NEWS Bulletin from Indian Society For Sustainable Agriculture And Rural Development ------------ On GMOs---- 1. Total review of experience with Bt cotton sought On KPCS Inter-sessional Meeting -- Rough DIAMOND Trade 2. India to play even bigger role in international diamond trade 3. Global meet to regulate rough diamond trade On Price Inflation Worries---- 4. Advance wheat yield pegged at a record 78 mt 5. Monsoon may cool inflation 6. 'Govt needs to act against market manipulations' ------------ Total review of experience with Bt cotton sought ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Tuesday , June 24, 2008 at 2338 hrs IST New Delhi, Jun 23 Fresh troubles are brewing for the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), which is slated to meet on June 25, to take a decision on the approval of several Bt cotton hybrids for commercial cultivation in this season. The Supreme Court's appointed invitee to the committee, Pushpa M Bhargava has not only called for a three or four years total moratorium on GM crops but has also called for 'a total review of India's experience with Bt cotton'. Greenpeace India has brought to the fore cases of illegal imports of GM food, which is also the agenda for discussion. Bhargava, who is the founder director of the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Microbiology, has alleged, "there is substantial evidence which calls for a total review of the approval of Bt cotton in India." He said that the GEAC relied on biosafety studies by the developer which included that on pollen flow, seed germination, soil microbial activity, toxicity and allergenicity. "Any study done by the developer is of no value. The GEAC has no mechanism to verify with the experimental and control groups nor the data is confirmed by a third party," he said. According to Bhargava, chronic toxicity studies should be conducted, particularly in reference to aflatoxin. For soil microbial studies it was not enough to have total number of organisms determined as the bacterial profile and the effect on soil micro-nutrient were far more important. All toxicity studies should be done on the protein in the GMOs. Toxicity studies done with the surrogate protein made, for example, in E.coli should not be accepted. He said that no GM crop should be released without appropriate and reliable DN finger printing, proteomics analysis and studies on reproductive interferences in at least 3 mammalian species by a reputed, accredited and independent laboratory. ------------ India to play even bigger role in international diamond trade ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday , June 23, 2008 at 2320 hrs IST New Delhi, Jun 22 India's role as a major player in the global diamond market would continue to grow, as it is committed to support the global community in curbing illegal trade in rough diamonds, proceeds of which are used to finance conflicts aimed at undermining legitimate governments. Under the aegis of the United Nations, global trade in rough diamonds is regulated through Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), a mechanism by which the member countries certify that it is not being used to finance conflicts aimed at undermining legitimate governments. As of June 2008, the KPCS body has 48 members, representing 74 countries (with the European Community and its member states counted as an individual participant) "Our diamond processing sector alone provides livelihood to about one million people and we are dependant upon imports of certified rough diamonds. As the leading processor of rough diamonds in the world, we have a share of about 60% of the world's polished diamond market by value and about 82% by volume. In 2007-08, we imported rough diamonds worth about $10 billion. Today, we have zero duty on imports rough, cut, and polished diamonds. In 2007-08, India's export of cut and polished diamonds was $14 billion," said the Union commerce secretary, GK Pillai. In India, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has been designated as an authority for implementation of KPCS. Also, the development commissioners of the special economic zones have been delegated powers to issue Kimberly process certificates for units located in their areas. The illegal trade in rough diamonds has reduced to less than 1% of the global production. Concerns still remain about its unrestricted flow from places like Côte d'Ivoire and Venezuela. Côte d'Ivoire is the only country, which is currently under embargo by the UN for the export of 'conflict diamonds' since December 2005. Venezuela was expelled from the KPCS body for not conforming to the organisation' India, as the chair of the KPCS for the year 2008, hosted the three-day 5th Inter-sessional meeting of KPCS in Delhi, which concluded on June 19. "We discussed various aspects for strengthening the system. Issues of fake KPCS certificates, leakages in trade are the areas of concern. Review visits by KPCS teams to UAE, Central African Republic, Israel, and Liberia were undertaken. The KP working group on statistics has prepared an analysis on West Africa," said the Union additional commerce secretary, Rahul Khullar who chaired the session.... ------------ Global meet to regulate rough diamond trade ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday , June 16, 2008 at 1822 hrs IST New Delhi, June 16 Leaders of diamond trade are slated to meet for a three-day conference here on Tuesday to discuss implementation of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). This certification scheme regulates trade in rough diamonds. India is presiding over the body for KPCS for the year 2008 which came as a natural consequence of it being the vice chair of the body for the year 2007. In November 2006, during the plenary of KPCS in Botswana, India was unanimously selected to be the vice chair of the body for 2007. Namibia is the vice chair of the body for 2008. India is sixth in succession to hold the chair of KPCS after South Africa, Canada, Russian Federation, Botswana and European Union. Under the aegis of United Nations, KPCS is a joint inter-governmental, industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds – rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate Governments. KPCS imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as 'conflict-free' Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was adopted in a ministerial meeting held at Interlaken, Switzerland, on November 5, 2002. India is a signatory to the Interlaken Declaration and is a founder member of KPCS. Delegates from about 35 countries are expected to attend the 5th Inter-sessional meeting of KPCS in Delhi beginning from Tuesday and participate in the various joint sessions to take stock of the progress made in implementation of KPCS and discuss ways to strengthen the scheme. Global organisations like World Diamond Council (WDC), Global Witness (GW), Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) and United Nations will also be participating in the 3-day conference. India is sixth in succession to hold the Chair of KPCS after South Africa, Canada, Russian Federation, Botswana and European Commission. All the working groups of KPCS would take a half-yearly stock of the implementation of the scheme and also plan for a year ahead. The inter-sessional is structured around working group meetings and does the background work for the decisions to be taken in the plenary. ------------ From The Fields Page --- INIDIAN EXPRESS Page 15 Advance wheat yield pegged at a record 78 mt ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Friday, June 20, 2008 at 2200 hrs New Delhi, June 19: All seems to be well on the farm production front. The Government will soon announce the fourth advance estimate of crop production for 2007-08, pegging wheat output at a record high of 78 million tonnes (mt). Usually, the fourth advance estimate is made public in July, but indications are that the Government may announce it earlier as it is in a fire-fighting mode to deal with rising prices. "The estimate of wheat output in 2007-08 is likely to be revised upwards to around 78 mt," said chairman and managing director of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) Alok Sinha, adding that the fourth official crop production estimates would be released soon. Sinha is also happy with the Government's build-up of buffer stocks in the current marketing season. The wheat stock has swelled to 22.2 mt and that of rice to 25.9 mt. The wheat stock is well above the maximum buffer norm for the year (on July 1) which is 17.1 mt. The maximum buffer norm for rice at 26.9 mt will also be met as the Government's purchase will continue till the end of September, he said. Wheat production has increased from 69.35 mt in 2005-06 to 75.81 mt in 2006-07, keeping pace with the growing demand. For the year 2007-08, the Government had fixed the wheat production target at 75.50 mt, which was surpassed as the third advance estimate projected 76.78 mt output in late April this year. The official estimate then also projected a record foodgrain production in 2007-08 at 227.32 mt, which included 95.68 mt of rice. The South-West Monsoon this year arrived earlier than its schedule in most parts of the country. The countrywide average cumulative rainfall in the season till June 11 has been 30 per cent more than the normal, with excess rainfall in 23 meteorological subdivisions and normal in seven. Out of the total 36 meteorological subdivisions, only five received deficient rain and one scanty rain. With the arrival of good rains, sowing operations have already begun. But despite good farm production, worries of inflation are there. The inflationary trend in prices measured on the basis of the point-to-point movement in the wholesale price index peaked to 8.75% in the week ended on May 31 — a seven-year high! Experts feel the inflation would soon touch double-digit mark as the Government recently hiked the prices of petroleum products. The International Grain Council (IGC) has said the global food prices are expected to rise further despite good production. The recent dip in wheat prices between $10 and $80 a tonne and the weakening of rice export quotations are not enough indications to bring cheer. This appears temporary and is driven primarily by the reports of a good harvest and favourable outlook for the next crop. Maize prices remaining volatile in the background of the continued strengthening in the global energy market and further increase in ocean freight rates, however, raise concerns about the futures market behaviour. The IGC's projection of the increase in global wheat production to 650 mt in 2008-09, up by 46 mt over the previous year and increase in carryover stocks to 131 mt may bring in some confidence to meet the projected demand of 632 mt. But this expectation may be short-lived. IGC says the increased global grain supplies will almost entirely be absorbed by the rising use, especially to make ethanol. More wheat and barley will be used for feed in place of maize and sorghum, which would be used more for producing bio-fuel. ------------ Monsoon may cool inflation ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday , June 23, 2008 at 2132 hrs IST New Delhi, Jun 22 Nation now looks forward to a good bounty from the rain gods in the crucial four-month monsoon season – a situation that can tame the rising prices with a bumper harvest. The price inflation trend measured on the basis of the point-to-point movement in the wholesale price index touched the double-digit mark at 11.05% on the week ended June 7, this year – the highest in last 13 years. This has added to the worries of the government, particularly when the country goes to polls next year. Food, feed and fuel are the 3Fs which matter most as price inflation is concerned. The government has recently hiked the prices of petroleum products and the results have become evident with the rising prices of commodities and transportation. The projected record foodgrain production in 2007-08 at 227.32 million tonne (mt), which included 95.68 mt of rice, however could not act much as cushion. Recently the government has estimated that the 2007-08 wheat output would be a record high at 78 mt. The nation awaits another bumper harvest to soften prices. However, the initial notes of monsoon performance have been encouraging. The South-West Monsoon arrived at the Kerala coast a couple of days earlier than its scheduled date and rapidly progressed to other parts of the country. It advanced to Delhi on June 15, ahead of its scheduled arrival on June 29. The countrywide average cumulative rainfall recorded till June 18 has been 45% more than the normal. Rainfall has been in excess in 21 out 36 meteorological sub-divisions and normal in 11. Only four meteorological subdivisions – Marathwada, Lakshadweep, Kerala, Assam and Meghalaya have been unfortunate to receive deficient rainfall. The encouraging note is that barring Assam and Meghalaya, the rainfall in other states in northeastern India improved and these states received normal rainfall. At the micro-level the monsoon performance also seems to be encouraging. About 58% of 533 meteorological districts received excess rainfall, while 16% each of the total meteorological districts received normal and deficient rainfall. There was scanty rainfall in 9% of the meteorological districts and no rains in only 1%. The S-W Monsoon has covered most parts of the country, expect parts of western Rajasthan. As per normal schedule it should cover the remaining parts of the country by July one. Still there are about two weeks—policymakers are keen on observing the future performance of the monsoon, particularly in July—the month most crucial for Indian agriculture. Before the arrival of the monsoon in different parts of the country there were some pre-monsoon rainfall which added moisture to the parched soils. Taking advantage of the situation the farmers took to early cultivation of summer crops. The official weather forecasting agency, India Meteorological Department has predicted that the countrywide cumulative rainfall in the four-month monsoon season would be 99% of the long period average of 89 cm with a model error of ± 5%. Thus the indications are for a good rainfall in the season. The IMD, however, is slated make an improved forecast by the end of this month, predicting the rainfall in different homogeneous regions in the country as well as countrywide rainfall in July.... ------------ 'Govt needs to act against market manipulations' ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Tuesday , June 24, 2008 at 2137 hrs IST New Delhi , Jun 23 Rural development minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has suggested a news formula for containing the rising trend in prices. According to him the government should act in time and see that the prices of cereals in the retail Markets should not cross more than 6%. The price increase in industrial goods should not be more than one-and-half times. "The government need to act and see that unnecessary hoarding of stocks and market manipulations do not take place. If there is a shortage, then attempts should be made to strengthen the supply side," he said while addressing the mediapersons in Capital on Monday. He said that the government has already drafted the proposal for the National Bio-fuel Mission , National Bio-fuel Development Board and a national bio-fuel policy which when implemented would take care of the fuel needs of the country to an extent. The minister said India would be hosting a three-day ministerial retreat and special session of the governing body of the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific in Delhi from June 24, this year. Vice President M Hamid Ansari would inaugurate the event ------------ |
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