Farmers demand a hike in price

The monumental statue of Zeus at Olympia in Greece was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Created in the 430s BCE under the supervision of the master Greek sculptor Phidias, the huge ivory and gold statue was bigger even than that of Athena in the Parthenon. Worshipped by pilgrims from across the Mediterranean, the statue inspired countless imitations and defined the standard representation of Zeus in Greek and Roman art in sculpture, on coins, pottery, and gemstones. Lost in later Roman times following its removal to Constantinople, Phidias’ masterpiece captivated the ancient world for 1,000 years.

Source: World history Encyclopedia

Quiz

1. In which year did Dadasaheb Phalke produce his first feature film?

2. Who was the painter of the famous painting named ‘Bharat Mata’?

3. In which year India’s first multi-purpose river valley project was launched?

4. Article 110 of Constitution of India deals with?

5. Under which Article of the Constitution of India untouchability was abolished?

Sheep

mating has also decreased. If the sheep population itself declines, how can wool be produced? Compared to our state, northern states have a greater demand for wool. So slowly people are shifting towards other businesses like silk. At the moment, we are selling wool for Rs 25 per kg. Earlier, it was Rs 100 to Rs 130 per kg back in the year 2015.”

There are different sheep breeds raised for their meat, wool, and both. Breeds such as Texel and Dorset are efficient at producing meat.

Veerupakshppa S, deputy director of textiles, ministry of textiles said: “We are holding awareness programmes and trying to motivate farmers to move into wool production; but it is not only in our hands. The effort should be from the farmers’ side also to make this happen.”

According to the 20th Livestock Census, conducted in 2019, there were 74.26 million sheep in India, an increase of 14.1 per cent over the previous count, taken in the year 2012.

Data from the International vindhya.p@iijnm.org

Wool Textile Organization show world sheep numbers in 2021 rose to 1.266 billion head, up from 1.263 billion in 2020. India has the second largest sheep population, followed by Australia and Sudan among the countries. China leads the chart.

A research paper on the Performance of Sheep Farming in Karnataka says, Karnataka has one of India’s most significant cattle population. It contributes about 7 per cent of India’s sheep and goat population. Sheep and goat breeding is the backbone of small and marginal farmers’ economies. The state has enormous potential for shared resources and pastures and pastureland in general. Most tiny, marginal and landless farmers depend on sheep and goats for their subsistence.

According to the International Wool Textile Organization, among the most well-known breeds of wool sheep are Ovis, Aries, Merino, Rambouillet.

A single sheep, on average, provides around 4.5 kg of wool per year — the equivalent of at least 10 metres of fabric.

Continued from page 1

Shivakumar,

6. With which sport is David Beckham associated?

a dairy farmer with four cows, said he is happy with the price he gets. He sells one litre for Rs 32 as the milk is thick.

Jagadeesh B N, an assistant manager at the KMF’s Mandya unit, said: “Milk is the primary demand of every household. We need refrigerators and have to bear transport costs, GST, employee costs, and still we don’t work for profit because it’s a co-operative. Nandini milk is cheaper than that of Dodla, Heritage, Arokya, and Tirumala.

In the private market, it’s a monopoly but in here, the farmers have to think about all.

Farmers are demanding that the procurement price, now Rs 31, be raised. Most are shifting to private dairies because they have a higher procurement price than KMF’s.

Swamy Gowda, owner of Swamy’s Nandini, said farmers in his village, paid Rs 26 by KMF, are shifting to private milk dairies because they give them a higher price. Dodla pays farmers around Rs 40 and sells it for Rs 55. Now that private companies

Most farmers are now shifting to private diaries | Credit: Yukta M have raised their prices, people are shifting to Nandini, increasing the demand from the co-operative. yukta.m@iijnm.org

According to a report in The New Indian Express, the KMF is seeing an increase in demand for milk, but facing a shortage in supplies. KMF officials said that as summer is starting, the demand for milk has increased.

Answers on page 4

Did You Know?

While studying mice, a team of Swiss researchers found that the mice’s liver cells swelled and contracted up to 40% while doing their daily activities. Though research being conducted whether that happens to that extent in humans, one study from 1986 found a person’s liver swells about 20 percent between day and night—presumably related to the fact that the liver is not working as hard when a person is sleeping.

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