Bharat Rakshak

`Agricultural sector, the hope for the unemployed'

Have there been mass farmer suicides b4 the liberalisation era or is it a child of liberalization?

All the news reports seem to point to Bt cotton for vidharba and unavailability of traditional hardy seeds. The dealers no longer sell them. where has it gone? why is the govt promoting a seed that clearly is a liability in vidarbha? is Bt the only reason?

What kind of loaded question is this. Liberalization has not touch the agriculture sector so how can it have any effect.

Earlier there was no need to commit suicide, you just died of starvation.

Post doesnt answer your query but some people are not loosing sleep over what an NGO said....

An example of the mismanagement and lack of market-oriented policies in the agri sector:
Poor bond-age

The Dying Fields
watch it here...
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows ... index.html

The Issue
India has increasingly embraced free trade and, since 2002, has had one of the world's fastest growing economies. But only images of this new prosperity have reached the impoverished rural areas where two thirds of India's 1.1 billion people live. Left behind by India's soaring economic boom is Vidarbha, a region of hilly forests in the middle of India. It used to be known as India's cotton belt - but now captures headlines as its suicide belt. In 2006, 1,044 suicides were reported in Vidarbha alone - that's one suicide every eight hours.

Vidarbha farmers face a grim reality of crop failures, sinking global cotton prices and crushing debts. Farmers in default at the bank frequently resort to illegal moneylenders who charge up to 100 percent interest. And, the government safety net - that once kept cotton prices closer to the cost of production - has all but disappeared. Under India's new free trade policies, Vidarbha's 3.2 million cotton farmers - most of them small land holders - must compete in a global market that includes formidable, often subsidized rivals, including American cotton farmers.

The Film
At a moment when India is enjoying record economic growth, THE DYING FIELDS turns to the four million cotton farmers who have been left behind, struggling to survive on less than two dollars a day. WIDE ANGLE cameras follow Kishor Tiwari, former businessman turned farmer advocate, whose tiny office in the heart of this cotton-growing region functions as the archive and watchdog of the suicide epidemic; traveling salesmen hawking genetically modified - and costly - cotton seeds that require irrigation that few Vidarbha farmers have; the last rites of a farmer who couldn't pay his debts; a tour of the poison ward at the local hospital, whose beds are always filled; and a visit by then-president of India, A.J.P. Abdul Kalam, whom the farming widows beseech for help in convincing the government to forgive their debts.

Lassi(buttermillk) turns crop saviour

Ramaninder K Bhatia | TNN

Bhundri (Ludhiana): Healthy poplar trees stand erect in two neat rows divided by lush, emerald green paddy fields. A scene, straight out of a typical Yash Chopra flick, celebrating Punjab, one would say. But look carefully, and the setting presents a beautiful case study for many a farm
scientist. This farm, located about 15 km from Ludhiana, may even give a new meaning to buttermilk (lassi) and the whole gamut of organic farming.

Tarlochan Singh, proud owner of this verdant spread, is more than willing to share his secret. The man has just finished spraying his fields with buttermilk. ''In fact, I have not put any chemical fertiliser or insecticide in this particular two-acre patch. By the grace of God, the crop is
growing beautifully,'' said this former employee of PSEB who scoffs at the idea of spraying liquor on the crops, as the recent news reports suggest. ''Why waste a costly thing like liquor when lassi is available?'' he asked.
Buttermilk is not the only innovation that he has thought of. Even poplar trees in paddy fields is a novelty, since the traditional way of paddy farming, where fields are submerged in water, cannot support any tree growth as water destroys the roots. But Tarlochan has also adopted the water-saving method of paddy without puddle. It's a welcome sight to see his paddy standing without the gooey water and soil mixture submerging the stalks.

''You can walk through the entire field,'' he grinned. The water-saving technique of growing paddy through ridge furrow method —where the plant is sown on both sides of rows of ridges instead of flat beds — has reduced his water consumption by astonishing 70% compared to the traditional method. Thanks to his friend and mentor Daler Singh, who introduced paddy without puddle in Punjab, Tarlochan has also tried bio-fertilisers and bio-insecticides on some parts of his paddy filed.

But it is the lassi treatment which has Tarlochan excited about his innovation. ''I read about this method in a book on 'spiritual farming' where the author talked about zero budget natural farming. The trick is to ferment lassi for about seven-10 days and then spray on the crop when it is sprouting grains. I feel lassi has not only acted as a natural growth promoter, it has also helped ward off insect or pest attack. I didn't have to spray any chemical pesticide on the crop,'' he claimed. It's a marvel to
see his water-less fields sporting healthy crop. ''Lassi is full of healthy bacteria which works in the soil, activating the sub-soil activity, thus nourishing the crop. It also seems to have provided a protective covering on the plant, keeping pests and insects at bay. I hope the experiment succeeds,'' said Tarlochan, adding he has sprayed the fields only once or twice.

Director, agriculture, BS Sidhu sounded skeptic when told about Tarlochan's discovery, but agreed that buttermilk could have healthy bacteria which could encourage the activity of earthworms and other friendly insects. ''We can encourage some progressive farmers to experiment with lassi for their next crop,'' he added.

I can't seem to understand the China figures, someone who knows this stuff can comment, but India claims to be #2 in cotton production..

India pips US to become 2nd largest cotton producer

India, in fact, tops the area under cotton at about 90 lakh hectares. Next season, it is projected at 95 lakh hectares. China has 57 lakh hectares under cotton, while the US 42 lakh hectares against 55 lakh hectares two years ago.

One, the yield went up considerably. Two, to some extent, Bt cotton also helped. Cotton yield has gone up by 65 per cent since 2003. From around 302 kg a hectare during 2002-03, it is up to 518 kg this season.

Lush Green: Luxuriant growth of paddy spreads a green cover near Gudiwada in Krishna district.

ET
Indian tuna tickles overseas palates as exports jump 88%
[quote] CHENNAI: It is Indian tuna, which is turning out to be a gourmet’s delight in the overseas markets. Figures compiled by Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) showed a 88% surge in tuna exports, which touched 23,788 tonne in 2006-07 over the previous year.

“Our aim is to achieve an export level of 50,000 tonne in the next two to three years. The global tuna market is pegged at a whopping $9 billion and India’s share is negligible,â€

Unpresident rise in wheat minimum support price in last 2 year. wheat production would pickup in next couple of years. With free electricity and Rs 1000 support price farmers should make handy profit by growing wheat.

Wheat minimum support price fixed at Rs 1,000

Excellent.

BBC reported yesterday that the inflation in commodity food prices since 2000 has outstripped that in oil even. Its apparent that the dollar's weaknesses, long covered by Asian central central banks is beginning to show in commodities like food and gold.

Crude prices jumping up is bad enough, but to have food prices going up would backbreak import bills. Better to nbiuld up buffer stocks for the future right now.

From dailypioneer.com. Posting in full as the URL may not be archived:

India to produce 21 lakh ton cashew nuts by 2020



The yields in India in almost every crop are significantly lower than the world average , and much lower even than East Asian countries. If we can raise yields to even Asian averages, India can become the largest agricultural producer in the world, while at the same time releasing the much-needed land for industrial and urban growth.

The reason for low agricultural productivity is of course due to inefficiency at the farmer's level but the cause may be more fundamental.

It is well known that ambient temperatures are a key to agricultural/plant photosynthetic efficiency. Temperatures higher than 25C coupled with high humidity lead to lower productivity for plants.

So why is agro-productivity so much higher in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and surging higher in Vietnam?

that may be due to 2 reasons

1. higher availability of water due to plentiful rains.

2. less temperature variability from night to day. ie mean temperature is closer to 25 C than India. If we check RMS deviation of temperature India has a higher deviation from 25 C than say malaysia/indonesia or vietnam

Plus as we can see that all these countries seem to have a fairer complexion than India that clearly implies that the degree of solar radiation in India is higher due to lower cloud cover or other reasons. Also India is a lot more dusty due to gradual erosion of surface greens like grass that increases the dust in the atmosphere that in turn lead to lower rainfall.

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least 3 states (West Bengal, Assam, and Kerala) in India where the rainfall is at least as plentiful as in SE Asia. Agro yields of rice, for example, in either of these states is nowhere near as high as in Thailand.



I think it is wrong to talk about day-night temparature variability in 'India'. India is such a large country that it has several agro-climatic zones. I am sure there is an agro-climatic zone in India, perhaps as large as all of SE Asia, where the day-night temp variability etc. quite closely approximates what it is in SE Asia.



Let's not even go into a TFTA vs SDRE agro-productivity argument here.

As far as "grass erosion" argument goes, you may be getting somewhere. Management of soil cover, checking of erosion etc are part of a list of human-controllable agro-management techniques that lead to one country or one area having a higher agricultural productivity than another with similar climatic conditions.

Just my 2 cents.

Are there any technical publications that analyze these claims and possibilities ? I find the exotic explanations for why Indian crop yields are lower, questionable at best, with more theoretizing than anything particularly convincing. Any actual data on climate and yields in SE Asia as well as various regions in India, would be useful. How about regions in India with conditions similar to SE Asia - what are the yields there ?

Based on general data on crop yields, India has the potential to increase food output by 1.5x-2x if yields are on par with SE/E Asian countries.

Effect of temperature and precipitation variability on crop yield

Abstract only
http://www.springerlink.com/content/v3xj4j16r4520254/

A quick google search shows that inspite of the adverse effect of increased temperature, the global production of food grains has increased with time due to better technology. Indian farms if modernized can easily increase food output by 3-6 times.

this needs the following major initiatives.

1. Increased agricultural water availability (China has ~10 times the agricultural water availability that India has due to better water cachement systems that they have invested thru millenia. We have done a piss poor job of harvesting our monsoons... part of this is geographical

2. Corporatization of agriculture

3. Mineral matching of soils

4. Increasing rainfall by reducing dust and perhaps by geo-shaping the western ghats, or creating reservoirs on the windward side and pumping collected water to the leeward side

5. Recognizing that rivers are not only water sources but act more as water sinks for excess flow from agricultural use (to flush away salts etc). Fresh captive rain water is the prime ingradient for good crops and a healthy water system is by design reflected in the health of its sink i.e the rivers. This is not to say river linking is a bad idea infact it is an excellent idea for linking water deficient and water excess areas as excess water is detrimental to crops too. A river overflow during times of heavy precipitation is a sign that water collection instruments such as bunds check dams etc are insufficient and have failed not only the sink but also agricultural community. Instead of damming the river we should be damming the countryside to trap the precious silt from heading into the river and any mountain silt brought down by the river is an essential nutrient that should be harvested uniformly by suitable means and spread in farms as the river winds its way to the sea.

All this however this requires a larger collective and a reorganization of land distribution. And a better method of renumerating the landowners for their ownings. However with increased modernization there will be a large number of landless laborers ~300 million who would lose their livelihood and consequently this is politically unacceptable. These people will first have to be relocated to infrastructure building tasks before farming can be modernized.

On the other hand it is said that 1 tonne of food requires 1000 tonnes of water. So in essence importing food is the same as importing water. Once we have a strategic food reserve lasting 2-3 years we can calibrate our food imports at cheaper rates and plan for contingencies such as one supplier artificially jacking prices.

I stand corrected. According to this link:

http://www.fapri.iastate.edu/outlook200 ... s/rice.pdf

Per Hectare yields of rice in India are ahead of Burma and Thailand , at par with the Pakis , but about 50% behind Indonesia and Vietnam .

If we can raise these yields to Indonesia and Vietnam levels, we shall match or surpass China to become no. 1 in total production in the world. Not only will this improve food availability for our poor, but also allow large volumes of exports.

Go India!

India Heads for Record Soymeal Exports on Bigger Crop

IIT(K) to come out with Functional health snacks

12/16/2007

Kolkata, Dec 16 (UNI) If the IIT (K) has its way, then every bite you take will be nutrient-rich with medicinal values.

Talking to UNI over phone today, IIT Kharagpur Agricultural and Food Engineering Department Head Prof H N Mishra said he and his team had been working on Health snacks since the past two years and in the next two years, they will come out with the product.

''The changing lifestyles and climate have led to all sorts of lifestyle diseases like obesity, cardiac arrest, diabetes, thyroid problems and many more. Hence, we decided to invent such a food that will work as a supplement for all nutrition,'' Prof Mishra added.

Prof Mishra, who bagged the All India Food Processors Association (AIFPA) president award at New Delhi yesterday for his outstanding contribution to the growth and development of the food processing industry, said the health products had already been formulated.

The award was presented by Union Minister of Food Processing Subodh Kant Sahay.

Prof Mishra has his contibution towards the invention of fruit juice powder (tomato), Instant Soluble tea, Ginger Powder, Fruit Bars, Full-fat soy flour, Enzymatic detoxification of aflatoxin, Mango soy fortified yoghurt powder and Dahi powder.

''The current trend is towards functional foods. Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food,'' the food scientist said, adding that the health snacks were being designed in such a way that their medicinal and theraputical values were retained.

Such foods might come in the form of current day 'Kurkure' or 'Potato Wafers' but with plenty of nutritional value, he informed.

The snacks would be designed in a manner to fight cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

These functional foods are being designed by five researchers from the IIT under the guidance of Prof Mishra.

The Union Food Processing Ministry had already sanctioned Rs 50 lakh for the equipment required in the project, which is yet to be patented.

Besides, the department will organise the 19th Annual Convention of Food Scientists and Technology from December 31-January second, where about 700 scientists and delegates from across the world would participate and present their deliberations on Health Foods.

Rural Pune experimenting with country liquor as agro-input (IE)

[quote]In the rural parts of a district better known for its urban counterpart that is emerging as an IT and automobile manufacturing hub, there is a quiet revolution on. One where the use of alcohol as a crop a yield enhancer and an alternative for costly pesticides is being discovered with no help from agriculture scientists.

“It’s much more effective than many bio-pesticides and plant tonics in the market and its easy availability at a much lower price allows the farmers to use it more frequently. I have found that it has a say in whether the produce is graded in the premium category,â€

India to see biggest rise in rice output by 2016.

India will register the highest increase in rice production in the world over the next 10 years, although its annual output will be less than that of China.

According to an analysis of worldwide rice production data compiled by the US Department of Agriculture, India's annual rice production would increase by 16.3 million tons by 2016, from 91 million tons currently.

This is higher than any other rice producing country in the world.

In contrast, China would see its annual grain output decline by about 4.8 million tons in 2016, from 128 million tonnes in the 2006-07 production year.

Still, China would retain its current status as the world's biggest rice producer in 2016 and its annual output of 123.2 million tons would be higher than India's 107.3 million tons. At present, India is the world's second biggest rice producer after China and would continue to remain so.

According to the USDA data, India would be the only country to record a surge of over 10 million tons in this period. The second biggest increase of 2.9 million tons would be seen in Thailand, followed by a rise of 2.5 million tons in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, China, Japan, South Korea and European Union would also see their annual output dip by 2016, as per USDA's 'International Agricultural Projections to 2016' report.

In percentage terms, India's production would increase by 15 per cent, against a fall of about three per cent in China.

Our agricultural productivity suffers from lack of proper land use. A lot of people do nothing with their land and keep it fallow since they have neither time nor inclination to do something. A land/property tax based on land value will solve a lot of our problems.

People keep their land fallow because the rice prices you get at the market are seriously unremunerative. A tax would only make the situation worse, not better. More food would be produced for export and less for internal consumption. Trust me, the prices will be passed on to the consumer, with a markup of course.

Where my fields are near Nagercoil for instance, the labor is organized under CPI and I'm 'requested' to keep atleast half my land under paddy. Coconut and other plantation type crops are far more profitable and less labor intensive. I'm required to hire atleast one 'arivu' roughly 20 at a time. I havn't made any money for many years now, I break even in a good year.

IMHO the productivity we should aim for is in the US. This is because only prime lands are used for Rice agriculture. In India way too much marginal lands are ploughed under driving the yeild rates down dramatically. In the Thanjavur delta, I've seen farmer reports of yield of 4.5 tonnes+ per hectare.

I suspect we could halve the area under Rice cultivation and still double our production.

It would be interesting if M S Swaminathan receives this honour (Bharat Ratna award) as he has contributed to the agricultural development of this country.

He has to stand in line behind:

1. Sonia Gandhi
2. Rahul Gandhi
3. Priyanka Gandhi
4. Rehan .....

Thousand direct procurement centres to be set up
January 25, 2008

Chennai Jan 25: “This year more than one thousand direct procurement centres would be set up at the various places requested by the farmers, except at the Cauvery Deltaâ€

Mango farmer gets Padma Shri
Anant Zanane
Sunday, January 27, 2008 (Lucknow)

One of this year's Padma Shri winner is a mango-grower from Uttar Pradesh, he is known for growing 300 varieties of mango on a single tree.

Kallimulla Khan had inherited a mango plantation from his father. Later Khan began experimenting with hybridization.

Famous for his work, he was offered to settle and work in Iran, to which he refused. He does not wish to leave Malihabad, where his family has grown mangoes for generations.

Today he is proud that the government has thought him worthy of a Padma Shri. Khan said, ''I am very happy, I didn't expect it.

Khan also had a solution for those who are unhappy about not getting the Bharat Ratna, ''I will feed them my mangoes and they will forget all their bitterness.''

For Khan the best part about the award was that it has reunited him with his neighbour, Dr Asmat Malihabadi.

Estranged for 15 years, the neighbours met again when Dr Mahilabadi came over to congratulate Khan.

Dr Malihabadi said, ''We had a argument once and since then we haven't spoken to each other, today I have come to congratulate him.''

Proud of their father's achievement Khan's children say they are determined to nurture their father's legacy.

Alimullah, Khan's son said, ''We will uphold the family tradition of mango farming.''

Awards are not new to Malihabad, G M Khan was awarded a Padma Shri for tennis and Josh Mallihabadi received a Padma Vibushan for his shayari.

a move long over due..

Capital gain tax on sale of agri land for non-agri purposes

On a recent trip to India (near Surat), I was told by my relatives in the farming community, that many people have started using Pepsi / Coca Cola in lieu of the more expensive pesticides and they have been getting splendid results!

Kudos to the innovators...but it makes you wonder what really is in those soft drinks.

simple onleee...

phosphoric acid, sugar and caffeine. The phosphate+sugar act as fertilizers for the microflora and fauna. And very likely the decomposition of this mixture probably creates an environment where competing plant pests cannot survive.

On Yields: I think the official sarkari numbers are being published. I am sure that yields in Punjab for instance match world averages. Govt goes by the number of quintals that they procure from the farmers and often the farmers dont selll everything they produce to the Govt. Great to see grassroot development in farms. There are a host of household remedies that work, often forgotten in fields like agriculture, medicine, etc. Many innovations in the West have started from the farmyard. With retailers moving into the fresh produce space and other goods, we will see an increase in farm outputs, tailored to the market needs. A lot of waste happens in India because of improper storage and shipment. Fruits and vegetables are highly perishable and require proper cooling facilities during shipment. Having ethylene free environment (the major cause of decay in fruits/veges, not oxygen) would help.

On M.S. Swaminathan: this guy is a publicity seeker, he used to host a TV serial like the vainglorious Brits. His scientific record is suspect, and there are allegations that he stole results from co-workers at ICAR, usurped the glory etc. So let us not bestow Bharat Ratnas on undeserving fellows, like the Pukes pin Hillal-e-bakistan medals on undeserving generals.

Ratan Tata deservers a Bharat Ratna for his quiet belief in "Yes, we can do" attitude and thus a Tata Nano.

Talking about agriculture.

Lots of people are now going into Cash crops.

1. Just one district of Gurdaspur (Punjab) supplies 50% of the Indian output of mushrooms.

2. Honey production is way way up in Haryana, Himachal and Punjab.

3. Wine and grapes in Maharashtra

4. Cotton production is way way up due to the new variety as produced by the agricultural universities that is resistant to the "american bug" that decimated cotton back in 1970s.

5. Rice production is way way up due to the yield increasing varieties introduced by Dr. Gurdev Singh (Director of Phillipines rice institute and alumnus of Agricultural university Ludhiana)., he was given world food prize as his research increased the world rice production by at least 4 times. Check out his interview

http://www.unesco.org/courier/1999_06/uk/dires/txt1.htm

BTW.. World food prize is thought of as an equivalen to nobel prize in the field of agriculture.

17,060 farm suicides in one year
http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/31/stories ... 930100.htm
P. Sainath

Uptrends in major States unchanged

Mumbai: Farm suicides in Maharashtra rose dramatically in 2006, more than in any other part of the country. The State saw 4,453 farmers’ suicides that year, over a quarter of the all-India total of 17,060, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its report Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India, 2006. That is the worst figure recorded ‘in any year for any State’ since the NCRB first began logging farm suicides.

Suicide issues are related to one and the only thing and that is "credit limits on their agriculture land".

It started about 10+ years ago when banks loaned huge amounts to the farmers with their land being collateral., now farmers are not educated and don't know how to use this money., thus few years of lavish living (cars, marriages, etc) and then suicide.