Agriculture in News, September 12, 2017
New Delhi, 12 September 2017
ICFA joins hands with German Agribusiness Alliance for accelerating agriculture growth
Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with German Agribusiness Alliance (GAA) with the aim to promote trade, technology and business cooperation in food and agriculture sector of the two economies by providing policy advocacy, promoting investments. GAA is an initiative of leading associations and companies in the agro-food industry which aims towards improving fundamental national and international framework conditions for facilitating economic activities in and with the partner countries. Ms Alina Gumpert and Mr NS Randhawa on behalf of GAA and ICFA respectively signed the MOU.
ICFA is an apex policy research and advocacy body for food and agriculture sector. This collaborations will make efforts to accelerate the growth of Indian Agriculture and will address to various issues that may facilitate greater cooperation between India and Germany and generate reciprocal awareness among the industries, investors, Government and other stakeholders about each other country for better understanding and cooperation. ICFA is a national level platform in India with the mandate for policy research and advocacy, trade, technology and investments facilitation in food and agriculture sector towards empowering the farmers and addressing the issues of agriculture development, global food security and environmental sustainability.
Agriculture Today
New Delhi, 12 September 2017
ICFA collaborates with Iowa State University Seed Science Centre for better quality seeds in India
A Memorandum of Collaboration was signed by Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) with Iowa State University Seed Science Centre for better access to quality seed, encouraging seed exchange, andinitiate cutting-edge research projects in seed sector to boost sustainable agriculture. The Seed Science Center at Iowa State University (ISU-SSC) is a center of excellence in Seed Science, Technology and Systems nationally and internationally.Mr. ManjitMisra and Mr. Randhwa signed the document. This collaborations will make efforts to accelerate exchange of knowledge and enhance cooperation to boost sustainable agriculturethe growth of Indian Agriculture. ICFA is a national level platform in India with the mandate for policy research and advocacy, trade, technology and investments facilitation in food and agriculture sector towards empowering the farmers and addressing the issues of agriculture development, global food security and environmental sustainability.
The Assam Tribune
Guwahati, 12 September 2017
Agri officials asked to take steps to combat army worms
The Agriculture Department has directed all officials to take steps to contain any adverse affect from army worms. In a letter to District Agriculture Officers and other officials, the department said that army worms or swarming caterpillars have manifested in different areas of the State. Steps like deployment of spraying squads in affected areas have been directed. It said that sufficient plant protection chemicals like quinnolphos comma chloropyriphos and malathon powder have been made available to all the affected districts. The Directorate of Agriculture has already set up a control room headed by AC Karmakar, Joint Director, to liaise with district officials in this regard and DAOs have been told to be in touch with the control room for any assistance or support. Army worms had severely affected farmlands in the State last year also.
The Assam Tribune
Guwahati, 12 September 2017
Agri scientists call for effective adaptation strategy
With floods hitting Assam with increasing frequency and causing substantial crop damage, agriculture scientists have called for an effective adaptation strategy to mitigate the flood-induced damage. As the floods occur in multiple waves and the nature and extent of damage varies, the adaptation approach and contingency plan may also accordingly vary. The problems that arise during flood time range from deficit of seedlings for planting sali rice and rice seedlings (surviving the flood damage) getting over-aged due to the farmers’ inability to transplant the seedlings within the stipulated time to damage of the transplanted rice at different stages of growth.
“Depending on the time of flood occurrence, the farmers can choose high-yielding improved rice varieties with appropriate duration, including early-maturing varieties. The duration of the varieties should be such that the varieties must come to flowering within October,” Dr PK Pathak, Associate Director of Research, Assam Agricultural University (AAU) told. In situations where flood water may submerge the rice plants for not more than two weeks, the farmers should opt for submergence-tolerant sali rice varieties like Ranjit Sub 1, Bahadur Sub 1, Jalashree, Jalkuwari (all AAU-developed varieties), Swarna Sub 1, etc. In flood-prone areas, the farmers can choose Gitesh for sali rice crop as this is suitable for staggered planting with aged seedlings. “We need to maintain a buffer stock of seeds of early and mid-early rice varieties such as Luit, Disang, Kolong, Dikhow, Lachit, IR50, etc., every year as a matter of policy by the State government and with participation of AAU, Assam Seeds Corporation, and the Department of Agriculture,” Dr Pathak said. Having a contingency plan with thrust on crop care during flood time can also ease the situation for the farmers.
The Economic Times
New Delhi, 12 September 2017
Crop Insurance Scheme Set for Revamp
The government’s farm insurance scheme is in for a revamp just about one year after launch, with the focus now on increasing competition among insurers, lowering the average premium and widening the scope of cover to include losses due to natural disasters. There is tremendous potential to improve the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana started last year and a high-level team has asked to make it more holistic in coverage and a win-win proposition for all parties, a senior government official working closely on revamping the scheme told. “There is a need to make agriculture insurance more competitive. This can be done by increasing competition among insurance companies, which in turn will lower the premium charged and thus make it more attractive for farmers,“ the official said on condition of anonymity.
Under the existing scheme, farmers pay 1.5% to 2% as premium for most crops compared with the average of 11% charged by insurance companies, and the remainder is equally divided and paid by the Centre and the state. The official said coverage under the insurance scheme may be widened to include damage and loss to housing and property in the event of a natural disaster. So far, such damage was covered by the National Disaster Response Fund. The government estimates farmers have paid premium of Rs 2,000 crore, while claims worth Rs 8,000 crore have been paid and another Rs 2,000 crore are in pipeline for settlement. The scheme now covers 30% of the gross cropped area. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tasked think tank Niti Aayog with suggesting ways to improve the government’s flagship farm insurance scheme, which has faced criticism for tardy implementation and being skewed in favour of insurers. The Niti Aayog, under member Ramesh Chand, has prepared a blueprint to make the scheme more robust and wide ranging.
The Times of India
New Delhi, 12 September 2017
Draft farm law for price volatility shield
Seeking to protect farmers from price volatility by ensuring guaranteed price for their produce, the Centre will come out with a draft model law on contract farming this month. Once it is made public, stakeholders, including farmers, will be given 30 days to comment and give suggestions. A final `model’ contract farming Act is expected to be released in November after incorporating the suggestions.
“The final model Act will serve as a guide for states to bring required legislation on contract farming. In fact, many states, including Uttar Pradesh, have shown eagerness in adopting it as early as possible,“ said a member of the committee, headed by senior IAS officer Ashok Dalwai, which has been working on the draft. Contract farming is a system in which agro-processing exporting or trading units enter into a contract with farmers to purchase a specified quantity of any agricultural commodity at a pre agreed price. Integration of fruits and vegetable growers with agro-processing units will help farmers not only in getting better price for their produce but also in reducing post-harvest losses. “Idea of the contract farming law is to protect farmers from price volatility, particularly in perishable items. Such a law will protect farmers from market fluctuations as it will ensure assured and better price of agricultural and horticultural produce to them through advance agreements,“ the official said. The move to bring a model contract farming Act was announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech. Once states adopt the model law, farmers can enter into contracts with private entities buyers who may , in turn, invest in technology and quality inputs and even provide management skills to increase productivity and reduce transaction costs.
Hindustan Times
New Delhi, 12 September 2017
Drought warning sounded for 225 districts in 17 states
With the southwest monsoon season about to end in less than three weeks’ time, the government’s drought warning system predicts there could be a drought in 225 districts across “17 agriculturally important states of India,” putting further strain on distressed agriculture sector. According to the government’s National Agriculture and Drought Assessment System (NADAMS) the affected districts include large agricultural areas in the states of Maharashtra, UP and Punjab. The three states had announced farm loan waivers just months ago. These states are already struggling to pay the promised waivers and will find it harder to cope with more distress in the farm sector, experts said.
Drought conditions also loom over the chronically distress prone areas of Vidharba, Marathwada, Bundelkhand and Telangana raising the prospect of another miserable year for farmers in these regions. Farmers’ protests erupted this year in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and large parts of northern India despite record food grain production last year. “The number of districts with drought trigger 1 at the end of August was 225. The total amount of rainfall is good but dry spells have gone up sharply,” SS Ray, director of New Delhi-based National Crop Forecast Centre, under the ministry of agriculture which releases the monthly NADAMS report told. The NADAMS works like an early warning system for drought that alerts the states under which the affected districts lie, a scientist at NCFC explained. Drought declaration is a three step process. Trigger 1 is the first stage but also the most crucial because it is assessed on the basis of rainfall deviations and dry spell. After this the states launch assessment based on the crop situation and hydrological parameters to declare a drought. The report for August is expected to be released later this month. The report for July, released in August showed the possibility of drought in 104 districts.
Business Standard
Mumbai, 12 September 2017
Imported sugar to get cheaper in south India
With domestic sugar prices in wholesale market quoted at around Rs 39 a kg, imported sugar continues to remain cost-effective in southern states even with a 25 per cent duty. In Tamil Nadu, sugar is priced Rs 1.50-2 a kg more than that in Maharashtra due to supply shortage. The southern state faces huge supply deficit this year due to three-four years of subsequent drought resulting into lower local production. Worryingly, drought continued this year too, which prompted policy makers to allow raw sugar import of 300,000 tonnes at 25 per cent of import duty against prevailing duty of 50 per cent.
“Tamil Nadu is facing shortage. The conditional raw sugar import could have been planned in a better manner,” said P G Periasamy, President, South India Sugar Mills Association (SISMA). “Government estimates sugar supply to remain tight in Tamil Nadu during the peak festive demand season of October–end. Therefore, government has allowed import of 300,000 tonnes of raw sugar afresh,” said an industry source. Sugar production in Tamil Nadu, according to trade sources, is estimated at 1.1 million tonnes for SS (sugar season) 2016-17 against consumption of around 1.5 million tonnes. Again in 2017-18, the industry estimates sugar production barely at 0.6 million tonnes resulting into sharp deficit in the state next year. Meanwhile, Abinash Verma, Director General, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), said that imported sugar works out to be Rs 3-4 a kg cheaper than locally produced sweetener. “The permission of importing raw sugar is aimed at increasing the availability of sugar to avoid any disturbance in supplies and any sudden spurt in prices with the festival season soon approaching,” said Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, CARE Ratings. To avoid increasing cost in production due to firing of boiler of refineries, the government has granted three months time for sugar mills to convert raw sugar into refined one.
The Economic Times
Pune, 12 September 2017
Maize Rates Likely to Remain Low Despite Fall in Crop Acreage
Maize prices may remain subdued in the short term despite a decline of about 4% in crop acreage, with experts attributing the downtrend to lower demand from the feeds industry and high-than-usual stockpiles. Used mainly as poultry feed and in starch manufacturing, the maize crop should hit the markets from November when the summer-sown grains are harvested. Spot prices of maize have been on a downturn across the country for more than a month.
According to the latest report of Amit Sachdev, South Asia representative for the US Grains Council, maize prices dropped 3.5% at Jalgaon, 3.6% at Nizamabad, 2.4% at Davangere, and 0.4% at Gulabbagh compared to those in the previous week. The federal agriculture ministry’s sowing data show that the summer-sown, or kharif, crop was planted on 78.66 lakh hectares as on September 1, against 82.87 lakh hectares of maize crop reported last year. The biggest decline was in Karnataka, where the trade also has concerns about yields due to the August rainfall deficit. In the medium term, however, prices may firm, reversing the recent downtrend cent downtrend when the kharif crop is harvested.“It is a wait-and-watch situation. Some areas have received above normal rains and some have received less rains,“ stated the report by Sachdev. The lower production outlook in the southern states, mainly Karnataka, is expected to help the price of the kharif harvest.
Business Line
New Delhi, 12 September 2017
Nipping wheat blast in the bud
Recently wheat blast disease found its way into India, through the Bangladesh border, affecting the crop in the bordering districts of Murshidabad and Nadia in West Bengal. ‘Blast’ is a fungal disease that infects crops such as rice, wheat and oats.
Wheat blast is caused by a fungus, which was first identified in Brazil in 1985. It infects all the parts of the wheat crop above the ground, particularly the cereal head. It closely resembles the symptoms of ‘blight’ disease (small brown dots that appear on leaves and stems). The infection leads to reduction in crop yield and grain quality. This fungal disease is spread through infected seeds, airborne spores and infected crop residues and seeds. The symptoms are completely or partially bleached spikes and it affects the stem, impacting spike formation in the wheat crop. Infection during the growth of the crop would lead to no grain but, if the fully grown crop is infected, it leads to shrivelled, small or light-weight grains or discolouration of the wheat. Deformity in the grain could happen within a week, leaving farmers no time to respond to the threat. Most fungicides are ineffective in controlling this blast. Scientists and researchers have not fully understood the complexity of the wheat blast fungus, making it difficult to control the attack. In Asia, wheat blast was first reported in Bangladesh in 2016 and caused havoc in over 15,000 hectares of wheat.
Farmers burn the infected wheat crops to stop the disease from spreading. Some also quarantine the infected area to stop the disease from spreading to healthy crops. Crop rotation is another method to prevent and reduce pathogens in the field. However, if wheat is to be sown in the neighbouring fields or surrounding areas, immediate removal of crop residues and weeds post harvest is compulsory for infection-free crop growth.
Business Line
New Delhi, 12 September 2017
Sugar prices down as govt allows import
Prices of sugar were down in key wholesale markets across the country after the Centre allowed imports of the commodity, traders said. The Centre has allowed import of 300,000 tonnes raw sugar at a basic Customs duty of 25 per cent under the tariff rate quota for 60 days, a notification said.
Sugar imports currently attract a duty of 50 per cent. Import of sugar will now be allowed at 25 per cent to improve domestic supplies and check rising prices, a senior government official told. A 50 per cent import duty makes overseas purchases unviable. The import of 300,000 tonnes sugar has been allowed through the ports of Tuticorin and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Karaikal in Puducherry, Mangalore in Karnataka, and Kakinada, Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh. This season, average sugar prices in southern India have been Rs 150-200 per 100 kg higher than those in the north due to this fall in output. Since the import has been allowed under the tariff rate quota, millers and refiners will have to convert the imported raw sugar into refined or white sugar within 30 days from the date of bill of entry, the notification said.
In case a government-licensed importer fails to utilise the tariff quota partially or fully, the importer will have to surrender the unutilised imported raw sugar to the Director General of Foreign Trade by September 25, the notification said.The government will also levy a penalty of 0.5 per cent of the cost, insurance and freight value of the unutilised quota, it said. Expectations of a record high production in Uttar Pradesh also weighed on the sentiment in north Indian markets, they said.
Business Line
New Delhi, 12 September 2017
Tea Board to help Darjeeling growers
Darjeeling tea growers affected by the on-going Gorkhaland agitation will get help from the Tea Board to assess loss and work out a recovery package. “The tea growers’ associations informed us that they were not in a position to come up with pointed demands for help from the Centre as they were too disturbed by the continuing violence and needed assistance. We have asked the Tea Board officials to sit with them and work out an assistance plan,” a Commerce Ministry official told.
Last month, when industry associations, including the Darjeeling Tea Association and the Indian Tea Association, had sought help from the Centre, they were asked to frame specific proposals which could be taken up with the Finance Ministry. “The industry has been unable to come up with proposals yet but we are sure that with the Tea Board stepping in, the matter would be sorted out soon,” the official said. The Commerce Ministry is of the opinion that cash compensation alone cannot help the industry that is staring at loss of ₹400 crore. “The mid-term and long-term recovery plans could include different mechanisms such as arranging working capital, giving interest subvention for the working capital and increasing the moratorium period on long-term loans,” the official said. It is not just the second flush of tea, grown between June and August, that got destroyed due to the strike. The third flush, too, is likely to be lost as the required pruning of bushes after the rains could not be carried out. “The attempt will be to come up with a proposed package as soon as possible so that it can be discussed with the Finance Ministry and finalised,” he added. Darjeeling tea industry needs to be back on its feet as soon as possible as it is apprehensive of losing its export market to competitors if it can’t restore supplies soon.
Business Line
New Delhi, 12 September 2017
Dhaniya may spice up before festival season
Dhaniya futures was on a downward trend during the week ended September 8, tracking negative cues from the physical market. Increase in supplies of quality material in anticipation of higher domestic demand ahead of the festival season has put downward pressure on prices. At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, coriander prices for delivery in October contract slipped by Rs 196, or 3.86 per cent over the previous week, to close at Rs 4,874 a quintal, with an open interest of 35,610 lots. In the cash market, coriander prices dropped by Rs 100-230 per quintal across the major markets, including Kota, Neemuch, Rajkot and Gondal.
Dhaniya futures are likely to trade on a positive note in the upcoming week. Supplies of Indian produce as well as imported material are expected to decline in the near future as prices are trading near to their multi-year low levels. Further, purchasing activities by organised retailers and interstate traders are expected to increase ahead of the festival season, which too will be supportive of dhaniya prices. Monsoon rainfall is likely to be weak to fairly widespread in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan until September 15.
