13-01-2017

Monsoon failure strikes paddy growing on

TNAUresearchplot

This year the yield is expected to be around 1.8 tonnes an

acre, in January 2016 it was 3 tonnes
HarvestofTRY(R)3varietyataresearchplotattheTamilNaduAgriculturalUniversityAnbilDharmalingam
AgriculturalCollegeandResearchInstituteatNavalurKuttapattunearhere,isexpectedtoregisteramarginalfallin
yieldandalsotheharvestofthepaddyvarietyisbeingdelayedbyafortnightduetomonsoonfailure.
Neverinthepastdecadehasthecollegewitnessedsuchafallinyield.Althoughtheresearchscholarsandfaculty
memberssparednomeasurestosavethepaddycropraisedonabout40centsontheresearchplotofthecampus,the
continueddroughtconditionhasimpactedthecrop.

Normally,theharvestofthisvarietycommenceswiththePongalfestival,butthisyear,weareforcedtopostpone
theharvesttotheendofthismonthasthecropisyettoregisterfullgrowth,saidP.Pandiyarajan,Deanofthe
InstitutetoldTheHinduonThursday.
HesaidthatthevarietywasreleasedbytheInstituteaboutadecadeagoanditisspeciallysuitedforthealkalinesoil
orsodicaffectedfieldswherethesaltcontentwassevere.Infact,thecollegewasfoundedintheManikandamblock
inthedistrictandthisblockaccountsfor5,000hectaresthelargestsingleblockwithsodicaffectedareainthe
district.
Intheinitialperiod,thepaddyvariety,withadurationof135days,registered2.25tonnesanacre.
But,thisyear,theyieldisexpectedtobearound1.8tonnesanacre,theDeansaid.Hesaidthatthevarietyhasa
millingpercentageof71.30andheadricerecoverywas66percent.
Thevarietywasresistanttodiseases,includingleaffolder,stemborer,brownspot,sheathrot,andsheathblight.
In2015,theyieldperacrestoodat2.4tonnesandinJanuary2016,ithadshotupto3tonnes.
Theonlysolaceforscientistsandresearchscholarsoftheinstituteisthattheachievementhadbeenrecordedaftera
close followup on the growth of the plant. Mild showers during Vardah cyclone brought some hope for
rejuvenatingtheplantbutitwasshortlivedastherewasnospellofrainafterthat,saidG.Subramanian,Headof
theDepartmentofAgronomy.
T.Ramesh,AssistantProfessorofAgronomysaidthatpeacockmenaceposedanotherproblemthisseason.
Onthepeacockmenace,hesaidthatamusterofpeacocksassembleinthepaddyfields,particularlyintheearly
morningandlateeveningtoeatawaythepaddygrains.
Researchscholarshavetakeneffortstopreventthegrowthofweedsinthecropbyusingherbicide.Thecropwould
beharvestedbeforeJanuary30,accordingtotheDean.

Milkprocurementpriceincreased
In the wake of an increase in the price of fodder because of drought, the Shivamogga Milk Union
Limited(SHIMUL),aunitofKarnatakaMilkFederation,hasannouncedtheenhancementofthepriceatwhichthe
milkisprocuredbyRs1.50perlitre.
ThenewpricewillcomeintoeffectfromThursday.Withthis,thepriceatwhichtheSHIMULprocuresmilkfrom
thefarmershasbeenenhancedfromRs23.65toRs25.15perlitre.Inadditiontothis,themilkproducerwillalso
getRs.5paidbytheStategovernmentasanincentiveforalitreofmilk.Inall,themilkproducerswillgetan
amountofRs.30.15forsellingalitreofmilkforSHIMUL.
Paddystrawisthemainsourceoffodderforfarmersintheregion.TheDepartmentofAgriculturehadsetatargetof
cultivatingpaddyon1.08lakhhectaresoflandinthedistrictinthekharifseasonof2016.However,owingtothe
sluggishmonsoon,paddywascultivatedonlyon1.01lakhhectares.Thepaddycultivatedundertherainfedmethod
inShikaripurandSorabtalukswasdamagedowingtothemoisturestresscausedbydrought.
Owingtoscarcityofrain,paddywasnotcultivatedasasummercropinthecommandareasofBhadraandTunga
reservoirs.Thishasresultedinthescarcityoffodder.AsimilarsituationprevailsinDavangereandChitradurga
districtsalsothatfallunderthejurisdictionofSHIMUL.

Accordingtosources,thepriceofatonneoffodderthatwasatRs.5,800lastyearhasincreasedtoRs.9,000now.
Jagadeeshappa Banakar, chairman, SHIMUL, said as the cost incurred by milk producers towards fodder has
increased,themeetingofthemanagingcommitteeoftheUnionheldrecentlydecidedtoenhance thepriceof
procurementofmilk.
TheSHIMULprocures4.34lakhlitreofmilkdailythroughits1,080milkproducers cooperative societiesin
Shivamogga,ChitradurgaandDavangeredistricts.Around65,000milkproducers,whoaremembersofthesemilk
producerscooperativesocieties,willbebenefitedfromthedecisiontoenhancethepriceofmilkprocurement.Mr.
JagadeeshappaalsoaddedthatthepriceatwhichSHIMULsellsmilkandmilkproducetoitscustomerswillremain
unaltered.

Harvest of gloom for farmers as forecast

indicatescrashincropprices

Cash crunch following demonetisation has complicated

the matter for growers: report
The coming harvest festival, Sankranti, presents a gloomy picture for farmers as Karnataka Agriculture Price
Commission(KAPC)hasforecastoneoftheworstseasonsinthelastseveraldecadesaspricesofvariouscropsare
likelytoplummet.
Itisastrangephenomenonaspricesarelikelytocrashevenwhenthereisashortfallinproductionasagainstthe
trendofglutinproductiontriggeringafallinprices,saidKAPCchairmanT.N.PrakashKammardi.Thissituation
hasarisenasthereisabountifulharvestofvariouscropsbecauseofgoodrainsinotherStatesaswellascountries.
EitherthecheapcropsfromotherStatesareenteringourmarketsorthereisnodemandforourproduceinother
marketsbecauseofglutintheirownareas,hesaid.
Itislikerubbingsaltintothewoundoffarmerswhohavealreadysufferedcroplossesowingtoseriousdroughtor
floodsastheymayhavetonotonlysufferreductioninyield,butalsocrashintheprices,notestheThePerspective
andForecastingreportbytheKAPC.
Demonetisationaddstowoes
Accordingtothecommissionsreport,whathascomplicatedthematteristheimpactofdemonetisation.Thishas
preventedtherecoveryofpricesofsomecropsbesidesleadingtoadipinthepriceofothersowingtopoorcash
flowinthemarkets,Dr.Kammardisaid.
Thecommissionsreporthaspointedoutthatthepricesoftomatoandonionhavecrashedby84percentand70per
centrespectively,whencomparedwiththeearlierlevel;andthatofcopraandarecanuthaveseenadipof47per
centand7percentrespectivelyafterdemonetisation.
ThecommissionhassuggestedtotheStategovernmenttotakeuptheissuewithNABARDaswellastheUnion
government to increase the daily money withdrawal limit for farm traders in agricultural produce marketing
committees(APMC)intheinterestoffarmers.
Pointingoutthatthenormsrelatedtomonetarywithdrawallimitsfrombankswererelaxedforteagrowersofsome
areas,Dr.KammardisoughtsimilarbenefittobeextendedtoAPMCsasnearly41percentofthetradingoffarm
producetakesplaceinthesemarkets.
Only32p.c.ofaffectedfarmlandinsured
Only32percentofthelandwhereagriculturalcropswerelosteitherbecauseofdroughtorfloodshasbeencovered
under crop insurance scheme in Karnataka in the present financial year, according to a report by Karnataka
AgriculturePriceCommission.
Expressingconcern over thesituation,thecommissionhasstressedtheneed forincreasingthecropinsurance
coveragetoprotectfarmersagainstvagariesofnature.Thetotalextentofcoverageisevenlowerasonly14percent
ofthetotalnumberoffarmersintheStatehavebeencoveredunderthescheme.
Thereportobservednoncomplianceofthenormthatmakesitmandatoryforallfarmerswhohavetakenfarmloans
toenrolthemselvesunderthecropinsurancescheme.
Ofthe46lakhfarmerswhohavetakenloansinthepresentfinancialyear,only8.34lakhhavebeencoveredunder
theinsurancescheme,thereportnotes.

Survivingthedrought
ironicallyontheeveoftheharvestfestivalofPongal,isanimportantsteptoaddresstheagrariandistressthatis
sweepingtheStatefollowingpoorrainfallduringthenortheastmonsoon.Evenwithrelativelybettergovernance
structures,desperationamongfarmershasresultedinaspateofsuicides,particularlyintheCauverydeltaricebelt
that has received little water from Karnataka in recent times. An official declaration of drought brings relief:
postponement of loan recovery, waiver of land tax and alternative employment through schemes such as the
MahatmaGandhiNationalRuralEmploymentGuaranteeScheme.Thechallengenowistoinfuseconfidenceamong
farmersthatthegovernmentisfullybehindthem.AsagriculturescientistM.S.Swaminathanhaspointedout,there
isaneedtolookaheadandinstitutereformsindroughtmanagementforeffectivedistressmitigation.Theseshould
befoundedonaparticipatoryapproach,onethatintensivelyengagesthefarmcommunityyearround.Amonsoon
management centre drawing upon the expertise of multiple departments would, for instance, help use scarce
resourcesconservativelyduringadrought,andmaximisetheirpotentialingoodtimes.Itisalsocrucialtopreserve
thehealthofcattleandotherlivestock,astheytendtosufferirreparableharmduringdrought,withcascadingeffects
ontheirfutureproductivity.TheCentreshouldprovideallsupporttoachievethisundertheNationalDisaster
ResponseFundandthePrimeMinisterscropinsurancescheme.

Theimportanceofwelfaresupportforsmallandmarginalfarmerscannotbeoverstated,giventhevagariesofthe
monsoon.Morethanadecadeago,theNationalCommissiononFarmerspointedoutthatsuccessivedroughts,
illness,highexpenditureonsocialobligationsandassetlosspushfarmerstothebrink.Yet,notmuchhaschangedin
themanagementofdroughtfromthelowbudgetpracticesofthecolonialera,asthe SwarajAbhiyan caseinthe
SupremeCourtlastyearrevealed.Nomoretimecanbelostinmakingtheadministrativesystemforagriculture
responsivetotodaysneeds.TheCentrehastoensurethattheDroughtManagementManualisupdatedtoreflect
farmersconcerns,chiefly,givingweightagetotheamountofrainfalldeficitanddeclaringadroughtwithoutdelay.
InTamilNadu,excessiverelianceonwaterintensivericecultivation,andlowerpriorityforhardymilletshave
raisedtheriskformanyfarmers.Activerechargingofgroundwaterandharvestingofsurfacewaterarevitaltomeet
thechallenges.

Keralaseeksbiggerroleinmanagingmarine
resources
Crucial meeting on fisheries policy today
TheKeralagovernmentwillexertpressureontheCentreforagreatersayintheadministration,regulationand
managementofmarinefisheriesresources.
AmeetingofStatefisheriesministersconvenedbytheUnionMinistryofAgricultureonFridayisslatedtodiscuss
the draft national policy on marine fisheries that was formulated after several rounds of discussions with
stakeholders. The State Government has deputed Principal Secretary, Fisheries, James Varghese to attend the
meeting.

Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma said Kerala would press for decentralised management of fisheries, a
nationwidebanonjuvenilefishingandafreezeontheLetterofPermitschemethatallowsforeigntrawlersto
operateinIndianwaters.
TheStateisalsoseekingextensionofitsterritorialrightsfrom12to36nauticalmilesandlicensingrightsfor
wirelessequipmenttobeinstalledinfishingvessels.MostofthesuggestionssubmittedbytheStatehavenotbeen
takenintoaccountinthedraftpolicy,shesaid.
Meanwhile, official sources said three major provisions in the draft policy were reportedly removed after the
documentwaspublishedonline.
Concurrentlist
Theseincludetheproposaltobringfisheriesintotheconcurrentlist,createaseparateministryforfisheriesand
prescribeminimumstandardsforfishingvessels.
BasedonalongstandingdemandfrommaritimeStates,theproposaltoincludefisheriesintheconcurrentlistwas
finalisedafterseveralroundsofconsultationswithstakeholders.Currently,theterritorialzoneextendingupto12
nauticalmilesfromthecoastcomesundertheStatelistwhilethefishingzonefrom12to200nauticalmilesis
administeredbytheCentre,oftenleadingtojurisdictionalconflictonmanyissues.
Separateministry
Theideaofaseparatefisheriesministrywasconceivedtoensurebetterfocusandmanagementofthesectorthat
involvesthelivelihoodofalargesegmentofthepopulation.
Currently,theDepartment ofAnimal Husbandry,DairyingandFisheries(DADF)comesundertheAgriculture
ministry.Standardisationoffishingvesselshasalsobeenalongpendingdemandbyfishers.
TheMinistersaidKeralawouldresistanymovetodilutekeyprovisionsinthedraftpolicythatwouldaffectthe
traditionalsector.