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From the Editors Desk

Farm Mechanization:
Role Of Farm Power
Energy is the nucleus of all technical developments and is one of the key variables
in economic development. While seeds, irrigation, fertilizers and plant protection
chemicals have been widely accepted as necessary inputs for successful and profitable agriculture, there seems to be a bit of confusion regarding the role and source
of farm-power in the field of agriculture. Without adequate farm-power in any
form and from any reliable source, all other inputs of production in agriculture cannot be put into the soil. Of all the agricultural inputs that are known to increase productivity, perhaps the least recognised is farm power. In the context of increasing
commercialization of agriculture, mechanization has a very important role to play.
The use of farm mechanization enlarges the employment opportunities both on
farms and in nonfarm sectors through increase in area under plough, multiple cropping, development of agro-industries and related services. Availability of adequate
farm power is very crucial for timely farm operations, for increasing production
and productivity and for handling the crop production to reduce losses. With the
increase in intensity of cropping the turn around time is drastically reduced and it is
not possible to harvest and thresh the standing crop, on one hand, and prepare seed
bed and do timely sowing operations of subsequent crop, on the other hand, in the
limited time available, unless adequate farm power is available.
The contribution of agricultural mechanization has been well recognized in enhancing the production together with irrigation, biological and chemical inputs of
high yielding seed varieties, fertilizers, pesticides and mechanical energy. Indian
Green Revolution is regarded as one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. It has been adopted in India on a large scale benefiting small, medium and
large size farms. Some of its aspects such as its impact on human labour employment in a labour abundant economy have always evoked sharp responses from the
policy makers. Several studies have been conducted on the impact of agricultural
mechanization on production, productivity, cropping intensity, human labour employment as well as income generation.
The country has attained self sufficiency in food grain production and also has sufficient buffer stock. Among others, the agricultural engineering inputs have played
appreciable role in increasing production and productivity through appropriate
mechanization inputs for production and post production agriculture enabling
timely field operations, conservation and judicious application of water, appropriate post harvest operations to reduce losses, value addition to the produce and byproducts for enhanced economic returns and employment generation.
Therefore, in the coming years, agricultural engineering has to play a major role
in increasing the production and productivity, minimizing losses at production and
post-production levels, creating avenues for value-adding to the agricultural produce at catchment level thereby increasing income, employment and providing
high level nutrition to underprivileged masses. So far, variety of technologies suitable for varied agro-climatic conditions and land holding have been developed and
found wide acceptance. Though, India has abundant labour force in agriculture,
non-availability of manpower during peak crop season is a growing problem. The
infrastructure needed for agricultural diversification like rural roads, drying yards,
storage structures, transportation facilities, packaging and branding system needs
further strengthening. Since the cultivated area cannot be increased, the increased
production will be possible only by increased productivity and increased intensity of cropping. This will call for precision farming and
timely farm operations which will require high capacity
and precision equipment for which farm power availability will have to be increased substantially.
Dr. MJ Khan
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
Contents
August 2011
18
Cover Story
, No. 8
Volume - XIV
Editorial
Editorial Comments
News Corner
01
04
06
Cover Feature
Farm Mechanization : Indespensable Need
of the Hour
18
In Conversation
Mr Jerome Bonnafont, French Ambassador
36
Interview
Sheela Thomas, Chairperson, Rubber Board
40
Thought
Are we moving towards self sufficiency in
pulses?
42
36
Perspective
Exploring Horticulture
44
In Conversation

Research
Livelihood and nutritional improvement of tribal
dominated areas of South Rajasthan through
vegetable cultivation
46
Farm Mechanization
Indespensable Need of the Hour
Mr Jerome Bonnafont, French

Ambassador
50
Notion
The policies are failed to solve the problems of
farmers
49
Face to Face
Face to Face
Dr. Vincent Darlong, Country Programme Officer,
India of IFAD
50
Dr. Vincent Darlong, Country

Programme Officer, India of IFAD
Situation
Present scenario and future need of edible
oil in India
57
Know Your Minister

Jayanthi Natarajan
59
Different Strokes
60
AGRICULTURE TODAY August 2011
59
Know Your Minister

Jayanthi Natarajan
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
Editorial Comments
The politics of foodgrain management
he empowered group of ministers (eGoM) recently decided on two important steps seen
crucial for management of foodgrains. The first was the finalization of the National Food
Security Act (NFSA) and, secondly, extending the term of the Nandan Nilekani committee to explore the possibility of introducing cash transfers for delivering food subsidy directly to the poor.
Another linked decision was to allow exports of wheat and rice to international markets. The
decision making has been disappointing. The eGoM watered down the proposal of the National
Advisory Council on the NFSA. The ministers proposed a food law that would cover only 68%
of the population, close to 80 million fewer than what the NAC wanted. The excuse? Limited
availability of foodgrains. Interestingly, the group agreed to allow exports of foodgrains as the
country has a surplus with little storage space. With a record output of 241 million tonnes (mt)
this year, we have enough foodgrains not only to feed the domestic population, but also subsidize international consumers through exports. Of course, only one of these can be true. Either we
have shortage of foodgrains that justifies pruning down the NAC proposal or we have so much
surplus that export is the only way out. The reality is somewhere between those extremes and
unfortunately, as in many other areas of governance, the problem of surplus has been created
due to a policy paralysis. This chaos in food management has happened in the last three years
despite prudent advice from the governments advisers. Today, there are 65 mt of foodgrains in
government stocks against the buffer and strategic reserve requirement of 32 mt.
How did the stocks build up to this extent and why is the country not able to reduce their
level? In the last three years the governments procurement effort led to an accumulation of 60
mt of grains, close to what the expanded NFSA desires. At the same time, the government was
unable to offload stocks. The average off-take was less than 50 mt every year, leading to an
addition of almost 10-15 mt every year. Clearly, the problem is neither production nor procurement, but one of management. Essentially the issue is that of distribution. The problem is not
new and this has been the situation for almost three years now. But do we know how to get rid
of the stocks.
Last year, the chief economic adviser (CEA) of the Union finance ministry, Kaushik Basu ,
wrote a working paper (later published in Economic and Political Weekly) on how to manage
foodgrains. The paper made several important statements based on sound economic reasoning
backed by analytical models. First, it argued that the problem was not of storage. Secondly, it
argued that the price at which foodgrains are distributed should be lower than the price at which
it is procured, the Minimum Support Price. And third, but vitally, the produce should be sold to
large number of small traders/consumers in small batches. The last point implies that the best
way to achieve the objective of sound management is to enlarge the number of buyers with
frequent delivery/sale of foodgrains. It is not surprising that the only way to enlarge the number
of buyers is universalization as that is the way to maximize the possible number of buyers in the
economy. Any attempt to reduce the number of buyers will not help in resolving the problem.
It also implies that the best way to achieve the stated objectives of foodgrain management is
frequent distribution. Nothing could be better than selling it monthly or weekly. In other words,
a universal and expanded NFSA makes for not only good politics, but good economics as well.
Unfortunately, Basu seemed less than convinced of his own results and the latter half of the paper argued for a system of cash transfer. It is a different matter that the issue of cash transfers
was neither a result that was derived from the analytical exercise outlined in the paper nor is it
in any way helpful in ensuring proper foodgrain management. Incidentally, it is also not helpful
in ensuring food security for the poor.
But why was the advice of sound economic reasoning crucified at the altar of wrong politics? While there are no plausible explanations, the problem has worsened in the last one year.
So much so that today we are in a situation that is reminiscent of the summer of 2001. That
was the time when foodgrain stocks were at near sky-high levels. The irony is that the solutions
are similar to what was advocated then, with India exporting around 15 mt of foodgrains in the
international market after 2001 to get rid of the excess stocks at a time of severe agrarian crisis.
Unfortunately, after a decade of activism and monitoring by the Supreme Court, we will be again
exporting foodgrains at a price cheaper than domestic prices, effectively subsidizing international
consumers. But we refuse to universalize the NFSA, despite strong economic and political arguments for it and foodgrain production increasing by 30-40 mt. Needless to say, history repeats
itself, the first time as a tragedy and next time as a farce.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
Corporate
Corner
Indian Potash to invest Rs 1,500 cr for setting up port
Fertiliser major Indian Potash Ltd (IPL) has decided to foray into the infrastructure sector
with plans to invest upto Rs 1,500 crore for setting up a greenfield port in Gujarat, a top
company official has said. IPL, which is a leading importer of di-ammonium phosphate
(DAP) and muriate of potash (MOP), will soon apply for the governments approval for
the port project. We are planning to establish a greenfield port in Kuda, near Bhavanagar
district in Gujarat, with an investment of Rs 1,200-1,500 crore, IPL managing director Mr
PS Gahlaut said. The company will soon be applying for various port clearances with the
government of India and Gujarat, Mr Gahlaut added. An important aspect of IPLs operations is its port operations. By virtue of being in the trade for a long period and handling
huge quantities, the company has established an efficient port handling operation, Mr
Gahlaut noted. Setting up a port was a logical step for us as we already have a long experience in port handling
operations.IPL is engaged in import and trading of fertilisers like MOP, DAP and urea. It had imported around
9.4 million tons of fertilisers in 2010-11 fiscal.
Joint venture
Godrej Agrovet is looking to enter this segment through a JV with an Israeli

micro-irrigation firm. The Israeli firm is expected to contribute technology,
while Godrej Agrovet would market and distribute the MIS products. While so
far there has been sporadic news flow of large players looking to enter the micro-irrigation market, we believe
that Godrejs plans would mark entry of a player with a strong balance sheet and wide distribution reach .Mahindra & Mahindra announced its entry in micro irrigation systems through acquisition of stake in EPC an MIS
company with operations primarily in Gujarat and Maharashtra. M&M management has also indicated that they
are looking for few more acquisitions to build up a formidable presence in this space.While we do not expect
Godrej to scale up and build a distribution network to match Jain Irrigation in the near term, we believe that
market share pressures could emerge over the next two to three years as new entrants scale up.
Posco in south
There is money on offer, but the farmers of Halligudi, a hamlet of 5,500

people in Karnatakas Gadag district, are hardly happy at the prospect
of 3,382 acres (one acre is 0.4 hectare) of farmland being acquired for
a Rs.32,336-crore steel plant south of National Highway 63, which runs
between Karwar and Bellary. The plant is to be set up by the Indian
subsidiary of the South Korean steel major Posco (Pohang Iron and Steel
Company), which is Asias most profitable and the worlds third largest
steel-maker going by market value. The mood among the farmers is one
of unease, posturing and defiance, while the Karnataka government appears extra keen to help Posco set up the plant. Posco India Private Ltd.
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government to
set up a finex steel plant with a capacity of six million tonnes per annum (6 mtpa) and a 400 megawatt (MW)
captive power unit at the June 2010 Global Investors Meet (GIM). Murugesh N. Nirani, Karnatakas Minister for
Large and Medium Industries, who is spearheading the push for the project, told that he could not divulge its
contents since it was a confidential document. The project is expected to create around 2,000 jobs.
Tata Coffee expects normal output this year
With good bush conditions and favourable showers in majority of the estates, Tata Coffee expects normal output this crop year. Tata Coffee Chairman, Mr R.K. Krishna Kumar, said This
coffee crop year (2011-12) will be on year with anticipated increase in the crop. With the
good winter showers during October and November 2010, the bushes are looking healthy and
the prospects for the coming year appear to be good and the crop estimates indicate a good
crop in both the growing areas of Kodagu and Hassan, he added. The companys arabica
output is projected to increase substantially in the short-term with large replanting/consolidation programme undertaken at estate level.In 2010-11, Tata Coffee harvested 1,670 tonnes of arabica against
2,171 tonnes in the previous year. Arabica production was poor across all the three planting districts of Karnataka (Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur). The decline is mainly attributed to failure of rainfall during the crucial
months and also unusual and continuous rains during October and November.
Corporate
Corner
Coromandel International in pact with Qatar Fertiliser
Fertiliser maker Coromandel International, part of the Rs 17,000-crore Murugappa Group, has signed an agreement with Qatar Fertiliser Company
for supply of urea. Qatar Fertiliser at present produces over three million
tones of urea, with the company aiming at increasing its capacity to 5.6
million tonnes. Coromandel is the first company in India to have been
granted direct import permission of urea for captive consumption. We are very excited with this agreement as
it paves the way for a long term association with a reputed global urea manufacturer. This will be particularly
important when urea fertiliser is de-canlised, Mr A. Vellayan, Chairman of Coromandel, said. The company
clocked a turnover of Rs 7,527 crore in 2010-11.
Fertilizer dept alerts MEA on potash cartel
The Department of Fertilizers (DoF) has raised concerns before the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) over the
inability of Indian companies to import potash due to an increase in the prices of the commodity by an international cartel, even as the industry is expected to reach a consensus by the end of this week. India had been a
net importer of potash for several years now and has been buying it at a price on par with China on the basis of
landed cost. While China had been able to source it at $400 a tonnes this financial year, the international potash
cartel led by Canada-based Canpotex has urged India to buy it at $500 a tonnes. The department has drawn
MEAs attention to the issue that since India is now a larger market than China, hence, it should not pay a price
higher than what was offered to China. For the government, a higher price would translate into higher subsidy
as India is the largest importer of potash at five million tonnes. US Awasthi, managing director, Indian Farmers
Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd, had said it was a question of national pride. We import over six mt of muriate of
potash annually, which is more than the 3.5 mt by China. So, why should we have to pay more?
NSL Sugars buys Jay Maheshs Maharashtra plant
NSL Sugars, an arm of NSL Group, has acquired the integrated sugar plant of Jay Mahesh Sugar Industries
in Beed district of Maharashtra with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes of cane crushing per day or TCD, taking the
companys total capacity to 25,000 tcd. Though the company has not indicated the value of the deal, it put
the total value of Jay Mahesh assets at Rs 300 crore. NSL has bought the entire stake owned by the Chandigarh-based Spray Engineering Devices Limited
(SEDL). The Beed plant also housed a 100 kilolitres per day (KLPD) distillation
facility and 30 MW cogeneration plant. The acquisition marks our entry into
Maharashtra, Mr M. Prabhakar Rao, Chairman of NSL Group, said . NSL Sugars runs four plants operating in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The new plant
we acquired has superior technology. It will allow us better recovery of sugar at 11.50 per cent as against the
average of 10 per cent in other sugar mills. We are hoping that the addition of cogeneration and distillation
capacities will be executed by next two sugar crushing seasons, Mr Hari Vallurupalli, Joint Managing Director
of NSL Sugars Limited, said.
Use of pesticide in India on rise
Despite a decline of 7 per cent in pesticide consumption globally, in India, there is a 6-7 per cent increase
in pesticide consumption, which can be attributed to Indian farmers lack of knowledge on safer agricultural practices, said Dhirendra Kumar, managing director, Camson Biotechnologies. Foreign countries
are aware of the dangerous risks posed by pesticides and its impact on the environment, particularly in
water contamination, he said. Presently, the global market for agro-chemicals is valued at $50 billion, of
which herbicides account for 50 per cent, while the balance is shared between insecticides, fungicides
and acracides. In India, some farmers are embracing highly tolerant and super-strong seeds that will help
withstand attacks from pests and other environmental factors. As years progress, we will see more farmers acknowledging the harmful effects brought about through the usage of chemical pesticides. Globally,
there is a higher use of genetically modified seeds that require less pesticides, Kumar said. He further
said that there are wild allegations floating around GM crops.The US has been using GM food for more
than a decade now with no trace of consumer dissatisfaction. About 75 per cent of all processed foods
in the US contain a GM ingredient, with soybeans and corn being the most popular GM food available in
that country. This is the proof that GM crops are harmless and fit for human consumption.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
Policy
NOTES
National food security commission in works
The final draft of the proposed food security Bill approved by the finance
and food ministries has a provision for creation of a national food security commission for implementation of the mega scheme that aims at
providing subsidized grains to close to two-third of the countrys population. The commission, to be headed by a chairperson, member secretary
and five other members including civil servants and food experts, will be
located in New Delhi. Similar bodies will be set up at the state level also.
The Bill has a provision for food security allowance (cash payment) in
case of the failure to provide beneficiaries with subsidized grains due to
poor monsoon. It also envisages creation and maintenance of scientific and storage facilities at the state, district
and block levels for ensuring steady flow of grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System.
FARM IP, ENTER WIPO
The World Intellectual Property Organization has announced clearly that it intends to
play a roleand considering the clout WIPO enjoys it implies a significant partin promoting intellectual property (IP) in agriculture to enhance productivity. The UN body
stepped into this touchy arena with a seminar at its Geneva headquarters that has gone
almost unnoticed. The seminar had just a handful of participantsIndia was one of
themfor the day-long deliberations on How the Private and the Public Sectors Use
IP to Enhance Agricultural Productivity but its rationale for pushing IP is fraught with problems. It believes that
one of the reasons for hunger and malnutrition in many developing countries is insufficient agricultural productivity which does not keep pace with increasing demand for food due, essentially, to population growth.
This in itself is bound to deepen the deep divisions in the food security debate. Malnutrition is persistent with
the country accounting for 42 per cent of the worlds underweight children. WIPO, however, has taken the
position that the issue is primarily lack of incentives to develop or to introduce appropriate agricultural technology, including better adapted varieties of plants. Its note on the productivity-IP link states that there is ample
evidence that a suitable legal and administrative framework of IP protection may provide a key incentive for
creativity, investment and knowledge transfer in many different circumstances and in agriculture in particular,
for both the public and the private sectors.
Govt Notifies Freeing of MRP of P&K Fertilisers
The government notified the Cabinet decision to allow fertiliser firms to fix
the retail price of phosphatic (P) and potassic (K) nutrients, such as DAP, but
asked them to keep the rates at reasonable level. The Cabinet had allowed
firms to increase DAP price by up to Rs 600 per tonnes over and above the
maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs10,750 a tonnes prevailing then. The market price of subsidised P and K fertilizers, including DAP, will be open and will
be fixed by the fertiliser companies at reasonable level, Fertiliser Ministry said
in a notification issued . Under the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) regime introduced from April 1, 2010, the retail price of 22 varieties of P & K fertilisers
has been freed. For the 2011-12 fiscal, government raised NBS of P&K fertiliser to insulate companies from high global prices, but restricted them from hiking the MRP beyond Rs 600/t.
PDS commodities seized from godown
In a joint operation by the district and police administration in active association

with several students unions like the Brihotor Akhomiya Juba Mancha, Tai Ahom
Students Union, Bhojpuri Students Union and the Hindu Juba Chattra Parishad,
several bags of rice and sugar were seized last evening from the godown of Gopiram Choitram, a Tinsukia-based commercial establishment owned by Sabarmal
Agarwalla. The commodities which were seized belonged to the Public Distribution System (PDS) meant for the consumption of the general public. As many as
986 bags of rice each of 50 kg weight and 330 bags of sugar each of 50 kg were
seized by the district administration during the raid. The godown was also sealed in the presence of the District
Magistrate. According to sources, the owner of the godown was absconding till the filing of this report.
Policy
NOTES
Monetary policy adjustment can not curb rise in food prices
Atul Joshi Fitch Ratings India Managing Director and CEO Atul Joshi says
fiscal deficit will grow to 5.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) this financial year if disinvestment proceeds are not included and
if they are, it would grow to 5.1 per cent from 4.7 per cent during 201011. He, however, expects the economy to grow at 7.7 per cent against
8.5 per cent last year. The Reserve Bank of Indias monetary tools cannot
rein in food inflation, and now manufactured products inflation has to be
controlled. Fitchs affirmation of Indias rating is based on prevailing and
likely macro-economic and financial situations. Rating movement would
depend on factors ranging from benefits of structural financial reforms resulting in a strong improvement in the
fiscal deficit and general government debt ratios to improving investment climate supporting greater infrastructure investments and sustained decline in inflation rate.
Farm loan waiver not a long-term solution
Recently the Government launched one of its revamped and ambitious anti-poverty programs under the new
name of National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). The move is said to be keeping in view the not-too-distant
elections and the vast vote bank in rural India. The program, being hyped up as the next big thing after Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), is said to take care of 70 million people below poverty line in 600,000 villages spread across 600 districts. If we take a closer look at the SHGs, then we
see that these groups under NRLM would at the most produce local and traditional handicrafts, which do not
have the kind of market that is needed to sustain such a programme. So, what would follow is not something
that is going to be employment generation as such, rather it would be mere thrusting of money under the poors
nose. Therefore, for the program to be successful, skill-development is the top requirement.
Subsidy Likely for Mechanised Cane Harvesters as Labour Costs Surge
Both the Union and Maharashtra governments are planning to provide a subsidy to farmers for the purchase of sugar cane harvesters because getting farmhands is becoming difficult amid a likely
increase in cane acreage. The agricultural ministry is working out
a new scheme for agricultural implements, particularly for sugar
cane harvesters, said Union agricultural minister Sharad Pawar .
At the Union government, the agricultural ministry and the sugar
development fund are planning to share the subsidy burden. At the
state level, the state government and individual mills are expected
to bear the rest of the cost. The harvesters cost from Rs 80 lakh/
unit to Rs 1.25 crore/unit.We are planning to make a provision
of Rs 100 crore from the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to fund
200 harvesting machines on a pilot basis, said state cooperation
minister Harshvardhan Patil. The Gujarat government has started giving incentives to mechanical harvesters
from last year. The Union agricultural ministry expects that ultimately about 50% of cane could be harvested by
machines. However,there are some technical limitations on the large-scale use of harvesters because imported
machines, designed for big farms, are not suitable to Indian conditions. The use of machines requires the adoption of specific sowing techniques as against the traditional sowing methods. Mills have not met with much success in convincing cane growers to adopt to the new sowing techniques suitable for mechanical harvesting.
Uniform policy needed for farmers
Throwing a gauntlet at the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) said that if the ruling party at the
Centre was really concerned about farmers problems, it should bring a uniform national policy on land acquisition at the earliest. The Congress `drama will neither solve farmers problems, nor will it help them
win votes. Instead, the Yuvraj and his company should mount pressure on the Union Government to bring
a legislation on land acquisition, BSP spokesman said in a state ment issued .If the Congress is facing
problems in formulating a policy, it can copy UPs land acquisition policy which is the best in India so far,
the spokesman said.The reaction of the party came in the wake of Congress national general secretary Rahul Gandhis three-day padyatra which took off in three districts of western Uttar Pradesh, including twin
villages of BhattaParsaul.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
State
ROUNDUP
Ten states awarded for food grains output
Ten states have been selected for the newly instituted first Krishi
Karman awards for best performance in raising production of food
grains. Three awards are being given for total food grain production and four awards for production of rice, wheat, coarse cereals
and pulses ~ the crops that constitute the food grain basket.The
NDA constituent Akali-led governed Punjab and Ms Mayawati-led
BSP governed Uttar Pradesh are the joint winners of the Krishi
Karman award in the category of states with overall food grain
production of more than 10 million tons recorded in the last five
years. Assam and Orissa get the award in the category of states
with overall food grain production of between one and 10 million
tons. Tripura is the sole winner in the category of states with
overall food grain production of less than one million tons. In the second set of four awards, being given for
individual crops and crop groups, the award for rice goes to Chhattisgarh, wheat to Haryana, pulses to Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and coarse cereals to Karnataka.Each award winning state gets a trophy, a citation and
cash award. The cash award (for each State) is Rs. 2 crore for total food grain production and Rs. 1 crore for
each of the four crops included in food grains
AP set to save with Aadhaar
If at all the state leads in anything, it is in the enrolment of

citizens for Aadhaar, the brand name of the unique identification number that all citizens of the country are supposed to get.
Some 1.6 crore Aadhaar enrolments have been completed and
about 32 lakh Aadhaar/UID (unique identification) numbers generated so far in Andhra Pradesh, which is about one-third of the
95.21 lakh Aadhaar numbers generated in the country. One of
the purposes behind the Aadhaar scheme is to ensure that government welfare schemes reach the eligible. The state government launched the Aadhaar/UID project in seven districts, in the
first phase Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Chittoor, Anantapur,
East Godavari, Adilabad and Srikakulam. It began in late August
2010 with the civil supplies department as the registrar and the aim of enrolling 3.1 crore people.Banks and
other organisations, including the India Post, will begin Aadhaar enrolments shortly. The State Bank of India has
already begun enrolments in districts other than those covered in the first phase and the Central Bank of India
is preparing to do the same. In Maheswaram mandal of Ranga Reddy district, the government has distributed
Aadhaar-based smart cards and used these for the purpose of dispensing rations. Officials say the smart card
has saved the mandal about 15 per cent in wasted rations as the cards can weed out bogus beneficiaries and
also detect the diversion of subsidised stocks to the black market. These two crimes have considerably reduced
the efficiency of the public distribution system over the years, and if the state government can manage to enrol
all its residents by March 31 next year, the date fixed by the Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, to complete Aadhaar enrolments, the state stands to benefit a great deal. Unlike Aadhaar, the 12-digit unique number
which is issued to individuals, the Smart Card is a family card on which the biometrics of all the family members
is recorded. Any member of a family below the poverty line can thus go to a fair price shop and draw rations
by swiping the card in the Point of Sale (PoS) terminal kept in every fair price shop.
Haryana gets award for wheat
Haryana has been selected for the Best Performing State Award for wheat for 2010-11.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said. The award would be presented by Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh on ICAR Foundation Day in New Delhi. He disclosed that the
award money, Rs.1 crore in cash, would be used for strengthening the infrastructure in
the State. This is the first time Haryana has bagged such an award, he added. Mr. Hooda
said the State was making dedicated efforts to extend technological inputs and services
to farmers which resulted in achieving highest-ever productivity and production of wheat
during 2010-11. Food security in India is synonymous with wheat production. Hence
consistent efforts are being made to increase wheat production to meet our ever-increasing demand despite numerous challenges.
10
State
ROUNDUP
Himachal apples hit markets
Famous for its apples, Himachal Pradesh has started

getting the crops early varieties. Traders from across
the country have been camping in the states wholesale markets to procure the fruit, trade representatives
said. The harvesting of apples has begun in some
pockets of Shimla, Kullu and Mandi districts. The demand is of course high as the new crop attracts good
buyers, Horticulture Director Gurdev Singh. Early varieties like Red Gold, Red June and Tydemans Early
Worcester have reached the markets. Singh said the
apples have reached Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana,
Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra markets. Said Gian
Singh Chandel, chairman of the Dhalli apple market
committee.In the past few days, the arrival of apples
has picked up. On an average, 2,000 to 2,500 boxes (of 20 kg each) are reaching here daily. Most of the crop
is coming from upper Shimla areas. Horticulture experts said the shelf life of early varieties of apple is less as
compared to the superior ones. The early varieties require 95 to 120 days to mature after full bloom of the crop,
whereas normal ones take 135 to 180 days to mature. An apple farmer from upper Shimla: The harvesting
of some early varieties has started. But the normal crop still requires more than a month to harvest. The prices
that had gone up to Rs 1,000 a box initially have crashed. Now a box is getting around Rs 600. According to
official estimates, this years apple production would be around 22.5 million boxes - about 50 per cent less than
last years bumper production of 44.5 million boxes. But experts believe this years fruit would be more crisp,
crunchy and juicy as there is sufficient moisture in the soil that would help the plant get sufficient nutrients.
Arunachal rice quota may be hiked
Rice quota under APL category would be enhanced for Arunachal Pradesh at the earliest,
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution K V Thomas has said.
The Consultative Committee for FCI for Arunachal Pradesh called on the Union Minister
and pleaded for enhancement of APL Rice quota from 44,750 quintals to 90,000 quintals
per month. The minister also assured the committee to release the fund for construction of
proposed 12 FCI godowns in Arunachal Pradesh.
Gujarat, Maharashtra record highest growth in farm sector
Maharashthra has closely followed Gujarat with 10.5 per cent of agricultural growth during the last decade,
leaving behind many front-running agricultural States. Steps like investment in agricultural infrastructure to
improve irrigation system, employment of latest technologies and establishment of a dedicated power grid to
ensure regular power supply for agricultural sector are significant reasons behind high agricultural growth rate
that Gujarat has achieved, said Mr D.S. Rawat, Secretary-General, Assocham. Chhattisgarh has ranked third
with 6 per cent of agricultural growth, followed by Orissa (5.28 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (5.2 per cent),
said the Assocham analysis. Innovative and efficient management of the States groundwater resources is a
major turning point in Gujarats agricultural miracle which has converted barren lands into fertile farms thereby
raising yields and resulting in fall of cultivation costs. A revolution in agriculture has converted around 15 lakh
hectare of additional lands in largely semi-arid Gujarat fit for farming, thereby establishing the State on the
top in systematic and scientific development of the farm sector.
Improved diffusion of technology and better utilisation of water
through various unconventional initiatives have helped expand
area under cultivation and enhanced the crop productivity. Reasonable monsoon season throughout the decade along with rising minimum support prices from the Centre and extension of
profitable cash crop BT cotton are the factors that led to superlative performance by Gujarat.Farmers in the State have adopted
more technology and value addition of agricultural produce to
supplement their income. Increased agricultural production has
not only increased the State farmers income but also discouraged them from migrating to urban areas for jobs.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
11
Bank & Micro-finance
Corner
NABARD sanctions Rs. 765 cr. aid to State
NABARD has sanctioned a Rural Infrastructure Development Fund assistance amounting to Rs.
765 crore to Tamil Nadu during 2011-2011 for executing infrastructure projects in sectors such
as drinking water, irrigation, and rural connectivity. The assistance also includes an amount of
Rs. 226 crore, issued for creating warehousing infrastructure creating 1,281 godowns with
a total storage capacity of 4.34 lakh metric tonnes. Also, an amount of Rs. 157 crore has been
sanctioned for a project to provide drinking water supply to four unions in Madurai district. A
sum of Rs. 64 crore has been sanctioned for improving nine old anicuts at the Amaravathy river
in Karur district, rehabilitating the Virudhachalam anicut across Manimuktha river in Cuddalore,
a check dam across the river Cauvery in Tiruchi district, and modernising Melmangalam supply channel in Theni
district. An amount of Rs. 318 crore has been sanctioned for reconstruction of 68 distressed rural bridges in 18
districts, widening and strengthening of 442 rural roads in town panchayats, and 330 village roads.
Yes Bank stress on rural loans
Private sector lender Yes Bank plans to consolidate its operations and is targeting a
nearly 56 per cent jump in priority sector loans this fiscal. The bank is looking to disburse around Rs 14,000 crore to the priority sector in 2011-12. Of this, agriculture is
projected to contribute around Rs 6,200 crore. Last year, the lender disbursed close
to Rs 9,000 crore in priority sector loans of which farm lending contributed Rs 5,500
crore. As part of its consolidation move, Yes Bank is looking to roll out low-cost branches in rural areas and
focus on its commodity finance business, which was kicked off early this year. The bank has ventured into funding the developers of affordable housing projects and micro-housing-finance companies, a move that will boost
its overall priority sector lending targets. Saurabh Bhat, president and managing director, corporate finance and
development banking, of Yes Bank, said the agriculture lending business, which had seen zero NPAs, had been
profitable so far. However, it is raising the strength of its crack team in the agri-business to 50 from 34 over
the next six months. Yes Bank has consistently achieved more than the priority sector targets not only on a
overall basis, but also in sub-segments such as agriculture despite having limited number of branches in semiurban and rural India.
Extend crop loans: Reddy tells banks
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy asked banks to extend crop loans in the
current Kharif season to 57.5 million licensed cultivators (tenant farmers) who were distributed loan eligibility cards by the state government. At a high-level meeting, the chief minister
reviewed the implementation of the Licensed Cultivators Ordinance and said banks should
extend loans up to `50,000 to each licensed cultivator, who could otherwise not avail of the
loan facility under the three per cent interest scheme. Form joint liability groups and extend
loans to such farmers by imposing a condition on prompt repayment, the chief minister told
bankers. The agriculture department and the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty would co-ordinate with
banks and facilitate the disbursal of loans to licensed cultivators.
Agri loan rate cap to stay
Interest rate ceiling on agriculture loan will continue to encourage cheap credit to farmers, according to
finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. In a meeting with chiefs of public sector banks (PSBs), Mukherjee
expressed concern over rising non-performing assets (NPAs), which are highest in the farm sector. PSBs
told to devise suitable strategies to reduce NPAs. A paper circulated in the meeting revealed that bad
debt in housing loan was rising. Loans of up to Rs 2 lakh have highest NPAs. Nationalised banks have
reported an outstanding of about Rs 8,900 crore in housing segment. The total outstanding in housing
loan was Rs 2.29 lakh crore as of March 2011. Mukherjee, however, expressed concern over the performance of interest subvention scheme for housing loan and interest subsidy for housing urban poor.
He said it was not up to the desired level and banks needed to give greater thrust to the housing sector and increase credit disbursement. FM said the government was confident of achieving the revenue
target as the tax collections have been encouraging till June. On borrowings from the market, he said it
would be done in a manner to ensure private borrowers wont be discouraged. The government is likely
to borrow Rs 4.17 lakh crore in the current financial year.
12
Bank & Micro-finance
Corner
LIC to handle R&R payments to UP farmer
The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to make Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) an official partner in disbursing Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) annuity package to landowners and farmers who have handed
over their land to the state for development projects. The government will
sign an MoU with LIC to disburse the package for 33 years. This is the first
time in the country that annuity disbursement has been outsourced to a financial institution in the country. LIC has been selected as the disburser of the
scheme through a competitive bidding process that took six months after the
land acquisition and R&R policy was announced in September 2010. While
the initial bidding process saw as many as five financial institutions evincing
interest, including Allahabad Bank, LIC, ICICI Prudential Life, Bajaj Allianz and SBI Life Insurance, the final round
saw LIC as the lone bidder. The reason why the other financial institutions backed out in the final stages of the
bidding process was our firm stand on having performance guarantees from all the players. This is what most
of the players had an objection to, while the LIC did not have any problem, said an official. Under the policy,
dispossessed landowners and farmers will be given an annuity of R23,000 per acre per year for 33 years, along
with an additional amount of R800 increased annuity per year.
Bank credit to farm sector disappointing
The West Bengal finance minister, Mr Amit Mitra termed credit linkages to
agriculture and the allied sectors in the state as disappointing. I am a bit disappointed with the role of banks in West Bengal, Mr Mitra said at the opening
of a Yes Bank branch here. He said that the demand for credit in the agriculture and allied sector stood at Rs 28,789 crore at 1999-2000 constant prices.
But out of that, only Rs 11,555 crore was provided by the banks, he said,
adding that only 40 per cent of the credit requirement was met. Referring to
the micro and small enterprises, he said that 48 per cent of credit requirement
of this sector was not met. Mr Mitra said that since this sector served the medium and large industries, enhancement of credit linkage was important. Mr
Mitra also urged banks to extend lending to the health sector in the state.
Jairam seeks interest rate for SHGs to be at par with crop loan
Setting a target to bring about 40 million rural poor under the self-help groups (SHGs) in the next 10 years, Rural
Development Minister Jairam Ramesh proposed to bring the bank interest rates for SHGs at par with crop loans
(at 5 per cent) and establish a bank to refinance credit to SHGs for this purpose. Currently, there are three crore
poor women participating in SHGs. We plan to take this number up to
seven crore in the next 10 years, he announced on Monday during a
function of signing of about Rs 4,600 crore credit agreement with the
World Bank for National Rural Livelihoods Project. The minister underlined the uneven distribution of SHG networks across different states
and the need to popularise bank-linked SHGs in poor states. For this,
Ramesh announced that the ministry was working on a proposal to
set up a dedicated bank for SHGs. I think the interest rates at which
SHGs secure credit from banks should be at par with crop loan, which
is 5 per cent. I would request the Finance Minister to make provision
for this for SHGs under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, he
said. Highlighting the success of SHGs in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala,
he said the government will try to replicate their success stories in
other states. Ramesh singled out Bihar for coming forward to replicate
the Andhra model of women SHGs to counter poverty. A group of
women SHG members from Andhra Pradesh visited Bihar to explain
their success and provide a momentum to the SHG network in Bihar.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
13
Global
UPDATE
Super tomatoes to beat cancer
British researchers claim to have developed new super tomatoes fortified with minerals which can improve your immune system and help prevent cancer.
The new varieties, which have hit shelves across the
UK, have been enriched with selenium, a powerful
anti-oxidant which the researchers believe could not
only boost the immune system but also help prevent
cancer. The mineral, found naturally in foods such
as Brazil nuts, shellfish and liver, is also important
for the thyroid gland, which determines how quickly
the body uses energy and also produces proteins.
Food scientists for Marks & Spencer, the company
which has developed the new variety, turned their
attention to the mineral because it is lacking in UK
diets. Low concentrations in farm soil means little of
the mineral finds its way into home-grown foods. There is evidence that a deficiency may lead to heart disease
and, while it does not tend to directly cause illnesses, it can make the body more likely to catch infections. Dr
Carina Norris said the tomatoes were a great way to get the nutrient into our diets.
Soya oil unfazed by weak foreign market
Soya oil and soyabean prices remained steady even as foreign markets weakened. Soya refined, which opened at Rs. 615 for 10 kg in the morning, declined
in late afternoon as weak global cues depressed Malaysian palm oil futures. By
and large, soya refined saw bulk-trading at Rs. 612-613 for 10 kg. While resellers here sold soya refined at Rs. 612 for 10 kg, they sold it at Rs. 610-611 for
10 kg in Neemuch and Mandsaur. Declining foreign markets also pulled down
soya solvent, as it fetched Rs. 582 for 10 kg in the spot market and Rs. 585
for 10 kg in the delivery market. Unlike spot soya oil prices, soya refined futures
traded higher on improved buying. July contract for soya refined on the National
Board of Trade, closed Rs. 2.70 higher at Rs. 643.70. Similarly, soya oil futures
closed marginally higher on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange,
with its July and August contracts opening at Rs. 642.60 and Rs. 641.90.
US Corn Supply Estimate may Fall: Morgan Stanley
US corn supplies may be smaller than expected this year, according to analysts including Morgan Stanleys Hussein Allidina who were surprised by a government forecast for the secondhighest planted acreage since 1944.
The US Department of Agriculture raised its estimate on June 30 to 92.282 million acres, after all 31 analysts
in a Bloomberg survey anticipated a decline because of flooding and unusually wet weather in the Midwest. The
USDA report sent corn futures in Chicago to the lowest level this year and prompted Goldman Sachs Group to
cut its price forecast.The USDA underestimated planting delays and the risk of yield loss before the harvest, Allidina said. The government plans to resurvey farmers
in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana, where some areas got triple the normal rainfall in
May and June. Also, there are no signs that demand
is slowing for corn from the US, the worlds largest
grower and exporter, he said.
The acreage number, there is little doubt in my opinion,
will be revised lower, Allidina, Morgan Stanleys head
of commodity research in New York, said. Inventories
are tight. The likelihood that last weeks numbers are
correct and the likelihood that we have good weather
are very low. You still want to be long December 2011
corn. Corn futures for December delivery may rally to
$7.50 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade close at
$6.155, according to Allidina.
14
Global
UPDATE
Crude oil drops on weak Chinese factory data
Corn tumbled for a second day on forecasts for increased supplies,

while crude oil fell on weak Chinese factory output, prompting the
benchmark commodities index to start the third quarter with a decline. Copper prices fell in London but rebounded in later New York
trading after an industry report showed an unexpected surge in US
manufacturing activity .The 19 commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index closed down nearly half a per cent for the day, after falling 3
per cent last month. The CRB dropped 6 per cent in the previous
quarter its biggest quarterly decline in 2-1/2 years. Investors grew
more wary of corn after investment bank Goldman Sachs lowered its
three-, six- and 12-month price forecasts for the grain as well wheat
and soyabeans. Goldman cited this weeks US Department of Agriculture report showing improved US crop and supply prospects. Corn futures for December fell as much 6 per
cent in Chicago trading, hitting the lowest level in 3-1/2 months, before paring losses. The contract finished
about 4 per cent lower at $5.76 a bushel. Analysts were not too optimistic about the outlook for copper over
the next three months, as the industrial metal enters a seasonally quiet period for demand while globale conomic
growth remains erratic. July and August are the weakest months for base metals, said Mr Nick Moore, global
head of commodity strategy at RBS Global Banking and Markets.
Australian wheat exports rise 10%
Wheat exports from Australia, the fourth-largest shipper,

climbed 9.5 per cent as demand from China surged after dry
weather threatened crops in some areas, according to a government agency. Shipments totalled 1.85 million tonnes, compared with 1.69 million tonnes a month earlier, the Australian
Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences said . China purchased 1,18,900 tonnes , compared with
11,600 tonnes.
World Food Prices Climb on Sugar, Dairy Costs
PARIS World food prices rose as the cost of sugar, meat and dairy increased,
adding to inflationary pressure that has prompted central banks across the world
to raise interest rates. An index of 55 food commodities rose to 233.8 points
from 231.4 points in , the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation
said in a report. The gauge climbed to an all-time high of 237.7 in February.
Food will remain costly in the next few years and price swings will be around
for a long time, Jose Graziano da Silva, the FAOs director-general elect
Speculation of Chinese Slump Pulls Down Oil
London Oil declined in New York on speculation that a slump in Chinese imports and rising unemployment in
the US may indicate fuel demand will falter in the worlds biggest crude-consuming nations. Futures slipped
as much as 2% after government reports in China showed net oil imports shrank 10% in June to the lowest
in eight months, while inflation surged to a three-year high. Labor Department report showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to the highest this year. Rising risk aversion after disappointing US jobs data
the Chinese data and elevated prices which need to correct are pushing prices lower, said Carsten Fritsch, a
Frankfurt-based analyst at Commerz bank. Crude for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell
as much as $1.88 to $94.32 a barrel, and was at $94.62 at 1:56 pm London time. The price has risen 26%
in the past year. Brent oil for August settlement declined $2.07, or 1.8%, to $116.26 a barrel on the London
based ICE Futures Europe exchange
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
15
Whats
NEW
Icrisat to start biosafety field trials in 3-5 yrs
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat)
expects to launch in three-five years biosafety field trials on genetically engineered crops it is developing to improve their yield and quality. Hyderabadbased Icrisat, which promotes ecological farming in Asia and Africa, is using
genetic engineering technology to improve the resistance of crops to insect
pests and diseases caused by viruses and fungi, to boost their tolerance to
droughts and to enhance their nutritional quality. The organization is working on the improvement of groundnut,
pigeonpea, chickpea, sorghum and millet crops through conventional plant breeding as well. The transgenic varieties of these crops are in different stages of testing in laboratory and greenhouse conditions. The commercial
viability of these crops has been very well established by the large adoption rate (over 95%) of cotton, which
is Indias first biotech crop, said Kiran K. Sharma, principal scientist at Icrisat.
Potato genome now sequenced, analysed
An international consortium has sequenced and analyzed the potato genome.

The consortiums work turned up more than 39,000 genes and is expected to
speed potato research and breeding projects around the globe.
SRI, a boon to state farmers
The System of Rice Intensification or SRI has been a major boon

to farmers as well as consumers. While farmers get good yields,
consumers are able to reap the benefit through stable rice prices in
the market. SRI technology is also environment-friendly as relatively
less water is used for the crop. The state government introduced
SRI about seven years ago. Though the technology is limited to a
small area in a few districts, the benefits have largely been good.
Under the practice, young seedlings of paddy, less than 14 days
old, are transplanted carefully single seedling wise. Organic fertilizers is used and the paddy is transplanted in a square pattern. The
advantages of SRI include improvement in yield and decrease in
environmental pollution through low use of chemical fertilisers and
agrochemicals. According to agricultural department figures, paddy was cultivated under SRI in 91,458 hectares during 2010-11 for the kharif and rabi seasons. Though the departments target was to cultivate paddy
under SRI in 3.71 lakh hectares, it could not succeed due to continuous rains last season. The target couldnt
be met last year due to continuous rains, said Mr S.M. Hasan, special officer and consultant for the National
Food Security Mission in the Agriculture department. It could be practised in tail-end areas like in Prakasam
district and upland areas in Krishna district. The area under SRI cultivation is more in districts where paddy
cultivation is more under wells and tanks.
Farmers discuss land acquisition
Land acquisition by the government, haphazard industrialisation and divisions among the farmers were
discussed at a meeting of farmer leaders in Bharuch . The meeting was aimed at preparing a strategy for
a successful state-wide protest by them against land acquisition in Gujarat and also to chalk out a plan
to unite the members of Gujarat Khedut Samaj on various issues concerning the farmers. A committee
of farmer leaders was formed which will work to unite the different factions of Gujarat Khedut Samaj. A
seven-member action committee has been formed to rejuvenate the farmers body which is inactive after its
division into two groups. We discussed various issues related to the farmers. Land acquisition and the effects of haphazard industrialisation were discussed at the meeting, said Jayesh Patel. The GKS got divided
as one group was against industrialisation and land acquisition by the government. The action committee
will work to formulate an action plan to start a farmers movement. For this, unity among the farmers is a
must, Patel added.
16
Whats
NEW
Best Foods to launch ready-to-eat products
Best Foods has announced its plans to expand its market base and share in the South by launching rice-based
ready-to-eat products and retail outlets soon. Business Director of the company Aayushman Gupta said that the
company was evaluating the market to launch ready-to-eat products with nutritional content as its USP (unique
selling proposition). Based on the trend of increasing demand for one-kg and five-kg packed regular fine rice it
was planning to sell them through retail outlets. The company had only been labelling for major retail chains
so far but with the launch its brand of one-kg and five-kg packs of regular rice (two varieties) and basmati rice
(three varieties) it was planning to increase its market share. However, its focus for Andhra Pradesh would remain on B2B (business to business) orders, supplies to hotels, retail malls and biryani centres for the time being.
Besides, it was engaged in exporting rice to over 50 countries and 75 per cent of its turnover was achieved
from it. Mr. Gupta said rice consumption in the country was 85-90 million tonnes a year with 8-10 per cent of
it being basmati. But, the market for basmati was growing by about 25-30 per cent annually, he said.
Unauthorised Power Load
The voluntary disclosure scheme for unauthorised extension of load launched by the Dakshin Haryana Bijli
Vitran Nigam has evoked an enthusiastic response,
with over 1,000 farmers getting their unauthorised
extension of load regularised .An official spokesman
said the scheme was most popular in the areas of
Hisar and Sirsa operation circles where 388 and 325
farmers took benefit of the scheme respectively.
The number of consumers taking the benefit of the
scheme was 122 in Narnaul, 100 in Faridabad, 56 in
Gurgaon and 33 in Bhiwani operation circle. The VDS
had been launched to give farmers an opportunity to
declare their un-authorised extension of load voluntarily without paying any penalty. The scheme will
be in force up to August 31.He said a simple procedure had been laid down for declaring the load under the
VDS. The farmers might declare the extended load of motors of their tubewell connections by submitting an
Application and Agreement (A&A) form along with advance consumption deposits (VDS). They were not to
submit any terms and conditions forms or affidavits. The consumers were not required to submit any fresh test
reports also. They could submit a self-declaration form. Their load shall be regularised without any penalty. All
SDOs (Operations) have been asked to hold open darbars in villages to ensure easy availability of the scheme
to farmers.
Rasoya Proteins starts crushing oilseeds at Buldhana
BSE-listed Rasoya Proteins, producers of soya-based products and edible oils, has commenced commercial production of 1,000 tonnes a day at the solvent extraction unit at Buldhana in Maharashtra. The
solvent unit was part of the new extraction and refinery unit being set up by the company in Buldhana.
The companys investment in the refinery had received the Mega Project status from the Maharashtra
Government.
The Nagpur-based company intends to utilise the Rs. 146 crore raised recently through issue of Global
Depository Receipts for funding the Buldhana project. It had allotted 10,44,571 GDR to the Bank of New
York, depository to the GDR holders. The GDR allocation was equivalent to 2,08,91,420 equity shares. At
present, the company has a modern crushing factory spread on 70 acres at Wani in Yavatmal, Maharashtra. Last fiscal, Rasoya Proteins had crushed 1.62 lakh tonnes of soyabean and registered a turnover of
Rs. 424 crore against Rs. 370 crore, a rise of 15 per cent. The company expects its turnover to double by
next fiscal with the production at Buldhana achieving its optimal capacity.Sale of surplus power produced
at the 10-MW captive plant also helped the company boost its revenue. It had signed a power purchase
agreement with Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company for sale of 7.5 MW a hour. Rasoya
Proteins has managed to achieve economy of scale in power production by entering into long term supply
contract with coal producers in Wani which is known for its coal reserves.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
17
Cover Feature Farm Mechanization
Farm Mechanization
Indespensable Need of the Hour
The productivity of farms depends greatly on the availability and judicious use
of farm power by the farmers. Agricultural implements and machines enable
the farmers to employ the power judiciously for production purposes. Agricultural machines increase productivity of land and labour by meeting timeliness
of farm operations and increase work out-put per unit time. Besides its paramount contribution to the multiple cropping and diversification of agriculture,
mechanization also enables efficient utilization of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and irrigation water. The production of irrigation pumps and diesel engines
started during 1930s. The manufacture of tractors and power tillers started
in 1960. Since then by the virtue of its inherent edge over the conventional
means of farming, agricultural mechanization has been gaining popularity.
18
sea change has occurred in

Indian agriculture since Independence. Pressure on land
has increased. Progressive mechanization and other developments such
as establishment of agro-industries
and agro-service centers, rural credit facilities, etc. have all contributed
to these changes some aspects of
which are discussed below.
Since independence, Indian agriculture has been transformed from
subsistence agriculture to modern
agriculture. The sources of energy
and power, farming practices and
technologies and crops have under
gone a sea change. This is evident
from the data on
number of mechanical power units used
in Indian agriculture.
Number of tractors,
diesel engines, electric motors, power
tillers and self-propelled
combines
has increased by
manifolds during the
second half of the
twentieth
century.
The progress of agricultural mechanization has been closely
linked with the overall development in production agriculture. Till 1950, very few farmers
possessed prime movers like tractors, engines and motors. Heavy
agricultural tractors and machinery
were imported by government organizations mainly for land reclamation and development of large government farms.The picture changed
quickly during the early sixties with
the introduction of high yielding
varieties of wheat and other crops
which needed irrigation facilities.
The progressive farmers soon realized that the traditional water lifts,
which were driven by draught animals or operated manually, could
not meet the water requirement of
the high yielding varieties of different crops. Lift irrigation was, therefore, quickly mechanized through
the use of electric motor or diesel
engine powered pumps. The rising
production of foodgrains resulting
from the extending area under high
yielding varieties could not be han-
dled within the normal harvesting

and threshing periods. The farmers
in North India suffered heavy losses
as a result of damage to harvested
wheat during the late sixties and
early seventies because the threshing of increased wheat production
could not be completed before the
onset of pre-monsoon rains. Large
scale adoption of threshers oper-
ated by electric motors, engines

and tractors that followed in early
seventies onwards was a result of
the need to complete threshing operation quickly. Then came the extensive use of tractors for primary
tillage and transport and the use of
tractor powered or self-propelled
harvesting equipment.
The productivity of farms depends greatly on the availability and
judicious use of farm power by the
farmers. Agricultural implements
and machines enable the farmers
to employ the power judiciously
for production purposes. Agricultural machines increase productivity of land and labour by meeting
timeliness of farm operations and
increase work out-put per unit time.
Besides its paramount contribution
to the multiple cropping and diversification of agriculture, mechanization also enables efficient utilization
of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers
Company Market
Share in Tractors
Products
Tractor sales
Market Share
as a % of total in Tractors
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Utility vehicle,
25
LCV, Three wheelers, Tractors
44 %
TAFE Ltd
Tractors & farm

machines
80
23 %
International
Tractors ltd
Tractors
100
11 %
Escorts
Tractors
NA
14 %
New Holland
Tractors
100
5%
John Deere
Tractors
100
4%
Others
Tractors & farm

machines
NA
7%
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
19

Mechanical
power is making its
impact in Indian
agriculture with
steady increase in
land and labour
productivity.
and irrigation water.The production of irrigation pumps and diesel

engines started during 1930s. The
manufacture of tractors and power
tillers started in 1960. Since then by
the virtue of its inherent edge over
the conventional means of farming,
agricultural mechanization has been
gaining popularity.
Farm Mechanization provides
the technology to facilitate agricultural growth through efficient
utilization of inputs. Adoption of
mechanization ensures timeliness
of agricultural operations reduces
cost of production as well as reduces drudgery in carrying out various
agricultural operations. Equipment
for various operations like tillage,
sowing, irrigation, plant protection
and threshing etc. are generally being used by farming community. It
is generally believed that the benefits of modern farm technology
have been availed of only by large
farmers. The fact, however, is that
even small farmer utilize selected
farm equipment for efficient farm
operations through custom hiring.
Farm mechanization has been well
received world over as one of the
important elements of modernization of agriculture. In India, though
there has been a considerable progress of mechanization in agriculture,
its spread has been in the most uneven manner.
20
Scope, Progress and Constraints of

Farm Mechanization in India
In the context of increasing
commercialization of agriculture,
mechanization has assumed great
importance. There has been an increase in the use of farm machinery
in Indian Agriculture as it contributed to the increase in output due
to timeliness of operations and increasing precision in input application. Most of the mechanical inputs
have displaced human and bullock
labour. Some states like Punjab,
Haryana excelled in farm mechanization, but have experienced it as
overinvestment. Normally, there are
good chances to reduce the cost of
production if farm operations are
mechanized as it saves labour, both
human and bullock. In the absence
of mechanization, the ever-increasing wage rate of human labour and
cost of upkeep of draught animals
could have increased the cost of
production much higher. .Further,
large scale production means less
per unit cost on the farms. Moreover, it reduces the weather risk
and risk of non-availability of labour
and thus wastage is minimized.
Timely marketing is also made possible by quick mechanical transportation, cleaning and handling.
Further, the area under fodder
and feed for draught animals could

be reduced due to decline in their
use. The land thus released can be
brought under commercial crops.
The use of farm mechanization enlarges the employment opportunities both on farms and in nonfarm
sectors through increase in area
under plough, multiple cropping,
development of agro-industries and
related services. On the other hand,
displacement of human labour does
take place and demand for semiskilled labour in place of unskilled
labour is increased. Also, the drudgery for human labour is reduced and
unhygienic operations such as handling of farm yard manure can be
done with machinery.
CONSTRAINTS IN MECHANIZATION
It is true that farm mechanization has shown good results as of
raising the agricultural production
and improving the standard of living of cultivators within very short
period. But a number of arguments
have been advanced against farm
mechanization such as:
1. Small size and scattered holdings of the farmers stand in
the way of mechanization. As
a result of this, farm machinery
generally remains underutilized.
2. Majority of small cultivators are
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
poor who are not in a position

to purchase the costly machinery like tractors, combine harvesters etc.
The use of tractor operated machinery may render some of the
draft cattle population surplus.
The farm machinery have large
turning radius and thus require
comparatively larger farm for
economical use. Mechanization
may lead to structural change
in agriculture in respect of the
occupational distribution in the
rural economy. No doubt, the
increasing farm mechanization
is going to increase employment in secondary and tertiary
sectors but it does displace labour in farm operations.
Lack of proper knowledge of
farmer to purchase farm machinery, operate and maintain it
properly leads to wrong choice,
makes it uneconomical and
risky too.
There is great shortage of diesel in the country as a whole.
Thus, to use so extensive oil
based farm machinery is not
desirable.
The lack of repair and replacement facilities especially in the
remote rural areas is another
hindrance in efficient small farm
mechanization.
Due to the seasonal nature of
the agriculture, the farm machinery remains idle for much
of the time. Thus, idle machinery means unnecessary high
costs unless proper alternate
use of such machinery in the
off-season is made.
PROGRESS OF FARM MECHANIZATION

The traditional farm tools and
implement mainly relied on use of
animate power. Improved farm
tools, implements and machinery,
which use both animate and mechanical power were devised from
time to time. The average size of
farm holding being small, animate
power is widely used in many parts
of the country. Mechanical power
is making its impact in Indian agriculture with steady increase in land
and labour productivity.
Farm mechanization a better

solution for increasing productivity
Farm mechanization is increasingly gaining

relevance in the country. Agricultural mechanization represents an opportunity as agricultural technologies are gaining importance for
increasing production, productivity and cost
competitiveness. Agriculture machinery has
Mr. Stefano Pampalone, not only greatly improved the productivity
MD New Holland Fiat India of Indias farming sector but also supported
to the countries ongoing urbanization and industrialization process. The
growth of industry in India has a huge appetite for labour which is driving the population of land and into the cities. This loss of labour in the
countryside and an ageing farming population cannot cope with the increased tonnage to be collected. So, mechanization must take over to
carry out these labour intensive operations and produce the food needed.
From states like Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka have already excelled in
farm mechanization and it is increasing gradually to other parts of the
country. Farmers increasingly understand the benefits of mechanization
which also ensures reduction of drudgery associated with various farm
operations. There is no doubt that the farm mechanization substantially
increases the agriculture production h\however there are various factors
which are affecting the faster pace of mechanization. Small scattered
land holdings and relative abundance of labour in some location but also
lack of awareness among farmers about advantages of farm machinery
and the misleading perception of unaffordable cost to purchase machinery are the key factors to take up of mechanization. Machinerys underutilization also, as its a season based industry is a key contributors to
slow mechanization in India. Right machinery and right tools are the important factors not only from a productivity and efficiency standpoint but
also in consideration of cost of ownership and economy of operations.
Factors like farm size, type of soil and type of operation should be evaluated as well as while selecting farm machinery. The world is opening up,
after white goods and FOMCH products its now time for Indian farmers
to have an access to new technology and better products. The presence
of several multinational brands like new Holland who are offering technological superior products contribute to a better availability of new technologies. India has emerged as hub for small tractors. Tractors produced
in India are meeting quality standards and expectations of farmers from
across the Globe. Farm mechanization is todays need not only to boost
farm productivity to ensure rising food demand but also to foster proper
economic growth. Major upcoming areas in the filed of farm mechanization are in all those segments where labour requirements are high. These
include seed bed preparation/ seeding and harvesting through seed bed
preparation machinery, planters, hay and forage, conditioners, bio mass
collection choppers, cotton pickers, sugar cane harvester, balers and also
solutions for vineyards. Today India is predominantly agriculture based
economy with approx 65% of population living in villages and earn their
livelihood through agriculture and allied activities. The country is self
sufficient in food with increasing production and productivity through
appropriate mechanization. To keep pace with the population growth,
migration of labour toward urbanized areas, and increasing consumption
pattern a growing requirement of food is targeted. The need of farm
machinery and new agricultural techniques will further allow to increase
productivity, quality and profitability of production etc. Hence, effective
engineering intervention, training and know- how in farm mechanization
have an enormous strategic relevance in the years to come.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
21

simple, low cost hand tools and animal drawn region specific improved
machinery to suit to crops commodities and cultural practices. The
State Agro Industries Development
Corporations of Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat,
Maharashtra,
Andhra
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,
West Bengal, Assam, Orissa and
Kerala are already manufacturing
improved implements besides local
small scale industries.
Farm Power is an essential input in agriculture for timely field

operations for operating different
types of farm equipment and for
stationary jobs like operating irrigation equipment, threshers/ shellers/
cleaners/ graders and other post
harvest equipment.
Power is needed on the farm
for operating different tools, implements and during various farm
operations. While mobile power is
used for doing different field jobs,
the stationary power is used for lifting water and operating irrigation
equipment; operating threshers,
shellers/decorticators,
cleaners,
graders and for other post harvest
operations. The mobile farm power
comes from human, draught animals, power tillers, tractors and self
propelled machines, where as the
stationary power is obtained from
oil engines (diesel, petrol, kerosene)
and electric motors.
Availability of adequate farm
power is very crucial for timely farm
operations for increasing production
and productivity and handling the
crop produce to reduce losses. With
the increase in intensity of cropping
the turn around time is drastically
reduced and it is not possible to harvest and thresh the standing crop,
on one hand, and prepare seed bed
and do timely sowing operations of
subsequent crop, on the other hand,
in the limited time available, unless
adequate farm power is available.
Similarly for precision farming,
22
increasing area under irrigation,

conservation tillage, straw management and diversification in agriculture, more power is required for water lifting and precision placement/
application of agricultural inputs
seed, fertilizer, irrigation water,
plant protection chemicals etc and
meeting the requirements of diversified agriculture.
DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVED
FARM MACHINERY
It is misconceived that benefits
of mechanization could be reaped
only by farmers having large acreage. The Indian farmer, however
orthodox he/she may be, has only
to be convinced of the relevance of
techniques and machinery to induce
him to accept them. Equipments for
tillage, sowing, irrigation, plant protection and threshing have widely
been accepted by them. Even farmers with small holdings utilize selected improved farm equipment
through custom hiring to increase
productivity and reduce cost of production. The small plot size might
have been an impediment for use of
large tractors but not for adoption
of small tractors, power tillers and
improved machinery. The improved
hand tools, animal drawn and tractor operated implements have been
adopted more in those states where
productivity per unit area has increased. The ICAR with the cooperation of agricultural universities and
local industries has developed many
EFFORTS REQUIRED TO BOOST

FARM MECHANIZATION
India is a large country with
wide agro-ecological diversity having predominance of rainfed agriculture; gross cropped irrigated agriculture is limited to 41% only. Farm
holdings are small due to high population density and land fragmentation will continue due to Laws of
Inheritance and Hindu Succession
Act.
Majority of the farmers have
limited surplus money to modernize farms or invest in improved
inputs. Draught animals and agricultural workers may remain the
chief source of farm power for soil
manipulation and for crop handling.
Mechanical power for tillage, irrigation, harvesting and threshing will
be preferred, including custom hiring by those farmers who cannot
afford to own machines. As a result

of the GATT agreement, prospects
of agro-export are likely to increase
and product quality standards stipulated under WTO may compel many
farmers to adopt modern agricultural production technology. The
future agricultural mechanization
technology package may have to:
- be eco-friendly utilizing land, water and bio-resource catering to the
varied group of farm holders
- facilitate farming operations which
are arduous and hazardous.
- increase productivity and conserve
resources through effective utilization of chemical, biological and mechanical inputs.
- facilitate contract farming/custom
hiring to modernize agriculture and
to ensure timely field operations.
The present trend in agricultural
mechanization is for high capacity
machine to be used on custom hiring and for contractual field operations. The mechanization of rice,
sugarcane, cotton, potato and horticulture crops, green house and covered cultivation are new emerging
areas which need greater attention.
Water is a scarce commodity and in
future with increasing demand for
more irrigation water, concerted efforts will be needed for controlled
application of water through drip,
sprinkler and micro-sprinkler systems to economize use of water
and improving water use efficiency.
With the shift in agriculture towards diversification and agribusiness, substantial

areas will come under fruits, vegetable,
plantation, floriculture
etc. This will also help
to export good quality high value crops/
materials to different
countries to earn more
foreign exchange.
Design of green
houses, handling of
products and environmental control including mechanized cultivation, will assume greater importance. Potential exists for export of
mechanization equipment to other
developing countries. The quality
therefore needs to be ensured. In
order to enforce quality, reliability
and safety in the manufacture of
agricultural implements, manufacturing of critical components need
to be standardized and encouraged
for mass production by medium and
large scale manufacturers.
The Indian farmers have adopted mechanization inputs for modernization of agriculture. By and large,
India is self sufficient in mechanization inputs. The annual introduction
of tractors has increased to more
than 2.5 lacs and that of irrigation
pumps to 700,000. Custom hiring
of tractors and combines has increased.
Drip and micro irrigation are
gradually being adopted. These
technologies are being introduced
with joint cooperation of foreign
industries. The Indian Council of
Agricultural Research with the cooperation of States Agricultural
Universities has developed a large
number of agricultural machinery
suitable for Indian farmers. More
than 200 equipments have been
developed, of which about 80 have
been commercialized by the industries. The Department of Agriculture
and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India has already released 35 improved implements for popularization amongst
farmers. The State Agro Industrial
Development Corporations of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar

Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal,
besides small scale industries, have
adopted the technology developed
by the ICAR research system. These
equipments have helped the farmers in removing drudgery in farm
operations, reducing cost of operation and increasing agricultural inputs effectiveness.
Integrated land use planning and
water management
There is an urgent need for micro level planning due to competing demands on land for agriculture,
forestry, grass lands etc., on one
side and urban and industrial development on the other. This should
also be seen in the light of gradual reduction in the average size of
farm holdings due to ever increasing population. Land use planning
has also to be considered along
with watershed management as our
water resources are depleting at an
alarming rate. This demands evolving economically viable and environmentally sound water conservation
and management techniques.
The country has limited ground
water resources. Due attention has
to be given to minimize and/or control surface run off through insitu
water conservation measures and
development of micro-watersheds
to ensure adequate moisture for
crop production. The total irrigated
gross cropped area is about 42 per
cent (79.9 mha). Precision controlled irrigation through micro and
drip system, especially in horticulture and high value crops may save
water and thereby more area can be
brought under irrigation.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
23

Enhancing agricultural production
and productivity
There are considerable gaps
between the actual and potential
yields which have to be reduced
by further boosting the productivity
per unit area or per unit time. The
scientists will have to develop and
promote technology for sustainable
agriculture through conservation
and efficient utilization of natural
resources keeping the constraints/
limitations of land resources, biotic
pressure on land, natural precipitation, availability of solar energy, social and economic diversity of the
farmers. This poses a challenge to
scientists of genetic engineering,
biotechnology and cognate sciences.
Concerted efforts are required
to provide good quality certified
seeds, chemicals and other inputs
to the farmers at reasonable price.
Micro processor based green house
and covered cultivation, micro
sprinkler, fertigation, organic farming, hybrid seeds, plants propagated through tissue culture and
biotech may have to be introduced
in a big way which would require
different approach for infrastructure
and human resource development.
Development of technology for dryland/ rainfed areas will be another
challenge for increasing production
and productivity.
Achieving rapid mechanization
The level of mechanization
in the country, as a whole, is still

at a very low level. The main reasons are small and scattered holdings, poor investing capacities of
the farmers and non-availability of
good quality of implements/machinery in the vicinity of the farmers.
The investment in agricultural machinery vis-a-vis their utilization on
small farms is quite high because of
which farmers give comparatively
low priority to purchase of agricultural machinery in comparison to
other inputs viz., seeds, fertilizer,
chemicals etc. However, in the
present circumstances when labour
wages are increasing at a high rate
and their availability at peak times
of sowing, harvesting and threshing is decreasing, the farmers are
now getting more inclined towards
use of agricultural machinery. This
demands good quality machines
and better sales and service facilities. Farm machinery industry will
have to modernize their products
not only in terms of performance
characteristics but also for comfort,
safety and energy conservation.
The industry has also to develop
new machines for mechanization
of horticulture, plantation and agroforestry.
Encouragement to contract and
commercial farming
Need of higher energy inputs to
ensure timely field operations, on
one hand and fear of increasing cost
of farm labour, coupled with drudg-
ery involved in farm operations may

drive away agricultural labourers to
other less arduous sectors like industry and services sectors. Appropriate farm machines may have to
be introduced to ensure timely farm
operations. Custom hiring of tractors for tillage, material handling,
irrigation and combine harvesting is
already in vogue in many parts of
the country. Contract farming and
franchise cultivation by the industries with progressive farmers not
only will ensure quality produce for
processing but will also help the producer to modernize agriculture for
producing high value crops. Diversification of agriculture for growing
high value crops and horticulture,
floriculture, industrial crops, mushroom cultivation, agro forestry and
energy plantation would again require higher investment which may
not be feasible for individual farmers due to financial and technological limitations. The group farming
could be encouraged by industries
under contract farming or franchise
cultivation arrangement.
India is blessed with climatological diversity and this coupled with
modern environment control green
houses can provide a steady regular
supply of agro produce especially
for export and also to the hotel industries for domestic and foreign
tourists. This will further increase
productivity as farmers will be able
to invest more for modernizing agriculture especially for growing high
value and industrial crops such as
sugarcanes, cotton, tobacco, exotic
fruits, vegetables, cut flower etc.
Encouragement to diversification
India is the largest producer
and exporter of spices. The farmers continue to practice traditional
techniques for their cultivation. Industry has to come forward to provide better methods of collection,
curing, cleaning, grading, packaging etc., for quality products. In
the field of medicinal and aromatic
plants also, there is lot of challenge
with respect to export of intermediary phytochemicals, perfumery,
food flavour, cosmetics and toiletry
goods.
The plantation crops have not
24
Region-wise Development of Farm Equipment

Type of machine
Eastern
Western
Northern
Southern
Central
Total
Manually operated
Animal drawn
Power operated stationery
Power operated walk behind
Tractor mounted/riding type
Total
24
21
6
4
6
61
15
27
3
-
3
48
17
31
11
4
36
99
18
30
20
13
13
94
19
46
10
6
18
99
93
155
50
27
76
401
been modernized as yet. Oil palm

cultivation is another example in
this reference. Malaysia, due to cultivation and processing of palm oil,
has become one of the progressive
countries in this region. Immense
economic potential exists for introducing oil palm cultivation in India. Farmers and industrialists both
will have to join hands together to
promote oil palm cultivation which
may also help in solving shortage of
edible oil.
Agro-processing and other agrobased industries in rural areas
Agro-processing
technology
helps in conservation and elimination of avoidable losses and improves quality of agro-produce
and low grade raw materials and
byproducts by value addition. This
also helps in generating more employment opportunities. Primary
processing facilities need to be developed in rural areas for on farm
processing of cereals, pulses, oilseeds and fruits/ vegetables. This
will render:
(a) enhanced availability of raw
materials for processing in the
catchment areas at reduced
cost.
(b) reduction in cost of processing
as a result of reduced cost of
handling, transport and avail-
ability of labour.
(c) more employment to rural people which will arrest the rural
migration and reduce social
problems in cities (mitigation of
congestion in cities).
(d) overall development of rural areas with the creation of other
infrastructure to serve these
units in terms of education,
health, communication etc.
(e) utilization of by-products after
value addition as animal feed,
compost, biogas feed etc. They
will help in reducing in the cities
also.
Livestock improvement and their
management
The livestock not only have
economic importance but symbiotic relationship with the Indian rural folks. Due to existence of large
number of poor quality livestock in
the country, serious attention has
to be given for their improvement
through better management, health,
feed and breeding. The industries
will have to contribute not only for
processing of the animal products
but also for providing services like
cattle feed and fodder, poultry and
animal shelter, milk handling and
processing plants.
Aquaculture development
There is immense potential in

fisheries sector. Construction of
ponds, aerators, hatcheries, fishing
gear, cold containers, processing,
packaging, transport etc. require
specialized technology for domestic
and export market. India will have
to take lead in this sector by following the technology adopted in
Japan, Thailand and Philippines.
As of today, a large percentage of
fish and other marine products disintegrate before reaching processing factories/market. Refrigerated
container for handling and transport
would help in increasing their shelf
life besides more economic returns
to producers.
Enhancing rural employment
Value addition of agro produce (food, feed and fibre) through
joint ventures is a welcome step
to strengthen physical infrastructure especially for export and this
should be encouraged. The Indian
industries will ultimately adopt the
technology, may be at a reduced
scale. The introduction of highly
advanced technology in traditional/
cottage industry in food sector such
as rice and dal milling, oil extraction, flour milling, processed instant
foods etc., which were earlier processed at rural level, are however,
likely to reduce the rural employ-
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
25

ment opportunities. It will be in the
overall interest of the country to establish primary processing units in
rural areas only. Besides, providing
employment to rural people, it will
have all round rural development
and will increase additional employment avenues. The cottage/tiny
sector has also to be encouraged,
which have no parallel in employment generation.
Enhancing export of value added
processed foods and farm machinery
The agricultural sector will not
only have to meet the domestic requirement of feeding the growing
population (growth being more than
2 per cent per annum) but also has
to earn valuable foreign exchange
through export of various agro-produce and processed products. As a
result of GATT agreement and the
quality standards stipulated under
the agreement of WTO, the Indian
agriculture and industry will have
to play a major role in producing
quality agro-produce and also internationally acceptable value added
food products.
Export of oil meals, cereals,
(rice, durum wheat), fish and marine products, fruits and vegetables,
cut flowers, tea, coffee, spices,
textiles, etc., have to be increased.
This will generate more income or
revenue to the exporters, middle
men, allied service industries in addition to the producers who would
equally get benefit of producing
quality products. The export of
agro products would also increase
employment in other service
sectors engaged in packaging, handling, transport
(road, rail, ship and air) directly or indirectly.
The country is yet to be
internationally
recognized
as exporter of processed
foods. The trend, so far,
has been to export raw and
semi-processed agro produce, as a result, middle
men and exporter only get
the maximum advantage.
This is one big challenge
before the country and
the opportunities are im-
26
mense. Better packaging technology is needed for raw as well as

processed products which will help
in maintaining original quality of
produce in terms of appearance,
colour, texture, flavour and taste.
Moreover, increased export of agroproduce would also require better
quality products, storage facilities,
controlled temperature containers/
controlled atmospheric and aseptic
packaging, modern material handling equipment and services.
Mechanization of Dryland Agriculture
Dryland agriculture constitutes
about 67% of total cultivated area
in India and contributes only 42%
to food production. Drylands are
spread over to about 118 million ha
of gross cropped area in India with
average productivity of 0.7 to 0.8
t/ha. One of the major causes of
the poor productivity in drylands is
lack of mechanized operations and
rainwater harvesting for protective
irrigation. Faster field operations assist directly or indirectly in conserving rain water and its effective use.
Timeliness and precision in field
operations are key factors governed
by available power and status of
mechanization in dryland ecosystem. The resource poor farmers
with small and marginal holdings
dominate these areas. Human and
animal resources in these area are
continuously dwindling leading to
time consuming operations and unusual increase in cost of operation.
Conventional tools and equipments are no longer adequate to
meet the needs of precision in dry

land agriculture, besides timeliness
being the first casualty. Power and
mechanization constraints are leading conventional dryland agriculture
into a non-profit and risk prone enterprise. Introduction of powered
mechanization systems thus has
become absolutely necessary for
sustainable dryland agriculture.
The efficacy of agricultural inputs and natural resources -seed,
fertilizers, chemicals, land and
water has been increased through
adoption of appropriate agricultural
equipment. Energy is the key input
for agricultural, industrial and socioeconomical development of a nation.
The energy in agriculture is required
for field operations which facilitate
crop production and processing
besides indirect energy in terms
of seeds, fertilizer, irrigation, and
chemicals. Human, animal, electrical and mechanical energy sources
are extensively used in agriculture.
Farm mechanization facilitates use
of inputs effectively and in reducing
the drudgery in farm operations besides ensuring timeliness. The Indian farmers have adopted improved
farm machinery irrespective of land
holding size. Equipment for tillage,
sowing, irrigation, plant protection
and threshing have widely been accepted by them. Farmers with small
holdings utilize selected improved
farm equipment through custom
hiring to increase productivity and
reduce cost of production.
About 250 improved agricultural equipment and technologies have
been designed and developed for
various pre and post-harvest
operations operated by human, animal, mechanical and
electrical power for timely
field operation, facilitating
timeliness, removal of farm
drudgery, reducing post harvest losses and addition of
value to the agro-produce.
Increased productivity does
not mean additional income
to the growers unless it is
matched with appropriate
postharvest
technologies
that minimize post-harvest
losses and add value to the
produce and by-products.

Simple equipment and processing
technologies have been developed
for agro-processing at rural level.
Adaption of technology depends upon infrastructure created
for technology verification, training,
and demonstration, besides system
developed for technology transfer.
The equipment and technologies
that are meant for commercialization by small scale industries and
on-farm post-harvest technology,
agro-processing rural enterprises
are transferred through publicity, demonstration, training and
in-plant-advisement/
consultancy
by R&D institutions and development department. The equipment
are initially being multiplied institutionally through Revolving Fund
scheme of the ICAR and supplied at
no-profit no-loss or nominal profit.
Private sector has drawn good response in commercial manufacture
and marketing of new equipment.
Sometimes they innovate on the
designs adapted. New products are
test marketed exhibited and techno-economic feasibility information
shared with the customers. Technologies that relate to improvement
in existing process or equipment are
transferred through consultancy/
contract research. Prototype production centers, pilot plants and
agro-processing centers have been
established by ICAR Institutes for
pilot introduction and intensive
evaluation until it is commercialized.
The existing mechanism/strategy,
by and large has worked. However,
some of these technologies could
not reach the farmers or remained
un-commercialized at a scale desired. The reasons include cost effectiveness and the scale of these
technologies. It is well known that,
for mass production and transfer,
commercial manufacturing may be
necessary. This situation needs to
be improved by playing a proactive
role and following strategies where
involvement of private sector is very
much needed. Such a strategy will
not only ensure competition among
technology providers cost effectivity, but also quick dissemination of
the technologies.
Introspection has been made in
this document to assess the status
of development and adoption of

mechanization and agro-processing
technologies in the country with a
view to identify futuristic requirement. Precision agriculture using
GIS/GPS techniques for region specific crop planning, controlled precision application of water through
drip and micro-sprinkler, multi-functional farm equipment to conserve
energy and to reduce turn around
time, integrated energy management, application of bio-fuels and
plant oil for motive and tractive
power in internal combustion engines, occupational health hazards
and safety on the farms, application
of micro-processor and computer in
agriculture are some of the areas
that need more attention in future.
Majority of agro-based enterprises
will continue to depend upon indigenous technology and, therefore,
R&D through public sector has to
be strengthened to become globally
competitive and serve small scale
food processing sector of the country.
The increased export of agriculture commodities would require
internationally acceptable quality
products, storage facilities, temperature controlled containers,
controlled atmospheric packaging,
modern material handling equipment and services. The major issues involved in post-production
agriculture will be need based and
market driven refinement and adoption of available technology for loss

prevention and value addition, and
entrepreneurship
development.
More thrust will be required to food
processing and agro-based industries in an endeavor to promote
agri-business, and foster rural industrialization, create employment
opportunities, and thus increase income of the farmers.
FARM MACHINERY INDUSTRIES IN
INDIA
The adoption of mechanization
technology depends upon the local
manufacture and after-sales-services besides credit and financial incentive provided by the Government.
The manufacture of agricultural
machinery in India is quite complex
comprising from village artisans,
tiny units, small scale industries to
State Agro- Industrial Development
Corporations and organized tractor,
engine and processing equipment
industries.
Traditional hand tools and bullock drawn implements are largely
fabricated by village craftsmen and
small scale industries. Organized
sectors manufacture sophisticated
machinery such as tractors, engines, mills and dairying equipment.
The small-scale industries seldom
have R&D facilities and they depend upon public institutions for
technological support. They require
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
27

not only drawings but also prototypes and technical guidance to
manufacture the equipment. These
industries however, upgrade the
technology with experience.
Classification of Industries
The classification of industries
in India is based on total capital
investment (plant and machinery)
rather number of workers employed.
These are
(i) village craftsmen,
(ii) cottage industries,
(iii) tiny industries,
(iv) small scale industries,
(iv) medium scale industries and
(v) large scale industries. This classification was done to help
the small-scale
units
through
incentives and
marketing support. The limit
of investment
is given in Table
19.
Village craftsmen
Village artisans
are the main source
of supply and repair
and maintenance of
hand tools and traditional implements
are made by village
craftsmen.
These
include implements
and tools like khurpi,
spade, sickle, local ploughs, bakhar,
sowing devices, yokes, patela, leveller, oil ghanis, grinding wheels,
hand mills, hand operated milk
churning tools, winnowing devices,
sieves, wooden storage structures,
bullock carts, manual water lifting
devices etc. If village artisans are
properly trained they will accelerate the adoption of mechanization
inputs due to their proximity with
farmers.
Tiny and small-scale industries
The tiny and small scale units
fabricate bulk of improved agricultural machinery such as ploughs,
cultivators, disc ploughs and harrows, seed drills, planters, plant protection equipment, reaper harvesters, combine harvesters, threshers,
28
cleaners, graders, mills, crushers,

oil expellers, diesel engines, irrigation pumps, dairy machinery etc.
Some of these units also fabricate
implements and equipment for tractor and power tiller manufacturers.
They may lack good machine
tools and heat treatment facilities.
Some of them are more organized
and have better fabrication toolings
and thus are able to manufacture
better quality machinery. The bulk
of the farm machinery is made by
the small scale industries. They use
materials from mild steel to medium
carbon steel. Heat treatment practices are generally inadequate except in few industries manufacturing knife & tillage tools. Equipment
manufactured by the SSI units includes Soil working tools, seeding

& planting equipment, hand hoes,
sprayers & dusters, harvesting &
threshing equipment, like reapers,
threshers, combines, maize shellers, decorticators, cleaners, graders, mills, oil expellers etc.
Organized farm machinery industries
The medium scale and large
scale industries manufacture diesel engines, electric motors, irrigation pumps, sprayers and dusters,
land development machinery, tractors, power tillers, post harvest and
processing machinery and dairy
equipment. There are 13 tractor,
2 power tiller, 200 diesel engine,
600 irrigation pump, 48 combine
and 188 earthmoving machinery

manufacturers. The marketing of
agricultural machinery by these industries is through their network of
dealerships and, therefore, these
manufacturers are able to provide
effective after-sales service.
These industries upgrade their
product and process technologies
through their own R&D efforts, in
addition to technological support
from external agencies. Today, India is recognized as a leading country in the world for the development
and manufacture of agricultural implements and equipment. The range
of equipment includes tractors, harvesting and threshing equipment,
plant protection machines, irrigation
and drainage pumps,
sprinkler systems,
land
development
machinery,
dairy
and agro-processing
equipment, etc. India is the exporting
increasing volumes
of these to various
countries including
USA, Africa, Asia,
etc.
Standardization and
quality
The Bureau of
Indian
Standards
(BIS) with its network of centers and
laboratories in the
country is mandated to ensure quality manufacture and marketing of
agricultural and industrial products
in the country.
The BIS formulates specifications of agricultural machinery and
other appliances and prescribes
test codes. The Bureau also issues
ISI quality certificate marks to the
products which meet technical
specification as per BIS standards.
The list of standards released by
BIS is given in Table 22.
The Government of India has
established Farm Machinery Training & Testing Centres for promotion of quality farm machinery. In
case of agricultural machinery, requirement of quality certification
is limited to the sale of agricultural
machinery financed under Govern-

ment Schemes. On certain items
connected with safety and health
hazards, it is mandatory to have
minimum safety standards built into
the design or in the installation of
machinery during operation. Threshers, chaff cutters, sugarcane crushers etc. fall under this category.
The agricultural machines manufactured by the organized sector like
tractors, earth moving machinery,
irrigation equipment, plant protection, dairy equipment, processing
machinery etc. are certified for their
quality by BIS.
Testing and evaluation
The adoption of agricultural machinery is greatly influenced by the
quality and after sales available to
the farmers. Since manufacture of
agricultural machinery is reserved
for small-scale industries, the quality is affected by the manufacturing
technology adopted by them.
Testing and evaluation helps
in up-gradation and quality
production of machinery. R&D
institutions and quality certification agencies conduct the
T&E. Testing and evaluation is
conducted on newly developed
equipment and during its serial
production, to facilitate and ensure quality, reliability, durability, functional ease, comfort in
operation and cost of operation.
Testing is conducted with well defined standard parameters, defined
in BIS, ISO, or OECD standards,
and where as evaluation is done
to measure the performance under
simulated or field conditions for the
parameters for which the equipment has been designed.
Institutions involved in testing and
evaluation
1 Bureau of Indian Standards
The Bureau of Indian Standards
has the statutory authority to inspect the quality of products manufactured and marketed in India.
The agricultural machines manufactured by the organized sector like
tractors, earth moving machinery,
irrigation equipment, plant protection, dairy equipment, processing
machinery etc. are certified for
their quality by BIS. The BIS has
established their Regional Testing

Laboratories to facilitate testing
and evaluation, including that of
agricultural machinery. The BIS has
also authorized other Government
and Semi-Government testing laboratories to conduct testing on their
behalf as per BIS Test Codes or ISO
Test Codes.
2 Farm Machinery Training and
Testing Institute
The Ministry of Agriculture,
Government of India has established
6 Regional Testing Centres located
at Budni, Madhya Pradesh (Central
Region), Hissar, (Northern Region),
Ganganagar, Rajasthan (Northern),
Assam (Eastern Region), Anantpur,
Andhra Pradesh (Southern Region),
Tamil Nadu (Southern Region).
CFMT&TI, Budni is equipped to
undertake testing of tractors, combines and other agricultural machin-
ery. Other Centres, test agricultural

machinery and irrigation equipment.
These Centres conduct testing and
evaluation as per BIS Test Codes.
3 Regional Research Laboratories
under CSIR
The Regional Research Laboratories (RRL) under CSIR have established microprocessor based modern testing facilities especially for
metallographic and material testing.
These laboratories have memorandum of understanding (MOU) for
sharing research and testing facilities for quality assessment of products, including agricultural machinery.
4 Independent testing and evaluation laboratories
Few NGOs, institutions/association have established independent
institutions for undertaking testing

and evaluation and these have been
authorized by Govt. Deptts./BIS/
other consumer organizations (Bank
Consumers Protection Forum, etc.)
to undertake quality performance
testing on their behalf. Few Universities, including Agricultural Universities and Institutes under Indian
Council of Agricultural Research
conduct quality certification evaluation for consumers on request.
Agricultural Machinery Marketing
and Aftersale- services
The large and medium scale
manufacturers have well organized
distributors and dealers through out
the country to undertake advertising and product promotion in their
respective territories, conduct product awareness training programmes
for the prospective customers, provide after-sales-service to the customers including free services,
repair and maintenance, supply
of parts, etc. Therefore, this
organized sector has the whole
of the country as their market
due to which their production
volumes are large, and their
information feed back about
their product performance, improvements required in design,
production processing or quality, and the new requirements
of the farmers to undertake
product developments.
Very few small-scale industries
have established their marketing
network and therefore provide service support in their premises. In
the absence of standardization of
parts and components farmers are
compelled to carry their machines
to the manufactures for repair and
replacement of parts and components. Due to this, their market size
is limited to their proximity, and
they are not able to develop their
businesses. The village artisans on
the other hand are located in the villages and therefore provide immediate attention to the needs of the
farmers in their immediate neighbourhoods. Therefore, the tools and
implements, etc. made by them are
against specific requirements of individual customers.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
29
Popularization of agricultural machinery

The assimilation of R & D requires an effective technological
infrastructure of institutions and
services to develop and test prototypes, to set up pilot plants for
intensive evaluation and extensive
demonstrations
besides,
training and credit support. New technology also requires network for
transfer of technology to the manufactures. Popularization of agricultural machinery in the country is
undertaken by the Provincial Governments through Department of
Agriculture or Department of Agricultural Engineering. The activities
are coordinated by the Department
of Agriculture in Cooperation with
the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. The Ministry of Food
Processing promotes technology related to agro-processing. The extension system deals with the first-line
extension projects with a view to:
(i) demonstrating the latest technologies to the farmers as well
as the extension agencies;
(ii) testing and verifying the technologies on the farmers field
(iii) providing opportunities to get
firsthand scientific feed-back;
(iv) developing extension or technological models for the state
extension systems;
(v) providing training and communication support; and
(vi) promoting research in transfer
of technologies.
30
CREDIT AND FINANCIAL INCENTIVES

The purchasing power of the
farmers is low. The government
provides subsidy and credit at reduced rate to the farmers who are
economically and socially at disadvantageous position to adopt modern technologies.
The long-term credit are usually
availed for the purchase of mechanization inputs and short term for
the purchase of seed, fertilizer etc.
This is one of the indicators of progressive attitude of farmers. The
agricultural machines and tractors
are purchased through credit, available from organized financial institutions.
NABARD is the main refinancing
institution. The Government also
provides incentives to farmers for
modernization of agriculture. This is
linked to crop specific programmes
operated by state governments.
Some of the states could not
avail the advantages in the absence
of adequate infrastructure for promotion of agricultural engineering
programmes. The state government may have to strengthen their
extension machinery for providing
incentives to the farmers. Draft
Agricultural Policy resolution emphasized special consideration for
input support to poor farmers with
fragmented land holdings and those
in eastern, hilly regions, rainfed and
drought prone areas.
The financial requirement for
the purchase of agricultural machinery has increased considerably. The

commercial and Cooperative Banks
provide credit for the purchase of
machinery. The total long-term institutional credit provided to agriculture sector which is usually for
non-recurring expenditure during
1998- 99 was Rs.132080 million.
Of this, Rs.43920 million was provided from Cooperative Banks and
Rs.88160 million from Commercial Banks. 1998-99. The medium
and long-term loans are usually
disbursed for the purchase of machinery. To simplify the credit and
other financial incentives Farmers
Agri-Credit Card facility is being introduced in few states to facilitate
easy availability of credit including
fiscal incentives. An estimated Rs
119580 million is required based on
1997- 98 prices for the purchase of
major farm machinery.
This estimate does not include
budgetary requirement for sprinkler
and drip and processing machinery
(Table 24). Farmers prefer to invest
their own money for the purchase
of hand tools and bullock drawn
machinery and for others they avail
the credits from the Banks.
FUTURE PERSPECTIVE IN AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY MANUFACTURE
Equipment for tillage, sowing, irrigation, plant protection and
threshing have been widely accepted by the farmers in India. Draught
animal and human power in India
will continue to be used, but these
are inadequate to ensure timeliness
of agricultural operations. Even
farmers with small holdings utilize
selected improved farm equipment,
including through custom hiring.
The future mechanization strategy
may have to be based on agro-ecological diversity and economic disparity of the farmers. The present
trend in agricultural mechanization
is for high capacity machines to be
used on custom hiring and for contractual field operations.
Rice mechanization, sugarcane
mechanization, cotton mechanization, potato mechanization, horticulture mechanization, green house
and covered cultivation, drip and

micro irrigation are new emerging
areas which need attention of Agricultural Engineering Institutions and
industries for their development,
production and marketing.
Water is a scarce commodity and in future with increasing
demand for more irrigation water,
concerted efforts will be needed
for controlled application of water
through drip, sprinkler and microsprinkler systems to economize use
of water and improving water use
efficiency.
With the shift in agriculture
towards diversification and agribusiness, substantial areas will go
under horticultural crops. This will
also help to export good quality
high value agri-products for better
returns to farmers and to earn more
foreign exchange. The green house
technology offers ample scope for
increasing productivity particularly
of high value cash crops like exotic
fruits, flowers and bio-tech plants.
Design of green house with environmental control mechanized cultivation and product-handling technology package will assume greater
importance.
Presently little effort has been
made to mechanize hill agriculture,
where there is tremendous potential of growing horticultural crops,
flowers etc. In future this calls for
developing appropriate technologies
for mechanization.
In order to enforce quality,
reliability and safety in the manufacture of agricultural implements,
manufacturing of critical components need to be standardized and

encouraged for mass production by
medium and large scale manufacturers. Keeping long standing demand
of farmers and the Ministry of
Agriculture and on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Industries,
the Union Budget of India 1998-99,
announced the exclusion of farm
implements and tools from the list
of items reserved for manufacture
by small scale industries sector to
enable the farmers to get benefit
of wider range of implements and
tools at competitive prices, and
with requisite after sale- service.
The decision of the Government of
India to de-reserve the manufacture
of farm machinery will help the organized sector to bring latest farm
machinery technology for accelerated adoption by the farmers. The
small-scale industries in turn will
adopt the technology for local manufacturing at a much lower cost.
This will help the small-scale sector
to become more competitive and to
enlarge their market size.
However, the constraints experienced in the growth of farm
mechanization so far need to be
dealt with so that the farmers are
enabled to adopt new methods to
produce more, to earn more through
gains in productivity, quality of produce, higher prices, etc, for raising
their standards of living and better
life styles.
The critical constraint factors are:

Reliability and quality of agricultural machinery.
Availability of products, spare
parts and aftersales- services in
close proximity.
Availability of Bank credit on
terms where currently the farmers have to mortgage both the
equipment purchased and his
land.
Lack of effective consumer
protection in rural areas for
redressel of cases of product
problems, and poor after-salesservices, etc.
Availability of adequate farm
power is very crucial for timely farm
operations for increasing production
and productivity and handling the
crop produce to reduce losses. With
the increase in intensity of cropping
the turn around time is drastically
reduced and it is not possible to harvest and thresh the standing crop,
on one hand, and prepare seed bed
and do timely sowing operations of
subsequent crop, on the other hand,
in the limited time available, unless
adequate farm power is available.
Similarly for precision farming,
increasing area under irrigation,
conservation tillage, straw management and diversification in agriculture, more power is required for water lifting and precision placement/
application of agricultural inputs
seed, fertilizer, irrigation water,
plant protection chemicals etc and
meeting the requirements of diversified agriculture.
Resources like land and water
are limited and shrinking as population increases. Keeping pace with
the present growth of population
and consumption pattern would
mean a steady annual growth be
achieved. Agricultural development
to provide adequate food to every
person in the country besides, employment and alleviation of poverty,
will be the major challenges in agriculture.
Sustaining agriculture to meet
the growing domestic demand and
export through modernization will
be the guiding factors for any future
developmental planning in relation
to population growth.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
31
Increasing Field Efficiency of Farm Machinery Using GPS
Todays competitive agricultural market requires better management of resources and minimization of operating costs to maximize profits.
ne of the major costs of

any agricultural production
system is machinery cost.
Increasing the efficiency of agricultural machinery could result in major cost reduction. Most often, field
managers do not know exactly how
efficiently their field machinery is
operating and/or where the source
of inefficiency is in their field operation.
Operational analysis is an approach to increase machine capacity and obtain efficient machine utilization. Driver performance and field
conditions affect total operation
costs, such as fuel, lubricants, and
repairs, especially in larger machinery that have high hourly costs.
Another issue that is important
in any farm operation and which
may affect farm machinery is timeliness. Better management strategies to improve planning and schedulingsuch as motion-and-time
study managementwill reduce
peak machinery demand and maintain a more stable machine force on
the farm, leading to increased yield
and profitability.
There are three factors that affect how a machine is utilized in
the field: operator, machine, and
field characteristics (such as field
size, shape, topography, layout,
row length, row-end turning space
and field conditions that affect how
fast one can drive in the field). In
the past, calculating factors such
as field efficiency was very difficult, time consuming, and required
someone with a stopwatch on-site
during operation. Now, GPS can
be used to obtain this information
much faster and simpler.
GPS receivers send out strings
of data that contain information
about the location (latitude, longitude, and elevation), speed, time,
and date every second. The raw
GPS data needs some processing
before they can be used for any application. Also most GPS receivers
32
do not store all the data that they

generate.
There are a few GPS receivers commercially available that can
collect and store all of these data.
These GPS receivers are mainly
developed for GPS tracking. GPS
tracking systems are increasingly
used for different applications such
as asset management and law enforcement. There are several tracking products available that can record the GPS data.
For example, Trackstick (http://
www.trackstick.com/) is one of
many companies that provides a
GPS receiver with internal memory
to store the data. The software that
comes with the GPS can export
the data into Google Earth (www.
googleearth.com) format which can
be opened inside the Google Earth
program where the driven path will
be overlaid on top of aerial images
and can provide a great visualization of the driven path. This system
records GPS data every five to ten
seconds. One column shows the
speed of the vehicle. Also, if the vehicle stops at one location for more
than a certain amount of time, it records that information.
Just the visualization of this
data can be very beneficial. For
example, you can see if the driver
skipped driving a row, and this might
be very important for some applications such as spraying or fertilizing.
If the tractor or field machinery is
already equipped with a GPS, then
it is only necessary to buy a small
data logger that can record the GPS
data and store it on a flash (memory) card. A software program can
later analyze these data.
The collected data also can be
exported into a spreadsheet program where more analysis can be
performed. For example, it is possible to add up all the time the machine was stopped during a field
operation. This could be machine
downtime or stopping for other rea-
sons; however, this is the time that

the machine was not doing useful
work. Adding up the total amount
of machine downtime during a season can help the manager to decide
if it is time to purchase a new machine or not. The GPS data also can
show if the machine was operated
at the optimum speed. The performance of two operators can also be
compared from this data. All of this
data can help the field manager to
make better management decisions,
and it only requires a little investment on purchasing the hardware
(less than $200) and some time for
learning the system and collecting
and analyzing the data.
In selection of the GPS tracking
system for agricultural applications,
it will be ideal to choose a system
that can log at least one data entry
per second or better. The current
systems are logging data every 5
to ten seconds, which makes the
turning points very unrealistic. GPS
receivers with accuracy of 13 feet
will provide better results for visualization and analysis.
Getting more in-depth information from GPS data requires developing software that can better analyze the data to calculate the field
efficiency information more accurately. For example, an accurate
measure of field efficiency requires
measuring the time that was spent
at a turning point.
A computer program is being
developed at the UF/IFAS Citrus
Research and Education Center to
process and analyze raw GPS data
and collect accurate machine performance information. Better management of farm machinery could
reduce production cost. GPS data
can provide useful information to
the field manager to make management decisions that could ultimately increase the productivity of field
machinery and reduce the overall
production costs.
Praveen Kumar Mussaida
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
33
What is a combine harvester?
ombine harvester is farm

equipment that can do multiple tasks such as harvesting multiple crops, threshing, winnowing, and collection of grains.
The market for combine harvesters
is still in its nascent stage but it is
growing fast. Farmers in Western
and Southern states of the country
are looking to buy this equipment.
The manufacturing of combine
harvesters started around 1970
when Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (PAU) helped locals to
manufacture farm machinery. But It
was around 9-10 years back when
ally. This is where opportunity lies.

Claas Industries from Germany is
already into business of manufacturing these combines since 1991,
and Kubota from Japan is also looking to start assembling these machines in India.
Export opportunities are also
increasing and lots of countries in
Africa like Burkina Faso, Zambia,
Madagascar, and in Europe like
Germany are opening their market
for Indian players. Pakistan is also
becoming a considerable importer
of these machines.
the demand for combine harvesters

increased at a fast pace.
Constraints for the market

The major constraint for the
market of combine harvester is its
price. The rate varies between Rs
5 lakh to Rs 22 lakh depending
upon the models and functionality.
Fragmented land holding, poor rural transport facilities,
inaccessible farms and
lack of local manufacturers and repairing facilities are some of the
factors that have kept
this industry mainly
focused in North India
especially in Punjab.
Lack of proper knowledge about farm equipments and shortage of
diesel in the country
are some of peripheral
constraints.
The market
There are two main models
for combine harvesters based on
their working principles: self-propelled and tractor mounted. Tractor
mounted combine harvesters are
cheaper as compared to self-propelled combines and are often preferred by farmers who have smaller
holdings of lands.
The demand of tractor mounted
combines is estimated at around
3,500 and for self-propelled combines is around 1,500. The heartening factor for this segment is that
only 10-15% farms use these machines for harvesting. The growth
rate for the demand of combines is
expected to be around 12% annu-
34
Commercial banks and institutions like NABARD are opening up

financing facilities to farmers and
the segment is seeing some sort of
incremental demand.
The Way Out
The panacea for this constraint
of cost is custom hiring of farm
equipments and it fits quite interestingly for combine harvesters.
Tractor mounted combines could
cost 20-30% less than self-propelled combines, and self-propelled
combines are owned by contractors
or farmers holding big fields. During
the harvesting seasons, these machines are sent to different states
and areas for custom hiring. Farmers having small holdings hire these
machines on contract basis and let
them harvest the crop for them.
Contractors or owners of these machines send their groups in different
states for harvesting season that
could go on for around 2 months.
The cost of combine harvesting of wheat and paddy is around
Rs. 3000-4000/- per ha. If done
manually, it takes around 20 laborers to harvest one hectare charging around Rs. 150/- per day (this
could vary state-wise). Apart from
that, there is a cost of Rs. 1000/per ha for threshing also. The total
cost of harvesting comes almost
equal in both the cases but the time
saved and labor-shortage-issues are
solved quite nicely by opting for
combine harvesting.
In last 2-3 years, Punjab has

faced acute shortage of labor coming from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The situation was so drastic that
farmers used to sit at railway stations at Ambala and Rajpura and
wait for laborers to alight so that
they could be picked right from
there. However, due to industrial
initiatives by Bihar government, lots
of laborers prefer to work in those
units avoiding traveling and costs
of living in different state. This is
where farm equipments especially
like combine harvesters that have
multitasking functionality come to
the aid of agriculture sector. Other
states are also facing labor shortage and state governments are encouraging R&D and innovations in
farm equipments.
Areas of Improvement in Combine
Harvesters
Due to slow development of this
segment in India, research and improvement in the functionality and
efficiency of combine harvesters
have been slow till now. Only ce-
real crops are harvested using these

machines. Most of the straw is left
in the fields and burned which has
many environmental issues. Apart
from this, farmers are losing valuable animal feed material. Extending
these machines to different crops
like sorghum, cotton, sugarcane,
sunflower, safflower, and pulses
through design modification can be
done.
Harvesting of fruits is one more
area where these machines can be
extended for functioning but it requires a lot of design modification
and quality enhancement measures.
One major concern of improvement is the usage of combine harvesters during off-season. Capital
investment in purchasing combine
harvesters is huge, and there is
great need of developing some jobs
where these machines can be used
during non-harvesting season.
Scope and opportunities
The scope of this segment of
farm mechanization is huge. Inter-
estingly, till now, Punjab is the only

state where almost all the manufacturers of combine harvesters
are clustered. Manufacturers like
Swaraj, Preet Combines, Kartar
Combines, Standard Combines, and
Deshmesh Combines are all from
Punjab. There are number of smaller
players in Punjab that manufacture
low-cost combines that are suitable
for farmers having small land holdings.
States like Madhya Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and
Uttar Pradesh often seek supply
of these combine harvesters from
Punjab. Therefore, there are great
opportunities for new start-ups in
different parts of the country.
For new start-ups, there is no
big challenge in terms of market.
Intelligent selection of material, improvements in design, and offering
quality post-sales repair services
could be the factors that could help
them stamp their presence in the
market.
Praveen Kumar Mussaida
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
35
In Conversation
Leading
The Leaders
In a world where more
than a thousand million
people are underfed,
global food security is
a serious question to
be addressed. France
who chaired the recent
G 20 summit has proposed an action plan
to address this issue.
In an exclusive interview with Agriculture
Today, Mr Jerome
Bonnafont,
French
Ambassador to India
speaks in details on
this burning topic
At the recent G 20, France has taken initiative to mobilize G 20 farm

ministers to tackle global food security. Sarkozy has charted out an
action plan. What have been the
responses of the member nations
and do you think this plan would
succeed?
President Sarkozy has been very
36
worried by what happened in 2008

when several countries experienced
sky rocketing food price inflation.
He says we have to mobilize the
international community to work
for food security. He has decided
to make the question of food security, one of the priorities of his diplomacy. So when he took over the
chairmanship of G 20, he proposed

to his colleagues to have special
meeting of farm ministers to tackle
the issue of food security and price
volatility. We have been very encouraged by the forthcoming way
in which G 20 agriculture ministers
decided to prepare the action plan
because the action plan has been a
In Conversation
proposition of France. But basically
it is a result of 20 countries with
international organizations to put
up the necessary series of work for
the next few years to address this
question. So basically we are very
encouraged by the outcome of the
meeting of these ministers which is
a landmark for tackling the question
of food security and price volatility.
In his recent address, he spoke
about volatility in the global market
of the agro produced. He has termed
an unregulated market as one of the
speculations . However in this context the G 5 and G 8 superpower
countries want to have their own
say and dictate terms. Has France
which itself is a superpower has
given a thought to this?
We believe that for this type of
question, countries have to work
together and that no one country
can dictate its terms of its law to
everybody. This means that first,
action will be collective. We have
started to discuss this question of
the link between the financial market and the food price volatility at
this G 20 meet. But its not only a
question for agriculture ministers,
its a question for finance ministers, its a question for financial distributions, its a question for WTO
so all the organizations and all the
countries have to make their own
homework to realize the nature of
the problem and give appropriate
answers. What we have in mind is
that in many circumstances, when
you have the very high level of
price volatility and when you have
a lot of exchanges of commodities
in financial forms then you have a
impact on the life of the farmers
and on the life of the consumers in
particular to the poor countries but
also in other countries. And these
two have to be connected. Because
they often in the financial sector are
not aware of the practical impact of
what is going on in the actual life of
people. So, we strongly believe that
it is necessary to raise the awareness of the financial sector on the
practical impact of some situations.
We dont say you have to prohibit
financial activities in the agricultural sector. It is necessary for the
markets. But what we mean is that

these financial activities have to be
aware of and related to the physical activities of the farmers and the
consumers.
So what do you think are the major
drawbacks that will be eradicated
by such bilateral co operations?
If you look at the life of prices, you
will see sharp ups and downs which
immediately affect the revenue of
the farmers and the prices of the
consumers. If you put an analytical study of those prices, there is
predictability for farmers which will
allow them to invest with a medium
term understanding of their activity
and there will be for the consumer
far more reliability and lot of savings to buy the products at a reasonable price.
Coming to the topic of food security, a vital aspect seem to have
been overlooked at the recent summit that is global warming. Unless
the climatic entities are addressed,
the floods and drought would affect
the very objective of food security.
What are your views on that?
Youre absolutely right. Climate
change is a very important question
and if you study carefully the action
plan, you will note that it has been
referred to in several places. It is referred to the place on increase of
production, on the place related to
technological changes and place related to the health to the poor etc.
As you put it very rightly, there is
going to be some dramatic changes
in climatic conditions in several high
crops areas and the impact of those
changes on the outputs of the
crops is going to be quite high. So,
we have to mitigate, we have to
adapt, we have to compensate and
this can be done by knowing what
is going on, by increasing technologies in order to address the need
for water or forest water and then
accelerate the pace of fight against
nuclear emissions which has to be
tamed if we want to have a sustained impact on the global warming.
Will an embargo on the rapid export
of the agro produce an answer to
food security?
This is a very delicate matter. On
one hand it is necessary for rich
countries to be able to ensure food
security of its own people and it is
very important that a country can
feel comfortable about the fact that
it is able to tell its population that
there is enough food for you. On
the other hand there is a fact which
is a fact that a very small change
in the amount which is put on the
market is having a very high affect
on prices. We often quote the fact
that two years ago when Russia
had very bad crop and decided to
limit its exports, prices sky rocketed immediately. So, embargo is
not, prohibition of exports is not the
answer, is not what we said in the
G 20. What we said is that there
has to be a sharing of information
so that there can be anticipation, so
that the market can be prepared and
that stocks can be used in a way to
tame the impact of the shortage.
But it should also be made sure that
purchases by bodies which are in
charge of humanitarian aide can not
be prevented because it is extremely important that international bodies in charge of humanitarian aide
can have a success in food in whatever quantity they get. So these are
the main issues we said.
Bio fuels have been another contentious issue with poverty relief
groups disappointed at the draft G
20 agreement. Scientists and economists have written that use food
crops to produce fuel is helping
push up prices and causing hunger.
Has the action plan taken this into
account?
It is taking this aspect into account
in that respect the first thing to
know better is what is the actual
situation? We cannot act in ignorance. We cannot act only on the
basis of some science and some
morals of the situation. Bio crops
and bio fuels can be very good and
very necessary because it has an
impact on renewable energy production which is good for the climate.
On the other hand if it diverts too
much land from food production to
bio fuel production then you might
have a problem. In this context
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
37
In Conversation
what is necessary is to know what
you do and take the right path. So,
saying no to bio fuel will be a blind
answer. To say 100 % yes to bio
fuel will also be much exaggerated.
We have to know how to adjust the
needs of the planet in terms of food
crops and bio fuel crops.
Another area of concern has been
the paucity of information on agriculture production and stocks which
indeed ignite speculation. India and
China are not in favour of sharing
information with other countries.
Do you this could be overcome?
We have in the action plan a chapter which is devoted to transparency and to sharing of information. It is a delicate matter because
some countries believe or consider
that they need to ensure their food
sovereignty on their resources and
on their anticipated crops. If you
want your market to be organized
in some manner, transparency of
information is the key element. It
seems to us that setting up a mechanism which is not a property of
one but which is a collective body
with collective responsibility, can
eliminate the fears of those who
are not in favour of giving information because they fear mishandling
of those information. Such a body
also can provide appropriate anticipation so that global food security
is ensured.
Food security does not only mean
mere optimum quantity but quality too. It is not merely a problem
of farm production but related to
poverty reduction. To guarantee
food security a broad policy is the
need of the hour ranging from agriculture, research, education and
health to sustainable energy. Has
France evolved any formula to address these vital aspects?
France is thinking a lot about it and
as a matter of fact being a big agricultural country ourselves we have
always devoted many resources to
international solidarity in the field
of agriculture and one of the main
fields of our developmental aide has
been agricultural support to Africa.
We are fully aware of the quantity
and the quality and need for own
38
development policy. But there is

another fact that we have approximately one billion people who are
underfed in the world. And you
have extra 3 billion people who will
be coming to earth in next 30 to
40 years. So we need an increase
of food production of 70 % rapidly
in order to address the question of
food security worldwide. Output of
the crops is not the only thing but
it is the basic need. After that what
all countries have to do is to build
stocking facilities, to build transport
facilities, to build food processing
facilities etc. But all that I would
say are the bi products of the basic
necessity of the increasing output
itself. If you look at what is necessary to increase the outputs, since
the amount of land and amount of
water is given, you have to work on
technology. You have to work on
the capacity of farmers to increase
the output on a limited surface. For
example: green revolution in India.
If India succeeds the green revolution and it will because the Indian
farmers have the ability to do so.
And if they succeed, a big part of
the global food security is served by
itself. But this means more inputs
and better used inputs in terms of
fertilizers, in terms of pesticides, in
terms of water, in terms of technology. This also means that the farmers have a reasonable chance to
see its progression brought to the
market at a price which will ensure
his livelihood. So one hand there
is a pure agricultural aspect how I
make my farmer able to increase
yield and on the other hand how do
I construct the infrastructure that
will allow the farmer to put its product in the market. So, it has to be
a global approach and actions taken
carefully.
How the food processing industry
can ensure the food security?
It is a very good question. I will give
you an example. In India I think it
is approximately 4 % of the total
crops which are food processed.
In France it is 8 %. So, you see
in France there are many products
that can be transported to long
distances appropriately. There are
many crops which need transforma-
tion if you want to put them in the

disposal of people at an affordable
price. And this is why food processing is one of the key elements for
ensuring food safety. Because food
safety is not only about quantity
(as you said), it is also about quality. So there has to be diversity and
since not every place is going to
produce everything, if you want to
have the variety that is necessary
for the food security, then you have
to have food processing and appropriate market construction.
How do you think France can contribute to India for encouraging the
food processing industries?
We have already started many corporations with Indian companies in
the food processing field. We have
in the last 4 years 2 missions of
exporters and French companies
who came to India to invest in India and in February minister of food
processing came to France with a
delegation of Indian companies to
visit our French food processing
industries try to understand how
it works. This is one of the ways.
There is another level which is corporation between local authorities
so that Indian villages and French
villages can relate to each other
and exchange experiences. So
there are many things which can
be done in order to help the food
processing sector in India. There is
also another element which is exposure to the international market.
For example India exports to Europe
2 billion euros of food every year
which is a big number because on
the other hand, Europe exports to
India only 200 million euros. Naturally these products can be exported because they are based on an
accurate food processing sector for
example in cheese. We believe that
the development of those exports
has an effect on the internal capacity to produce for internal market also. Because improvements
of standards and quality in Europe
has a direct and positive impact on
the quality of the product which is
presented to the Indian consumers.
So, this is another example of what
can be done.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
39
interview
Rubber production in India:
Its growth and future prospects

With growing competition from synthetic
rubbers, special care
needs to be taken in
the field of natural rubber production. The
Indian Rubber Board
plays a key role in this
regard. In an interview
to Agriculture Today,
Chairperson Sheela
Thomas talks about
the achievements and
goals of the Indian rubber Board.
When did you take charge as chairman of Rubber

Board?
I took charge on 07 February 2011.
What are the major functions of the Board?
The Indian Rubber Board was constituted under the
Rubber (Production and Marketing) Act, 1947. The
functions of the Board as defined under the Act are:
1. To promote by such measures as it thinks fit the
development of the rubber industry.
2. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing
provision the measures referred to therein may provide
for:
a) Undertaking, assisting or encouraging scientific,
technological or economic research.
b) Training students in improved methods of planting, cultivation, manuring and spraying.
c) The supply of technical advice to rubber growers
d) Improving the marketing of rubber.
40
e) The collection of statistics from owners of estates, dealers and manufacturers.

f) Securing better working conditions and the provision and improvement of amenities and incentives to workers.
What are the other duties that may vest with the
Board?
The duties of the board are as follows
a) To advise the Central Government on all matters
relating to the development of the rubber industry,
including the import and export of rubber.
b) To advise the Central Government with regard to
participation in any international conference or
scheme relating to rubber.
c) To submit to the Central Government and such other authorities as may be prescribed, half yearly reports on its activities and the working of this Act.
d) To prepare and furnish such other reports relating
to the rubber industry as may be required by the
interview
Central Government from time to time.
What are the new Schemes for improvement of quality
of smallholder rubber?
Several schemes with the major objective of quality improvement of smallholder rubber are in operation.
The main schemes are listed below:
a) Schemes for setting up of latex collection centers.
b) Scheme for setting up of eco-friendly group processing centers.
c) Processing quality up gradation and product development scheme.
d) Scheme for transportation subsidy
e) Scheme for setting up of training facilities
In addition to the various financial schemes Board has
been conducting exclusive field training programmes
and mass contact programmes for quality upgradation.
Necessary technical support is also given as and when
needed.
What are the various development activities carried out
by the Board to promote expansion and modernisation
of the rubber plantation industry?
The Rubber Board has been implementing a variety of
development/ extension schemes aimed at the overall
development and modernization of the plantation and
smallholder sector. All these schemes have components
(including financial/technical) which focus on increase
in production and productivity, technology dissemination, improvement in the level of adoption of modern
technology and infrastructure development. The Rubber Plantation Development Scheme which played a
key role in rubber development in India is still under
implementation with timely changes, under the XI plan.
A special scheme for development of rubber planting is
being implemented in nontraditional area with special
emphasis to Northeastern region.
How the Rubber Board is organizing an intensive mass
contact programmes to create awareness among the
rubber growers?
Rubber Board has been organizing special campaigns
every year to convey subjects of topical importance
to the growers. These mass contact programmes are
unique in its mode of conduct and reach. The campaigns are organized for a period of one month, with
the active support and participation of grower organizations (Rubber producers Societies (RPSs)/ self help
groups) and voluntary organizations. 3000-4000 small
group meetings are convened in the rubber tracts in
which a total participation of minimum one lakh growers/labourers is ensured. In addition to the theme other
relevant issues are also discussed in each group meetings. The theme for 2010 campaign was quality improvement and that of the ongoing 2011mass contact
programmes is scientific tapping for enhanced productivity. A post campaign evaluation of the programme
also is done immediately after the campaign to analyse
the feedback from the field.
The productivity of the holdings mainly depends on tapping methods. What are the scientific tapping methods
adopted?
Tapping is a process of controlled wounding of rubber
trees. It becomes scientific when sustainable /maximum
yield is obtained from the trees throughout the economic age, without damaging the trees. Conventional tapping, controlled upward tapping, low frequency tapping
etc. are all scientific harvesting methods.
What type of Technical Consultancy Service you are
providing to growers in Kerala?
Rubber Board is imparting the technical know-how for
plantation development, harvesting and crop processing. Free technical advice is our integral part of all the
schemes operated by the Board. Board is disseminating
its messages through all the available extension tools
starting from interpersonal contact to IT enabled services.
What is Rubber Plantation Development Scheme?
It is an integrated scheme having financial as well as
technical components aimed at expansion of rubber
area in the country by promoting replanting /new planting. Board is implementing this scheme in a phased
manner as part of Five-Year Plans. The Rubber Plantation Development Scheme which played a key role
in rubber development in India started in 1980 is still
under implementation with timely changes, under the
XI plan.
How Intercropping helps plantation?
Intercrops generally may not, per se, help the plantations. But it provides ancillary income to the growers,
especially in the immature phase.
What is your marketing strategy and to which part of
the globe you are marketing your products?
The Indian NR sector had evolved with an orientation
for domestic market as rubber was promoted as a crop
for import substitution. But with the lifting of QRs on
import, which posed a serious threat to the domestic
NR producing sector, export had to be promoted to offset the adverse effects of tactical import. However export of NR has always been treated as a mechanism to
adjust the domestic NR supply-demand imbalances.
What are the Boards new schemes for the 12th Five
Year Plan?
The schemes under 12th Five Year Plan are yet to be
finalised. Starting from April, we have had a series of
consultations with all the stakeholders of the rubber
sector to get their suggestions. A National Committee,
comprising experts from different fields, headed by the
world-renowned agricultural scientist Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, is evaluating the outcome of 11th Plan schemes
to generate inputs for the formulation of schemes for
the 12th Plan.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
41
Thought
Are we moving towards self

sufficiency in pulses?
ndia is the largest producer and

consumer of the pulses in the
world. The domestic production
of pulses has been hovering between 13.5 to 14.5 million tonnes
during the last decade, but the basic demand is higher than 18 million tones. The production of pulses
for the year 2009-10 is 14.6 million which is slightly higher than
the production of year 2008-09. It
is heartening to know the estimates
of pulses production for the year
2010-11. For the first time after
independence, the farmers of the
country are going to harvest ever
highest quantity of pulses. As per
the advance estimates, the country
is estimated to harvest all-time high
record of 17.3 million tonnes of
pulses. Amongst the record of 17.3
million tonnes of pulse output, 3.15
million tonnes of Arhar (tur), 1.85
million tonnes of Urad and 1.37 million tonnes of Moong are estimated
to be harvested. It is also estimated
that there will be bumper harvest of
Rabi pulses this year.
The government of India announces various schemes and programs from time to time to promote
the cultivation of pulses in the
country as pulses are a good source
of protein for a large section of the
country. Moreover, pulses are complementary to cereals both in production as well as in consumption.
In the production process, pulses
improve soil fertility by fixing the
atmospheric nitrogen into the soil.
Pulses are less water intensive and
their rotation with cereals controls
diseases and pests. On consumption front, pulses reduce malnutrition and improves human health
of the poor who, cannot afford
livestock products. Pulses contain
higher protein than cereals, grains
and vegetables.
Pulses were brought within the
purview of The Technology Mission
on Oilseeds in 1990-91 in order to
42
increase the production of pulses,

to reduce import and achieve selfsufficiency in pulses. Under this
mission National Pulses Development Project (NPDP) scheme was
launched to increase the output of
the pulses. This program was implemented in 30 states/UTs. in the
country upto the year 2003-2004
covering 356 districts in the country. According to statistical data,
the concerted efforts of the Tech-
nology Mission on pulses (TMO) resulted in increase in the pulses production from 12.86 million tonnes
in 1989-90 to 14.91 million tonnes
in 1998-99. Similarly, the area
under pulses also increased from
23.41 million ha in 1989-90 to 23.5
million ha in 1998-99. The major
pulse producing states experience
drought conditions during 19992000 to 2002-03, which effect the
pulses production of the country
Thought
Table 1:Government targets and achievement of pulses in million tonnes
Year
Target
Achievement
Gap
1996-97
17.0
14.2
2.80
1997-98
15.0
12.9
2.03
1998-99
15.5
14.9
0.59
1999-00
15.5
13.4
2.09
2000-01
15.0
11.1
3.93
2001-02
15.0
13.4
1.63
2002-03
16.0
11.1
4.87
2003-04
15.0
14.9
0.09
2004-05
15.3
13.1
2.17
2005-06
15.1
13.4
1.76
2006-07
15.1
14.2
0.95
2007-08
15.5
14.8
0.74
2008-09
15.5
14.6
0.93
2009-10*
16.6
14.7
1.94
* 4th advance estimates on 19.07.2010
as a whole. A marginal decline in

the production of pulses is recorded
during this period as the pulses are
mostly grown in rainfed areas. This
downward trend in pulses production was reversed in the year 200304 by achieving the target of 15.00
million tones. In order to provide focused approach to pulse production
the National Pulses Development
Project has been merged into Centrally Sponsored Integrated Scheme
of oilseed, pulses, oil palm and
maize (IPOPOM) during the 10th
Five Year Plan. This scheme is being implemented by 14 major states
for pulse and oilseeds. Implementation of pulses production program
helped in increasing the production
of pulses from 12.8 million tonnes
in 1989-90 to 14.7 million tonnes
in 2008-09 and further increase is

estimated for year 2010-11(Figure
1). Table 1 is revealing that the
government-led development programs and policies are in the right
direction and are helping to reduce
the gap between the targets and
achievements of pulse production
in the country.
The output of total pulses is
registering growth of 2.7 per cent
annually in the latest decade with
1.2 % growth in area and 1.5 %
growth in productivity. It has been
observed that the increase in the
production of pulses during 90s
was mainly due to area effect i.e
more area under pulses was brought
in, whereas in the latest decade the
technolgoy enhancement is contributing equally. Government of India
is launching several programs/projects to enhance the output of pulses in the country. Some of them
are National Food Security Mission,
Accelerated Pulse Production Program, Agriculture Technology Management Agency, Rashtriya Krishi
Vikas Yojana and 60,000 pulses
and oilseeds villages. Under National Food Security Mission-pulses
program, Government of India has
provided enough support for breeder and quality seed production as
well as training to extension workers and farmers. The price policy
for agricultural commodities seeks
to ensure remunerative to growers for their produce with a view to
encourage higher investment and
production and safeguarding the interest of the consumers by making
sure that the adequate suppliers are
available. With these aims the government announces minimum support prices of pulses every year. It
is noticed that the minimum support
prices of all major pulses has been
increased more than doubled during
two decades. These all programs/
schemes have made an impact on
cultivation of pulse crops and farmers might have used farm inputs
like irrigation, fertilizers, plant protection measures etc. which has led
in ever high production of pulses in
India. The record production will reduce our dependence on imports to
meet the shortfall in the domestic
demand.
The output of the pulse has
been increasing over the last six
years indicates that the effective
government
programs/schemes,
with appropriate technological support, availability of quality seeds of
high yielding varieties and increase
in minimum support prices can
make the country self sufficient in
pulse production. The steps are in
right direction but these need to
be further strengthened to achieve
self-sufficiency in pulses.
Sonia Chauhan,
Mangal Singh Chauhan
National Centre for Agricultural
Economics and Policy Research
(NCAP), Pusa, New Delhi
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
43

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When did you take charge at Department of Horticulture, University of Penn State?
I took charge on July 1, 2004.
Define Horticulture as an industry?
Horticulture crops include crops grown on relatively
small acreage, require intensive management, and have
high value. The crops include vegetables, tree fruit and
small fruit, grapes, nut crops, greenhouse crops, floriculture, nursery crops, and Christmas trees. I also consider landscape design, landscape construction, landscape instillation, and landscape maintenance to be a
component of the horticulture industries.
Horticulture is a vital and growing component of the
states economy. What is the contribution of agriculture at national level?
Agriculture is the largest industry in the USA and employees more people than any other industry.
How many percentage of population depends upon
agro jobs?
I am not sure about the national numbers, but in Pennsylvania and Virginia, about 15% of the jobs are related
to agriculture.
Horticulture is made up of diverse sectors of production, sales and service firms. Which are the industries
that include the agricultural businesses?
In addition to those listed in the second question: farmers, nurserymen, wholesalers, farm markets and other
retailers, packers/shippers, processors, public gardens,
and garden centers.
You are part of multi university research project to evaluate the wine quality of grapes. What is your finding?
Dr. Crassweller is involved in this project to evaluate
grape varieties at two locations in Pennsylvania. The
plantings were established just two years ago and he
expects his first crop in 2011, so there are no results
to report at this time.
What is the total contribution from wine industry and
its economic vitality in the eastern United States?
There are no good estimates. Compared to other hor-
44
nor, but it is growing. The Pennsylvania Wine Association commissioned a study several years ago to assess
the economic impact of the wine industry. The value
of the wine is only about $5 million per year, but they
said the impact to the local economy was nearly $125
million because it increased tourism.
How effectively we used Information Technology with
Horticulture to bring good result and which are the areas we blend both?
We are still learning and I dont think there is good information on this.
What are the reason you find for where the backyard
fruit tree is often a vanishing memory?
I am not sure I agree with this statement. There is still
quite a bit of interest in growing fruit trees in the home
garden.
In state-of-the-art production methods how we can reduce pesticide use and bring homeowners and hobbyists back to organic farm method?
Breeding disease resistant varieties will help reduce pesticides for disease control we have some pretty good
apple varieties with good disease resistance, but not
for stone fruit. Insects are still a problem, but we can
control many of them with organic pesticides. Weed
control and fruit thinning remain the primary problems
for organic apple production. In warmer, more humid
climates, summer rots are the biggest problems and
there are no resistant varieties. Some organic methods
are not sustainable, so I dont think we want to go organic, but we want to develop and publicize methods
that do not harm the environment.
How many projects University invests funds that span

the entire horticultural chain, from production to retail?
Our department probably has about 60 or 70 ongoing
projects.
Which international projects the department is supporting? Is there any project in India?
No projects in India. We have collaborative efforts in
several South American countries, Canada, Mexico,
Guam, several African Countries, China, Taiwan, Germany, and Holland.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
45
Research
Livelihood and nutritional improvement of tribal dominated

Areas of south Rajasthan through vegetable cultivation
he goal of attaining social

of small farmers the average annual
irrigated cultivation. Gram is major
equity and inclusive growth
income was recorded Rs. 26859/.
Rabi pulse and is cultivated across
cannot be achieved without
Further, approx. 50 percent income
the clusters. The productivity of the
providing livelihood & nutritional seof these farmers comes from agricrops in adopted villages was very
curity to most vulnerable sections
cultural produce. The average anlow as compared to district and
of the Indian population which connual income of selected farmers irstate average. Farmers generally
sist mostly of scheduled tribes and
respective of their categories was
grow maize- wheat for their dietary
scheduled castes. Ensuring equity,
Rs. 22363/ out of which Rs. 9812/
requirement and soil surplus in margood quality of life and its sustaincomes from agricultural produce,
ket for additional income. There
ability and economic empowerment
Rs. 1110 from vegetables, Rs.
were no systematic vegetables in
of the weaker sections is an imadopted villages. During Khariff
1324/ from livestock sector and
portant policy goal of our developRs. 10117/ from subsidiary secseason, farmers broad cast seeds
ment plans. Four districts of south
tor, services, labour etc. The share
okra, ridge gourd, bottle gourd in
Rajasthan, viz., Udaipur, Dungarof agricultural produce vegetable,
between rows of cereal crops for
pur, Banswara and Sirohi represent
livestock production and subsidiary
their home consumption.
disadvantaged and backward districts accordingly to planning ComSource of Income
mission assessment and therefore,
The overall economic profile
came under priority districts for
of selected households in the adtechnology intervention for ensuropted villages reveals that source
ing livelihood and nutritional securiof income for a marginal farmer
ty. The agriculture in these districts
was from agricultural produce, vegis largely characterized by low proetables, milk, labour and subsidiary
ductivity, low income because of
occupation. The average income of
poor soil and water management,
marginal farm household was Rs.
poor adoption of new technologies,
17440/ per annum. In the category
poor SRR, traditional agriculture and
limited input and high population ratio. Most of the farmers in the hilly
tribal region of Rajasthan are resource poor farmers with high risk
aversion for adoption of new technology. Agriculture practiced by resource poor farmers in this region
is mostly rainfed. Despite sustained
Governmental efforts and initiative
in agriculture, major economic
gains have not accrued to trib- Table 1. Monitory Returns from vegetables & field crops.
al, small and marginal farmers Crop
Season No. of Av.
Cost of
Gross ReNet Re& because of lack of access
Demon Yield/
Cash Inputs turn (Rs./
turn (Rs./
to knowledge and technologyha
(Rs./ha)
ha)
ha)
poor resource base and limited Field Crops
capacity to take risk.
Maize
Khariff 709
29.48
4,350
23,584
19,234
Exiting Cropping System
Maize- wheat rotation is
prevalent cropping system in
the adopted villages. Maize is
a pre- dominant crop of these
villages and mostly it is under
rainfed cultivation. Wheat is a
major Rabi crop. Among oilseeds, mustard occupies maximum area and that too under
46
Wheat
Rabi
311
33.67
4,350
33,670
29,230
Rabi
68
500.00
28,000
25,0000
2,22,000
Khariff
35
479.1
24,200
21,53,565
16,9680
Cabbage
Rabi
23
385.5
21,400
1,79,250
1,57,850
Okra
Zaid
178
92.09
14,500
1,84,180
1,69,680
Bottle Gourd
Zaid
96
227.2
13,200
1,84,507
1,71,307
Brinjal
Zaid
12
360.5
26,400
2,08325
1,81,925
Vegetables
Tomato
occupation was 43.9%, 4.9% and

45.3 % respectively.
The Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology,
Udaipur has been sanctioned a project entitled Livelihood and nutritional Security of Tribal Dominated
Areas through Integrated Farming
System and Technology Models
under National Agricultural Innovation Project in the year 2007. The
aim of project is to research a replicable model for sustainable Rural
Livelihood Security. In the project,
a bouquet of 25 technologies was
tested in 10 clusters consisting of
78 villages and involving 13200
households in Sirohi, Banswara,
Dungarpur and Udaipur districts.
Based on analysis of realistic agricultural scenario in these village
two models, viz, horticulture based
IFS model and livestock based IFS
model are being researched to develop a model or combination of
technologies which could ensure
livelihood and nutritional security
at faster pace. The emphasis was
given on economic empowerment
of tribal households through various
agriculture based interventions.
Diversification of existing crop with
vegetables for income enhancement
Farmers having agriculture land
with some irrigation facility were
motivated to diversify their existing cropping system and adopt. Integrated Farming System through
awareness camps, on and off farm
trainings and exposure visits. At the
beginning of the project activities,
farmers were motivated to diversify
their cropping system and put some
part of their land for vegetables cultivation. These farmers were provided hybrid seeds of vegetables
from the project cost along with
technology of vegetable cultivation.
Some contribution from farmers
was collected toward Sustainability

Fund for the true partnership, accountability and selection of right
technology.
In the first year vegetable cultivation was introduced in 135 ha
area with 924 farm families. The
results were very spectacular and
farmers earned seven to twenty
one thousand rupees from 0.2 ha
land. This intervention alone has
made major impact on livelihood of
the farmers undertaking vegetable
cultivation since four hundred rupees. Farmers fetched very high
returns from hybrid okra and bottle
gourd in all the clusters and their
earning ranged between fourteen to
forty thousand rupees from 0.2 ha
by sale of okra.
In the project area, 987 ha area
brought under vegetable cultivation
with 4580 beneficiaries. Farmers
earned twenty to sixty thousand
rupees from 0.2 ha land and the
total earning from the vegetables

was Rs. 449 lakhs. Looking to the
success of this intervention, more
farmers adopted hybrid vegetable
cultivation. Farmers earned maximum from Okra in zaid followed by
Chilli cultivation. Okra was taken in
one hundred forty two hectare area
with 912 families and paid dividend
of Rs. 140 lacs alone. Chilli was
taken in eighty four hectare and
on an average each family earned
twenty three rupees from 0.2 ha
land. In Abu Road cluster of Sirohi,
more than 50 percent families adopted hybrid tomato cultivation.
Looking to the success ITC signed
MoU for Chilli and turmeric cultivation and procurement in Banswara
and Dungarpur districts.
Returns from vegetables vs. field
crops
Results of demonstrated in Abu
Road cluster of Sirohi district shows
Through this project diversification of agriculture with accelerated

vegetables cultivation has proved
economically viable intervention
in tribal dominated areas of south
Rajasthan. It is not only enhanced
income of household but also provided on and off farm employment
opportunities for small and marginal farmers, thereby reducing migration to other states. Substantial
increase in income, besides providing livelihood security has brought
visible social transformation in adopted tribal farm families. Frequent
visit top these clusters of villages have shown that these vegetables growers have now constructed pucca houses, dugged wells,
improved cleanliness of their houses, started sending their wards
to good schools, purchased motor bikes and television sets with
improved income vis- a vis social status. Theses families have
become examples for other who are eager to follow them.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
47
Research
terprises. Prior to project, income
from vegetable cultivation was nil
as no marginal farmers are getting
average income of Rs. 24,464 /from vegetable cultivation whereas
from field crops it is Rs. 20964 /-.
Income of small farmers from also
increased from vegetable cultivation.
that vegetable cultivation gave manifold returns in comparison to field

crops. Farmers fetched Rs. 1.69
to 2.15 lac per ha from vegetables
cultivation, whereas field crop gave
only Rs. 19000-30000/ per ha. Results of field demonstration proved
that vegetable cultivation is more
remunerative than field crops especially for small and marginal farmers as their family also contribute
for cultural practices.
Change in income pattern
In Abu road cluster of Sirohi district, thirty eight families were randomly selected to study the impact
of NAIP interventions on income
of the household. Results of the
study revealed that income of the
landless, marginal and small farmers increased 2.5 to 3 times from
agriculture, vegetables cultivation,
livestock and other subsidiary en-
Nutritional improvement
Women and children in the operational area were malnourished
due to poor nutrition. Baseline study
showed that they hardly purchased
any vegetables from market. During
the period, 10900 families were provided vegetables seeds for nutriagarden for improving their nutrition.
Each farm household was provided
with a kit of vegetable seeds of cucumber, okra, ridge gourd, bottle
gourd, cluster bean, tomato, chili,
spinach, pea, papaya plants etc.
These families consumed the vegetables which helped to improve
nutrition and surplus sold in the

villages and fetched small income.
Besides, home consumption each
family earned Rs. 1200-1500/- per
annum by sale of vegetables.
On & off farm employment and
women empowerment
The diversification not only enhanced income of farm families,
but also generated employment
of 3.45 lakh additional man days.
Tribal households got round the
year employment. For vegetable
cultivation 750 man days per hectare is required as against 150-175
man days for cereals, oilseeds and
pulses.
Vegetable cultivation also empowered farm women. These tribal women are not only in grading,
packaging and marketing of vegetables and the money is also coming
in the hands of women.
4th Edition of
Agriculture
Year Book
2011
is going to be released
shortly.
Reserve the copy today.

For Advertisement and Subscription, contact:
Mr. Abhishek Singh
Email: abhishek@agriculturetoday.in
48
Notion
The policies are failed to solve the problems of farmers
Agriculture as the major livelihood resource of our people and the mainstay of our economy has become an
unrewarding and un-remunerative proposition. The Planning Commission is bent upon imposing the policies
and technology that have no relevance to the ground reality of Indian agriculture. The Planning Commission
and the Bureaucrats are misguiding the Govt. on so called advantages of policies. The right policies can put
our country on the high pedestal of agricultural development.
Agricultural policies and research in India seems to have become totally incompatible to the needs of
our agro-system or perhaps it has lost its goal and gone out of track. Well laid infrastructure, countrywide
network of research centers and the enormous fund spent over agricultural research failed to achieve the
desired goal. Major part of the funds earmarked for agricultural research is spent on establishment and very
little on actual research.
They do no fit into our agro-system and have overlooked the needs of Indian agriculture, did not care to
identify the real malady and suggest constructive and realistic remedial measures. The policies will make our
agro-system captive at the mercy of the corporates for all time. The corporate agriculture model is not fit for
our country. Their advocacy for launching a Second Green Revolution is deceitful as it is nothing but a conspiratorial ploy of making way for genetic engineering and G.M.Os whereas elsewhere in the world including even developed countries, these technologies are facing stiff public resistance on Bio-ethical grounds.
The agriculture policies should put on the right track .The country needs the Farmer Centric Agriculture
Model and it should be based on NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT for the sustainable agriculture. The
present policies and planning and research is fast moving towards a blind alley. The research, policy and
planning has become a burden on the public exchequer. It has no perceived idea, understanding and appreciation of research priorities for a predominantly agricultural country like India. The functioning of the policy
makers is the inherent weakness of its leadership and inefficient management.
The policy planners miserably failed to cater to the needs of Indian agriculture. Its a matter of competence & commitment and having innovative ideas as per the need of the farmers and must be fully committed towards perspective growth and development of agriculture in the country.
Dr. Krishan Bir Chaudhary, President, Bharatiya Krishak Samaj
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
49
Face to Face
IFAD, A KEY
PLAYER TO
ACHIEVE MDGs
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),
established in 1977 is a specialized agency of UN that
solely works for agricultural and rural development. Dr.
Vincent Darlong is the Country Programme Officer, India
of IFAD. In an interview to Agriculture Today, Dr Darlong puts a light into the role and vision of IFAD
When did the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), was established as an international financial institution?
The International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations, was
established as an international financial institution in
1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World
Food Conference. The conference resolved that an International Fund for Agricultural Development should
be established immediately to finance agricultural development projects primarily for food production in the
developing countries.
What is IFADs role and focus in eradicating rural poverty?
IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations and
an international financial institution dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. IFADs goal
is to empower poor rural women and men in developing
countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food
security. IFAD is the only international organization to
focus exclusively on rural poverty to make progress
on first Millennium Development Goal [MDG1]. It also
places emphasis on empowering women, contributing
to third Millennium Development Goal [MDG3]. IFAD
works directly with smallholder farmers and local communities to ensure that poor rural people have better
access to, and the skills and organization they need to
take advantage of:
l Natural resources, especially secure access to land
and water, and improved natural resource management and conservation practices;
l Improved agricultural technologies and effective
production services;
l Financial services;
l Transparent and competitive markets for agricultural inputs and produce;
50
l Opportunities for rural off-farm employment and enterprise development;

l Women empowerment and tribal development;
l Local and national policy and programming processes.
How many countries IFAD operates and what is its
critical role?
IFAD operates in 87 countries and makes loans and
grants to developing countries for its 230 ongoing
projects and programmes developed and implemented
through partner governments, reinforcing the countryled approach. IFAD is one of the largest sources of development financing for agriculture and rural development. It programmed US$855m in 2010 and is one of
the top three multilateral institutions working in agriculture in Africa, where almost 50% of its loans and
grants are allocated.
IFADs critical roles are that it focuses exclusively on
rural areas of developing countries, targeting the poorest and most marginalized groups, increasing agricultural production, income and food security, contributing
to MDG1. It contributes to equitable economic growth
through its participatory approach and focus on women. Country level evidence shows that IFADs work
contributes to poverty reduction. It provides support
in developing profitable businesses, fostering enterprise
development and facilitating access to markets. IFAD is
focusing on climate change more systematically, helping smallholder producers to build their resilience and
informing dialogue on climate change, rural development, agriculture, and food security.
IFADs also addressing strategic cross-cutting issues
with professional approaches and responsibilities in India. Which important areas it cover?
It works in fragile context, such as in difficult geo-
Face to Face
graphic and conflict areas as in the red corridors in
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa through its Tribal
development Programmes and in the conflict areas of
North East India. Gender equality and gender mainstreaming through gender action plans. Addressing climate change for small holder farmers through a well
defined climate strategy and also a strategy for environment and natural resource management. Focus on
poor countries, poor states, poor districts or poor regions with well defined targeting policies and practices;
Result-oriented bottom up planning and implementation
through grassroots community institutions. Cost and
value consciousness. Financial resource management
with due and diligence processes. A general culture of
transparency and accountability. Well designed antifraud and anti-corruption strategy. Valuing partnerships
with other organizations including NGOs. Valuing for
up scaling, innovations and knowledge management.
One of the most important insights emerging was that
the causes of food insecurity and famine were not so
much failures in food production, but structural problems relating to poverty and to the fact that the majority of the developing worlds poor populations were
concentrated in rural areas. What are the steps taken to
secure food security in future?
The food and nutritional security manifest in the project
in the form of poor health in women and children and
debilitating health of adult men. Food insecurity is due
to low food production, insufficient income to buy food
and low accessibility to or nonfunctional social safety
net programs in project areas as the Public Distribution
System (PDS). IFAD projects in India have taken the following steps to address food insecurity. Food and nutritional security is address at the project design stage
and incorporated in the design directly or indirectly in
program components to address food security. The design emphasis is on innovations that can be adopted
by small farmers to progressive pattern of adoption or
adaptation. Some of these components are notably, addressing irrigation facilities, introduction of seeds, and
improve market opportunities to support farmers in innovative ways in the process of modernization. Promoting food for work and cash for work to address
food security. IFAD project supports the rural poor by
through food for work program with support from the
World Food Program (WFP) in Orissa, Jharkhand and
Chhattisgarh . Whereas in other cases it organizes the
poor to improve their wage earning by participating
in public works program such as MGNREGA. Farmers
Field Schools have been introduced as a demonstration
This has led to small farmers in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Uttarakhand to adopt new and improved methods of rice and vegetable cultivation, less
water demanding variety of wheat, reintroducing minor cereals and pulses, potato cultivation and thereby
increasing productivity gains and increased production
leading to food security. Introduction of Home gardens
in shifting cultivation areas of North Eastern India has
addressed food security by brining to the home gardens
crops and vegetables that farmers would otherwise be

grown in the slash and burn fields. Firstly, this has improved food and nutritional security by increasing access to food and nutritious vegetables at the door step,
and secondly surpluses are sold in the market providing
cash to purchase food during the lean season. Promotion of Grain Banks. This model had increased individual
income and also helping poor by providing them with
security during lean season and thereby reducing the
dependency on traders, landlords, and moneylenders. It
may be noted that with the success of the Grain bank
model in IFAD projects the Government of India formulated the grain bank scheme in 1996 -97 to address
starvation deaths in the vulnerable areas of 12 States
as identified by the Central Planning Committee. Under
the completed Andhra Pradesh Tribal Development
Project (APTDP) 475 grain banks were established with
membership of 8,939 households. This scheme is still
being implemented in the State under the Indra Kranthi
Pratham program. The grain bank system also reduces
food loss as a result of storage in individual houses
where the food grains does not remain in good conditions and hence reducing availability. Revamping village Public Distribution System (PDS) the North Eastern
projects like NERCORMP and MLIPH projects of IFAD
have demonstrated models for revamping the PDS in
collaboration with the District administration to address
food security (in West Khasi and West Garo Hills Districts of Meghalaya). Community driven interventions
are designed to manage the PDS; for example, SHGs
are encourage to run village level PDS units, which have
turned out to be successfully managed. Water and land
management is a key production strategy for sustained
production and increasing productivity of food crops to
address food security which is promoted through IFAD
funded projects. Ongoing Projects such as CJTDP, and
OTELP and closed projects such as OTDP and APTDP
invested in land and water management through the
formation of water users association on the principle of
increasing return from public goods. Ongoing projects
OTELP and CJTDP has about 70% of the project cost
invested in land and water management infrastructure
and activities such as construction and renovation of
minor irrigation infrastructure, land development and
improving water use efficiency. Improving productivity
of food crops, fruits, vegetables and livestock so that
marketable surplus could be sold along with cash crops
by forming producer associations to increase critical
Aloe vera cultivation in Senapati

SRI rice cultivation promoted by
Dist., Manipur by NERCORMP proj- OTELP (IFAD) in Orissa
ect (IFAD)
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
51
Face to Face
mass to attract private market players to increase income at farm gate. In Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Tejaswini Maharastra and Meghalaya and NERCOMP back
yard poultry, piggery and dairy are being promoted to
increase food securing and cash income to purchase
food and create farm assets. Value Chains promotion
and micro enterprise development by IFAD through a
sub sector business development approach is another
strategy to address food security. The first initiative
was a milk chain developed in Mewat Area Development Project which was promoted Milk Producer Cooperative. Value chain development in the IFAD project in
Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, and new initiatives in Tamil
Nadu and CAIM are aimed at increasing production and
productivity and better income for the poor directly
and indirectly addressing food security. Building strong
peoples institutions for production and commercial
transactions and supporting the convergence with PRI
to go on scale and improve future food security. This
project level strategy supports the poor at the village,
block and district level to be part of the local governance process through their representatives in the PRI.
This intervention is at a nascent stage in ULIPH and
MLIPH as Block Level Resource Centers (BLRC) interphasing with PRI as the Block Level, while in Tamil
Nadu community infrastructure are constructed based
on community plans under the ages of PRI. IFAD projects are addressing food security by exploring improved
adaptive research and extension approaches. In rain fed
areas IFAD projects are identifying along with farmers
location specific solutions to address food security by
enhancing production and productivity. Promotion of
adoption of improved agriculture technology by addressing access constraints of public extension services by creating cluster associations as a platform for extension and training by converging with Line Agencies.
Also training cadres of Community Resource Persons to
extend farm information and technology to remote rural
villages. Furthermore, collaboration is done with state
institutions such as the Organic Board in Uttarakhand.
IFAD promotes cash income generation from wages
and non-farm activities also help the very poor to purchase food during the lean season. Increasing income
through the promotion of micro enterprises and IGAsat
both farm and non-farm sectors and also linking the
poor to 100 days of wage-earning programme of the
Government of India MGNREGA.
IFAD focuses on country-specific solutions. What are
the things involve?
IFADs mission is to enable poor rural people to overcome poverty. Seventy-five per cent of the worlds
poorest people - 1.4 billion women, children and men live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related
activities for their livelihoods. Working with rural poor
people, governments, donors, non-governmental organizations and many other partners, IFAD focuses on
country-specific solutions, which can involve increasing rural poor peoples access to financial services,
markets, technology, land and other natural resources.
52
Programmes for eradication of rural poverty are derived

from country-specific Country Strategic Opportunities
Programme (COSOP). For example, India COSOP is for
2010-2015, which has strategic objectives of (a) Marginal and small farmers and landless households in marginal rainfed areas have increased access to agricultural
technologies, natural resources, financial services and
value chains; and (b) Tribal and primitive tribal communities have increased access to agricultural technologies, natural resources, financial services and value
chains. These strategic objectives would be integrated
with key cross-cutting strategies, viz.
(i) up scaling of successful approaches; and (ii) sharing knowledge and learning in support of the identified
strategic objectives. It means that all programmes/projects designed during this period would have therefore
mentioned strategic elements as components and vehicles for rural poverty reduction/eradication.
In which way you meet the challenges of rural development in a rapidly changing world?
IFAD meets the challenges of rural development in
systematic and coherent ways. While the developed
world is indeed rapidly changing, the other underdeveloped rural world has intrinsically linked multiple
variables to overcome poverty, hunger, deprivation are
the characteristics of many of these rural world.
IFADs mission being eradication of poverty by enabling
the rural poor to overcome their poverty, it approaches
challenges of rural development through multifaceted
interventions in a way that the rural poor would be able
to respond to their own needs on the basis of their own
capacities and capabilities.
- Programmes are designed with the government keeping in mind IFADs geographic and social targeting
policies by which poorest regions/areas/states are prioritized within which the poorest households are specifically targeted for interventions.
Empowerment (social, economic, environmental) including women empowerment receives priority attention.
While the programme components are made holistic to
include all aspects of rural development including social
and human resources development, other interventions
include livelihoods, financial services, etc. Key priority
sectors are renewable natural resources (agriculture,
horticulture, forestry, livestock, aquaculture, etc.), access to rural microfinance and financial services, natural
resources, agricultural technologies, land productivity
and land-water-forest-biodiversity management, rural
infrastructures as well as social sector development
(health, sanitation, drinking water, education, social
benefits and entitlements), agricultural diversifications
and so on.
Programme delivery is done through NGOs in the field,
in association with partnerships with other funding
agencies and the private sector. Convergence with government programmes is focused to have greater effectiveness and sustainability and increase public expenditure. All IFADs programmes have well designed exit
Face to Face
cum sustainability strategies. The rural development
programmes are harmonized with national policies and
programme of India as well as built on the COSOP and
IFADs Strategic Framework.
IFADs in India started with an aim to improve poor rural peoples access to economic and social resources.
What is the strategy planned?
IFADs strategy (2007-2010) in India centered on improving rural poor peoples access to economic and social resources. In all operations, IFAD emphasized the
importance of strengthening peoples capacities to establish and manage their own institutions.
It supports Self-Help Groups (IFAD is a pioneer for the
SHG bank linkages movement India), community institutions and village development associations in tribal
and non-tribal areas. These and similar groups participate directly in designing development initiatives
and become progressively responsible for programme
and project resources and management. Empowering
women and other disadvantaged groups is a strategic
priority. IFAD has played an important role in developing replicable models through its projects and acted as
a catalyst for far-reaching innovative change. In areas
such as microfinance and womens empowerment,
IFAD-funded operations have tested institutional and
technical innovations that have been ultimately scaled
up by the Government at the State and national level.
The new country strategy (2010-2015) will continue
IFADs focus on the poorest, most marginalized and
remote of the rural poor in rainfed areas. Special emphasis will go to the following groups: (i) tribal communities, (ii) smallholder farmers; (iii) the landless ;(iv)
women; and (v) unemployed youth. The COSOP will
support inclusive growth and where possible converge
with government efforts to increase wellbeing and nutritional security.
Accessibility to food is the real challenge in India, aggravated by food inflation. The COSOP will address this
challenge through promoting sustainable and climate
variability-resilient agriculture in rain fed smallholdings
and by helping communities organize and empower
themselves and gain access to service providers, local
government and entitlements from major centrally supported schemes.
In which way microfinance and womens empowerment programs of IFAD helped to raise her bargaining
position in the households?
Women are relatively more dependent on the informal
credit system at higher cost to meet their needs. The
formal credit system in rural remote areas is almost inaccessible for poor rural women. The major factors that
hinder womens access to credit in the IFAD project areas from formal credit institution include their low level
of literacy and numeracy, their general lack of exposure
and contact with the world outside their immediate
environs, unfamiliarity with bureaucratic procedures
and the unsympathetic attitudes of bank functionaries. Womens access to credit is also limited by high
borrower transaction costs involved in having to travel

long distances and make numerous visits to acquire the
necessary documentation and by the lack of collateral.
Womens demand for credit requires a system, which
allows them to engage in low risk and multi-production
strategies, provision from small loans with minimum of
procedures, and allows repayment of loans in frequentsmall installments.
In order to address womens credit needs and to remove most of their constraints IFAD projects have embarked on the more positive steps of forming self-help
affinity groups (SHGs). With increasing investment opportunity the volume of money handled by SHGs also
increase and the groups are also retained to manage
these resources. The women borrow initially to meet
their consumption needs and later when such needs
are met they borrow to invest in livelihoods activities,
which encourages by the project. They often invest in
productive Income Generation Activities related to the
farm and non-farm sectors. These groups also do group
business activities. To increase their social influence
and to strengthen their lobbying power as well as to
increase their number to mobilize bank funds and to
do bulk procurement the groups have federated within
villages and also at higher levels where SHG group representatives formed Panchayat Level and Cluster Level
Federations through their group representatives. These
federations are also running businesses and enterprises
in the form of Self-reliant cooperatives and other federated structures leading to income for the federation as
well as to group members.
Besides savings and credit, SHGs also do social activities such as lobbying against social evils such as
violence against women, alcoholism, etc. After becoming members of SHGs, the women had easy access to
credit where a woman could borrow from her groups as
and when she needed by terms and conditions fixed by
themselves. So for the first time women in the household had access to credit to meet certain consumption
needs. This has brought her to significance in the family. She can arrange finances to invest in family income
generating activities and also support the credit need
of her spouse. These women also invest in livestock,
vegetable cultivation, repaying past debts from moneylenders and in agriculture land. As a result of all these
activities she is now being recognized as a bread earner
in the house whilst in the past she was seen as a liability. For the first time these women in SHGs could voice
their individual and social concern, the SHG became
a platform for sharing information and knowledge; being members of her group and as well as federations
women has increased her mobility. About 5000 women
from these SHGs have become members of Local Bodies (Panchayats). She is more respected by her husband
and in-laws and her bargaining power in domestic affairs has increased as a financial resource mobilizes and
a bread earner. Her views, opinions and suggestions
matter now. For example, in the three completed IFAD
projects such as Tamil Nadu Womens Development
Programme (TNWDP), Maharashtra Rural Credit ProAugust 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
53
Face to Face
gramme (MRCP) and Rural Womens Development and
Empowerment Project Swa Shakti have specifically
focused on womens development. The aim of these
projects was to enhance womens agency to promote
gender equality and poverty reduction through improvement of womens access to productive natural resources and financial services. As a result of these programs
the women have become more self-confident, mobile
and comfortable in dealing with bureaucracy. This also
had an impact in their domestic domain. There are examples in project areas, where incidence of violent behaviour against women, wives have reduced, and more
girls are attending schools. As a result of these activities they have become self-confident, to be able to mobilize resources and address her familys needs and to
earn money has given her a sense of accomplishment
and a feeling of empowerment.
Which are the IFAD-supported programmes that have
been in remote areas and have targeted some of the
poorest and most deprived segments of the rural population?
IFADs targeting policy defines its target group as
rural people living in poverty and experiencing food
insecurity in developing countries. Within this broad
group, IFAD proactively strives to reach extremely poor
people (as defined by MDG 1) who have the potential to take advantage of improved access to assets
and opportunities for agricultural production and rural
income-generating activities. The policy also states
that IFADs target groups should be defined in each
country according to a stakeholder process adhering
to the framework and guidelines identified, reinforcing
IFADs comparative advantage. Because of the varying
conditions of the poor, the people IFAD would work
which cannot be defined a priori in geographical or
occupational terms, or even in terms of specific income
thresholds. The MDG threshold for extreme poverty of
USD 1 a day, for example, may be a relevant indicator in much of Africa and parts of Asia. In addition,
in developing countries, large segments of the rural
population are highly vulnerable to risks and external
shocks, ranging from the illness of a household member or death of a wage-earner to natural disasters. In
this regard, IFAD will work to support not only people
who are chronically poor, but also those at risk of becoming poor because of vulnerability to such risks and
external shocks. In India, the IFAD supports projects in
the most remote and rural areas targeting the poorest,
most vulnerable and marginalised groups including rural
men and women, fish communities, tribal communities
especially the particularly vulnerable tribal groups. At
present there are eleven ongoing projects in the States
of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur,Orissa, Jharkhand,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu.
The population of the developing world is still more ru-
54
ral than urban. Some report says that between 2020

and 2025 in developing worlds urban population will
overtake its rural population. What are the strategies
plans to stop the drainage of population from rural to
urban?
IFADs strategies for arresting rural to urban migrations
are built in its programme designs which now have
strong components for addressing development of the
rural youth capacity and skill development, rural employment opportunities, entrepreneurship development,
agro-business development, trade diversification, and
others. Rural youth particularly from the landless and
disadvantaged households are focused for income generating activities to enable them to have gainful engagements for improved livelihoods within their own
surroundings. In many of our programmes in India,
many of the educated rural youth have been trained
to become para-professionals to provide services to
the communities in the areas of agriculture, veterinary,
health, insurance, fishery, business cadres, etc. IFADs
new COSOP for India as well as IFADs Strategic Framework has a strong focus on rural youth.
What is your advice for new generation who is unaware
of agriculture and environment?
If many of the new generations are unaware of agriculture and environment, the fault lies with our social and
educational systems. What will be the future if youth is
unaware of existing agriculture system and food security became major problem? We need to promote agrotourism, rural tourism, nature tourism, eco-tourism, etc.
Schools should have compulsory study tours to rural
areas for agriculture and environmental education and
awareness. Agriculture and food crop production needs
to be made professional to attract the youth in farming.
Urban schools should adopt at least one rural village to
improve students awareness on rural environment and
agriculture.
What are the steps taken to promote agriculture at
school level?
No specific steps are taken in India, though ample opportunities for promoting school gardens as extension activities of home gardens in programme areas. In
Bhutan, school gardens are being promoted in IFAD
programme areas in places where World Food Program
[WFP] has provided mid-day meals. In school gardens,
children grow various types of vegetables with assistance from parents), which is being cooked as part of
their mid-day meals. Schools have been constructed
through our project funds in NECOMP-I project where
school students in Karbi Anglong and Ukhrul districts
of Assam and Manipur were sensitized about improved
jhum (slash) cultivation. Coastal schools in the Tamil
Nadu where Post Tsunami project are promoting school
curriculum supporting disaster management and coastal resource conservation under the Coastal Resource
Management component.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
55
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Situation
Present scenario
and future need of
edible oil in India
ilseeds and edible oils are

the most sensitive essential
commodities and have an
important place in the consumption
basket in India. Edible oil in human
diet is an important source of energy and a significant contributor
to taste in food. Oils and fats are
also used in industry to produce
processed foods. Oil cakes and
oil meals are useful ingredients in
animal feed industry. India is the
fourth largest producers of oilseeds
in the world, however, India ranks
first in the production of Castor,
Safflower, Sesame and Niger, second in Groundnut, third in Linseed
and Rapeseed-mustard and fifth in
Soyabean. This sector occupies an
important position in the agricultural
economy covering an area of 26.75
million hectares and accounting
for the production of 26.32 million
tones of nine cultivated oilseeds
during the year 2007-08. India
contributes about 8-9 per cent of
world oilseeds production and is
the fourth largest edible oil economy in world. Oilseeds account for
about 1.5 per cent of GDP and 8
per cent of value of all agricultural
products. Among different oilseed
crops groundnut, rapeseed-mustard
and soyabean account for about 80
per cent of oilseeds area and 88 per
cent of oilseeds production in the
country. However, the productivity
of oilseed crops in India is one of
the lowest in the world except in
case of castor.
Types of oils commonly used in India
India is fortunate in having a
wide range of oilseeds crops grown
in its different agro-climatic zones.
Groundnut, mustard-rapeseed, sesame, safflower, linseed, castor and
niger seed are major traditionally
cultivated oilseed crops whereas,

walnut, almond, olive are major traditionally cultivated fruit crops. Coconut is most important amongst
the plantation crops. Soyabean,
Sunflower, Oilpalm have also assumed importance in the recent
years. Among the non conventional
oils, Ricebran oil and cotton seed
oil are the most important. In addition, oilseeds of tree and forest origin which grow mostly in tribal inhabited areas are also a significant
source of oils but to limited extent
or for local use only.
Production and Consumption of edible oil
As earlier mentioned that India
is the fourth largest producer of oilseeds in the world and in the last
decade the production of oilseeds
has increased from 20.71 million
tones (1999-2000) to 26.32 million
tones (2009-10). After independence, the edible oil consumption
has been continuously increasing,
owing to improvement of standard
of living that facilitated increase in
per capita consumption. The aggregate edible oil consumption in-
creased from around 9.67 million

tones in 2000-01 to around 16.75
million tones in 2009-10. The required consumption of edible oil
in India is roughly 12.4 kg/head/
year and this is still lower than
the world average consumption of
17.8 kg. The per capita consumption of edible oils in India is 12.7
kg for 2009-10 which is however
far below the world average of per
capita consumption of 20 kg. However, the consumption of edible oil
in the country is continuously rising and has sharply increased in the
last couple of years and in 200910 the total edible oil consumption
is 12 per cent more than 2008-09
which is likely to be met through
imports. Still there is huge gap in
the consumption of edible oils per
capita between the higher and lower income groups. The average per
capita consumption for hilly region
is still quite low and is estimated at
just 2 kg/annum. In India, the inhabitants of several of its regions have
developed specific preference for
certain oils largely depending upon
the oils available in the region. For
example, people in south and west
Per cent of oil content in different field and fruit crops

S.
No.
Field crops
Oil content
(%)
S.
No.
Field crops
Oil content
(%)
Groundnut
46 50
Wild apricot
50 57
Castor
45 57
Cherry
17 20
Sesame
50
Coconut
62 65
Mustard
35 48
Almond
60
Toria
33 46
Walnut
62 70
Rai
30 42
Olive
15 45
Safflower
32
Wild peach
48
Niger
35 45
Plum
41
Sunflower
40 45
Seabuckthorn
25
10
Linseed
35 40
10
Cheura
40 60
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
57
Situation
prefer Groundnut oil, while those
in the East and North use Mustard
and Rapeseed oil. Likewise, several
pockets in the south have a preference for Coconut and Sesame oil.
Availability and demand of edible oil
India was exporter of oilseeds
and vegetables oils till World War
II and reasonably self-sufficient till
1960s, but with the passage of
time and rapidly increasing high
population growth rate, the growers are diverting towards cereal
crops. Hence, the low availability
of edible oil through field crops is
not in position to fulfill the present
requirement of people and industry.
Though there is large area under oilseed crops including field and fruit,
but still the increase in area under
oilseed cultivation is a challenge
due to lack of arable land and competition from food grains and other
cash crops. During the last couples
of years, Indias domestic production of oilseeds has not grown in
line with edible oil demand, the
main reason behind this is competition with food grains for acerage,
increasing population, improvement
in the life standard of consumers as
they are shifting towards branded
packaged oil. The gap between the
production and demand of edible oil
in India has increased sharply in recent years. Since 2000-01, production of oilseeds grew at the rate of
4.7 per cent per annum, but edible
oil consumption increased at the
rate of 6.5 per cent per annum. Due
to above noted reasons and failure of
58
Production, availability and consumption of edible oils during the last

few years (in lakh tones)
Year
(Nov to Oct)
Production of
oilseeds
Net availability of
edible oils from all
domestic sources
Consumption of edible oil (from domestic

and import sources)
2000 01
184.40
54.99
96.76
2001 02
206.63
61.46
104.68
2002 03
150.58
47.28
90.93
2003 04
251.86
71.40
124.30
2004 05
243.54
72.47
117.89
2005 06
279.79
83.16
126.04
2006 07
242.89
73.70
115.87
2007 08
297.55
86.54
142.62
2008 09
277.20
84.62
166.41
2009 10
263.20
79.31
167.52
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, GOI, India
monsoon in last two years there is

increase in the import of edible oils.
It is expected that to met the demand of edible oil India will import
around 9 million tones of edible oil
in the current year, however, the
import of edible oil in 2000-01 was
only 5.2 million tones which is increasing regularly.
Future strategies
Apart from huge availability of
oilseed crops including both field
and fruits, there is continuous declining in the oilseed production during the last couple of years and due
to emerging demand for edible oil,
huge quantity of oil is imported annually in our country for both food
and industrial purposes. To enhance
the production of oilseeds, the government of India is implementing
various schemes (Integrated scheme
of oilseeds and other crops (ISOPOM), Macro management of Agriculture (MMA) and Rashtriya Krishi
Vikas Yojana (RKVY)). However,
to overcome the gap between
production and demand we
have to focus on tree borne
oilseed crops. Seeds and
kernels of various tree
borne oilseeds like wild
apricot,
wild
peach,
plum, cherry, seabuckthorn, cheura etc are also
an important source of oil
which is still untapped in
India. The north-western
states of India like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and some parts of

Assam are bestowed with the huge
availability of tree borne oil seeds
and their relatives.
Utilization of these tree borne
oilseeds for oil extraction not only
add to national oil pool for different
purposes but also supplements the
processors income as it can also
generate employment for the people. By overcoming the large gap
between demand and availability
which is presently met through imports, we can also save our foreign
exchange which is spent in large
amount every year. Although after
food grains, oilseeds represent the
second largest agricultural produce
in India, their status in area and production per hectare is grim in these
states. Per hectare production of
oilseeds in these states is less than
half of the national average. Plants
of these tree borne oilseeds can
also reduce environmental pollution
and control soil erosion. The main
plus point with these tree borne oilseeds is that they are widely grown
in the degraded lands with adverse
agro-climatic conditions. In most
of the states of the Himalayan region, there is a vast tract of such
type of degraded lands where one
can plants these tree borne oilseeds
with less cultural practices.
Amit Kumar and Gowher Nabi Parry, Krishi Vigyan Kendra/Extension
Training Centre, SKUAST-K, Malangpora (Pulwama) J & K
Know Your
MINISTER
EXPECTATIONS GALORE
It is an incredibly wide canvas and
it has got incredibly important issues. I feel absolutely honoured to
be able to contribute. This is what
has been said by Jayanthi Natarajan
after she has been indicted as the
new environment and forests minister in the latest cabinet reshuffle by
UPA. Ms Natarajan, the only known
face from Tamil Nadu in the congress has come back to the council
of union ministers after a gap of 13
years. Jayanthi Natarajan born on
June 7, 1954 is the grand daughter
of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Bakthavatsalam and a lawyer by profession. A member of the
Indian National Congress, she has
been elected three times as a Rajya
Sabha member from Tamil Nadu.
During the 90s Jayanthi Natarajan
and other leaders from Tamil Nadu
had founded the Tamil Maanila
Congress under the leadership of
GK Moopanar. Later, TMC became
a part of United Front govt at the
centre and Natarajan was appointed as the Minister of State for Coal,
Civil Aviation and Parliamentary
Affairs in 1997. With the death of
TMC chief Moopanar, TMC merged
with the Congress in 2002.
With earlier Environment minister Jairam Ramesh raising the bar
of performance, a tough and important job lies ahead for Natarajan.
At a time when global warming is
the most important issue of concern for mother earth, no doubt the
new minister will have to do a lot
for the protection and conservation
of the environment. Apart of bringing in new schemes and projects,
she will also have to keep an eye
on environment clearances for industrial projects so as to avoid controversies like the ones related to
Lavasa and Vedanta. The portfolio
currently held by Jayanthi Natarajan in the Union ministry is a very
crucial one as the rapid growth in
population, uncontrolled urbanization and industrialization is leading
to a number of environmental is-
JAYANTHI NATARAJAN
UNION MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS
sues in India like forest and agricultural degradation of land, resource

depletion, loss of biodiversity etc.
In an interview Ms Natarajan has
said that she would do everything
to protect the environment. When
asked on the perception that that
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
appointed her as a result of a compromise to appease corporate India,
Ms. Natarajan said, My actions will
show that there can be no compromise on either issue that I will always act for the best welfare of the
country. In an interview to Karan
Thapar in the programme Devils
Advocate, on a question about the
Environment Ministrys uncertainty
in clearing big projects like Posco,
Vedanta and Lavasa, Ms Natarajan
has promised the corporate world
for a single window fast clear-
ances and complete clarity for big

projects. It is important that Natarajan strikes a fair balance between
the rural and corporate world while
tackling the pressure for clearance
of developmental projects coming
in conflict with green norms.
After taking the ministership,
Ms. Natarajan also hailed Mr.
Ramesh, saying her predecessor
did an absolutely spectacular job
in mainstreaming environmental
concerns. India expects the same
spectacular performance from her
as well. The minister has aptly said
There is no real growth unless the
environment is taken into consideration. As the new Union minister
for environment and forest, this
veteran congress leader is expected
to fulfill this remark.
August 2011
AGRICULTURE TODAY
59
60

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Volume - XIV, No.

Layout & Design

Creative Head cum

502, Rohit House

From the Editors Desk

Indespensable Need of the Hour

Mr Jerome Bonnafont, French

Dr. Vincent Darlong, Country

Know Your Minister

AGRICULTURE TODAY August 2011

The politics of foodgrain management

AGRICULTURE TODAY August 2011

Indian Potash to invest Rs 1,500 cr for setting up port

Godrej Agrovet is looking to enter this segment through a JV with an Israeli

There is money on offer, but the farmers of Halligudi, a hamlet of 5,500

Tata Coffee expects normal output this year

AGRICULTURE TODAY August 2011

Coromandel International in pact with Qatar Fertiliser

Fertilizer dept alerts MEA on potash cartel

NSL Sugars buys Jay Maheshs Maharashtra plant

Use of pesticide in India on rise

National food security commission in works

FARM IP, ENTER WIPO

Govt Notifies Freeing of MRP of P&K Fertilisers

PDS commodities seized from godown

In a joint operation by the district and police administration in active association

AGRICULTURE TODAY August 2011

Monetary policy adjustment can not curb rise in food prices

Farm loan waiver not a long-term solution

Subsidy Likely for Mechanised Cane Harvesters as Labour Costs Surge

Uniform policy needed for farmers

Ten states awarded for food grains output

AP set to save with Aadhaar

If at all the state leads in anything, it is in the enrolment of

Haryana gets award for wheat

AGRICULTURE TODAY August 2011

Himachal apples hit markets

Famous for its apples, Himachal Pradesh has started

Arunachal rice quota may be hiked

Gujarat, Maharashtra record highest growth in farm sector

Bank & Micro-finance

NABARD sanctions Rs. 765 cr. aid to State

Yes Bank stress on rural loans

Extend crop loans: Reddy tells banks

Agri loan rate cap to stay

AGRICULTURE TODAY August 2011

Bank & Micro-finance

LIC to handle R&R payments to UP farmer

Bank credit to farm sector disappointing

Super tomatoes to beat cancer

Soya oil unfazed by weak foreign market

US Corn Supply Estimate may Fall: Morgan Stanley

AGRICULTURE TODAY August 2011

Crude oil drops on weak Chinese factory data

Corn tumbled for a second day on forecasts for increased supplies,

Australian wheat exports rise 10%

Wheat exports from Australia, the fourth-largest shipper,

World Food Prices Climb on Sugar, Dairy Costs

Speculation of Chinese Slump Pulls Down Oil

Icrisat to start biosafety field trials in 3-5 yrs

Potato genome now sequenced, analysed

An international consortium has sequenced and analyzed the potato genome.