NEWS Bulletin from Indian Society for Sustainable Agriculture And Rural Development ------------ 1. Global meltdown causes rush for gold 2. Mahyco denies sourcing rice seeds from KAU 3. FAO says no to moratorium on bio-fuels 4. India ranks 66th on global hunger index ------------ Global meltdown causes rush for gold http://www.financia ASHOK B SHARMA Posted: Oct 20, 2008 at 2350 hrs IST Updated: Oct 20, 2008 at 2350 hrs IST New Delhi, Oct 19 : The host of problems in the global economy, like the subprime meltdown, the financial crisis downturn in the equity markets, along with commodity prices still remaining at high levels, are all forcing investors to rediscover the lustre in gold. According to a recent report by team of analysts headed by Kevin Norrish from Barclays Capital, investing in gold will be seen as a way out of the global economic turmoil. A study made by Merrill Lynch & Co Inc under the team leader Francisco Blanch shows gold prices can shoot up to $ 1,500 an ounce in the near future. The $700-billion US bailout package for financial institutions and billions of dollars being infused into the system by governments and central banks across the world and the contemplated cut in interest rates would fuel inflation. Crude oil prices would reach $150 a barrel. However, other experts have predicted higher prices for crude oil. "Despite prices of gold reaching all-time high levels, people do consider spreading their investments partly in gold, as it has always acted as a safe haven for panicked investors. The investment value has never eroded. Rather, gold has given better returns in the last few years. There are predictions that gold prices may soon touch Rs 15,000 per 10 gm," said the CMD of MMTC India, Sanjiv Batra. MMTC is India's largest trading company in the public sector, responsible for importing commodities like gold, silver and platinum. As fears of a likely global recession remain high and the fluctuations of forex rates continues, investors are lining up for investment in the yellow metal, which has been the place for investment through the centuries. Global prices of gold still continue to remain high, after reaching a peak of over $863 an ounce last month. At LME, on Friday, prices eased slightly below $800 an ounce. India, like many other countries, is currently facing the impact of a global economic crisis in terms of a meltdown in the equity market and high commodity prices. The price inflation rate measured on point-to-point movement in the wholesale price index still remains at 11.44%. Recently, the Indian rupee has begun depreciating against the dollar by more than 20%. With a view to save the economy from the impact of a global crisis, the Reserve Bank of India has taken some measures for infusing liquidity in the market, but fell short of calling for a cut in interest rates. Commenting on the current situation, the investment research manager of the World Gold Council, Rozanna Wozniak said, "We are not surprised by the way gold has reacted. The gold price initially dipped slightly because it was acting as an insurance policy and coming to the aid of stricken investors or holders and being sold accordingly. With the cataclysmic downfall of financial institutions that was seemingly indestructible, investors around the world are on tenterhooks for the next piece of bad news. This follows evidence of widespread physical buying in the key gold markets around the world. Gold, as no one's liability, is looking like a good place to be right now." ------------ Mahyco denies sourcing rice seeds from KAU http://www.financia ASHOK B SHARMA Posted: Oct 20, 2008 at 0000 hrs IST Updated: Oct 20, 2008 at 0000 hrs IST New Delhi, Oct 19 : The Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco) has said that as a company engaged in research to help farmers meet the challenge of sustainable agriculture using less land, water and pesticides, its research centre works closely with universities and agriculture research institutions for exchange of germplasm, hybrid lines and other material legally. When questioned about the ongoing row over Mahyco sourcing germplasm of indigenous rice varieties from the Kerala Agriculture University's research station at Pattambi, the company's general manager, Mahendra K Sharma said, "It is incorrect to say that Mahyco has taken 50 lines this year from the Kerala Agriculture University (KAU) under a material transfer agreement (MTA). He, however, said that it was a common practice for universities and other institutions to provide germplasm and hybrid lines to private and public sector research groups under clearly defined terms and conditions, including public-private partnership or initiatives. These were used by breeders to develop high yielding/better varieties by traditional breeding tools like hybridization and selection. Among the institutions Mahyco partners with are Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. Mahyco is a partner of the US-based seed multinational Monsanto and is responsible for introducing Bt cotton in India. Mahyco has also developed several other GM crops, which are under field trials. The case of charging high technology fees for Bt technology is subjudiced before the Monopoly and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission. Several civil society organisations and farmers' groups are critical of seed companies sourcing germplasm from public sector gene banks and developing and "monopolising" the seeds. ------------ FAO says no to moratorium on bio-fuels http://www.financia ASHOK B SHARMA Posted: Oct 16, 2008 at 0113 hrs IST Updated: Oct 16, 2008 at 0113 hrs IST New Delhi, Oct 15 : The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which has acknowledged that bio-fuel programme as one of the factors responsible for the present global food crisis, has soft-pedaled on the issue by not calling for a moratorium. It has rather suggested to make an in-depth assessment of its risks and possible benefits. An FAO report 'The State of Food and Agriculture- "The emergence of bio-fuels as a new and significant source of demand for some agricultural commodities - including maize, sugar, oilseeds and palm oil - contributes to higher prices of agricultural commodities in general, and for resources used to produce them," it said. According to the FAO representative in India and Bhutan, Gavin Wall, who released the report in Delhi on Wednesday, the potential benefits of bio-fuels and farmers' income need to be considered. Though the report said that the impact of bio-fuel on food prices and its potential to contribute to energy security, climate-change mitigation and agricultural development continue to remain as the topic for the debate. It, however, acknowledged that the future of bio-fuels and the role they would play for agriculture and food security remain uncertain. Though the bio-fuels will offset only a modest share of fossil energy use over the next decade, they would have much bigger impact on agriculture and food security. The report also found the impact of bio-fuels on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions varying widely, depending upon where and how various feedstock crops are produced. In many cases increased emissions from land-use changes may offset or even exceed GHG savings obtained through replacing fossil fuel use. Other concerns are the impact on water use, soil and biodiversity. FAO pinned its hope on the second generation bio-fuels which may offer additional benefits and called investment on is research and phasing out of production subsidies and trade barriers in OECD countries. ------------ India ranks 66th on global hunger index http://www.financia ASHOK B SHARMA Posted: Oct 15, 2008 at 2341 hrs IST Updated: Oct 15, 2008 at 2341 hrs IST New Delhi, Oct 14 : India has been ranked 66th in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) for the year 2008 developed by the US-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). In South Asia, countries like Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan have fared better than India in their drive against hunger. Even countries like Laos , Cambodia and Burkina Faso have been ranked higher than India. IFPRI noted that world has made slow progress in reducing food insecurity since 1990, with dramatic difference among regions and countries. In nearly two decades since 1990, some regions—South and Southeast Asia , the near East and north Africa, the Latin America and the Caribbean—have made significant headway in improving food security. Nevertheless, the GHI remains high in South Asia . The GHI is similarly high in sub-Saharan Africa where progress has been marginal since 1990. The sub-Saharan Africa with Congo , Eritrea , Burundi , Niger and Sierra Leone are at the bottom of the list. IFPRI is one of the 15 affiliated institutions of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). According to IFPRI Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the regions with the highest GHI scores and the highest poverty rates "Hunger is closely tied to poverty and countries with high levels of hunger are overwhelmingly low or low-middle-income countries," it said. The report, however, highlighted the countries and regions facing the greatest risk in the current context of high food prices. It listed 33 countries having extremely alarming levels of hunger. The index shows that while South Asia has made rapid progress in combating hunger, sub-Saharan Africa has made only marginal progress. For the hungry and malnourished people in these regions, rising food prices pose serious threats. "People who already had too little food for a healthy life are now finding that they can afford even less," it said. This is the third year that IFPRI has calculated multidimensional measure of global hunger global taking into account over 80 developing and least developed countries, taking into consideration proportion of undernourished population, prevalence of underweight in children under 5 and the proportion of children dying before the age of 5. ------------ |
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