NEWS Bulletin from Indian Society For Sustainable Agriculture And Rural Development ------------ 1. Govt's subsidy-based biofuel programme set to take shape 2. Options on eco-friendly power On GMOs & Gene Sequencing ----- 3. Now, India gears up to sequence buffalo genome 4. Ghost of Malthus walking again - A looming food crisis has scientists hunting for the elusive crops that turn in high yields and good money. At present, transgenic technology may not be the answer. The reason: none of the genetically modified crops so far has promised a higher yield; they are only resistant to pests and herbicides. On WTO Effect ---- 5. Economic liberalisation, globalisation create hardship for farmers: study ------------ Govt's subsidy-based biofuel programme set to take shape http://www.financia ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday , July 07, 2008 at 1956 hrs IST New Delhi, Jul 6 : The government's proposed massive subsidy-backed bio-fuel programme is soon likely to be a reality, as the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) headed by the Union agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar is slated to finalise it on July 9. The EGoM will discuss the draft National Bio-fuel Policy prepared by the Union ministry of new and renewable energy sources. It will also resolve the long-pending tussle between the two Union ministries - the ministry of rural development and the ministry of new and renewable energy sources - over the budgetary allocations for their programmes. The new and renewable energy ministry has suggested the setting up of a National Bio-fuel Development Board (NBDB), which would determine the minimum support prices (MSPs) for bio-fuel feedstocks like jatropha, karanja seeds, and other oil-bearing materials. It also suggested that the government render financial support to oil processors for a period of five years. Comparatively, the rural development ministry has demanded a gross budgetary support of Rs 1,340 crore for five years to set up a National Mission on Bio-Diesel and the launch of its first demonstration phase of jatropha cultivation in 4,00,000 hectare. The EGoM, set up in the middle of the previous year under the chairmanship of Pawar, consists of the minister of state for the ministry of new and renewable energy, rural development minister, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, petroleum minister, Murli Deora, members of the planning commission, and other cabinet ministers from relevant economic ministries. The pace of deliberation by the EGoM had been slow as the world was gripped with the food crisis on account of the bio-fuel programmes in Europe and North America. International agencies like UNCTAD, UNESCAP, OECD, and the World Bank blamed the bio-fuel programme for the use of food crops for fuel and displacement of food crops by bio-fuel crops. However, the government is determined to launch its bio-fuel programme with an assurance that it would be a sole part of the country's energy needs without contributing to the food crisis. Mandatory 10% doping of petrol with ethanol has been proposed to be implemented from October this year. The Bio-Diesel Association of India (BDAI) has demanded that bio-diesel be categorised as "declared goods" with uniform rate of taxation across the country, exemption from Value-Added Tax (VAT) and sales tax on bio-diesel component used in blending, income tax exemption under section 80-1B, 30% subsidy for input cost should be given to farmers for growing bio-fuel crops and for corporates undertaking bio-fuel crop production the subsidy should be extended without upper limit . The automobile manufacturers should be encouraged to give warrenty for facilitating higher blends of bio-diesel beyond 5%.... ------------ Options on eco-friendly power ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Tuesday , July 01, 2008 at 2253 hrs IST Energy needs of the country are growing in tune with the needs of the liberalised economy and the annual fossil oil import bill now stands at $76.9 billion. But unfortunately very little has been done to reduce the country's dependence on fossil oil by developing alternative sources of energy that can be eco-friendly and sustainable. Leaving aside all other viable options for promoting eco-friendly and sustainable power generation, the Union ministries of new and renewable energy and rural development are aggressively promoting the bio-fuel programme, which has already caused food scarcity and environment problems across the globe. According to the government's estimate, the potential for grid-interactive renewable power generation from commonly known sources other than bio-fuels is about 84,776 mw. The government has launched the programme for promoting power generation from renewable sources since last 25 years, but unfortunately the cumulative power generation from these sources is only around 11,272.13 mw. India boasts to be the fourth largest producer of wind power in the world, but the cumulative achievement of wind power generation is only 7,844.52 mw against a potential 45,195 mw. There are about 1,284 wind pumps in use in the country. Aero-generator/ It is not the fact that the technology for wind power generation is in a nascent stage I the country. In 2006-07 indigenously produced wind turbines valued at $ 250 million have been exported to US, China , Brazil , Australia and European countries. Wind turbine blades vaued at $ 25 million have been exported to Germany , China , Spain and US. The wind power programme was initiated towards the end of the 6 th Plan in 1983-84. A market-oriented strategy was adopted since its inception, supported with fiscal incentives. But despite this the progress has been very slow. Wind is a nature's resource and scientists have estimated its speed in different parts of the country, optimal for setting up of wind power plant. At places there may be barriers like forest cover which cannot be removed in the interest of the ecology. But there are ample areas in dessert areas and high altitude suitable for wind power generation Sun is an inexhaustible source of energy to mankind and India is ideally located for utilisation of the solar radiant energy. Optimal solar energy is received in most parts of country throughout the year, expect at times of cloud cover in the rainy season and in the times of extreme winter. The daily average incident of solar energy varies between 4 kWh and 7 kWh per sq km, depending upon the location. Solar energy can be used through thermal as well as photovoltaic route. The potential for solar photovoltaic programme in the country is estimated at 20 mw per sq km and that of solar water heating systems at 140 million sq m collector area. But the cumulative solar power generation by installed plants is only about 2.12 mw. The achievements in solar photovoltaic programme is miserably low and that of solar water heating system is limited to only 2.15 million sq m collector area. A wide variety of technologies have been developed to harness solar energy. Efforts were made in 1980s and 1990s aiming at research & development, demonstration and large-scale promotion of these technologies. Some of these solar technologies were found to be user-friendly and suitable for decentralised applications and having no negative impact on the environment. However, the applications in public life has been quite low with 1.4 million solar PV systems, 7,068 solar PV pumps and 6,17,000 solar cookers. There are 61,549 solar street lighting systems, 3,63,399 home solar lighting system, 5,85,001 solar lanterns. India is quite advanced in solar technology and solar photovoltaic production and exports have been rising. Solar photovoltaic production has reached 100 mw per year and about 85% of it is being exported to developed countries. Small hydro-power projects generating up to 25 mw power are also categorised as renewable sources of energy. The country has an estimated potential of about 15,000 mw power generation through small hydro-power projects, but the cumulative power generation from these projects have been only 2,045.61 mw. However there are socio-economic problems associated with small hydro-projects at place where it has caused blockade or diversion in drown stream water affecting farming operations and causing drinking water availability problems in villages. India is also lagging behind in power generation from biomass, bagasse and waste despite its high potential. According to government estimates, cumulative power generation from biomass is only 605.80 mw against its potential for 16,881 mw. The cumulative power generation from bagasse has been only 710.83 mw as against its potential for 5,000 mw. Cumulative generation of energy from waste has been only 55.25 mw as against its estimated potential of 2,700 mw. ------------ Now, India gears up to sequence buffalo genome ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday , July 07, 2008 at 1958 hrs IST New Delhi, Jul 6 : India, after gaining laurels in sequencing rice genome in a global partnership, has now decided to sequence buffalo genome. A multi-crore project has been cleared and the Karnal-based National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) and the Hisar-based Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) would work on a network mode for the project, said the director-general of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Mangla Rai About 100 scientists who have completed their training in advanced laboratories within and outside the country would be associated with the project. Buffalo genome sequencing would pave the way for improved breeding of the animal having higher lactation. "Already the knowledge of sequencing rice genome has given us experience and knowledge. We are now confident for developing rice with higher yields and overcoming several biotic and abiotic stresses. Buffalo genome sequencing will help us to develop buffaloes having more meat and lactation," said Rai. Buffaloes or Bubalus bubalis are ruminant mammals of the Bovidae familyand are very important dairy and work animal in many countries of Asia. According to FAO there are more than 170 million buffaloes in some 30 countries ranging from Australia through Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt. Buffaloes are also found in Europe particularly in Italy, Romania and Bulgaria. ------------ Ghost of Malthus walking again A looming food crisis has scientists hunting for the elusive crops that turn in high yields and good money ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Thursday , July 03, 2008 at 2153 hrs IST Scientists across the globe are at work yet again, dealing with the Malthusian apprehensions of likely food shortages from rising population pressures on land. Thomas Robert Malthus, who expounded his theory in the 19 th century, is no more, but his warnings still ring prophetic. Around mid-20 th century, scientists had responded to the warnings by ushering in the Green Revolution that pushed yields. Today, the world, facing another food crisis, awaits another long-term solution to the problem. The Green Revolution, though it made significant strides in increasing food production, was fraught with ill-effects. Excessive use of chemicals caused health and environmental hazards. Extensive tillage and use of chemical fertilisers caused a decline in soil health and factor productivity. Productivity has eventually plateaued. Now, experts say solutions to the current problems lie in a combination of technologies that can ensure greater productivity along with sustainable and profitable agriculture. The Food and Agriculture Organisation has called for increasing global rice production by 200 million tonne more by 2025. Scientists are working on developing new rice varieties and hybrids to meet the rising demand for this staple. At present, transgenic technology may not be the answer. The reason: none of the genetically modified crops so far has promised a higher yield; they are only resistant to pests and herbicides. Experts say what is needed now is a major technological breakthrough that would increase yields of rice and wheat. It means increasing photosynthesis in rice and wheat to the level of maize, sorghum and sugarcane, which primarily means attracting more solar energy to increase productivity. Scientists say, however, that the process would take a decade or more. Biotechnology tools like marker-aided selection, molecular characterisation, exploitation of apomatic genes, allele mining, harnessing heterosis, and pyramiding of rice genes can be deployed to produce crops of increased potential yield. The good news is that the availability of rice genome structural sequence has given agriculture scientists the confidence to proceed in these areas. The International Rice Genome Sequencing Project has identified about 56,298 genes. "After the structural genomics project, scientists are busy identifying gene functions. Once they are identified, it would be possible to develop better crops by introducing genes through traditional breeding in combination with marker-aided selections or through direct engineering of genes into rice varieties," says a noted plant breeder and World Food Prize recipient, Gurudev Kush. In a major rice-producing country like India, the annual rate of growth in the output of this staple has tapered off to a level lower than the annual increase in population growth of 1.8%. "Though the yield potential of rice is 10 tonne per hectare, farmers on the average still harvest five tonne per hectare. To close this yield gap, we must develop varieties with more durable resistance to diseases, insects and tolerance to abiotic stress," says Kush. One recent success story is the development of the non-GM rice for Africa with high nutrition content called the New Rice for Africa (Nerica). Nerica varieties, developed by the African Rice Centre (Warda) combine the high yielding quality of Asian rice and the adaptability to local conditions. According to Warda, these new varieties have shown productivity and economic gains. Noted rice breeder, EA Siddiq, who is the honorary chair professor of biotechnology in Acharya NG Ranga Agriculture University, Hyderabad, believes that immediate concerns over ensuring food security through increased yields can be easily met by using available conventional seeds and hybrids. "Attempts should be made to bridge the gap between the demonstrated yields of various crops and the actual yields in the farmers' fields,'' says Siddiq. As for pushing wheat yields, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Icar) has joined hands with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (Aciar) and drawn up short- and medium-term strategies. "This collaboration is not for increasing wheat yields by increasing the photosynthesis to the level of crops like sorghum and sugarcane. That will take considerable time. Our efforts meanwhile are now concentrated on increasing the yield to an optimal level by developing resistances to pests and diseases and several biotic and abiotic stresses," clarifies Aciar research programme manager Christian Roth. Besides raising yields, use of technology in other areas can improve the conditions in the farm sector. Better weather forecast, crop condition mapping and computerisation of land records could go a long way in raising farm production. Timely weather forecast is crucial to agriculture. India Meteorological Department has recently launched a programme for rendering short-term weather forecast for about 680 districts. Such local level weather forecast would be useful to farmers. Meteorological data of the satellite system—Insat–are processed and disseminated by Insat Meteorological Data Processing System (IMDPS). Data on upper wind circulation, cloud motion vectors, outgoing long-wave radiation, sea surface temperature and precipitation index data are regularly monitored for weather forecasting. Space technology is also deployed for estimation of crop production, groundwater mapping and mapping of flood and drought areas. The scheme called Forecasting Agricultural Output Using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land Based Observation (Fasal), funded by the agriculture ministry, is implemented by the department of space in collaboration with various state remote sensing applications centres, state agriculture departments and agriculture universities. This scheme undertakes production forecasting of major crops like wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane, mustard, groundnut and sorghum. The scheme for computerisation of land records was launched in 1988-98 to provide landowners with computerised copies of ownership, crop and tenancy and updated copies of records of rights (RoRs) on demand. But this scheme has had a sluggish pace. According to latest records of the Union ministry for rural development, only 13 states, out of 35 states and union territories, can provide RoRs on demand. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. Technology is seldom tapped to its full potential in India. May be, we need a crisis to wake up to it. ------------ Economic liberalisation, globalisation create hardship for farmers: study ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday , July 07, 2008 at 2106 hrs IST New Delhi, Jul 6 : Economic liberalisation impacted by globalisation and the WTO has damaged the system of subsidies, price guarantees and food-aid that much of the population depended upon for their livelihood according to a study conducted by CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics and Environment (CITEE). CUTS and CITEE, which conducted a study on globalisation and livelihood concerns in Rajasthan and West Bengal, particularly in relation to agriculture and textiles and clothing sectors noted that the economic growth promise of globalisation was not released. "Caught in a new situation about which they are not even aware, people do not know how to navigate their way around and whom to negotiate with to secure their livelihoods. It is therefore important to redesign the policies and institutions to address the genuine concerns of the people in a new reality," it said. It called for active state intervention for unlocking the benefits of globalisation. Adequate steps should also be taken to facilitate modernisation and development of better infrastructure, quality control, R&D, training and skill generation, innovation and marketing strategies, it said. "The condition of the workers, in terms of basic labour standards like regularity of jobs, right to strike, minimum wages is being undermined. Therefore, enforcement of labour laws should be made effective," said the CUTS-CITEE field survey, supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in India and Oxfam Novib-The Netherlands. It also noted that women's participation in the decision-making was abysmally low and wherever present was usually for namesake only. The study criticised poor implementation of the Foreign Trade Policy at the grassroots level. Liberalisation of the farm sector has caused significant changes in agricultural patterns across various districts of West Bengal and the factor primarily responsible was the competition not only from neighbouring countries but also from other regions of the country. In the Uttara Dinajpur district imported paddy resulted in lower prices for even high quality local paddy such as Tulaipanji. Farmers shifted to plantation of tea. Similarly in North, 24-paraganas district high quality paddy brought from outside West Bengal at cheaper prices affected the paddy cultivation in the district and farmers began switching over to mango plantation. "Even in sectors such as tea and oranges in Darjeeling is getting affected due to competition from Sri Lanka and China as also from elsewhere in the country. Packaging and marketing of tea have greatly improved in South India and Assam and is posing a great challenge. The state support provided to horticulture in Maharashtra has caused an influx of oranges into West Bengal, causing widespread impact on the livelihood of many farmers," the study documented. Similar changes in farming patterns are noticed in Rajasthan. Many farmers are now concentrating on cash crops such as soybean, groundnut, mustard, fruit and vegetables. In Dausa district, traditional crops like jowar and bajra are being replaced by gwar mustard and groundnut. In Bikaner district farmers are switching over to groundnut, mustard and gram. In Shahbad tehsil farmers are switching over to soybean from wheat, maize and jowar which they had been cultivating for over 10 years. The textiles and clothing sector in both West Bengal and Rajasthan has suffered on account of liberalisation and globalisation. ------------ |
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