Agirculture World October 2019

Gandhi Jayanti Special A G R I C U LT U R E

ISSN 2455- 8184

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ISSN 2455- 8184

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VOLUME 5 ISSUE 10 OCTOBER 2019 ` 100

the pulse of global agriculture

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GREAT GREEN WALL INITIATIVE Development as Swaraj www.krishijagran.com

Gandhi, Indian Ethos of Agriculture & Swaraj

Gandhian thought and its Contemporary Relevance OCTOBER 2019 3 for Rural India

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VOLUME 5 ISSUE 10 OCTOBER 2019 ` 100 PAGES 84

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Images Courtesy https://unsplash.com/ COVER Image Courtesy: Jordan Rowland Mother and Child in a remote village Lome, Togo, West Africa

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Development as Swaraj

Sumanas Koulagi

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Gandhi, Indian Ethos of Agriculture & Swaraj

Rama Subramanian

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Gandhian thought and its Contemporary Relevance for Rural India

Dr. GV Ramanjaneyulu

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Gandhian Belief of Daily Bread and the MGNREGA

Dimple Tresa Abraham

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United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification COP14, New Delhi

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Diversification in Cropping Pattern and Marigold Farming in West Bengal

Dr. Lakshmi Unnithan

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Collective Farming:a Successful Intervention at AndraPradesh

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Bamboo Cultivation An Incipient Erosion Control Measure

Dr. Lakshmi Unnithan

Suresh Ediga

Anjaly V. & ArunaS.

68. Petrichor

Siddhartha Blone www.krishijagran.com

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Editorial

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racing the etymology of Swaraj to a Special Coverage on UNCCD,COP 14 to the amazing details of a Sustainability Centre in the forests of Darjeeling, the issue of Agriculture World October 2019 goes a long way. Development as Swaraj, a way forward for sustainable and equitable future by Sumanas Koulagi explains the human prosperity within the conception of Swaraj to be defined in terms of peace which involves internal mind state of tranquility and external harmonious relationship with other beings. Gandhi, Indian Ethos of Agriculture & Swaraj by Rama Subramanian, tries to capture the Indian ethos in agriculture as articulated by Gandhi. Gandhian thought and its contemporary relevance for rural India by Dr.Ramanjaneyulu reminds us of the creative Gandhi, rather than the confrontationist Gandhi many of us know. He explains how relevant his ideas, questions and answers are still relevant for the issues the society faced with today. Currently, we are presented with peculiar conflicts of opinion, methods and actions in the agriculture and development sphere, the real nature of which is not always easy to grasp. Dimple Tresa explains on the Gandhian Belief of Daily Bread and the MGNREGA and its positive impact with respect to improving rural wage rates for unskilled labour.UNCCCD COP14 has all the attention by dedicating a special coverage in this issue.

The Festive touch in this issue is brought about by the Editor, AW Dr Lakshmi Unnithan which explains the crop diversification pattern in WestBengal and the significance of the Mexican flower “ Marigold” being one of the most used flowers in India for its cultural and religious purpose. Collective Farming, by Suresh Ediga explains about the stupendous journey of Pudami

Thalli Women Farmer’s Group in Talupur village of Atmakur Mandal in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. He gives us minute details as to how it happened and how they continue to thrive despite all their struggles and challenges. Bamboo Cultivation, by Aruna and Anjaly describes the possibilities of cultivation of bamboo in the sloppy areas ,its role as savior of planet, it’s propogation and intercropping. Petrichor by Sidharth Blone, explains their small yet beautiful efforts towards being a viable example of conscious living that strives towards self-sufficiency and economic independence by mainly continuing to grow their own food while preserving our natural habitat and culture.

October issue Agriculture World October comes with a message that change should come from within us if ever we are to make a difference because that’s the most natural pace of things.

We wish you all a Green & Safe Diwali 2019!

MC Dominic Editor-in-Chief

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Apollo Advt.

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From the Editors Desk

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Billion people live on the land in our Planet, Earth. But in today’s world our lands have become victims of speculative investments which have increased in costs and inaccessible to people who actually need it. Land degradation and drought has affected at least, 169 countries. The poorest Rural communities experience the severest impacts.

The trends are putting people at risk; forcing 700 million to migrate by 2050. There is an urgent need for more effective land use policies. Tenant farmers are increasing and cost of land is the major share of cost of production. As most of the support systems are build around land ownership many of these farmers do not have access to credit, insurance, subsidies, direct income support, disaster compensations etc. In a situation where, land reforms have failed, land regulations have failed, we may need a new way of thinking about creating easy access to land and designing all support systems to that.

On the occasion of 150 years of Gandhi we take privilege in discussing the vastness of Gandhi in mind, and about his conception of Swaraj, Indian ethos of Agriculture, Gandhian Thought and its Contemporary Relevance for Rural India. Many of his ideas, questions and answers are still relevant for the issues the society is facing today. Currently, we are presented with peculiar conflicts of opinion, methods and actions in the Agriculture and Development sphere, the real nature of which is not always easy to grasp.

In 1928, Gandhi wrote about the unsustainability, on the global scale, of Western patterns of production and consumption. “God forbid that India should ever take to industrialization after the manner of the West,” he said. “The economic imperialism of a single tiny island kingdom (England) is today keeping the world in chains. If an entire nation of 300 million took to similar economic exploitation, it would strip the world bare like locusts.”

Gandhi always emphasized the conservation of natural resources. India lives in her villages and therefore progress of the country depends on development of the Rural Economy. This was ‘central’ to Gandhijis’ idea of economic development. But the world today has moved away from ‘local to the global’. Therefore, in the present-day context of neo-liberal agenda led growth, would it be feasible to create local governments that are self-sufficient and self-reliant? It may be possible, with significant investments towards rural development, particularly in agriculture, the mainstay of Rural Economy.

We request you to join Agriculture World and its journey in the Dissemination of knowldege to save our land from further exploitation. We wish you all a Green and Safe Diwali 2019!

Dr. Lakshmi Unnithan www.krishijagran.com

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International News

New navigator supports uptake of ecosystem-based adaption solutions

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IED, IUCN, UNEP-WCMC and GIZ have launched a new navigator that catalogues tools for ecosystem-based adaptation planners and practitioners.Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), a nature-based solution for adaptation to climate change, has huge potential to help governments, civil society and communities to manage the impacts of climate change.

Although there are hundreds of tools and methodologies available to support the integration of EbA into adaptation strategies, information on these tools is not always easily accessible to those who need it.

Tumaini App for Banana Disease detection

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esearchers have designed an artificial intelligence-powered tool built into an app that can detect pathogens of diseases afflicting bananas at an early stage and help fast-track control and disease mitigation efforts.The tool is being tested on three main banana-producing continents: Asia, Latin America and Africa. India is the largest producer of bananas in the world.Researchers believe the app can check further spread of the Fusarium wilt disease that is ravaging banana plantations in Latin America.

Tumaini app is designed to help smallholder banana growers quickly detect a disease or pest and prevent a wide outbreak from happening. The app can detect symptoms on any part of the crop, and is trained to read even images of low quality. “The app can tell the farmers in advance (of the disease), bringing down the cost of investing in huge treatments. www.krishijagran.com 12 OCTOBER 2019

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National News

Community initiatives tackle climate change in Ladakh village

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raditional Ladakhi houses and farming practices are finding it difficult to cope with rapidly changing climatic conditions. Local community-driven initiatives have been mobilising villagers to adapt to ecologically viable practices to mitigate the situation and to promote the cultural heritage of the region. The Indian government recently did away with the special provisions to Jammu and Kashmir which prohibited allowing anybody from outside the territory to purchase land. Living in an environmentally fragile region, the people of Ladakh want measures to safeguard the rights of indigenous people and the protection of the environment.

Project Madhu Shakti to Empower Rural Women through Beekeeping

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he Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Narayangaon and the Central Beekeeping Research & Training Institute (CBRTI), Pune launched the Madhu Shakti - a project focused on empowering rural women through beekeeping on 14th August, 2019. The project is being financially assisted by the Bee Positive and PHD-Rural Development Foundation, New Delhi.

The Chief Guest, Dr. Ashok Dalwai, Chief Executive Officer, National Rainfed Area Authority, New Delhi launched the initiative by presenting the beekeeping kits to the 100 women beneficiaries of the project. Dr. Dalwai emphasized on Beekeeping and its value-added products through honey as one of the main components in doubling the farmers’ income. He mentioned about the focus of Government of India on the creation of Sweet Revolution by the adoption of apiary. Dr. Lakhan Singh, Director, ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Pune highlighted significance of beekeeping.

Dr. Lakhan assured of establishing Beekeeping Units at each KVK. He emphasized on organizing programmes for capacity building, entrepreneurial motivation and awareness about the Beekeeping among the rural youths.

Dr. Lakshmi Rao, Assistant Director, CBRTI, Pune emphasized on training the women folks on harvesting the high-value beehive products like Bee Pollen & Royal Jelly, etc. This could help in fetching them good results. www.krishijagran.com

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Mother Dairy: Plastic Ban Movement

s a new initiative towards the plastic ban movement, Mother Dairy, India’s largest milk producers, has decided to collect and recycle 60 percent of the multi-layered packaging (MLP) (around 832 tonnes of plastic) used by the company from 25 states.

Mother Dairy said that it had already collected and recycled 1073 tones of plastic in Maharashtra in May this year. This was done with the help of a producer responsibility organization (PRO).

As per the report, the quantity of plastic recycled included 890 tonnes of non-MLP and 183 tonnes of MLP. The initiative has started in June last year as part of an extended producer responsibility (EPR) of Mother Dairy. It claimed 100 percent EPR implementation in Maharashtra so far. Mother Dairy has acquired central registration for the Brand Owner under the Central Pollution Control Board, in line with the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rule 2018.

TAFE’s JFarm Services

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AFE’s ‘JFarm Services’ is a CSR initiative aligned to company’s vision of cultivating the world to enrich the lives of farmers across India. This initiative was formally launched in Gujarat in partnership with the State Government. TAFE’s JFarm Services aims to increase easy access to farm mechanization solutions through rental of tractors and modern farm equipment to small and marginal farmers, enhancing their productivity and increasing their income significantly.

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farm machinery to farmers, free of cost, through its Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) rental platform. JFarm Services allows both - farmers offering their tractors and farm equipment on rent, and smaller farmers seeking this service, to benefit directly from the JFarm Services app.

It is their aim to reach out to the farmers of Gujarat, touch the lives of millions of farmers across the country and achieve our Honorable Prime Minister’s vision of “Doubling Farmers’ Income by 2022.” www.krishijagran.com

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Netsurf Gives Impetus to ‘Organic Agripreneurs’ with Biofit

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eadquartered in Pune, Netsurf markets organic farming products through direct selling in India. Netsurf does not merely offer the organic farming products but also offers an additional income opportunity to the farmers. Till date, it has sold more than 8 million Agricultural products to 20 Lac farmers since inception.

Netsurf has been successful in creating the organic farming product solutions that can be used alongside regular agrochemicals. In the later stages, Biofit is designed to reduce dependence on the agrochemicals and finally replace them with its range of organic products making the entire produce 100% organic.

Biofit-95 and Biofit INTACT products has helped the farmers in increasing the farm production while reducing the cost attached to chemical input in the farm, which makes it profitable, thus creating many such success stories across India.

Rivulis Launches Satellite-based Software Solution for Drip Irrigation

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ivulis Irrigation India, part of the global micro irrigation firm Rivulis Israel announced launch of Manna, a satellite-based software solution for irrigation in the country. Manna, which is based on proprietary satellite models & sensor-free approach, provides growers with a high-resolution, integrated view of the entire farm rather than reading from isolated locations. Rivulis, in the last three years, has brought drip irrigation technology in the fields of more than 50,000 farmers.Before downloading the Manna app, farmers have to provide the GPS location of their field, condition of soil, details on crop to be grown & date of sowing. Based on these details and India Meteorological Department’s weather forecast, the app will suggest the quantum of water to be released in the field every week after considering the moisture & expected rainfall in the area. It also gives real-time crop monitoring maps indicating vegetation level, vegetation & wetness variability map.Farmers have to give Rs. 600/- per annum to use this app while their cost saving will involve less water usage, besides lower electricity & diesel expenses.

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Kothari Group received ‘Most Trusted Brand in Agriculture Award’

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n the last two decades, farmers have been focusing on development of agriculture sector. Recently, at the All Maharashtra Sarpanch Conference held in Nagpur, wherein the ‘Kothari Group’ was conferred with “Most Trusted Brand in Agriculture”, trust of as many as 25 lakh Indian farmers was gained.

On behalf of the Kothari group, its Executive Director, Mr. Ujjwal Kothari accepted the award, in the presence of Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis and Minister for Road Transport & Highways of India & Shipping Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Nitin Gadkari and hundreds of Sarpanch from various villages across the state at the All Maharashtra Sarpanch Conference in Nagpur.

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Mr. Ujjwal Kothari dedicated this award of Kothari Group to all the farmers who till date have shown their faith in company’s PVC Pipe, HDPE Pipe, micro irrigation system as well as many products like agri mulch film and agriculture cable. He also thanked each and everyone who were directly or indirectly associated with the Kothari group on this occasion.

He further said, farmers have always been prime focus for Kothari group, and with the same belief they assured the farmers to continue working for their benefit and welfare through various agricultural services.

This sacrifice will continue for lifetime which will contribute towards building a strong and prosperous nation. www.krishijagran.com

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DEVELOPMENT AS SWARAJ A Way Forward for Sustainable and Equitable Future Sumanas Koulagi Janapada Seva Trust, Karnataka

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the human prosperity within the conception of swaraj is defined in terms of peace which involves internal mind state of tranquility and external harmonious relationship with other beings.

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eeping the vastness of Gandhi in mind, I would like to talk about his conception of Swaraj which was central to his thought process. I believe that one can evaluate the relevance of Gandhi more accurately by exploring the relevance of this central concept within the development framework. It is precisely because, today the notion of development has become the means to achieve human prosperity. It has become the primary concern of individual as well as collective.

The definition of human prosperity in terms of material accumulation has shaped the dominant development paradigm. On one hand it has created enormous material wealth but on the other hand it has increasingly alienated people and engendered environmental crisis as well as social inequality. It has become evident that any failure to address these problems would eventually lead to the self-destruction of human civilization.

At this critical juncture, perceiving development as swaraj could help us to assess the relevance of Gandhi based in terms of providing alternative to the self-destructive development path on which we have embarked upon. This article explores the potential of Gandhi’s conception of swaraj as an idea of development for a sustainable and equitable future. It is a normative exercise which acts as a direction for civilization to follow rather than a blueprint that could be materialized completely and immediately. Then only one could fully appreciate the relevance of Gandhi for our times.

The etymology of Swaraj can be traced back to Rigveda, one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism. In its original sense, swaraj means the autonomy that one experiences inside as well as outside. However, different interpretations have been made by various social reformers and nationalists in the history of modern India. Among these interpretations, Gandhi’s framing of swaraj in terms of self-rule stands prominent.

The central quest of his construction is about establishing a social order based on Truth and Non-violence which enables individuals to lead an unalienated life or lead a life one with the cosmos. Here Truth is an understanding of unity undelaying the ever-changing world. In this perspective any harm caused by an individual to other is nothing but self-harm since every being is bounded in the cosmic unity. Therefore, the conception of Swaraj considers the ultimate reality of existence as Truth and Non-violence as the means to realize it. By doing so, the human prosperity within the conception of Swaraj is defined in terms of peace which involves internal mind state of tranquility and external harmonious relationship with other beings. In other words, the self-rule is about exercising one’s will while not harming others. Such an act of non-violence involves constant resistance to one’s ego which is the source of self-interest that perpetuates exploitation of other.

Even though self-rule involves spiritual practice of resisting one’s ego, the conception of Swaraj recognizes the need of fulfilling basic material needs for performing such an act. In other words, the 24

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WO R LD notion of development shifts to spiritual plane once the basic material needs are met. Therefore, the conception envisions a political economy that protects the self-rule of individuals to the greatest extent while providing their basic material needs. It advocates such a political economy based on political decentralization and economic self-sufficiency.

The decentralization of polity involves distribution of political power in the form of oceanic circles having individual at the center. Even though it aspires for a state less society, it advocates participatory democracy by recognizing the inability of individuals to operate on the cardinal principle of non-violence in all situations.

The self-sufficiency in economy is about reducing the distance between production and consumption to minimum so that individuals can assess the implication of their act of material fulfillment on others.

Further it expects individuals to operate on the basis of trusteeship where any material abundance more than one’s need is used for the welfare of others. The ownership over the means of production particularly land which is the primary source of raw material is held in trust by the state and leased out for individuals for suitable term of years. The small productions are owned by individuals whereas state owns the large means of production such as public utilities. This way of political economy stands in complete contrast with the dominant development paradigm which is constructed upon political centralization and economic efficiency.

The potential of such a political economy in creating a non-violent social order can be seen in Gandhi’s emphasis on Khadi.

He imagined khadi more than a mere hand spun and hand-woven fabric. It was seen not just as a strategy to gain freedom from the British but as a practical way of establishing Swaraj. The khadi activity is constructed around the dignity of physical labor. It has a profound implication on society and environment at large.

The physical work being the most eco-friendly way of producing goods makes minimum impact on environment. Further it enables masses to own the means of production which normally requires low investment. By doing so it encourages decentralization of power and reduces the friction between capital and labor. For example, handloom which requires few thousand rupees of investment allows individuals from large section of society to own it. Whereas the power loom which demands few lakh rupees investment becomes unaffordable for the large section of the society.

It creates the owner and laborer relationship in the society and in turn increases the disparity between rich and poor. Most importantly the physical labor sets an inherent limit to the production and consumption or self-sufficiency in economy which is essential for the survival of a civilization in the finite planet. By doing so it stands as a testimony of development as Swaraj which inherently encourages sustainable and equitable future.

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Gandhi, Indian Ethos of Agriculture & Swaraj Rama Subramanian Assignment Editor - National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Consultant: FAO, Sustainable Livelihood Institute

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ecently, we have heard the case of a major multi-national corporate body suing a small farmer with 4 acres of land to the tune of 1.2 Crores for using what it claimed as its own variety of Potato for making unhealthy food. The legal case has been subsequently withdrawn after a public protest.

As a country that has a very large number of small and marginal farmers who do farming with their families, India is continuously faced with the challenge of having to engage with economies, technologies, policies, practices and knowledge that is created from countries where farming is done by a very small population of farmers each owning very large tracks of land. Such instances are a wake-up call for India to revisit its agriculture outlook and examine whether there is any merit in the way of agriculture that is currently prevalent at all.

It is important for India to revisit its on ethos on food sovereignty to articulate a position that today in the global space is seen as not merely voicing a fresh approach but also more relevant in the context of the reality of climate change. This article tries to capture the Indian ethos in agriculture as articulated by Gandhi. The author has been associated with the Organic Farming movement in the State of Tamilnadu since over 2 decades and also coordinates one of the several farmers’ free exchange of seeds and biodiversity celebration festivals in Tamilnadu.

O tiller of the soil, Rightly they call you father of the world; You, and you alone, provide For all mankind;— Cotton, fruits, flowers and grass, And food grains too, The food that sustains all creatures, And clothing that is welcome to all. Braving heat and rain, Unremitting in toil, Robust of health, Ever you move in contentment. Of worth supreme is the tiller’s work, Work that tends to others’ good; Tireless in your labour, You teach a good lesson to the world.

Gandhiji had perhaps been one of the few Indian leaders, and maybe the only one political leader, who had written or commented extensively on every aspect of human endeavour. The poem above translated and the comment that follows was addressed to his fellow Indians in South Africa where he used to edit the Indian Opinion.

Gandhi reproduced this above poem from school-book in his newspaper and went on to write, “If we recite the poem given above before a farmer, he will simply be amused. He will not even understand what we mean. So true a father is he, and so sincere a benefactor. But we who recite the poem, what do we do? If the farmer is indeed a father and if his profession is indeed the highest, why are we busy padding ourselves with heaps of clothes? Why do we grind the poor under our heels to extort the last 26

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The Charkha Supplemented the agriculture of the villagers and gave it dignity

Mahatma Gandhi

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farthing from them? Why do we think it manly to be mere clerks, attired in respectable clothes? Such is our benighted state. We only talk of agriculture. It has got stuck in our throats and does not go further than that” 1. If we read his statement again, we can say that what he wrote 110 years ago is valid for the contemporary India as well, maybe with the increasing realization of the role of women in agriculture, he may have shifted the gender to call the farmer the Mother in today’s context. In recent months, ‘doubling of farmer’s income’ has come to occupy our mainstream media and political attention. We need to ask some serious questions here – 1. Why ‘double’ farmer’s income? Why not think about a way of ensuring that the farmer’s income grows at par with the cost of living that the farmer is increasingly subjected to?

2. Why do we fall back on the by now adequately proven poor faulty logic of productivity as the basis of measuring a farmer income? Despite living in an economy where product prices have long moved away from being influenced by cost of production, we continue to somehow calculate revenue for the farmer from a productivity point of view?

3. Increased cost of natural services has to be factored if we were to ever judiciously use the natural resources. Yet, we continue to subsidize exploitation of natural resources or its further degradation without either paying the price or creating about the long term remedial measures?

The answers for these questions above are not easy and therein lies in the choices we made as an Independent nation. They have to do with the adoption of a model of Governance, Markets and Technology, all the three of which were divergent from what Gandhiji wanted us to adopt as a free nation. Today increasingly these choices challenge the freedom of individual and therein highlights our ideas of freedom as against the Gandhian idea of Swaraj. Deeper into the questions, we may recognize that the fundamental fault lies in the kind of agriculture we decided to pursue with indicators of success largely seen as an ever-increasing linear graph line. Nature is cyclical and doesn’t abide by man-made charts and graphs today.

1 From Gujarati, Indian Opinion, 3/12/1910 The impact of Climate Change all around us has placed the arguments of nature right on the forefront, as famous author Amitav Ghosh says, “Climate change poses a powerful challenge to what is perhaps the single most important political conception of the modern era: the idea of freedom, which is central not only to contemporary politics but also to the humanities, the arts and literature2”.

Gandhi would have wanted us to build an agriculture economy, indeed all economy, closer to and aligned with the economy of natural order. As articulated by J.C. Kumarappa3, the Gandhian Economist, “everything in nature seems to follow a cyclical movement. ... A nation that forgets or ignores the fundamental process in forming its institutions will disintegrate. Our economic situation in India today is largely due to the absence of the natural order4”.

This is ascribed to the nature of convergence of modern physical science and mathematics by Schumacher, who opines that their way of converging problems results in the extension of positive science into social facts wherein all divergent problems are turned into convergent problems by a process of ‘reduction’, the result however, is the loss of all higher forces to ennoble human life, and the degradation not only of the emotional part of our nature, but also, our intellect and moral character5.

Gandhi’s idea of Swaraj encompasses a positive conception of freedom that hives closer to the idea of autonomy, which means that the individual is endowed with the ability to act on his or her own free volition. Gandhi and the Gandhian Economist, J.C. Kumarappa, were fundamentally interested in the preservation of the autonomy of the individual in the modern context of a political state and industrial economy. ...Kumarappa argued that the degree of individual autonomy available in a society is a measure of its freedom, and the extent to which individuals honour their obligations reflects the social and moral evolution of that society6.

Economic thought and agricultural economy in India unfortunately is informed by a misplaced bor28

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rowing of concepts and frameworks from the Western countries, where the nature, need and the limitations of agriculture is completely different. Whereas abundant resources and working with nature provided Indian traditional practices with a resilience and co- creating of nutritious needs of food with nature, Western conditions imposed that they produce for the ‘’rainy day’’ or long winter within a short period of time when food production was possible.

This borrowed ‘wisdom’ has formed the bedrock of Indian Agriculture knowledge. “India, since independence, followed a path of science led growth of its agriculture. Agricultural education was placed in the forefront of this strategy. A comprehensive educational system has been evolved for building human resource that could undertake location and situation specific research and transfer its results to improve productivity, profitability and stability of agriculture. Not only the educational system was patterned on the Land Grants Colleges of the USA, but faculty was also trained in the US Universities through a joint Indo-US programme....7”proudly says a recent document. A study done 7 years ago, found that out of the 53 agriculture universities and colleges in India only 2 had any course on agro-ecological or organic practices8. Descendants of agricultural legacy of many millennia when taught that the understanding of agriculture itself is only a few centuries old, cannot see the relevance or the reasoning behind the long term ecologically sensitive agriculture that was traditionally practiced in many parts of this country.Many years later, Gandhi recollected this poem once again, when he spoke about agriculture reforms possible in a free India, “There were people, remarked Gandhiji, who said that no basic reform in agriculture was possible without political power. They dreamt in terms of industrialization of agriculture by large-scale application of steam and electricity. He warned them that trading in soil fertility for the sake of quick returns would prove to be a disastrous, short-sighted policy. It would result in virtual depletion of the soil. People might criticize that approach as being slow and un-progressive. It did not hold out promise of dramatic results. Nevertheless, it held the key to the prosperity of both the soil and inhabitants living on it.”9.

Depletion of soil nutrition decrease in diversity and increased pressure on the natural resources and the unpredictability of nature due to climate change are all challenges that cannot be ignored any further today. What informs our thinking in terms of knowledge of agriculture and what forms the vision towards agriculture economy will determine whether we are moving in the path of Swaraj and real freedom or we continue to identify our own success within the realms of a two-dimensional reductionist graph. There are no easy answers. Just as we look back at 1947 and realize the choices our nation made and its consequences on food and farming today, future generations will look at the choices we make today and judge our capacity to think, analyse, imagine and work towards a different world. The choice is ours.

2 The Great Derangement, Amitav Ghosh, Penguin Random House, 2016, Part III, Politics 3 The Gandhian Economist, J. C. Kumarappa is increasingly being studied in India and abroad for his critic on modern economy and the alternatives he proposed and practiced. Called as ‘our doctor of village industries’ by Gandhi, he remains one of the most complete thinker and constructive worker adopting Gandhian theories of Swaraj to Economy 4 J.C. Kumarappa, “Rebuilding India” 5 E.F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful, pg. 77 6 Why the Village Movement, by J.C. Kumarappa, as quoted in The Web of Freedom, Deepak Malghan & Venu Govindu, Oxford University Press, 2016 7 Indo-US Knowledge Initiative in Agriculture (KIA), signed between India and USA in 2009, Chapter 1 8 Exploration: South Asian Network on the role of educational institutions as innovation intermediaries for inclusive development, UNIID Discussion Paper #3, Dec 2012, Joseph Thomas & Ramasubramanian 9 Harijan, 25/08/1946 Write to the author at chief@samanvaya.com

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Gandhian Thought and its Contemporary Relevance for Rural India “The Earth has enough resources for our need but not for our greed.”

– M.K. Gandhi

Dr. GV Ramanjaneyulu1

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Agricultural Scientist with Centre for Sustainable Agriculture working on natural/organic farming across the country and can be reached at ramoo@csa-india.org.

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ahatma Gandhi is one of the great sons of India who changed the way world can be understood and the way change can happen for greater good. While his role in freedom struggle is widely acknowledged, his thinking on socio economic issues and models of developed was much discussed except for khadi. He not only questioned the established mindsets and also proposed alternatives thoughts on every walk of life.

Unfortunately, the country and the world only came to know about the confrontationist Gandhi and not the creative Gandhi. Many of this ideas, questions and answers are still relevant for the issues the society faced with today. Currently, we are presented with peculiar conflicts of opinion, methods and actions in the agriculture and development sphere, the real nature of which it is not always easy to grasp.

On the one hand, we have had both in theory and practice considerable influence of western economic thought-driven by high productivity, high external inputs, high energy, external markets and on the other hand we are also seeing growing ‘desi’ lobbies talking about bringing back traditional systems back. That’s exactly where Gandhi becomes relevant. Gandhi has not rejected the contribution of modernity.

Rather he made effort to interpret in in an effort to integrate these positive elements with a liberating re-interpretation of tradition. With his critique from within the tradition, Gandhi becomes the great synthesiser of contraries within and across traditions (Heredia, 1999).

While the concept of ‘satyagraha’ made him famous, there were hardly ever any discussion on the concepts of ‘swaraj’ presented in his book Hind Swaraj or the ideas of cooperative development. Gandhi’s economic ideals, much like everything else in his life, were governed by ethical and moral considerations. His stress on rural economy and emphasis on a simple life, coupled with his concern for universal well-being formed the foundation of his unique views on economics and development.

Gandhi’s economic ideas were part of his general crusade against poverty, exploitation against socio-economic injustice, and deteriorating moral standards. His economic ideas are part of his general philosophy of life; they are reflected in his writings and speeches, mixed up with other related topics; they have to be discerned more in his actions, which must be viewed in their entirety not merely in an isolated way. Gandhi integrated them into principles of Satya (truth), Ahimsa (Non-Violence), Swarajya (Self-rule/ discipline), and Sarvodaya (equality). It is in the application of these criteria that the Gandhian Economic Thought has been built up says Kumarappa one of his staunch follower.

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Sustainable production: Much before the idea of Common Future was outlined in the Brundtland Commission Report in 1987 it was Mahatma Gandhi who underlined the critical necessity of sustainability by interrogating modern civilization based on multiplication of wants and desires.

In 1928, Gandhi wrote about the unsustainability, on the global scale, of Western patterns of production and consumption. “God forbid that India should ever take to industrialization after the manner of the West,” he said. “The economic imperialism of a single tiny island kingdom (England) is today keeping the world in chains. If an entire nation of 300 million took to similar economic exploitation, it would strip the world bare like locusts.” He always emphasized the conservation of natural resources land, water and air. But in a mad rush we got into monocultures of crops large rice-wheat system in Punjab and Haryana had led to serious environmental crisis depleting the groundwaters, polluting the land, water and air with agrochemicals. This coupled with use of heavy machinery for harvesting forced farmers to resort to stubble burning and today air pollution with particulate matter has reached dangerous levels.

In 1906 Gandhiji wrote “A man can do without food for several days and live a day altogether without waters but it is impossible to carry on without air even for a minute. If a thing that is so very vital to life is not pure, the result cannot but be deleterious.” He stressed on the necessity of looking at the issue of clean air from integrated perspectives- the perspective of public health, freedom and independence of India, governance, economy, spirituality and education.

The high use (rather abuse) of chemical fertilisers has led to land degradation, salination and making large tracts of soils unfit for cultivation. Similarly, the largescale monocultures of cotton led to severe crisis in Telangana and Vidarbha areas resulting in large scale farmers suicides. But still as a nation we have not realised these dangers and still the arguments continue around increasing the yields without considering the long-term sustainability. In many occasions, Gandhi ji stated that access to nutritious food is emphasised as one of the key requirements to address the crisis of public health. Unfortunately, this is completely forgotten and today food (food production, processing and consumption processes) has become one of the major reasons for the ill health.

It’s time we make a shift towards sustainable production with more emphasis on conservation of natural resources rather than in mad pursuit of yields which anyway has not led to economic sustainability of farmer livelihoods. The shift in fact can farmers to reduce risk in agriculture and helps them to save on costs of production. So, the main driver of agriculture should shift to sustainable production with emphasis on sustaining natural resources, reducing risk in agriculture and increasing net incomes of farmers and providing safe and nutritious food to consumers rather than in mad pursuit of yields, abusing natural resources.

Access to natural resources: When livelihoods of poor are dependent largely on the natural resources-land, water, forests etc., creating equitable access to them is important. Gandhiji on several occasions talked about land being a social property and has to be used for the benefit of the whole society.

Just as sunlight, water, air, etc., belong to the community, so also land must belong to the community.

It will be let out according to one’s capacity to use it for social benefit. The ownership in land must belong to the community. The commodification and privatisation of natural resources-land, water, biodiversity had made life of farmers and forest dwellers difficult.

Gandhi suggested the people in possession of wealth should act as trustees and create access to those who in need. Through Vinoba’s movement, Gandhi’s unfinished core works got a fillip. Vinoba announced that after ‘Swaraj’ it was now time for ‘Sarvodaya’. While speaking before the Planning Commission, he said in no equivocal words, “Your Five Year Plan is fit to be put in the garbage. You are talking about national planning, but you do not have any provision that will provide food for all and employment for all.

Your only aim appears to be increasing production. But along with that there should be equality and compassion. Your ‘percolation theory’ will not help society’s poor and you will have to formulate special programmes for them.” Vinoba could see that the people sitting in Delhi were thinking in the opposite direction and therefore, he said, “Leave Delhi and let us hit rural India.” The bhoodan and gramdhan movements are about wealth redistribution by those who possess them. Unfortunately, 32

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these have not got priority by the government policies and gradually were side-lined. Today, the lands have become victims of speculative investments which increased the costs and inaccessible to people who actually need it. Tenant farmers are increasing and cost of land is the major share of cost of production. As most of the support systems are build around land ownership many of these farmers do not have access to credit, insurance, subsidies, direct income support, disaster compensations etc.

In a situation where, land reforms have failed, land regulations have failed, we may need a new way of thinking about creating easy access to land and designing all support systems to that.

Similarly, in a situation where water is getting contaminated with agriculture and industrial effluents, access to potable water has become a serious problem. Water is commodified and getting privatised.

Lack of focus on water harvesting has also led to a situation of water scarcity. The recent report of NITI Aayog has painted a very grim picture and said more than 30 cities may run of water. What is not much talked about is many villages have already ran out of water and forcing people and animals to migrate. A clear policy on water harvesting, management and giving access to drinking water for all should be top priority of the governments. Privitisation of natural resources and making them speculative investment opportunities should be stopped at any cost.

Self Sufficient Village Economy: While more than 54% of people in India depend on agriculture, 83% of them are small and marginal cultivating less than 1 ha of land. The small areas of land which are in difficult situation do not provide incomes sufficient for sustainable living. Therefore, they need flexible income generating opportunities which can fit into their scheme of things. This is where, the Gandhian thinking of gram swaraj comes in.

Gandhi stressed on the growth of rural industries such as khadi, handlooms, sericulture, handicrafts which provide local value addition etc. Rural industries are based on family labour and require less amount of capital and have lesser energy requirements and low ecological foot prints. Raw materials are available in local and surrounding areas and the goods, thus, produced is sold in local markets.

Therefore, there is no problem of production and market. Development of cottage industries in villages will reduce the burden on agriculture and also stop migration to urban areas. Cottage industry can also work as a good support system for villagers. Thus, all villagers can get employment in their respective villages, which will check the migration to urban areas. Moreover, they can also satisfy the need of the urban people and can also export the surplus goods.Decentralisation of development is the key message instead of focusing on large scale industry with high external investment, which runs with high energy and automated machines generating profits only for the investors, displaces people and pollutes natural resources.

We don’t see any effort by any government in this direction. There number of examples already shown across the country and this model can alleviate poverty and empower people rather than investing on unproductive freebies by the governments.

Cooperative spirit in development: Individual liberty and inter-dependence are both essential for life in society. Inter-dependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Humans are social beings. Without inter-relation with society one cannot realize their oneness with the universe or suppress egotism. Unfortunately, modern economy is built on principle of competition.

Moving ahead, without caring for externalities or caring for others.

Building institutions of producers, creating support systems to make them functional, providing opportunities for the producers to take informed choices about their livelihoods and pursue them is important.There are excellent example on this available across the country. Again, in this area, the governments are trying to see them as numbers, targets to build farmer producer organisations than investing in building the capacities and support systems.

While these are the key things we can see as relevant for today, many others are also important.

Particularly, rightfully fighting for their rights. In the year country is celebrating 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi we need to reinvent the Gandhian ideology for solving current day problems. As Gandhi often said ‘be the change what you want to see’. www.krishijagran.com

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Gandhian Belief of Daily Bread and the MGNREGA

Dimple Tresa Abraham Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi

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he Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a landmark legislation passed in the history of independent India. It is landmark in every sense as it is the first Rights-based public works programme, legally guaranteeing 100 days of employment to every rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work and register their demand with the gram panchayat.

Enacted as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in 2005, the Act and the scheme was rechristened after Mahatma Gandhi in 2009. While this renaming was considered a strategy to keep the scheme above partisan politics, it will not be incorrect to state that the scheme if implemented in ‘letter and spirit’ as laid out in the Act, would definitely lead to achieving Gandhijis’ ideal of Gram Swaraj.

Gandhian Belief of Daily Bread India lives in her villages, and therefore progress of the country depends on development of the rural economy. This was ‘central’ to Gandhijis’ idea of economic development. But the world today has moved away from ‘local to the global’. Therefore, in the present-day context of neo-liberal agenda led growth, would it be feasible to create local governments that are self-sufficient and self-reliant? It may be possible, with significant investments towards rural development, particularly in agriculture, the mainstay of rural economy.

MGNREGA has strong linkages to Gandhian thoughts and beliefs. Influenced by thinkers such as Ruskin and Tolstoy, Gandhiji believed in the idea of ‘bread labour’ and argued that God had given everyone the capacity to work and earn more than his daily bread, if one was ready to use that capacity he was sure to find work. In the specific context of Indian agriculture, the huge population dependent on the sector has led to underemployment and disguised unemployment. Avenues for rural workers in non-farm wage work is also limited.

Late 1990s and early 2000s had witnessed an overall decline in farm incomes and non-farm rural wage options owing to many factors, including declining investments in the sector, recurring droughts and crop failures. This had further resulted in tremendous rural distress and out-migration, rural-rural and rural-urban as people could not find work or livelihoods for sustenance within their own villages. MGNREGA through its 100 days of guaranteed wage employment thus was precisely aimed at providing everyone with the capacity to work, an opportunity to earn their ‘daily bread’.

The question is, did it help? Many studies such as that by Drèze and Sen (2013) and others suggest that there has been a positive impact with respect to improving rural wage rates for unskilled labour.

Studies also confirm that the in-built ‘self-targeting’ nature has resulted in the benefits largely reaching poorer rural households willing to do manual labour for ‘below market wages’. Thus, it definitely has provided alternative employment opportunities in villages, though it may not have always synchronized with lean agricultural periods or provided during critical months when workers were in dire need.

Gram Panchayats and MGNREGA The gram panchayats (GP) and the gram sabhas play a central role in the monitoring and implementation of MGNREGA works in villages. Schedule I of the Act indicate the permissible works which are categorised in to four major groups, A, B, C and D. Category A works are public works related to natural resource management, Category B are works provided to vulnerable sections such as SC/ ST/BPL households and others, Category C works are towards creation of common infrastructure for NRLM compliant self-help groups and Category D relate to rural infrastructure.

From its inception, most of the works were explicitly or implicitly linked to improving agriculture.

But in 2015 it was explicitly stated that at least 60 per cent of works to be taken up in the district shall be for creation of productive assets directly linked to agriculture and allied activities through development of land, water and natural resource management.

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The GP plays a central role in planning works as well as towards registering rural households under the programme, issuing them Job Cards (JCs), receiving applications for work and issuing dated receipts. Once the application for work is received, the GP has to provide the work within 15 days or else are liable to pay unemployment allowance. The GP also conduct periodical surveys to assess quantum of work, identify and plan works in advance, develop shelf of projects (SOP) and ratify and prioritize projects forwarded by the Gram Sabha (in states such as Kerala these are the ward panchayats).

They are also responsible for the execution of works, ensuring technical standards and measurements are met, and have to maintain all records related to every work undertaken. In addition, they also play a critical role in generating awareness and social mobilization.

The GPs are mandated to disclose all information, including details of works both completed and on-going (including wages paid and material component) at worksites and names of persons (with JC numbers) who have worked, days worked and wages paid to them, and so on and also have to display these information at GP Offices and other prominent public places. In addition, they are to organize monthly ‘rozgar diwas’ and support the formation of ‘labour groups’.

Thus, the gram panchayats are the heart of MGNREGA as they are critical to its proper implementation. The Gram Pradhan and various functionaries such as the Gram Rozgar Sahayak, with the help of mates and others play a key role in planning and implementing the works under the overall guidance of the panchayat development officer who reports to the Block Development Officer. The BDO further reports to the District Development Officer and so on.

The decentralization exhibited in planning and execution of MGNREGA works is unique and therefore it is quite difficult to fathom why thousands of GPs did not plan for any MGNREGA works in certain financial years (FY) across states, citing ‘lack of demand’ for not taking up even a ‘single work’ during these years. It has also been observed that across years, average person days of employment generated to active job card holding households did not even measure up to half of the promised 100 days.

Gaps in the Progress The implementation of MGNREGA has been mired in criticisms, low wages, delay in payments, excessive centralization, top down administrative control, apathy to problems on ground, exclusions due to Aadhar linkage and payment systems, technology enabled robotic decisions, and ‘hard to catch’ leakages. The MGNREGA Management Information System (MIS) data for 2017-18 indicates that the programme supported approximately 13 crore rural households, but only about 7.5 crores were recorded as active JC holders (having worked at least one day in the past 3 years).

While administrative machinery substantiates with ‘perfect data’ the lack of demand as the reason for fewer households provided with 100 days of employment (29.6 lakhs or 2.3 per cent of JC holders), many studies indicate that this has not been the case.

In the report Contemporary practices of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: Insights from districts, the former Rural Development secretary Shri. K.B Saxena remarks, ‘the greatest weakness across states was the ‘suppressed demand’ and that work was not being taken up when it was needed the most’. The demand for employment made by the workers was not being genuinely registered, workers were not aware of getting employment on demand, and even in the event of being aware was unable to assert their right. There were also substantial delays in payment of wages and timely provision of work.

MGNREGA Work for Job Card Holding Households The absolute numbers and proportion of JC holding households who received 100 days of MGNREGA employment was examined for 2017-18 using MGNREGA MIS data. Across states there was wide variability as can be observed from the illustrations. www.krishijagran.com

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Out of the 1262.9 lakh JC holding households, only about 29.6 lakhs received 100 days of employment. Some of the states had comparatively higher proportion of JC holding households who had worked for 100 days, particularly Meghalaya (21.9 per cent), Chhattisgarh (8.9 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (6.9 per cent), and Kerala (3.5 per cent) while certain other states including high poverty states such as Uttar Pradesh (0.28 per cent), Bihar (0.11 per cent) and Odisha (1.1 per cent) had relatively smaller proportion who had worked 100 days. This analysis itself indicate the planning for works to ensure maximum possible employment ranges widely across states and reason for this require deeper study than just stating it as ‘lack of demand’.

Even a rough examination of the Union Budget allocation for MGNREGA, indicates that there has been variability across the years, with the 2019-20 budget allocating Rs.60, 000 crores towards the scheme. The budgeted amount for the programme was Rs.34, 699 crores in 2015-16, while it was Rs.38, 500 crores in 2016-17. Rough calculations for the current FY indicate this amount not even catering to provision of 50 days of employment to active JC holding families as it would have required an allocation of a minimum of Rs.80, 000 crores.

Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to question whether the ‘lack of demand’ is real or does it owe to official apathy stemming from peoples’ inability to collectively demand work due to ignorance of rights?

Provision of 100 days of MGNREGA work could provide for a substantial part of the ‘daily bread’ of rural households but ability to obtain 100 days of work would depend to a large extent on peoples’ realization that they have an enforceable legal right to work and demand it.

If Gandhian idea of trusteeship and welfare of all in the village is at the heart of every person involved in the implementation of the programme, it would have achieved its overarching goals of addressing rural poverty and distress by now. Further MGNREGA would also have built sustainable community assets and a resilient rural economy.

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United Nations Convention to

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Combat Desertification COP14, New Delhi Dr. Lakshmi Unnithan Editor, Agriculture World

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he United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.

The Convention, the only convention stemming from a direct recommendation of the Rio Conference’s Agenda 21, was adopted in Paris, France on 17 June 1994 and entered into force in December 1996.

It is the only internationally legally binding framework set up to address the problem of desertification. Starting 2001 sessions are held on a biennial basis interchanging with the sessions of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC), whose first session was held in 2002.

The UNCCD COP 14 ended on 13 September 2019, after ten days of meetings, 11 high-level, 30 committee and over 170 stakeholder meetings, 44 exhibitions and 126 side events. ‘The Conference adopted the Delhi Declaration in which parties expressed commitment for a range of issues, including gender and health, ecosystem restoration, taking action on climate change, private sector engagement, Peace Forest Initiative and recovery of five million hectares of degraded land in India.

UNCCD COP14 agreed on 36 decisions to ramp up and elaborate further action on the ground to ensure that the Convention’s goals for 2018-2030 are achieved. At the closing of COP14, UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw shared these takeaway messages: • Land restoration is the cheapest solution to climate change and biodiversity loss • Land restoration makes business sense if regulations and incentives to reward investment are in place • Drought preparedness and response are critical in the face of climate change • To put people first is to ensure gender balance, engage youth, secure land rights 44

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Highlights of the official conference agenda Conference of the Parties help governments worldwide to plan their land use sustainably and to pursue their sustainable land management goals practically. COP14 is expected to speed up efforts by countries to achieve land degradation neutrality with tools and resources that are fit for the purpose. Land degradation, poverty and inequality pose great challenges to the development of countries. These dimensions are intrinsically interconnected through multiple mechanisms that influence each other.

Land degradation generally constrains the supply of ecosystem services for human wellbeing, resulting in decreases in food, energy provision, groundwater recharge, soil fertility, carbon sequestration capacity, and biodiversity. Land degradation and drought affect, at least, 169 countries. The poorest rural communities experience the severest impacts.The impacts for the above said have very different effects on men and women.Women in areas affected by desertification, easily spend four times longer each day collecting water, fuelwood and fodder. In the parts of Eritrea impacted most by desertification, for example, the working hours for women exceed those of men by up to 30 hours per week.

The health and well-being of 3.2 billion people is directly or indirectly impacted by land degradation. About two billion hectares of land – an area twice the size of China – are degraded.

Close to half of the global population is living in potentially water scarce areas. The trends are putting people at risk; forcing 700 million to migrate by 2050. There is an urgent need for more effective land use policies. But this will require a policy environment that engages with people – local communities, indigenous peoples, men, women, youth – and is responsive to their needs on issues such as land rights, urban planning and land management decisions.

Land improvements contribute significantly to poverty alleviation. Land restoration and rehabilitation can generate multiple benefits, such as supporting agricultural livelihoods, increasing labour, livestock and land productivity, creating jobs and access to markets and stabilizing land tenure and food pricesOver 100 countries have established their land degradation neutrality targets. Some 70 countries that suffer droughts are participating in the UNCCD’s Drought Initiative to improve their preparedness, managewww.krishijagran.com

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ment and response to drought. Improvements should be made to provide better and actionable information for decision makers, conditions on ground needs to be monitored at the regional, national and state levels as par tof the Sustainable Development Goals indicator framework.

Collaborative action on a global scale is needed to cool the Earth and to restore a healthy environment fit for animals, plants and people. Delayed action will come at a higher and greater cost to us and our children. By contrast, immediate efforts to achieve land degradation neutrality will accelerate the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals and help integrate the solutions needed.

High Level Segment On Monday 9 September 2019, Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi inaugurated the High Level Segment (HLS) of UNCCD COP14 in the presence of heads of the UN and other international organizations, leaders of states and ministers from many countries.

The Prime Minister thanked UNCCD for bringing the COP to India – the country whose deep cultural roots are connected to a loving and holistic relationship with nature. India is proud of its successes in land restoration using remote sensing and space technologies and is ready to share this knowledge with other countries. India is also establishing a center of excellence for forest research to support south-south cooperation and knowledge sharing. Mr. Modi also encouraged the COP participants to contribute to a global water action agenda that can support land degradation neutrality.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Ms. Amina Mohammed reflected in her speech that one third of the timeframe for delivering Agenda 2030 has already passed, and the countries need to act with increased urgency and ambition to get rid of silos that stand in the way of multiple benefits that can be achieved through coordinated action on land, climate and biodiversity.

Participants also strongly agreed with Mr. Ralph Gonsalves, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who said that there are no countries big or small when it comes to desertification and climate change, and the only way to tackle these problems is to act on them as one global family. www.krishijagran.com

The COP14 President, the Minister of Environment of India Mr. Prakash Javadekar, expressed hope that discussions among international stakeholders during the HLS will generate innovative ideas to address the local, national and global land agenda with a pragmatic and all-inclusive approach. UNCCD COP14 provides a unique opportunity to deliberate, coordinate and exchange ideas to resolve the major problem of desertification worldwide and reach a global consensus for adoption by the country parties.

The Honourable COP14 President Mr. Prakash Javadekar assured that there are many plans in pipeline to restore the lands under severe degradation and desertification. The main aim is to keep the tree cover intact and prevent further loss of trees. With the help of improved technologies available worldwide the government assures prevention of further damage to the Earth.

There are plans to Geotag trees using chips, many other technology driven innovations like Drone technology and traceable Compensatory Afforestation.

Addressing the audience, UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Thiaw outlined that UNCCD COP14 is set to define the following key directions of work: • How to restore, protect and manage our land on a massive scale • How to trigger a seismic shift in private sector partnerships to make it happen • How help ramp up the ambition of action plans for everyone involve Special events and the Rio Conventions Pavilion The side events featured case studies, actions or new knowledge that is related to the issues under consideration at the Conference. The Rio Conventions Pavilion – a vibrant space for interactive all-day events and meetings – also took place at COP14, hosting “thematic days” that focused on the different areas of work of the Convention and the synergies among the Rio Conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification.

The events included a Youth Forum, a Gender Caucus, a Science Day, a Sand and Dust Storms Day, a Business Day, a Local and Regional Governments Day, the GEF Day, the Land for Life Day and a Drought Day.

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AW had the opportunity to attend many of the umpteen side events organized by the Conference of the Parties (COP) and its subsidiary bodies which provided an informal opportunity to exchange information and experiences on diverse issues related to the objectives of the Convention.

Building Resilient Landscape and Livelihoods: Restoration through Forest and Rangeland Management event featured the Peace Forest Initiative in Korea and its transformative journey.After the Korean War the whole of mountain areas surrounding the city were deforested and degraded. More than 10 billion trees were planted in Korea since 1973, by the efforts of the numerous ordinary citizens.

It was possible through strong leadership, people’s willingness and participation that Korea Forest Service was established in 1973 and due to the economic growth. Korea has signed MOU with 33 countries for developing joint projects for restoration, research and knowledge sharing.

The Peace Forest Initiative (PFI) is a global initiative serving as a partnership framework with a focus on land degradation neutrality (LDN) in fragile and conflict affected regions. The overall objective is to promote peace and build trust between neighbouring countries through transboundary co-operation in sustainable land management, including forest.“The Peace Forest Initiative” can become a practical mechanism to support the “Great Green Wall Initiative” because GGWI was basically designed for the collaboration of the adjacent countries.The concept of the Peace Forest Initiative has a lot of similarity and possibility of the synergy in its implementation with the 3S initiative.

Brahmakumaris A journey, which starts from ME to WE. Monocrop to Economy Wide Diversification through Sustainable Yogic Agriculture. The session that taught us how to divert the application of mind power for pure and positive vibrations.

John Ndiritu spoke on how Metaphysical energy could enhance the yield of carrots and how thought energy could retard algae growth. Energy of Human Consciousness has significant influence on matter and water has been found to respond significantly to this energy.

Liz of Diversearth spoke on Sacred Natural sites for transformation and Resilience. Anita spoke on creating awareness full of virtues and inner power. She spoke on the future times that are very challenging and so we need to keep our thoughts simple and effective to wade through this world. Positive Energy and vibrations should empower us to help create the balance of the planet Earth. When the World becomes chaotic we need to Stop and turn inwards, observe and discern and steer up and serve.Experts on the parallel session at the RIO Pavillion on Drought at the UNCCD COP14. At the Drought Preparedness Day that happened parallel to the UN desertification Conference, countries and agencies discussed the ongoing efforts by UNCCD, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The Drought Preparedness Day Session opened with a video on the “End of Famine”.

Drought is a major obstacle to achieving sustainable development goal-15. We need to

The side event conducted by the Brahmakumaris in the wake of sustainable capacity building definitely will help empower individuals and communities to act in challenging times, transform Agriculture for Sustainability to benefit our planet.

“Our inner climate impacts the outer climate.”We are living in times where humanity is in desperate search for answers – answers to crises experienced in every area of life. Be it social, economic, political, or environmental, we continue to search everywhere; yet the one place we can easily overlook is inside ourselves.

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move faster in our fight against drought. Let us dust this villain, and mitigate climate change”, said Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD, Executive Secretary in his opening remarks at the Drought Preparedness Day in the ongoing 14th session of Conference of Parties (COP14), at the Rio Pavilion Centre.

Droughts are 4 times costly than floods, said Thiaw. He also remarked on his excitement seeing the all women panel here at the COP14.

Gender mainstreaming into all activities and policies on drought preparedness increases our effectiveness”, said Mr. Thiaw.

Drawing on the extent of drought, Thiaw remarked on the destocking animals in Zambia, Australia planning to import wheat, New Delhi experiencing 48 degree Celsius in summer.

He emphasized on the plan of our honourable PM, Narendra Modi in encouraging Rain Water Harvesting. Due to drought, over 81 million people who go without food for a day. 21 billion dollars have been spent globally from 2005-2015 and it is on the increase to 81 billion per year.

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He also emphasized on the hard ships women face during droughts. There is an urgent need to speed up the progress, shift perspectives in water management. “What are we if we see agriculture production decreasing and we cannot feed our children? We have no dignity if we have no land to feed us”, said Ms. Samia Nkrumah President of Kwame Nkrumah Pan African Centre, Ghana. The White paper report on Drought preparedness explores various policy approaches that can be used to support drought-stricken populations and drought-affected activities, reduce vulnerability, and strengthen resilience. It was developed by FAO in collaboration with UNCCD, WMO, Global Water Partnership and the Integrated Drought Management Programme as contribution to the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG.) Droughts bring huge challenges and in future the climate change may bring more frequent and severe droughts. Despite their extreme vulnerability and water scarcity, drylands are home to 50 percent of the worlds livestock and 44 percent

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Over 70 countries have started to develop drought plans and have supported the development of the Drought Tool Box. The Drought Tool Box was officially launched at the UNCCDCOP14 which used 30 parameters, including soil moisture, rainfall data, temperature data to the past and present and could efficiently evaluate the vulnerability of the region to drought.

To manage drought risks effectively, it is mandatory to understand the likely impacts, who will be at risk and why. Assessing risks and vulnerability before droughts occur allows decision makers and communities to devise measures that reduce or prevent the worst impacts.

In many drought affected regions, when the impacts are too familiar, vulnerability assessment is an ongoing informal process that is part of decision making for many households.

Vulnerability and Exposure are two factors that can mediate the impacts that droughts will have on society at different levels of severity The Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF) had organized a side event on “Certification of Natural Resources to Combat Desertification and Restoring at the UNCCD COP14. Dr. Pradeep Monga, Deputy Executive Secretary, UNCCD had graced the occasion and appreciated suggestions to develop certification standards for LDN and encourage certification as a tool to promote LDN as suggested by NCCF. More than 82 countries have already set LDN targets towards halting land degradation by 2030, and 44 of the 70 countries regularly hit by drought are setting up drought management plans to ensure that droughts do not turn into disasters. Many of the target entail co-benefits for sustainable agriculture and food security,

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and link to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to advance gender equality, increase women’s equal access to and control over land and natural resources, improve health and nutrition, reduce poverty, and restore ecosystems and climate change impacts.

Land degradation impacts men and women differently, mainly due to unequal access to land, water, credit, extension services and technology, which underscores the need to address the persistent gender inequalities that fuel women’s extreme poverty.

The UNCCD has launched many public awareness campaigns on the

Great Green Wall

and one such was the documentary titled Great Green Wall documentary produced in collaboration with an Oscar nominated filmmaker Fernando Meirelles and Malian singer Inna Modja. The documentary throws light on one of the ambitious project of the Human Race. Screened on Sep 12, at UNCCD COP14, it was an absolute eye-opener to the severity of the problems faced by the Sahel Region.

The Sahel is one of the areas of the World most harshly affected by land degradation and is exposed to multiple factors of environmental stress and sociopolitical stress.The Great Green Wall Initiative was launched in 2007 by the African Union to combat desertification across the Africa’s degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives in one of the world’s poorest regions, the Sahel. Planting 8,000 kilometers (4,970 miles) of trees and vegetation across the Sahel, the semi-arid area that stretches the entire width of the continent, just below the Sahara desert is a dream to be achieved.

The Tribal Ministry of India is on its way creating an innovative platform for the tribal enterprises in the country. The Tribal Minister Mr Arjun Munda launched the Bamboo movement for combating desertification and the climate change at the concluding day side events at UNCCD COP 14 at “The Indian Perspective through Bamboonomics”.

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The New Delhi Declaration The New Delhi Declaration is been adopted in the plenary meeting in the closing ceremony of the UNCCD COP 14. The New Delhi Declaration is the political statement that gives us a broad sense of the direction in which the countries, the multi stakeholders, as appropriate at local, sub-national, national and regional levels and from all sectors of society, including civil society organisations, local government and the private sector, will be crucial to achieving the objectives of the UNCCD. Keeping in mind the objectives for the effective implementation of the convention, the Declaration encourages the development of community driven transformative project and programmes that are gender responsive at all levels. They will encourage projects that work towards restoring degraded lands, drought and achieving land degradation neutrality and resilience building, proactive approaches in reducing risks of drought, creating green jobs, and establishing sustainable value chain products sourced from land.

The Declaration takes into account land based solutions for climate action and bio-diversity conservation. It will be committed to adopt integrated best practice approaches to land restoration based on scientific evidence and traditional knowledge.

The Declaration does not give an idea of the financial support as to how they will achieve the restoration activities. The declaration sees them inviting development partners, the private sector and other stakeholders to boost investments and technical support for the implementation of the convention, but they do not mention the agencies which will help them in the long run. Ibrahim Thiaw in his answer to a query in press conference had already mentioned about the fact that there weren’t enough funds to restore the growing desertification looming in the World. He also mentioned about funds with GEF, but that isn’t enough.

As we see it, the Declaration is inviting private partnerships along with public funds. The cost to combat the drought is seen to be $ 450 billion annually. Land degradation and desertification is a problem that is everyone’s problem and so the Delhi Declaration should help.

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Interview

Diversification in Cropping Pattern and Marigold Farming in West Bengal Dr. Lakshmi Unnithan Editor, Agriculture World

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M

arigold, is one of the most used flowers in India for its cultural and religious propose. The Area under flower cultivation in India is estimated to be 34,000 hectares, the major states being Karnataka Tamilnadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.Marigold extracts are used extensively in poultry feed and neutraceutical sector. India is been pushed to the second place as China started selling marigod extracts aggressively at low cost some years ago.

In the state of West Bengal, India, diversification in cropping pattern is a very recent phenomenon. The average holdings in the state of West Bengal varies between 0.5 ha to 1.2 ha. Majority of them cultivate mainly grain crops which doesn’t fetch them the required market and so in turn they live below poverty line.Out of need for commercialization and diversification, a proper integration of the farms with local and global markets is the need during the present times with a view to increase income in this sector (Ruma Bhattacharyya, 2013).

According to Govt Reports, the commercial flower farming is practiced in 5 districtsMednapore, Howrah, Nadia, 24 Parganas (North), 24 Parganas (South). Rahim and Sarkar (1997), reports reveals that flower crops like tuberose, marigold, rose, gladiolus are more productive and profitable than that of the main field crops like paddy and potato in Mednapore blocks in West Bengal.

West Bengal is well set to exploit the market potential in floriculture because of its proximity to Singapore, which

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is the Asian auction centre of flowers.

According to a study by Debnarayan Sarker and Sanjukta Chakravorty(2013) individual flower crop farming or mixed farming between flower crops and field crops have a complete advantage over the mixed crop farming. This might lead to a strong favorable implication of potential diversification in agriculture indicating high value addition and increase in employment within the primary sector.

Based on the published survey report of Roychoudhury (2000), reveals that no stable market price is observed throughout the year for the same type of flower in the same market as well as in the different markets. The peak season usually comes during puja, ceremonial occasions, national festivals, social occasions, community festivals, and price becomes higher etc. The market price for different type of flowers is different in both the seasons.

But market price of any type of flower is very high in relation to its per unit cost during the peak season. It implies that the producer of all types of flowers might receive positive net profit per unit during peak season. There are six important flower markets in West Bengal– Mallikghat or Jagannathghat wholesale flower market in Howrah, Deulia in Mednapore, Dhantala in Nadia, Thakurnagore in North 24 Parganas, New Market and College Street market in Calcutta. Among the six important flower markets under our study, Mallikghat is the biggest wholesale flower market in Kolkata. Even it is the largest wholesale flower market in the whole Eastern India (Roychowdhury, 2000), because the major portion of all types of commercial flower crops are regularly traded from this metropolitan market.

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Festive

Present Rainfall Status The state of West Bengal is one of the rainiest pockets of the country. According to Skymet reports, this Monsoon season has been different and mostly disappointing so far for the state.

The deficiency has been persisting since the very beginning of the season, with rains making only on and off appearance. The state has been one of the largest deficit pockets in the country so far.On one hand, where the country was having surplus rains in the month of July and August by 5% and 15% respectively, on the other hand, West Bengal was still reeling under high rain deficiency. So much so that, all the 13 districts of the state have been rain deficient so far barring Purulia and Paschim Medinipur, which are deficient under normal category.

Marigold Farming Marigold is an important traditional flower crop. The less maintenance and short harvesting period are the major reasons for the huge popularity of this flower. Growing marigold is comparatively easier than other commercial flowers.

Marigold farming requires a low startup investment. Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, West Bengal are the major marigold producing states in India Marigold is grown for loose flower purposes,garland making at social functions and religious offerings, pigment and oil extraction. Some of the major marigold exporting countries are Vietnam, Canada, Oman, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore. Like any other flower, marigold is also highly perishable flower and the flowers need to be sold immediately after harvest.

Seracole, (Tagetes.erecta ) a local variety, having both orange and yellow color, is cultivated and is more prominent, besides the other ones.

Seracole is propagated by herbaceous cuttings.

Besides the state grows French marigold also in large scale. Planting of marigold is done 3 times in West Bengal, with flowering through out the year.

Dr.M.Mitra Professor, Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Faculty of Horticulture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (SAU), reports that in peak season during the time of festivities the price of loose flowers even go up to 80-100rs /kg and 200-250/20 garlands.

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kg and garlands at 10-15/pc.The price fluctuates depending on the season,rainfall patterns and calamities. Down to Earth Reports early August 2019 that most of the marigold farmers are selling the flowers for Rs 30-40 a kilogramme in wholesale market instead of Rs 80-90 per kg that they used to get so the flowers do not rot.

Laxman Sahu, a flower farmer from Panskura who sells Balsamina, has been facing losses for the past one month. He is forced to sell the flowers for Rs 10-15 per kg instead of the earlier cost of at least Rs 50 a kg. Florists too feel that although the quality of flowers has not declined, the production level has.

That’s why they have to pay more than the last season to acquire flowers. They often don’t get the flowers they order on time as farmers struggle to store them. Farmers from South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Nadia and Howrah districts reveal to Down to Earth that the lack of cold storage facilities is what forces the farmers to sell in wholesale markets on much less price.

Business Standard reports as early as 2015 when speaking to Marigold farmers that Marigold farming is strengthening the socio-economic condition of Koladipara village of Siliguri district while also empowering the unemployed villagers, especially women. Pallabi Roy a girl student from Koladeopara says she plucks flowers and weaves garlands along with finding time to study and get money which helps in her studies.Every single family is involved in Marigold farming.As they don’t have land, they have taken land on lease and collectively farming with the help of a before a local self-help group, Phasidewa Farmers Club (PFC),who has changed their destiny.

Dr.M.Mitra says Marigold Flowers are taken to the market by family members or by middlemen depending on the volume of business. A large number of market intermediaries in the flower markets include different traders like aratdars (paikars), local(secondary) wholesalers, wholesalers, retailers and exporters or outside traders.

Among the districts Medinipur East has the max cultivation followed by Nadia.

On an average area under marigold cultivation in west bengal is approx in 8000 ha production in ‘000MT is 60 with productivity about in’ 000MT is 10.

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Festive

According to a study by Nirmal Kumar Biswas,Chapra village in Ranaghat-II block, Nadia district, West Bengal, Flower is the first ranking crop. Area of flower culture has increased due to Flower based industries that are developing gradually. Irrigation facilities, knowledge banking, training opportunities, government subsidies, favourable agro-ecological environment is responsible for this development of floriculture in chapra village.

There are very less studies pertaining to the Marigold Farming and Marketing status and Economics of Marigold flowers in West Bengal. Studies regarding socio-economic status of farmers, estimating the cost of cultivation, benefit-cost ratio,the marketing channels of marigold flowers etc needs to be done.

References ANIL KUMAR SINGH, MANISH KUMAR SINGH AND RAGHU RAJ SINGH(2013), The Economics of marigold flowers in Eastern Uttar Pradesh :The Journal of Rural and Agricultural Research Vol. 13 No. 2, 75-78 (2013).

Debnarayan Sarker and Sanjukta Chakravorty(2013), Flower farming and flower marketing in West Bengal : a study of efficiency and sustainability Debnarayan Sarker and Sanjukta Chakravorty Centre for Economic Studies, Department of Economics, Presidency College, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata – 700073 (INDIA).

Govt. of West Bengal (2001): “Information on Studies of Major Horticulture Crops: West Bengal”, Food Processing Industries and Horticulture Directorate, West Bengal.

Govt. of West Bengal (2004): “Information on Studies of Major Horticulture Crops: West Bengal”, Food Processing Industries and Horticulture Directorate, West Bengal.

Nirmal Kumar Biswas(2013),Page Floriculture In Chapra Village In Ranaghat-II Block, Nadia District, West Bengal: IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 22790845.Volume 7, Issue 1 (Jan - Feb. 2013), PP 17-23 | PK Krishnakumar,Economic Times,Jan22,2014 Rahim, K.M. and D. Sarkar (1997): “Techno-organization characteristics of Floriculture in West Bengal”, Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 52, No. 3.

Roychowdhury, N.(2000): “A Survey on Present Status of Floriculture in West Bengal”, Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Faculty of Horticulture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal.

Ruma Bhattacharyya,Cut Flower Production: A Source of Incremental Income for the Marginal Farmers of the State of West Bengal in India World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Economics and Management Engineering Vol:7, No:6, 2013

Mullick Ghat Market, WB

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Sustainability

COLLECTIVE FARMING A Sucessful Intervention:

Pudami Thalli Women Farmer’s Group, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh

Suresh Ediga Co- Founder, i4Farmers.org

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“

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When women thrive, all of society benefits Kofi Annan

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ZBNF Sustainability

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Why can’t single women be independent?

What happens to the women who have no family support? Who lost their partners? Who are divorced? Who are from economically and socially backward communities and are the sole breadwinners with no land or property ownership? These were the questions and/or thoughts, that led to Pudami Thalli Women Farmer’s Group in Talupur village of Atmakur Mandal in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Here is how it happened and how they continue to thrive despite all their struggles and challenges.

to maintain a record of all the expenses and to share the profits equally among at the end of the season.

The women farmers themselves have decided to cultivate Paddy in the leased land, and they also decided that they should follow Natural Farming Method of agriculture.As a part of this they have also taken up intercropping in this land –

Bhanuja, the chief functionary of REDS, an organization based in Anantapur, is the heart and brains behind this endeavour. A survey was taken up in Talupur village to identify the women and soon enough a meeting was arranged to bring the 10 women together, explaining the motivation behind this.Since the mainstay of the village was agriculture, it was only natural the women continue a profession that came natural to them. The next big challenge for the group was to identify a suitable land, possibly to lease. Fortunately for the group, there was 8 acres of uncultivated land, that the group was able to lease out for Rs8000 per acre. The formal lease argument was signed between the owner and REDS organization.

The women agreed to take up all the farming activities right from the initial ploughing stage to harvesting stage; and they agreed to share their responsibilities among themselves and strictly adhere to them. The group also committed 56

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which included Maize, greens and vegetables, millets like Ragi (Finger millet) etc.The group strictly decided not to use any chemical fertilizers or manures in their 8 acres of land.They have decided to use the organic manures and pesticides throughout the cropping season for all types of crops.

The major reasons for deciding to adopt Natural Farming Techniques are that •

This method of farming avoids eco-environmental pollutions

•

Keeps the earth and environment chemical free, and helps in the survival and development of farmer friendly micro-organisms, which in turn help in enhancing crop productivity

•

The produce/products are healthy as they are chemical free.

•

Produce cultivated using Natural Farming Methods have high market value.

The women were trained in the Natural farming techniques – viz., Seed treatment is done with Beejamrutham, mulching the land with

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dry leaves and spraying of Jeevamrutha before sowing the seed.

At the time of transplantation of Paddy saplings, their roots were dipped in this Jeevamrutham so that the growth is fast, healthy, pest resistant and the yield is high. They were also trained in the preparation of organic pest-repellents like Neem Kashayam, Brahmastram, Neemastram etc.

Here is how the women maintain all their expenditure.

The Expenditure and Income details up to the end of January 2019 on the Pudamithalli Programme are tabulated hereunder.

Severe drought conditions existed from February 2019 in this area, as a result of which both the existing bores in the land have dried up. The group has taken up Andu Korra and Alasanda during the months of March 2019. However, due to lack of water, the crops failed. With great difficulty about 50 kgs of Andu Korra could be harvested. This is preserved for seed purpose in the coming sowing season.

In the meantime, a few set-backs also have come up in the programme.

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Expenditure: Amounts invested on various items

S.No. 1

5 6 7 8

Land Lease (50%) Purchase of Black slabs for sitting purpose in the field including auto charges Rent for the Tractor Procurement of Paddy saplings and manure (Natural manure of animals) Labour Expenses (Paid to Mr Obulesu) Expenditure for laying the slabs in the field Seed (greens and vegetables) procurement expenses Procurement of neem seed (twice)

9

Procurement of saplings of Chilli, Tomato, Brinjal, flowers etc.)

2 3 4

10 11 12 13

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Details of activity

Rent for the Tractor - from time to time to various agricultural purposes including land levelling etc.

Procurement of 10 kgs of cow pea Procurement of Nursery plants Expenses to water suppliers for the supply of life-saving water to plants - 9 tanks @Rs.700/- per tank

Expenditure (Rs.) 32,000 2,100 9,500 13,000 2,000 300 2,720 19,800 1,970 6,000 300 1,000 6,300

14

Fitting charges of Kissan Raaj Mobile Remote Control to bore

1,000

15 16 17

Rent for the Paddy Cutting Machine Rent for Tractor - for transport of paddy to mill and back Processing charges paid to the Rice Mill

4,000 1,000 4,000

18

Rent for tractor - for transport of Hay from the field to house

1,000

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Labour charges for loading, unloading and packing of Hay Land Lease - Payment of remaining 50% amount Charges for Bore Pump replacement Purchase of cows - 2 numbers Transport charges for the transport of cows Labour charges for sowing of Andu Korra during March 2019 Weeding (twice), watering and other charges Total Expenditure

2,600 32,000 6,000 90,000 600 1,600 6,400 2,47,190

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Sustainability

Income: The total produce received after harvest and the market price for the same is tabulated hereunder: S.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Description

Qty

Paddy Rice Broken Rice (Big Size) Broken Rice (Small Size) Bran Black-eyed beans Tomato Brinjal Green Chilli Hibiscus (Gongura) Goruchikkudu Hay (Dry grass) Black-eyed beans (Alasanda) Brown top millet Total

21 Qtls 13.5 Qtls 70 Kgs 70 Kgs 100 Kgs 110 kgs 30kgs 50 kgs 9 kgs 20 kgs 2 tractors 50 kgs 50 kgs

Market Price 51,300 1,190 700 1,000 4,400 300 1,000 270 900 300 10,000 2,500 4,000 99,060

Out of this produce, the families have used the following quantities of produce for their domestic use.

S.NO. Description

Qty

1 2 3 4 5

Rice Broken Rice (Big Size) Broken Rice (Small Size) Bran Black-eyed beans (Alasanda)

9.10 qtls 50 Kgs 70 Kgs 100 Kgs 10 kgs

6 7

Tomato Brinjal

8 9 10 11

Green Chilli Hibiscus (Gongura) Goruchikkudu Hay (Dry grass)

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No. of families

10 families 10 families Is in stock to be used as fodder for cattle Is in stock to be used as fodder for cattle 10 families Balance is in stock waiting for good market price 30kgs Used by the families 20 kgs Used by the families 30 Kgs are sold in the open market 9 kgs Used by the families Used by the families 20 kgs Used by the families 1 tractor Is in stock to be used as fodder for cattle

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A small disturbance also crept up among the group members.The major issue was due to non-existing of daily wage earning employment for them. About 5 members from this group have left the group, and they were replaced by 5 new members who meet the criteria were inducted into the group.The group has purchased 2 cows, on 22nd February 2019, investing an amount of Rs.90,000/.

The purpose for the purchase of these milch animals is that they will add to their income aspect in the form of milk production on one side, and also to get benefitted through using the cow dung and cow urine in the preparation of

organic manures. Another set-back is the death of one of the cows in the first week of March – as it was infected with an epidemic disease that spread in the village. A total of 38 cows died in this village during the month of March. REDS has immediately informed the matter to the animal husbandry department for taking up due steps to control the spread of the disease and facilitated with the department in organizing a health camp for livestock in the village.

With our efforts, the department has made available fodder and water to the animals during this lean period.

UPDATE: At present the group is active with the newly inducted members also taking active part in the land preparation activities.

The land is to be ploughed in the month of September followed by that the sowing and other activities will follow.

The project is also supported by i4Farmers.org (an organization whose mission is to support farmers sustain farming) coordinated by Suresh Ediga| Kavitha Kuruganti - Founder Convenor of Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA)

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BAMBOO CULTIVATION An Incipient Erosion Control Measure

Anjaly V. Asst. Professor (contract), College of Horticulture, Thrissur

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Bamboo holds Guinness World Record for the fastest growing plant on earth. It is the only plant which has survived the radiation of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima, Japan in 1945.Edison used bamboo as the filament for his first light bulbs. It is a native plant of every continent except Europe and Antarctica

ArunaS. PhD scholar, College of Agriculture, Thiruvananthapuram

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limate change is one of the largest and most complex problems the world has ever faced and India is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. It has habitually manifested its effect through devastating floods and droughts which have inflicted much havoc in most of the Indian states for the past few years. The humid parts of country including Kerala, north-eastern states, Maharashtra and certain regions of Karnataka have been witnessing long periods of no rain followed by an intense rainfall burst.

The number of rainy days (with >2.5mm rain) are decreasing with a corresponding increase in the intensity of rainfall. This has not only caused substantial water loss and erosion of the fertile top soil, but has also resulted in severe conditions of landslides and mudslides in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghat region. Landslides are the most extreme form of water erosion characterized by sliding down of large chunk of soil due to steep slope.

Mudslides or debris flows are fast moving landslides which occur when a large amount of water causes the rapid erosion of soil on steep slopes. Extensive landscaping and mining activities have triggered their occurrence in the recent years.

The slope stability can be achieved by promoting vegetation growth (trees, perennial grasses) on the slopes, which reinforce and anchor the unstable surface soil. The possibilities of cultivation of bamboo in the sloppy areas as an economical and ecofriendly method to reduce the intensity of debris flow have to explored under these circumstances.

Bamboo is typically a fast growing perennial, belonging to family Poaceae and sub-family Bambusoideae, which can spread aggressively, covering the area within a short period of time, being the fastest growing member of grass family. They occur in tropical and subtropical evergreen and deciduous forests of Asia-Pacific. It got its name from the Malay word ‘Bambu’, resembling the sound it makes when explodes in fire. Just in one growing season, it can attain a height of several metres and can diversify into a forest by producing a number of side branches. Certain species can even grow at a rate of about 91cm/day.

They are widely known for their tolerance to harsh conditions.

Role as savior of planet Unlike the hardwood trees, bamboo roots can remain in the place and help prevent soil loss and washing out of nutrients due to complex network of roots that bind the soil, even after the harvest of culm. New culms are produced from the underground rhizomes which allows harvesting without disturbing the soil. The shallow network of roots is confined only to a depth of 30 cm, but have high horizontal extension. Once established in soil, any kind of disturbance in the forest environment tends to expand bamboo stands by sending up new culms from its rhizomes which are found throughout the area where it grows[8].

The faster growing species such as Bambusa bambos can easily be established in steep slopes to remediate landslides. Three bamboo species- Bambusa bambos, Bambusa nutans and Dendrocalamus strictus were successfully used in seven agroforestry models in Central India for the restoration of degraded lands [10]. Bamboo reduces the surface runoff and evaporation loss and improves the drainage capacity of soil by increasing the hydraulic permeability of soil [5].

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The plant has incredible flexibility to bend even in strong winds and has been used for centuries as windbreaks. It can effectively check inundation in coastal areas. According to KFRI, bamboo plantation can act as a natural buffer under flood conditions since the clumps were found to survive even when the water reached a height of 3 to 4 m above the ground level, on the banks of Bharathapuzha [4]. In comparison to the evergreen conifer and broad leaf stands, the litter cover in bamboo stands is five times higher [10].

The abundant foliage that dry and fall off create a thick humus layer enriching the soil, nurtures the top soil and prevent acidification. It is an ideal option for soil moisture conservation in arid regions, with zero waste generation (unlike plastic/paper mulch). It can repair the soil damaged by overgrazing and poor agricultural practices. Bamboo cultivation increases the soil microbial activities as well as soil enzyme activity [12].

Bamboo is an environment friendly and economical renewable source of energy and can be used for various purposes. It is known as ‘poor man’s timber’, since it can act as a substitute for woods for construction of houses, furniture, and plywood. It is widely used as the raw material for paper and pulp industry and for making rugs and textiles, utensils and tableware.

The bamboo community can transform into a forest in a limited time span and thus can act as an efficient carbon sink much before an equivalent hardwood tree stand through better CO2 absorption and release of 35 per cent more O2 than the latter. Its role is manifold as a carbon sequestering agent. They does not release the trapped CO2 and remains captured within the plant even after harvest.

Propagation

The plants can be grown along the banks of polluted rivers to scavenge the excess nutrients in raw sewage and to lower the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). For the waste water treatment of polluted Lake Victoria, bamboo species have been successfully used in Africa[10]. The thick fibrous mass of roots can arrest the impact of strong water currents on river banks during floods [1]. The excess of nutrients applied to the agricultural fields are washed away into the water bodies leading to eutrophication, resulting in algal blooms dangerous to indigenous plants and animals. Bamboo roots have the ability to extract these nutrients in abundance and reclaim the water bodies [11].

The bamboo forest is an efficient waste water utilizing system where the polluting components are transformed into plant nutrients [2].

Saving bamboo forests automatically protects one of the world’s most endangered species-the Giant Panda. About 99 per cent of the animal’s diet consists of bamboo and is under the threat of rapid habitat loss. www.krishijagran.com

Because they are hollow, the stems can be made into pipes and musical instruments. Plyboo is an ecofriendly alternative to oak flooring. Bamboo shoots can be used for consumption. It can help in mitigating the problems of malnutrition since it is rich in protein and fibre. The just emerging tender shoots (usually after the rains) are harvested and used without exposure to sun, in order to avoid bitterness caused by cyanogenic glycoside formation. So, bamboo is considered as ‘rich man’s delicacy’. The role of bamboo in beautifying the landscape is inevitable.

Since they flower so rarely, bamboos can be considered as a complex group of plants. They are monocarpic, i.e. flower only once at long intervals of 30-40 years and die after producing seeds which remain viable for about six months. New culms emerge from underground stems known as rhizomes. The culms will not grow further once they reach their ultimate height.

Bamboos can be propagated either by seeds or vegetative means (offsets, culm or rhizome cuttings, division or layering). Seeds germinated in nursery beds are transferred to polybags and are transplanted when become a year old.

The most commonly used conventional propagation technique for bamboo is offset propagation. An offset is the lower part of culm along with rhizome axis and its roots. The culm (1 to 2 year old) is cut at a height of 1m and the rhizomes attached are carefully dug out with the roots intact after separation at the rhizome neck. They are planted sufficiently deep in the soil without delay (otherwise dessicate very quickly). But it is a comparatively laborious and costly technique. So, culm cuttings can be used.

Culm is the above ground stem growing from underground rhizome. Get 2 to 3 year old culm by cutting just above the first node of healthy clump during March-April. Two noded cuttings are prepared using a sharp knife after trimming the leaves. Drill holes in the middle of the interOCTOBER 2019

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node and pour 200mL of 100ppm NAA solution through them and close the holes by polythene wrapping to avoid the leakage. Cuttings are planted horizontally across the nursery beds of 10 m x 1 m size, with holes facing upwards and cover them with thin layer of soil. Rooted cuttings can be transplanted to the field in 4 months.

Planting Planting can be done just prior to monsoon showers in pits of size 45 cm x 45 cm x 45 cm at a spacing of 5 m x 5 m. Incorporate generous amount of compost prior to planting to enrich soil, Chemical fertilization is not required since the plants get nutrition from the leaves shed annually. Harvesting can be started from the sixth year onwards. The yield and income from the culms increase gradually year after year.

In young bamboo plantations, pulses (red gram, black gram, green gram), oilseeds (groundnut, soyabean), vegetables (brinjal, amaranth, chilly, okra), horticultural crops (papaya, banana, pineapple), tuber crops (colocasia, dioscorea), paddy can be grown as intercrops. In later years, shade tolerant spices and medicinal plants (ginger, turmeric, asparagus) can be grown in the interspaces [7].

Intercropping with bamboo showed reduced runoff and lower erosion in comparison to the similar agroforestry systems with Acacia mangium and Tephrosia candida [6]. India is the second largest bamboo producer after China in the world. It is widely grown in the forest areas of north eastern states of India, Assam being the major producer. Realising the immense potential of our country in bamboo production, the Government of India launched the

National Bamboo Mission (NBM) in October, 2006 as a sub-scheme of Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), with an objective to address the issues relating to development of bamboo industry in the country and to promote the holistic growth of bamboo sector. The World Bamboo Day has been celebrated every year on 18th September in different parts of the world since 2009, with an effort to increase the awareness of bamboo globally.

The natural bamboo stands are disappearing at an alarming rate with the increasing pressure of population. The bamboo cultivation is sustainable only when the plants are harvested for the villager’s home consumption, rather than for commercial purposes. Flowering in bamboo often occurs for all plants in a community irrespective of their age. This is followed by total death of all the plants, threatening the entire ecosystem [9].

Inefficient utilization of bamboo resources has led to the degradation of natural bamboo stands and deterioration of bamboo species resources.

Indigenous knowledge plays a remarkable role on conservation of bamboo resources. Insitu conservation of bamboo is being practiced in parts of South West China through its cultivation along the village boundaries and the protection of bamboo species in community bamboo forests maintained by local religious groups [3].

Considering the significance of this ineffable plant, its status has been upgraded from ‘poor man’s timber’ to ‘green gold’, ‘wonder plant’ etc.

So, its diversity has to be conserved since it helps the farmers to secure sustainable income with an added advantage of environment conservation.

References 1. Basumatary, A., Middha, S.K., Usha, T., Brahma, B.K. and Goyal, A.K., 2015. Bamboo, as potential sources of food security, economic prosperity and ecological security in North-East India: an overview. Research in Plant Biology, 5(2).

2. Ben-Zhi, Z., Mao-Yi, F., Jin-Zhong, X., Xiao-Sheng, Y. and Zheng-Cai, L., 2005. Ecological functions of bamboo forest: research and application. Journal of Forestry Research, 16(2), pp.143-147.

3. Kanglin, W., Jianchu, X., Shengji, P. and Sanyang, C.H.E.N., 2000. Folk classification and conservation of bamboo in Xichuangbanna, Yunnan, Southwest China. Journal of Ethnobiology, 20(1), pp.113-127.

4. Nambudiri, S.2018.Planting bamboos can curb flood damage. Times of India, 18 Sep. 2018.

5. Nath, S., Das, R., Chandra, R. and Sinha, A., 2009. Bamboo based agroforestry for marginal lands with special reference to productivity, market trend and economy. Agroforestry in Jharkhand, Envis Jharkhand News, pp.80-96.

6. Nguyen, La. 2004. Bamboo, its filter effect in different agroforestry systems and its role in the household economy in Northern Vietnam. Master of Science Thesis. Sveriges Lantbruks, Universitet (SLU), Uppasala, Swedia 7. Sarkar, B.B., 2009. Bamboo Cultivation Technology for North Eastern Region. Ishani, 3(3).

8. Sastry, C.B., Ramanuja Rao, I.V., Ganapathy, P.M. and Janssen, J.A., 1996. Bamboo, people and the environment: proceedings of the Vth International Bamboo Workshop and the IV International Bamboo Congress, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, 19-22 June 1995; volume 3, engineering and utilization. INBAR technical report; no. 8.

9. Sertse, D., Disasa, T., Bekele, K., Alebachew, M., Kebede, Y., Eshete, N. and Eshetu, S., 2011. Mass flowering and death of bamboo: a potential threat to biodiversity and livelihoods in Ethiopia. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences, 1(5), pp.16-25.

10. Shilla, U. and Mir, A.H., Potential of Bamboo Species in Ecological Restoration of the Degraded Lands in Meghalaya, Northeast India.

11. Tripathi, Y.C. and Khawlhring, L., 2010. Bamboo resource and its role in ecological security. Indian Forester, 136(5), p.641.

12. Zhihua T, Lihua C, Xinxiao Y and Yushan Z. 2013. Effect of Bamboo Plantation on Rhizosphere Soil Enzyme and Microbial Activities in Coastal Ecosystem. Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment, 11(4): 2333-2338.

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Champaran Satyagraha 1917

he Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first Satyagraha movement inspired by Gandhi and a major revolt in the Indian Independence Movement. It was a farmer’s uprising that took place in Champaran district of Bihar, India during the British colonial period. Champaran is a district which comes under the state Bihar. Neel (indigo) started being grown commercially in Berar (today Bihar), Audh (today Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand) and Bengal in 1750 by the British East India company, primarily for export to China, UK and Europe. Being a cash crop which needed high amounts of water and which left the soil infertile, local farmers usually opposed its cultivation, instead preferring to grow daily need crops such as rice and pulses. The British colonialists forced farmers to grow indigo, often by making this the condition for providing loans, and through collusion with local kings, nawabs and landlords.

The trade was lucrative and led to the fortunes of several Asian and European traders and companies. This indigo was used to make dye. The Germans had invented a cheaper artificial dye so the demand for indigo fell. Some tenants paid more rent in return for being let off having to grow indigo. However, during the First World War the German dye ceased to be available and so indigo became profitable again. Thus many tenants were once again forced to grow it on a portion of their land- as was required by their lease. Naturally, this created much anger and resentment.This issue had been highlighted by a number of lawyers/politicians and persuaded Gandhi to go to Champaran and thus, the Champaran Satyagraha began. He then visited many villages in the region to study the grievances of the peasants. He recorded the statements and testimonies of 8,000 indigo cultivators to understand their issues and the causes underlying them. He came to the conclusion that the ignorance of the cultivators was one of the main reasons why it was possible for the European planters to repress them.

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“THE SIMPLE HEARTH OF THE SMALL FARM IS THE TRUE CENTER OF OUR UNIVERSE” MASANOBU FUKUOKA

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Petrichor Siddhartha Blone Petrichor Farms, Darjeeling

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etrichor was born out of an aspiration to care for the planet which found us on a mission to nurture our community’s growth through ecological education and regenerative systems primarily by natural farming methods and sustainable creative initiatives that meet our practical needs like housing, water, natural energy, clothes, art, craft, medicine, soaps etc. But growing our own food is our first love.

Our vision is to inspire our community of small farmers and producers towards being a viable example of conscious living that strives towards self-sufficiency and economic independence by mainly continuing to grow our own food while preserving our natural habitat and culture.The fact that we’re ideally located in Gorubathan, between the mountainous foothills and the plains and also advantageously placed beside the River Chel and the fringes of the Neora forest, has caused a pronounced edge effect, a phenomenon that occurs when two or more ecological habitats come into contact resulting in a large and varied bio-diversity. We have been fortunate.

As a Sustainability Education Centre, we provide resources for courses, workshops and overall community development for visitors, volunteer groups, schools and other educational institutions, corporate organizations etc through various programs like the Forest School Program, Natural Building and Bamboo Workshops, Yoga Retreats, Sustainable Handicrafts Workshops, Cooking Classes, Soap Making/ Herbalism and Permaculture Design Workshops.

As a farming community, we practice, promote and teach the regenerative methods of permaculture and natural farming which is a gentle and non-invasive practice. It works harmoniously with nature keeping within its natural limits rather than against it and yet obtains magnificent yields.Besides rural farmers, we also want to inspire a new generation of ecological, smallscale, young agrarians by showing that farming can be a viable, invigorating, and respected career choice, notwithstanding that it is the need of the hour.

Everywhere around the world, people are beginning to see the severe consequences of industrial agriculture: pesticides, GMOs, disease, agribusiness and inequitable markets to name 70

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WO R LD a few. Along with this cumulative awareness is a rising consumer demand for healthy, local, organic food. Alternative approaches of selling and purchasing food are also gaining ground, visible not only in the burgeoning farmers’ markets but also through communitysupported agriculture and community co-ops which is a direct exchange between small scale producers and consumers. We are currently working on a new project in Siliguri to initiate a community food co-op, food forest and a ‘you pick’ market garden in order to make healthy, seasonal, locally grown, package-free food from around the region easily accessible to people and their families. We also hope for it be common ground for producers and consumers to meet and greet, share seeds and stories.

Everyone should know where their food comes from and who grows it, and farmers should also be accountable for their produce. It is also a preservation effort towards our region’s food sovereignty rights, to close the ever-widening gap between local small farmers/producers and consumers by eliminating the middleman, the one who wraps the plastic around our products, puts the preservatives into our food and dips into our savings endlessly. Eventually, we must take the power back.

Besides supporting local organic growers, the coop will also be a platform for sustainable producers like artists, beekeepers, brewers, weavers, crafters etc. It will also have a zero waste store with plenty of bulk bins of local grains, pulses, spices, fruits, herbs, soaps, bath and beauty products alongside a plant-based restaurant. We also plan to host frequent events focusing on sustainable community health and well-being through yoga, farmer’s markets and permaculture workshops that will mainly focus on encouraging people to start growing their own food and build community.

“we must rebuild the economy from the ground up”

Farmer poet Wendell Berry intimated that “there is no big solution,” only many small ones, and that we must rebuild the economy from the ground up.

We also believe according to a permaculture principle that at the smallest scale, everything is better to manage, occurs in its natural pace, outcome is sustainable and is redirected back into the community where it came from in the first place. And likewise, we’re not vying to do big things, only small things with heart. Since planting our first seeds in to Petrichor soil in 2013 the stories and awakening that followed have been worth every second.

~Farmer poet Wendell Berry www.krishijagran.com

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The learning by doing experience has been humbling; gut wrenching and hard at times and extremely healing and satisfying at most times.

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Abundance in Simplicity www.krishijagran.com

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As a Sustainability Education Centre, we provide resources for courses, workshops and overall community development for visitors, volunteer groups, schools and other educational institutions, corporate organizations etc through various programs like the Forest School Program, Natural Building and Bamboo Workshops, Yoga Retreats, Sustainable Handicrafts Workshops, Cooking Classes, Soap Making/ Herbalism and Permaculture Design Workshops.

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We are always looking towards educating ourselves at all given times, reading voraciously, researching and talking to other farmer pioneers who teach us a lot more than we’d ever hope to learn on our own. And yes, substantial knowledge has been borrowed from local, traditional farming practices and indigenous wisdom.

Still we would like to summarize with this. There are many things that nature can teach you and to us the biggest teaching has been that of initiating progress through self-change. Just as wise Fukuoka has said, ‘The healing of the land and the purification of the human spirit is the same thing.’ We cannot go to work on others before we go to work on ourselves first. The change must come from within us if we ever are to make a difference because that’s the most natural pace of things.

Without a doubt, we’ve gotten better as farmers but the main transformation has been as human beings. Just like the land we’ve nurtured, we’ve also touched a deep chord within ourselves. We’ve softened, we’ve grown, we’ve mended, right up from scratch too. There is so much to be thankful for.

Today, we’re inching towards an independent whole systems grid for Petrichor Gorubathan, just as we envisioned it back in 2013. We always wanted it to be run mainly by community and volunteers because at its very core, permaculture whole systems design teaches us to design ourselves out of the system. By ensuring that every part of the framework (not just in the garden but in other spheres of our lives too) is mutually beneficial to each other and is supported by each other, one can well be on the way to learn more, do more or even rest.

The key is to use small and slow solutions.

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Training on Pesticides use

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PMFAI Training Program “Safe and Responsible use of Pesticides in Agriculture”

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• Pesticide Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India (PMFAI) in association with Anand Agriculture University, Anand (Gujarat) and Farinsys Research conducted farmers training program on “Safe and Responsible use of Pesticides in Agriculture”.

The training program was inaugurated by Dr. Arun Patel, Director, Extension Education Institute, Anand Agriculture University, Anand, Gujarat and attended by progressive farmers of the region. These farmers will further train 10 farmers of their village.

• Safety kits (PPE) were also given to all the attending farmers during the training program.

The “Safe & Responsible use of Pesticide” training was led by Dr. Sandeep Singh, Principal Scientist, Farinsys research. When addressing the farmers Dr. Singh Said “PMFAI has a long history of creating awareness among Indian farmers about the safe, responsible and sustainable use of pesticides.”

More than hundred farmers attended the training program. One set of free PPE kit was given to each farmers for their usage to promote PPE.

1. Importance of Label instructions 2. Selecting the correct nozzle 3. Do’s and Don’ts during pesticide spraying 4. Cleaning of spraying equipment 5. Importance of PPE and correct way of wearing it 6. Pesticides should be adopted under IPM 7. Safe disposal of containers etc

esticides are helping Indian farmers to produce more and ensures bountiful harvest for India. This keeps the food affordable. Therefore, training program aimed at imparting knowledge on correct usage of pesticides for their Safe and Responsible usage.

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Interview

Sietz Brings Latest Agricultural Machines for Farmers in India

KRANTI DEEPAK SHARMA

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arming in India is being done since centuries, but still the condition of farmers here is pathetic. Doing traditional farming in this changing climate is a really a difficult task. If we talk about agriculture in today’s context, then we will realize that farmer who is using new or latest technology is the one who is successful. Through new agricultural tools, he is not only increasing the yield but is also earning good profits.

To know the importance of machines in farming and what kind of new machines are available in the market for the farmers, Krishi Jagran team visited agricultural equipment manufacturing company, Sietz Technologies India Private Limited, where we met the Chief Executive Officer Kranti Deepak Sharma.

1. What kind of products your company manufactures?

Since 1997, our company has been manufacturing parts and important machines like two wheeler seats, air cleaners for tractors and three point and front axles. And this is the reason why farmers in today’s time rely on our agricultural machines.

2. What kind of new machines the company is planning to bring for the farmers?

Our main goal at this time is to promote sustainable agriculture through machines, so the company has started making many new machines. For the farmers, we have brought strong and high quality 80

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rotavator machine. Apart from this machine, the company is also going to make cultivators, disc plugs and other types of soil-tech machines.

3. What makes your company’s machines unique?

See, today, dozens of companies are manufacturing agricultural machines in the country, but despite this, farmers are not getting quality machines. He is afraid of buying these machines as its cost is too much hence our main objective is to provide the best quality machines at reasonable prices to the farmers. Our machines not only reduce workload but also save time and money.

4. In which states farmers are using machines the most?

The States like Haryana and Punjab have been using machines since a long time. But now demand for machines has also increased in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. You would be surprised to know that states like Bihar and Jharkhand that often uses traditional farming, are also using machines.

5. What are the main things to consider while buying agricultural machines?

In our country, farmer is not aware of the quality of the machines. They do not know what parameters should be taken care of while purchasing machines. Due to lack of information, farmers prefer buying machines which are cheap and easily available in the market. But after some time, when they find quality problems in these machines, they feel cheated. Government has fixed some standards that farmers should keep in mind while purchasing machines.

6. What message would you like to give to the farmers?

We would like to tell the farmers that they can increase their production through the use of technology or machines, but machines which are not of good quality will always puts your life and property at risk. Hence while buying agricultural machines always check the standards set by government.

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SIPPU KUMAR Reporter, Krishi Jagran sippu@krishijagran.com 9999560286

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