Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan......
Developments in Indian Agriculture
Developments in Indian Agriculture
Old Thread in Trash Can Archive...
Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan......
Jai Jawan, Jai Kissan......
Scientists develop pest resistant sugarcane varieties
Farmers who have had bitter days since a few years by growing sugarcane have no more reason to be sad. The white woolly aphid which sucked the sweetness of sugarcane and made farmers life bitter reality is no more a threat. A team of experts of University of Agricultural Sciences here have developed three varieties of sugarcane which are resistant to this pest.
Under the initiative of Assistant Professor of Crop Breeding Department Dr S B Patil, Assistant Professor of Entomology Department Dr P S Tippannavar Voggudi and Agricultural Expert Dr N S Kumbar, these varieties have been developed.
The team took nearly five years to develop the varieties who were given a nod for their experiments by the university Vice-chancellor, Dr S H Patil. The nine and a half-month old sugarcane which are being grown in a farm in Sankeshwar on an experimental basis have not been baptised still. Temporarily they were displayed in the Krishi mela as SNK A, B and C varieties.
The white woolly aphid pest was first seen in sugarcane some six years ago. This was the first pest that was known to attack sugarcane crops. The pest had caused a threat to farmers by destroying the entire crop.
Pesticides also did not serve the purpose of keeping a check on the pest. The woolly aphid can be controlled only during the initial stages.
Experiments on the yield of these three varieties have revealed that the sugar content was more than the other varieties.
In the next two years more such varieties will be grown and the produce will be sent to sugar factories and further experiments on the yield will be conducted, they added.
The experts said, the Vice-chancellor, directorate of extension, administration board member Y B Patil and A P Hiremath had extended their support throughout the experiments conducted.
Also since the last year, sugar prices have been pretty high resulting in good ROI to the Sugar industry and Sugarcane farmers. Another good trend is the fact that the central govt and state govts are reducing a lot of "socialist kind" regulations. Sugar and Rice milling industries have always suffered from excessive regulations.
Last edited by abhishek on 06 Oct 2004 02:45, edited 1 time in total.
ICAR focusing on genetic improvement of rice
Metro Cash & Carry to help improve Karnataka farm supply chain
Metro Cash & Carry to help improve Karnataka farm supply chain
Mr Birr, while talking to reporters on the initiative, however stressed that the State Government should amend the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Act, to enable the private sector to involve directly with the farmers to solve the marketing problems.
"The Indian supply structure, particularly for agriculture, requires both reform and investment," Mr Birr said.
while Jammu and Kashmir shows us how its done.
Leh berried in J&K's red tape
Leh berried in J&K's red tape
Ladakh Foods could have been the centrepiece while showcasing what the government can do if it puts its money in the food processing sector.
But, instead of standing out as a shining example of the agri-business initiative in upcountry regions, the company’s story has gone completely sour.
Today, its Phyang factory in the Leh-Ladakh valley, leased to it by J&K Sidco for 90 years, lies shut down by the state government. And the company, with a turnover of Rs 3 crore in ’03, has been forced to clinch a fruit pulp import deal with Germany and China, contrary to its stated commitment to sustainable agri-business for uplifting the backward area of Leh-Ladakh.
Company directors Maj Gen (Retd) Vasudev and Varun Kumar Mittal maintain that the Ladakh Hill Development Council authorities or by the state industry minister did not give them any reason for the shut down.
Punjab set for big leap in biotech sector
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 5
Punjab is all set to have world class certification facility for organic and inorganic foods including fruits and vegetables. For the state, it will be a big leap forward. In the absence of such a facility, progressive farmers’ initiative to diversify in the area of organic farming has been blunted, at least in this region.
The facility, perhaps the first of its kind in the country, is being created as part of the Punjab bio-technology park by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology. The park, that is to be set up in 15 acres in Punjab area near the City Beautiful, will have a special feature named as bio-tech incubator.
The certification has become a must in the export business of foodgrains, fruits, vegetables and other eatables. European and US markets are very sensitive. Acceptability of all sorts of food products in those markets depends solely on the quality of the product and creditable certification. A slight doubt in the quality of product and compromise in certification can create a lot of trouble in export trade to the European and US markets. Keeping all these factors in mind, Punjab has decided to set up the facility enjoying credibility at the international level, especially in the Western world.
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http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/200410 ... ab1.htm#52
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 5
Punjab is all set to have world class certification facility for organic and inorganic foods including fruits and vegetables. For the state, it will be a big leap forward. In the absence of such a facility, progressive farmers’ initiative to diversify in the area of organic farming has been blunted, at least in this region.
The facility, perhaps the first of its kind in the country, is being created as part of the Punjab bio-technology park by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology. The park, that is to be set up in 15 acres in Punjab area near the City Beautiful, will have a special feature named as bio-tech incubator.
The certification has become a must in the export business of foodgrains, fruits, vegetables and other eatables. European and US markets are very sensitive. Acceptability of all sorts of food products in those markets depends solely on the quality of the product and creditable certification. A slight doubt in the quality of product and compromise in certification can create a lot of trouble in export trade to the European and US markets. Keeping all these factors in mind, Punjab has decided to set up the facility enjoying credibility at the international level, especially in the Western world.
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http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/200410 ... ab1.htm#52
Tata coffee beans for Starbucks
http://us.rediff.com/money/2004/oct/18tata.htm
Tata Coffee Ltd said on Monday it would supply premium coffee beans to Starbucks, the American coffee retail chain.
This is the first time Starbucks, the world's largest and leading coffee chain with over 8,500 retail outlets around the world, has decided to source coffee beans from India, Tata Coffee managing director Hamid Ashraff told reporters in Bangalore.
He said, Tata Coffee, the largest integrated coffee company in Asia, is the only producer company to be chosen by Starbucks.
Starbucks would buy coffee beans at a 40 per cent price premium from Tata Coffee, it said.
http://us.rediff.com/money/2004/oct/18tata.htm
Tata Coffee Ltd said on Monday it would supply premium coffee beans to Starbucks, the American coffee retail chain.
This is the first time Starbucks, the world's largest and leading coffee chain with over 8,500 retail outlets around the world, has decided to source coffee beans from India, Tata Coffee managing director Hamid Ashraff told reporters in Bangalore.
He said, Tata Coffee, the largest integrated coffee company in Asia, is the only producer company to be chosen by Starbucks.
Starbucks would buy coffee beans at a 40 per cent price premium from Tata Coffee, it said.
Centre to states: Reform, only then you get money to improve farmers’ markets
The Cabinet today cleared a programme that would make available money for developing and strengthening agricultural markets in the country. But it is only for those states that have made certain policy changes the Centre has been asking for over two years now.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Rs 190 crore for setting up of new markets, strengthening and modernising the existing markets and upgrading Agmark laboratories.
What the states have to do to even qualify for the scheme is to, at least, amend the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act. The amendment allows mandis to be set up by the private sector, direct marketing and contract farming.
With mandis being entirely owned by the government, a need has been felt to allow private players to enter the agri-marketing sector. This would enable farm produce to be integrated with markets. In other words, an exporter or mill-owner can go to the farmer directly to buy produce without buying from government mandis.
Since private companies have more money to invest, there would be better infrastructure like grading facilities, packaging and storing, fetching a better price for the farmers. The Government hopes this will provide increased access to small and marginal farmers to agricultural marketing infrastructure.
Anthurium — a flower with potential in domestic, global markets
12 more agri-export zones to come upAt present, he said, the growers were not able to meet even the local demand. "It is an excellent floriculture crop for commercial projects and the farmer could earn a minimum of Rs 5 lakh per annum per acre and the demand is ever increasing," he said.
"We are unable to meet the local demand so much so the prices are higher than what we can get through exports. I have an export order on hand for 10,000 stems per week from Japan with advance payment and yet I cannot supply even 100 stems despite the fact that I have over 1.25 lakh plants on my farm of six acres in Madikeri in Karnataka and it is the largest in the country," claimed Mr Gopinath, who is also a consultant to four new units of eight acres in all.
TWELVE more agri export processing zones (AEZs) are to be set up in different States and they are likely to start functioning by the next financial year, Mr K.S. Money, Chairman, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), has said.
Mr Money said that at present there were 48 AEZs in the country and recently 12 more had been sanctioned. "The modalities would have to be worked out and the MoUs would have to be signed with the State Governments concerned. We expect them to become operational by the next financial year,'' he said.
The exports from the AEZs had amounted to Rs 1,981 crore during 2003-2004, he said and added that the projected exports during the next four to five years were of the order of over Rs 10,000 crore. "It is a very ambitious target. We have to strive hard to achieve it," he said.
Mr Money said the total agricultural exports from the country had increased to Rs 33,000 crore (2003-2004) from a level of Rs 25,000 crore during 1998-99. "But, on the whole, our percentage of exports in the production base is insignificant. So is our share in the world trade. We must at least achieve 1.5 per cent of the global trade volume as envisaged by the Union Commerce Ministry," he said.
Record Cotton production causes prices to drop
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/200410 ... ab1.htm#16
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/200410 ... ab1.htm#16
Plan to launch Rs 15,000-cr horticulture project
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full ... t_id=72827#
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full ... t_id=72827#
The rising capitalist revolution in agriculture:
It's farmers versus traders
Sources say the battle had been brewing since the e-choupals began proliferating rapidly across MP. Today, in some mandis, a quarter of soya now goes through e-choupals, of which there are 1,750 in 9,000 villages reaching 1.5 million farmers. ITC had placed Net-enabled PCs in homes of farmers in the rural hinterland. This allowed them to find prices of soya prevailing at local mandis and in international markets, as well as what ITC was ready to pay at its local buying centres. So the farmer did not have to travel to the mandi to find the price. He also had options: sell to ITC or at the mandi, or defer the sale.
Word got around that ITC's prices tended to be above mandi prices. "If mandi prices dropped, we realised the ITC prices did not drop as fast," says Arun Nahar, a lead farmer in Pipalrawa. For traders, the transparency made speculation difficult. Also, unlike at mandis, at the ITC buying centres the weights were right, the sale quick and the payment in cash.
From the outset ITC had taken care to co-opt traders and give them new roles. They were paid a commission for arranging volumes and offering storage and logistics support. Their help was sought in appointing sanchalaks. Though 85 traders became samyojaks in MP, some of the big ones didn't. Now, four years later, they are realising the power of transparency and choice, the hard way.
A very encouraging story. Its great to see farmers gaining this kind of clout. I hope this program proliferates across the agricultural hinterland.
It's farmers versus traders
Sources say the battle had been brewing since the e-choupals began proliferating rapidly across MP. Today, in some mandis, a quarter of soya now goes through e-choupals, of which there are 1,750 in 9,000 villages reaching 1.5 million farmers. ITC had placed Net-enabled PCs in homes of farmers in the rural hinterland. This allowed them to find prices of soya prevailing at local mandis and in international markets, as well as what ITC was ready to pay at its local buying centres. So the farmer did not have to travel to the mandi to find the price. He also had options: sell to ITC or at the mandi, or defer the sale.
Word got around that ITC's prices tended to be above mandi prices. "If mandi prices dropped, we realised the ITC prices did not drop as fast," says Arun Nahar, a lead farmer in Pipalrawa. For traders, the transparency made speculation difficult. Also, unlike at mandis, at the ITC buying centres the weights were right, the sale quick and the payment in cash.
From the outset ITC had taken care to co-opt traders and give them new roles. They were paid a commission for arranging volumes and offering storage and logistics support. Their help was sought in appointing sanchalaks. Though 85 traders became samyojaks in MP, some of the big ones didn't. Now, four years later, they are realising the power of transparency and choice, the hard way.
A very encouraging story. Its great to see farmers gaining this kind of clout. I hope this program proliferates across the agricultural hinterland.
McKinsey appointed consultants for corporatising FCI. Report due in Apr 2005.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/art ... 915274.cms
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/art ... 915274.cms
Coke is really a pesticide!!
illiterate farmers would increase sales, and imagine later the horror stories would continue in the villages of india: coke was used as pesticide by our farmers.
wow! that would kill coke
illiterate farmers would increase sales, and imagine later the horror stories would continue in the villages of india: coke was used as pesticide by our farmers.
wow! that would kill coke
Xpost
http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/11/10/ ... sxmuk.html
Bloomberg Commentary: Agricultural Taxes - On this, at least, investors and Indian Marxists agree
http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/11/10/ ... sxmuk.html
Bloomberg Commentary: Agricultural Taxes - On this, at least, investors and Indian Marxists agree
I am afraid if this is a GMO product. if it is then, we are just following the path of uncle-man.. slowly leading our population to live so horridly as they do.- diabetics, depression, MS, cancer, etc.. that we have already half way thru, with harmful chemicals, food additives, processed bleached foods, etc.abhishek wrote:Scientists develop pest resistant sugarcane varieties
Last edited by SaiK on 11 Nov 2004 04:15, edited 1 time in total.
India emerges third largest producer of food items
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1117143,0002.htm
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1117143,0002.htm
I hope so but i dont think that the export will increase all of a sudden in one year.
Further Americans can comeup with some other trade restrictions. Indian textile industry is still not ready there are only a few large scale manufacturers to cater to such large demands. It may take sometime. Chinese have 3 years more for the restrictions to go for them. We should use these 3 years to atleast get some competition going for the chinese after the quota free regime.
Abhishek
Further Americans can comeup with some other trade restrictions. Indian textile industry is still not ready there are only a few large scale manufacturers to cater to such large demands. It may take sometime. Chinese have 3 years more for the restrictions to go for them. We should use these 3 years to atleast get some competition going for the chinese after the quota free regime.
Abhishek
http://www.samachar.com/biz/fullstory.html
Indian roses set to bloom in Russia, Poland
Courtesy: Sify Finance
The Pune-based Fila Rozil on Tuesday flagged off a consignment of one million rose plants for Russian and Poland markets.
Firoz Poonawalla, Managing Director, Fila Rozil, said this was the first time that rose plants were being shipped by his firm. This was only a trial order Fila Rozil had got. The value of the consignment is half a million euro and these would reach the destination within a months' time.
The consignment consists of six varieties of Indian roses - red, pink, white, yellow, orange and shaded. About 44 boxes have been packed, of which, 40 per cent were the red rose variety. These plants have been grown in Pune and Bangalore.
It had taken the company approximately 11 months to attain international standards, he said. These plants are to be delivered to a Dutch farmer, who will then supply them across the European Union.
Firoz, giving a glimpse of how the standards were reached, said the plants had gone through rigorous tests of acclimatisation in soil conditions as these plants had to survive in temperatures close to zero degree centigrade. The roots of the plant were covered with cocopeat, a by-product of coconut, which has been sourced from the Coconut Development Board, and the plant height had also been maintained to specific standards.
He said the container would leave the Indian shores from Mumbai port and was expected to touch Poland within one month.
He said there were 300 trained farmers who could be outsourced to Europe to do the similar work there.
Firoz said the Ethiopian Government had come forward and asked for outsourcing of farmers to teach the Ethiopian farmers to cultivate foodgrains.
The Ethiopian Government has extended 50 hectares of land to the Indian Government to develop it for which the Andhra Pradesh Government has taken a lead.
So far, about 500 farmers have reached Ethiopia to teach the rudiments of farming. The foodgrains that were being looked into were lentils, bajra, jowari and corn to name a few, he said.
Indian roses set to bloom in Russia, Poland
Courtesy: Sify Finance
The Pune-based Fila Rozil on Tuesday flagged off a consignment of one million rose plants for Russian and Poland markets.
Firoz Poonawalla, Managing Director, Fila Rozil, said this was the first time that rose plants were being shipped by his firm. This was only a trial order Fila Rozil had got. The value of the consignment is half a million euro and these would reach the destination within a months' time.
The consignment consists of six varieties of Indian roses - red, pink, white, yellow, orange and shaded. About 44 boxes have been packed, of which, 40 per cent were the red rose variety. These plants have been grown in Pune and Bangalore.
It had taken the company approximately 11 months to attain international standards, he said. These plants are to be delivered to a Dutch farmer, who will then supply them across the European Union.
Firoz, giving a glimpse of how the standards were reached, said the plants had gone through rigorous tests of acclimatisation in soil conditions as these plants had to survive in temperatures close to zero degree centigrade. The roots of the plant were covered with cocopeat, a by-product of coconut, which has been sourced from the Coconut Development Board, and the plant height had also been maintained to specific standards.
He said the container would leave the Indian shores from Mumbai port and was expected to touch Poland within one month.
He said there were 300 trained farmers who could be outsourced to Europe to do the similar work there.
Firoz said the Ethiopian Government had come forward and asked for outsourcing of farmers to teach the Ethiopian farmers to cultivate foodgrains.
The Ethiopian Government has extended 50 hectares of land to the Indian Government to develop it for which the Andhra Pradesh Government has taken a lead.
So far, about 500 farmers have reached Ethiopia to teach the rudiments of farming. The foodgrains that were being looked into were lentils, bajra, jowari and corn to name a few, he said.
He gave them rice, they took the credit
Vidarbha’s rice man shrugs off poverty, govt apathy
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story ... t_id=63342
Vidarbha’s rice man shrugs off poverty, govt apathy
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story ... t_id=63342
http://www.hindu.com/seta/2005/02/17/st ... 561600.htm
successful organic rice farming in kerala!!!
successful organic rice farming in kerala!!!
Appetite for organic food spurs debate in India
By Nachammai Raman | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
MADRAS, INDIA – In a seven-acre plot of farmland south of the city, T. Mohan hunches over to weed the soil he recently planted with sesame. He just harvested his paddy crop, which - as it has for the past 30 years - had a good yield.
In three decades, Mr. Mohan has gone from a struggling paddy farmer to a prosperous one - using methods that are now discouraged by proponents of organic farming.
In the Monitor
Thursday, 03/31/05
New Arab rallying cry: 'Enough'
Older workers get a new tool to fight age discrimination
Why tolerance is fading for zero tolerance in schools
In bid to cut mercury, US lets other toxins through
COMMENTARY: Lenin and sheep on main drag set tone of Kyrgyz revolution
Read these and the rest of the Monitor's headlines by e-mail.
Subscribe for free.
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More than 30 years ago, India eagerly embraced the genetically engineered high-yielding seed stock, chemical pesticides, and fertilizers of the Green Revolution to combat frequent famines. Dams and irrigation projects were built, enabling farmers to plant two or more crops a year without being dependent on the vagaries of the monsoon.
The Green Revolution was so successful in India that it ramped up food grain production from 863 tons per hectare of cultivated land in 1967, when it began, to 1,901 tons per hectare in 2000.
Now some of these gains that allowed India to feed itself are being challenged by the increasing European and American demand for organic food, from pesticide-free cashews to cold-pressed coconut oil.
The spread of organic farming in India is beginning to pit concerns about the supply of food for the masses against what are widely considered the environmentally unsustainable practices of the Green Revolution.
"The Green Revolution definitely had benefits but also many unwanted side effects that are becoming more apparent," says Gunter Pauli, founder-director of the Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives, based in Tokyo.
In India, organic farming received a boost at the start of the new millennium when the income potential of organic exports was realized. According to Dr. P. Bhattacharya of the National Center of Organic Farming, in Ghaziabad, India represents one tenth of the world's organic cultivation.
It may be more ecologically sound, but feeding India's bulging population of more than 1 billion people with organic crops alone has some experts worried about the increased risk of famine.
"That's a major problem. That has to be solved," says G. Vaidyanathan, manager of Enfield Agrobase, which pioneered organic farming in the state of Tamil Nadu more than a decade ago. Much of its organic cultivation eventually goes to the lucrative export market.
Experts estimate that 50 percent of India's organic crop is exported, while just 1 percent of the Indian population consumes organically grown food. "Affordability is a criterion because the prices are 20-25 percent more," says Vaidyanathan.
Mawite, who goes by one name only, runs an organic cashew farm a two-and-a-half hour drive south of Madras, in Auroville. According to her, organically grown food costs more because of the labor-intensive farming it requires.
"They spray inorganic cashew plantations twice a year and that's it. We have to prune, compost ... the soil base has to be good," says Mawite.
Dr. K. Mani, professor of production economics at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, says Indian farmers, anxious about yields and demand, are unlikely to embrace organic production. Demand for organic food isn't high, he explains, because "price comes first and quality next" for the bulk of consumers here.
"We buy what costs less," says T. Daniel, who earns $37 per month working as a security guard in an apartment building not far from Enfield Agrobase's organic retail outlet. His extended family of eight consumes three to four pounds of rice each day. His mother buys the maximum rations from the subsidized public distribution system, where rice costs 70 percent less than in regular stores.
"It would be difficult for us otherwise," he says. The cheapest organic rice, meanwhile, costs nearly five times more than the conventional rice sold in markets.
Ashok Khosla, director of Development Alternatives in New Delhi, says organic prices are steeper because sellers are pitching to a different clientele who are willing to pay.
"The price has nothing to do with cost of production," he says.
He insists that in India, organic production generally costs less than modern farming because it requires fewer investments in equipment and chemicals.
He doesn't see organic and modern farming as incompatible. "Organic pest control by itself is probably not workable. Judicious use of chemicals may sometimes be required."
Mr. Khosla suggests that organic farming's intense labor requirement may be a positive attribute. "What's wrong with labor intensive? Wouldn't you rather have people working on farms than migrating to city slums in search of work?"
Khosla decried trying to produce crops that are not naturally suited to particular regions. Tanjavur, for example, is a water-scarce region that is used to grow rice, which is a water-intensive crop.
He suggests instead growing a nutritious variety of millet, called bhajra - which is more suitable to Tanjavur's natural conditions - and importing rice from water-rich areas. "Of course, you've got to do the [economic] calculations."
Pauli, of the Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives, goes a step further. "There is a need to do more with what the earth already produces, instead of trying to force the earth to produce more."
By Nachammai Raman | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
MADRAS, INDIA – In a seven-acre plot of farmland south of the city, T. Mohan hunches over to weed the soil he recently planted with sesame. He just harvested his paddy crop, which - as it has for the past 30 years - had a good yield.
In three decades, Mr. Mohan has gone from a struggling paddy farmer to a prosperous one - using methods that are now discouraged by proponents of organic farming.
In the Monitor
Thursday, 03/31/05
New Arab rallying cry: 'Enough'
Older workers get a new tool to fight age discrimination
Why tolerance is fading for zero tolerance in schools
In bid to cut mercury, US lets other toxins through
COMMENTARY: Lenin and sheep on main drag set tone of Kyrgyz revolution
Read these and the rest of the Monitor's headlines by e-mail.
Subscribe for free.
E-mail this story
Write a letter to the Editor
Printer-friendly version
Permission to reprint/republish
More than 30 years ago, India eagerly embraced the genetically engineered high-yielding seed stock, chemical pesticides, and fertilizers of the Green Revolution to combat frequent famines. Dams and irrigation projects were built, enabling farmers to plant two or more crops a year without being dependent on the vagaries of the monsoon.
The Green Revolution was so successful in India that it ramped up food grain production from 863 tons per hectare of cultivated land in 1967, when it began, to 1,901 tons per hectare in 2000.
Now some of these gains that allowed India to feed itself are being challenged by the increasing European and American demand for organic food, from pesticide-free cashews to cold-pressed coconut oil.
The spread of organic farming in India is beginning to pit concerns about the supply of food for the masses against what are widely considered the environmentally unsustainable practices of the Green Revolution.
"The Green Revolution definitely had benefits but also many unwanted side effects that are becoming more apparent," says Gunter Pauli, founder-director of the Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives, based in Tokyo.
In India, organic farming received a boost at the start of the new millennium when the income potential of organic exports was realized. According to Dr. P. Bhattacharya of the National Center of Organic Farming, in Ghaziabad, India represents one tenth of the world's organic cultivation.
It may be more ecologically sound, but feeding India's bulging population of more than 1 billion people with organic crops alone has some experts worried about the increased risk of famine.
"That's a major problem. That has to be solved," says G. Vaidyanathan, manager of Enfield Agrobase, which pioneered organic farming in the state of Tamil Nadu more than a decade ago. Much of its organic cultivation eventually goes to the lucrative export market.
Experts estimate that 50 percent of India's organic crop is exported, while just 1 percent of the Indian population consumes organically grown food. "Affordability is a criterion because the prices are 20-25 percent more," says Vaidyanathan.
Mawite, who goes by one name only, runs an organic cashew farm a two-and-a-half hour drive south of Madras, in Auroville. According to her, organically grown food costs more because of the labor-intensive farming it requires.
"They spray inorganic cashew plantations twice a year and that's it. We have to prune, compost ... the soil base has to be good," says Mawite.
Dr. K. Mani, professor of production economics at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, says Indian farmers, anxious about yields and demand, are unlikely to embrace organic production. Demand for organic food isn't high, he explains, because "price comes first and quality next" for the bulk of consumers here.
"We buy what costs less," says T. Daniel, who earns $37 per month working as a security guard in an apartment building not far from Enfield Agrobase's organic retail outlet. His extended family of eight consumes three to four pounds of rice each day. His mother buys the maximum rations from the subsidized public distribution system, where rice costs 70 percent less than in regular stores.
"It would be difficult for us otherwise," he says. The cheapest organic rice, meanwhile, costs nearly five times more than the conventional rice sold in markets.
Ashok Khosla, director of Development Alternatives in New Delhi, says organic prices are steeper because sellers are pitching to a different clientele who are willing to pay.
"The price has nothing to do with cost of production," he says.
He insists that in India, organic production generally costs less than modern farming because it requires fewer investments in equipment and chemicals.
He doesn't see organic and modern farming as incompatible. "Organic pest control by itself is probably not workable. Judicious use of chemicals may sometimes be required."
Mr. Khosla suggests that organic farming's intense labor requirement may be a positive attribute. "What's wrong with labor intensive? Wouldn't you rather have people working on farms than migrating to city slums in search of work?"
Khosla decried trying to produce crops that are not naturally suited to particular regions. Tanjavur, for example, is a water-scarce region that is used to grow rice, which is a water-intensive crop.
He suggests instead growing a nutritious variety of millet, called bhajra - which is more suitable to Tanjavur's natural conditions - and importing rice from water-rich areas. "Of course, you've got to do the [economic] calculations."
Pauli, of the Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives, goes a step further. "There is a need to do more with what the earth already produces, instead of trying to force the earth to produce more."
http://deccanherald.com/deccanherald/ap ... 200546.asp
Organic farming produces better potato yield
Organic farming produces better potato yield
I just wanted to bounce off an idea which I have been mulling over for quite sometime-
When people talk about land reforms, they mean diversifying the ownership of land, i.e., previously agricultural labourers can now become small landholding farmers. This does lead to innovation and product variations, albeit on a small scale, which means that the farmers cannot benefit from economies of scale. Under the 1995 Agreement on Agricultural Tariffs of the WTO, subsidies, domestic support, government purchases, price support, import tariffs, export quotas would be phased out. Then we'd be faced with competition from large scale agro-firms which we do not have in India.
There is one exception- Amul. Starting from a joint venture/co-operative base among small farmers, today Amul has brought in "Operation Flood" in India, making it the world's largest producer of dairy products.
I think we need to encourage consolidation, and not fragmentation of our rural areas. Give tax breaks and financial incentives to small farmers to pool their resource together, which in turn increases their chances of getting access to credit and thus invest in technology to improve efficiency and at the same time take advantage of economies of scale.
Eventually this could give rise to agro-firms based in India.
In areas like rural Bihar or Andhra, the feudal land owning system could be replaced by land as a commodity and the ownership structure as a joint stock company where labourers and landlord would be mere shareholders. Thus everyone would have an interest in the venture and a possibility to increase returns, thus providing an incentive to increasing profits.
Just my 2 paise.
When people talk about land reforms, they mean diversifying the ownership of land, i.e., previously agricultural labourers can now become small landholding farmers. This does lead to innovation and product variations, albeit on a small scale, which means that the farmers cannot benefit from economies of scale. Under the 1995 Agreement on Agricultural Tariffs of the WTO, subsidies, domestic support, government purchases, price support, import tariffs, export quotas would be phased out. Then we'd be faced with competition from large scale agro-firms which we do not have in India.
There is one exception- Amul. Starting from a joint venture/co-operative base among small farmers, today Amul has brought in "Operation Flood" in India, making it the world's largest producer of dairy products.
I think we need to encourage consolidation, and not fragmentation of our rural areas. Give tax breaks and financial incentives to small farmers to pool their resource together, which in turn increases their chances of getting access to credit and thus invest in technology to improve efficiency and at the same time take advantage of economies of scale.
Eventually this could give rise to agro-firms based in India.
In areas like rural Bihar or Andhra, the feudal land owning system could be replaced by land as a commodity and the ownership structure as a joint stock company where labourers and landlord would be mere shareholders. Thus everyone would have an interest in the venture and a possibility to increase returns, thus providing an incentive to increasing profits.
Just my 2 paise.
Indian cashew riding high in the U.S.
Ignatius Pereira
66 % of U.S. imports during 2004-05 from India
KOLLAM: In spite of tough competition from Brazil and Vietnam in the international cashew kernel market, the prospects of Indian cashew remain bright in the United States, and the countries of the European Union and the Gulf. Also, new markets are emerging in China, Pakistan and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
During 2004-05, 1.16 lakh tonnes of kernel was exported. This was a record, and accounted for foreign exchange earnings of Rs.2,700 crores. Despite the competition, 66 per cent of all U.S. cashew imports during the year were from India. The rest was shared between Brazil and Vietnam.
According to cashew industry sources, the U.S. imported 52.6 lakh cartons of cashew from India last year. (Each carton weighs 22.6 kg.) This year the figures are expected to climb up further. As much as 99 per cent of the cashew imports by the Gulf countries were from India: the United Arab Emirates alone imported 15 lakh cartons. The Gulf market for Indian cashew is growing at the rate of 40 per cent a year. E.U. countries imported about 10 lakh cartons.
One of the main reasons for Indian cashew remaining steady in the export market is its quality backed by the taste factor. The taste is achieved through the traditional drum roasting processing technique. In drum roasting, as the shell oil gets burnt away, the kernel gets roasted to the right degree. The other exporting countries depend on steam bath processing by boiling raw nuts in the oil extracted from cashew shell. In steam bath processing, the kernel produces a slightly bitter taste. The Indian cashew industry is over 80 years old and the relationship between India cashew and the U.S. and European markets is as old as that. The competitors are later entrants. Also, Indian cashew has been classified as purely organic. The recent development in which four containers of kernel despatched from Kollam were auctioned at the New York port by the U.S. Government has been largely seen as an isolated incident. The consignment was auctioned since no one had claimed it during the stipulated period of 14 days. The development does not have any adverse impact on the prospects of the Indian cashew in the U.S. market, informed sources point out. Issues relating to the quality of kernels are not the reason behind the containers remaining unclaimed.
Ignatius Pereira
66 % of U.S. imports during 2004-05 from India
KOLLAM: In spite of tough competition from Brazil and Vietnam in the international cashew kernel market, the prospects of Indian cashew remain bright in the United States, and the countries of the European Union and the Gulf. Also, new markets are emerging in China, Pakistan and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
During 2004-05, 1.16 lakh tonnes of kernel was exported. This was a record, and accounted for foreign exchange earnings of Rs.2,700 crores. Despite the competition, 66 per cent of all U.S. cashew imports during the year were from India. The rest was shared between Brazil and Vietnam.
According to cashew industry sources, the U.S. imported 52.6 lakh cartons of cashew from India last year. (Each carton weighs 22.6 kg.) This year the figures are expected to climb up further. As much as 99 per cent of the cashew imports by the Gulf countries were from India: the United Arab Emirates alone imported 15 lakh cartons. The Gulf market for Indian cashew is growing at the rate of 40 per cent a year. E.U. countries imported about 10 lakh cartons.
One of the main reasons for Indian cashew remaining steady in the export market is its quality backed by the taste factor. The taste is achieved through the traditional drum roasting processing technique. In drum roasting, as the shell oil gets burnt away, the kernel gets roasted to the right degree. The other exporting countries depend on steam bath processing by boiling raw nuts in the oil extracted from cashew shell. In steam bath processing, the kernel produces a slightly bitter taste. The Indian cashew industry is over 80 years old and the relationship between India cashew and the U.S. and European markets is as old as that. The competitors are later entrants. Also, Indian cashew has been classified as purely organic. The recent development in which four containers of kernel despatched from Kollam were auctioned at the New York port by the U.S. Government has been largely seen as an isolated incident. The consignment was auctioned since no one had claimed it during the stipulated period of 14 days. The development does not have any adverse impact on the prospects of the Indian cashew in the U.S. market, informed sources point out. Issues relating to the quality of kernels are not the reason behind the containers remaining unclaimed.
Given a choice, 40 per cent farmers will quit
About 47 per cent of the households used diesel tractors for ploughing, while 52 per cent relied on animal power. Nearly 66 per cent used diesel pumps and 33 per cent electric pumps for irrigation. Almost 47 per cent of the households used farm-saved seeds, while 48 per cent purchased seeds. Whereas 30 per cent farmers replaced seed varieties every year, another 32 per cent replaced them in an alternate year. Fertilizers were used by 76 per cent of farm households during the kharif season and 54 per cent during the rabi. Organic manure was used by 56 per cent farmers during kharif and 38 per cent during rabi.
Improved seeds were used by 46 per cent households during kharif and 34 per cent during rabi. Pesticides were used by 46 per cent households during kharif and 31per cent during rabi. Veterinary services were used by 30 per cent households during kharif and 22 per cent during rabi.
The survey showed that the gross irrigated area was 42 per cent of cropped area during kharif and 56 per cent during rabi. Tubewells were the major source of irrigation. About 50 per cent of all irrigated land during the kharif season and 60 per cent during the rabi season was irrigated by tubewells. Wells were used to irrigate 19 per cent of land during kharif and 16 per cent during rabi. Canals accounted for irrigation of 18 per cent land during kharif and 14 per cent during rabi.
Sunset city looks for juice
Food processing plant brings new hope to Abohar
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story ... t_id=75661
‘‘The state wants to bring 1 million acres under citrus fruits by 2015. We will also set up two plants for processing 20 tonnes of citrus fruits—not to mention non-citrus fruits—per hour near Hoshiarpur in north Punjab and Abohar in southern Punjab,’’
PAGREXO assistant general manager Pardeep Sharma said recently
Food processing plant brings new hope to Abohar
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story ... t_id=75661
‘‘The state wants to bring 1 million acres under citrus fruits by 2015. We will also set up two plants for processing 20 tonnes of citrus fruits—not to mention non-citrus fruits—per hour near Hoshiarpur in north Punjab and Abohar in southern Punjab,’’
PAGREXO assistant general manager Pardeep Sharma said recentlyIn the North-East, a new banana republic
As indigenous varieties find non-traditional markets, enterprising cultivators tap good money
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story ... t_id=75662
As indigenous varieties find non-traditional markets, enterprising cultivators tap good money
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story ... t_id=75662
GUWAHATI, AUGUST 4: At a time when large numbers of educated unemployed youth in rural Assam are still looking for government jobs, a group of such youths in Borgaon, an interior village in Kamrup (rural) district, is gloating over its Rs 2 lakh-annual income.
Just two years ago, they were just another bunch of aimless youngsters. Then, struck by the growing demand for bananas, suckers and spikes, they formed a cooperative called Banana Growers’ Society, took 21 bighas of land on lease from a big farmers and began cultivating banana suckers.
‘‘Banana cultivation has become the new craze throughout Assam. More and more educated unemployed rural youth are taking to banana cultivation and earning good money,’’
‘‘In fact, Assam and the Northeast are supposed to be the original home of bananas in the world. There are dozens of banana varieties still growing wild in the jungles here, while some homestead varieties grow to a length of up to 12 inches,’’