Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Suraj »

Please don't post unsubstantiated rumors asking others to find out for you. It's not good forum practice and essentially encourages online rumor mongering, which is a negative moderation load. If you're keen to know, find out as much credible information as you can yourself and others can add to it. If you can find nothing, then the logical conclusion based on open source information is that it is unsubstantiated.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Prem »

India is building a supercomputer to forecast the monsoon
http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/13/11919 ... n-forecast
ndia is developing a supercomputer to predict the monsoon with greater accuracy, and it hopes to have it up and running by next year. As Reuters reports, the country's meteorology office is spending $60 million to build the new supercomputer, which will use 3D modeling to predict how the seasonal rains will develop. M Rajeevan, India's earth science secretary, did not say which companies will manufacture the computer, though he tells Reuters that it will be 10 times faster than the current system, which was developed by IBM.India's farming sector is heavily reliant on the monsoon season, which runs from June to September. The monsoon accounts for more than two-thirds of the country's annual rainfall, and accurate predictions could help farmers identify the best time to sow their crops. According to Reuters, more accurate monsoon forecasts could boost farm production by up to 15 percent. In 2015, agriculture accounted for about 18 percent of India's GDP, according to the World Bank.India's current forecasting system, first introduced during British colonial rule, is based on a statistical model that combines historical patterns with data collected from satellites, radar, and observatories. The country's meteorology office has struggled to deliver accurate forecasts in recent years, most notably when it failed to predict a major drought in 2009. India has also seen two consecutive years of drought, though the meteorology office has predicted that this year's rains will not affect farm output.
"In the last one decade we've gained a greater degree of precision in forecasting rains
," Rajeevan tells Reuters, "but monsoon still remains a very complex weather system which only God has the ability to understand fully."
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Ananth »

http://www.hindustantimes.com/nation-ne ... BQ3JK.html
Monsoon drenches most states suffering drought


Beginning this week, the rain-bearing system activated over some of the driest parts, covered most of the country barring four states and made up for the delay by penetrating Uttar Pradesh slightly ahead of time, but the initial delay has meant the rains were still 18% deficient.

The rains have resumed over southern states, such as Kerala, after their usual pause.

The next surge should see the rains move into Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, towards June-end.
The Met has forecast heavy precipitation over the four to five days, which should bridge the rain gap significantly.
A heavy rainfall warning has been sounded for Friday (June 24) for eastern Uttar Pradesh, parts of West Bengal, Sikkim, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

On June 25, heavy rains are predicted for Konkan and Goa, coastal Karnataka and Uttarakhand. On June 26, three northern states — Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand — will get the heaviest showers since the monsoon’s start. Summer sowing of rice has picked pace in most southern and eastern states, the official added.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Ananth »

Monsoon in India: IMD good news for Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP & UP
The southwest monsoon on Sunday advanced to parts of parched Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, boosting kharif sowing in these regions. The rainfall deficiency against what is stated to be normal declined to 16% till Saturday from 24% a week ago.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Ananth »

Pulses area Rise by 33 per cent
Area under kharif pules rose 33 per cent to 14.2 million hectares as on Friday year-on-year on the back of good monsoon which may lead to fall in prices of lentils, already visible in some of them.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by rajkumar »

Uber-like app for tractor hailing launched in India

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-37690970

An Uber-like smartphone app has been launched in India, aimed at making it easier for farmers to hire tractors.

Many small-scale farmers are unable to buy their own and often have to rent them at high rates.

Now, vehicle-maker Mahindra and Mahindra has launched an app called Trringo offering hourly rental for between 400 and 700 rupees ($6; £5).

The service will also be available via a call centre - important as much of rural India does not have net access.

The service has been so far been rolled out in the state of Karnataka and will be available in others, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, soon.

Requested tractors and a driver will be sent to farmers via 20 hubs across Karnataka.

Speaking about the app to the New York Times, chief executive Rajesh Jejurikar said the current hiring model took "a toll on the self-esteem of the farmer", adding many felt they had "to beg for it".

The company is considering offering other farm machinery for hire in a similar way


Brilliant Idea
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by svenkat »

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/From-Jellicut-to-jallikattu/article17078490.ece
Only science can ensure commercial viability and protection of indigenous breeds.

With the Tamil Nadu Governor clearing an ordinance on jallikattu, the question is whether the sport will help preserve indigenous breeds of cattle. The proponents of jallikattu say that first, if the sport is banned, owners of indigenous bulls may no longer find it worth preserving the indigenous variants. Second, they say it is the ‘untamed’ bull that is used for breeding and so they may no longer be able to identify the strongest male, as a result of which the stock will weaken.

It is only the Jellicut (identified as Pulikulam) that has been described scientifically (between 1870 and 1930) as a “small bull specially bred for bull-fighting/taming in the Tamil region“, according to the Roslin Institute of the University of Edinburgh. I am unable to identify what breeds are currently used in jallikattu. Again, it is medieval to identify a herd bull through an inefficient method like jallikattu. Better methods to identify a herd bull are by identifying desirable heritable qualities in the animal, ensuring pedigree (purebred or cross-breed), reading expected progeny differences, breeding soundness (ability to get cows pregnant), and semen examination. Alternatives such as artificial insemination should also be considered. A herd book or register should be established.

Accurate and permanent records of individual cows and breeding herds also need to be maintained, even for those cows that are culled and sold, to trace family histories. Herd bulls should also be recorded for health treatments, frame size, testicular size, breeding soundness and identification. Electronic tagging is used to identify individual members of the herd over their life spans. Mating group records help the breeder to check on group fertility and identify issues. These records enable viability of the herd over generations.

Lack of data

There don’t seem to be accurate recorded data for indigenous cattle. The 18th Livestock Census, 2007, enumerates no indigenous variants at all for Tamil Nadu. It lists only Exotic Jersey, Exotic Holstein Friesian, Exotic Other, and Exotic Cross-breeds. On the other hand, the Jharkhand Livestock Census only has data on numerous indigenous cattle by name: Alambadi, Bachaur, Deoni, Gaolao, Jellicut (0), Kangayam (0), etc. However, the 19th Livestock Census of 2012 enumerates indigenous cattle in Tamil Nadu as an unsorted group, and unfortunately so does the Jharkhand Census. Yet again, the breed survey of 2013 estimates the breed-wise population of several indigenous variants.

While breed development has been undertaken in the past in India, little has been done to record and scientifically manage the herd. The 1928 Linlithgow Commission on Indian Agriculture names the Pattagarar of Palayakottai as an example of a breeder whose careful breeding had resulted in the Kangayam breed. However, till date, there is no herd book or register established for the breed, according to the Animal Genetic Resources of India website. Some breeds like the Gir and Ongole have an established herd book. A Jellicut herd book is also not available. Genetic data on livestock is now being maintained in several countries. This data will help enthusiasts and commercial organisations to choose the kind of animal they would like to breed.

Several important considerations determine breeding and herd strategies. The purpose of breeding could be to enhance or maintain existing qualities such as strength for draught work, milking, or carcass quality for beef. Another is to breed animals that would be good breeders. A third is to breed animals that provide good growth to progeny so that the market value of calves is higher. Breeding strategies are also structured to develop new breed lines. Show animals and animals used for sport need special selective breeding strategies.

While it is perfectly natural and desirable to be proud of our native fauna, it is also necessary to supplement, enhance, and improve their viability over generations. Careful cross-breeding improves hybrid vigour and long-term viability of desirable indigenous traits. U.S. servicemen stationed in Italy during World War II discovered that the Italian Chianina was excellent for draught and beef. In 1971, Chianina genetics was introduced in the U.S. with semen import.

Breeders of indigenous varieties should also explore other commercial possibilities like intellectual property rights. Tamil Nadu is yet to explore the lucrative possibilities of protecting livestock-based GIs, as Serbia has done with their Uzicka govedja prsuta (smoked beef ham) and are seeking to do with Kraljevacki kajmak, a milk product.

Enhancement of native breeds

Indian or South Asian(?we have to be careful ) breeds of cattle have led to enhancement of native breeds across the world. The American Brahman, the first beef cattle breed developed in the U.S., was bred from a nucleus of approximately 266 bulls and 22 females of four different Bos Indicus varieties: Gir (Gyr), Gujarat (Kankrej), Ongole (Nellore) and Krishna Valley, imported into the U.S. between 1854 and 1926. The Brahman cattle tolerates heat, is resistant to insects, and produces calves even at the age of 15. The Brahman is a root breed for many commercially valuable cattle breeds including the Brangus, created by cross-breeding Brahman and Angus, in the 1950s. The cross-breeding of Brahman bulls with European cows is a popular cross-breeding practice in the U.S.

African Zebu breeds evolved in parallel with Indian variants. It is determined that Zebu were first introduced in around 1,500 BC, crossed with longhorn humpless varieties to produce the Sangas. The Sanga later spread into central and southern Africa. Later around 670 AD, short-horned zebu cattle were introduced via Ethiopia and Somalia. They evolved into stable indigenous breeds like the Red Fulani, White Fulani, Boran and Ankole-Watusi. Zebu have been strengthened with genes from the Gujarat, Ongole and Gir lines.

The Nelore (known as Ongole in India) first arrived in Brazil in 1868. Ten years later, a couple were imported from Hamburg Zoo. In 1938, the Nelore Herd Book was created defining the breed standards. Between 1890 and 1921, it is estimated that over 5,000 Indian specimens were exported to Brazil. In 1960, 20 animals were imported, and in 1962 another 84. These became founders of important Brazilian breeding lines like Godahvari, Karvadi and Taj Mahal. Today, Brazil is also the possessor of 5 million registered pure-bred Nelore.

Science has enhanced the value and strength of Indian native breeds across the globe. For example, sales of Brazilian Nelore semen represent 65 per cent of the artificial insemination market of all beef breeds in Brazil. The leading Nelore sire there produced and sold 34,000 straws of semen in 1995, followed by another Nelore that sold 30,000, which means that both sires must have bred more than 20,000 cows.


While private players Genus ABS India Private Limited and Hanu Reddy Ongoles are developing gene banks and animal resources, it is also important to improve our national data banks. Further, national data banks ought also to hold samples and data of animals around the world. The National Animal Germplasm Program of the U.S. government is a multinational effort in collaboration with Canada and Brazil. They preserve samples from about 25,000 animals around the world — frozen semen, embryos, ovaries, and tissue which can be used to reconstitute livestock populations or simply lend a useful gene to an animal.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by ArmenT »

With pastures for cattle shrinking, India may have to import milk by 2021
India may have to import milk in four years, if it cannot increase fodder supply for its 299 million cattle, as rising pressure on land reduces pastures nationwide.
...
...
To boost milk yield, India would need to generate 1,764 million tonnes of fodder by 2020, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of government data. But existing sources can only manage about 900 million tonnes of fodder–a shortage of 49%.
...
...
The availability and quality of fodder has a direct bearing on the quantity and quality of milk productivity, the data show. All the three states that topped milk productivity in terms of gram per day–Rajasthan (704), Haryana (877) and Punjab (1,032)–had earmarked more than 10% of their cultivable land for pastures, according to the 2015 SOIL report. The national average is 337.

Currently, all three types of fodder are in short supply–green (63%), dry (24%) and concentrates (76%). Only 4% of total cultivable land in India is used for fodder production, a proportion that has remained stagnant for the last four decades.

...
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Prem »

Prem
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Prem »

disha
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by disha »

ArmenT wrote:With pastures for cattle shrinking, India may have to import milk by 2021
India may have to import milk in four years, if it cannot increase fodder supply for its 299 million cattle, as rising pressure on land reduces pastures nationwide.
...
...
To boost milk yield, India would need to generate 1,764 million tonnes of fodder by 2020, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of government data. But existing sources can only manage about 900 million tonnes of fodder–a shortage of 49%.
...
...
The availability and quality of fodder has a direct bearing on the quantity and quality of milk productivity, the data show. All the three states that topped milk productivity in terms of gram per day–Rajasthan (704), Haryana (877) and Punjab (1,032)–had earmarked more than 10% of their cultivable land for pastures, according to the 2015 SOIL report. The national average is 337.

Currently, all three types of fodder are in short supply–green (63%), dry (24%) and concentrates (76%). Only 4% of total cultivable land in India is used for fodder production, a proportion that has remained stagnant for the last four decades.
...
^Isn't importing fodder easier? Or manufacturing fodder? Instead of burning sugarcane bagasse., it can be converted to fodder and for more feed on the west there is great plains of Africa!
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by SBajwa »

http://www.rediff.com/business/report/a ... 170510.htm

India is set to see the highest foodgrain production this crop year, according to the government’s third advanced estimate released on Tuesday.

Boosted by a normal southwest monsoon -- a first in two years -- foodgrain production in the 2016-17 crop year, which ends in June, would be 273.4 million tonnes, almost nine per cent more than that of the previous year.

For many farmers, though, a bumper harvest isn’t good news, as they have been forced to sell their produce, particularly pulses, dirt cheap.

Production of grains, according to the second estimate released in February, would be around 272 million tonnes.

Wheat production was projected at 96.6 million tonnes. Bumper rabi and kharif harvests in 2016-17 should help ease inflation worries for the government.

Benign food inflation would also give the Reserve Bank of India headroom to hold on to interest rates, unless monsoon projections for 2017 are not favourable.

“Largest-ever foodgrain production this year will keep food prices subdued till the next harvest,” Madan Sabnavis, chief economist CARE Ratings, told Business Standard.

“Prices of wheat, rice and pulses are expected to remain weak due to surplus crop, unless, of course, the 2017 southwest monsoon does not match projections.”

After Tuesday’s estimate, he said, it looked all the more likely that the RBI would hold interest rates in the next review, in June, unless monsoon shocks.

The India meteorological department has projected normal monsoon for 2017. But with chances of the dreaded El Niño rearing its head, many global weather forecasting models have been confusing signals.

The agriculture ministry has in its estimate projected pulses output at a record 22.40 million tonnes, around 37 per cent more than last year’s.

Oilseeds output was projected at 32.52 million tonnes, around 7 million tonnes more than that of the previous year.

Cotton production was projected at 32.57 million bales, around 8.5 per cent more, while sugarcane production was projected at 306 million tonnes, around 12 per cent less.

The 2016 southwest monsoon was the first normal monsoon after two back-to-back droughts in 2014 and 2015. The rains were good in almost 80 per cent of the country’s land mass.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by jayasimha »

Presentation By
Shri. A.S. Kiran Kumar
Chairman ISRO

on Foundation Day and Award Ceremony of UAS Bengaluru

October 09 2015

http://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/fi ... galuru.pdf
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by ramana »

X-posting about import of edible oils...
chetak wrote:shocker :shock:

Eating out: India’s exorbitant world food bill



Eating out: India’s exorbitant world food bill

by Rahul Goswami 10 Jun 2017

In the Konkan, small electrically operated oil presses that ingest limited amounts of dried copra to expel oil for households to cook with are common. These can press enough in a day (electricity supply permitting) to fill several dozen glass bottles with coconut oil. As such a filled bottle of freshly pressed coconut oil usually sells for Rs 130 to Rs 160, the price per litre may be estimated at about Rs 180. This price compares quite well with the price range of Rs 190 to Rs 220 that is paid by the household buyer for a litre of branded coconut oil.

But it compares not at all with the trade price of an imported shipment of sunflower-seed or safflower oil which in 2016 was imported into India at an average price of just under Rs 60 per kilogram. India imported 1.53 million tons of sunflower-seed or safflower oil last year, and the Rs 9,080 crore spent on it pushed the total amount spent on imported ‘edible’ oils to beyond the Rs 70,000 crore mark.

Palm oil

Both by weight and by the total amount paid for it, palm oil is the most visible imported food commodity in India today, and has been for the last five years. In 2016 India imported 8.25 million tons of palm oil (the supplying countries being Malaysia and Indonesia) for which the importing agencies paid Rs 38,900 crore. This immense annual flood of a sort of oil that ought never to have touched our shores let alone ooze into our home kitchens and canteens came at less than Rs 48 per kilogram last year. For this reason - the absurdly low price per landed ton of Malaysian and Indonesian palm oil, a low price that hides from the Indian consumer the deforestation devastation and species extinction in those countries, new cooking oil blends are being shoved into the foods market every other month by the edible oils industry. :((

Biomedical research which is independent and not either funded by or influenced by the oil palm industry and edible oil traders (which means the world’s largest commodity trading firms) indicates that palm oil, which is high in saturated fat and low in polyunsaturated fat, leads to heart disease. It is considered less harmful than partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, but that is no redemption, for palm oil can under no circumstance be compared to our traditional cooking oils, coconut included.

The colonisation of the Indian kitchen and of the processed foods industry by palm oil has taken place only on the basis of landed price per ton, and that is why this oleaginous menace is now found in many everyday products such as biscuits and crackers and cookies (which school children develop addictions for), snack chips, shampoos, skin care and beauty products, and even pet food.

Soya oil

The next largest oily invasion is that of soyabean oil, of which 3.89 million tons (mt) was imported by India in 2016 (3.5 mt in 2015, 2.1 mt in 2014). Most of this was of Argentinian origin, just over 3 mt, and because more than 98% of the soya that is grown in Argentina is genetically modified (GM) the millions of tons of soyabean oil India has imported from that country has been used, blended, fractionated, caked and consumed by humans and animals with no indication about its GM origin and with no tests whatsoever for its effects on human and animal health. In terms of rupees per landed kilogram of soyabean oil, at about Rs 53 it is between palm oil and sunflower-seed or safflower oil. These landed prices show dramatically the effect exporting countries’ subsidies for a commodity category have on the related industry (edible oils) in an importing country.

Just as the vast palm oil plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia have waxed luxuriant in place of the old growth tropical rainforests that were cut down, turning the wildlife of these forests into hapless refugees, swelling the lucrative and thoroughly illegal forest timber trade, so too have the vast soya plantations in Argentina immiserated that country’s rural population and caused hunger because of the soya monocrop that has replaced their food biodiversity and whose need for fertiliser grew (as it did with Bt cotton in India) instead of shrinking. Both these long-drawn out eco-social catastrophes have been prolonged because of the inability or unwillingness of Indian consumers and regulatory agencies to acknowledge the faraway effects of our considerable ‘demand’ for palm oil and soyabean oil. :((

Pulses

Second to palm oil by weight amongst food commodities imported by India is pulses, of which 6.18 mt were imported in 2016 for a price of Rs 27,700 crore. The annual import pattern of a decade of 4 mt to more than 6 mt of imported pulses last year are a large fraction again of the average 18.7 mt of pulses a year grown in India for the last five years (until 2016-17).

Between 2003-04 and 2009-10 the quantity of pulses (tur or arhar, gram, moong, urad, other kharif and rabi pulses) harvested scarcely changed, averaging 14.2 mt over this period. There was a jump in 2010-11 to 18.2 mt and then another plateau followed until 2015-16, with the average for those six years being 17.7 mt. With the 22.7 mt estimated total pulses harvest in 2016-17, we can hope that another plateau is being scaled, and indeed this pattern of a plateau of several years followed by a modest increase does tend to indicate the following of a more agro-ecological cultivation of pulses (these being in rainfed farms) than intensive cultivation dependent on fertiliser, pesticide and commercial seed.

Sugar

What is a new concern is an item that by weight is fourth on the list of food commodity items imported, and that is sucrose: India imported 2.11 mt in 2016, in 2015 it was 1.6 mt, in 2014 it was 1.37 mt. The country with the greatest consumption of sugar, estimated by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Food and Public Distribution to be around 25 mt per year and growing disproportionately above the natural growth in the number of households, the processed and packaged food sector is the destination for the 2.11 mt of sucrose imported in 2016. A ready consumer for the sucrose is the commercial fruit juice sector, which bases its produce on a small amount of fruit pulp (vegetable extract is often added for bulk), water, chemical preservatives, food-like colours, artificial flavours and sweeteners.

The giant bulk of our sugarcane harvests distract from the ratios calculated - that a ton of raw sugar is obtained from 13 or 14 tons of cane. (This is usually net of jaggery / gur / khandsari and also net of molasses, which is used by distilleries and animal feed.) The mountains of bagasse - the crushed residue from which the sugar has been extracted - which remain are used in the paper and pulp industry, are an ingredient in cattle feed, and are used as biofuel.

Nuts

At 730,000 tons imported in 2016 and under the international trade category of ‘edible fruit and nuts’ is cashew nuts and Brazil nuts, on which Rs 8,345 crore was spent. A second important sub-category is ‘dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried’ and 350,000 tons were imported in 2016 (for Rs 6,204 crore), while 280,000 tons of apples, pears and quinces, 182,000 tons of ‘other nuts, fresh or dried’ were also imported.

Under 23 main categories food commodities, which include 167 sub-categories and more than 400 subsidiary categories, the bill for imported foods (including dairy and beverages) and food products that we purchased from all over the world in 2016 was USD 22,041 million (USD 22.04 billion), or at the average rupee-dollar exchange rate for 2016, Rs 152,088 crore! In 2015 this bill was USD 20,877 million which at the average annual rupee-dollar exchange rate for 2015 was Rs 137,794 crore. In 2014 this bill was USD 19,372 million which at the average annual rupee-dollar exchange rate for 2014 was Rs 123,015 crore.

Globalisation

These amounts are astronomical and underline the strength of globalisation’s thrall by which we are gripped, exerted upon us not only by the World Trade Organisation but also by the agreements that India has signed (or intends to, and demonstrates intent by importing) with regional trade blocs of the European Union, the OECD and ASEAN. The financial allocations to some of the largest central government programmes, and the budgetary sums of some of the biggest successes in the last three years shrink in comparison to the size of these purchases: the spectrum auction in 2015 brought in Rs 110,000 crore, the 2016-17 central government pensions budget of Rs 128,166 crore, the Rs 47,410 crore transferred so far as subsidy directly into accounts under the Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG consumer scheme, the expenditure of Rs 51,902 crore in 2016-17 on MGNREGA (the highest since its inception).

Bringing about stability in farmers’ incomes (let alone an increase), encouraging rural and peri-urban entrepreneurship based on traditional foods cultivated by agro-ecological methods, ensuring that consumers can find and are assured by the quality of food staples which are free of GM ingredients, chemicals and additives, and the saving of enormous sums of money can all be had if we but reduce and then cut out entirely the wanton import of food and beverages, and processed and packaged food products.
Very ranty article.

But imports of soybean oil and non-food import of palm oil would be a healthy choice. Something the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, and Commerce should set up a task force to explore.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by ramana »

Anyone want to write policy paper on food imports based on above data and using demographic projections?
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by jayasimha »

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Agriculture
23-June-2017 18:27 IST
Reforms by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and its Possible Impact

1. PRADHAN MANTRI FASAL BIMA YOJANA: After through review of erstwhile scheme of Modified National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (MNAIS), the Government launched PMFBY in April, 2016. Under new scheme, farmers are charged uniform rate of premium of 1.5 % in Rabi, Which is the minimum rate till date. The scheme includes not only coverage of risks to standing crops, but also covers risk such as prevented sowing and post-harvest losses. Under this scheme, farm level assessment of losses due to localized calamities is being done for the first time and 25 % of the assessed claims are paid online immediately. Most importantly, capping has been removed and to maximize the compensation, now farmers will get full cost of cultivation against their losses. There is a lot of emphasis on the use of technology for insurance claims so that payment is not delayed.

It is pertinent to State here that in the year 2016-17, not only has the total sum insured increased to approximately twice that of 2015-16, but coverage of non-loanee farmers has also increase from 5 % in 2015-16 to 25 % in 2016-17, which shows the increasing acceptance of the scheme.

2. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE MANDI: Earlier. different states had different regulations for the mandis. After consultation with the states, rectification of three rules - recognition of e-trading, implementation mandi tariff on single window and single licence across the state – have been implemented to provide single mandi for trading to the farmers. Hon’ble prime Minister has inaugurated the web based online trade portal on the eve of Ambedkar anniversary on 14th April 2016 so as to provide readily available market to the farmers. Through this portal the farmers will enable themselves to dispose off their products in the mandis spread all over the country. By 8th June 2017 419 mandis of 13 states, 46 lakh farmers, 90,000 traders and 47,000 commission agents have been linked with e-NAM portal. Through which a transaction of 96 lakh MT products costing to Rs. 22,179 crore is carried out.

3. SOIL HEALTH CARD (SHC): Earlier to 2015-16 the soil health card were prepared in separate edition on small level by different State Governments. And for this purpose no amount was allocated separately. Keeping in view the importance of this subject time soil health card scheme was initiated for the first in which an unanimous soil specimen unification and trial methodology has been adopted. Through this scheme 12 soil health parameters are analysed so that the farmers might be aware accurately about the use of fertilizers and nutrients in their fields. Through this scheme there will not only be reduction in the cost of farming but also the identification of nutrients in the land and their importance will be established. There has been 8 to 10 % reduction in the consumption of the fertilisers during 2016-17 as compared to 2015-16. At the same time there has been a 10 to 12 % growth in the production.

4. AGROFORESTRY: The Sub-Mission on Agroforestry has been launched for the first time by the present government to augment tree planting activities, intercropping and Medh Par Ped. The scheme has been implemented in the states having liberalised transit regulations for transport of timber. This will not only help in reducing the effects of climate change, increase soil biodiversity, but it will also provide a source of income for farmers. Under this scheme, the work have started in the 8 states in the year 2016-17 and in the 5 states in 2017-18 after liberalised transit regulations. Other states are also being motivated to do so.

5. Rashtriya Gokul Mission: This scheme for the first time has been commenced for the conservation and promotion of domestic bovines in a scientific and consolidated way. Through this 35 projects have been approved in 27 states, under which 31 mother bull farm of high breeding (for genetic improvement), recording of cow’s milk productivity, training to 30,000 artificial semen technicians conducive for 6 crore artificial semen activity during this year as well as 14 gokul gram (Bovine Development Centres) for special conservation are being established. Apart from this 2 Kamdhenu Breeding Centres for special conservation of domestic species on national level are being set up in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. This mission will help in the productivity of 30 crore bovines and buffaloes as well as 7 crore milk producing farmers.

6. NATIONAL BOVINE PRODUCTIVITY MISSION: National bovine productivity mission has been started in November 2016 for the enhancement of income of animal rearers, milk production and productivity. For the first time in the country, 8.8 million milch animals are being issued Nakul Swastha Patra and UID cards under the Pashudhan Sanjeevani scheme and are being provided comprehensive health treatment. With the aim of increasing the number of female bovines, advanced breeding techniques like Sex Sorted bovine Semen, 50 Embryo Transfer Techniques and In vitro Fertilization (IVF) Centers are being opened.
Assisted Reproductive Technique is being used to increase the availability of disease-free female bovines through sex-sorted semen technology and 50 embryo transfer technology labs are being established. Through National Bovine Genomic Centre, indigenous breeds will be made acceptable for increased milk production and productivity. The centre will play a crucial role in the identification of disease free High genetic merit bulls. In 2016, first ever e-Pashudhan Haat portal had been launched in order to facilitate the sale and purchase of high-quality breed / native livestock and availability of good quality semen doses. Till June 12, 2017, information about 15,831 live animals, 4.71 crore semen doses and 373 embryos has been uploaded on this portal. Through this transparent high-level cattle market has been established where sale and purchase of livestock and semen can be done without any middleman. So far, 3 crore semen doses and 100 livestock have been sold on the portal.

7. BLUE REVOLUTION: Blue Revolution has been concentrated on one point for all of its schemes related to the productivity of water resources, fisheries, inland fisheries in order to enhance the security of fish rearers, marine fisheries, mericulture and the development of the harbours for fishery farmers. Consequent upon there has been an increasement in fisheries upto 19.75% and number of the insured fishermen raised to 16%. It is mentionworthy here that government has enhance the amount to be given in saving cum relief component from Rs. 600 to Rs. 1500 per month. Thus the accommodation component amount for the fishermen has been enhanced from Rs. 75000 to Rs. 1.20 lakh and for North Eastern States Rs. 1.30 lakh.

8. STUDENT READY PROGRAMME IN AGRICULTUE EDUCATION: Earlier there were 4 year programmes for different streams in which there was less stress in skill development and only 6 months rural demonstrations. At present rural demonstration progamme has been extended for the whole one year resulting in the job provider degree holders instead of job seeking ones. Along with the students will enjoy beneficial production processes through industrial atmosphere which lead them to establish their own business in agricultural sector in the time to come.

9. AGRICULTURE EDUCATION IS TO BE DECLARED AS PROFESSIONAL DEGREE: Recently ICAR has declared agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and agro forestry stretched to 4 years span as profession degrees. These degrees enable the students for obtaining fellowship, admission in universities and different post graduation degrees abroad. They will impart priority on the allocation of dealership of not only agriculture chemicals, tools and equipments but also it will extend assistance for the processing, value addition, export oriented profession and seeking loans from the banks.

10. PERSONNEL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, DEPLOYMENT AND TRANSFER SYSTEM: Online computerized platforms have been prepared for both the above mentioned operations. Through them one can get an expeditious knowhow about the strength of the scientists, their existing status, deployment in specific unit as well as existing vacancies within no time. Through this platform we have got information about such 468 scientists whose deployment was not as per their sanctioned posts. The appropriate modifying measures have been taken in this respect. Apart from this there will be a complete check on the discrepancies and the transfer of the persons due to the lack of information about computerized deployment and transfer system.

11. PORTAL FOR E-GOVERNANCE: The following portals have been made through the use of information and communication technology which has carried out expeditious performance in a transparent way. The burning example of them are ERP system, KVK knowledge portal, Management system for post graduation and education, Educational and E-Learning module, E-Dialogue, Agriculture e-office and E-Agriculture Mandi.



SS
Atish
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Atish »

Kudos to the Namo Govt for appointing a knowledgeable, competent, honest and experienced professional (Shri Prabhat Bezboruah) as Chairman of Tea Board. Normally Congress appointed a venal, corrupt, incompetent, clueless IAS baboon. This is a small example of acche din - appointing right people for the right job.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by jayasimha »

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease. ... lid=167429
Kharif Crop Sowing Crosses 563 Lakh Hectare Area

The total sown area as on 14th July 2017, as per reports received from States, stands at 563.17 lakh hectare as compared to 521.80 lakh hectare at this time last year.

It is reported that rice has been sown/transplanted in 125.77 lakh ha, pulses in 74.61 lakh ha, coarse cereals in 113.06 lakh ha, sugarcane in 47.94 lakh hectare and cotton in 90.88 lakh ha.

The details of the area covered so far and that covered during this time last year are given below:
(Figures in Lakh hectare )

Crop
Area sown in 2017-18
Area sown in 2016-17
----
Rice
125.77
120.32
----
Pulses
74.61
60.28
----
Coarse Cereals
113.06
98.79
----
Oilseeds
103.92
115.75
----
Sugarcane
47.94
45.22
-----
Jute & Mesta
6.98
7.51
----
Cotton
90.88
73.93
------
Total
563.17
521.80
jayasimha
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by jayasimha »

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Agriculture
21-July-2017 17:24 IST
Kharif Crop Sowing Crosses 685 Lakh Hectare Area

The total sown area as on 21st July 2017, as per reports received from States, stands at 685.31 lakh hectare as compared to 673.41 lakh hectare at this time last year.
It is reported that rice has been sown/transplanted in 177.04 lakh ha, pulses in 93.36 lakh ha, coarse cereals in 130.90 lakh ha, oilseeds in 123.55 lakh ha and cotton in 104.29 lakh ha.
The details of the area covered so far and that covered during this time last year are given below:
Fig. in Lakh hectare

Crop
Area sown in 2017-18
Area sown in 2016-17

Rice
177.04
169.23

Pulses
93.36
90.33

Coarse Cereals
130.90
129.41

Oilseeds
123.55
144.82

Sugarcane
49.15
45.22

Jute & Mesta
7.02
7.54

Cotton
104.29
86.86

Total
685.31
673.41

SS: weather watch 21.07.2017
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by disha »

This article from bloomberg is on food security report for 2017.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-food-security/

Funny thing Saudi Arabia and Singapore and Australia are ahead! This is actually a wrong report.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by SBajwa »

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab ... 89709.html

Punjab is expecting to procure a record 182 lakh tonnes of paddy during the ongoing Kharif marketing season.

“Last year, we procured 168 lakh tonnes of paddy. This year, we are targeting 182 lakh tonnes and we might cross this figure,” Punjab Food secretary KAP Sinha told reporters here today.

He said it is going to be an all-time high paddy purchase in the state.

In the ongoing Kharif marketing season, the government agencies procured bulk of the paddy crop.

So far, a total of 123.98 lakh tonnes of paddy has been purchased in the state. Of which, 2.26 lakh tonnes has been bought by private millers, said Sinha.

“This time because of good weather, crop being free from any kind of problems associated with it, the quality is so good. Nowhere we have come across any problem where somebody has said procurement is not being done,” said Sinha.

“We are ensuring payment to farmers within 24 hours while within 72 hours, the lifting is being done,” he said while describing the paddy procurement for the central pool as “massive economic exercise” being conducted smoothly in the state.

He said 7.79 lakh farmers are getting benefit from the purchase of crop at MSP.

Talking about cash credit limit, Sinha said the state government had proposed a sum of Rs 33,800 crore for the purchase of paddy during the current Kharif marketing season.

“We have got Rs 28,000 crore sanctioned and of which Rs 16,000 crore has been exhausted. The CCL (cash credit limit) is valid till October 31 and we have already submitted a proposal with the government of India and RBI for authoristaion of its renewal,” he said. — PTI
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Kakkaji »

Very comprehensive article, listing details of private sector involvement in Indian agriculture. Heart-warming for me.

How private sector is helping cultivators with technology, buyback and improving their social standards
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Kakkaji »

Centre’s big milk production plan may help clean Delhi’s air too
The Centre's big plan, besides increasing the cultivatable area in India for green fodder, could also solve the air pollution problem in Delhi-NCR. A key part of the plan is to collect about 150 million tonnes of crop residues and stubble, covering about 10 million hectares of land, by 2019-20, which can be used as "dry fodder" for cattle and is presently burnt in Punjab and Haryana causing air pollution in these states and Delhi NCR.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by A_Gupta »

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultryne ... -in-india/
Japan's largest egg producer, Ise Foods, is teaming up with Suzuki Motor in a joint venture to launch major egg production operations in the enormous Indian market, aiming to selling 4 billion eggs annually, about 5 per cent of India's current egg consumption.

Nikkei Asian Review reports that Ise Foods also plans to cooperate in developing poultry farms and improving food distribution efficiency, and contribute to India's farm sector as a whole.

"I think India will reach in about 15 years the level of the culinary lifestyle it took Japan 40 years to reach," said company Chairman Hikonobu Ise in an interview.

The company aims to deliver eggs that are safe and have high nutritional content by taking the Ise model to India unchanged, he said. That includes computer-controlled hen houses, automatic egg collection, shipping at temperatures below 10° C, antibiotic-free vaccinations, and prompt packing systems without any human handling.

"In order to realize the Ise model, we will take equipment and so forth from Japan," Ise said.
In India, Ise said the company is currently looking at sites on which to build poultry farms around the city of Surat in the western state of Gujarat. Initially, it plans to build two 20-acre farms, with 300,000 chickens to be raised on each and production to start at around 500,000 eggs a day. Once the company chooses local partners, new joint ventures could be set up with the Ise Suzuki India joint venture
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Vips »

At 305 mt, horticulture output to be a tad higher this year.

The country’s horticultural production during the current year (July 2017-June 2018) is expected to go up by a marginal 1.6 per cent to 305.4 million tonnes (mt) compared to 300.6 mtin the previous year, according to the first advance estimates of fruits and vegetable production released by the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday.

The production of vegetables during the year is projected at 181 mt, while the output of fruits is expected to touch95 mt, according to the data compiled from information provided by various States and Union Territories.

The Ministry also released the final estimates for horticulture produce for 2016-17, which stood at 300.6 mt against 300 mt pegged in the third advance estimates released in August last year.

While the production of vegetables was higher than the last projections, that of fruits and spices dipped slightly.

Among major vegetables, the output of tomatoes, whose price soared during the year, is estimated to record an impressive 7.7 per cent growth to 22.3 mt (20.7 mt), whereas that of potatoes is expected to grow by mere 1 per cent to 49.3 mt.

Production of onion, on the other hand, is projected to drop by 4.5 per cent to 21.4 mt (22.4 mt).

Mangoes, the second highest grown fruit in the country after bananas, are set for a notable 6.2 per cent increase in production to 20.7 mt (19.5 mt).

There will be a slight increase in the production of citrus fruits too — 11.7 mt against 11.4 mt in the previous year. The output of bananas, on the contrary, is expected to edge down to 30.2 mt (30.5 mt).

The total acreage under horticultural crops increased slightly to 24.92 million hectares (mh) from 24.85 mh in 2016-17.

The area under fruits cultivation registered a minor increase to 6.43 mh from 6.37 mh, the area under vegetables shrank 10.17 mh from 10.24 mh last year.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Vips »

India to become self-sufficient in pulses in FY19, on record rabi output.

Saddled with imports until last year, India is set to achieve self sufficiency in pulses in FY 2018-19, wth a high kharif output and likelihood of record rabi season production due to an all-time high acreage and favourable agro climatic condition.

Until last year, that is 2016-17, India remained heavily dependent on import of pulses of different varieties, including chick peas from Australia, tur from Myanmar and other varieties from Canada and a number of non-consuming but large-growing African countries. Apex industry body, India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), puts India’s import at around 5.7 million tonnes of pulses during FY2017, almost similar to 5.8 million tonnes imported during the previous financial year.

According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), India has imported pulses worth $2.47 billion for the period between April and November 2017 to meet its growing consumer demand. During financial year 2016-17, India had set a record in imported pulses at $4.24 billion, up from $3.90 billion the previous year.

“Pulses output during the kharif 2017 season is estimated at 8.71 million tonnes, slightly lower than last year’s level of 9.42 million tonnes. With increase in acreage and better seed distribution and agro climatic condition, we are estimating total acreage at 16-16.5 million hectares, due to which about 2.5-3 million tonnes of additional pulses during rabi 2017 season, which would be available for marketing in FY 2018-19. This means total pulses availability in India would be around 24-25 million tonnes, over and above nearly two million tonnes of buffer stock available with the Food Corporation of India (FCI). So, India does not need to import pulses. Some specific varieties might be compensated with exports of the varieties grown largely in India,” said a senior government official.

With a steady growth of 4-5 per cent, India requires around 24 million tonnes of pulses a year to fulfill its demand.

Data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture showed total acreage under rabi pulses jumped by nearly 5 per cent to hit the highest ever at 16.31 million ha which works out to about 15 per cent more than the average of the past five years.

S Ganeshan, Advisor to Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI), said that looking at the lowest possible import of pulses from India this year, the Australian and Canadian governments have advised their farmers not to grow pulses this year. “We need to focus on market development before concentrating on boosting agricultural production,” he added.

India, however, has not yet developed any such an advisory system to make farmers aware of their realisation before they sow any crop. While many market forecasters pre-empt production and availability of any particular crop, they do not anticipate prices of farm produce. Even if they do make forecasts, they often prove wrong.

“India is set to attain self-sufficiency in pulses this year due to three primary factors: increase in acreage under rabi pulses, aggressive replacement and availability of quality seeds during peak sowing season, and better irrigation facilities this year. Earlier, many areas with potential to grow pulses had been left without sowing any crop. Since wheat is grown with increasing intensity of winter, semi-cold regions are left unsown with any rabi crop. This year, the government has encouraged famers to grow pulses in semi-cold regions like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. This will result into higher pulses output this year,” said Vijay Sardana, an agriculture expert.

Apart from that, many pulses growing areas such as Latur and Marathwada have better irrigation facilities this year. As a result, there is potential for higher yield, which will help achieve higher production this year.

Importers like K C Bharatiya, however, see room for two million tonnes of import even with higher domestic production.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by VKumar »

But what about low prices realised by farmers due to glut of lentils and pulses
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by srinebula »

disha wrote:
^Isn't importing fodder easier? Or manufacturing fodder? Instead of burning sugarcane bagasse., it can be converted to fodder and for more feed on the west there is great plains of Africa!
This IndiaSpend is a known fake data platform.
Look at this story: Gujarat has over supply of milk. This despite Amul being a very competitive brand and has India wide market, and also has exports.
http://deshgujarat.com/2018/01/27/gujar ... lk-powder/
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by VKumar »

It is widely expected that India's demand for milk and milk products will overtake supply in the next few years, based on growing prosperity.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Vips »

India to produce 277.5 mt of food grains in FY18 against target of 274.5 mt.

India will produce about 277.5 million tonnes (mt) of food grains in 2017-18 as against the target of 274.5 mt set for the agricultural year, according to the second advance estimates of crop production released by the department of agriculture, cooperation and farmers welfare on Tuesday.

A record 24 mt of pulses are expected to be produced in 2017-18, and with imports of 5.1 mt already completed in the April–December period, this year will witness a consecutive year of over-supply on pulses to the tune of 30 mt, as against annual consumption of 23 mt in India.

Rice production of 96.5 mt trumped the first advance estimate of 94.5 mt. Similarly, two nutri-cereals, maize and bajra, exceeded their first advance estimate to take overall production to record levels.

Sugarcane production had fallen 12 per cent in 2016-17 to 3 billion tonnes, but has recovered 15 per cent to 3.5 billion tonnes this year. A recent survey estimated that sugar production in Maharashtra has doubled this year, which will improve India’s sugar output by 12 per cent to 29 mt.

The second advance crop production estimates were released on February 27, almost a fortnight later than their normal date of release of February 15.

Production of pulses in India had fallen to a six-year low of 16.3 mt in 2015-16 after back-to-back drought conditions in major growing regions, inflating their wholesale and retail price to record levels. This had prompted farmers across states like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh to sow more, which resulted in a supply glut in 2016-17.

In 2017-18, after a price crash, sowing of tur and moong subsided, but that of urad (kharif crop) and gram (rabi crop) has continued to rise in the current year.

With a considerable increase in urad and gram area and production, and a considerable reduction in soybean and wheat, Madhya Pradesh effectively impacted nationwide crop estimates this year.

Record production of kharif pulses — red gram, green gram and black gram —at 9.6 mt in 2016-17 dwindled in 2017-18 to 8.8 mt, but rabi pulses, held up by chana (gram), are expected to post a record production of 15.1 mt, from 13.5 mt in the previous year.

India effectively managed a surplus of about 13-14 million tonnes of pulses in two years, courtesy 30 mt of production in addition to 5-6 mt of imports for two consecutive years. This surplus would most probably get shipped out of India — after opening up of exports in December — or get stocked by traders to enter the market in times of shortage if the upcoming year shows poor monsoon and agricultural performance.

Wheat sowing went down 20 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, reducing its nationwide production from 98.5 mt in 2016-17 to an estimate of 97 mt in 2017-18. All major non-food crops — oilseeds, cotton, jute and sugarcane — are estimated to be produced at levels lower in 2017-18 than their all-time record which was achieved at some point in the last decade. Overall production growth is being led by revival of foodgrain production after consecutive droughts of 2014-15 and 2015-16, as against non-food crops which dominated agricultural growth in the crop sector in the last decade.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Prem »

https://theprint.in/policy/israeli-tech ... tra/39594/
Israeli technology is helping grow more tomatoes in Tamil Nadu & mangoes in Maharashtra
New Delhi: From increasing tomato yields in Tamil Nadu to helping farmers grow crops in the deserts of Rajasthan, the Indo-Israel Agriculture Project over the last decade has been a fruitful one. And there’s no bigger sign of the successful partnership than Israel’s 23rd agricultural center of excellence was inaugurated Wednesday at Mizoram.“We along with the Indian government are planning to spread to other states in the region, but as of now the Mizoram centre will be catering to the northeast region as a whole,” said Dan Alluf, Agriculture Counsellor of Agriculture at MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation).Alluf said MASHAV’s biggest agricultural projects are in India, and the nation has been at the focus of their work.The centre in Mizoram will focus on citrus fruits, but over the years the initiative has helped in regions across India. Among the major contributions of the initiative include protected cultivation, where crops like vegetables are grown in controlled conditions in polyhouses.In Haryana, the use of Israeli techniques has resulted in higher yields of tomato, cucumber and capsicum. In Tamil Nadu, the use of plastic mulching has boosted yields of tomato farms by almost four times.“Generally, 15-17 tonnes of tomatoes are harvested per acre. After implementing mulching, combined with drip irrigation, we have harvested up to 54 tonnes per acre,” said Srinivasan K, who heads the implementation of the project’s initiatives in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district.n Maharashtra, experiments to combine Israeli mango varieties with local ones has helped reduce the height of the trees from 40 feet to 15 feet.“By this the deficiency of labour has been tackled greatly. Field operations like spraying and harvesting is made very easy” said Dr. Mahesh Kulkarni, who implements projects of the centre in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district.Six centres that were set up in Rajasthan help farmers in arid areas with drip irrigation technology. A centre working on citrus crops has adopted a ridge-bed system over about 45,000 hectares in Kota district. This has helped farmers save their crop from water stagnation and grow multiple crops like coriander and fenugreek, alongside the citrus trees.
Apart from the agriculture project between the two nations, there’s now a three-year joint agriculture programme till 2020, which will also focus on the use of recycled water.“We want to introduce more post-harvest solutions, increase pollination techniques that can make changes in protected cultivation, improve irrigation practices, introduce recycled water usage and extend the shelf life of agricultural products” Alluf said.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by jaysimha »

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh addresses Consultative Committee of the Ministry on Millets - Coarse Cereals

Government decides to declare Year 2018 as “National Year of Millets”

Production of Millets will definitely help in providing nutritional security & preventing malnutrition, especially to the poor: Shri Radha Mohan Singh
Posted On: 22 MAR 2018 6:32PM by PIB Delhi
The joint efforts of the Central and State Governments and the hard work of farmers will not only increase the production of millets but also help prevent illnesses caused due to the lack of nutritious elements in diet. This was stated by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh while addressing the members of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare today on Millets - 'Coarse Cereals.’

The Minister informed that millets include Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, little millets include Kutki, Kodo, Sawa, Kangni and Cheena. Highlighting the importance of Millets, Shri Singh said that Millets are known for their nutrients. They are tolerant to drought, are photo insensitive and are resistant to climate change. The cultivation of millets requires less water than the cultivation of rice and wheat.

Millets are cultivated in low-fertile land, mountainous, tribal and rain-fed areas. These areas include Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. In the pre-Green Revolution era, in 1965-66, millets were cultivated in 36.90 million hectares. In 2016-17, the area under millet cultivation declined to 14.72 million hectares (60% less coverage area) due to change in consumption pattern, dietary habits, unavailability of millets, low yield, less demand and conversion of irrigated area for cultivation of rice and wheat. As a result of this, nutrients like protein, Vitamin-A, iron and Iodine levels fell in women and children. Production of millets will definitely help in providing nutritional value, especially to the poor. Besides providing nutritional security, it also helps in preventing malnutrition.

Hon'ble Prime Minister in the meeting held on July 18, 2017, had decided to start distributing millets under Public Distribution System (PDS) to improve nutritional security, the Minister informed. Subsequently, a meeting of the committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Ayog was held on October 13, 2017 wherein it was decided to promote millets viz. Jowar, Bajra, Ragi through PDS across the country to improve nutritional content in the diet of people. On the basis of the recommendations of NITI Ayog, it has been decided to create a sub mission on Nutri cereals instead of the existing NFSM-Coarse Cereals. National Food Security Mission (NFSM) -Coarse Cereals are divided into two components: NFSM (Makka and Jau) and Sub Mission on Nutri-Cereals covering Jowar, Bajra, Ragi and little millets like Kutki, Kodo, Sawa, Kangni and Cheena.

The Government has also decided to declare 2018 as “National Year of Millets”. In case of an emergency, the cultivation of millets is very suitable for small and marginal farmers. In order to promote millets, their prescribed purchases in MSP and inclusion in Mid-day Meal are being done.

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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by ramana »

In Africa 230 m people eat rice. however most of it is imported and a variety of African rice is cultivated.

A new project o develop African rice by crossing it with Indian rice sativa has come up with a New African rice.

it has many advantages chief o which is high yield in drought prone areas.
I thin India should cultivate this in the rain shed areas of Deccan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Rice_for_Africa

New Rice for Africa ("NERICA") is a cultivar group of interspecific hybrid rice developed by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) to improve the yield of African rice cultivars. Although 240 million people in West Africa rely on rice as the primary source of food energy and protein in their diet, the majority of this rice is imported, at a cost and aid economic development in West Africa.

The results of the NERICA Project, which is funded by the African Development Bank, the Japanese government, and the United Nations Development Programme, was a major agenda item at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-IV) in 2008. The new rice varieties, which are suited to drylands, were distributed and sown on more than 200,000 hectares during the last five years in several African countries, notably Guinea, Nigeria, Mali, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, and Uganda, according to the Africa Rice Center. Though this represents a major advance, it is still projected to fall short of meeting the growing demand for rice as a food staple.[1]

African and Asian rice[edit]

African rice Oryza glaberrima has been cultivated for 3,500 years and is well adapted to the African environment. African rice has profuse vegetative growth, which serves to smother weeds; it is also resistant to drought, the insect pest African rice gall midge (Orseolia oryzivora), Rice yellow mottle virus and blast disease. However, African rice has relatively low yields, because it lodges, or falls over, when grain heads are full. Grains may also shatter, further reducing yield.

Cultivation of African rice has been abandoned for the cultivation of high-yield Asian varieties of Oryza sativa. Asian varieties are poorly adapted to African conditions as their cultivation requires abundant water. Asian rice cannot compete with weeds due to their semi-dwarf phenotypes and are susceptible to pests and diseases in African conditions.

New rice for Africa[edit]

The new rice for Africa was created by crossing O. glaberrima and O. sativa. Because the different species do not naturally interbreed, a plant tissue culture technique called embryo-rescue was used to assure that crosses between the two varieties survive and grow to maturity. The new rices display heterosis, the phenomenon in which the progeny of two genetically different parents grow faster, yield more, or resist stresses better than either parent.

Key features of the new varieties include:

An increase in grain head size from 75-100 grains per head to 400 grains per head.
An increase in yield from 1 tonne per hectare to 2.5 tonnes per hectare, yield increases to 5 tonnes per hectare with fertilizer use.
Contains 2% more protein than their African or Asian parents.
They are taller than most rices, which makes harvesting easier.
They resist pests, and they tolerate drought and infertile soils better than Asian varieties.

Some NERICA lines show[2] high growth with low uptake of water and seem to be appropriate for long periods of cultivation in drought condition.

For his leadership in developing NERICA, Dr. Monty Jones was named a co-recipient of the 2004 World Food Prize.



Also read the references pdf....
Eg.

http://ricetoday.irri.org/the-hybrid-al ... or-africa/

and

http://www.africarice.org/
Prem
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Prem »

https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/ ... efficient/
If 80% water consumption in India is for agriculture, why is it unregulated and inefficient?
During the 2011 census, India entered the league of water deficient nations. A nation is considered water deficient if the per capita availability falls below 1700 cubic meters per person. The per capita water availability that fell by 15% during the first decade of this century to 1545 cubic meters per person, will be below 1400 cubic meters per person this summer. Though the rate of depletion has reduced in the last few years, we are still consuming much more than is being replenished by nature. And therein lies the danger. We will be leaving a troubled legacy for the next generation unless we take quick remedial actions to reverse the trend.As per the Central Water Commission, 85.3% of the total water consumed was for agriculture in the year 2000. This is likely to decrease to 83.3% by 2025. India does not spend any money in conserving water consumed in agriculture. Surprisingly, water conservation takes place in the industry and utility sectors, both of which consume less than 5% of the nation's water.The Governments, both State and the Central, have traditionally spent taxpayers money generously for flood irrigation. The Finance Minister had in the 2016 budget committed to find Rs 86,500 crores for funding 99 irrigation projects in the water stressed districts of India. This does not help reduce the water stress of the districts because irrigation canals are wasteful. They draw 4 times water from the rivers than what is delivered to the fields. Water utilisation efficiency is less than 30% in the best cases, and half that amount in the worst. Besides, historically, around a third of the irrigation projects start with a lot of fanfare, but do not see completion.The Union Agriculture Ministry statistics says that 48.6% of India’s substantial 140 million hectares of farmland are irrigated. Fields in Punjab and Haryana, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh where irrigation canals are in abundance see lavish use of water from the Himalayan rivers. This has reduced the flow of water downstream and increased water scarcity as the rivers reach the plains. Similar is the situation in the Kaveri and Godavari basins. As a result, Bundelkhand, Marathawada and the Deccan region are areas of acute water distress. The lengthy court litigation and the political war of words between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka would not have erupted over Cauvery water sharing had water been efficiently used for agriculture.
Since last two decades, the Indian Government has been spending sizable amount of tax payers money each year in recycling the urban waste water. It has also been spending liberally on cleaning the Ganga as well as other rivers. Out of the 816 municipal sewage plants listed by CPCB in a December 2015 release, only 522 were operative. Even there, the quality of water at best confirms to Class C (fit for drinking only after treatment and disinfection). All the treated water could perhaps be eminently suitable for agriculture use if India developed the mechanism of supplying treated waste water to farmlands.It is important to cut down agricultural water usage. Many developed nations as well as emerging economies like Brazil and China have substituted open irrigation canals with large diameter pipes.
In comparison to lined irrigation canals, large diameter prefabricated concrete pipes are both cheaper and quicker to instal. Besides the exit points are more controllable. It is not possible to put submersible pumps in piped water and that itself would save a lot of water and energy. Instead, more efficient solar powered drip irrigation kits could be developed and marketed across India, giving the farmer an option to use optimum water and energy for his crops.
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Vips »

Meet Bakshi Ram, the man behind Uttar Pradesh's brimming sugar mills.

India’s sugar sector is staring at an unprecedented glut, with production topping 31 million tonnes.Sugar is suddenly tasting bitter as mills are finding it difficult to pay sugarcane farmers in the politically sensitive state of Uttar Pradesh.

At the heart of the surplus lies a new variety of sugarcane called CO-0238, which occupies over 50 per cent of the cane area in northern India now (2017-18 crop year), rising from a mere 3 per cent in 2012-13, when it was first recommended by the UP government.

But, the man behind the wonder variety, Dr Bakshi Ram, isn’t willing to settle for this.

At present a director at the Indian Council of Agriculture Research's Sugarcane Breeding Centre in Coimbatore, Ram's next target is to improve sugarcane yields and sucrose content in cane varieties cultivated beyond the Vindhyas -- in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and also Maharashtra.

“My work with sugarcane farmers in North India has made it easy to convince Southern mills to adopt newer varieties and I am sure that in next three years, recovery will jump in South India as well, particularly in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Bakshi Ram is no ordinary plant breeder. In just over a decade, he has released no less than 14 sugarcane varieties. Mostly suited to North India, some of these have been highly successful, while others have seen moderate degrees of success and acceptability among farmers.

Of them, CO-0238 has become a super-hit among farmers and millers alike. CO-0238 not only gives a per-hectare yield higher than existing sugarcane varieties but also has a greater sucrose content. The former feature benefits farmers, while the latter gladdens the heart of millers.

Sugarcane research didn’t come naturally to Ram, a gold medalist in agricultural sciences. “I hardly knew a word on sugarcane when I first joined the Sugarcane Breeding Institute in Coimbatore in 1986,” says Ram.

But, for six months, Ram sat in the Institute’s rather rich library and read almost everything about the crop. The wealth of knowledge that Ram gained helped him understand two basic tenets or rather established facts about the crop.

The first was that sugarcane grown in sub-tropical India (that is in most of northern India, comprising UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana) is thinner than those grown in tropical India. Secondly, sugarcane yield is inversely proportionate to sucrose content. It meant that while sugarcane grown in north India was 2 to 2.5 centimetres thick at maximum, those grown in other parts were of 2.5 to 3-0 centimetres thick.

Not convinced, Bakshi Ram took it upon himself to change this and break the well-established co-relation.

And, for 21 long years, starting from 1986 (except for a seven-year gap in between for higher studies), Ram worked on sugarcane varieties both in Coimbatore and also in Karnal (Regional Centre for Sugarcane Breeding), trying to develop varieties which challenged the established conventions.

It takes 12-13 years to identify, develop and release a sugarcane variety at the national level.

“I released my first sugarcane variety CO-98014 in 2007 and several more thereafter, but it was CO-0238 which was liked by farmers the most and was cultivated a lot,” Ram said. CO-0238 was first tested in the sugarcane mills of Simbhaoli and DSCL Ajbapur in Uttar Pradesh. However, DSCL opted out soon after, but Simbhaoli continued showing interest in the variety and convinced its farmers to grow the cane.

Later, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) joined in and conducted fields trials in 22 mills spread across UP, Bihar, Haryana, Uttarakhand which gave confidence to sugar factories to adopt the variety. “The multi-location field trials enabled the variety to cross UP borders and become a national talking point, or else it would have remained confined to the state,” Ram said.

In 2012, once the UP government started recommending CO-0238, its acceptability among farmers zoomed. From occupying 3 per cent of all sugarcane area in the state in 2012-13, the variety now covers 52 per cent.

“For years I didn’t leave office on time and worked even on Sundays to devote time on the sugarcane varieties, so much so that my kids call sugarcane as my first wife. All of which is bearing results,” Ram said. As Bakshi Ram prepares to retire in the next three years, he is undecided on what post-retirement life has in store for him. But, one thing he would love to do is to continue his work on sugarcane.

“I come from a farming family of north India and hard work comes naturally to me,” says Ram before signing off.
Vips
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Vips »

Foodgrain production at record 279.5 million tonnes in 2017-18.

The higher year-on-year food production is due to a larger harvest of rice, which rose from 109.7 million tonnes in 2016-17 to 111.5 million tonnes in 2017-18, and a record crop of pulses which rose 5.9% year-on-year

Aided by a normal monsoon last year, India’s production of foodgrains touched a record 279.5 million tonnes in 2017-18, the agriculture ministry said in its third advance estimate of crop production released on Wednesday.

The latest numbers are an upward revision from the second advance estimate of 277.5 million tonnes released in February, and about 4.4 million tonnes or 1.6% more than the 275.1 million tonnes produced the year before in 2016-17.

The higher year-on-year food production is due to a larger harvest of rice, which rose from 109.7 million tonnes in 2016-17 to 111.5 million tonnes in 2017-18, and a record crop of pulses which rose 5.9% year-on-year to 24.5 million tonnes. Production of wheat rose marginally from 98.5 million tonnes last year to 98.6 million tonnes in 2017-18, the data showed.

Normal rains in 2016 and 2017 aided consecutive years of record harvests but led to a crash in farm gate prices, especially for pulses and oilseed growers, fuelling protests across India.

The latest estimates show that in 2017-18 farmers harvested 30.6 million tonnes of different oilseeds, marginally lower than the 31.3 million tonnes produced the year before. During this period, production of sugarcane rose from 306 million tonnes to 355 million tonnes, a staggering 16% rise year-on-year.

Buoyed by the forecast of a normal monsoon in 2018, the agriculture ministry has targeted a record 283.7 million tonnes of foodgrain production in 2018-19.
jaysimha
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by jaysimha »

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?mincode=27

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare16-May, 2018 16:46 IST
Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare releases 3rd Advance Estimates of production of major crops for 2017-18

Country witnesses record foodgrains production in current year estimated at 279.51 million tonnes

The 3rd Advance Estimates of production of major crops for 2017-18 have been released by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare on 16th May, 2018. The assessment of production of different crops is based on the feedback received from States and validated with information available from other sources. The estimated production of various crops as per the 3rd Advance Estimates for 2017-18 vis-à-vis the comparative estimates for the years 2003-04 onwards is enclosed.

As per 3rd Advance Estimates, the estimated production of major crops during 2017-18 is as under:

Foodgrains – 279.51 million tonnes (record)
Rice – 111.52 million tonnes (record)
Wheat – 98.61 million tonnes (record)
Nutri/Coarse Cereals – 44.87 million tonnes (record)
Maize – 26.88 million tonnes (record)
Pulses – 24.51 million tonnes (record)
Gram – 11.16 million tonnes (record)
Tur – 4.18 million tonnes
Urad – 3.28 million tonnes (record)
Oilseeds – 30.64 million tonnes
Soyabean – 10.93 million tonnes
Groundnut – 8.94 million tonnes
Rapeseed & Mustard – 8.04 million tonnes
Castorseed – 1.49 million tonnes
Cotton – 34.86 million bales (of 170 kg each)
Sugarcane – 355.10 million tonnes

As a result of near normal rainfall during monsoon 2017 and various policy initiatives taken by the Government, country has witnessed record Foodgrains production in the current year. As per Third Advance Estimates for 2017-18, total foodgrains production in the country is estimated at 279.51 million tonnes which is higher by 4.40 million tonnes than the previous record production of foodgrain of 275.11 million tonnes achieved during 2016-17. The current year’s production is also higher by 19.33 million tonnes than the previous five years’ (2012-13 to 2016-17) average production of foodgrains.

Total production of Rice during 2017-18 is estimated at record 111.52 million tonnes. Production of rice has increased by 1.82 million tonnes than the production of 109.70 million tonnes during 2016-17. It is also higher by 5.22 million tonnes than the last five years’ average production of 106.29 million tonnes.

Production of Wheat during 2017-18 is estimated at record 98.61 million tonnes is higher by 0.10 million tonnes as compared to wheat production of 98.51 million tonnes achieved during 2016-17. Further, the production of wheat during 2017-18 is higher by 5.28 million tonnes than the average wheat production of the last five years.

Production of Nutri/Coarse Cereals during 2017-18 is estimated at record 44.87 million tonnes is higher than the average production of the last five years by 3.17 million tonnes. Further, it is also higher by 1.10 million tonnes as compared to their production of 43.77 million tonnes achieved during 2016-17.

Total Pulses production during 2017-18 is estimated at record 24.51 million tonnes which is higher by 1.37 million tonnes than the previous year’s production of 23.13 million tonnes. The production of pulses during 2017-18 is higher than the last five years’ average production by 5.66 million tonnes.

Total Oilseeds production in the country during 2017-18 is estimated at 30.64 million tonnes which is lower by 0.64 million tonnes than the production of 31.28 million tonnes during 2016-17. However, the production of oilseeds during 2017-18 is higher by 1.09 million tonnes than the average oilseeds production of the last five years.

With a significant increase by 49.03 million tonnes over 2016-17, total production of Sugarcane in the country during 2017-18 is estimated at 355.10 million tonnes. The production of sugarcane during 2017-18 is also higher by 13.06 million tonnes than the average sugarcane production of 342.04 million tonnes of the last five years.

Production of Cotton during 2017-18 estimated at 34.86 million bales (of 170 kg each) is higher by 2.28 million bales than the previous year’s production of 32.58 million bales. Further, it is also higher by 1.36 million bales than its average production of 33.50 million bales of the last five years.

Production of Jute & Mesta during 2017-18 estimated at 10.62 million bales (of 180 kg each) is lower than the production during the 2016-17.

Click here to see third estimate data
http://164.100.117.97/WriteReadData/use ... 20data.pdf
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Arima
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by Arima »

do we have any break up of food grain production state wise for the above posts data?
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Re: Indian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry

Post by SBajwa »

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab ... 97168.html

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 29
Acute shortage of labour and a shift in the paddy transplantation date has meant a windfall for potential migrant workers, who are demanding 25 per cent advance payments through phone-based apps from farmers if they want them to even start from their home states.

With younger members of their own families not prepared to work in the scorching sun, farmers in Punjab are desperate to arrange labour, as the window to complete the transplantation work has been reduced to a month. Earlier, the date to begin the work used to be June 1, and later it was shifted to June 15. This year, it has been pushed further to June 20. The government restricts the period to save the dwindling ground water in the state.

Cashing in on the situation, labourers are not only demanding advance payments, but also want liquor every day, on the house, as some of them are coming from a dry state (Bihar). Groceries are also on the list.

Radhay, a labourer from Bihar who has received advance payment from Jaskaran Singh, a farmer of Raungla village, has assured him of bringing along 21 members of his family for work. Radhay is a regular with this farmer, but could not come last year due to floods in Bihar.

Jasdeep Singh Garcha, a farmer in Doraha, says in addition to Rs 2,350 per acre, he will also be providing CDs of Bhojpuri movies and television sets. “Earlier, we used to provide bhang and ganja too, but fearing police action, we have stopped that,” he says. In case it rains during the transplantation period, the rates could go even higher as some working days will be lost.

Another farmer, Diljot Singh, says his labour contractor in UP had asked him to deposit the advance through mobile payment or in his bank account.

He obliged by transferring 25 per cent of the total sum.

But what if the workers don’t turn up? Diljot Singh says he has known the contractor for more than 20 years. His cousin is working in a plywood unit in Ludhiana. So there is a certain level of trust. “Also, men from UP usually keep their word,” the farmer adds. Agriculture officials say the shortage of labour can be addressed by shifting to transplantation machines that cost Rs 10 lakh, but very few farmers can afford that. Around 25 lakh hectare of paddy is expected to be sown in the state.
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