The potential of Indian Agriculture

[Pintu]

India needs second Green Revolution to raise farm output: PM - India - NEWS - The Times of India

India needs second Green Revolution to raise farm output: PM
PTI 15 August 2009, 12:46pm IST

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for extensive use of technology to bring about the second Green Revolution and raise the annual farm sector growth to four per cent in the next five years.

Spelling out the priorities of his government on the 63rd Independence Day, Singh said, "Our goal is 4% annual growth in agriculture and I am confident that we will be able to achieve in the next 5 years."

Having recorded a growth rate of 4.9 per cent in 2007-08, the agriculture sector output decelerated to 1.6 per cent in the last fiscal and may tumble further this year owing to a poor monsoon and drought in major parts of the country.

Singh said the country "needs another Green Revolution and we will try our best to make it possible." More attention would have to be paid to the needs of those farmers who do not have the means for irrigation.

He asked the scientist community to develop new techniques to increase farm productivity, especially of small and marginal farmers. "We will have to adopt modern means to be successful in agriculture".

The 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12) aims at raising the annual farm sector growth rate to 4 per cent, but the target is unlikely to be achieved due to a likely drop in foodgrains production this year.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Drought-hit farmers turn to NREGA in Andhra​

Drought is becoming an equaliser in the villages of Andhra Pradesh. From landless labourers to the, so called, big farmers and landlords, virtually entire villages are turning up for work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. Now, the problem is that the government is not yet geared up to provide enough work to meet the demand. From a landlord who employed dozens of labour, Rajasekhara Reddy has become a daily wage labourer under the NREGA scheme. This after borewells and standing crop on his 12 acres dried up. "If seasonal conditions were good, I would have employed at least 40-50 people. Now I myself have to come seeking work under the NREGA because there are no rains," said Rajasekhara.

At this time of the year, usually farm labour is not even available for Rs 150 a day because everyone has work on the field. But this year, everyone, virtually the entire village, is turning up for work under the NREGA scheme. As of now, up to 20 lakh people are getting work under NREGA in Andhra Pradesh. But the demand is much, much more and growing steeply. It has become a huge challenge for the government to meet the demand for work from an estimated 75 lakh to one crore people. "Last year, we stopped worked for three months during the agricultural season because no one would come. Now during the same period, some 800 people are turning up for NREG work," said M Laxman, NREGA field official, Warangal district.

Bhoommavva, a farmer, for example took both her college-going sons to work as labour. "I planted paddy on five to six acres. That dried up. Maize on three acres was drying up. I cut it to feed the cattle. The cotton crop is gone. So I have no option but to bring my two college-going sons also to work here," said Bhoommavva. With NREGA becoming the only hope for survival, the state government has asked the Centre for an additional Rs 2000 crore.

Link

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

The dull days of White Gold​

Across India, cotton growers make up the largest group of the over 180,000 farmers who committed suicide between 1997 and 2007. There's nothing like an election to spur policy change, though, notes P Sainath.

P Sainath
08 Apr 2009

They called it White Gold. In 1972, you could buy 15 grams of gold with what you earned from producing one quintal of cotton. In Vidarbha, for instance, you made Rs.340 for that quintal (long staple). And gold went at Rs.220 for 10 grams (Rs.330 for 15). True, the cotton growers were even then subsidising rich textile barons in Mumbai. They still do - a lot more, in fact. But 'back then' seems a lot better right now, relatively speaking. By the 1990s, that trend had been reversed. From the 1970s to mid-1985, cotton was, as Vijay Jawandia calls it, "the poor man's cloth." Man-made fabric was all the rage. By the end of the 1980s, however, a growing bias towards natural fibre saw cotton emerge as the rich man's cloth. All the big brand names were cashing in on cotton. Yet, cotton farmers in the poorer nations were doing worse. Corporations and traders were doing better. By the mid to late 1990s, obscene subsidies to cotton growers from the United States and the European Union were already pulling the prices downwards.

By 2005, you needed to sell five quintals of cotton to buy 15 grams of gold. By early 2008, gold was at Rs.12,125 for 10 grams, cotton at Rs. 2000 a quintal. You now needed to sell nine quintals of cotton to buy 15 grams of gold. The living standards of farmers in cotton-growing regions like Vidarbha had fallen sharply. Cotton prices and incomes were crashing, debt and cultivation costs soaring. The 2004 Lok Sabha polls saw a wave of farmer anger - and the BSP's rise - bludgeon the Congress. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won 10 of the then 11 seats in Vidarbha. But in the Maharashtra Assembly polls just months later, the Congress did better. It took 30 of the 66 seats from the region. True, Sonia Gandhi's visit had a huge impact in this traditionally pro-Congress cotton belt. Turning down prime ministership further enhanced the respect she enjoyed there. But the Congress campaign captured voters with a single promise. It would raise the cotton prices - then Rs.2200 a quintal - to Rs.2700. That promise was to be betrayed just months after the polls - with terrible consequences.

Full Article

 

[RPK]

After mangoes, India to export litchis to US

India, which exported mangoes to US in 2007 after a 17 year long ban, will now export fresh litchi to US for the first time. Export may begin in next summer season.

“We are gearing up for export of litchi to US for the first time. The procedures for treating the fruits have been mutually agreed. Farmers in Bihar, which is the country’s largest litchi producer, will be the main beneficiary,” said Asit Tripathy, chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

Ranjan Kedia, promoter of Radha Krishna Impex Ltd, the country’s largest litchi exporter said the modalities have been worked out and a formal application will now go from APEDA to the USFDA. Permission is expected by the end of year.

“Currently, we only export processed litchi to US. Now, we shall be in a position to export fresh litchi as well. We will use sulphur dioxide as a post harvest fumigant and this will prevent blackening of skin and improves shelf life,” said Kedia.

At 250,000 tonnes of litchi production, India is the second biggest litchi producer after China. Bihar accounts for nearly 80 per cent of the produce. India exports around 1,300 tonnes of fresh and processed litchi, mainly to Europe and Asian countries. According to Kedia, the value of litchi export would be close to Rs 5 crore

 

[RPK]

India's agri export will not be impacted by drought: APEDA

India's export of major agricultural products, which registered nearly 25 per cent growth in 2008-09, will not be impacted by the drought, a senior government official said.

The export of more than 100 agricultural and processed food items have increased by 24.43 per cent to Rs 39,461 crore in 2008-09 from Rs 31,712 crore in the previous year due to substantial growth in fresh fruits and vegetables, meat products and processed foods, government's agri-export promotion body APEDA Chairman Asit Tripathy said here today.

Tripathy said the performance of agricultural products in the country's overall export is "very satisfactory" as many other sectors faced a downturn due to the global recession.

He is hopeful that agricultural export will not be hit adversely due to drought in many parts of the country this year. Basmati-rice areas do not have problems as farmers use under-ground water and other sources, while fresh fruits and vegetables have assured irrigation facilities, he said, adding that processed foods may even perform better.

The Basmati-rice areas have increased this year, the APEDA Chairman said, but the quantum of the rise would be available after the second round of satellite survey. APEDA hires a consultant every year to conduct a satellite survey of areas under Basmati rice.

 

[kuku]

How much of Indian Agricultre depends on ground water.

How much funds has goverment dedicated to different ground water management development/education programs.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Six farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha in last 24 hours​

NAGPUR: Six farmers have committed suicide in various parts of Vidarbha as drought situation looms large over the region, an NGO has claimed. The suicides were committed since yesterday, Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti, tracking farmer’s suicides in the region, said in a release. The deceased have been identified as Vijay Bodhe, Mahapal (Yavatmal), Vishwanath Gavne, Pimpri (Amravati), Ramesh Maraskolhe, Pathrat (Yavatmal), Ramchandra Mungale, Bhishi (Chandrapur), Dilip Nandne, Ithlapur (Wardha) and Arun Dakhre, Yenikini (Nagpur), the release said. He said as many as 38 farmers have ended their lives in August and 62 farmers in last 18 days in Maharashtra, he added.

Link

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

How much of Indian Agricultre depends on ground water.

How much funds has goverment dedicated to different ground water management development/education programs.

Ground Water has rapidly emerged to occupy a dominant place in India’s Agriculture and food security in recent years. It has become the main source of growth in irrigated area over the past 3 decades and it now accounts for over 60 percent of the irrigated area in the country. It is estimated that now over 70% of India’s food grain production comes from irrigated agriculture in which ground water plays a vital role.
However despite this huge significance, ground water irrigation is heading for a crisis in India and need urgent understanding and attention. The no of irrigation blocks considered over exploited is increasing at an alarming rate of 5.5% per year.

Read the complete Research Paper on Ground Water Irrigation in India: Gains, Costs and Risks by Vasant P. Gandhi and N.V. Namboodiri from IIM Ahmadabad.

Here is the Link

 

[kuku]

I had done a paper presentation on ground water management back in 2002 in college.

Its weird that the government and the ministries continue to ignore this aspect.

I guess the only thing that can wake up men is a disaster.

 

[Antimony]

Indian Farmers Injecting Oxytocin To Boost Plant Growth: Agriculture Ministry Enraged​

For those who don't know Oxytocin belongs to a class of drugs used to simulate contractions for a pregnant woman to put her into labour.

Yuk(((

 

[Antimony]

I had done a paper presentation on ground water management back in 2002 in college.

Its weird that the government and the ministries continue to ignore this aspect.

I guess the only thing that can wake up men is a disaster.

Kuku,

Do you know what happened to that artificial rain thing?

 

[saffron]

For those who don't know Oxytocin belongs to a class of drugs used to simulate contractions for a pregnant woman to put her into labour.

Yuk(((

Just imagine what will happen when a pregnant woman eats produce with traces of oxytocin.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Rae Bareily: Farms wiped out, women in debt​

Pic Copyright :- NDTV

NDTV reporter Kashish travels to a remote village in the constituency of Rae Bareily in Uttar Pradesh where farms have been wiped out and women are badly in debt because of drought. She narrates her visit to the drought-affected region:

At 11 am, Hanuman, nearly a hundred years old, walks us around a village that's almost the same age.The only growth this village has seen in a century: It's population. There was no road here till last year. The area is part of the Rae Bareily constituency, associated with the Gandhi family for 50 years. But they are so remote that Sonia Gandhi has never managed to reach them nor has any sort of development. Hanuman tells us the village finally has a visitor. An unwelcome one. The drought. A village already used to getting by on nothing, is forced to make do with even less. Hanuman explains, "Sometimes we get food, sometimes there is no meal". An hour later...we meet Guru Prasad, a Dalit with less than an acre of land. He has 13 people in his family. Guru Prasad says the odds are against his survival: "If we get any odd work here and there, we eat. Otherwise, we don't. Since there's no water in the fields, so there's no ploughing and no sowing at all."We join Guru's family for lunch. Chappatis and one vegetable. His daughter-in-law says dal hasn't been on the menu for months. Who can afford it? After lunch, Guru Prasad's young daughters head to a field where they have temporary jobs. A reality faced by almost every family in this panchayat. The age-old caste system weaves in more complications. Guddi's husband is a Brahmin, so he can't work with lower castes. That's forced him to move a hundred kilometers to find work in the city. Guddi has 7 children, all of them girls. She's been borrowing money to feed them. Sometimes, she asks neighbours to loan her some vegetables for her next meal. "My life is a borrowed one," she says, "we live on debt now." Sometimes, she says, she contemplates killing herself. That evening, just before we leave, the village pradhan says he has something to show us. He walks us to a river which could easily have watered fields, if a dam had been built. "But who do we make these suggestions to", he complains? So, a drought that could have been mitigated...attacks this village everyday with full force. There is no shelter.

Link

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

^^ The Slogan of Congress is “Congress ka hath Aam admi ke sath". This is the status of a constituency associated with the Gandhi family for 50 years. People sitting in their AC apartments with all the luxury say India is an emerging Super Power. Give me a break.

 

[RPK]

Farmers use guns to guard water in drought-hit Bihar

Aurangabad (Bihar): Bihar has declared 26 of the 38 districts drought-hit and the water crisis in the state in now turning dangerous with farmer guarding their water sources with guns.


After scanty rainfall in many districts, the battle for water is being fought with guns.


"We are farmers. It has not rained properly this year. There is little water in the canals that we use. So we have to protect the water. We carry our agricultural equipments and guns together. When we are in the fields we use our agricultural equipments and when the need for the guns arises, then we use the guns," says Bal Bhushan Sharma, a farmer in Aurangabad which is one of the worst-hit districts.


Sharma is voice of desperation and of little hope. They are no robbers or henchmen but farmers.


With no rains and most canals drying up, water is more precious than gold and the farmers have now chosen to risk their lives to guard it.


They are ready to kill and get killed to protect their water.


"There is very little water. The villagers from neighbouring areas are on the lookout to divert the water in the canals towards their fields. We are trying to stop them. We don't want a fight but if some one diverts the canal water then how will we irrigate our fields," says another farmer Narendra Singh.


Farmers with guns in their hands are just a reflection of how bad the scene is at the ground. For them it's a question of their survival as the scarce rainfall has made the water flowing out of the canal the most precious commodity for them.


Canals irrigate most of central Bihar and the prolonged dry spell means no water for cultivation.


Out of 79.46 lakh hectares of land under cultivation, only 45.67 lakh hectares are irrigated.


"Just 20 per cent of canal system is functioning and the remaining 80 per cent are not functioning. The report of the Planning Commission has also pointed this," claims agricultural and social scientist Dr Ssachidanand Sinha.


With 39 per cent shortfall of rain, only 40 per cent canals have water and their water level is much below the normal.


Life has changed and farmers have little hope of revival. Celebrations have been postponed


More than half of Nand Kishore's 10 acres of land is barren and he struggles to feed his family of 12, to arrange food for cattle.


Even his sister's wedding will now have to wait for another year.


"If we don't have money then how will we survive? We are not able to sleep and keep on think about how we will get our next meal," says Nand Kishore's mother Sushila Devi.


Drought resulting in food crisis has not only affected the kitchens but has upset the entire life of millions of farmers who even otherwise live on a threshold.


Managing one full year without a penny being generated out of farming is a situation they have never faced before.


Foodgrains are cultivated in over 90 per cent of the fertile land in Bihar and little or no rain only adds to the farmers' woes, perhaps leaving the only option of fighting their destiny with guns.


But while farmers fight each other with guns, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad has fired the latest salvo blaming the drought on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, for eating during the recent solar eclipse, an act considered an omen by some.


"Bihar Chief Minister, my younger brother Nitish, was eating bisuits in front of everyone during a solar eclipse. He thinks he can take on the Sun God," says Lalu.


An angry Nitish has called Lalu's superstitions and indulging in petty politics.


"He (Lalu) is desperate enough to use superstition to come into power again," says Nitish.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Assam sericulture heading for a boost​

EMERGENCE OF a composite silk unit, namely, fabric plus is a boon to the silk industry in Assam. Union minister for textiles, Dayanidhi Maran, on August 19, 2009, inaugurated a composite silk unit at Chaygaon industrial growth centre, near Guwahati. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 5.50 crore, including infrastructure for spun silk mill, machineries, working capital and looms etc. The promoters, Fabric Plus, have contributed an amount of Rs 22.60 lakh. The Central and state governments have provided a subsidy of Rs 155.30 lakh and Rs 48.10 lakh respectively, for installation of machineries and equipments etc. The total output from the mill is likely to support around 4000 eri farmers in the state, by providing appropriate market linkage.

Sericulture has been practiced in Assam from time immemorial and state is proud of producing muga, eri and mulberry silk. The entire sericulture sector, particularly, the pre-cocoon sector involves about 1.85 lakh household in the state, almost seventy per cent involved in eri-sector followed by 15 per cent in each mulberry and muga sectors, informed, J Sampat, joint director (publicity) Central Silk Board, Bangalore, to media persons at Guwahati.

The total raw silk production in the state of Assam during the year 2008-09, is reported to be 1261 MTs, which includes 1141 MTs of eri silk, 105 MTs of muga and 15 MTs of mulberry silk. There has been steadily progress in Vanya (eri and muga) silk production. While there was a continuous progress in production of muga silk, eri silk production was increasing by leaps and bounds and reached new peaks but there was a decline in mulberry silk production, he said. Eri culture is quite popular and the activities are confined to women folk for secondary source of income. The catalytic development programme, jointly implemented by the Central Silk Board, department of sericulture, Government of Assam, has brought new areas under muga and eri sectors, created infrastructures in seed, reeling, spinning under weaving sectors and with the stakeholders and a large number of people have taken up muga and eri culture.

Link

 

[Antimony]

Just imagine what will happen when a pregnant woman eats produce with traces of oxytocin.

Not sure that it would have the rather drastic effect of inducing labour. To do that you would need a steady stream of Oxytocin @ upwards of 5units/min for several hours, into the bloodstream (at least that is what I recall)

Here is some more information on that (Pitocin is the brand name)
Pitocin (Oxytocin Injection) Drug Information: Uses, Side Effects, Drug Interactions and Warnings at RxList

However, I am more worried about what a continuos low dose can do. I think I read somewhere that continuous low dosage of Oxytocin may increase uterine activity, especially for late term women

Once again, yuk(

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Govt lowers basmati rice MEP to USD 800/tonne​

New Delhi: The government has lowered the minimum export price (MEP) of basmati rice to USD 800 a tonne from the present level of USD 1,100 per tonne, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Friday. "The MEP of basmati rice has been reduced to USD 800 per tonne," Pawar told reporters here after the state agriculture ministers' conference on drought management. The decision on basmati rice MEP was taken recently by the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on food management, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

A trade source said the government has reduced MEP on the backdrop of a sharp contraction in the country's overall exports. It argued if India continues with higher MEP, it would give edge to rival Pakistan in the global market. Pakistan, which is the other producing country, is contracting to export Basmati rice at USD 700-800 a tonne, exporters said. The export of non-basmati rice is banned in India along with wheat in the wake of high food prices. India exported about 1.8 million tonnes of Basmati rice in 2007-08 season.

Link

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

The politics of drought​

The UP government claims that 80% of its land is irrigated, blaming drought on poor rains. But in reality, irrigation canals and tube wells in UP are neglected and dry.

Video on NDTV

 

[kuku]

Kuku,

Do you know what happened to that artificial rain thing?

Well there has to be some moisture and a cloud cover present for the artificial rain.

These guys are doing a lot of work in the field.
IITM-HOME

Many projects are going on, i dont think this time around they will help in any way. There is a national level program going on in the institute
IITM-HOME

Outside of all the fancy fancy, we have plenty of water resources, however management is pathetic, i dont even think there is any real management of these resources.

Droughts are a part of our nations history, its weird to see people suddenly jump up as if this has happened for the first time.