august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
Contents v Editorial
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Chief EDITOR S. Jafar Naqvi
v Cover Story Indian Dairy Industry
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Consulting Editors T.V. Satyanarayanan K Dharmarajan
l Tech Development in Dairy Intellectual Property Protection: Indian Perspective — K. P. Ramesha
Editorial Co-ordinator: Syed M K
l Dairy farming PPP project to grow fodder for cattle rearing — M J Prabu
News Editor : Anwar Huda
Needs a Paradigm Shift
General Manager: Lalitha V Rajan Production: Mohd. Iqbal Hyderabad 9248669027 mediatodayhyd@yahoo.com Mumbai 9702903993 mumbai.office@mediatoday.in Bangalore 9342185915 bangalore.office@mediatoday.in Pune 9881137397 pune@mediatoday.in Ahmedabad 9727866249 ADMN. & MARKETING OFFICE MEDIA TODAY PVT. LTD. T-30, 1st Fl., KHIRKI EXTN., MALVIYA NAGAR, NEW DELHI - 110017. PHONE : 91-11-26681671, 26682045 TELEFAX : 91-11-26681671 E-mail: MediaTodayMails@gmail.com ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION India: Rs.1000/-for 1 Year / Rs.1950/-for 2 Years Overseas: US$ 120 for 1 Year / US$ 230 for 2 Years Single Copy Cost in India : Rs. 60.00 Printed, Published & Owned by M.B. Naqvi, Printed at Everest Press, E-49/8, Okhla Industrial Area, Ph-II, New Delhi -110 020 and published from E-11/47 -A, New Colony, Hauz Rani, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi-110017 (India). Editor : S. Jafar Naqvi
Vol. 14..... ISSUE 11..... August 2012 ‘Saarc Oils & Fats Today’ T-30, Ist Floor, Khirki Extn., Malviya Nagar, New Delhi - 110017 E-mail : MediaTodayMails@gmail.com
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
l India needs a new strategy for milk — B.M. Vyas v RBO Seminar RBO National Seminar & Doctors’ Meet India ranks first in Rice Bran Oil production
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v Palm Oil Palm oil producers must unite & have a council — Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik
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v Price Outlook Global prices of oilseeds & dairy products to remain high — G Chandrashekhar
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v
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Feed Industry Feed & Feed Ingredients Conclave 2012 Growth of feed industry can be a factor in achieving high GDP: Sushil Goenka
v Oil Processing l Cottonseed Processing: A plea for modernization —Sandeep Bajoria
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l Interesterification: Loss & cost control — Wolf Hamm v Recollection Amul Girl Scores half century, attracts eyeballs too many
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v Study Oils & Health Mustard oil is the best oil for heart: AIIMS Study
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v New Product Dhara launches Dhara Health with unique ‘Low Absorb Technology’
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v News
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Editorial
I
sn’t it a matter of concern that Indian Meteorological Department’s long term forecast on south west monsoon’s behaviour has again gone awry this time? Curiously enough, IMD’s prediction of a ‘normal’ monsoon made in April was at variance with forecasts made by a few international meteorological agencies which had expressed skepticism about India getting well-spread, bountiful rains in this Kharif season. Not long ago – in 2009 – IMD had erred in its forecast. Far from receiving ‘near normal’ rainfall, as predicted by it, the country suffered a severe dought in that year. An official of a national farmers’ association contends that the success rate of IMD’s long term monsoon forecasts, in the last two decades or more, works out to less than 50 per cent. Surely, the forecasting mechanism of the Department needs fine-tuning. The recently launched Rs. 400-crore Monsoon Mission to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts in the next five years is a welcome move and hopefully it would yield better results. Finding the forecasts not-too-dependable, some of the states like Maharashtra and Rajasthan are considering to have their own forecasting systems, which however, would take some time to materialize. According to Agriculture Commissioner of Maharashtra, the state is investing Rs. 100 crore in this project. As it has turned out, this year, the spectre of drought looms large over at least six states – Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat. Convening a meeting of these states, the Centre has advised them to encourage their farmers to sow short duration crops or fodder. According to Union Agriculture Secretary Ashish Bahuguna, who convened the meeting of Principal Secretaries of these states, Kharif sowing was short by 10 lakh hectares in Karnataka in the last week of July, by 8.5 lakh hectares in Maharashtra and 15 lakh hectares in Rajasthan. The
main crops that have taken a hit are coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds. Among oilseeds, groundnut acreage is much lower this time, because of poor sowing in key areas of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Delayed sowing is also expected to affect productivity. Soyabean sowing figures, however, provide a silver lining. Higher planting has been reported in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The overall rain deficit in the country as of July end has been estimated at 19 per cent. A worrisome effect of it is the drop in the storage levels of major reservoirs in the country. At the half-way mark of the monsoon, the storage levels of 84 of these reservoirs stood at 19 per cent of their capacity. It is also noteworthy that sometimes the meteorological department’s classification of rainfall in its 36 subdivisions as “scanty’, ‘deficient’, ‘below normal’, ‘normal’ and ‘excess’ can be misleading from for the agriculture point of view. For the farmer, the season is normal or good only when the rainfall occurs at the right time of agricultural operations and at crucial stages of crop growth. Despite the waywardness of the south west monsoon, a heartening aspect this time is that there is no room for panic on the foodgrain front, as the stocks in government godowns far exceed the buffer norms. The problem is actually the other way round -- because of mounting stocks and want of adequate storage space, large quantities of grains are rotting. Every calamity, it is said, has a bright side – or a lighter side -- as well. Food grain procurement agencies, now a harassed lot as they have been wrestling with the problem of plenty, would probably heave a sigh of relief because of the predicted fall in cereal production in this Kharif. Less output would mean less headache on the storage front, now under severe strain!
Comments are welcome at: MediaTodayMails@gmail.com Views expressed by individuals and contributors in the magazine are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of “SAARC Oils & Fats Today” editorial board. The magazine does not accept any responsibility of any direct, indirect or consequential damage caused to any party due to views expressed by any one or more persons in the trade. All disputes are to be referred to Delhi Jurisdiction only. .....Editor
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
Cover Story
Indian Dairy Industry Needs a Paradigm Shift In the current era of globalisation of economy, the Indian dairy industry needs to adopt a strategy oriented towards quality, cost-cutting and productivity increase. Technology development for adoption all along the line is a ‘must’.
Tech Development in Dairy
Intellectual Property Protection: Indian Perspective —K. P. Ramesha
I
ndia possesses the largest livestock population in the world with a total of more than 484.9 million, the breakup being, cattle (178 million), buffalo (98.7 million), goat (125.46 million) and sheep (64.27 million), poultry (505 million) and pig (16 million). With an estimated annual production of 116 million tonnes of milk, India continues to be world’s No. I producer, but it is mainly due to its large cattle population. Its per animal productivity, however, is low. For productivity enhancement of dairy animals and to manufacture quality dairy products, it is essential to have a multi-pronged strategy, involving technology generation (research) technology dissemination (extension), technology users (farmers) and supporting mechanisms (input supply, market credit) and quality improvement through technological interventions. A paradigm shift is required in dairy sector from production orientation to quality and cost orientation in the current era of globalization of economy. In the
present knowledge- based global economy, protection of intellectual property (IP) is critical for technology development and diffusion in all fields including dairy sector. Intellectual Property (IP) is a category of property that confers rights over intangible creations of human intellect. The dairy production takes place within the national boundaries as per customary laws whereas the products are marketed at global level. As per Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement, any country ratifying the Global Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and becoming a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), must establish minimum standards for intellectual property rights (IPR). India is a signatory to both TRIPs and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Under TRIPS agreement countries are allowed to exempt patent protection of animals other than microorganisms and of essentially biological processes
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
(TRIPS Agreement, 27, para 3). Under TRIPs, provision is made for plant variety protection under patents or a sui generic system, or a combination of both. Unfortunately, no such provision is made for livestock breed/variety protection. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) The CBD is a legally binding international instrument which recognizes the sovereignty of nations over their genetic resources, including the capacity to establish conditions of access by other nations and a fair/equitable sharing of benefits from the use of such resources. As such, the animal genetic resources have not been the objects of much specific consideration within the CBD. IP protection regime The various national and regional patent systems are receiving and granting patents in the field of dairying, while policies or regulations concerning livestock are being articulated as a topic for discussion in the CBD and in the FAO. Intellectual property laws
Cover Story have the potential to alter the existing legal conditions for competition and investments in the field of dairying, and need therefore a higher level of awareness among policy-makers, animal breeders, dairy scientists and farmers. Patenting of living organisms is a contentious issue among the WTG member states. Though plant varieties are protected through a sui generis system in many countries since 1920s, no such system is available for Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR). Biotechnology firms are interested in patenting processes and genes used in animal breeding. The patenting of broad traits like increased milk yield or broad claims on genes/animals may lead to monoculture and monopoly which would result in suffering to the pastoralists, small and marginal livestock keepers. The first operational conflict resulted from a patent on a “Method of Bovine Herd Management� (Scholtz and Mamabolo, 2006). The patent claims rights to a practice that has been in public knowledge for nearly 100 years. The novel idea within the patent is the specific mathematical model and procedures developed for analysis of test day yields. Even if one can identify an animal carrying unique gene/gene combinations utilizing such unique genetic characteristics is extremely difficult due to long generation intervals, low reproductive rates, high cost and low success rate of identifying and transferring unique genes in animals. The movement of livestock across the globe is regulated due to strict sanitary regulations and high cost involved. Import and export regulations will have a bearir)g on exchange of AnGR. Many countries have legislation on the importation of animals or breeding stock, as well as on the health status of imported animals. Trademarks are signs or symbols registered by a manufacturer/producer or merchant to identify goods and services. Genetic material per se cannot be protected or covered by a trademark. A trademark can be a useful tool in dairy sector as means of value addition tool. The trademark can improve the value of a product. For example, semen straws, dairy products from a reputed company with trademark may fetch higher price.
Geographical Indications (GIs) are signs or expressions used to indicate that a product or service originates in a country/region or specific place. Both Trademarks and GIs are used to identify the products. A Trademark puts emphasis on the producer or a manufacturer of a product whereas a GI highlights the geographical origin of a product and the characteristics derived from it. GI does not protect the breed or genetic material per se but add commercial value to the animals of a breed reared in a particular region. They may be used as a value addition mechanism. Geographical indications prevent all others other than the producers of goods from the original region from using that particular geographical indication incorrectly as a trademark for other products than those from the area. In France, Bresse breed of chicken is produced in the Bresse geographical area only as defined by law under protected designation of origin (Verrier et al., ÂŹ2005) and sold at 50-60 per cent higher price. Similarly, to save the Sambucana sheep from extinction, a consortium was set up and a special brand name for guaranteed Sambucana meat was set up in Italy. Chilika buffaloes with typical curd made from its milk, and Banni, Dharwari buffaloes with typically flavoured milk products are other examples, which could be considered for protection (Aamesha, 2008). Under GI, the production system is characterized by natural conditions and a production system unique for that area. There is scope for utilizing GI based on unique characteristics of products produced from a breed in a geographical area due to natural conditions and unique production system.
Trade Secrets provide protection against unauthorized disclosure or use of confidential information (of a technical or commercial nature). Trade secrets are important in livestock breeding where commercial breeders want to keep their nucleus stock and the pedigree information (and other information) away from their competitors. Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS) deals with human and animal health as well as plant health that also have a bearing on movement of breeding stock as well as livestock produce. In many countries including India there are strict regulations regarding import and export of live animals, semen, ova and embryos between the countries with an aim to prevent introduction of new diseases. In our country, import of exotic animals and semen/embryo has helped in improving yield. However, it has also brought in many problems. In many cases small and marginal farmers and the landless labourers are not able to sustain the high-input high-output dairy production system. Moreover, food safety issues are likely to become major issues with widespread use of genetically modified animals in the times to come. Under these circumstances technological interventions is essentially required to improve productivity and to produce quality value added products. IPR as incentive to innovate In case, the newly developed technology is freely distributed, then there is no incentive for the innovation and innovator cannot get benefits from
In the long term, strong IP regime will fuel faster economic growth through technology transfer and increased inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), enhanced trade and technological advancement through innovation.
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
Cover Story his innovation that leads to lack of interest towards investment aimed at innovation. Hence, in order to improve the spirit of innovation, it is desirable to temporarily protect the innovation through IP rights. IP protection of technology should be to the mutual advantage of the producers and users of technology in a manner conducive to the social and economic welfare of the society. IPR regime and technology advancement In a fast growing economy like India in the field of dairying, strong IP regime might lead to increased outflow of foreign exchange towards technology licensing and production rights in the short term. In the long term strong IP regime will fuel faster economic growth through technology transfer and increased inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), enhanced trade and technological advancement through innovation. Strong IP regime encourages R&D at universities and research centres besides stimulating development of new technologies and industries. In the field of dairying technologies aimed at productivity enhancement and quality product are likely to take centre stage in the changing global requirement of dairy products due to lifestyle change and regulations under WTO regime. The experience of US and Europe indicates that in addition to protection of IP rights, it is important to encourage domestic innovation also through effective mechanisms to disseminate information. Before new IPR regime, in India pharmaceutical industry was mainly using reverse engineering which is less expensive. Weak IP enforcement in developing countries lead to reduced profits of technology to rich industrialized countries resulting in less incentive to innovation. Because of weak enforcement of IP rights, in the pre-TRIPS period, firms were unwilling to locate facilities doing work on higher technology production stages in India and China for fear of losing IP, which reduced FDI flow and employment opportunity. There are evidences to show that many developing countries are increasingly using the protection of intellectual property to grow and expand local innovation-based industries.
Technology diffusion and commercialisation Technology Commercialization is the process of converting knowledge .into products and services. It is aimed at translating knowledge gained through research for the benefit of the society and is essential for the socio-economic development of the society. In Indian field of veterinary and animal sciences, the public funded institutions generated many technologies. However, technology commercialization is very much less. ICAR institutes and state agricultural universities and NGOs have created knowledge in the field of dairying that has intrinsic intellectual property with potentially significant benefits to the society. In the WTO era a vast amount of opportunities have emerged for the livestock owners as well as for the professionals engaged in dairy sector. Especially with the rise in demand for hygienic milk and milk products high scope exists for commercializing the dairy enterprises by leaps and bounds. There is scope of promoting the backyard dairying in India into commercial micro enterprises through technology infusions coupled with favourable government policies. Apart from rearing of dairy animals, the dairy-based industry has vast scope of generating additional income and employment through technological infusions in various allied enterprises such as the commercial bovine rearing units, livestock input industry, product processing units and organic dairy production units. Technology generation in Livestock sector A large number of technologies have been generated till now for enhancing the livestock productivity and in improving the health and reproductive status of the livestock. Apart from AI technology and prevention of diseases through vaccination, adoption of other technologies in the area of dairy production is quite low. Even in the area of dairy processing the technological interventions are not up to the desired level in India. Livestock products and process technologies will provide higher market through value
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
addition. Diseases reduce the production potential of dairy animals and cause great economic loss to the farmers, in form of qualitative and quantitative drop in milk production. The IPR has a bearing on the development of biological products (vaccines) and diagnostics. IPR laws also have a bearing on the development and diffusion of technologies in the field of dairy production as well as in. dairy processing. It has a major role to play in technology development and diffusion aimed at value addition to dairy produce, mainly milk. In the years to come the biosensor system is likely to aid dairy farmers in taking precise decisions pertaining to breeding, feeding and healthcare of dairy animals. The present IP regime in the country is likely to enhance technology transfer from developed countries to India in the area of greener technologies aimed at reducing methane production from ruminants and quality improvement in dairy products through technological interventions. The traditional knowledge concerning dairy animals and animal health system and traditional dairy products could be used effectively for bringing benefit to India in the form of benefit sharing in the IP regime. S & T Policy Our country with large number of well trained dairy personnel and large bovine resource should develop a suitable environment for innovation by an appropriate Science and Technology policy as well as IP policy which is critical for economic development particularly in dairy sector which is concerned with livelihood security of huge number of rural folk. India should make use of all the available flexibilities in TRIPs in IP system to suit the specific needs particularly with respect to traditional knowledge concerning dairy animal production and vast traditional dairy products.
(The author is Senior Research Scientist of NDRI, Adugodi, Bangalore)
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
Cover Story
Dairy farming
PPP project to grow fodder for cattle rearing — M J Prabu There are many things that appear attractive when viewed from a distance, but on closer scrutiny the reality is different. Dairy farming is an example. Shortage of fodder and shrinking areas of cultivation are forcing many farmers to give up rearing cattle. The Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) has introduced a new project called a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for dairy farmers. Accordingly a memorandum is signed between the farmer and the University officials for growing the fodder for seed production. MoUs are being signed with farmers who desire to grow fodder grasses like Bajra Napier (Co-4), Guinea grass,(Anjan grass), Fodder sorghum (CoFS-27), Multi cut fodder Sorghum (CoFS-29), African tall maize, Legumes (Desmanthus, Stylo, Cowpea) and tree fodder varieties (Sesbania, Subabul, Glyricidia). “Today it is true that fast shrinking lands pose a threat to maintaining cattle. For the available animals and farmers sourcing the green fodder proves a daunting task. The cost of one heap of good variety straw goes up to several thousands. Through this project we
expect to solve the problem of fodder availability for the remaining animals and also seed shortage in these crops,” says Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVASU) ViceChancellor, Dr. R. Prabakaran. So far, 58 farmers from eight districts (Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Salem, Karur, Vellore, Tiruchi and Villupuram) have signed the memorandum to grow and supply green fodder. Demonstration units are being maintained at the University’s KVK farm at Namakkal for farnmers to visit and learn things firsthand. Till date about 8,92,000 Co4 grass slips, 1,10,000 Guinea grass, 174 kg CoFS-29 seeds, 227 kg of Desmanthus seeds, 80 kg fodder maize seeds, 111kg of of Anjan grass seeds, 100 kg of subabul seeds, 54 kg of fodder cowpea seeds and 1,117 Glyricidia saplings have been supplied to farmers. “This model hopes to address three problems that the farming sector today faces. One is the availability of green feed to the animals. Two, the seed shortage for fodder can be overcome, and three is revenue generation for the farmers,” explains Dr. Prabhakaran. Once planted the fodder varieties can
be maintained for a period of three years. “The first harvest can be done five months after planting. The seeds can be sent through good parcel services to our KVK office and after quality checking, the money is sent through ECS to the farmer’s account,” says Dr. Mohan, Head, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Veterinary College and Research Institute Campus, Namakkal. “But before starting on this it is advisable for interested persons to first call and meet us to personally discuss and see our demonstration plots and also interact with those who are doing it to help clear doubts,” he adds. The seeds are procured, tested for purity and germination, and then sold to Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy Co-operatives, and progressive farmers. When we spoke to several farmers who maintain some cattle about this project, many of them expressed surprise about such an MOU. Says R. Chandramouli a native cattle farmer at Padapai near Chennai: “Though there are several books written by dairy experts promising to make a dairy farmer successful in terms of generating revenue, the ground reality is that, maintaining only milch animals can never prove to be remunerative.” Absence of grazing grounds forces a farmer to buy the cattle feed from retail shops. Several farmers maintain a monthly account for buying the feed and the interest in some of the shops is quite high since they give credit. And an animal yields milk for only 5-6 months, after which it comes into gestation. “Till it is sold off the farmer needs to continue the feeding. For a single animal the cost of feeding can come to Rs. 75-100 a day. This can be reduced to an extent if one has some lands and grows grass in them. And all these years farmers having some small areas were reluctant to grow grass as it did not generate revenue for them expect for feed. But with this new MoU being offered by the University I think that more farmers would come forward to grow these crops and rear some cattle,” he says. n Courtesy: Hindu Businessline
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SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
Cover Story
India needs a new strategy for milk — B.M. Vyas
Each time the tabela owners sent the calves for slaughtering, they were also destroying our best genetic stock without appreciating that the ‘calf’ is a future cow. This process went on, unchecked for more than a century and not just in Mumbai but in all metros. Over time, it translated into the country losing its best genetic pedigree and being left with milch animals having dismal productivity
W
e have all read or heard how, in the past, India was a land flowing with milk and honey. The country, after all, had some of the best breeds, both of cattle (Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir, Kankrej, Tharparkar and Ongole) and buffalo (Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Jaffarabadi, Mehsana and Banni), besides also the best cattle breeders in the world. Moreover, we had tropical weather, reasonably good monsoon, and both rainfed as well as perennial rivers flowing through fertile land mass — all conducive for dairy farming. Yet, when we became independent in 1947, milk was scarce and beyond our means. What went wrong? For an answer, we need to look at history in a different light, going back to the advent of the British era. That was when a trend
of urbanisation around major sea ports such as Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and also the national capital of Delhi gathered momentum. Destroying genetic wealth The ever increasing population in these centres generated rising demand for milk, resulting in the setting up of tabelas and khattals — enclosures where cows and buffaloes were reared for milk. Even today, one can, while taking a local train from the north to south of Mumbai, spot a large number of these enclosures alongside the tracks. The tabela owners, always keen to maximise short-term profits, would bring the best of the high yielding animals from the hinterlands along with their young calves. Once the milk flow was established — which is all that interested them — they would wean away the calf within a week
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
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Cover Story or so and send it for slaughtering. The animals in-milk, too, would be reared for a few lactation cycles, before being disposed of to the slaughter house as well. The empty slots in the tabela would then be filled with the next lot of cattle from the hinterland. But each time the tabela owners sent the calves for slaughtering, they were also destroying our best genetic stock without appreciating that the ‘calf’ is a future cow. This process went on, unchecked for more than a century and not just in Mumbai but in all metros. Over time, it translated into the country losing its best genetic pedigree and being left with milch animals with dismal productivity. Amul’s Advent This state of affairs — where milk was being produced and consumed in urban India, with government schemes also doing the same — changed with Amul coming into existence in 1946. This was a cooperative owned by farmers producing milk from animals reared in their natural rural environment itself and not brought for eventual slaughtering in the city tabelas. As the Amul model grew — providing market access and remunerative prices to farmers along with services such as veterinary care, balanced cattle feed supply, artificial insemination and progeny-tested frozen semen — milk production and animal productivity started going up. For the first time in about 200 years, someone was also trying to stop and reverse the depletion of our precious animal genetic wealth. Between the mid-1970s and the 1990s, the dairy cooperative movement spread to more than 200 districts of India, with milk
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production growing at 4 to 5 per cent per annum, from 20 million tonnes (mt) to the current levels of 120 mt. India emerged as the world’s largest milk producer and per capita consumption, too, rose to almost the global average. If milk production could increase sixfold in less than 40 years, what makes our bureaucrats, sitting in their plush airconditioned offices in New Delhi, doubt our ability to achieve an output of 200 mt by 2020? It sometimes raises doubts about their real intent: Resorting to milk powder imports and banning export of dairy products is something that comes most naturally to our babus! Crude Protein Export Doubling India’s production over the next 10 years is surely achievable, with better road connectivity, power supply and faster communication infrastructure, and more educated milk producers. But that requires strategic initiatives in raising milk productivity, where our national institutions have grossly failed. We have lost valuable time, failing to master modern technologies for dairy cattle genetic upgradation that have been successfully applied in the US, New Zealand, Europe and even Israel, China and Brazil. What would take decades through earlier technologies such as progeny testing can be achieved at much less time and cost today using advanced genetic engineering tools. It is high time a special mission is created to spearhead deployment of genetic engineering tools for supply of pre-sexed, high pedigree frozen embryos and semen of proven bulls from our indigenous breeds such as the Gir, Kankrej, Sahiwal and Murrah. Also, we need to revisit the policy
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
of exporting millions of tonnes of soya, cotton-seed and rape-seed meal, all of which contain 30-40 per cent high-quality crude protein. If these are fed to our cows, buffaloes or poultry, they would be converted into highly digestible protein that our children and women need most. It is often argued that export of meal brings in valuable foreign exchange, but the reality is that most of it gets spent again on import of pulses! Now, I am not anti-globalisation or liberalisation, but exporting crude protein and importing pulse protein just doesn’t make sense. At Affordable Prices My point is, we must make our fodder and feed resources at an affordable rate for our animals first, which is what the Government earlier did by imposing a 20 per cent levy on export of protein meal. Reinstating this will not affect our oilseed farmers, who are hurt more by the country importing massive volumes of edible oil at negligible import duty. If well-managed, the next couple of decades can become a golden era for India’s milk production and cattle productivity gains, especially with a young population growing hand-in-hand and powering a market for milk and value-added dairy products. Meeting this demand by importing is an unsustainable proposition. If we want our countrymen to be strong, tall, healthy, smart, and to live for 100 years, we need more milk at affordable prices. Not right-for-food or rural employment guarantee schemes! n (The author is former M D of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation) Courtesy: Hindu Businessline
RBO Seminar
RBO National Seminar & Doctors’ Meet
India ranks first in Rice Bran Oil production “India produces the best quality of Rice Bran Oil and has emerged as the largest producer of this oil in the world’, according to Sushil Goenka, President of Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA). In his address of welcome at the 13th National Seminar on Rice Bran Oil & Doctors Meet held in Mumbai, Goenka said RBO has become popular in major metros all over India as “Health Oil” and its demand is increasing rapidly. Prominent Guest speakers at the seminar were Dr. V. Prakash, Former Di¬rector CFTRI, Mysore; Dr. V. Chockalingam, Consulting Cardiologist from Chennai; Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad and Dr. Meena Mehta, Dept. of Food Science & Nutrition. The seminar was attended by renowned doc¬tors, cardiologists, nutritionists & dieticians and members of the Association. Health Oil Goenka said SEA in its crusade to encourage the production and use of Rice Bran Oil (RBO) as ‘Health Oil’, has organised twelve national seminars and a number of regional workshops in the last fifteen years. It also took a six-member delegation to Japan to study the latest technology in RBO processing. These efforts have gone a long way in encouraging the production of good quality refined Rice Bran Oil and progressively increasing its con¬sumption as cooking oil for the health of entire family. Since the theme of the seminar & Doctors’ Meet was ‘Nutritional & Health Benefits of Rice Bran Oil’, the Association thought it fit to invite re¬nowned cardiologists, technocrats, experts from the Industry and senior scientists from the reputed research Institutes working on Rice Bran Oil to share their views, and thus create consumer awareness about the nutritional significance of this oil. RBO, as is well known, is a unique cooking oil which is a value-added product produced from rice bran, a by-product of the rice milling industry. It is oil with naturally balanced fatty acid composition quite close to the latest recommenda¬tions by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). It contains unique Nutraceuticals such as Oryzanol, Tocopherols & Tocotrienols which are known to maintain the right balance of cholesterol, besides promoting overall good health, It contains Squalene which main¬tains the tone of the skin and keeps it healthy & wrinkle free. Relevance in fast- paced life The ill effects of today’s fast paced & stressful life is common knowledge, said Goenka. . The hectic work schedule adopted by the modern day executive in order to achieve greater heights
in business and social circles, prevents him from paying proper attention to nutritious diet, exercise & proper rest. This is causing increasingly health related problems. The number of hypertension, cardiac & diabetic patients is increasing alarmingly, every year. The younger generation must be made aware of certain ‘Health norms’ such as regular exercise, meditation & rest and above all, to have a proper nutritious diet. This is of paramount importance for their sustained good health. He called upon the medical fraternity, to play a vital role to play in building the ‘health of our society’. Members of this fraternity must use their expertise in differ¬ent forums such as lectures, health bulletins and conferences to enthuse the people in general to use the ‘right kind of oil’ which would enable them to maintain sustained good health. “I request you (doctors and nutritionists) to kindly study the the nutraceuticals & micro-nutrients present in RBO and also refer to the research papers given in the Doctors’ Meet booklet. Based on the conviction gained by you from such a study, I appeal to you to propagate the con¬sumption of RBO as a Health Oil for daily use in the kitchen.” Right choice Surely, Goenka said, stalwarts of the medi¬cal fraternity are the right people to endorse that RBO is the right choice for the health of people of all walks of life. “I look forward to your long term association with this ‘wonder oil’ and request you to support SEA in making ‘RBO- Health Mission’ a success story, across the country.” The SEA president also sought the cooperation of media, urging them to join hands with doctors, nutritionists and dieticians in their efforts to propagate this ‘Health Oil’ for the common man. Let every one concerned, accept the challenge of making this wonder¬ful oil available in consumer packs at affordable prices to millions of people across the country and become instrumental in creating a Healthy India! This oil is “Natures gift to mankind!” Prominent speakers at the RBO seminar were: Dr. R B N Prasad, Dy Director and Head IICT Hyderabad, Dr A.G. Gopala Krishna,Scientist, CFTRI, Dr. (Ms) Riantong Singanusong, Asst. Professor, Naresuan University, Thailand and Hansel D’Souza Marketing Consultant, Past SEA Presidents, O P Goenka, Dr. M.H. Agarwal, Shri G G Patel, Sandeep Bajoria, Dr. A. R Sharma and Ashok Sethia; Vijay Data, Vice President, Pravin Lunkad, Hon Secretary and Nimish Patel Hon.Treasurer. n august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
13
Palm Oil
Palm oil producers must unite & have a council — Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik
T
he palm oil industry has come a long way in just a little over 100 years. But it now faces several challenges that we must overcome through solidarity. And we must be frank and honest about what these challenges mean for the industry and its future prosperity. Many of you will recall a scurrilous campaign in the West against saturated fats in tropical oils during the 1980s. As a result, the world was exposed to trans-fatty acids as palm oil was replaced with hydrogenated oils, which are now recognised as highly dangerous to health. Today, these same interests are advancing an even more radical attack designed to harm the palm oil industry. Unwilling to compete in the global market, European governments and vegetable oil producers support a vast network of environmental NGOs to attack the palm oil industry. These include Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Rainforest Action Network (RAN). They agitate and pressure governments, multilateral agencies and consumers of our product. Their aim is to get governments to restrict access to our products, or to get consumers to embrace alternatives. These NGOs are morally obtuse. They fail to appreciate that it is only due to the staggering wealth that accumulated in the West that has enabled them to become concerned with matters beyond simply providing for themselves. Make no mistake Their campaigns are having a strong effect. For example, the WWF has effectively hijacked policy making at the World Bank, one of the most important global anti-poverty agencies. The WWF has undermined the purpose of the organisation and elevated environmental concerns above the need to reduce poverty. As pointed out by World Growth, the Bank’s new policy on palm oil will have disastrous consequences for the industry. The policy will: l Convert the World Bank into a global sustainability czar. l Institute a new lending policy that will reduce the ability of the World Bank to support new investors and the sector in the developing world. l
14
Institutionalise WWF/RSPO sustainability standards as the new global standards - this prevents national standards like the one being developed in Indonesia from being accepted; SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
the effort is being copied in Australia and the UK. l Cements the World Bank as WWF’s Number one partner in a global anti-free market, anti-competitive behaviour to control the trade and commerce of key food products like palm oil. l Restricts smallholder growth and requires they be certified. l Will reduce investment in the palm oil sector in Africa. Their justification for these new rules is based on the Greens’ misleading campaign. They say palm oil harms wildlife, leads to deforestation and pollutes the atmosphere. But science and experience tell us otherwise. Of course the threats go well beyond the World Bank. Role of buyers and retailers Major global processors like Unilever have implemented strategies to require producers to meet their specified sustainability standards by 2020. The, Consumer Goods Forum, led by of course by WWF and a consortium of Western retailers, has been established for this purpose; Unilever, Tesco and others have
Palm Oil publicly committed to the greens’ ‘sustainability’ campaign. The claim this is to halt deforestation, but this is a dishonest smear. Our region has far more forest cover than any country that is home to a green NGO! In announcing their pledge to commit the imposition of sustainability criteria and strict sourcing policies, Sir Terry Leahy of Tesco and Paul, Polman of Unilever have claimed that this would be achieved without increasing prices for consumers. In claiming this can be achieved by improving yields, the CEOs ignore the fact that this is harder than it sounds, and may not offset the limitation to increasing production that denying agriculture expansion would cause. Europe Most notable of the obstacles in this market is the Renewable Energy Directive, a blatantly protectionist ploy that discriminates against palm oil in favour of less efficient, less sustainable domestic bio-fuel sources. Furthermore, current discussions on the inclusion of Indirect Land-use Change criteria are a direct assault against developing countries’ needs to expand agriculture to meet domestic and international demand. The policy makers in Brussels and other European capitals such as London - who now seem set on establishing RSPO-like criteria - seem oblivious to rank hypocrisy. Western nations enjoyed the luxury of direct and indirect land-use changes before they were fully developed. It’s only once they are rich that they have conveniently become concerned with the environment. Australia There is pressure from green groups erecting a food labelling scheme that requires the use of certified sustainable palm oil in order for access to the market. The hypocrisy and short¬sightedness are remarkable. As Datuk Shahrir Samad recently noted: “Why is Senator Xenophon [the architect of this effort] ignoring the fact that for every hectare of oil palm he condemns, he is indirectly supporting 16 or more hectares of temperate forests to be cut down only to be planted with rapeseed, soybean and sunflower, so as to produce the same amount of edible oil?” USA Just as palm oil exports to the US reached one million tonnes, RAN mounted a coordinated and scurrilous campaign against Girl Scouts USA for the use of palm oil in cookies, which are made by a subsidiary of Kellogg. Is nothing off limits? It should also be noted that the RAN campaign does not ask for sustainable palm oil to be used, but that palm oil not be used at all. Here we see they are not truly interested in the environment - it is nothing but spite against us. It should also be noted that under the current environment where NGOs are attacking any buyers of palm oil, even RSPO membership and certification are not sufficient to protect these brands from baseless attacks. Kellogg is a member of the RSPO, and has made a pledge to source only sustainable palm oil. Looking ahead The palm oil industry has woken up to the lies of Greenies. We
have organised, mobilised and fought back against their scurrilous campaigns. Our work can now be felt by the Greens on their home turf from London to Brussels to Canberra to Washington. All of these efforts must continue, and should be greatly increased by focusing on key areas. We must begin an effort to reform RSPO. We still believe in its relevance as a good example of a voluntary initiative to demonstrate palm oil’s sustainability to key customers around the globe. However, it is increasingly clear that RSPO is not working under the current framework. RSPO requires smart and sensible reform. What should we seek? The goal should be to strengthen and improve RSPO so that it finally works for all parties. To that end it must be acknowledged that interests of planters in Malaysia and Indonesia are not properly represented. The interests of NGOs are given excessive weight. There is too little transparency in the overall process and so our voices are not heard. A PhD candidate from Bogor Institute of Agriculture put it best: ‘The change of RSPO principles and criteria each year complicates business, especially for palm oil producers. With a decisionmaking mechanism through voting, the palm oil producers, who account for 30% of members, often lose to non¬-producers. The interests of palm oil producers are rarely accommodated.’ As a result, unfair and, in some instances, impossible demands are made under the banner of RSPO. The lack of equal representation, alongside biased board members, calls into question the governance of RSPO. For example, one needs to look no further than the role of Unilever and its board representative Jan Kees Vis. This collaboration can be described as self-benefitting or even perhaps collusion to end policies that are not in the interests of producers. Reform should include sensible ‘conflict of interest’ rules to make sure all parties are treated in a fair and transparent manner and are equally represented. Simply put. RSPO must not be used only to meet the NGO agenda, but must also support national economies. It should be reformed to respect national development strategies and certification schemes. This should include, for example, the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil certificate. The Indonesians have done admirable work in developing a framework that can work for all parties. Other nations should study their effort as they craft similar reforms and frameworks. A wise system would complement national conservation pledges and recognise the right of countries to expand agriculture responsibly to meet domestic and international demands. We will realise the future we all want if we band tightly together¬ to form a global alliance among Malaysians, Indonesians and all palm oil producing countries. There is strength in unity. To achieve our long-run vision, we should consider the establishment of a council to promote our industry. Led by Malaysians and Indonesians, such a council would advance our interests around the world to meet the challenges head on, with confidence and vigour. n (Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik was the Malaysian Minister of Primary Industries {1986-2004} & the Founder of the Cairns Group of Agricultural Exporters)
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
15
Price Outlook
Global prices of oilseeds & dairy products to remain high
A
— G Chandrashekhar
lthough global agricultural commodity prices have come off recent peaks, food price inflation remains a concern in developing countries; and over the next ten years, agricultural prices are expected to remain on a higher plateau even as energy price levels and volatility are seen to condition the outlook, according to the latest OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2012-2021. The expanding biofuels sector is set to absorb a larger share of crop production. The global production of bio-ethanol and biodiesel is projected to almost double by 2021, and will be heavily concentrated in Brazil, the US and the European Union. In other words, there will be greater diversion of cane, corn and wheat as feedstock for bio-ethanol and oil crops (palm, soya, rape etc.) as feedstock for biodiesel. The biofuel sector is largely driven by a system of mandate (compulsory use for consumers) and incentives (for producers). The report projects consumption of a growing share of the global production of sugarcane (34 per cent), vegetable oils (16 per cent) and grains (14 per cent) for biofuels by 2021. Mandate-driven ethanol trade flows between the US and Brazil are expected to increase. The US is anticipated to import sugarcane-based ethanol mainly from Brazil (world’s largest cane producer) to help meet domestic demand created by its mandate for advanced biofuels, while Brazil would import low priced corn (maize) based ethanol principally from the US to satisfy the demand for its large fleet of flex-fuel vehicles. Oilseeds Oilseeds 16
production
and
exports
The expanding biofuels sector is set to absorb a larger share of crop production. The global production of bio-ethanol and biodiesel is projected to almost double by 2021 continue to be dominated by the traditional players, but emerging exporters such as Ukraine and Paraguay are expected to increasingly contribute to global export growth. China, the dominant importer, will account for more than half of total world imports. Brazil’s oilseeds production growth is expected to slow from 4.9 per cent to less than 2.0 per cent
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
over the next ten years. As for sugar, food and fuel (ethanol) demand will sustain over the medium-term and help maintain prices at a high level. Production cycles will continue to characterise sugar markets in Asia, leading to occasional large trade fluctuations and price volatility. A key driver of the sugar market will be how Brazil’s cane crop is allocated between sugar and ethanol. Meat consumption in developing countries is set to expand. Large Asian economies, crude oil exporting countries and Latin America where income gains are expected to be significant will drive demand for meats. Poultry meat will lead the anticipated growth as the cheapest and most accessible source of meat protein, overtaking pig meat as the largest meat sector by the end of the decade. Aquaculture is set to surpass capture fisheries in food consumption. Fish production is one of the fastest growing sources of animal protein. World fisheries and aquaculture production are expected grow by 15 per cent over the next ten years. A 33 per cent growth in aquaculture production will take it past capture fisheries as the primary source of fish for human consumption by 2018. Dairy Products While developing countries will become most important producers of milk, a modest increase in consumption of dairy products – with the exception of cheese and fresh dairy products - is expected in developed countries. By 2021, the consumption of all dairy products is expected to increase by about 30 per cent in developing countries. Interestingly again, developing countries under the lead of India and China are projected to overtake developed countries in milk production by 2013.
AgriBusiness & Food Industry w July 2012
5
Feed Industry
Feed & Feed Ingredients Conclave 2012
Growth of feed industry can be a factor in achieving high GDP: Sushil Goenka
“I
am confident that the growth of the feed industry will be an important contributory factor to the ambitious plan of the country to achieve a 10 per cent growth in the GDP and 4 per cent growth in the Agriculture sector,” said Sushil Goenka, President, Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) at the Feed & Feed Ingredients Conclave, held in Bengaluru. The Theme of the Seminar was “Future Outlook for Feed Industry vis-a.vis Demand Supply of Oilmeals and Price Outlook”. The emphasis of the Conclave was to focus on the use of different conventional and non-conventional feed ingredients in compound feeds in order to meet the growing demand of the feed industry. The Semianr was supported by a number of leading National level Associations and Institutions from all over India, and organized jointly by SEA and the CLFMA of India. The Chief Guest of the Seminar was Suresh Kotak, Chairman, Kotak Group of Industries, Mumbai. B.S. Yadav, Chairman CLFMA was also present apart from other guests including Government officials, scientists, distinguished members from the supporting organizations, eminent speakers, session chairmen, panel members and delegates coming from all over the country. Excerpts from his Speech: High-quality compound feed The need of the hour is to encourage use of high quality compound feed to enable better productivity of milk, eggs, fish, meat etc. This will also discourage the prevailing old practice at village level of using oilcakes, oil meals and whole grains as direct feed. Today, we will also discuss 18
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
the latest innovative trends in Quality control and Value addition in Oilmeals. The knowledgeable speakers would also debate on the ‘Demand-Supply & Price Outlook for Feed Ingredients’. Firstly, let me touch upon a recent development that could have serious repercussions on the solvent and compound feed industry.
Sushil Goenka, SEA President
It is my desire and ambition that the feed industry in India grows to an extent that all the oil meal produced in the country is consumed internally
Price Increase As you all are aware, the prices of oilseeds, oilcake and oilmeal have in the recent past, increased considerably, thereby putting pressure on both the solvent extraction plants and the feed industries. This price increase has been due to various factors, significant amongst which is the fact that the domestic oilseeds crop during 2011-12 was 30.1 mil¬lion tonnes as compared to 32.5 million tonnes in the earlier year. The reduced crop of soybean by about 25 million tonnes in USA, Argentina and Brazil, has also put pressure on the supply side, thereby causing spurt in oil meal prices in the international markets. This situation is being further aggravated due to the unfavorable weather conditions in the US and rain deficiency in the major oilseeds growing States in India. The depreciation of the Rupee has worsened matters further by putting pressure on the prices of raw material and other inputs being used by both these industries. You will appreciate that in free market economy, neither the solvent extrac¬tion nor the feed industries can have any control on the prices, thereby forcing them to pass on the cost escalation to the finished products. This will certainly hurt the consumers of the feed; who in turn would have no option but to increase the prices of their produce namely eggs, milk,
Feed Industry meat etc, thereby fueling the vicious spiral of inflation. Railway Freight & VAT Whilst we have little control on these external factors, I must hasten to add that both our industries can work jointly to reduce the high cost of transportation of feed ingredients by railways. As a significant quantity of oil meals are transported by rail, the high railway freight has also become an important contributory factor for the increase in the prices. This matter needs to be addressed jointly with the Railway Ministry for change in the classifica¬tion of oil meals and rice bran from 120 to 100. This will considerably reduce the freight charges on the feed raw materials. We should also plead to the respective state Govern¬ments to remove VAT and other taxes applicable on oilseeds, oilcake, oil meal and DORB. This will also help in reducing significantly, the overall prices of the feed ingredients. It will be pertinent to mention here that the imposition of duty on exports of oil meals is not a long-term solution. On the contrary such a move would prove to be counter productive as it would affect badly the viability of the solvent extraction industry thereby forcing many plants to close down, leading in turn to short supply of oilmeals. Needless to mention, this will result in eventually increasing the prices of oilmeals in the long run. I sincerely hope the dairy industry appreciates the negative implications of imposition of export duty on oilmeals. Scientific Intervention In the years to come, we have to gear up to meet the fast growing demand for Cattle, Poultry and Aqua Feeds and Animal products in the country. Only scientifically-formulated feed can ensure proper delivery of the required nutrients in the right proportions. There is an urgent need to popularize the use of such balanced feeds so that the animals maintain good health and the yield per animal is optimized. Awareness Programme Effective measures in this direction becomes inevitable due to the rapid increase in the per capita consumption of products derived from birds and animals and the limitation in the availability of land and water to produce more quantity of feed ingredients. This applies equally to the Aqua farmers. We have to create
urgently an awareness amongst the aqua farmers also about the advantages of using compound aqua feeds to enable them to produce higher ‘and better quality products to meet both, the requirements of the local and export markets. Production & Productivity It will be pertinent to mention here that, at one point in time, China like India was also exporting its surplus oilmeals due to limited demand from the domestic feed industry. You will be surprised to note that over the last one decade, the feed industry in China has developed so rapidly that it is not only consuming the entire Oilmeals produced domestically, but also importing sixty million tonnes of soybean for local crushing and about four million tonnes of soybean and rapeseed meal. It is my desire and ambition that the feed industry in India grows to an extent that all the oil meal produced in the country is consumed internally. Whilst we move towards achieving this, there would be a need to step up the
production and productivity of oilseeds in the country. Such an effort will lead to production of additional quantity of vegetable oils, thereby mak¬ing the country less dependent on imports. This will also lead to higher availability of raw materials at lower prices for both; the solvent extraction and compound feed industry. All this will help the farmers to get better output and income by the use of economically priced compound feed. It would be a win situation for all. I appeal to all of you to maximize the use of the vast population of animals, birds and aqua species available in our country and get best possible productivity and yields of animal produce. I am confident that with our planned and focused action, India will not only continue to be the highest producer of milk but also achieve such a coveted position for other animal products too. Let us join hands to place our oilseed and compound feed industry in an enviable position in the comity of nations. n
Oilmeal exports must be banned: R S Sodhi
T
he Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the Amul brand, wants an immediate ban on oil meal exports. This is to ensure adequate domestic supplies for dairy farmers reeling under the impact of rising feed and fodder prices, as drought hits kharif crops in parts of the country. “The oil meal exports should be banned immediately,” said R.S Sodhi, Managing Director, GCMMF. In the past month, livestock feed prices have shot up by about 35 per cent, while green fodder prices have almost doubled, resulting in an increased milk production costs for the farmers. The total oil meal exports, including soyabean, rapeseed, groundnut, castor and rice bran extracts, grew 9 per cent in
volume terms for the year-ended March 2012. The Government has recently decided to waive duty on imports of oil meal to boost supplies. “Things have drastically changed in the past one month. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” he said. GCMMF has hiked the procurement prices by 1314 per cent in the current financial year, Sodhi said, but clarified that there were no immediate plans to raise product prices for consumers. In the last financial year, the average procurement price paid by GCMMF and its member unions to the farmers stood at Rs 465 a kg of fat, an increase of 16 per cent. The total payout by the co-operative to its milk producers in 2011-12 stood at Rs 10,160 crore, an 18 per cent increase over last year’s Rs 8,345 crore.
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
19
Oil Processing
Cottonseed Processing A plea for modernization
—Sandeep Bajoria, Chairman, All India Cottonseed Crushers’ Association, Mumbai
T
he cotton plant has long been known as ‘Nature’s Food & Fiber Plant’. Cottonseed is a byproduct of cotton plant and is a very valuable source of food for human consumption, an excellent cattle, poultry & fish feed and also strategically vital industrial products like linters, hulls etc. Cottonseed has two principal components, viz. Hull, (the outer covering of seed from where textile fibres and linters, i.e.short fibres, stems up) and kernel or embryo, containing oil and meat. Cottonseed forms 2/3rd portion of seed cotton, lint forming remaining 1/3rd portion. Since all parts of cottonseed provide food, feed and valuable industrial products, cottonseed is rightly termed as a “Golden Goose”.
due to high value of cottonseed that find many uses in the country. Production estimates Based on the latest estimate arrived at by the Cotton Advisory Board; Ministry of Textiles, in its meeting held on 24th January, production of cotton, cottonseed and cottonseed oil is as follows:
ICAC Survey Washington Based International Cotton Advisory Committee carried out a survey of 30 cotton producing countries in 2004. The outcome of the survey is summarized below: 1. India (along with Argentina) is the least expensive cotton producing country in the world. 2. Net cost of production of one Kilogram of cotton lint is the lowest in India and the highest in USA.
Cotton production: State-wise estimates (Production: lakh bales of 170 kg each.) State
2010-11
2009-10
Punjab
17.00
16.00
13.00
Haryana
17.00
14.00
15.25
Rajasthan
16.00
9.00
12.00
Total North Zone
50.00
39.00
40.00
114.00
103.00
98.00
Maharashtra
69.00
82.00
65.00
Madhya Pradesh
17.00
17.00
15.00
200.00
202.00
179.00
Andhra Pradesh
48.00
53.00
54.00
Karnataka
12.00
10.00
12.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
65.00
68.00
71.75
4.00
4.00
2.00
319.00
313.00
293.00
26.00
26.00
12.00
345.00
339.00
305.00
Gujarat
Total Central Zone
Tamil Nadu Total South Zone Others
4. The net cost is the lowest in India
All India
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
Production 2011-12
3. The cost of production in India ranges from $0.50 to $0.86 per kg in different zones with average $0.70 per kg.
20
Unexplored potential Not many are aware that the cottonseed production is the largest amongst oilseeds (114.89 lakh tones) as compared to better known oilseeds like soyabean (95 lakh tones), rape and mustard (71 lakh tones) groundnut (58.40Iakh tonnes). Cottonseed yields more than 12 to 13 lakh tonnes of precious cottonseed oil (termed
Total Loose Production
Oil Processing Estimated Production of Cottonseed (Production: in lakh tonne) State
Cottonseed
Cottonseed Oil
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
Punjab
4.33
5.33
5.66
Haryana
5.08
4.66
Rajasthan
4.00
Total North Zone
2010-11
2011-12
0.52
0.64
0.68
5.66
0.61
0.56
0.68
3.00
5.33
0.48
0.36
0.64
13.40
12.99
16.65
1.61
1.56
2.00
Gujarat
32.63
34.30
37.96
3.92
4.12
4.56
Maharashtra
21.89
27.31
22.98
2.63
3.28
2.76
5.08
5.66
5.66
0.61
0.68
0.68
Total Central Zone
59.61
67.27
66.60
7.15
8.07
7.99
Andhra Pradesh
18.15
17.65
15.98
2.18
2.12
1.92
Karnataka
4.08
3.33
4.00
0.49
0.40
0.48
Tamil Nadu
1.67
1.67
1.67
0.20
0.20
0.20
23.89
22.64
21.65
2.87
2.72
2.60
0.67
1.33
1.33
0.08
0.16
0.16
97.57
104.23
106.23
11.71
12.51
12.75
4.00
8.66
8.66
0.48
1.04
1.04
101.57
112.89
114.89
12.19
13.55
13.79
Madhya Pradesh
Total South Zone Others Total Loose Production All India
as heart oil) every year, the third largest contributor to vegetable oil production in the country next to rape and mustard and soyabean. It is a tragic happening for this country that cottonseed does not find a place in any development programme of the Government either under oilseeds
2009-10
or cotton in spite of such and unique importance. Processing Cottonseed About 95 per cent of the cottonseed processed in the country is through traditional method of simply crushing
the seed through mechanical means and obtain whatever oil comes out and the left-over meal to be used as oilcake. The net result is that we lose about 7% of the precious oil. Oilcake obtained is also of low protein content.
Availability of Cottonseed for Processing and Estimated Production of Oil
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
Cotton production (Iakh bales)
305.00
339.00
345.00
Cottonseed production (@333kgjbales) in lakh tonnes
101.57
112.89
114.89
5.00
5.00
5.00
Marketable surplus available
96.57
107.89
109.89
Production of washed cottonseed oil
11.59
12.94
13.79
Retained for sowing & direct consumption
Estimated Losses Due to Traditional Processing of Cottonseed and Progress of Scientific Processing of Cottonseed (In Lakh tonne)
2010-11
2009-10
103.23
96.57
2. Cottonseed Processing Scientifically
6.00
5.30
3. Percentage of quantity, processed scientifically, to the total availability of cottonseed for processing
5.81
5.49
1. Availability of cottonseed for Processing
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
21
Oil Processing Estimated Annual Loss due to traditional processing (value in lakh Rs.)
Qty
value
Qty
Value
I. Cottonseed Oil (7%)
6.82
374160.02
6.38
265365.22
II. Linters (4%)
3.90
205069.10
3.64
132940.37
III. Hulls (2.7%)
26.30
105213.60
24.59
123917.07
0.78
3578.04
0.73
3100.36
37.80
688020.76
35.34
525323.03
IV. Soap Stock (Hard) (0.8%) Total The loss of cottonseed oil of about 7 lakh tonnes and also other by-products should be an eye opener for our planners especially when the country has imported about 5 million tonnes of vegetable oil during 2010-11 and projected demand for 2011-12 is still more. Every second liter of vegetable oil consumed in Indian homes is imported. Today vegetable oil prices in India are dictated by oil prices in Indonesia and Malaysia. Present Research It is a matter of fact that most of the research work on cotton has so far been devoted to cotton lint which forms only 1/3 of the seed cotton. Cottonseed, which forms 2/3 portion of the seed cotton is conspicuous by its absence both in research & development arms of the Government. Cottonseed did not find any place either in ÂŹTechnology Mission on Cotton or Technology Mission on Oilseeds & Pulses, two flagship programmes of the Government implemented for over a decade at a huge cost. The need of the hour is a research study of all existing processing operations, right from procurement of raw material to production of oil, linters etc. The research work on cottonseed has so far been confined mostly to genetic improvement of fibre quality and yield attributes. Some work on processing is reported to have been done in the Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT). Central Institute for Cotton Research (ClCR), Nagpur is reported to have initiated research work on the potential for improving the oil content and quality in collaboration with USDA. USA. The present breeding programme under Mini Mission I of Technology Mission on Cotton aims at following aspects. i. Reduction in the portion of hull and 22
linters in cottonseed and increase the kernel, ii. Increase in cottonseed oil and protein content, iii. Genetic enhancement of polyunsaturated fatty acid profile, and iv. Decrease or elimination of Gossypol content The breeding programme based on the above aspects appears to meet the country’s present requirement. However, targeting the set goals is implicit with several challenges. Increasing the oil content percent per se beyond 20 per cent +/- 2% would be unfavourable for fibre development and fibre quality in a primarily fibre crop like cotton because oil and protein accumulation in seeds consume more energy of the plant’s source sink capacity then the fibre development including elongation and also that higher oil level seed may affect cottonseed germination in planting seeds as is normally observed in oilseeds crop (S.S. Narayan 2007). We wonder whether this phenomenon was duly considered while launching research on increasing the oil content. None of the above research work results have reached a field level/ processing plant level even amongst the progressive processors. Research work in CIRCOT on cottonseed as is known to the cottonseed processors. 1. Enzymatic pre-treatment of cottonseed kernel for enhanced oil recovery and mircrobial pretreatment to cottonseed for linter recovery. 2. Reducing Gossypol contents in cottonseed meal.
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
Like ClCR work, none of the above or
any other research work has found actual application at the plant level. Research Need of the Cottonseed Processing Industry Cottonseed has been traditionally considered as a cattle feed in India till the year 1914 when first cottonseed oil mill with crushing capacity of 3000 tonnes was established at Navsari in Dist. Surat. Processing plant for processing cottonseed in scientific manner was subsequently established in Sargodha (Punjab) in late twenties. Since then, till now the industry has progressed on its own without any research and development support from the Government. The specific urgent research need of the industry is briefly summarized below. Although, it is very late, it is better to begin late than not doing it all. Removal of Gossypol Cottonseed is potentially very nutritious since 23 percent of seed is high quality protein (S.S.Narayan-2007). It is reported that the annual world wide cottonseed yield could supply the dietary protein needs of some 240-300 million people. However, Gossypol is the most important pigment limiting the use of cottonseed oil and meal. Gossypol is normally produced in almost every tissue of cotton plants and seems to protect them from insects and from fungal and bacterial infection. Animal with multiple stomachs like cows/buffalos can tolerate cottonseed but Gossypol is heart-and-liver toxin in humans and animals, including poultry and fish. Removal of Gossypol is a challenge to the scientists since absence of gossypol plants would be seriously affected by insects and certain diseases, Very good research work is reported to have already been carried out in breeding Gossypol
Oil Processing free cottonseed by a Indian born US scientist Dr. Keerti Rathore. It is an urgent need to follow this research work for its application in India. Reducing Gossypol in cottonseed meal (Cottonseed Extraction/Deoiled cake) is an urgent necessity of the industry. If succeeded, it will open the flood gates of demand, especially form poultry & fish industry, not only in India but also abroad. This may become a prized item of our export like cotton linters. Production will chase the demand. It would induce a large number of cottonseed processors to adopt scientific processing of cottonseed. Scientific Storage of Cottonseed Cottonseed is the most neglected element in cotton value chain. After ginning and pressing, the seeds are left out in open ground at the mercy of nature till cotton seed processors buy them. The processors also do not store it properly due to lack of storage space. They are reluctant to invest in erecting weather proof shades for cottonseed. It is understood that seed containing more than 10% moisture generate heat during storage with the attendant formation of free fatty acids and addition of dark colour to the oil. It is necessary to find out ideal storage method through research. The solution should not be of academic nature but should be cost effective, with easy adoption in the field. Improvement in Scientific Processing of Cottonseed The scientific processing of cottonseed involves following steps. 1. Cleaning of Seed, 2. Delinting, 3. Dehulling, 4. Separation of seed meat from hull, 5. Seed Meat and Drying, 6. Flaking and rolling of seed meat, 7. Cooking of seed meat, 8. Extraction of oil, 9. Degunming, 10. Refining of oil, 11. Washing of Refined oil, and 12. Bleaching. The processing plants following the above steps are doing it as an age old practice. Research organizations need to study each step at the plant level and explore possibility of improvement.
by Abhay Cotex Private Ltd (ACPL), Jaina. Maharashtra.. Being a continuous single step extraction followed by immediate refining of oil at Miscella stage, it gives a greater edge in the process to minimize the process loss, yielding higher quantities of better quality products. Hence it yields a higher revenue than the conventional process at the same throughput. Advantages of ACPL’s Single step direct extraction & Continuous Miscella Refining Process are: l Increased recovery of premium quality Cotton Neutral oil of PBSY grade (Post Bleached SumrnerYellow), sold at premium price.
Cottonseed is the most neglected element in cotton value chain. After ginning and pressing, the seeds are left out in open ground at the mercy of nature till cotton seed processors buy them Here again it is reiterated that the mode of improvement should be cost-effective and it should be easily adoptable at the plant level, taking into consideration the general level of technical competence of persons manning the plants. Single stage cottonseed extraction and miscella refining of cottonseed oil At present two types of scientific processing of cottonseed are followed 1. Two-stage Cottonseed Solvent Extraction Plant (TSCSE): In this process, first is delinting (removal linters), then dehulling (removal of hulls). In the second stage the cotton meal is processed through high pressure expelling in similar way of traditional processing. In this process oil and cottonseed cake is produced. In third stage cottonseed cake is re-processed in solvent extraction plant and to produce crude oil and deoiled cake (COC). Single Stage Cottonseed Extraction In this process first delinting (removal linters) then dehulling (removal of hulls), In second stage the cotton meal is processed in direct extraction, further followed by Miscella Refining, to produce Cotton Neutral Oil / Washed oil and De oiled cake (DOC). Single stage Extraction & Miscella Refining of Cotton Oil is developed and implemented on a large scale successfully
l Neutralization with is no 1st Cut, no 2nd wash & no vacuum huge consumption of resources.
caustic, there Cut, no water drying, saves water & other
l No charring I burning of oil cells, being normal temperature of process. l The process is able to retain natural occurring amino-acid profile in DOC. Higher recovery of DOC with good quality. l Environmental protection & prospective Process designed with zero discharge of Effluents, unlike the existing conventional & scientific process in India. . l No loss of precious oil due to emulsification during neutralization with alkali (unlike existing process in India) l Excellent quality of edible cotton oil with better bleach-ability properties. l Easy to process bad quality of seed with high FFA or brownish colored fixed oil, normally observed during at the end of any season. l Reduction of red color unit is excellent with less lye consumption, l No investments required for separate
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
23
Oil Processing storage of Crude oils in Bulk Oil storage tanks
Use of modern processing machinery by a few cottonseed processing plants, especially in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh appears to be the only innovation in processing of cottonseed in India
l Single step neutralization of entire oil and no requirement of individual process-handling of different grade oils (i.e., expeller crude & solvent crude) l Saving in consumption of process water, steam & power. l Less foot print area is required to a tune of 25 to 30% (less bum-up area, saves huge capita! amount and avoids expenditure of civil foundations.) l No investment on effluent treatment plant is required. l No additional cost - on E T P chemicals & its operations l No recurring expenses on maintenance of processing equipments. l Utilities consumption (steam & power) are better than conventional process. l Reduction in manpower cost. Due to this uniqueness and byepassing of various steps which are normally followed in the present scientific process, there will be a net savings of Rs 1000 to Rs 1500/- per Metric Ton of Cotton seed processed. The above process has been developed by a private processor who is selling this technology at a cost. CIRCOT may study the authencity of this method and, if found suitable, may recommend its adoption. Search for New Solvent Food grade Hexane is generally used for solvent extraction of cottonseed oil. There is a need to find out alternate solvent. Isoproponel is reported better alternative as is being studied by the University Dept. of Chemical Technology (UDCT) Mumbai Improvement in Processing Machinery Use of modern processing machinery by a few cottonseed processing plants, 24
especially in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh appears to be only innovation in processing of cottonseed in India. Thanks to a local entrepreneur, the processing machinery used in USA & China is now manufactured in India in technical collaboration with the world renowned machinery manufacturers like Carver Technology & Equipment Pvt. Ltd., Central World wide Inc. and Continental Eagle Corporation all from the USA. Shandong Swan Cotton Industrial Machinery Stock Co. Ltd., Jinam City, Shandong, P R China is also selling delinting & dehulling machines manufactured by them on turn key basis. All these machineries have their own merits & demerits. The cost involved is also heavy. Therefore a research organization like CIRCOT may evaluate performance of each machine to enable new entrepreneurs to decide on its purchase & installation. Extension work by Research Organisation There is strong feeling that most of the current research work on cottonseed is almost confined within the four
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
walls of research institutes. Based on the actual plant level costing, economic gain achieved in adopting scientific processing over traditional processing does not appear attractive vis-a-vis heavy investment in de-linting, dehulling etc. This should not be construed to mean that the modern technology adopted elsewhere in the developed world is not cost effective in India. A deep probe into the cost structure shockingly reveals that the prices. of cottonseed extraction- a product of scientific processing with protein percentage as high as 40-42 -- were quoted hardly about 4 to 5% more per tonne as compared to prices of cottonseed cake --- a product of traditional processing with protein content as low as 20ÂŹ-22. This is the principal hindrance in shifting from tradition to scientific processing and is caused due to sheer ignorance of our cattle feeders. There is hardly any effort put forward by our extension agencies to reverse this catastrophic trend. International trade on cottonseed cakes takes place in deoiledcake whereas 95% of our production contains oil, making it unsuitable for export. Delinting seed-adoption of China pattern It is reported that in China there is an in-built system of delinting cottonseed after ginning. This practice not only yields a large quantity of linters, prized raw material but also better quality of oil as well as higher recovery of oil. The bulk density of cottonseed (undelinted) is about 40 percent more than the delinted cottonseed. Thus, about 40 per cent more seeds could be transported/ stored in the same area if seeds are delinted. It is urgently necessary to adopt this practice of delinting seed immediately after ginning of cotton to reap the above benefits. There is a need to have a separate Technology Mission on Use of Cotton By-Products since this important aspect was completed omitted in the earlier missions. Non-price measures like gainful utilization of by-products is essential to make available raw material to the industry at a reasonable price and at the same time assure remunerative prices to the cotton farmers. n
Floriculture Today December 2011 47
Oil Processing
Interesterification Loss & cost control
— Wolf Hamm
I
n the group of processes, generally referred as Modification processes in oil processing, Interesterificaion is one of them. Why interesterify? Why cannot simple blending of different oils, each having its own profile of liquid and solid triglycerides, achieve the desired objective of producing a product having the required physical properties? The answer is to be found in the nature of the triglyceride molecule, which has three fatty acid chains firmly attached to a molecule of glycerol. Blending of different oils does nothing to change the composition of the components of such a blend but simply increases the number of triglyceride species present. Interesterification, on the other hand, rearranges the fatty acid chains, either randomly, (Figure I) or in a targeted manner. By this means it facilitates the production of a composition which meets the physical requirement of a particular product. One of the purposes of this article is to examine the effect of the link between this requirement and the type of plant needed to achieve it. The basic concept of interesterification in fact pre-dates its application in the edible oils industry by some time, and its first study in the middle of the 19th century made use of much simpler molecules than triglycerides. Wilhelm Normann, who was already well known in the field of edible oil processing for his application of hydrogenation on the industrial scale, filed a German patent for the process in 1925, in which he claimed a reduction in melting point when heating a mixture of tristearin and soybean oil in the presence of a catalyst to 2500C and holding it at that temperature for upwards of 9½ hours. In the- years following the publication of Normann’s patent a number of further publications, mainly in the form of patents, showed a growing interest in interesterlfication. This interest was primarily in random interesterification, the object of this being the complete randomisation of the triglyceride species present. Eckey, in a key paper published in 1948, confirmed the importance of catalyst preparation in commenting on a patent issued in the early 1930s, noting that the use of sodium alkoxide as the catalyst
Source: De Smet Ballestra NV presentation, Rosario (Argentina)
26
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
allowed the reaction to proceed rapidly provided the reaction mixture is free of moisture and free fatty acids before addition of the catalyst. Directed interesterification Eckey was in fact interested primarily in the process of directed interesterification, in which more saturated triglycerides are formed and then removed from the mixture by crystallising due to their higher melting point. Directed interesterification has to be followed by a separation process, as the crystallised components must be removed for the interesterification process to continue. This may be either by centrifugation or filtration, which means that this form of the process is - unlike the process of randomising the initial material, whether a single oil or a blend - a two-stage process in addition to the initial refining plus post-refining stages. As the heat of crystallisation has to be removed during the process, the rate of agitation of the crystallising mixture requires careful control, particularly as the viscosity of the mixed liquid ¬solid system can have a decisive effect on heat transfer. A scraped¬ surface heat exchanger, similar in principle to the kind used in margarine production, may be used to provide high, controlled forms of heat transfer from the crystallising mixture. Directed interesterification continued to interest the industry in subsequent decades, though much less so than in an earlier period. (This decline in interest was almost certainly due to the falling share of lard use in the US in the post-war years - the directed interesterification of lard was a major objective of Eckey’s work.) In 1984 a paper given at a conference in Kuala Lumpur by Laning noted that a catalyst consisting of a sodium/potassium alloy is best suited to this form of interesterification because of its enhanced activity at the relatively low processing temperature found to be most suitable. The alloy has the further advantage of being a liquid within a certain temperature range, thus facilitating dispersion in the oil to be processed. A high-shear agitator is required to ensure efficient use of the catalyst and short reaction times. The process is operated as a continuous process, as the material which has crystallised must be removed in order for the interesterification process to continue. In his 1948 paper Eckey included information on the use of this form of the process for the modification of palm oil, although no application of this process has been recorded. A report published some years later compared the effect of both random and directed interesterification on palm oil in terms of the changes produced on the triglyceride composition. Although current production data are not available, directed interesterification continues to be used, primarily in the US, to process lard but the process has also been considered for applications involving confectionery fats. The patent literature of the period 1930-1950 discloses a growing interest in the development of more efficient catalysts, primarily in order to reduce the processing temperature from the high level (~2500C) used in the earliest work. In the inter¬war years metallic tin and stannous hydroxide were regularly mentioned
Oil Processing as being used to accelerate interesterification above the rate obtained when not using a catalyst, but this only made it possible to reduce the process temperature to 200-2250, still far higher than the range achieved later. Sodium methoxide (also referred to as sodium methylate) subsequently gained favour in the industry for a number of reasons, including cost (it is effective at 0.1 % use), operating temperature and ease of dispersion. Other alkali catalysts, including the alkali metals sodium and potassium, and the sodium-potassium alloy, have also been studied and used. The earlier interest in other metallic catalysts does not appear to have been maintained. Random interesterification, in which the fatty acid groups present in the blend components are virtually fully randomised, has for many years now been the process principally used by the oils and fats industry Catalyst choice and level of use as well as significantly lower processing temperature than those advocated by earlier users of the technology have been important factors in improving the cost of processing, which can be carried out batch-wise, semi-continuously or fully continuously Interest in random interesterification has grown in recent years as a result of the pressure to minimise the presence of trans-fatty acids in hydrogenated fats, which can be avoided by complete hydrogenation of the fat to be used, followed by interesterification with a soft oil that has not been hydrogenated. At the end of the process the catalyst must be removed before post-refining can be undertaken, and this is accomplished either by the addition of water or of either citric or phosphoric acid. The use of water for this purpose can lead to the formation of troublesome emulsions, and the use of acid for the purpose of deactivating the catalyst is therefore preferred. Controlling losses and costs An important factor in the use of interesterification is the oil loss incurred. This loss is caused by the reaction of the catalyst with either moisture or free fatty acid and the minimisation of oil loss is therefore achieved principally by ensuring that the oil to be processes is substantially dry (<0.01%) and that its free fatty acid content has been reduced to 0.05% or even lower. It is also important that the Peroxide Value of the oil to be processed is low (<10 mequivalents/g, preferably <5 mequivs/g), as this affects catalyst activity. Very thorough refining of the oil before interesterification is therefore essential if losses are to be minimised. If additional catalyst is added to the reaction mixture in order to accelerate the start of the reaction, an increase in oil loss will occur, which obviously adds to the process cost. It has been estimated that the oil loss, when using 0.1 % catalyst, is approximately 1.7%, but may be considerably higher if tight control is not exercised over catalyst use. Processing costs are also incurred in the removal of the catalyst residues after the reaction and the bleaching required in order to remove the colour formed during the reaction. The use of adsorptive silica to remove fatty acid soaps formed during interesterification will reduce the cost of catalyst removal. The cost of catalyst used represents approximately 10% of the total processing cost. Energy (steam, power) can account for 2530% of total processing cost, but the largest contribution is likely to be due to oil loss, possibly as much as 30%, depending on site location, when using chemical interesterification. The cost of post-refining is responsible for a significant share of the overall processing cost due to the need to remove the colour formed in processing.
Source: De Smet Ballestra NV presentation, Rosario (Argentina)
Source: De Smet Ballestra NV presentation, Rosario (Argentina)
Safety precautions The concept of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points has been used in the food processing industry for a number of years as a means of identifying the key points in a food production process from the point of view of ensuring the safety of the product, as well as the production plant. A related concept has been used in a recent book on oil processing in order to identify the stages in interesterification which require special care and attention if the process is to be operated efficiently. In addition to the critical control points listed, it is important to pay special attention to safety, primarily due to the nature of the catalysts used. The sodium alcoholates -- sodium methoxide and sodium ethoxide - are toxic chemicals and are highly reactive. They are generally supplied in pre-weighed quantities in special small drums in order to reduce manual handling to a minimum. These must be handled with great care, as it is important to prevent absorption of moisture and to avoid the risk of fire. Catalyst dust is another factor to be considered, calling for the use of a high quality of protective clothing for process operators. Where the process uses the alkali metals - sodium, potassium or their alloy - it equally requires much attention to safety, particularly of the pump used to introduce the metal into the reactor. n (The author is Edible Oil Processing Consultant (Retired))
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
27
Recollection
Amul Girl
Scores half century, attracts eyeballs too many When Sylvester da Cunha told his wife Nisha about the campaign he was going to create, he recalls, she asked, off the cuff, “Why don’t you say, ‘Utterly Amul’? To which he responded, equally spontaneously, “Hey, what about Utterly Butterly Amul?” And thus was born what he calls “one of the more memorable battle cries in advertising.” Some thought it was ungrammatical. However, Dr V. Kurien, Amul’s legendary head, said, “I think it’s utterly mad, but if you think it will work, go ahead”
T
hese are busy times for Rahul da Cunha. Non-stop India will not allow him a breather as the scams and crooks, the cricketers and the crazies keep hurtling into his hoardings without respite. There was a time when one Amul hoarding went up every week. In May this year, a record 17 of them went up, says the adman, who is Managing Director and Creative Head of da Cunha Communications, the advertising agency that creates the Amul hoardings. In the last week of the month, a particularly eventful one in the life of India, one hoarding went up every day, some across India, some only in Mumbai and Maharashtra. The Amul girl had her say on Shah Rukh Khan’s slanging match at the Wankhede stadium, the Kolkata Knight Rider’s IPL victory, Jaganmohan Reddy’s arrest, the petrol hike, the film Rowdy Rathore, exam paper leaks in Mumbai and the Opposition-called Bandh on May 31. “We now want to tackle every issue; we want to talk to everybody. Look at the madness that reigns,” says da Cunha. “But 28
Rahul da Cunha
the greatest joy is that one realises we are such a colourful country and we still have a great deal of freedom of speech.” The madness has kept the Amul hoardings going since 1966, when Sylvester da Cunha, founder-Chairman of the agency and the late cartoonist Eustace Fernandes created the very first hoarding that said: ‘Give us this day our daily bread with Amul Butter’. In June, the agency celebrated 50 years of the brand’s advertising with a book featuring the most popular hoardings.
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
Fittingly, for a book called Amul’s India, and a brand whose popularity cuts across every social divide, it is not a lavish, expensive coffee-table book, but a charming, neatly-designed regular-sized one priced at a democratic Rs 299. It is a book filled with wit, insight, courage and waves of nostalgia, a humorous but by no means frivolous record of the high and low points in India’s recent tumultuous history. It also has articles by a number of celebrities, including Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Gavaskar and Shobhaa De, who’ve featured in the hoardings. But first, Sylvester da Cunha tells how the famous catchline, unchanged since its first day, was created. When he told his wife Nisha about the campaign he was going to create, he recalls, she asked, off the cuff, “Why don’t you say, ‘Utterly Amul’? To which he responded, equally spontaneously, “Hey, what about Utterly Butterly Amul?” And thus was born what he calls “one of the more memorable battle cries in advertising.” Some thought it was ungrammatical. However, Dr V. Kurien, Amul’s legendary head, said, “I think it’s
Recollection There have been some laughable protests as well. When they wrote ‘Satyam Sharam Scandalum!’ for Satyam Computer Services’s disgraced Chairman Ramalinga Raju, he says, “We got a formal letter from the Satyam Board threatening us with dire consequences: all their employees would stop eating Amul butter!” The millions who haven’t stopped doing so have made the hoardings an integral part of India’s pop culture. What does the Amul cartoon mean to the longsuffering common man? “It mirrors his thoughts, whether of anger, perplexity or amusement,” believes da Cunha. “The attempt is to vocalise what everyone is thinking but can do nothing about.”
utterly mad, but if you think it will work, go ahead.” And they did. So much negotiation The hoardings have evolved from that simple one-liner into meaningful comment on a variety of issues. Their finest moment came in the 1970s, during the Emergency, when the press was dangerously muzzled. While many succumbed without a whimper, Sylvester da Cunha dared to send up a hoarding that declared: ‘We’ve always practised compulsory sterilisation’ — a reference to the forced family planning measures ordered by Sanjay Gandhi. “Dad took issues head-on and got away with it,” remarks his son. “I’d have to be really courageous or really stupid to do something like that now.” That’s because, he says, “Every cartoon involves so much negotiation. We have to do a lot of research, take care not to offend anyone. We have to be humorous but not make light of matters, for these are not frivolous issues we are talking about. I spend a huge part of my day on this, because we are the custodian of this brand, which comes with such a great legacy.” Also, he adds pragmatically and honestly, “The brand has to be protected. The Amul management has given us such a free hand that we have to be extremely responsible. We can’t endanger their sales.” It’s one of the reasons, he says, that they “don’t touch” Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray or his nephew Raj. “We’re very tempted but we won’t go near them,
because they are so unpredictable. And the irony is that they are both cartoonists.” Still, they manage to keep the flag flying. One of his personal favourites, says da Cunha, is the one on Lalu Prasad’s fodder scam. ‘Fodder of the nation,’ it said, and added, ‘Scamul!’. But when they came up with ‘Maine kyon khaya’ (Why did I eat so much?) for Suresh Kalmadi during the Commonwealth Games scam, they ran into trouble. “He was found guilty, he was in jail, his party had abandoned him. But party workers in Pune actually pulled down the hoarding,” recalls a bewildered da Cunha.
No wardrobe makeover It is a small, long-standing team of three that comes up with the hoardings. While da Cunha and award-winning copywriter Manish Jhaveri think up the lines, cartoonist Jayant Rane draws the moppet in the polka-dotted dress. It is a team that obviously works very well and productively. But what happens when they don’t see eye to eye? “If we can’t agree on something, we don’t use it. If there’s disharmony between the three of us, it won’t work when it goes public either,” explains da Cunha. Certainly, they can’t take too many liberties with the Amul girl. “When we put her in a skimpy outfit for a cartoon on the IPL cheerleaders, there was a huge protest on our Facebook page,” recounts da Cunha. “They will accept her in any costume if she is drawn as someone else, whether it is Mother Teresa or Mallika Sherawat. But if she’s shown as herself, she can’t change.” Safe to say they wouldn’t consider giving her a wardrobe makeover? “Unthinkable!” declares the adman. Perhaps her fans want her to retain her innocence, one that is now increasingly rarer. “Yes, we want to hark back to that age of innocence and we want her to be six-seven years old forever. She can comment on all kinds of things but she has to remain an innocent child,” he said. n
august 2012, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY
29
Study
Oils & Health
Mustard oil is the best oil for heart: AIIMS Study
I
t’s official. Mustard oil is the best for your heart. A comparative study of different edible oils has shown that mustard oil as a cooking medium can reduce the risk of heart diseases by over 70%. The study conducted by experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital compared fat content in different cooking oils, including olive oil, canola oil, mustard oil and sunflower oil, and its findings were reported in the February issue of the Journal of Preventive Cardiology. “A heart-friendly oil should be cholesterol- and trans-fat free, low in saturated fats and high in monounsaturated fat (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fat (PUFA), it should have an ideal N6 to N3 acids ratio and a high smoking point. Mustard oil meets all these criteria and that’s why it is the best cooking oil,” said Dr SC Manchanda, co-author of the article and senior consultant cardiologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. He said oil of canola, a close relative of mustard (brassica family), is equally beneficial but is rarely found in pure form. About the much-hyped and five times costlier olive oil, Manchanda said, “It has many good qualities, for example it is considered the best by some because it has the highest (75%) content of MUFA the best type of fat because it lowers bad cholesterol and elevates good cholesterol - among all other oils. It also contains a wide variety of anti-oxidants. But its main limitation is that it does not have an ideal ratio of omega-6 (N6) and Omega-3 (N3) fatty acids useful in reducing heart complications.” Mustard oil is used primarily in north and east India. Experts say that erucic 30
Counter-view
‘Mustard oil has health risks’ VN Dalmia, Pesident, Indian Olive Association has presented his view which runs counter to that in the AIIMS study: While IOA agrees with most of Dr S C Manchanda’s conclusions, it disagrees with his dismissiveness of the health risks associated with erucic acid in mustard oil.
acid, which is in present in mustard oil, was found to be harmful to rats in high doses but had no harmful effect on human beings. Clinical nutritionist Dr Ishi Khosla said mustard oil is best when consumed in its raw form known as ‘kachchi ghani’. “Our forebears have used mustard oil for centuries. The refined oils and other exotic varieties have arrived recently. The need is to change dietary habits rather than oils,” she said. With nearly 100-million affected people, India is on the verge of becoming the ‘heart disease capital of the world’, say experts. “Major risk factors for heart disease include high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, obesity, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet. We should eat less fried food, less butter and ghee. Regular exercise is advised,” said an n expert.
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
Mustard oil is banned for edible consumption in the EU, USA and Canada, principally due to its erucic acid content. The USFDA requires all mustard oil to be labelled “For External Use Only”. Erucic acid is known to cause the following health risks: Accumulation of triglycerides in the heart; development of fibriotic lesions of the heart; increase in risk of lung cancer; and anemia. Dr Manchanda states erucic acid was found to be harmful to rats in high doses but had no harmful effect on human beings. To our knowledge, no tests have been carried out on human beings. In fact, mustard oil for human consumption was banned even in Delhi in 1998 due to an alarming increase in dropsy. A mere comparison of fat content is not a study. In particular, there is no scientific basis for the extraordinary claim that mustard oil can reduce the risk of heart disease by over 70%. It cannot be denied that mustard oil has a beneficial fat composition. However, it is equally undeniable that mustard oil contains n on an average 47% erucic acid.
AgriBusiness & Food Industry w December 2011
17
New Product
Dhara launches Dhara Health with unique ‘Low Absorb Technology’
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aking the Low Absorb Technology one step further, Mother Dairy’s “Dhara”, the leading edible oil brand in India, announced the unique technology now being available in its Dhara Health Refined Sunflower Oil. According to company sources, the use of new Dhara Health can ensure up to 21.8 % low oil absorption. This new variant also comes with the goodness of Vitamin A & D. Speaking on the launch of the new variant Dinesh Agrawal, COO, Dhara SBU, MDFVPL, said: “Consumers today have become very health conscious and are constantly evaluating among products to pick the healthiest option while making the purchase decision. We have witnessed that consumers are well informed on the type of cooking oil they consume and the benefits that their oil offers. Consumers expect value added benefits over and above the intrinsic benefits that the product has to offer. One specific aspect that consumers continuously target is how they can consume less oil. Keeping this in mind we are now introducing the Low Absorb Technology in Dhara Health 32
Refined Sunflower Oil. With Dhara Heath, we wish to provide our consumers with a healthy frying/cooking option which allows them to consume their favorite recipes without worrying about the oil that it is soaked in.” He further added, “The ‘Low Absorb Technology’ is the outcome of the hard work of our R&D & product team who collaborated with FARE LABS Pvt. Ltd. (A leading independent NABL accredited and FSSAI Authorized food testing laboratory) to conduct a comprehensive study before introducing it in Dhara Health. As per the findings of the study, new Dhara Health absorbs 19.8 to 21.8 % less oil (tests conducted by frying besan bhujiya and Lady Finger) as compared to regular sunflower oil. Dhara Health’s fortification with Vitamin A & D is in continuation with the company’s commitment to provide healthier options to consumers. Apart from the food absorbing less oil, the introduction of ‘Low Absorb Technology’ ensures that the nutritional loss is less compared to normal oils as per the study conducted by FARE LABS Pvt. Ltd. The oil also retains the quality for longer period than compared to regular sunflower oil”.
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
The ‘Low Absorb’ variant of Dhara Health is available in 1 ltr Poly Pouch, 5 ltr Jerry Can and 15 ltr Jerry Can across all leading retail outlets, multi brand stores, Mother Dairy booths and Safal outlets. Mother Dairy has also evolved into a significant dairy products player with presence in the following categories of Ice creams, Dahi, Lassi, Flavoured milk, butter, cheese and UHT milk. Mother Dairy also markets nationally frozen foods and juices under the brand name ‘Safal’. The Dhara range of edible oil is also manufactured and marketed by Mother Dairy across various markets. The company has also entered new categories such as Probiotics with the launch of Mother Dairy ‘b-Activ’ Probiotic curd and lassi, ‘b-Activ’ Plus curd and ‘Nutrifit’ probiotic. Mother Dairy’s ‘Nutrifit Campaign’ was recently adjudged as the best campaign in “Nutri Marketing Category” at the prestigious International Dairy Federation (IDF) Marketing Awards 2008 held at World Dairy Summit in Mexico on November n 2008.
News
SEAI wants duty cut on oilmeal imports
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olvent extractors have sought a duty cut on oilmeal imports to help alleviate the shortfall in kharif oilseeds output. The move, if implemented, would help the extraction units running and ensure availability of cattle and poultry feed. At present, customs duty on oilmeal stands at 15 per cent, making imports unviable for the domestic units. “We want the Government to reduce the import duty to help overcome the anticipated production shortfall due to poor rains,” said B.V. Mehta, CEO, Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEAI). The Association is making a case for import of oilmeal of sunflower, copra, rapeseed and palm kernel among others. But soyameal imports are not being considered as they are not feasible right now, Mehta said. This is mainly on concerns over the presence of genetically modified (GM) content in soyameal imports. The SEAI has also sought a cut in railway freight tariff and suggested removal of value-added tax (VAT) on edible oil and oilseeds. “The Government had asked for suggestions to deal with the drought-like situation and we have asked them to consider these,” Mehta said. He expected groundnut output to be lower this year, but did not quantify the
decline. The deficit monsoon has cast a spell on kharif foodgrain and fodder output. So far, the groundnut acreage is lower on account of poor sowing in key growing areas of Saurashtra in Gujarat, parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka. “Delayed sowing will also impact the productivity,” Mehta said. Rains during the next two months are crucial for the 95-110 day groundnut crop. “The last showers, about 15 days before the harvest is crucial for the quality and productivity. If the monsoon withdraws on time in September, then there will be concerns as late sown crop is likely to be impacted. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” Mehta said. But the shortfall in groundnut acreage is being made up by higher planting of soyabean, especially in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. “Sowing is almost complete in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The total area, which is at 102 lakh hectares (lh) could go up by another 2-3 lh,” said Rajesh Agarwal, spokesperson for the Soyabean Processors Association of India. Well-spread rains in central India in the past few days have aided the planting and overall acreage will be higher than last year’s 103 lh, he said.
India’s oilmeal exports up, Iran, S. Korea main buyers
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ilmeals exports increased 22 per cent to 3,05,526 tonnes in June compared with 2,50,335 tonnes during the same period a year ago. The jump in shipments was largely due to increased demand from Iran and South Korea. However, exports in the first quarter of this fiscal are down by three per cent 1,057,743 tonnes (1,087,463 tonnes), mainly due to disparity in crushing, leading to lower availability of oilmeals for export, said a Solvent Extractors Association of India press release. Oilmeals, remnants after oilseeds are crushed, are used in compound feed for poultry, cattle and aqua feeds, while castorseed meal is used as fertiliser. India exports oilmeals to South-East Asian
countries and major importers are Japan, South Korea, Iran, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. Iran oilmeal imports from India more than doubled to 3,01,154 tonnes in the first quarter of this fiscal compared with 85,364 tonnes. Imports consisted of 2,85,154 tonnes of soyameal and 16,000 tonnes of rapeseed meal. Imports by South Korea were up 63 per cent at 2,82,833 tonnes (1,73,064 tonnes). Exporters had to drop prices to retain their orders in June as the rupee depreciated against the dollar to 55.94 against 54.33 in May. Rapeseed meal was shipped at $250 a tonne in June against $259 in May while soyameal was priced at $545 a tonne ($547 a tonne).
Alis Volat Propriis Ramilaben Govindbhai Patel hasn’t been to college. But at 43, she earns what some CEOs take home. She milks cows every day and supplies milk to a dairy co-operative. She earned Rs 1.10 crore net profit in 2011-12. At Pentarpura village in Sabarkantha district, Ramilaben’s dairy farm churns out 5.55 lakh litres of milk per annum. What had started as a backyard business in 2000 is now a full-fledged family business. She is an outstanding success story of the change the White Revolution has brought about in Amul capital. Twelve years ago, Ramilaben registered herself as a primary milk producer at Pentarpura’s dudh mandali (village level milk society) and took a bank loan for five crossbred cows. Today, she runs ‘Jai Ranchod Dudh Utpadan Kendra’, which is a five-acre home to 280 cattle where 40
workers get employment, even though the farm has four automatic milking machines. She and her husband Govindbhai visited Israel last year to finalize plans to set up a calfrearing farm alongside a fully computerized ‘tabela’. “Our farm has 24-hour water, a cooling system, fodder chaffing machines and other things but we want to adopt Israeli technology where rotary units will milk cows automatically and also indicate fat content,” says Ramilaben. The modernization will cost Rs 1 crore. Ramilaben is an inspiration to other women in Gujarat who are the backbone of the dairy industry. Out of the total 16,117 milk societies, 2,124 are run by women. Alis volat propriis, Latin for ‘She flies with her own wings’, which is also the motto of the state of Oregon, perfectly sums up this miracle lady.
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News
Consumers happy with 100 gm Nandini milk products
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arnataka Housing Board chairman G T Devegowda and MysoreChamarajanagar District Cooperative Bank president C Basavegowda has launched 100 gms small packs of Mysore pak and cashew burfi, made of Nandini milk. Mymul executive director Suresh Babu said, the small packs have more demand in public. They were released in market on experimental basis and gained success. Many measures are taken to encourage milk producers. Children of milk producers who have topped PUC examinations are given talent awards. Those pursuing medical courses are given Rs 20,000 scholarship. It would cost Rs 1,200 for anyone including milk producers for kidney dialysis. However, in an agreement, the federation has donated dialysis equipment to Kaveri hospital and Riverview
hospital to facilitate milk producers to obtain the facility at a lower cost of just Rs 600. District cooperative union president H V Rajeev, Karnataka Milk Federation nominated director SC Ashok, Mymul president C Omprakash, director K Umashankar, T A Rajegowda, H S Basavaraju, Vimala Shankar, Shivanandaswamy, Mahadevappa, K G Mahesh, S Mahadevaswamy were present. Advertising posters of Nandini milk products were also released on the occasion. Later, equipments at Kaveri hospital and Riverview hospital were launched.
MP registers increased milk collection
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adhya Pradesh has set a new history in white revolution by purchasing milk from two lakh milk producing farmers. In comparison to 1993-2003, the number of active cooperative milk producer societies has also increased considerably in the state. The active milk producer cooperative societies were 2210 in year 1993 and rose to 2767 in 2003. However, their number has increased to 6,000 from 2004 to 2012. Similarly, the number of milk providers rose from 66,880 to 34
77,913 between 1993 and 2003 whereas it went up to 2,10,000 from 2004 to 2012. The daily milk collection in the state was 2,57,000 kilogram (kg) in 1993 and rose to 9,50,000 kg in 2012. Much more increase has been registered during the last 8.5 years and now the quantum of daily milk collection stands at 6.50 lakh liters per day. During last year 201112, 7.21 lakh liters of milk was purchased daily from milk producers through milk societies.
SAARC OILS & FATS Today, august 2012
Parag Foods to launch milkshakes
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une based Parag Milk Foods, the maker of Gowardhan brand of milk, curd, ghee and cheese plans to enter into milkshakes segment as well, a top official said. “We will launch milkshakes in the next three to four months. The research and development is still going on,” Parag Milk Foods Chairman, Devendra Shah, said. The company is also expecting a growth of over 35% this fiscal on the back of aggressive expansion plans. “We had revenue of Rs 875 crore in FY 2012. We are expecting around Rs 1,200 crore this fiscal,” he said. The company is also increasing distribution network and should be present in 100 towns soon. “We plan to expand more into the Eastern and Northern markets. We have plans to open 150 exclusive stores in big cities by next January. The new stores will be on a franchise model,” Shah added. The company has invested close to Rs 110 crore for a plant in Andhra Pradesh, which has ultra heat treatment
(UHT) technology. “Our new plant in Andhra with the UHT technology has been commissioned and has a capacity of 7-8 lakh litres per day. It is basically for tetra pack products. “This year, we have invested Rs 40 crore for this. Besides, we have invested Rs 70 crore in the plant for infrastructure,” he said, adding this is the first time that the company will be launching tetra pack products. The firm, which also has a plant at Manchar near Pune, Parag aims to capture a volume share of 10% in the 11 lakh litre a day market within the next three months. The market is estimated to be Rs 500-800 crore in terms of value. The dairy company also plans to launch flavoured milk using the UHT technology. Parag Milk’s product portfolio includes skimmed milk powder, whole milk powder, ghee, processed cheese, butter, curd, proprietary foods like dairy whitener and gulab jamun mix powder under the brand names ‘Gowardhan’ and ‘Go’.
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News
Ban on import of milk & milk products from China gets extension
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he government has extended ban on import of milk and its production from China for one more year. A notification to this effect was issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade which says that milk and its products would continue to be banned from China until June 23, 2013 or further orders, whichever is earlier. The prohibition of import includes chocolates and chocolate products and candies/ confectionary/ food preparations with milk or milk solids as an ingredient. The prohibition on import of milk and its products from China was originally imposed September 24, 2008 with reports that the milk products imported from China contain melamine – a banned substance injurious to health. The ban was extended since then time to time. There were reports that milk sold in China was laced with melamine. Unfortunately, it is possible accumulates in the body and causes toxicity problems - basically damaging the kidneys and forming stones (solid deposits within the kidneys or bladder). Infants fed regularly with milk containing melamine will be particularly susceptible to these effects. As we have seen tens of thousands have been affected and several have died in China. Why this problem is not more widespread, given the rather large number of infants potentially having been drinking contaminated formula-milk for months is unclear. Dairy farmers have been feeling the squeeze for years, particularly in parts of the 36
world where technological advancement has been slow in coming and so their profit margins on their milk output have not been lifted by improved efficiency. In order to boost profits milk has been diluted. However, this brings with it the problem of falling quality - dilute with water and measurable concentrations of milk proteins, fats, and sugars fall. Dilution by up to 30 per cent has not been uncommon, which is where melamine comes in. Melamine is a small organic molecule with a high nitrogen content that can easily fool the quality control equipment into thinking that nitrogen (from protein) is present at normal levels and so the milk is passed as good. Acting on reports by the food standard authority in the US, the American regulator also banned imports of milk and its products from China in 2008. Despite repeated clarification from the Chinese Authorities of resolving melamine issue, the ban on imports of milk and its products continued in India which saw similar ban on import of Indian seafood into China. The move came over a week after the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) had recommended extension of ban on milk and its products on June 22 in view of reports of poor quality standards of milk in China. The DGFT was awaiting a nod from the Ministry of Commerce for extending this ban further despite the previous suspension period expired on June 24.
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Coconut Board to take India forward in productivity & Value addition
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he Coconut Development Board is committed to making the country the global topper in production, productivity, processing for value addition and exports during the 12th Plan, Prof K.V. Thomas, Union Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs, said. He was inaugurating the 45th Cocotech meeting of the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC). The Board, he said, has chalked out a host of ambitious programmes under the Technology Mission on Coconut to encourage manufacture of various coconut products such as desiccated coconut powder, packaged tender coconut water, coconut milk concentrate, cream, and virgin coconut oil. The emphasis is mainly on evolving technologies for the development of new value-added products in tune with those of other leading countries such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia had yielded results, he added. “Aggregation of farmers and their produce will help to make available raw materials at competitive rates,” he said adding this will also trigger farm-level processing for value addition, effective marketing strategies and market promotional activities.
S. Damodaran, Agriculture Minister, Tamil Nadu, called upon scientists to identify new technologies and genes for coconut development particularly to evolve new varieties confirming resistance to root wilt disease and to withstand drought conditions. He pointed out that Central Plantation Crops Research Institute has 401 genotypes in their gene bank which can be used to develop the sector globally. He also urged the Board to initiate steps to demonstrate new technologies to the farmers in Tirupur, where the Tamil Nadu Government had allotted 33 hectares for production of coconut seedlings. Romulo N. Arancon, Jr., Executive Director, APCC, stressed the need to increase productivity through replanting and rejuvenation programmes in all coconut growing countries by replacing senile palms, crop intensification promotion and crop diversification through intercropping. More than 200 delegates are attending the 5-day meet. The conference with the theme “Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development of the Coconut Industry” is taking place in India after a gap of 12 years.
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Environmentalists oppose import of duty-free soyameal
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he Government’s move to allow duty-free imports of soyameal for livestock feed has not gone down well with the green brigade. Environmentalists fear such imports could result in genetically modified (GM) material landing up in the food chain, as most of the soyameal produced overseas is of the GM variety. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) early this week decided to scrap 15 per cent customs duty on imports of de-oiled cakes of soyabean, sunflower, mustard and canola, among others. This was done to augment feed supplies to livestock as drought-like conditions have hit fodder availability in some areas. “Given that most soya in the world is now GM, the oilmeal will be genetically modified. It is not in the jurisdiction of the EGoM to make this decision,” said Vandana Shiva, noted environmentalist. “This decision needs to be made by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). And the Supreme Court has set up a high-level technical committee to which I have made submissions to elaborate the full bio-safety testing. The EGoM decision is thus ultra vires,” she said. India is yet to approve GM food crops on safety concerns. “There is definitely a concern on the safety aspect, as most of the soyabean import will be GM and there are studies showing the impact of such feed on animals,” said Kavita Kuruganti of Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture. “This obviously has to go through the regulatory approval procedures since any import has to be cleared by the
regulatory body/GEAC and should also be declared as GM in line with DGFT guidelines, after passing through GEAC approval processes. Also, the regulators have to look at the health implications before they clear it,” she said. Kavita Kuruganti said that even in 2006, when the GEAC was seeking to give approval to import of soyaoil and degummed soya crude oil, they found residues of glyphosate to be a problem. In that sense, apart from the GM issue, there is the issue of herbicide health impacts also, she added. Eminent Scientist and Parliamentarian, M.S. Swaminathan, however, called for transparency. “So far, there has been no adverse report on the feeding of soyabean cake from genetically modified varieties. However, there should be proper labelling indicating that the de-oiled cake is from genetically modified varieties,” he said. In fact, he sought a ban on export of soyabean meal and other animal feed concentrates. “We are the only country which has non-GM soyabean on such a largescale. Instead of exporting our meal and importing genetically modified ones, it will be prudent that we conserve all our animal protein sources to take care of the needs of over a billion farm animals in our country,” Swaminathan said. Fearing an adverse impact on the domestic oilseed industry, Vandana Shiva said, “In 1998, the Government allowed dutyfree imports of soya oil, which has replaced our healthy oils with unhealthy soya. Now the import of oilmeal will further destroy the oilseed sector.”
Sunflower farmers should avoid high plant densities
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unflower is one of the largest produced oilseed crops in the country annually. Though it is grown on a large scale for oilseed production in India the crop suffers huge losses due to many pest and disease outbreaks. Especially during the flowering and grain formation stages sudden outbreak of diseases like the powdery mildew infects crop growth and yield. Symptoms The disease produces white powdery growth on the leaves. White to grey mildew appears on the upper surface of older leaves. As plants mature black pin head sized are visible in white mildew areas. Infested leaves lose lustre, curl, become pale in colour and die. The disease appears on the upper surface of leaves in the form of pale yellow or pale brown minute discoloured specks from which powdery mass radiates to all sides of leaves. Heavily infested leaves dry and shed prematurely. Soon these specks get covered with whitish powdery mycelial growth which increase in size and
develop to cover much of the plant area with white powdery growth. Gradually, the infection spreads to other parts of the plant. The disease is prevalent more under dry conditions especially at the end of the winter months. Management l Reducing the likelihood of a disease outbreak is more effective than trying to control the disease once it is established. l Avoid growing crops in situations of high humidity. l Morning watering limits the build-up of humidity in the crop overnight. l Avoid high plant densities which lead to heavy infection. l Application of sulphur dust at 25-30kg/ha or calixin 1 ml/litre is found effective in reducing the disease incidences. l Under high incidences spraying of difenoconazole 1ml/litre is very effective.
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