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Medicinal plants and medical products conference in Colombo
Colombo, Wednesday, 14 December 2011: Over 400 academics from India, China,
Japan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Taiwan, Malaysia and America, apart from Sri Lanka, are expected to attend the
the third international conference on 'Medicinal plants and medical
products' which will be held in Colombo from December 19 to 21. Over 200
scientific research papers will be presented at the conference to be
held at the Colombo University's Institute of Indigenous Medical Science.
The international conference is being held in Sri Lanka for the first
time on the invitation of Colombo University Vice Chancellor Prof Shanika
Himburugama. The two previous conferences were held in India. The indigenous medical fraternity and the western medical fraternity in
Sri Lanka are working jointly to organise the event. The conference is
jointly organised by the Institute of Indigenous Medicine and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo and the Thirupathi Shri
Venkateshvaran University of India.
India's agri output to rise 5.7% on good weather, says FAO
Mumbai December 05, 2011: The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the
United Nations has forecast India's grain output to remain substantial higher because of
favourable climatic condition. The agency estimates India?s overall cereal output this year to rise by 5.7 per cent to 228.6 million tonnes
(mt). While rice output is estimated to rise by over eight per cent to surpass
the benchmark 100-mt mark and settle at a record 103 mt, the extended rainfall during October and November in the major growing states in the
north has brightened wheat crop prospects for the rabi season.
According to the latest estimate by the ministry of agriculture, total
rice output in the country may rise to 87.10 mt this kharif season as
compared to 80.65 mt in the same season last year. Kharif crop contributes around 85 per cent of
India's rice output. Climatic condition is favourable for the rabi season also.
In September, India lifted the restriction on regular rice exports it had maintained for four years, initially authorising shipment of 2 mt of
privately-owned rice, in addition to basmati rice. As a result, around 5
mt of world trade could be sourced from India next year, about 1.5 mt more than forecast for 2011. Source: Business Standard
Food security hit by land acquisition: SC
New Delhi, November 28, 2011: The government has been on an acquisition spree of agricultural land
since the economy opened two decades ago, seriously affecting basic food
security and driving the small farmer to suicide, the Supreme Court has said.
In the "name of planned development or industrial growth" an 1894 law has become the statutory route for "massive land acquisition" of prime
farmlands in the past two decades, said a 25-page judgment delivered by
Justice G S Singhvi on November 23. The judgment quoted the fifth and final report of the M S
Swaminathan-led National Commission For Farmers to slam the acquisition of agricultural land with no thought for the availability of food for
the future in a country where "60 per cent of the population still depend on agriculture and where people living below poverty line are
finding it difficult to survive". Justice Singhvi quoted the "words of wisdom" spoken by India's first
PM Jawaharlal Nehru that "everything else can wait, but not agriculture" in this context.
Crop science innovation meeting
Hyderabad, November 24, 2011: A meeting on Innovations for Industry in crop science was organized
recently by the Zonal technology management - business planning and development (ZTM-BPD) unit, South zone, Kochi along with the National
Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) Hyderabad at
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad for showcasing the innovations from seven prestigious crop science research institutions under Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR). The meet was organized as part of the business incubation drive designed
for the agricultural sector to promote entrepreneurs with the help of
latest R&D facilities and vast knowledge available with ICAR. The event planned to bring together innovators and entrepreneurs in
agriculture on the same platform.
The technologies presented at the meet were improved crop varieties and
hybrids suited to the diverse agro-ecologies and situations, technologies for eco-friendly and sustainable crop production and
protection, crop improvement, health management, bio-resource utilization, bio-safety, value added products,
bioinformatics, genomics, biotechnology, farm machinery, land use diversification and energy
management. Source: The Hindu
India Inc must partner with the farmers - Pratibha Devisingh Patil
New Delhi, November 17, 2011: During the last 20 years since the commencement of economic reforms,
there has been a commendable growth in corporate and service sector performance. The ascending GDP, however, cannot be sustained till we
realize the full potential of the agriculture sector, boost the incomes
of farmers, especially those dependent on rain-fed-area farming. Indeed, it is time for another green revolution with an integrated
approach. But unlike the 1970s, this cannot be confined to the irrigated
areas only and the rain-fed areas have to become 'the cradle for a second green revolution'.
In India, 60% of the cultivated land is rain-fed that supports 40% of
the population generally belonging to the poorer sections of the society.
Of the total agricultural production, 44% comes from dryland farming.
About 85-95% cereal, 85% pulses, 80% oilseeds, 65% cotton and
45% rice is grown in these areas. Despite this, it is faced with major challenges in the form of low
investment, low productivity, lack of technical breakthrough, scarcity
of water, absence of better agronomic practices, inadequate agricultural
extension and small land holdings.
Indian scientists decode Arhar genome
New Delhi, Nov 3, 2011 (PTI): In an entirely indigenous effort, farm scientists
have for the first time decoded genome of arhar dal, a breakthrough which would help in
developing new varieties and enhancing productivity of the pulse crop. A group of 31 scientists from the Indian Council of
Agriculture Research, state agricultural universities and Banaras Hindu
University (BHU), led by Nagendra Kumar Singh from ICAR's National
Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology at New Delhi, decoded the genome
of pigeon pea (arhar). This is the first plant genome sequenced entirely
through a network of Indian institutions and it will provide highly valuable resource for variety improvement of
pigeonpea, an ICAR statement said. Availability of the Arhar genome sequence would
accelerate development of new varieties and hybrids with enhanced productivity by making use of germplasm resources. Average pulse crop
productivity in India has remained low at about 650 kg per hectare for
the last six decades leading to soaring 'Dal' prices with increasing
demands. Lack of high yielding, disease and pest resistant varieties is
a major factor for the stagnant pulse productivity.
20 million farmers to be covered via SMS for agricultural help
AGARTALA, October 28, 2011 (IANS) : In India 20 million
farmers will be covered by 2017 through SMSs and the Integrated Voice
Response System (IVRS) to give them farming information, weather and climatic details to help them meet agricultural targets.
"The SMS and IVRS mode were launched in 2009 covering 5,000 farmers. It now covers 2.8 million growers and by 2017
the method would cover 20 million," India Meteorological Department
(IMD) deputy director general N. Chattopadhayay told IANS here.
He said firms like Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Services,
Reuter Market Light, NOKIA , Vritti Solutions and IFFCO Kishan Samachar Limited
have been engaged to spread vital information among cultivators and farming administrators.
India has seen a boom in mobile phone usage over the past few years,
with over 850 million of its 1.2 billion people using them. The SMSs are being sent to farmers on their mobile phones.
The IVRS was developed keeping in mind illiterate people as they can listen to an
automated message and get farming information. Said Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR) scientist S.V. Ngachan: "Without technological enlargement, India cannot touch its projected foodgrain demand of 280 million tonnes by 2021."
Ngachan said the IMD, ICAR and India's information technology giants are working together to outreach among farmers and stakeholders across India
with latest farming information, weather, climatic and hydrological details in the quickest possible time.
IMD and ICAR said with the traditional method and outdated tools, India
cannot raise the knowledge base of millions of farmers about fast-changing technology, changing climatic conditions and hydrological facts.
India may produce record over 86 mn tonnes of wheat
NEW DELHI, October 14, 2011 (PTI): Wheat production is expected to cross 86 million tonnes to set a new record in the ongoing
2011-12 crop year, boosted by a good monsoon and a likely rise in support prices, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said today.
Wheat production in India, the world's second-largest producer, stood at a record 85.93 million tonnes in the 2010-11 crop year (July-June).
Wheat is only grown in the rabi season (winter). "Indications are that rabi sowing will be good, particularly of wheat.
As of now, it looks that wheat production will exceed 86 million tonnes," Pawar told PTI in an interview.
He noted that the good monsoon has boosted soil moisture and water
levels in reservoirs and this would lead to a rise in production. Pawar further said that a possible hike in the minimum support price
(MSP) of wheat will encourage farmers to increase the area under the crop.
Cabinet may soon decide on raising the MSP of rabi crops, including wheat, in the next few days, he said.
The wheat MSP stood at Rs 1,170 per quintal for the 2011-12 marketing year (April- March). The government buys wheat from farmers at the
MSP.
Manipulating bio-clock of plants can up food output
WASHINGTON, September 5, 2011 (PTI): Scientists have identified a key genetic gear in plants
which help keep their circadian clock ticking, a finding they say could
lead to modifying plants that can grow in different seasons and places,
boosting global food output. The circadian clock is the internal timekeeper found in almost all
organisms that helps synchronize biological processes with day and night. In plants, this clock is crucial for adjusting growth to both
time and day and to the seasons. The clock operates through the cooperative relationship between
"morning" genes and "evening" genes. Proteins encoded by the morning genes suppress evening genes at daybreak, but by nightfall levels of
these proteins drop and evening genes are activated. Intriguingly, these evening genes are necessary to turn on morning genes
completing the 24-hour cycle. Now, researchers identified a gene, called
DET1, which plays a crucial role in suppressing expression of the evening genes. "Plants that make less DET1
have a faster clock and they take less time to flower," said lead author On Sun Lau.
Bt Cotton constitutes 90% of country's total acreage
NEW DELHI, August 04, 2011: After years of virtually denying the existence of
substantial Bt cotton acreage in the country, the Central government is now openly acknowledging that genetically
modified or Bt Cotton now constitutes as high as 90% of the country's
total acreage. That should come as a big boost to GM crop votaries in the government
such as agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, who has been trying aggressively to push through India's first GM food crop, Bt Brinjal but
failed so far despite assertions regarding the country's need to exponentially raise food production to meet the ballooning demands of a
growing population in the run up to 2020.
The decision of then environment minister Jairam Ramesh to put this up
for public debate also slowed down the commercial approval process. Current incumbent Jayanthi Natarajan, however, is viewed as less
intransigent although she has made no statements thus far on the subject
to suport this view. In an offiical statement issued earlier this week on state-wise
estimates of area and produciton of cotton for the year 2010-11, the
department of Agriculture and Cooperation has said that out of the total
area of 111.42 lakh ha under cotton cultivation, as high as 98.5lakh ha
was under Bt cotton.
GSM mobile-based remote control system for use with water pump sets
Puna, July 31, 2011: Pune-based Ossian Agro Automation Pvt Ltd invented Nano
Ganesh, a GSM mobile-based remote control system exclusively for use
with water pump sets in agricultural areas. The system allows farmers to
address their routine problems in operating the pumps, said Santosh Ostwal, chief executive of Ossian Agro.
Using the device, a farmer can control the pumps from any distance. He
can check the availability of power supply at the pump end, the on/off
status of the pump and, in some models, he even receives an alert if
there is an attempt to steel the cable or pump. Ostwal, a graduate in electrical engineering who invented the system,
says that by simply making a phone call, a farmer can switch the motor
on or off from wherever he is. This is the first time that such a ?remote control? that uses wireless-link technology has been made
available to farmers.
Ossian Agro has installed 10,000 systems and is now planning to tie up
with Jain Irrigation to spread across the country. Ostwal added that
across the country there are about 50 million pump sets and to increase
penetration, Ossian is planning to tie up with mobile operators to reach
out to these farmers.
Punjab gives 50% subsidy on all maize seeds and weedicides
AHMEDABAD, July 09, 2011: Farmers are showing keen interest in maize cultivation with
series of incentives announced by state government and maize cultivation
is set to touch 1.50 lakh hectares against 1.3 lakh hectares last year.
Punjab Agriculture Minister,Sucha Singh Langah said that maize production was expected to touch 5.25 lakh tonne with average 36 quintal
per hectare yield during current year .
He said that during year 2010-11 the area under maize cultivation was
1.3 lakh hectares and the total production was recorded 5.02 lakh tonne
with average 36.73 quintal per hectare yield. While in year 2009-10 the
total area under maize cultivation was 1.39 lakh hectare and the total
production was 4.75 lakh tonne with average yield of 34.14 quintal per
hectare. He said that Punjab government has been providing seeds of two seeds of
hybrid maize namely PEHM-1 and PCM-3 free of cost to the farmers of the
state. He said that 20,000 mini kits of 2Kg seed each of maize were being distributed free of cost to the maize growing farmers.
Mr Langah said that the state government under a public private partnership has chalked out an ambitious plan to set up 110
exhibitions plots of one hectare each in 5 districts to cultivate maize on trial
basis. He said that under this programme Punjab Agriculture University,
Monsanto India Ltd. and Shri Ram Bio Seeds would jointly provide 50% subsidy of maize seeds
and required pesticides along with technical guidance.
International conference on organic farming from June 22
Patna, June 21, 2011 (PTi): Altogether 60 agriculture scientists from India and abroad will
participate at three-day international conference on organic farming in
Bihar, 2011, to be held here from June 22 next, a senior official said on Monday.
Agriculture scientists from the United States, New Zealand, Zimbabwe,
Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, besides eminent experts from the National Centre for Organic Farming
(NCOF) and Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and farmers of several states will dwell on
various aspects of organic farming, the Agriculture Production
Commissioner Mr A.K. Sinha told reporters here.
The viewpoints expressed by a cross section of the scientists, farmers
and experts will help formulate the road map of organic farming in Bihar, he said.
Chief Minister Mr Nitish Kumar will inaugurate the international conference on organic farming in Bihar on June 22 next, Mr Sinha said.
Mr Kumar will also launch the organic produces like Litchi, varieties of mangoes, potato and vegetables, baby corn, from Bihar with a brand name
of ‘Jai B’ on the occasion, the Agriculture Production Commissioner said.
Organic farming in India
New Delhi, May 12, 2011: India's struggling farmers are starting to profit from a budding
interest in organic living. Not only are the incomes of organic farmers soaring – by 30% to 200%, according to organic experts – but their
yields are rising as the pesticide-poisoned land is repaired through
natural farming methods. Organic farming only took off in the country about seven years ago.
Farmers are turning back to traditional farming methods for a number of reasons.
First, there's a 10% to 20% premium to be earned by selling organic
products abroad and in India's increasingly affluent cities, a move towards healthy living and growing concern over toxic foods and
adulteration plaguing the food market.
Second, the cost of pesticides and fertilisers has shot up and the loans
farmers need to buy expensive, modified seed varieties are pushing many
into a spiral of debt. Crippling debt and the burden of loans are trriggering farmer suicides across the country,
particularly in the Vidarabha region of Maharashtra. Organic farming slashes cultivation and
input costs by up to 70% due to the use of cheaper, natural products like manure instead of chemicals and fertilisers.
Third, farmers are suffering from the damaging effects of India's green
revolution, which ushered in the rampant use of pesticides and fertilisers from the 1960s to ensure bumper yields and curb famine and
food shortages. Over the decades, the chemicals have taken a toll on the land and yields are plunging.
"Western, modern farming has spoiled agriculture in the country. An
overuse of chemicals has made land acidic and hard, which means it needs even more water to produce, which is costly," says Narendra Singh of
Organic India "Chemicals have killed the biggest civilisation in agriculture – earthworms, which produce the best
soil for growth.
India may take conservative view on opening wheat exports
NEW DELHI, May 5, 2011: India, the world's second biggest wheat producer, is likely
take a conservative approach on allowing wheat exports given continued
concerns on high food prices, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report said.
India has banned export of wheat since 2007. However, the prospects of a record wheat harvest at 84.2 million tonnes in the 2011-12 crop year
(July-June) has prompted speculation that the government may allow exports, it said.
Pegging India's wheat export at 2 million tonnes for this year, USDA
said: "A record wheat harvest, abundant government stocks and favourable international prices may put India back into the wheat export market
after a hiatus of four years". But the government is likely to take a conservative approach on
permitting wheat exports due to concerns of food inflation, which was
9.5 per cent in March, it said. Food Inflation was 8.53 per cent for week ended April 23. With Indian
market prices for wheat ranging between Rs 11,000-14,000 per tonne, the country could emerge as a net wheat exporter in 2011, largely by private
trade, due to higher prices in the global market, the USDA report said. At present, Food Ministry and Agriculture Ministry are holding different
views on wheat exports. The former is against lifting the ban on wheat exports while the later is for overseas sale to help benefit farmers
economically.
Farmers adopt new technology for high groundnut output
Mumbai , April 21, 2011: In what could revolutionalise groundnut farming system in India, a few
dozens farmers in Gujarat have adopted Chinese-born mulching technology which has the capacity to yield up to three times more output than the
existing conventional techniques in India. Initially, the planting was done on pilot basis in 50 acres just to
experience the benefit of this technology. The initial growth in roots, stems and leaves was satisfactory. Hence, farmers believe the plants
under mulching sheets will yield higher as compared to the plants under open air. Developed by Chinese agri scientists, Mulching Technology requires
groundnut plants to be covered with special mulching plastic sheets for moisture protection and maintaining plant growth for maximum yield.
Agriculture with mulch in the tropics promotes plant health and vigor; and improves nutrient and water retention in the soil, encourages soil
microbial activity and worms, and suppresses weed growth. When properly executed, mulching can significantly improve the well-being of plants
and reduce maintenance as compared to bare soil culture. Mulched plants have better vigor and, consequently have improved resistance to pests
and diseases. "This technology has the capacity to yield 2-3 times higher output than
the conventional techniques of groundnut farming. This means, the technology can revolutionalise entire groundnut farming in India," said
Nilesh Vira, Chairman of Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion
Council (IOPEPC). Grown mainly through age-old farming techniques, groundnut yield in
India currently at 700-900 kg per hectares (ha) is less than one-third
of the world?s average of 2,200 kg per ha. Comparatively, average groundnut yield in China today stands at 2,300-2,400 kg per ha while the
same in the US and Argentina is 3,000 kg per ha and 2,800 kg per ha respectively.
The biggest advantage of this technology is that the crop does not have
to dependent on monsoon. The irrigation is done through mechanical means. Hence, the crop can be grown in off-monsoon season as well. Source: Business Standard
India's first official monsoon forecast April 19
PUNE, April 14, 2011 (Reuters): India will give its first official forecast for the June to
September monsoon on April 19, Ajit Tyagi, director general of the India
Meteorological Department, said on Wednesday. "We will come out with the first monsoon forecast on April 19," he said,
adding the Meteorological Department will give monthly forecasts at the
end of the preceding month.
Gates Foundation open to initiatives in Bihar agricultural sector
Patna, March 39, 2011: Impressed by the tangible results on health front in Bihar, Bill Gates,the co-chair and trustee of the Bill & Melinda
Foundation, announced. In Patna, the Foundation is interested in expanding
cooperation to agricultural sector in Bihar.It is Gates’ second visit to Bihar in less than a year.
"Our partnership is going at full speed. The great works being done here
are lessons for other places in the world," he said. He was accompanied by Melinda Gates, the co-chair of Bill & Melinda
Foundation. He also praised the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation already has a partnership with Bihar
government and funds health programs in the state to the tune of $80 million. Melinda said, “It is a pleasure working here. Bihar’s planning is
incredible. We will have broad unity under the leadership of Mr Kumar.” She said she was very happy with the progress of good works in Bihar.
She was much impressed, especially in the areas of vaccination, immunization and institutional delivery |
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