Centre clears sale of 10 mn tonnes of FCI wheat GARGI PARSAI The Centre on Thursday approved the sale of 10 million tonnes of wheat in the open market from Food Corporation of India (FCI) stocks to boost domestic supply, contain prices and ease pressure on storage.A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The reserve price for the sale of old stocks of wheat has been fixed at Rs. 1,500 per quintal while for ―premium‖ new variety it has been set at an additional cost of five per cent, sources told The Hindu . The minimum support price of wheat is Rs. 1,400 per quintal.This will be in addition to the freight cost, which will have to be borne by the bulk purchaser.The grain would be sold through e-tendering process by the FCI. The purchaser can either buy from the source or can book at the origin point for delivery at a receiving point after bearing the cost of transportation either by rail or road, the sources said.Last year, too, about 8.5 million tonnes of wheat was allocated for sale through the Open Market Sale Scheme. Of this, 6.7 million tonnes was sold. Kuruvai cultivation on in filter point areas S. GANESAN Farmers transplanting nurseries using the mechanised transplanter given away under kuruvai special package at Ariyur in Tiruchi district on Thursday. — Photo: B.Velankanni Raj
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Centre clears sale of 10 mn tonnes of FCI wheat
GARGI PARSAI
The Centre on Thursday approved the sale of 10 million tonnes of wheat in the open
market from Food Corporation of India (FCI) stocks to boost domestic supply, contain
prices and ease pressure on storage.A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The
reserve price for the sale of old stocks of wheat has been fixed at Rs. 1,500 per quintal
while for ―premium‖ new variety it has been set at an additional cost of five per cent,
sources told The Hindu . The minimum support price of wheat is Rs. 1,400 per
quintal.This will be in addition to the freight cost, which will have to be borne by the
bulk purchaser.The grain would be sold through e-tendering process by the FCI. The
purchaser can either buy from the source or can book at the origin point for delivery at a
receiving point after bearing the cost of transportation either by rail or road, the sources
said.Last year, too, about 8.5 million tonnes of wheat was allocated for sale through the
Open Market Sale Scheme. Of this, 6.7 million tonnes was sold.
Kuruvai cultivation on in filter point areas
S. GANESAN
Farmers transplanting nurseries using the mechanised transplanter given away under
kuruvai special package at Ariyur in Tiruchi district on Thursday.— Photo:
B.Velankanni Raj
Of the targeted 8,000 acres, transplantation complete in 7,100 acres
Kuruvai paddy cultivation is under way in the filter point areas of Tiruchi district.Of the
8,000 acres expected to be covered in the district, transplantation has been completed on
about 7,100 acres.Transplantation in the remaining area is expected to be completed
within the end of this month, Agriculture Department officials said.The normal kuruvai
area is 16,000 acres in the district. But given the poor storage in the Mettur reservoir and
delay in release of water in the Cauvery, kuruvai paddy could be raised in only the filter
point areas in the district.The Agriculture Department had completed distribution of
inputs and implements under the kuruvai special package announced by the government
to help farmers take up cultivation with available water. The State government had
allocated Rs. 1.47 crore for the district under the package.The package is implemented in
filter point areas in Andhanallur, Musiri, Manachanallur, and Lalgudi areas. Farmers had
been given fertilisers such as zinc sulphate and gypsum, micro nutrients, liquid bio-
fertilizers, transplanters and weeders at full subsidy.About 25 tonnes micro nutrients, 50
tonnes of zinc sulphate, 500 tonnes of gypsum, 32,000 packets of bio fertilizers and 2,800
litres of liquid bio fertilizers have been distributed among 3,590 farmers.This apart, 150
farmers had been given high density polyethylene pipes to help irrigate their fields
without wastage of water.Community nurseries had been raised on 70 acres and so far
nurseries from 65 of them had been transplanted on an area of 5,200 acres adopting
System of Rice Intensification technique. This had benefitted about 2,700 farmers.About
20 mechanised transplanters, each at a cost of Rs. 2 lakh, had been supplied to farmers
groups. Of this, 14 were in Lalgudi block and two each in the other three blocks where
the package is being implemented. These groups would rent out the machines to farmers
at nominal rates.
MP demands wage revision of cashew workers
Kodikunnuil Suresh, MP, has demanded revision of the minimum wages for the two lakh
cashew workers in the State.Mr.Suresh met Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Industries
Minister P.K.Kunhalikutty and Labour Minister Shibu Baby John and said that the
cashew workers were underpaid and hence their minimum wages should be
revised.Majority of them belonged to the scheduled castes and backward communities
and hence the government should not delay the revision, he said.
Jayakumar: make planning process farmer-centric
K. SANTHOSH
K.Jayakumar, Vice-Chancellor of the Thunchathu Ezhuthachan Malayalam University
and former Chief Secretary, has called for a farmer-centric approach to planning. He was
delivering the ninth K.N. Shyamasundaran Nair Memorial Lecture at the Kerala
Agricultural University here on Thursday.―The planning process and implementation
systems should be overhauled to address farmer distress. Shortcomings in realistic
assessment, need-based planning and time-bound implementation are worsening the
agrarian crisis,‖ he said.He stated that failed schemes were promoted and existing ones
not revised.He cited an inflated ego, lethargy, corruption and ignorance as the reasons for
the public servant antagonising the public. ―More often than not, these elements are
interlinked and work in tandem to deny rightful service to the beneficiary. Several
projects such as Idukki and Kuttanad Packages are examples of the flawed policy. If the
schemes drawn under these packages were allowed to be implemented in toto, traditional
biodiversity treasures would have become fairytales,‖ he said. KAU Director of Research
T.R. Gopalakrishnan presided over the event.College of Horticulture Associate Dean P.
K. Valsalakumary; extension director P.V. Balachandran; and P. S. Geethakutty, head,
Centre for Gender Studies and Farmer Entrepreneurship Development in Agriculture;
Forestry Dean K. Sudhakara; and Comptroller Joy Mathew spoke.
Sugar conference
A two-day sugar conference and sugar expo is scheduled to begin here on Friday. The
two-day conference is being organised by the South Indian Sugarcane and Sugar
Technologists‘ Association (SISSTA), Chennai, at Novotel Hotel here SISSTA secretary
P. Thangamuthu said.
Rs. 500-crore project for drought-prone areas
The West Bengal government has undertaken a Rs 500-crore programme to convert
50,000 hectares of non–arable land into cultivable area in the State‘s four drought-prone
districts — Bankura, Birbhum, Purulia and West Midnapore.The decision was taken by
the Cabinet and an amount of Rs. 500 crore had been cleared for the purpose, State
Parliamentary Affairs and Higher Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said here on
Thursday.The project work would start immediately with a target to make an additional
50,000 hectares of non—arable land fit for agriculture, he said. Besides focusing on
efficient use of arable lands through better crop management technologies in the drought–
prone areas, the programme aimed at environmental protection and restoration of
ecological balance through appropriate natural resource management technologies, Mr.
Chatterjee said. The initiative would minimise the adverse effects of drought on the
production of crops and livestock and productivity of land, water and human resources,
he added.The Cabinet also cleared a project to set up a centre for rehabilitation of
destitute girl children in the State. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who wanted to
upgrade the status of girl children and women, was keen on undertaking the initiative,
Mr. Chatterjee said. – PTI
Efficient, labour-saving machine for harvesting and cleaning turmeric
M. J. PRABU
Among various cash crops, turmeric has a potential market value all through the year
since it is mainly used as a value added product.Erode is a turmeric cultivating hub in
Tamil Nadu and almost all farmers in the region are growing this crop.But the main issue
with this crop is that like paddy, it is labour intensive. A huge labour force is required for
weeding, earthing, fertilizer application, harvesting and polishing.―If not harvested on
time the crop gets affected by fungal infestation. And in many villages today sourcing
manual labour remains a problem. For an acre, about 300 (110 male and 190 female)
labourers are required. In engaging them, a farmer gets drained physically and
economically,‖ says Dr. S. Saravanakumar, Agronomist, Myrada, Gobichettypalayam.
One year idea
While this is the current scenario in the region, a small turmeric farmer Mr. P. Ramaraju,
has developed a machine to harvest the crop on time. He worked on the idea for a year to
design an efficient harvester.―In the past I suffered huge losses because I was not able to
source labour on time. Determined to find a solution I thought of working on a machine
which could harvest the rhizomes so that a large labour would not be required,‖ says Mr.
Ramaraju.Accordingly, he designed a power tiller that requires 13 HP power to run it.
The machine consists of a shaft connected to small diggers, arm and shaker. While
operating this machinery, the diggers pull out the turmeric clumps from the soil and
loosen the earth with the help of the shaker.
Capacity
The field capacity of this harvester was tested in different soil conditions and it was
found that seven hours are required for harvesting one acre of turmeric.However, some
preconditions are required such as the space between the rows must be 1.5 – 2 feet, the
furrows must be lengthy and broad. It is best suited for fields installed with a drip
irrigation system.―Since turmeric is cultivated under a raised bed system, we thought
some refinement is needed in order to deploy this machinery in different types of soil and
methods of cultivation. Based on the farmer‘s feedback, we modified the machine with
some more ideas from the farmer. This intervention has proved the efficiency of the
harvester to the farmers through demonstrations and is documented,‖ says Dr.
Saravanakumar.―It is a labour-saving equipment and requires only one male and 15-20
women labourers to collect the harvested rhizomes from an acre whereas in manual
harvesting 40 pairs of labourers may be required costing Rs.14,000 – 16,000. By using
this harvester one can save upto Rs 7,000 – 9,000 per acre,‖ says Mr. Ramaraju.
One litre of diesel
The machine consumes one litre of diesel an hour which a small farmer can easily afford.
A special attachment also shakes the harvested rhizomes so that the soil on them drops to
the field, leaving the rhizomes clear for collection.The innovator has demonstrated the
performance of his machine in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and till date
has been able to sell about 172 harvesters priced at Rs.30,000 each.
Servicing
Like all machines, this harvester also needs to be serviced regularly. Unlike tractors,
machines like these developed by small innovators face servicing problems. But Mr.
Ramaraju has been offering suggestions and also visiting the places to service he
machine.Farmers from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have visited his farm to know about
the field suitability of the machine. His innovation was recognised by the Indian Council
of Agricultural Research, New Delhi and he was honoured as a ‗Best Farmer Innovator‘
in 2010 during the national farm innovators meet.For more details interested farmers can
contact Mr.P. Ramaraju, Pudhupalayam, Gettisamudram post, Anthiyur Taluk, Erode
district – 638 501, TamilNadu, mobile:9865171790.
New early maturing garlic variety
R. K. SINGH
R. P. GUPTA
Generally garlic varieties developed by different organizations take about 130-270 days
to attain physiological maturity. There is no variety available for growing during Kharif
season having early maturity in India.The National Horticultural Research and
Development Foundation ( NHRDF) has recently identified a new garlic genotype ―G-
389‖ which can be harvested within 72-80 days during Kharif, late Kharif and 85-95 days
in the Rabi season, about 40-50 days earlier than other garlic varieties grown in India.
Yield
The new variety gives an average yield of 6-7 tonnes per hectare with good storage
capacity. The variety is registered with National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New
Delhi.The day length for bulbing is 10-12 hours and it can be grown on a any soil, but
thrives better in fertile, well drained loam soils.About 500-700 kg of planting materials
are required for planting in one hectare. Because of small cloves it is advisable to plant it
at a spacing of 10 x 7.5 cm to get optimum bulb yield. About 25 tonnes of well
decomposed organic manures,100 kg N, 50 kg phosphate and 50 kg potash per hectare
through chemical fertilizers have been recommended.Use of zinc and boron and
application of sulphur at 30-50 kg/ha also helps to improve yield and quality of bulbs.
Drip irrigation can be used for high yield and quality bulbs.
Irrigation
Pendimethalin at 3.5 litre or oxiflurofen (goal) at 2.5 litre/ha + one hand weeding help
control of broad leaves weeds. Irrigation should be stopped 15-20 days before harvesting
as otherwise it can re-sprout and decrease yield.The crop is ready for harvesting when it
turns light yellow or brow and shows signs of drying. Curing is an additional process of
drying to remove excess moisture.(R. K. Singh , Assistant Director (Horticulture) E-mail: