NEWS Bulletin from Indian Society For Sustainable Agriculture And Rural Development
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1. WTO DDG tight-lipped on bio-fuel factor, rising prices
2. World leaders to discuss bio-fuel use - Will Brazil support curbing bio-fuel programme to contain rising prices ?
BILATERALS----
3. India invites Arab investment, energy cooperation
4. Italy eyes bilateral tie-up with India
5. India, Egypt agree to co-operation in agriculture
On GMOs. Bio-fuels, Organic---
6. IAASTD Report : In agri, business as usual is not an option
Glabal Bamboo Conference----
7. Bamboo industry eyes slice of $7.5 bn world market
8. Green gold gets shine back with bamboo mission
9. Bamboo production helps environment: ICAR
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WTO DDG tight-lipped on bio-fuel factor, rising prices
http://www.financialexpress .com/news/WTO-DDG-tightlipped -on-biofuel-factor-rising -prices/299714/0
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Monday , April 21, 2008 at 2051 hrs IST
Posted online: Monday , April 21, 2008 at 2051 hrs IST
New Delhi, April 21: Will the changed situation of soaring global food prices and the highly subsidized bio-fuel programme in Europe and in the US find place in the revised texts for the upcoming negotiations for multilateral trade ? The WTO deputy director-general, Harsha Vardhan Singh could not give any satisfactory answer.
He said "revised draft texts on agriculture and NAMA are expected towards the end of this month or early May. The 12th UNCTAD meeting in Accra in Ghana is taking stock of the situation relating to trade and development."
Singh in a roundtable discussion organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in Delhi on Monday said that after the chairs of the agriculture and NAMA committees present their drafts, it would be followed by official-level discussions for arriving at a convergence on modalities. A mini-ministerial conference in Geneva, likely around May 19, would then take the negotiations forward
When asked about a possible change in India's negotiating position in the WTO in the light of the new global situation of rising food prices on account of massive subsidized bio-fuel programme in US and Europe, the joint secretary in the Union ministry of commerce and industry, Jayant Dasgupta denied any such move. He said "the movements of global prices are cyclic in nature. We need to have an effective study to find the linkage between the bio-fuel programme and the rise in food prices."
However, Sanjaya Baru, the outgoing media advisor to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said : "In my personal view India should soften its position on the issue of cuts in farm subsidies in the developed world. The world food prices are rising abnormally and it is becoming difficult to import food."
With a view to contain rising trend of price inflation in the country, India has drastically cut applied tariffs on many agro commodities. Several experts say that such drastic tariff cuts would send a wrong signal and undermine India's negotiating position. Rather the government should crack down on hoarders and market manipulators as there has been a good agriculture production in the season.
The massive bio-fuel programme in Europe and in the US have caused diversion of food crop for fuel, which has caused a phenomenal rise in global food prices.
The WTO deputy chief informed sectoral discussions on trade and environment were in progress in Geneva, particularly on the list of green goods, request offer approach and project approach Major differences of opinion have surfaced on the list of green goods. India has been pushing for the project approach, he said.
He said that G-20 consisted of countries having both offensive and defensive interests in agriculture and also with developing countries and least developed countries having different positions on different issues. However, the negotiations in agriculture would be easier than that in NAMA, he said.
He said : "tropical product exporters want more market access. This issue is not insurmountable."...
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World leaders to discuss bio-fuel use
Will Brazil support curbing bio-fuel programme to contain rising prices ?
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 2358 hrs IST
Posted online: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 2358 hrs IST
Bio-fuel programme across the world has become controversial as food crops used in its production have caused food prices to soar up and the use of non-food crops like jatropha has displaced food crops from cultivation and has also caused environmental problems. But Brazil basing on its decades of experience on use of ethanol as auto-fuel has now decided to take up bio-diesel programme in a big way.
By the end of 2004, Brazilian federal government launched the National Programme of Bio-diesel Production and Use (PNPB). It was planned that from January 2008, B2 blends will be mandatory across the country. In January 2013, this mandatory mix will increase to 5% of bio-diesel (B5). Blends with higher shares of bio-diesel or even pure bio-diesel (B100) can be used, but in this case authorisation by the Petroleum, Natural Gas and Bio-fuels National Agency is required.
The FAO has called a meeting of world leaders in early June to deliberate on the issue of rising global prices caused by the bio-fuel programme. The WTO mini-ministerial is slated to be convened in Geneva in May 19 to deliberate on reviving multilateral trade negotiations in the midst of rising food prices. It seems unlikely that Brazil, with its ethanol-based Economy, would support any view which would discourage bio-fuel programme.
Arnaldo Walter of the State University of Campinas says: "The 2% target for blending of bio-diesel in 2008 will be barely achieved and just a small share of production of raw materials will be based on family farmers and will occur in the poorest areas of the country. However, all drawbacks should be carefully analysed and the problems should be addressed properly. There is a pressure on the government to go for 5% blending of bio-diesel earlier by 2010, but based on the results so far achieved it seems risky to accept such pressures."
Walter was recently in India to participate in the fifth International Bio-fuel Conference in Delhi.
He mentions that the Brazilian government is very optimistic about largescale production of bio-diesel and knows that subsidies would be needed to support small farmers for growing bio-fuel crops. The farmers with large landholdings and big Companies are more assertive for faster implementation of the bio-diesel programme.
Brazil has successfully produced fuel ethanol at largescale for more than 30 years from molasses and subsequently from sugarcane juice. Brazilian experience on use of ethanol blended gasoline dates back to 1930s, but it was in 1975 that Brazilian Alcohol Programme (PROALCOOL) was created aiming at partially displacing gasoline in private transport.
The country was strongly dependant on imported fossil oil and gasoline was the main oil derivate consumed. In 1979 with the second oil shock, Brazilian government decided to enlarge PROALCOOL programme, supporting largescale production of hydrated ethanol to be used as fuel in modified engines.
Neat ethanol vehicles use hydrated ethanol, while anhydrous ethanol is blended with gasoline. The ethanol consumption has increased in Brazil with the high success of flex-fuels vehicles (FFVs) launched in early 2003 and more than 85% of the new vehicles in Brazil today are FFVs. FFVs can also run on hydrated ethanol.
In 1975-79, ethanol production was accomplished by new distilleries annexed to the existing sugar mills, while in 1979-85 many autonomous distilleries were set up. About $12 billion was invested to create the infrastructure for producing 15 billion litres of ethanol per year. The programme was initially heavily subsidised by the government. Later in 1990s subsidies were reduced on deregulation of the sugar industry.
Brazil today is the second largest producer of ethanol as US surpassed it in 2006. However, fuel ethanol in the transport sector is much higher in Brazil than in the US. Brazil exports ethanol to the US and European Union.
But ethanol fuel production in Brazil is still not without problems. The benefits are not equally distributed among stakeholders in the different regions of the country. Walter says: "There are still concerns regarding large-scale production of ethanol from social and environment points of view."
The world may be plagued with rising food prices on account of massive bio-fuel programme, but Brazil is determined to go ahead with its agenda....
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India invites Arab investment, energy cooperation
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Friday , April 18, 2008 at 1931 hrs IST
Posted online: Friday , April 18, 2008 at 1931 hrs IST
New Delhi, April 18: India has invited investments from Arab nations and sought long-term arrangements for guaranteed supply of fossil oil.
Inaugurating the two-day India-Arab Investment Conclave here on Friday, the Union minister for external affairs, Pranab Mukherjee said : " an expansion of the investment footprint of Arab countries in India is long overdue and would be most warmly welcomed by the government and business alike."
Responding to this proposal, the chief representative of the Arab League, Ahmed Salem Al-Wahishi said : Opportunities galore for India-Arab investment projects, but there is a greater need for wider dissemination of knowledge and information in this regard which the deliberation of this conclave should discuss and come up with concrete proposals."
The two-day conclave organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and India-Arab Economic Forum has participation from Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen.
Mukherjee has suggested enormous scope for Arab investment in India in diverse areas such as IT, telecom, auto parts, healthcare, biotechnology, food-processing, education, manufacturing, construction and banking services. "In my view, however, the most important opening for the future is the chance for investible capital on one side to combine virtuously with the capacity and experience on the other side….Here, the respective capacities and capabilities of India and the Arab countries can prove perfectly complementary. Large projects in infrastructure or in the education and training sector can be the perfect vehicles for absorbing the budding talents of our respective young work-forces," he said.
Al-Wahishi said that global economic architecture had transformed in recent years with developing countries commanding finance, resources, cutting edge technologies and Markets, leading to South-South cooperation. He said "the Arab world needs a development model to unlock its potential and here India can play a constructive role"
Mukherjee said that India depended upon import of fuels for meeting its energy needs and the need for such imports would grow with the projected growth rate in the GDP. High oil prices averaging more than $ 100 a barrel was a constraint on the country's resources, he said. And suggested "our aim is to enter into long-term arrangements for guaranteed supply of energy…Civil nuclear cooperation with various countries will also help in the achievement of our energy security objectives."
The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, would lead a delegation to Saudi Arabia in early May to initiate talks for funding infrastructure projects in India. This forms part of a concerted strategy to attract investment into India from capital rich countries in the Arab world, he said
Al-Wahishi informed that a Memorandum of Cooperation and Plan of Action for the India-Arab Forum would be signed by both sides which would provide an umbrella for enhancing India-Arab ties both at the governmental and non-governmental levels, including the private sector and would cover all aspects – economic, social and cultural.
A series of events and activities are set to be organized over a period of time. An Indo-Arab Festival will be organized in November this year comprising an India-Arab Partnership conference and Arab Cultural Festival to be organized by FICCI in New Delhi under the auspices of India's Ministry of External Affairs.
The Sudan Minister of state for Investment, Salman Sulieman Al Safi invited Indian investment in Sudan's mining and fisheries sectors, apart from scaling up investments in the oil and gas. Safi who is leading a big delegation to the conclave from his country, emphasized the need for India and the Arab world to capitalise on the strong historical ties between the two regions.
The Dean of Arab Corps & Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to India, Saleh M Al-Ghamdi said the economic vibrancy in the Arab world and India provided a ripe ground to raise the level of economic engagement between the two regions. This, he said, could be achieved by looking beyond trade to two-way investments....
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Italy eyes bilateral tie-up with India
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Friday , April 18, 2008 at 2343 hrs IST
Posted online: Friday , April 18, 2008 at 2343 hrs IST
New Delhi, Apr 17 Italian Companies are scouting for Markets in India for sale of products like farm implements and machinery and food processing technology. Italy too is planning to boost its exports of a number of food products in which it is competitive.
A strong business delegation lead by the Italian Trade Commissioner, Glancarlo Lamio is also seeking cooperation with India in biotechnology and nano-technology.
"We want to expand business between the two countries by way of boosting bilateral trade and investment. Our Companies have updated technologies in agriculture and livestock sector and are ready for investments in joint ventures along with Indian Companies," said Lamio.
Italy's competitive international positioning in biotechnology is much stronger than usually believed, said Leonardo Santi, president of National Committee for Biosafety, Biotechnology and Life Sciences. He said that the report - Biotechnology in Italy-2007, Strategic and Financial Analysis - by Blossom Association Assobiotec - was in many respect very exciting.
There are 222 Companies in Italy engaged in R&D and generate 4 billion euros in revenue, out of which 4,083 million euros are from sales of biotechnological product-licensing. These biotech Companies had invested 1.3 billion euros in 2005.
Out of the 222 biotech Companies, 62 of them work in healthcare, 39 in animal husbandry and veterinary applications, 17 in industrial and environmental fields and 13 in bioinformatics.
Itlalian biotechnology programmes are governed by the biotechnology policies of the European Commission. Europe is slow in adopting transgenic crops in agriculture due to the mounting public opinion against the genetically modified (GM) crops and animals. When question as to whether Italy would cooperate with India in developing GM crops and animals, Santi said: "We can work out such an agreement with the Indian government or biotech Companies. We have the expertise in the field. Our main expertise is in pharma biotechnology."
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India, Egypt agree to co-operation in agriculture
Commodities Bureau
Posted online: Friday , April 18, 2008 at 2344 hrs IST
Posted online: Friday , April 18, 2008 at 2344 hrs IST
New Delhi, Apr 17 India and Egypt agreed to cooperate in areas of agricultural research, extension, cooperatives, agricultural finance and credit, fertilisers, modern irrigation systems, agricultural machinery and also discussed the possibilities for setting up joint ventures.
The Egyptian delegation was led by the minister for agriculture and land reclamation, Amin Abaza. He had a high level discussion with the Indian side led by the Union agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar on Wednesday.
During discussions, Pawar expressed the hope that many mutually beneficial ventures would come into being on the lines of the phosphoric acid plant being set up by IFFCO in Southern Egypt with 75% equity participation in a total investment of $326 million, in partnership with Al Nasr Mining Company.
He further said "though, it will be a pleasure to explore further cooperation between government institutions such as ICAR and ARC in the areas of interest, I strongly feel that the cooperation to be meaningful should be through involvement of industry".
The Egyptian delegation is on an official visit to India on the invitation of the Indian Agriculture Minister. The delegation includes Advisor to the Minister, Director of Egyptian Agriculture Centre for Research and President of the Agricultural Development Bank. There is a Memorandum of Understanding between Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Agricultural Research Centre, Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt. The MoU envisages cooperation in the areas of extension, crop science, fisheries and natural resource management.
The MoU is being implemented through biennial work plans and the work plan for 2007-08 is under implementation currently.
The Egyptian delegation has held discussions with IFFCO and Escorts.
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IAASTD Report : In agri, business as usual is not an option
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Monday, April 21, 2008 at 2228 hrs IST
Posted online: Monday, April 21, 2008 at 2228 hrs IST
New Delhi,Apr 20: Amid a situation of high food prices posing new challenges for poor net food-importing countries, biofuel crops displacing food crops out of cultivation and the stalemate in the WTO negotiation, the director of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), Bob Watson, has some sane words—"Business as Usual is not an Option".
IAASTD, in a report released last week, said: "Successfully meeting development and sustainability goals and responding to new priorities and changing circumstances would require a fundamental shift in agriculture knowledge, science, technology, policies, institutions, capacity development and investment. Such a shift should recognise and give increased importance to the multifunctionality of agriculture, accounting for the complexity of agricultural systems within diverse social and ecological contexts."
The global agriculture situation was assessed by as many as 400 experts and considered by 64 national governments at the plenary session of IAASTD last week before the executive summary of the synthesis report was released.
The report called for policy options to end subsidies that encourage unsustainable practices and use of market and other mechanisms to regulate and generate rewards for agro/environmental services for better natural resources management and enhanced environmental quality. These include incentives to promote integrated pest management and environmentally resilient germplasm management, payments to farmers and local communities for ecosystem services, facilitating and providing incentives for alternative Markets for green products, certification for sustainable forest and fisheries practices and organic agriculture and strengthening of local Markets.
About biofuel programme, the IAASTD report said, "The diversion of agricultural crops to fuel can raise food prices and reduce our ability to alleviate hunger….From an environmental perspective, there is considerable variation, uncertainty and debate over the net energy balance and level of GHG emissions. In the long-term, effects on food prices may be reduced, but environmental effects caused by land and water requirements of large-scale increases of first generation bio-fuels production are likely to persist and will need to be addressed."
IAASTD, however, pleaded for the second generation bio-fuels like cellolosic ethanol and biomass-to-liquid as a cheaper option and that which would not affect food security.
On transgenic technology and use of genetically modified crops, the IAASTD says assessments of risks was lagging behind the development of such crops "There is a wide range of perspectives on the environmental, health and economic risks and benefits of modern biotechnology, many of which are yet unknown," it said
The use of patents or intellectual property rights for transgenes and transgenics poses problems like driving up the costs, not allowing farmers to save seeds, exchange and sale, restricting further research by others and can also invite legal problems for farmers in some cases.
The IAASTD report concluded that the benefits of modern agriculture has not reached uniformly across countries....
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Bamboo industry eyes slice of $7.5 bn world market
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Monday , April 21, 2008 at 0014 hrs IST
Posted online: Monday , April 21, 2008 at 0014 hrs IST
New Delhi, Apr 20 The poor man's timber, bamboo, is no longer the orphan crop. It is gradually engaging the attention of the government, which has planned to diversify its uses to reap the benefits in the $7.5 billion global bamboo product market.
India is the second richest bamboo resource country in the world, next only to China. In terms of genetic diversity, India has 136 bamboo species under 75 genera. About 89 bamboo species out of 126 recorded in India under 16 genera grow naturally in different forest areas or are cultivated.
Though India has bamboo resources in about 9 million hectare, the yield is low at 3 tonne per hectare per annum as the cultivation is not intensively managed. China has gone for intensive commercial cultivation of bamboo and has increased the average yield to 25 tonne per hectare per annum. Within two decades of the initiatives, China has been able to convert their traditional bamboo-based handicrafts sector into a mechanised one.
However, in India, the situation is under change with the launch of the National Bamboo Mission (NBM) a year ago. The mission has taken up the job of encouraging farmers to grow the right type of bamboos and facilitate bamboo-based industries. "Our team visited China last year to study bamboo cultivation and bamboo-based industries. We invited Chinese bamboo-based industries to set up joint ventures in India," the mission director and high commissioner of the NBM, ML Choudhary said.
The NBM works in coordination with the Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) and Bamboo Technology Support Group (BTSG) in 12 states including 8 north eastern states, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa.
Training has been imparted to 300 farmers and 200 field functionaries within a span of one year. Two sites have been identified in Assam for the development of model bamboo clusters. BTSG has been entrusted with the job of certifying bamboo nurseries in north-eastern India and the same job is being done by CBTC in other states.
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Green gold gets shine back with bamboo mission
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Monday , April 21, 2008 at 2233 hrs IST
Posted online: Monday , April 21, 2008 at 2233 hrs IST
New Delhi,Apr 20: Commercial cultivation of the "green gold"—bamboo—and production of modern value-added products are gradually gaining momentum under the aegis of the National Bamboo Mission (NBM) which was set up a year ago. Eight states of northeastern India and four other states, namely, Orissa, West Bengal , Bihar and Jharkhand have already followed the suit by initiating bamboo development programmes at their end.
Arunachal Pradesh has set up its bamboo development agency and its bamboo mission for conservation of genetic resources. Two bamboo-based units have been set up—one at Namsal for producing structural material and another at Chowkham for producing bamboo mats. A certification laboratory for seed and vegetative planting material is likely to be set up by the state forest research institute, while nurseries are set up at places.
In Assam , NBM has planned value-addition projects at Kamrup, Tinsukia, Sonitpur, Silchar, while for Guwahati, an outlet to showcase handicraft and bamboo products is on the anvil.
In Manipur, people depends much on Muli bamboos which often proves counter-productive, particularly when the bamboos flower. This species turn soft and brittle at both pre and post flowering stages, making it commercially unviable. Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) along with the state bamboo development agency and forest department are working for better utilization of Muli bamboos.
Meghalaya has a long tradition of different uses of bamboo. NBM has envisaged bamboo cultivation on degraded lands. Mizoram has experienced both productive and destructive impact of bamboo. It has experienced periodic mautam, the famine famine induced by gregarious flowering of bamboo. But the benefits of bamboo far outweigh its disadvantages. CBTC is helping Mizoram in implementing its bamboo policy and be a part of NBM.
Nagaland has planned to set up 34 bamboo clusters comprising 280 villages with a village bamboo development committee in each cluster. It has set up a bamboo resource centre in Dimapur and also many bamboo-based industries at different places, including those for processing tender bamboo shoots. Sikkim is concentrating on six commercial bamboo species identified by NBM. Tripura has planned a six-year project for development of bamboo sector.
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Bamboo production helps environment: ICAR
Commodities Bureau
Posted online: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 0054 hrs IST
Posted online: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 0054 hrs IST
New Delhi, Apr 15 Emphasising that bamboo production helps the environment, the director-general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Mangala Rai, said that bamboo was the fastest growing plant on this planet and provides the best canopy for the greening of degraded lands.
Some species of bamboo grow as much as 4 feet a day. Its stands release 35% more oxygen than equivalent stands of trees. Bamboo can also lower light intensity and protects against ultraviolet rays, he said, at a three-day international conference on bamboo production and marketing.
The conference began in New Delhi on Tuesday with a call to harness the potential of this extraordinary plant.
He further delineated that bamboo was harvested and replenished with no impact to the environment. It can be selectively harvested annually and is capable of complete regeneration without the need to replant.
Bamboo was an enduring natural resource and provides income, food, and housing to over 2.2 billion people worldwide, he said.
Inaugurating the conference, the minister of state for environment and forests, S Reghupathy, called for improving the livelihood of forest dwellers and generating employment through the bamboo development programme.
The director-general of the International Network on Bamboo (INBAR), J Coosje Hoogendoorn expressed concern at the loss of diversity and lack of standardisation and training in bamboo processing at the community level. She gave examples of how bamboo plantation was helping in improving the incomes of farmers in many countries, including India.
The Union agriculture secretary, PK Mishra gave details of the progress made by the National Bamboo Mission during the last one year. The mission has been successful in promoting bamboo, especially in the North East, and generating employment for skilled and unskilled youth.
The mission, he said, had developed specific strategies for different regions. It was promoting bamboo-related activities in different spheres, namely, research and development, new bamboo plantations, establishment of nurseries, rejuvenation of old plantations, disease and pest management, bamboo marketing, and export, he said and added that improved technologies for bamboo production and processing were available in many countries and India can benefit from them.
Scientists and experts from 35 countries, farmers, entrepreneurs, NGOs, and central and state government representatives are participating in this conference.
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