Issue Based Database December, 2014 Ministry of Agriculture Title: Role of Education is paramount in the growth of Agriculture Date: 31st December, 2014 Role of Education is paramount in the growth of Agriculture, says Radha Mohan Singh Without education, sustained agricultural growth cannot be possible says Union Agriculture Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh while speaking on the occasion of Annual Function 2014 of All India Agricultural Students Association in Pusa, New Delhi today. Agriculture Minister spoke about various initiatives by the Government to empower the youth. He also mentioned that if the country has to develop, proper Human Resource development should be the focus. He urged the students to take up the initiative of creating awareness among farmers about various Government programmes. Addressing the students, in the National Seminar titled “Empowering youth in agriculture”, Sh. Singh emphasised on creating awareness about Soil Health Card and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana. He also mentioned that Soil Health card will be issued in the next 3 years to all farmers in the country. With this card, farmers will be able to use fertilizers as per the advice of Soil Testing laboratories about the nutrient content of the soil.Mentioning about new initiative in the form of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, likely to be launched shortly, he said under this programme every field in the country will be brought under the ambit of irrigation facility. He also pointed towards the growth potential in the fisheries sector, where youth could play an important role. He mentioned that in the first and second quarter of 2014-15, a growth of 8.5% and 13.2% has been registered over the corresponding first and second quarter of 2013-14 in fish production. Various points which came up during the presentation by eminent speakers included Separate budget for agriculture, proposal for central agriculture service, separate TV/Radio channel for agriculture and farmers in the country, promotion of value added agriculture services , diversified agriculture, secondary agriculture, mixed farming and organic cultivation of crops. During the programme,he presented awards to the students for their remarkable performance in various sectors of agriculture and told that they are a source of inspiration for other students in the country. Present on the occasion were MP Dr. Satyapal Singh, MP Shri Jagdambika Pal, Dr. S. Ayyappan, Secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education, Dr. Gurbachan Singh, Chairman, Agricultural Scientist Recruitment Board and Dr. R.P Singh and students of All India Agricultural Students Association. GG:SB:Empowerment of Youth (Pusa) 31.12.2014 Title: Radha Mohan Singh Underlines the Importance of Organic Farming and the Need to Promote It. Date: 17th December, 2014 Radha Mohan Singh Underlines the Importance of Organic Farming and the Need to Promote It The Potential of Organic farming in India is very huge because of its immense bio-diversity and natural resources in the country. There is a great need to promote the Organic farming and its practices in the country. This was stated by Union Agriculture Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh while chairing the In- Session meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee Meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture in New Delhi today. Present on this occasion were Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and Shri Mohanbhai Kundaria, Ministers of State in the Ministry of Agriculture. Introducing the subject of “Organic Farming” in the form of presentation during the meeting, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, told that the total organic production in the country is 1.24 million tons while total area under organic farming constitues 0.723 million hectare under certification. Presently it is being practiced mainly in 12 states and two states of North East namely Sikkim and Mizoram are likely to become fully organic in a few years. Participating in the discussion, MP, Shri Rodmal Nagar highlighted the need for developing collection centre cum lab for cow dung and urine, for creating organic manure/gas which will be a source of income for farmers. In reply to this suggestion, Union Minister of Agriculture, Shri Radha Mohan Singh told that there is a provision for assistance to farmers under the National Gokul Mission. However, the States have to take inititiative in this regard. So, far, one proposal from Madhya Pradesh has been received he added. He also mentioned that efforts will be made to increase the budget provision during the next financial year. Replying to a point raised by MP, Dr. Tapas Mandal about the organic farming, Union Minister of Agriculture, clarified that subject of organic farming comes under the purview of Agriculture Ministry where as exports of organic farming products is dealt with by the Ministry of Commerce. MP Shri Sumedhanand Saraswati suggested that Government should make continuous effort towards creating awareness about Organic farming at the block level through various initiative like Exhibition, presentation in villages. He also indicated that there is a need to create awareness among farmers about Labs and Marketing of Organic farming products. Replying to this, Shri Radha Mohan Singh asked Ministry officials to circulate full details of six Regional Centres of Organic Farming to all Members of Parliament so that they may utilise the services of these centres for training purpose to farmers particularly for villages selected under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. Shri Radha Mohan Singh assured the members of the committee that all necessary efforts will be made by Ministry towards their suggestions, which, inter-alia, included simplication of certification process of organic farming, encouraging research on organic farming in Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Agriculture Universities, ICAR and proper utilization of crop residue. Shri Radha Mohan Singh thanked all the members for their valuable suggestions and announced that next meeting of Consultative Committee will be on the theme of “ICAR” in the campus of Indian Council of Agriculture Research. The Parliamentarians who attended this meeting included Shri B.N. Chandrappa, Shri Chintaman Navsha Wanaga, Smt. Kamla Devi Patle, Shri Manshankar Ninama, Kunwar Pushpendra Singh Chandel, Shri Rajeshbhai Naranbhai Chudasama, Shri Rodmal Nagar, Shri Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav, Km. Shobha Karandlaje, Shri. Sumedhanand Saraswati, Dr. Tapas Mandal and Shri Shankarbhai N. Vegad. Also present were Secretary, DAC, Shri Ashish Bahuguna and senior officers of Agriculture Ministry. GC:SB:CP: consultative agri (17.12.2014) Title: Drip Irrigation Date: 16th December, 2014 Drip Irrigation More area can be irrigated adopting Micro Irrigation including Drip Irrigation using less amount of water in comparison to area that can be irrigated adopting flow irrigation. Studies conducted on the aspect have revealed that (i) irrigated area has increased from same source of water by 8.41% on an average with the use of Micro Irrigation Systems and (ii) the water use efficiency in conventional irrigation ranges from 30% to 50% whereas it is 80% to 95% in the case of Micro Irrigation including Drip Irrigation. The initial investment in Micro Irrigation System including Drip Irrigation is more than flow irrigation. However, water saving, reduction in input costs (like labour, fertilizer, electricity etc), increase in productivity & qualities of produce, early maturity are the motivational factors which drive the farmers to opt for Micro Irrigation Systems. The Government is providing financial assistance under On Farm Water Management (OFWM) component of National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) for promotion of Micro Irrigation. The rate of assistance ranges from 35% to 50% of cost of installation for small & marginal farmers and ranges from 25% to 35% of cost of installation for other farmers. In addition to the central assistance, 10% assistance is required to be provided by the State Governments to the farmers. This information was given today by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Mohanbhai Kundaria in the Lok Sabha. GG: SB:CP : drip (lok) 16.12.2014 Title: Revision of SDRF and NDRF Norms for Drought Date: 16th December, 2014 Revision of SDRF and NDRF Norms for Drought At present, there is no proposal to amend norms of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) & National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). Revision of the list of items and norms of assistance under SDRF and NDRF is reviewed normally after the award of successive Finance Commissions. Taking into account various factors including inflations, Government has been revising items and norms of assistance under SDRF/NDRF from time to time, last being done on 28.11.2013. However, for longer horizon, the concerned State Government should draw a separate plan with concerned Central Ministries and State Plan etc. for mitigating the situation. Financial assistance under SDRF/NDRF in the wake of natural disasters is by way of assistance and is not for compensation of loss as suffered. This information was given today by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Mohanbhai Kundaria in the Lok Sabha. GG: SB:CP : norms (lok) 16.12.2014 Title: Area Coverage under Rabi Crops Date: 12th December, 2014 Area Coverage under Rabi Crops As per Rabi Crops data released by Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, total area coverage as on today under Rabi crops moves to 470.74 lakh hectares while last year’s sowing area was at 503.66 lakh hectare. Wheat`s sowing area is at 241.91 lakh hectares as compared to last year’s 251.32 lakh hectares. The area under sowing of total Coarse cereals is at 46.22 lakh hectares as compared to last year’s 50.62 lakh hectares. The area under sowing of Gram is at 71.51 lakh hectares this year while the last year’s figure was 85.75 lakh hectares. Area coverage under Total Pulses is at 111.13 lakh hectares while the last year’s sowing area coverage was 124.78 lakh hectares.