. Today, the protests were scheduled at Nagpur and students gathered at Maharajbagh campus to push their demands. Later, the students closed the Maharajbagh gate near university square and stopped traffic. Amol Patil, member of AIASA, said "We want bureaucrats out and technocrats in. People who are running the agriculture department should have at least studied agriculture. Various committees have recommended a separate creation of All India Cadre just like IAS or IFS but nothing has happened. Hence, we are protesting all over the country." Apart from this, the students are also demanding creation of agricultural research service, agricultural development service, foreign agricultural service, and agricultural education service. Patil said quality of agricultural education in the country will increase once these demands are met. "In Nagpur there are currently 400 students enrolled in the undergraduate course, 200 in post-graduate course, and 60 in the agriculture business management department. If technocrats run the things, quality of agricultural management will be better for all," he said. Bangalore, March 8: Governments rarely shy away from showering farm sops but Karnataka’s BJP government hopes to reap gains with a debatable claim: that its policies have helped reduce farmer suicides. State agriculture minister Umesh Katti recently reeled off in the Assembly suicide figures (see chart) that show a declining trend since 2008-09, when the B.S. Yeddyurappa cabinet took power. The assertion that the slide is because of the government’s efforts follows an agriculture budget — touted as a first in India — that Katti presented last month. Karnataka, though, has traditionally seen fewer distressed farmers end their lives than in neighbouring Andhra and Maharashtra. Ever since former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Deve Gowda went about trumpeting his “son of the soil” slogan to highlight his agrarian background and rural upbringing, parties have joined the race. Yeddyurappa, too, insists farmers come “first”. He has announced loans for them at 1 per cent — down from 3 per cent earlier — and other goodies, with even IT hub Bangalore seemingly taking a back seat in the focus on agriculture. But experts believe the state has a long way to go before it can calm farmers who choose to end their lives for reasons ranging from crop losses, loan burden and even gluts that lead to dwindling prices for their produce. R.S. Deshpande, the director of Bangalore’s Institute for Social and Economic Change, told The Telegraph that there were core and peripheral reasons for farmers taking the extreme step, though indebtedness was the key. Also, since most farmers are semi-literate at best, any shock is hard to absorb. Then, there are sociological reasons. “Most of those who commit suicides are individual farmers,” he said. With families going nuclear even in villages, Deshpande felt farmers faced the problem of lack of emotional support like urban residents. He called for a social security net, like those hat workers in the organised sector have. “Price inflation is a major issue facing urban consumers. Farmers should also gain something (from higher prices). But that doesn’t usually happen,” he said, listing middlemen and lack of marketing facilities as the main problems. But some farmers also take a cue from what their counterparts do elsewhere. Muzzaffar Assadi, professor of political science at Mysore University, has pointed out in a study that while Karnataka never had a history of farmers’ suicides, not even during acute agrarian crises, it suddenly began witnessing the trend when farmers started killing themselves in Andhra in the 1990s. The first recorded suicides in Karnataka were in Bidar in 1998, by when the trend had already caught on in Andhra. | 'We need to stick to farming' | | | Coming out strongly against the idea of moving people out of agriculture, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) director general S Ayyappan has called for bringing a ‘profit-prestige partnership’ model to farming through innovation and entrepreneurship. “We need to stick to farming,” he said, stating that agriculture is directly connected to food, nutrition, health and environment of 52 percent of Indian population. “Villages have become old-age homes as youth move out in search of mobility. With pride and profit as ‘agri-preneurs’, why would they go to cities?” he said, delivering the inaugural address at the two-day Global Agri-business Incubation Conference at Icrisat (International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics) here today. Supporting the agri-business incubation set-up started by Icrisat, he said there were 10 such centres working in five universities in varied agricultural conditions in the country. These have facilitated commercialisation of 44 innovative technologies so far, he said, and called for continuous dialogue between scientists and farmers on an level footing. The next paradigm in the farm sector was a move from 'primary' to 'secondary' agriculture, which involves steps beyond harvest and value addition to the produce. He said ICAR would create an agri innovation foundation by the end of this year to provide a platform to enable faster spread of innovations and connectivity to markets. In keeping with this, ICAR would modify its National Agricultural Innovation Project to a National Agriculture Entrepreneurship Project. Pointing out the trend of growing number of women in agriculture, Ayyappan said 36 percent of the 35,000 students in agricultural universities were women and that it was growing. In the 12th Five-Year Plan, it would provide for facilities like creche for women workers in the farm sector. Explaining the rationale behind agri-business incubation, Icrisat director general William D Dar said the conventional channels of commercialisation through national systems were not enough. The agri-business incubation, conceptualised by the Department of Science and Technology, started with six seed companies in 2000 and now had 40 partners, he said. The incubation system has so far commercialised 44 technologies through 180 business ventures directly employing close to 1,000 people and has seen a total investment of $18 million, he said. The two-day meet of the Network of Agri-business Incubators would provide a networking forum for investors, innovators and other stakeholders and a platform for sharing experiences and ideas, Dar said. 'TN agri schemes could help meet growth target'
The targeted four per cent growth in the agriculture sector could be achieved if agricultural schemes such as System of Rice Intensification and Dryland Farming, initiated in Tamil Nadu, are replicated across India, the Planning Commission has said.
"India, producing around 210-220 million tonnes of foodgrains annually, has to increase the productivity from two tonnes per hectare against the world average of four tonnes,'' the Member of the Planning Commission, Dr K. Kasturirangan, said today. He further told reporters: "This can be achieved only by adopting the systems successfully launched by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU).'' Dr Kasturirangan said the 12th Plan may reflect an important stage of SRI, adopted at various districts in Tamil Nadu, by which rice could be cultivated with 40 per cent lesser water, which is expected to become scarce in the coming years. Similarly, dryland farming, implemented in Dharmapuri district, by which a farmer earns Rs five lakh from one acre land, could be replicated in other parts of the country including Karnataka, Maharashtra and Northern states. This will help increase productivity as India may require 350 mt of foodgrains in the future, Dr Kasturitangan, who is visiting TNAU to study various agri-related schemes, said. The Government has accorded top priority to agriculture and has set a four per cent growth rate target, which could be achieved by adopting these methods, as acreage during the last few years remained at around 145 million hectares, he said. He added the allocation for agriculture has been increased from Rs 25,000 crore in the 10th Plan to Rs one lakh crore in the 11th Plan, apart from the 50 per cent contribution from states and participation from the private sector, which had however, failed to pump in the expected funds in this Plan. | CII for sustained 4% growth in agriculture | | | The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has called for sustained efforts to achieve a growth rate of four per cent per annum in the agriculture sector while stressing on the need to clock 11-12 per cent growth in manufacturing sector. "Agriculture needs to grow at a sustained rate of four per cent and this can be achieved by raising farm productivity through improvement of quality of inputs. Moreover, we need better supply chain management, improvement in market linkages, optimal and sustainable use of available land and right pricing of power and water”, CII's national president Hari S Bhartia told mediapersons here. The industry body has pointed out that virtual stagnation in agriculture has been due to poor infrastructure, collapse of agricultural extension system, decline in public investment in agriculture and fragmentation of land holdings. For achieving 11-12 per cent growth in the manufacturing sector, CII has stressed on the need for an enabling Manufacturing policy to include simpler clearances and approval mechanism, encouragement to green manufacturing technologies, appropriate infrastructure, flexible labour rules without diluting social security net and easier exit policy. It has pointed out that every additional one per cent growth in manufacturing creates 20-30 million additional jobs and there is a need to develop strengths in labour intensive sectors such as textiles, consumer electronics, furniture and industrial machinery.' Commenting on the role of the services sector, Bhartia said, “The services sector will continue to be the growth driver of the economy. Key policy changes are required in this sector like enhanced FDI participation in select areas of services, setting up of a National Services Competitiveness Council, ironing out Centre-state issues in the services sector, improving the viability of the informal sector in services and rationalization of taxation issues in the sector.” CII has take several initiatives in the services sector which include developing PPP (Public Private Partnership) model in healthcare space with the Planning Commission, policy dialogue with the Planning Commission for a comprehensive retail policy and dialogue with the Union ministry of tourism for upgrading skills of the manpower required in the tourism and hospitality sector. Talking on CII's interventions in Orissa, he said that the CII has presented a proposal to the Orissa government for forming a joint task force consisting of the representatives of the government and the industry body. The onus will be on the task force to bring in investments, sort out issues of industries and provide skills training to the people to make them employable. Jain Irrigation opens 2nd manufacturing unit in Gujarat Jain Irrigation Systems announced on Wednesday inauguration of their second micro-irrigation plant in Gujarat at Bhavnagar. It will produce micro irrigation system components, including drip systems, sprink lers and irrigation pipes in this plant.
Atul Jain, Director Marketing, Jain Irrigation Systems said, "We have played a significant role in establishing the concept of micro irrigation in Gujarat since the last 22 years. This new plant is part of the Company`s endeavor to go closer to the farmer, work with them and help them prosper. Our success is a result of high level of trust our farmers have on us. We bring our holistic approach to agriculture that has transformedlives of millions of farmers throughout India. We shall invest Rs 1 billion in a phased manner; of which Rs 250 million has been invested in the 1st phase" Time to concentrate more on agriculture As if the global financial crisis, the slowdown in global economic growth, the unrest in Africa/Middle East and the consequent shooting up of crude oil prices weren't enough for mankind to deal with, nature unleashed her fury. A devastating earthquake, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, followed by a tsunami, wreaked havoc and destruction in North Eastern Japan. The economic costs are yet to be evaluated, but will be significant. Oil refineries have caught fire (which may, ironically, benefit companies with refineries, such as RIL, in India), auto plants closed alongwith a whole host of plants necessary for the Japanese 'just in time' supply chain, nuclear power plants shut (there is a danger of a blowout, as cooling plants are not working without electricity, to cool the plant) and Japanese ports damaged. Perhaps Japan would review its anti immigration policy; it would need young workers to clear the debris and rebuild torn cities. It needs to permit more immigrants as its own population is aging and its famous creativity dying (firms like Sony haven't produced a big winner for a long time).
Ultimately repair will be done, however.
The more enduring challenge would be on how to feed the world, who's population is to rise from 7 to 9 billion by 2050, which would require a 70% increase in food production between 2006 to 2050 (see Survey on Food in the Economist dated February 26).
The overthrow of the regime in Tunisia started, after all, because of high prices of bread, and high food inflation is the cause of concern for rulers everywhere.
There are quite a few interesting observations from the survey. As economies improve (such as China's and India's are doing) there is a migration of population from farms to cities. City dwellers consume more meat and less cereals than farm dwellers so FAO estimates that the calorific consumption of cereals by the world will fall from 56% of total calories consumed to 46%, and that meat production would have to double.
Now that creates a problem of water management, since producing 1 kg of meat takes 16,000 litres of water whilst 1 kg of cereal takes 1200. At a recent FICCI AGM in Delhi, Sukhbir Singh Badal, the erudite Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, pointed out how the water table in Punjab, which provides 60-70% of India's wheat, has been falling. He pointed out that though the world was worried about the consequences to the oil market if there was unrest in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer of it, nobody spoke about the consequences to global food markets if Punjab was unable to supply wheat to feed 70% of India's population. It would cause havoc in global foodgrain prices.
There are technologies, such as use of drip irrigation, to reduce wastage of water - normal methods of irrigation results in a wastage of 30% of water. Israel, which has mastered the art of conservation of resources, has a level of 10% and, if other countries emulated this, there would not be a water problem.
Not that the world does not produce enough food for 7 billion people - it does! However, due to bad roads and poor storage in most countries, between 30-35% of fruits and vegetables are destroyed in transit. Lack of silo storage facilities results in grain being eaten by rodents. Then there are stupid policies by some Governments, such as the US, which mandate the use of ethanol.
The US has mandated that 30% of fuel consumption should be bio fuels, essentially ethanol. Now ethanol is made from maize and is a highly inefficient use of it. For every unit of energy input into the making of ethanol, the energy output is 1.5 units. Compare that to the ethanol, made from sugar, in Brazil, where the input:output ratio is 1:8. If the US were to do away with the law on ethanol, it would increase edible maize supply by 14%. It can't, thanks to the subsidies given to maize farmers and their political clout. Subsidies, once initiated, are hard to unwind.
The Finance Minister has taken some sensible steps in his Budget, to encourage the setting up of cold storage chains, and moving forward to bring in organised retail. Organised retail, which uses packaged food, reduces wastage and also invests in cold storage chains.
Sadly, public investment in agriculture in India is abysmal. According to a study by Sanjay Kaul, MD of NCMSL, delivered a talk at Observer Research Foundation, it is only 0.6% of GDP! It needs to be at least 2%. The low investment is strange, given that over 60% of India's population is dependent on agriculture, yet get less than 15% of national income.
Where will the money come from? Of the Rs 55,000 spent on food subsidy, Kaul estimates 36% to be siphoned off and 21% spent on above poverty line people undeserving of it. If this is remedied, Rs 32,000 crores can be saved. Why isn't Nandan Nilekeni, asked to give direct subsidies for fertilisers as well as for petro products, also being asked to include food?
Other large areas of potential improvement in food supply is proper livestock breeding, advances in plant genetics and better seeds. Investors should look carefully at opportunities in these areas, since social and political compulsions will force political leaders to invest more in food security.
Political leaders should also look at their priorities. It is horribly ironic that, on the one hand, Hasan Ali, charged with tax evasion which, if brought to book, could singlehandedly solve India's fiscal deficit, got let off on bail, primarily because the Enforcement Directorate had not done their homework whilst on the other, Dr Binayak Sen, lauded by several Nobel Laureates as a dedicated, courageous, selfless worker who strove for the poor, gets a life sentence for sedition. Do we not have our priorities inverted? Now, if others accused of serious crime, such as CWC or telecom spectrum scandal, similarly go scot free, the public would surely express their ire in the only way they can - at the hustings.
The market took a hit after the Japan tsunami and ended the week down 312 on the sensex, which closed at 18174, whilst the Nifty dropped 93, to end at 5445. The sensex was unable to go above 18,500 because of the tsunami. It would seem investors would take time to rebuild courage to invest, so the market would likely move sideways for some time. | Agricultural output to rise by 3.8% in FY12: CMIE | | | India's agriculture output is expected to rise by 3.8% in 2011-12 on assumption of favourable weather conditions, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in its monthly review here.
"We project that agricultural output will grow for the second consecutive year in 2011-12. It is expected to rise by 3.8%, over an estimated 6.5% growth in 2010-11," CMIE said.
Our projection is based on the assumption that weather conditions will be favourable during the fiscal. Production of major crops is projected to grow by 3.1% in 2011-12, while output of minor crops is projected to expand by 5%, it said.
Foodgrain production set to grow by 3.7% to 236.9 million tonnes in FY12. It will surpass the record level of 234.5 million tonnes achieved in 2008-09. Higher output of rice and wheat will power this growth. Rice holds a share of 40% and wheat 35% in total foodgrain output.
Wheat output has been growing consistently for the last seven years and this trend is expected to continue in 2011-12 fiscal. Wheat output is expected to touch record levels of 82.3 million tonnes in FY12. This increase will be largely driven by wider cultivation in the country's key wheat granaries-Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. In 2009-10, acreage of wheat was an impressive 286.8 lakh hectares. Coverage during the ongoing rabi season has been even more remarkable. By January 2011, it had crossed 290 lakh hectares. This, complemented by a prolonged cold wave in north and central India, is expected to boost production. In 2010-11, wheat production is expected to grow by 1.1 per cent.
Prospects for the rice crop are positive for 2010-11 and 2011-12. Output is expected to grow in both the years on account of increased acreage and yield.
Pulses production is also expected to touch record levels in 2011-12. High accruals from pulses will motivate farmers to enhance coverage in 2011-12 as well. Hence, we project that pulses production will expand by 19.3 per cent in 2011-12, CMIE said.
Oilseeds production is expected to revive in 2011-12, after declining for two successive years. The demand-supply gap in oilseeds has inflated prices considerably for the last three years.
Conducive weather conditions alongwith incremental returns, has encouraged farmers to increase the acreage of oilseeds in 2010-11. Hence, output is projected to recover by 15 per cent in 2010-11. In 2011-12, it is projected to grow by 2.9 per cent as steady demand will lead to healthy coverage. | K'taka govt cancels private market yard licence of Metro Cash & Carry | | | Mahesh Kulkarni / Bangalore February 28, 2011, 20:02 IST | |  The traders of agriculture produce in Bangalore have won their battle against the state government move to grant private market yard licence to German retail giant Metro Cash & Carry.
The traders, who had shut down their shops indefinitely to protest against the move from today, tasted victory in just one day with the chief minister B S Yeddyurappa ordering for the cancellation of licence to Metro Cash & Carry India Pvt Ltd with immediate effect this evening.
"We met the chief minister for last two days and apprised him of the grave situation of the traders. He was convinced with our argument that the private market licence issued to Metro would harm the traders’ interests and in no way benefits the farmers. He agreed to cancel their licence and issued the order this evening evening," Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, President, Bangalore Wholesale Food Grains & Pulses Merchants’ Association told Business Standard.
The state government had issued licence to Metro Cash & Carry India Pvt Ltd on January 18, 2011 to trade in all 112 notified agriculture commodities including pulses and cereals from both its outlets outside the APMC yard in Yeswantpur. This had surprised the traders in the state as they said, "the license had been issued in violation of the Agriculture Produce Market Committee Act (APMC Act)". The Act stipulates that no private trader can sell notified commodities within a 25 km radius from the APMC yards in the state.
Confirming the cancellation of the licence given to Metro Cash & Carry, V B Patil, director, department of agricultural marketing said, "We have cancelled the order issued on January 18 to Metro Cash & Carry. However, the company can continue to trade in perishables like fruits, vegetables and flowers."
After the failure on the part of the department of agricultural marketing to cancel the licence issued to Metro Cash & Carry, the traders met the chief minister over the last weekend and convinced him to cancel the licence.
"We will withdraw the trade bandh with effect from March 1 after informing all our 25 member associations about the cancellation order," Lahoti said.
When contacted, officials of Metro Cash & Carry offered no statement on the cancellation of their licence by the state government.
More than 3,500 shops dealing all the 112 notified agriculture commodities including perishables like onions, potato and vegetables had shut down their shops in three main APMC market yards in Bangalore like Yeswantpur, Old Taragupet and New Taragupet.
Delay in GM food may cost India heavily
Thursday, March 10, 2011 08:00 IST
Hasan Mulani, Mumbai “Everything else can wait, but not agriculture.” This was stated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, in his address to the nation “India’s tryst with destiny.” It’s been over 63 years now, things have changed scruffily.
With as estimated population of over 130 crore (Census 2011 estimation) today – we must google multitude sources and technologies to feed the mammoth population. On the other hand, irregular food prices, inflation, poor output during insufficient or intense rain have shown us that our traditional agriculture methodologies, seeds and equipment are not sufficient to bring food security. Says, Dr Uday Annapure – associate professor – food chemistry, coordinator for food biotechnology at Food Engineering and Technology Department, ICT Mumbai, and vice-president of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India) – Mumbai Chapter, “GM food is the only option for us to attain food security in present and future. In recent years the safety and quality of GM foods have been questioned but if consumer confidence and demand are high in scientifically developed countries like the US and China one should not worry about the consequences of GM crops.”
Currently, Dr Annapure is on a US visit, supported by department of science and technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, to study application of Pulsed Electric Field in fruit juice preservation, particularly on grape juice.
According to him, the genetic modification is nothing but a manual cross-breeding which is similar to natural breeding. From over thousand years, many plants had hybridised its seeds with other plants through wind, insects and other mode of DNA transplants. Today, experts are following the same pattern to enhance the food grain production.
Recently, the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), under University of Mumbai has also started new course in food biotechnology. “In the era of genetically modified (GM) foods, food biotechnology offers a plethora of opportunities in biotech agriculture. It is a two-year post-graduate course, supported by DBT, Govt of India. Our current intake capacity for this course is only 10 students who also enjoy fellowship of Rs 8000 per month,” he added.
In the last few years, many renowned scientists like Dr M S Swaminathan, the father of India’s Green Revolution, Arjula R Reddy, co-chairman of the high-power Genetic Engineering Appeals Committee (GEAC), now Genetic Engineering Assessment Committee, C R Bhatia, geneticist and plant breeder, and Dr Clive James, founder and chairman of the International Service for Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) have been regularly asking the government to fasten the GM study, approvals, create awareness about genetically modified foods, and also look at other developing nations’ approach towards GM crops.
Arjula R Reddy said that China had taken one major step forward in the production of Bt rice varieties by becoming the first country to give Bio Safety Approval (BSA) for the development of Bt rice varieties.
Prof. Reddy, a scientist in genetics, said that in a year or two China would be out with disease-and-insect-resistant Bt varieties of rice which would considerably reduce the cost of cultivation and increase productivity. “In India, several companies and research and development institutes were in the process of conducting various tests of Bt rice traits in different laboratories. However, so far, no company has come before the GEAC seeking BSA for Bt rice. India would be left behind in the race if a research and development activity in Bt rice variety is delayed any further,” he added.
In one of the talks Dr Swaminathan said, “People should be given education on genetically modified vegetables like Bt Brinjal. People should understand the difference between genetically modified vegetables and others. We must promote genetic literacy needed for the promotion of genetic foods.”
On climate change and rising need of GM foods, Swaminathan said agriculture witnessed negative growth compared to population growth last year for the first time. “This may be due to floods and drought,” he said, adding the year 2009 witnessed an increase of one degree in average temperature.
C R Bhatia said, “The use of Biotechnology in agriculture has revealed that GM crops help enhance food production and also offer food security and sustainability. Many countries have adopted BT crops and are successful in achieving their food requirement.” Further, international experts are expecting the global population to reach 9.5 billion by 2050.
Speaking on alleviation of the global poverty, Dr James during his trip to India, said, “During 1996-2008, the BT crops have benefited over 13.3 million farmers in which over 90% are poor and small farmers across 25 countries in the world. In the last one decade, the productivity has been increased by 44% in almost all BT users’ countries.” Currently, the leading GM crops users are the US (65 million hectares), Argentina (25 million hectares), Brazil (20 million hectares), India (10 million hectares) and Canada (10 million hectares).
“Today, many African countries are fighting for food and about 10 million out of 35 million population in Kenya are under poverty due to drought and famine. The drastic climatic change in Asian countries, particularly in India, may create a similar situation.
“The basic food grains like rice, wheat, maize, corn and others will not allow us to increase the production unless we use state-of-the-art technology. We are sure that the GM crops will help the country to amplify the production with reduction in cost of production and eco-friendliness,” Dr James added. According to the latest report by ISAAA, India has become the 4th largest user of GM (genetically modified) crops accounting for over 10 million hectares of land under cultivation. India has so far approved only the cultivation of GM cotton in the country.
“At present, the agricultural biotechnology is in its nascent stage. Many countries like Brazil, China and EU have understood the value of GM crops for their present and the future requirement. India has great potential to become the leader and food factory for the world. For instance, China has 20% of the world population but only 6% land for food production, whereas India has over 16% land under cultivation which can help meet food, feed and fiber security for today and tomorrow,” Dr James told F&B News. India: CRPF men to help in mushroom farming
Rajendra Agriculture University (RAU), Pusa, in Samastipur district is mulling over a proposal to engage paramilitary forces and retired army men to disseminate the technology of mushroom farming in the State.
“Because of its nutritional and medicinal qualities, farmers take up mushroom production. But we want to shore up their earnings. This is precisely why we intend to engage CRPF men, who will be trained by the scientists of RAU and then these men-in-uniform will teach the villagers how mushroom farming could be done at a low cost,” said RAU Vice-Chancellor ML Choudhary.
Mushroom farming has played a vital role in boosting rural economy and facilitate opportunities of livelihood to the farmers. “The university has developed low cost technology of spawn production from the mother culture of mushroom to facilitate the demand of seeds,” said Choudhary.
The rural people will be trained in mushroom farming under an agriculture innovative project. The university will sign a memorandum of understanding with the paramilitary force stationed at Muzaffarpur.
Bt-maize reignites Jairam vs Pawar tiff NEW DELHI/PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has turned down Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar's request to drop his opposition to field trials of genetically modified Bt maize. Participating in a debate on environment in the Legislative Council, Kumar said that Pawar had called him to reconsider his resistance on the ground that stopping the field trials of Bt maize would demoralise scientists. "I told the agriculture minister that I have no objection to scientific experiments by scientists of the public-funded Indian Council of Agricultural Research. I am opposed to opening up our state for field trial by MNCs." Notably, Bihar's stand has revived the policy tussle between Pawar and environment minister Jairam Ramesh on the introduction of genetically modified crops in India. This is the second time that they are facing off: the earlier round went to Ramesh whose opposition to the field trial of Bt brinjal prevailed against a front that comprised other ministers as well. In the latest edition, Ramesh seized upon Nitish's opposition to withdraw the permission for field trials, his promptness earning praise from the Bihar CM in the debate in the Bihar House started. The environment ministry's Genetic Engineering Approval Committee gave the green light to field trials of Bt corn developed by Monsanto on December 24, last year in five locations for rabi 2011 in the states of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. It also gave the go ahead to the multinational seed company to conduct trials in nine locations in kharif 2011 in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Reacting to his opposition, Ramesh instantly cancelled the permission to conduct trials in Bihar, over-ruling the GEAC. Ministry's rules do not provide the need to seek the approval of the state government, but Ramesh has ordered that states must be given a month to agree or disagree with GEAC's advice before the final decision is taken. ADB loan to fund 11 agri-biz centres PATNA: The government has decided to create new agri- business centres on the premises of the state's 11 marketing yards in 10 districts with the help of Rs 20 crore loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It would strengthen and increase the storage capacity to preserve perishable agriculture produce like vegetables. Besides, the government has also planned to construct cold stores for the storage of foodgrains and vegetables as part of its plan to strengthen the existing storage facility. Agriculture minister Narendra Singh said this on Thursday in the state assembly during question hour while giving the government's reply to a short-notice question of BJP member Amarendra Pratap Singh. According to the minister, additional storage capacity had become imperative due to increase in foodgrains production in the state. During 2009-10 season, the state had produced 1.05 million tonnes of foodgrains alone. Bihar Rajya Bhandar Nigam was creating the storage capacity, the minister said. He said there was no indication that the Centre would increase the storage capacity of Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns in the state. Therefore, a request was also being made to Rashtriya Bhandar Nigam to increase the capacity of its godowns. With regard to a question of JD (U) member Izhar Ahmed, the agriculture minister said that Rs 19.51 crore had been allotted to the three districts in Darbhanga division – Darbhanga, Madhubani and Samastipur – for horticulture and related activities in the four successive financial years, beginning 2006-07. Of the sum, Rs 12.32 crore had been shown as utilised. He said the DMs concerned had been asked to find out if the money provided had been properly utilised. Since House members expressed fears that the money had not been properly utilised, leader of opposition Abdul Bari Siddiqui insisted that the House be provided full details of schemes that had been implemented. The minister agreed to the suggestion. | Surinder Sud: Farming without funds | | | Is this year’s Budget pro-agriculture and farmer-friendly? The answer is both yes and no. It seems pro-agriculture because Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has diagnosed several weaknesses of the farm sector truthfully and has made all the right noises about them in his Budget speech. It seems farmer-friendly since it has proposed some measures that can benefit farmers, in theory. The downside is that the action proposed in some of the areas identified by the finance minister has not been matched by the fiscal allocations required to produce positive results. So the net impact of the budgetary proposals on agriculture may not be noteworthy. The paucity of public investment in agriculture and allied sectors is also reflected in the total central plan outlay, which has been pitched at Rs 14,744 crore for 2011-12. This is just Rs 382 crore, or 2.65 per cent, higher than the revised estimates of 2010-11. If inflation is taken into account, the provision would work out lower than the last year’s actual spend. The focus areas include extending the Green Revolution to the eastern region, integrating the development of 60,000 pulse villages in rainfed areas, promoting oil palm, developing vegetable clusters around urban centres, popularising the production and consumption of nutri-cereals (millet and coarse grain), accelerating fodder development, promoting sustainable agriculture and supplementing people’s diet with proteins through livestock development including dairy farming, piggery, goat rearing and fisheries. Although these are well-conceived and need-based programmes, regrettably, the amount earmarked for at least six of them is a paltry Rs 300 crore each, which is nothing given the magnitude of the task. The scheme for developing 60,000 pulse villages is a case in point. Allocating Rs 300 crore means each village gets Rs 50,000 which may not even cover administrative expenses, let alone worthwhile measures to incentivise farmers to produce more pulses. No different is the case of the much- needed plan to revolutionise agriculture in the east the way it happened in the north-west in the late 1960s and 1970s. This is an idea whose time came long ago but it is still not too late to implement it. Compared to the north-west, the eastern region is agriculturally far better endowed since it has deep and fertile soils, plenty of sweet water and copious sunshine. However, only Rs 400 crore have been set aside to work the miracle of ushering in the Green Revolution in as many as seven states — Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. One can well imagine how much funding each state will get and what this can achieve. Also, Mr Mukherjee did not forget to talk about sustainable agriculture to maintain land productivity. He also listed distorted pricing resulting in indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers among the reasons for deteriorating soil health. Besides, he rightly prescribed the promotion of organic farming practices, such as biological control of pests and weeds and green manuring, to restore soil health. But he kept mum about allocating funds for this purpose. This apart, the finance minister has, in a significant move, opted to raise the subsidy on interest charged by banks on agricultural loans to those farmers who repay their dues on time. This will reduce the effective rate of interest chargeable to such farmers to just 4 per cent — the level suggested by the National Commission on Farmers headed by noted agricultural expert Dr M S Swaminathan. However, the worry is that this will prompt banks to lend more and more money to the same set of farmers who repay their loans regularly (generally large farmers). Small and marginal farmers, who actually deserve cheaper finance, may be left out since they are, at times, forced to default on repayment because of natural disasters and other factors beyond their control. On agricultural marketing, the Budget speech has merely spelt out the weaknesses that denied the producers remunerative prices even when the consumers paid high prices. But it fell short of stipulating concrete action to remove these problems. This being the reality of Budget 2011-12, its impact on the vast agricultural sector is not too difficult to foresee. Farm revival and nutrition security G. CHANDRASHEKHAR Indian agriculture desperately needs resurgence. Farm growth over the last ten years has been tardy,even as the country registered remarkable rates of economic growth , driven primarily by the manufacturing and services sector. Rising incomes and demographic pressure generate expanding demand for food products; but output growth lags demand growth, leading to tightening supplies, rising prices and increasing dependence on imports (pulses and edible oil regularly; sugar and wheat occasionally). India has all it takes to become a farm superpower — with about 270 days of sunshine, over 160 million hectares of arable land, 900 millimeters of annual rainfall, varied agro-climatic conditions and biodiversity, two cropping seasons, over 7,000 km of coastline, and of course, abundant supply of cheap labour. 5-POINT ACTION PLAN A five-point action plan as detailed below can lead to agricultural resurgence. Strengthen the input delivery system: The input market needs to be monitored, and if need be regulated , to ensure easy access of quality inputs (seeds, fertiliser, agro-chemicals) at affordable prices. Rapidly expand irrigation facilities: Just about 40 per cent of land under cultivation is irrigated and the rest is rain-fed or dependent on vagaries of monsoon. Many irrigation projects have been languishing for long years, while enormous amounts spent on numerous schemes have not yielded desired results. Major field crops (rice, wheat, coarse cereals, pulses, oilseeds, cotton and sugarcane) show no marked increase in acreage under irrigated land over last ten years. Scientific management of water resources will help raise crop yields substantially from the current low levels as well as help raise land use intensity currently at 1.3. Improve antiquated agronomic practices through revival of extension services; and by involving the private sector through appropriate policy support. adoption of scientific pre- and post-harvest practices as well as infusion of technology inputs such as genetically-modified seeds would help cut on-farm losses. (Bt. Cotton is a good example of success through tech infusion). Invest in rural marketing infrastructure: Huge budgetary outlays are necessary for building scientific warehouses, primary grading and sorting facilities, revamping the agricultural marketing yards and laying roads to connect them with villages. Quality-related pricing of farm produce will enhance growers' incomes. Use of information technology to deliver price and market information to growers: Timely delivery of price and market information will convert growers into savvy traders. If public investment in agriculture is stepped up, much-needed private investment will begin to flow into the farm sector. OECD MODEL India can learn from the OECD farm support programme. While developing countries generally attack the humungous farm support programme of OECD countries ($375 billion a year and counting), a look at the details of support would reveal that as much as $85-95 billion year are spent on what's described as ‘general services' to agriculture which include expenditure on research, infrastructure, inspection and control as also marketing and promotion. These are absent in India. India should invest large sums in general services as described above and build capacity among farmers. Higher farm output through higher yields or productivity gains is the way forward. Agricultural resurgence in India will improve rural incomes and allow easier access to nutritious food as well as other essential goods and services. It will set-off a virtuous cycle. NUTRITION CHALLENGE India suffers from pervasive malnutrition and under-nutrition, especially among the poor in rural areas, and mainly among women and children. This follows skewed pattern of economic growth or ‘growth without equity'. There are easy policy options to deliver calories and protein to the poor at affordable prices. The Public Distribution System (PDS) which reaches a large number of the poor delivers subsidised rice, wheat and sugar. It is critical that the government includes edible oil and pulses under PDS at subsidised rates. Admittedly, PDS as it works at present has certain limitations. The government needs to plug leakages through close monitoring and use of innovative means such as ‘smart cards'. Additionally, in agrarian economies such as India where hunger is turning chronic and shortages endemic, government policies should check rampant marketisation of agriculture and rabid financialisation of agricultural markets. Curbs on speculative capital that chases essential foods in short supply and creates avoidable price volatility are necessary. Rising incomes and spread of information and communication technology (ICT) are changing people's food habits. Consumers have to be educated about eating healthy foods. A campaign to ‘make eating healthy food fashionable' is needed. THE CONSTITUTION ANGLE Under the Constitution of India, ‘agriculture', ‘health' and ‘education' are State subjects. Importance given to agriculture, health and education varies across States. India needs a unified approach to agriculture which can help improve nutrition and health. It is suggested that ‘agriculture' and ‘health' may be shifted to the Concurrent list so that the Central government can come up with legislation that can be implemented uniformly across the country. Finally, the government must demonstrate ‘political will' to implement progressive and growth-oriented policies. Accountability for outcomes is necessary.
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