Farm workers protest, demand funds in budgetagritech.tnau.ac.in/daily_events/2013/english/jan/22_jan_13_eng.pdf · Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Poojary said that the State government

Farm workers protest, demand funds in budget

Members of the Karnataka State Agricultural Workers’ Union staging a dharna in front of the taluk office in Udupi on Monday.

The members of the Udupi taluk unit of Karnataka State Agricultural Workers’ Union staged a dharna in front of the taluk office demanding that the State government allocate 10 per cent of total funds in the next budget for the welfare of farm workers.

In a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and submitted at the taluk office here, Dogu Suvarna, general secretary of the taluk unit of the union, said that there were nearly one crore agricultural workers in the State. Many farmers were losing their land every year. Hence, the number of agricultural workers was increasing. Many were migrating to urban areas in search of work.

The implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) had left a lot to be desired. Although many agricultural workers applied for it, they did not get work. Neither were wages under the scheme being paid on time. But contractors who were using huge equipment for work under the scheme, which was illegal, were getting their bills cleared promptly.

Ration cards had still not been properly distributed to agricultural workers. They were suffering a lot of hardship as the prices of essential commodities had gone through the roof.

The agricultural workers did not have own houses. The government was neither providing sites nor houses for the poor people. It was difficult for them to avail proper healthcare facility or provide good education to their children. In spite of these problems, the State government had ignored them. There was hardly any mention of the agricultural workers in the annual budgets. The government should change its attitude and provide 10 per cent of total funds in the next budget for the welfare of the agricultural workers, the memorandum said.

Farmers will be allotted ‘Kumki’ land: Poojary

Over 3 lakh farmers of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada will benefit Minister for Muzrai, Ports, and Inland Water Transport Kota Srinivas Poojary said on Monday that the State government has decided to give ‘Kumki’ land belonging to the Revenue Department to farmers in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Poojary said that the State government had in its Cabinet meeting held on January 19 decided in-principle to allot ‘Kumki’ land to farmers of these two districts.

‘Kumki’ land refers to those plots situated adjacent to the agricultural land or fields of the farmers. ‘Kumki’ land is used for cattle grazing and to grow grass for cattle. The shrubs grown on ‘Kumki’ land is used as natural fertilisers in the fields.

It was a long pending demand of farmers of these two districts that ‘Kumki’ land adjacent to their fields should be allotted to them. The move of the government would benefit nearly 4 lakh farmers of the State including 3.09 lakh farmers in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts.

The government would formulate regulations in the next 15 days to provide the ‘Kumki’ land to the farmers. The government had taken this decision keeping in mind the sentiments of the farmers.

As many as 1,97,401 farmers in Udupi district and 2,13,304 farmers in Dakshina Kannada district would be able to get a maximum of up to five acres of ‘Kumki’ land free of cost. As many as 1,53,980 farmers in Udupi district and 1,55,728 farmers in Dakshina Kannada district would get less than 2.5 acres of ‘Kumki’ land.

He said the government would once again urge Governor H.R. Bharadwaj to give his assent to the Bill amending Section 94 (C) of Karnataka Land Revenue Act. This would help poor people in urban areas to get title deeds for their houses built on government land.

A delegation of legislators from Udupi district would meet Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar shortly and urge him to provide funds in the next budget for the rejuvenation of the ailing Brahmavar Cooperative Sugar Factory.

He would urge Home Minister R. Ashok to give a special prize to the team of district police, which had succeeded in nabbing six accused in connection with the murder of the RTI activist Vasudev Adiga. In spite of this quick action, he could not understand the demand of some organisations for a CBI probe into the case, Mr. Poojary said.

Seminar on agriculture

A two-day national conference on ‘Inclusive agriculture growth in India: issues and challenges’ will be held at Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, here from on January 30. The conference is organised by the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy of the varsity. Resource persons and noted delegates from several parts of the country are expected to participate. For details call 09480771681.

Flower show in Mandya

The district administration, the zilla panchayat and the Department of Horticulture have organised a flower show at the department’s park near the Deputy Commissioner’s office from Thursday. It will be on till January 31.

P.C. Jayanna, Chief Executive Officer, Mandya Zilla Panchayat, told presspersons here on Monday that Minister in-charge of the district, C.P. Yogeshwar, would inaugurate the show.

Red gram growers to stage protests during Shettar’s visit

They accuse him and Eshwarappa of not keeping their word Farmers’ organisations seeking an increase in the minimum support price for red gram from Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 5,000 have said that they will hold protests during Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar’s visit to the district on January 23.

‘Disappointed’

Addressing presspersons here on Monday, president of the Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha Maruti Manpade, president of the Karnataka Red Gram Growers’ Association Basavaraj Ingin, Jai Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president Arunkumar Patil, district president of HOPCOMS Veeranna, and secretary of the All-India Kisan Sabha Moula Mulla said they were disappointed by the response of the Union and State governments to the demand of red gram growers.

They said that the Chief Minister had failed to keep the promise made to a delegation of farmers. The cost of inputs had gone up, which added to the farmers’ problems, they said.

“We met the Chief Minister on January 17 and pleaded for increasing the MSP. Mr. Shettar promised that the issue would be discussed at the January 19 Cabinet meeting, but no decision was taken,” Mr. Manpade said.Mr. Manpade and other leaders refused to disclose the place and mode of the protest against Mr. Shettar during his visit to the city on January 23.

They said: “We will keep this a secret for a while and spring a surprise on January 23 to express our disappointment over his inaction in an effective manner.”

The State government had been indifferent to the demands of red gram growers and Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa had also failed to keep the promise to convene a meeting to discuss the farmers’ demands.

They also expressed anger over the failure of the Union government to respond positively to the just demand of the growers to increase the MSP or at least give an incentive of Rs. 500 as it was done last year in addition to the MSP announced for red gram.

The incentive given over and above the MSP for red gram was not extended for the current year by the Centre.

Agitations

Mr. Manpade said farmers’ organisations would launch agitations outside the residences of Union Labour and Employment Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge, the former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh, MP, and others to make them to put pressure on the Union government.

Shettar to present separate budget for agriculture

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said on Monday that he would present a separate budget for agriculture on February 8.

Mr. Shettar, who would be presenting his maiden budget for 2013-14, said he would focus on core areas such as irrigation, power generation, industrial development, health services, education and infrastructure development.

Speaking to presspersons after holding a pre-budget meeting with trade bodies, including the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FKCCI) and the Mysore Industries Association, he said: “I will take inputs from all stakeholders of the State economy and will try to accommodate their aspirations.”

Noting that agriculture, industries, power, infrastructure development, education, health sector were among the core sectors that would receive major thrust in the budget, the Chief Minister said that “he will present a separate budget paper on agriculture as was done by his predecessors”.

Suggestions

During the three-hour interaction with various trade bodies, Mr. Shettar said he received several suggestions on generation of jobs, enhancement of industrial landscape and infrastructure empowerment, especially in the field of power, transport and communication. “I will try to accommodate demands of industrialists the budget,” he said and added that the budget would be development-oriented aimed at uplifting the poor and downtrodden.

Declare entire State drought-hit, double the compensation: farmers

Green brigade:Members of Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam at a rally from Cantonment to the collectorate in the city on Monday.—Photo:M.Moorthy

A rally was taken out by members of Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam on Monday pressing a charter of demands, including writing off all the loans granted to farmers, declaring the entire State drought-hit, and doubling the compensation announced for the farming community. State president of the association S.A.Chinnasamy led the march of the farmers from Tiruchi, Karur, Perambalur, and Ariyalur districts from Cantonment to the collectorate where a memorandum was presented to the Collector.

The association demanded immediate gazetting of the Final Award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and criticised the Central government for delaying the gazetting of the award pronounced in 2007. Besides, it sought condign punishment to Karnataka government for failing to comply with the directions of the tribunal and the Supreme Court.

It appealed to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to convene a meeting of all the parties and all the farmer leaders without delay to press the Central government for ensuring justice to Tamil Nadu and to organise a blockade of Parliament, if need be.

It demanded construction of a memorial for their late leader Narayanasamy and solatium for the families of those who died in police firing in the agitation against the hike in electricity tariff. Similarly, it urged the State government to grant a solatium of Rs.10 lakh each to the families of farmers who have committed suicide in view of the crop failure. All the farmers above 58 years of age should be granted a pension of Rs.5,000 a month.

It sought nationalization of all the rivers to protect the integrity of the country, save agriculture, and do away with food and water scarcity. The association condemned the sale of sand to other States and wanted the State government to protect the water sources in Tamil Nadu.

Farmers demand compensation for damaged crops

Stage demonstration near the collectorate Members of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam and All India Agricultural Workers’ Union staged a demonstration near the collectorate here on Monday demanding Rs. 25,000 as compensation for withered crops.

Led by R. Kulandaivel and G. Ganapathy of the two associations, they said that due to failure of South West and North East Monsoon in the state, farmers were the worst affected as they were not able to neither carry out the cultivation nor supply water to the crops. Hence, they wanted the State Government to carry out relief measures.

They wanted the government to pay a compensation of Rs. 25,000 per acre for farmers and Rs. 10,000 each to the family of farm labourers. ‘Agriculture is the only source of income to us and monsoon failure has left us nothing.

Adequate compensation would only save our lives’, they added.

They also demanded for waiver of crop loans and wanted free house site pattas to be given by the government for the farmers.

Farmers also urged the government to provide not less than Rs. 132 wage per day for workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Green Kalam: plan to plant one lakh saplings

The district administration, Green Kalam and Mohamed Sathak Trust launched a mega campaign to plant one lakh saplings, with Collector K. Nanthakumar planting the first sapling at the Collectorate complex here on Monday.

Hundreds of school students also planted saplings at 50 designated sites across the district. Actor Vivekh, founder of Green Kalam, Deputy Inspector General of Police M. Ramasubramani, Superintendent of Police N. M. Mylvahanan and S.M. Hamid Abdul Quadir, Chairman of Mohamed Sathak College, were present when the Collector launched the event.

At the end of the day, 50,000 saplings of three varieties of trees, best suited for the district, were planted at Ramanathapuram, Kamudhi, Kadaladi and Mudukalathur by students of 491 primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools.

Later, addressing a function at Mohamed Sathak College, Mr. Nanthakumar, congratulating Vivekh for promoting tree planting, said that the planting of 50,000 saplings in the district was only a beginning. The district has an ambitious plan to go beyond planting of one lakh saplings, he said.

Speaking at the function, Mr. Vivekh said that in the first phase of Green Kalam project-“One billion people one billion trees,” he has so far planted 18 lakh saplings throughout Tamil Nadu. He said that despite half of the Ramanathapuram district having water bodies, the district was under the grip of severe drought in the absence of trees. Explaining the global warming and the need for clean environment, the actor who is known for his jokes with a progressive message,

exhorted the students to evince interest in planting tree saplings. As the Collector was willing to provide space for planting seven lakh trees, students should come forward and join hands with Green Kalam to fulfil the dream of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, he said.

He thanked O. Athmasamy of Vijayalakshmi Trust for providing 50,000 saplings. “Let us plant more trees to get more rains,” he said.

Farmers stage protest at many places

Farmers affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam on Monday staged a demonstration, demanding that the government declare Ramanathapuram a drought hit district.

M. Muthuramu, who led the agitation in Kadaladi, said that the district witnessed the worst drought condition this year, after a gap of two decades and 90 per cent of paddy crops, cultivated in more than 1.2 lakh hectares have withered, hard hitting the farmers.

He demanded that the government provide a compensation of Rs.25,000 per acre to farmers who cultivated paddy, Rs.30,000 per acre to farmers who cultivated chillis apart from waiving land tax and farm loans. The government should also provide a drought relief of Rs,10,000 each to the families of farmers, he added.

M. Ayyathurai, who led the agitation here, appealed to the district administration to ensure speedy disbursement of insurance money to all farmers.

Agitations were staged at the five taluk headquarters of Thiruvadanai, Ramanathapuram, Kadaladi, Mudhukulathur and Paramakudi. A. Naganathan led the stir in Thiruvadanai, A.Govindasamy, a functionary of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) in Mudhukulathur, and R. Gnanavasagam in Paramakudi.

Dindigul

In a similar demonstration here, the farmers demanded that Dindigul district must be declared drought hit and a compensation of Rs.25,000 to poor farmers and Rs.10,000 to agriculture labourers given.

It also appealed to the government to increase the wages for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme workers from Rs. 100 to Rs. 132.

Rain failure spells doom for chilli, coriander crop

‘Ramnad Mundu’ bears the brunt of long dry spell

Things gone awry:An affected chilli field near Ramanathapuram.— Photo: L. Balachandar

If Thanjavur is the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, this drought- prone district could well be called the “spice bowl” for its topping the state in the production of chillies and ranked third in the production of coriander.

This year, the district may not live up to its expectations as the long dry spell during November and December following failure of northeast monsoon, had badly hit chilli cultivation and totally devastated the coriander crops. The ‘Ramnad Mundu,’ a unique chilli species grown in the district and exported to more than a dozen foreign countries in Europe, Gulf countries, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia, bore the brunt of the dry spell as the species are grown in rain-fed areas.

The Mundu variety was cultivated in about 14,000 hectares of rain-fed areas, while the samba variety (long, thin and slender chillies) was cultivated in about 3,000 hectares of irrigated areas and the prolonged dry spell cost both the varieties dearly, sources in the Horticulture Department said.

After the onset of northeast monsoon, the district received copious rainfall of 330.8 mm against the normal rainfall of 182.6 mm in October last.

However, the dry spell during November, when the farmers began the cultivation of chillies by direct sowing in rain-fed areas and planting of seedlings in irrigated areas badly hit the crops, the sources said.

As the dry spell continued in December, when the crops reached the vegetative stage, the formation of new branches was considerably less, resulting in reduced number of fruiting branches, the sources added.

“This has also resulted in less flower formation. Instead of bunches of flowers, there are solitary and auxiliary flowers. If we take into consideration the flower droppings, there will be a sharp fall in yield,” the sources said.

The intermittent rains during the first week of January did bring cheers to the farmers. “Now the plants look physically good but physiologically affected,” the sources pointed out.

During this season, the yield would hover around 2 to 2.5 quintals per acre, against the normal yield of 4 quintals, they said.

In the irrigated areas, the yield is expected to be around 7 quintals per acre against the normal yield of 10 quintals, the sources said adding that the deficit rainfall had also adversely affected the population of the crops in rain-fed areas.

The sources said that the yield loss would be more than 50 per cent in about 14,000 hectares, mostly in rain-fed areas and less than 50 per cent in about 2,000 hectares. More than 50,000 farmers are engaged in chilli cultivation.

Coriander was raised in about 1,600 hectares, but most of the crops were affected at the vegetative stage itself, thanks to the dry spell in the months of November and December, the sources said. The crops, slender in nature, were grown mainly in rain-fed areas with the help of northeast monsoon and the failure of the monsoon spelt doom to the crops, the sources said.

Declare Krishnagiri as drought-hit: farmers

Members of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam staging a demonstration in Krishnagiri on Monday.– Photo: N. Bashkaran

Tamil Nadu Vivavasyigal Sangam affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday staged demonstrations in the district demanding that the Government declare Krishnagiri as drought-hit. The demonstrations were held in Krishnagiri, Uthangarai, Pochampalli, and Denkanikottai.

Those who spoke said that because of the failure of monsoon, the groundwater level has depleted considerably. Inadequate power supply too had affected the farmers, they said.

They said adequate compensation should be provided for withered coconut and mango trees, crop loans obtained from cooperative institutions should be waived, supply of essential commodities through PDS shops should be ensured, power connection should be given immediately for those in the agriculture sector, prompt action should be taken against corrupt officials, remunerative prices for agriculture produce should be announced, and permanent marketing facilities for agriculture produce should be established.

In Krishnagiri, the demonstration was held near the Five Road Junction. K.C. Ramasamy, taluk president, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam; X. Irudayaraj, district secretary; G.K. Nanjundan,

taluk secretary, CPI(M); and R. Shankar, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Milk Producers’ Association; spoke.

In Uthangarai, the demonstration was held in front of the taluk office. A. Annamalai, district vice-president, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam; V. Govindasamy, district coordiinator, Tamil Nadu Agriculture Labourers’ Association; S.R. Jayaraman, district secretariat member, CPI(M); spoke.

In Pochampallli, the demonstration was held near roundtana. C. Chinnaraj, taluk president, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam; M. Dharman, district president, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam; S.P. Chinnasamy, taluk secretary, CPI(M); spoke.

In Denkanikottai, the demonstration was held in front of the taluk office. V. Samraj, taluk president of the association; Y. Ellappa, district joint secretary; and R. Sekar, taluk secretary, CPI(M); spoke.

Farmers against import of turmeric

The Turmeric Farmers Association of India has urged the Union Government not to allow the import of yellow spice from other countries.

Fall in prices

The import of turmeric from countries such as Cambodia will severely affect the farmers in the country, who are already facing serious problems due to the drastic fall in the prices, association president P.K. Deivasigamani told reporters here on Monday.

The country imported turmeric worth over Rs. 30 crore during the financial year 2011-12, he pointed out.

Mr. Deivasigamani held traders responsible for importing the turmeric when the domestic production was high.

Cartel

“Traders have formed cartels and brought down the prices. They do not think about the welfare of the farming community here,” he said.

The association also strongly opposed the Union government's decision to allow foreign direct investment in the retail sector in the country.

“Allowing the foreign multi brand retailers will worsen the situation further and the farmers will not be able to get the right price for their produce,” he said.

The entry of foreign retailers comes at a time when the farmers are taking up initiatives to market their products by themselves.

Positive change

“Farmers' producer companies are being formed for collective action and marketing to realise a better price for the produce. The initiatives taken by the farmers, though at a small level, will certainly bring in a positive change in the agriculture sector,” he said.

A section of turmeric farmers in Erode had also formed two producer companies that would directly sell the turmeric to exporters, processing factories and other end consumers, he added.

Training in dehydration of fruits and vegetables

A training in dehydration of fruits and vegetables will be held at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University on January 23 and 24.

According to a TNAU release, the training will cover the following: value-added dehydrated products from fruits and vegetables, fruit and vegetable flakes, fruit and vegetable powders, fruit leather / bar, cheese and butter, and details for obtaining licence for establishing fruit processing industry.

Those interested can undertake the training by paying Rs. 1,000 in the form of a Demand Draft drawn in favour of Dean (Agricultural Engineering), payable at Coimbatore.

For details, contact 0422-6611268, the press release added.

It will be held at TNAU on January 23 and 24

Woman farmer honoured for record rice yield

She harvested 18,143 kg of paddy per hectare under SRI technique

pat:Collector C. Samayamoorthy honouring farmer T. Amalarani in Tirunelveli on Monday.— Photo: A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN

: As part of a drive to encourage farmers to adopt the system of rice intensification (SRI) technique of paddy cultivation, District Collector C. Samayamoorthy on Monday honoured a woman farmer from the district who had won a national award for having achieved a record yield.

The woman farmer T. Amalarani of Vasudevanallur in the district, who harvested 18,143 kg of paddy per hectare under the SRI technique, bagged the Union Government’s ‘Krishi Karman Award’ carrying the cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh and received it from President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on January 15.

According to Joint Director of Agriculture K. Soundararajan, farmers across the district were being encouraged for the past few years to follow the SRI technique to get maximum yield while saving on overhead costs as well as water.

Special campaigns were being intensified to popularise the technique among the farmers after the State Government announced a cash award of Rs.5 lakh and a gold medal to those who achieve the highest paddy yield per hectare.

“As water scarcity has become a haunting issue for the farmers, they should adopt the SRI technique, which requires comparatively less water and saves alot of money for them,” the Collector noted.

Pokkali park mooted at Kadamakudy

The panel headed by Vice-Chancellor of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies B Madhusoodana Kurup said the farming practices in the panchayat made it ideal to set up the park. Express

A farmer netting prawns in a Pokkali farm at Kumbalangi | Mithun Vinod

The globally recognised Pokkali farming of Kadamakudy now has one more project to back its status.

The expert panel to study the sustainability issues of Pokkali fields of Kerala has proposed a full-fledged Pokkali park in the panchayat. The park will have facilities for producing value-added products from Pokkali rice, a gene bank for the conservation and procurement of Pokkali seeds and facilities to export and market the rice variety.

The panel headed by Vice-Chancellor of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies B Madhusoodana Kurup said the farming practices in the panchayat made it ideal to set up the park.

“The Geographical Indication Certificate for the Pokkali rice was awarded to the farmers of Kadamakudy. Thus the panchayat already has a global recognition of its unique farming practices. Another reason that made us recommend the panchayat was that, Pokkali farming can be seen at its most intense fashion in Kadamkudy. So the production of value-added materials, procurement of seeds etc will be ideal if the park is located in Kadamkudy,” said Madhusoodana Kurup.

Another highlight of the park is that it will also act as a tourism village facilitating farm tourism. Tourists can observe and participate in the traditional farming practice set up in the serene backwaters of Kadamakudy.

The panel notes that the medicinal properties, the pure organic nature and geographical indication registry of Pokkali rice offer great scope in the area of organic products in both domestic and international markets.

The medicinal properties due to its high antioxidant contents are higher than that of medicinal rice ‘Njavara’. It is also used in baby foods, soups etc. A variety of value-added products can be prepared from pokkali rice such as rice bran, rice bran oil, ‘aval’ etc.

In the proposed park, a pokkali mill can be installed for the preparation of various value-added products from pokkali rice. Apart from facilitating the processing and marketing of pokkali rice for both domestic and export markets, the park can also help in providing biotechnological infrastructure for the conservation and preservation of germplasm resources of pokkali variety besides serving as a Pokkali gene bank.

The gene bank can directly procure the seeds from the farmers for conservation. A warehouse to procure and develop the seeds so that farmers will have a quality assured availability of seeds is also part of the recommendations.

KMF wants you to pay Rs 4 more for milk

Notwithstanding the state government’s reluctance, the Karnataka Milk Federation on Monday unanimously decided to hike milk prices by `4 per litre across all categories.

The revised prices will come into effect from February 1, provided the state cabinet gives its approval. Pasteurised toned milk which is now `24 a litre will cost `28 if the price hike is implemented.

The last time KMF hiked milk prices was in January 2012.

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said the issue would be discussed in the cabinet and a decision would be taken on whether to allow KMF to go ahead with the hike.

The state government is in a dilemma on the issue as it can neither afford to antagonise over 22 lakh milk producers by declining their demand for a hike nor earn the wrath of over one crore milk consumers by effecting a hike. KMF, which sells milk under the brand name Nandini, handles around 45 lakh litres per day and caters to about 1.24 crore consumers. After the board meeting, KMF chairman G Somashekhar Reddy defended the decision to hike milk prices. “It is inevitable as the input costs for farmers and the operational costs for the milk unions have increased significantly. Moreover, the milk prices in Karnataka are the lowest among the top milk producing states in the country,” he said.

He expressed confidence that the government would approve the hike. When asked if the government would give its approval to an unpopular decision like price hike ahead of elections, Reddy said: “If the government doesn’t want to burden consumers, then let it compensate the losses being incurred by the KMF.”

The board meeting, however, did not arrive at any decision as to what portion of the hike would go to the milk producers. “We have left it to the district milk unions to decide,” Reddy said.

Tamil Nadu to seek crop loss damages from Karnataka

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday announced that the State government would file a suit before the Supreme Court seeking directions to Karnataka to offset the losses incurred by Tamil Nadu due to the crop loss in delta areas as a result of Karnataka’s failure to release Cauvery water for irrigation.

“Karnataka, adopting an adamant attitude, has failed to release water due to Tamil Nadu as per the orders of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. The Cauvery Monitoring Committee has also recorded this fact. On the basis of these facts, I have directed the authorities to file an Original Suit before the Supreme Court claiming damages from Karnataka,” the Chief Minister said in a statement here.

Jayalalithaa said Karnataka’s failure to release water had affected the Kuruvai and Samba crop to a great extent, besides affecting hydel power generation.

Recalling the steps taken by her government to protect the crop, including grants provided to farmers, she reiterated her promise to provide appropriate compensation for the crop loss.

The compensation will be provided for the loss based on a report to be submitted by a high-level committee headed by State Finance Minister O Panneerselvam which visited the delta areas recently.

A petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government before the apex court on January 17 seeking direction to Karnataka to release at least 12 tmcft of Cauvery water, is coming up for hearing on January 28.

No farmer suicides in Tamil Nadu: Government

There has been no suicide death by the farmers in the State, the Tamil Nadu government submitted in its counter-affidavit filed in the Madras High Court on Monday.

The Deputy Secretary, Revenue, filed the counter in response to a public interest writ petition from an advocate, alleging that as many as five farmers had committed suicide due to poverty, debt burden and drought.

The counter said the government had taken all precautionary steps to ensure that the farmers had a successful cultivation in the delta. The alleged averments in the writ plea that the farmers had committed suicide were not correct. The records revealed that certain persons committed suicide due to health and family problems. Some others met with accidental deaths and in certain other cases, it was natural deaths due to old age.

The counter added that there was a shortfall in the rains received by the State. Due to insufficient storage as well as poor inflow and non-release of water by Karnataka government, water for irrigation could not be released from the Mettur dam from June 12. Consequently, Kuruvai paddy could not be sown in the delta districts. Considering this, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had ordered uninterrupted power supply for 12 hours in the delta districts. The CM had also announced a special package and additional special package to mitigate the stress situation prevailed in the area. The government had also increased the disaster response fund. A High Level Committee, headed by finance minister O Panneerselvam, was constituted, which visited the affected areas. Its report was awaited. The government would do the needful after receipt of the report, the counter said.

Not satisfied with this, the petitioner filed a miscellaneous petition, seeking probe by the CBI into the deaths of the farmers. The first bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Justice Aruna Jagadeesan ordered notice on the petition returnable in a week.

Onion prices up sharply on transport cost

Faced with the possibility of onion prices rising further, the Ministry of Agriculture has convened meetings of various stakeholders tomorrow.

In two weeks, onion prices have risen 25 per cent to trade between Rs 1,600 and Rs 1,700 a quintal at the benchmark Lasalgaon market (Nashik). Prices for retail consumers in Mumbai stood at Rs 23-24 a kg. In New Delhi, retail prices are higher, owing to high transportation costs.

According to a study by the Small Farmers Agriculture Business Consortium, between January

5 and 10, the average price in Lasalgaon was Rs 1,245 a quintal, a rise of 246 per cent

compared with Rs 360 a quintal in the corresponding period last year. During the same period,

the average price of onion in Pimpalgaon rose 229 per cent to Rs 1,265 a quintal, against Rs

385 a quintal in the year-ago period.

ON THE RISE

Average onion price between January 5-10

(Rs/qtl)

Market 2012 2013 Change (%)

Delhi 550 1110 101.82

Bangalore 750 1300 73.33

Lasalgaon 360 1245 245.83

Pimpalgaon 385 1265 228.57

Mumbai 500 1296 159.20

Hyderabad 600 1475 145.83

Jaipur 555 1050 89.19

Indore 400 900 125.00

Chennai 800 1717 114.63

Source : National Horticulture Board

“There are two meetings lined up with the ministry of agriculture tomorrow. The first would assess the crop situation in the season’s first advanced estimates — the area under onion and other vegetable crops. The second would discuss the situation in the onion market, including the supply situation and prices. It would also discuss measures to keep onion prices under check,” said R P Gupta, director, National Horticulture Research & Development Foundation, Nashik.

As this year’s supply has been the same as last year’s, the abnormal increase in onion prices raises questions on the role of arhatiyas (commission agents).

While Gupta rejected the possibility of a decline in production this year, the National Council of Applied Economic Research has estimated a 20 per cent fall in onion output for 2012-13, amid expectations of robust demand from domestic, as well as foreign markets. Traders estimate a production decline of 35 per cent and 25 per cent in Maharashtra and Karnataka, respectively.

The National Horticulture Board (NHB) estimates overall onion production in 2011-12 stood at 16.34 million tonnes (mt).

“The agriculture ministry has convened the meeting to assess the situation on the ground. There is no possibility of a ban on exports, as apprehended by traders,” said Virendra Singh, chairman, National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India, under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Distribution.

An assessment by NHB showed export demand this year was robust. Bangladesh faces a shortage of onions, as the crop produced in that country was already consumed, and a new harvest had just started. Demand in Bangladesh stands at 1.8-2 mt, while production is about 1.5 mt. Earlier, it was expected Pakistan would export 2,00,000-2,50,000 tonnes of onion this season. But deteriorating crop quality hampered exports; as a result, many orders came India’s way.

Ashok Valunj, director of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (Vashi), said the quality of the new crop this season was poor, with a shelf life of 10-15 days (good-quality crop can be stored for about a year).

Sanjay Sanap, owner of Shivkrupad Traders, a Nashik-based onion trader, hopes with new crop arrivals from Gujarat and Rajasthan, the situation would normalise in a month.

Shreekant Sambrani: Gene revolution - the antecedents

The recent apostasy of Mark Lynas, until now the high priest of the anti-genetic modification (GM) campaign, has caused, as expected, a firestorm of protests from “ GM crop trashers” as he termed those committed to the cause of opposing GM. For the record, Mr Lynas is not a scientist; he has degrees in history and political science. But he has been a very influential figure. He has also had similar second thoughts on nuclear power plants which he now prefers because of their lower carbon emissions. He has confessed that his earlier conviction was based on “junk science,” while his new critics termed his current profession as pseudo-science at best and saw the deathly shadows of multinationals such as Monsanto and Syngenta looming large on this stunning recantation. Much of this recent exchange sheds little new light, at least for those who have been following the developments over time.

The debate has great relevance to India, as this paper editorially noted (“Reason, not fear”, BS

January 14, 2013). Lynas specifically regrets the moratorium Jairam Ramesh, the former

minister for environment, put on further testing of Bt brinjal. He called Dr Vandana Shiva a

backward-looking ideologue who idealised pre-industrial village agriculture. Neither Mr Ramesh

nor Dr Shiva lost any time in hitting back at Mr Lynas.

The India aspect of the debate is much more fundamental than Bt cotton or brinjal, as I recently had occasion to explain to my old classmates from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (incidentally, also the alma mater of Mr Ramesh). This is a group of technocrats who have earned their respect with nearly 50 years of distinguished careers. About half of them are now settled abroad. Most of these well-read and informed people have had serious questions on GM technology. I believe at least a few of them are now persuaded that GM is not evil incarnate, as the critics made it out to be. Here is a summary of what I had to say. Lynas covers most of this ground in his interesting, nearly 5,000-word lecture (www.marklynas.org/2013/01/lecture-to-oxford-farming-conference-3-january-2013).

We have to go back nearly 70 years. A young American plant pathologist called Norman Borlaug went to Mexico in 1944 to help fight the hunger prevalent there. He discovered that the local wheat suffered from a plant fungus called rust; the soils were severely depleted of nutrients; and the taller, slender plants of then current varieties of wheat were able to bear only smaller ears of relatively low weight (heavier ears made the plant lodge under its own weight), thereby reducing the yield. His experiments with selective breeding from various available varieties led to new ones that resisted rust, were greatly responsive to chemical fertilisers which replenished soil nutrients, and had a new plant gene that made them shorter with sturdier stalks which were able to withstand the weight of more abundantly grained wheat ears. This process took well over 15 years and, by the early 1960s, the Mexican wheat yield had increased six-fold! In effect what Dr Borlaug did was to make the wheat plants divert their bio-energy from simple vegetative growth (tall plants with long leaves) to reproductive growth (more seeds, wheat-germ, with attached nutrients for the seed, the carbohydrate, gluten, etc, which together form the wheat kernel or the grain).

Dr Borlaug came to India in 1966 at the invitation of the government, after the horrendous droughts of 1965 and 1966, when we led a “ship-to-mouth” existence on PL 480 wheat gifted by the United States. He had brought a bagful of Mexican wheat

seeds with him and was able to replicate the success in the next five years. We would have

been a basket case otherwise. There could be no greater recognition of Dr Borlaug’s contribution than the Nobel Prize for Peace he received in 1970.

Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University wrote a book called The Population Bomb in 1968. He started with a slam-bang statement that feeding the burgeoning population of the world was a lost cause and millions, if not hundreds of millions would die of starvation in Asia and Africa in the coming decades. In part, he (dishonestly) used highly exaggerated and unverified accounts of the Indian drought of the preceding three years to support his argument. It became a best-seller.

I was appalled even then not so much by the grim scenario Ehrlich painted as by the sheer stupidity of his arguments. Forty-five years later, events, time, and efforts such as those by Dr Borlaug and our own M S Swaminathan and millions of farmers have proven him wrong. India’s Green Revolution has inspired many African and Asian countries (Pakistan included). One cannot imagine the world deprived of the benefit of the “miracle” dwarf varieties.

Wheat was cultivated in India from the Harappan period onward. In the 4,000 years since then, its production grew to 6 million tonnes in 1947. It increased by a similar amount in just four years between 1967 and 1971 — which is why it was termed a revolution. In the 40 years since then, it has grown to 90 million tonnes. And all this has happened without increasing the area under crops. Lynas provides some stunning calculations: but for the new varieties of various crops grown in the world today, we would have had to cover additional areas equal to two South Americas for producing the same quantities!

Dr Borlaug had a very convincing case for GM crops. He said that for millions of years, nature evolved through crossing, mutations and other such phenomena. A few centuries ago, men started to experiment with simple crossings, such as grafts. They were hit-and-miss affairs, because they were shots in the dark. For every success — such as the Alphonso mango or the seedless grapes we so enjoy — there are thousands and thousands of failures. In the last century, these experiments became more disciplined and based on better knowledge. What GM attempts to do is to replace guesswork by tested hypotheses targetted for specific results. He said before his death in 2009, “I now say that the world has the technology — either available or well advanced in the research pipeline — to feed on a sustainable basis a population of 10 billion people. The more pertinent question today, is whether farmers and ranchers will be

permitted to use this new technology.” A major reason for Lynas’ mea culpa is the pressing need to feed the world of 10 billion souls by the mid-century, which will need near-doubling of food output.

Over 5 lakh hectares under horticulture in MP

Bhopal, Jan 21:

Madhya Pradesh, which topped the country in the overall foodgrain production in 2011-12, has brought 5,01,980 hectares of land under horticulture in the past three years.

By this, the state has fulfilled one of the important resolves made during the special session of the Assembly in 2009, it said.

According to point 21 of resolve 2013, there was a target of bringing five lakh hectares of land under horticulture crops by 2012-13. However, the state surpassed the target by adding another 1,980 hectares under it, an official release said here on Monday.

The area under horticulture has increased from 8,23,155 hectares in 2010-11 to 13,01,283 hectares in 2012-13.

The state has also registered two and half times increase in horticulture production in the last three years. It was 77.61 lakh tonnes in 2010-11 and it rose to 179.90 lakh tonnes in year 2012-13.

The highest growth was recorded in vegetable production, as well as the area on which it is cultivated during the period. Vegetable production increased from 36.98 lakh tonnes in 2010-11 to 108.55 lakh tonnes in year 2012-13. This represents a three time increase.

Vegetables were cultivated on over 2.83 lakh hectares of land during 2010-11, which increased to over 5.52 lakh hectares during 2012-13.

Last week, Madhya Pradesh received the Krishi Karman Award for 2011-12 for best performance under total foodgrain category 1 (states with production over 10 million tonne). The function was organised by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.

Hassan coffee exporters seek better connectivity to New Mangalore Port

Mangalore, Jan. 21:

Coffee exporters from Hassan have sought improvement in road connectivity to export cargo from New Mangalore Port Trust. This point was discussed at the recent business meet of NMPT in Hassan recently.

A press release by M.S. Balani, Traffic Manager of NMPT, said here on Monday that the purpose of the meet was to interact with coffee exporters from Hassan region in the backdrop of the forthcoming coffee plucking season.

Explaining the infrastructure addition and ongoing development works at the port to the exporters, P. Tamilvanan, Chairman of NMPT, requested them to make best use of NMPT, which is around 165 km from Hassan.

For this, the exporters said that the connectivity between Hassan and Mangalore needs to be improved. They said that the condition of national highway at Shirady Ghat stretch is poor. They also sought better railway connectivity to NMPT from Hassan.

Tamilvanan said that he would take up this matter with the departments concerned.

Major coffee exporters from Hassan region and the officials from Coffee Board attended the meet.

The release said that the port handled 37,101 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers till January 21 in the current financial year against 35,792 TEUs handled in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The container traffic is expected to grow further once the coffee season picks up and also with the arrival of more mainline vessels during the remaining months of the current year, the release said.

Chandrashekar, President of Hassan District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the gathering.

Keywords: Hassan, New Mangalore Port, coffee exporters, coffee plucking season

Sheet rubber slips to Rs 160/kg

Kottayam, Jan. 21:

Domestic rubber prices lost ground on Monday. Sharp declines in futures in the absence of major consuming industries on the buyers’ side kept sheet rubber under pressure during the day. The trend was mixed.

According to reports, the key Tokyo Commodities Exchange (TOCOM) rubber futures fell on profit-taking, but the losses were limited as investors were expecting a rise in volatility in the currency market since Japan's central bank has convened a two-day policy meeting to stimulate the economy.

Sheet rubber closed weak at Rs 160 (161) a kg, as quoted by traders. The grade slipped to Rs 160.50 (161) a kg at Kottayam and Kochi, according to Rubber Board.

In futures, the February series declined to Rs 157.80 (161.89), March to Rs 160.27 (164.25), April to Rs 163.70 (167.62) and May to Rs167.90 (171.01) a kg, while the June series remained inactive on the National Multi Commodity Exchange.

RSS 3 (spot) weakened to Rs 179.18 (181.40) a kg at Bangkok. The January futures improved to ¥297.3 (Rs 179.03) from ¥296.6 a kg during the day session, but then dropped to ¥295.5 (Rs 177.95) a kg in the night session on the TOCOM.

Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 160 (161); RSS-5: 155 (156); ungraded: 150 (151); ISNR 20: 157 (157) and latex 60 per cent: 105.50 (105.50).

Farm machinery makers seek VAT exemption

Bangalore, Jan. 21:

The Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (AMMA) has urged the Central and State Governments to exempt value added tax (VAT) and other taxes on agricultural machinery.

“Farm mechanisation is a key area in the policy framework of both the Governments. To help farmers acquire machinery at an affordable price, all kind of taxes such as VAT, CST and entry tax should be removed,” said Baldev Singh, President of AMMA.

“Taxing agricultural machinery is counter productive. The Governments are giving subsidy to make it affordable for the farmers and on the other, they are charging various taxes making it expensive,” he told Business Line.

Online subsidy

Similarly, AMMA has also urged both the Centre and State Governments to solve a few problems faced by machinery manufacturers. Singh said: “At present only few States such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Gujarat have adopted online subsidy distribution. This system is functioning well and more States should come forward to adopt this mechanism. This system is

helpful to both farmers and the machinery manufacturers. Simultaneously both can check their status of application helps timely approvals and facilitate subsidy disbursal.”

AMMA has also asked the Governments to increase percentage of subsidy for hi-tech machines.

“Hi-tech machines should be provided to the farmer at a higher percentage of subsidy such as may be up to 75 per cent to improve adoption of these at a faster rate for higher productivity,” said Singh.

Testing Centres

The sector is also bogged down with inadequate testing centres in the country. Singh said: “one of the biggest achievements for us is the approval and establishment of 27 testing centres of agricultural machinery in the country.”

“There were only four centres and this posed a challenge for us. Now at least there is one centre in each state. This is likely to speed up adoption of farm mechanisation in the country,” he added.

The association, according to Singh, is also spearheading a move for exemption from testing for subsidy.

“Many of the machines such as cultivators, disc harrow, chaff cutter etc are being manufactured since decades and are popular among the farmers. These machines should not require testing as these are already refined technologies,” he said.

Limited supply adds dash of flavor to cardamom

Kochi, Jan 21:

The cardamom market gained slight flavour last week on good demand amid limited arrivals at auctions held in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Absence of auctions for three days during Pongal holidays and thin arrivals at the remaining auctions led to a marginal mismatch in demand and supply with the former holding an upper hand and that in turn pushed the market up.

Meanwhile, the Spices Board issued a circular on January 17 saying “Producer of cardamom may sell his/her produce directly to any dealer licenced by the Spices Board to purchase cardamom from producers without placing it for auction”.

North Indian buyers were slightly active. Exporters bought around 10 tonnes of cardamom. Demand is expected to pick up from next week once the weather conditions improve. Besides, at present, cross border trade is almost stopped following the sealing of the borders for the Republic Day celebrations.

The material arrived at the auctions was of fresh crop and consisted of about 5 per cent of 8mm bold capsules and that was traded at Rs 1,100 a kg, they said. Total arrivals last week decreased to 181 tonnes from 277 the week before.

“At present, the plants are healthy but they require one or two showers and if the growing areas received it in the coming days, then that would have a positive impact on the next crop”, they

said. The individual auction average price crossed Rs 800 a kg last Sunday after vacillating between 740 and 780 a kg for some time, they said.

At the Sunday auction conducted by the KCPMC, total arrivals declined at 64 tonnes against 56 tonnes the previous Sunday and the entire quantity was sold out. The maximum price was at Rs 1,143 a kg and minimum at Rs 539 a kg. Auction average price moved up to Rs 801.03 from 785.35 the previous Sunday, P.C. Punnoose, General Manager, CPMC, told Business Line.

“The current bullish trend might continue from next month”, he said.

Total arrivals and sales during the current season from Aug 1, 2012 to Jan 20, 2013 were at 6,994 tonnes and 6,654 tonnes respectively.

Total arrivals and sales during the corresponding period last year were about 9,730 tonnes and about 9,385 tonnes respectively. The weighted average price as on Jan 20, 2013 stood at around Rs 772 a kg as against 561 a kg as on the same date last year.

Prices of graded varieties remained unchanged in Rs/kg: AGEB 970-990; AGB 770-790; AGS 735-755; and AGS -1: 710-730.

Cotton wilts on higher inflow

Rajkot, Jan 21:

Cotton prices dropped as demand declined on Monday. Along with this, increasing cotton arrivals in Gujarat and across the country also supported the bearish trend.

Cotton prices decreased by Rs 150-200 a candy (356 kg) in Gujarat. Sankar-6 cotton for A grade was quoted at Rs 34,000-34,200 a candy and B grade cotton at Rs 33,900-34,000 in Gujarat.

V 797 cotton was offered at Rs 26,000-26,500 a candy.

About 55,000-56,000 bales cotton arrived in Gujarat and 1.96 lakh bales cotton arrived in India.

According to a Rajkot-based cotton broker, cotton arrival was about 48,000-50,000 bales during last week but it is now increased to 55,000 bales in Gujarat.

Against it mills and export demand was coming down.

Similar trend was seen in Maharashtra market also. Cotton buying moved down. New 29 MM (3.8+ micronaire) cotton traded at Rs 33,300-33,700 a candy, 29 MM (3.7+ micronaire) cotton traded Rs 33,000-33,300 in Maharashtra.

Low micronaire cotton quoted at Rs 32,400-32,600.

A Rajkot-based ginner said, “Local farmers are not selling cotton much but as Gujarat price is higher than the other States, arrivals from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh is quite good.”

Rice may rule at current levels this week

Rice kept for sale at a retail outlet in Kochi, Kerala (file photo).

Karnal, Jan 21:

Despite restricted trading, rice markets witnessed a steady trend with prices of aromatic and non-basmati rice ruling unchanged on Monday.

After witnessing a fall last week, rice prices have been ruling flat.

Rice prices in domestic market have been volatile over the last few weeks but now market is ruling firm, said Amit Chandna, proprietor of Hanuman Rice Trading Company.

Traders expect that the market may rule around current levels this week and may witness some good buying in the upcoming weeks, he added.

In the physical market, Pusa-1121 (steam) sold at Rs 7,100 a quintal while Pusa-1121 (sela) quoted at Rs 6,125. Pure basmati (raw) quoted at Rs 8,100. Duplicate basmati (steam) traded at Rs 5,700. Sharbati (steam) quoted at Rs 4,380 while Sharbati (sela) at Rs 4,300.

PR-11 (sela) sold at Rs 2,550-2,650 while PR-11 (raw) quoted at Rs 2,550-2,600.

Permal (raw) sold at Rs 2,200-2,300 while Permal (sela) went for Rs 2,150-2,300.

Paddy Arrivals

About 1,000 bags of PR variety arrived and went for Rs 1,240, Sharbati arrived with a stock of around 2,000 bags and quoted at Rs 2,130.

About 2,000 bags of Pusa-1121 arrived and quoted at Rs 3,520.

Global cues, speculators lift soya oil

Indore, Jan 21:

Even as demand in soya oil continues to be weak at higher rate, strong global cues and speculators lifted soya oil in Indore mandis by Rs 15-20 in the past one week. Soya refined on Monday ruled at Rs 715-20 for 10 kg (Rs 710-12). Similarly soya solvent rose to Rs 683-87 (Rs 678-82) on scattered buying support and strong global cues.

Despite decline in demand at the higher rate, soya oil continues to rule higher, primarily due to strong foreign market and speculators’ involvement.

In futures also soya oil traded higher on strong foreign with soya refined February contract on the NBOT closing at Rs 730.50.

Similarly on the NCDEX, soya oil’s February and March contracts closed higher at Rs 728.60 (up Rs 4.95) and Rs 705.20 (up Rs 4.55).

On the other hand, soyabean also traded higher at Rs 3,180-3,270 a quintal (up Rs 20) amid weak arrival with about 1.10 lakh tonnes of soyabean being offloaded in mandis across Madhya Pradesh.

Notwithstanding bumper crop of soyabean this year which is expected to be around 126 lakh tonnes against 116 lakh tonnes last year, soyabean is ruling higher, with stockists engaged in

building inventories. According to a report, out of 55 lakh tonnes of soyabean which have been offloaded in various mandis across the country, about 20-22 lakh tons are lying with the stockists.

Soybean plant deliveries on Monday were quoted at Rs 32,70-3,300 (up Rs 20-50) from last week. Soyabean futures also traded higher on strong foreign and improved buying support with its February and March contracts on the NCEDX closing at Rs 3,278 a quintal (up Rs 40); Rs 3,220 (up Rs 54.50) respectively.

Soya DOC is also ruling sluggish on weak export and domestic demand. In the domestic market, soya DOC ruled at Rs 26,500-800 a quintal, while on the port, it was quoted at Rs 28,500 a quintal.

Turmeric pales despite lower arrivals

Erode, Jan 21:

Turmeric prices decreased by Rs 150 a quintal due to low demand despite lower arrivals

“After a 10-day closure of the turmeric market at Erode for Pongal festival, only 2,498 bags of turmeric arrived. Of these, only 45 per cent stocks was sold. This is due to lack of demand from North India.

“Usually after Pongal, traders will get good orders, but this year, no order has been received”, said R.K.V. Ravishankar, President, Erode Turmeric Merchants Association.

He also said that the new crop has started arriving at the Nizamabad market and was sold at Rs 5,200 a quintal.

The price will continue to rule at current levels in Erode for another two or three days, as they are expecting fresh orders within couple of days from North India.

Growers said that this year the turmeric has been cultivated in over 6,500 hectares in Erode alone which is lower than last year. They will start the harvest within couple of days and the new crop will begin arriving in 10 days.

At the Erode Turmeric Merchants Association Sales yard, the finger variety was sold at Rs 4,299-6,309 a quintal, the root variety Rs 4,111-5,676.

Salem hybrid crop: The finger variety was sold at Rs 5,196-6,677; the root variety Rs 4,986-5,926. Of the arrival of 518 bags, 160 were sold.

At the Regulated Market Committee, the finger variety was sold at Rs 5,616-6,209; the root variety Rs 5,549-5,709;

Of the arrival of 329 bags, 295 were sold.

At the Erode Cooperative Marketing Society, the finger variety was at Rs 5,616-6,299, the root variety Rs 5,018-5,889 a quintal. All the 337 bags were sold.

At the Gobichettipalayam Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Society, the finger variety was sold at Rs 5,717-6,606, the root variety Rs 4,269-5,899 a quintal. Of 87 bags, 76 were sold.

Mixed trend in pepper

Kochi, Jan 21:

The pepper market witnessed a mixed trend on Monday with the running contract dropping widening the difference between it and the spot further while the nearby contracts moved up.

Convergence of the prices of futures contract and the spot which is considered necessary but that is not taking place in the market for long and this aspect needs to be looked into, market sources told Business Line.

There was liquidation in February while March and April witnessed some additional buying.

February contract on the NCDEX decreased by Rs 370 a quintal to close at Rs 37,100 a quintal. March and April contracts increased by Rs 230 and Rs 300 respectively a quintal to close at Rs 34,970 and Rs 34,255 a quintal.

Turnover

Total turnover increased by 572 tonnes to close at 1,952 tonnes. Total open interest dropped by 121 tonnes to close at 3,200 tonnes, indicating liquidation.

Good domestic demand from interstate dealers was reported. from the growers and primary market dealers at terminal market prices.

Spot prices remained unchanged at Rs38,500 (ungarbled) and Rs40,000 (MG 1) a quintal on limited activities despite good domestic demand amid tight supply, trade sources told Business Line.

Indian parity in the international market was at around $8,000 a tonne January while February at around $7,100 a tonne and March at around $6,700 a tonne.

Sugar futures down on higher supplies

At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, sugar for delivery in February declined Rs 5 or 0.15 per cent to trade at Rs 3,257 per quintal with an open interest of 11,110 lots. Stockists sales drag sugar; futures in ranges Sugar industry seeks hike in import duty Sugar output till mid-Jan up 3% at 108 lakh tonnes agriculture sugar (commodity) New Delhi, Jan 21:

Sugar prices fell marginally by Rs 5 per quintal to trade at Rs 3,257 at the futures trade today, largely on higher supplies in physical markets.

At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, sugar for delivery in February declined Rs 5 or 0.15 per cent to trade at Rs 3,257 per quintal with an open interest of 11,110 lots.

Similarly, sugar for delivery in March also shed Rs 2 or 0.06 per cent to Rs 3,288 per quintal in an open interest of 11,110 lots.

Marketmen said the fall in sugar futures prices was mostly due to higher supplies in the physical markets but hopes that the Government would raise the sugar import duty limited the losses.

Chana futures jump 1.3% on strong demand

Tight supplies in the physical market following restricted arrivals from the producing regions influenced the chana prices. New Delhi, Jan 21:

Chana prices surged Rs 46 to Rs 3,654 per quintal at the futures trade today as speculators enlarged their positions, driven a strong demand in the spot market.

Tight supplies in the physical market following restricted arrivals from the producing regions also influenced the chana prices.

At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, chana for delivery in May surged Rs 46 or 1.27 per cent to Rs 3,654 per quintal with an open interest of 13,610 lots.

Similarly, the commodity for delivery in April jumped by Rs 45 or 1.26 per cent to Rs 3,605 per quintal in 61,850 lots.

Traders said speculators enlarged their positions, tracking a firm trend at the spot market on strong demand amid restricted arrivals from the producing belts.

Retail inflation for farm workers up at 11.33% in Dec

New Delhi, Jan 21:

Retail inflation for farm workers in December touched 11.33 per cent due to increase in prices of rice, bajra, ragi, fish fresh, onion and other items.

The same for rural labourers was 11.31 per cent in December, according to an official release.

“Point to point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL and CPI-RL increased from 10.31 per cent and 10.47 per cent in November, 2012 to 11.33 per cent and 11.31 per cent in December, 2012,” the release said.

Inflation based on food indexes of CPI-AL and CPI-RL are 11.59% and 11.90% respectively during December, 2012, it added.

The consumer price index (CPI) for agricultural and rural Labourers recorded maximum surge in Tamil Nadu by 14 points and 15 points respectively mainly due to increase in the prices of due of rice, bajra, ragi, fish fresh, onion, mixed spices, vegetables and fruits, tea, pan leaf and firewood.

Organic farm shipments rise despite slipping acreage

Mumbai, Jan. 21:

Despite a decline in organically farmed land in India between 2009 and 2010, India’s export volume of organic produce has increased by 20 per cent.

New research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute has noted that India plays host to around 4,00,551 organic farmers and leads the pack of global certified organic farmers, followed by Uganda which has 1,88,625 farmers and Mexico which has 1,28,826.

Organic farming relies on ecological processes such as waste recycling and bio-pesticides and does not use chemical fertilisers.

Sixty-nine year old Jayant Barve is one such organic farmer. With 30 acres near Vita, 40 km from Sangli district in Maharashtra, Barve turned to organic farming in 1988. He practices crop rotation and uses organic manure and compost produced by worms.

Export growth

Incidentally, India's organic exports almost tripled in value for the fiscal year 2011-12. The country exported 1,15,000 tonnes of organic products valued at $360 million in 2011-12, compared with the 70,000 tonnes valued at $130 million in 2010-11. Sector exports are set to double in the current fiscal.

“We are not bothered about the price of organic produce in the retail market or any marketing mechanism to export our produce. We are only concerned with the fertility of the soil. With each crop, we try to upgrade the soil,” said Barve.

Stating that sustainable food production is turning out to be increasingly important in India, given its growing population, Barve said: “Earlier I had several grape farms. Now, we grow pomegranates, mango, all the cereals, pulses, wheat and lots of sugarcane.”

Barve started with vermicompost as manure. Given the lay of the land, he moved on to organic manure which he now produces at a manufacturing unit at his farm in Vita. “We produce nearly 8,000 tonnes of organic manure and sell across Maharashtra, Rajasthan and even Tamil Nadu,” said Barve.

Farmers as far away as Tiruchi , Puducherry, Coorg (Karnataka) are ardent seekers of his organic manure, said Jayant Barve, who is also the founder of the Organic Farming Association of India.

Organic growth

The Worldwatch Institute report which has examined the growth of global organic agricultural practices, has said that despite a dip in 2009-10, the footprint of organic farms has trebled around the world since 1999 to 37 million hectares.

Govt cracks the whip on pepper, cardamom futures volatility

K.V. Thomas

Kochi, Jan. 21:

The Centre will set up two separate committees to look into various issues connected with the futures trading in pepper and cardamom, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution K.V. Thomas said.

The two committees will be similar to the one constituted for rubber last year following the recommendations made by the Kerala Government, he said while addressing stakeholders’ meet for rubber, pepper and cardamom participants here on Monday.

The Union Minister made these announcements following a request from the Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who was here to inaugurate the function.

These commodities have been witnessing volatility in the futures exchange and traders have alleged that a cartel is behind the price surge. Last year, a panel was set to look into the volatility of rubber prices and it opposed any curb on price movement.

Referring to the recent issues connected with pepper futures trade, Thomas said that the Government would go for a second opinion in consultation with the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) on adulterated pepper.

“Whenever there is a doubt about quality, we will have a second opinion from another agency,” he said.

There were allegations of adulterated mineral oil coated black pepper being stored in NCDEX warehouses and the Commissioner of Food Safety, Kerala took samples for examination.

“The Government is aware of the problems of adulterated pepper in futures and would take appropriate action to help stakeholders to get a better price. The Government is also in the process of finding out a mechanism to ensure the quality of commodities in futures,” he said.

According to the Minister, the Government has taken a stand that the functioning of the futures market will be fair and transparent. There is a general apprehension and doubt that the futures trade is the cause for inflation. “It is not correct,” he said.

cartels

Speaking on the occasion, Ramesh Abhishek, Chairman, FMC, said that the functioning of cartels in futures market has become a threat. “We will not allow them to function. The Government does not want the futures market to be controlled by few cartels in the country,” he said.

There is a need to strengthen the functioning of the market by bringing about changes in the trading platform, he said, adding that the FMC Bill would be tabled in Parliament to give more strength to the Commission.

R. Ramaseshan, Managing Director and CEO, NCDEX, said that the exchange is in the process of initiating actions against the suspected wrong-doers after giving them an opportunity to explain their conduct. “We will take a final decision on this soon,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that the futures trading should take place in transparent and fain manner which was beneficial to all stakeholders.

Farmers have been able to get good price through cooperatives, he said.

Evolution of arecanut as a regional culture

Mangalore, Jan. 21:

Arecanut crop once played a dominant role in shaping the culture of society in a region. Now the society is growing without the culture of arecanut.

This is how an economist highlighted the role of arecanut at a seminar on ‘arecanut agriculture as a culture’, organised by Shree Bharathi College in Mangalore on Saturday.

G.V. Joshi, member of the Karnataka Planning Board, said that the arecanut farming as a culture can be analysed in three broad stages.

Quoting various gazetteers of Bombay Presidency and Madras Presidency, he said the culture of many families in coastal Karnataka and parts of Malnad area was formed by arecanut crop

during 1900s. People then were solely dependent on this crop, and a majority of them remained as arecanut farmers only.

He saw the second stage of development during the decades of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Though arecanut remained the principal crop of the region, people started cultivating other crops also. Members of the arecanut growers’ families then started looking at alternative career along with arecanut cultivation. Many of them went on to become doctors, lawyers, academicians and politicians in society.

On third stage, he said a society without arecanut culture is emerging in coastal Karnataka and Malnad regions. Many of the present generation have completely left arecanut cultivation, and have settled in cities and towns in other professions.

Many elders in such families have sold their arecanut plantations in the villages to live with their sons and daughters in cities and towns, he said.

A.S. Bhat, former Managing Director of Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd, said that many of the villages are now becoming old-age homes. Added to this, labour shortage is affecting the cultivation of crop.

The migration of people from agriculture sector in rural areas to other jobs in urban areas is happening because agriculture is not remunerative, he added.

Evolution of arecanut as a regional culture

Mangalore, Jan. 21:

Arecanut crop once played a dominant role in shaping the culture of society in a region. Now the society is growing without the culture of arecanut.

This is how an economist highlighted the role of arecanut at a seminar on ‘arecanut agriculture as a culture’, organised by Shree Bharathi College in Mangalore on Saturday.

G.V. Joshi, member of the Karnataka Planning Board, said that the arecanut farming as a culture can be analysed in three broad stages.

Quoting various gazetteers of Bombay Presidency and Madras Presidency, he said the culture of many families in coastal Karnataka and parts of Malnad area was formed by arecanut crop during 1900s. People then were solely dependent on this crop, and a majority of them remained as arecanut farmers only.

He saw the second stage of development during the decades of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Though arecanut remained the principal crop of the region, people started cultivating other crops also. Members of the arecanut growers’ families then started looking at alternative career along with arecanut cultivation. Many of them went on to become doctors, lawyers, academicians and politicians in society.

On third stage, he said a society without arecanut culture is emerging in coastal Karnataka and Malnad regions. Many of the present generation have completely left arecanut cultivation, and have settled in cities and towns in other professions.

Many elders in such families have sold their arecanut plantations in the villages to live with their sons and daughters in cities and towns, he said.

A.S. Bhat, former Managing Director of Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd, said that many of the villages are now becoming old-age homes. Added to this, labour shortage is affecting the cultivation of crop.

The migration of people from agriculture sector in rural areas to other jobs in urban areas is happening because agriculture is not remunerative, he added.

Training in rubber processing

Kottayam, Jan. 21:

The Rubber Board will hold a two-day training programme in rubber sheet processing and grading at Rubber Training Institute here January 31 and February 1.

The medium of instruction is English. The fee for the training is 500 (12.36 per cent service tax extra) and Rs. 125 per day extra for boarding and lodging, if needed.

SC/ST participants are eligible for 50 per cent concession in fee.

The training is intended for growers, dealers, product manufacturers and workers engaged in latex processing and sheet making.

For further details, contact phone 0481- 2353325, 2353127.

Vishwaraj Sugar plans to double cane yield in command area

Recently in Belgaum (Karnataka):

Vishwaraj Sugar Industries plans to increase sugarcane yield to 100 tonnes from 40 tonnes in the 49 villages in its command area .

This year, the company — which is one of the largest sugar mills in Belgaum — is planning to use around 1,000 acres of farmland to lay a subsoil drip irrigation network, which is expected to help farmers achieve the output that the company is targeting.

Mukesh Kumar, Executive Director of Vishwaraj Sugar, told Business Line that the mill has tied up with Netafim, an Israeli-based company, to get the technology needed to set up this network.

The capital cost of laying the drip irrigation network is around Rs 50,000 for an acre. Farmers will be given a bank loan of Rs 35,000 and the rest will be Karnataka Government susbidy, he said.

Vishwaraj is keen to enhance the productivity of the cane farms as it requires additional cane for its upcoming new sugar mill in the same location. The mill has a capacity of 5,500 tonne a day. The company plans to raise Rs 374 crore through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to double output to 11,000 tonnes a day, he said. It also plans to take a term loan of Rs 70 crore from banks for other upcoming projects.

A portion of the IPO proceeds would be used to expand the mills’ power co-generation capacity to 66 MW from 36 MW now, said Kumar.

“Currently, the company has surplus power of 22 MW, out of which 14 MW is sold through Tata Power Trading Company, while the balance is sold to the Hubli Electricity Supply Company,” Kumar said.

Distillery plan

It will also expand the distillery capacity to 1,00,000 litres a day from 35,000 litres now , which would double production capacity of Indian Made Foreign Liquor to 5,000 cases a day.

Vishwaraj Sugar posted a net profit of Rs 51.59 crore on a turnover of Rs 425.81 crore in FY12.

AAU’s finding to help reduce crop dependence on Phosphate fertilisers

Phosphate solubilising bacteria (PSB) are a group of beneficial bacteria capable of hydrolysing (breaking down of compound by chemical reaction) organic and inorganic phosphorus from insoluble compounds. Ahmedabad, Jan 21:

Researchers at Anand Agriculture University (AAU) have isolated bacterial strains from soil of Pawagadh mining region in Gujarat, which can help reduce phosphatic fertiliser application in crops by up to 40 per cent.

“Isolates – Burkholderia cepacia and Bacillus – reported for the first time from Pawagadh mining region (Panchmahal district) are found to be efficient phosphate solubilisers,” AAU Vice Chancellor A.M Sheikh said.

“They have additional variety of plant growth promoting traits,” he said, adding that the unique gene in sequence has been deposited at the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

Phosphate solubilising bacteria (PSB) are a group of beneficial bacteria capable of hydrolysing (breaking down of compound by chemical reaction) organic and inorganic phosphorus from insoluble compounds.

P-solubilisation ability of the micro organisms is considered to be one of the most important traits associated with plant phosphate nutrition.

“They by and large have potential to reduce phosphatic fertiliser application in cereal and pulses crops by upto 40 per cent. The trials here are being conducted on soyabean,” Head Microbiology department AAU, R.V Vyas said.

“Compared to those from regular cultivable farmlands, the isolates from mine region show more potential to liberate phosphorus from calcareous soil (having tri calcium phsophate) found in Western states of Gujarat, Rajasthan & Maharashtra,” he said.

“Additionally, they provide potash, a key soil nutrient required by the crops,” Vyas said

“We shall be formulating a liquid from the bacterial isolates of Pawagadh mine region and it will be tested on all the crops. It would later be recommended for the best suitable crop found during the tests,” Sheikh said.

“AAU plans to promote this isolate for the cultivation of Soyabean crop too,” Vyas said.

In the past, AAU has formulated a liquid fertiliser from few other bacterial isolates costing around Rs 150 per litre, which they claim is sufficient for one hectare of farmland and helps farmer save 30 per cent fertiliser.

It has inked MoU’s with state run Gujarat Agro Industrial Coporation (GAIC) and a private firm, for licensing the technology, and products are already available in the market.

In Gujarat, particularly Panchmahal and Vadodara districts are well known for dolomite, apatite and rock phosphate reservoirs.