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AGRICULTURE A G R I C U LT U R E
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VOLUME 5 ISSUE 07 JULY 2019 ` 100
the pulse of global agriculture
THE BEST TIME TO PLANT A TREE WAS 20 YEARS AGO. THE SECOND BEST TIME IS NOW
Beat air pollution
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Our Biodiversity Our Food Our Health
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C o n t e n t s the pulse of global agriculture
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VOLUME 5 ISSUE 07 JULY 2019 ` 100 PAGES 100 Editor-in-Chief MC Dominic
Head Pre-Press Yogesh Kumar
Directors Shiny Dominic MG Vasan
Sr. Graphic Designer Atul Batham
Editor Dr. Lakshmi Unnithan Sr. Executive Editor Dr. KT Chandy Technical Editors Dr. Mahendra Pal (Vet. Sci) Associate Editors Asha Sadasiv V. P. Intl. Business D D Nair (Russia & CIS Countries 6 Mikluho- Maklaya STR Moscow, Russia, 117198 Mob: 79037299830 Tel: 74995019910 Email: ddnair@krishijagran.com Gavrilova Maria
Graphic Designer Nasim Ansari Circulation Head Abdus Samad Sr. Circulation Manager Rahul Singh Asst. Circulation Manager Prashant Sharma Sr. Circulation Executives Furkan Qureshi Sujeet Pal Pappu Rai Tarun Singh Avdhesh Yadav Video Editors Nishant Kr. Taak Vivek Chand
Head Operations Sanjay Kumar
Accounts & Production Head Ashok Gupta
Head: PR & Communications Dr. Lakshmi Unnithan
Account Lakshmi Ratheesh
Sr. V.P Spcl. Initiative Chandra Mohan
Legal Advisors James P. Thomas H. S. Asmuddin
V. P. Strategic Alliance Ratnamanjari Sharan Sr. Manager Spcl. Initiative Harsh Kapoor Content Editor Abha Anjali Toppo Anitha Jegadeesan Sr. Correspondent Tooba Maher Correspondent Girish Pandey Manisha Sharma Kisan Agarwal Vivek Rai Sakthi Priya Sippu Kumar Athira Ajesh President Marketing RK Teotia Deputy GM- Marketing K J Saranya Marketing Managers Megha Sharma Dhanya M.T Sr. Marketing Exectives Chunki Bhutia Afsana Malik Marketing Executive Fareen Sheikh Jasmine Saritha Reghu Shalini Madhavi Singh
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15. Poor air quality to remain a problem in India despite Pollution Control Policies CEEW
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Media Release
World Environment Day
Savita, B., Heena M.S., Ravi Y., Santosh Shinde, S.S. Anjum and R.B. Negalur
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Down to Earth,CSE
State of Development
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Yugaantar:Moving towards an Ecological Age
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Distress of Today, Disaster for Tomorrow- Drought in Banni Grassland Partik Kumar
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Going Green – German Outlook
Karthika Rajeeve
Seetha Ananthasivam
52. Line-Sown Direct Seed Rice - A Climate Resilient Strategy for Food Security PRADAN
Printed at: Pushpak Press Pvt. Ltd. Shed No. 203, 204, DSIDC Complex Indl. Area Phase-I New Delhi- 110020
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Slash and Burn Cultivation - A Slow Death of Odisha’s Forest Wealth
Jitu Mishra
All rights reserved. Copyright @ Krishi Jagran Media Group. Agriculture World is published by Krishi Jagran Media Group. Editor in Chief: MC Dominic
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Teaching and Learning through Food: Making a case for sustainability education in schools
Content Disclaimer. Please note that the information in this magazine, does not make any claims. Agriculture World has
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Ravish Vasan
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The Super Absorbent Artificial Leaves
Jagadeesan Ganeshan
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Productive Utilization of Fish Market Wastes and its Potential Economic and Ecological Implications
Dr Pratap Mukhopadhyay
made a constant care to make sure that the content is accurate. and the views expressed in the articles reflect the author(s) opinions. Images Courtesy: https://unsplash.com/
Roshni Ravi & Pallavi Varma Patil
Seeing Agriculture through the lens of Financial Investing: A unique perspective on Agroforestry
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Editorial
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n 2015, more than half the Indian population - about 670 million citizens - were exposed to PM2.5 concentrations that did not comply with India’s NAAQS for PM2.5 (40 µg/m³). Less than 1% enjoyed air quality that met the World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark limit of 10 µg/m³.
The Independent study by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), reports that more than 674 million Indian citizens are likely to breathe air with high concentrations of PM2.5 in 2030, even if India were to comply with its existing pollution control policies and regulations. “Beat Air Pollution” is a comprehensive report on WED and WED 2019 that urged governments, industry, communities, and individuals to come together to explore renewable energy and green technologies, and improve air quality in cities and regions across the world. State of Development by CSE clearly explains that Climate Change poses the biggest economic threat in the world today and features prominently in the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Seetha Ananthasivam, Founder Trustee of K.N.A foundation details on Yugaantar, an attempt to share with and support people to cross over from the bank of separateness, human superiority and consumerism to the bank of togetherness with nature, renewal and wholeness. Partik Kumar travels to the Banni region in the Kutch district of Gujarat to understand the severity of drought in Banni Grasslands and understands that it is shivering through the worst drought in past 3 decades. In year 2018, the Kutch district had only received a rainfall of 11 cm,which is just 26% of last 30 years’ average and further Banni region had hardly received two short rainfall spells in the last monsoon. Going Green by Karthika Rajeeve explains the consequences in Germany which are devastating: melting of glaciers in the Alps, rising sea levels, frequent heat waves, storms and floods and also details on the German climate policy that aims to reduce the greenhouse gas by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990. The research done by Pradan details on Introducing the line-sown DSR method of cultivation which is proving to be viable and profitable because it is economical, labour friendly and assures a much greater yield to the farmers of EIP fighting against poverty, malnutrition and starvation. Slash and Burn Cultivation, the heart warming Photostory by Jitu Mishra discusses on his recent exploration in central and southern Odisha, and seeing vast tracts of swidden plots on mountain slopes. Ravish Vasan sees Agriculture through the lens of Financial Investing: and brings about a different and unique perspective on Agroforestry. He further explains by asking us to have a practical choice of growing multiple varieties at different layers on same patch of land. The Super Absorbent Artificial Leaves by Jagadeesan Ganeshan explains the need for developing The Artificial Trees that can absorb about a ton of carbon dioxide in a day. Productive Utilization of Fish Market Wastes and its Potential Economic and Ecological Implications by Dr Pratap Mukhopadhyay details on the large amount of fish waste created. Considering the increasing population vis a vis generation of organic waste, he describes in detail that there is an urgent need to find out environmentally sound and economically viable recycling process that can ensure recovery of nutrients from this waste thereby generating wealth out of it. He also emphasizes on the need to impart training and capacity building to the interested people and fish traders on the aspect of fish processing, storage of fish waste and disposal in a eco- friendly and responsible manner. Roshni Ravi and Pallavi Varma Patil makes a case study for sustainability education in schools and tries to capture the rich experiences in the Ragi Project that recorded the journey of students and teachers tried out at school. Keeping in mind the consequences of environmental threats it is recommended that foccusing on energy efficiency, enhanced public transport, increased use of cleaner fuels, improved agricultural production practices, and replacement of coal with natural gas and renewables in the power and industrial sector would help to achieve better air quality and meet multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). MC Dominic Editor-in-Chief
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Beat air pollution
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From the Editors Desk
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arth as we know it, is a fabulously complex and fragile network of interconnected systems that have developed slowly over the last 4.5 billion years or so. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed. Although humans comprise only a diminutive segment compared to the total living beings on Earth, the human effect on nature is disproportionately large. The rippling consequences of disturbing the equilibrium of Nature are devastating: climate change which resulted in melting of glaciers, rising sea levels, frequent heat waves, storms, floods, the extinction of species, pollution and the destruction of the landscapes. It is very essential to make major changes and it is important to make them sooner as possible. The climate change is the central challenge in the 21st century. The international community is coordinating serious efforts like the Paris agreement. Under this agreement, 194 parties under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change committed to limit global warming. If we continue to encourage aggrandizement and development, it is very likely that we will see more major repercussions in climate and ecology. As a part of going green, Environment protection should be insisted in every walk of life. Starting from the elementary school, children should be taught the importance of protecting environment: how to grow food, how to save food and water, how to save electricity and water, how to dispose waste in a proper way, how to minimize the use of plastic, recycle and reduce. The world should adapt to long-term renewable energy strategy. The transport sector must become more sustainable and clean air policy goals of achieving a high level of health protection and preservation of biodiversity still requires great effort. Join Agriculture World and its journey in dissemination of knowledge to follow such doctrines of spirit and save earth from over exploitation.
Dr. Lakshmi Unnithan www.krishijagran.com
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International News
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Most Threatened by
Climate Change
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he Institute for Economics and Peace’s (IEP) annual Global Peace Index estimates that 971 million people globally live in areas with high or very high exposure to hazards such as cyclones, floods, bushfires, and rising sea levels. The proportion of those at-risk individuals who live in the Asia-Pacific region is twice as many as those in all other regions combined—and the top nine countries facing the highest risk of climate hazards were all Asian nations. The Philippines was ranked the country with the highest risk of experiencing multiple climate hazards out of anywhere in the world, followed by Japan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and Pakistan. Tenth place was a five-way tie between Iran, Somalia, Peru, Mexico, and the United States of America. Japan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and China also ranked within the ten countries most at risk of experiencing a single climate hazard. The South Asia region overall ranked highest in the world for average natural risk and single hazard, and second lowest in the world for coping capacity.
Emerging Asia: the hub of climate-smart urban development
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ities account for more than 70 per cent of all global CO2 emissions each year,—the equivalent of more than 5 billion cars on the road. As cities grow, their carbon footprint, their exposure to climate and disaster risk also increases. About four out of every five people impacted by sea-level rise by 2050 will live in Asia.Building cities that “work”—inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable—requires intensive policy coordination and investment choices. Asia has the opportunity to leapfrog historic approaches to climate smart urban development. By 2020, Beijing plans to replace over 70,000 gasoline and diesel taxis with electric vehicles. Seoul is aiming to add 2,000 km of bike paths and create 250 pedestrian zones. Hanoi plans to generate electricity from its biggest landfill, which will reduce emissions and generate electricity. With nearly 8,000 people per square kilometre, Singapore has the world’s third highest population density,Yet sets a prime example of climate-smart development. From hosting the world’s largest underground district cooling network in the world, the country is also home to Semakau landfill. The off-shore landfill, where incinerator ash is deposited, comprises silt screens, an on-site wastewaste treatment plant for water to be discharged into the sea, and an impermeable layer to deter leaching, ensuring that the man-made island remains habitable for a diverse range of marine life.
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Spy satellites reveal Himalayan glaciers losing ground to climate change
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eeping watch over ice on the Himalayan glaciers was certainly not the intended mission of a U.S. spy satellite program, called Hexagon, which operated from 1971 to 1986. Nevertheless, the declassified photos have revealed a rapid acceleration of Himalayan ice melt — doubling in just one generation. A new study by Columbia University’s Earth Institute finds the glaciers have been losing 20 vertical inches of ice per year since 2000, double the rate of the late 20th century. To put that into perspective, the recent amount of ice lost each year is enough to fill 3.2 million Olympic-size swimming pools and more than enough to supply drinking water to every person on Earth for longer than a lifetime. To reach these conclusions, lead author Joshua Maurer and his team took a unique approach. They analyzed 40 years of satellite images of 650 glaciers spanning 1,200 miles across India, China, Nepal and Bhutan. Much of the 20th-century data came from images taken by U.S. spy satellites. The researchers then created a system to automatically turn these images into 3D models in order to measure the changing elevations of glaciers over time. They then compared these images with more recent data from newer satellites to determine ice volume changes.
Greater focus on Restoration of Tropical Drylands
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rylands cover an estimated 40% of the Earth’s land area. Of that, perhaps up to 60% are in the tropics. In the race to restore degraded tropical landscapes to counter global warming and improve the livelihoods of the inhabitants, it has usually been the humid tropics that receive the most attention. Dennis Garrity, United Nations Drylands Ambassador, called for increased attention on restoring tropical drylands during a visit to the island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia. ‘It’s time now that we also focus our attention on the tropical drylands as well,’ said Garrity. ‘With a likely increase in their area owing to climate change, we must address the unique challenges that these areas present if we are to contain and, indeed, lessen negative effects both locally and globally. According to Garrity, the technologies exist to meet the challenge and the peoples of these drylands have proven eagerly willing to deploy them, if given the chance. However, because of the often remote and scattered populations, sharing the technologies and building the capacity of communities to deploy them has proven more difficult than in the humid tropics. Water shortages is the first obstacle that must be overcome in the dry tropics, through technologies such as small dams, improved wells, fencing from free-grazing livestock that would otherwise eat tree seedlings, better management to restrict wild fires, and addressing land-tenure issues to provide long-term security for communities.’
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National News
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Rains affect sowing of major Kharif crops up to 50% in India
eficient rainfall so far this monsoon season has forced farmers to delay planting in many parts of the country leading to 30 to 50 per cent drop in sowing of major kharif crops, including rice, according to data released by the Agriculture Ministry. However, a comparatively better sowing in sugarcane and cotton, limited the kharif planting shortfall to a little more than 12 per cent. The total area covered till the end of the current week was approximate 91 lakh hectares (lh) against 104 lh in the corresponding week of the previous kharif season, as per the official data. Not only did the South-West monsoon set in late, its progress has also been tardy. In the first three weeks of the four-month season, the rainfall deficit was 42 per cent till June 21, according to the India Meteorological Department. The total actual rainfall was 58.8 mm against the normal of 100.5 mm.The slow spread of the monsoon has even prompted some State governments to deter their farmers from taking up planting. Earlier this week, the Telangana government asked its farmers to delay sowing because of the rainfall shortfall.
Chennai:Running out of water June 15 2018
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atellite photographs reveal the stark shrinking of one of the main rain-fed reservoirs that serves Chennai, one of the biggest cities in India. In one image, taken by satellite on June 15 last year, the city’s largest reservoir, Lake Puzhal, resembles a dark blue ink-stain amid a densely crowded cityscape. In another, taken on Sunday, exactly a year later, the lake is a small grey fraction of its former self.
June 15 2019
One of the city’s other important reservoirs, the smaller Chembarambakkam Lake, is also running dry. Chennai, a hot, muggy city on the Indian Ocean coast, should be in the throes of the monsoon by now. But the rains are late across India. And Chennai has received virtually none of the rain it should have seen by now. Source:NY Times
Source: Copernicus Sentinel-2 Satellite via Maxar Technologies Photos 10 JULY 2019
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National News
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Plastic Ban in Ooty
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oty hill station in Tamil Nadu, one of the most sought after tourist destinations in Southern India has got one step closer to becoming plastic free. The Nilgiri District Administration which Ooty falls under has banned the sale of single-use plastic items including water bottles, soft drinks and food items packed in plastic wrappers along the highways leading to the district’s major towns. The ban will come into effect from August 15.
Himachal Pradesh: 50,000 Farmers to be Trained in
Natural Farming
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overnor Acharya Devvrat said that Himachal Pradesh government had fixed the target to train and cover about 50,000 farmers under natural farming in this financial year. He hopes that by 2022, Himachal would emerge as a fully natural farming state. Devvrat was presiding over the closing session of workshop on Subhash Palekar Natural Farming under ‘ Prakritik Krishi Khushal Kisan Yojana’ organized by agriculture department at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni in Solan . Having about 25 years of practical experience on chemical and organic farming but ultimately he found solace in natural farming as it was beneficial in many ways. It helped in protecting our environment, improve soil fertility, decrease the cost of production and also improve the economic condition of the farmers.All efforts taken by the agriculture department in this direction were appaluded. The state government has taken various initiative to promote natural farming in the state. After adopting it, state government had been provided Rs 25 crore budgetary provision for this farming. With the sincere efforts of the department, last year near about 3000 farmers have been covered against the target of 500 farmers under the scheme. He hoped that this year target of 50,000 farmers would be covered for which more training camps and workshops would be organized in the state.
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Corporate News
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Jackfruit Flavoured Chocolates Soon in Indian Market
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hocolate lovers can enjoy jackfruit flavour chocolates soon.The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd, that produces chocolates, at their factory in Karnataka is now doing trials on a chocolate product with vacuum-fried jackfruit bits as an ingredient. The jjackfruit-based bar chocolate, which is in the trial stage now, will have around 15 per cent of the tropical fruit. The product is based on an in-house formulation. Tests are on to check the shelflife of this jackfruit-based bar chocolate.” The Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), has developed technology to prepare chocolate from jackfruit seed powder. Also, entrepreneurs can enter into a memorandum of understanding with IIHR for commercial use of the technology.
Mahindra Enters Into Strategic Alliance with Switzerland-Based Gamaya
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ahindra Farm Equipment Sector has acquired 11.25 per cent stake in the Switzerland based agro-technology firm, Gamaya SA.Mahindra & Mahindra’s Farm Equipment has invested $ 4.3 million in the company by purchasing 300 common shares and 30,469 Series B preferred shares of Gamaya SA. Through this investment, Mahindra will make superior farming solutions easily accessible to the global farming community, in line with the company’s Farming 3.0 strategy. With agriculture increasingly becoming technology-intensive, Mahindra are investing in future ready technologies to provide complete solutions to the global farming community. Mahindra’s strategic association with Gamaya will enable themto develop and deploy next-generation farming capabilities such as precision agriculture and digital farming technologies.
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Bio Diversity Facts
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Government Extends Partnership with CropIn for CCE Pilot Studies in Rabi Season
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o optimize Crop Cutting Experiments (CCE) across India, Central government had partnered with CropIn and 9 other research institutions & private agencies in September 2018. The objective behind the initiative was to optimize the Crop Cutting Experiments making them more precise, scalable & predictable by using cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Remote Sensing and Big Data Analytics. The initiative was carried out under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the government’s flagship crop insurance programme and was coordinated & monitored by the Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC). The PMFBY requires the states to conduct a minimum of four crop-wise CCE in every gram Panchayat for the submission of the yield data to insurance companies in 30 days of harvest. The CCE was traditionally being conducted using a random survey method to estimate the crop yields of a given location. How-
ever, considering that there are 2.5 lakh gram panchayats in India, it is challenging to carry out reliable and accurate CCE in the country at scale within a short harvesting window. Applying technology to the traditional process of CCE will speed up the execution of the experiments and ensure faster processing insurance claims under PMFBY. The first phase of the pilot studies started in September 2018 and was completed by February 2019. For the next phase, that is Rabi season 2018-19, the studies are being conducted in 25 districts across 10 states including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. CropIn will be conducting the CCE in 4 districts across the states of Karnataka, Bihar, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. These pilot studies are integral to a more efficient claims processing system which will eventually have a huge impact on the success of PMFBY. The State Governments’ support in executing these studies will continue to play a crucial role.
Spanish Firm, IFFCO to Set up Quick Freezer Plant for Vegetables in Punjab
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Spanish company Congelados De Navarra together with fertiliser major IFFCO will set up a quick freezer plant for vegetables in Ludhiana, with an initial investment of Rs. 550 crore, according to a food processing ministry officer.The proposed facility will have a technology to freeze individually every piece of vegetable so that the final product is not frozen into a solid block. The technology is known as ‘Individually Quick-Frozen’ (IQF) method. The firm has pioneered the Individually Quick-Frozen technology. It processes fruits, vegetables, herbs & ready-made pre-cooked dishes. The food processing ministry officer also told that the new facility aims to benefit around 10,000 farmers & generate 400 direct & 2,000 indirect jobs.
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Poor air quality to rem despite Pollution
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main a problem in India n Control Policies Media Release
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Pollution from rural areas is transported into the cities (and vice versa), where it constitutes a significant share of pollution making the coordination of urban-rural and inter-state responses critical.�
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Environment
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According to an independent study released today by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), more than 674 million Indian citizens are likely to breathe air with high concentrations of PM2.5 in 2030, even if India were to comply with its existing pollution control policies and regulations. The study shows that only about 833 million citizens (about half of India’s estimated population in 2030) would be living in areas that meet India’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in 2030. Failure to implement existing policies and regulations could increase these numbers significantly. However, aligning sustainable development policies to the implementation of advanced emission control technologies could provide NAAQS-compliant air quality to about 85% of the Indian population. The study was released at a CEEW dialogue, On Air: Pathways to Achieving India’s Ambient Air Quality Standards, held in New Delhi today (Friday, 29 March). In 2015, more than half the Indian population - about 670 million citizens - were exposed to PM2.5 concentrations that did not comply with India’s NAAQS for PM2.5 (40 μg/m³). Less than 1% enjoyed air quality that met the World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark limit of 10 μg/m³.
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Pallav Purohit, an IIASA researcher and lead author of the study said, “While current ambient PM2.5 monitoring in India reveals high levels in urban areas, remote sensing, comprehensive air quality modeling, and emission inventories, suggest large-scale exceedances of the NAAQS, also in rural areas. Pollution from rural areas is transported into the cities (and vice versa), where it constitutes a significant share of pollution making the coordination of urban-rural and inter-state responses critical.” Hem Dholakia, a senior research associate at CEEW, and one of the authors of the study added, “The health burden of air pollution is significant in India. Limited control of air pollution will aggravate this burden in the future. The IIASA-CEEW study clearly shows that the policy choices of today will impact future air quality and its aftermaths. The central and state governments must do more to align air quality, climate change, and sustainable development goals in a resource efficient manner.” The study also found that the Indo-Gangetic plain, covering parts of states such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and
“A significant share of emissions still originates from sources associated with poverty and underdevelopment such as solid fuel use in households and waste management practices,” explains Markus Amann, Air Quality and Greenhouse Gases Program director at IIASA. In January 2019, the Indian government launched the National Clean Air Program (NCAP), a five-year action plan to curb air pollution, build a pan-India air quality monitoring network, and improve citizen awareness. The program focuses on 102 polluted Indian cities and aims to reduce PM2.5 levels by 20-30% over the next five years. The analysis conducted by researchers from IIASA and CEEW however suggests that NCAP needs to be backed by a legal mandate to ensure successful ground-level implementation of emission control measures. In the long-term, NCAP also needs to be scaledup significantly to ensure that rapid economic growth and meeting NAAQs are aligned. 18 JULY 2019
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West Bengal, has the highest population exposure to significant PM2.5 concentrations. This is mainly due to the high density of polluting sources and reduced ventilation by the obstructing presence of the Himalayas. Citizens living in parts of Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha are also exposed to high levels of PM2.5. The governments in these regions must design state-specific policies to comply with NAAQS and embrace a low-carbon growth model to ensure better air quality for its citizens. The study also highlighted a stark variance in factors contributing to air pollution across the states. Solid fuel, including biomass combustion for residential cooking, is the largest contributor in the major states of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. However, in Delhi and Goa, it contributes only a small amount due to enhanced access to clean fuels in these states. Instead, NOx emissions from transportation are major contributors to air pollution in these two states. Similarly, SO2 emissions from power plants are dominant contributors to air pollution in Haryana and Maharashtra. In coming years, every state government must commission detailed sci-
WO R LD entific studies to better understand the sources contributing to air pollution in their cities. “A large share of pollution can be addressed if poor households that currently use solid fuels and cash-strapped local bodies are given a helping hand,” explains Amann. Another challenge for many states is that emission sources that are outside their immediate jurisdiction contribute significantly to ambient pollution levels of PM2.5. For example, transboundary transport or crop burning are sources of secondary pollution in some states. Source contributions of ambient PM2.5 • Secondary particles will still contribute a significant share of PM2.5 in large regions in India (up to 60% in Punjab). • NH3 emissions from the agriculture sector contribute significantly in the formation of secondary PM2.5. Such states could achieve significant improvements in air quality only with a region-wide coordinated approach to reduce air pollution and strict on-ground enforcement to ensure compliance with emissions control measures. In 2015, air pollution emission control costs accounted for about 0.7% of GDP. The study found that this share will increase to 1.4–1.7% by 2030. By 2050, with an almost tenfold increase in GDP, air pollution controls will account for 1.1–1.5% of GDP, or 1.5% of the 2015 to 2050 increase in economic wealth (GDP) The IIASA-CEEW study also recommends focusing on energy efficiency, enhanced public transport, increased use of cleaner fuels, improved agricultural production practices, and replacement of coal with natural gas and renewables in the power and industrial sector to achieve better air quality and meet multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Reference: Purohit P, Amann M, Kiesewetter G, Chaturvedi V, Rafaj P, Dholakia HH, Nagar Koti P, Klimont Z, et al. (2019). Pathways to Achieve National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in India. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) This is a joint press release by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, Austria and the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) in Delhi, India.
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World Environment Day Beat Pollution
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Savita, B., Heena M.S., Ravi Y., Santosh Shinde, S.S. Anjum and R.B. Negalur ICAR- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Station Road, Indi, Karnataka 586209
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Environment
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A G R I C U LT U R E
orld Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on the 5th of June every year, and is the United Nation’s principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment and is celebrated by thousands of communities worldwide. WED was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. After that, 1974 the first WED was held with the theme “Only One Earth”, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. Annual themes and major initiatives and accomplishments For almost five decades, WED has been raising awareness, supporting action, driving change and celebrations have been (and will be) hosted in the following cities. China to host World Environment Day 2019 on air pollution Nairobi, 15th March 2019 – Head of Chinese delegation, Zhao Yingmin, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment, and Joyce Msuya, Acting Head of UN Environment, jointly announced that China will host the global WED celebrations on 5th June 2019 with a theme of air pollution. Approximately 7 million people worldwide die prematurely each year from air pollution, with about 4 million of these deaths occurring in Asia-Pacific. Air pollution is a global emergency affecting everyone. China will now be leading the push and stimulating global action to “save millions of lives.”
There are 7 different types of pollution are water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, thermal pollution, radioactive pollution, noise pollution and light pollution. Let us on air pollution Air pollution and Causes Air pollution can be defined as an alteration of air quality that can be characterized by measure22 JULY 2019
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ments of chemical, biological or physical pollutants in the air. Therefore, air pollution means the undesirable presence of impurities or the abnormal rise in the proportion of some constituents of the atmosphere. Air pollution is one of the biggest threats for the environment and affects everyone: humans, animals, crops, cities, forests, aquatic ecosystems. The quality of the air we breathe depends on the PRADAN lifestyle choices we make every day. Air Pollution facts: • 92 per cent of people worldwide do not breathe clean air • Air pollution costs the global economy $5 trillion every year in welfare costs • Ground-level ozone pollution is expected to reduce staple crop yields by 26 per cent by 2030 Air pollution in India is a serious issue, ranking higher than smoking, high blood pressure, child and maternal malnutrition, and risk factors for diabetes. At least 140 million people breathe air 10 times or more over the WHO safe limit and 13 of the world’s 20 cities with the highest annual levels of air pollution are in India. Air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of 2 million Indians every year. In urban areas, most emissions come from vehicles and industry, whereas in rural areas, much of the pollution stems from biomass burning for cooking and keeping warm. In autumn and winter months, large scale crop residue burning in agriculture fields – a low cost alternative to mechanical tilling – is a major source of smoke, smog and particulate pollution. Air pollution is caused by the presence in the atmosphere of toxic substances like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ground-level ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, and lead- mainly produced by human activities, even though sometimes it can result from natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions, dust storms and wildfires, also depleting the air quality.
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Theme
Host city
1974
Only one Earth during Expo '74
Spokane, United States
1975
Human Settlements
Dhaka, Bangladesh
1976
Water: Vital Resource for Life
Ontario, Canada
1977
Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation
Sylhet, Bangladesh
1978
Development Without Destruction
Sylhet, Bangladesh
1979
Only One Future for Our Children – Development Without Destruction
Sylhet, Bangladesh
1980
A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without Destruction
Sylhet, Bangladesh
1981
Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains
Sylhet, Bangladesh
1982
Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
1983
Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy
Sylhet, Bangladesh
1984
Desertification
Rajshahi, Bangladesh
1985
Youth: Population and the Environment
Islamabad, Pakistan
1986
A Tree for Peace
Ontario, Canada
1987
Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof
Nairobi, Kenya
1988
When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last
Bangkok, Thailand
1989
Global Warming; Global Warning
Brussels, Belgium
1990
Children and the Environment
Mexico City, Mexico
1991
Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership
Stockholm, Sweden
1992
Only One Earth, Care and Share
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1993
Poverty and the Environment – Breaking the Vicious Circle
Beijing, People's Republic of China
1994
One Earth One Family
London, UK
1995
We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment
Pretoria, South Africa
1996
Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home
Istanbul, Turkey
1997
For Life on Earth
Seoul, Republic of Korea
1998
For Life on Earth – Save Our Seas
Moscow, Russian Federation
1999
Our Earth – Our Future – Just Save It!
Tokyo, Japan
2000
The Environment Millennium – Time to Act
Adelaide, Australia
2001
Connect with the World Wide Web of Life
Torino, Italy and Havana, Cuba
2002
Give Earth a Chance
Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
2003
Water – Two Billion People are Dying for It!
Beirut, Lebanon
2004
Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive?
Barcelona, Spain
2005
Green Cities – Plan for the Planet!
San Francisco, United States
2006
Deserts and Desertification – Don't Desert Drylands!
Algiers, Algeria
2007
Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?
London, England
2008
Kick The Habit – Towards A Low Carbon Economy
Wellington, New Zealand
2009
Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change
Mexico City, Mexico
2010
Many Species. One Planet. One Future
Rangpur, Bangladesh
2011
Forests: Nature at your Service
New Delhi, India
2012
Green Economy: Does it include you?
Brasilia, Brazil
2013
Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
2014
Raise your voice, not the sea level
Bridgetown, Barbados
2015
Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.
Rome, Italy
2016
Zero Tolerance for the Illegal Wildlife trade
Luanda, Angola
2017
Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator
Ottawa, Canada
2018
Beat Plastic Pollution
New Delhi, India
2019
Air Pollution
China
China to host World Environment Day 2019 on air pollution Nairobi, 15th March 2019 – Head of Chinese delegation, Zhao Yingmin, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment, and Joyce Msuya, Acting Head of UN Environment, jointly announced that China will host the global WED celebrations on 5th June 2019 with a theme of air pollution. Approximately 7 million people worldwide die prematurely each year from air pollution, with about 4 million of these deaths occurring in AsiaPacific. Air pollution is a global emergency affecting everyone. China will now be leading the push and stimulating global action to “save millions of lives.” There are 7 different types of pollution are water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, thermal pollution, radioactive pollution, noise pollution and light pollution. Let us on air pollution What is air pollution? Air pollution can be defined as an alteration of air quality that can be characterized by measurements of chemical, biological or physical pollutants in the air. Therefore, air pollution means the undesirable presence of impurities or the abnormal rise in the proportion of www.krishijagran.com JULY 2019 23
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Sources of air pollution
5. Agriculture
1. Anthropogenic air pollution sources are:
• India was the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide in 2017 at 6.82% share of CO2 emissions, after China (27.21%) and the United States (14.58%).
a. Combustion of fossil fuels, like coal and oil for electricity and road transport, producing air pollutants like nitrogen and sulfur dioxide b. Emissions from industries and factories, releasing large amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, chemicals and organic compounds into the air c. Agricultural activities, due to the use of pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers that emit harmful chemicals d. Waste production, mostly because of methane generation in landfills 2. Household: Fuel and biomass burning • The main source of household air pollution is the indoor burning of fossil fuels, wood and other biomass-based fuels to cook, heat and light homes. • Fuel wood and biomass burning is the primary reason for near-permanent haze and smoke observed above rural and urban India. • Fuelwood and biomass cakes are used for cooking and general heating needs. These are burnt in cook stoves known as chullah or chulha piece in some parts of India. These cook stoves are present in over 100 million Indian households, and are used two to three times a day, daily. • Around 3.8 million premature deaths are caused by indoor air pollution each year 3. Industry • Coal-burning power plants are a major contributor, while diesel generators are a growing concern in off-grid areas. Industrial processes and solvent use, in the chemical and mining industries, also pollute the air. 4. Transport • Fuel adulteration: Some Indian taxis and auto-rickshaws run on adulterated fuel blends. Some adulterants increase emissions of harmful pollutants from vehicles, worsening urban air pollution. Financial incentives arising from differential taxes are generally the primary cause of fuel adulteration. 24 JULY 2019
• There are two major sources of air pollution from agriculture: livestock, which produces methane and ammonia, and the burning of agricultural waste. Methane emissions contribute to ground-level ozone, which causes asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Methane is also a more potent global warming gas than carbon dioxide – its impact is 34 times greater over a 100-year period. Around 24 percent of all greenhouse gases emitted worldwide come agriculture, forestry and other land-use. 6. Waste • Open waste burning and organic waste in landfills release harmful dioxins, furans, methane, and black carbon into the atmosphere. Globally, an estimated 40 percent of waste is openly burned. Open burning of agricultural and municipal waste is practiced in 166 out of 193 countries. Air pollution effects a) On the environment: Air pollution has a major impact on the process of plant evolution by preventing photosynthesis in many cases, with serious consequences for the purification of the air we breathe. It also contributes to the formation of acid rain, atmospheric precipitations in the form of rain, frost, snow or fog, which are released during the combustion of fossil fuels and transformed by contact with water steam in the atmosphere. b) Global Warming: Air pollution is a major contributor to global warming and climate change. Normally, the presence of greenhouse gases should be beneficial for the planet because they absorb the infra-red radiation produced by the surface of the earth. But the excessive concentration of these gases in the atmosphere is the cause of the recent climate change. c) On human health: Air pollution is indeed a significant risk factor for human health conditions, causing allergies, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases as well as lung damage. www.krishijagran.com
Bio Diversity
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WO R LD However, nitrogen also combines with other atoms to form chemical compounds— known as “reactive nitrogen” or “fixed nitrogen” (Nr)—that are essential for life on Earth but, at high concentrations, also hugely damaging to the environment. There are four main types of reactive nitrogen: Ammonia (NH3), Nitrates (NO3) NOx and Nitrous oxide.
Air pollution prevention There are ways to prevent, control and eventually reduce air pollution: 1. Renewable fuel and clean energy production • The most basic solution for air pollution is to move away from fossil fuels, replacing them with alternative energies like solar, wind and geothermal.
• 7thMay 2019(World Asthma Day): Asthma sufferers need to be ultra-wary of air pollution: An asthma attack is a frightening experience, threatening to deprive you of your ability to breathe, and life itself. According to WHO estimates, 235 million people suffer from asthma, which is the most common chronic respiratory problems among children are particularly vulnerable to all forms of air pollution.
People can move to a plant-based diet and/or reduce food waste, while farmers can reduce methane from livestock by optimizing feed digestibility and improving grazing and grassland management. 2. Energy conservation and efficiency • Producing clean energy is crucial. But equally important is to reduce our consumption of energy by adopting responsible habits and using more efficient devices.
• 9th May 2019 AIR pollution hurts the poorest most : From Lagos and Lahore to London, it’s the poorest people who are most affected by air pollution. The poor tend to be priced out of the leafy suburbs where there are fewer highways and air quality is better.
3. Eco-friendly transportation • Shifting to electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles, and promoting shared mobility (i.e carpooling, and public transports) could reduce air pollution. • Reducing vehicle emissions is an important intervention to improve air quality, especially in urban areas. Policies and standards that require the use of cleaner fuels and advanced vehicle emissions standards can reduce vehicle emissions by 90 percent or more. 4. Green building
•
Steps Taken/ Policy Recommendations •
The government in Delhi launched an Odd-Even Rule in November, 2017 which is based on the rationing method: This meant that cars running with number plates ending in Odd digits could only be driven on certain days of the week, while the Even digit cars could be driven on the remaining days of the week.
•
Local governments of various states also implemented measures such as tighter vehicle emissions’ norms, higher penalties for burning rubbish and better control of road dust
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The Indian government has committed to a 50% reduction in households using solid fuel for cooking.
• From planning to demolition, green building aims to create environmentally responsible and resource-efficient structures to reduce their carbon footprint. In addition, monitoring air pollution levels has become very important to detect pollution peaks, better control air pollution and eventually improve air quality. Some of stories related to air pollution • 3rd MAY 2019: Bittersweet nature of nitrogen calls for better management practices: Nearly 80 per cent of the air we breathe is nitrogen, a harmless inert gas. 26 JULY 2019
14th May 2019: The living air purifiers cities need more of : In our all-too-hectic urban lives, a city park is a great place to unwind. Trees and green spaces have mental health and well-being benefits, on top of being great for relaxation and recreation.
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Some goals set for future are: •
Clean up the transportation sector by introducing 1,000 electric public transport buses to its 5,50-string feet
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Meet a goal of 25% of private vehicles to be electric by 2023
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Analyse health data and study the efficiency of different room filtration systems in areas where indoor air pollution is highest
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Launch new citizen science programs to better document exposures
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Reduce Carbon Emissions: “According to Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, to limit warming well below 2 degree Celsius, CO2 emissions should decline by about 20 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero around 2075; to limit warming below 1.5 degree Celsius, CO2 emissions should decline by 50 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero by around 2050.
Air pollution may seem complex, but everyone has a role to play. We’re calling on you to help us in the fight to “Beat Air Pollution”. WED 2019 will urge governments, industry, communities, and individuals to come together to explore renewable energy and green technologies, and improve air quality in cities and regions across the world. Here are some quick ways you can commit to doing your part “Beat Air Pollution” : • Commute without polluting: Use public transport, cycle or walk instead of taking the car. • Pledge to plant trees to create more green spaces. • Install air quality monitors to check air quality in the area. • Choose non-toxic paints and furnishings to reduce indoor pollutants.
Disposable Diaper ban in Vanuatu
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he Pacific nation of Vanuatu has announced plans to ban disposable diapers and several other types of disposable goods in a move it says will significantly reduce pollution. Vanuatu is one of several Pacific nations severely affected by climate change and prides itself on showing environmental leadership. Last year it became one of the first countries in the world to ban single-use plastic bags.The nappy ban, which still needs final approval, is scheduled to begin on December 1 this year. Disposable diapers pose an environmental nuisance as they are lined with non-biodegradable plastic and use the chemical sodium polyacrylate as an absorbent. The human waste they contain also leaches harmful chemicals into the environment, rather than going through the sewerage system to minimise its impact. A report by US market research firm Grand View Research last year said the global baby diaper market was worth $45.08 billion in 2016 and would grow to $64.62 billion by 2022.
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DownToEarth
CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT
Editorial Directions: Sunita Narain and Richard Mahapatra Authors: Kiran Pandey and Rajit Sengupta
28 JULY 2019
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Ecology
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Yugaantar Moving towards an Ecological Age 34 JULY 2019
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Yugaantar refers to “a Theerth” which is the shallow part of a flowing river that allows one to cross over to the other bank. ” We do need many such ‘theerthas’ to move towards an ecological age.
Seetha Ananthasivan Founder trustee of K.N.A.Foundation, Bangalore, India
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spend an hour or so every day in my backyard. I am truly grateful that this space is available to me– to just sit and stare or to potter around doing odd jobs in my comfortable shabby clothes; sometimes I harvest vegetables, dig a bit, weed out some parthenium or listen to the calls or screeches of the koel, kingfisher or other birds. There are times when I need to catch and kill those invasive African snails that gobble up all the tender shoots – I am adding this to set the record straight that it is not always nice and sweet work!
ground themselves sensibly if together we don’t see the larger picture, the truer picture?
Most of all, there is something new everyday, every moment I spend there. Little things you notice but forget very soon. But I am not overly excited; I just don’t bother to record anything. This is just time and space to free-float, being there, belonging there. No deadlines, nothing to achieve. I must mention though, that my backyard is not over-maintained. There are enough corners with wild growth that I feel especially happy about.
The view of economists that human beings are primarily selfish and look for materialistic growth for themselves is perhaps the most damaging seed idea of our industrial age. This has spawned an economic system and technologies including media that succeed very well in keeping this image alive, that we are basically consumers.
Sometimes these small wilderness areas are where I feel most alive and most at home. The world and its cares seem very different when you feel embedded in a bit of wilderness; it seems then that the worst deprivation we have inflicted on our children is robbing them of wild nature. One could say that being with Nature in this way is nothing much – not by the world’s standards – no spectacular sights, no scientific or intellectual findings, nor anything special. Yet if I were to be asked what would be the one thing in my home space that I would like to hold on to, it would be this time in my backyard. The first thing on my wish list for Yugaantar therefore will be that we beckon to everyone to get in touch with Nature, within and around us; an perhaps learn from Nature what we are not able to teach each other. That said, what else do we wish for through the Yugaantar process? Seed Ideas of a Civilisation The vision of Yugaantar is to offer engaging and meaningful resources to school and college students about ecological living. We decided therefore to hold workshops (April 2016) on “Foundations of an Ecological Age”, to begin by looking at seed ideas that shape a civilization. It may sound quite bombastic and ambitious, but how will we support our children to 36 JULY 2019
Before we look at foundations for an ecological era, we need to re-visit the seed ideas of our modern civilisation and the Industrial age. We usually keep working with ‘end-of-branch’ issues and forget the root level issues that continue to bring in more problems to solve. So among other things, the Yugaantar vision is to draw attention to these and to look at the need of seed ideas or foundations for an ecological era.
Corporate power and globalization have been seeded by the elites to be protected from public accountability in many ways; Science has become reductionist, with Descartes and Bacon seeding the conquest and desacralisation of nature and making us increasingly anthropocentric. All this has contributed to popular aspirations to being a big consumer, or one who creates the most consumers. The story of the hero as an achiever today is disconnected from Nature as well as the long-term wellbeing of humans and other beings of the earth. Education as we know it today, focuses on supplying a workforce to our factories and offices and is little concerned with helping children see the reality and make choices from a true understanding of the world. When formal schools began in the eighteenth century, some of the seed ideas they were built on included inculcating a time-consciousness that was needed to run machines, a fear of authority and ability to do boring work. It also made nature, farming and crafts go to the fringes, appear to be part of the ‘less educated’ way of living. Foundations for Ecological Living So what are the seed ideas we need for an ecological age? What are the root level issues we need to think about if we are to make our offerings real and grounded? To start with we focussed on philosophies for ecological living, livelihoods and economics for wellbeing and www.krishijagran.com
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holistic thinking and enquiry in education as themes to work on. Philosophy has been relegated to academia or as an indulgence for the elderly. How do we bring back the idea of philosophies for practical living? Satish Kumar talked about Nature and humans being one, and Aseem Shrivastava about ‘anthropo-responsiveness’. In what ways do we share our beliefs and perspectives with the hope that it will strike a chord in the young? Many alternative schools have sprung up in different corners of the world. Many others are into unschooling and deschooling. But how do we touch the majority in main stream schools? How do we attempt to shape policy? What about Public Interest Litigation to question outdated curricula? Building model schools based on holistic enquiry? Make documentaries and write articles and books for the young? We need them all and more. Livelihoods that connect us to Nature, give us basic needs of food, water, clothes and housing have been trampled upon systematically in the name of development. What has actually happened is also that a huge number of livelihoods have often been destroyed to create far fewer jobs in factories. A case in point is the story shared by Sridhar, from Thanal, Kerala, about the Grasim Industries factory arm twisting local governments to get bamboo at the rate of Re.1/- per truck load. They destroyed livelihoods of over 3,00,000 bamboo workers, fisherfolk and others to create about 3000 jobs – and the factory ended up polluting the Chaliyar river, causing cancer in the region and finally had to be closed down after prolonged protests. Another little known story that should be part of geography books around the country is the work of Dhrubajyoti Ghosh. He was responsible for the waste-to-food model of Kolkatta’s fisheries that has become internationally acknowledged. He stresses that in an age of unsustainable living, traditional knowledge systems can provide solutions to local and sustainable food, dealing with urban messes and more. How do we share such stories and insights that need to inform young minds? Perhaps, as suggested by Ashish Kothari, we bring out educational material on “livelihoods www.krishijagran.com
WO R LD and deadlihoods” – especially for those on the threshold of new careers or for those jaded by a couple of decades spent in front of the computer. Holistic Enquiry My backyard musings reinforce my belief that the best foundation for children especially is to spend some time and space with Nature. A connection with plants, trees and other forms of life that gladdens the heart and cleans up the glasses we use to see the world. Life today is so planned out, sanitized and immersed in man made goodies, that seeing ourselves as part of Nature is not ‘natural’ or part of our daily lives. Many species that have gone extinct must have had some vulnerability – the human weak point seems to be our fantastic mind. We are so capable of living with illusions – over our whole lifetime even, and also over generations. When we experience a sense of wholeness and oneness, our view of the common aspirations of humans today can be shifted to include more contentment, wisdom and what Wendell Berry calls, quite simply, ‘Good Work’. Work that is connected to our part of the Earth, modestly scaled, honouring the source of materials and local traditions. In education, perhaps the most important aspect of a holistic enquiry that we can include is a respect for such Good Work; and understand its opposite – Bad Work – which has dominated the world today and been responsible for the unprecedented crises humanity faces today. Talking about the meaning of Yugaantar, Satish Kumar said, “It also refers to “a Theerth” which is the shallow part of a flowing river that allows one to cross over to the other bank. Thus Yugaantar also means an attempt to share with and support people to cross over from the bank of separateness, human superiority and consumerism to the bank of togetherness with nature, renewal and wholeness.” We do need many such ‘theerthas’ to move towards an ecological age. Seetha Ananthasivan, Bangalore, India is the founder trustee of K.N.A.Foundation aimed at fostering inner and outer ecological wisdom, and Bhoomi College, an inspiring learning centre in Bangalore committed to the co-creation of meaningful and empowering learning environments to address challenges in both education and sustainable living. Bhoomi College runs short, medium and long courses. It forms part of the Bhoomi network, which includes the Bhoomi Gurukul for Organic Farming at Gumalapuram, Tamil Nadu and the Sharavathi Rainforest Education Centre, Karnataka. Seetha is also the editor of the Eternal Bhoomi magazine and the Founder of the Aastha Foundation and the Prakriya Green Wisdom School.
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Distress of Today, Disaster for Tomorrow - Drought in Banni Grassland
Partik Kumar Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network
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If sky fails, the earth will surly fail too. Alexander Frater The Banni region in the Kutch district of Gujarat is shivering through the worst drought of past 3 decades. In year 2018, the Kutch district had only received a rainfall of 11 cm,which is just 26% of last 30 years’ average and further Banni region had hardly received two short rainfall spells in the last monsoon.
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The Banni Grassland
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he Banni Grassland is an area of approx. 2500 km2 in the Kutch district of Gujarat and is among the largest tropical grasslands in Asia. Banni is situated in Arid climate, with high temperature in most of time which reached maximum up to 48°C -50°C during May and June and winter temperature goes down to 5°C – 8°C during December and January. Average Annual rainfall, occurring through Southwest monsoon between June to September, is as low as of 317 mm with 65% coefficient of variation.
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others parts of the country. At present the larger economy of this area is ruled by dairy, charcoal and tourism. The Footprints of Yesterday Imran Khan Mutva of Banni Pashu Uchherak Maldhari Sangathan aka Banni Breeders Association, pointing towards an alien woody species – ‘prosposis juliflora’ locally called ‘gando bawar’ says, “This is swallowing the grasses and the grassland of Banni. The acts of forest department had brought us face to face with a great challenge of survival”. According to
Though there is inherent salinity in the soil, pastoral communities dug up Virdas, shallow well of 9-12 ft deep that collects rain water in its soil particle, for livestock and themselves. The Banni is home to great biological diversity, having 37 grass species, 275 bird species, and domesticated animals, like Banni Buffalo, Kankrej Cattle, Sheep & Goat, Horses and Camel, as well as wildlife. The Banni is also home to 22 pastoralist communities, Maldharis, spread across 48 settlements in 19 Pachayat, and with a population close to 40,000 people. Today around 80,000 animals, mostly Banni buffalo and Kankrej cattle, graze in the Banni and close to 100,000 litres of milk is produced in the Banni every day. The region also serves as a breeding ground for the Banni buffalo and the Kankrej cow, for sale in many 40 JULY 2019
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RAMBLE website, in the early 1960s, the Gujarat Forest Department planted Prosopis juliflora in approx. 315 km2 of the Banni with a stated objective of minimizing the perceived threats of salinity ingress and desertification. Over the past 50 years Prosopis has spread from 315 km2 to close to 1500 km2 of the Banni. This expansion is thought to have taken place at the expense of palatable and perennial grass species. Kabir Aggrawal of The Wire, citing to a study had reported , “The unintended consequence of the intervention has been the degradation of the Banni grassland. In 1989, the area
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under grasslands was estimated to be 1,42,000 hectares, which reduced to 63,000 hectares in 2009. The grasslands’ productivity has dropped by 84.5%, from 4,000 kg per hectare in the 1960s to 620 kilograms per hectare in the 1990s.” Dr Pankaj Joshi, Executive Director of Sahjeevan, a Bhuj based NGO had stated that over the years the Damming of rivulets in the region had led to drastic consequences over the biodiversity of Banni Grassland. As dams were built across the rivers flowing into the Banni, resulting in dramatically reduced “flushing” of the Banni, and a consequent increase in saline ingress from the neighbouring Arabian Sea. The high increase in the salinity in the region had impacted the growth as well as the survival of some grass varieties that use to be of high value for animals heath. Towards the last decade of 20th century, Dairy market in the region had seen a drastic uplift and had given plentiful opportunity of milk market incursion in the region. Ramesh Bhatti of Centre for Pastoralism (CFP) had stated that the assures market as well as high values to milk, on one hand give the high monetary earnings to the Maldharis in the Banni as well as avenues of diversification of livelihood. But on the other hand, market had also pushed the people in turing them into milk producers leaving behind the cattle breeding, other agronomic change in the same time spell had also
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observed that the saving made from the selling of milk is playing a vital role in managing the additional spending on fodder purchase.
acted as catalyst to this transformation and the long stand implication of this is in increased number of cattle per household. The blend of changes in biodiversity in the region, reduced pasture area, increased cattle density and changed form of consumption, on one hand led to financial prosperity but left with high vulnerability. The Challenges of Today The Banni Grassland is passing through the worst drought of this century that occurred to this landscape. Seeing an approx. 75% deficit in the average rainfall, Gujurat state government had declared drought in Kutch along with several other districts of the state . Two of the major challenges possessed by drought are fodder and water shortage. Midst of scare rainfall essential grasses hadn’t regenerated to the extent needed, leaving the community with no choice rather than to outsource the same. Kutch District Panchayat had started 356 cattle camps in the Banni landscape to mitigate the impacts of long standing drought, a total of 8 kg including dry as well as green fodder is provided per cattle. Ramjan Kaka, a Maldhari of the Banni region had told that the cattle camps were started in the December month, whereas scarcity was well visible in October month itself. Also many other Maldharis stated that even as cattle camps are serving us as per the said amount of fodder, still we are needing more fodder to cater the needs of our cattle. Maldharis of Banni are importing dry as well green fodder from nearby districts and on an average spending of 800 INR to 1000 INR per cattle per month. Through the various FGDs with locals, it was 42 JULY 2019
Over the years, dependence for all water needs had shifted to pipeline water instead of the jheels and virdas, the traditional rainwater harvesting structures in the region. But, as now the entire catchment as well as command area of Sarder Sarover Dam, the main source of pipeline water, is facing drought, the extent of the issue hadn’t left much water for the Banni region in particular and Kutch district as a whole. Midst of this, people are returning to the traditional sources but they are also not serving the needs to the needed extent, as they hadn’t get fully recharged in the last monsoon. The scarcity of water as well as fodder is triggering the migration in the region. Though there isn’t a clear picture on the number of families as well as cattle migrated this summer but all concerned stakeholders are agreeing that this year there is a much higher migration in comparison to any normal rainfall year. Along with the other geo-political challenges of migration, it also comes with a financial cost and it was observed that only the larger herders were in position to bear the same, leaving the small herders with no choice other than looking at sky in hope of rain. The Summons of Tomorrow Isha Bhai, a local of Hodko village in Banni told that the Maldharis in Banni are stole feeding the cattle from last 15 months by purchasing fodder. As this drought had occurred nearly after two decades and in the main time on an average the financial condition of all families in the region increased in multiples due to milk selling as well as looming tourism in the region. But he further added that now after managing the distress of drought for such a long period, most of the families aren’t in position to bear the cost for much longer extent. If this year’s monsoon also remains similar to the last year, the consequences might get worse in economic as well as ecological context. One of the major challenge will be water scarcity, as pipeline are falling much shorter to the need and traditional water source are left with little stock. Adding to this, Maldharis will not be in situation to bear any further cost of fodder purchaswww.krishijagran.com
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These corals choose to eat
Plastic over ing. This double fold scarcity will leave them with merely any options than to migrate. Migration in today’s time is the biggest fear of the communities in the Banni landscape, there are adequate reason for the same. Migration these days comes with Multifood challenges i.e. changed land use pattern in the potential areas to migrate, resistance from native communities of the areas to migrate, changing political - religious conviction contours and geo-political hindrances based on rights and identity other than the huge financial expenses. Midst of changing biodiversity as well as livelihood, this drought had come as a lesson as well as warning for the Banni landscape. It’s high time that communities as well as administration should take call a on the carrying capacity of the grassland, restoration of the landscape and bring the traditional water sources to the life. About Author: Partik Kumar is currently working with Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network as a Young Professional for Policy Deliberation. He is placed at Himachal Pradesh and coordinate the ‘HimRRA’; RRA’s State chapter for Himachal Pradesh. He did his Master’s in Water Policy and Governance from TISS, Mumbai. Pkunj5512@ gmail.com; +91 9967563707; http://www.rainfedindia. org/ i RAMBLE- Research and Monitoring in the Banni Landscape; http://www.bannigrassland.org/AboutBanni.htm ii Banni; https://banni.in/about-banni/ iii Leaving the Kutch Grasslands, in Search of Grass; https://thewire.in/rights/gujarat-drought-kutch-grasslands-migration iv Declaration of Drought; https://www.slbcgujarat.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/GoG-GR30.10.2018-Declaration-of-Drought.pdf
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A coral polyp eats a white plastic speck. (Alex Seymour/Duke University)
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iny plastic particles may also be a vehicle for microbes that sicken or even kill corals, a new study finds. Scientists the first time shown that some wild corals are feeding on tiny shreds of plastic trash. Worse, the animals seem to prefer those ‘microplastics’ over their natural food—even when the plastic is carrying bacteria that can kill them. The new study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, focused on a temperate species of coral collected off Rhode Island, one that builds small clusters no larger than a human fist. But researchers say the findings suggest that more familiar tropical, reef-building corals may also be consuming—and being harmed by—microplastics, which are defined as bits of plastic waste smaller than a fifth of an inch across. The new results add to the growing sense that microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment, from tall mountain peaks to the deepest ocean trenches. Many organisms, from fish to birds, have been found to eat small bits of plastic. So do humans, through tainted water and food sources. JULY 2019
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Going Green German Outlook
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DR. KARTHIKA RAJEEVE Group Leader, Department of Microbiology, Biocenter University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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Nature is a miracle we depend upon.
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ermany has maintained high ranks in climate protection and expansion of renewable energy. Energy and resource productivity have grown considerably. Environment protection had been insisted in every walk of life. Starting from the elementary school, children are taught the importance of protecting environment: how to save electricity and water, how to dispose waste in a proper way, how to save food and water, how to minimize the use of plastic are examples. As a part of going green, Germany has adapted long term renewable energy strategy. Green house gases like carbon dioxide are the cause of anthropogenic climate change. These gases are emitted during the combustion of fossil fuels like coal and oil and this leads to global warming. The consequences of which are devastating: melting of glaciers in the Alps, rising sea levels, frequent heat waves, storms and floods. The German climate policy aims to reduce the greenhouse gas by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990.
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The nuclear power plants are slowly being shut down. Nearly 17 power plants are closed until 2017 and by 2022 the country will completely adapt to renewables, gas turbines and conservation. For the energy transition the renewable energy act was implemented on 2014. This encourages the consumers to depend on renewable energy giving compensation irrespective of electricity price. Germany also controls by implementing taxes for energy unfriendly activities especially using fossil fuels, the high petroleum tax is a good example. ‘Tax the bad and not the goods’ stays the slogan of tax policy. The ‘eco tax’ is not only applied to gasoline and diesel but also to heating oil and fossil fuels used to generate electricity. Most of the Germany the climate is continental and cold winters with a daily average temperature of 0°C from October to April, the maximum temperature of 22-24°C in June- August. 40% of all the energy produced in Germany is used for heating purpose in building. An intelligent way of ‘cogeneration’, by which the heat wasted during power generation, is recovered according to the
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cogeneration act in 2002. Thus by 2020, 25% of the country’s power would come from the recovery. Moreover, the government has taken special care to re-furbish the newly renovating buildings to meet the modern standards: insulating the building to save energy. Not only do they plan to switch to renewable energy, the grids are also expanded and updated so that the people who need it can acquire it conveniently. The European union has designed consciously to set standards for products which needs energy performance, particularly for electronics, freezers, light bulbs and electric motors. This strategy is expected to reduce power consumption in Europe by 12% by 2020. To encourage fossil fuel independence, EU also encourages alternate forms of transportation. Over 200 long distance bicycle path covering 70,000 Km of well-maintained trails supports bike friendly environment. The public transportation in Germany is fairly efficient and 88% of the Germans live near a bus or a train stop. The government has also
WO R LD passed laws to support use of e-cars, giving special rights and privileges like parking in order to increase their use. Germany is known among expats for its complicated recycling system and the dirty looks you’ll get from neighbors for not sorting your recycling properly. Taking waste management seriously is an important part of the energy conservation, as trash that is not recycled is often burned, creating further emissions. Environmental groups have called for further optimization of the system to increase energy efficiency. The climate change is the central challenge in the 21st century. The international community is coordinating serious efforts like the Paris agreement. Under this agreement 194 parties under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change committed to limit global warming. Carbon pricing have been made as a market signal for industry. For every ton of carbon dioxide emitted, the price charged will send a signal to business and consumers, helping them to give a
Wine turbines, MĂślsheim, Germany
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greater consideration to climate change in their production, investment and purchasing decision. The EU emission-trading scheme is a good example of price based climate change. Other than the international environmental protection, every region has established their own framework. The Alpine convention is one such, that guarantees the protection of the Apls and aimed for greening the alpine region. They focus on the transport and mobility in the Alps, water management issue, sustainable rural development and innovation, sustainable tourism and demographic changes in the Alps. With the wide use of radioactive materials in industry, research or as fuel for nuclear reactors brings in an obligation to ensure the safe and environmentally sound disposal of radioactive waste and irradiated fuel. Radiation originates from space and from naturally radioactive substances in air, water and soil. But high exposure to radiation in this technological era can be harmful for humans and to the environment. The basic law and the atomic energy act stipulated by the federal republic of Germany ensure strict policing and controlled use and disposal of nuclear waste. The European commission also guarantee high standard in the food standard. Pesticides are used in a controlled manner. The German federal ministry for environment (BMU) also keeps a tight control on chemicals disposed into the environment. The toxic chemicals released into the environment easily enter our food chain and pose threat to life. Technologies have been developed by the human biomonitoring project to investigate on the hazardous substances that accumulate in the human body. Nanotechnology is booming in the industry. This crosscutting technology is concerned with the development of micro and macromolecules with new functions and properties like hardness, firmness, conductivity, fracture strength and storage capacity. In the future nanotechnology is expected to have an impact on all areas of industry. Since 2006 Nano dialogue has been a part of the German governments Nano action plan. Clean water and soil are also seriously considered. The marine ecosystem is at high ecological risk. The pollution of the oceans do not stop at the 48 JULY 2019
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political border, intense international co-operation at regional and global level are required. Even after this huge effort, we have shortcomings. The transport sector must become more sustainable, and clean air policy goals of achieving a high level of health protection and preservation of biodiversity still require great effort. As concerns reduction of land consumption and the development of organic farming, Germany still falls short of its goals.
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Farmers Using New Agricultural Techniques: Gobind Ram Chaudhary
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he food product industry is a major contributor to strengthening the economic condition of our country. This industry is growing year after year. Anmol Industries, a company working in biscuits and cookies business, is a company that has earned a big name in a very short time. This company has completed its Silver Jubilee i.e., 25 years.
Apart from this, the production unit has started well in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, at Hajipur in Bihar and Bhubaneswar in Odisha. We produced more than 31,500 metric tons in 2010 and the quantity keeps on increasing.
The manner in which this company has built a trust between its customers in these 25 years is invaluable. AW had an interaction in this regard with the company’s managing director Gobind Ram Chaudhary to know more about the journey of its success
The quality of the product matters a lot to any company. Our highest attention is on the quality of the product, because we do not want to compromise with our customer needs and their health. Before landing in the product market, they undergo many Quality trials, for which our team of experts work relentlessly. We have our research center to cater to these needs.
When and Where did the Company start ? Our first manufacturing plant was established in 1994 in Dakuni, West Bengal. After which we started working in the regional market. The reason behind the introduction of this company was the growing demand of good quality biscuits in India. Kindly Detail about the companies Units? The company started in 1994 and continues to progress. After 4 years of establishing the first production unit, West Bengal started the second building unit with state-of-theart facilities. In the year 2001 introduced the third production unit. 50 JULY 2019
How do you maintain your quality? Do you get them tested?
Do you buy raw materials from farmers directly? No. We do not buy raw materials directly from farmers, we buy raw materials from mediators. This material is of first class. Special attention is taken in order to keep the quality of the product completely intact. We know that all this comes from farmers and we are relieved thinking that they are also indirectly benefitted from us. www.krishijagran.com
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What is the status of that company in the market? The market situation of the company is very stable. Our turn over has crossed 1000 crore. We are working in almost all the states of the country. Our network is getting quite strong in all the states of the country and has a strong dealer network. Apart from this, we are exporting to other countries also. This time we are focusing on increasing exports. What are the main products of the company? If we talk about the products, we are mainly making 4 product biscuits, cakes, cookies and mukunda. Whose demand is continuously increasing. If we talk about the variety, then we have different varieties of biscuits. In the same way we also have lots of variety in cake, cookies and mukunda, which is very much liked by both regional and international market. How did the company earn a big name in such a short time? We have top notch qualityin our products and so have won absolute buyer’s trust in our products ,which is very much needed to sell the same product again in the market.We have won the trust of our customers and thts what keeps us going. We only con-
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WO R LD centrate on quality. Apart from this, we are now paying a lot of attention to the rural market too. That’s why we have biscuits in packagings of Rs 5, which will thereby increase our market significantly. These are the reasons which have lead us earning a good name. Do you find competition in this mar-
ket?
Yes,definitely there is a lot of strong competition like any other market.We try to keep a strong hold in this competition. Anmol has good gains in the rural sectors as well as a good position in other markets too. We maintain the quality of the product and that gives the needed strength to face the rivalry in the market. What would you want to communicate to the Indian farmer community? We at Anmol would like to thank the farmer community for giving us a continuous supply of quality produce and we hope they use good and quality techniques of farming to cultivate so that the crop production could be sustained and the farmer community remains happy and successful.
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Line-Sown Direct Seed Rice A Climate Resilient Strategy for Food Security
~ Pradan
Introducing the line-sown DSR method of cultivation which is proving to be viable and profitable because it is economical, labour friendly and assures a much greater yield to the farmers of EIP fighting against poverty, malnutrition and starvation
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No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change ~ President Obama
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Context The East India Plateau (EIP) comprises much of the state of Jharkhand and parts of adjoining West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. EIP is characterized by high but variable rainfall (1,100–1,600 mm, 80 per cent of which is received from June to September), frequent and sometimes long dry spells within the monsoon, little irrigation (~10 per cent of the area), high run-off and soil erosion, infertile soil, terraced mono-cropped paddy lands and subsistence agriculture. The area suffers low crop yield resulting in foodgrain insecurity and endemic poverty. Rice is the staple food crop and the traditional cropping system is mono-crop, rain-fed rice production, which has high climate-related risk and is particularly vulnerable to subtle changes in rainfall distribution, associated with climate change. The pressure of the increasing population has pushed rice cultivation to the medium up-lands, but these lands are not suited for transplanted rice production systems. Cropping in the postrain season (rabi) is limited due to the lack of irrigation resources and uncontrolled grazing by village cattle and goats. The main monsoon crop (kharif) is rice (overwhelmingly so for the poorer farmers) and usually very small areas are used for cultivating pulses, oilseeds and maize. Most villagers achieve only 50–60 per cent of their food-grain requirement, forcing migration in the non-monsoon season to earn some offfarm income at the cost of social upheaval. The outcome of this is widespread malnutrition, lim-
ited medical care and low levels of literacy. Perhaps, not surprisingly, the region is a stronghold for left-wing extremist groups.
Figure 1: Rainfall Pattern (1993–2010)
Source: Skymet and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) 54 JULY 2019
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EIP is one of the poorest regions of India, with a high population of tribal farmers who do not have a long farming tradition. They practice mono-cropping and cultivate crops such as paddy, millet and pulses under rain-fed conditions. The average land-holding per family is less than one hectare and the people cultivate rice mostly in the low-lands and the medium low-lands in scattered plots, which bring down the average size of land-holding to only 0.3 ha per household. Because farming is done under variable rain-fed conditions, the average rice productivity in the region is only 1.96 tonnes per ha. Prevalent Practices of Paddy Production Broadcasting and transplantation of rice, mostly in the low-lands and medium low-lands are very common practices across the EIP, including the Kolhan region of Jharkhand (Kolhan division is one of the five divisions in Jharkhand, comprising three districts, namely, Seraikela Kharsawan, East Singhbhum and West Singhbhum). www.krishijagran.com
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The average rainfall in the Kolhan region is about 1,400 mm; however, the pattern of rainfall over the last 40 years shows that rain in the monsoon periods (July to September) is very erratic and uncertain (Figure 1). Because of so much variability and uncertainty, farmers use the traditional broadcasted paddy because this method can withstand dry spells of 10–15 days and results in some assured yield. Farmers broadcast paddy seeds in their fields from the beginning of June to mid-July, after one or two showers of rain when the soil is moist enough to be ploughed. The traditional broadcasting method of rice cultivation requires a high seed rate (seed rate @ 80–120 kg per ha) and is also very labour intensive. After 45–50 days of broadcasting when the field accumulates standing water, the farmers plough down the standing crop for the thinning and weeding operations (the process is traditionally called karhan in the Kolhan region). JULY 2019
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Half-an-acre of land requires 10–15 labour for weeding and thinning. The remaining weeds are pulled out by hand. These weeding and thinning practices, usually done by women, are very strenuous and involve prolonged working in muddy water, often leading to finger and toe infections. Because the crop is planted randomly, there is no scope for using any kind of small tools or implements, and the operation of any kind of machine is almost impossible. And because household labour is also limited during this peak period, manual weeding operations become lengthy and delayed, which increases the weed competition and adversely affects the growth of the crop. Even after such an intense operation in the traditional broadcasted paddy, the end yield result is very low—less than onesixth of the transplanted paddy. However, because it does not require transplantation or waiting for enough rains to raise nurseries and the puddling of fields, this traditional system of paddy cultivation is much more resilient to the vagaries of the weather and assures the farmers at least some yield. The crop survives in the low or below average rainfall, especially during erratic rainfall, dry spells or poor monsoon. Farmers have adopted transplanted rice practices in some medium up-land and medium low-land areas that have access to irrigation. In traditional rice transplantation, rice is sprouted in a nursery and the sprouted seedlings are then transplanted in standing water; it is dependent, therefore, on assured standing water in the field for puddling. Seedlings need to be transplanted in time or else they become over-age. Often, however, due to limited irrigation facilities (less than 6–8 per cent of the area is under irrigation) and unpredictable rainfall, the process of transplantation gets delayed. During the dry spell period, the soil becomes cracked, resulting in the drying-off of paddy in the fields. This is a common feature and is experienced at least every alternate year. The chances, thus, of the paddy crop failing in the transplanted conditions are high. Farmers transplant over-aged seedlings; usually three or four seedlings are used per hill; and the transplantation process stretches until the end of August although the seedlings were raised much earlier (in the beginning of July). Late sowing of long duration (140–150 days) varieties (for example, Swarna Mansuri) results in fewer tillers and 56 JULY 2019
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small panicle development. The over-mature seedlings quickly go into the flowering stage and these become more pre-disposed to pest attacks. All these factors lead to a low yield. The harvesting of the transplanted paddy starts by late November or December, by which time the farmers fail to tap the opportunity of using soil residual moisture for the second crop with partial irrigation. Most of the transplanted rice fields then remain fallow for the next six months and the farmers face economic losses and the loss of opportunity for better utilization of resources. Clearly, in both the methods of rice cultivation, transplanting (which is inherently risky due to climatic variations) or traditional broadcasting (which is labour intensive as well as low yielding) are not very suitable for the farmers in Kolhan or the EIP region. An alternative approach is needed. Rainfall and Soil Moisture Understanding about soil moisture and rainfall is important because the moisture in the soil determines the planting of crops and their subsequent growth. Rainfall data (2006–11 collected by PRADANus in Purulia) and the corresponding soil moisture conditions in the medium uplands during the period show that there is huge variation in the ponding duration in the medium up-lands. Ponding of water in the fields is essential to ensure transplantation and further growth of transplanted paddy. Between 2006 and 2011, the ponding duration varied from 0–106 days (Figure 2). There was no water available for ponding and rice was not transplanted in the medium uplands in 2010, which was a drought year. Farmers kept waiting for the puddling of soil, and the paddy crop failed, especially the transplanted crop in the medium up-lands. A critical look at the data of these years reveals that although there was not adequate water for puddling, there was enough water every year for a non-flooded crop to grow. There was moisture in the soil soil moisture between the soil at field capacity and the saturation level every year, even in the so-called drought year, 2010. There were possibilities of growing crops that are not dependent on flooding, including the short duration rice of 100–120 days variety, under direct seeding, and vegetables in the medium up-lands.
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Direct Seeded Rice Line-sown direct seeded rice (DSR) is an innovative and modified method (direct seeded broadcasting method) of paddy cultivation, in which sorted and treated seeds of short-to-medium duration are used. Seeds are hand sown in lines made with a ‘multi-teeth marker’ under dry land conditions at the end of June with a 10” line-to-line spacing and 6–9” spacing from seed to seed. This way of sowing rice requires urgent weeding and thinning after 15–20 days of sowing, followed by a second weeding at 25–30 days. Weeding can be done using the ‘wheel hoe’ in dryland conditions and the ‘cono-weeder’ in wet-land conditions. In case of a delayed monsoon, the line-sown DSR crop gets established easily whereas transplanted rice often fails or yields poor results. Line-sown DSR rice may have huge scope/advantage in the EIP region by adding value to the traditional method of broadcasting of paddy. It has the potential to produce more yield in transplanted rice (conventional), is at par with the SRI method of rice cultivation, and has many advantages over transplanted and traditional broadcasting methods of paddy cultivation. In DSR, the rice seed is sown and sprouted directly in the field, eliminating the laborious process of planting seedlings by hand and greatly reducing the crop’s water requirements. It is resilient to the changes in the climate; with no dependency on the rains for puddling, it involves the least soil disturbance and there are minimal chances of the soil cracking during dry spells. Line-sown DSR can allow a rice crop to be established in seasons when transplanted rice often fails or yields poorly due to late sowing. The additional advantages include: • Reduced labour requirement (no nursery phase, no puddling or no transplanting) • No dependence on the onset of monsoon because sowing can be completed in partially dry soil after the pre-monsoon showers • Effective and efficient weed management, using mechanical weeders, made possible and easy because of line sowing • Earlier sowing and earlier harvest, creating opportunities for early sowing of a rabi crop, and accessing soil residual moisture with partial irrigation if required • Less quantity of seeds (by 50 per cent) required as compared to broadcasted paddy • Reduced drudgery for women because there is no nursery, no transplantation and no manual weeding
Figure 2: Rainfall and Duration of Ponding (2006–11)
2006
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DSR paddy field matures earlier than a transplanted paddy field. Early harvesting of the crop creates scope for the second crop, using the available residual moisture.
Experience with DSR The experimentation with DSR started in Purulia in 2007–08 under the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) project, wherein the attempts were to secure food production for families that only had uplands, where the paddy crop failed often. In the beginning, we had mixed experiences. Timely weeding and planting are critical for the success of DSR. The average yields were around 4 tonnes per ha; however, ensuring timely weeding was a challenge. Manual weeding with spades or pulling out by hand were cumbersome during the busy monsoon months. The attempt, therefore, was to find some affordable mechanical tools for efficient line planting and weeding.PRADAN has been working in line-sown DSR in West Singhbhum and Bokaro districts of Jharkhand since 2012, with the support of scientists from the ACIAR, the AVRDC and the Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM). The promotion of line-sown DSR was initiated at the hamlet level with concept seeding in the SHGs, with the main focus being on current issues and concerns about the traditional way of broadcasted as well as transplanted—puddled paddy—cultivation and the scope and potential for line-sown DSR in the region. SHG members have been encouraged to try line-sown DSR cultivation on an experimental basis in the beginning to observe the results—the pros and cons— so that in subsequent years, more families may take up the technology. In 2012, only three famers—Babli Doraiburu, Kalpana Hasda and Guruwari Hasda—participated in line- sown DSR cultivation in their medium low-lands in Talaburu village, Tonto block, West Singhbhum. 58 JULY 2019
Babli, Kalpana and Guruwari harvested 5,166 kg, 6,695 kg and 7,813 kg per ha, respectively. In an experiment, Kalpana cultivated paddy in four adjacent plots applying four different methods, namely, traditional broadcasting, transplanting, DSR and SRI. She used the local variety of 140 days duration in the broadcasting method; for the other three methods, she used the high-yielding Abhishek variety of 120–125 days duration. The yield comparison (as seen in Table 1) was quite significant with DSR showing at par results with SRI paddy. And because the crop was harvested early, the same field was utilized for a second crop. In 2013, seven new farmers, besides the original three, tried the DSR method in an average area of 0.05 ha. The yield realized in 2013 was quite significant and very exciting for the farmers. The sowing and harvesting were completed by the end of June and October, respectively. Linesown DSR performed at par even with the SRI crop in the neighbouring field. Due to the late transplantation of the SRI crop and other transplanted rice, harvesting was late and the farmers failed to take advantage of the residual soil moisture for the second crop. In the line-sown DSR fields, however, they could cultivate a second crop. Yields from two neighbouring traditional broadcasting fields were recorded as 1,812 and 2,370 kg per ha, respectively, as compared to 5,228 and 6,426 kg per ha. The yield from the neighbouring SRI field was 7,123 kg (HYV Lalat, 120 days), which was 11 per cent more than line-sown DSR. The entire yield was recorded, following the ‘whole plot cut method’ after ensuring proper drying of the grains. Table 2 gives the details of the yield data for the FY 2013–14. www.krishijagran.com
Table 1: Yield Comparison in KalpanaA G Hasda Talaburu Village, West Singhbhum, 2012 Food Security R I C U Fields, LT U R E W ORLD Area
Practices
Variety
Date of Sowing/
Effective
Grain Per
Date
of
Crop
Yield
in
Yield/Ha
Second Crop
( ha) Transplantation Tillers Talaburu Panicle Harvest Duration Actual Table 1: 1: Yield Comparison in in Kalpana Hasda Fields, Village, West Singhbhum, 2012 Table Yield Comparison Kalpana Hasda Fields, Talaburu Village, West Singhbhum, 2012(Kg)
Area Variety Date of Sowing/ Abhishek Transplantation July 18 ,2012 ( ha) 0.06
Practices
DSR
Transplanted paddy DSR Broadcasted 0.06
Transplanted paddySRI Broadcasted
0.14 0.22
0.14
Abhishek
Abhishek 0.22 Local
July 30 ,2012
July 18June30, ,2012 2012
(Average Three Samples) Effective 28 Tillers (Average DNA* Three Samples) 28 DNA*
Abhishek July 30 ,2012 0.15 Abhishek DNA Local
June30, 2012
Area (Kg)
Grain Per Date of Crop November Duration 116 Panicle254 Harvest 14, 2012 DNA* November 133 18, 2012
Yield in Actual384 Area (Kg) 624
Yield/Ha (Kg) 6857
Second Chickpea Crop
4333
Fallow
116119
384150
6857 0670
Chickpea Fallow
DNA* DNA*
254DNA* November July 11, 14, 2012 2012 DNA* November DNA* 18, 2012 DNA
133 DNA*
624 810
4333 5506
Fallow Fallow
DNA*
DNA*
119
July 11, 2012
150 data not 0670 *DNAavailableFallow
0.15 Abhishek DNA besides the original DNA* DNA* tried DNAthe DSR method DNA* 810average 5506 Fallow In 2013, seven new farmers, three, in an area of 0.05
SRI
data not available ha. The yield realized in 2013 was quite significant and very exciting for the*DNAfarmers. The sowing and
Another remarkable factor is the investment of the farmers used SRI out of the total plan. In 2013, seven were new farmers, besides original three, tried the respectively. DSR methodLine-sown in an average of 0.05at harvesting completed by thethe June and October, DSR area performed in labour use (Table 3), which was 36end perofcent The reason was the late and erratic monsoon. par even theas SRI crop in thequite neighbouring field. Due the transplantation ofThe thesoil SRI crop and The yield with realized incompared 2013 was significant and verytoexciting for the farmers. sowing and lessha. in line-sown DSR to traditionBecause oflate the late monsoon, puddling al broadcasting and transplanted rice and even does not occur and the seedlings become other transplanted rice, harvesting late and farmersrespectively. failed to takeLine-sown advantageDSR of the residual oversoil harvesting were completed by the endwas of June andthe October, performed at SRI rice (labour considered for this comparison age, etc. Only 10–12 per cent of the farmers in moisture for the second crop. In the line-sown DSR fields, however, they could cultivate a second crop. par even with the SRI crop in the neighbouring field. Due to the late transplantation of the SRI used crop and includes sowing/transplantation, weeding and Jharkhand have access to irrigation, mainthinning only). Yields from two neighbouring traditional broadcasting fields were recorded as 1,812 and 2,370 per ly for failed other to crops mostlyoffor rabikgsoil crops. other transplanted rice, harvesting was late and the farmers take and advantage thethe residual Far better it is, therefore, to facilitate planning ha, respectively, as compared to 5,228 and DSR 6,426fields, kg per ha. The they yield could from the neighbouring field moisture for the second crop. In the line-sown however, cultivate a secondSRI crop. Up-scaling DSR for the paddy cultivation after taking into conwas 7,123 (HYV Lalat, 120 days), which was 11 sideration per centwere more than line-sown DSR. The entire yield Yields from twokgneighbouring traditional broadcasting fields recorded as 1,812 andrainfall 2,370 kgpattern, per the weather history, During the team’s review meetings, it was evfarmers’ interests andthe irrigation was recorded,asfollowing theto‘whole plot method’ after drying of theinfrastructure grains. ha,that respectively, 5,228 andcut 6,426 kg per ha. ensuring The yieldproper from neighbouring SRITable field 2in ident in spite ofcompared its intensive intervention the paddy land. details of the120 yielddays), data for the FY 2013–14. in promoting only 30–40 perwas cent was gives 7,123the kgSRI (HYVpaddy, Lalat, which 11 per cent more than line-sown DSR. The entire yield was recorded, following the ‘whole plot cut2:method’ ensuring proper drying of the grains. Table 2 Table DSR in after 2013–14 Table 2: DSR in 2013–14
gives the details of the yield data for the FY Paddy 2013–14. Yield Areas Participating Farmers
FY
Variety
(ha)
( kg/ha)*
Land Category
Medium 0.044 Babli Doraiburu low-land Table 2: DSR in 2013–14 2013 Abhishek 6426 Medium 0.051 Kalpana Hasda Areas Paddy Yield Landlow-land Participating Farmers FY 2013 Abhishek ( kg/ha)* 5568 Medium Variety Category (ha) 0.031 Gurbari Hasda low-land 2013 Abhishek 5964 Medium 0.044 2013 Abhishek 5228 Medium BabliGita Doraiburu low-land 0.114 Kunkel low-land 2013 Abhishek 6426 Medium 2013 0.051 Abhishek 5254 Medium Kalpana Hasda low-land 0.049 Pelong Kunkel low-land 2013 Abhishek 5568 Medium 2013 Abhishek 5722 Medium 0.031 Gurbari HasdaSurin 0.024 low-land Sarswati low-land 2013 Abhishek 52285694 Medium 0.114 Gita Kunkel Average low-land 2013 Abhishek 5254 Medium 0.049 Pelong Kunkelfrom dried total field yield; **DOS: * Converted Date of Sowing; ***DOH: Date of Harvestinglow-land 2013 Abhishek 5722 Medium 0.024 Sarswati Surin low-land Another remarkable factor is the investment in labour5694 use (Table 3), which Average 2013
Abhishek
5964
DOS**
DOH***
Rabi Crop
23 Jun
31 Oct
Tomato, chickpea Chickpea
23 Jun
01 Nov
DOS** 22 Jun
DOH*** 29 Oct
Rabi Crop
23 Jun 23 Jun
31 Oct 24 Oct
Tomato, Chickpea chickpea
23 Jun 28 Jun
01 Nov 30 Oct
Chickpea Chickpea
22 Jun 8 Jul
29 Oct 21 Nov
Green gram Chickpea
23 Jun
24 Oct
Chickpea
28 Jun
30 Oct
Chickpea
8 Jul
21 Nov
Chickpea
Green gram
ers started sowing very early in June or even earDuring the livelihood planning meetings this 36 team per cent less in linelier. Quite late,was the realized that it could year (2014), almost 40–50 per cent of the padsown DSR as compared to traditional broadcasting and transplanted rice and even SRI rice (labour have facilitated line-sowing for the community. dy area from medium up-lands to low-lands ; ***DOH: Date of Harvesting * Converted from the dried total field yield; **DOS: Date of Sowing fortraditional this comparison includes sowing/transplantation, weeding thinning only). for 2,000 families, Although theand team planned have considered been under broadcasting. FarmTable 3: for Labour for Different (in Person PDs) Per Hectare Table 3: Labour Different OperationsOperations (in Person Days, PDs) PerDays, Hectare No.
Name of Farmer
Area (ha)
Practices
Sowing
Nursery management
Transplantation
Karhan
Thinning Weeding
1
Kalpana Hasda Gurbari Hasda
0.28
DSR
11.4
NA
NA
NA
2
0.32
DSR
9.8
NA
NA
NA
3
Babli Doraiburu
0.19
DSR
21.5
NA
NA
4
Gita Kunkel
0.71
DSR
13.2
NA
NA
5
Pelong Kunkel
0.31
DSR
13.6
NA
6
Sarswati Surin
0.15
DSR
31.3
7
Surin Hansda*
0.88
SRI
8
Kalpna Hansda*
0.88
9
Colye Hansda*
10
Babali Hansdas*
&
Total PDs**
Average
15.2
26.5
61.9
63.7
73.5
NA
40.3
61.8
NA
78.9
92.1
NA
NA
27.2
40.8
NA
NA
NA
45.1
76.4
NA
12.2
95.2
NA
25
132.4
SRI
NA
15.77
57.1
NA
25
97.9
0.50
Broadcasting
5
NA
NA
10
90
105
0.25
Broadcasting
5
NA
NA
10
90
105
115.2
105
* Interactive data, 1 PD (Person Day) = 6 hours, ** Includes sowing/nursery management, transplantation, weeding, thinning only.
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JULY 2019 Figure 3 represents the rainfall and field operations in DSR and transplanted rice in kharif 2014. That DSR operations start one month earlier than transplantation operations, even before the farmers start
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Figure 3 represents the rainfall and field operations in DSR and transplanted rice in kharif 2014. That DSR operations start one month earlier than transplantation operations, even before the farmers start raising the nurseries is clear. DSR, therefore, uses soil moisture more efficiently than the AG R IC U LT Uthe RE W Food Security ORLD transplanted rice in medium low-lands. Figure 3: Rainfall (in mm) and Field Operations in DSR and Transplanted Rice in West Singhbhum during Figure 2014 3: Rainfall (in mm) and Field Operations in DSR and Transplanted Rice in West Singhbhum Kharif during Kharif 2014
people were organized for SHGs, Clusters and Up-scaling DSR only 729 farmers finally decided to use lineFederations sown DSR. This was mainly due to the team’s During the team’s review meetings, it was evident that in spite of its intensive intervention in promoting untimely planning. Farmers had sown seeds afSRI paddy, only 30–40 per cent of the farmers used SRI out of total plan. was the latein andlow-land ar8.the Focus was The on reason SRI promotion ter the first showers, with little or no soil moiserratic monsoon. Because of the late monsoon, soil puddling does not occur and the seedlings become eas where puddling is more predictable ture. Paddy germinates even with very little or over-age, etc. Only 10–12 per cent of the farmers in Jharkhand have access to irrigation, used mainly for no soil moisture. This was a great learning for Implements Essential for DSR the team members, who realized that they had to move with the farmers’ time-table so that a Line marker: This is used for row marking after greater number of families could adopt the linethe final field preparation and levelling, for sowsown DSR technology. ing the seeds in line. Scaling-up Strategy Adopted by the Team 1. Field exposure visits-cum-group discussions were organized among SRI and DSR farmers at the Cluster level 2. Orientation was held for various stakeholders around this initiative, including the panchayati raj institution (PRI) representatives, the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) staff, and the tool suppliers/vendors at the Cluster-level melas to reach more families 3. Exposure visits-cum-interactions were held with DSR host farmers in the field from new areas 4. Field-level guidance and support were sought from experienced farmers and expert service providers for SHG members in new areas 5. Awareness was created through the introduction of IEC materials such as flex boards, leaflets, photographs and videos, to create awareness 6. Linkages were established with tool fabricators/suppliers, to ensure availability of implements 7. Mobilization of resources and training of 60 JULY 2019
Wheel hoe: This is a three blade hoe, fitted with a wheel and shaft and is used for weeding and loosening the soil, 15–20 days after sowing in dry soil conditions, for young tender weeds. During this operation period, the thinning of seeding is also ensured. It is also used to maintain proper seed-to-seed spacing. Cono weeder: This tool is used after 25–35 days of sowing in 1–2” of standing water in the paddy field. Learnings 1. Early sowing and early harvesting help the family overcome the hunger period. The rice arrives at home in October when the reserves at home are near depletion and the new harvest from the transplanted fields is still two months away. 2. Farmers get an opportunity to sow second crops, for example, chickpea, mustard and vegetables, using the residual soil moisture and supplemental irrigation, if required. It leads to better resource utilization, additional crops and income. 3. The use of tools and implements save time, reduce drudgery for women, especially in transplantation and weeding. With the utilization of tools and implements, there is better task-sharing in the family because men and grown-up www.krishijagran.com
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Table4: 4:Details Detailsofofthe theOperational Operational Procedure in DSR Table Procedure in DSR Timeline
Major Activities
Second to third week of May
Ploughing of field begins after receiving one or two pre-monsoon showers
Beginning of June
Final field preparation with levelling
Beginning June to midJuly
Major interventions: Seed sorting and treatment Marking line using ‘litho-markers’ Seed sowing, and covering of seeds Application of farmyard manure (FYM) Ghana jeevamrutha at the rate of 75 kg for 30 decimals of land as basal, followed by the same dose during the first weeding and the second weeding, or chemical fertilizers at the rate of N = 70, P = 42 and K = 30 kg per ha in the soil.
By 15–20 days after sowing
Thinning and first weeding operations
July–August
Second weeding mechanically in 1–2” of standing water, application of nutrients (as recommended) Application of nutrients as per recommendation Harvesting of paddy Rabi crops (legumes, pulses and other shortduration vegetables)
Late August October Mid to endOctober
Remarks Easy to plough Ploughing reduces the clods Reduces pests and diseases in the coming crops Field preparation should match with farmers’ traditional broadcasting calendar. Optimum time for sowing depends on receiving 10–15 mm rain Soil should have 8–15% moisture for better germination, usually after receiving one pre-monsoon rain. Beginning of June is good for sowing. Seed rate—15 kg per acre. Spacing row-to-row of 20–25 cm (9– 10”) with continuous dropping, or drop two seeds at a distance of 6–9” in the line. Manual thinning and mechanical weeding is done. Thinning of seedling is done to maintain proper seed-to-seed spacing. Thinning is ensured manually, where the seed is dropped continuously. Weeding with the ‘cono- weeder’ Based on crop status/growth For variety of 100–120 days duration To utilize residual soil moisture
rice may be required in October. Birds and rats children like to work with implements.4. Soil Implements Essential for DSRto better water inalso cause damage to the plants, especially when structure improves, leading Line marker: used forPuddling row marking after the final preparation and levelling, for sowing the onlyfield a few farmers adopt DSR. The few maturfiltration and This root isgrowth. practices ing fields in the whole area attract all the birds, seeds in line. destroy the soil structure. Soil particles are disrats and squirrels and this may require special persed, and when the soil dries, it becomes very Wheel This is a threevery blade hoe, fitted wheel and usedOnce for weeding and to shaft ward and themis off. the practice hard. It hoe: makes ploughing difficult. DSRwith ameasures adopted on largertender scale, weeds. the damage loosening 15–20 days after in dry soilis conditions, forayoung Duringfrom this practices dothe notsoil, require puddling; thesowing soil, therebirdsIt is and be reduced significantly. fore, slowlyperiod, regains structure and becomes operation theitthinning of seeding is also ensured. alsorodents used towill maintain proper seed-to-seed Getting good quality short and medium duragranular, spacing. beneficial for root growth and water tion (90–120 days) varieties of seeds too might infiltration. be a in challenge in somewater of theinareas. Cono weeder: This tool is used after 25–35 days of sowing 1–2” of standing the paddy field. Challenges If these challenges can be overcome, DSR culThe challenges with DSR are to ensure affordtivation will prove more effective because it is Learnings able quality implements for line-seeding and a more climate-resilient and predictable method weeding tools at the community level. Without of rice production than transplanted rice in the ensuring the availability of these implements, medium up-lands under rain-fed conditions. At the success of DSR will be difficult because of the same time, it is more woman-friendly bethe weed load and the need for removal of weeds cause the back-breaking tasks of carrying the in time. Another issue is the risk of a wet harvest seedlings, transplantation and pulling out of because sometimes there are storms and signifiweeds by hand, mainly done by women, are cant rainfall in East India during October, which eliminated. With the introduction of tools and can affect the mature rice crop in the fields or implements, the tasks become easier and are on the threshing floor. Protection of harvested shared by men. www.krishijagran.com
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Acknowledgement We are very grateful to the women farmers of West Singhbhum, Ramgarh and Purulia districts who took the risk of experimentation and contributed to our learning. We are also sincerely thankful and acknowledge the contributions of Prof. Peter Cornish from the UWS, who helped us to think through and work with the challenges of agriculture in EIP. We are beneficiaries of his wisdom. All the knowledge, evidence and data presented above are the outcome of the hard work of the whole research team of two ACIAR research projects and we are enormously thankful to them. We are also thankful for the support and guidance provided by the AVRDC and the ACWADAM.
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Slash –and - Burn Cultivation A Slow Death of Odisha’s Forest Wealth
Jitu Mishra - Cofounder - Virasat E Hind Foundation
1
According to Wikipedia: ‘Slash-and-burn agriculture, also called fire-fallow cultivation, is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegetation, or “slash”, is then left to dry, usually right before the rainiest part of the year. Then, the biomass is burned, resulting in a nutrient-rich layer of ash which makes the soil fertile, as well as temporarily eliminating weed and pest species. After about three to five years, the plot’s productivity decreases due to depletion of nutrients along with weed and pest invasion, causing the farmers to abandon the field and move over to a new area. The time it takes for a swidden to recover depends on the location and can be as little as five years to more than twenty years, after which the plot can be slashed and burned again, repeating the cycle. In India, the practice is known as jhum or jhoom’. In Odisha, slash-and-burn agriculture is called podu chasa (1).
2
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The Earth is what we all have in common ~ Wendell berry
3
4
Odisha, a state on the east coast of India has a long coastline of 500 km. However, in its interior, there are forested highlands of the Eastern Ghats and Chotanagpur Plateau (image 2). Most of its interior has been known for immense natural beauty and are the habitat of 62 tribal communities out of which 13 are amongst the most primitive tribal groups of the world. Some of them are Bondas, Gadabas, Kutia Kondhs, Dongria Kondha, Lanjia Saoras, Saoras and Porajas (3 and 4). Till recently many of these tribal communities had been living in isolation with deep faith in nature. Slash-and-Burn cultivation on mountain slopes has been a practice in Highland Odisha from time immemorial. During my recent exploration in central and southern Odisha, I have come across vast tracts of swidden plots on mountain slopes (5 and 6).
5
6
On occasions, it was frightening to see forests burning in the dark hours on mountain slopes (7). But thankfully, these are controlled fire, confined only to patches where podu chasa is planned. My first close encounter of podu chasa was in Belghar Mountains in Kandhamal District (8). The mountains and forests of Belghar are the abode of Kutia Kondh tribe, one of the warrior tribes of highland Odisha, who were once ferociously known for sacrificing humans with a belief of yielding good crops (image 9). While reviewing research papers and monograms on Kutia Kondhs, I discovered that patches of a forest close to their settlements are regularly cleared for slash and burn cultivation. In the past, the land for cultivation used to be selected by Dani, the priest along with village elites.
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8
A particular patch of forest was used continuously for three years for shifting cultivation. Then it was left fallow for more than five years to allow rejuvenation of the forest growth. Cutting of trees in the patch was done in the spring season by their respective family members and was left for some days to dry up. Care was taken while clearing forests; fruit-bearing trees and trees having herbal medicinal property were not touched. A specific variety of seeds was stored for podu chasa, which were first sown and then hoed. During weeding and flowering, certain archaic rituals were carried out to save the crop from natural calamity and infest of insects and locust. The harvest of crops usually used to take place after the performance of rituals and sacrifices to appease the spirits linked with agricultural operations as different crops would get ready at different times.
9
10
Today, however, the scene is different. Due to increased pressure in population, the swidden land is not kept fallow and it is continuously cultivated (10 and 11). Though chemical fertilizer has not made inroads into the deep interiors and the burnt ash still works as a natural fertilizer, but for how long it will continue is a question. In Belghar and in many other parts of Kandhamal, the swidden plots are used for the cultivation of turmeric, millet and rice, besides various indigenous grams and pulses and oilseeds. But in Gajapati and Rayagada Hills of the Eastern Ghats cashew nuts have become a major cash crop for the farmers of Saura and Lanjia Saura tribes. Hill slopes are cleared year after year for the plantation of cashew trees (12).
11
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13
14
The Lanjia Saura is one of the oldest tribes of Odisha concentrated in the highlands of Gajapati and Rayagada Districts. Situated on the eastern side of the Eastern Ghats the Saura territory is a picturesque region with rolling hills, undulating meadows, lush green forests, roaring rapids, darting hill streams, enchanting waterfalls, gaping valleys and terraced rice fields (13 and 14). Their villages are situated on hill slopes or foothill often inaccessible and mostly lie hidden in forest-clad hills. They select highlands and hill slopes which are free from water logging and lie near the natural water source. Cashew plantation has been introduced recently as an incentive by the government schemes to give up slash-and-burn cultivation. However, cashews are planted on degraded swidden plots on hill slopes and because of its profitability, more and more swidden plots are brought under cashew plantation. Though at present the Lanjia Sauras are happy because of the lucrative earning, how far the cashew plants are resilient to the local climatic condition and the soil structure is a subject of debate. Moving to Bonda Hills in Malkangiri District in the southernmost part of Odisha I am told about a more alarming story. Only a couple of years back the hills where one of the most primitive people, the Bondas live, was mostly inaccessible (15). The tribe had hardly any outside influence because of their complete isolation. The hills over 1000 m height from sea level are blessed with nature’s bounty. Slash-and-Burn cultivation like Kutia Kondhs in Belghar was carried periodically. After three years the swidden plots were allowed to remain fallow for five to six years to rejuvenate. But now because of population increase and lack of other cultivable lands, the Bondas are increasingly clearing forests and continuously cultivating on their swidden plots. The hills now look mostly barren and the mountain streams are drying up fast (16). It is assumed that in a few year times like others the Bondas will also start depending upon the state supply of piped water. Before it is too late, it is important to look for some alternative to jhum cultivation practice in Odisha. Otherwise, most of its highland forest wealth will be exhausted completely leading to severe environmental crises.
15
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Sustainability
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Teaching and Learning thr Making a case for susta education in scho Roshni Ravi & 2 Pallavi Varma Patil Teacher 2 Faculty at Azim Premji University 1 1
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Ragi Project logo symbolised stages of the Ragi crop and the circular loop symbolised the potential and continuum of learning reflective of the school’s logo.
rough Food ainability ools www.krishijagran.com
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The Ragi Project: An Introduction In order to make our social science teaching and learning at Poorna Learning Centre (an alternative school based in north Bengaluru) more hands on, theme based and contextual, us teachers were exploring the theme of food. This school community had already been engaging with food in various ways- be it through its weekly community lunches in the school (where each class cooks for the entire school in turns), or maintaining a small vegetable garden as a school activity, or composting the food waste at school. But we as social science teachers were keen to do more. It was Pallavi Varma Patil, a faculty at Azim Premji University, who teaches Gandhian Education who encouraged us to explore food from a Gandhian lens. It meant not only conceptual understanding of nutritious food and healthy diets or analysing the role of food diversity but also hands on work of growing food in the school. Together – a group of school teachers and Pallavi from the university embarked on a journey of exploring a “Nayee nai Talim” *. We decided
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in the very beginning that we would explore and push the boundaries of this hands on growing food in school to making sure there is a constant linkages to age appropriate school curriculum. And so we started- the land was generously made available to us by our school staff- Radha. Growing Ragi was a natural and obvious choice- not only because it is a wonder food and had nutrition benefits but also because it was ecologically suited to the kind of care we could provide- we had limited water, the soil was low on nutrition and as a school we had limited time to care for the crop. There was another very important reason to choose Ragi- deeply intertwined with the Kannadiga culture it gave us an insight to explore the history, art, culture and folklore of the region. Ragi stirred something in everyone. It was familiar. It was local. It was forgotten. It had to be revived. Reintroduced. Reinvented. Thus, began our journey which we titled The Ragi Project. Our logo symbolised stages of the Ragi crop and the circular loop symbolised the potential and continuum of learning reflective of the school’s logo.
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Teaching and Learning through food I write this piece as a teacher and the coordinator of the Ragi project’s first year of activities. Three classes from the middle school were actively involved in the farming process. Weekly farm visits involved keen observation and description-of the space, the process, the ‘baby ragi saplings’ as the kids called them and of course the myriad insects we encountered on the farm. Ragi brought everyone and everything together. Choosing to finally recognise food as our teacher was a decision with far-reaching implications. It gave meaning to the project. Meaning and purpose. What can be more meaningful than growing your own food? Than being involved in every step till food arrives onto your plate? This choice ensured everyone’s involvement in some way. Students, teachers, and parents everyone had something to say. I remember one ten year old claiming excitedly that he knew everything about cultivating Ragi, one who was glad that he would get away from the classroom and even the ones who protested and complained about Ragi’s unappetising taste and appearance.
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and bugs in an ecosystem and the crucial role played by earthworms. They learnt about soil nutrition and the science behind composting. At the farm and in the classrooms the children learnt the skills to observe, record, and reflect. In maths, the children learnt how to measure a plot of land and maintain distance between rows using non standardised methods. They learnt how to do a survey of food choices and tabulate data, they learnt ratio and proportions while making liquid compost (Jeevamrutha) and basic arithmetic while working with ingredient amounts in recipes.In social science, the children paid more attention to the landscape around them. They learnt how to draw a map of the farm and learnt about scale. They discussed festivals, songs and folklore that celebrates nature and its connection with the food we eat today and various preparations of Ragi in different cultures. Class discussions introduced students to monoplantations, GM crops, plastic food packaging and carbon footprints; children started thinking about being more conscious about what they purchased-apples from Himachal or apples from New Zealand? They learnt about the role of scarecrow in a field and about the importance of a seasonal calendar in a farmer’s life.
It was only natural that the kitchen became the hot bed of activity. That year, every class decided to make one Ragi based dish as part of their menu for the weekly community lunch. The experiments in the kitchen were exciting and enjoyable.
Students learnt to describe their experiences in different ways and gained new vocabulary while listening to stories, songs and poems related to food and farming in their language classes. Crops on the farm were the inspiration for many young poets. Sample this:
Children, parents and teachers came up with wonderful ideas and recipes that we tried out with gusto-from the unassuming ragi mudde to delicious ragi muthias, crispy ragi kharpole and sweet laddoos, cookies and cakes.
“This plant grows in a wonderful place in Radha’s farm
Through Ragi, we learnt science, geography, history, fractions,weights,measures,Botany and rangoli designs. Hands on work at the farm helped students imbibe the skills a small farmer needs to have; learning to sow, water, prepare nursery beds, transplant saplings, restore soil health, knowing when the crop is ready to harvest, threshing, storing and processing the crop.
Its stem is as purple as a jamun fruit
In science, the children learnt about plant growth-exploring the way plants grow from seeds and different germination rates and ways plants grow. They discovered the role of insects 72 JULY 2019
Its leaves are shaped like feathers with a pointy top
I didn’t grow this wonderful plant but when I look at it I smile as if a child sees a giant lollipop It smells like many spices of the world Its stem doesn’t slouch (no wonder he doesn’t get a back ache) it’s always standing up straight. TUWAR POWER The end!” www.krishijagran.com
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Valuing different kinds of knowledge Ragi upturned the interactions in classrooms. Students, who didn’t particularly enjoy conventional classroom teaching, began to talk. Generously and unassumingly, they shared with us knowledge they had imbibed in their farms, in their villages. A ten year old student showed me how to carry a pot of water on my hip and not drop a drop of water, another feisty, fearless one held up a dung beetle and yet another one came running with purple lips and news of the discovery of manathakkali or wonder berries on the farm. Ragi was the entry point for discussions on language, on food choices, on local culture and on water shortage. It was the catalyst that changed the colour and flavour of classroom discussions, infusing them with personal anecdotes and fantastic stories. Ragi was also cause for celebration and boundless joy-the Ragi farm after Dasara holidays, was green, beautiful and unrecognisable after a three week break! One of the kids said the farm looked like a mini forest.
WO R LD manage teacher and student workload and be creative in our integration of this work into the curriculum. Logistical issues included identifying a reliable water source at the farm, having a volunteer to take care of the farm during school holidays, finding the right seeds, acquiring skills and expertise in caring for the crop, knowing when and how to harvest. Documenting and synthesising our experiences required us to set aside time for reflection on something that is a precious resource for a school teacher. Curriculum integration was also a challenge, forcing us as teachers to be creative and think on our feet-the farming journey itself was unpredictable making it difficult to plan and prepare ahead. This said, such collaboration requires one to tread an unpredictable but rewarding path. Having a group, that works together, is focussed on problem-solving and making the most of every learning opportunity is essential. Sustainable Schools: Growing your own food
We celebrated Children’s Day that year with heart-warming renditions of Purandaradasa’s Ragi Tandira which will remain etched in our hearts and minds.
This is the 150th year of Gandhi’s birth anniversary. There will be essay competitions, lectures, debates on what Gandhiji did, said and envisioned. But what better way to celebrate the visionary by actually trying out his ideas in education?
Harvest Day was marked with folk songs and stories, giving thanks and carrying the bundles of Ragi back to school. Threshing and winnowing the Ragi, stomping feet and rhythmic motions were amazing terrace adventures for the kids. That year, Sankranti was really special for the school, with the community’s first harvest-20 kgs of Ragi from half an acre!
Gandhi’s Nai Talim received a lot of criticism even when he was the original champion. Will it reduce academic learning? Who will teach out of syllabus areas like gardening, cooking? Will a Nai Talim student get a job? Will they learn how to read or write? What is the point of understanding local ecology if you want your child to be a global citizen?
We tried to capture these rich experiences in a cookbook that recorded the recipes the students and teachers tried out at school, titled Our Experiments with Ragi. This gave us the opportunity to share widely our story and inspire others to undertake similar projects.
As an educator strengthening children to imbibe skills to survive in the future, I am enthused by Gandhi’s original ideas around Education for Life. Just like, Greta Thurberg’s school strike for climate inspires us all to rethink school education- that which is equipped for combating the various climate change induced crises looming ahead of us.
Not without challenges No journey is complete without its share of hardships. A project of this nature and scale required us to rework the school timetable, www.krishijagran.com
What better way than Food to provoke our thinking of Education for Life -- to learn, know and do what is needed for a future based on ecologically conscious, healthy and nutritious food. JULY 2019
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It has been two years since we started this growing and learning through food journey. Sometimes it is frustrating, sometimes inspiring. But never have children let us down. They come with enthusiasm and show us spaces to learn and teach. Exposing children to an experience in growing their own food has far reaching impacts. Students begin to understand better what is on their plate, are curious to know where their food comes from and how it is grown. Food is a wonderful way to engage children and parents in conversations about sustainable living and perhaps small gardening and farming initiatives are one way schools can begin to change the current unsustainable, consumerist narrative. Poorna has been able to continue this work in the form of a smaller, more focussed gardening and farming project the following year- Seed to www.krishijagran.com
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Plate and the community has plans for introducing timetabled gardening classes for all students in the coming academic year. My scepticism for where this world and we as a people are heading is only countered by my unflinching hope in what education has the potential to do. More specifically, my faith is in education that is sustainable; one that promotes an engagement with local spaces, and understanding of one’s identity and interconnectedness with our environment. For me, the way forward is clear and it requires a dramatic change in lifestyle and attitudes on our part. And this change is more than making the swap between a plastic and cloth shopping bag. It requires us to urgently rethink our education system, our work and our lives. The question we need to ask ourselves is -when will we be ready to walk the talk? JULY 2019
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Seeing Agriculture through the lens of Financial Investing: A unique perspective on Agroforestry
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Ravish Vasan India Fellow 2019 Acumen Founder at Sattvan
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Broadly speaking, modern farming of today goes on the lines of large monoculture farms with little or no supporting allied activity. This justifies economies of scale, efficiency in farming, harvesting & market linkage. When looked from the eyes of financial investing, this activity looks like a “single short term day-trading” where a trader (read farmer) puts all his investment in one stock (read crop) with extremely high risk. He does this with follower mentality i.e. picking stocks (read crops) which everyone on the floor is going for without any study and remains hopeful to earn well from it in one shot. With insufficient knowledge of variables and lack of fail-safe option, this activity is equivalent to lottery. Usually, a normal trader stops day-trading in case of heavy losses but our farmer keeps trying it with the hope that one specific season will give him a bumper return. And we all know how that goes in a farmer’s life who has little to nothing to fall back on.Farmers have a series of tasks laid out like tilling of land, sowing seeds, applying nutrition, maintaining growth, preventing pest attack, harvesting and making sales which he does season-to-season. Amidst all this, the risk of failure due to pest attack, climate shock, wildlife intrusion, human intervention are so high that the farmer may literally lose almost the whole investment of that season in one go. There is a popular proverb that says “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” The farmers of today are doing exactly this and still nonchalant about it either because of ignorance or higher risk of experimentation. This is precisely why agriculture is being seen as unviable by a growing number of farmers and increasingly becoming the reasons of increasing farmer suicides in our country.
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beekeeping etc., the farmer is able to sustain his family needs as well as earn a sustained recurring income. This replenishes farmer’s family nutrition needs and surplus can always be sold in local as well as urban communities for premium. Can you think of a happier farmer than this? This farmer is not being overly hopeful or optimistic but being practical. In eyes of financial world, this strategy is akin to having a well-balanced portfolio where you invest in day-trading (read crops & vegetables), savings (read perennials like papaya, banana, moringa, mint, basil), fixed deposits (read trees like timber, fruit trees, medicinal trees) & mutual funds (read dairy, poultry, goatry). In this situation, the trader(read farmer) is in good health even if one or two components in the portfolio fail due to any unforeseen reasons. This is how agriculture could become sustainable and profitable for farmers. Integrating Agroforestry elements with agriculture as a measure of biodiversity is a key step which is recommended. In words of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations, “Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use systems and technologies where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos, etc.) are deliberately used on the same land-man-
Desired state: Now, think of a farmer who lives on his organic farm where input costs are extremely low, there is wide variety of nutritious foods to savor and happy, healthy environment to enjoy life. This farm has specific zones divided for rainwater harvesting (at least 10% area), nursery rearing, fruit trees, vegetable beds, crop area and provision for allied activities like cattle rearing, beekeeping, backyard poultry etc. Multiple crops grown at the same time and coupled with fruit trees, medicinal herbs & trees, indigenous cattle rearing, backyard poultry, mushroom farming, 78 JULY 2019
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agement units as agricultural crops and/or animals, in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence. It is a dynamic, ecologically based, that, diversifies and sustains production for increased social, economic and environmental benefits for land users at all levels.� One way to understand it is through picture given below. If you have noticed in the picture above, the shape and size of root system is very similar to the canopy offered by different plants. The different plant structures work on different layers above as well as below the ground and maximize the utilization of sunlight as well as space in soil. Large trees have larger canopies and deeper roots to hold the soil and wide root network which brings & hold water around roots and satisfy nutrition requirements of tree even during stressing times. Under this large tree, other trees and plants can always access water and nutrition (otherwise unavailable through their own root systems independently). Due to this, the smaller plants and crops have higher survival rate, very encouraging growth and need very little external inputs/intervention. Each layer has both fast and slow growing varieties with inter-dependencies with same layer. For example, spinach grows very fast while cauliflower in same layer grows
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slowly with different times of harvest and companionship with each other. By making a practical choice of growing multiple varieties at different layers on same patch of land, a farmer can diversify his investments and make a decent returns from all investments. The key is in maintaining the canopy layers consistent and not become lazy with trees growing big and stopping to grow short-term vegetables. All layers should be practiced together.
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The other key benefits on economic, social and environmental aspects from introducing biodiversity through agroforestry can be explained below: • Improving food and nutrition security: Particularly in developing countries, planting trees together with crops can help fight hunger and malnutrition, as trees are a source of food, fuel and nonwood products that can be either directly consumed by humans or sold openly. • Leaves, and other edible parts of trees, can serve as fodder for livestock. By capturing, filtering and storing water within roots & soil, agroforestry systems may play an important role in maintaining groundwater level & increased water retention for usage. Some trees and plants are important sources of medicines and natural remedies, which help improve people’s health and/or cure diseases. • Healthy customers and lesser chances of deficiency: As people start consuming more variety and locally grown products, the nutrition content of such food helps in improving health standards. Higher nutrition from food directly would mean lesser dependence on external minerals, vitamin supplements and lesser chances of deficiency. • Potential to lift poor out of poverty: By reducing agricultural inputs and thus production costs, or by increasing general crop productivity, agroforestry can increase household income. With the production of agricultural and forest goods with higher value & higher diversity, farmers and foresters can receive a better return for their labor. • Creating resilient livelihoods: Highly reduced risk of economic failure due to increased diversity in crops & trees. Value addition into newly-produced tree products may also create new opportunities for small scale forest-based enterprises, self-help groups and rural livelihoods. Tree plantations act as windbreaks which help shelter the animals and crops from strong winds and prevent wind erosion and/or crop damage. • Save environment & reverse the trend of depletion: Tree roots help to strengthen soil structure, thus mitigating erosion and preventing possible landslides.The water conservation functions of trees and forests help prevent or fight desertification and its social and environmental consequences. After all the above, would you go ahead and try monoculture farming again. If yes, may your guess be accurate, lot of things go right and you make money eventually. But, if you are convinced on potentials of agroforestry, please go ahead and try it out or sponsor someone who is doing this practice. Afterall, all of us benefit from a biodiversified ecosystem through better water level, cleaner air and regular rainfall. If you wonder how rainfall can be induced through an agroforestry system on small land patch, stay tuned. I would be back soon.
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nt Artificial Leaves Jegadeesan Ganesan Quality Consultant Opacuz Solutions Private Limited
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The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it ~ Robert Swan
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he current level of carbon dioxide in the air is already well beyond what scientists regard as the safe threshold. If we don’t act upon it the CO2 levels will continue to rise, sharply, for years to come. According to the climatologists the current situation has exceeded all the limits and warns it will be too late, if we don’t act upon it. Although the colorless and odorless gas CO2 makes up only a fraction of the atmosphere (0.04% of all the gas in the atmosphere – 395ppm), but it has major effect on the Earth’s temperature. Carbon dioxide molecules absorbs heat rays from the sun, though it lets the light rays pass through. Plants play a vital role in the fight against climate change; they absorb CO2 to build their leaves and branches. More the tress we plant, less the Carbon in the atmosphere and thus lower temperatures, but the plants require a lot of water and land so much that we need to find an alternative way to bring down the carbon level in our atmosphere. Scientists are looking for ways to control the global temperature by removing some of the greenhouse gas from the air. If they are successful then we can geoengineer our planet to our benefits, beyond cooling the atmosphere. Scientists have been insisting for a reduction in carbon emissions ever since the effects of global warming were recognized. To support this some of the scientists have found a means to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The Artificial Trees this can absorb about a ton of carbon dioxide in a day. These trees doesn’t resemble or function as any real tree as the artificial trees absorb carbon and doesn’t release oxygen as the real trees does. Columbia University Earth Institute scientists Klaus Lackner and Alan Wright who invented this technology, understood that carbon dioxide emissions needed to be decreased within the next few decades, before the effect becomes non-reversible and thus may end up making the planet earth non-habitable. Even if humans stopped all carbon dioxide emissions today, the amount left in the atmosphere would keep temperatures increasing for the next hundred years. The leaves resembles sheet of papery plastic and is coated in a resin that contains sodium bicarbonate, which absorbs carbon dioxide from the 84 JULY 2019
air and stores it as bicarbonate (baking soda) on it. The leaves can be rinsed with water to remove the carbon dioxide and can be dried naturally in the wind, absorbing more carbon dioxide. It is calculated that the artificial trees can remove 1tonne of carbon dioxide in day and 10 million artificial trees could absorb 3.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide in a year, which is about 10% of the global emissions. If the trees are mass produced it may cost around $20,000 then falling as the production takes over. However many scientist are concerned about storing the absorbed carbon, as there is not enough space to store it securely in saline aquifers or oil wells. The geologists have come with www.krishijagran.com
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WO R LD Introduction A cursory study of the archives of newspapers or television news channels of the past decades reveals that it is a rare day that food is not mentioned in our news. Television and online platforms are full of cooking shows and advertisement for food items. Our kitchen and grocery store shelves shine with glittery packets of packaged foods. Many food chains, roadside stalls and restaurants have come up selling diverse foods. Noodles, soups, pizzas, pastas, etc., are now in the ambit of our ravenous appetite. Many of us do not bother to think about the ingredients or the place of their production when eating food. Predominantly, most of the foods we consume are farm-based. But this was not always the case. Agriculture is hardly 13–14000 years old whereas human beings have been living for some two lakh years. Data from various colonial archives talk of the existence of many alternative food systems along with agrarian produce, in the colonized geographies of the world, up until the Second World War. Since 1950, with the beginning of the industrialization of agriculture, the ambit of alternative foods, especially foods coming from the forest, has reduced drastically.
alternatives like, peridotite which is a mixture of serpentine and olivine rock which can suck a large amount of carbon dioxide, sealing the absorbed gas as stable magnesium bicarbonate minerals. Another option could be basalt rock cliffs which contains holes – solidified gas bubbles from the basalt’s formation from volcanic lava flows millions of years ago. Pumping carbon dioxide into these ancient bubbles causes it to react to form stable limestone – calcium carbonate. According to Lackner using the existing technologies the captured carbon dioxide from the atmosphere can be converted into liquid fuels like gasoline, diesel, methanol, dimethyl ether www.krishijagran.com
Large farmers and industrialists took centre-stage. Government food policies and programmes across the world also tilted towards agriculture. In newly formed countries such as India, one of the initial major interventions in food was the Green Revolution. Our diverse food plates began to be more and more homogenized and, with this, the uniqueness of our diverse foods and their societal reflections started to lose significance. Gradually, we have all become oriented to eating particular foods, maror alcohol. The by concept of artificial trees is a keted vigorously food chains and companies. simpleremote one, yet has immense appeal. The econoEven villages have fast-food shops, rare of energy amy decade ago. would remain the same, enabling people to continue living existing lifestyles. ArtificialCrisis trees would just allow us to maintain these The lifestyles better. But the problem is carbon diIn thedoesn’t last 50hurt years, human nosmell, matoxide right away, beings, it doesn’t ter which ecological system they belong to, it’s invisible, and so it’s hard to convince people. have begunrealize consuming more or less simiThey don’t that they put about 10Kg of lar foods. Estimates fromthey the burn UN about Food 4ltrs and carbon dioxide every time Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggest that of gasoline, because it is invisible. ‘the diversity of cultivated crops declined by 75 per cent during 20th with Century and a third “I think we’re the playing something we of today’s diversityand could don’t understand the disappear easy way by out2050’. is to (http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environnot let [excess carbon emissions] happen,” ment-26382067). Lackner JULY 2019
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Productive Utilization of Fish Market Wastes and its Potential Economic and Ecological Implications Dr Pratap Mukhopadhyay Retired Principal Scientist, ICAR-CIFA
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The only solution to Pollution is a people’s Humane Revolution ~ Bobby Seale
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n recent years, there has been a considerable increase in fish production in India through aquaculture to meet the growing preferential demand of fish and shellfish from the consumers. Such developments have been possible mainly because of application of more and more scientific principles into the production system , financial investments and entrepreneurial interests throughout the country. Perhaps with the only exception of West Bengal, none of the states leading in fish production are significant consumers of fish and prawn. Compared to the daily demand with respect to the supply from within the state, the fish traders here are compelled to depend on supply of fish from other states. Everyday more than 40 trucks carrying nearly 200 tonne of fish - mostly the two carp species- catla and rohu deliver to the wholesale markets of Kolkata and Howrah from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Bihar, Odisha , and even Punjab. In every neighbourhood here, at least one wholesale and several retail fish markets operate almost round the clock with several people engaged daily in the trade since early morning ; the turnover rate in such markets is estimated to be quite high.
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The current level of processing and stray dressings in the urban and suburban market places, however, are not as per the recommended standard at all and thus lead to the generation of enormous quantities of wastes on a daily basis ; much of these waste material are discarded in a manner that causes unhygienic ambience posing environmental concern in the adjoining areas. Recycling of these hitherto unutilized waste resources can have immense potential - (i) to produce several important bio-active substances of value in human welfare (ii) to channelize into poultry farming ,pig rearing and even fish feed production systems thus reducing their rearing costs in their farm , contributing significantly to reduce environmental pollution related problems thereby improving hygienic standard and (iii) can offer employment opportunities for some local people in such endeavour on a permanent basis . Keeping the supply and demand of fish in view, a fairly efficient marketing system is,however, in vogue in the wholesale as well as retail chain in Kolkata as well as its suburbs for example. However, a sound environmental monitoring system is nowhere to be seen for the proper disposal of huge quantity of waste generated from these
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fish markets. A significant portion of the fish offal is left off as fish waste particularly in the retail markets and they are sometimes disposed carelessly with hardly any concern for the environment or for the possibilities of recycling the waste resources for productive utilization for human welfare. The average net weight of the edible parts available from the cyprinid carp species - rohu and catla excluding the head portion are about 650 and 625 g/ kg body weight respectively; while the amount that remains unusable and is generally disposed of as waste are around 180 and 150 g/kg of rohu and catla respectively. Thus, an estimate indicates that unusable portion potentially generated from the supply of carps to one such market can be in the range of 1000 to 4000 kg/ day. Disposal of such bulk amount of raw fish wastes not only results in environmental pollution and sanitation problems but also leads to loss of huge quantity of potential nutrient sources contained in the stray dressings. Considering the increasing population vis a vis generation of organic waste, there is an urgent need to find out environmentally sound and economically viable recycling process that can ensure recovery of nutrients from this waste thereby generating wealth out of it.
Recycling of organic waste from fish market as component of feed for fish culture, poultry birds, pigs/livestock can offer viable and cost effective proposition in an environmentally friendly manner. Intensive aquaculture of certain species like air-breathing and non-air-breathing catfishes for example is currently dependent on the use of fish meal and other fisheries resources as sole
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source of dietary protein in either for cottage made feed or industrially manufactured feed. Similar is the situation in case of poultry farming, pig and live stock production system also. The fish meal is expensive and short in supply and quality material is not always guaranteed. In this context this waste can be utilised to prepare non- conventional nutrient -dense feed at reasonably low cost. Thus a substitute of fish meal in the form of fish waste containing viscera, fins, skin, portion of head, tail available in the fish market which otherwise would have been wasted can be a reality. Processing of fish waste in the form of fish silage, protein hydrolyses for fortifying fish feeds in the form of offal meal as protein supplement will require development of linkage between university department / R&D establishment and the user groups/stakeholders. There is a need to impart training and capacity building to the interested people and fish traders on the aspect of fish processing, storage of fish waste and disposal in a eco- friendly and responsible manner. Freshwater fish like the Indian Major Carps Catla, Rohu, Mrigal have long intestines. The researches done at the Central institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin have shown that excellent fine grade absorbable sutures can be prepared from the intestines of these fishes. One fish can yield a long suture of length up to three meters, which can fetch upto Rs. 1000. It is also seen that fish gut can be processed to very fine grade expensive ophthalmic sutures making the whole proposition very attractive. These sutures have undergone expensive clinical tests and trials both in animals and man, in leading national laboratories and medical colleges. The mechanical properties of the sutures and sterility have also certified by competent and approved testing laboratories and found them equal to commercially available sutures. Recently the institute also received the approval of the Drug controller’s department for commercialization of this product. The Process is patented also. Sutures are essential components of surgery. They are used for closing wounds or uniting cut parts of body. During the development stages of surgery surgeons used threads made out of linen, leather, horsehair etc. Later carbolised catguts appeared and became 90 JULY 2019
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WO R LD the most acceptable material. Soluble sutures are used in surgery for closing internal parts and it has to disappear in the course of time by dissolution by tissue enzymes or thrugh biodegradation. A number of synthetic sutures have appeared now in the market. They are either polymers of glycolic or polyglycollic acids or from proteins like collagen. The most extensively used absorbable suture called catgut is prepared from the submucosa of sheep intestine. But both cat gut and synthetic sutures are not free from drawbacks. They are expensive and also cause tissue reactions for some patients . Chitin and chitosan are the two products which can be prepared from prawn head as waste.
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WO R LD Generally during prawn processing 40% of the total weight is rejected as head portion. Glucosamine production requires chitin/ chitosan as a flocculent for recycling water helping to remove heavy metals, slow release of antifungal and antimicrobial sparay to foliages in the manufacture of emulsion in the photography. Chitin and chitosan (chitin is deacylated to get chitosan) has multiple application in industries and medicine. Air bladder of fish species can be collected from local fish markets/fish landing centers, washed and sundried and is an important export item. Isinglass is prepared out of air bladders and is used for clarification of wine and beverages. In the industrial processing of isinglass, soaking in cold-water for 4-6 hours rehydrates dried air bladders. They are then pressed through iron rollers into very thin stripes of 3-6 mm thickness. The stripes are dried and kept stored. They are further converted into fine powders and suspended in water as a colloid. It is used in this form for clarification of wine and the temperature of storage is around 10o C. One ml of this suspension can clarify over 10 liters of wine. Since it is a natural product and its availability limited it is used to prepare some of the most expensive wines in the world. The scales of fish are being used by some of our local artisans to produce attractive ornaments. The hitherto unutilized fish market waste, if segregated in a proper manner, can be used to produce innovative products having industrial, pharmaceutical and aesthetic applications. Recycling of such waste material has the potential to generate employment and additional income particularly from fishing communities and fish traders if suitable processing techniques can be demonstrated through hands-on training. The ultimate effects on the environment will be conducive and hopefully to create an example for others to follow. Part of the material contained in one of my publications along with my two colleague authors that appeared in Aquaculture -Asia ,JanMarch,2006 issue of the magazine have been incorporated here.
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Prestigious World Food Prize Awarded to
East-West Seed Founder Simon N. Groot
Award given in recognition of East-West Seed’s contribution to improving nutrition and creating sustainable economic opportunities for small farmers around the world Washington D.C., June 10, 2019 - Today, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President of the World Food Prize Foundation Kenneth M. Quinn announced Simon N. Groot as the 2019 World Food Prize Laureate. Mr. Groot has played a transformative role in improving the health and economic opportunities of small farmer communities in more than 60 tropical countries by helping them move from subsistence farming to horticultural entrepreneurship. 94 JULY 2019
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nown as the “Nobel Prize for Food,” the 2019 World Food Prize honors the unique achievements of Simon Groot and his company East-West Seed (EWS) over the past four decades. Groot has successfully developed a dynamic, smallholder-centric tropical vegetable seed industry, starting in Southeast Asia and spreading throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. His work has invigorated both rural and urban markets for vegetable crops, making nutritious vegetables more widely available and affordable for millions of families each year. “Like Dr. Norman Borlaug before him, Simon Groot has dedicated his life to improving the livelihoods of millions around the world,” said Kenneth Quinn. “He and his company have, in effect, developed an impactful global network of seed producers who are transforming the lives of 20 million farmers every year. For this extraordinary accomplishment, he truly deserves to be named the 2019 World Food Prize Laureate.” When Mr. Groot started East-West Seed, commercial vegetable breeding was all but unknown in the tropics, and many farmers were having a hard time growing a good crop with the low-quality, poorly adapted seeds they often saved from season to season. Low-quality seeds resulted in low yields, which translated into poverty and malnutrition for farmers and their families. Groot sympathized with the farmers’ plight and saw a way to break the vicious cycle of poverty and help farmers prosper through diversification into high-value vegetable crops. Working closely with local and international NGOs, Mr. Groot also created East-West Seed’s innovative Knowledge Transfer program, which trains tens of thousands of farmers each year in agricultural best practices for vegetable production. Emphasizing the hard work and dedication of these local farmers, Groot remarked, “This prize is really for the millions of small farmers who have successfully moved from farming for survival to building sustainable businesses for themselves and their communities. They have proven that small scale vegetable farming is an effective way to grow rural income and employment and improve nutrition at the same time.” Prof. Dr. Ir. Louise O. Fresco, President of Wageningen University and Research says: “I am proud that with our scientific research we have been able to contribute to the development and
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WO R LD growth of the tropical vegetable market, as such cooperation between all parties is the strength of the Dutch approach. Dr. Borlaug would have been impressed by the boldness, commitment, and vision of Simon Groot, and I’m sure he would have shared his conviction that real food security must include not only calories but also the nutritional benefits that vegetables provide.“ Mr. Groot will receive the World Food Prize on October 17, 2019 at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
About East-West Seed East-West Seed originated in The Netherlands (‘West’) and has its roots in the Dutch ‘SeedValley’. It is now headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand (‘East’). East-West Seed is the market leader for tropical vegetable seeds in Asia and expanding rapidly in Africa and Latin America. The privately-owned company has played an important role in the development and improvement of tropical vegetable varieties in Southeast Asia and other tropical countries. East-West’s mission is to provide innovative products and services that help to increase the income of vegetable farmers and promote the growth and quality of the tropical vegetable industry. Learn more about our work at http://eastwestseed.com. About the World Food Prize The World Food Prize is the most important international award for those people who have made exceptional achievements to improve the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. The prize was founded in 1986 by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize. Since then, the World Food Prize has honored 49 outstanding people who have made significant contributions worldwide. Find out more at www.worldfoodprize.org. JULY 2019
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