21.01.2016

The waterman of Madurai

Through an innovative Southern Smart Waterways Project, city engineer

A.C. Kamaraj attempts to find solution for the water crisis

With the recent floods in Chennai, Cuddalore and Tuticorin causing

irreparable damage to lives and livestock, water is the buzzword today. Yet

ironically, Tamil Nadu continues to fight with the neighbouring State for its

share of Cauvery river water. “Had we effectively used the flood flow

draining into the sea, we could have prevented the loss and also fulfilled our

water requirement,” says A.C. Kamaraj, chairman, National Waterways

Development Technology (NAWAD TECH).

Dispute arising over sharing of river water between riparian states has

strained relationship between States and also its people. In finding an answer

to this perennial problem Kamaraj, who is also the expert committee

member of Central Government’s inter-linking of rivers has come out with

the Southern Smart Waterways project connecting Andhra Pradesh,

Telengana and Tamil Nadu.

“It is part of the “Ganga – Kumari National Waterways Project” (NWP). Our

main objective is to implement a sustainable water distribution system so

that no State feels deprived,” he says.

Retrieval of flood water is the salient feature of the project that envisages a

collection of 1500 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of flood water

annually, which otherwise drains into the sea. If implemented the project

aims to generate jobs, provide 2,000 km of smart navigation operational

round the year, provide drinking water to people, irrigate lands, operate an

effective flood control mechanism and drought mitigation besides fish

cultivation, tourism and water sports.

Hailing from an agricultural family in Kuruvithurai near Madurai, Kamaraj

is closely associated with farming community and understands their plight.

As an Assistant Executive Engineer of Public Works Department in

Srivaikuntam near Tirunelveli, he earned a good name for effectively

managing the water crisis. The appreciation ignited a spark in him to work

for the cause of the peasants.

Collector moots agro-based units, seeks public support

Collector P. Lakshmi Narasimham with people’s representatives at a

meeting in Srikakulam on Wednesday.— PHOTO: BASHEER

Several people’s representatives of Itchapuram constituency region have

strongly opposed establishment of multi-product industrial zone in Sompeta

saying that it will affect the water bodies and disturb the livelihood of many

residents. They said no industrial activity should be allowed in and around

‘Beela' since it would lead to many cascading affects in future.

Srikakulam Collector P. Lakshmi Narasimham on Wednesday held a crucial

meeting with them to discuss about agro-based industries in the region. The

meeting assumed significance as recently government scrapped GOs which

enabled Nagarjuna Construction Company to establish thermal power plant.

However, the project was shelved with the stiff opposition from locals and

killing of three persons in police firing.

The company, which bought lands from locals, approached the government

to establish at least agro-based industries such as poultry, fisheries, corporate

agriculture activity and dairy farm. The Collector reportedly proposed that

500 acres could be utilised for protection of water bodies and remaining can

be utilised for industries which could provide employment to many people.

He said that local leaders should accept it since it would ultimately benefit

people living in and around the project.

Rushigudda sarpanch Karri Kameswara Rao said that Beela area should not

be touched at any cost. A few others representing other areas such as

Baruva, Benkili, Palasapuram, and Janikibhadra told that the people might

not cooperate with the district administration. The Collector said that it was

the responsibility of the public representatives to convince local residents

since industrial development was also necessary for development of the

district.

Focus on water conservation technologies

The State-level 45th Research and Extension Advisory Council (REAC)

meeting, conducted by Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University

(ANGRAU), was held at the Regional Agricultural Research Station

(RARS) here on Wednesday.

Interacting with the participants, ANGRAU Vice-Chancellor A. Padma Raju

stressed on the need for adopting water conservation technologies such as

direct seeding and drip irrigation for the cultivation of paddy crop.

“In the present context, we have to use our existing water resources quite

judiciously. Besides, the paddy varieties developed by the university have

been adopted in 12 other states in the country,” he added.

Dr. Raju also appealed to the farming community to cultivate pulses on a

larger area, as their support price is high and asserted that import of pulses

from other countries should be reduced.

Govt. moves to aid drought-hit mandals

Minister for Agriculture Prathipati Pulla Rao and TDP leaders handing over

a fodder pack to a farmer at Alur in Kurnool district on Wednesday. —

PHOTO: U. SUBRAMANYAM

The government has sanctioned Rs. 250 crore for supply of fodder for cattle

in the drought-affected mandals in the State, Minister for Agriculture

Prathipati Pulla Rao said on Wednesday.

In order to tide over the shortage of veterinary doctors in dispensaries, the

government has decided to appoint 500 veterinary doctors and fill 4,000

vacant posts in the agriculture and allied sectors, Mr. Pulla Rao said at Alur

in Uyyalawada mandal of Kurnool district. He launched distribution of

silage, a high-moisture preserved fodder, at Rs. 2 a kg. in the village.

The government was the first in making use of technology to grow silage

with a high protein content and distributing it Rs. 2 a kg. as against its cost

of Rs. 7 a kg., the Minister said. Three types of fodder units were being

made available to farmers to mitigate fodder scarcity in the drought-hit

mandals.

Azolla units were being sanctioned at 90 per cent subsidy, hydrophonic

system at 75 per cent subsidy and silage fodder at Rs. 2 a kg. Steps were

taken to supply silage needed by farmers at Rs. 2 a kg., the Minister said.

Farmers in Alur village were achieving high milk yield and should utilise

silage to give nutritious feed to their cattle.

The Agriculture Minister advised farmers to achieve high yield with low

investment as the government was sanctioning modern farm implements on

subsidy and according priority to agriculture and allied sectors. There was

no dearth of funds for promoting agriculture, he added.

Free borewells

A vegetable storage centre would be constructed in Nandyal, Mr. Pulla Rao

said. Farmers would be sanctioned solar pumpsets on a subsidy of Rs. 4.50

lakh if they contributed Rs. 50,000, he said and urged them to dig farm

ponds in their agricultural fields.

District Collector Ch. Vijayamohan said silage units were being sanctioned

in the villages to tide over the fodder scarcity owing to severe drought.

Azolla units would be sanctioned if farmers came forward, he said. Farmers

would be sanctioned borewells free of cost in command areas if they

volunteered, he assured. Increasing dairy yields would provide livelihood in

the rural areas and dairy units would be sanctioned, the Collector said.

The Minister gave away silage packs to farmers in Alur. He released

brochures on silage and Azolla making. Banaganapalle MLA B.C.

Janardhana Reddy, Allagadda MLA Bhooma Akhila Priya, Director of

Animal Husbandry Somasekhar spoke about the need for increasing the

cattle wealth.

Training programme on natural farming from Jan. 24

Over 6,000 farmers from all over State to take part in the event

Arrangements in full swing for training programme at Bhavanarayana Nagar

in Kakinada.— Photo: Special Arrangement

Bhavanarayana Nagar, a remote residential colony near Sarpavaram in the

city, is gearing up to host a training programme for farmers from all over the

State, which is being conducted by the State government for the first time.

Makeshift pandals, dais, residential quarters and toilets are being arranged

on a war-footing for the training programme for farmers in zero-budget

natural farming, taken up by the government in a prestigious manner.

The eight-day programme will be launched on a grand scale on January 24

under the aegis of renowned agricultural scientist and natural farmer

Subhash Palekar. Over 6,000 farmers including 1,500 women farmers will

participate in the training programme to be held on the premises of

Chaitanya Polytechnic near Bhavanarayana Swamy temple. Making

agriculture more profitable by reducing the input costs is the theme of

natural farming that turned successful in about 15 States including Punjab

and Haryana.

The day-long deliberations include the changes to be brought into cultivation

by way of giving up the use of fertilizer and pesticides. Instead, the farmers

will be encouraged to use natural fertilizers like animal dung and pesticides

such as neem power and oil. “Till now, only non-government organisations

that work for the farmers have hosted these training programmes. For the

first time, the government of Andhra Pradesh has come forward to conduct

this programme for the larger interests of the farmers in the long run,” says

K. Dhanunjaya Reddy, Commissioner of Agriculture.

The department has extended invitations to the progressive farmer

organisations from the neighbouring States too and is ready to make

arrangements like food and accommodation to any number of participants.

“As of now, over 6,000 registrations have been completed,” says Mr. Reddy.

M. Pavan Kumar, chief executive officer of the NGO Swadhikar and close

associate of Mr. Palekar will coordinate the training sessions.

“Accommodation will be arranged for the women farmers on the premises of

Chaitanya Polytechnic, where the sessions will be conducted. Similarly,

arrangements are also being made on the premises of St. Mary’s B.Ed.

college for the male farmers and other guests,” says Joint Collector-II D.

Markandeyulu. Over 240 bio-toilets are being arranged and 70 sanitation

workers are being deputed to the venue to keep the premises clean round the

clock. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is expected to participate in

one of the sessions, while the Agriculture and Irrigation Ministers are

expected to participate in the inaugural function.

SMI device launched

A Soil Moisture Indicator (SMI) was launched by Bakshi Ram, Director of

ICAR - Sugercane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, on the institute premises

on Wednesday.

On the occasion, Mr. Bakshi Ram said that of late, depletion of water

resources in agriculture had been a cause of serious concern.

He also remarked that irrigation methods such as irrigation-scheduling

which used water prudently and effectively were rarely in practice in most

farms today, especially in sugercane farms.

The newly launched moisture indicator would tell farmers the intervals in

which lands ought to be irrigated. As a result of this, a considerable amount

of water could be saved, he said.

Explaining how the device works, he said that the sensor rods of the SMI

need to be inserted into the soil to a required depth for it to assess the soil

moisture.

The level of moisture in soil would be indicated by glowing LED lights

attached to the device.

He added that the device could be used for potted plants as well.

The institute had registered four designs of the device which were yet to be

patented.

More details are available atwww.sugercane.res.inandwww.caneinfo.nic.in.

Tangedco to fix 16 lakh digital meters in Delta region

Right now there is no proposal to fix meters for agriculture installations

The digital meters are expected to bring down the revenue loss of

Tangedco.— PHOTO: M. SRINATH

The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) has

decided to replace 16 lakh Electro Mechanical Meters (EMM) with digital

meters, which is known as Static Electric Meters (SEM) for all domestic,

commercial, and industrial electricity consumers.

The plan is in addition to the replacement of all mechanical meters being

implemented under the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and

Reforms Programme (R-APDRP) in 17 towns, including Tiruchi, Karur,

Perambalur, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Manaparai, Thuraiyur, Pudukottai,

and Tiruvarur.

According to information available with the Tangedco, there are 37 lakh

services, including 5 lakh non-metered agricultural connections in Delta

districts, including Tiruchi and Thanjavur. There is no move to fix meters

for agricultural services. Remaining 32 lakh services would have to be fixed

with digital meters. In the first phase, 16 lakh Electro Mechanical Meters

will be replaced with digital meters.

A senior officer of Tangedco told The Hindu that the drive would cover

single phase, three-phase, high-tension and low-tension connections. The

digital meter was lightweight and had many value added facilities. It could

measure the electricity with precision. He said it could not be tampered with.

It would ensure better accuracy in reading the power consumption and fewer

defects. The existing electro mechanical meters would not read some

electrical equipment that consumed power below certain volts. But the

digital meters would even count the devices, including mobiles and mobile

power banks. He said it had been noted that the revenue had gone up by

about 20 per cent wherever the digital meters were fixed. It would ultimately

bring down the revenue loss of Tangedco.

In Tiruchi and other 16 towns, where R-APDRP scheme was implemented,

3.92 lakh digital meters have been fixed so far. Of them, 3.17 lakh were for

single phase connections. Work was on progress fix 91,000 more

connections. The drive would be completed by June 2017.

Water released from Kudaganar dam

Water was released from Kudaganar dam for irrigation of agriculture lands

in Dindigul and Karur districts, according a press release issued here on

Wednesday.

The water release through channels will continue for seven days and supply

will be stopped for the next seven days. This turn system will be adopted for

the next 90 days to release about 265 mcft of water.

A total of 9,000 acres – 3,662.78 acres in Dindigul and 5,337.22 acres in

Karur district – will benefit. Farmers at Palapati, Koombur, Ammapatti,

Easanatham, Thirukoornam, Vellode, Kalvarpatti and Periyamanjuveli

villages will benefit. At present, water level stood at 23.46 feet.

Exhibition of indigenous paddy seeds held

An exhibition of indigenous paddy seeds and traditional plough tools, and

folk performance by the students marked the Pongal folk festival at Periyar

University recently.

More than 100 indigenous paddy seeds and traditional plough tools used in

agricultural practices along with some working animals such as cattle, horse,

and goats were displayed at the exhibition. Many native agriculture

machinery and equipment used for soil-working, drilling, fertilizing, and

harvesting and indigenous paddy seeds were the cynosure of all eyes.

The Ongole cattle, kattu seval (madras asils), and native goats were some of

the animals kept in the exhibition.

The initiative of this exhibition enabled the student community to learn

about ancient life of farmers and farming and more so people’s association

with nature and tradition.

The folk festival was brought up with the objective of conserving and

transmitting the prosperities of Tamil culture among students and the public.

The students adorned the whole campus with large kolams (Pongal rangoli)

with traditional rice flour and a riot of colours.

The function commenced with the preparation of sweet pongal in large

earthen pots. C. Swaminathan, Vice-Chancellor of Periyar University,

distributed the pongal to the students and staff.

S. Jayaraman, president, Federation of Salem District Farmers Clubs, was

the chief guest.

A three-hour folk arts performance also formed part of the festival. The

performances held in Periyar auditorium depicted the rich history of arts in

Tamil Nadu. Dance forms such as thappattam, kummi, kaavadiaattam,

koelaattam, oyilaattam and folk songs were the highlights of the event.

In his address, Mr. Swaminathan said that the festival was organised with an

aim to conserve the tradition and transmit its richness to the present

generation. “Traditional paddy seeds are our future,” he added.

Grievance day meeting called off

A farmers’ grievance redressal meeting, which is scheduled to be held on

Thursday at Muthu Arangam in Collectorate here, will not be held as per

schedule, Collector M. Ravikumar said in a statement on Wednesday.

Since officials from the departments of agriculture and horticulture had been

involved in ascertaining damages caused to crops following rains during the

northeast monsoon in 2015, the meeting could not be conducted.

Moreover, special camps would also be organised in all taluks to facilitate

affected farmers, he said.

Farmers’ grievance meeting on Jan 22

The monthly farmers’ grievance redressal meeting will be held at the

Collector’s office at 10.30 a.m. on January 22.

Officials of various departments including agriculture, horticulture,

agriculture engineering, sericulture, fisheries, animal husbandry, cooperative

sugar mills, water resources department, forest, and pollution control board

will be present at the meeting.

Officials would provide details of action taken on the petitions received from

farmers last month. Farmers can participate to resolve their grievances, a

press release said. - Staff Reporter

Expo of paintings, glass sculptures on January 25

Agriculture Minister Prathipati Pulla Rao will inaugurate an exhibition of

paintings and glass sculptures and a workshop on wash technique and glass

technique painting at the Cultural Centre of Vijayawada (CCV) in city on

January 25. Sisir Sahana from Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, will

be the resource person at the events, scheduled to commence at 9 a.m.

The inaugural session will be followed by screening of two films -- Sri

Surya Prakash, a Journey through Life and Arts, directed by Prof. Sahana

and Frozen in Time directed by Sakti Bala Subramanyam.

A workshop on wash technique (painting) will be organised on January 25

and 26 and a participation fee of Rs. 700 will be charged.

A film Prithvi depicting an artist’s passion, directed by Prof. Sahana will

also be screened at 5 p.m. on the first day. The workshop on glass painting

for schoolchildren in the 10-15 years age group will be held from 2 p.m. to 5

p.m. A participation fee of Rs. 500 will be collected from each participant.

Art works produced in the workshops will be put on display at the CCV

gallery.

Last date

Last date for registration is January 22 before 5 p.m. Enquiries for more

details can be made by contacting M. Balamani, Advisor (Fine Arts),

CCV,balamani@malaxmi.in(08106713356, 0866-6623999) or E. Sivanagi

Reddy, CEO, CCV,nagireddy@malaxmi.in, (09848598446, 07093909076)

Farmers are switching over to other crops

Some traditional sugarcane growers, particularly in north Karnataka, are

having second thoughts on continuing with the crop. The principal reasons

are prolonged delay in payment of dues, an unscientific pricing mechanism,

and natural causes like drought. Many sugarcane growers are switching over

to other commercial and horticultural crops. Karnataka State Rajya Raitha

Sangh president Chamarasa Mali Patil said outstanding dues from sugar

mills was around Rs.15,000 crore.

This harvest not sweet for sugarcane and cotton growers

Two major sugarcane growing regions, Mandya and Belagavi, have also

seen the maximum number of suicides among districts. FILE PHOTO: M.A.

SRIRAM

Number of farmers who committed suicide in the State in the last 10 months

has crossed the 1,000 mark

Farmers in Karnataka this year celebrate Makara Sankranti, the harvest

festival, with mixed feelings. While the total number of farmers who

committed suicide has crossed the 1,000 mark (from April 2015 to January

12, 2016), there has been a decline in the trend since November.

However, what emerges on a closer look at the statistics is that it is growers

of two cash crops — cotton (114) and sugarcane (110) — who have been the

worst hit. Two major sugarcane growing regions, Mandya (96) and Belagavi

(76), have also seen the maximum number of suicides among districts. As

many as 126 farmers who committed suicide were simply not able to grow

anything on their farms.

The phenomenon of farmers’ suicides is not limited only to sugarcane and

cotton growers. Farmers who were cultivating maize, paddy, ragi, red gram,

arecanut, sunflower, and other crops have also taken the extreme step.

The number of suicides crossing 1,002 in the last 10 months, as revealed by

the Agriculture Department statistics, is being dubbed as the highest in the

decade in Karnataka and second only to Maharashtra, which recorded 3,228

farmers’ suicides in 2015.

However, the happy news is that the trend has been declining since

November. While 94 farmers ended their life in November, the number was

52 in December. Farmers’ suicides recorded in January (till 12th) is seven.

Farmers’ leaders are unhappy with the way the situation was handled by the

government, despite taking some measures such as waiver of interest on

loans and action against moneylenders. The government also increased the

quantum of compensation from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh to the kin of the

deceased farmers.

“Had the Chief Minister waived loan for one year and asked financial

institutions to sanction fresh loans, the crisis would have not reached this

stage,” said Kurubur Shanthakumar, president of the Karnataka Rajya Kabbu

Belegarara Sangha. “Instead of making the government to act, the

Opposition parties tried to exploit the situation for political gains,” he said.

He said no attempt had been made to force sugar mills to clear the dues of

Rs. 4,900 crore.

*****

Most of them middle-aged

Interestingly, figures of farmers’ suicides show that a majority of those who

committed suicide were in their middle age. While 291 farmers in the age

group of 41 and 50 ended their life, 260 farmers in the age group of 31 and

40 killed themselves in the last 10 months.

****

One crisis after another for cotton growers

Widening gap between the cost of cultivation and income is a major issue

for cotton growers. Firstly, cotton price in the open market fell to around Rs.

4,000 a quintal last year from around Rs. 6,500 a quintal in previous years,

while the prices of inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides, machinery and labour

were constantly on the rise. Simultaneously, the natural calamities hit them

hard last year.

“Cotton seeds were sown soon after the fields received good rainfall. But,

there were no rains when cotton plants were at their crucial stage of growth

and in need of water, affecting the yield quantity and quality. When cotton

was about to be harvested, floods destroyed the fields,” explained

Chamarasa Malipatil, State president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha

Sangha.

He explained that the situation was no better this year. “Bt cotton crop

has been destroyed by pink bollworm pest attack despite the seed

companies’ pest-resistance claims,” he said. He feared that the situation

would not improve if the government did not compel the seed

companies to pay compensation to the affected farmers immediately.

****

Greater coordination of Centre and State need of the hour

T.N. Prakash Kammaradi, Chairman, Karnataka Agriculture Price

Commission, attributes the farm crisis to larger policy issues such as

flawed policies of import and export, and overemphasis on controlling

food prices in contrast to giving remunerative price to farmers.

“Liberal imports of agricultural commodities and restricting exports

have made an impact on States such as Karnataka,” he

observed.Failure to enhance the minimum support price (MSP) is also

another reason for the increase in the number on farmers’ suicides. The

Centre has increased the MSP of main commodities by a meagre 3 per

cent, compared to more than 15 per cent in the previous tenure, he said.

More importantly, the Centre implementing the M.S. Swaminathan

Committee report which has fixed remunerative price for produce with

a 50 per cent profit margin over the cost of production would act as

succour to the farming sector, he said.

“There is a need for greater coordination between the Centre and the

State in offering remunerative price for agricultural and horticultural

produce and increasing the MSP,” he said.

*****

Month-wise figures of farmers’ suicides as on January 12, 2016

April 2015 – 11

May – 31

June – 25

July – 208

August – 217

September – 144

October – 213

November – 94

December – 52

January 2016 – 7

Total: 1,002

……………………………………………………………………………

Status of cases pertaining to farmers’ suicides

Number of claims accepted – 360

Number of claims rejected – 275

Cases pending for disposal – 367

Cases in which compensation of Rs. 5-lakh has been paid – 354

Cases in which Forensic Science Laboratory report is awaited – 164

Cases pending for various other reasons – 203

……………………………………………………………………………..

Farmers’ suicides in the last 13 years

2003–04: 205

2004–05: 114

2005–06: 94

2006–07: 176

2007–08: 182

2008–09: 139

2009–10: 145

2010–11: 117

2011–12: 112

2012–13: 77

2013–14: 58

2014–15: 48

2015–16 (till date): 1,002

Training programme

A free training programme on ‘Integrated nutrient management in paddy,

maize, groundnut and tapioca’ will be held at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra on

the Veterinary College and Research Institute premises on Mohanur Road on

January 25.

A press release from N. Akila, senior scientist and head, said that the

programme would cover identification of suitable soil for cultivation,

increase nutrients in soil and also application of fertilizers. Farmers,

members of self-help groups, youth and interested persons can participate in

the training programme. For registration, one can visit the KVK in person or

register through phone: 04286-266345 and 266650. Last date for registration

is January 24.

Forest dept. resorts to technology to curb human-elephant conflict

An early warning system to monitor the movement of wild elephants has

been installed in Gudalur forest Division. Photo: M. Sathyamoorthy

After an elephant trampled a man near Gudalur, Forest Division has chosen

to use Whatsapp, three modes of early warning systems.

In addition to the conventional practices, the Forest Department is taking the

technology route now to reduce the human-elephant conflict.

After an elephant trampled a man near Gudalur in The Nilgiris, the locals

have resorted to bandh, picketing and fast in a consistent show of public

outrage over the incident.

On Monday, the services of two kumkis (trained elephants) Mudumalai and

Bomman from Theppakadu Elephant camp were used for chasing a 11-

member wild elephant herd. The operation did yield some results.

Forest officials led by Gudalur DFO S.N. Tejaswi managed to send six of

the jumbos across the National Highway and efforts continued on

Wednesday for driving the remaining five away from human habitats. Once

the herd crosses the road, the kumkis would be in a position to put them

back on the migratory track deep into the forests, officials said.

Meanwhile, the Gudalur Forest Division has chosen to use Whatsapp, three

modes of early warning systems and map of conflict prone areas and

elephant sightings to continuously monitor the movement and behavioural

pattern of jumbos that cause frequent trouble.

A Whatsapp group called Gudalur Safeway is very active now in the area

especially in Gudalur and Pandalur taluks for dissemination of information

relating to elephant movement. The group has DFO, Collector, SP, Rangers,

estate managers, village heads and local media representatives as members.

Any information disseminated on the group is also forwarded to the rest of

the local community in the form of group or bulk SMS. The information is

also taken to more people in the form of scroll in local cable television

network, say officials.

In addition, the NGOs have supplemented the efforts of the Forest

Department by training the tribal youth to record elephant sightings and

movements and instantly uploading it on to the Google images map which is

being handled by the Forest Department. “This helps in tracking the

movement of lone tuskers and herds and study their behavioural pattern and

to get into a preventive and proactive mode. This has almost become a

conflict prone area mapping,” said an official.

Besides, the early warning systems have also become functional.

While two of them costing around Rs 30,000 generate SMS besides flash

lights and alarm sound in specific areas and terrains, the low cost early

warning system that comes at a price of around Rs 6,000 use sensor, solar

battery, beacon lights and alarms.

Forest Division has chosen to use Whatsapp, three modes of early warning

systems

Some assurance: How new crop insurance scheme can be a game-

changer

Under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, farmers can benefit

with both lower premiums and higher sums insured.

According to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), the

average SI per hectare under the existing national agricultural insurance

scheme was just Rs 18,464 (Rs 19,141 in kharif and Rs 16,927 in rabi) in

2013-14.

That insurance penetration amongst India’s farming community is abysmal

is a known fact. Out of the gross cropped area of 195.26 million hectares in

the country, only 42.82 million hectares or 22 per cent was covered under

crop insurance in 2014. While the coverage was higher in some states —

especially Rajasthan and also Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar and Karnataka —

it was hardly a tenth or less for the likes of Gujarat, West Bengal and Uttar

Pradesh (see table).

But the low spread of agricultural insurance — one in every five hectares —

isn’t the only issue. Equally important is the inadequacy of cover, in terms of

the sum insured (SI) or the maximum amount that insurance would pay in

the event of crop damage.

According to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), the

average SI per hectare under the existing national agricultural insurance

scheme was just Rs 18,464 (Rs 19,141 in kharif and Rs 16,927 in rabi) in

2013-14. This is way below the gross value of output (GVO) for most crops.

Take paddy, where the GVO on an all-India average yield of 36 quintals and

minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,310/quintal in 2013-14 worked out to

Rs 47,160 per hectare. Or tur (arhar), where these numbers stood at 8.5

quintals, Rs 4,300/quintal and Rs 36,550 per hectare, respectively.

If policy claims cannot cover even half of the value of produce when the

crop suffers heavy damage, it only shows why farmers aren’t really

interested in taking insurance protection. And it also explains the poor

spread of crop insurance in a country that has experienced five full-fledged

drought years (2002, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2015) in this century alone.

The Narendra Modi government’s new Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

(PMFBY) promises a departure from the existing crop insurance schemes.

These currently cap the premiums at 8-9 per cent of the SI for rabi

foodgrains and oilseeds, and at 12-13 per cent for annual commercial and

horticulture crops. In the normal course, if the SIs were to be set closer to the

GVOs, the actuarial premiums — i.e. based on proper statistical risk

assessment — would work out even higher. In this case, the premiums have

been lowered simply by keeping the SIs much below GVOs.

The PMFBY, going by what has been notified, removes any artificial

capping of the SI, resulting in low claims being paid to farmers. The SI will

be calculated by multiplying the MSP of a crop with the average seven-year

‘threshold’ yield (excluding calamity years) for the particular village

panchayat area where it is grown. The premiums would be determined by

the SI and not the other way round, as is the case now. Farmers will,

however, have to fork out a uniform premium of just 2 per cent for all kharif

crops, 1.5 per cent for rabi and 5 per cent for commercial/horticulture crops.

The gap between the actuarial premiums and the rates payable by farmers

would be fully met by the government. There is no upward limit on

government subsidy.

If the scheme is implemented as promised, it will certainly be a significant

step forward. But there are a few catches. The first is that PMFBY will be

applicable only from the next kharif season, which may well witness a

normal monsoon. The fact that it would not benefit farmers today, when they

are in the grip of an excruciating drought, may somewhat limit the scheme’s

political appeal.

Secondly, implementing the scheme in letter and spirit will entail huge

premium subsidy outgo, more so in a drought year. The implicit assumption

seems to be that if low premiums attract more farmers, the increased

insurance penetration and crop area coverage will succeed in driving down

actuarial rates, as it has happened with mobile call charges. The CACP

reckons the premiums to drop to 3.5 per cent of SI if 50 per cent of India’s

gross cropped area is insured. On an SI of Rs 50,000 per hectare, this would

come to Rs 1,750. For the farmer, the premium cost will be Rs 350 per

hectare assuming 80 per cent government subsidy.

Lastly, it’s not clear whether and how much of the subsidy burden will have

to be borne by the states. What would happen to farmers in states whose

governments insist that the tab be fully picked up by the Centre?

On the whole, though, there is a lot to commend about the PMFBY from a

farmer’s standpoint. If the conditions of low premiums and the SI covering

the entire GVO are met — along with quick claim settlements enabled by

mobile and satellite technology — it can turn out to be a game-changer for

Indian agriculture.

Cutting power subsidies – by giving new pumps free!

Simply put, what is a 5-HP pump, on paper, actually draws electricity that a

6.7-HP motor would, consuming 5 units rather than 3.73 units per hour.

A farmer waters his crops using a pump. (Express Photo)

State governments and power distribution companies (Discoms) can save

huge sums on electricity subsidies to farmers by simply replacing old

inefficient pump-sets with new ones that consume less energy for watering

fields.

A standard 5-horsepower (HP) electric motor pump-set shouldn’t — under

ideal field conditions of three-phase supply at consistent 440V voltage —

consume more than 3.73 kilowatt-hours of energy (one HP equals 0.746

kilowatts).

But most 5-HP pumps that farmers use today consume at least 5 units

(kilowatt-hours) of electricity, going up to even 7-7.5 units. “The bulk of the

2.1-2.2 crore electric pump-sets presently energised in India are 10-years-old

or more. Farmers rarely replace their pumps even after repeated motor

burnouts. They, instead, choose to rewind these locally, often using poor-

quality copper wires that lead to lower motor efficiency and increased

energy consumption,” says Shashi Kant, senior manager (Technical) at

Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a joint venture of public sector

undertakings under the Ministry of Power.

Simply put, what is a 5-HP pump, on paper, actually draws electricity that a

6.7-HP motor would, consuming 5 units rather than 3.73 units per hour.

The implications of this aren’t small for Discoms that, according to Power

Finance Corporation data, sold 150.98 billion units to the farm sector in

2013-14. While agriculture accounted for 21.69 per cent of total electricity

consumption, it generated just 8.03 per cent of the revenues of Discoms. The

average revenue per unit of electricity from sale to agricultural consumers

was only Rs 1.75, as against Rs 6.66 to industry.

Farmers in many states are now charged on a fixed per-HP per month basis.

At an average rate of Rs 300 per HP, the monthly electricity bill for a farmer

with a 5-HP pump connection works out to a flat Rs 1,500, irrespective of

how many units he actually consumes. But that also makes him less inclined

to invest in an energy-efficient pump, while encouraging overdrawing of

groundwater. An old 5-HP pump that guzzles 5 units per hour and runs six

hours daily for 300 days of the year will consume 9,000 units. If, however,

replaced by a new star-rated pump of similar horsepower requiring only 3.73

units an hour, the annual consumption will drop by over 25 per cent to

around 6,715 units. The annual savings from it, taking an average cost of

supply of Rs 5/unit, comes to Rs 11,430. That is significant, when seen

against the roughly Rs 35,000 cost for a new energy-efficient 5-HP pump-

set. “We have replaced nearly 2,000 pump-sets of farmers in Hubli and

Mandya districts of Karnataka with new BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency)

star-rated pumps.

Our findings show the resultant energy savings to be anywhere from 25 to

35 per cent,” claims Shashi Kant. EESL is also implementing a similar

project of replacing 2,500 pump-sets in Rajanagaram mandal of Andhra

Pradesh’s East Godavari district. The immediate beneficiary of replacing old

energy-guzzling pumps would be the Discoms, to the extent their sale of

power at below cost to farmers comes down by 25 per cent. The Discoms

are, in fact, funding the replacement of pump-sets under EESL’s pilot

scheme, as the payback on an investment of Rs 35,000 is not even 3.5 years.

But how does the farmer gain by replacing inefficient pump-sets, especially

in a regime of flat-rate pricing for agricultural power that reduces the

marginal cost of pumping water to near-zero?

“The farmer spends around Rs 3,000 every time his old overheated

submersible pump is taken out from 100 feet below and put back after its

burnt-out motor has been rewound. Here, not only are we giving the new

pump free (since it is funded by the Discoms), but also not charging him for

any repair and maintenance for five years,” explains Shashi Kant. Saurabh

Kumar, managing director of EESL, believes that state

governments/Discoms should even consider supplying solar pumps against

new connections free of cost.

A 5-HP solar pump currently costs about Rs 4.5 lakh. But it also costs Rs

1.75 lakh or so to provide a new electric tube-well connection with the

transformer, switchgear, cables and other fittings. The savings from this, and

also not having to incur losses on future power sales, can pay for giving free

solar pumps in over 6-7 years time.

Cotton prices: Pakistan comes to Gujarat farmers’ rescue

Import demand from neighbouring country pushes up kapas realisations.

Farmers waiting with their produce at a cotton market in India. Growers of

the crop across Gujarat are realising an increase in average price since

December. (Express Photo)

Cotton farmers in Gujarat, the country’s largest producer of the fibre, are

seeing some recovery in prices this year — thanks to a combination of

Pakistan’s crop hitting an 18-year-low and the announcement of a Rs 550

per quintal bonus by the state government over and above the Centre’s

minimum support price (MSP).

“I sold 25 quintals of my kapas (raw, un-ginned cotton) last week at Rs

4,625 per quintal. This is more than the average of Rs 4,125 that I got last

year, but nowhere near the Rs 6,750 peak of 2011-12,” says Pravin Patel

from Goral village of Idar taluka in North Gujarat’s Sabarkantha district.

This 43-year-old farmer has planted cotton in three out of his nine-hectares

holding. While his production is 10 quintals below last year’s 60 quintals, it

has been compensated by higher realisations. “I won’t sell my balance 25

quintals until prices climb further,” adds Patel.

Farmers in Saurashtra, too, are realising an average price of Rs 4,600 per

quintal since December, way above the Rs 4,050 MSP declared by Centre

for long-staple Shankar-6 and Shankar-10 varieties grown in Gujarat in the

current 2015-16 season. “Farmers are holding back their crop. And that itself

is contributing to better prices,” notes Bharat Wala, president of the

Saurashtra Ginners Association.

The Saurashtra region accounts for two-thirds of Gujarat’s production,

which is expected to dip from 10.8 to 9.65 million bales (each containing

170 kg of lint after ginning) in 2015-16 due to poor monsoon rains. The

country’s total production, according to the Cotton Association of India, will

be only 35.7 million bales, as against 38.275 million bales in 2014-15.

While lower domestic production has helped prop up prices, the real push,

though, has come from Pakistan. The US Department of Agriculture has

pegged its output at 7.2 million bales for 2015-16, down 32 per cent from

last year’s 10.6 million bales. The culprit has been heavy rains during June-

July and increased pest pressure from whitefly and pink bollworms, which

also caused damage in Punjab and Gujarat. Pakistan’s imports are projected

to more than treble to 2.7 million bales, much of it sourced from Gujarat.

Besides, there has also been the Gujarat government’s decision last month

— following the battering received by the ruling BJP in November’s district

and taluka panchayat polls, linked to rural distress from falling farm

commodity prices — to grant a Rs 550 bonus taking the effective MSP to Rs

4,600 per quintal. But this move, effective from December 18, seems to have

had positive ‘sentiment’ impact more than anything else.

The Gujarat government has made the bonus conditional upon farmers

selling their crop to the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI). The latter, in

turn, has procured a mere 37,500 quintals of kapas (7,500 bales of lint) in

Gujarat because of market prices ruling above the Centre’s MSP.

Most of these purchases, moreover, were made before the bonus

announcement. CCI buying very little — entirely in north Gujarat and not a

single bale in Saurashtra — has rendered the bonus meaningless in practical

terms.

“Only some quantity of the cotton we have purchased will be eligible for

bonus.

Our mandate is to intervene only at the Centre’s MSP level,” admits Swapan

Kumar Das, general manager of CCI in Gujarat.

Yet, what seems to have helped is the timing of the bonus announcement,

coinciding with Pakistan’s production woes and resort to imports.

CCI estimates only around 3.3 million bales or 45 per cent of Gujarat’s crop

to have arrived in the markets so far. “The market started very low, but has

been going up since. Whenever there is an upward trend, farmers tend to

hold back their cotton. Also, farmers in Gujarat have more holding capacity

compared to their counterparts in other states,” points out Das.

This situation does not apply to marginal farmers, though. Mahesh Sadadiya

sold his entire 22 quintals of cotton in October and in early November. “I

needed money for a social occasion. Therefore, I sold my crop in two

batches, fetching an average of Rs 4,317 per quintal,” says the 22-year-old

from Hadmatiya Khanda village in Jasdan taluka of Rajkot district, who

cultivates cotton in his entire 1.5 hectares land.

While Sadadiya’s realisation was better than the Rs 4,150 he got last year,

his production has fallen by four quintals due to deficient rains. Also, the

higher price is far below the Rs 7,000 rate he realised four seasons ago.

Meanwhile, there are some farmers selling to CCI even with market prices

ruling higher than the Centre’s MSP. Mukesh Patel, who has planted cotton

in 3.5 out of his 4 hectares field, sold his first picking of 20 quintals in late-

October at Rs 4,100 per quintal, slightly more than the MSP. But only last

week, he sold another 60 quintals — this time to CCI at the MSP, despite

market prices at Rs 4,500-plus. “The auction process takes time at the

APMC (agriculture produce market committee) yard and the tractor-trailer

drivers charge more for delays. So, I sold to CCI, for which I have received

an SMS intimation of money at the Rs 4,050 rate being credited to my bank

account. Now, I am awaiting the bonus,” says this farmer of Sadatpura

village in Idar.

However, Indrajitsinh Champavat, secretary of the Idar APMC, claims that

the farmers selling to CCI are mainly those whose cotton is of inferior

quality, making them reluctant to sell at the prices discovered though open

auctions. “CCI is not participating at the APMC auction and is, instead,

asking farmers to unload their cotton at ginning factories identified by it.

The CCI is, then, providing the details of these farmers, which we are further

feeding to Gujarat State Agricultural Marketing Board, the nodal agency for

disbursal of bonus,” he states.

After bitter 2015, mango exports in Maharashtra may see 15% jump

this year

Growers and traders pin hopes on EU markets and good weather for better

fortunes this year.

After a disappointing 2015 due to vagaries of nature, mango growers in the

state are hoping for a 15 per cent increase in exports this year. Although the

European Union lifted ban on Indian mangoes last year, unseasonal rains

destroyed more than 40 per cent of the crop right at the flowering stage.

While the mango season starts officially in March, the first mango of the

season arrived at the Vashi market yard last weekend.

Back in 2014, the European Union had decided to ban the import of Indian

Mangoes due the presence of fruit fly in the product. Alphonso mangoes,

which is grown in the Konkan region of Mahrashtra and in various parts of

Karnataka, form the bulk of exports to EU countries. Kesar, Langda and

other varieties grown in other parts of the country form the rest. Around 15

per cent of mangoes export are directed at the EU countries.

Figures released by Agricultural and Food Products Exports Development

Authority (APEDA) show 42,998 quintals of mango worth Rs 302.54 crore

were exported from the country last year. Maharashtra constitutes around 25

per cent of the exports approximately. Last year, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Nepal

were the major export destinations.

Mango growers in the state say the climatic conditions till now has been

conducive for a bumper crop. Ajit Goggate, chairman of the the Devgad

Mangoes (a cooperative body of mango growers in Devgad taluka of

Sindhudurg district in the state) said they expected an yield of around 70,000

metric tonnes in Sindhudurg alone this year. “In case there are no vagrancies

of nature, we will see a bumper crop this year,” he said.

This year, the usual pests and diseases which attack mango orchards during

January were also absent.

Two years ago, the state government had announced the starting of

Mangonet on the lines of Grapenet, an internet-based residue tracibility

software which allows end-to-end monitoring of crops. This year, 3,716

farms have registered on the software of which 2,700 are from Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, the first mangoes of the season hit both the Vashi and Pune

market yards last weekend. Ashok Hande, a trader operating at the Vashi

market yard, said the first mango was offered to the Siddhivinayak temple as

per their custom. “We had received five dozen mangoes and the quality was

good,” he said. Hande said they expected a 15 per cent rise in the exports

with the EU markets opening up. “Volume-wise, it might not look much, but

price realization is better in EU markets than other markets, where it is 25

per cent higher,” he said.

Similarly, Rohan Ursal, a trader operating in the Pune market yard, said they

hoped for an early start to the season. Ursal said the domestic season would

start after February 15 while the exports would also start early. “Ratnagiri

mangoes will start early this year. But the Karnataka mangoes might be

delayed,” he said. Ursal said they had received six petis of four dozen each

of Lalbaugh variety from Tumkur district of Karnataka on Wednesday.

“Each peti was sold at Rs 1,111 and the quality of the mangoes was also

good,” he said.

Device to check soil moisture launched in TN

COIMBATORE, JANUARY 20:

Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, has launched a device that will

aid farmers assess the soil moisture level in fields.

Aptly coined “Soil Moisture Indicator”, this electronic device – designed

and developed with active participation of farmers and sugar factory

personnel – has sensor rods that will need to be inserted into the soil to a

required depth to assess soil moisture, explained Bakshi Ram, Director of

the institute.

“The indicator, fitted with an LED, will highlight the moisture content in the

soil. It can be used in farmers’ field as also in potted plants, the SBI Director

said. The institute has registered four designs of SMI.

Tech Source Solutions, a Bengaluru-based firm has entered into a license

agreement with the institute for marketing this patent-pending product.

Priced at ₹1,200, the indicator, said Ram, “will facilitate irrigation

scheduling (particularly in sugarcane fields)”.

The effort is aimed at efficient use of water, which is becoming a scarce

resource, he added.

(This article was published on January 20, 2016)

Vijayawada to host Agri & Dairy Tech 2016

HYDERABAD, JAN. 20:

The first International Agriculture & Dairy Fair Andhra 2016 will be held in

Vijayawada during February 4-6. Kenes Exhibitions with the support of the

Andhra Pradesh Government will host it. The 3-day international trade fair

will focus on opportunities for farmers to get trained and get access to

integrated solutions that help improve productivity, simplify farming and the

input providers showcase their new products, techniques and technologies.

Over 70 per cent of population in A.P. live in rural areas and depend on

agriculture.

Among the major companies participating in the show at a convention centre

in Vijayawada include Captain Tractors, Mahindra Tractors, Coromandel

Fertilizers, NABARD, JK Tyres, L&T, Tata, Virbac Animal Health, SSP Pvt

Ltd, Dodla Dairy Co and Vedic Organic among others.

Kenes Exhibitions organises Agritech in Israel & Peru. It has been

conducting Agritex in Hyderabad for the past three years. A massive farm

outreach program is being undertaken in 350 villages to encourage farmers

to visit the event, says a press release.

The trade fair will also see participation of scientists, professors from

agriculture universities, veterinary & horticultural departments.

(This article was published on January 20, 2016)

Spot rubber drops on weak demand

KOTTAYAM, JANUARY 20:

Spot rubber was weak on Wednesday. The market opened steady but lost the

initial strength on buyer resistance as certain tyre companies were buyers

only up to ₹95.00 a kg for RSS 4. Declines in domestic futures kept

sentiments under pressure RSS 4 surrendered to ₹96.00 (₹97.00) a kg

according to traders and the Rubber Board. The grade dropped to ₹93.00

(₹94.00) per kg as quoted by the dealers.

(This article was published on January 20, 2016)

Pepper markets rule steady

KOCHI, JANUARY 20:

Pepper markets remained steady on matching demand and supply, on

Wednesday. On the terminal market, 35 tonnes of pepper arrived. Trade

sources told BusinessLine that of the 35 tonnes of pepper traded, 15 tonnes

were from the high ranges and the balance from Kottayam, Pathanamthitta

and Kollam. Spot prices stayed steady at ₹62,400 (ungarbled) and ₹65,400

(garbled) a quintal. Indian export prices were at $9,700 a tonne cf for Europe

and $9,950 a tonne cf for USA.

(This article was published on January 20, 2016)

Post Comment

Change in farmland status made easier in Maharashtra

The move is expected to boost realty development in the state

The Maharashtra government has simplified the procedure to convert

farmland into non- agricultural (NA) land for plots covered

under Development Plans (DPs) in urban areas.

The move is expected to boost realty development in the state.

"The government has done away with the need to obtain permissions for

changing the use of land to 'non-agricultural' category for land covered

under the Development Plans (DPs).

"The implementation of the decision was facing some hurdles at the regional

level. To do away with the hurdles the government has come out with a

Government Resolution (GR) that has instructions in this regard. The GR

seeks to make the (land conversion) procedure easy," Revenue

Minister Eknath Khadse told reporters here on Wednesday.

The GR has made it mandatory for revenue officials to furnish details of

classification of land (agricultural or non-agricultural) within 30 days of

receiving an application, he said.

Plots falling under a particular category won't require status change to NA,

he said. "In certain cases, obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from

the District Collector within 30 days by paying fees prescribed under rules

will obliterate the need to transfer the land to NA category," Khadse said.

Action would be taken against officials for not adhering to the 30-day time

limit, the minister said, adding, to implement the new norms, Collector's

offices have been asked to create data banks and set up special cells.

"Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed all the Collectors to speed

up the processes to grant NA permissions," he said.

New crop insurance scheme interests private insurers

Insurers say scheme would offer premium subsidy and would be more

affordable for farmers

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is likely to see a higher interest from

private general insurers, with one authority to implement the scheme and

availability of localised risk coverage.

Insurance companies feel this will be beneficial since, unlike earlier where

there was a claim subsidy, this scheme would offer premium subsidy and be

more affordable for farmers.

Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the scheme. A uniform premium of

two per cent is to be paid by farmersfor all kharif crops and 1.5 per cent for

all rabi crops. For annual commercial and horticultural crops, it will be five

per cent.

The rest of the premium will be paid by the government, with no upper limit

on the subsidy. Insurance executives said, by contrast, the Modified National

Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) had a high premium rate and

farmers could not afford it.

“There were multiple schemes — NAIS, MNAIS and weather-based crop

insurance — with different implementing authorities. Now, with one

scheme, it will be easier for us to be a part of it, since it covers almost all

conditions,” said the chief executive of a mid-size private general insurer.

Further, companies said, as all states have been asked to implement it,

insurers will find it easier to be a part of the scheme.

Sanjay Datta, chief of underwriting and claims at ICICI Lombard General

Insurance, said they’d be keen to join. Adding of catastrophic events to this

cover, such as protection from cyclone impact, would be beneficial.

It is anticipated that there would be clusters formed of districts to implement

the scheme. Senior officials said how these were classified would define

how the premiums would be fixed. Insurers would wait for the contours of

the classification before deciding to join.

Anuj Tyagi, member of the executive management at HDFC ERGO General

Insurance, said as farmer premiums would be down, the uptake of policies

would be high. Use of technology being mandatory would improve

operational efficiencyThe Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is likely to see

a higher interest from private general insurers, with one authority to

implement the scheme and availability of localised risk coverage.

Insurance companies feel this will be beneficial since, unlike earlier where

there was a claim subsidy, this scheme would offer premium subsidy and be

more affordable for farmers.

Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the scheme. A uniform premium of

two per cent is to be paid by farmers for all kharif crops and 1.5 per cent for

all rabi crops. For annual commercial and horticultural crops, it will be five

per cent.

The rest of the premium will be paid by the government, with no upper limit

on the subsidy. Insurance executives said, by contrast, the Modified National

Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) had a high premium rate and

farmers could not afford it.

“There were multiple schemes — NAIS, MNAIS and weather-based crop

insurance — with different implementing authorities. Now, with one

scheme, it will be easier for us to be a part of it, since it covers almost all

conditions,” said the chief executive of a mid-size private general insurer.

Further, companies said, as all states have been asked to implement it,

insurers will find it easier to be a part of the scheme.

Sanjay Datta, chief of underwriting and claims at ICICI Lombard General

Insurance, said they’d be keen to join. Adding of catastrophic events to this

cover, such as protection from cyclone impact, would be beneficial.

It is anticipated that there would be clusters formed of districts to implement

the scheme. Senior officials said how these were classified would define

how the premiums would be fixed. Insurers would wait for the contours of

the classification before deciding to join.

Anuj Tyagi, member of the executive management at HDFC ERGO General

Insurance, said as farmer premiums would be down, the uptake of policies

would be high. Use of technology being mandatory would improve

operational efficiency and will be beneficial to both farmers and insurers.

Sugar up 0.3% amid rise in spot demand

Commodity for delivery in May contracts gained Rs 9, or 0.27%

A vendor arranges price tag over sack filled with sugar at wholesale

vegetable market in Ahmedabad

Sugar prices edged up 0.31% to Rs 3,205 per quintal in futures trade today

as traders widened positions amid upsurge in demand in the spot market.

In futures trading at the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange,

sugar for delivery in March month rose by Rs 10, or 0.31%, to Rs 3,205 per

quintal with an open interest of 1,07,120 lots.

Similarly, the sweetener for delivery in May contracts gained Rs 9, or 0.27%

to Rs 3308 per quintal in 39010 lots.

Marketmen said increasing of positions by participants due to pick up in

demand from retailers and bulk consumers in the spot market mainly

attributed the rise in sugar prices at futures trade but reports of higher output

capped the gains.

Meanwhile, India's sugar production rose 7% to 110.90 lakh tonnes till

January 15 in the current marketing year while mills have so far this season

received contracts for exporting 9 lakh tonnes of sweetener.

Sugar production in India, the world's second-largest producer and biggest

consumer, stood at 103.82 lakh tonnes in the same period of 2014-15

marketing year (October-September).

Assam Agriculture University Vice Chancellor to attend ICAR meet

Jorhat: Vice-chancellor of Assam Agriculture University (AAU) Kamal

Malla Bujar Baruah will take part in the annual conference of vice-

chancellors of agricultural universities and directors of Indian Council of

Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes in Delhi on Friday.

Baruah said he will raise several issues pertaining to AAU at the conference

and seek a time-bound plan for development of all sectors of the agricultural

universities across the country.

He said, "I will raise issues like funding, research work, teaching, extension

work and skill development work in AAU. I will also seek smooth and

adequate funding from the Centre, development of research work,

development of teaching patterns, promotion of extension work and more

skill development projects."

The conference is organized annually by ICAR to deliberate and find a

consensus on issues and reforms related to agriculture research, education

and extension systems for smooth and effective functioning of the

agricultural universities of the country. The conference acts as an interface

between agricultural universities and the ICAR.

Maharashtra government makes conversion of agriculture land for industrial

use simpler

MUMBAI: Doing away with a century-old procedure, the state revenue

department on Wednesday issued a government resolution discontinuing

non-agricultural (NA) permission for land for bona fide industrial use.

Addressing a press conference at Mantralaya, revenue minister Eknath

Khadse said a committee, be headed by the additional collector, has been set

up.

The applicant needs to apply to the panel for information on reservations on

the land where the industry is to be set up. The information will be provided

within a month. Also, the applicant does not have to obtain a no-objection

certificate from any department. After setting up the industry, the applicant

has to intimate the office of the tehsildar or talati, who will grant the sanad

(deed) within 60 days.

For Class I and Class II land, citizens will be informed about the category

within a month of the application. If the land is Class I, NA permission will

not be required. If the land is Class II, an NOC will be granted for

conversion following payment of the conversion tax, but it will not require

NA permission. The deadline in both cases is 30 days.

If officials do not comply, disciplinary action can be initiated against them,

said Khadse. All district collectors' offices have been directed to set up a

data bank as well as a special desk to make it easy to issue NOCs, he added.

Plenty of fish in the sea? Maybe not, says study

In fact, it was closer to 130 million tonnes, according to the research

published in Nature Communications.

Paris: The global fisheries catch has been underestimated by more than half

since 1950, with tens of millions of tonnes unreported every year, said a

study, warning that stocks may be running low.

About 109 million tonnes of fish were caught in 2010, 30 percent higher

than the 77 million tonnes reported to the UN's Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO), according to the study.

This meant that about 32 million tonnes of catch went unreported that year,

"more than the weight of the entire population of the United States," said a

research duo from the University of British Columbia, Canada.

In the peak fishing year of 1996, the FAO had documented a global catch of

86 million tonnes. In fact, it was closer to 130 million tonnes, according to

the research published in Nature Communications.

"The world is withdrawing from a joint bank account of fish without

knowing what has been withdrawn, or the remaining balance," said the

study's lead author Daniel Pauly.

For the study, Pauly and his colleague Dirk Zeller compiled a "catch

reconstruction", combining FAO data with estimates of figures countries

generally excluded from their official reports.

These included small-scale commercial or subsistence fishing, recreational

or illegal fishing, and discarded bycatch.

The pair of researchers, backed by a team of 100 collaborators from more

than 50 institutions, relied on academic literature, industrial fishing statistics,

local fisheries experts, law enforcers, coastal communities and tourist catch

data.

"We find that reconstructed global catches between 1950 and 2010 were 50

percent higher than data reported to FAO suggest," the authors wrote.

They called for more robust reporting and monitoring of catches.

"This groundbreaking study confirms that we are taking far more fish from

our oceans than the official data suggests," commented Joshua Reichert, vice

president of the Pew Charitable Trusts, which supported the work.

"It's no longer acceptable to mark down artisanal, subsistence or bycatch

catch data as zero in the official record books."

Faster decline

The team also found that the annual catch has been declining since 1996 at a

much faster rate than suggested by FAO data.

And rather than the result of catch quotas, the trend may point to stocks

running low, Pauly said.

"When we remove countries that have catch limits... the decline persisted,"

he said by email.

"The overall decline in catches is due to overfishing, and hence bad news."

The FAO had reported the catch shrinking by about 380,000 tonnes per year

from 1996 to 2010, but the reconstructed data pointed to a much stronger

decline of 1.2 million tonnes per year.

The drop was mainly in large, commercial fishing which accounted for 73

million tonnes in 2010, combined with "gradually reduced" levels of

discarded bycatch to about 10.3 million tonnes per year on average.

But small-scale artisanal catches are on the rise from about eight million

tonnes in the early 1950s to 22 million tonnes in 2010.

Subsistence fisheries caught about 3.8 million tonnes per year between 2000

to 2010, and the global estimate for recreational catches is about a million

tonnes per year.

The team conceded that, as with data submitted to the FAO, their

reconstruction "implies a certain degree of uncertainty".

Nevertheless, "these new estimates provide countries with more accurate

assessments of catch levels than we have ever had," said Reichert.

John Tanzer, director of green group WWF's global marine programme, also

described the report as "bad news".

“We are fishing harder and catching less fish," he told AFP by telephone

from Abu Dhabi.

The higher catch estimates were no surprise, said Tanzer, "but the extent to

which the study indicated is worrying."

The FAO, for its part, said there were concerns about a few "technical

elements" of the study, but it agreed with the basic conclusions.

"Catch statistics... can and should be improved, and this requires additional

funding and international collaboration and country commitment," it said in

a statement.

Plastic to outweigh fish in oceans by 2050, study warns

Plastic rubbish will outweigh fish in the oceans by 2050.

Davos, Switzerland: Plastic rubbish will outweigh fish in the oceans by

2050 unless the world takes drastic action to recycle the material, a report

warned Tuesday on the opening day of the annual gathering of the rich and

powerful in the snow-clad Swiss ski resort of Davos.

An overwhelming 95 percent of plastic packaging worth $80-120 billion

(73-110 billion euros) a year is lost to the economy after a single use, said a

global study by a foundation fronted by yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur,

which promotes recycling in the economy.

The study, which drew on multiple sources, proposed setting up a new

system to slash the leaking of plastics into nature, especially the oceans, and

to find alternatives to crude oil and natural gas as the raw material of plastic

production.At least eight million tonnes of plastics find their way into the

ocean every year equal to one garbage truckful every minute, said the report

by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which included analysis by the

McKinsey Centre for Business and Environment.

"If no action is taken, this is expected to increase to two per minute by 2030

and four per minute by 2050," it said, with packaging estimated to represent

the largest share of the pollution.

Call for plastics revolution

Available research estimates that there are more than 150 million tonnes of

plastics in the ocean today.

"In a business-as-usual scenario, the ocean is expected to contain one tonne

of plastic for every three tonnes of fish by 2025, and by 2050, more plastics

than fish," it said.

"This report demonstrates the importance of triggering a revolution in the

plastics industrial ecosystem and is a first step to showing how to transform

the way plastics move through our economy," said Dominic Waughray of

the World Economic Forum, the hosts of the annual talks in Davos who

jointly released the report.

"To move from insight to large-scale action, it is clear that no one actor can

work on this alone. The public, private sector and civil society all need to

mobilize to capture the opportunity of the new circular plastics economy,"

he said.

A sweeping change in the use of plastic packaging would require

cooperation worldwide between consumer goods companies, plastic

packaging producers, businesses involved in collection, cities, policymakers

and other organisations, said the report.

It proposed creating an independent coordinating body for the initiative.

"Plastics are the workhorse material of the modern economy with unbeaten

properties. However, they are also the ultimate single-use material," said

Martin Stuchtey of the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment.

"Growing volumes of end-of-use plastics are generating costs and destroying

value to the industry," he added.

Re-usable plastics could become a valuable commodity in a "circular

economy" that relied on recycling, Stuchtey said.

"Our research confirms that applying those circular principles could spark a

major wave of innovation with benefits for the entire supply chain," he

said.

Independent study tallies 'true catch' of global fishing

Huge collaboration raises questions about official reporting.

Tens of millions more tonnes of fish have been taken from the seas than are

recorded in official statistics, suggests a huge and controversial project

aiming to estimate the ‘true catch’ of the world’s fishing industry.

The work is detailed in a paper in Nature Communications1 by fisheries

researchers Daniel Pauly and Dirk Zeller of the University of British

Columbia in Vancouver, and it builds on a decade-long project that has

drawn in hundreds of researchers from around the world.

According to Pauly and Zeller, global fisheries catches hit a peak of 130

million tonnes a year in 1996, and they have been declining strongly since

then. This is substantially higher than the data collected by the Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which report that

catches reached 86 million tonnes in 1996 and have fallen only slightly.

This decline is due at least in part to collapses in some fish stocks, says

Pauly.

Fishing for data

The FAO numbers have long been the only estimate of how many tonnes of

fish are caught at a global level. But “the FAO doesn’t have a mandate to

correct the data they get”, Pauly told journalists during a conference call.

This leaves the organization reliant mainly on the numbers submitted by

member countries, he says, and “the countries have the bad habit to report

only the data they see”. This means that many official statistics do not

account for a huge amount of the world’s fisheries catch, such as that by

small-scale and subsistence fisheries or fish thrown back as ‘discards’ —

species other than those being hunted.

To fill in the holes in official statistics, Pauly’s team embarked on an epic

project to supplement the official baseline data from member nations. This

included using results from peer-reviewed research, interviews with local

specialists and consumption information from population surveys. The

international effort has already produced scores of papers — many of them

co-authored by Pauly — concerning individual countries. For example, one

study has estimated that Senegal's catch is more than twice as large as the

official FAO numbers. Some fisheries researchers, however,

have questioned Pauly’s catch-reconstruction methods. He has also engaged

in a sometimes-heated debate about whether data from catches can shed light

on the state of fish populations remaining in the ocean.

Pauly also feels that his team has had to jump through hoops to publish the

paper. He notes that the paper has very large uncertainty levels on the graph

detailing the key findings of the paper (see figure above). In fact, he says,

the team had come up with relatively narrow confidence intervals by using a

popular statistical method known as Monte Carlo. But one reviewer objected

and, Pauly says, forced the use of a different method that gives “absurdly

large confidence intervals”.

“In reality, given that our country estimates are independent (we made sure

of that), some will be too high, some too low and things will cancel out, and

thus generate narrow confidence intervals,” Pauly wrote in an e-mail

to Nature.

Overall, however, he is happy to point to the simple message of the research:

“The catch of the world is higher than reported.”

In a statement, the FAO welcomed the paper, saying that “the idea of catch

reconstructions has merit” and noting that the reconstruction work builds in

part on FAO data. The FAO adds that it has some “technical reservations”

about the trends identified, but “agrees with the basic conclusions of the

paper: catch statistics (including estimates of additional sources of removals)

can and should be improved, and this requires additional funding and

international collaboration and country commitment”.