Nine-day
old Truckers’ strike called off
The
nine-day old nationwide strike by the truckers was called off after
a settlement with the Union Government. But not before adversely
affecting the delivery system and taking a heavy toll on the industry.
Arrivals
of fruits and vegetables were hit, leading to spiralling prices,
higher freight rates and increased farmer anxiety over stock pile-up.
Wholesale tomato prices were nearly doubled to Rs 7.5 per kg from
Rs 4 a kg in the Delhi market, while coriander prices jumped to
Rs 10 per kg from Rs 4 a kg.Non-perishable
commodities like edible oils did not remain unaffected and so did
sugar as shipping vessels awaited supply from mills.
Bihar
out of bounds for Monsanto seeds
Monsanto
India Ltd, a subsidiary of the US multinational, has been barred
from selling seeds in Bihar for allegedly marketing substandard
products. Sources in the Bihar government said it was under tremendous
pressure to cancel Monsanto’s licence because thousands of farmers
were demanding compensation after being reduced to penury following
the failure of the winter crop. Monsanto is believed to have sold
700 tonnes of seeds for the winter crop, promising farmers yields
of 80 to 85 quintals per acre. The actual yield was not even 10
percent of this, according to figures available with the government.
Monsanto seeds were planted over 140,000 hectares. The company has
been asked to explain its conduct.
Coconut
farmers seek relief from pests
The
coconut farmers in Andhra Pradesh are sorely disappointed over the
cold shoulder treatment that the government has given to the Eriophyd
mite issue. The pest has already caused irre-vocable damage to the
crops in the state. The Eriophyd mite that originated in Kerala,
has now spread in mostly all the southern states.
Addressing
an awareness programme, jointly organised by the Coconut Development
Board and the State Horticulture Department, R Sundara Rama Raju,
President of All-India Coconut Growers’ Association said, “all these
states and the Centre should draw up a joint action plan to combat
the pest, as it recognises no political boundaries and quarantine
zones should be declared to fight it effectively.” He also commented
on the unavailability of technical data that could detect how the
pest affected the crop in a particular zone. Adding to the above,
P Narayana Swamy Naidu, Minister for Horticulture, said till now
Rs 3.7 crore had been spent in different districts on combating
the mite. He said the drought in the state had also added to the
woes of the coconut farmers in the state. He promised relief and
added that the necessary steps would be taken to control the mite
further.
Budget
incentives fail to impress coffee industry
The
two sops announced for the coffee sector in the recent Budget –
the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) and the tax exemption on income
ploughed back into development of the estates have failed to offer
any solace to the industry.
The
industry is sceptical about whether the PSF will work. “It is like
offering a drowning man a piece of hay instead of a stick,” said
GC Chandramohan, President of the All India Coffee Industry Action
Committee. He pointed out that the Rs 500 crore in the fund would
be divided between three commodities – coffee, tea and rubber –
and as a result the amount that coffee would finally get would be
too small.
The
scheme is subscription-based, which means that the growers would
have invest in it. It is also restricted to small growers. As for
the announcement that profits ploughed back into development of
the estate will not be taxed, “it is applicable only when you make
a profit,” industry sources pointed out.
Punjab,
Mahindra ink pact for crop diversification
The
Punjab Government signed an agreement with Mahindra & Mahindra
for initiating a crop diversification programme. The programme seeks
to reduce the state’s existing surplus area under wheat and paddy
in favour of alternative crops. Under the agreement signed between
Mahindra ShubhLabh Services and the Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation,
it is planned to bring in an area of up to one lakh acres under
contract farming in the current year, which will go up to five lakh
acres over the next three years.
This
year’s cotton crop expected to shrink 11%
Insufficient
rainfall across the cotton growing areas of the country during the
past year can result in a low cotton production. The Cotton Advisory
Board has estimated this year’s production at around 140 lakh bales
(of 170 kg each), 11 per cent lower from the previous season’s 158
lakh bales. Most
of the states, except Haryana, are expected to show a decline in
their cotton produce. The fall is also expected to keep the cotton
prices firm.
Kerala’s
tea trade shows no signs of improving
The
problems of Kerala’s tea sector are showing no signs of improving
and the woes are being compounded by a drop in output, in addition
to the prevailing low prices for the commodity. According
to latest figures, Kerala’s tea production has dropped from 69,132
tonnes in 2000-01 to 66,090 tonnes in 2001-02. Productivity has
also declined from 1,876 kg per hectare in 2000-01 to 1,791 kg per
hectare in 2001-02, forcing several tea plantations in Kerala, mainly
in The idukki district, to lay off workers.
Agri
exports set to rise this year despite drought
Despite
a prolonged drought across the country, last year, the exports of
agricultural and processed foods is expected to grow at 20 per cent
for the current financial year. According
to the latest data from the Agriculture Produce Export Development
Authority the overall agri-exports have been doing well this year.
Going by the trend the export may go beyond 20 per cent as against
the targeted growth of 15 per cent for the year.
Sri
lanka shops for potatoes in punjab
Ceylon
and overseas traders from Sri Lanka will be buying 6,000 tonnes
potatoes from Punjab Markfed for delivery from April onwards, this
year, according to company director N Ganeshan. He
said delivery would be made at a fixed price which could be $140
- $150 a tonne after factoring in investment cost, interest rates,
seasonal fluctuations in prices and storage overheads.
Andhra
Pradesh seeks waiver on crop loans
In
view of the failure of monsoons leading to a widespread drought
in the area the Government of AP has asked the Central Government
to waive interest on kharif 2002 crop loans. The
Government of India had earlier announced waiver of interest on
crop loans borrowed in kharif 2002 following widespread drought
conditions in the country. As per the guidelines issued by Nabard
earlier this year, only 20 per cent of the interest on kharif loans
has been waived, according to a status report on drought, tabled
by the State Minister for Revenue and Relief, Mr P Ashok Gajapathi
Raju.
Water
shortage hits Andhra farmers
Due
to the fall in hydel power generation, farmers in Andhra Pradesh
have been advised not to go in for the third crop (Khathera), normally
grown during the summer months. For
the first time, almost all the reservoirs in the Krishna basin and
even in the Sileru complex have dropped below the minimum draw down
levels. In view of this, the Andhra Pradesh Transmission Corporation
has stated that there will be no hydel power generation available
from April 10. This would mean that there would be no power available
for agriculture pumpsets.
No
more restrictions on sandalwood cultivation
The
Government has made relaxations in the century old law relating
to sandalwood that restricted the ownership of these trees on private
land. With the amendment, the Government hopes to curb the large-scale
smuggling which has been depriving the industry of regular supply
of raw materials extracted from sandalwood. According to official
sources, the removal of the restriction would help farmers grow
sandalwood as a plantation crop.
No
more free power in TN
The
Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission has ordered that there
will not be free supply of power to any consumer in Tamil Nadu hereafter.
About 15 lakh farmers and 14 lakh hut dwellers in the state were
enjoying free power supply till now. Besides,
the Commission has also hiked tariffs for all sections of consumers,
with domestic connections and commercial consumers facing the largest
quantum of increase.
In
a bid to soften the blow the State Government has announced a direct
subsidy scheme for small and marginal farmers. For agricultural
connections, the commission has said that they will have a six-month
billing cycle with the first payment due in September.
Organic
farming to get a boost in tenth plan
To
promote organic farming in the country, the Union Agriculture Ministry
has drawn up a national project on organic cultivation during the
Tenth Plan period. The national project would be implemented at
a cost of Rs 100 crore.
The
main components of the project include framing of standards, negotiating
with different countries and forming a system of certification for
organic products. Besides promoting the establishment of commercial
production units for organic inputs, the plan would also address
issues relating to capacity building in this segment.
Under
the plan, a National Institute of Organic Farming would be set up
with six regional offices including one in Bangalore. The headquarter
for the institute would be set up in Ghaziabad while other regional
centres would be in Hissar, Jabalpur, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar besides
Imphal.
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