3-May-June-2017-Magz

A Development AnD environment mAgAzine 100 you and e 102, 2017 ` SSu aphy Vol. I 17,

Gr 2001 e SINC y Geo G’n

Increased demand for diverse food has put agricultural resources under THE severe stress AGRi-TECH PERsPECTivEs

6 Changing Farmers’ Income and Agrarian Distress 26 Mutation Breeding for Crop Improvement 40 The GM Food Imbroglio 62 Forest Stewardship Council 68 Living Root Bridges October 5 - 6, 2017, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, India

LIGHTS (Learning in Knowledge Geography and You, Organised by Geography, Humanities, New Delhi Technology and Science) partner G’nY SINCE 2001 GeoGraphy and you a dEvElopmENt aNd GEoGraphYaNdYou.Com ENvIroNmENt maGazINE Vol. 17  Issue 102  May-June 2017

Farmers’ TransiTions 40 The GM Food Imbroglio india ouTdoors 6 Changing Farmers’ Income and K R Anilakumar, R K Sharma 68 Living Root Bridge Agrarian Distress and A S Bawa Dipanjan Ghosh Elumalai Kannan 46 Optical Sensing of Soil 14 Agri-Food System Transformation Nutrients for ‘Smart Farming’ and Farmers Subra Mukherjee and N Chandrasekhara Rao Shakuntala Laskar

20 Perishable Agricultural 52 The Doomsday Vault–Conser- Market Reforms: Policy vation for the World’s Crops In BrIef and Issues Staff Reporter 2 Letters Sukhpal Singh 4 Editor’s Note phoTo-essay 13 The Pro-GM view Crop TeChnologies 56 Scarcity and displacement: 25 Term Power Questions Water Woes Compel 33 Term Power Rating 26 Mutation Breeding for Crop 45 Changing Cold Chain Vinod Babu Improvement Technology M C KHARKWAL 51 Women in Agriculture ForesTry poliCy 67 Farmers’ Suicide 34 Genetically Modified Technology 62 Forest Stewardship Council 72 Book/Website Dilnavaz Variava Naina Sharma

Expert Panel Prithvish Nag B Meenakumari Ajit Tyagi B Sengupta Vice Chancellor, Chairperson, Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Former Member Secretary, MG Kashi Vidyapeeth, National Biodiversity Former DG, IMD, Central Pollution Control Varanasi. Authority, Chennai. New Delhi. Board, New Delhi. Rasik Ravindra Sachidanand Sinha Saraswati Raju D Mukhopadhyay Former Director, Professor, CSRD, Professor, CSRD, Director, NCAOR, Goa. Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru Economic Research, University, New Delhi. University, New Delhi. Nielsen, New Delhi. march-april 2017 issue: The issue titled ‘Managing Water’ is the most comprehensive publication on water that I have seen in a long time. After going through the articles I realised that most of GeoGraphy and you our water users are not aware of water rights. The article ‘Water editor Rights System for India’ brings out many facets of who owns water. Sulagna Chattopadhyay I think this is the basic problem in groundwater management. The senior advisor government should recognise the problem and build proactive SaraSwati raju forums to find out what would work for India. The issue has been very informative and is a must-read—Rashi Das, BuRDwan Via e-mail. legal advisor KriShnendu datta For more details log on to our website www.geographyandyou.com

cover photo drying a CoB of Corn in a Barn—Shillong, i wanted to subscribe G’nY magazine environment than so many places in India. I meghalaya online for 12 issues, but I found things was wondering why G’nY does not publish were a bit difficult on the web as it showed a special issue on this area with all its photo team cancellation after paying the money. I geographical, agricultural and urbanisation praSad tried many times and had to co-ordinate related perspectives. —MChOLDT sinGh, with your office on the phone before the iMphaL, ManipuR Via e-mail. iris publication pvt. ltd. subscription went through. I have got my registered office copy now. But, some readers may not be i have read many articles on air purifying 111/9 K g, aruna aSaf ali marg, new delhi -110070 as patient and would likely miss out on the indoor plants in the previous issues of enriching G’nY experience. Please rectify G’nY. I am increasingly becoming aware of correspondence/ the matter to reach out better. —anJan large multi-national companies trying to sell editorial office MOhanTY, nEw DELhi. air purifiers to the hapless public. I do not 707, BhiKaji Cama Bhawan, rK puram, new delhi - believe that machines can be alternative 110066 i had participated in an essay competition to nature. Can G’nY run a campaign phone: +91-11-46014233; organised by G’nY in 2008. I have been popularising the indoor plants that can +91-11-26186350 for new SuBSCriptionS, following your magazine, but I have not make a difference to the air-quality.—KaniKa renewalS, enquirieS been able to locate any such competitions MahOLTRa, nEw DELhi. pleaSe ContaCt anymore. Are you planning to organise CirCulation manager e-mail: info@ something in the future—it would be quite i watched the webcast that G’nY aired geographyandyou.com interesting. I also request you to conduct on March 8, 2017. The conversation on pleaSe viSit our Site at www.geographyandyou.com a webcast on the lines of your previous Women’s Day was very interesting. This for further information. broadcasts, on COP 21, exit of USA and kind of discussions on similar issues is very impact on India. —siDDhaRTh shaRMa, welcome. —ManGuLu ChaRan paTRa, Via website. ©iris publication pvt. LuCKnOw, Via e-mail. ltd. all rightS reServed i thank the G’nY team for posting an throughout the world. i have seen the G’nY Climate published inspirational page on your website on reproduCtion in any by you. I think it is only online. May I women’s contribution to save environment. manner, part or whole, iS prohiBited. printed, suggest that this may be provided as an Aptly posted on women’s day, I feel scores puBliShed and owned By print insertion with G’nY printed copies to of women play significant role to save lives Sulagna Chattopadhyay. enhance the reading habits of young people both human and in nature.—ViKash KuMaR in our school.—REVaThi s, GuwahaTi, Via e-mail. sinGh, Via website. printed at india graphiC SyStemS pvt. ltd. f-23, oKhla north-east has vibrant socio-economic and g’nY is doing a great job. Most of the things induStrial area, phaSe-i, cultural systems, besides having excellent which you are posting are making important new delhi - 110020. geographical landscapes with rich fauna contributions in my geography preparation published at and flora. The area has more forests than for competitive examinations.—pRafuL iriS puBliCation pvt. the mandated 33 per cent and a better YEROJwaR, Via website. ltd. geography and you doeS not taKe any reSponSiBility for write editorial office: geography and you, 707, Bhikaji Cama Bhawan, r K puram, new delhi - 110066. letters may be edited for clarity and returning unSoliCited length. include name, address and telephone. phone 011-46014233, 26186350 email [email protected] puBliCation material. facebook http://goo.gl/eieah, linkedin http://in.linkedin.com/pub/geography-and-you/5a/b32/b24 website www.geographyandyou.com. subscriptions for institutional subscriptions of print copies you may write to [email protected] to contribute an article: Kindly send the abstract of your article in not more than 200 words to [email protected]. all diSputeS are SuBjeCted to the abstract will be reviewed by our guest panelists. once selected we shall respond for the procurement of full article. the length of the final the exCluSive juriSdiCtion of article may range from 1000 to 1500 words. please also mention if you can contribute relevant high resolution photographs. Competent CourtS and forumS The Editorial Advisor. in delhi/new delhi only.

2 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 101 issue METGEEKS Programme www.geographyandyou.com GETTING WEATHER WISE

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Contact IPPLTD for further details. 707, Bhikaji Cama Bhawan, R. K. Puram, New Delhi Phone: +91-11-26186350, +91-11-46014233, Email: [email protected], Website: geographyandyou.com Editor’s notE

EDITORIAL Strengthening Agri-Innovations

Food, central to our existence, has singularly The dependency proved to be a mechanism for global governance. India continues on a preferred to combat hunger and confront food crises in a backdrop of an set of crops in ever growing population. The country has engaged in a wide India has reduced range of historical debates from scientific, political-ideological, to even ethical. Agriculture has been from ancient times the its agricultural mainstay of the population, yet the country remains innovation resilience. hungry. The agro-food-tech has been largely supply driven and thus remained unable to capture the entire ambit of agriculture. A preferred set of crops has emerged that have come to be understood to have caused health and nutritional imbalance among the people. And now a relatively recent growth trajectory is being drawn to include genetically modified crops in the food basket. This issue of G’nY includes viewpoints of experts who argue that various successful methods exist, opposed to genetic modification, that offer fetching results quite easily. The imbroglio of the agro-food-tech debate may just as well be avoided if certain scientific methods are adopted, say Fashioning a broom to for example soil sensors among others, which help apprise the sweep up the harvest, farmer about specific nutritional requirements of his land. Efficient West Champran, Bihar. water usage, better soil health, low cost high-yielding inputs, well- positioned cold chains, small and marginal farmer cooperatives, and innovative farm to market interfaces would ensure a higher output in a relatively short period. Happy reading.

Sulagna Chattopadhyay

4 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue

Farmers’ TransiTions

By Elumalai Kannan CHANGING FARMERS’ INCOME AND AGRARIAN DISTRESS A strong trend towards agricultural diversification from food to commercial crops and from enterprise to allied activities is emerging. This shift is driven by both, state policies and the domestic market and has a bearing upon small and marginal landholders.

6 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue Taking cue from many developed and developing economies, India needs to move from a price-based

: Prasad to an income-based support

Pho To system for farmers.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 7 griculture continues to play an vation unless the support system moves towards important role in the overall growth providing income security to them. With this of the Indian economy despite a background, the present article discusses trends in structural shift towards the service India’s agricultural growth, changes in real income sector during recent decades. and issues related to agrarian distress. Despite a decline in the share of agriculture in Anational income from 55.1 per cent in 1950-51 to Trends in agricultural growth 13.9 per cent in 2013-14, agriculture still holds the Annual growth rates revealed that agricul- key to transformation of India’s rural economy. ture and allied activities registered more But, there are many challenges too. The country volatile growth than overall GDP due to vagaries achieved self-sufficiency in food production at the of rainfall, fluctuations in temperature and other macro level, but still confronts massive challenges natural conditions. Growth in agriculture and of high prevalence of malnourished children and allied activities declined continuously during high incidence of rural poverty. 1993-94 to 2002-03; annual average growth rate The dependence of the rural workforce on during this period was 2.9 per cent (Fig. 1). The agriculture for employment has not declined in growth rate seems to have recovered thereafter proportion to its contribution to gross domestic registering an impressive rate of 3.2 per cent product (GDP). This has resulted in widening the during 2003-04 to 2007-08. This was also the income disparity between the agricultural and period during which the overall GDP growth non-agricultural sectors (Chand, 2017). In this was higher at 7.2 per cent. However, the growth context, achieving a higher growth in agriculture in agriculture as well as the overall economy has assumes great importance—a matter of concern plummeted since 2008-09, which coincided with for policy planners and research scholars in recent the global financial crisis and frequent occur- times (Vaidyanathan 2010, Sen 2016). Sustained rence of drought in different parts of the country. agricultural growth, facilitated through constant The annual average growth in agriculture was policy and institutional support, has the potential 3.1 per cent and that of overall GDP was 7.1 per to augment growth in the rural economy and asso- cent during 2008-09 to 2014-15. Agriculture and ciated secondary activities such as food processing allied activities registered average growth rate of and retail trading. However, agriculture-led rural 3.0 per cent for the entire period from 1993-94 to industrialisation has not received due attention 2014-15 whereas overall GDP recorded 6.4 per from policy makers in the country notwithstanding cent during the same period. Thus although the the fact that maintaining the growth of agriculture share of agriculture in overall GDP has declined per se was lost sight of during the 1990s (Bhalla and overtime, the magnitude of agricultural growth Singh 2009). After a splendid growth performance continues to matter. during the 1980s, agriculture’s decline during the Within agriculture and allied activities, the crop 1990s was attributed to the reduction in and/or sector dominated the total value of output even stagnation of public expenditure on agricultural though its contribution has declined during the infrastructure, defunct extension services and recent times (Fig. 2). Within the crop sector, the biased economic reforms (Mahendradev 2000; share of field crops was more or less constant, while Vyas 2001; Rao 2003). the share of horticulture has shown a declining Although there was a reported revival of agricul- trend. The growth in output from livestock was tural growth since the mid-2000s, improvement in higher at 6.5 per cent than that of the crop sector. yield of major crops was not as remarkable as it was The share of fishery in total value of output has in the 1980s. In fact, the agricultural sector showed remained more or less constant overtime. However, higher variability in production since 1990s. the contribution of forestry has increased from 3.9 Studies have also shown that crop diversification per cent in 2002-03 to 9.7 per cent in 2007-08 and and raising minimum support price of agricultural then declined to 7.4 per cent in 2013-14. The annual produce have been the important drivers of output growth in output from forestry was as high as growth in recent years (Birthal et al 2014; Chand et 12.4 per cent. The reasons for sudden spurt in the al., 2015). However, these sources of growth alone contribution of forestry needs further exploration. may not sustain the interest of the farmers in culti- Nevertheless, it is useful to observe that there is a

8 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue Fig. 1: Annual growth in agriculture and allied sector and overall gross domestic product

10.00

8.00

6.00

4.00 Per cent Per 2.00

0.00

-2.00 2011-12 2012-13 2014-15 2013-14 2010-11 1997-98 2009-10 2007-08 1996-97 1994-95 1993-94 1998-99 1995-96 2001-02 1999-00 2002-03 2006-07 2000-01 2004-05 2008-09 2003-04 2005-06

Agriculture and allied Overall GDP

Source: Computed from various issues: Central Statistical Office. Ministry of The share of agriculture in overall gross domestic product (GDP) has Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi. declined overtime. An average growth rate of 3 per cent was observed in agriculture and allied activities during 1993-94 to 2014-15 whereas the overall GDP was 6.4 per cent during the same period.

Fig. 2: Changes in composition of output from agriculture and allied activity at 2011-12 prices

14

12

2002-03 2002-03 66.39 per cent 21.30 per cent 4.70 per cent 2002-03 2007-08 62.85 per cent 19.22 per cent 2007-08 4.39 per cent 2007-08 2013-14 10 62.03 per cent 18.74 per cent 2013-14 4.45 per cent 2013-14

8 FORESTRY CROP SECTOR Horticulture

Per cent growth rate 6

FISHERY 4 Field crops 5.04 5.46 5.65

2 6.49 12.39 6.08 5.45 LIVESTOCK Livestock Livestock Horticulture Forestry Field Crops Crops Field Fishery Overall Crop Sector 0 GROWTH RATE 2000-01 to 2013-14 2002-03 2002-03 45.09 per cent 2002-03 25.04 per cent 3.87 per cent 2007-08 2007-08 43.63 per cent 2007-08 23.02 per cent 9.74 per cent 2013-14 2013-14 43.29 per cent 2013-14 26.08 per cent 7.44 per cent

Source: Computed from various issues: Central Statistical Office. Ministry of The growth in output from the crop sector declined between 2002-03 Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi. and 2013-14 with annual growth rate of 5.46 per cent which was less than the annual growth rate of 6.5 per cent of livestock. Annual growth rate in output from forestry was high i. e .12.4 per cent despite decline in output growth between 2007-08 and 2013-14.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 9 strong trend towards diversification of enterprises marginal and small landholders to serious weather- from crop agriculture to allied activities. borne risks in dry land regions. Demographic pressure on the agricultural sector has affected the distribution of agricultural land Changes in agricultural income at holdings resulting in progressive marginalisation national level of holdings in most parts of the country. As per the The National Sample Survey Organisation Agricultural Census, the proportion of marginal (NSSO) had conducted the Situation Assessment and small holdings has increased considerably Survey of Farmers/Agricultural Households from 74.5 per cent in 1980-81 to 85 per cent in in 2003 and 2013. Among other information, 2010-11 with an addition of about 51 million hold- details about the value of output and input costs ings between these periods. The area cultivated by for different economic activities help to estimate these operational land holders has also increased the farm household income. The overall real nearly by 20 per cent between the periods 1980-81 income of farmer households has increased and 2010-11. The size of holdings affects the scale annually at 3.9 per cent between 2002-03 and of production, adoption of technology, marketable 2012-13 (Table 1). Income from crop cultivation surplus, credit and access to other support services. constituted nearly 50 per cent, while wages and Various studies have shown that farmers shift salaries accounted for about one-third of total their cropping pattern in response to changes in income. Income from farming of animals was as consumption and dietary pattern. As the culti- high as 15 per cent between these periods. These vated area has remained more or less constant estimates imply a rosy picture about the condition at 140 million ha in the last two decades, the of the peasantry suggesting that the wellbeing of increased demand for diverse food has put agri- the cultivators has improved overtime. However, cultural resources under severe stress. In fact, analysis of the relationship between growth in intensification and substitution of food crops with agricultural income and growth in consumer commercial crops have taken place in many parts price index shows that they are not at par with of the country. Area under foodgrains has declined each other; consumer price index is higher than from 75.5 per cent during triennium ending (TE) the agricultural income. 1970-71 to 62.5 per cent in TE 2013-14. This decline India’s National Accounts Statistics provides in area under foodgrains can be attributed to fall in agricultural GDP, which is estimated in terms area under coarse cereals such as jowar, bajra and of gross value added by deducting value of inter- small millets. There is concomitant increase in area mediate inputs consumption from the value of under the cultivation of oilseeds, cotton, fruits and output from the sector. This also includes gross vegetables. Although the shift in cropped area from value added from the operation of government coarse cereals to these high value crops is likely to irrigation system. The trend in annual growth in increase farm output and income, it will expose the gross value added and consumer price index for

Table 1: Composition of farmers household income (INR/ household) at 2011-12 prices

NSSO 59th Round NSSO 70th Round Annual growth Components (2002-03) (2012-13) rate (per cent)

Cultivation 21830 33383 4.3

Farming of Animals 2266 9049 14.9

Non-Farm Business 5309 5610 0.6

Wages & Salary 18753 22407 1.8

Total Annual Income 48158 70449 3.9

Source: NSSO (2005, 2014)

10 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue agricultural labourers (CPIAL) is plotted in Figure Rural workforce 3. Gross value added (GVA) indicates agricultural income, while CPIAL shows the price that rural in agriculture persons pay for purchase of consumer products. It has not is evident that the percentage change in CPIAL was higher than agricultural income during most years declined in under study. The years which marked with high proportion to its agricultural income over consumer price index, were affected by drought and hence higher base contribution to value has resulted in higher growth. gross domestic However, trend in movement of agricultural income clearly indicates that the purchasing product. power of farmers has remained low and has been worsening during recent years. This is mainly due to neo-liberal policies of the government, which advocate phasing out of input subsidies and allow of production. Therefore, the worsening state of the market forces to determine their prices. At income implies deterioration of welfare of farmers the same time, they fail to increase productivity leading to agrarian distress. through investment in research and rural infra- There is a strong trend towards diversification structure. In fact, it is discomforting to note that within the crop sector from food to commercial annual growth in public spending in agricultural crops and from cultivation of crops to allied research and education slowed down from 6.0 per activities, entailing a shift from food grains to cash cent in 1980s to 3.0 per cent since 1990s (Singh and crops. This process has been driven by both, state Kumar 2012). This has already affected new tech- induced policies and developments in the domestic nological advancements and forced the farmers to market, promoted by transnational corporations. incur higher input costs to achieve the same level In both the cases, cultivators switch from produc-

Fig. 3: Annual growth in agricultural gross value added and consumer price index for agricultural labourers Percentage change in consumer price index for agricultural labourers (CPIAL) was higher than the agricultural income for most of the years with 25.0 a few exceptions when agricultural income exceeded the consumer price index, primarily due to droughts. The trend in movement of agricultural

20.0 income clearly indicates that the purchasing power of farmers remained low and worsened during the recent years.

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0

-5.0

-10.0 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

CPIAL Agri GVA

Source: Computed from various issues: Central Statistical Office. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 11 tion for household consumption to production Chand, R., Saxena, R., Rana, S., 2015. Estimates for domestic and international markets, thus and Analysis of Farm Income in India, 1983– exposing themselves to precarious market forces. 84 to 2011–12. Economic and Political Weekly, Market dependency for purchase of inputs and 50(22):139-145. sale of output in a way has initiated an agrarian Chand, Ramesh, 2017. Doubling Farmers’ Income: crisis in the country, reflected through weak- Rationale, Strategy, Prospects and Action Plan. ening purchasing capacity of farmers during the NITI Policy Paper No.1/2017. NITI Aayog. recent decades. Government of India. Deshpande, R.S., and Arora, S., (eds.) 2010. endnote Agrarian Crisis and Farmer Suicides. Sage Of late, there is increasing discussion among the Publications, New Delhi. farmer groups, academia and policy makers to Government of India. National Accounts provide income security rather than price secu- Statistics, various issues, Central Statistics rity to the farmers. In fact, many developed and Office. Ministry of Statistics and Programme developing economies have progressively shifted Implementation, New Delhi. from the price-based support to income support Mahendradev, S., 2000. Economic Reforms, policy, which is considered to be more equitable Poverty, Income Distribution and and perhaps easy to implement due to the large size Employment. Economic and Political Weekly, of landholdings in those countries. However, in the 35(10): 823-35. context of India, the income support policy will NSSO, 2005. Income, Expenditure and Productive certainly benefit the marginalised sections of the Assets of Farmer Households. Report No. farming community as also the underdeveloped 497(59/33/5). National Sample Survey regions and crops. But, this proposition is fraught Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and with many challenges and constraints in terms of Programme Implementation, Government of the preponderance of small and marginal holdings, India, New Delhi. absence of a major breakthrough in technology, NSSO, 2014. Key Indicators of Situation of inadequate investment in rural infrastructure, Agricultural Households in India. National inefficient marketing system and a defunct exten- Sample Survey Organisation, Ministry of sion system. Despite these hurdles, a sustained Statistics and Programme Implementation, policy support is required to protect the interests Government of India, New Delhi. of the farmers and provide basic income support Sen, Abhijit, 2016. Some Reflections on Agrarian to withstand against the vagaries of weather and Prospects. Economic and Political Weekly, 51 volatile market forces. (8): 12-15. Singh, A., and Kumar, S., 2012. Trends in Public references and Private Investments in Agricultural R&D: Bhalla, G. S. and Singh G., 2009. Economic Implications for Growth. Asian Biotechnology Liberalisation and Indian Agriculture: A and Development Review, 14(2): 39-49. State-Wise Analysis. Economic and Political Vaidyanathan, A., 2010. Agricultural Growth in Weekly, 44(52): 34-52. India, Role of Technology, Incentives and Bhende, M. J. and Thippaiah, P., 2010. An Institutions. Oxford University Press, New Evaluation Study of Prime Minister’s Delhi. Rehabilitation Package for Farmers in Suicide Vasavi, A. R., 2012. Shadow Space Suicides and Prone Districts of Karnataka. Agricultural the Predicament of Rural India. Three Essays Development and Rural Transformation Collective, New Delhi. Centre (ADRTC), ISEC, Bangalore. Vyas, V. S., 2001. Agriculture: Second Round of Birthal, P.S., Joshi, P.K., Negi, D.S., Agarwal, Economic Reforms. Economic and Political S., 2014. Changing Sources of Growth in Weekly, 36(10), 829-831. Indian Agriculture: Implications for Regional Priorities for Accelerating Agricultural Growth. The Author is Associate Professor, Centre for the Study of Discussion paper 01325, International Food Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C. Delhi. [email protected]

12 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue In brIef: The Pro-GM vIew GM crops are reportedly good for the environment

By Staff RepoRteR

In the wake of animated debate on genetically modified (GM) crops, the safety of GM crops, and issues related to their adoption have been the object of intense research work. According to the Indian government, such research is often ignored in public debate. To overcome this, the government has created a publicly accessible database to improve data visibility (bibliosafetv.icaeb.org). Various parameters considered for assessing potential impacts of the introduction of genetically engineered crops relate to crop diversity, biodiversity of wild relatives, non-target soil organisms and above-ground organisms, weeds, land use and area-wide pest suppression. The scientific community and society unanimously consider preserving biodiversity a subject of priority. According to the government inputs, the potential impact of GM crops on biodiversity can be investigated at different levels (crop, farm and landscape) and different organisms or microorganisms (target and non-target) can be considered. When the effect of GM crops on the target species, weeds or pests is considered, a reduction of biodiversity is expected and is necessary for the success of the crop. However, it is the use of non-GM crops that would lead to higher reductions in biodiversity as use of chemicals to assist their disease free growth is often more toxic and persistent in the environment. Reportedly in a longer be manageable. The policy makers cite that it is systematic study of pre- and post adoption of Bt cotton important to have a management strategy so that the in China, a marked increase in abundance of generalist genes and their products in GM crops continue to be arthropod predators and a decreased abundance of aphid effective for as long as possible. They say that as part of pests and reduced insecticide sprays were seen. Also a resistance management strategy, non-GM cotton lines evidence showed that predators might provide additional could be grown alongside Bt transgenic crops in order bio-control services spilling over from Bt cotton fields onto to dilute resistance in populations of H. armigera moths neighbouring crops. which may survive the Bt toxin. The government claims that the pest management According to the government, GM crops are favourable traits that are embodied in currently commercialised to the environment, firstly because GM crops help farmers GM crops have led to changes in the use of pesticides reduce pesticide applications. It has been reportedly that may have impacts on biodiversity. If the planting of estimated that widespread use of GM crops has reduced GM pest-resistant crop varieties eliminates the need for the amount of pesticides use by nearly 1.3 billion pounds, broad-spectrum insecticidal control of primary pests, thus reducing the environmental footprint. Secondly, naturally occurring control agents are more likely to biotech crops require less fuel and less tillage. GM crop- suppress secondary pest populations, maintaining a related carbon dioxide emission savings were equal to the diversity and abundance of prey for birds, rodents and removal of 12.4 million cars from the road for one year. amphibians. One of the major concerns for GM crops is that the Inputs from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate insects would develop tolerance to them and can no Change, Government of India, New Delhi.

GeoGraphy and you . May-june 2017 13 Farmers’ TransiTions

Outlining the need for farm-to-food access, consumers stop along highways such as that between Kalimpong and Darjeeling, West Bengal.

14 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue By N ChaNdrasekhara rao Agri-food SyStem trAnSformAtion and farmers Tracing changes with new start-ups in the production and retail segments of the value chain, the article analyses diffusion and impacts of organised retailing on farming community and outlines policy implications. D Prasa OtO: Ph

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 15 ualism and inequality worsen due that started in 2016 in a tie-up with 12500 kirana to relative lack of technological stores (Ganguly, 2016). innovations and reduced welfare in Organised distribution of food in India has agriculture (Barrett et al., 2010). A been practiced since 1950s through more than modernising value chain, viewed in 600,000 fair price shops in the public sector. This this theoretical perspective, is one of the develop- was followed by chains such as Mother Dairy in Dment agendas for overall growth of the economy cooperative sector in the eighties. Though some with no sectoral disparities in income. initiatives by private players happened in the late Agri-food transformation has been going on nineties, development of supermarkets in India is in the world in waves after early nineties, first in a relatively new phenomenon with big players— Latin America, South East Asia, China and now Reliance, Birla, Tata and others entering the market in India (Minten and Reardon, 2011). India is said in the early years of the new millennium. Moving to be the last major frontier in this transformation along the growth path, their progress has stagnated along with China and countries from less devel- by 2009 after the financial crisis. However, they oped parts of Africa. While diet diversification and started to grow again, with some restructuring, globalisation of diets as a result of higher dispos- in the last few years and along with China and able incomes is at the core of this transformation, Malaysia, India is back with top ranking in the changing relative role of players and institutions global retail development index of AT Kearney in led to what are called demand driven value chains 2016 (Global Retail Development Index, 2016). in the world. Gone are the days when what is There has been some consolidation going on produced is automatically consumed. in the sector with Future Group merging with Now, retailers at the end of value chains pass on Bharti Retail and acquiring many small chains like signals from consumers to producers on what, how EasyDay, Nilgiris, Heritage, Big Apple, Sangam and how much to produce. In other words, markets Direct and expanding their network of shops across have come to play a bigger role in farm decisions. all states. Reliance, bolstered by its telecom foray, is Consequently, new generation start-ups have been trying to expand its footprint in grocery retailing emerging in the country since the last few years. through online entry. As of June 2015, there were These are entirely different from earlier waves of 3499 modern retail stores, 413 convenience stores start-ups in the country as they are driven primarily and 112 cash and carry stores (USDA, 2015). The by the information and communication revolution, contribution of these supermarkets (or organised globalisation and private initiative. retailers) in food segment is estimated to be 3-5 per Broadly, these start-ups can be shown as cent of INR 360 billion food market. rendering either input or output services in It is likely to grow at a faster rate in view of marketing and related jobs. BigHaat.com, Flybird, the underlying demand side factors, domestic AgroStar, Stellaps, Kedut, EcoZen, MITRA, EM3, investment and FDI regulations. This can be an Skymet, YCook, IFFCOKisan, Aarav Unmanned underestimate as it does not include online retail. Systems and CropIn are some of the start-ups For example, Big Basket did a business of INR involved in input services. There are several output 1800 crores in the year 2016-17. Online marketing services such as Ninjacart, TheAgrihub, SVAgri, referred to as e-tailing is progressing at a very high Sabziwala, Flipkart and Big Basket. The input- rate and estimated to be in the order of 20 billion based start-ups disrupt the upstream value chain by USD at present (Rao et al., 2017). The huge interest connecting farmers directly with input companies by many of the retail behemoths like Wal-Mart, for seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and machinery. In CarreFour, Amazon and others stems from the fact contrast, some output-based start-ups connect the already huge consumption is expected to reach farmers with the buyer of their produce. In some one trillion dollars by 2020. cases, such as Ninjacart and Big Basket, the In the wake of such developments, there have produce is brought directly from farmers in collec- been concerns about the sustainability of tradi- tion centres such as supermarkets. Besides these tional retail with the entry of organised retailing start-ups, online retailing companies like Amazon in the form of supermarkets and consequently started buying directly from farmers replicating on the livelihoods of a large number of people the Amazon Fresh model for its grocery business working in the sector apart from resource-poor

16 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue farmers. However, it has been argued that densely populated countries like India will continue to have along with China, parts of africa both organised and traditional stores for a long time although entry of organised retail is likely to and India are said to be the last modernise the traditional sector too with increased major frontiers in agri-food convenience (Kohli and Bhagwati, 2011). transformation. Diversification Direct marketing between retailer and and an impact of globalisation farmer-producer has been a defining feature of supermarkets although the standard defini- on diets as a result of higher tion never included online retailers. Now sale of disposable incomes is at the fruit and vegetables as well as all processed agri- core of this transformation. commodities is online. Big Basket, Grofers, and Pepper Tap are cases in point; the latest to join the race is Amazon. Some of these online stores are starting collecting points in selected places and most of the brick and mortar chains like Reliance Fresh are starting online businesses. Therefore, the situation can now be termed as fluid with the value chain in countries like India. several new players emerging every day and old Overall, the start-up activity in agriculture falls players applying course corrections to move on short of the total activity and accounted for just with the trend. one per cent of total investment of 6 billion USD Empirical evidences available so far on the in 2015 (Mitra, 2016). Further, late stage funds for impacts of value chains with regard to their influ- scaling up are virtually non-existent. This is not ence on production decisions and consequent coincidental since studies in other countries show impacts on the farming community bring out two empirical evidence of market failures in entrepre- things. Higher net income and employment accrue neurial activity in agriculture and the need for to farmers through direct selling to organised the state to intervene. Therefore, certain amount retailers. On the downside is the higher probability of start-up funds may be earmarked for spurring of exclusion of small farmers in the absence of insti- innovative movements in food and agriculture. tutional support. The government can encourage innovative insti- tutions such as small producer companies (SPC) policy implications to empower the smallholders and facilitate their There have been concerns about small farmers’ participation in the supermarket driven marketing exclusion in modern value chains. There is, there- channel to increase the bargaining power of small fore policy interest in measures that can help the farmers’ vis-à-vis the large companies. Their resource poor smallholder cultivators in taking progress so far is not as impressive as expected advantage of the opportunities of selling to these and very few of them could forge links with modern value chains. Several studies conducted in supermarket procurement operations. Therefore, developing countries of Latin America, Asia and special attention is called for in addressing issues of Africa found conclusively that the major positive access to working capital and credit by considering factors in this regard can be availability of irriga- proposals for putting these companies on equal tional facilities (Naveen et al., 2009), provision of footing with other companies and according some short term credit during the time of crop harvesting of the benefits of cooperatives e. g., tax incentives to tide over delayed payments from the supermar- for the initial set-up period and leveraging credit kets (Rao and Qaim, 2011), transport options that from some of the government sources. The example can compensate for infrastructure bottlenecks can be that of National Cooperative Development and social networks in terms of membership in Corporation. cooperatives and other farmers’ organisations Innovative interventions have to be planned by (Fischer and Qaim, 2012, 2014). These findings are understanding the dynamics of beneficial inclu- pointers to the relevant policy measures that can be sion in other developing countries. The successful contemplated to propel small farmers in moving up inclusion is facilitated by access to better education

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 17 the government can empower small producers to facilitate their participation in supermarkets so that women selling local produce at locations such as havlock Island, andaman, can participate.

and higher asset position. Experience in Kenya The enormous size of the retailing giants vis-a- reveals that the government on its own or in vis the traditional retail and the small and medium collaboration with private players and NGOs, can enterprises in the procurement of goods and serv- facilitate participation of disadvantaged farmers ices can lead to unfair advantages to the retailing by making better provision of infrastructure and giants both local and foreign. Therefore, Indian transportation and credit facilities. The Chinese competition laws have to be reviewed after care- government encouraged direct procurement by fully studying the experiences of other developed providing investment support for construction of and developing countries. For example, USA has a distribution centres, cold storages and facilities for Robinson-Patman Act since the 1930s to provide testing products procured directly from the farmer a level playing field to the traditional retailers in cooperatives. The central government needs to procurement. Zoning restrictions and other similar mull over these issues. suggestions may be considered depending on local

18 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue conditions, on a case-by-case basis. articleshow/54321877.cms. Nevertheless, the most important intervention Kearney A.T. 2016. Global Retail Expansion from the government can be to strengthen and at Crossroads. The 2016 Global Retail help the traditional retailers in modernising and Development IndexTM. Chicago, United States systematising their businesses to provide better of America. services to the consumers and withstand competi- Kohli, Rajeev and Jagdish Bhagwati. 2011. tion from the organised retail. As the 68th round of Organised retailing in India: Issues and National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data Outlook. Columbia Programme on Indian reveal that the food retail and total retail employ 18 Economic Policies Working Paper No. 2011- million and 32 million people respectively, the state 1, School of International and Public Affairs, needs to act in assisting them in their transition by Columbia University. providing incentives for modernisation, enabling Neven, D., Odera, M. M., Reardon, T., & Wang, laws and training. This ongoing transformation of H. 2009. Kenyan supermarkets, emerging the agri-food system in the country and its likely middle-class horticultural farmers, and impacts on sustainability of traditional retail and employment impacts on the rural poor. World smallholder agriculture calls for rigorous and Development, 37(11): 1802–1811. dispassionate research and analysis for effective NSSO. 2011-2012. Employment and policy making. unemployment situation in India. Report no. 554(68/10/1) endnote Mitra, Sounak. 2016. Investments in agriculture, The transformation of agricultural food system food sectors hit five-year low. Live Mint, in the country is progressing at a faster pace akin October 25. Available at:http://www.livemint. to the process in most other developing countries com/Companies/Or23bQbrR4tag4eIFJk8qM/ with changing roles of actors. While consumers Investments-in-agriculture-food-sectors-hit- are likely to benefit from this, policy interventions fiveyear-low.html. are needed to prop the farmer-growers to grab the Rao, E.J.O., and Qaim, M. 2011. Supermarkets, opportunities by making necessary improvements Farm Household Income, and Poverty: in their infrastructure and skill sets. Insights from Kenya. World Development , 39 (5): 784-796 references Rao, N Chandrasekhara, Rajib Sutradhar Barrett, Christopher B., Michael R Carter and and Thomas Reardon. 2017. Disruptive C Peter Timmer. 2010. A Century- Long Innovations in Food Value Chains and Perspective on Agricultural Development. Small Farmers in India. Indian Journal of American Journal of Agricultural Development, Agricultural Economics, 72(1). 92 (2): 447-468. Reardon, T and B.Minten. 2011. The Quiet Fischer, Elisabeth and Matin Qaim. 2012. Linking Revolution in India’s Food Supply Chains. Smallholders to Markets: Determinants IFPRI Discussion Paper 01115 International and Impacts of Farmer Collective Action in Food Policy Research Institute, Washington Kenya. World Development, 40 (6): 1255-1268. D.C. Available at: www.ifpri.org Fischer, Elisabeth and Matin Qaim. 2014. Sayan. C and Priyanka Sahay. 2017. BigBasket, Smallholder Farmers and Collective Grofers target eateries to push their private Action: What determines the Intensity brands. Live mint. September 15. of Participation. Journal of Agricultural USDA. 2015.GAIN Report: India Retail Foods Economics, 65 (3): 683-702. 2015, GAIN Report No. IN5164, United Ganguly, Payal. 2016. Amazon expands network States Department of Agriculture- Foreign to 12,500 local stores, retail outlets. The Agricultural Service, New Delhi. Economic Times, September, 15. Available at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ The Author is Professor, Institute of Economic Growth, small-biz/startups/amazon-expands- University of Delhi, North Campus, New Delhi. network-to-12500-local-stores-retail-outlets/ [email protected]

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 19 Farmers’ TransiTions

Much like the perishable agricultural produce market in Shillong, Meghalaya—direct purchases leave farmers institutionally unprotected.

20 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue By Sukhpal Singh Perishable agricultural Market reforMs: Policy and issues The Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) has been criticised for its redundancies regarding buyers’ and sellers’ transactions. However, this is due to options available now for direct sale and contract farming. PraSad Photo: Photo:

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 21 ver since several measures to liberalise contract farming in their provisions. This is because agricultural markets and provide space this year’s union budget included an announce- to the private corporate sector which ment that contract farming would be under a include direct purchase, contract separate legislation and not part of the APMC farming, private wholesale markets Act. In this context, this article critically assesses and the e-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) the issue of delisting of fruits and vegetables from haveE been initiated, the Agricultural Produce APMCs and the relevance of APMC market and Market Committee (APMC) Act has come under suggests desirable reforms in agricultural markets scrutiny. It is argued that the root cause of all the ills from the perspectives of small producers. of the farm and the food market sectors, be it high food inflation or poor farmer incomes or inferior delisting fruits and vegetables from quality of produce, is the regulation of agricultural apMC act markets through the APMC Act at the state level. It was suggested by the previous United Progres- Many times, APMC markets are seen as monopo- sive Alliance (UPA) government and the present lies though they are only a platform to facilitate National Democratic Alliance (NDA) govern- buyers’ and sellers’ transactions with each other ment that perishables such as fruits and vegetables in notified commodities or crops under certain should be taken out of the APMC list to avoid the rules and regulations, specified under the Act. This so-called excessive delays and costs of buying is because now other options to sell—direct sale and selling them. Also, buyers need not pay the and contract farming—have become available to commission and other mandi fees and charges. A farmers. few states such as Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Mahar- The Model APMC Act 2003 by the Union ashtra and Karnataka have already de-notified Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmer fruits and vegetables from APMC regulation. At Welfare (MoACFW), Government of India, this juncture, it is important to note that there provides space for direct purchase from farmers, was no adequate logic for this, having almost no contract farming and setting up of private whole- impact on the farmers’ situation in the markets sale markets so that farmers have choice of markets although it was done in their name. It is a different to sell. Following this, the Union government has matter that the APMCs have lost some revenue; brought around most states to amend their APMC buyers still buy from these APMC markets, but Acts. Today, it is possible to procure directly from without any regulation as now there need not be farmers through channels used by all modern food any open auction or other norms related to market supermarkets and the wholesale cash and carry conduct to be followed by any buyer. players—Indian or foreign. It is possible to under- The delisting or de-notification of perishable take contract farming which is also attempted by all produce from the purview of the Act is being kinds of agencies/companies across crops, regions justified on the ground that freer trade should and farmers. Unfortunately, Punjab which was the take place. This freer trade, it is argued, will lead to pioneer in promoting contract farming for diversi- better efficiencies and reduced cost of marketing. fication of its farm sector in the early 1990s has not It would reportedly, lead to lower wastage, ensure yet amended its APMC Act due to certain political better quality of produce and thus lower consumer and economic reasons. Instead, it has enacted prices. Some of the supporters even go to the extent another legislation exclusively—The Punjab of arguing that citizens should be free to buy and Contract Farming Act, 2013, which provides for a sell anything anywhere as they like (Patnaik, 2014). Contract Farming Commission as a legal authority. There is no doubt that APMC markets are not The only non-starter has been the private wholesale efficient in price discovery and there are many markets. Even after the existence of the APMC Act rules of the APMC Act which are flouted daily in for a decade, a few private wholesale markets have these markets. Farmers suffer lower realised price been set up in southern India, while only licenses for their produce and sometimes even buyers end have been issued in several other states. up paying high costs for procurement. It is also More recently, the MoACFW has circulated partly true that getting a license to operate in these another draft Model APMC Act (Government of markets is not without paying bribes or lobbying. India, 2016) among the states which do not contain Further, traders/commission agents in these

22 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue mandis interlocking with other markets such as as many other laws in rural India, but to dismiss it input and labour with supply of easy credit is also as altogether useless and unnecessary and quote the well known. In this context, it is important to ask case of Bihar, is missing the wood for the trees. In how many private corporate players have stepped fact, how can we meaningfully argue that farmers, in to offer or bring credit to farmers to free them of who are mostly small and marginal, do not need the shackles of the traders in mandis. The answer is any protection in modern markets especially for none. A few like Haryali Kissan Bazaar (HKB) who perishable produce—APMC or otherwise? Further, tried it through the banks are no longer in business. if there are no APMCs to manage markets, where More important is to ask: why was APMC Act will perishable produce of farmers go for disposal in enacted? If it was to protect farmers from such the absence of private wholesale markets? Contract traders and agents in these mandis, has that purpose farming and direct purchase can never cover all been served? If not, is it good to just repeal the Act as farmers as they are driven by transaction costs. The Bihar did in 2006? Or to amend the Act to make it APMC markets are parts of public infrastructure deliver when it is needed much more? and they have a role to play. They are the markets of Now there are not just traders who interface the last resort for many small farmers who do not with farmers, but also private domestic and multi- national companies. If traders are exploitative, can farmers be left to the mercy of agri-business Fig. 2: Extent of post harvest losses in vegetables in India companies who procure directly from farmers or do contract farming with them? Would not a multinational company working with 10,000 or more farmers be more problematic in terms of farmers’ interest and vulnerability than a local APMC commission agent or trader or wholesaler working with just 400-500 farmers each? Also why are food supermarkets paying farmers for their produce based on local APMC market prices is a question nobody bothers to ask (Singh and Singla, 2011). Further, do farmers not need any protection now from any buyer of their produce? It is true that the Post harvest losses in vegetables in India present implementation of the APMC Act is as bad Minimum 7.32 per cent Maximum 12.4 per cent Source: Jha et al, 2015

Table 1: Post Harvest Losses in Vegetables in Fig. 1: Extent of post harvest losses in fruits in India Uttarakhand, 2008-09 Vegetable Post harvest loss Post harvest loss (per cent of total) including at retail level (per cent of total) Brinjal 11 17 Cabbage 5 9 Cauliflower 8 14 Capsicum 5 11 Onion 6 10 Potato 7 12 Tomato 15 23 Source: Sharma and Singh, 2011.

Post harvest losses in fruits in India Maximum post harvest losses in India during 2013-14 in fruits and during 2013-14 vegetables were 15.88 and 12.4 per cent, respectively. In Uttarakhand Minimum 6.7 per cent alone, during 2008-09, tomato harvest experienced a 20 per cent post Maximum 15.88 per cent Source: Jha et al, 2015 harvest loss including losses incurred at retail level.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 23 Instead of delisting to be reformed to make them farmer friendly, perishable produce competitive and efficient. That is what the amended from APMC Act, APMC Act aims at. This requires measures like free licensing for better competition, e-payment of firms can be market fee, open auction system, better facilities and encouraged to representation of producer companies in APMC management and de-notification of commission buy directly from agents/arthiyas like in Madhya Pradesh. It is also farmers. important to recognise that APMC markets serve as competitors to contract farming and direct purchase as these channel prices are benchmarked to APMC prices (Singh and Singla, 2011). Promotion of producer (co-operative) compa- serve large corporate buyers and supermarkets. The nies to organise/encourage market oriented proliferation of private roadside vegetable markets and business like co-operatives (new generation in Bihar is the result of this de-notification and co-operatives) which can deal with contracting or abolition of the APMC Act altogether where, for direct buying agencies is another much needed step the first time, in independent India’s history, the as small producers need to be given a collective plat- farmer is being charged 2 per cent commission by form for interfacing with the modern markets. the organisers of private mandis without the provi- sion of any facility! references Instead of delisting perishable produce from Government of India. 2003. Salient Features the APMC Act, it is better to use this provision to of the Model Act on Agriculture Marketing, create an incentive for firms to buy directly from MoACFW, New Delhi. farmers or undertake contract farming with them. Government of India. 2013. Final Report of Only those companies/buyers that procure directly Committee of State Ministers in charge of from farmers should be given fee exemption from Agricultural Marketing to Promote Reforms. the APMC market and not all others who buy from MoACFW, New Delhi. mandis and are like any other traders. This will Government of India. 2016. Preliminary Draft help create channels of choice for farmers in local Model The State/ UT Agricultural Produce areas and promote competition among buyers— Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act not doing away with the APMC Act altogether. 2016. MoACFW, New Delhi. It should be noted that the Committee of State Jha, S. N., et al. 2015. Assessment of Quantitative Ministers in charge of agricultural marketing to harvest and post-harvest losses of major crops promote reforms, recommended only waiver of and commodities in India, AICRP on Post market fee on fruits and vegetables, not delisting harvest technology, CIPHET, Ludhiana. them (Government of India, 2013). Patnaik, I. 2014. Constricted by law, Indian One of the arguments for dismantling the APMC Express, Ahmedabad, January 2. Act and regulation is that it will help reduce wast- Sharma, G. and Singh, S. P., 2011. Economic ages. Here, it is important to point out that the aspect Analysis of Post-harvest Losses in Marketing of wastages is exaggerated as absolute wastage is not of Vegetables in Uttarakhand, Agricultural much and some wastage in perishable produce is Economics Research Review, 24: 309-315. inevitable (Figures 1 and 2 and Table 1). It is value Singh, S. and Singla, N. 2011. Fresh Food Retail loss across the chain as finally all qualities/grades of Chains in India: Organisation and Impacts, produce sell in the market at some price. Therefore, Allied, New Delhi. the de-notification measure is not going to help achieve higher price for farmers or lower costs for The Author is Director General, Centre for Research in buyers and therefore, lower food inflation. Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh and Professor, Centre for Management in Agriculture endnote (CMA), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), There is no doubt that the APMC markets need Ahmedabad. [email protected]

24 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue Term Power Answers on PAge 33 ❯❯ Agri-Terms Agriculture and allied sectors not only fulfill food and nutritional requirements of 1.3 billion Indians, but also provide livelihood to around 50 per cent of its population. During 2013-14, 66.64 million tonnes of more food grains were produced in comparison to 2004-05. In the same year, agriculture and allied sectors contributed 14 per cent to total gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. If the agricultural sector interests you here are a few terms that will challenge your knowledge. Turn to page 33 for answers and explanations.

1. Relay Cropping c. Physical inspection of rocks and plants for a. Growing two or more crops in the same field at the obtaining clue about ore deposits. same time. b. Growing one crop and then planting another crop in the same field just before harvesting the first. 6. Gini Coefficient c. Growing two crops in the same field, one after the a. An index used to measure inequality in incomes. other in the same year. b. A mathematical tool to predict economic outcomes of a country's funding in agro-reforms. c. A tool to make a comparative analysis of income growth and poverty. 2. Precision Farming a. A farming practice to precisely estimate the yield. b. A farming practice used to increase productivity, decrease production costs and minimise the environ- 7. Haulm mental impact of farming. a. The stems and leaves of a crop left after harvest. c. A farming practice that utilise the optimum water for b. The ash left in the agriculture field after burning of crops. irrigation in a technology driven way, with sensors. c. Remains of weeds.

3. Hydroponics 8. Mutagenesis a. The science used to grow plants without use of soil. a. It is the process of change in genetic information of b. The technology used to grow plants without use of an organism by natural or artificial means. water. b. Genetically modifying the organism by inducing c. The science of growing plants under water. chemicals in a laboratory. c. Direct manipulation of genes of an organism to achieve desired traits. 4. Pharming a. Mutagenesis of plants or animals to extract useful drugs. 9. Atomic Gardening b. Genetically modifying the plant or animal gene a. Exposing plants to a radiation source to produce to extract useful drugs or make them disease mutations resistant. b. Experimentally growing plants on land affected by c. The production of using pharmaceutical products radioactivity for crops to increase disease resistance. c. The study of the effects of cosmic rays on plants.

5. Geobotanical prospecting 10. Artesian Aquifer a. Method to search and identify ore deposits by a. an aquifer for maintaining equilibrium in the water cycle chemical analysis of plants. b. an aquifer used for irrigation b. Visual interpretation of plant covers to find ore c. an aquifer for extracting groundwater by reaching deposits. hydrostatic equilibrium.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 25 Crop TeChnologies

Globally, India is among the countries most involved with mutation breeding with 345 mutant varieties developed so far.

26 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue By M C KHARKWAL Mutation Breeding for Crop Improvement Crop improvement programmes through induced mutations were initiated nine decades ago. Nearly 3250 mutant varieties belonging to about 175 plant species have been developed and released. India has made a significant contribution in crop improvement through mutation breeding.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 27 utation, a heritable change in X-rays experiments with the fruit fly, Drosophila a genetic characteristic of an melanogaster, for producing genetic changes. organism, is a natural process Induced mutations through radiation as a tool that creates new variants for generating novel genetic variability in plants, (alleles) of genes. Mutation is the however, took off only after the discovery of the primary source of all genetic variations existing mutagenic action of X-rays demonstrated in 1928 inM any organism, including plants. Variation so by L J Stadler in maize and barley. Through their created by mutation provides the raw material for experiments with X-rays, Muller in fruit fly and natural selection and is a driving force in evolution. Stadler in maize and barley plants demonstrated Natural selection operates to bring about evolu- that with the help of these physical mutagenic tion of new races and species through the variability agents, it was possible to obtain mutation rates that created by natural mutations and amplified by were much higher than spontaneous rates. Induced subsequent recombination of genes during sexual mutations have a great advantage of high frequency reproduction. Besides natural mutations that occur over the spontaneous mutations which are very spontaneously due to various kinds of radiations rare and random events. The two major discoveries and cosmic rays received from the sun and also of induction of mutations made by Muller and emitted by several radioactive elements, mutation Stadler almost 90 years ago led to extensive work can also be artificially induced by a number of on induced mutation and showed the practical physical agents like gamma rays and X-rays and potential of radiation as a plant breeding tool several types of chemical agents belonging to few that resulted almost immediately in the practical specified groups known as chemical mutagens. The recovery of some economically useful mutants in standard technique of creating variability by means several crop plants. Tollenaar (1934) was the first of altering genes through induction of mutations by worker to isolate a light green ‘Chlorina’ mutant in physical or chemical mutagens and using the same tobacco which was released for commercial cultiva- effectively through elaborate methods of selection tion in Indonesia (Kharkwal, 2012). techniques in various generations for improvement After X-rays mutagenesis was established in both of a particular crop species for desired objectives is animals and plants, numerous new mutagens, both called mutation breeding. This is frequently prac- physical like gamma rays, alpha and beta particles, ticed by plant breeders all over the world for crop neutrons, protons, ultra-violet (UV) radiation and improvement. chemicals like ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS), ethylineimine (EI), N-nitroso-N-methyl urea discovery of mutations (NMU), sodium azide (SA) etc., were found to be Mutation as a mechanism of creating variability effective in generating genetic variability. was first identified by Hugo de Vries in 1901 in Auerbach (1941) was the first to report that evening primrose, Oenothera lamarkiana, and he mustard gas had a mutagenic effect on the fruit considered it as heritable change by mechanisms fly, which was similar to that of X-rays on plants. distinct from recombination and segregation. Rapoport (1946) in Russia also discovered and Hugo, who is credited with the discovery of muta- demonstrated mutagenic effects of mustard gas tion, described these events as suddenly arising and several other chemicals such as formalde- changes in organisms, which were inherited and hyde, diethylsulphate (dES), diazomethane, and produced relatively large effects on the phenotype. other compounds and established that alkylating He coined the term ‘mutation’ and presented an agents are the most important group of chemical integrated concept concerning the occurrence of mutagens (Kharkwal, 2012). The mutagenic poten- sudden, shock-like changes of existing traits, which tial of these radiations and chemicals has since lead to the origin of new species and variation. In been confirmed in many organisms—plants and his experiments with evening primrose, Hugo animals. The chemical mutagens were found to be observed many aberrant types, which he called highly effective in inducing true gene mutations. ‘mutants’. Hugo suggested that the new types of With the widespread establishment of Cobalt-60 radiations like X-rays and gamma rays, might be irradiation facilities, gamma ray has become a greatly useful to induce mutations artificially. This popular mutagen since the last six decades. During was first realised by H J Muller in 1927 through the past three decades, ion beams—either through

28 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue implantation or irradiation—have become a new Yield, maturity, type of physical mutagen. More recently, plant quality and tolerance materials have been sent out into aerospace to study the intricacies of mutation induction in space. It has to biotic and abiotic been speculated that the special environment of stresses have been spaceflight such as cosmic radiation, microgravity, weak geomagnetic field etc. are the potential agents improved in the of mutation induction (Shu et al., 2012). mutant varieties role of mutation breeding in crop developed improvement so far. The usefulness of mutation breeding in crop improvement was demonstrated first in Sweden which embarked upon practical plant breeding of agricultural plants by means of X-rays and ultra culture and has been termed ‘somaclonal variation’. violet induced mutations (Gustafsson, 1947). Use of haploids derived from anther culture has Swedish plant breeders found many chlorophyll found its best application in the ‘doubled-haploids- mutations in barley by the use of X-rays. They technique’, which leads faster to homozygosity for discovered some mutants characterised by dense more effective selection (Shu et al., 2012). heads, late maturity and very stiff taller straw. The impact of induced mutation on crop These mutants were found to yield higher and improvement is reflected in the 3248 mutant varie- produce more straw than the maternal variety. A ties officially registered by Food and Agriculture very large number of mutations of barley, especially Organisation/International Atomic Energy Agency for characters like short stature, stiffness of straw carrying novel induced variation. Moreover, about and dense ears was shown to respond in a variety three-quarters of these are direct mutant varieties of ways in different genotypes. A variety of barley derived from treatment with gamma rays, thus called ‘Pallas’ developed from stiff strawed and highlighting the importance of peaceful usage early mutants of the variety ‘Bonus’ was released for of radiations that belong to the group of physical commercial cultivation in Sweden. These mutants mutagens. All this translates into a tremendous represented the first actual accomplishments of the economic impact on world agriculture, poverty production of superior varieties by the use of radia- alleviation, food security and food production that tion. Similar useful induced mutants included stem is currently valued in billions of dollars and millions rust resistance in wheat, oat and dwarf mutants of cultivated hectares (Kharkwal and Shu, 2009). in rice. The development of dwarf wheat and rice varieties that led to the green revolution are classic development of crop varieties through examples of mutation breeding achieved through mutation breeding successful exploitation of the mutant genes—Norin Ever since the epoch making discoveries made by in case of wheat and dee-gee-woo-gen in rice, which Muller and Stadler 90 years ago, a large amount affect a large constellation of characters responsible of genetic variability has been induced by various for their superior agronomic responses. mutagens, a majority (85 per cent) of them being Induced mutations occur more or less randomly induced through radiations that have contributed in the genome, even their target cannot be directed. significantly to modern plant breeding. Among the Accordingly, results were more often useful in mutant varieties, the majority are food crops. self-pollinating plant species. Success has also The cumulative number of officially released been tremendous in ornamental plants and in mutant varieties belonging to 175 plant species vegetatively propagated crops, which usually are in six continents across the world indicates that heterozygous. Today, mutation breeding for crop Asia tops the regional list with 1965 mutant varie- improvement is not based only upon classical ties closely followed by Europe (855) and North physical mutagens like X- or gamma rays or clas- America (200). With more than one hundred sical chemical mutagens such as EMS or NMU, mutant varieties each, China, Japan, India, Russia, but also upon variation that occurs during in-vitro the Netherlands, Germany and USA are the

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 29 Fig. 1: Number of mutant cultivars released in top 20 countries

51 55 63 76 139 171 176 216 345 481 810 USA India China Japan Russia Vietnam Bulgaria Pakistan Germany Bangladesh Netherlands Belgium Canada South Korea France Italy UK Poland Sweden Thailand 40 40 39 35 34 31 26 22 21

Asia leads the world in developing mutant plant varieties, with 1965 varieties. Three Asian countries, including India, top the list globally.

Fig 2: Number of mutant cultivars released in top 20 crops a cross the world

25 30 37 46 57 76 171 281 286 304 820 Pea Rice Wheat Barley Cotton Sesame Soyabean Groundnut Mungbean Common bean Chrysanthemum Oat Rapeseed Chickpea Favabean Tomato Lentil Cowpea Pigeonpea Urdbean 23 22 21 20 20 13 12 9 7

An overwhelming majority of mutant varieties have been devel- oped for rice, way above the 20 top crops analysed, at 820 cultivars.

30 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue leading countries among approximately eighty indicates that largest number of mutant varieties countries actively engaged in the development (70 per cent) have been induced by physical muta- and release of mutant varieties (Figs. 1 and 2). gens, gamma rays being the most commonly used During the last five decades, several countries and also found to be highly successful. including China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, The most up-to-date list of 345 mutant varie- Vietnam, Thailand, Italy, Sweden, USA, Canada ties belonging to 57 crop species released in India and Japan took up extensive crop improvement unambiguously demonstrates the significance and programmes through the use of induced mutagen- importance of use of mutation breeding in crop esis and mutation breeding and made spectacular improvement in India (Kharkwal and Shu, 2009). accomplishments in evolving several superior The four high yielding chickpea mutant varieties, mutant varieties in large number of important Pusa-408, Pusa-413, Pusa-417 and Pusa-547 with agricultural crop species including cereals, pulses, resistance to Ascochyta blight, Fusarium wilt and oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, fibres and ornamentals. other diseases and pests developed by the author at A wide range of characters including yield, matu- the Division of Genetics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural rity, quality and tolerance to biotic and abiotic Research Institute, New Delhi and released by the stresses have been improved in the mutant varieties Government of India for commercial cultivation developed so far (Kharkwal and Shu, 2009). are the first ever examples of direct use of induced Although an exact estimate of the total area micro-mutants in a legume crop in the world. covered by commercially released mutant culti- Besides high yield performance under late sown vars in a large number of countries is not readily crop, the latest chickpea mutant variety Pusa-547, available, they are being cultivated in millions released in 2006 for cultivation has attractive bold of hectares and have made a very significant seeds, thin testa and good cooking quality. A major contribution worth billions of USD in global seed production programme of the high yielding agriculture leading to solving food and nutritional chickpea mutant variety Pusa-547 for rapid security problems in many countries of the world production of Breeder Seed, Foundation Seed and (Kharkwal and Shu, 2009). Certified Seed has been taken up by the State Farms The most important advantage of mutation Corporation of India (SFCI) and also National Seed breeding is that unlike the genetically engineered Corporation (NSC) during the last eight years and transgenic GM products, the end products/varie- more than 30,000 quintals of high quality seeds of ties developed by mutation breeding do not carry the variety Pusa-547 has been produced and distrib- any alien genes. It has no negative environmental uted to farmers. Similarly several mutant varieties impact as well. As such there are no issues detri- of groundnut—TAG-24 and TG-26, and urdbean mental to human health, biosafety and public (blackgram) variety—TAU-1, released by Bhabha acceptance etc. Mutation breeding in fact has world Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai and cultivated wide acceptance. in millions of acres in Maharashtra, Gujarat and several other states, have contributed tremendously TheI ndian contribution to mutation not only towards achieving the targets of the agri- breeding for crop improvement cultural production of the respective states, but also As one of the top three countries closely following to the Indian agricultural economy as a whole. China and Japan and contributing substantially to the number of released mutant varieties in the Endnote world, India occupies an important place among During the early part of the era of mutation the countries actively engaged in crop improvement breeding largely through radiations, the tech- through induced mutation techniques. Mutation nique was used as a tool for improvement of breeding in India has yielded considerable divi- traditional traits like yield, resistance to disease dends both in enhancing our knowledge on various and pest etc., in various agricultural crops. During mutagenesis processes relevant to crop improve- recent decades, tremendous progress has been ment and for developing more than 345 improved made in the research of plant molecular biology mutant varieties belonging to 57 crop species. A and biotechnology, particularly plant genomics. close examination of the type of mutagens used and As a result we are witnessing new impulses in the number of mutant cultivars released in India plant mutation research for crop improvement,

Geography and You . May-June 2017 31 L J Stadler’s experiments with X-rays in 1928 on maize and barley plants established radiation as a tool for producing mutations.

from fundamental studies of mutagenesis to Agriculture Organisation of the United reverse genetics. Breeders are now aware of the Nations, Rome, Italy. newer potentialities and far reaching implications Kharkwal, M.C. 2012. A Brief History of of induced mutation for crop improvement and Plant Mutagenesis. In Plant Mutation are able to use it with more sophistication and Breeding and Biotechnologies. Q. Y. Shu et efficiency than before. al., (eds.). FAO/IAEA, Vienna, Austria and Induced mutagenesis is gaining importance in CAB International. Food and Agriculture plant molecular biology as a tool to identify and Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, isolate genes and to study their structure and func- Italy, pp. 21-30. tion. Mutation techniques for crop improvement Muller H.J. 1927. Artificial transmutation of gene. have also been integrated with other molecular Science, 66 : 84-87. technologies such as molecular marker and high Q. Y. Shu, Forster, B.P. and Nakagawa, H. throughput mutation screening techniques. Muta- (eds.). 2012. Plant Mutation Breeding and tion breeding for crop improvement is entering Biotechnologies. FAO/IAEA, Vienna, Austria into a new era: molecular mutation breeding (Shu and CAB International. Food and Agriculture et al., 2012). Therefore, mutation breeding will Organization of the United Nations, Rome, continue to play a significant role in crop improve- Italy, pp. 1-608. ment and solving the issues related to world food Rapoport, I.A. 1946. Carbonyl compounds and security in the coming years and decades. the chemical mechanism of mutation. C.R. Doklady Acad. Sci. USSR. 54:65. references Stadler L.J. 1928. Genetic effect of X-rays in Auerbach C. and Robson J.M. 1946. Chemical maize. Proceedings of the National Academy production of mutations. Nature, 157: 302. of Sciences, USA, 14: 69-75. De Vries, H. 1901. Die Mutationstheorie.I. Leipzig: Tollenaar, D. 1934. Untersuchungen ueber Veit & Co. Leipzig, Germany. (English mutation bei Tabak: I. Entstechungsweise und translation, 1910. The Open Court, Chicago.) Wesen Kuenstlich erzeugter Gene-Mutanten. Gustafsson, A. 1947. Mutations in agricultural Genetica, 16:111-152. plants. Hereditas, 33: 1-100. Kharkwal, M. C. and Q. Y. Shu. 2009. Role of The author is a Principal Scientist, formerly at ICAR- Induced Mutations in World Food Security. Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and pp. 33-38. In: Q.Y. Shu (ed.) Induced Former President, Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Mutations in the Genomic Era. Food and Breeding, New Delhi. [email protected]

32 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue Term Power raTing Agri-Terms Food processing techniques are contributing to a great extent to the agricultural sector by reducing wastage of agricultural produce, enhancing shelf life of food products, promoting employment generation and increasing farmers' income. The food processing sector grew at a rate of 7.1 per cent and constituted 10.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in agricultural sector during 2014-15. For all those whose have attempted the agri-quiz on page 25—check your scores here.

■ 1 to 5 Correct - Informed ■ 6 to 8 Correct - Knowledge bank ■ 9 to 10 Correct - Encyclopaedia

1. Relay Cropping morphological changes or plant associations typical of Ans. b: Relay cropping is growing one crop and then certain types of geological environments or of ore deposits. planting another in the same field after maturation or before harvesting the first. Whereas growing two or more crops in the same field at the same time is known as inter cropping and growing two crops in the same 6. Gini Coefficient field, one after the other in the same year is called Ans. a: The Gini coefficient is a statistical measure used sequential cropping. for assessing variations in a given set of values. It has been primarily used by economists to analyse income inequality. 2. Precision Farming Ans. b: Precision farming aims at increasing produc- tivity, decreasing production costs and minimising the 7. Haulm environmental impact of farming by utilising information Ans. a: Haulm is the stem or top of crop plants such as and technology based management system. The peas or potatoes left after the crop has been gathered. information on soil and crop characteristics unique to This world has originated from old English. each part of the field is acquired by use of technology including telecommunications, global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), variable rate controllers, and infield and remote sensing 8. Mutagenesis and used to increase the production. Ans. a: Mutagenesis is the process of change in genetic information of an organism due to exposure to mutagens leading to mutation. It may occur naturally or can be done in laboratories. Whereas genetic modification is the 3. Hydroponics process to change the genetic makeup of cells in labora- Ans. a: Hydroponics is the science of growing plants tories that includes transfer of genes within and across without use of soil. Instead of using soil, plants are species to produce organisms with desired traits. grown in a sufficiently nutrient-rich water solution.

9. Atomic Gardening 4. Pharming Ans. a: Atomic gardening is a form of mutation breeding Ans. b: It is the process of genetically modifying where plants are exposed to radioactive sources, typically plants and animals so that they produce substances cobalt-60 in order to generate useful mutations. which may be used as pharmaceuticals. It is also known as molecular farming or biopharming. 10. Artesian Aquifer Ans. c: An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer 5. Geobotanical prospecting containing groundwater under positive pressure. This Ans. b: The term denotes a method which relies mainly causes the water level in a well to rise to a point where on visual interpretation of the plant cover to detect hydrostatic equilibrium has been reached.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 33 Crop TeChnologies

As it will not be possible to stop GM contamination in open air trials, contained growth parameters need to be followed rigourously.

34 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue By Dilnavaz variava Genetically Modified Technology EvEn if YOU ignOrE ‘gM’ it will nOt ignOrE YOU!

There are only two traits in 98 per cent of GM foods—production of a pesticide in every cell of the plant or the ability to withstand weed killing herbicides. GM food cannot be distinguished from non-GM food, so you will eat it if India grows it. AsAd Photo: Pr Photo:

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 35 t cotton is the first genetically modified (GM) crop in India by the insertion of one or more genes from a Box 1: common soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). India’s central biotech regulator Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has recently cleared GM The Claim: If India mustard for commercial cultivation and recommended its approval does not opt for GM toB the Indian ministry of environment. Awaiting approval are rice, technology it will be ‘left wheat, jowar, corn, groundnut, mustard, potato, tomato, cabbage, behind’ in agricultural cauliflower, brinjal, okra, papaya, watermelon and sugarcane. growth. An attempt to release Bt brinjal in India was dropped in 2010 after opposition by consumers, doctors, farmers, scientists and The Fact others. The then minister for environment placed a moratorium Only six countries grow 90 on its release saying that “until we arrive at a political, scientific and per cent of the worlds GM societal consensus, this moratorium will remain”. He was following crops (USA 40, Brazil 23, the precautionary principle of the United Nations which says that Argentina 14, Canada 6, Governments may stop a product if there is “suspected risk of harm to India 6, China 2 and other the public or environment…” and in an absence of scientific consensus countries 9 per cent (Inter- that it is not harmful. Was he being over cautious? No. There is no national Service for the consensus among scientists about the safety of GM foods. Most coun- Acquisition of Agri-biotech tries of the world therefore follow the precautionary principle and Applications, 2015). Less refuse to grow GM crops. They find the benefits claimed for them are than 30 of the world’s false or exaggerated, whereas there can be risks to consumer health, about 200 countries grow natural biodiversity, agriculture, exports and the seed sovereignty of GM. Notably, 17 out of the country which adopts it. Food and farming affect us all and it is the 20 most developed very important to know how and why GM will influence these. countries do not grow GM—including almost all What is GM technology? countries in Europe plus The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes GM technology as Japan, Russia, Israel and one in which the “DNA has been altered in a way that does not occur Singapore etc. China, naturally. . .” Unlike normal crop breeding, which is within the same which grew GM crops six species—rice with rice, GM may insert animal and bacterial genes years before us, is very into food crops. For instance a fish gene was inserted in a tomato, but cautious. It now has only but later the research was withdrawn on ethical grounds. A bacterial one third the GM crop gene was to be inserted in Bt brinjal, as it has been in Bt cotton. GM areas that India has and in medicine is taken by choice, after a lot of testing, medical super- has banned GM food for its vising and can be dropped. But when GM seeds are planted nobody army. In 2015, the global can control the spread of the GM trait to other related plants through area under GM declined as pollination and seed dispersal. eight countries (including Nature is complex and various species co-evolve over hundreds, or USA, Canada, China) even thousands of years. Any major intervention in this complex web reduced its GM area, only of life can lead to consequences which are not foreseeable. Thus a small four countries increased modification of a protein led to the unpredicted mad cow disease in their area and 16 were England. GM in crops is opposed on the grounds that it is unpredict- stagnant (www.isaaa.org/ able, risky, uncontrollable and irreversible. resources). So India will not Even 20 years after their commercial release in 1996, there are only be left behind if it does not two traits in 98 per cent of GM crops. First is a pesticide producing trait from the insertion of a toxin producing bacterium e. g. Bacillus grow GM crops. thuringiensis for Bt crops. The second is a herbicide tolerant trait

36 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue Claims and Facts

The Claim: GM increases yields The Claim: GM decreases pesti- The Claim: GM is safe and has and is essential for feeding India’s cides and therefore benefits health no harmful effects on health or growing population. and environment. environment

The Fact The Fact The Fact Yield is the result of many factors GM does not decrease, but may The health impact of GM has to be working together and there is no increase pesticide use. The use of studied along with the chemicals such ‘gene’ that can be transferred to pesticide on cotton was extremely as herbicides used with them. The increase yield. A study in 2008 titled high due to the bollworm pest. After biotech industry says that nobody has ‘Failure to Yield’ by The Union of Bt cotton the insecticide used on the fallen sick from eating GM meals, but Concerned Scientists, USA found bollworm has decreased, but nature doctors in USA reported that patients that “despite 20 years of research works in ways which are unpredictable recovered when taken off GM diets. and 13 years of commercialisation, and when one species is removed In 2015, the Federation of Health genetic engineering has failed to others dominate. So a whole range Professionals of Argentina, consisting significantly increase US crop yields” of sucking pests now attack Bt cotton of over 30,000 medical professionals, (Gurian-Sherman, 2009). In 2014, for which insecticides are increasingly publicly stated that there were unprec- the US Department of Agriculture used and the total quantity of insecti- edented increases in birth defects (USDA) report stated: “Genetically cide use has not decreased. and cancer where HT soya was being engineered (GE) crops available The farmer was sold ‘better’ GM grown in Argentina (GMwatch, 2015). for commercial use do not increase seeds (Bollgard II instead of Bollgard Some scientific studies indicate the yield potential of a variety I), but the pink bollworm has devel- possible damage to kidney, liver and (Fernandez-Cornejo, Wechsler, oped ‘resistance’ due to constant reproductive systems, allergies, Livingstone and Mitchell, 2014). exposure to the Bt toxin in the cotton, autism, Alzheimer and obesity. What often happens is that the GM just as bacteria become resistant Other scientific studies refute this. companies buy up the best high through continuous exposure to the Since GM foods are not labelled, it yielding seeds, insert a ‘gene’ so that same antibiotic. Moreover, the Bt is difficult to establish causation, but they can patent the seed and then cotton itself produces a pesticide evidences suggest high correlations make sure that only the patented GM in every cell, which we consume in between diseases, GM crops and the seed is available to farmers who have cotton seed cooking oil—as even glyphosate herbicide used with them to buy it afresh every year. cattle do in their oilcake feed. (gmofreewashington.com/). Cotton yields in India went up by Similarly, constant exposure to Regulators clear GM crops for 69 per cent from 2000 to 2005 when the specific herbicide used with the release usually on the basis of 90 days Bt cotton was less than 6 per cent of HT crop, usually made by the same studies on rodents done by the GM all cotton grown. In the 10 years from company who supplies the HT seed, seed companies themselves. Since 2005 to 2015 cotton yields went up has led to over 20 herbicide resistant 90 days in a rodent’s life is less than 12 by an average of only 10 per cent, weeds—‘superweeds’ that cannot be human years and therefore too short even though Bt cotton was almost 95 killed. This results in more herbicides to show cancer and organ damage, per cent of all cotton grown (Cotton being used. Overall, in USA herbicide there is a demand for independent Association of India, 2013). India still use increased by 239 million kg in studies extending over the whole life ranks 31 out of 72 countries on yield 16 years after GM (1996 to 2011), of the rodent, after a study found major (www.indexmundi.com/agriculture) whereas insecticide use decreased by tumours manifesting after 180 days. and 23 of the countries ahead of us only 56 million kgs in the same period It took 50 years to link tobacco and do not grow GM cotton. (Benbrook, 2012). cancer. GM faces the same denial.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 37 AvAz vAriAvA AvAz ln di Photo courtesy: courtesy: Photo horseweed, one of 20 glyphosate resistant weeds in usA, grows taller than a man and is a nightmare for farmers

(HT crops) so that weed killing herbicides can be foods and medicine in India. Now with GM sprayed to kill all plants other than the HT crop. mustard near-approval, it may become the first GM Both these traits may have short term benefits, but food crop in India. Some people are excited because in the long term both have hazardous consequences it is developed by an Indian scientist. Others point for human health, agriculture and for the environ- out that this does not remove any of the GM risks. ment since the toxins enter soil, water and the food GM mustard has a herbicide tolerant gene. The chain of all species including humans. giant GM seed companies, who eventually buy up The agri-biotech industry and the agricultural GM patents, are also leading pesticide companies scientists—many of whom benefit from funding by and benefit no matter who produces a herbicide industry, claim that India will be ‘left behind’ and tolerant GM plant! will not be able to feed its growing population if we The claim that this GM mustard will give 20 -25 do not adopt GM crops. They claim that GM will per cent higher yield can be refuted on the grounds increase yields, reduce pesticides, increase farmer that the developer compared its yield with old, low incomes and do this safely. Let us look at all these yielding varieties and not high yielding hybrids claims and the actual facts (Box 1). already available in India. Globally, eight out of the 11 countries which have higher yields than India should we have, or should we stop GM grow non-GM rapeseed-mustard. Mustard in india? Mustard is also one of the major sources of food for Mustard, whose relatives are rapeseed and canola honey bees. There is great concern that GM mustard —has leaves, seeds and oil which are important could impact not only contamination of honey, but

38 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue would also harm the honeybees and other useful argentina-30-000-doctors-and-health- pollinating insects. That is why over 50 farmer professionals-demand-ban-on-glyphosate unions and an association of 5 lakh beekeepers have Gurian-Sherman D. 2009. Failure to yield: said they do not want GM mustard (gmwatch.org/ Evaluating the performance of genetically news/latest-news). Because it will not be possible engineered crops. Union of Concerned to contain GM contamination in open air trials, Scientists. Cambridge. Available at: http:// such trials need to be stopped. Globally there are www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_ 400 recorded cases of contamination by GM (Janet and_agriculture/failure-to-yield.pdf. C., 2014), many during trials. Countries may reject http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_ our produce if contaminated by GM. India became and_agriculture/failure-to-yield.pdf. the world’s leading exporter of organic cotton, but http://www. gmofreewashington.com/our- exports fell after contamination by Bt cotton (www. experts/nancy-swanson/ textile-future.com). http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/ pocketk/16/ endnote https://www.textile-future.com/dynpg/print_text. Let India follow the United Nations’ precautionary php?lang=en&aid=1476&showheader=N. principle, as most countries have done, and not http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/ opt for a technology that is being discarded by the agri-business/beekeepers-oppose-plans-to- developed world. It is better to keep the stable door introduce-gm-mustard/article9150593.ece locked than to try to bolt it after the horses have http://gmwatch.org/news/latest-news/16087- run free! argentina-30-000-doctors-and-health- professionals-demand-ban-on-glyphosate references International Service for the Acquisition of Agri- Benbrook C. 2012. Impacts of genetically biotech Applications (ISAAA). 2015. Biotech engineered crops on pesticide use in the US – Crop Highlights. Available at: hhtp://isaaa. The first sixteen years. Environmental Sciences org/resources/publications. Europe, 24 (1): 24. Nandi J. 2016. We don’t need GM mustard, Cotter J. and B. Price. 2014. Contamination from support us with better market price: Farmer GE crops does happen: nearly 400 incidents groups. Times of India, October 25. Available since GE crops were introduced. Greenpeace at: http://gmwatch.org/news/latest-news. International. November 12. Sirinathsinghji E. 2015. Endgame for Glyphosate? Cotton Association of India. 2013. Cotton The Global fallout of WHO’s ‘probable statistics & news, No.39. Available at: https:// carcinogen’ classification. Ecologist, June 12. www.indexmundi.com/agriculture/?commodi Swanson N. 2013. GMOs and Multiple ty=cotton&graph=yield. Chronic Diseases. Farm and ranch freedom Fernandez-Cornejo J., Wechsler S., Livingston alliance. August 22. Available at: http:// M., Mitchell L. 2014. Genetically engineered farmandranchfreedom.org/gmo-multiple- crops in the United States. Washington, DC. chronic-disease US Department of Agriculture. Available USDA. 2011. Food Security Status of US at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ Households. USDA Economic Research err-economic-research-report/err162.aspx#. Service. Available at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/ U0P_ qMfc26x. topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security- GMwatch. 2015. Argentina- 30,000 doctors in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx. and health professionals demand ban on glyphosate. April 16. Available at: http:// The Author is President, The Sahayak Trust, Institute for gmwatch.org/news/latest-news/16087- Rural Education. [email protected]

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 39 Crop TeChnologies

By K R AnilAKumAR, R K ShARmA and A S BAwA The GM food IMbroGlIo Genetically modified crops have been under scrutiny for being unhealthy, destroying the traditional cropping practices and yet they seem to be providing answers to burgeoning food requirements. A careful system of scientific monitoring has to be in place prior to the induction of such endeavours in India.

Genetic modification: the science behind it switched off so that although the fruit ripens in the A gene is a code that governs our appearance normal way, it will not soften as quickly. This can be and characteristics. When a scientist genetically useful because it means that damage is minimised modifies (GM) a plant, s/he inserts a foreign gene during packing and transportation. in the plant’s own genes. What makes it possible to In traditional processing, characteristics can transfer genes from one species to another is the fact only be exchanged between species which are the that all genes are created from the same material same or very similar. By genetic modification, DNA. Beneficial genes are transferred into plant however, it is now possible to add a fish gene to a cells using a soil bacterium, Agrobacterium tume- tomato. By this, researchers created a frost-resistant faciens, which can produce tumour-like growths tomato plant by adding an antifreeze gene from a in plants and has the ability to alter plants’ DNA. cold-water fish to tomato. However, the research For example, when a gene from a bacterium that has not made substantive headway. is resistant to pesticide is inserted into a plant’s gene, the plant will be able to withstand pesticides. GM food experiments and trials in india Genetic modification does not always involve India produces Bt cotton, which contains a biolog- moving a gene from one organism to another. ical pesticide that kills the common pest bollworm. Sometimes it means changing how a gene works by The approval for the use of Bt cotton has been there ‘switching it off’ to stop something from happening. from 2002 and since then it has helped make our For example, the gene for softening a fruit could be country the second largest cotton manufacturer in

40 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue With the ever-growing population, GM crops might be necessary in the future, although there is widespread speculation over their long-term health effects especially for field crops such

Photo: PrasadPhoto: as mustard.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 41 the world. As a result GM seeds account for over 90 organisation vehemently opposes the production per cent of cotton sown in India. However in 2015, and use of golden rice citing that such genetically GM cotton plants in Punjab and Haryana suffered modified crops would further encourage the induc- a whitefly attack resulting in massive losses (Fig tion of more such developments in the future. This 1). This episode has created a sense of negativity may cause the degradation of foods to the point towards GM in India. It is generally believed that where everything that we eat will be artificial and adopting GM technology would lead to higher genetically engineered. In the long run these types crop productivity solving the food problem of a of non-natural foods might cause a variety of health burgeoning India. Currently, a food supply deficit problems. is pushing prices up and India has been forced to A new form of pigeon pea that is pest-resistant import pulses to plug the gap between demand and was developed at the International Crops Research supply. Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, predicting In India, experiments have been carried out in that it can increase output by 30 per cent. Perhaps GM crops, such as golden rice, which was originally the most promising GM crop, developed in Delhi produced in 1982 as an initiative for the Rockefeller University, is the hybrid mustard that yields 25-30 Foundation. Beta-carotene gives golden rice its per cent more than the original seed. The GM ‘golden’ or ‘yellow’ colouring. White rice, on the mustard seed could be a huge money saver and other hand, does not contain carotenoids, pro- could lower the country’s dependence on edible oil vitamin A. Golden rice contains the β-carotene imports. It is worth mentioning here that in 2014-15 which either accumulates in our fatty tissues or is India imported 14.5 million tonnes of edible oil, converted into vitamin A. In fact, young children worth over 10 billion USD. are the most vulnerable to vitamin-related deficien- Though India has resisted GM food produc- cies. It is approximated that 1 million children die tion till now, it is suspected that there have been of a vitamin A deficiency each year. One of the main instances of GM food being imported into the problems with the original form of golden rice was country—corn, baby food and breakfast cereal, that it did not contain enough vitamin A to reduce which have been introduced without adherence to the disease risks. Another problem could be low relevant labelling laws. While a Directorate General absorption. This problem was rectified when the of Foreign Trade notification in 2013 addressed new Golden Rice 2 was developed in 2005. In 2009, the issue of labelling by requiring those importing it was found that golden rice was just as beneficial GM food to explicitly mention it in their labels, and effective as supplementing with vitamin A in the case of home-manufactured products like (Tang et al 2009). edible oils, there are chances of GM cottonseed Greenpeace, a non-governmental environmental oil being mixed with other edible oil without any

Fig. 1: Quantities of insecticides on cotton in India 2000 to 2013

14000 Bollworms Other sucking pests 12000 11598

10045 10000 9367

7885 8000 6863 7234 6726 6828 5914 5543 6000 5057 4623

4000 Quantities insecticidesmetric tonnes of in

2000

0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Source: CAI, Cotton statistic news (No. 40) and CICR

42 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue labelling. Though no state government in India has for GM experiments could be due to available permitted commercial cultivation of GM food till funding from the biotech companies as well as now, field trials for 21 GM food crops, including support from the World Bank, Food and Agricul- GM vegetables and cereals, have been approved ture Organisation and the Consultative Group on by the government (Venkat, 2016). An agreement International Agricultural Research. to develop Bt brinjal was signed in 2005 between Mahyco-American agricultural biotech giant impact on environment and health—a Monsanto’s Indian Bt cotton partner, and two major concern Indian agricultural universities. However India’s There are too many unintended impacts on envi- potential propelled Monsanto to also include GM ronment, health, markets and environment like corn in their research. Other companies pursued harming non-target and/or beneficial species in the rice, mustard, peanuts, potatoes and sorghum. case of crops with engineered insecticidal proper- Following the study of bio-safety data and field trials ties as well as the development of new strains of by two expert committees, Bt brinjal was cleared for resistant pests. In addition, there is a concern that commercialisation by India’s top biotech regulator, pollen from GM herbicide-resistant crops could the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee reach wild, weedy relatives of the crop and create so (GEAC), in 2009. But nothing came of it, due to called superweeds. moratoriums imposed by the then government. With regard to health, there is no evidence to In addition to crops and vegetables as well suggest that GM foods are unsafe. At the same time as oilseeds, experiments are also underway on there are no absolute guarantees either. Unintended several species of fish. In fact, such is the despera- health impacts from genetically modified organ- tion that scientists are trying to insert a Bt gene isms (GMO) include allergens, antibiotic resistance, into any crop they can lay their hands on, not decreased nutrients, and toxins. The International knowing whether it is desirable or not. This race Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate, a herbicide that goes with Monsanto’s Roundup Ready product, as ‘probably carcinogenic’ Fig. 2: GM crops grown world wide in 2015. However, food scientists did not agree with Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Honduras, Paraguay, Philippine, Portugal, Romania, the result. According to them, the herbicide ensures Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, USA, Uruguay that only the weed dies and not the crop itself as the GM food is modified to resist glyphosate.

Argentina, Burkina Faso, Brazil, Canada, In a review paper of GMO safety assessment Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Mexico, studies, Cuhra (2015) has shown that glyphosate- Myanmar, Pakistan, Paraguay, South Africa, Sweden, USA tolerant GM food plants accumulate glyphosate residues at unexpectedly high levels. Glyphosate is a powerful synthetic antibiotic and blocks mineral absorption. Glyphosate herbicides are endocrine disrupters and mitochondrial toxins and have been linked to birth defects. Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, South Africa, USA, Uruguay Worldwide, 28 countries are growing genetically modified (GM) crops. GM corn is grown in 19 countries around the globe followed Australia, by cotton and soya bean in 16 and eight countries respectively. Canada, India has accepted cultivation of GM cotton only whereas USA has Chile,USA accepted eight GM crops.

Canada, China, USA USA

Bangladesh Australia China China China USA USA

Corn Cotton soybeAnCAnolA suGAr beet PAPAyA brInjAlCArrot PoPlAr sweet tomAto squAsh AlfA AlfA Source: International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, 2014 PePPer

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 43 Trend in other countries references The US cultivates eight crops using GM tech- Cuhra M. 2015. Review of GMO safety nology. Further to that US Regulators last year assessment studies: glyphosate residues in blessed genetically engineered potatoes, apples Roundup Ready crops are an ignored issue. and a salmon that grows faster than conventional Environmental Sciences Europe. Bridging versions and represented the first biotech animal Science and Regulation at the Regional and cleared for human consumption. A list of GM crops European Level, 27: 20-26. allowed worldwide is provided in Figure 2. deVries A. L. and Wohlschlag D. E. 1969. Freezing There were complaints on pricing and yield resistance in some Antarctic fishes. Science, regarding Bt cotton resulting in closing down the 163 (3871): 1073–1075. sales by Monsanto in Indonesia in 2003 (www. deVries A. L., Komatsu S. K. and Feeney R. E. lobbywatch.org). With highly critical reports 1970. Chemical and physical properties of of regulatory mechanism coming in force from freezing point-depressing glycoproteins independent institutions, the trend in USA was from Antarctic fishes. Journal of Biological also towards still more tougher regulations Chemistry, 245 (11): 2901–2908. compelling biotechnology companies to grow the GM Crop Bans Confirmed in 19 EU Countries. next generation of GM crops in isolation using 2015. Sustainable Pulse, October 4. Available artificial lighting and air filtration in order to avoid at: http://sustainablepulse.com/2015/10/04/ pollen movement and contamination. In America, gm-crop-bans-confirmed-in-19-eu- opponents launched state-by-state efforts to make countries/#.WSs7ymiGPb0. GMO-food labelling mandatory. Following the http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid USDA’s 2015 approval of genetically modified =3000. apples and potatoes, companies including McDon- ISAAA. 2017. GM Approval Database. Available ald’s Corp, and Wendy’s Co. said they did not plan at: www.isaaa.org/gmapprovaldatabase/. to use them. The European Union unveiled a new Quartz India. 2016. There will be 1.8 billion opt-out programme in 2015. Ukraine and Russia Indians by 2050. GM crops are the only way have also ruled out using GMO seeds. China, to feed them all. July 28. Available at: ideas. which permits some biotech cotton, papaya, sweet [email protected]. peppers and tomatoes, is not expected to approve Residues in Food. 2004. Evaluations Part II, new GMO crops until the domestic seed industry Toxicological, Joint FAO/WHO Meeting shows it can compete against western rivals. Nine- on Pesticide Residues. Rome, Italy. teen EU countries have stated that they will not Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/ allow their agricultural systems to be destroyed by bitstream/10665/43624/1/9241665203_eng.pdf. growing harmful GM crops. Thirty eight countries Séralini G. E , Clair E. , Mesnage R., Gress worldwide have officially banned the cultivation of S., Defarge N., Malatesta M., Hennequin D. GM crops and only 28 actually grow GM crops. and Vendômois J. S. 2014. Republished study: long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide endnote and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified It is assumed that there will be 1.8 billion Indians maize. Environmental Sciences Europe. by 2050. It is suggested that GM crops could be the Bridging Science and Regulation at the only way to feed them all. Farm economists might Regional and European Level, 26: 14-15. also join hands for using GM technologies in India. Tang G., Qin J., Dolnikowski G. G., Russell R. The Indian environmentalists believe GM crops to M. and Grusak M. A. 2009. Golden rice is be toxic and hazardous to human health arguing an effective source of vitamin A. American that the GM being a pretty recent technology, the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 89 (6): 1776–83. effects of consumption of the same over generations Venkat V. 2016. All you need to know about the are not predictable now. At the same time it should GM food controversy. The Hindu, July 8. be borne in mind that although the industry claims that no humans have been hurt by consuming The authors are Scientists and Former Director from GMOs, it is necessary to have scientific monitoring Defence Food Research Laboratory, DRDO, respectively. of human health effects. [email protected]

44 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue In brIef

Changing COLD Chain TEChnOLOgY By Kiran Khandelwal

A cold chain for perishable foods is the uninter- either electricity for pre-cooling and cold storage or diesel rupted handling of produce within a low temperature fuel for transport refrigeration continues. Earlier the bulk environment which includes harvest, collection, packing, cold stores had fewer large sized chambers. The conven- processing, storage, transport and marketing until it tional buildings were made of RCC frames, brick walls reaches the final consumers. According to the Central and truss type sheet roofs having multi-level chambers Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology constructed with wooden or steel grating where loading (CIPHET), on an average 18 per cent of India’s fruits and and unloading was done manually. The recent trend is to vegetables, valued at INR 133 billion is wasted annually have multi-purpose cold storages with larger numbers due to widespread fragmentation in the cold chain such of chambers with smaller capacity that vary from 5 to as lack of refrigerated transport, up-to-date cold storages, 12 m or higher. It holds goods in a stacking system with insufficient grid power to run cold storage in the rural modern racks that are designed for mechanised loading areas, poor infrastructure and road connectivity. and unloading of pallets or boxes, using electrical hoists/ Earlier, cold storages largely located in potato growing lifts and/or fork lift trucks. Also now it is possible to have areas such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal simultaneous storage of a variety of items for farmers, were mainly designed for a single commodity. Most traders and other customers. of these used old technology in terms of construction, In old cold storages rice husk was used as thermal thermal insulation and refrigeration systems with practi- insulation which needed very large insulation thicknesses. cally no automation. Nowadays, with the use of improved It also caused maintenance and hygiene problems. technology, shelf life is being extended by adopting This method is now almost extinct. The recent practice controlled atmosphere (CA) storage in which oxygen is is to use expanded polystyrene (EPS), fiberglass, poly- maintained at about 5 per cent and carbon dioxide at 1 to urethane rigid foam (PUF), extruded polystyrene (XPS) or 3 per cent, while temperature is adjusted to the particular similar materials for insulation. Application of computers commodity, particularly fruits such as apples and pears. to control the loading, unloading operations and to main- Over the past many years, the cold storage technolo- tain the record of stocks is also practiced in some of the gies in India have undergone a significant transformation. recent cold stores. From the point of view of utilisation also, the contemporary cold stores offer much wider scope than in the past The author is at IL&FS Clusters, New Delhi. although heavy reliance on access to affordable source of [email protected]

GeoGraphy and you . May-june 2017 45 Crop TeChnologies

By Subra Mukherjee and Shakuntala laSkar Optical SenSing Of SOil nutrientS for ‘Smart farming’ Over the years, chemical fertilisers have been applied to soil in order to increase their fertility. However over or under application of fertilisers can damage the crop yield and also cause serious ecological concerns. Soil testing thus acquires an important place in farming, specifically in site specific crop management. Non-destructive in-situ measurements of soil nutrients with cost effective optical sensing methods can help in determining and monitoring the nutrient levels in the soil.

46 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue Customarily obtaining localised in-situ measurements of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium still remain an open challenge especially in

Photo: PrasadPhoto: the far-flung areas of sikkim.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 47 ith an ever increasing popula- the manufacture and transport of sugar, starches tion, the demand for crop and proteins, aiding in the development of straight production has also increased leaves and quality fruit. exponentially in the past few Any optical sensing system is based on the years. According to the UN measurement of reflectance, absorption or trans- Food and Agriculture Organisation, global food mittance characteristic of the soil sample when Wdemand will be 70 per cent more in 2050 than it was irradiated with an optical source of appropriate in 2006 (FAO, 2009). This has imposed enormous wavelength (based on the target ion). The amount challenges on the agricultural sector to find ways and type of soil minerals, organic compounds and to optimise the yield while addressing barriers moisture content present in soil, the particle size of such as limited land and water supply, ecological soil and the type of soil are related to the soil spec- concerns, health issues and climatic changes. These tral properties in the optical domain (Escadafal and issues has led to the concept of smart farming also Huete, 1992). The amount of energy reflected from known as precision agriculture—an information the soil surface in a particular spectral range can intensive management strategy where production be used as a measure for quantitative assessment inputs such as fertilisers are matched with the site of certain soil properties. And therefore, study and specific needs of the crops. Characterisation of soil understanding of these relationships can be of great nutrients is an integral part of the diagnosis of soil significance for development of sensors to deter- quality with reference to its fertility. Conventional mine the quality of soil in terms of macronutrients chemical and laboratory techniques are labour- such as soil pH, and salinity etc. intensive, time consuming and very expensive. Fertilisers had been in use by farmers since the So, there is an urgent need for smart farming tech- 19th Century, however determining the correct niques such as precision agriculture. amount of fertilisers to be added to the soil in Soil nutrients are vital for plant growth. Defi- accordance with the type of soil or crops has been ciency as well as excess of these nutrients may historically challenging and impractical until a impede productivity. Chemical fertilisers are couple of decades ago. Although conventional added to soil to meet up the nutrient requirements laboratory chemical analyses techniques give good of plants. However, the uncontrolled addition of results, but they seem impractical when employed these substances can cause severe environmental for precision fertilisation. In standard laboratory hazards such as surface and ground water pollution soil testing to measure macronutrients, various and also affect the quality of the crop (Lehmann automatic analysers and extracting solutions have and Grisel, 2014). As such, a lot of attention has been been used. The automated ion analyser has been focused in this area in recent years, particularly in commonly used for simultaneously measuring precision agriculture and site specific manage- nitrate and ammonium whereas potassium ions in ment procedures for obtaining localised ‘on the soil extracts have been measured with a colorimetric go’ measurement of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) spectrophotometer and an atomic absorption spec- and potassium (K) in any soil. These components trophotometry, respectively. However, standard represent the three most important nutrients in laboratory techniques to measure nutrient levels agriculture and are the prime ingredients in almost in soil are complex and time consuming due to all fertilisers. the extraction and pre-treatment process involved Nitrogen plays a fundamental role in the manu- (Artigas et al. 2001). facture of chlorophyll in all plants and is an essential There has been a significant focus towards element of enzymatic proteins which catalyse and sensing technologies for precision agriculture and regulate the biological processes responsible for site specific crop management methods in the plant growth. Phosphorus is another of the three last decade, to determine soil properties like pH, macro nutrients required for plants for their proper texture, salinity and organic matter, but custom- growth, particularly in terms of root growth arily obtaining localised in-situ measurements of stimulation. Potassium is important for stomatal N, P and K still remains an open challenge. control in plants which effects water regulation Visible and near infrared (NIR) bands have and CO2 exchange as well as enzymatic processes been used for developing sensors for nutrient that enable photosynthesis. It is also essential in detection, because detectors used in this part

48 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue Fig. 1: Different steps involved in soil nutrient sensing

Detectional measurement of target nutrient

Algorithm development

Obtaining soil The soil sensor will indicate spectral signature the deficiency of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) or Potassium (K) at a location. This will help the Nutrient sensing farmers use fertilisers optimally.

Pre-processing

Soil sampling optical sensing based soil nutrient system which is in an experimental stage now, has six steps to detect the nutrient content on the field. once developed, it will become a boon to farmers as they will be able to know the nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium requirement in their fields.

Table 1: Optical sensing methods and parameters detected of the spectrum are relatively inexpensive. The Method Parameters detected first step is to develop a sensor for detecting a NIR spectroscopy Nitrate content dedicated spectral signature associated with a NIR spectroscopy OM, Soil moisture, CEC specific nutrient and also the choice of appro- priate source and soil sampling techniques. For Admittance spectroscopy Variation in nutrient content any soil nutrient sensor based on optical sensing, VIS-NIR sensor Soil organic carbon, Nitrate, the sensor system should comprise of the steps MIR spectroscopy moisture content. shown in Figure 1. MIRS Nitrate Controlling nutrients with the aid of such UV, VIS,NIR absorbance phosphorous sensors will permit an optimisation of irrigation spectroscopy and fertilisation management systems and thus VIS-NIR sensor C, MC, pH and P will be very useful for reducing the environmental Raman Spectroscopy Phosphorous impact caused by run-off nutrients into surface and ground water. Optical diffuse sensing in visible Nitrogen and NIR and MIR ranges Phosphorous Most of the soil nutrient sensing techniques UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy described in literature involve one of the two • Near-infrared-diffuse Reflectance Nitrate methods: Spectra  Optical sensing that uses reflectance spectros- • ATR spectroscopy Phosphorous copy to detect the level of energy absorbed/ • MDRS reflected by soil nutrients. • Raman Scattering  Electrochemical sensing that uses ion-selective • Reflectance spectroscopy electrodes which generate a voltage or current Optical Fibre Sensor (UV source) Ammonia output in response to the activity of selected ions. NIR absorption (MEMS based) Nitrogen A chronological summary of optical sensing Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy Total Nitrogen and Organic methods employed in past 15 years is presented Matter in Table 1. Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy Soil pH, moisture content As stated earlier, inappropriate or uncontrolled however poor results for application of fertiliser can lead to serious issues, total phosphorous and while a nutrient sensor can be of great benefit in potassium. this regard. Some examples of the applications that

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 49 Optical sensing interest worldwide and over the years there has is measurement been considerable progress in this field. Real time of reflectance, ‘on-the-go’ nutrient sensor leading to commercial products will require extensive research and absorption or developmental efforts. Advanced engineering transmittance technologies based on optical sensors will prob- ably open doors for rapid and accurate in-situ soil of soil. fertility testing at a much lower cost in future.

references Artigas J., A Beltran, C Jiménez, A Baldi, R Mas, could be realised with the proposed system are: C Domınguez, J Alonso. 2001. Application  Real-time automated soil nutrient sensor for site of ion sensitive field effect transistor based specific crop management; sensors to soil analysis. Computers and  Real-time fertility assessment of soil and opti- Electronics in Agriculture, ISSN 0168-1699, misation it according to the needs of a particular 31:281-293. plant; Escadafal R. and Alfred 0. R. Huete. 1992.  Information from such a sensor can be used to Soil optical properties and environmental effectively modify crop management practices applications of Remote sensing, in leading to better yield is; and Proceedings 17th ISPRS Congress, 29(B7):  Variable rate of fertiliser applicator based on the 709-715 amount of nutrient already present in the soil. FAO. 2009. Global Agriculture Towards 2050. High Level Expert Forum. October 12-13, Future perspectives Rome. Available at: at:http://www.fao.org/ Smart farming is an attractive technology and is fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/Issues_papers/ expected to augment the potentials of a resource HLEF2050_Global_Agriculture.pdf. efficient approach to farming. This would enhance Ferwerda, A.Z. Kouzani. 2010. Wireless sensor more productive and sustainable agricultural networks for in-situ image validation for production. water and nutrient management. Proceedings Although quite a bit of work is already being of ISPRS Technical Commission VII done in this field, most of the methods employ Symposium, Institute of Photogrammetry very costly equipment such as spectrophotometers and Remote Sensing, Vienna University of as well as destructive chemical analyses etc. The Technology, pp. 187-192. research mainly focused on developing simple Jianhan Lin, Maohua Wang , Miao Zhang, Yane cost-effective and non-destructive methods of Zhang, Li Chen. 2007. Electrochemical detecting soil nutrients through optical sensors sensors for soil nutrient detection : is, at present, in a nascent stage. However, efforts Opportunities and challenges, in 12th are being made in the direction of making the ‘soil proceedings. International Conference on nutrient sensing system’ in such a way that farmers Computer and Computing Technologies in could probably carry it to the fields and test the Agriculture (CCTA 2007), Wuyishan, China, fertility of the soil in-situ. This will help the farmers pp. 1349-1353. to assess the quality of the soils in the fields and aid Lehmann Ulrike, Alain Grisel. 2004. Miniature in determining the accurate amount of fertilisers Multisensor Probe for Soil Nutrient to be added to the soil. In addition to increased Monitoring. Procedia Engineering, ISSN 1877- productivity, it will also prevent pollution of 7058, 87: 1429-1432. ground and surface water caused due to excessive Nair R. 2016. Precision Agriculture – A long way application of fertilisers. to go for India. Agro News, 2 September. endnote The Authors are Senior Assistant Professor and Professor The potentiality of optical sensing methods for respectively, Assam Don Bosco University, Guwahati. nutrient detection is gaining fast stimulating [email protected]

50 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue In brIef

Women in agriculture By Staff RepoRteR

Majority of women workforce in India is ◆ As per the Agriculture Census (2010-11) published in engaged in the agricultural sector and this domain could 2014, merely 12.78 per cent of agricultural landholdings not have sustained this far without the seminal role played are in the name of women. This excludes women in deci- by them. Unfortunately, women are still looked upon as sion making concerning farming and related work. labourers and not as farmers. They are the invisible face • McKinsey Globa l Institute in 2015 reports that, ‘more of agriculture. Following are a few highlights showing the women in India tend to work in low-productivity jobs than position of women, their role and contribution in agricul- men. 75 per cent of female employment in rural areas is in tural and allied activities. agriculture compared with 59 per cent for men’. ◆ Food and Agriculture Organisation in 2011, estimates The blight of gender bias and unequal social status is that ‘women produce between 60-80 per cent of the very much witnessed in women’s work status in agricul- food in most developing countries and are responsible ture as most women do not have land rights even after for half of the world’s food production’ ( SOFA team they have been farmers throughout their lifetime. It is of and Doss). utmost importance that rural women be appreciated for ◆ In the Indian Himalayas a pair of bulls works 1,064 their identity and be uplifted in their position by hours, a man 1,212 hours and a woman 3,485 hours in recognising their role in agriculture production. a year on a one-hectare farm, a figure which illustrates women’s significant contribution to agricultural produc- tion (Vandana Shiva, 1991: Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations, Sustainable Develop- ment department, New Delhi). ◆ According to Satyavathi et al., in Gender, Technology and Development 2010, Indian women spend some 25 hours a week on their domestic chores and about 5 hours a week on upkeep and care, and in community service work. Moreover, they invest their 30 hours in unpaid labour.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 51 Crop TeChnologies

Svalbard Spitsbergen Global Seed Vault Greenland NorweGiaN Sea

Norway iceland The seeds are preserved with a focus on their unique genetic material with a bank-like Fig. 1: Spitsbergen island, where deposit/withdrawal system. the Svalbard vault is located

52 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue By Staff RepoRteR The DoomsDay VaulT– ConserVaTion for the World’s Crops The Svalbard Global Seed Vault or the Doomsday Vault is a seed storage facility for the world’s agricultural crops that can help in combating the effects of climate change, population growth, extinction of crop species and destruction of gene banks. flickr.com , T us P Tr P sy : cro Te cour Pho To

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 53 uilt like a bomb shelter in a blue moun- permafrost and thick rock ensure that even if the tain in Norway is a contingency storage power is turned off, the temperature inside the facility for a resource that is more structure does not rise to more than 4oC below zero. necessary than any other consumables However, in a recent news report published by in the world. The Svalbard Global Seed the Guardian (UK) on May 19, 2017, it was found Vault, popularly known as the ‘Doomsday Vault’ that rising temperatures due to global warming had isB a storage facility for seed samples of the planet’s melted some of the permafrost expected to keep the agricultural crops. Its primary purpose is to utilise seed samples in deep freeze. Hege Njaa Aschim, a these crop samples in the event if one or many vari- spokesperson for the Norwegian government is eties of crops suffer extinction. reported to have said that the melting of the perma- The facility is located on the island of Spitsbergen, frost was not configured in plans for the facility and in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, which is about that substantial quantities of water entered through halfway between the Arctic Circle and the North the opening of the main tunnel and then froze like Pole. It is a storage facility cut into a mountain a glacier. Nevertheless, the vault was not breached. with tunnels running through to rooms inside the The vault managers are now working on water- mountain. This structure is expected to protect proofing the tunnel system leading to the storage the seeds from events such as rising sea levels and facility (Carrington, 2017). earthquakes and also from seasonal vagaries. The The seeds are preserved in Svalbard with a focus

The svalbard vault on the island of spitsbergen in Norway cuts into Plataberget Mountain with tunnels leading up to the storage facility.

54 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue on their unique genetic material, but the samples is used for the future when a need may arise to are not expected to last forever—a few centuries at use its stocks. Also, climate change could mean the most. Stocking up depends upon deposits made changes in agricultural practices and having a to the Svalbard Vault. The vault currently holds source for global crops might help in mitigating its more than 880,000 samples. Genetically modified effects. Another issue of concern could be future crops and illegal crop varieties such as marijuana population growth. are not allowed (Crop Trust, undated). The Svalbard Vault operates much like a bank, in The purpose behind the facility is not simply the sense that the caretakers to the Svalbard Vault to act as a gene bank for crops in the event of a do not have any proprietary rights to the seeds global catastrophe, but to address the more deposited by individual depositors. They function small-scale localised destruction of certain crop with the prime motive of preservation in that the species. Many countries around the world have seeds are kept in sealed foil packets and are grouped their own gene bank for crop species. India’s and preserved country-wise at a temperature of own first contribution was pigeon pea, which is a 18oC below zero. drought-resistant crop. Its implications for food It is only the depositor who has ownership of security led to genetic mapping after its introduc- the seeds in the vault and can withdraw the dona- tion (Crop Trust, 2015). The individual gene banks tion when required. For example, Syria withdrew are vulnerable and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault its donation to the Svalbard Vault when its own gene bank was destroyed by a bombing during the ongoing war in Syria whereas gene banks in Afghanistan and Iraq were destroyed with some genetic material not backed up in the Svalbard Vault. The Philippine gene bank was destroyed by flooding from a typhoon followed by a fire (Duggan, 2016). Crops are not just threatened by wars or catastrophe. Agricultural diversity has declined dramatically on a global scale. Nearly 95 per cent of global agricultural needs are met by just about 30 crops (Duggan, 2016). Such lack of genetic diversity leaves crop species more vulnerable to diseases. Local crops are also threatened by regional calamities. Questions could be asked, however, as to why other locations such as Antarctica were not preferred, as Antarctica is used largely as a scien- tific repository and large areas of it are ecologically protected by international laws.

references Carrington, Damian 2017. Arctic stronghold of world’s seeds flooded after permafrost melts, The Guardian, 19th May. Duggan, Jennifer 2016. Inside the Doomsday Vault, TIME, 29th February. flickr.com , T India’s involvement with the Svalbard Global Seed us

P Tr P Vault. Available at: https://www.croptrust.org/ blog/india-deposit-svalbard-global-seed-vault/. sy : cro Te The Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Available at: https:// cour www.croptrust.org/our-work/svalbard-global-

Pho To seed-vault/.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 55 Photo-essay

Water in most of the major reservoirs across the Krishna and Godavari rivers has reached dead storage level. Boys, girls and women all are in search of a drop of water. Two villages in Mahabubnagar district, situated on either side of a dried-up river Tungbhadra, are dependent on oozing pits in the river bed.

56 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue By Vinod BaBu Scarcity and diSplacement: Water Woes Compel The clouds have been unkind to Telangana for years, taking a toll on the land, rendering water bodies barren and scarred. To combat this, the Telangana government took to building reservoirs to irrigate the drought-prone districts. For those who agreed to be displaced, life has thrown up challenges. Villagers had to leave their homes, farms and move.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 57 Villagers in Etigadda Kishtapur in Medak district, Telangana meet to discuss the proposed Mallanna Sagar reservoir on the river Godavari.

58 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue The wait is endless The Telangana government is working on ambitious projects to find a lasting solution to recurring drought. These include redesigning irrigation projects: Mission Kakatiya for restoration of irrigation tanks and Mission Bhagiratha for piped drinking water supply to every household in the country’s youngest state. Until the fruits of such efforts are borne, it is a wait and watch situation for this lone man in Adilabad.

Newly laid pipelines to each house in every village failed to supply adequate water. Few villages have underground water, the supply of which is irregular most of the time.

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 59 What we once called home The Mallanna Sagar reservoir to irrigate drought-prone Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Warangal and Rangareddy districts would displace about 30,000 people in 14 villages and submerge about 20,000 acres of land. Several people lost their will to live when they heard that they would lose their land.

Today the drought is mani- fested in every facet of human life and it is particularly so with the rural poor. The exodus of people from rural areas of Telangana to newly settled and far off places has made their lives doubly vulnerable.

60 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue Initially the villagers of Aloor were not willing to be displaced, but with the Aloor reservoir’s retention capacity increasing, several families agreed to move elsewhere.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 61 Forestry Policy

62 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue By NaiNa Sharma Forest stewardship CounCil The forest certification systems by the Forest Stewardship Council is reflective of an emergent need, intertwining business and ethics. Its guidelines have setup a benchmark against which the modus operandi of timber corporations and plantations can be examined.

The Council’s forest management principles, D based on certifying forest-use lacks in

: Prasa reach, especially in forested areas of Dhanualti, Himachal Pradesh in India. PHoTo

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 63 stablished in 1993, the Forest Steward- partners, which further the agenda and guidelines ship Council (FSC) is a non-profit of the organisation. The network comprises of FSC organisation, headquartered at Bonn, National Offices as well as representatives and FSC Germany. Over the years, it has laid National Focal Points. With the increasing aware- down a series of principles and guide- ness around rights of indigenous communities and lines for forest management. The companies which natives, the FSC board has attempted to include adhereE to these principles are eligible to apply for representatives from indigenous communities in the FSC mark, which can in turn be used to distin- their midst as well. An FSC member has the option guish their products from the others. The creation to seek membership in either of the three cham- of the FSC gained momentum during the Earth bers—environment, economic or social, which are Summit of 1992 which saw active campaigns by subsets of the general assembly. NGOs that advocated the incorporation of prin- Unlike most dominant global bodies, the FSC ciples of sustainable development into the work has endorsed a seemingly progressive model by ethics of business corporations (Dingwerth, 2007). according equal representation to the Northern and Organisations like World Wildlife Fund (WWF) the Southern blocks of developed and developing played a proactive role in the creation of such a body nations. Prima facie the FSC attempts to maintain that would certify wood and timber produce based a democratic structure by according equal repre- on their sources. In doing so, it helped establish sentation to all the nations. However, the impact of guidelines for sustainable forest management. the organisation has been more pronounced in the Following several rounds of consultations in ten developed nations. The reason for this could be that different nations, the FSC finally took shape in the developing nations are still in transition and in 1993. In keeping with its foundational aims, an their desperate race for enhancing GDP figures, integral aspect of FSC’s agenda revolves around issues like brand image and best practises tend to combating the ill effects of deforestation, poverty take a backseat. as well as global warming. The FSC lays down elaborate guidelines for With an overarching mission that is based on the the sustainable management—right from the objective of ‘promoting environmentally appro- temperate to the tropical varieties. Besides, FSC priate, socially beneficial and economically viable principles also encapsulate plantations and forests management of the world’s forests’, the FSC has which generate non-timber forest products. laid down guidelines under the category ‘Global A minute perusal of the FSC principles exhibits Strategy’ listing a series of principles which are as that they are primarily based on scientific studies follows: and knowledge. As an example, Principle 6 lays ◆ to ensure fair and just access to the benefits stress on forest cultivation which is organic and accruing from FSC models; devoid of chemicals and toxic pesticides. Such a ◆ to ensure that there is transparency in the principle is a corollary of the effective campaigning management of products which adopt the FSC by environment groups, coupled with recent label; and, advancements in scientific know-how that have ◆ to enhance the value of goods and services which highlighted the potentially deleterious impact of are acquired from forests that are certified by the chemicals in forestry and plantations. Further- FSC. more, it proscribes the use of genetically modified organisms as well as foreign exotic species, which an analysis of the structure and role of reflects an endorsement of the precautionary the FsC principle. A FSC certified plantation/forest would Structurally, the FSC’s functioning is facilitated therefore be required to maintain a record as well by three bodies—the general assembly, the board as diligently monitor certain biological agents as of directors and the executive director. In terms prescribed by globally accepted scientific studies of hierarchy, the general assembly is at the apex. (Gale and Haward, 2011). It includes members from all the three bodies. As Despite significant variations in FSC certified per the rules, members have been bestowed with forests across nations, various studies have inferred the rights to attend meetings, frame and submit that FSC certified forests are better managed than proposals as well as vote on motions (Gale and the ones which are not certified (Pattberg, 2005) . Haward, 2011). The FSC has a vast network of In Asia, South Korea and Japan are doing fairly well

64 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue in achieving the FSC prescribed targets in forest The Forest management while Laos, Indonesia and Malaysia continue to be ranked low. In fact, the Southeast Stewardship Asian region witnessed massive levels of deforesta- Council provides a tion between 2000 and 2010—a report by FAO states that the total loss amounted to about 2.4 million ha. certification system The major cause of deforestation continues to be with prescribed illegal logging, which sheds light on ineffectiveness of the domestic statutes vis-à-vis forest governance targets. in Southeast Asia. These reports therefore, make a case for giving incentives to forests which are certi- fied (Pattberg, 2005). Certification of a forest is impacted by a wide range of external factors, most importantly market forces. As of now, the manufacturers and with the overarching purpose of further popular- exporters do not seem to face enough pressure by ising its brand value. way of demand for certified products in developing nations. As such the largest importer of products Forest certification in developing which are certified continues to be the European countries region—the certified products constitute more Unfortunately, India has not done much to enhance than five per cent of the amount of wood products its cover of accredited forests. Various theories which are traded. Netherlands and the United have been postulated in an attempt to understand Kingdom have created a strong brand value for the slow progress of India on this front—a major certified products, whereas the market is still small reason for this is purportedly the unwillingness on in Japan, India, and China. the part of the government to lose control over the Forest certification does not hinge upon the management of forests (Taylor, 2005). Unlike most consumers as much as it does upon their market parts of the world, a major segment of the forests based motives. As such, the major factors that within India are not privately owned, instead they would impact the growth in the volume of certi- come under government control. A few years fied products are the need to increase the share of back there was a plan to formulate a body called revenues and the desire on the part of the producer the Forest Certification Council which would be to combat the risk factor. Currently, illegal wood sponsored by the government. The proposal is and timber products happen to be much cheaper yet to materialise into anything concrete. Private than the legally certified ones. This means that forest owners have their own reservations with most buyers are unwilling to pay extra for a product respect to FSC certification—many of them feel merely because it is certified. In order to make the that a set of homogenous principles laid down by legally sourced products more viable, the domestic the agency overlooks the unique conditions in regulations will have to be stricter so as to eliminate India. Additionally, the process of certification is the illegal timber mafia. As of now, barely 0.8 out of deemed expensive given that most private forest 78.92 million ha have been certified by FSC. In fact, owners have limited resources (Tsanga, Lescuyer the FSC certified wood makes up for less than 10 per and Cerutti, 2014). cent of the wood which is in demand (Taylor, 2005). The pressure by the demands of international A FSC certified forest or product remains valid markets has acted as a catalyst for the voluntary for a span of five years—though annual audits and application of certification by logging companies in assessments are required. developing nations—most notably in Africa. Previ- Interestingly, the popularity of the FSC has also ously the African nations have witnessed serious generated competition from rival accreditation conflicts between the indigenous populations agencies such as the Canadian Standards Asso- and logging corporations. This trend is gradually ciation, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest getting reversed as more and more companies are Certification as well as Sustainable Forestry Initia- trying to adhere to the FSC guidelines which lay tive in the United States. At the same time it has also stress on involving the locals in decisions pertaining pushed FSC to constantly enhance its standards to forest management (Taylor, 2005). FSC certified

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 65 address the issues that dilute its credibility. Such measures would go on to determine the appeal and relevance of the organisation in the years to come.

endnote The increasing appeal of FSC prescribed princi- ples indicates that these guidelines have entered the arena of international soft laws. However, in order to be effective, it is important to work towards enhancing the value attached to certi- fied forests in developing nations since a major segment of the world’s biodiversity hotspots lie in the global south. By spreading awareness amongst consumers and exerting pressure on corporations, one should work towards incorporating sustain- able forest management principles into the body of international hard laws, i. e. actual binding legal instruments and laws.

references Dingwerth, K. 2007. The New Transnationalism: Transnational Governance and Democratic Legitimacy, The Forest Stewardship Council. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 144-185. Gale, F. and Haward, M., 2011. Global as of now, barely 0.8 out of 78.92 million ha have been certified Commodity Governance State Responses to by FsC. In fact, the FsC certified wood makes up for less than 10 Sustainable Forest and Fisheries Certification per cent of the wood which is in demand. Pattberg P. 2005. What Role for Private Rule-Making in Global Environmental Governance? Analysing the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). International centres have, for instance, been fairly effective in Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and establishing multi-stakeholder forums with the Economics, 5 (2): 175-189. support of locals, improving the equation between Takoni L., Obidzinski K., & Agung F. 2004. corporations and the local populace. However, Learning lessons to promote forest there is a need to improve the power equation certification and control illegal logging in between FSC and the natives by including more Indonesia. CIFOR Library, Indonesia. local representatives in their forum. Till now, the Taylor P. L. 2005. In the market but not of it: corporations had adopted a top-down approach, Fair trade coffee and forest stewardship whereas a bottom-up approach would be more council certification as market-based social beneficial (Tsanga, Lescuyer and Cerutti 2014). change. World Development, 33 (1): 129-147. The FSC’s emergence helped mediate the Tsanga R., Lescuyer G., and Cerutti, P. 2014. What tenuous situation generated by frequent clashes is the role for forest certification in improving between corporations and the affected populations. relationships between logging companies However, the FSC brand has also had to wrestle with and communities? Lessons from FSC in credibility issues. This became evident with the Cameroon. International Forestry Review, emergence of an organisation called ‘FSC watch’ 16 (1): 14-22. arguing false certification by FSC even when the produce did not meet the required criteria. Against The author is a lawyer at the Delhi High Court. this backdrop, the need of the hour for FSC is to [email protected]

66 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue In brIef

Farmers’ suicide By Staff RepoRteR

Prior to the economic liberalisation during 1991-96, farmers’ suicide was unheard of. In a paper, ‘The largest wave of suicides in history’ by P. Sainath in 2009, between 1997 and 2007, the number of farmer suicides are a staggering 182,936. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh account for close to two-thirds of these suicides. These states account for just about a third of the country’s popu- lation, but two-thirds of farmers’ suicides. It is perhaps not a coincidence that the origin of suicides can be traced to when the economy opened and multi- Between 2014 and 2015, 13,657 national corporations (MNCs) including some of our own farmers committed suicide—72.6 big players started dealing with farm products. The MNCs per cent of suicides were by small lured farmers to go for cash crops, which was never the and marginal farmers. mainstay of Indian agriculture. For millions of subsistence farmers in India, this meant much higher cultivation costs, far greater loans, much higher debt and being locked into the volatility of global commodity prices. Liberalisation made the farmers ambitious and the The big farmers with other sources of income have been governments enthusiastic. This deadly combination able to avoid the distress. As per the National Crime resulted in displacing cheap traditional varieties of seeds Records Bureau 2015, 72.6 per cent of the all suicides by expensive hybrid seeds and later by Bt cotton in the were committed by small and marginal farmers. drier regions of India. One crop failure and the farmers fell The central government shifts the onus to the states, into a never ending debt trap. Maharashtra became the citing that agriculture and allied issues fall under their worst victim as the farmers opted for Bt cotton in a purview. However, this makes it difficult to explain the big way. enthusiastic announcements made by the central govern- The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under ment for minimum support price (though it is not available the Ministry of Home Affairs compiles and disseminates to many crops/fruits etc.), grand insurance schemes the data on suicides in its publication ‘Accidental Deaths which have no logical basis, establishing food parks–the and Suicides in India’ (ADSI). As per this Report, 5650 concept which has not yet taken off and a plethora of and 8007 farmers committed suicide in the country during either unsuccessful or still to take shape schemes. 2014 and 2015 respectively. The situation seems to have An insurance scheme with individual access to farmers improved as compared to the period between 1997-2007 and dedicated insurance agents is panacea for farmers when the average suicides per annum were to the tune plights. Agriculture has to be linked to industry in such a of more than 18000. However, under-reporting of suicide way that there are no middlemen and the profits are shared cases cannot be ruled out. between the farmers and the end-users. Till this becomes It is worth mentioning that crop failure leading to debt a reality, the farmers will be forced to end their lives with a trap could hurt the small and marginal farmers the most. bearing upon their potential exit from farming.

GeoGraphy and you . May-june 2017 67 IndIa outdoors

By Dipanjan Ghosh LIVING ROOT BRIDGE Living tree bridges that one finds in picturesque Meghalaya are called Jingkieng Deingjri meaning ‘bridge of the rubber tree’ in Khasi. Tree bridges are natural structures that are examples of bioengineering at its best.

68 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue the umshiang double decker root bridge of Nongriat in East khasi hills district of meghalaya bhra Sarkar bhra stands at a height of 732 m. reaching the upper Su bridge, which is 20 m long is a tough job and demands a high degree of physical fitness. Photo: Som Photo:

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 69 iving root bridges are found in the roots, known as prop roots, from the higher parts West Jaintia Hills and East Khasi of its trunk. These roots can luxuriously grow along Hills of Meghalaya. All Khasi villages the riverbanks and even across rivers or creeks. The are connected by a network of stone useful life-span of any given living prop root is vari- pathways known as the ‘King’s Way’. able, but it is thought that under ideal conditions, Throughout this network hundreds of living they can in principle last for hundreds of years. rootL bridges form the bridleways over the myriad As long as the trees remain healthy, they naturally water channels that criss-cross the area. But the self-renew and self-strengthen as their component most famous is the Umshiang double decker root roots grow thicker. bridge of Nongriat village in Sohra (Cherrapunjee). Another root bridge is located at Riwai village near Creation of a root bridge Mawlynnong. The bridge at Wahthyllong village Long ago, members of an indigenous tribe of in the East Khasi Hills is the most beautiful of all Meghalaya, known as War Khasis, found an the bridges and was featured in the Human Planet opportunity to use tiny hair-thin hanging roots of series of the BBC. rubber tree as bridges in crossing the rivers easily. The locals do not know when or how the tradi- Thus whenever and wherever their need arose they tion of living root bridges started, although the simply grew the tree and trained the growth of its development and upkeep of these bridges have prop roots intertwined with boughs and twigs, over been a community affair among Khasis from time the rivers. For growing the roots in right direction, immemorial. These bioengineering masterpieces locals usually use betel nut (Areca catechu) trunks were first alluded to in the Journal of the Asiatic with their middle region sliced down and hollowed Society of Bengal by Lieutenant H Yule in 1844, but for creating a guidance system for root growth. The soon after these wonders were forgotten till they betel nut trunks prevent the rubber tree roots from were once again rediscovered by Denis P Rayen, a fanning out and make them grow straight. Sticks, local resident of Sohra in 2006. stones and some other objects are also used to stabilise the growing bridge. The bridge building tree Once the roots reach the other side of the river The Indian rubber tree Ficus( elastica) of Mora- they easily access the soil and extend their root ceae is native of the thick tropical rainforests of systems. During the dry season, the roots snake over North East India. This particular species is also the rocks and boulders in order to reach the water common in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, and thus maintain good anchorage for the bridge- Malaysia and Indonesia. Rubber fig is a large, long- in-the-making. These trees also naturally pair up, lived, dicotyledonous tree, about 30-40m tall, and intertwining with the roots of neighbouring trees with a stout trunk up to 2m in diameter. The trunk to share resources. The aboriginals realised that develops adventitious aerial and buttressing roots with careful coaxing over many years, the roots to anchor the plant in the soil that help support its could form almost any shape. There are even living heavy branches. root step ladders, guard railings and hand rests. It has broad, oval and leathery leaves with a shiny The surface of the bridge has bits of wood and rocks upper surface. Rubber trees produce unisexual added to the mix, so that it is easier to cross. flowers that are arranged in a special type of There is also another reason why wood is added. inflorescence, termed hypanthodium. Each such The wood decomposes and gives nutrients to the inflorescence is associated with one to few tiny roots of the tree growing around it. As far as records wasps that help in pollination. After fertilisation, are concerned, the region receives a total volume the entire inflorescence is converted into a tiny, oval, of about 4900 mm of rains. Under such circum- yellowish green fruit known as fig or syconium. stances, a normal wooden bridge would quickly rot. Like other fig plants, the rubber tree possesses a It takes decades to build a bridge but once white milky latex in the body which is a complex complete, they just get stronger and it is aqueous emulsion of tannins, resins, gums, alka- believed that some of the root bridges are over loids and glycosides. five hundred years old—much longer than any However, the most striking feature is that the conventional bridge. rubber tree produces series of secondary aerial These bridges are quite strong and can support

70 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue i Sarkar i Sh utu mo Photo: Photo: the roots of the rubber tree are trained to grow in a specific way to form the structure of the bridge, Wahthyllong village in the East khasi hills.

the weight of more than fifty people at a time. The country offers us many incredible objects and facts. live aerial roots of rubber tree contain a reason- In every nook and corner of our country, some able amount of mechanical tissues such as xylem, amazing facts are waiting to be discovered. Living phloem, sclerenchyma and prosenchyma tissues root bridges are one such legacy that are absolutely and at the same time they are in a state of continual unique in structure and growth. growth, gaining more strength with time. The elasticity of the root tissues of rubber tree also references increases the tensile strength of the bridge. Allen T. 2011. Living Root Bridges. BBC Human The chief advantage of a living root bridge is that Planet. Available at: http://humanplanet.com/ it does not get washed away by strong currents timothyallen/2011/03/living-root-bridges-bbc- or by the rain—but remains permanent. It can human-planet/. withstand high levels of soil erosion during the Atlas obscura. The Root Bridges of Cherrapunji. monsoon on one side, and on the other are capable Available at: http://www.atlasobscura.com/ of resisting termite attacks that often destroy places/root-bridges-cherrapunji. wooden bridges. Dubal H. 2016. Living Root Bridges – Meghalaya. The longest known living root bridge is near Available at: http://timeloop.in/bonvoyage/user/ the Pynursla village in East Khasi Hills— span- article/101. ning a length of 50 m with a width of over 1.5 Indiamarks. Unique Living Bridge of Cherrapunji, m. While the oldest one is Ummunoi, placed at a India. Available at: http://www.indiamarks. height of 426 m. com/unique-living-bridge-cherrapunji-india/.

endnote The author is freelance writer and photographer. India is ever unique in many respects as this vast [email protected]

GeoGraphy and you . May-June 2017 71 Website sustainability Mahalanobis national Challenges in the Crop Forecast Centre agrofood sector (MnCFC) By rajeev Bhatt (ed.) www.ncfc.gov.in Cover: Hardcover Established in 2012, Mahalanobis National isBn: 978-1-119-07276-8 Crop Forecast Centre published: March 2017 (MNCFC) is part of the publisher: Wiley Blackwell Department of Agriculture pages: 712 and Cooperation, Ministry price: 235 USD of Agriculture, Government of India. It provides in- season crop forecasts and assessment of drought he book covers a wide concerns and challenges at situation and undertakes Trange of agri-food- stake, the dynamics of grain various projects. related concerns including security in South Asia and urban and rural agriculture challenges and strategies national Centre of and livelihoods, water- for strengthening and organic Farming (nCoF) www.ncof.dacnet.nic.in energy management, food revolutionising food supply National Centre of Organic and environmental policies, chains. In addition, the Farming at Ghaziabad and diet and human health. The book discusses use of nano its various regional centres authors belong to academia, technologies, sustainability of are engaged in promotion government bodies and non- nutraceuticals and functional of organic farming in the governmental organisations. foods, etc., for ensuring self- country through technical The issues addressed are sufficiency and sustainability capacity building of all the sustainable agri-food, the in the agri-food sector. stakeholders. The issues include human resource development, transfer of Governance of urban agricultural systems: technology, promotion and Wastewater reuse agroecology and production of quality organic for agriculture: rural innovation for and biological inputs of all the a Framework for development stakeholders. In addition, they understanding and by Sieglinde Snapp and provide financial assistance action in Met. regions Barry Pound to small entrepreneurs and By Ganesh Keremane Cover: Hardcover conduct trainings. Cover: Softcover ISBN: 9780128020708 isBn: 978-3-319-55055-8 Published March 2017 earthstat published: April 2017 Publisher: Academic Press www.earthstat.org publisher: Springer Int. Pub. Pages: 558 EarthStat provides pages: 117 Price: 63.71 USD geographic datasets for price: 55.93 USD growing global population soils, ecosystem and the impact of agriculture rice productivity processes, and on environment. Global and Food security agricultural datasets on crops, pastures, in india: a study of development: harvested areas, greenhouse the system of rice Tropical asia and emission of gases etc. are intensification sub-saharan africa provided freely. Various By Poornima Varma By Shinya Funakawa (Ed.) international organisations Cover: Hardcover Cover: Hardcover such as National Geographic, isBn: 978-981-10-3691-0 ISBN: 978-4-431-56482-9 ESRI, etc. are using these Publishing: July 2017 Publishing: June, 2017 datasets to analyse real world Publisher: Springer Singapore Publisher: Springer Japan agricultural problems. Pages: 168 Pages: 392 Price: 128.682 USD Price: 168.585 USD

72 May-June 2017 . GeoGraphy and you 102 issue

RNI No. DELENG/2001/5002

We share because we care l Coal India Limited producing over 81 per cent of the nation’s entire coal production is conscious of its commitment to the countrymen and touches the lives of people in more ways than one. l Constructed 53,142 toilets (nearly 36 per cent constructed by all CPSEs) in six states spreading over 100 districts of the country. l Built ‘Premashraya’ a 525 bedded outpatient home with palliative care facilities as an extension to Tata Medical Centre, Kolkata. l Actively involved in holistic development of villages in backward districts. l Set up Kabi Guru Industrial Training Centre equipped with latest infrastructure to impart quality training and skill development to the youth.

Committed to improve ‘Quality of Life’