Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

joshvajohn · Post by **joshvajohn** » 28 Feb 2011 01:49

Tough law to protect agricultural land in J&K
It recommends massive penalty for those involved in conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes
http://www.igovernment.in/site/tough-la ... d-jk-38938

http://www.indiahousing.com/legal-aspects/land-act.html

We need a severe law to protect the agricultural land in India.

Agri land shrinks by 2.76 mn hectare in last 2 decades
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 585143.cms

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 25 Apr 2011 20:29

How did Gujarat Become a Farming Paradise?

Gujarat’s agriculture has grown 9.6% per year in the last decade or so, surpassing the national growth rate of 2.9% and boosting rural incomes.

Agriculture in India has been condemned to an annual growth of 4% or less ever since the nation’s economic reforms pushed it towards a service-oriented economy. The share of agriculture in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen to just 16.6% from 46.3% about six decades ago. Somewhere, policymakers seemed to have ignored the importance of farming to the economy. But Gujarat hasn’t allowed its keenness to promote industry overshadow its farming sector.

“Although widely lauded for adopting an aggressive industrial policy that has made Gujarat a much-favoured destination for investment, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has actually devoted a great deal of energy and resources to accelerating agricultural growth in the state through a broad spectrum of policy initiatives,” say agricultural scientist Ashok Gulati and four others in an article published by the Economic and Political Weekly.

At first glance, the agricultural miracle in Gujarat seems to have been supported by factors such as good monsoon for most of the decade, increasing minimum support prices from the Centre and the spread of BT cotton, a lucrative cash crop. But all these benefits were available to other parts of the country as well and the superlative performance of Gujarat is not explained by them.

Gujarat was early to amend the laws governing the marketing of agricultural produce and allow farmers to sell their output directly to private buyers. Even today, many states haven’t done so and keep the farmer tied to the official procurement hubs. Some have gone back on reforms. But Gujarat has persisted with opening up market access to farmers.

Gujarat has also stepped up its extension services significantly in the last decade, taking knowledge from research campuses to the farms. In the last five years, Krushi Mahotsavs (Farm Festivals) have grown in scope. As many as 18,600 villages host the event on the Akshaya Tritiya day (an auspicious day in the Hindu Calendar falling in May-June). University professors, government officers and even ministers are required to spend time with farmers, listening to their problems and developing solutions. While the quality of work in these fairs needs to improve according to farmers, and the researchers need to gain more practical experience, their impact in spreading awareness about things such as soil quality is undeniable.

Mr.Modi's Miracle

Even as the Planning Commission says that India’s desire to hit double-digit economic growth is being constrained, among other things, by the inability of the farm sector to grow at an annual average rate of 4 per cent a year, largely semi-arid Gujarat, with poor agro-ecological endowments, has reported an average growth rate of close to 9 per cent per annum over the past decade. Gujarat’s agricultural performance this past decade has turned out to be as impressive as its performance on the industrial front. What are the secrets of Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s “Gujarat model of farm development”? The twin mantras that seem to have spurred agricultural growth in this drought-prone state are improved diffusion of technology and better utilisation of water, both achieved through extensive and concerted extension services and the pooling of individual, community and official initiatives. These seem to have been followed by essential support services that provide inputs, credit, power and marketing facilities.

Other states, like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Assam, have also performed fairly well on the farm front, but they have a long way to go before they can match Gujarat. The original Green Revolution states in the north-west, on the other hand, have begun to lag behind on agricultural growth owing to laxity in developmental efforts and inadequate attention being paid to the over-exploitation of natural resources, including groundwater. West Bengal, which had a record of good performance in agricultural development, has slipped and is among the poorly performing states, with agricultural growth going down from over 5 per cent in the early 1990s to under 2 per cent in recent years.

The new and innovative approach that Gujarat adopted to rejuvenate its virtually defunct farm extension system involves bringing farm scientists and service providers on the same platform and taking them to the farmer’s doorstep, rather than the other way round. For this, Krishi Raths (mobile agricultural units), carrying experts and service providers, traverse the state during month-long Krishi Mahotsavas (farm fairs) organised every year to take care of all needs of the farmers. Soil health checks are carried out to counsel farmers on the right kind of crop to grow and the precise amount of inputs to use to optimise farm production with minimum cost. Given the scarcity of water in Gujarat, several unconventional initiatives have been taken to ensure its judicious and sustainable use. Stress on water conservation, through rainwater harvesting, and on expanding area under irrigation, to enhance crop productivity, has helped. Apart from digging ponds on individual farms, bori-bandhs (sandbag dams) and concrete check dams are being constructed at appropriate sites in watersheds to hold water in the natural depressions so that part of it percolates down to recharge the groundwater aquifer and the rest could be used for irrigation. And most importantly, dedicated feeder lines have been put up for assured power supply to the farm sector at fixed hours under the Jyotigram scheme. This has encouraged farmers to reduce wasteful use of pump sets and excessive use of groundwater. Consequently, Gujarat’s farmers seem to be making better use of scarce water. Clearly, there is much that farmers from the rest of India can learn to improve productivity, output and incomes. If India follows Gujarat, 10 per cent growth should be possible!

Agriculture: Secret of Modi's success

When Narendra Modi won the 2007 state election in Gujarat, the media focused on Hindu-Muslim issues. Some journalists highlighted rapid industrial development that had made Gujarat India's fastest-growing state. I mentioned Gujarat's successful port-led development.

However, an excellent new study suggests that the secret of Modi's success lay in agriculture, an area completely neglected by political analysts. Ashok Gulati, Tushaar Shah and Ganga Sreedhar have written an IFPRI paper, 'Agricultural Performance in Gujarat Since 2000', which highlights something few people know — that Gujarat's agricultural performance is by far the best in India.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 26 Apr 2011 17:31

http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/26/stories ... 500500.htm
good show TNAU!

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 26 Apr 2011 19:05

^^^
My Athimber, was the Post Master for the post office inside the Agriculture University in Coimbatore. Man, what a splendid city Coimbatore was. Almost at the foothills of Ghats. Weather was the ultimate. The University Campus was very very clean and great even 20-25 years ago. Nice to see that University in news.

Meanwhile, 160 students selected through job fair

Coimbatore, Apr 12 (PTI) As many as 160 students were issued with appointment orders from different institutions, of which Axis Bank alone recruited 50 candidates at the job fair conducted recently by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) here. Thirty one companies, comprising financial institutions --HDFC, Axis Bank, Farm Machinery, Irrigation, food processing and health care and agro-based industries and MNCs like Olam Agro India, Aviagen, Max Hyper, had participated in the two-day fair, conducted From March 30, TNAU sources said. The selection of candidates was done based on their performance in written test, group discussion and personal interview and 725 graduates from 10 constituent colleges of the University participate in the fair, organised by Directorate of Students of Welfare. Salary for the selected candidates would range between Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per annum, with perks and other benefits, they said. Some companies have shortlisted 342 Under Graduates and Post Graduates in the discipline of Agriculture, Horticulrure, Forestry, Home Sciences and BIotechnology through selection process for the final interview. So far 1,742 students were placed in various organisations through earlier four job fairs,conducted by the University, the sources added.

vish_mulay · Post by **vish_mulay** » 29 Jun 2011 10:36

Has this been posted before?

http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/AS/p ... 2006mv.pdf

lots of interesting information about Indian agri sector.
PS it is a 3.7mb file.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 16 Jul 2011 21:21

India records 241 MT foodgrain production.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the country has achieved a record foodgrain production of 241 million tonnes (MT) in 2010-11 crop year but stressed on ushering in a second Green Revolution to meet the mounting future domestic foodgrain demands.
"Production of major crops has been at record levels in the year just over. An estimated total production of 241 million tonnes in 2010-11 was achieved because of record production of wheat, maize and pulses.

Oilseed production also set a new record," the PM said, while delivering speech at an ICAR function here.

The estimated 241 MT foodgrain production is higher by 5 MT as announced by the Agriculture Ministry in its third estimate. It is also higher by 23 MT as compared to previous crop year 2009-10.

Crop year runs from July to June.

He said the record foodgrain production has been achieved because of hard work of the farmers and scientists.

But, Singh emphasised that the country needs a second green revolution to further accelerate agri growth and achieve self-sufficiency in food.

He said the total demand for foodgrains of the country is projected to touch 281 MT by 2020-21.

"Meeting this demand will necessitate a growth rate of nearly 2 per cent per annum in foodgrain production," the PM said.

Stating that the country was spending about 0.6 per cent of its agriculture GDP on agricultural research and development at present, he said this needs to be enhanced by 2-3 times by 2020.

"India needs a second green revolution that is broad-based, inclusive and sustainable," Singh said.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 18 Jul 2011 08:12

To add to the above, individual states received awards for food grain production:

Punjab and Uttar Pradesh were the joint winners of the Krishi Karman award in the category of States with overall food grain production of more than 10 million tonne recorded in the last five years.

Assam and Odisha got the award in the category of States with overall food grain production of between one and 10 million tonne. Tripura was the sole winner in the category of States with overall food grain production of less than one million tonne.

In the second category of four awards given for individual crops and crop groups, the award for rice went to Chhattisgarh, wheat to Haryana, pulses to Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and coarse cereals to Karnataka. Each award winning State received a trophy, a citation and cash award. The cash award (for each State) was Rs. 2 crore for total food grain production and Rs. 1 crore for each of the four crops included in food grains.

ravar · Post by **ravar** » 02 Aug 2011 18:46

Action Research Report on Zero Budget Natural Farming

By Faculty (Agriculture), ANSSIRD, Mysore.

rahulm · Post by **rahulm** » 03 Aug 2011 14:16

I visited a friends farm near the foot hills of Sinhagad-Pune last weekend. They were transplanting rice and I was invited to observe and participate which I did.

Stood in knee deep water in slush and transplanted rice for 2.5 hours with workers working as 1 of them.Very educative experience.

Friend was planting "Indrayani" a local variety of rice. Yield is about 2 - 2.2 tons from 1 acre. They use fertiliser pellets once before the harvest. Fertiliser for 1 acre is 100 kgs each of "SAMRAT" and Urea. Not using this combination reduces yield by around 40%

They have only started to use this fertiliser combination in the last few years when the government banned uphill burning of vegetation.(Traditional society's knew how to use and re-cycle natural resources). This burning used to carry nutrient rich residue to all down stream farms.

I had Sonabai, Kanubai and many other "bai's for company in the sludge. Some of them sang Marathi limericks bordering on the rude to keep spirits and momentum up. I am told they did not sing the real fun rude limeriks because of my presence.

All the workers were migrants from Washim (Vidharbha) who moved to Pune half a dozen years ago for better prospects.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 05 Aug 2011 11:21

Competing against foreign dumping of apples

Horticulture minister Narinder Bragta requested the central govt to adopt multi pronged strategy to protect the production and marketing of apples and demanded the enhancement of import duty on apples from China and other countries who have created an intense competition by dumping its apples at major ports, including Kolkata and Mumbai as a result of which the domestic apple production is receiving a severe beating in Indian market and is not able to withstand due to bulk imports .

gakakkad · Post by **gakakkad** » 07 Aug 2011 08:06

There is no newbie section in tech and economy forum so asking an agro based question here. I am looking to buy agricultural land in India. No one in my family has been a farmer for generations. I have heard that not everyone can buy agricultural land. You need some sort of license or something. Can anyone tell me where can I get such info? Googal chacha has been useless . I have a US green card. Can it complicate matters ? (I can always hide the fact since I have Indian passport and I don't plan being a khanland citizen)

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 07 Aug 2011 08:41

^^^

One of the tricks used is to search the land records for someone who has the same name or initials as one of your ancestors. Then buy the land based on that record.

You will need to hire a local consultant who deals in such issues. Easy way out is to pick up the yellow pages and look under lawyers.

Also if your family ever held agricultural land, check on the feasibility of getting those records. Greencard is not a problem, but you cannot be a USC and hold on to the land. Plus you will need to hire and keep a farmer on the land to look after it, so some local crook doesn't steal it.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 07 Aug 2011 11:28

Every state is different. SRK is particularly difficult.

If you are a long term TN resident 10+ years and pay taxes you can buy Agricultural land. How ever I strongly recommend you buy from a local relation and keep it in their name. Just about every piece of land in India is disputed on way or the other. Do not under any circumstance buy land if you can't have some one on the property 24/7 that you trust. I know an NRI who lost his house in Nungambakkam, Chennai because a gang occupied it and fought him for 20 years over ownership till he gave up. Here in Kanyakumari you have to get permission to not grow crops on your land. So keep that in mind as well.

Or you can ask your parents to buy and you inherit it. NRI's can receive property that way.

Also when you sell there are RBI restrictions on moving the money out of India. For that matter there are restrictions on moving agricultural income out of India.

This is not something you can do by yourself. Find a professional experienced broker which a battle all by itself.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 07 Aug 2011 13:12

Theo_Fidel wrote:Do not under any circumstance buy land if you can't have some one on the property 24/7 that you trust. I know an NRI who lost his house in Nungambakkam, Chennai because a gang occupied it and fought him for 20 years over ownership till he gave up.

Wise words. Priorities change and people give up. Given the slow legal system, plan on an intergenerational timeline such that legal descendants exist and care about the property. Some of our land was recovered after 38 years. Grandfather started case in 1970.

joshvajohn · Post by **joshvajohn** » 18 Aug 2011 22:42

Avoiding or minimising displacement: A serious concern about the trauma of displacement does not seem to be the driving force behind the Bill. The principles of ‘no forced displacement' and ‘free, informed prior consent' are not mentioned. (Incidentally, the condition of consent by 80 per cent of the land-owners applies only to land-acquisition by the government for companies including PPP cases, and not to governmental acquisition for itself. It appears that there has been no dilution at all of ‘eminent domain'.) There are indeed a number of good provisions relating to displacement (SIA, review of SIA by an Expert Committee, consideration of ‘less displacing alternative', public hearing, etc.), but the final decision is that of the bureaucracy. If a statutory clearance is needed for cutting a tree or for causing an environmental impact, should it not be required for displacing people? If the National Rehabilitation Commission mentioned in the 2007 Bill had been retained, a statutory displacement clearance by it could have been prescribed, but the present Bill envisages no such Commission.

(iii) Inadequacy of compensation: The present Bill increases the compensation amount significantly. This is welcome. Whether the earlier problems of delays and corruption in the payment process will disappear or diminish, remains to be seen.

(iv) The acquisition of land by the state for private companies: A view, held by many for a long time, is that there is no reason why the state should use its sovereign power to acquire land for private companies which are primarily in business for profit and not for conferring benefits on the public.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2366476.ece

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 19 Aug 2011 05:59

The monsoon is drawing to a close and i think rainfall has been deficient when compared with same date 2010, hope varuna bhagwan shifts from north to south

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 367348.ece

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/18/stories ... 961000.htm

member_19686 · Post by **member_19686** » 27 Sep 2011 04:57

Andhra farmers go on 'Crop holiday', leave state's rice bowl empty
Prashanth Chintala / Hyderabad September 27, 2011, 0:51 IST
An unviable minimum support price (MSP) for rice has forced farmers in Andhra Pradesh to leave their lands fallow. The movement is spreading to other states.

“Farming never pays” is a familiar slogan among agriculturists across the world, and especially so in India. Nevertheless, many continue to cultivate their fields year after year, barely eking out an existence, toiling in the hope that the tide may turn in their favour one of these days.

However, in the richly fertile regions of East Godavari, things have come to a head. Konaseema, comprising sixteen fertile mandals is often called the rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh—but it may have to change that sobriquet soon since 40,000 farmers in thirteen out of the sixteen mandals have not cultivated their land this year. This means that 85,050 acres of paddy producing fields are lying fallow, ensuring that the 500,000 tonnes of rice produced last year is not going to be repeated. Following Konaseema farmers, over 3,000 paddy growers of Karamchedu mandal in Prakasam district, also known for rice production, have declared a crop holiday. Many of these are marginal farmers with landholdings of less than 5 acres.

According to Secretary General of Consortium of Indian Farmers Association (CIFA) P Chengal Reddy, this is only the beginning. The movement is going to spread across the country if the Union government does not announce remunerative prices for farmers. “It has already spread to other districts like Nellore, Kadapa and Warangal in the state,” he says.

This apart, Reddy said, farmers associations affiliated to the consortium in AP, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra have passed resolutions to observe ‘crop holiday’ on a massive scale in the next season if the Centre declines to accept the minimum support price (MSP) calculated by them (they call it ‘farmers price’). There are 350 farmer’s organisations under the consortium's fold across the country and similar resolutions are planned to be adopted in other states.

Why are these farmers resorting to such an extraordinary and extreme decision?

There are nearly a dozen reasons for this situation, according to a report by the Mohan Kanda committee that was constituted by the AP government to identify the circumstances that led to the declaration of crop holiday by farmers and to propose remedial measures.

More than any other reason, the MSP declared by the government seems to be the one thing that has enraged farmers the most. Even if you consider the estimates of the AP agricultural department, the cost of production of a quintal of paddy in Konaseema works out to Rs 1,583. Now, the MSP for paddy announced by the government for 2011-12 was Rs 1,110. This has meant a loss of Rs 473 a quintal and nearly Rs 10,000 per acre (the average yield per acre is estimated at 21 quintal).

WHY ‘FARMING NEVER PAYS.’
* 40,000 farmers in thirteen out of the sixteen mandals in Konaseema, East Godavari have not cultivated their land this year
* 85,050 acres of paddy lie fallow, not producing the 500,000 tonnes of rice that it provided the country last year
* Farmers’ associations in AP, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra will also go on ‘crop holiday’ next season if the Centre doesn’t address pricing issues
* The main problem is unviable minimum support price (MSP), fixed on the advice of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)
* CACP computes average cost of production across states to calculate MSP which is problematic since costs vary dramatically from state to state
* There are also vast differences in the cost of other inputs, such as land which in Konaseema is over Rs 5 lakh an acre but Rs 1 lakh elsewhere
* Shortage of labour is also a major issue where schemes like NREGA compete in a fertile area where there is no problem in finding work
* The fifth report of the National Commission on Farmers prepared under Swaminathan says that cost of production was higher than MSP for 12 crops,, including rice and wheat
* The report says that MSP should be regarded as the bottom line for procurement. Purchase by government should be MSP plus cost escalation
The MSP is fixed on the advise of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and the commission's estimates seem to be at variance with the actual cost being incurred by the farmers in Andhra. “CACP calculations are based on three-year-old data. Besides, it takes the average cost of production in various states right from Assam to AP,” says Reddy, explaining the reasons for the variation.

This is a problematic technique. In a vast and diversified country like India, the costs of production varies in different states. For instance, according to the Ministry of Employment’s Labour Bureau, the average daily wage rate for a male agricultural labourer in AP was Rs 98.31 in December 2008, but went up to Rs 137.95 and Rs 176.29 in of 2009 and 2010 respectively. During the same period, the average wage rate was Rs 81.19, Rs 96.40 and Rs 114.10 in Assam, Rs 61.33, Rs 69.79 and Rs 84.43 in Madhya Pradesh while it was as much as Rs 220.27, Rs 250.79 and Rs 319.13 in Kerala.

Not just labour—there are also vast differences in the cost of other inputs. For example, the cost of land in Konaseema is over Rs 5 lakh an acre whereas it could be less than Rs 1 lakh in other states, or even in other regions or districts in the same state. As a result, the fixed cost of production varies from state to state, and from region to region within the same state.

Besides escalating costs, shortage of labour is also stated to be a major issue. During paddy transplantation, which usually lasts about a fortnight, large number of labourers are required. But, thanks to NREGP, it has become increasingly difficult to get the required number of labour.

To overcome labour shortage, farmers are switching to horticultural crops which are not labour intensive. However, the option is not available to wet land owners in Konaseema and Karamchedu. Their land is ideal for growing paddy but not suitable for horticultural crops.

The CIFA made several presentations to the Centre including the Prime Minister, Agriculture Minister and the Planning Commission’s Vice Chairman, asking for a remunerative MSP but to no avail. Left with no recourse, on September 5, 2011, the CIFA executive committee met in New Delhi and adopted a resolution rejecting the MSP declared by the government for the year 2011-12.

At the same meeting, it adopted another resolution urging the Centre to declare an MSP of Rs 2,400 a quintal of paddy, which it called the ‘farmers price’. CIFA’s MSP includes the estimated cost of production of Rs 1,600 plus Rs 800 as the farmer's "take home income" as per the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers headed by noted agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan.

Besides adopting the above resolutions, CIFA also filed a petition in the Supreme Court urging the apex court to direct the Union government to implement the National Policy for Farmers-2007, framed by the Ministry of Agriculture on the basis of the recommendations of the MS Swaminathan commission.

Meanwhile, according to the fifth report of the National Commission on Farmers prepared under the chairmanship of Swaminathan, the profitability in agriculture declined by 14.2 per cent during the 1990s due to stagnancy in yield growth and rise in input prices outpacing the increase in prices of the output. The report said that the cost of production was invariably higher than the minimum support price in the case of 12 crops including rice and wheat. The other crops were jowar, maize, bajra, ragi, tur, moong, urd,gram and barley. "It would be extremely unlikely that in long run farmers would continue to cultivate those crops where the C2 costs (cultivation costs) are not recovered,” the report stated.

According to the report, MSP should be regarded as the bottom line for procurement both by government and private traders. Purchase by government should be MSP plus cost escalation since the announcement of MSP. The commission also recommended that the MSP should be at least 50 per cent more than the cost of production. It also said that CACP should be an autonomous statutory organisation and should become an important policy instrument for safeguarding the survival of farmers and farming.

Terming NREGA as a “vote catching, populist scheme”, Chengal Reddy asked, "Where is the need for introducing NREGA in delta areas like that of Krishna, Godavari, Cauvery, Tungabhadra and Punjab?" According to him, there is enough work for people in the agricultural sector in these areas and there is no need of NREGA, which is leading to shortage of agricultural labour and escalation of cost of production.

On the other hand, Union Minister for Rural Development, Jairam Ramesh, had been eloquent about the effect of NREGA in addressing unemployment in rural areas. When it was brought to his notice that the scheme had an adverse impact on agricultural operations and some farmers were observing crop holiday, the minister said he was “open to suggestions” in this regard.

ITC Agri & IT businesses group head S Sivakumar said it was time that we came out with long-term solutions. “The formula we have used for the past 30 years can’t be used in the next 10 years,” he said adding that we were currently in a situation where the food inflation was very high while there was no steep rise in the output prices for farmers.

He said that long-term solutions include raising productivity of both crops as well as labour, reducing transaction costs between farmer and the consumer and encouragement of private sector participation on a large scale for which the regulatory framework has to be changed.

Until then, one of India’s most fecund rice bowls will remain empty.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/ ... ty/450613/

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 30 Sep 2011 21:33

India's foodgrain stock zooms to 64 million tonnes.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 11 Oct 2011 20:23

Good news from Nagaland:

Story of apples in Nagaland

The story behind apple revolution in Nagaland

Tuesday, 11 October 2011 12:31

PTI | Kohima

Three apple saplings gifted to a Naga village guard in the Saramati mountain range in Nagaland by an Assam Rifles soldier back in 1980 have triggered an apple revolution in the area bordering Myanmar.

Hundreds of Naga villagers are now engaged in the cultivation of the fruit on a mass scale, although they are yet to reap commercial gains from the produce in the absence of transportation.

The story began in the late 70s when armed conflicts between Naga insurgents and security forces were at their peak, prompting the Assam Rifles to erect a check post at Thanamir village nestled in the Saramati range.

During this time a government-appointed village guard from Thanamir had befriended a Nepali soldier belonging to the Assam Rifles posted at the check post.

The soldier gifted him the saplings in 1980 which the villager planted in the backyard of his house.

The village guard taught himself to multiply the apple plants through root cutting and distributed them to his fellow villagers.

As the fruits grew in most of the households of the village, the Thalami apples started to spread to other villages around the Saramati range due to its suitable climate where average temperature ranges between two to 20 degrees celsius.

Visiting government officials found the first sapling to be still standing there at Thanamir village - a full grown tree now.

Although the villagers in the remote Saramati range in Kiphire district have been growing quality apples for quite sometime, it was not known to the outside world until the arrival of a missionary of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council, Tangit Longkumer.

With the assistance of NBCC and Horticulture Department officials, the pastor along with the village authorities organized the first edition of Apple Festival at Thanamir on September 29, 2010.

A second Apple Festival at the village organised in the second week of September, this year captured the attention of apple lovers from all over the state.

Kaisa Rio, wife of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, along with wives of a dozen legislators attended the festival.

Now the village council of Thanamir has resolved to make it mandatory for each household to plant at least a thousand (1,000) apple trees by 2014.

Some families by now own about 300 apple trees with technical and financial support from horticulture department under Horticulture Technology Mission-NE (HTM-NE), mission director N Benjong Aier informed.

Encouraged by the villagers’ enthusiasm, the department has already distributed more that 10,000 low chilling apple grafts to the farmers.

The organic apples grown in the area have added advantages since the farmers neither use chemical fertilizers nor pesticides, the department officials said.

The visiting officials to the festival pointed out although the villagers were relishing fresh and delicious apples from their kitchen gardens, there were hardly any commercial returns so far due to lack of transportation.

So, the Thanamir villagers used their home-grown apples for juice making and as fodder for pigs.

Time to setup an apple juice bottling plant and jam making factories.

member_19686 · Post by **member_19686** » 13 Oct 2011 23:09

G Kishan Reddy: Signals from Konaseema
The ‘crop holiday’ in the region is symptomatic of a deep agrarian crisis that can only be addressed by making farming viable again
G Kishan Reddy / October 13, 2011, 0:28 IST

On January 21 this year, at a speech in the General Electric Plant in Schenectady, New York, American President Barack Obama brought to the world’s notice a small sleepy town called Samalkot in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district where electricity-generating turbines assembled in Schenectady were being exported. The president cited that the turbines were being procured for a power plant in Samalkot, a town 10 km from Kakinada, which has become a major industrial hub after the discovery of gas reserves in the Krishna-Godavari basin.

Though Obama has touted the Samalkot-Schenectady supply chain as the future of American prosperity, all is not well in the East Godavari belt. The area touted as the “rice bowl of Andhra” is facing a massive agrarian crisis.

Just 50 km away from Samalkot, farmers in 13 of the 16 mandals of the Konaseema region of East Godavari decided to not grow paddy this kharif season. Instead farmers have decided to keep their fields fallow since they have found it unviable to grow paddy. The fact that this decision of having a “crop holiday” was taken in one of the most fertile agricultural belts in the country does not augur well for the future of farming communities in India. Moreover, it smacks of the indifference of dispensations and the administrative machinery at all levels for not lending a hand or even an ear to the struggling and distressed farming community.

Even as the farming lobby in the Konaseema belt used the crop holiday as a form of protest to bring to the administrative machinery’s notice the acute pain the farming community of the region is facing, thousands of acres every season in other parts of the country are left fallow because agriculture has been made unviable. That farming is no longer viable can be supported not only by evidence such as the Konaseema crop holiday incident, but also from the Urban Rural Gowth Differential (URGD) in the census. Research shows that, on average, close to 2,000 farmers abandon farming in this country every day and this could have serious implications on the food security of our country.

Though it is important to look at long-term policy changes, it is also important to focus on immediate relief measures that can stem the slide and quickly win the confidence of the farming community. First, the government needs to support a reasonable minimum support price (MSP) that is in line with inflationary pressures and is at least 50 per cent higher than production costs. Such states as Karnataka and Chhattisgarh are offering Rs 200 as bonus above the declared MSP.

Another aspect that has been rightfully identified by the committee set up by the government of Andhra Pradesh and headed by Mohan Kanda, the former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh, is the effect of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) on the supply of labour for agricultural work. The report identifies that since MNREGA offers much less strenuous work, the labour force prefers to work in MNREGA projects rather than in agriculture. Availability of labour for agriculture has also been severally affected by a lack of willingness of members of farm families to undertake manual work in agriculture. A policy review is needed to ensure that schemes like MNREGA do not restrict labour availability for agricultural operations.

In the long run, it is important that policies are crafted in the farmer’s interest. The government needs to come up with a holistic approach to protect the interests of the farming community. This is not only with respect to land, but also with other aspects like the creation of regulated market yards, the construction of godowns in all mandal headquarters where godowns are not available and providing incentives to farmers to diversify from the stand crops they cultivate.

The Mohan Kanda Report along with recommendations of the Swaminathan Report form a good template for prescriptions for a comprehensive policy towards farmers. This includes announcing an export policy much in advance, initiating a transparent and explicit export duty regime, providing accessibility to credit and risk management products, providing inputs and guidance along with subsidies for procuring seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and machinery, organising a robust response to the imperatives of climate-change, improving post-harvest facilities including that of storage processing and marketing. These are some among the range of issues that need urgent policy attention.

The late US President John F Kennedy stated that the farmer is the only man in the economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale and pays the freight both ways — a fact to which the Indian farmer relates. It is important to understand the contribution of the farmer to the Indian economy and concrete steps must be taken to protect the interests of a community that toils to ensure food is delivered to our dining tables.

The author is the President of Bharatiya Janata Party in the state of Andhra Pradesh and Floor Leader of the party in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly

http://business-standard.com/india/news ... ma/452300/

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 29 Oct 2011 01:12

Support price is up!!

And this is for cheap trashy PDS quality grain. For export quality Ponni private millers are offering Rs 2,200 per quintal.

The incredible thing is I ran the numbers and it is still not cost effective to grow rice with the spiraling wage increases.

Expect more inflation. A LOT more before things hopefully stabilize.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ind ... ef=wl_home

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 06 Nov 2011 17:27

Scientists in Kalpakkam ready tsunami-shield for n-plants.

A few kilometres inside the Kalpakkam nuclear facility in Tamil Nadu a unique experiment is under way. The results of the experiment will not only protect the reactors during a tsunami but also produce fruit-bearing trees, like sapota and gooseberry, said Dr M.H. Mehta, Chairman of the National Bioshield Society.

An expert on condition of anonymity said the successful planting of trees and plants in saline soil at Kalpakkam has immense implications for Indian agriculture. Vast tracks of saline land along the country's seacoast could be brought under cultivation, which will only add to food security, the expert said.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 07 Nov 2011 22:25

Non-GM Multi-Crop rice could quadruple yields, cut costs

In the initial 130-day growing period, the new paddy varieties grow 85 centimetres to one metre tall, as do most other rice types. But when farmers come to harvest the first crop, they leave 35-40 centimetres in the ground, and apply around half the amount of fertiliser again. The immature sheaves continue growing, and can be harvested in 50-55 days.
...
With the first crop, Chaudhury and his colleagues harvested 6.4 tonnes of paddy from one hectare of land. They then spread urea fertiliser on the field, and left the immature sheaves to ripen, harvesting some three tonnes of paddy. More fertiliser was applied to the remaining sheaves, and a further three tonnes of rice are expected.

Yields from traditional paddy varieties are around three tonnes a hectare. But the new plants are projected to produce more than 12 tonnes of paddy from the same land area, at comparatively low costs.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 09 Nov 2011 22:22

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLIC ... tml?Mode=1

Several months ago, a Congressman, disgusted with how little his party's government was doing to contain food prices, told me he had studied the patterns and come to the conclusion that it was agriculture minister Sharad Pawar who was responsible for adding to the turmoil in the markets.

Have you noticed that the rising prices are mostly related to crops grown in Maharashtra -sugar (cane), onions, tuar dal etc? I conducted a deeper study and realised that Pawar knew every time what might happen, in advance. He would make one seemingly innocuous public statement and that would be the signal to his trader cronies. Of course, then, no one could do anything about the prices.

This hopeful gentleman then took his findings, on a spread sheet, to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, expecting a pat on the back. Instead, he was sent packing. Why are you targeting my best minister? the PM asked him. Leave him alone. No one knows agriculture better than Sharad Pawar.

I would have taken that endorsement of Pawar with a pinch of salt but I noticed soon after that the PM even challenged the Supreme Court over its directive to the Union government (read Pawar) that excess grains should be distributed among the poor. It is the government's job and not that of the courts to formulate policy,the PM had said firmly.

My source, at least, was not surprised.Nothing will come of this party or the government,he told me, still stunned by the tongue-lashing he had got from the PM.

I noticed Pawar returned the compliment to the PM this week. When the government stood firm on the hike (yet again) in petrol prices, Pawar nipped any opposition from his own party in the bud by stating that there was no better economist in the government than the PM and if Singh said that the price hike was necessary then he could not be challenged.[/quote]

Last time, Pawar's nephew and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had opposed the petrol price hike and the Nationalist Congress Party had even held some demonstrations against the move. But this time, the situation is different: civic elections are around the corner and those are crucial to Ajit's plans to regain supremacy within his uncle's party that he had lost somewhat after the NCP's defeat in a bypoll in Khadakwasla, an assembly segment of Pawar's Baramati (his daughter holds that seat in Parliament), last month.

The situation could have been tailormade for Ajit to gain an upper hand and also blackmail the Congress into an alliance in the civic elections. This is something, I am told, he desperately wants because, unlike the last time when the NCP seemed to have helped the Shiv Sena to a victory in Bombay, Ajit now is thoroughly opposed to the Thackerays and does not want to cede them an inch anywhere in the state.

So why should Pawar cut short his nephew's ambitions? Apart from the fact that Ajit has been lately getting out of hand and needs to be cut to size, Pawar, I believe, had other considerations. And the most important of these is Lavasa.

It cannot be a coincidence that two days after the Maharashtra government declared the project unviable, Pawar sought (and got) a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and that chief minister Prithviraj Chavan was summoned to New Delhi a day later. Lavasa is Pawar's pet project and anyone would know he is not going to allow some petty rivalries within the allies in the state to torpedo his dream city into non-existence.

It is, then, as many Congressmen have told me in the past: Pawar manages to get his way with the Congress leadership (as even Mamata Banerjee does not) whether about alliances, seats or other things crucial to his own interests.No matter how much we argue against him, we do not get heard.

They give in to him every time. Expect Lavasa then to soon rise, like the proverbial Phoenix, and soar above the hills.There is nothing anyone can do otherwise.
(Sure enough lavasa has got the green node today)

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 12 Nov 2011 00:12

Jharkhand has a bumper rice harvest. Hope the procurement agencies dont mess up

Jharkhand Rice bumperr harvest

All smiles for bumper harvest
ANIMESH BISOEE

Jamshedpur, Nov. 10: Jharkhand has produced more rice than it needs this season, thanks to the monsoon bounty after three consecutive years of drought, enabling the state to set up procurement centres in all 24 districts for the first time.

Till now dependent on Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh for its annual requirement of around 20 lakh tonne of par boiled, or usna, rice, Jharkhand is likely to log a bumper harvest of 35-37 lakh tonne paddy this kharif season.

This has perked up the state’s food, public distribution and consumer affairs department, which has joined forces with the agriculture department to open 500 procurement centres that are to be operated by local area multi-purpose society (LAMPS).

Agriculture director Rajesh Kumar explained why 2011 had turned to be a momentous year for the state. Since its formation in 2000, Jharkhand has always been a paddy deficit state.

“This is the first time we are expecting surplus production. We are waiting to see the consumption rate through the procurement centres. We will try to sell the surplus foodgrains to other states through direct and indirect channels,” he said, referring to earlier efforts to sell Patamda tomatoes and Ranchi cabbages to private units in metros like Mumbai.

“We have not thought of it as yet, but we can enter into dialogue with private players for sale of foodgrains in other states, too,” he added.

Ranbir Singh, joint secretary in the state food, public distribution and consumer affairs department, said that the decision on procurement centres was taken in the light of encouraging forecast about a bumper kharif harvest this year.

“We have a monthly consumption of 1.25 lakh tonne paddy through the public distribution system and we expect to have a production of 35-37 lakh tonne this season,” he said.

According to data with Birsa Agriculture University (BAU), against this huge domestic requirement, Jharkhand had produced only 9 lakh tonne rice per year in 2009 and 2010 due to extremely poor monsoon. BAU scientist A. Wadood said at present, around 17 lakh hectare was under paddy cultivation.

This year, Jharkhand received above average rainfall. Against a normal average rainfall of 1,083.7mm, the state received 1,101.5mm, a two per cent surplus, between June and September. {Such a small increase < 20mm has given this bumper crop?}

Fortunately, rainfall during the monsoon months was evenly distributed with most districts recording over 1,000mm between June and September.

On the procurement centres, Kumar said farmers would be paid Rs 10.80 per kg for ordinary par boiled rice and Rs 11 per kg for high grade par boiled rice. {Only 20 paise difference for low an dhigh quality rice?}

“We plan to open the centres within two-three months,” he said. Par boiled rice would be procured from farmers and stored at the centres operated by LAMPS. Thereafter, it would be dispatched to rice mill owners who would de-husk it and send it to Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns from where it would be routed to the public distribution system and made available to the people.

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 17 Nov 2011 15:23

Will olives ring in cash for Rajasthan? The govt hopes so

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 17 Nov 2011 21:57

by gakakkad
There is no newbie section in tech and economy forum so asking an agro based question here. I am looking to buy agricultural land in India. No one in my family has been a farmer for generations. I have heard that not everyone can buy agricultural land. You need some sort of license or something. Can anyone tell me where can I get such info? Googal chacha has been useless . I have a US green card. Can it complicate matters ? (I can always hide the fact since I have Indian passport and I don't plan being a khanland citizen)

What do you want to do with the land? Where do you want to buy it?

agricultural land which is not part of the "lal dora" or "village/city boundry" is under several laws. For example in Indian system you have

1. Owner of the Land called "Maalik"
2. Tiller/farmer of the land called "Kaashtgar".

and then you have Patwari who keeps the land records and maps of all the villages under his jursidiction., He is employed by the office of Tehsildar and gets pay (Rs. 2000 - Rs 5000).

most of the time Patwaris work as brokers for 1-2% commission of the land sold. They also issue a record called "Fard".

Government of India works under Acre, Kanal and Marla system

One Acre is equal to 8 Kanals

A kanal is equal to:

* 0.125 acres (510 m2)
* 506 m²
* 20 marlas
* 605 square yards

A Marla is 272.25 square feet.

So each Acre is identified by a unique number that your Patwari gives you (the owner) on a document called Fard stating for example

Sandeep S Bajwa is owner, Karandeep S Bajwa is Kashatgar

Full Acre 88/11
Full Acre 1/35
Full Acre 45/1
Full Acre 9/2
9/5 7 Kanal and 4 Marle

and so forth. Patwari keeps the land records and does "Girdwavri" or "Gardauri" which is going to the village every year and making sure that the owner/farmer and the person tilling the land are same as on paper.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 17 Nov 2011 22:28

gakakkad wrote:There is no newbie section in tech and economy forum so asking an agro based question here. I am looking to buy agricultural land in India. No one in my family has been a farmer for generations. I have heard that not everyone can buy agricultural land. You need some sort of license or something. Can anyone tell me where can I get such info? Googal chacha has been useless . I have a US green card. Can it complicate matters ? (I can always hide the fact since I have Indian passport and I don't plan being a khanland citizen)

You can own agri-land in India as long as you are a citizen. Non-citizens cannot buy agri-lands.

My recommendation is to buy it in your native place where you have local support. You can lease the land to any farmer. But there are some tenant laws in process so make sure that you put proper paper work with your tenant farmer and make sure that you change your tenant every 3 years (you can rotate). Another thing to be aware of is that being a agri-land owner (farmer) you are eligible to become voter in local water boards etc., and will be eligible for cheap agri-loans. Make sure that you do not leave such control to your tenant.

It is very natural that your tenant expect -
- Access to cheap (very very low interest rate) loans
- Access to votes (which will get them Rs500-1000 per vote in elections)
- Farm insurance (that is he doesnt want to pay you if the harvest doesn't come as expected)
- Subsidized offer when you plan to sell the land (often times the buyer demands no objection letter from your tenant)
... and so on.

Be helpful but be clear on all aspects is my advise. Make sure you have everything on paper. Make sure tenant not only understands but also appreciates all your help.

rest depends on human relationships...

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 17 Nov 2011 23:56

vgakakkad wrote:There is no newbie section in tech and economy forum so asking an agro based question here. I am looking to buy agricultural land in India. No one in my family has been a farmer for generations. I have heard that not everyone can buy agricultural land. You need some sort of license or something. Can anyone tell me where can I get such info? Googal chacha has been useless . I have a US green card. Can it complicate matters ? (I can always hide the fact since I have Indian passport and I don't plan being a khanland citizen)

Not sure about other parts of India but in Maharashtra there is/was? a rule that if want to buy land which is not registered as NA (Non agricultural) you have to be from a family engaged in agriculture.
The Local Sarpanch/Tahsildar mint money by attesting/giving certificate that a parcel of land in his village/jurisdiction is/was used for agriculture and which belongs/belonged to the father/mother/grandparents of an individual. Ergo this newly certified individual can now claim belonging to a farming clan and hence liscenced to buy agricultural land.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 02 Dec 2011 20:30

India's processed food output seen more than tripling by 2015 .

Production in the food processing sector in the country is expected to more than triple, with the level of processing of perishables rising from 6 per cent at present to 20 per cent by the year 2015, according to the ministry of food processing's vision document 2015.

Value addition in the food processing sector is expected to go up from 20 per cent to 35 per cent while India's share in global food trade is expected to double from 1.5 per cent to three per cent by the year 2015.This has to be achieved through public-private partnerships with strong implementation capabilities. The government has also restructured the 11th Plan schemes with appropriate management/ implementation targets.

Project selection, development and implementation of decentralised cluster-based projects, particularly the creation of infrastructure and fostering linkages to retail outlets are key to industry-led capacity building and upgradation of standards, Charan Das Mahant, minister of state for food processing industries, stated in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.The government now proposes to integrate food laws and develop science-based food standards to help selection of better projects, he said.

The ministry of food processing industries has already approved 15 of the 30 mega food parks planned for the 11th Plan period and is in the process of approving the remaining 15 mega food parks. The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) has already approved the remaining 15 projects and expression of interest (EOI) has been issued for inviting proposals, he added.

The ministry had also proposed the setting up of 30 cold chains during the 11th Plan period. Of this, 10 projects have been completed while eight have started commercial operation in terms of value addition, reduction in wastage and enhancement in farmer's income. In the second phase, 39 projects of integrated cold chains have been approved. Also, the ministry has approved modernisation of 10 abattoirs.

The government is providing assistance to around 2,532 units for technology upgradation, establishment and modernisation of food processing industries. Under the scheme of quality assurance, 22 food testing labs have been assisted and 14 units under HACCP/ ISO certification have been assisted, the minister stated.

For developing the required human resources, the ministry has provided assistance to 33 units, 140 food processing training centre (FPTC) and 805 entrepreneurship development programmes (EDP) for creation of infrastructure facilities, he added.The ministry is also strengthening institutions such as the NIFTEM, IICPT, IGPB and NMPPB to give a further impetus to the development of food processing sector in the country, Mahant stated in his written reply.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 09 Dec 2011 06:34

That's good news!! All we need for Rural Infrastructure is

1. Good Cold stores to store (milk, eggs, poultry, fish, meat, vegetables)
2. Good protective silos to store grains (Wheat, Rice, Bazra, Juwar, Pulses, Beans, dried vegetables)
3. Good connectivity to these storage places.
4. Good protection of these storage places (from thieves, mice, etc)

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 12 Dec 2011 19:48

Farmers threaten to dump potatoes on roads
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111212/punjab.htm#2

Worried, government orders freight subsidy to accelerate
potato export
Naveen S Garewal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 11
Succumbing to pressure by potato growers, the Punjab Government has ordered that a freight subsidy of Rs 2 crore be immediately released from the Rural Development Fund (RDF) to accelerate the export of potatoes.

Farmers from the Doaba region have threatened to dump potatoes on roads on December 15. They claim that potatoes worth Rs 1500 crore - Rs 2000 crore would be lost if the government did not come to their rescue.

A large number of farmers had stored their crop in cold stores, hoping to make some profit, but a bumper potato crop in Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts has caused a glut.

An official spokesperson said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had directed the Rural Development Board to release a sum of Rs 2 crore from the RDF in favour of MARKFED to enable it to give freight subsidy to various agencies/ individuals involved in the inter-state movement and export of potatoes. A delegation of farmers had recently called on the Chief Minister at Jalandhar, demanding freight subsidy. They had said that the bumper potato crop this year was being sold below the market price.

However, the potato growers have said the amount of Rs 2 crore was woefully adequate and a joke on the farmers. “ We will dump potatoes on roads and distribute these free of cost to show our resentment against the government,” said a farmers’ representative.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 29 Dec 2011 08:14

Food security bill will kill farming – Himachal CM

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 04 Feb 2012 01:55

All set for record high foodgrains output, again.

The country is poised to witness a record high foodgrains harvest for the second successive year in 2011-12, aided by the above normal monsoon and improved productivity in eastern States of Bihar and Jharkhand.

According to the Government estimates, foodgrains output is likely to touch 250.42 million tonnes as against the previous year's harvest of 244.78 million tonnes. This increase is led by a record high output of rice and wheat. Besides, the cotton output is projected to be at a record high of 34 million bales of 170 kg each as against previous year's 33 million bales.

The rice output is projected to be almost 6 million tonnes more at 102.75 million tonnes over last year's 95.98 million tonnes. The wheat output is seen higher at 88.31 million tonnes over last year's final estimates of 86.87 million tonnes.“The increase in rice has come from the eastern belt alone and as a result the overall foodgrains output has touched a record 250.42 million tonne,” Mr P.K. Basu, Agriculture Secretary, told reporters after releasing the second advance crop estimates.

“Bihar and Jharkhand, known as laggard States in agriculture production and productivity, have outperformed in yields as their rice output has more than doubled to 6.75 million tonnes and 3.3 million tonnes respectively,” Mr Basu said.

The record high foodgrains output could fuel storage concerns as the country had a stock of 54.8 million tonnes as of December 1, the highest in the past 10 years. The rice and wheat stocks stood at a little over 27 million tonnes each. However, the comfortable stocks and the record high projections would help the Government implement the Food Security Bill, which aims to provide foodgrains at a cheaper price to the poor.

Though the wheat and rice production are set for a record high, the output of pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals are projected to see dip on account of lower area coverage, hit by scanty North-East monsoon rains. The production of pulses is projected to dip by 5.26 per cent to 17.28 million tonnes (18.24 million tonnes). The drought-like conditions during the rabi season in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have resulted in lower area coverage under pulses.

Output of tur or red gram is projected to be lower at 2.72 million tonnes (2.86 million tonnes). Similarly, the production of gram – a dominant rabi crop, is set to be lower at 7.66 million tonnes (8.22 million tonnes). The oilseed output is also projected to dip on account of lower area coverage in States such as Rajasthan, where mustard is the key rabi crop. Total oilseed area is lower by 6.5 lakh hectares this year and the output is pegged at 30.53 million tonnes as against 32.48 million tonnes in the previous year.

The decline in oilseed output is led by groundnut, which is set to be lower by 16 per cent at 6.94 million tonnes (8.26 million tonnes). Similarly, mustard would be lower by 8.27 per cent at 7.5 million tonnes (8.17 million tonnes). Even soyabean output would see a small decline at 12 million tonnes as against 12.7 million tonnes last year.

The sugarcane output would be marginally higher at 347.8 million tonnes (342.3 million tonnes). The industry has projected a sugar output at a high of 26 million tonnes, while the Government estimates it to be between 24.6 and 25 million tonnes.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 04 Feb 2012 02:48

Vipul wrote:All set for record high foodgrains output, again.

On its own alone this food grain production will provide >1700 calories of daily intake for each one of 1.3 billion Indians. Add Dairy, Vegetable and fruit production and Indians do not need huge animal forms that treat animals in inhumane conditions. Whatever natural animal husbandry means available can satisfy the specific eating and cuisine habits of non-vegetarians.

Code: Select all

Calorific Value per 100 gms	339
	
2011 Production (Mil tonnes)	250.42
Total Calories	8.48924E+14
Per Capita distribution @1.3 bil population	653,018.3077
Daily Calorie Availability	1,789.091254

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 04 Feb 2012 02:48

Vipul wrote:All set for record high foodgrains output, again.

This food grain production alone will provide >1700 calories of daily intake for each one of 1.3 billion Indians. Add Dairy, Vegetable and fruit production and Indians do not need huge animal forms that treat animals in inhumane conditions. Whatever natural animal husbandry means available can satisfy the specific eating and cuisine habits of non-vegetarians.

Code: Select all

Calorific Value per 100 gms	339
	
2011 Production (Mil tonnes)	250.42
Total Calories	8.48924E+14
Per Capita distribution @1.3 bil population	653,018.3077
Daily Calorie Availability	1,789.091254

Then where is the Govt failing on food security????

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 10 Feb 2012 01:44

Cabinet approves national centre for developing cold chains.

The union cabinet today gave a ex-post facto approval for registering the National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and approved a one-time grant of Rs25-crore for setting up a corpus fund for it.

Accordingly, the NCCD will have its own memorandum of association and rules and regulations for the conduct of day-to-day business.

A govewrnment release said all stakeholders would be members of the society as partyners under the public-private-partnership (PPP) model.

The NCCD will have a governing council under the chairmanship of secretary of the ministry of agriculture, and 22 members drawn from government officials, the Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, farmers, cold chain equipment manufacturers and supplies.

With a production of 71.5 million tonnes of fruits, 133.7 million tonnes of vegetables and 17.8 million tonnes of other commodities like spices, coconut, cashew, mushroom, honey, flowers, etc, India is the second largest producer of horticultural commodities in the world. However, a significant portion of the produce, particularly perishables like fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc, goes waste due to post-harvest losses.

To address this issue, a 'task force on cold chain development' was constituted by the centre in 2008.

In its report, the task force recommended the setting up of a dedicated institution for promoting cold chain development in the country.

The National Spot Exchange (NSE), in its study, Cold Chain Grid in India (2010) also recommended the need for a robust cold chain infrastructure for reducing the post harvest losses of perishables.

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 12 Feb 2012 05:47

The milkmen who hope to challenge India's iconic milk co-operative Amul

A good read on how the dairy market in India is evolving. It appears that co-ops like Amul, Mother dairy, and State milk co-ops, the Indian private sector, as well as the MNCs are all expanding operations rapidly. Value-added products are coming in, and organized retail is playing a key role.

The coming few years will be very interesting for this business.

ManjaM · Post by **ManjaM** » 16 Feb 2012 19:02

Gents, has anyone here have a feasibility study/project report/business plan on exporting fruits and nuts to india? I am trying to gather some information before i go over the the local county agri support office. I am curious to know if there is a market for raw and processed fruits and nuts and what the tariff bariers are. Any pointers will be appreciated.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 25 Feb 2012 05:19

India – Farmer Suicides

Farmer suicides is a leftist straw men argument. The suicide rates in India are amongst the lowest in the world . Since 40% of the country is employed in agriculture , farmers account 40 % of India’s suicides . (via Bharat Rakshak • View topic – PRC Economy – New Reflections : Dec 15 2011.

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 1#p1243561