GHMC bags nine awards Municipal body GHMC has bagged nine awards in the Garden Festival (Horticulture Expo) conducted by the Department of Horticulture in connection with the Republic Day celebrations held at the People’s Plaza, Necklace Road last week. Categories The awards for various categories like landscaping, colony parks, theme parks and traffic islands were bagged by: Chacha Nehru Park (first prize), Jalagam Vengal Rao Park (second prize), Secunderabad Clock Tower Park (second prize), Indira Devi Dharma Reddy Colony (first prize), Sairamnagar Colony Park, Champapet (second prize), Vijayapuri Colony Park, R.K. Puram (first prize), Gun Park (first prize), Palmetum Park, Malakpet (second prize) and Adityanagar Resident Welfare Association (second prize). Mayor Mohd. Majid Hussain and Commissioner M.T. Krishna Babu on Thursday appreciated the urban bio-diversity team led by Additional Commissioner N. Chandramohan Reddy for winning the overall championship. ‘Krishi Utsav’ at Parkala on Saturday Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP), in association with other organisations, will organise “Krishi Utsav” at Parkala here on Saturday. Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, Kudi Srinivas Bhat, president of the “Krishi Utsav” organising committee, said that nearly 10,000 farmers were expected to participate in the festival. The main objective of the festival was to provide farmers information on agriculture, horticulture and dairy farming. There would be three seminars on “Opportunities and requirements of agricultural and horticultural crops”, “Dairy farming and agriculture”, and “Marketing, processing and value- addition of agricultural produce”. Experts would deliver lectures on “Role of mechanisation in agriculture and horticulture”, “Need for organic farming”, “Role of women in agriculture”, “Self- employment, dairy farming and animal husbandry”, “Role of milk federation in promotion of dairy farming”, “Middlemen and open market”, and “Processing and value addition in fisheries”. Exhibition of farm equipment, fruits, vegetables and decorative plants, and agricultural models, and cultural programmes would be held, he said. K.M. Udupa, Managing Director of Bharatiya Vikas Trust, would inaugurate the festival. Lalaji Mendon, Kaup MLA, Pratapchandra Shetty, MLC, and Upendra Nayak, president of the zilla panchayat, would participate in the inaugural function, Mr. Bhat said. M. Manjunath Upadhyaya, Dayasheela, Duge Gowda, Balakrishna Shetty and Satyananda Nayak, members of the organising committee, were present. Government Rose Garden getting ready for summer The 18-year-old Government Rose Garden (GRG) here would be in bloom earlier than usual this summer, said the Joint Director of Horticulture G. Mohan here on Thursday. Speaking to The Hindu after commencing the pruning operations, an important cultural activity at the GRG, he said that usually the pruning would commence only during the second week of February to facilitate blooming in early May. However, since last year the long standing practice has been changed to enable the tourists who came earlier also to get an eye full. In tune with this a plan has been put in place. As per the plan, all the 25, 000 rose plants representing about 3,800 varieties would be in bloom by the second fortnight of April. Skilled labourers would complete the pruning in about a month. He added that this year three patented varieties from Holland-Avalanche, Peach and Taj Mahal- would be introduced. Disclosing that under the Hill Area Development Programme (HADP), a sum of Rs.22 lakh has been sanctioned to the GRG to improve basic amenities and carry out other works, Mr. Mohan said that public conveniences and drinking water facilities provided. On one of the terraces permanent labels would be fixed. When it was pointed out that the speed breakers on the roads leading to the GRG now pose a threat to motorists, he assured that warning boards would be erected and the speed breakers painted. Training camps for exotic plant cultivation proposed Ganjam District Flower Growers’ Association (GDFGA), has decided to propose to the State government to hold training camps for ornamental horticulture for interested general public at the flower market and training centre for floriculture. This modern flower market-cum-training centre in Ambapua area of the city aimed at promoting floriculture in six districts namely Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Kandhamal, Boudh and Nayagarh. The first training programme for floriculture for farmers started at this centre from Wednesday. According to the officials of the Horticulture Department and GDFGA leaders apart from the flower growers and peasants, training programmes would also be held for educated youth in future to develop their entrepreneurial skills in this field. Although attraction for growing flowers and ornamental plants is quite high among general public in Ganjam district, most of them lack the basic technical knowhow. So, the GDFGA has decided to put forward a proposal before the Horticulture department of the State government, so that the general public interested in floriculture as a hobby may get to know the scientific method to grow them. Till now government has no such proposal for training programmes for general public,said secretary of GDFGA, Sridhar Verma. A portal in which the A to Z of farming is just a click away The science of communication is getting more advanced everyday. From desktop computers/laptops and ipads to smartphones, information is just a click away. “What our farmers need today for successful farming is the right information that can be made available to them easily. Breaking the communication barrier and knowledge gap that exists today becomes imperative. Three centres “From our side we have initiated the e-Extension Centre putting to optimum use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and created a website called Agritech portal” (www.agritech.tnau.ac.in) which gives an exhaustive A-Z list of of agriculture,” says Dr. S. Haripriya, Assistant Professor (Horticulture), TNAU, Vridachalam. “Our Vriddhachalam Kendra has devised a three-day training programme to farmers of Cuddalore district with minimum educational qualification of 10th standard to make them aware about how to use a computer and browse the Internet for gathering information related to their fields,” she says. Interested farmers in the region are asked to pre-register for this training at this Kendra. Based on the responses from them we plan to select about 10 farmers per batch usually on first-come- first-served basis. Five desktop computers with internet connection are being used to impart the training. During the training, basic theoretical information and hands-on training regarding what is a computer, how to operate it, browsing the Internet to get agriculture related information etc are scheduled to be imparted. In the last two years about 200 farmers have been trained in similar programmes. Statistics “We kept a record on the farmers who underwent the training and were able to find that an average of five farmers accessed agricultural information using the net in a week using the computer hub in this Kendra. Around one percent of them started using computers in their households,” she says. Recently, the farmers started gathering new information from the portal approached the specialist of this Kendra for further action oriented queries. On knowing about the prevailing weather conditions in the State from the weather network page they started to pre-plan the cultural operations, harvesting and drying of the harvested produce. Some proactive farmers have also used the portal to choose major markets in South based on the produce price data available on the dynamic market information page. When the State is facing a power crisis for nearly 10 to 12 hours daily how can farmers be expected to use computers? No excuse “Presently the power cut is for 12 hours in all districts. But there is some supply for the remaining hours. And many farmers use the supply time to charge their mobiles. Wi-fi and data card for net browsing are becoming a common facility on mobiles these days. If one person in the family (college going student) has a good handset then the farmer can easily get information from it. “Take the case of Kissan mobile services. Several farmers use the facility as and when required. And today almost all high school students have laptops provided by the government. Such computers have battery back up for nearly 4-5 hours so this is not really a problem for interested farmers. All one needs is the attitude,” she says categorically. Both English and Tamil The web portal has both Tamil and English versions, the regional version prepared by specialists from this Kendra. Both the manuals are designed in an illustrative format to facilitate quick and easy viewing. More emphasis has been given on teaching methodology, particularly communicating the contents in a simple and understandable way to the farmers. In this emerging era of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), there is a necessity to bridge the digital divide currently prevailing among the farmers, according to her. For more information, contact Dr.S.Haripriya, Assistant Professor (Horticulture), email id: [email protected] , phone: 04143-238353, mobile: 9952342287. Case against Minister takes curious turn The case pertaining to the allegation that Minister for Horticulture R. Venkat Reddy was paid bribe for running a school took a curious turn with the High Court on Wednesday ordering a probe by the rural SP of Warangal district into the identity of the petitioner and to find out whether the person who signed the affidavit was connected to the school. The order was passed by Justice L. Narasimha Reddy when two persons claiming that their name was G. Chinna (the name of the petitioner in the writ petition filed against the Minister) appeared in court on Wednesday. The judge ordered the inquiry and posted the matter to February 18. A writ petition was filed by a person named G. Chinna complaining that the Minister had received Rs.35 lakh to permit Sree Chaitanya Techno School, Enkuru , Khammam district and alleged that the authorities were harassing them. The petition sought a CBI inquiry into the alleged misdeeds of the Minister. When it came up for hearing on January 23, a person claiming to be G. Chinna claimed in the court that he never filed the petition and his name was misused. On Wednesday, another person came to the court and said that his name was G. Chinna and declared that he filed the petition. Meanwhile, in Khammam, the Minister denied allegations of receiving kickbacks from the school. Development plan to benefit 1.3 crore farmers Aimed at benefiting over 1.3 crore agriculturists, land development activities for farming will be taken up shortly on lands belonging to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes besides small and marginal farmers. As a prelude to this step, gram sabhas in 12,524 village panchayats met on Republic Day and approved the lists of the farmers identified by Rural Development and Agriculture Departments of the State governments. Assessment of requirements of the farmers is under way. Once this exercise is completed, activities such as land levelling and soil conservation will be taken up, according to officials. This initiative of the government, when implemented across the State, will cover 1.34 crore persons, of whom marginal farmers [owning up to 2.5 acres of dry land or 1.25 acres of wet land] account for 1.18 crore; small farmers [five acres of dry land or 2.5 acres of wet land] – 12.33 lakh; SCs – 9.1 lakh and STs – 62,114. The move will seek to address effectively the issue of labour shortage being experienced by small and marginal farmers or SC/ST farmers. One oft-repeated criticism is that it is because of the MGNREGS the farm sector is experiencing labour shortage. By permitting the MGNREGS works on lands of SC/STs and small and marginal farmers, a solution is sought to be found. According to a State Government order, works on the lands of SC/STs will be taken up on a priority. Once they are saturated in a village panchayat, works on lands of small and marginal farmers may be considered. The government has also made it clear that only 100 per cent labour-oriented works will be taken up. As for the material component – [for instance, provision of inputs in the form of seeds and manure], it will be dovetailed with other schemes of the Agriculture and other departments. The National Food Security Mission – Rice and Pulses, National Agricultural Development Programme, Integrated Wasteland Development Programme, Integrated Forest Protection, National Horticulture Mission and State Fodder Development Scheme are among the programmes identified for dovetailing with the MGNREGS. ‘Udyan Fresh’ vegetable outlets to be opened soon ‘Udyan Fresh’ vegetable outlets would be opened up in the city soon, said director of Odisha horticulture department, Sanjiv Kumar Chaddha. Mr. Chaddha was in the city on Wednesday to inaugurate the two-day exhibition of produces of vegetable and flower growers of Ganjam district at the premises of new flower market and training centre for floriculture. According to him, Berhampur would be the second urban centre in the State after Bhubaneswar to have ‘Udyan Fresh’ vegetable outlets. The other townships where ‘Udyan Fresh’ outlets are to come up were Sambalpur and Rourkela. Through the ‘Udyan Fresh’ project the State horticulture directorate has decided to set up vegetable vending kiosks to ensure better income for local vegetable growers through eradication of middlemen. Apart from it this project would also ensure that consumers get fresh vegetables directly from farmers at a fair price. This project has been taken up in public private partnership mode. According to Mr. Chaddha process was on to register around 10,000 vegetable growers of Ganjam district for the ‘Udyan Fresh’ outlets in Berhampur. A training programme for floriculture was also inaugurated. Around 120 farmers attended this training programme. 307 vegetable growers and 42 flower growers had participated in this two-day exhibition. According to Sridhar Verma, secretary of Ganjam District Flower Growers’ Association (GDFGA), they had displayed all the common as well as exotic flowers that were being grown in the district on commercial basis. The GDFGA members repeated their demand that activation of cooling chamber and auctioning facility would help in proper marketing of flowers and help in enhancement of floriculture in the area. Visitors were astonished by a huge yam that weighed 52 kilograms and a large pumpkin which weighed over 26 kg. Cotton price to hover around MSP The price of cotton crop on harvest is pegged at Rs.3,900-Rs.4,000 per quintal, thus hovering around the Minimum Support Price (MSP) .

The projection was made by the Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre (AMIC) at Sri Venkateswara Agricultural College, Tirupati, based on market survey as well as the econometric analysis of modal prices of cotton in Warangal market taken for a period of 12 years. The Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) pegged the country’s cotton output at 330 lakh bales from an area of 117.73 lakh hectares for the current year, against the achieved figure of 355 lakh bales yielded last year. As Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) is the major procurer in the State, the farmers are expected to reap the MSP. The International Cotton Advisory Committee, Washington, has also projected a bleak picture for cotton supply for the year 2012-13, with global production and mill use projected at 25.9 million tonnes and 23.4 million tonnes respectively, resulting in a surplus of 2.4 million tonnes. “The panel further assessed that cotton mill usage would increase in 2012-13 in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Vietnam, but the global trend could fall by 21 p.c. to 7.7 million tonnes due to lower demand in China.” ICRISAT launches new project to fight poverty and hunger The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) launched a new innovative project- Pigeonpea Improvement Using Molecular Breeding- aimed at assisting pigeonpea breeders to develop improved cultivars more efficiently using genomic tools.

The new comprehensive project is being supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) stretched for three years with a financial assistance of US $ 2 million.

The other partners in implementing the project are National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi; the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Raichur, Karnataka and Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Hyderabad.

In a release here on Thursday, the ICRISAT informed that the project, launched on Wednesday, would be helpful in the fight against poverty and hunger.

“I am very pleased to announce that the new partnership between the governments of India and the United States, and ICRISAT – will take new studies in pigeonpea genomics to the next stage of scientific research. This collaboration will improve the agricultural productivity of pigeonpea,” said Elizabeth Warfield, Deputy Mission Director, USAID, New Delhi, during the project launch.

Dr. William Dar, Director General, said that the USAID has always been an advocate of agricultural research-for-development continuum.

Dr. Swapan Datta, Deputy Director General (Crop Science), ICAR; Dr. Rajeev Varshney, Project Coordinator and Director, Centre of Excellence in Genomics, ICRISAT and others were present. Hoarders warned as onion prices rise With the prices of onion firming up across the country amid widespread stocking by wholesalers and retailers in the belief that an impending shortage is on the cards, the Delhi Government on Thursday reviewed the situation and urged the Centre to curb onion exports while reiterating that it would clamp down hard on hoarding to keep prices under check. With the retail price of onion in the Capital hovering around the Rs.30-mark, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit convened a meeting to discuss the issue. While the average wholesale price on Wednesday was Rs.16 per kg and maximum Rs.21 per kg, the Government is concerned at the way in which the retail prices have shot up.

Ms. Dikshit said a close watch is being kept on the situation and warned of tough action against hoarders.

The meeting was also attended by Delhi Ministers Haroon Yusuf and Raj Kumar Chauhan as also Secretary (Food Supply) Kumar Swami, and officials of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee.

The APMC Board members said at the meeting that the price situation may ease in a fortnight due to improved arrival of onion from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

The Chief Minister said she has also written to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to seek his intervention in the matter and urged him to get onion export curtailed at the earliest. “This would bring the desired improvement in onion prices,” she said. Farmers censure outstation paddy procurement at DPCs

Spurious entry of outstation paddy for procurement by the direct procurement centres in the district was the most contested topic at the monthly farmers grievance meeting on Thursday. Information on entry and sale of outstation paddy in the DPCs in parts of Mayiladuthurai led to incensed debates, calling upon the administration to step in to curb such procurements.

The CPI(M)-affiliated Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam has proposed to hold human chain protests in the delta districts on February 2, demanding announcement of crop relief for failure of samba.

V.Subramanyam, district secretary, Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam, announced that the human chain demonstrations would be held to press forth the demand for compensation of Rs.25,000 per acre, and Rs.10,000 per family of agricultural labourers for the delta. Calling for fodder subsidy, Samandam of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, said that free livestock scheme was inadequate in the absence of fodder subsidy for poor beneficiaries.

The sand mining undertaken by the PWD along Mudikondan river came under flak from farmers of the area. According to Alexander, Mayiladuthurai, reckless mining along the river would impact on water availability in the summer; he urged the PWD to halt works.

The Agricultural department and the administration stood cornered for issuing a misconstrued press release issued on the Government Order for subsidised pipes for irrigation. Holding out the GO copy, Kaveri Danapalan of Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Protection Association, stated that the scheme of HDPE pipes at subsidy to pump out water from community water bodies was announced to revive samba crop in the wake of acute water shortage. The GO based on National Agricultural Development Programme guidelines, clearly mentioned that “priority” will be accorded for small and marginal farmers, and SC/STs among these farmers. However, the department had interpreted the GO to exclude farmers owning more than two acres, thereby falling outside the category of marginal farmers.

Collector T.Munusamy regretted the oversight, and assured that a revised release will be issued. However, farmers concurred that the damage was already done by excluding even those farmers with marginal holdings of five acres or less.

Mr.Danapalan also demanded that the State government increase its share of support price from Rs.50 to Rs.300 per quintal. As of now, the support price for per quintal of paddy was Rs.1,300 and farmers have been demanded that the Centre revise the price to Rs.2,000. This would have to off set the price hike in diesel and the whopping fertilizer costs. Farmers incurred diesel costs of up to Rs.2,000 per acre, availing subsidy of about Rs.600. The minimum support price should take into account the costs incurred, Mr.Danapalan said. Also, on the illegal procurement of outstation paddy, Mr.Danapalan wondered why the DPCs were kept open while harvest was still incomplete, giving leeway for such procurement. Gobi Ganesan, of Cauvery Delta Paasanadharar Munnetra Sangam, called for setting up of farm ponds, and subsidy for gunny bags for sale of paddy. Declare Karur drought hit, demand farmers

What’s the use of conducting farmers grievances day when the ryots were not getting water for irrigation and their crops were withering on the fields, irate farmers of Karur district alleged at the meeting held here on Wednesday.

The monthly farmers grievances day meet for Karur district was held here with the District Revenue Officer T. Christhuraj in the chair. Joint Director of Agriculture M. Deivendran, Joint Registrar of Cooperatives Santhanam, Personal Assistant to Collector (Agriculture) Rajendran and other officials from various departments were in attendance.

As soon as the meeting commenced, ryots whose fields are irrigated by the South Bank Canal in Kulithalai region stormed the meeting hall and alleged that their due share of water and irrigation rights have not been honoured and PWD authorities were not releasing water in the canal for irrigation.

Led by DMK local leader Thirunavukkarasu, Karur District Vivasayigal Munnetra Sangam president Marudur M. Shanmugham, Neithalur Panchayat president O. Gandhi, and TNCC Farmers Wing State vice-president Nagarajan, farmers came with dried up panicle-bearing paddy crop to give vent to their feelings at being denied water. They claimed that thousands of acres of paddy, banana, betel vine and sugar cane crops were withering for want of adequate water.

They wanted the district administration and the PWD to ensure that the available water was distributed equally among the ayacuts.What was the use of holding the grievances day meet when justifiable water management was never being thought of? First arrange for water distribution and then organize such meetings, they retorted.

Taken aback the officials tried to pacify the farmers and it took them a while before the protestors withdrew from the scene but not before letting the officials know of their ire at being denied water. There was further jolt for the officials as members of the Nangam Channel Aycutdars Association based at Nangavaram came in a procession to the Kulithalai RDO Office where the meeting was being held to present a memorandum containing similar demand to the officials. The police stopped them before they reached the venue and allowed office-bearers to present their case before the officials present.

The Nangam Channel irrigated areas include Mel Nangavaram, Nangavaram, Ananjanur, Govindanur, Tamizhcholai, Kurichi and Therkupatti covering more than 2,600 acres. Of that paddy was cultivated in more than 1,600 acres while banana, sugarcane and betel vine occupied the rest. We did not receive adequate water following which almost all paddy fields have withered fully. Despite that the officials have categorized the damage as only partial and have recommended compensation based on that account. So the State government must review the state of loss and sanction at least Rs.30,000 per acre as compensation, demanded Association president M. Paramasivam and secretary Masilamani.

Both the groups have threatened to intensify their struggle if their demands were not met within a stipulated time frame.

As the din settled, Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association leaders demanded that the government declare Karur district drought hit and award the affected farmers suitable compensation. Release water from Amaravathi, Bhavani dams into Cauvery, say farmers

A plea to release water from the Amaravathi and Bhavani dams into river Cauvery to save the standing crops in the district was made at the farmers grievances’ day meeting here on Thursday.

The standing paddy, banana, sugarcane, etc., raised in about two lakh acres fed by the 17 channels from Mettur dam to Grand Anicut have been withering for the past 40 days for want of water. This has caused untold hardship to the farmers, Puliyur Nagarajan, state vice president of the Congress farmers’ wing said. When similar conditions prevailed in 1986, the then Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran ordered release of water from the Amaravathi and Bhavani dams to save the standing crops. Similar initiative should be taken now too, he demanded.

He urged the state government to declare the entire Tiruchi district as drought hit, based on the report submitted by the Collector and initiate drought relief works on a war-footing. The Centre should declare entire Tamil Nadu as drought hit, he added. N. Ganesan, joint secretary of the Tamil Nadu Milk Producers’ Welfare Association, thanked the Collector for urging the State government to declare the entire district as drought hit. However, the assistance of Rs.625 crore is not adequate. Of late, the crop raised through pumpset irrigation in the higher planes in Musiri taluk has also started withering. The district administration should take this into consideration and send a fresh proposal seeking adequate assistance.

Mr. Ganesan said that the entire Musiri taluk was considered as Cauvery delta area and uninterrupted power supply was provided for about 20 hours for the pumpsets earlier. Now, power supply is being provided only for three hours and this has badly hit the farmers, he said and demanded at least 12 hour power supply.

P. Muthamizh Selvan, Superintending Engineer, Tangedco, assured 12- hour uninterrupted power supply to all the areas designated as Cauvery delta area by the revenue authorities.

R. Subramanian of Kavundanpatti said that banana crop in a large area is the worst hit in the district and urged the district central co-operative bank to provide adequate assistance for digging borewells for saving the same. The scarcity of fodder is another major problem confronting the farmers and he demanded provision of the same at subsidised rate.

R. Raja Chidambaram of the Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam demanded the implementation of the modified crop insurance scheme in all the districts in the State. J. Sekar, Joint Director of Agriculture, said that the scheme is being implemented only in about half a dozen districts including Ariyalur. Based on its success it will be extended to other districts too.

Leaders of the farmers associations expressed concern over the drinking water scarcity prevailing in various parts of the district. S. Thyagarajan, District Revenue Officer, who presided over the meeting, urged the officials present to take all necessary initiative to check water scarcity and accord top priority for the supply of water. This problem should be discussed on day- to- day basis, he said. ‘Decision on red gram MSP will limit farmers’ losses’ “The State government’s decision to increase the minimum support price (MSP) of red gram from Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 4,500 is a victory for farmers’ and traders’ organisations,” said Umakant Nigudgi, president of the Hyderabad Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, here on Thursday evening.

Mr. Nigudgi, along with Maruti Manpade, president of the Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha (KPRS), spoke about the government’s decision, which was taken in a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Gesture

“We would have been happy if the State government had conceded our original demand for increasing the minimum support price to Rs. 5,000 a quintal, but this gesture will help farmers limit their losses,” Mr. Nigudgi and Mr. Manpade said.

Delegation The KPRS president said a delegation of farmers and traders’ organisations led by K.B. Shanappa, MLC, Moula Mulla, secretary of the All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), and himself met Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar in Bangalore on Wednesday.

The delegation aimed to apprise the Chief Minister of the problems faced by red gram growers and the need to increase the MSP.

“The Chief Minister said that a decision on increasing the MSP would be taken at the Cabinet meeting. He also said that the Union government should reciprocate the gesture of the State government and restore the incentive of Rs. 500 for each quintal sold at the procurement centres,” Mr. Manpade said.

This move would increase the MSP to Rs. 5,000 and go a long way in helping farmers of the region, he added.

Lukewarm response

The procurement centres that had been set up by the Red Gram Development Board in the district had received a lukewarm response from farmers.

Chandramohan, in-charge Managing Director of the Red Gram Development Board and Secretary of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), told The Hindu that four lakh quintals of red gram had arrived at the APMC yard.

Since the government’s order to commence procurement on January 11, only 1,568 quintals of the total arrivals had been procured at Rs. 4,000 a quintal, he added.

This lacklustre response can be attributed to the fact that red gram growers are are waiting for the price of the produce to rise, and have stored their produce at the market yard and warehouses in the city. ‘Inspire farm women with extension programmes’

The role of women in addressing problems of nutrition and in agriculture, and the importance of targeting them through outreach activities, was the focus of workshop here on Tuesday.

Inaugurating the 20th biennial workshop on the All-India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Home Sciences at the University of Agricultural Sciences here, A.D. Kokate, deputy director-general, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, called for home science technologies to be implemented by transfer of technology centres to overcome nutritional problems. Scientists should motivate farm women with market-led extension programmes, with emphasis on timely supply of critical inputs backed by technical information and infrastructural facilities, he said. Vice-Chancellor R.R. Hanchinal pointed out that a majority of agricultural activities is managed by women.

So, AICRP Home Sciences played an important role in building the capacity of farm women for effective management of agricultural activities, he said. He called for women to be educated on secondary agriculture for minimising post-harvest loss. D. Krishna Srinath, project director, DRWA, Bhubaneswar, presented the highlights of the project.

CDs and training manuals on home science were released. Eighty home scientists from nine AICRP centres are participating. Organic crops flourish at plantations

Fragrance of coffee is wafting from the Thuthampara estate at Nelliyampathy with the Forest Department harvesting naturally grown Robusta coffee beans from there.

No-manure farming has been tried on the 365-acre Thuthampara estate by the Nenmara Forest Development Agency. Similar attempts have been done on the 233-acre Rosary estate by the Kerala Forest Development Corporation. The department has taken over the Thuthampara estate after its lease period expired.

The decision to try farming without using manure is part of the landscape conservation project of the ecologically sensitive Nelliampathy area. The forest areas of Nelliampathy are home to lion-tailed macaque and giant hornbills. Landscape-level conservation would ensure restoration of ecology of the region, besides ensuring benefits from agricultural produce, says Raju Francis, Divisional Forest Officer, Nenmara.

“The harvesting of Robusta coffee, which began a week ago, is expected to yield at least 35 tonnes of dry beans. The plantation is also expected to yield organically grown pepper weighing around five tonne,” Mr. Francis says.

Discussions are progressing for completing organic certification of the produce by an international agency, which would fetch the produce at least a three-fold price in the international market, says N.K. Sasidharan, Chief Conservator of Forest (Eastern Circle). The department is also working on a project to establish a dairy farm in the estate, which would yield manure for future farming projects, he says.

Though the coffee grown in the area is rated as among the best in the country, no efforts have gone into obtaining the Geographical Indexing (GI) for it or for marketing it as a premium produce, says Mr. Francis. The organic as well as GI tag would ensure better price for the pepper and coffee beans.

The harvesting of organic pepper has started at the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) also. It is here that the first attempt of organic farming by the department started some four years ago. The yield from the pepper vine planted at tribal hamlets is expected to reach 15 tonnes.

Though the produce could not be sold at the international market last time, they fetched good price when auctioned locally, says Sanjayankumar, Divisional Forest Officer, PTR East division. Organic produce now has more takers in the local markets also.

Organic pepper saw a price rise of 27% last year when compared to the previous auction. This time too, the auction is expected to bring good returns, he says. Chandy to open Coir Kerala expo today Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate Coir Kerala 2013, an international event on coir and natural fibre products, at EMS Stadium here on Friday afternoon.

Talking to reporters here on Thursday, Minister for Coir and Revenue Adoor Prakash said 95 per cent of the arrangements for the event had been completed.

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation K.C. Venugopal will inaugurate the national pavilion. Mr. Prakash will preside over the inaugural function. Tourism Minister A.P. Anilkumar will inaugurate the theme pavilion. Former Agricultural and Coir Minister K.R. Gouri will be the chief guest. Film actor Dileep will inaugurate the cultural programme at 7 p.m.. A mega show by actor and singer Vineeth Srinivasan and team will follow. Mr. Prakash said a total of 165 delegates would be participating in the event from 70 foreign countries. There would be around 350 delegates from different States of the country. The entire event will be set up in an area of 1,36000 sq. ft.

Referring to the protest by the Kerala Coir Workers’ Centre (KCWC) affiliated to Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) against Coir Kerala 2013, Mr. Prakash said that the real beneficiaries of such events were coir workers themselves. “It is true that there is a crisis in the coir sector. However, the government is trying its best to resolve the crisis,” he said.

He mentioned many measures for coir workers that the government had taken including increase in daily wages from Rs.150 to Rs.210. The district leader of KCWC said the organisation would hold a protest march and meeting at 3 p.m. here to protest against the non-fulfilment of their demands including resolving unemployment in the sector, increase in wages and pension. Bitter gourd harvest turns sour for growers in Idukki

It is the peak season for bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) in Thopramkudy and vast green pandals of bitter gourd vines dot this village. However, prospects are not bright for bitter gourd growers as average price for the crop has dropped and yellow mosaic disease has infected the plants.

Vellanal Binoy George, who has two acres of land with bitter gourd pandals, harvests the vegetable twice a week and reaps 1,000 kilogram of the produce from one row.

He said the average price per kilogram was just Rs.16. It was Rs.25 during the peak season last year.

“A large amount of money has to be spent for erecting the pandals, in addition to the cost of pesticides, fertilisers, labour and transportation. When the price falls below Rs.20, farmers incur heavy losses,” he said.

Farmers work almost the whole day to cultivate the crop and also take efforts to keep pests attacks and virus diseases at bay. However, only produce of the best quality gets procured in wholesale markets. Even produce that has been infected by a minor insect attack at the initial stage do not graded, he said.

Like all farmers, Mr. George sells vegetables at the Vegetables and Fruits Promotion Council, Keralam (VFPCK) Swaysraya Karshaka Samithy at Thopramkudy town.

Farmers like Sabu Kuriakose said they started cultivating bitter gourd in paddy fields due to shortage of labour and frequent losses.

Many farmers turned to bitter gourd cultivation after they found the soil congenial and capable of producing a high yield. Shaji Thomas Kizhakkethalackal abandoned bitter gourd cultivation on his farm after the crop was hit by a yellow mosaic attack. He said he noticed the disease only after it had infected the crop. He destroyed the affected vine and buried it in a pit after experts from the Krishi Bhavan advised him to do so. However, Mr. Thomas did not receive any compensation for the loss incurred. “I will not cultivate bitter gourd in the coming season. I will let my land lie fallow as I did the last season after the disease infected the crop,” he said.

According to Tomy Kurien, who cultivated beans as an inter crop to offset the threat of low prices and yellow mosaic disease, cultivating the crop in the upland area is more costly as bitter gourd vines need routine irrigation from its initial growth period till the maturity period. Bitter gourd is mainly cultivated in Vathikudy, Konnathady, Rajamudy, Kamakshy, Melechinnar, Perinjamkutty, Rajakkad, Rajakumari and Adimaly.

As per the VFPCK estimate, the total production of bitter gourd this season would be around 2,500 tonnes. High fluctuation in prices was cause of concern. “Farmers have had to sell the produce at a price as low as Rs.12,” said VFPCK district manager Sajimon Joseph. He said one reason for the high incidence of yellow mosaic disease was that farmers used seeds which were susceptible to the disease. Scientists from Kerala Agriculture University had recently visited six grama panchayats to study the disease. They advised farmers to take steps to prevent the disease from infesting the crop.

Additional support price for paddy, tur procurement The state government has approved a proposal to provide additional support prices of Rs 250 and Rs 650 for the procurement of paddy and tur respectively (price per quintal).

This decision was taken at a State Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar here on Thursday.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar said the government also approved setting up of two private universities near Bangalore. They are CMR Jnanadegula promoted by CMR Foundation and another by A H Memorial Trust which would come up at Jaala hobli and Itgalapura village in Hesarghatta hobli respectively.

It also took a decision to construct an auditorium of international standards on GKVK campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, at an estimated cost of `30 crore.

The other important decisions taken in the Cabinet meeting are: * Upgradation of primary health centres of Belthangadi in Dakshina Kannada district and Avalahalli near Mandur (B’lore) to Community Health Centres

* Construction of a court complex at Shidlaghatta in Chikballapur district at a cost of Rs 9.5 crore

* Approval for making the Hubli-Dharwad road six-lane from the current project of four-lane under Bus Rapid Transport Corridor System. The additional work will cost around Rs 82 crore

* Permission to conduct research in integrated local health traditions by a foundation headed by Sam Pitroda near Bangalore.

* Setting up of new Morarji Desai Residential schools and Morarji Desai Residential PU colleges in Belgaum and Uttara Kannada districts.

* Nod for opening government polytechnic college at Adlur in Chikmagalur district at a cost of Rs 3 crore.

* Regularisation of houses constructed by fishermen at Malpe and Pudukere in Udupi district after taking consent of deputy commissioner and port authority.

* Administrative approval given to increase the capacity at Bannimantap Grounds, the venue of Torch Light Parade in Mysore, from the current 22,000 seats to 32,000 seats at an estimated cost of Rs 6.55 crore.

* Permission given to Belgaum Urban Development Authority to create a new layout at Kanabargi area on 148 acres of land

* Nod for infrastructure development at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute at an estimated cost of `350 crore. The share of Union and state governments will be 75 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.

* Nod for setting up a solar plant Narasanahatti hobli of challakere hobli of Chitradurga district on 1,000 acres government land. A Taiwan-based company will generate 200 MW of power. The land will be given to the company on lease at Rs 67,000 per acre per year.

* Government to collect 2 per cent of annual revenue of Mysore Race Course towards lease of 140 acres of land at Kurubarahalli in Mysore. Waste plants get green signal An all-party meeting convened by Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali and Health Minister V S Sivakumar on Thursday has taken the decision to set up four waste treatment plants on constituency basis at Nemom, Vattiyoorkavu, Chalai and Kazhakkoottam and another at Ulloor market.

Three locations each for the constituencies Nemom, Vattiyoorkavu and Kazhakkoottam were suggested at the meeting and one will be fixed in each constituency after checking their feasibility by Suchitwa Mission. In order to sort out the confusion among people on the functioning of the plants, a PowerPoint presentation will be conducted by Suchitwa Mission. The plants in the constituency-level require at least two acres of land and they will be set up on the PPP model.

Sivakumar said that all plants will be simultaneously set up and non-disputed lands will be chosen for them. The plants will work on the same technology as the proposed plant at Chalai, though the ‘shopping mall’ appearance may not be ensured at all places. Though some of the participants aired concerns over pollution, Manajalamkuzhi Ali said that the decision to set up the plants was taken after visiting similar units in other places and that piling up of waste will not happen.

In Nemom constituency, the recommended sites are at Poojappura jail; the area opposite the KSRTC workshop at Pappanamcode; and the area at Nedumcaud coming under the Agricultural University. Of these, the two-acre area at Pappanamcode is ‘puramboke’ land.

During the discussions on the waste treatment plant in Vattiyoorkavu constituency, some people slightly opposed the move as residential areas constitute a large portion of the area. Even the local MLA K Muraleedharan expressed anxiety over the people’s protest at Kudappanakkunnu. The areas suggested were the forest area near PTP Nagar, Malamukal and land of Animal Husbandry Department near Collectorate at Kudappanakkunnu.

Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI) compound; Kerala University Campus and the space near World Market were the locations suggested under Kazhakkoottam constituency. There, the construction of a waste treatment plant at Ulloor market is underway and it is expected to be a solution to the garbage generated in the Medical College area.

Regarding the waste treatment at Chalai plant, Ali said that “garbage at constituency-level will not be applicable” there. The discussions with the people’s representatives of Chalai were held last week.

The meeting also assured that cleaning works will be conducted in the city before the Attukal Pongala and a meeting will be convened to discuss the matter.

MLAs of each of the constituencies, V Sivankutty, K Muraleedharan and M A Vahid, were present during the discussions on the constituencies concerned. Mayor K Chandrika also took part. Hailstorm ruins 340-acre crop, kills 105 animals

Agricultural crops in more than 340 acres were destroyed and 105 poultry animals killed due to sudden hailstones that rained on Chevella mandal in Ranga Reddy district Tuesday night.

Two days after seven villages witnessed thunderous showers with hailstones, authorities who visited the areas said that in addition to the above damage, horticulture crops in 1,154 acres were also lost.

“Of the poultry animals which died, 60 sheep were from Kummera village. Out of the remaining, 34 were kids, eight were goats , two were calves and one was a pregnant buffalo,” informed Ravinder Reddy, Chevella mandal revenue officer, adding that 7,100 poultry chicks also died.

Official assessment of the dead livestock has put their worth at around Rs 4.39 lakh, and although there was no definite approximation of destroyed crops, an official on condition of anonymity said it was around Rs 90 lakh.

While Reddy and other officials, visited seven villages to assess the spoilage, Ranga Reddy collector Vani Prasad visited Mudimyal village and Moinabad’s neighbouring mandals.

When asked how the government would help the farmers, Reddy said,“Once we finish inspectiona and enumeration, a final report will be submitted, based on which a decision will be taken.”

Ice crystals 2-3 inches in diameter!

On contacting the met department, officials said, “The entire deluge occurred in just a 10 kilometer radius between 9-9.30 pm Tuesday. When it ended, the ground had almost one foot thick ice.” Narsimha Rao, assistant meteorologist said the hailstones were 2-3 inches in diameter.

Onion prices rise, likely to reach Rs. 40 a kg With poor production owing to bad weather and diversion of stock to other states, the price of onions is likely to increase by almost 50% this month, said wholesale traders.

From Rs. 14 a kg in the wholesale market two weeks ago, the prices shot up to Rs. 20-23 a kg on Thursday. The retail market prices, too, have increased from Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 a kg. The prices are likely to go up to Rs30 and Rs40 a kg in the wholesale and retail market respectively in February. Traders blamed the shortage of stock in the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) market in Vashi for the soaring prices. While nearly 125-150 vehicles carrying onions used to come to the market earlier, the number has now gone down to 90-100 vehicles.

Moderate duties without import, export ban will help farmers: Paper

A discussion paper on the country’s farm exports and imports has suggested the government impose a moderate 5-10 per cent duty on most commodities and desist from banning exports or imports of any farm product. The paper was written by agriculture economist and chairman of the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices, Ashok Gulati; joint director of the commission Surbhi Jain; and former Planning Commission member and chair professor of ICRIER’s Trade Policy and WTO Research Programme Anwarul Hoda. It said any export or import duty more than 5 per cent should be levied only if global prices collapse by 15-20 per cent below the trend line or rise by the same amount. The paper, Farm Trade: Tapping the Hidden Potential, was released on Thursday. “The key issue to implement such a policy is to continuously monitor domestic and international price trends and identify trigger points for prompt action,” the paper said. The paper suggests that under the Special Agriculture Safeguards Agreement under the World Trade Organization (WTO), bound tariffs be made flexible based on the prices agreed. At present, nations impose applied import duties up to 20 per cent as an agreement is still under works. The paper also said exclusion of agriculture products from free-trade agreements entered with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and also with Japan and South Korea was not in the interest of Indian farmers and impediments should be removed in two-way trade. On specific commodities, the paper said the 50-80 per cent import duty on cereals (wheat and rice) should be drastically reduced to follow a neutral trade policy. It also suggested export and import of pulses be fully opened instead of the current ban on export of pulses. On edible oils, the paper said that as India is a major buyer of edible oils from Malaysia and Indonesia, it should impose an import duty equal to the export duties imposed by these countries. It also advocated total lifting of the ban on import of oilseeds. On cotton, the paper favoured a moderate duty whenever domestic prices cross a certain trigger point, instead of the current practice of total ban. On sugar, too, the paper favoured a stable policy instead of oscillating between full exports bans and high duties.

Kavitha Kuruganti: How scientific are GM proponents? Mark Lynas' publicised conversion ignores compelling evidence on the hazards involving this technology Mark Lynas, a proponent for transgenics, may have flamboyantly declared that the debate on genetically modified (GM) crops is over but he has actually re-ignited the debate, though his supposed conversion from an anti-GM activism is two years old (which makes you wonder why the media thinks it is newsworthy now, unless there is careful PR work behind the curtains)! Debate is not bad at all. The fact that the debate is not being limited to scientists alone is a wonderful thing, too. Being scientific, however, is important. This requires us, first, to admit upfront the complexity of many issues that confront us today without getting into simplistic solutions. Lynas described people resisting GM crops as explicitly anti-science. Proving him wrong were some noteworthy developments in the last few days. On January 23, the European Environmental Agency released a report called “Late Lessons from Early Warnings: Science, Precaution, Innovation”. The report covers a diverse range of chemical and technological innovations and has been prepared by a broad range of external authors and peer reviewers. It showcases through case studies “how damaging and costly the misuse or neglect of the precautionary principle can be” (the same that was mainly used byJairam Ramesh when imposing a moratorium on Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis, brinjal), and when early warnings are not heeded. The report asks for maximising innovations while minimising harm.

On GM crops specifically, it points out that they provide no direct benefit to consumers, are over-hyped, not necessarily safe and largely unsuitable for most of the world’s farmers (The Guardian’s summation). The report says GM crops are largely unsustainable in their reliance on external, non-renewable inputs. Further, intellectual property rights regimes around transgenics stifle investment into a broader diversity of innovations. On the other hand, “science-based agro-ecological methods are participatory in nature and designed to fit within the dynamics underpinning the multifunctional role of agriculture in producing food, enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services, and providing security to communities”. Another recent paper from the European Food Safety Authority found an unexplained, undiscovered viral gene in 54 commercialised GM “events”. Interestingly, science-based regulators and industry entities did not reveal (or even know of?) its existence all these years. The authors concluded that functions of this gene “might result in unintended phenotypic changes” (meaning hazards can’t be ruled out). Now, let us look at some of proponents’ claims. Mixing of genes between unrelated species: They say this “gene flow” happens all the time. Can we have one scientist show that stringing together bacterial, viral and other alien genes into a “genetic cassette” that inserts itself into another organism happens “all the time” in nature? Also, the precision of genetic engineering has been shown to be a myth by many scientific studies. Pest-resistant cotton and maize need less insecticide: This is a theoretical half-truth. Bt crops might control one set of pests requiring less chemical sprays for those pests. Other pests, however, emerge (a 2006 study from China shows this). Also, we should talk about pesticides and not insecticides. The US has officially recorded increased chemical usage by 183 million kg after the adoption of GM crops. In Brazil, too, chemical usage went up. Environmental health problems from using more herbicides on GM crops (the use of which is increasing with “superweeds” emerging) have also been reported. One often neglected fact: Where are we accounting for the in-planta insecticide being produced 24x7 in Bt plants throughout the crop season? A recent paper calculated that this is equal to 625 to 1,930 treatments with DiPel, a Bt biopesticide’s registered dosage for its maximal bio-accessible content. What about the scientific evidence that this poison is affecting soil microbial activity or that continuous, high toxin production in the plant is against Integrated Pest Management principles? To think that pest management across crops will be successful through monocultures of Bt genes is unscientific. The science of pest management has evolved beyond chemical pesticides and Bt crops. GM is essential for food and nutrition security. A quick exercise to assess the food security of countries that have adopted GM crops on a large scale shows that their indicators on a hunger index have actually deteriorated or decelerated after the advent of GM crops. Hunger is a complex, structurally rooted issue, which techno-fixes cannot solve. India’s overflowing, rotting foodgrain and hungry millions epitomise this phenomenon. Coming to organic agriculture, it is clear that critics have no understanding of what constitutes organic farming (which cannot be simplistically equated with traditional farming). Organic farming rests on biotechnology. In India, the only Padma Shri-honoured farmer is an organic farmer, Narsimha Raju Yadav of Andhra Pradesh, who holds impressive records of productivity across crops. The Krishi Karman awards given away this year by the President in the presence of the naysayerSharad Pawar show the potential of organic farming and agro-ecological principles. Impressive yield growths in different states are being achieved through non-GM interventions. It is unscientific to not pay full attention to: (i) non-GM breeding techniques and non-breeding- based technologies in farming; (ii) non-technological innovations including newer institutional approaches to ensure that the right innovations and technologies are optimally utilised; (iii) inequities that disallow access to food including to people partaking in the food production process. In a country like India, transgenics and PR industry-created personalities like Lynas are an unneeded diversion from solutions that already exist. What else can describe the fact that he gets so much coverage? Why did Nana Patekar, who first sold Bt cotton for Monsanto and then apologised in 2006 when the Vidarbha crisis became starker, not get more than a mention than in the Marathi daily Deshonnati? Why don’t we like conversions of this kind? The S K Sopory Committee’s indictment of the public sector research establishment and the regulatory regime should be enough for the agriculture ministry to learn a few lessons.

A decade of agricultural revolution

President Pranab Mukherjee and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar present the Krishi Karman Commendation Award for higher production of food grains. In the last five years, Gujarat has registered a very impressive growth in agriculture, about 11 per cent against India’s average of nearly 4 per cent, thanks to the positive measures initiated by the State Government and good weather. The story does not end there, nor has the State been sitting on these laurels: the State’s growth rate in agriculture scaled further up to 16.63 per cent during 2010-11 from the average growth rate of 10.67 per cent during the last decade (2001-2010). IFPRI lauds Gujarat The Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in 2009 lauded the State’s agriculture sector. On behalf of the Government of India, President Pranab Mukherjee and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, also recognised the achievement by conferring the Krishi Karman Commendation Award for higher production of food grains (2011-12). Besides, Gujarat also won the National Productivity Award of National Productivity Council of India for higher agricultural development for three years (2001-2, 2004-5 and 2005-6). Applauding the achievement, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, presented the State with the State Agriculture Leadership Award 2009, and Dr M. S. Swaminathan, the father of India’s Green Revolution, congratulated the State for introducing the Soil Health Card scheme for farmers. Also, the Cotton Development and Research Association admired the State for the best work carried out in cotton crop production. Now, Gujarat ranks first in India in the production of cotton, groundnut and castor crops. The net area under cultivation increased from 108 lakh hectare in 2001-2 to 145 lakh ha in 2010-11. The network of banks through their 6,638 branches has provided agricultural credit to the tune of Rs. 31,612 crore as on December 2011, and played a pivotal role in the growth of agricultural sector of the State. Gujarat now plans to set up 12 more agricultural colleges to give an indirect boost to agricultural production. Recognising that horticultural crops are crucial driving forces for sustainable agricultural development in Gujarat, the State Government has made it a major thrust area of development for the last five years. During this period, the area under horticulture cultivation increased from 9.69 lakh hectare to 14.04 lakh hectare, and production of horticulture produces from 98.48 lakh metric tonnes (MT) to 180.17 lakh MT. Productivity of the potato and onion in Gujarat is now the highest in the country. Infrastructure like potato cold storages, with over 12-lakh tonne capacity, and onion de-hydration units, constituting three-fourths of the capacity in India, have become a major driving force for development of such crops. Gujarat is also the largest producer of seed spices like cumin, fennel and isabgul, with the largest market yard support. Spices and Isabgul processing is another sector to have developed well in the State. Gujarat contributes more than 90 per cent production of fennel in the country. Farmers’ efforts have made Gujarat proud as the State has the highest onion productivity in the country (25 metric tonnes per hectare) and also potato (28.81 MT/ha). Gujarat’s onion de-hydradation industry is the biggest in India as 80 per cent of the country’s onions, about one lakh tonnes, are de-hydrated here. The contribution of horticulture crops in the farm income has also increased from 16 per cent (Rs 6,543 crore) to 18 per cent (Rs 11,870 crore) in the last five years. Diversified climatic condition is suitable for a large number of horticulture crop species. Mango, sapota, banana and kagdi lime are the main fruit crops, whereas crops like papaya, pomegranate and date palm are among the emerging crops of Gujarat. With a proactive Government intervention, higher budgetary allocation and State-level initiatives, horticulture has boomed in Gujarat. Trends of precision farming (banana), cluster cultivation approach (mango, banana and pomegranate), use of drip and mulching (papaya and melon), use of tissue culture plants (banana, dates and flowers), greenhouse cultivation (Dutch roses, Gerbera, capsicum, tomato, chives in 200 acres), net-house cultivation (capsicum, tomato, cucurbits and leafy vegetables), have emerged as new initiatives on a large scale in recent years. Along with this, farmers have adopted end-to-end approach as the infrastructure for post- harvest management, packaging, grading, cold storage, ripening chambers and marketing have been established. The quality of the farm produce and post-harvest handling have improved considerably, resulting in export of commodities like mango, mango pulp, banana, pomegranate, chives, capsicum, lime and vegetables . De-hydrated and canned vegetables, pulp, juices, pickles and sauces and ketchup are important processed food products of the State. Not only does Gujarat rank first in onion and potato production in India, it also ranks second in banana and tomato production, third in pomegranate, guava and lime. This horticulture revolution has been made possible by green and net houses. Subsidy has been provided for erecting 649 green houses and 2,638 net houses wherein rose, gerbera and capsicum are cultivated for value addition. Gujarat now has the highest productivity and quality in banana by using tissue culture technique and drip irrigation. The production increased up to 65 tonnes per hectare. The high quality production of pomegranate in Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Patan and Kutch districts has opened up the scope for their export. The State Government has set up 67 cold storages, 22 ripening chambers, 16 hi-tech nurseries and seven tissue culture laboratories for better post-harvest management and marketing management. Until the year 2000, Gujarat was seen as a drought-prone State lagging behind in agricultural production. But water management measures commenced by the State Government have transformed the water challenge into an opportunity. Government efforts to check wastage and draining of rain water by preparing small reservoirs have increased the ground water level. During the last 10 years, 8,248 village reservoirs have been deepened, 55,382 farm ponds have been prepared and 7,516 border ponds set up. Besides, 4,59,400 hectare area covering 7,10, 662 farmers has been provided with supplementary irrigation. Availability of more fodder due to these measures has also increased milk production by 20-30 per cent. Govt lifts curbs on edible oil export in packs

New Delhi, Jan. 31: The Government on Thursday lifted quantitative restrictions on export of premium edible oils in branded consumer packs of up to 5 kg, but fixed a minimum export price (MEP) of $1,500 a tonne. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared a proposal moved by the Commerce Ministry on removing the quantitative ceiling on exports, which stood at 20,000 tonnes a year. Edible oils such as groundnut and sesame are exported from India mainly to cater to the demand of expatriates. The MEP is expected to help the Government keep a tab on edible oils exports, as the country still relies on huge imports to meet its growing demand. The MEP would also ensure that low-priced edible oils (which are consumed by the general public and have a large domestic demand) are not allowed to be exported, an official statement said. The CCEA also decided to set up an inter-ministerial committee under the chairmanship of the Commerce Secretary with Secretaries of Department of Consumer Affairs and Department of Food and Public Distribution as members to periodically calibrate the MEP to provide flexibility in using it as an instrument to regulate exports. Coconut oil exports Further, the CCEA approved the export of coconut oil from all electronic data inter-change (EDI) ports and through land customs stations (LCS) to be notified by the Department of Commerce subsequently. At present, coconut oil is exported only through Kochi port. The move to allow coconut oil exports through other ports would help support domestic producers, who are suffering because of a sharp drop in prices. The CCEA also allowed export of edible oil from domestic tariff area (DTA) to special economic zones (SEZs) to be consumed by SEZ units for manufacture of processed food products. The export of unbranded edible oils was banned since 2008 as the domestic output was insufficient to cater to the growing demand. However, the Government, while extending the ban on such exports in October last, had allowed the shipments in consumer packs of up to 5 kg with a ceiling of 20,000 tonnes a year. The extension of export ban last year was seen as a move to boost domestic supplies in the context of erratic monsoon hurting the kharif oilseed output. The latest move to allow unrestricted edible oil exports is aimed at promoting shipments of processed agriculture products. India is the largest importer of edible oils. Imports for edible oil year November 2011 to October 2012 stood at 9.98 million tonnes, up 20 per cent over 8.37 mt in the corresponding last year. Capacity building, liberalisation made farming sparkle, says Govt

Collective responsibility: The State Government does not force farmers to buy seeds, machinery or equipment and encourages them to decide it on their own as a group. Apart from the various measures adopted by the State Government, improvements in delivery system, democratising, capacity building and encouraging farmers to take their own decisions as clusters, have made the Gujarat miracle in agriculture possible. “We have unbundled rules and 70 per cent of all decisions are taken at farmers’ groups at the taluka level itself. Since we do not make any purchases whatsoever, at Government or agricultural corporation levels, we have seen the number of probes in malpractices fall from 892 in 2009 to just three in 2012,” says R. K. Tripathi, Principal Secretary, Agriculture. So liberalised has been the process in Gujarat that most of the decisions are taken by about 16,000 clusters of farmers and 7,000 groups of women across the State. The State Government does not force the farmers to buy seeds, machinery or equipment and encourages them to decide it on their own as a group. So, the demand is being created by the farmers. Purchasing officers are no longer extension officers. Even the Director of Agriculture has no powers in this regard, nor any political interference allowed. No paper, no quota system The State Government has adopted a policy of no paper and no quota system and does not sanction anything to the farmers. It only provides a fixed financial assistance to farmers and has de-controlled decision-making. The Government prefers the farmers’ clusters to take a collective decision and make a choice. “We are focused on increasing productivity and creating a knowledge-base through the annual Krishi Mahotsava,” he said. In the case of horticulture, the State Government has been flooded by 18,000 applications to set up green or net houses. Even with the existing 3,500 greenhouses, Gujarat currently tops in India. The State Government is likely to assist the selected greenhouse developers with finances of up to Rs 70 lakh. In Gujarat, irrigation has been debottlenecked. Now, even drip irrigation can be decided by farmers’ clusters on a group basis. The State Government does not keep payment of grants pending: 75 per cent of grants are released in the month of April itself every financial year and all payments are completed for the year by August-September. Interestingly, the agricultural revolution in Gujarat has been the strongest in areas which were water deficient until the last few years. These areas have registered the highest productivity with the optimum use of available water. “In these areas, about two lakh farmers applied to the Government agreeing to share water through the drip irrigation technology.” Another important aspect of Gujarat agriculture has been that most investments in this sector have been for creation of agricultural infrastructure for collective usage, rather than using the money for individual subsidies. Pepper slips on bearish cues

KOCHI, JAN. 31: The pepper market on Thursday declined on bearish sentiments about the availability and consequently all the active contracts declined to close lower below the previous day’s quotes. Feb opened at Rs 38,710 and then went down to Rs 38,525 a quintal in the opening session itself. Only 15 tonnes of pepper arrived today and traded at Rs 385, Rs 395 and Rs 405 a kg depending upon quality and moisture content. Feb contract on the NCDEX decreased by Rs 130 a quintal to Rs 38,745 a quintal. Mar and April dropped by Rs 195 and Rs 155 respectively to close at Rs 36,945 and Rs 35,505. Total turn over fell by 390 tonnes to 2,339 tonnes. Total open interest increased by 175 tonnes to 3,541 tonnes. Spot prices remained unchanged at Rs 39,900 (ungarbled) and Rs 41,400 (MG 1) a quintal. Indian parity in the international market was at $8,350 a tonne prompt shipment. Feb was at $7,400 a tonne while March was at $7,100 a tonne. Hatsun Agro to expand milk processing capacity Hatsun Agro Product Ltd plans to set up a 2.5 lakh litre a day milk processing plant in south Tamil Nadu. R.G. Chandramogan, Managing Director, Hatsun Agro, said the company will invest about Rs 50 crore in the plant to come up in Tirunelveli. CURD UNIT A curd unit with a capacity of about 20,000 litre a day is also likely to come up at the facility. This will process and pack curd in packets. Hatsun Agro now has about 1.2 lakh litres of curd production and packaging capacity. The company has a total capacity to process about 24 lakh litres of milk and dairy products daily and its capacities are stretched. According to information provided on the BSE, the company’s Board has given an in-principle approval to set up the milk plant. RIGHTS ISSUE Hatsun Agro has also decided to withdraw a proposed Rights Issue as it is generating adequate internal accruals to meet its requirements. The company has tied up with a private firm for its power requirement instead of making separate capital investment in a power project and the power situation in the State is expected to improve with time. Therefore, the Board decided to withdraw the proposed issue. The Board has declared a second interim dividend of Rs 0.50 (50 per cent) for an equity share for 2012-13. Q3 NET UP The company has reported a 40 per cent jump in net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2012 compared with the corresponding quarter previously. The company has reported a net profit of Rs 15.02 crore (Rs 10.66 crore) on a total income of Rs 543.20 crore (Rs 404.35 crore). Panic selling saps rubber Spot rubber surrendered on Thursday. According to observers, the market slipped on selling from certain dealers fearing further fall in prices. Sheet rubber weakened to Rs 156.50 (158) a kg, according to traders. The grade slipped to Rs 157 (158) a kg at Kottayam and Kochi, according to Rubber Board. The February series dropped to Rs 155.60 (155.77), March to Rs 157.70 (157.89), April to Rs 160.60 (161.10), May to Rs 163.80 (164.35) and June to Rs 166.55 (167), while the July series increased to Rs 172.25 (169.73) a kg on the National Multi Commodity Exchange. RSS 3 (spot) slipped to Rs 174.33 (174.64) at Bangkok. The February futures improved to ¥293.3 (Rs 171.44) from ¥292.8 during the day session, but then remained inactive in the night session on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 156.50 (158); RSS-5: 152 (152.50); ungraded: 145 (146); ISNR 20: 152 (153) and latex 60 per cent: 103 (104). Heavy snow, rains for north-west in February

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 31: Foggy and cold weather in north-west India would undergo a sharp change to being stormy and raining from next week. This is on account of expected arrival of a deep and heavily endowed (moisture-laden) western disturbance into the region. LOW PRESSURE Currently located around the Mediterranean, the system is expected to start moving to the east over the next few days. The low-pressure system is forecast to weaken as it traverses the dry West Asia and limp into Afghanistan/Pakistan by Friday next. But from here, it would start drawing in moisture heavily from the northeast Arabian Sea and throw up a low-pressure area. The system may weaken suddenly as it crosses into north-west India. But it would already have started influencing local weather. RAIN AND SNOW The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has come out with a bulletin forecasting moderate to heavy rain over the region. It said on Thursday that the strong western disturbance would bring rain or snow to many places over western Himalayas. An upper air trough lay extended from northeast Arabian Sea to north Rajasthan as if in wait for the ‘big westerly system.’ This trough features embedded cyclonic circulations over Gujarat and adjoining south Rajasthan. This is expected to act as a ‘step-up facility’ for the incoming westerly to draw in moisture from the adjoining Arabian Sea. The IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rain or snow at a few places over western Himalayas on Friday and Saturday. US FORECASTS Rain or thundershowers has been forecast over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan until Sunday. Rain or thundershowers may break out at few places over Madhya Pradesh from Friday. The IMD has warned the possibility of hailstorm over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. DIPPING SOUTH This outlook seemed to suggest arrival of another western disturbance more or less keeping with the features of the predecessor. This could venture down to the south and interact with an easterly wave to spark off rain over central India and adjoining western peninsula. Curry leaf will be tested for pesticide residues before export

KOCHI, JAN. 31: The Spices Board has made it mandatory for exporters to get export consignments of curry leaves to the European Union countries that it should be “subjected to Cleared Analytical Reports on pesticides such as Profenofos, Triazophos and Endosulfan” from January 18. CIRCULAR ISSUED According to official sources, the Board has issued a circular to this effect a few days ago following notifications from the European Union on curry leaf originating from India being contaminated with pesticide residues. They said the minimum quantity required for the analysis is 500 gram of each sample. The permissible maximum residue levels are – Profenofos – 0.05 mg/kg (ppm); Triazophos – 0.01 mg/kg (ppm) and Endosulfan – 0.05 mg/kg (ppm). The Board, they said, has fixed a fee of Rs 3,000 plus tax for the analysis on the three parameters. EU ALERT SYSTEM A EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed alert notification claimed that reinforced controls for pesticide residues in 2011 identified two food items from India – curry leaves and Okra – as having multi-residue of pesticides in consignments that were checked. The European Union has introduced, over a decade ago, the rapid alert system method to check the vegetables, fruits, etc imported into its member countries for chemical/pesticides residues. EU used to send an ‘alert notification’ or ‘alert’ when a food, feed or food contact material presenting a serious risk is on the market and when rapid action is or might be required in another country than the notifying country. Alerts are triggered by the member of the network that detects the problem and has initiated the relevant measures, such as withdrawal or recall. The notification aims at giving all the members of the network the information to verify whether the concerned product is on their market, so that they can take the necessary measures. India, Bangladesh to sign pact on cotton shipments

The deal between India and Bangladesh for cotton shipments, which will be at a business-to- business level, is being worked out by the Commerce and Textile Ministries of the two countries. India and Bangladesh may shortly seal an agreement on cotton that will ensure supply of a fixed minimum quantity from New Delhi to its neighbour every year irrespective of any export ban. “Bangladesh wants India to commit to 15 lakh bales (170 kg each) of cotton every year, but the final amount is still being negotiated,” Bangladesh Commerce Minister Ghulam Muhammed Quader told Business Line. The deal, which will be at a business-to-business level, is being worked out by the Commerce and Textile Ministries of the two countries. For India, the Cotton Corporation of India will sign the final agreement, an Indian Commerce Department official said. The price, which will be flexible, is likely to be marked slightly higher than the existing global prices as a premium for the guaranteed supply, the Indian official added. The premium amount is also being finalised. “We hope that within the next few months the deal will be through. It will protect textile manufacturers in our country from uncertainties that India’s frequent ban on cotton exports creates,” said a Bangladeshi Government official, who did not wish to be named. The supply agreement will ensure that even if India imposes a ban on cotton exports at some point of time during the year, it will be obligated to sell at least the committed quantity. “For instance, if it takes a commitment for 15 lakh bales and has supplied 10 lakh bales at the time a ban on cotton exports is imposed, it will have to sell the balance 5 lakh bales to the country during the year,” the Bangladeshi official explained. India had imposed a ban on cotton exports last March and had stopped exports of even cotton that had been contracted for. This had led to protests from not just cotton exporters but also cotton buying countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Government later relaxed the ban and started fresh registration for exports. Farm costs panel pitches for stable agri-trade policy The Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) has pitched for a stable, long-term agri-trade policy that will regulate exports and imports taking recourse to tariff measures, not quantitative restrictions. In a discussion paper on “Farm Trade: Tapping the Hidden Potential,” the CACP Chairman Ashok Gulati said a stable and liberal trade policy with moderate duties of 5-10 per cent would go a long way in promoting agricultural growth. MONITORING PRICE MOVEMENTS The guiding principles of such a policy should be the alignment of domestic and international prices along long-term trends, while guarding against sharp spikes and troughs. When global prices fall below a pre-identified triggers, higher import duties may be imposed, and when the world prices move above the trend line, an export may be imposed on a calibrated basis, the paper said. The key to implementing such a policy is to continuously monitor domestic and international price trends and identify the trigger points for prompt action. This responsibility can be entrusted to CACP, which tracks global prices on a regular basis. CACP can advise the Government when to hike or lower import duties or when to export duties, base on the global price movements, it said. DUTY STRUCTURES Further, the Commission can also help the Government in identifying the distortions in import duty structures of a crop complex and streamline them to get efficiency gains. Highlighting the potential to increase agri-trade with East and South East Asian nations, the paper made a case for reviewing the exclusion of agri-products from the free trade agreement- type arrangements with Association of South East Asian Nations and with Japan and Korea. India, a net agriculture exporter, had shipped agri-commodities worth more than $37 billion in 2011-12 against imports of around $17 billion. India has emerged as the world’s largest exporter of rice, displacing Thailand and Vietnam. Besides, India has also emerged as the largest exporter of buffalo meat worth $3 billion beating Brazil, Australia and the US. Maharashtra to amend Co-operative Act The Maharashtra Government has decided to amend the State Co-operative Act, which would be in line with the 97th amendment of the Constitution. The amended Act will give more freedom as well as responsibilities to co-operative societies. The decision to amend the Act was taken late Wednesday evening by the State Cabinet. An ordinance enacting the amendments would be issued before February 15. A press statement issued by the Chief Minister’s office said the amended law would allow the governing board of the co-operative to have a fixed term of five years. A maximum of 21 directors can be elected to the board. Two expert directors will also be nominated on the board, but they will not have voting rights. The statement added that the books of accounts of the co-operative would be audited by the State Government or a reputed audit company. The audit would have to completed within six months of the closing of the financial year. Directors and other officers flouting the Co-operatives Act will face criminal prosecution under the amended Act. In the event of any mismanagement in the co-operative society, an inquiry officer would be appointed, who will have submit his report within two years of his appointment, the statement said. Farm varsity to hold ClimaRice project workshop on Feb. 1 The final ClimaRice project workshop and stake holders’ conference is slated for February 1 at the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University here. The project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway, is a research mission integrating all aspects of climate change in agriculture including adaptation, mitigation and socio economic components. The project aims at sustaining rice production under changing climate in the Cauvery Basin. The research has gained high priority in the country as the impact of climate change on agriculture in general and rice in particular is expected to be widespread and severe. In this stakeholders’ conference, officials from the Department of Agriculture, agricultural engineering, water resource organisation and farmers, besides water managers and policy makers are expected to participate. ADAPTATION MEASURES The meet will discuss various adaptation measures and explore the scope for developing future strategies to resolve the crisis due to climate change in agriculture. Scientists from collaborating institutes in Norway and the US will also participate along with officials from The Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi, say farm varsity sources. Key issues pertaining to rice production under changing climate and the technologies developed for adaptation and mitigation is expected to be discussed at this stakeholders’ conference. ICRISAT, USAID to implement pigeonpea breeding project The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is to implement the three-year pigeonpea molecular breeding project. The Rs 10-crore project, which will be supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was launched on Thursday. The project is aimed at assisting pigeonpea breeders to develop improved cultivars more efficiently using genomic tools. The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi, the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Raichur, and the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Hyderabad, would also take part in the programme. Pigeonpea is grown in about 50 lakh hectares in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and South-Central America. Called ‘poor people’s meat’ because of its high protein content, it is the staple food of millions of poor in the semi-arid regions of the world. ”This project has a research component in Phase-I and an application component in Phase-II,” William Dar, Director-General of ICRISAT, said here in a press release. Small tea growers seek funds for directorate The Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers’ Association (CISTA) has urged Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to allocate special funds in the Union Budget for 2013-14 to the newly-constituted Small Tea Growers’ Directorate under the Tea Board to enable it to function smoothly. In a pre-Budget memorandum, CISTA has pointed out that the directorate has been specially constituted to ensure better execution and monitoring of various tea production promotion schemes and to help initiate a pilot programme on alternative market development for small tea growers in addition to providing systematic training and extension services. All these objectives, if achieved, would in turn help small tea growers produce better quality green tea leaves and ultimately upgrade themselves from mere green leaf producers to made tea producers. However, no effort to achieve these objectives could hope to succeed in the absence of adequate fund availability. In this connection, the memorandum draws attention to the success of the Tea Small Holding Development Authority in Sri Lanka and the Kenya Tea Development Authority. The memorandum also emphasises the need for introducing plantation credit cards for small tea growers who do not have access to institutional finance, particularly bank loans. At present small tea growers are required to raise their own resources outside the banking system and therefore at a cost. This is proving too much for them, more so because the majority of them are poor, uneducated people from backward and minority communities, having virtually nothing to fall back upon. When small coffee growers in Karnataka are entitled to kisan credit cards, there is no reason why a similar card should not be made available to small tea growers also, the memorandum observes. The other demands include extension of the present crop insurance scheme to cover small tea growers through Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd and making available fertilisers at subsidised rates in view of the recent jump in the prices of urea and potash. Copies of the memorandum have also been sent to Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, Minister of State for Commerce D. Purandeswari and Chairman of Tea Board M. G. V. K. Bhanu.