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From the Editor’s Desk JANUARY 2016 | VOLUME XIX | ISSUE 1 CHIEF EDITOR Dr. MJ Khan Wishing a Prosperous 2016 in Agriculture Editor Anjana Nair Asstt. Editors Sanjay Kumar e have left yet another year behind. As we embrace New Year Fariha Ahmed replete with hopes and resolutions, we also take with us lessons from the passing year. When we reflect over the events that shaped agriculture sector last year, there is particularly REGIONAL BUREAUS Wnothing much to cheer about. It wouldn’t be untrue to say that 2015 did not Tirupati V Rajagopal leave behind any good memories for agriculture. Agriculture plays a vital role in Kerala KR Sreeni Jamshedpur Shireen Tabassum India’s economy. A less significant year for agriculture pulls down the prospects Gorakhpur Jitendra Dwivedi of the related agro industry as well. A bad year for agriculture is worrisome Himachal Pradesh Rakesh Ahuja considering the impact this non-descript industry has on the country. Jammu & Kashmir MH Shah Indian agriculture last year survived a drought, making it one in a series of Hyderabad Murli Krishna climate induced anomalies that has been rattling Bangalore HS Gangadhar Lucknow Alok Vashishth India’s agriculture space. A drought during the last Punjab SS Virdi Kharif season (rainfall deficiency of 12 percent), Bihar Gautam Kumar losses due to hailstorm and another drought in Kharif season this year has again brought to the Business Manager Prerna Singh fore the uncertainty and risky nature of Indian 9910621421 agriculture. Deficit rain this year has affected Circulation Incharge Rajan Gautam crops spread over an area of 19 million hectares in just seven states. LAYOUT & DESIGN Last year, India’s capital, Delhi bore witness Graphic Designer A. Rehman to the suicide of a farmer from Rajasthan, Gajendra Singh. The tragedy once Publisher, Printer – Dr. MJ Khan on behalf of again brought to the fore the sheer helplessness and insecure life that the farm- M/s Concept Agrotech Consultant Limited, ers were facing.From January 1, 2015 to December 7, 2015, 1,024 farmers Published from 306 Rohit house Tolstoy Road committed suicide, against 569 in 2014, and 207 in 2013 in the Marathwada New Delhi-110001 and printed by Everest region in Maharashtra alone. Press E-49/8, Okhla Industrial Area-II New The passing year was also not particularly a happening year for agri ex- Delhi-110020 Phone No. 011-23731129 Fax No.011- 23731130 ports. In FY15, India saw a double-digit decline in agro exports after seeing a rising trend for the five years from FY10. Indian export of agro and allied Editor Dr. MJ Khan products stood at $32 billion in FY14. In FY15, it is slated to total $29 billion, lesser by almost 10% than the year before.Price rise in commodities like onion E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] and pulses again rattled the Indian market. In 2015, a new urea policy was formulated. New Urea Policy 2015 for the next four fiscals carries multiple objectives of maximising indigenous urea Any issues? production and promoting energy efficiency in urea units to reduce the gov- contact us at ernment’s subsidy burden. The policy will enable the domestic urea sector, the above with 30 urea producing units, to become more energy efficient, resulting in addresses! rationalisation of subsidy burden. The last year the government made an important announcement regarding setting up of a Unified National Market. 2015 was particularly not an impressive year for agriculture. The farmers were time and again tested by the nature. Some of them collapsed while the No part of this magazine can be reproduced, imitated or transmitted in any form, including others bounced back. The year 2016 is therefore very important as we have electronic, mechanical, photo copying, recording laid an unduly large responsibility on the year to make up for all the losses that or any information stage retrieval system or extracted in any way without permission from the happened in 2015. publishers. Views expressed in the magazine need We wish our reader the very best for 2016. A Happy New Year! not necessarily be those of the Editor / Publisher. www.agriculturetoday.in Pages in the magazine: 60 Dr. MJ Khan January 2016 AGRICULTURE TODAY 1 ContentsContents VOLUME XIX | ISSUE 1 21 2015 – A BITTER PILL FOR AGRICULTURE Editorial 01 International Editorial Comments 04 Kenyan Agribusiness: News Corner 10 The Investment Destination 44 Cover Feature Agri Infrastructure 2015 – A Bitter Pill for Agriculture 21 Broad Scenario and Developments in Cold-chain Sector 46 Agri Education Agriculture Research and Education Report in India 36 Coalition of Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (CARYA) Initiative 48 ICT Big Data Analytics in Agriculture 38 Interview Alok Sinha, Director General, ICFA 54 Interview Dr. Ravi Prasad, President, Corporate Affairs & Success Story Strategic Projects, Coromandel 40 SHRIRAM’s Wheat Story 57 Opinion Know Your Leader International Year of Pulses 42 US Awasthi 59 Different Strokes 60 2 AGRICULTURE TODAY January 2016 January 2016 AGRICULTURE TODAY 3 Motivating Madhya Pradesh MP’s success story in agriculture is inspirational adhya Pradesh today is a success story that is a matter of inspiration to the rest of the country. From a state which was closeted among the least developed states, MP has risen to formidable heights. With Shivraj Singh Chouhan completing his 10 years as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, the state’s economy has made Mtremendous gains by doubling growth rates from around 4% in the period till 2005 to average around 8.7% in Chauhan’s first nine years in office, with the growth rate surging up to double digit levels in the most recent year. What makes this achievement even sweeter is that this economic upheaval was driven by agriculture. MP’s agri-GDP grew at 9.7% per annum during FY06 to FY15, even surpassing the record-holder, Gujarat, which grew at 7.7% during FY06-FY14. The last five years have been even more spectacular. Agri-GDP has grown at 14.2% per annum. The achievements of the state was noted and MP received the Krishi Karman Award from the President three times in the last five years. Agriculture driven economic development was possible because MP is primarily an agriculture state, with almost 70% of its workforce engaged in agriculture, much above the all-India average of 55%. The agriculture growth was not an overnight phenomenon or the one that was achieved by manipulating numbers. The seeds of development was sown a decade ago and the development was all round. The irrigation ratio for instance increased from 30.6% in FY05 to 41.2% in FY14, an increase of 35% in ten years. Fertiliser consumption per hectare increased from 53.4 kg to 83 kg in FY15, an increase of 55%. Tractor sales, which are reported by private companies— increased from 28,500 in FY06 to 87,100 in FY15, a spectacular growth of more than 200%. The Seed Replacement Rate (SRR) for the major crops has also increased substantially, leading to better productivity of these crops. SRR for wheat increased from 8.8% in FY05 to 27.2% in FY14; for soybean, from 12.5% to 32.3%; for gram, from 2.3% to 15.8%; and for paddy, from 3.4% to 22.6%. Today, Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer of certified seeds in the country, producing 4.4 million quintals of these. This is a classic example of combining the best practices to achieve the desired result. The result is evident in the farm lands of Madhya Pradesh. Wheat production has increased from 7.2 million tonnes (mt) to 12.9 mt, an increase of 79%. Soybean production increased from 3.7 mt in FY05 to 7.8 mt in FY13, but fell to 5.2 mt in FY14. The yields of all the major crops have risen. Yield of rice increased from 720 kg/ha to 1,474 kg/ha; of wheat, from 1,735 kg/ha to 2,405 kg/ha; of soybean, from 835 to 1,293 kg/ha; and of gram, from 928 kg/ha to 1,219 kg/ha—between FY05 and FY14. Horticulture and livestock sectors, too, have showed spectacular improvement. Milk production increased by 75%, from 5.5 mt in FY05 to 9.6 mt in FY14, and meat production more than doubled in the same period. The production of horticulture crops increased from 1.2 mt in FY06 to 5.7 mt in FY14, an unprecedented increase of 375%. MP’s strong procurement system for wheat incentivised the state’s farmers to increase the production of wheat, while improving the irrigation ratio. While Madhya Pradesh contributed only 2% of the total wheat procurement in India in 2002/03, the contribution went up to 24% by FY14. There are many lessons that can be learnt from the MP story. The factors that foster agri prosperity – irrigation, seeds, mechanization and fertilizers - are largely known to the stake holders. But to combine them effectively and consistently for a long span of time is commend- able. Chouhan’s leadership in this whole growth story is notable. He started to fix the agri prob- lem with developing infrastructure including roads, power and irrigation. He has also focused on agri-markets and crop insurance. In perishables, he is expecting milk and horticulture corridors, and is looking at the value-chains in efforts to fill the missing links. Madhya Pradesh proves the point that a strong leadership is by far the most critical com- Editorial Comments ponent of any development programme. The sincere will and commitment from the leadership front can do wonders.

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