Volume II | Issue 11 | November | 2016 `70
ISSN 2455-8184
AGRICULTURE
W RLD The Pulse
Global Agriculture
Echoing Sustainable Environment and Agriculture krishi.jagran
@krishijagran
+91 9891 405 403
www.krishijagran.com
AGRICULTURE WORLD The Pulse
Volume 2 | Issue 11 | November 2016 | Total Page- 44
Global Agriculture
CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE
Editor-in-Chief MC Dominic Directors Shiny Emanuel MG Vasan Sr. Executive Editors Dr. KT Chandy RK Teotia Ajith Kumar V R Technical Editor Dr. B C Biswas Assistant Editor Ruby Jain Social Media Head Aniket Sinha Sr. Correspondents Imran Khan Correspondents Vipin Mishra V.P. Int. Business D.D. Nair Gavrilova Maria Marketing Head Sanjay Kumar GM - Marketing Farha Khan Sr. Manager Marketing Mukundan Nair K J Saranya Sara Khan Marketing Manager Megha Sharma Afsana Malik Sr. Executive Marketing Chunki Bhutia Poonam Bishwakarma Rinki Pundir Laxmi Pandey Soniya Mahajan Shifali Mahajan Hema Sharma Priyanka Circulation Head Nishant K Taak Circulation Manager Rahul Singh Abdus Samad Sr. Executive Circulation Prashant Sharma Anku Yadav Preeti Chauhan Pappu Rai Mohit Furkan Qureshi Kanchan Singh Karishma Lehri Aayesha Khan Pawan Kumar Head Pre-Press Yogesh Kumar Graphic Designer Vikram Singh
Accounts Udit Mittal K. B Indra O ce Assistant Devender Kumar Jagdish Jana Prem Kumar Rajiv DD Nair VP International Business (Russia & CIS Countries) 6 Mikluho-Maklaya STR, Moscow, Russia 117198 Mob: +7903729 98 30, Tel: +7499501 99 10 Email: ddnair@krishijagran.com M Mezhukanal E-16F - 33, Hamriya Free Zone, Sharjah, UAE Mob: +971 50 2870465 Email: mezhukanal@krishijagran.com For Circulation & Subscription Nishant Kr. Taak Mob: +91-9953756433 Email: circulation@krishijagran.com, subscription@krishijagran.com CONTACT US Enquiry info@krishijagran.com Editorial editor@krishijagran.com
Making India Hunger Free ................................................................08
Marketing response@krishijagran.com
Problems and Prospects of Rainfed Cotton Production in India..................18
Printed and Published by: M. C. Dominic 60/9, 3rd Floor, Yusuf Sarai Market, Near Green Park Metro Station, New Delhi 110016. Tel: 011-26511845, 26517923 Mobile: +91-9313301029, +91-9654193353 Email: info@krishijagran.com, editor@krishijagran.com Web: www.krishijagran.com
Sugarcane Production in India ............................................................... 26
Printed at : HT Media Press, House No. B 2, Sector-63, Noida-201301, Distt: Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. All rights reserved. Copyright @ Krishi Jagran Media Group. Agriculture World is published by Krishi Jagran Media Group. Editor: MC Dominic Disclaimer: While every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information contained in this publications, the publishers are not responsible for any errors or omissions that might have crept into this publications. No part of this publication may be reproduced or kept in a retrieval system, without the express permission of the publishers.
Incubating Technologies to Solve Cauvery Water Sharing Problem....... 30
Indian Agriculture: The Monsoon Myth ................................................................38
Editorial
A
ll the cultivated crops in India can be grouped under two heads: food crops and nonfood crops. But from the economic point of view any crop can be cultivated for obtaining cash which everyone is very much in need off for procuring primarily all types of household requirements of food and nonfood items and secondly for availing various kinds of needs, comforts and luxuries. In short the human demand for cash is inexhaustible. Crops like cotton, jute, rubber, sunhemp, flax, all the flower crops, forage crops, lac and various narcotic crops are grown mainly for obtaining cash in contrast with food crops for physical nourishment. As a signatory to the historic MDGs adopted at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2000, India was committed to end the hunger. However, India was unable to achieve the target to halve the proportion of hungry people by 2015 and was likely to reduce the percentage of underweight children below 3 years of age to 13% by 2015 as against 26% half of what it was in 1990. Dr Amrit Patel in a well written article on “Making India Hunger Free” highlights the strength and weakness of Indian agriculture production, storage and distribution to suggest appropriate changes in the whole agriculture system to facilitate achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal II. Out of the 12 million hectares under cotton cultivation in India 7 million are rain dependent. Cotton farmers experience several issues such as high cost of production, absence of short duration varieties for monsoon, low productivity, multiplicity of hybrids, lack of support in plant protection technologies and inadequate market price based on the actual cost of production. Analyzing seven potentials Dr. Blaze in his article on “Problems and Prospects of Rainfed Cotton Crop in India” proposes a number of policy and field level changes to promote the cotton crop as a major commercial crop in our country. Sugarcane is a major cash crop to many famers in India. The multifarious products from sugarcane such as sugar, jaggery, khandsari, rock candy, Molasses, bagasse, bio-fuel, and electricity entails the productivity of this crop to be raised from the existing 362.3 million tones to 520 by 2030 AD. Dr. Srivastava and Menhi Lal in their article on “Sugarcane Production in India” highlights some of the bottlenecks in improving the production and productivity of this crop especially the implementation of Rangarajan Committee recommendations related to price fixation and marketing related issues. They also underscore some special morphological and physiological characters such as ability to cope up with growth impediments like weather aberrations, poor input supply and failures in management as favourable factors. The recent destructive and murderous conflict on Cauvery water sharing necessitates all of us to search for alternatives to solve such water conflicts not only within our country but also in other countries and between countries. Dr. K. T. Chandy in his article on “Incubating Technologies to Solve Cauvery Water Sharing Problem” describes ten technical approaches to solve the present Cauvery water sharing problem in relation to domestic, agricultural and industrial needs. Among them technologies like huge underground water storages, the three tier use of land resource in areas under seasonally cultivated water intensive crops is indeed something never thought by anyone. “Indian agriculture is a gamble on the monsoon” is the most frequently repeated popular jargon among the people in India. S. Ganesan in his article “Indian Agriculture: A Monsoon Myth” challenges this age old jargon enumerating a number of agronomic and agro-ecological verifiable facts. The author concedes that this opinion might have been before Independence but during the last seven and half decades Indian Agriculture was much strengthened by increase in irrigation and numerous types of technologies introduced.
M C Dominic Editor-in-Chief dominic@krishijagran.com
Food Policy
Making India Hunger Free
E
very year some parts of India experience droughts or floods directly impacting on food output. India experienced two drought years [July 2014-June 15 & 2015-16] which resulted low food output followed by 2016-17, a year of severe floods. Despite the fact that India observes World Food Day on October16, every year, it could not achieve the Millennium Development Goal-1 [MDG] to halve the percentage of hungry people by 2015. It has now committed to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development (SDG) Goal 2 Goal-2 target to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” by 2030. In this context, this article highlights the current Indian scenario and suggests specific aspects to achieve the SDG-Goal 2 and make India free from hunger by 2030.
Genesis of the World Food Day Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] of th the United Nations was established on 16 October 1945 with a mandate “to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, to better the lives of rural population and to contribute to the growth of the world economy.” FAO in order to fulfill this mandate has been putting in concerted efforts to 8 Agriculture World | November 2016
achieve food security for all and make sure people have regular access to adequate and better quality food that can help them lead active and healthy lives. Over the period, FAO has become the reservoir of knowledge about food, agriculture and natural resources which it shares among its member countries. Dr. Pal Romany, the former Hungarian Minister of Agriculture & Food suggested at the 20th session of the FAO conference in November 1979 to www.krishijagran.com
Food Policy observe the World Food Day [WFD] worldwide. Member countries of the FAO endorsed this and proclaimed to observe 16th October each year as WFD to mark the date of establishing the FAO in 1945. The WFD aims at continuously heightening public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, m a l n u t r i t i o n a n d p o v e r t y. A c c o r d i n g l y, acknowledging that "food is a requisite for human survival and well-being and a fundamental human th necessity” the General Assembly on 5 December 1980 endorsed observance of the WFD. Beginning from 1981 with the theme “Food Comes First” more than 150 countries observe the WFD every year with specific theme that sharply focus the issues responsible for poverty, malnutrition and hunger; identify the areas that need specific actions; and initiate policies, programs and strategic action plans to minimize the incidence. The WFD provides a common focus to help share knowledge and experiences among countries to achieve the expected goals. Most of the themes of WFD highlight areas that need actions focusing adequate and continuous investment in agriculture. The bulk of that investment will have to be sourced from the private sector, with public investment playing a critical role, especially in view of its facilitating and stimulating effect on private investment.
Consequences of hunger FAO, World Food Program and International Fund for Agricultural Development defined undernourishment, or hunger, in the State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012 report as "food intake that is insufficient to meet dietary energy requirements continuously". According to their report economic recovery, especially in the agriculture sector, will be crucial for sustained hunger reduction. The factors inhibiting agricultural growth include growing bio-fuel demand, financial speculation in food commodity markets and inefficiencies in food supply and distribution which involves wastage of food grains almost a third of total production. Poverty has been often attributed to be the root cause of hunger and malnutrition as poor people do not have sufficient money to buy adequate quantities 10 Agriculture World | November 2016
of healthy food despite food is available. Although food insecurity is primarily a structural problem affecting rural regions, it is exacerbated by natural disasters, political crises and conflicts. At least 40 countries are considered fragile. While stable political stability and good governance are responsible to minimize the incidence of hunger, the percentage share of hungry people as a result of fragility and conflict is increasing. "More than 800 million people worldwide are still chronically hungry. At least a billion more suffer from hidden hunger, malnutrition caused by a diet deficient in vital nutrients." In other words, a little less than two billion people cannot access the quality and amount of food for a healthy and productive life in dignity. Hunger and poor nutrition kill around 8,000 children each day accounting for about 50% of all child deaths worldwide. Hunger is the greatest risk to health, claiming more lives each year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Hunger is a major obstacle for human development and the country. It www.krishijagran.com
Food Policy in June 2012. According to the United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “zero hunger aims for a future where every individual has adequate nutrition”.In fact, the FAO in 1974 had declared that by 1984 “no child, woman or man should go to bed hungry and no human being's physical or mental potential should be stunted by malnutrition”. Our former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had reemphasized in one of his Independence Day Addresses that “nobody will be allowed to go hungry”. Zero hunger is a challenge that India has necessarily to meet not only for its own people but there cannot be a hunger-free world without India making a significant breakthrough.
Current status
mainly affects rural areas being home to three quarters of the world's hungry, where there is a lack of employment and incomes leading to abysmal poverty. Faced with learning difficulties and limited employment opportunities as they grow older, they often face a life of poverty. This scenario demonstrates that the problem is not only serious and acute but also multi-faceted. It is not just a lack of enough food but also the right kind of food accompanied by clean drinking water, better sanitation, knowledge about nutrition in particular. Malnutrition's economic costs to an individual and a country are substantial. Ending child undernutrition could increase a developing country's GDP by 16.5 per cent. Improving nutrition should, therefore, be perceived as an issue of human rights, economics and national growth rather than a welfare issue. When chronic malnutrition cannot generally be reversed, prevention is the only cure.
Zero hunger “Zero Hunger” was first proposed at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil www.krishijagran.com
As a signatory to the historic MDGs adopted at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2000, India was committed to end the hunger. However, India was unable to achieve the target to halve the proportion of hungry people by 2015 and was likely to reduce the percentage of underweight children below 3 years of age to 13% by 2015 as against 26% half of what it was in 1990. India has reduced the proportion of hungry people by about 35% since 1990 but nevertheless India has still 190 million hungry people. India still remains home to one quarter of world's undernourished population, over a third of world's underweight children and nearly a third of world's food-insecure people.Not getting enough food or not getting the right kind of food causes malnutrition. An indicator for chronic malnutrition is stunting, wherein an individual has low height for his/her age. Almost half of the children in India under the age of five are stunted. Deficiencies in essential nutrients are unacceptably high across income levels in India. According to the latest Global Hunger Report, India continues to be among nations where hunger is "alarming". According to the Global Hunger Index [GHI], though country's GHI improved in 23 years from 32.6 in 1990 to 21.3 in 2013, India ranks 63 out of 78 countries having the worst GHI. Most disappointing fact is that India ranks much below some South Asian countries, viz. Sri Lanka (43), Nepal (49), Pakistan (57) and Bangladesh (58). The persisting low level of anthropometric indicators of nutrition in India, for both adults and children even in the midst of intensified interventions for povertyAgriculture World | November 2016
11
Food Policy alleviation, is a cause of serious concern. Intake of dietary energy per person is the most widely accepted indicator of the level of nutrition of the population. The National Sample Survey Organization [NSSO 2012] surveys showed significant declining trend in respect of per capita calorie intake in rural areas from 2153 in 1993-94 to 2020 in 200910 and in urban areas from 2091 to 1946 respectively as is evident from the Table. 1
Constraining factors In last two decades, India recorded [i] negative farm growth during five years which were drought years and [ii] 42% increase in the population as compared to 32% increase in food output. Between 1994-95 and 2013-14, availability of food grains per capita increased marginally from 471 grams to 511 grams. Following are the constraining factors for dismal agricultural growth. Low crop productivity: Despite India has the largest irrigated land and ranks second in terms of arable land, the yield of crops is 20%-40% of the world's best levels. Yield of rice in India in 2011 was 3.2 tons per hectare as against 7.5 tons in USA, 6.7 tons in China and 4.3 tons for the world's average. Average yields of coarse cereals were 1.0 ton per hectare in India as compared to 2.7 tons in USA and 2.1 tons in China. The ICAR study showed that the yield gap between the yield of demonstration plots in farmers' fields and the average yield of the area varied by a factor 3 to 6. Integrating agricultural credit & crop insurance with technology, production inputs & markets, farmers can increase wheat production by around 40% and double paddy production at current levels of technology. Efficient agricultural extension agency and support service providers can help farmers to bridge the existing gap between the actual crop yields at field level and the potential yields. Small farmers: Indian agriculture has been charact-erized as farms of “small and marginal” size. Small and marginal farmers owning less than two hectares constitute 85.9% of the total and cultivating 44% of land area, with 0.61 hectare of average size of land holding. Though small farmers are efficient in production their increasing number and shrinking farm size raises questions about their economic viability, sustainability and producing marketable surplus. Disadvantages they face are 12 Agriculture World | November 2016
economies of scale and inadequate access to technology, production inputs, institutional credit, insurance and marketing services. Small farmers are concentrated in rain-fed areas and cultivate crops under a high risk environment, often confronted by frequent droughts, floods and soil erosion. Drought: Indian sub-continent is predominantly characterized by a tropical monsoon climate and entire region is distinguished mainly by the differences in rainfall in terms of onset, distribution, quantity and withdrawal. While southwest monsoon accounts for 80% and north-east 20% of rainfall there is a large variability in the monsoon rainfall on both space and time scales. Only 63 million hectares [45%] of net cropped area is irrigated. Consequently, some parts of the country experience drought or flood almost every year. In past, country experienced 24 large-scale droughts viz. in 1891,1896, 1899, 1905, 1911, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1941, 1951, 1965,1966, 1972,1974, 1979, 1982, 1986, 1987,1988, 1999,2000,2002,2009 and 2012.. About 49.8 million hectares [15.2% of geographical area] is flood-prone and 10 to 12 million hectares are actually flooded each year. Health of soil: Intensive agriculture for increasing food production has caused problems of nutrient imbalance, greater mining of soil nutrients to the extent of 10 million tons annually depleting soil fertility, emerging deficiencies of secondary and micronutrients, declining water table level and its quality, decreasing organic carbon content, www.krishijagran.com
Food Policy increasing soil erosion and degradation leading to overall deterioration of soil health. According to ICAR [2010], out of total geographical area of 328.7 million hectare in India about 120.4 million hectares (37%) are affected by various kinds of land degradation. This includes water and wind erosion (94.9 million hectares), water logging (0.9 million hectares), soil alkalinity [3.7 million hectares], soil acidity (17.9 million hectares), soil salinity (2.7 million hectares) and mining and industrial waste (0.3 million hectares). Frequent droughts, floods and climatic variability/aberrations, also, impact soil fertility and cause land degradation, thereby, affecting/threatening crop production across the country. Ineffective extension services: According to “Situation Assessment of Indian Farmers”, only about 28% of all farmers use any kind of agriculturerelated information that is available rather than what they need. While about 72% of farmers do not have any source of information that can help them adopt latest technology, most farmers are unable to access credit, insurance and marketing services from the established institutions. The post-harvest losses exceed 25% annually. For marketing, small farmers have to deal with multiple layers of middlemen. For example, farmers sell in village itself 85% of wheat and 75% of oil seeds in Uttar Pradesh, 70% of oil seeds and 35% of cotton in Punjab, and 90% of jute in West Bengal. These middlemen take away about 47% of the price of rice, 52% of groundnut and 60% of potatoes. On an average, Indian farmers realize only 20% to 25% of the value paid by consumers.
Government's policy & program SDG-2 emphasizes food security and promoting sustainable agriculture. The government of India has enacted in 2013 the National Food Security Act to provide subsidized food grain to 75% the rural and 50%of urban households for which efforts are made to systematically operationalize its implementation through direct
www.krishijagran.com
benefit transfer scheme where feasible and making public distribution system [PDS] most effective where necessary. Besides, other measures including food-based social safety nets are being reviewed to make them effective viz. the PDS; the Antodaya Anna Rozgar Yojana, the Mid-day Meal Scheme; the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Need for focused attention For “zero hunger”, India will have to ensure [i] 100% access to adequate food all the year round [ii] all food systems are sustainable [iii]100% increase in smallholder productivity and income [iv]zero loss or waste of food in any form [v] zero stunted children of less than 2 years.To combat the challenge of zero hunger successfully [i] the government should develop state-of-the-art technologies and put in place effective mechanism to implement and review/monitor the national food security program [ii] focus should shift from mere access to enough food to enough of the right kind of food [iii] efficient implementation of safety-net programs to prevent disease, provide safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and education [iv] stronger political will needs to be demonstrated right from policy-making to commitment by administrators in a transparent manner for resultoriented implementation to make hunger and malnutrition a reality of the past. For raising 100% increase in food output to feed India's teeming millions by 2030, it necessitates a modern and professional agricultural sector embodying following components that can boost farm productivity [food crops including pulses, fruits & vegetables, livestock, fish] and make India “zero hunger” through adequate availability of nutritious food, its affordability, easy and reliable access, proper assimilation and stability of food production.
Research
Agriculture World | November 2016
13
Food Policy While the first Green Revolution had its genesis in the Seed-Fertilizer-Irrigation technology, the second Green Revolution should originate from radiation-induced mutation technique and Biotechnology along with integrated nutrient, pest & water management technology. The International Atomic Energy Agency has called for increased investments in radiation-induced mutation techniques that help in producing crop varieties with high yields and disease resistance, and can grow in stressful conditions such as drought, flood and salinity. This technique has been in use since 1920s and more than 3000 varieties of 170 different plant species have been released for cultivation. Similarly, biotechnology in recent years has created unprecedented opportunities and revolutionized research activities in the area of agriculture viz. plant tissue culture and Genetic engineering leading to transgenic plants carrying desirable traits like insect and herbicide resistance; tolerance to salinity, drought and major pests; enhancing nitrogen fixing ability, improving storage/shelf life, proteins and crops for food processing, thereby addressing problems related to malnutrition, poverty and hunger. India should, therefore, concentrate on inventing new seeds and planting material of various field crops through application of new technology. Research should focus on food crops, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, milk, fish, eggs, broilers and meat so that people can access nutritional and balanced food.
Information & communication technology
information related to high-yielding variety seeds, production-enhancing and cost-minimizing farming practices, efficient use of water including micro-irrigation system, integrated nutrient and pest management, post-harvest management practices, measures to mitigate adverse impact of climate change and marketing of farm produce in domestic and international markets. In public-privatepartnership mode following farmer-friendly farm portals can be developed and farmers incentivized for their use. Technology: Production-enhancing proven crop-specific technologies [from pre-sowing to harvesting and post-harvest management] based on soil & water analysis. Separate for dry land & irrigated farming focusing efficient use of seeds, fertilizers, water, pesticides, farm equipment & labour; and reclamation of degraded, saline & alkaline land. Production inputs & farm equipment: Cropspecific reasonably priced standard quality production inputs [seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.] and farm equipment and machinery along with sources of availability Post-harvest services: Storage, transport, processing and packaging. Institutional services: Land records, farm credit, insurance, marketing, weather, farmerp r o d u c e r s ' o rg a n i z a t i o n s , m a r k e t y a r d s , procurement centres. Irrigation: Strategic actions to resolve following serious issues are necessary in order to ensure that share of food output under irrigated
By June, 2014, rural India had about 122.4 million [68.32%] households with mobiles exhibiting mobile connectivity has become a basic service in rural areas. Rural mobile subscriber base is growing twice as faster compared to urban subscriber base. As of March 2015, the national teledensity was 79% and rural tele-density 46.5%. Telecom Policy aims to increase rural tele-density to 60% by 2017 and 100% by 2020.Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has the potential to revolutionize Indian agriculture in terms of raising crop productivity and profitability per unit area and resources. Several apps are now available and many more can be developed which can help farmers access authentic, accurate and timely 14 Agriculture World | November 2016
www.krishijagran.com
Food Policy farming increases to 75% from 56% by 2018-19. Incomplete projects: There has been an increase in the number of incomplete projects awaiting completion since the end of IV Plan. The backlog has remained between 500 and 600 projects since then. The backlog declined at the end of VII Plan but increased again to the present level. Currently, there are 557 irrigation projects yet to be completed. Andhra Pradesh has completed only 17 projects out of the allotted 105 projects, followed by Karnataka [33/305], Maharashtra [94/186] and Madhya Pradesh [90/242] projects. Time and Cost overruns: Worst part of the inordinate delay in completion of projects has been the time and cost overruns. A study by the Planning Commission on cost overruns found that for a representative 12 projects, there was an escalation of the order of 138% over the original cost. There was a very high cost escalation of 1,000% and more for 24 out of the 151 major projects taken up earlier than 1980 and the average escalation is around 200% for major projects starting from 1985. In the case of medium projects, there are 24 projects with a cost escalation of 500% or more. Underutilization: The gap between the irrigation potential created [IPC] and the irrigation potential utilized [IPU] is steadily increasing from the First Plan. Currently IPU is 80 million hectares [73.39%] as against IPC of 109 million hectares. Over the years, there has been a manifested lack of attention to water legislation, water conservation, water use efficiency, water harvesting and recycling and infrastructure. India has a weak framework for sustainable irrigation management. States can consider policy, regulatory and institutional framework for the efficient, sustainable and equitable allocation of water. Most States have yet to enact Act to facilitate participation of stakeholders in Participative Irrigation Management [PIM] program. Other key priorities include [i] reorgani-zation, strengthening and capacity building of irrigation and drainage departments that can successfully seek participation of farmers and other agencies in PIM [ii] improving cost delivery [iii] allocating sufficient resources for operations and maintenance, sustainability of www.krishijagran.com
investments and arresting rapidly deteriorating existing irrigation infrastructure. Micro-irrigation System: The study of nine promising States in 2010 revealed that area covered under Drip and Sprinkler irrigation was 14,28,460 hectares[12,25%] and 24,42,430 hectares [7.99%] as against potential of 1,16,59,000 hectares and 3,05,78,000 hectares respectively. A campaign should be launched to create awareness among farmers about the importance of micro-irrigation system through effective demonstrations to make them believe what they see themselves and learn from other farmers who have successfully adopted and benefited.
Food management Farm output in India increased from 208 million tons in 2005-06 to an estimated 265.04 million tons [MT] in 2013-14 but declined significantly to 252.04 MT in 2014-15 and is estimated to be 253.16 MT in 2015.16. The worst part has been that a significant percentage of food produced never reaches the consumers for a plethora of reasons. The former minister of agriculture, Sharad Pawar once said that India is wasting food products worth Rs.50,000 crore each year, i.e. nearly 40% value of total production. These figures of economic costs of wastage do not, however, reflect the quantity of food wasted annually. For example, meat accounting for about 4% of food wastage accounts for 20% of the wastage costs whereas fruit and vegetable losses accounting for 70%, account for about 40% of economic costs. High wastage rates are often responsible for doubling prices of fruits and vegetables and 50% increase in the cost of milk making them unaffordable to poor. Apart from wastages of perishable food, wheat and rice are also abundantly wasted as annually around estimated 21 MT of wheat rots and is infested by insects and pests because of inadequate /inappropriate storage facilities accompanied by inefficient management practices of the Government-managed Food Corporation of India [FCI] with no accountability The solution to the country's future hunger problem lies in formulating a strategic action plan to minimize losses by 90% by 2018-19 of the currently estimated wastage of 33% to 50% of all food Agriculture World |November 2016
15
Food Policy produced . The high food prices and food inflation in the country can partly be attributed to these high wastage rates. High food inflation impacts considerably the poor since food accounts for 31% of their average monthly household expenditure. Major factors responsible for wastage of perishable food include, inter alia, viz. absence of modern supply chains that can efficiently link the food grown by farmers to consumers, lack of adequate financial investments in cold storages and refrigerated vans, erratic electricity supply, poor road connectivity and lack of investment-friendly policies that discourage the private sector to invest in creating this infrastructure. According to the IIM, Kolkata, country has estimated cold storage facilities for only about 10% perishable food products and the pressing need is for another 370 MT of cold storage facilities for perishable products. Gross mismanagement of the FCI to store wheat and rice has rendered FCI itself a part of the problem rather than a solution. Even the former Food Minister K V Thomas had once described FCI as a “white elephant that needs to be revamped from top to bottom.” This transformation, however, never happened. Mr. Thomas, also, led a delegation to China to study the China's impressive system of food production, procurement, storage and handling food-grains which could have been evaluated, modified and emulated to suit to our situation. Even, t h i s s h o u l d b e d o n e n o w. N o w, t h e recommendations of the Shantakumar Committee on FCI [2014-15] on restructuring, among others,
should be forthwith discussed, debated and implemented. The Government spends nearly 1% of its GDP for its totally mismanaged public food distribution system. While cost of food production, procurement, transport, storage and distribution has significantly increased, inefficient food management system has resulted into huge wastage, pilferages and deterioration in food quality, not even acceptable as cattle-feed. The Independent Evaluation Office reveals that Government spends Rs.3.65 to deliver Re 1 of food while 57% of subsidized food-grains do not reach the intended beneficiaries and close to 36% of food-grains are siphoned off in the supply chain. According to one expert grains trade analyst, grains procured @ Rs. 13.50 /Kg ultimately costs Rs.39.50/Kg since additional costs are incurred towards [i] procurement incidentals, viz. local taxes, bagging, transport to local warehouse [ii] storage costs viz. interest, warehousing and transport cost for distribution.[iii] central government/ FCI paying mandi taxes or market charges to major States viz. Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh [iv] significant costs during distribution under the PDS [from warehousing to fair price shops to households].[v] establishment costs of FCI [vi] each State having its own administrative infrastructure and fair price shops seeking additional commission as retailing expenses. Thus, subsidy amount just doubles @ 192%. It is, therefore, necessary to develop effective food production, procurement, storage and management system, methods and procedure through policy intervention and programs that can [i] produce food grains as expected/targeted annually even under frequent unpredictable weather conditions, drought and floods in some parts of the country as technologies are available [ii] formulate a strategic action plan to minimize food wastages/ losses by 90% by 2018-19 [iii] facilitate the estimated level of only need-based procurement preferably in strategic districts in each State with complete safe storage system [iv] create additional facilities for quick and cost-efficient transport, processing and storage and [v] redesign the public distribution system and transparent grievance redress mechanism.
Food safety standards Food safety and its quality are integral part of 16 Agriculture World | November 2016
www.krishijagran.com
Food Policy nutritional security.Adulterated food is a risk to human health. Food, also, serves as a medium of growth for harmful bacteria and fungus that can cause food poisoning. Food-borne illnesses contribute significant cost for health care. Despite the existence of the Food Safety Standards Authority of India since 2011, India's food chain continues to suffer from excessive toxicity, brought on by the rampant and unrestrained use of pesticides. Official data released some time ago showed nearly 18.7% of samples tested [samples of commonly consumed foods like vegetables, fruits, milk, pulses, meat and spices] contained pesticide residues in varying degrees. In over 2.6% of the samples, the toxicity level was higher than the permissible limits. The incidence of toxicity seems to have nearly doubled when compared to similar studies in the past. Nor is the problem confined to big cities, although Delhi and Mumbai are among the worst hit: samples from small urban centres too have failed to pass the safety test. In case of milk, 1,226 [68.4%] samples of milk were nonconfirming to the Food Safety standards [FSS] which were significantly more than double [565; 31.6%] that confirmed to the FSS. The nonconforming 845 samples in urban areas accounted for 68.9% as against 381 (31.1%) in rural areas. In urban areas, packet and loose samples were 282[33.4%] and 563[66.6%] respectively as compared with 64 (16.8%) packet samples and 317 (83.2%) loose samples in rural areas. The study indicated [i] addition of water to milk is most common adulterant which reduces the nutritional value of milk [ii] presence of detergent in some cases was noticed. Both these are a serious health risk to the consumers. Investment: To accelerate the agricultural growth rate, which has significant influence on country's GDP and reduction in hunger and poverty, significant amount of capital formation in agriculture supported by public and private sectors is a sine qua non in specific areas viz. [i] development of irrigation [exploiting potential surface irrigation and groundwater resources, making available electricity/power to extract groundwater] [ii] soil and moisture conservation and land improvement [iii] improving drainage system [iv] strengthening flood control measures [v] all weather roads connecting all villages and towns www.krishijagran.com
to facilitate easy and timely transport [vi] storage, warehousing, preservation and processing facilities[vii] value chains system and integrated marketing infrastructure [viii]developing sound information, communication and market intelligence system [ix] building integrated agricultural research, extension and education system [x] soil and water testing facilities [xi] production, quality control and pricing system to facilitate competitively and timely availability of farm inputs [seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, fuel, farm equipment and machinery etc.][xii] establishing the state-of-the-art agricultural meteorology in each agro-ecological region.
Conclusion India while observing the World Food Day each year should review the outcome and impact of all policies and programs so far introduced, more particularly in previous three years and redouble its efforts in creating awareness among all stakeholders by mounting a massive campaign to improve crop productivity per unit area and resources and eliminate hunger, poverty and rural unemployment. For achieving the SDG-2 “to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” agricultural production in India needs to increase by 100% to ensure country's food and nutritional security by 2030. This necessitates sustainable, equitable and inclusive solutions in the agricultural sector. Farmers, more importantly small, marginal, tenant and women farmers, as producers of food need to be encouraged and incentivized to find specific remedies that address issues affecting food and nutritional security viz. sustainable production, availability, accessibility, affordability and assimilation. In this process, farmers need infrastructure that sustains the productivity, production and profitability of small farms in particular i.e. they need to be facilitated to hassle-free access to scientific knowledge, innovations, production inputs, irrigation, credit, insurance, remunerative markets, among others.
Dr Amrit Patel Agriculture World | November 2016
17
Rainfed Cotton
Problems and Prospects of Rainfed Cotton Production in India
Introduction Cotton, 'White Gold' is a natural fibre of plant origin. Of the 51 Gossypium species, four are commercially cultivated for fibre. Two belong to the old world 'Asiatic cottons' (G. arboreum and G. herbaceum) and two belong to the new world 'American Upland cotton' (G. hirsutum) and Egyptian cotton (G. barbadense). All these four species are cultivated in our country. Since cotton is a natural fibre of plant origin and because of its breathability, it is most sought after by the textile industry. It also finds use in the surgical industry because of its high absorbency. Thus, cotton crop provides raw material to the industry and is the largest of foreign exchange earning commodity in the country. Ironically, the cotton producer (farmer) continues to reel in poverty. Presently, India has the largest acreage (12.8 million hectares) and is second to China in terms of production (31.2 million tons). These statistics should make us feel happy and complacent. Is it so? No definitely not; for a simple reason, that our productivity (500 kg lint/ha) is far below the World average (759 kg/ha). China produces cotton from hardly one-third of the land that we cultivate because their productivity is 1484 kg lint/ha. More than 7 million hectares area in our country is rain dependent which has low productivity (350 kg lint/ha) and profitability. Therefore, it is important to address issues plaguing rainfed cotton farmers in order to improve their livelihoods. Issues pertaining to rainfed cotton, likely prospects and solutions available at hand are discussed here. 18 Agriculture World | November 2016
www.krishijagran.com
Rainfed Cotton
There are a number problems faced by the cotton farmers in India 1. Long-duration of crop for a monsoon (kharif) season crop Cotton in our country is grown during monsoon season and is dependent on rains, except for north India, where the entire crop is irrigated. Monsoon lasts for a short period of 100-110 days, but we cultivate cotton maturing in 160 days and much more. Thus, the crop occupies the land for nearly six months extending way beyond the monsoon into the winter. Furthermore, hybrids were bred with an assumption that if a plant produces more bolls then the productivity will be high. However, this is not the case because a longer window of boll development is needed if all the potential bolls on a plant are to be realized. Thus, the problem is not with monsoon but crop duration. With such long-duration crop cultivars the problems are manifold, such as; 1. Terminal phase of the crop experiences soil moisture stress when the water requirement is at its peak. 2. Since the root growth has ceased after the commencement of fruiting period, nutrient uptake is retarded. Soil moisture stress further aggravates nutrient availability and the crop faces multinutrient deficiency symptoms. 3. Long-duration crop opens up the window for more pest cycles and pink boll worm. 4. When the crop experiences soil moisture and nutrient stress, boll retention is less and the crop yield is low. Furthermore, fibre quality is also adversely affected. From this it is apparent that the main issue is mismatch of the variety/hybrid with the location. Long-duration hybrids may be a better option if a farmer has irrigation facilities available to provide during the late season. Even in such situations, the farmer is confronted with controlling the lateseason winter pests i.e. the pink bollworm. The only recourse to a farmer is to use insecticides for control of pests and provide additional nutrients because the crop is of fairly long-duration. All these lead to another major issue which is an increase in cost of www.krishijagran.com
production. 2. High cost of production and low crop yields Cotton productivity in our country is one of the lowest in the world. Another issue is high cost of cultivation. How did this come about? a) Firstly through high seed costs because IPR for the Bt hybrid seed rested with Monsanto. Therefore, farmer has to invest Rs. 3,600 per hectare for the seed alone. b) Second major input is an increase in fertilizer use. Prior to 2002, 96 kg fertilizer was applied per hectare which more than doubled by 2014-15. This was because of profuse flowering and fruiting in the Bt hybrids; and to retain these fruiting structures, farmers apply more nutrients through fertilizers. c) Increased use of insecticides: Though Bt cotton hybrids were introduced in the country to tackle the problem of the boll worm, which it did, later on led to an increased infestation of the sucking pests. Thus, the use of insecticides increased. The overuse of the insecticide such as 'Imdiacloprid' as Gaucho seed treatment and its use early in the crop season to control sucking pests led to these minor pests becoming difficult to control. Thus, more and more sprays were resorted to control these pests. d) High labour costs involved in the labour extensive operations of weeding and harvesting. Flip side to it is, cotton farming involves and provides employment to a significant proportion of the rural folks. Agriculture World | November 2016
19
Rainfed Cotton As a result of increased input use, it led to spiralling cost of production. This led to a vicious circle of poor financial management by farmers leading to a debt trap. Cotton farming also got a dubious reputation of being responsible for farmers committing suicides. 3. Cultivation on marginal lands Although input use increased as evident from the previous paragraphs, one would expect the production and productivity to increase. But this did not happen. Why? Initially, Bt hybrids were cultivated on fertile lands. After 2007-08, as cultivation of Bt hybrids became popular, it spread across onto shallow and marginal lands. These soil types are not suitable for the cultivation of longduration hybrids with high water and nutrient requirements. Shallow and marginal soils have low water holding capacity and crops face moisture stress. 4. Multiplicity of hybrids More than 1600 hybrids have been released officially for cultivation by the GEAC. Farmer confronts with more than a thousand hybrids available on the market when he goes to buy the Bt hybrid seed for the ensuing season. Most often, the best brands and hybrids are out of stock. As a result, many farmers are a confused lot. Not knowing what to do, they consult other farmers and ultimately depend on dealers for advice on what is available. He readily opts for inputs provided because the dealer also provides seed on credit. 5. Post-harvest technology and marketing facilities Seedcotton is sold in the market as there is lack of ginning and baling facilities. Therefore, the farmer cannot add additional income as he has sold the seed as well as the lint together. 6. Market prices – volatility and Competition from synthetic yarn Volatility in cotton prices is a common phenomenon that is governed by international trade as well as the demand and supply. For a farmer it becomes less profitable and sustainable to operate in a low price zone. Cotton prices peaked during 201112 which was followed by a drop in prices resulting in many farmers opting for other remunerative 20 Agriculture World | November 2016
crops. A possible fall out is that there may be a shortfall in meeting the industry requirements. However, this is not the case. The industry shifted to the synthetics with a steep rise in cotton prices. Synthetic yarn is much cheaper and can be imported at lower prices. Now that the prices are low, the textile industry may prefer cotton. Thus, domestic cotton producers have to face this competition which also adversely affects the cotton exports. Another disadvantage cotton producers face is that the Mills find it cheaper to import cotton from distant countries because shipment charges from Africa to India is much lower than the inland transport within the country.
Prospects Cotton cultivation and the textile industry together support nearly 60 million people in the country. Cotton is a main raw material for the textile industry because of its breathability and skin friendly nature. Thus far, no material is available www.krishijagran.com
Rainfed Cotton 1. High density planting with short duration varieties Conventionally cotton is cultivated with an average plant population of 18,000 per hectare or even less. Productivity can be enhanced by growing early maturing varieties of cotton at close row spacing of 45 to 75 cm and a plant to plant spacing of 10 cm. In such systems; a plant retains a maximum of 6-8 bolls on a plant and comes to maturity much earlier than the wide row spaced plants. Sowing can be done by planters and larger area can be planted in a shorter span of time ensuring timely planting. As a result, this is a suitable technology for the rainfed farmers. 2. Desi cottons
that can replace cotton in the Pharma industry. All these indicate that cotton will continue to be an important commodity crop. Therefore, Government took up initiatives to improve productivity which is the key to make cotton production more profitable. The Government launched the Technology Mission on Cotton and the National textile Policy in 2000 with an aim to increase cotton productivity and upgrade cotton quality to international standards. Improving productivity is the key to make cotton more profitable. Simple answers are available to enhancing productivity such as the i) cultivation of varieties and short duration hybrids, ii) high density planting systems, iii) rain-water harvesting and iv) adopting modern technologies such as precision farming. If we are able to increase the productivity, we can free up some of the cotton area for cultivation of food crops, oilseeds and pulses so that we become self sufficient in them rather than depend on imports. www.krishijagran.com
Desi cottons possess innate tolerance to the abiotic stresses since they evolved over centuries and got adapted to local conditions. Thus, cultivating desi cottons is a good option in the rainfed regions. Furthermore, they offer another advantage of its low cost of cultivation. However, desi cottons were not finding favour with the producers because they are of short staple length and get a low price in the market compared to the long linted American cottons. Breeders at MAU, Parbhani and at other centres have developed long linted desi cottons which should in the future become an alternative to the American cottons. 3. Rain water harvesting Rainfall is received in a short span of time which can be lost by run-off. Collecting and storing rain water when surplus is received and utilizing it time when the crop faces moisture stress will improve crop productivity. 4. Adopting modern technologies Gene stacking is an approach to tackle insect resistance and BG II was developed and released. Modern agronomic technologies like sensor-based application of nutrients, drip irrigation and fertigation - combining irrigation and fertilizers application are now available for use by farmers. Farmers can also take advantage of soil and plant analysis at the nearest Soil Test Laboratory to gauge soil and plant health on his farm. Making adjustments to fertilizer application is possible on the basis of the soil test. Corrective measures can Agriculture World | November 2016
21
Rainfed Cotton
also be taken to address any deficiency, if present. A small reduction in fertilizer use can lead to a significant reduction in production costs and ultimately enhance profitability. 5. Zoning in rain-fed areas Cotton cultivation area zoning is essential based on soil profile. Although, it was recommended that cotton should not be grown on shallow and marginal lands, this has never been followed. Farmers will still continue to grow cotton because of its economics. On such soils, taking up early maturing cotton varieties is a solution and extension efforts to make the farmers aware of the popular early maturing cultivars should be given a priority. 6. Adding value to cotton farming Farmer sells the seed cotton. Apart from the lint, seed can be used for extracting oil, Seed cake etc. Therefore the value of the seed should be integrated in the seed cotton so that the farmer benefits from it. Establishing of ginning and baling units can add value to cotton farming as the lint can be sold whenever the prices are high.
benefits of the MSP as per the staple length criteria adopted for the American cotton.
Conclusion To sum up, it is important that 'farmers are aware' of the technologies available and what is best for them. Adopting the right choice of cultivar with modern agronomic and plant protection technologies can go a long way to improve the productivity as well as profitability of cotton farming. For healthy cotton production system and industry it is important that all stakeholders' work together and that trade practices are not detrimental to the cotton producer (farmer). Adding value to the cotton produced on a location can go miles ahead in improving the livelihoods of the cotton farmer.
7. Minimum Support Price Government ensures that farmer gets minimal returns even when the market is depressed. The Cotton Corporation of India procures cotton whenever cotton prices fall below MSP. Presently desi cotton cultivators do not get the benefit of market prices as it is considered as short stapled. Incentives to farmers growing desi cotton are essential besides they also need to be provided the 22 Agriculture World | November 2016
D. Blaise ICAR-Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur, Maharashtra
www.krishijagran.com
9
BOOK YOUR SPACE TO BE PART OF BIGGEST AGRI EVENT OF 2016.
For Championship Query Contact: Dr. Kalon , Ph. +91 9501502564
Sugarcane Policy
Sugarcane Production in India
D
iversified demand for sugarcane for the production of sugar, jaggery, khandsari, rock candy, Molasses, bagasse, bio-fuel, electricity and few other products entails its production to be raised to 520 million tonnes (mt) from existing 362.3 mt by 2030 AD. It can be achieved by raising the productivity of sugarcane from existing 69.4 to 100 t/ha. Rising cost of inputs, scarcity of labour, change in the climate and few other factors come in the way of realising the actual yield potential of the crop. Being endowed with some special morphological and physiological characters, sugarcane can effectively cope with growth impediments like weather aberrations, poor input supply and declining factor in productivity level. However, productivity and profitability of the crop can be conspicuously upgraded by providing government subsidy on adoption of micro-irrigation, water soluble fertilizers, mechanization and also by effective implementation of the Rangarajan Committee recommendations related to price fixation and its marketing related issues. 26 Agriculture World | November 2016
www.krishijagran.com
Sugarcane Policy In India sugarcane is cultivated mainly for sugar production. However, with the increasing population, progress in economy and resultant diversification of needs in terms of fuel for automobiles and power for industrial growth, the crop is increasingly being treated as an energy crop. Ethanol produced from sugarcane serves as bio-fuel for running vehicles in many countries of the world. Brazil has taken a lead in the use of bio-fuel with a 50 % substitution of fossil fuel with ethanol. In India the ethanol blending programme envisages to achieve 20 % blending of ethanol by the year 2017 but so far only 2-5% blending has been achieved in different states. Generation of electricity is another sector where sugarcane crop has shown its potential as a sugar mill equipped with co-generation unit can easily contribute 2 megawatts (MW) of power to the grid. Presently around 3221 MW of electricity is being supplied by sugar mills to the National grid. Keeping in view rising demand for sugar, bio-fuel and electricity it is estimated that by 2030 AD India would need to produce 520 million tonnes (mt) of sugarcane from about 5.0 million ha area to produce 33 mt of sugar and also to meet the other requirements. Considering the present 362.33 mt of sugarcane production in the country little or no scope for further area expansion, increasing the cane productivity per unit area and time to the level of 100 t/ha remains the only available option.
" Escalating cost of production, labour scarcity, water use issues, marketing inefficiencies and crop related limitations have a crippling effect on sugar cane in India" Despite rising cost of inputs, scarcity of timely labour and cyclicality in sugar sector, farmers find this crop a sure bet against all odds. It possesses significant capacity to cope with the adverse weather, poor management and inadequate input supply. It has other qualities like better tiller production, high photosynthetic efficiency, high light saturation, low CO2 compensation points, high biomass accumulation and great ability for ratooning. As compared to several other crops sugarcane is more remunerative on the basis of net return per month. At the National level the inter-crop price parity in economic returns as compiled by www.krishijagran.com
CACP based on returns during 2010-11 to 2012-13 reveals that per month net return from sugarcane stands at 4934 compared to 3565 for wheat and 1137 for rice. A sugar mill in its command area proves to be pivotal centre for socio-economic development of the region. As a result, sugarcane still finds favour with growers and may be effectively adopted as a medium to raise farmers' income and bring about rural prosperity by alleviating agro-technological, marketing and policy impediments.
Agro-technological constraints Though a plant with high physiological efficiency in late growth phases, sugarcane take a long duration for sprouting and emergence ranging from 20 to 45 days under the prevalent planting methods and under different agro-climatic conditions. This not only amounts to an inefficient utilization of time, space and applied inputs but also leaves ample scope for weed growth competing for moisture and nutrients from the soil. Planting methods such as spaced transplanting of sets, budchip method and cane-node technology have been developed to address such problems which could be solved with sprouted settlings or buds. These methods are yet to receive large scale adoption which indicates that there is need for refinement to make them more user-friendly. Tillering in sugarcane in the northern sub-tropical regions continues till the onset of monsoon. Most of the tillers emerge after a certain point of time do not survive the competition and depending upon variety, time of planting, spacing and input management 40-70% of tillers die causing huge loss of biomass already produced. Varieties and agronomic techniques to promote synchronous tillering in a defined span of time need to be developed to ensure efficient Commodities utilization of resources. Huge labour requirement and costly equipment come in the way of timely adoption of important agronomic operations such as hoeing, earthing up, tying and harvesting. High labour charges often causes unsatisfactory labour deployment that affects the quality of operation and reduces the benefits expected. Design and development of multipurpose machines with round the year applicability may effectively raise the level Agriculture World | November 2016
27
Sugarcane Policy of mechanisation and result in saving of labour in addition to other advantages.
"Design and development of multipurpose machines with round the year applicability is a need in Sugar cane"
Marketing and cyclicality of production Sugarcane is considered to be a highly management responsive crop and its yield at farmers' ďŹ elds gets determined by the cane price and payment prospects during the season. This is the reason a cyclicality of sugarcane and sugar production in India is often observed after every 3-4 years wherein good prices lead to enhanced acreage and productivity. Due to adequate input supply for 2-3 years which leads to accumulation of payment arrears and consequently growers do not provide adequate inputs to subsequent crop and yields go down. This was found to be related with the captive marketing system of sugarcane wherein a grower is under contract to supply his cane to a particular sugar mill and payment made on the basis of minimum cane price declared by CACP and then state advised price (SAP) promulgated by the state governments. The system caused non-payment of cane prices to the growers and accumulation of huge payment arrears with sugar mills who found SAPs exorbitant. In order to solve this situation fair and remunerative price (FRP) is now determined by the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for sugarcane crop with 9.5% basic recovery of sugar in place of Statutory Minimum Price since 2008-09. This, however, is yet to be implemented in major sugarcane producing states in north India where SAP is still vogue for obvious reasons. Recommendations of the Rangarajan Committee (2012) for sugar industry that includes abolition of cane area reservation system for sugar mills, minimum distance norms between sugar mills and market determination of the price of sugar industry by-products and sugarcane pricing based on 75:25 sharing of sugar value pot i.e. total value of sugar and by products, between sugarcane grower and miller is still not implemented by the state governments. These recommendations are expected 28 Agriculture World | November 2016
to promote competition among sugar mills for efďŹ ciency and also to match with the liberalised sugar trade wherein regulated release of sugar has been done away with. Adoption of the above recommendations would enhance the income of sugarcane growers and also for the overall viability of sugar sector in India.
" Immediate Implementations of the recommendations of the Rangarajan Committee (2012) for sugar industry is an urgent Need"
Problematic policies Sugarcane is processed in sugar mills of various types like cooperative sector mills, private sugar mills and mills run by sugar corporations of state governments. Depending on the management and crushing capacity the cost of production of sugar varies from 653.12 in a low TCD mill (1250 tonnes cane crushed per day) to just 116.88 in a high capacity mill (5001-7500 TCD). As the average crushing capacity in India works out to be 3700 TCD, the average cost of conversion of sugar from sugarcane works out to be 201.6 per quintal. Needless to say that raising the capacity of sugar mills, particularly of cooperative sector in which a number of low TCD mills are operating, has a potential to enhance the overall economic efďŹ ciency of sugar sector. There is need to review the laws www.krishijagran.com
Sugarcane Policy promulgated to regulate the supply of sugarcane to sugar mills, the release of sugar from mills, levy on sugar, international sugar trade, inland movement of sugar and sale and stocking of by-products like molasses to support the industry vis-à-vis sugarcane farmer.
"Review the laws promulgated to regulate the activities related to sugar mills verse sugarcane farmer." Consumption of large volume of water by sugarcane crop is a matter of concern for both the tropical and sub-tropical sugarcane growing regions of the country. Water requirement of the crop varies from 600 mm to 3600 mm in different farming conditions. Since there exists a linear correlation between irrigation water availability and sugarcane yield, saving of water could be achieved only through adoption of efficient irrigation methods which minimizes the application losses. Micro irrigation methods like surface and surface drip irrigation reduces the irrigation water requirement up to 50 per cent. As the initial cost of establishment of drip irrigation system is beyond the capacity of common sugarcane grower, government needs to provide subsidy to facilitate its adoption. Once established a drip irrigation system functions well for subsequent 3-4 ratoon crop without yield reduction. That would strengthen the sustainability of sugarcane production.
Future prospects Sugarcane is the source of sweetness in our everyday life. Besides, the crop integrates with our cultural, social and economic needs. Relicensing of sugar mills established since 1998 (though not fully implemented by state governments) and adoption of Rangarajan Committee's recommendations by central government, provided impetus to sugar industry and the benefits trickled down to average sugarcane grower. In the wake of probable implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) converting whole country into one single market with uniform tax rates and sugar being an essential commodity its price may go down. It is expected to raise the overall economic viability of sugar sector in India and making Indian sugar competitive with international trade. With the expected population www.krishijagran.com
growth in India up to 1.65 billion by 2050 AD the country would need to produce 55 mt of sugar for which 600 mt of sugarcane will be needed. Another 100 mt are estimated to be required for ethanol production for blending with petrol. In order to increase the ethanol output direct use of juice provides better results as ethanol production from molasses yields 70-80 litres against 250 litres produced directly from the juice. Policy initiatives in this regard along with processing facilities need to be put in place.
Conclusion Sugarcane production in India is faced with challenges like escalating cost of production, labour scarcity, water use issues, marketing inefficiencies and crop related limitations. However, its ability to withstand extreme weather events, higher remuneration as compared to other crops, certain market and increasing demand for sugar with scope for diversified utilization makes its cultivation and production a profitable venture with bright prospects.
T. K. Srivastava & Menhi Lal ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow – 226002 (UP)
Contact No. 098722-06992
Agriculture World | November 2016
29
Water Sharing Problem & Solutions
Incubating Technologies to Solve Cauvery Water Sharing Problem
N
early two centuries old Cauvery water disputes and the frequent agitations between the people of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are slowly but silently leading to a suicidal situation of totally insufficient water even for drinking; because the river Cauvery is slowly drying up. The situation is same in other areas of water disputes between other states in our country. Disputes and negotiations are inevitable to solve the problems between people; but destruction of properties and killing people on both sides is suicidal. People seem to be unaware of the long term scientific and technical solutions to the problem of Cauvery water sharing. Mere politically and socioeconomically motivated agitations are suicidal to people on both sides. Such suicidal agitations on water sharing dispute will be futile to the present generation as well as future generations to come. The open conflict on Cauvery began during British rule itself and the present agitation has the 30 Agriculture World | November 2016
basis on the agreement signed between the erstwhile Madras Presidency and the Princely State of Mysore, in 1924 with fifty year long validity. The 802 kilometers long Cauvery has 43,856 square kilometers basin in Tamil Nadu, 34,273 square kilometers in Karnataka, 2,866 square kilometers in Kerala, and 160 square kilometers in Puducherry. The same Cauvery water is needed for domestic, agriculture and industrial purposes in most of the areas of the states except Kerala. After the reorganization of the states in 1956 and as Kerala and Puducherry also jumped into the fray the equations of conflict changed. Still Karnataka and Tamil Nadu remained the major parties to the dispute. Till 1975 the disputes and negotiations between the parties did not come to any settlement. The bitter fight continued almost every year ending with lot of destructions of material wealth and death of people on both sides. Each time some interim solutions and settlements of disputes took place www.krishijagran.com
Water Sharing Problem & Solutions while the river Cauvery itself was being reduced in its total yield of water. The Government of India constituted a tribunal in 1990 to look into the long unsettled water dispute. After hearing arguments of all the parties involved for the next 16 years, the tribunal delivered its final verdict on 5 February 2007. The tribunal allocated 419 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water annually to Tamil Nadu and 270 TMC to Karnataka; 30 TMC to Kerala and 7 TMC to Puducherry from an average total of 726 TMC. The dispute however, did not end there, as all the four states decided to file review petitions seeking clarifications and possible renegotiation of the order due to various reasons presented by each state. The Supreme Court on 10 May 2013 issued an interim direction to the Government of India to establish an Interim Supervisory Committee to implement the Cauvery Tribunal order till the constitution of “Cauvery Management Board” as stated in the Tribunal Order. None of these were solutions to the conflict and the recent tragic incidents happened are indicative of how deep rooted are the problems of Cauvery water sharing. The details of the recent violent and destructive agitations in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are fresh in our minds. A knowledgeable person from Tamil Nadu told me just the other day, “People are playing cricket in Cauvery River. The way things are going on in both states, people will be fighting even after Cauvery is dried up fully not knowing for what they are fighting. Then the fight will be simply between Tamils and Kannadikas.” I N C U B AT I N G T E C H N O L O G I E S T O AUGMENT CAUVERY WATER YIELD The aim of the four states and especially of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka should be to follow the Tribunal's decision which may be reviewed as per need on the basis of better scientific understanding of the riverrine eco-system, possible technological innovations and interventions, financial viability and sustainable environmental human development. In this the development and sustaina-bility of Cauvery eco-system is of prime importance. First of all let us have a better understanding of the Cauvery eco-system. There are two main www.krishijagran.com
sections in any river system: the catchment area and the command area. Generally the catchment and command areas are defined in relation to a dam or reservoir made in a river. The area above the dam is catchment area and the area below the dam where the impounded water in the dam is used called command area. Even without a dam we can still distinguish between the catchment and command area. The area which collects water is catchment area and the area where water is used is called command area. Catchment area of a river consists of the area where the rain water is collected and small water springs are originated. Both these sub-ecosystems are equally important. In both the subsystems viable and scientifically sound soil and water conservational technologies should be implemented and maintained. For this the people at the catchment and command areas should be educated in soil and water conservation in all the proper scientific and technological aspects. Then there should be an implementation and monitoring board with competent people. The agronomic practices both in the catchment and command areas should be reoriented to suit to the specific geographical and hydrological characteristics. In any river system, the catchment area is the sole source of steady yield of water. The fluctuations come due to fluctuations in rain fall and the runoff that follows. Normally during a rainfall one-third of the rain water is seeped into the soil, one-third goes down the slope as runoff and one-third will evaporate as surface evaporation. Every year the runoff water during rainfall simply floods the river basin and finally most of it flows down into the sea without being used by any one. The dams built in the river may store excess water up to a certain amount. But there are losses of water in a dam through seepage and evaporation. Hence under normal conditions the total water yield from Cauvery can only be maintained but cannot be increased; the chances are that it will be going on decreasing as the years go by as is happening in all the rivers in our country. It is high time that we think of capturing million and millions of cubic meters of excess of water flowing into the sea during the monsoon and use it during the scarcity time. Technically we can store Agriculture World | November 2016
31
Water Sharing Problem & Solutions them though people may not see the point. Certainly it will be very costly investment; but will yield rich returns. Under present hydrological situation everyone should realize and prepare himself mentally to implement the following technologies to avert the suicidal nature in any river water sharing dispute. The following are some seminal ideas of innovative solutions for open discussion to reach consensus on some action plan. The people who oppose innovative ideas on the pretext of high investment and in installation and maintenance have to remember that our space projects, our underground metro rail system, arms buildup, communication installations etc. are high investment projects; but they all ensure very high returns of both economic and noneconomic nature. With this introduction let me enumerate the following technological solutions to Cauvery water sharing problems.
1. Catchment area development Develop and maintain all the catchment areas of Cauvery River tributaries to increase the precipitation (rain) as well as to increase percolation to the maximum into the soil and to decrease the evaporation and runoff loss. All the slopes above 20% (1ft vertical to 5ft horizontal) should be maintained under perennial forest cover like any virgin forest. Under no circumstance any human or animal activity should be allowed. By this maximum percolation of rainwater will be ensured, soil surface evaporation and surface runoff will be
reduced. This will keep the numerous water springs in the catchment area alive and active. These springs join together to form streams and streams join together to form small rivers and small rivers join together to form the big Cauvery River. Remember that the sudden flood during rainy season occur in the rivers mainly due to high runoff from the catchment areas devoid of forest cover. High run off occur when less percolation into the soil due to lack of adequate forest cover. So the first step is to maintain virgin forest in all the catchment areas of all the tributaries of Cauvery.
2. Preservation of all water springs Identify the origin of all the water springs in the catchment areas and special attention should be given to preserve them in their original conditions of water output throughout year. Physical verification and numbering of these springs should be carried out along with monthly average output of water from each spring per unit time day/week/month. Distinguish also the perennial water springs and the seasonal ones. First step should be preservation of all the perennial water springs; secondly make the seasonal water springs into perennial if possible. For this, areas above the water springs should be spotted with percolation pits and trenches besides the perennial forest cover. Wherever needed incorporate extra-thick vegetation surrounding the water springs along with soil and water conservation structures like small or medium size checks and bunds of perennial nature at the bottom parts of the water springs. No temporary measures should be adopted in dealing with things of perennial nature like a mountain springs. Preserve all the water springs in the catchment area of Cauvery river system intact so that all the tributaries of this huge river will have a perennial supply of water.
3. Construction of check dams and anicuts As already mentioned, construct as many check dams, anicuts and barrages as possible in every small and big streams of the major tributaries of the river in the catchment areas to divert or siphon out water to as many specific locations of towns or 32 Agriculture World | November 2016
www.krishijagran.com
Water Sharing Problem & Solutions
villages or cultivated areas as possible through impermeable pipe lines for distribution either over or underground or a mixture of both. Otherwise the same water when allowed to flow down through the river to the same locations a lot of it will be lost as seepage and evaporation. The average seepage loss alone is 40% per every two kilometer flow distance. The average evaporation rate is 30-40 per cent. So 70-80 per cent of the water could be lost in the traditional conveyance and usage pattern. Secondly there is the advantage of siphoning the water from higher to the lower altitude. Hence a town or city or a farm land will receive the water not from the river flowing by the side it but from the far away upper levels of the river or stream through impermeable main supply pipes or by lined canals. This proposal is nothing new. Yamuna originating at the height of 6837 meters is diverted into many canal systems at various advantageous points of its flow to supply water to many cities, towns and to millions of hectares of cultivated areas. The Western Yamuna Canal has eleven branches and one of them is the Delhi branch supplying a sizable amount of water to Delhi metropolitan city. For better efficiency all the open canals should be line to reduce percolation and seepage loss. Closed pipes are better than lined open canals because the loss due to evaporation (up to 30-40%) can be also be avoided.
domestic and nondomestic purposes in each state to the allotted or available quantities. The states cannot go on increasing the demand for Cauvery water year after year by expanding their needs for domestic, agriculture and industry. Development should be as per availability of the water. At present all states are increasing the demand for both domestic and agricultural water almost every year. For example many cities and towns have come up on both sides of river Cauvery in Tamil Nadu. The sugarcane and paddy fields of Mandya district were developed not many years ago. Many industries have been set up in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The city of Bangalore which is expanding day by day is almost totally depending on Cauvery water. There should be an assessment of the total water availability to each state and regulate the water use according to the availability.
5. Reduction of seepage loss Conveying the Cauvery water through lined irrigation canals and channels the water loss can be reduced by 40% for every two kilometer. Cauvery flows through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu 320 and 416 km respectively. Now anyone can estimate the
4. Limiting water use Limit the use of water from Cauvery for www.krishijagran.com
Agriculture World | November 2016
33
Water Sharing Problem & Solutions total water loss through seepage in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu alone for every two kilometer in each state during the dry season from the allotted TMCs of water. Longer the distance the water ows through river bed in summer greater will be the seepage loss. That is the reason why outside the rainy season or especially summer season the Cauvery river bed remains dry and 'people are playing cricket'. As already mentioned intermittent anicuts along the tributaries and main River Cauvery with lined diversion canals on both sides is another way of reducing the seepage loss. Of course anicuts and lined diversion canals are costly. But human life is not only costlier but also precious and priceless.
6. Control of evaporation loss Evaporation loss which accounts for 30-40% loss from the open canals and channels is something people notice or are aware off. Hence conveying water through huge pipe line are better than open canals. By covering the open canals with solar
panels is another method of both reducing the evaporation and also generating the much needed power for our country. All the Cauvery water depending states especially Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry should be going for such constructive and power generating enterprises instead of destruction of properties and killing of people.
7. Recycling of domestic and institutional water A country like Israel recycles 80-90% of its domestically used waste water for agriculture. On average 100-150 litres per day per person is required for communities with a population of 20,000 to 100,000 while 150 to 200 litres per head per day is required for communities with a population over 100,000 people. There are many cities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with population over a lakh. Anybody can estimate the quantity of water used by people in these cities and which goes waste. We can collect all these used domestic water and reuse it for agriculture. Use of domestic waste water is a huge saving on the fresh water. Use of domestic waste water can promoted even kitchen gardens at every home in the rural area while in the cities plants for waste water collection and treatment can be introduced stage by stage. Domestic waste water also contains some plant nutrients and use of it saves also some fertilizers.
8. Protective vegetative strips All along and both sides of all the tributaries of the Cauvery and of the Cauvery river itself there should be a broad strips of perennial forest trees and other vegetative undergrowth as a protective layer on both sides all along their ow. The width of the strip on one side should be at least as wide as the stream or river itself. Perennial un-pruned fruit trees like Aula, tamarind, mango, sapota, jamun and ďŹ brous rooted palms can be included. Select plants suitable for river banks. Such protective vegetative layers on both side of the banks of the streams and rivers would also prevent or reduce stream bank erosion. In general all the water bodies in the nature needs protective vegetative layers on both sides or all around for their survival. Su 34 Agriculture World | November 2016
www.krishijagran.com
Water Sharing Problem & Solutions
9. Storing wasted monsoon water During raining season a lot of water is flown into the sea. There are also many low lying areas which remain flooded for several months or most part of the year and cultivation becomes difficult. In those low lying areas of the Cauvery basins there should be huge and deep water storage tanks surrounded by many fish ponds to store the excess water from the river during above average monsoons and also to rear fishes. Converting many low lying paddy fields into huge water tank cum fish ponds will be many times profitable than paddy or sugarcane cultivation. During the lean season the same impounded water can be used for domestic and nondomestic purposes.
10. Micro-irrigation Better and efficient methods of water use should be enforced in all the irrigated crops like sprinkler and drip irrigation. The farmers are accustomed to lavish flood irrigation instead of sprinkler irrigation. Flood irrigation is very a wasteful way of using water. As already mentioned peoples' habit of 'wasting more water than they use' needs to be changed. The government should popularize such irrigation methods among the farmers. In paddy cultivation farmers are accustomed to keep water standing several inches above the soil whereas no standing water is needed for paddy; soil should remain wet to form like clay which means reducing the water use by one-tenth to one twentieth. Similarly irrigation water in sugarcane crops also can reduced. In fact flood irrigation should be banned.
11. Huge and deep underground water storages Huge and deep underground water storages should be constructed below the paddy and sugarcane fields of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to store the excess water flowing out into the sea during the rainy season. For this the whole paddy and sugarcane cropped area of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka should be restructured physically. The paddy and sugarcane crops require a maximum of about one or two feet depth of soil to grow. Another one or two more feet may also be left as a buffer zone. That means below www.krishijagran.com
four feet of all the presently paddy and other seasonal crops growing areas can have capacious underground huge water tanks can be constructed for storing the excess of rainy season water. In this there is no loss of land to the farmers. Huge underground metros, ammunition storages and powerhouses are the answers to those who object to this proposal.
12. Generation of Solar Electricity All the seasonally cropped areas including paddy and sugarcane use only a small air space for their growth. The average minimum sunshine needed for the seasonal crops also can be estimated. The rest of the air volume and sunshine can be used for harvesting solar energy. Such technologies are possible though the initial investment will be high. Just imagine the amount of electricity that can be produced and for which India is hungering. The frame for solar panels should be placed at optimum height and at optimum spacing so that enough sunlight will be available to all the seasonal crops cultivated for their growth, development and maturing. The capital investment is just like the investments in metro train or roads or bridges or railways. Planned investments are assets that can generate regular income. Thus all the seasonally cropped areas of both in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will be have a three tier structure: Underground water storage, cropping at the soil surface level and Agriculture World | November 2016
35
Water Sharing Problem & Solutions solar energy generation system at the aerial level. Anyone can imagine the million or billion fold income we can generate if we cover at 2 least half of the 44,000 km basin area of Tamil Nadu and 2 32,000 km basin of Karnataka with this Three Tier System Of Land & Air Use.
Concluding remarks It is high time that everyone start thinking in the terms of the above ten points to avert the suicidal situation and unjust civil war like agitation Three Tier System on Cauvery Water Sharing. If we can achieve stupendous of Land & Air achievements in the space technology, Delhi metro network and Konkan Railway through over 200 tunnels and huge bridges over our huge rivers the above mentioned projects can be implemented. The loss Dr. K. T. Chandy money due to destruction and arson for the last 50 Sr. Executive Editor years and for another 50 years would be more than Krishi Jagran enough to implement the above mentioned technically feasible projects.
36 8 Agriculture World | November 2016
www.krishijagran.com
Monsoon Myth
Indian Agriculture: The Monsoon Myth There is a Latin phrase “Repetito est mater studiorum” which means repetition is the mother of learning. In public discourse, however, repetition retards the ability of people to learn new and unfamiliar facts. Repetition only sustains the past beliefs. It does not help unlearning. It does not help rewiring our brains. The hundred year old adage “Indian agriculture is a gamble on the monsoon survives and sustains itself because of our thoughtless and moronic repetition
38 8 Agriculture World | November 2016
www.krishijagran.com
Monsoon Myth
www.krishijagran.com
Agriculture World | November 2016
39
Monsoon Myth
40 8 Agriculture World | November 2016
www.krishijagran.com
Monsoon Myth
www.krishijagran.com
Agriculture World | November 2016
Published on 25th & Posted on 27th - 28th of Every Month
RNI No.-DELENG/2015/65174
Postal Reg. No. DL-SW-1/4191/16-18