from the editor’s desk · at azadpur mandi, the largest wholesale market in asia, sales...

AGRICULTURE TODAYDecember 2016 1

From the Editor’s Desk

Fertilizer Policies should be for Sustainable Agriculture

Fertilizers have played a key role in India’s transformation from being a net food importer to a mature food exporter. The fertilizer sector today

is one of the strongest pillars of agriculture. Today India is not only a key consumer of fertilizers but the world’s third largest producer of fertilizers.

As of now, the country has achieved 80% self-sufficiency in production capacity of Urea. As a result, India could manage its substantial requirement of nitrogenous fertilizers through the indigenous industry. Similarly, 50% indigenous capacity has developed in respect of phosphatic fertilizers to meet domestic requirements. However, the raw-materials and intermediates for the same are largely imported. For potash (K) , since there are no viable sources/reserves in the country, its entire requirement is met through imports.

Government support was a significant driver. The government’s subsidy programme gave the much needed impetus to the sector. The dogged compulsion to produce more food for a newly independent country was incentive enough to raise the production and consumption of fertilizers. The development of hybrids and high yielding varieties also pushed the demand for fertilizers. With changing times, better variants of fertilizers have entered the market. From straight fertilizers to complex fertilizers, from Neem coated Urea to specialty/custom fertilizers, Indian fertilizer market today is a poutporri of fertilizer products. Swachch Bharat Abhiyan has also elements of Conversion of urban waste to compost and is considered an optimum solution to meet the objectives of disposal of waste and providing organic fertiliser for agriculture. The government as part of the plan has also decided to extend subsidy to city compost to the tune of Rs 1,500 per tonne, to encourage farmers to use it, instead of chemical fertilisers. It will be sold to farmers initially through the fertiliser companies’ network of their dealers and later through marketing entities selected by the state governments. Currently, just 1.5 million tonnes of organic waste is converted into compost.

Urea, though enjoys good amount of subsidies, is prone to severe leakages. About 24 per cent is spent on inefficient urea producers and of the remaining, 41 per cent is diverted to non-agricultural uses and abroad and the rest 24 per cent is consumed by larger—presumably richer— farmers. Bringing urea under the Nutrient Based Subsidy program currently in place for DAP and MOP would allow judicious and balanced application of fertilizers and guarantee a better soil health. Direct transfer of subsidies can also help in plugging the leakages.

India has a sizeable fertilizer sector with brilliant opportunities and scope for further expansion. With the responsibility to produce more food for a persistently growing population, Indian agriculture requires a constant support of the fertilizer sector. For that to truly help agriculture, government must adopt policies that are apropos to the contemporary needs, rather than thriving on the vestiges of the ancient laws. Today’s agriculture should be sustainable and our policies must reflect that intent. Future demands more far sighted and long term agriculture policies.

Anjana Nair

DECEMBER 2016 | VOLUME XIX | ISSUE 12

President Dr. MJ KhanEditor Anjana NairAssistant Editor Fariha Ahmed Sub Editor Sanjay Kumar Business Manager Sonam Singh 9811494142

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AGRICULTURE TODAY December 20162

VOLUME XIX | ISSUE 12 | DECEMBER 2016C o n t e n t sC o n t e n t s

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Editorial 01Editorial Comments 04News Corner 10

Cover FeatureIndian Fertilizer Sector:Reforms Overdue 20

Animal HusbandryNeed for Suitable Livestock Conservation Policy for Coping Up With Increasing Demand and Global Warming 42

InterviewRoger Tripathi, President Acadian Plant Health 46

ReportProcurement of Agriculture Produce and Their Minimum Support Price (MSP) 49

InternationalMexican Products in 150 Countries:Challenges, Dynamics and Perspectives on Mexican Agribusiness 50

LivestockNational Cattle Development Board –A Necessity 54

Know Your LeaderArjun Ram Meghwal 58

Different Strokes 60

Know Your Leader

Arjun RamMeghwal

Cover Feature

INDIAN FERTILIZER SECTOR REFORMS OVERDUE


Modi’s demonetization drive with the intention to flush out illegitimately accumulated Indian money has won accolades for the Prime Minister from around the globe. Lauded as a bold move, the current devaluation of highest denominations of the Indian currency system to nothingness has however sent tremors of anxiety and concern among Indian farmers.

Long sinuous queues of harried people with bundles of unworthy currency notes may qualify as a reason for discomfort for the banks and the common man, but it is more than a mere cause of uneasiness for farmers. For them, it is a matter of existence. For farmers, availability of timely cash is crucial for sustenance of their farms. Particularly the case in point is this time when they are sitting on the cash obtained after selling their Kharif crops, of course in denominations of Rs.500 and Rs. 1000.

Unlike the last couple of years, when drought seemed to have ruined the farmers’ prospect of earning a decent return from his crop, this year the rains have been benevolent on the farmers and as a result many regions across India recorded bumper harvest. Convetionally, the money thus acquired are usually ploughed back into agriculture by buying inputs for the next season - Rabi season. However, this time the currency ban seems to have slowed or brought the process to a halt. They are in a peculiar situation. They have got the money but in denominations that are banned and hence cannot be used to stock up the agro inputs. Banks in rural areas are also not equipped at this season to convert their cash into denominations of any worth, at least not in a time bound manner.

Trade in Mandis or Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMC) in many parts of the country has come to a standstill because of spiralling effects of demonetisation move. Farmers, who were used to accepting money only in the form of cash, resist money in any other form and traders don’t have cash with them to buy farm products. It is only in those Mandis that are computerised and where payment is made electronically, is trade going on smoothly. There are about 200 Mandis that are integrated with the electronic national agriculture market. However, trade on the electronic platform is very small. Many of the APMCs have closed down in the wake of sudden demonetization.

Prices of agri commodities and their sales have also dropped considerably. At Azadpur Mandi, the largest wholesale market in Asia, sales reportedly dropped by 20-30% as traders and farmers refused to accept notes of high denominations. In Vashi, trade has fallen 90 per cent due to liquidity issues.

The bigger worry came from traders and farmers of perishable commodities like fruits and vegetables, which needed to be traded immediately. The farmers were reluctant to accept higher denominations and the traders were unable to meet the amount in smaller changes. So the farmers either risked devalued currencies or payment at a later date. The perishable nature of the veggies and fruits also did not allow them the leeway to wait. Some conducted the trade at lower prices.

Growers of plantation commodities such as tea and coffee are facing a different challenge: arranging cash to pay salaries. According to Payment of Wages Act, Wages have to be paid in cash. The Association of Planters of Kerala has approached the State government as well as trade unions for a solution assuring that the wages would be paid once normalcy is restored in the banking system.

Demonetization overnight has made the life of farmers unexpectedly miserable. No sector in agriculture was insulated from the effects of this sudden move. Although higher authorities claim that the effect is temporary and normalcy would be achieved within a matter of few days, for farmers the effect will sustain atleast until next season. Rabi sowings will fall, type of crop may be changed and unfortunately whatever gains they have accomplished due to a bumper Kharif crops had been devalued.

Demonetization DemonCurrency ban affects normalcy in agriculture sector

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Editorial Comments


Delhi woke up to a thick and smoggy morning during the first week of November. India’s capital achieved new records in pollution levels more than ten times that of the level considered to be safe. The choked city has sent the level of particulate matter soaring to 999 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter in some areas of the national capital, more than 15-16 times the limit

considered safe. Diwali season, although cited as the reason to this immediate upsurge, the phenomenon is a regular occurrence during this season and crop burning has been cited as one of the determining factor .

Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have been accustomed to clearing their lands after paddy harvest by burning the stubbles. The resultant smoke has been choking Delhi and this time the reports suggest a particularly alarming level of air pollution. According to a report by a space scientist at the Universities Space Research Association, as part of a NASA-funded project, Crop fires from Pakistan and Punjab (India) combined as two, great plumes of smoke wafted across north India and led to this unprecedented spike in pollution across Delhi. The analysis of images shows that crop fires — from the burning of kharif crop residue — over Punjab had increased by 75 per cent over last year. Between October 25 and November 6, 2016, crop fires had gone from 4,480 (in 2015) to 7,864.

This change has been attributed to the change in the cropping pattern among the farmers of Punjab. Contrary to their usual cropping pattern, Punjab noted a rise in area under the non-basmati varieties of rice. Unlike Basmati which is manually harvested, farmers tend to harvest non-basmati varieties of paddy with machines, resulting in more paddy stubble because combine harvesters don’t cut the crop close enough to the ground, leaving behind stems standing in the field up to one feet. Basmati varieties are harvested manually by farmers, who cut the crop close to the ground, which makes it easy for them to plough the residue into the soil through harrows. There is less paddy stubble and chances of stubble burning goes down.

Weather experts said that a weather condition, called an ‘anti-cyclone’, where wind is virtually absent without any circulation has accentuated the situation. It was particularly strong this year and prevented pollutants from being flushed out.

The effects of air pollution are multi faceted. Apart from the unwanted haze and poor visibility, it is also destroying the soil. The soil is robbed of the essential nutrients which renders it unproductive. It is estimated that burning of one tonne of rice straw accounts for loss of 5.5 kg of nitrogen, 2.3 kg of phosphorus, 25 kg of potassium and 1.2 kg of sulphur. To make the soils fit for future crop production, they have to be supplemented with more fertilizers which is not only costly but also unhealthy for the soils. Moreover, the heat generated elevates the soil temperature, killing fungi, insects, reptiles and the likes that are otherwise beneficial for the crops. If the crop residue is incorporated or retained in the soil itself, it gets enriched, particularly with organic carbon and nitrogen. Besides these, there is the perennial threat of fire spreading to habitations or forests, accidents due to poor visibility caused by the smoke and breathing problems for people.

The consistent burning of stubbles has been deteriorating the air quality in Delhi. This has become a regular occurrence and has proved that this worsens with each passing year. Unless and until a strict regulatory measure is put in place, stubble burning would remain and continue to asphyxiate the residents of the city.

A consensus must be evolved between different states and rather than treating it as a problem affecting a single state, an interstate agency must be developed to dictate matters. Farmers must be encouraged to pursue other means to clear their fields and the government of these states can help in the process by extending help.

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Editorial Comments

Delhi - India’s Gas ChamberStubble burning has deteriorated the air quality to the worst this time


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Editorial Comments

One nation one market, was the loud imperative behind launching the e-plat-form of the National Agriculture Market (NAM). However, the magnificent initiative has hit a roadblock and the execution seemed to have slowed down due to unanticipated technical glitches and lack of proper gorundwork.

The response to e NAM has been lukewarm. Only 250 regulated whole-sale markets (the country has 585 such Mandis) spread across 12 states under the respec-tive agricultural produce marketing committees (APMCs) have so far been integrated with the NAM platform. However, trading is being carried out at present only in 220 Mandis. NAM has achieved a trade turnover of only Rs 1,825 crore so far. Of this, Haryana’s 54 Mandis have achieved a trading volume of Rs 1,521 crore. Telangana’s 44 Mandis inte-grated with NAM have reported a trading of Rs 218 crore. The remaining Mandis integrated with NAM have seen a lower trading volume. Only 3.6 lakh farmers — of an estimated 14 crore in the country — and less than 50,000 traders and 27,000 commission agents have been registered with NAM.

The e-NAM portal has failed to handle heavy volumes of Kharif farm produce arrivals to markets due to technical glitches. e-NAM was launched in April to enable farmers to sell their produce to the highest bidders across the country. The ground reality is that except for issuing electronic gate passes to farmers to bring their produce to the markets, no bidding is being conducted online nationally. Trading continues to be done manually and traders and middlemen call the shots. The MSP announced by the government remains only on paper and the actual prices drop sharply even before the produce reaches the markets. With Kharif season over and large quantities of paddy, maize, soya, pulses, chilli, cotton stocks etc. reaching the markets, farmers still continue to suffer at the hands of traders and middlemen as e-NAM is yet to become fully operational. The e-NAM server has not been able to handle the huge rush of farmers in 250 markets in 10 states. There are also Internet connectivity issues.

NAM was launched with the ambitious vision of integrating 585 APMCs under one electronic platform by March 2018. It is believed to offer plethora of choices for the farmers. Unfortunately, not only is the number of farmers who have registered for this facility is low, the proposed advantages are yet to showcase. Technical glitches apart, the one market has failed to catch the fancy of the average farmer.

Just like demonetization which lacked essential groundwork, NAM too is suffering due to lack of homework. Experts aver that a system of scientific grading of agricultural com-modities at the market yards, transparent price settlement mechanism and rationalisation and imposition of uniform mandi taxes across the states are required to translate NAM into reality. Under NAM, quality parameters for 69 agricultural and horticultural commodities, including cereals, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruits and vegetables, have been notified for trad-ing.

Also the technical problems needs to be resolved for the smooth functioning of NAM. This is infact the demonstration stage and if the process fails at this phase itself, farmers and traders can never be convinced of the promises this system has to offer. So the existing service providers should be asked to enhance the Internet speed to meet the demand. By laying high-speed Internet, connectivity issues in rural areas can be addressed.

Indian agricultural market is highly fragmented with a long supply chain which progres-sively eats away whatever profit the farmer has derived from his farm. The greedy middle-men, glut and a myriad of other reasons have hindered farmers from achieving his share of well deserved monetary benefit. e NAM, had the brilliant response to this scenario by electronically connecting the farmers to the prospective clients spread across the nation. However, the plan wasn’t apparently one that that has been well thought of.

e NAM – the fading Wonder?The electronic platform has failed to materialize its vision


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Canal Politics

Editorial Comments

The recent SC verdict of status quo on land marked for the construction of SYL canal can flare up tensions between Punjab and Haryana

Poll bound Punjab received a massive blow when the Supreme Court recently held a 2004 law, passed by the State Assembly, to return over 4,000 acres of land acquired for the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal back to its rightful own-ers- farmers, constitutionally invalid. With this Haryana’s claim that Punjab’s unilateral decision to terminate the agreement was unconstitutional has been

validated. The Sutlej row was decades old. Satlej Yamuna Link Canal, a 214-kilometer long canal

was proposed to connect Sutlej and Yamuna rivers, which would provide succor to farm-ers of northern states such as Punjab, Pepsu, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan. It was planned in 1966 after the state of Haryana was formed out of Punjab. After more than six decades, the water dispute continues with the first agreement signed in 1955 which was followed by a number of agreements, including the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, 1966 Punjab Reorganization Act, the 1981 Indira Gandhi award as also 1985 Rajiv Longowal Accord besides litigations in the Supreme Court, the first one being in 1976 when Punjab took the initiative in approaching the Apex Court. This channel was designed to be 121 kms in length in Punjab portion with a designed capacity of 6500 cs and 91 kms. in length in Haryana portion with a designed capacity of 7435 cs.

The construction of portion of the canal in Haryana was started during October 1976 and was completed in June 1980 at an expenditure of Rs 56 Crore. In addition Haryana also spent about Rs 250 Crore for constructing the canal infrastructure in its area to utilize these waters. In 2004 the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act unilaterally cancelled all the agreements of Punjab with neighbouring states in sharing of Satlej, Ravi and Beas rivers, thus making the construction of Satlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) infructuous. About 90 per cent of canal is lying complete which has cost over hundreds of crores of public money. With the groundwork done by Haryana, and Punjab reneging on its responsibility to complete its share of work will incur massive losses to Haryana. Haryana maintains that if Punjab had completed the SYL then, 8 lakh tonnes additional foodgrain would have been produced and Haryana farmers would have received Rs 1,000 crore per year. Haryana claims to have thus faced a loss of Rs 35,000 crore.

The recent judgment by the highest court will be escalating tensions between the two states. With Punjab Assembly elections around the corner, the situation is going to witness some high voltage drama. The highly emotive issue of water between the two states had led to violence and agitations in the past and holds potential to repeat the same in the wake of this. It requires utmost sensitivity in handling this issue.

Both Haryana and Punjab are agriculturally significant states and hence water for irriga-tion is crucial. While both the sides are about to face massive losses, the move by Punjab to abandon the project is a colossal waste of resources. By bringing the canal to completion, more area can be brought under food crops. Agricultural productivity in these areas can be considerably enhanced with the propose canal link. Ego and political aspirations are cur-rently running the show. Short sighted ambitions should give way to the larger good of the public. An agreement must be drawn between the states and in no way the work completed must be curtailed.

Several tracts of land have been acquired for this project. Punjab should honour the agreement and both the states should carry forward this project towards its fruitful comple-tion. These kinds of highly emotional issues hold the potential to flare up the public senti-ments and the political parties can stoke the requisite flare into the volatile situation. India has already witnessed a similar situation in the Karnataka – Tamil Nadu Cauvery row, let us not plan on another one.


CORPORATE CORNER

As its cotton fortunes wither, Mahyco sows seeds of rice, wheat, vegetables

Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Pvt Ltd (Mahyco) has stepped up its focus on vegetables and field crops such as rice and wheat, where it sees major potential for hybridisation. This is even as the company’s cottonseed business has shrunk on stagnating acreage under the fibre crop, rising competition and due to the impact of seed price control, among other reasons. “Field crops and vegetables are a priority to us, while we continue to come up with newer hybrids in cotton. We see major potential for hybridisation in crops such as rice, wheat and maize, among others,” said A Subbarao, Senior V i c e - P r e s i d e n t , Mahyco. The company has been witnessing faster growth in its non-cotton business in the past couple of years. “Our vegetable seed business, which accounts for around 40 per cent of our revenues, is growing at around 15 per cent annually, while the field crops seed business is growing at 20 per cent,” he added. Revenue from the cottonseed business has shrunk for Mahyco and now accounts for around 40 per cent of the company’s earnings as against 50 per cent four years ago.

Agritech Startups Till the Ground for Farm-ers & Families

Agritech and social enterprise startups are increasingly focussing on health, education, sanitation and entrepreneurial initiatives in an attempt to enable farmers and their families. Besides offering tech know how and products, these startups are also looking into the emotional and educational well-being of farmers. “We want to focus on quarterly engagement within our existing geographies where we both lend time and financial assistance,” said Shardul Sheth, cofounder of AgroStar. “Most recently, in a village in Gujarat, we set up the borewell process since water wasn’t available. Earlier, we have had health checkup camps.” IDG Ventures-backed AgroStar is a mobile-commerce platform through which farmers can procure raw material by giving a simple missed call or through the startup’s mobile application. The company says it has already enabled about 40,000 farmers in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan since it launched the app in June. Delhi-based EM3 AgriServices, which provides a full range of onfarm services using modern agricultural machines and technologies on a ‘pay-for-use’ basis, is setting up a foundation that will aim to provide everything from education, electricity and health to sanitation, water and child-care services to farmers.

Bayer hints India research to continue Bayer group, which has entered a global

agreement to acquire Monsanto, has indicated that it would want to continue with fresh research in countries like India. Richard van der Merwe is the vice-chairman, managing director, and CEO of Bayer CropScience said, “IP rights protection is very important for promoting research in life science and crop science segment.” Monsanto India had recently said it would put off further research in genetically modified seeds technology after a disagreement with the government over licenses for BT Cotton seeds and controlled trait fee. Monsanto India has termed the government move as anti-intellectual property. Bayer group is setting up a new plant at Vapi in Gujarat with €30-million fresh investments. The plant is likely to go on stream in June 2017. On merger with Monsanto, which was announced three months ago, he said “that is a part of global exercise and requires approval of 30 different jurisdictions. In India, we have applied to the Competition Commission of India for approval for merger of Indian businesses of both companies. We hope to complete merger process by end of next year.” “So far as merging Monsanto is concerned, there is hardly any overlapping in businesses,” he added.


CORPORATE CORNER

Aditya Birla Group in talks with IFFCO to sell fertilizer biz The Aditya Birla Group is again looking to exit its fertilizer

business and has begun preliminary talks with Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) about a potential sale, two people familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity. A spokesperson for the group declined comment on “market speculation”. A spokesperson for IFFCO denied that the company is in talks with the Aditya Birla group. The group’s fertilizer business is managed by Indo Gulf Fertilisers Ltd, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd, which manufactures and markets urea, agricultural seeds and agrochemicals. The Aditya Birla Group has been looking to sell the fertilizer business for several years, as part of a broader strategy to exit low-margin businesses in government-regulated sectors. The two people cited in the first instance said the talks with Iffco are the group’s third attempt in recent years to exit the business. Previous discussions made no headway due to a mismatch over valuation, one of the two said.

Future Group, INI Farms tie up to boost banana, pomegranate output

Future Retail Group and INI Farms have formed a Joint Venture to boost the production and export of pomegranates and bananas in three districts of Andhra Pradesh. The JV firm, Keyara Fresh Private Limited will partner the Horticulture Department of the AP government under a public-private partnership. The five-year project launched recently will see an investment of Rs 170 crore and involvement of at least 12,000 farmers. Pankaj Khandelwal, Managing Director of INI Farms, a Mumbai-based horticulture company, said the project has begun in Anantapur and Kadapa districts of Rayalseema region, where the two fruits are grown and conditions are suitable. The company will invest Rs 60 crore in the JV, which will a 50:50 venture. The balance will be shared between the Future Group and AP. The project will be extended to East Godavari soon. The focus of the Integrated Agriculture Development project will be to help farmers in supporting productivity increase, creation of post-harvest infrastructure, marketing and export. The target is to improve yields of bananas from the average 67 tonnes/ha to around 100 tonnes/ha in a year. This would be through overall management and good agriculture practises. In Gujarat and Maharashtra efforts in this direction are showing good results. The Future Consumer Enterprise of the Future Group will not just invest, but also buy back the produce, which would be better quality and sell it across its Fresh retail chain. Once, the pilot project succeeds it will be replicated in other districts as well as other States, where pomegranates and bananas can be grown, said Sumit Saran, Head International Foods.

LT Foods Forms JV with Japanese Snack Maker Kameda Seika LT Foods, the maker of Daawat branded rice, and leading Japanese snack company Kameda Seika will jointly invest $10

million in a 51:49 joint venture to sell rice-based snacks in India. “Competing with brands such as PepsiCo’s Lays is difficult in snacks. So we decided to create a new category through the association with Kameda. The JV will leverage LT Foods’ distribution and logistics network and Kameda has proprietary manufacturing capabilities of rice-based snacks,“ Ashwani Arora, managing director of LT Foods said. He said once established in India, the JV will consider exports to markets in South Asia. “We intend to grow our business across value-added categories. Since our core competence is rice and Kameda is the global leader in rice-based snacks, the op portunity to scale up the business is huge,“ Arora said. “Consumers are looking for healthier snacking options and there are limited options in that space.“


Edible oil tax slab may be revenue-neutral

Centre to set up entity to manage pulses buffer stock

The tax slab for the edible oil sector under the coming national goods and services tax (GST) is likely to be revenue-neutral. Besides checking tax evasion, this is likely to improve the overall efficiency in the sector, experts said. Edible oil is in the essential commodity category, which attracts the lowest GST rate of five per cent; the overall rate would be nearly 5.5 per cent. “Inflation on edible oil is not only managed by tax. The government has import duty as another tool, with a large part (of supply) imported. GST would improve efficiency in the supply chain,” said Siraj Chaudhry, chairman, Cargill India. India produces 7-7.5 million tonnes of edible oil annually, a third of its consumption. The rest is met through imports, primarily from Indonesia, Malaysia and Argentina. This year’s import is likely to be a record 15.5 mt.

Operating at a one to two per cent, some small and medium size entities opt for tax evasion to avoid loss. GST is expected to help check this. “Keeping edible oil in the lowest slab category would encourage genuine business in the system,” said B V Mehta, executive director, Solvent Extractors’ Association of India. “We are analysing the impact; a lot of clarity is required on the GST structure announced recently. Including edible oil in the lowest category of taxation under GST will help enlarge the food security net,” said Dinesh Shahra, managing director, Ruchi Soya Industries.

The government will soon invite tenders from state-run and private companies to set up an entity to manage the proposed buffer stock of pulses, and for their storage and disposal. This follows the recommendation of a panel headed by chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian, which backed the setting up of a new institution as a public private partnership (PPP) to compete with and complement existing institutions to procure, stock and dispose pulses. The government has already decided to create a two-million-tonne buffer stock as authorities move to tackle the problem of shortages and price spikes of the essential protein item.

POLICY NOTES

Govt setting up robust system to estimate private grain stock Amid lack of transparency about foodgrain stocks held in the global market,

the government recently declared it is creating a “robust system” to collect stock details even from private players that will help take corrective policy decisions in the event of price rise. Timely and accurate information about the foodgrain stock held in different countries and even with domestic and global players will help the governments address the problem of price volatility as also help make food available at a price that is affordable to people, it said. Addressing an international seminar on ‘Approaches and methodologies for private foodgrain stock measurement’ organised by UN body FAO, Agriculture Secretary S K Pattanayak said India has felt the impact of lack of information about foodgrains stocks. “Within India also, we have felt this impact. Many times, we do not have accurate information on stocks and price within the country witnesses volatility. Therefore, it is important to have access to timely and accurate information,” he said. It was almost like a “black box” regarding stock position of various agriculture commodities by different government agencies and also private trade, he said. “Nobody knows, which government is holding how much, how much is in public and private stocks. Various economies in the world do not give these details,” he noted. Keeping this in mind, the secretary said, “We have been trying to create a robust system so that we are not subject to inaccurate information.” Right now, public stocks are definitely known and are in the public domain. But measuring the stock held by private trade and organisations is a big challenge, he said. He is of the view that accurate information and analysis of stocks will help the governments move agriculture produce from one region to another or from one country to the other.


Organic farming to cleanse Ganga?

DBT plan for fertiliser subsidy

Centre to offload 1 mt wheat in open market With wheat prices not abating even after the government

lowered the import duty, the Centre has now decided to release an additional one million tonnes (mt) of wheat in the open market. The extra supply of wheat from the Food Corporation of India (FCI)’s reserves would help cool down prices in the open market, which had risen by Rs 3-4 a kg in North India in the past 10 days owing to short supplies. The wheat will be released by tweaking the strategic reserve norms under which the central government has to mandatorily keep three million tonnes of wheat and two million tonnes of rice by April 1 each year. The strategic reserve was created in 2008 following bumper harvest. Apart from the reserve, the Centre is supposed to maintain a buffer stock of 21.04 million tonnes as on April 1. Wheat stocks in the central pool as on October 1, 2016 was 20.52 million tonnes — the lowest in the past nine years owing to fall in procurement. However, to release additional wheat in the open market, the Centre will lower the wheat stock by one million tonne and raise it by a similar amount for rice. “We won’t allow wheat prices to rise in the open market,” Food Minister Ramvilas Paswan told reporters. Till date, the central government has allocated 3.4 million tonnes of wheat in the open market, of which 2.98 million tonnes has already been sold at Rs 1,640 a quintal. However, because of severe shortage of wheat in the open markets due to dry pipelines and lower sales by FCI, wheat rates in Punjab and Haryana have soared to Rs 2,000 a quintal against Rs 1,750.

The government is promoting organic farming along the Ganga coastline to keep the river clean and control pollution. As part of a joint initiative of the ministries of agriculture and water resources, people living in 1,657 clusters of 1,657 gram panchayats from Uttarakhand to West Bengal will be motivated to carry out organic farming to reduce use of polluting chemical fertilizers and pesticides to ensure that the Ganga is restored to its purity. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect has already been signed between the two ministries. “Rivers play an important role in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Ganga is a symbol of cleanliness as well as purity since time immemorial in India. To make the Ganga clean again, it is imperative that organic farming be promoted in the townships and villages along the banks of the Ganga to minimise the use of harmful pesticides, fertilisers and other chemicals in agriculture,” said agriculture minister Radhamohan Singh. The minister said it would also provide all wholesale vegetable markets with `10 lakh each to help clean the rivers. One per cent of all funds meant for agriculture-related activities would be dedicated to the cleanlines drive, he added. He said that all the 648 Krishi Vikas Kendras (KVK) would adopt five villages each and clean them up and maintain them. The ministry through KVKs has promoted cleanliness activities in 3,040 villages with the active participation of farmers and village youth. Officials concerned said efforts had been made to promote clean farming technologies and package of practices as well as to make best use of farm waste. Various technologies making best use of agricultural wastes like, preparation of bio-compost, vermin-composting, whey utilisation, straw enrichment, waste water recycling, cotton waste management, fisheries waste management and engineering technologies are also being used.

POLICY NOTES

Enthused by its success from the pilot programme in 16 districts, the Centre is now planning to implement the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme in the fertiliser sector to provide Rs 75,000 crore annual subsidy to farmers. “The government is working on the DBT to provide fertiliser subsidy directly to all the farmers. In 16 districts, our pilot project is going on. We have received positive reports,” Chemicals and

Fertilisers Minister Ananth Kumar said. He was speaking on the sidelines of a National Fertiliser Ltd’’s (NFL) event where a dividend cheque of around Rs 53 crore was handed over to the government. “Till next Kharif season, we will compile all the data and analyse. The government will prepare plans for implementing the DBT in fertiliser sector, especially urea subsidy,” Kumar said, adding the annual fertiliser subsidy bill is around Rs 75,000 crore.


More districts to get mobile-based agri system The Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) and Media Lab Asia signed an MoU on to take the Mobile Based

Agricultural Extension System in North-East India, or m4AgriNEI, to all the 11 districts of the State. At present, m4AgriNEI is implemented in five districts — Ri-Bhoi, East Khasi Hills, West Jaintia Hills, West Garo Hills and South West Garo Hills — and more than 11,000 farmers are registered to receive the agro advisory services. Speaking at a workshop on the ‘Potentialities of m4AgriNEI for Meghalaya’ held at the MeBaDa hall of the Meghalaya Institute of Governance (MIG), senior director (research) at Media Lab Asia (MLAsia) V.K. Bhatia said, “In the collaboration with MBDA, it is expected that m4AgriNEI will be extended to 11 districts of Meghalaya, capacity building of key stakeholders of m4AgriNEI and MBDA support to each other. More than 6,000 farmers are benefited from the 70 training and awareness programmes on crop cultivation and livestock management.”

Assam flood-tolerant rice set for global exposure

In what may turn out to be an inspir-ing story for the flood-hit farmers and agricultural scientists of the region, the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is seeking to promote two flood-tolerant rice varies, which were genetically developed by a group of scientists in the Titabor-based Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) of Assam Agricultural University (AAU). The two varieties of rice – Bahadur Sub-1 and Ranjit Sub-1 – were found to be flood-tolerant for a maximum period of 12 days even during submergence because of their improvised genetic qualities. “Most recently, the IRRI officials have sought to promote both these rice varieties among the farmers across the globe. I think Ranjit Sub-1 and Bahadur Sub-1 will yield good results for the farm-ers of flood-hit areas of Eastern India and many other agrarian areas of the world,” said principal scientist of Titabor RARS.

Govt fails to implement Saffron Mission, production drops by 60% As the State Government has failed to implement multi-crore National Saffron Mission

(NSM), the saffron production has dropped by 60% in South Kashmir’s Pampore Town this year. The saffron has become victim of unplanned urbanization and Government’s failure to implement the National Saffron Mission. In order to increase saffron production and to bring more land under its cultivation, the Government of India sanctioned an ambitious Rs 400 crore NSM in 2010. The scheme was launched by the Centre in partnership with the State with the aim of raising production from 3 to 5 kilogram per hectare but even after six years the Government has not been able to kick off the scheme. In six years, the State Government has drilled nearly 90 bore wells needed for the irrigation of saffron fields but majority of them are defunct. Officials in Department of Agriculture said that the mission envisaged establishing 109 bore wells with 100 per cent project support. “But till date, only 90 bore wells have been dug and only six of them are fully functional”, said an official.

STATE ROUNDUP

CCEA clears Rs 500 cr PM’s special horticulture package for J&K

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Rs 500-crore special horticulture package to Jammu and Kashmir to help apple growers rejuvenate old orchards and start new ones. This is part of the Rs 80,000-crore package announced for the State in November last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to develop infrastructure after the 2014 floods. The Centre-State fund sharing norms have been relaxed to 90:10 ratio under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) to implement the PM’s special horticulture package in the State. Out of Rs 500-crore package, the Government of India’s share would be Rs 450 crore and the rest will be borne by the State Government.The package will

help in setting up of 329 hectares of new apple orchards and restoration of 3,900 hectares of damaged ones over three years. Under the package, apple growers will be given financial help in 90:10 for importing planting material at the maximum rate of Rs 460 per plant while funds in the ratio of 50:50 for importing four wire trellis system at the rate of Rs 9.8 lakh per hectare for new apple orchards.


Groundnut buying at a crawl in Gujarat The procurement of groundnut at minimum support price (MSP) levels is progressing

at a snail’s pace as the agencies appointed for the job have so far procured less than 1 per cent of the targeted 1 lakh tonnes for the kharif season. Gujarat State Cooperative Cotton Federation Ltd (Gujcot), the nodal agency responsible for groundnut procurement in the State, has opened procurement centres in 21 locations as against the government’s mandate of 58 centres. The procurement had begun from November 5. Notably, with groundnut prices tumbling below the MSP on bumper crop estimates, farmers and trade bodies had approached the Centre seeking intervention through the Price Support Scheme (PSS). Gujarat has seen record groundnut sowing, on over 16.4 lakh hectares, and production is expected to be one of the highest in three years, at around 26 lakh tonnes. This pulled prices down as low as Rs 552 per 20 kg (groundnut in shells) against the MSP of Rs 844, thereby causing a huge uproar among growers. After receiving representations from the State government for procurement of groundnut under the PSS for kharif season 2016-17, the Union Agriculture Ministry had directed the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (Nafed) and Small farmers Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) to initiate procurement immediately at an MSP + Bonus combined rate of Rs 4,220 a quintal. Nafed sources confirmed that so far 711.55 tonnes of groundnut have been procured at the MSP rate as on November 8.

Karnataka govt plans to invest Rs1 trillion in irrigation projects

Rain deficit shrinks tea crop in South India

After the South-West monsoon, with the North-East monsoon also playing truant, tea growers in South India are staring at the prospect of a major crop loss this year. The South-West monsoon deficit had already impacted output, resulting in a firm trend in tea prices. Officials at the United Planters’ Association of Southern India (Upasi) — the apex body of tea growers — expect the overall output in the region to drop by over 15 per cent. South India, where tea is grown on about 1.19 lakh hectares across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, produces around 230 million kg (mkg), accounting for a fifth of the country’s total output of 1,200 mkg.

The Karnataka government plans to invest Rs1 trillion in the comprehensive development of irrigation projects to mitigate the impact of deficient rainfall and resulting drought on agricultural in recent years. The new estimates are double of the earlier outlay of Rs50,000 crore, or Rs10,000 crore per year, over five years as promised in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government’s manifesto. Delays in completion of existing projects and associated escalation costs and new projects have almost doubled the outlay. “(There is a) requirement is Rs1 lakh crore for the entire irrigation project to be completed; because irrigation depends on water allocation and once you exhaust water, there will be no further projects,” said M.B.Patil, water resources minister for Karnataka. However, it remains unclear how the state government will mobilize the funds. Patil said the reassessment of cost of the Upper Krishna project approved in 2012—from Rs.17,206 crore to Rs.50,000 crore—has added almost Rs33,000 crore to the estimates.

Rajasthan govt inks MoUs with investment potential of Rs 4,400 crore in agriculture sector

The Rajasthan government signed 38 MoUs with private companies with an estimated investment potential of Rs 4,400 crore in the areas of agriculture and allied sectors like animal husbandry, fisheries, cold chains and agro-tourism. “We would ensure that these MoUs are implemented on the ground within one year which would eventually boost farmers’

income,” Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje said, after signing the MoUs at the first Global Rajasthan Agri-Tech Meet (GRAM) 2016, organised jointly by the state government and FICCI.

STATE ROUNDUP


Worried over with only a few takers for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna, the agriculture ministry has sought ad-ditional Rs 10,500 crore to settle crop insurance claims this fiscal. The new scheme, which was launched in January to bring ‘cheerful moments for farmers’, has till now only 2.53 crore farmers who have insured their crops under the scheme. According to experts, since farmers are finding it difficult to pay high premiums, the government has decided to pump in more funds into the scheme to motivate farmers for getting enrolled with new crop insurance. The Centre has planned to bring above 4 crore farmers under the scheme. “The budget allocation for this fiscal was Rs 5,500 crore for PMFBY. The ministry has demanded from the Finance Min-istry to provide an additional budget of Rs 10,500 crore for the new scheme,” an agriculture ministry official said. “More funds are being sought as the burden is set to increase in coming months as it has come to the notice of the ministry that farmers have started showing their keen interest in new crop scheme. It’s also that claims of about Rs 7,500 crore are pending from last year under the old crop insurance scheme,” the official said. “Out of Rs 5,500 crore budget allocated for PMFBY for the 2016-17 fiscal, Rs 5,000 crore has already been used for clearing part of last year’s claims under the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS), while about Rs 476 crore has been kept aside for north eastern states and this amount cannot be utilised for other states,” the official said.

In a move that can expand the reach of crop insurance schemes, micro insurance agents have now been permitted to sell government-sponsored crop insurance products to farmers. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued a circular to this effect. The decision of the regulator came in the wake of requests made by some stakeholders to categorise government-sponsored schemes as micro insurance products irrespective of the sum insured under the individual policy. With this decision, crop insurance products under schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) and Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (CPIS) can be bought by farmers from micro insurance agents without any limit on the sum assured. However, key modalities, such as the sum insured, premium, premium rate per crop, and unit area will remain as notified under the respective government-sponsored insurance schemes without any change, PJ Joseph, Member, Non-Life, IRDAI, said. Till now, micro agents could only sell crop insurance products with a maximum cover of `1 lakh, according to the norms issued by the regulator last year. Also, currently, government-sponsored insurance schemes are mostly sold along with crop loans taken by farmers.

Crop insurance: Micro agents can now sell govt-sponsored schemes

Agri Ministry asks for Rs 10,500-crore more for new crop insurance scheme

BANK & MICRO-FINANCE CORNER

Drought: Government may waive crop loans to help farmers Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa

said the government has been exploring the possibility of providing succour to farmers who have lost crops due to severe drought in Karnataka. Crop loan waiver, deferring crop loan repayment and providing monetary compensation for the crop loss are among the options before the government. Deputy commissioners of all the districts have been directed to submit reports to the government on the crop loss. The state Cabinet will soon take an appropriate decision on how to bail out farmers who are in distress, Thimmappa informed. A Cabinet sub-committee

has recommended to the government to declare 29 more taluks as drought-affected. The government has already declared 110 taluks as drought-hit. There has been extensive damage to crops across the state. The Centre will

provide financial assistance only on the basis of the National Disaster Relief Fund norms. So, the state government has to mobilise resources on its own to effectively implement drought-relief works, he added.


Agricultural exports decline marginally in first half of fy17

India’s agricultural and processed food products exports in the first half of the current fiscal declined marginally, compared to the same period last year despite increase in shipment of buffalo meat and fruits and vegetables. Basmati rice shipments also witnessed a substantial fall. According to data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products and Export Development Authority (Apeda), the exports in the April-September period of FY17 stood at Rs 50,939 crore —around 3.6% lower than the same period last year. Sources said overall, all exports in the current fiscal may surpass the previous fiscal level with expected revival in basmati rice shipment in the last part of the current fiscal. India’s farm and processed foods exports had fallen to Rs 1.06 lakh crore in FY16 against Rs 1.31 lakh crore in FY15. Exports of buffalo meat, which constitute about 25% of the exports in the Apeda basket, rose marginally in value terms to Rs 12,331 crore this fiscal while shipment of fruits and vegetables saw a sharp increase of 9% to Rs 4,228 crore comparison to last year.

Soybean meal export increases 55% in October

GLOBAL UPDATE

Soybean meal exports rose over 55% in October from a month ago due to a drop in its price and a pickup in demand from the traditional Southeast Asian market, according to the Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA). The export of soybean meal and its other value-added products during October 2016 were just 19,139 tonne, compared with 42,104 tonne

in October 2015, showing a decrease of 54.5% over the same period of last year. The export of soybean meal in October stood at 19,139 tonne with Japan, Myanmar and Kenya remaining the leading buyers. A major portion of soybean meal from India used to go to east and Southeast Asian countries due to the proximity and advantage of booking small containers from India.

Coffee exports up 19% in April-Oct The country’s coffee exports rose 18.6 per cent to 2,14,677 tonnes in the April-

October period of the current fiscal despite low realisation, according to the Coffee Board. In value terms, coffee exports increased 7 per cent to Rs 3,224 crore in the first seven months of this fiscal from Rs 3,013 crore in the year-ago period, the Coffee Board data showed. Overseas shipments moved up even as export value realisation of coffee came down by 9.7 per cent at Rs 1,50,180/tonnes during the April-October period of this year when compared with Rs 1,66,461/tonnes in the year-ago period.

China to import areca nut from India China has shown interest in Indian areca nut. The first

consignment of 400 kg of tender areca nut, which is used as a mouth freshener, will be shipped as samples to China this week. Chinese firms are working with Campco, a co-operative of areca nut and cocoa farmers, to source areca nut from India. Campco will supply to Kou Wei Wang (King of Taste), one of the largest Chinese mouth freshener manufacturers. M Suresh Bhandary, Managing Director ofCampco said the price being offered is Rs 50-60 a kg lower than quoted, but as volume picks up, this issue will be addressed. The Chinese buyer has indicated its preference for first-quality areca nut and indicated a price of Rs 350-400 a kg. The husk of the tender nut is used widely in China to make mouth freshener and other edible items after due processing. Areca nut is grown to the tune of 122,000 tonnes in Hunan province of China annually, but the demand is much higher at 700,000 tonnes.


Avocados gobble up Mexican forest land Deforestation caused by the expansion of Mexican avocado orchards is much

higher than previously thought, authorities said. Talia Coria, an official in the attorney general’s office for environmental protection, said almost 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares) of forest land are converted to agricultural uses each year in the western state of Michoacan, the world’s top producer of avocados. Coria, who heads the office’s Michoacan division, said between 30 percent and 40 percent of the annual forest loss is due to avocados. That is about 15,000 to 20,000 acres (6,000 to 8,000 hectares). Experts say a mature avocado orchard uses almost twice as much water as fairly dense forest, meaning less water reaches Michoacan’s legendary crystalline mountain streams on which trees and animals in the forests depend. Guillermo Haro, the attorney general for environmental protection, said Michoacan grows about eight out of 10 avocados exported worldwide, but added that the state’s forests “are a wealth greater than any export of avocados.” Mexico’s National Institute for Forestry, Farming and Fisheries Research had previously estimated the loss of forest land to avocado planting at about 1,700 acres (690 hectares) a year from 2000 through 2010. However, the rising popularity of the fruit and higher prices have apparently lured growers to expand orchards faster in recent years. The state already has about 370,000 acres (150,000 hectares) of orchards, and no new permits for cutting down forest to create plantations have been granted in recent years. The largely impoverished state depends on avocado growing and harvesting for jobs and income as an alternative to the rampant production of synthetic drugs that also exists in the state.

India pushes WTO members to accelerate work on outstanding Doha Round issues India has raised the bar on the need for a permanent solution on public stockholding programmes for food security,

safeguard mechanism for curbing unforeseen surges in import of farm products, further work on reducing trade-distorting domestic support in agriculture by industrialized nations, and trade facilitation in services, according to people familiar with the development. These issues are on the list of deliverables for the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s 11th ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires next year. At a mini-ministerial summit of select trade ministers from more than two dozen countries in, commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanded a permanent solution for public stockholding programmes for food security at Buenos Aires. She called for accelerating work on other outstanding Doha Development Round issues, including special safeguard mechanism for curbing sudden surges in imports of agricultural products, and improvements in special and differential flexibilities. On new issues such as rules for e-commerce and small and medium enterprises, which are at the core trade agenda for the US, EU, and other major industrialized and some developing countries, India along with a majority of developing countries cautioned that these issues cannot run ahead of the unresolved Doha issues. Trade ministers from the US, EU, China, India, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, Rwanda, Benin, Kenya, Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica, among others, attended the meeting.

Pak launches ‘basmati war’ on India The sound of the tractor instantly invites the sounds of the gun

from across the other side of the International Border (IB). The area is RS Pura, the “rice bowl” of India, in the Jammu area. Today, 40,000 acres of basmati stands unattended in Jammu and Kashmir as they are under heavy threat from Pakistani soldiers. Firing and shelling from Pakistani soldiers have caused rice farmers to flee, ensuring that crop cultivation of basmati rice on the Indian side of the International Border (IB) is next to impossible. Locals claim that this firing every October-November is an annual ritual. It is meant to attack the Indian farmer, hurt India’s basmati rice crop, and ensure that Pakistan’s rice crop flowers. As a result, farmers working on the fields have been made to vacate the area, ensuring that long spreads of mature paddy stands neglected.

To beat pests, US OKs two types of GM potatoes

The US department of agriculture has ap proved commercial planting of two types of potatoes that are genetically engineered to resist the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine. The approval covers Idaho-based J R Simplot Co’s Ranger Russet and Atlantic varieties of the company’s second generation of Innate potatoes. The company said the potatoes would also have reduced bruising and black spots, enhanced storage capacity and a reduced amount of a carcinogen created when potatoes were cooked at high temperatures. The potatoes will enter the market by next spring.

GLOBAL UPDATE


ARHAR-16 Introduced

Agri Reform Index Ranks Maha First

After arhar, govt plans to expand area under new moong variant

WHAT’S NEW

In a bid to increase pulse production in the country, Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) Pusa introduced an early maturing high yielding pulse Arhar-16 that would help India become self-reliant in pulses. The new variety of Arhar-16 is a extra early maturing semi - dwarf, determinate, high yielding variety and would be available to farmers from Kharif season, said the Union agriculture minister, Radha Mohan Singh.

In a move that will help improve the ease of doing business in the country in the distressed agriculture sector, the government has come out with an agriculture reforms index that would compel states to compete among themselves for the top slot every year, thus helping them improve the overall agri-business climate in India. In the first of its kind index on reforms in the farm sector, prepared by government’s premier think-tank NITI Aayog, Maharashtra has been adjudged as the most farmer friendly state in the country followed by Gujarat and Rajasthan. Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya released the index. The Agriculture Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index is based on initiatives taken by the states in implementing farm sector reforms. “Maharashtra achieves first rank in implementation of various reforms. The state has implemented most of the marketing reforms and it offers best environment for doing agribusiness among all the states and UTs,“ an official statement said. According to the statement, almost 20 out of 29 states, including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and J&K, have done poorly with regard to agri-sector reforms. As per the states’ score in the index, Madhya Pradesh ranked fourth, followed by Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Goa and Chhattisgarh. The index is aimed at helping the states identify and address problems in the farm sector, which suffers from low growth, low farm income and agrarian distress.

After arhar, the government is now planning to expand the acreage under a new moong (Green Gram) variety, which, just like the newly launched arhar variant, takes lesser time to mature and produces better quality crop. The moong variety, which has cleared all the field trials and has been circulated among farmers, gives an average yield of around 10-12 quintals per hectare, almost the same as the existing available variants, but more importantly matures in around 52-53 days as against all the current varieties which take 65-70 days to mature. The window of 12-20 days gives farmers ideal time to prepare the field for the next crop and could expand its reach in areas where moong is traditionally not grown. The Centre plans to bring around 1 million hectares of land of the total 2-4 million hectares under “summer moong” this year, of which almost five per cent could be under the new variant. Called IPM-205-7 or ‘Virat’, this moong is ideal for growing in the summer season after wheat is harvested.


Farmready, a profit & potent turmeric variety

Biotech hubs to help modernize farming norms

WHAT’S NEW

Turmeric farmers in India have some good news. A new variety named CIM-Pitamber is available for commercial cultivation. It holds much promise for a large number of traditional Indian homes where turmeric (curcuma longa) is not just one of the popular spices, but also a valuable first aid-cum medical ingredient to tackle a range of anti-inflammatory problems. Scientists at the Lucknow-based Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, CSIR-CIMAP conducted extensive research for eight years to identify and finally develop the high yielding variety. An average yield of 50 tonnes of rhizomes/ha, containing more than 10 per cent curcuminoids has been demonstrated in multi-centre field trials. One of the super yielding varieties with expected production of 60-65 tonnes of rhizomes/ha also contains more than 12.5 per cent curcuminoids. The general duration of the crop is 180-190 days, scientists said. The active ingredient curcumin has a wide spectrum of medicinal properties. These include anti-inflammatory, wound healing, anti-cancer, antioxidants, anti-microbial as well as anti-aging properties.

Despite the presence of top agriculture research institutes in the country, scientific solutions developed in the lab rarely reach the small farmer. It is to bridge this knowledge gap between agricultural scientists and research institutions

and small farmers that the government has recently announced two new initiatives—-Biotech-KISAN hubs and Cattle Genomics. The Biotech-KISAN (Krishi Innovation Science Application Network) will train women farmers

across 15 agro-climatic zones on new technologies and know-how available in the country and outside. The aim is to connect farmers, scientists and science institutions across the country using Biotech-KISAN hubs. It also aims to address individual problems of small farmers, providing solutions for poor soil health, unavailability of irrigation facilities and seeds and marketing infrastructure. According to an official with Department of Biotechnology (DBT), these hubs would be used to scout for appropriate technologies developed at Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), government owned science labs, Krishi Vigyan Kendra and state agriculture universities.


Agriculture in India has emerged from the shackles of paucity to the one of profusion. The sector of course got its leverage from unending government support and from a host of agro inputs. Fertilizers played a key role in this transformation. Today India is not only a key consumer of fertilizers but the world’s third largest producer of fertilizers. The Indian market constitutes a number of private and public sector organizations vehemently catering to the rising demand of fertilizers. Unfortunately, the sector also suffers from some leakages in terms of subsidized fertilizers and unbalanced fertilization affecting the inherent soil health and quality. So current policy guidelines need to be changed and reforms initiated, if the sector has to run efficiently in the coming years.

INDIAN FERTILIZER SECTOR

COVER FEATURE FERTILIZER

REFORMS OVERDUE


Indian agriculture owes its magnificence to the fertilizer sector. Beginning with green revolution that poured fertilizers abundantly into the farmers’ fields the fertilizer industry since then has displayed a growth of grandeur that

spurred India’s food production to its best. Today the Indian fertilizer industry ranks third in the world in terms of fertilizer production. India, in the meantime, has also emerged as the second largest consumer of fertilizers.

Several factors have contributed to the meteoric rise of the sector. Government support was a significant driver. The government’s subsidy programme gave the much needed impetus to the sector. The dogged compulsion to produce more food for a newly independent country was incentive enough to raise the production and consumption of fertilizers. The development of hybrids and high yielding varieties also pushed the demand for fertilizers. With changing times, better variants of fertilizers have entered the market. From straight fertilizers to complex fertilizers, from Neem coated Urea to specialty/custom fertilizers, Indian fertilizer market today is a poutporri of fertilizer products.

India’s strong fertilizer SectorIndia has a sizeable fertilizer sector with brilliant opportunities and scope for further expansion.

In India the major fertilizer sources for the primary nutrients – Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium are Urea, Di Ammonium phosphate (DAP) and Muriate of Potash (MOP). Urea and DAP are produced in India whereas for MOP India depends on imports.

In 2015, India produced 3.4 million tonnes of Di Ammonium phosphate (DAP) and about 22.6 million tonnes of Urea valuing Rs 12471 Crores and Rs 43830 Crores respectively. The domestic fertilizer industry has by and large attained the levels of capacity utilization comparable with others in the world. The capacity utilization during 2013-14 was 97.0% for nitrogen and 59.8% for phosphate. Within this gross capacity utilization, the capacity utilization



indigenous capacity has developed in respect of phosphatic fertilizers to meet domestic requirements. However, the raw-materials and intermediates for the same are largely imported. For potash (K) , since there are no viable sources/reserves in the country, its entire requirement is met through imports.

Total domestic consumption of DAP, MOP and Urea in 2015 was much higher at 7.6 million tonnes, about 3 million tonnes and about 31 million tonnes for DAP, MoP and Urea respectively. The corresponding rupee values for the consumed fertilizer categories in the country were Rs 27606 Crores, Rs 2853 Crores and Rs 30610 Crores respectively. The deficit between production and consumption of different fertilizers in India is met every year through imports. While India imported whole of MoP required for consumption to the tune of about 4.2 million tonnes in 2015, it imported 3.8 million tonnes and 8.7 million tonnes of DAP and Urea respectively.

Apart from the chemical fertilizers, biofertiliers have also remained active in the Indian market. There are over

of the Urea plants was 109.5% in 2013-14. For phosphatic fertilizers, the actual production capacity utilization has been influenced apart from the constraints in availability of raw materials/ intermediates which are substantially imported by the demand trends.

India has 30 manufacturing units of Urea with an Installed capacity of 21.6 million tonnes till 2013. There are 12 units of DAP producing plants with a combined capacity of 8.3 million tonnes. Complex fertilizers in

the country have installed capacity of 6.4 million tonnes from 19 units. Highest number of fertilizer units in the country belonged to SSP. India has 85 SSP units with a combined production capacity of 7.7 million tonnes.

As of now, the country has achieved 80% self-sufficiency in production capacity of Urea. As a result, India could manage its substantial requirement of nitrogenous fertilizers through the indigenous industry. Similarly, 50%



sector are given below:On the domestic front, the

government is exploring possibilities of reviving of closed units of HFCL and FCIL which will improve availability of urea in the country. In addition, companies as a part of their corporate planning, implement/plan various schemes of revamp, debottlenecking and expansion in order to increase fertilizer production. Necessary replacement of critical equipments and turn around of plants are also undertaken to improve production capability, reduce risk of

100 Bio-fertilizer units operational in the country. These units produced about 20040 MT bio-fertilizers against the installed capacity of over 86000 mt during 2009-10. Biofertilizer market in India is growing at the rate of 12%. The growing concern over the deteriorating soil health and the rampant use of agro chemicals over and above the prescribed limits have been expanding the horizons of biofertilizer market. Biofertilizers which carry beneficial microorganisms are known to endow soils with many qualitative characteristics which increase soil health and plant health. With many states turning organic, sale of biofertilizers have increased.

Expansion of Production capabilitiesIndia’s dependence on import at present is to the extent of 25% of our requirement of Urea, 90% in case of Phosphates, either as raw material or finished fertilizers (DAP/MAP/TSP) and 100% in case of Potash. The government has been working hard to expand India’s fertilizer production capabilities by pushing domestic

production and exploring joint ventures with countries abroad. The Government has been encouraging Indian Companies to establish Joint Ventures abroad in Countries which are rich in fertilizer resources for production facilities with buy back arrangements and to enter into long term agreement for supply of fertilizers and fertilizer inputs to India.

So far, the Department of Fertilizers has undertaken Joint Ventures abroad with 5 Countries in the previous years. The details of such joint ventures in the fertilizer

Among many fertilizer Joint Venture Projects being considered in the department, following 03 are in advanced stages:

S.No. JV Project-Country JV participants with equity % Product and the Project status

1. Oman India Fertilizer Co.(OMIFCO), Oman

Oman Oil Co. (OOC-50%), IFFCO (25%) & KRIBHCO (25%)

16.52 lakh MT Urea & 2.48 lakh MT Ammonia.Production started in the year 2006.

2. ICS Senegal, Senegal ICS Senegal and IFFCO consortium 5.5 lakh MT phosphoric acid. Production al-ready started.

3. JPMC-IFFCO JV, Jordan JPMC & IFFCO 4.8 lakh MT Phosphoric acid. Commercial pro-duction started in December 2014.

4. IMACID, Morocco OCP-Morocco, Chambal & TCL – 33% each

4.25 lakh MT phosphoric acid. Production started in year 1997-98.

5. Tunisia-India Fertilizer Com-pany (TIFERT), Tunisia

GCT (Tunisia), CFL (Now CIL) & GSFC (India)

3.60 lakh MT of Phosphoric acid. Commercial production started in April 2014.

S. No Country Entities Product Offtake Agreement

1 Iran RCF, GNFC and GSFC from Indian side and one prospective partner from Iran

Urea and Ammonia 8.25 LMT per annum Ammonia and 12.7 LMT per annum Urea

2 Russia NMDC, RCF, FACT, KRIBHCO, NFL and ACRON (Russia)

Potash 30 % stake in the fertilizer project

3 Canada RCF, FACT and ENCANTO (Canada) Potash 1.8 Million tonnes per annum for 17 years



unplanned shut down and improve energy consumption efficiency.

PSUs like National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (RCF), Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO), Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd.(FACT), Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Ltd.(BVFCL) and MADRAS FERTILIZERS LIMITED (MFL) are also contributing to the expansion programme by continually updating and improving their production capabilities.

Subsidies SupportSubsidies play a major role in increasing the reach of fertilizers to the farmers. Subsidy or concession schemes have been an integral part of Government policy to sustain agricultural productivity.

Government of India passed Fertilizer Control Order (FCO) under Essential commodity Act (EC Act) in the year 1957 to regulate sale, pricing and quality of fertilizers. Subsequently movement control order was passed in 1973 to regulate the distribution of fertilizer. Retention Price Scheme (RPS) for nitrogenous fertilizers was introduced in November 1977. Subsequently, this was extended to phosphatic and other complex fertilizers from 1979 and to Single Super Phosphate from 1982, which continued up to 1991. Later on, subsidy was also extended to import phosphatic and potassic fertilizers. Mounting fiscal deficit forced the government to decontrol all Phosphatic and

Potassic (P&K) fertilizers namely DAP, MOP, NPK complex fertilizers and SSP with effect from 25th August 1992 which were under RPS since 1977 whereas Urea remained under RPS. This move increased the prices of phosphatic fertilizers in the market. As a result, production and consumption of nitrogenous fertilizers increased and consumption of P&K fertilizers decreased leading to severe imbalance in consumption of nitrogenous, phosphatic and Potassic fertilizers. Ad hoc concession for phosphatic and potassic fertilizers were introduced to cushion the impact of price hike and to encourage balanced fertilization.

In 1997-98, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation started indicating an all India uniform Maximum Retail Price (MRP) for DAP/NPK/MOP. The Special Freight Subsidy Reimbursement Scheme

was also introduced in 1997 for supply of fertilizers in difficult areas of J&K and North-eastern States. The total delivered cost of fertilizers being invariably higher than the MRP indicated by the Government, the difference in the delivered price of fertilizers at the farm gate and the MRP was compensated by the Government as subsidy to the manufacturers/importers.

The MRP of P&K fertilizers provided to farmers were much lower than its delivered cost. This led to increase in consumption of fertilizers during the last three decades and consequently increase in food grain production within the country. However, it was observed in last few years that the marginal response of agricultural productivity to additional fertilizer usage in the country had fallen sharply, leading to near stagnation in agricultural productivity


and consequently agricultural production. The disproportionate NPK application, rising multi-nutrient deficiency and lack of application of organic manures leading to reduction in carbon content of the soil, was attributed to the stagnating agricultural productivity. The fertilizer sector worked in a highly regulated environment with cost of production and selling prices being determined by the Government of India, due to which fertilizer industry suffered from low profitability as compared to other sectors. The growth of fertilizers industry was stagnated with virtually no investments for the past 11 years in urea sector and for over eight years in P&K sector. The subsidy outgo of Government had increased exponentially by 500% during 2005-06 to 2009-10 under the Concession Scheme with about 94% of the increase due to increase in international prices of fertilizers and fertilizer inputs, and only 6% attributable to increase in consumption. It was, thus, observed that over the last few years the product based subsidy regime (erstwhile concession scheme) had been proving to be a losing proposition for all the stake holders viz., farmers, industry and the Government . The government thus introduced Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Policy for P&K fertilizers in 2010.

Under the NBS Policy, the Government announces a fixed rate of subsidy (in Rs. per Kg basis), on each nutrient of subsidised P&K fertilizers, namely Nitrogen (N), Phosphate (P), Potash (K) and Sulphur (S), on annual basis taking into account all relevant factors including international prices, exchange rate, inventory level and prevailing Maximum Retail Prices of P&K fertilizers. Under NBS policy, companies are allowed to fix the MRP on their own. The intention behind introduction of NBS was to increase competition among the

fertilizer companies to facilitate availability of diversified products in the market at reasonable prices. However, urea was kept out of the ambit of NBS defeating its purpose.

Neem Coated UreaWhile increasing urea production domestically has always been government’s priority, the diversion of this highly subsidized fertilizer to neighbouring countries and other industries has been a cause of perennial concern for the government. According to the Economic Survey 2015-16 the Government budgeted Rs. 73,000 crore about 0.5 per cent of GDP- on fertilizer subsidies in 2015-16. Nearly 70 per cent of this amount was allocated to urea, making it the largest subsidy after food. The amount is still larger considering the carry forward from the last year. Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) points out, “Budget allocations get exhausted in [the] first five months of the financial year due to gross under-budgeting for [the] fertiliser subsidy in the successive Union Budgets. The year ends with carry forward of huge amount of unpaid subsidy bills which has



been of the order of Rs 30-40,000 crores for the past three years.” Of this year’s Budget allocation, the FAI points out, Rs 7,000 crore went towards repaying bank loans for the previous year, leaving the actual subsidy for 2015-16 at Rs 65,969 crore.

Urea retails at an administered price of Rs 5,360 a tonne, unchanged for several years, against an average production cost of Rs 18,000 a tonne. This means the government subsidises about 70 per cent of cost compared with 30 per cent or so on P and K fertilizer. The cheaper urea thus find its way to other industries and end up in the hands of black marketers. This has led the government to introduce the new Urea policy under which the government has made it mandatory for urea manufacturers to produce Neem-coated urea up to a minimum of 75 per cent of their total production of subsidised urea, from 35 per cent earlier, and allowed them to go up to 100 per cent.

There are certain advantages of using this form of Urea. About half the applied nitrogen in Urea is not assimilated by the plant and leaches into the soil, causing extensive groundwater contamination. Spraying urea with neem oil slows

the release of nitrogen, by about 10 to 15 per cent, concomitantly reducing consumption of the fertiliser. According to recent research, the “sustained release” nature of neem-coated urea has seen rice yields jump 9.6 per cent and wheat by 6.9 per cent. The neem-coating also precludes an age-old malpractice of this cheap fertiliser being diverted for use in the chemical industry and, most harmfully in states like Punjab and Haryana, as an additive in milk to whiten it.

The government has also allowed manufacturers to charge a small 5 per cent premium on neem-coated urea, which works out to roughly Rs 14 more on a Rs 50 kg bag. Ananth Kumar, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertiliser, says the use of neem-coated urea could save the government Rs 6,500 crore in subsidy annually.

The neem coating thus entails tremendous advantages agronomically, environmentally and economically.

SWACHCH BHARAT ABHIYAANSWACHCH BHARAT ABHIYAAN, one of the significant moves by the Modi Government to cleanse the nation to promote healthy and

cleaner environment, has been well accepted. Solid waste management, in the cities is identified as one of the tasks at hand. Conversion of urban waste to compost is considered an optimum solution to meet the objectives of disposal of waste and providing organic fertiliser for agriculture. As part of the mission, the Central government has set its eyes on collecting, segregating and processing 62 million tonnes of organic waste, generated in 4,000 cities all over the country, to convert it into compost for use in agriculture.

The government as part of the plan has also decided to extend subsidy to city compost to the tune of Rs 1,500 per tonne, to encourage farmers to use it, instead of chemical fertilisers. It will be sold to farmers initially through the fertiliser companies’ network of their dealers and later through marketing entities selected by the state governments. Currently, just 1.5 million tonnes of organic waste is converted into compost.

However, the idea took shape as early as 2003 when the Supreme Court of India constituted a Task Force on Integrated Plant Nutrient Management for using city compost in response to a public interest



litigation. On the recommendation of Task Force, the Supreme Court directed in 2006 that city compost be co-marketed along with the chemical fertilisers. Fertiliser companies started marketing city compost and reached a level of sale of 1.87 lakh tonnes in 2011-12.

The present government took policy decision in form of providing market development assistance (MDA) to city compost. It would reduce the selling price to the farmers. Government issued guidelines for marketing of city compost. Cities have been tagged individually to fertiliser marketing companies. Guidelines provided for signing of tripartite agreement amongst municipal body, compost manufacturer and compost marketer, which has been done by many fertiliser companies.

The compost from city garbage would not only provide carbon and primary/secondary nutrients to soil, but also help in keeping the city clean. Eco-Mark standard for city compost would ensure that environment friendly quality product reaches the farmers. The compost, in addition to replenishing the low organic carbon in Indian soils, also has several physical, chemical and biological effects including the supply of micro plant nutrients and the reduction in nitrogen leaching while unlocking fixed phosphorus. The integrated use of optimal dose of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in conjunction with organic manure ensures better yields in a sustainable manner and also corrects some of the secondary and micronutrient deficiencies.

Reforms PendingUrea, though enjoys good amount of subsidies, is prone to severe leakages. About 24 per cent is spent on inefficient urea producers and of the remaining, 41 per cent is diverted to non-agricultural uses and abroad and the rest 24 per cent is consumed by larger—presumably richer— farmers. These leakages imply that only 35 per cent—about Rs.17500 crore of the total urea subsidy of Rs.50300 crore—reaches the intended beneficiaries, small and marginal farmer. These leakages need

to be plugged to improve the efficiency. First, decanalising urea imports—which would increase the

number of importers and allow greater freedom in import decision--would allow fertilizer supply to respond flexibly and quickly to changes in demand. This would be timely as climatic fluctuations are making it much more difficult for governments to forecast agricultural conditions and centrally manage supply. This would reduce the likelihood and severity of shortages, decrease black marketing and thereby benefit the small farmer.

Bringing urea under the Nutrient Based Subsidy program currently in place for DAP and MOP would allow domestic producers to continue receiving fixed subsidies based on the nutritional content of their fertiliser, while deregulating the market would allow domestic producers to charge market prices. This would encourage fertiliser manufacturers to be efficient, as they could then earn greater profits by reducing costs and improving urea quality. And this in turn would benefit farmers. Direct transfer of subsidies can also help in plugging the leakages.

Ideally fertiliser subsidies would be targeted only at small and marginal farmers. But targeting the poor is difficult at the best of times, and assessing poverty—based on landholdings or some other measure—will be difficult. A second problem emerges with targeting tenant farmers and sharecroppers. The relatively low levels of last-mile financial inclusion in much of rural India also suggest that it would be risky to replace subsidised fertiliser with cash, due to beneficiaries’ weak connection to the banking system and hence the preferred option would be to set a cap on the number of subsidised bags each household can purchase for which it would require biometric authentication at the point of sale (POS). This is the approach adopted for kerosene and food in Andhra Pradesh. Imposing a cap on the total number of subsidised bags each farmer can purchase would improve targeting. Small farmers would still be able to get all their urea at subsidised prices, but large farmers may have to pay market prices for some of the urea they buy.

Subsidies were an essential requirement when India was trying its fortunes at agriculture Decades later, the country cannot work on the same formula. Only a change in our approach can guarantee a sustainable agriculture.



How has the fertilizer sector helped India in achieving food security? To feed an ever increasing population of our country, there is continuous requirement to produce more food through Agriculture. With limited scope to increase the arable lands in the country, we have to increase the intensity of farming through deployment of higher yielding varieties, resorting to climate controlled cultivation of vegetables and flowers, practicing high density planting of orchards and reducing the post harvest wastages. Under this circumstance the dependency of chemical fertilizers will continue to meet the higher demands in future. The introduction and acceptance of water soluble fertilizers has opened up a new business opportunity in the Fertilizer Sector today.

What are your thoughts on NBS scheme? Why has it not helped in attaining the soil beneficial NPK ratio?Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) for P&K fertilisers was implemented in April, 2010, with an objective of containing

the government spending under fertilizer subsidies. Even though the subsidy per unit of nutrient namely N, P and K were fixed for P & K Fertilizers, the quantity of P and K fertilizers that can be manufactured indigenously or imported was kept open leading to unpredictable supplies to the market, resulting in non achieving the goal of NBS with respect to “containing the subsidy spend on P & K Fertilizers”. Due to freeing up of Market Prices of P & K fertilizers, while keeping the Market Prices of Urea has resulted in disproportionate use of fertilizers. This has changed the NPK ratio drastically in farm consumption.

‘Dependency on Chemical Fertilizers can meet the Higher Food Demands’

Greenstar Fertilizers Limited, a leading manufacturer and marketer of fertilizers in India, manufactures phosphatic fertilizers from Tuti-corin in Tamil Nadu. The company is also a brand launch platform for organic and inorganic fertilizers. Greenstar also imports fertilizers for sale in India. A public company since August 2011, Greenstar has acquired the phosphatics manufacturing assets of SPIC, an enduring fertilizer brand in India, bringing it a significant strength in phosphat-ics. In addition to fertilizers, Greenstar has on its portfolio other farm inputs such as Water Soluble Fertilizers, Secondary Nutrients, Micro Nutrients, Organic Manures, Growth Promoters etc. S Narayanan, Director- Marketing, Greenstar Fertilizers, in conversation with Agri-culture Today discusses the prevailing fertilizer scenario in India.


How far has the soil health card scheme achieved success?With the launch of the scheme in February 2015, in the first phase, the target was to cover 84 lakh cards. But till July 2015, 34 lakh cards have been issued. This is a flagship programme for the agricultural sector of the country. Among all the states in India, it is Andhra Pradesh which has taken the lead in distribution of the Soil Health Cards to farmers. Two other states, Tamil Nadu and Punjab have collected the maximum amount of soil samples for testing during the kharif season. However, Tamil Nadu has not distributed the cards yet. Other states which are taking the lead are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Odisha. Farmers in states like Haryana, Kerala, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have not issued a single card as against the targets set for them for 2015-16. It will be a long travel to achieve the ultimate objective of Soil Health Cards, as it requires a paradigm change in the decision making process in agriculture. Higher level of

With limited scope to increase the arable lands in the

country, we have to increase the intensity of farming

through deployment of higher yielding varieties, resorting to climate controlled cultivation

of vegetables and flowers, practicing high density planting

of orchards and reducing the post harvest wastages



agricultural education among the farmers and farming support services across the nation would be necessary to achieve this objective. Otherwise the data in the card will remain as just “numbers”, without proper understanding and right actions to use the information for the betterment of farming.

What are your views on continuing subsidy in Urea ?Continuing subsidy on Urea will benefit the farming community by way of low-cost fertiliser, at the cost of tax payers. It will continue the imbalance in nutrient application for agriculture resulting in deterioration of soil health and make the crops more and more susceptible for insect pests. Hence it is very urgent to have a re look at Urea subsidy policy. Once urea is also brought under the NBS, we can expect to bring back the NPK balance in cropping. Upon bringing Urea under NBS, subsidy bill on Urea will be reduced drastically, at the same time non performing urea manufacturing units will definitely improve the production efficiency to stay in the business.

Has the introduction of neem coated urea helped in stemming the diversion of urea to other industries?The government has finally found a solution to curb illegal diversion of highly subsidized urea for industrial use by deciding that 100% urea both imported and indigenous sources will have to be neem coated. India annually uses about 31 million tonnes of urea and about 8-9 million tonnes is imported. On an average the subsidy is around Rs. 15,000 crore. Rough estimates suggest at least one million tonne of urea is illegally diverted for industrial use and hence stopping this illegal act would mean saving of about Rs.1,500 crore.

Many states are turning organic, Is this a threat to chemical fertilizer sector?There will be some reduction in the sale of chemical fertilizers in those states. However in the long run, non addition of chemical fertilizers will have a negative impact on the crop yields. The organic fertilizers will not be able to replace chemical fertilizers as the crop varieties grown today are high yielding or hybrids which needs higher levels of nutrients

to produce economic yield. And chemical fertilizers are the only source of concentrated nutrients to meet that kind of demand. On a prudent way, promoting organic manures along with Chemical fertilizers will give better results in terms of crop yield, farm income, environmental safety quality of produce.

How was the outlook of fertilizer sector last year?The year 2015-16 continued to remain challenging for the fertiliser sector, faced with weak monsoon, high inventory, modest increase in consumption and acute liquidity problem due to delay in payment of subsidy. Despite experiencing such an adverse situation, indigenous fertiliser industry increased production. Production of Urea increased very significantly. Imports of fertilisers also continued to remain high. Availability of fertilisers was more than the normal demand leading to supply surplus situation. Rainfall during pre-monsoon (March-May) season of 2015 was exceedingly good, 38 % higher than Long Period Average. After receiving excellent pre-monsoon shower, the rainfall during first one and half months of South-west monsoon 2015 also continued to be good. Higher fertiliser consumption was met adequately by carry over inventory, indigenous production and imports. Production of fertilisers registered a growth of almost 7% in terms of nutrients in 2015-16. There have been a few developments in the policies for the sector. The new policies include New Urea Policy 2015(NUP-2015), policy for neem coated Urea, promotion of city compost and removal of minimum capacity utilization criterion for SSP manufacturing units.

What are the future variants that would be beneficial to Indian farmers?To give stagnant agricultural growth a boost, a shift must be made from concentrating on the country’s food security to focusing on the farmers’ income security. The need for innovative fertilisers arises when the traditional fertilisers go into the zone of Diminishing Returns. Innovative fertilisers can also be called loosely, as Speciality Fertilisers because they are applied for special requirements in the cycle of plant growth.


‘Nutrient Based Subsidy is one of the greatest reforms in crop nutrition sector’

Zuari Agro Chemicals Limited, one of the leading fertilizer conglomerates in India is a significant importer of fertilizers and farm nutrients. The company produces high-quality complex fertilizers of various grades along with seeds, pesticides, micro nutrients, and specialty fertilizers. Zuari fertilizer plant has an annual installed capacity of 10,59,300 metric tonnes of fertilizer. The company has a manufacturing facility at Goa, with four plants, dedicated to provide farmers with urea, DAP and NPK based fertilizers. All products are marketed under the “Jai Kisaan” brand. Zuari Speciality Fertilisers, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd. manufactures a comprehensive range of state-of-the-art, zero- waste, Water-Soluble fertilisers (WSF). These products

are all set to dramatically improve agricultural productivity since WSF fertilisers are 100% available to the soil, unlike other fertilisers. In a discussion with Agriculture Today, Kapil Mehan, Managing Director, Zuari Agro Chemicals Limited discusses the fertilizer scenario in India.

What is the market share of Adventz Group in Indian fertilizer segment? Adventz is the largest group in private sector of fertiliser industry. There are five manufacturing units under its fold i.e. Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd in Goa; Paradeep Phosphates Ltd in Odisha and Mangalore chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd in Karnataka and Zuari Speciality Fertilisers Ltd and Zuari Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd in Maharashtra With an annual production capacity of over 25 Lakh MT and being a major importer of fertilisers, Adventz Group contributes to about 15 per cent of the total fertiliser consumption in the country.

What is the consumption pattern of phosphatic fertilizers in India? Phosphatic fertiliser consumption in India is dominated by DAP. Currently consumption pattern constitutes about 55-60 percent through DAP, followed by 30-32 percent through NP/NPK complexes and around 10% through SSP. There is a significant increase in consumption of NP/NPK complexes which has increased by

about 60 percent during the last one decade.

Has the over use of urea affected the usage of phosphatic fertilizers? Yes, to an extent, the wide price gap between Urea and P&K fertilisers post NBS has affected usage of phosphatic fertilisers . There is a large segment of farmers (engaged in subsistence farming/resource poor) who often give weightage to the price over the long term agronomic/financial advantages. Though with growing awareness about balanced nutrition

and increased response of P and K fertilisers realized at famers’ level, the distortion is gradually narrowing but unless prices of urea and non-urea fertilisers are rationalized, it is hard to bring stability into the fertiliser use pattern.

What are your views on Nutrient Based subsidy scheme? Why has it not been able to correct the distorted soil NPK ratio? Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) is one of the greatest reforms in crop nutrition sector which has gone through a number of policy interventions since 1950s. The NBS which had two goals (i) to contain mounting subsidy outgo and (ii) encourage balanced application of nutrients, however, both goals are yet to be achieved. Though subsidies on account of P&K fertilisers have declined the total subsidy is still rising due to increasing subsidy for urea which is still around 75% of production cost. Leaving urea out of NBS ambit is a mistake rendering this landmark policy inadequate to benefit key stakeholders i.e. the farmers, the Government and the fertiliser


Market of specialty fertilisers is growing steadily

and currently around Rs 10000 crore. Consumption of water soluble fertilisers,

which is a major component in specialty segments, has grown from 16423 MT in 2006-07 to 1.50 lakh MT

during 2015-16


industry. Another purpose of introducing NBS, i.e. balanced nutrient application, also seems defeated due to skewed consumption of urea as price of urea is significantly lower than the price of phosphatic and potassic fertilisers.

What are specialty fertilizers? What are its advantages over the conventional fertilizers? Specialty fertilisers are the fertilisers designed/formulated to deliver nutrient(s) with increased efficiency and customized to meet the nutritional requirements (major/secondary/micro nutrients) at specific stages of crops under varied agronomic situations. Speciality fertilisers have significant advantages over bulk fertilisers but can’t be treated as a replacement to the same. Speciality fertilisers in the form of liquid or solid concentrations or products, capable of releasing nutrients in a controlled manner or features like 100% water solubility offer great advantage of supplying both mobile and immobile nutrients to the plant at critical growth stages. Bulk fertilisers, specifically having P&K, have limitations to be absorbed effectively by the crops at growing stages. However, speciality fertilisers are efficiently used for correcting the nutrient deficiencies with minimum time lag. Though the face value seems to be higher, use efficiency of specialty fertilisers is much more than the bulk fertilisers. It is also evident that adding specialized features to bulk fertilisers brings definite advantage - neem coated urea is one example which has demonstrated enhanced nitrogen use efficiency and expected to rationalize the urea dosages during coming years.

What is the market share of specialty fertilizers in India? Market of specialty fertilisers is growing steadily and currently around Rs 10000 crore. Consumption of water soluble fertilisers, which is a major component in speciliaty segments, has grown from 16423 MT in 2006-07 to 1.50 lakh MT during 2015-16. Declining water availability and uncertain rainfall pattern have put Indian farming on the fast track to adopt efficient water and nutrition management. With inclusion of more horticultural crops in the cropping pattern, the application of speciliaty fertiliser is increasing rapidly. Share of specialty fertilisers in total fertilisers consumed by farms is estimated to be around 10 percent.

What are the ways in which soil health can be improved?

Indian soils are generally low in organic carbon and hence have spread out N deficiency. Soil health can be improved by taking care of organic content and improved microbial activities in the soil. Integrated crop nutrient management focusing improvement in physical, chemical and biological parameters of soil, is need of the hour. Besides, soil health should not be dealt in isolation –efficient water management/restricting erosion and continuous cropping are key determinants of maintaining and improving soil health.

How are corporates involved in spreading the awareness regarding soil health? Fertiliser industry has been involved in awareness about good agri practices including soil health and balanced nutrition. Soil test services have been integral part of promotional activities of the industry. In this regard both public sector and private sector companies have participated very actively.

What are the challenges of fertilizer sector? Key challenges before fertiliser sector are policy factors decelerating growth and financial health. Industry is facing unrelenting working capital crises and eroded margins due to increasing cost . Manufacturing fertilisers in India is impacted due to inverted tax dispensation. Customs duty on critical raw materials is same as on the finished products like DAP and NP/NPK fertilizers. This is leading to an import dominant situation and not aligned to “Make in India” campaign. The simple policy interventions like NBS have become more complex with introduction of various riders and processes-this has hampered new investments despite Government’s ambitious “Make in India” campaign and assurance of ease of doing business.

What should be the future direction of research in Indian fertilizer segment? Research and developmental efforts by fertiliser industry need to focus on increasing nutrient use efficiency at the farm level. Innovative products and application technologies, suited to small as well as large farm holders, are highly required. Ecologically safe and effective recycling of crop farm waste/residues is another area which is yet to find a practical solution. Research in the field of microbial decomposition of farm waste can address the issue of burning of crop residues and help in augmenting organic carbon in the soil.



What is the outlook of fertilizer sector in India?Entire agricultural industry is largely dependent on prevailing weather con-ditions. During the current year, late arrival of Monsoon, Distribution as well as timing were major challenges and additionally crop shifts coupled with carry over inventories because of last 2 years’ drought resulted in a not so encouraging season despite good monsoons. Moving forward, with bet-ter water reserves due to adequate monsoon, the outlook for ensuing Rabi season and for the next year seems to be reassuring. We are expecting that near term would be better for fertil-izer industry and if the next monsoon season is favorable, fertilizer sector would get an opportunity to recover some of the losses from the previous three seasons.

What is the market share of DFPCL in India’s fertilizer segment?We are one of the prominent fertilizer brands in Western India with strong brand recognition in states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. Our brand ‘Mahadhan’ is widely recognized and enjoys good brand loyalty. Over the past few years, we enjoyed leadership position in specialty fertilizers not only in our core command areas but across

the country. Despite arbitrary and discriminatory discontinuation of our key raw material which led to stoppage of our manufacturing, we continued our focus on specialty products and maintained the leadership position in the core markets. At a time when some of the leading companies have announced their exits from the sector, we are highly optimistic and are among the few organizations that have committed investment into expansion within the fertilizer sector. With our brown field expansion, which is slated to be commissioned in Q4 FY17, we would expand our geographies in all four states in Southern India and few markets in Central and Northern India. Our vision is to become one of the leading national players in crop nutrition business and work closely with the farmers by providing nutrition solutions.

Urea continues to be the favourite of farmers and has been tilting the soil NPK ratio to the unhealthy side. What do you think are the reasons behind this?Excessive usage of urea has led to severe soil nutrient imbalance. Excessive and indiscriminate use of urea [main source of ‘N’] has substantially reduced consumption of DAP/NPK/MOP [main source of ‘P’

‘Indian Fertilizer Sector - Highly regulated and Excessively Micromanaged’

Deepak Fertilisers And Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (DFPCL) has established a prime position for itself over the last three decades across Indian and global markets. Set up in 1979 as an Ammonia manufacturer, DFPCL today is a publicly listed, multi-product Indian conglomerate with an annual turnover of over half a billion USD with a multi-product portfolio spanning industrial chemicals, bulk and specialty fertilisers, farming diagnostics and solutions, technical ammonium nitrate, mining services and consulting and value added real estate. In Agri-business, DFPCL has moved from bulk fertilisers to specialties/customised products and farm solutions and further into produce management. In an interview with Agriculture Today, Mr. Venkatram Vasantavada, President – Agri Business, DFPCL discusses the challenges facing Indian fertilizer industry.


and ‘K’]. As a result, current NPK ratio is heavily imbalanced at 8.3:2.4:1 as against an ideal 4:2:1 (2.6:1.4:1). The overall impact of urea overuse has led to soil degradation, groundwater and air pollution and has taken a serious toll on overall farm productivity. To create a level playing field, urea should be deregulated and brought under NBS along with other NP and NPK products. The price gap between urea and NPK fertilizers is almost four times, making it more affordable for the farmers. Historically, urea has been largely promoted and non-urea fertilizers have been ignored. There have been several recommendations to the Government to deregulate urea and to bring it under the NBS Scheme. In the interest of balanced fertilization leading to farmer’s better productivity, there is a need to provide a level playing field for all fertilizers. Once DBT is implemented, we may see some changes in the usage pattern of fertilizers.

How has been the reception of specialty/customized fertilizers in India?With the rapid penetration of internet and smart phones in tier II and tier III towns and with access to information, knowledge and best practices, the Indian farmers are now better informed. Specialty fertilizer companies like



ours are also demonstrating the benefits to the farmers and promoting it aggressively. The feedback and acceptance of specialty fertilizers has been very encouraging and we have seen this Segment of the Industry growing by 30% YOY except last year. The enabling factors being large scale use of Drip Irrigation and growth in Horticulture crops. Having said that, this segment also needs to work closely with the farmers in Technology Dissemination and Knowledge transfer. We at Deepak have been at the forefront in working with the farming community in demonstrating the benefits of the new tech fertilizers. As part of our growth strategy, we are concentrating on making specialty fertilizers easily available to the farmers and have also invested in developing the first MAKE IN INDIA Water Soluble Fertiliser ( Mahadan Smart)

Please share with us a success story with specialty/customized fertilizers?Mr. Manik Hari Sarode from Konkangaon, Nashik is famous as the person who changed the fortune of many farmers in his area. He began to actively look out for new alternatives to augment their income from Grape farming. In 2015, DFPCL tracked Fertigation of Grapes through water soluble fertilizers (WSF) as there was great scope to improve the productivity and export of quality grapes through judicious irrigation and fertigation. This intervention increased the per vine yield of 14 Kg/Vine and resulted in to yield of 9.4 MT. The Marginal Cost Benefit ratio was 7.98.

Shri. Amol Lakesar used innovative technique of wide row spacing and fertigation through drip which made him a local legend in village- Dudhari, Tahsil: Walva, District: Sangli. He has been cultivating Sugarcane since last seven years and using a combination of old and new scientific techniques and always consulting with the experts

from Vasantdada Sugar Institue (VSI) and DFPCL. While other farmers burn the sugarcane trash immediately after harvest Shri. Amol does composting/mulching of sugarcane trash for increasing the organic carbon as well as to maintain the C: N ratio. He has planted 6000 single eye budded sets of Variety Co-86032, Season- Adsali, at a distance of 4.5 X 1.5 feet and used press mud at 10 Mt and Mahadhan Super 200 Kg per acre at the time of planting. As the basal dose, he added Mahadhan Potash 75Kg, Bensulf 10 Kg, Secondary and micronutrients 10 Kg each per acre. Thereafter along with soil application of bulk fertilizers like 10:26:26 and 12:32:16 he used Mahadhan 24:24:0, Mahadhan Potash, Phosphoric Acid and 0:0:50 through drip (fertigation). Using this practice, Mr. Amol Rao earned a gross income of Rs. 3,50,000 / Acre with a record yield of 140MT/Acre along with an expenditure of Rs. 102463/Acre. Using these simple and precise methods of fertilizer application, Mr. Amol Rao ended a net profit of Rs. 247537/Acre. This has been possible because of his precision farming. It also translated into Benefit Cost ration of 3.4.

What are the new trends in the fertilizer application segment?After two consecutive droughts, WSF as a category is going to be a big game changer. Farmers have realized the importance of Fertilizer optimization; Water consumption optimization and efficient usage of Fertilizers as the advantages. Big Data usage in optimizing the fertilizer dosages is a trend which will soon catch up in this country. Soil maps and Soil health cards will help the right usage

While moving towards environmentally clean agriculture, which fertilizers fit into this category?Chemical Fertilizers balanced with FYM/City compost in the right ratios

will be environmentally safe. Excess usage of certain category of fertilizers like N is causing more damage than good.

What are the challenges of fertilizer industry?If there is one sector in India, which is in urgent need for structural reforms, it is the fertilizer sector. Fertilizers is a unique industry wherein right from production, distribution, sales and realization in the form of subsidies constituting a major portion of revenue, are controlled by the government. Despite several reforms, the sector not only remains highly regulated but is excessively micromanaged. India is one of the largest agrarian nations in the world with nearly 70% of the population involved directly or indirectly in the agriculture industry. With this mammoth scale, there is a need for better focus and support from policy makers. The domestic industry is struggling to survive in the reign of unpredictable weather condition, reducing interest in agriculture and unreasonable policies. This has led to couple of reputed manufacturers having announced their exit from this highly regulated business. This is one sector that has been against the government initiatives of “Make in India” and “Ease of doing business”. As compared to developed nations where they have access to technology, larger land holding and populist policies, India is a few years away from this. The sector needs investment and support from corporate India as well as support from the Government in form of liberal policies. There is a need to promote product innovations which can help the farmers improve their productivity and quality of yield. Less interventions and quick approvals are need of the hour to encourage investments in R&D for developing innovative products and investment in technology. Companies should be allowed to differential and unregulated pricing for such products.


‘A Concerted and Planned way is yet to emerge to address National Micronutrient Deficiencies’

Coromandel International Limited, India’s second largest Phosphatic fertilizer player, is in the business segments of Fertilizers, Specialty Nutrients, Crop Protection and Retail. The Company manufactures a wide range of fertilizers and markets around 3.2 million tons making it a leader in its addressable markets. In its endeavor to be a complete plant nutrition solutions Company, Coromandel has also introduced a range of Specialty Nutrient products including Organic Fertilizers. The Company clocked a turnover of Rs. 11,500 Crore during FY 2015-16. lt was ranked among the top 20 best companies to work for by Business Today and was also voted as one of the ten greenest companies

in India by TERI, reflecting its commitment to the environment and society. Coromandel is a part of the INR 295 Billion Murugappa Group. In an interview with Agriculture Today, Dr. Ravi Prasad, President, Corporate Affairs & Strategic Projects, Coromandel International Ltd. discusses the pattern of fertilizer usage in India and reforms pending in the sector.


How has the fertilizer consumption pattern of India changed over the years?During the last three years i.e., 2013-14, 14 -15, and 15 -16 , the total volume of fertilisers used dipped to the lowest limit of 14 million mt and has since started recovering slowly during, the last two years. Drop has been phenomenal with respect to phosphatic fertilisers, while in the case of urea, the highest production of indigenous urea has not been reflected in sales. During the current financial year 2016-17, urea, DAP and complexes have registered a drop in sale while the sale of MOP is slightly encouraging when compared to sale last year. Overall demand seems to have hit a plateau and reasons are many.

How can balanced fertilization be made a part of Indian

agriculture?Balanced fertiliser and use of the 4 :2:1 ratio has been advocated since 30 years , but policy interventions have disrupted the move towards balanced fertiliser use. Keeping P&K fertilisers in the adhoc NBS and Urea under NPS , has created imbalance , due to high prices of P&K fertilisers at the farm gate. Unless this is addressed imbalance would continue.

What is the role of micro nutrients in agriculture?Micronutrients are catalysts in the crop /plant growth. These are transferred into human beings when food rich in micronutrients is consumed leading to overall wellbeing. Therefore while macro nutrients help vigour and yield, micronutrients and trace elements, contribute to quality and overall health of the consumer, be it human

beings or animals.

How well equipped is India to meet the micro nutrient demands of Indian agriculture?Micronutrient mapping in India is still to go a longway. While most literature brings about the increasing micronutrient deficiencies, over the last 3 decades, dominant response is reflected on Zinc and Boron, while others like Molybdenum, Iron, etc., are not even featured in discussions. Calcium, Magnesium and Sulfur are now being marketed as support nutrients in several states. A concerted and planned way is yet to emerge, to address national micronutrient deficiencies and options to tackle.

What are specialty nutrients? What is its market in India?Specialty nutrients have been coined to project largely non-



subsidy based nutrients and such nutrients are Nitrogen ,Phosphorous and Potassium available through products that are different from conventional fertilisers like Urea, DAP and complexes as also MOP. These products are also produced by fertiliser manufacturers, but are marketed through the value added route thereby, increasing profitability and christening them as specialty nutrients.

Has NBS made any positive impact on the NPK ratio of the soil?Excessive use of Nitrogen continues unabated and the NPK ratios have moved away from 4.7:2.3:1 in 2010, to 6.6:2.4:1 in 2015. In these years, the country has seen record consumption of Nitrogen , severe drop of P2O5 and a fall in consumption of K2O. NBS could

have addressed the NPK ratios , if possibly urea prices were increased, under the new pricing policy, but the prices to farmer of urea remain unchanged.

How can Swachch Bharat Campaign be made a part of soil fertilization?The Swachch Bharat campaign has identified compost from municipal solid waste as an essential soil corrector. The soil organic carbon would help multiplication of soil microbes thus substantially increasing fertiliser use efficiency several fold thereby reducing fertiliser consumption and saving fertiliser subsidy and increasing food grain production .

What are the future fertilizers products that India need to invest on?

Water and irrigation limitations can restrict cultivation of water intensive crops like sugarcane, rice, wheat etc., and thereby area under such crops will either stagnate or come down. Coarse millet consumption will increase, because of their ability to use less water and generate more fibre when they are consumed . Fibre consumption is today being recommended by nutritionists, to check diabetes, blood pressure and gastro intestinal diseases. Water soluble NPKs and fertilisers would grow at a fast rate, and complex fertilisers fortified with three micronutrients i.e., Sulfur, Zinc and Boron will also find favour with the farmer. Quick clearance of new grades and their inclusion in NBS will find takers and growth of such grades will show promise.


What is the fertilizer outlook in India?India is one of the largest consumers of Fertilizers in the world. At the current level, the total nutrient consumption in India is approximately 26.7 MMT and the annual increase in consumption is between 2-3%. Out of this, N and P2O5 consumption are at 17.4MMT and 6.9MMT. The K2O consumption is at approximately 2.4 MMT and has remained almost steady for the last couple of years. The total import of fertilizers continue to remain high with urea at 8 MMT, DAP at 5 MMT and MOP at about 3.2 MMT. No new urea plant has been added in the last two decades because of policies which keep urea under strict government controls. The return on investment has become very meager for existing urea plants and that becomes a case study for any new investment in this segment. Although Government is making efforts for rise of investment from public sector units and have announced a number of new urea plants, the economic viability of these plants which will get commissioned in the next 3-4 years is questionable and their cost of production will be very high compared to prevailing urea prices in the world market.

Is the current fertilizer policy of India helpful for Indian agriculture ? Why?The current fertilizer policy of India is not very helpful to agriculture because of very low prices of urea fixed by Government of India as compared to the prevailing price (MRP) of DAP and MOP. The price of urea has hardly increased in the last 8-10 years and is probably the least per MT as compared to any other economy in the world. Even our neighbouring countries in South East Asia have a much higher price per bag of Nitrogen (N) as compared to that in India. This results in overuse of ‘N’ in the farmers’ fields and hence higher consumption of the same. As per the statistics available, almost 75% of urea either ammoniates into the atmosphere or goes down in to the sub soil water, thus causing environmental degradation. Use efficiency of urea is also very low at 20-25% of application.

Heavy use of Nitrogen in the fields especially in the Northern India is not only causing severe degradation to soil but is also resulting in the pollution of sub soil waters. The yields for the Indian farmers are very low due to unbalanced application of nutrients and low usage of organic fertilizers

‘A More Balanced Nutrient Pricing Policy Needed’

Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited, a leading manufacturer and supplier of plant nutrients in India commenced its operations in 1986-87. The current asset base of the company is pegged around Rs. 21 billion. The single largest private sector investment in Southern India, the company is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company, with operational profits being one of the highest in the industry. Equipped with a broad portfolio of nutrition products and services that include both macro and micro fertilizers, Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals ltd. employs information technology and soil and tissue analysis for nutrient recommendation. They also provide knowledge-based solutions to the vast farming community through information technology. In an rendezvous with Agriculture Today, Mr.R.S.Nanda, Senior Advisor of Nagarjuna Chemicals & fertilizers Ltd., discusses the prevailing fertilizer scenario in India.


and micro nutrients. The flood irrigation system which is applicable to most of the areas washes away vital nutrients and protective cover of the soil and wastage of precious water takes place.

Indian Fertilizer Industry also continue to remain hard pressed with liquidity crisis due to inadequate provision for fertilizer subsidy and inadequate returns on their investment due to policy related issues. This is also preventing new plants being commissioned in India and thus the country has to remain dependent on imports as per our requirements.

What is required is having a pricing policy for the nutrients which is more balanced and thus encourages use of customized fertilizers which would be more suitable to the nutrient requirement of the soil as well as crops. A serious campaign to save water and use of drip irrigation system for the cash crops would also go a long way to encourage farmers to look at water as a very scarce and valuable resource. Development of new R&D products by the Industry, which find Nutri-Solutions for the farmers. Industry and Government must collaborate in this direction. Overall, the current fertilizer policy of India



needs a big change to bring higher yields for the farmers of India and also to prevent further degradation of the soils. Inspite of overall gloomy environment, there are some positive developments on the policy front. This include 100% production of urea as Neem coated one, encouragement for use of city compost by Department of Fertilizers, finding ways and means of Director Benefit Subsidy (DBS) to the farmers, which probably shall allow Indian Fertilizer Industry to be left alone.

What is your opinion on NBS Scheme?Department of Fertilizers in consultation with the Industry had deregulated P&K sector a few years back had announced Nutrient Based Subsidy for this industry. This step has gone a long way to bring proper application of Phosphate and Potash by the farmers and a similar step in Nutrient based subsidy and deregulation for urea will go a long way in improving soil health and bringing prosperity to the farmers. Simultaneously, there should be special incentives for application of organic fertilizers and micro nutrients to ensure that application of nutrients in a balanced way happens to increase the static yields in the farms of India.

Urea remains the most preferred fertilizer of India farmers. How can a change be brought about in this system?Urea remains the most preferred and over used fertilizer for the Indian farmers and causes a lot of damage not only to Indian soil but also to the Environment as a whole. A change can be brought out in this system by a joint education programme by the State / Private cooperation for the farmers about the ill effects of excessive usage of urea in their fields. Gradual increase of retail price of urea in the next 8-10 years to bring it on par with the world prices which

would not only help Indian farmers by improving soil fertility but will also decrease overall subsidy burden on the Government of India.

Has Neem Coating helped in stemming the diversion of urea to other industries?The answer is YES. Neem coated urea has helped not only in non-diversion of urea to other industries but has also helped in reduction of diseases for the crops as Neem is a very natural agro-chemical. The step taken by the Government of India of 100% Neem Coating Urea is laudable one and would save the Government approximately 1.5 - 2MT of import of urea and reduce the subsidy to that extent.

How can we reduce the subsidy burden of Fertilizers? Initial steps on direct subsidy to the farmers have been taken. Complete implementation in the next couple of years along with gradual price increase in ‘N’ shall reduce urea subsidy and thus reduce the subsidy burden of fertilizers for the Government of India. The balanced consumption of Nutrients per acre along with organics shall increase the use efficiency of the nutrients and current wastages shall get reduced.

How can DBT scheme in Fertilizers be effectively implemented?It is a complex problem especially because of the number of families who are practicing farming are approximately 110 million and the whole lot of them carry out farming although a lot don’t own the land. To effectively implement DBT, a method has to be found out so that subsidy goes to the deserved and to those who actually need it. Diversion of the subsidy to the Industry sector and leakages to some of neighbouring countries have to be avoided to bring in proper control and effective

implementation. The Department of Fertilizers and Government of India are serious to implement the same. The intent of the Government is laudable but implementation has to be in the right direction to avoid any harassment to the farming community and the Industry.

What are the challenges of the fertilizer industry ?Liquidity crisis which is today being faced by the Industry due to inadequate provision for fertilizer subsidy in the Union Budget is back breaking. Fertilizer Association of India (FAI) has been persistent during the year in taking up the issue of large amounts of outstanding subsidy, but, no additional funds have been allocated and this problem has been existing for the last 3-4 years. This is adding huge interest burden to the industry.

Inadequate profitability of the Industry especially for the urea segment has resulted in low investment in the urea sector for the past 2 decades. India, which was self-sufficient in urea consumption and production not many years ago has now become a high importer of urea. The profitability of urea industry should be at par with that of other segments of Indian Industry.

The Industry as a whole should spend more time with its customers i.e., farmers for mitigating problems of poor yields and low fertility of the soils. The Industry must take this as their main responsibility instead of focusing most of its efforts to get their subsidy due back from the Government. Industry should also educate the farmers in reducing the environmental impact of high usage of urea and concentrate on developing new products like customized fertilizer grades which would go a long way in increasing the yields for the farmers and bring in prosperity to them.


fertilizer use. What to talk about the micronutrients, even the nutrient ratio within NPK is highly distorted due to price disparity!

In addition, the pricing policy of zincated-urea should be approved by the government as soon as possible, which was included in the Fertiliser Control Order (FCO) way back in 1990s. But due to a minor pricing issue, it is not being produced / marketed by the fertilizer industry in India.

It is heartening to note that neem coated urea has been a success story in India. However, it is very unfortunate that, zinc, the widespread deficiency of which is causing zinc malnutrition in humans, its coating or fortification with urea has been grossly ignored by the government and policy makers!

Finally, the key challenges in popularizing zinc in balanced fertilizer use for ensuring soil health as well as food and nutrition security, are flagged here for its consideration by the concerned stakeholders: 1) Urea is not included in Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme, discouraging balanced fertilizer use, 2) Zincated urea included in FCO but not produced due to minor pricing issue, 3) Quality of zinc fertilizers available in the market, 4) Availability of zinc fertilizers at the time of need of the farmers, 5) Development of new and innovative zinc fertilizer products, like Nano zinc fertilizers, 6) Soil – plant – animal – human continuum study on zinc in a multidisciplinary approach, 7) Awareness of the extension and promotional workers, and, 8) Last mile delivery - awareness of the farmers.

Zinc has emerged as the most widespread micronutrient deficiency in soils and crops worldwide, resulting in

severe yield losses and deterioration in nutritional quality. It is estimated that almost half of the soils in the world are deficient in zinc. India is not an exception. About 40% soil samples analysed for available zinc were found deficient in India. There is a high degree of correlation between zinc deficiency in soils and that in human beings.

Zinc is an essential nutrient for human health. There is no life without zinc. Recently, zinc deficiency - especially in infants and young children under five years of age - has received global attention. Zinc deficiency is the fifth leading cause of death and disease in the developing world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 800,000 people die annually due to zinc deficiency, of which 450,000 are children under the age of five. It is estimated that about one-third of the world’s population suffers from zinc deficiency.

The widespread zinc deficiency has led to zinc malnutrition in the humans, especially in the developing nations. The country-wise deaths from diarrhoea and pneumonia in children under five depicts that the casualty due to zinc deficiency in India is alarmingly high! This has drawn the attention of the government and policy makers in India and increased the awareness towards the role of zinc in human health.

If we look at the zinc fertilizer consumption in India, it is observed that there is a significant increase in the consumption in the last couple of

years, precisely, after 2009-10. The latest report released by the ICAR - AICRP on Micronutrients says that the zinc deficiency in soils in India has improved from 49 to 40% today. This could be mainly attributed to the increased use of zinc fertilizers. The increase in awareness level has led to increase in demand generation of zinc fertilizers in India.

However, as we are aware, India’s fertilizer policies are biased towards the primary nutrients, NPK. But, under the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Scheme, the role of zinc has been specially targeted through additional subsidy for the zinc fortified products @ Rs. 500 per tonne. In addition, the Government of India is promoting the use of zinc under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) also and providing an additional subsidy to the farmers @ Rs. 500 per hectare for use of micronutrient fertilizers.

Nevertheless, it is expected that urea, which is at present out of the gambit of NBS Scheme, should be considered to include in the same, so as to encourage the balanced

Almost Half of the Soils in the World are deficient in Zinc


Dr. Soumitra DasDirector - India,

Zinc Nutrient Initiative,International Zinc Association


Zinc in FertilizersImmediate results...long-term benefits

Crops grown on zinc-deficient soils have low zinc concentration. Thus, people depending on crops grown on zinc deficient soils receive less zinc in their diets and are therefore at risk for zinc deficiency--an especially critical problem in India, where a third of the population is zinc-deficient.Adding zinc to fertilizer increases crop productivity and nutritional content, which in turn increases zinc intake by humans, ultimately boosting food and nutritional security.

For more information on how you should be participating in this rapidly growing market, contact:

Dr. Soumitra Das, Director, ZNI-India, International Zinc Association+91-11-2996 0040 | [email protected] | zinc.org/crops

MMA

Zinc Nutrient Initiative Affiliate Members and Partners

Zinc increases crop yield 20-50%.


ICFA NEWS

All India Farmers Alliance launchedAll India Farmers Alliance (AIFA) with 42 farmers bodies from across the nation on board was launched by Hon’ble Governor of Haryana, H.E. Prof. KS Solanki and Hon’ble Governor UP, H.E. Sh. Ram Naik in New Delhi. Present on the occasion and seen in picture are Dr. MJ Khan, chairman ICFA, National Convener- AIFA, Dr Rajaram Tripathi and the Agriculture Ministers of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana and Chhattisgarh. AIFA is promoted and sponsored by ICFA.

ICFA at World Food Prize 2016The World Food Prize 2016, known as Noble Prizes in Agriculture were presented at Iowa State, US to four distinguished personalities. Indian Council of Food and Agriculture hosted an interaction with all four Food Prize Laureates of 2016, Dr. Howarth Bouis, Dr Maria Andrade, Dr Robert Mwange and Dr Jan Low.

Canadian Delegation led by Agriculture Counsellorin New Delhi visited ICFACanadian delegation led by Agriculture Counsellor in the Canadian Embassy in New Delhi was received at ICFA office on 24 Oct 2016 to discuss the pulses, fertilisers, bio products and canola trade. Director General - ICFA, Mr. Alok Sinha chaired the meeting, attended by ICFA Board Member, Dr M Moni, Executive Director Mr. NS Randhawa and CEO Mr. Vishnu Rathore (IIM-A), besides others.

Visiting Michigan State UniversityChairman ICFA, Dr MJ Khan visited Michigan State University and Co-chaired meeting of US-India-Africa Partnership Alliance in Agriculture at the Broad College of Business, at MSU. Indian Council of Food and Agriculture is the India Partner to the Platform along with MSU and NEPAD, Johannesburg. It was decided to work on a global project on converting farmers into farm entrepreneurs, focusing on India and Africa in partnership with Indian institutions and agri industry.

Meeting with the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce,TorontoChairman ICFA, Dr MJ Khan held meeting with the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce at Toronto. ICFA will be hosting a 40 member ICCC delegation in New Delhi on Jan 5, 2017.

Union MoS for Agriculture, Mr. P. Rupala visits ICFAIndian Council of Food and Agriculture hosted Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr. P. Rupala on 18 Nov at its HQ in New Delhi. Two hours long interaction with ICFA Board Members and Chairmen of different Work-ing Groups took place and discussed issues ranging from MSP to GM crops, agro trade and agri sector reforms to increasing farm incomes. The Minister desired a meeting with ICFA, followed by meetings with the ICFA Working Groups for initiating needful reforms in agriculture.



ICFA NEWS

ICFA at Acadian Seaplants Limited, CanadaChairman ICFA, Dr. MJ Khan visited R&D centre of the world’s largest sea plant based bio fertilisers company Acadian Seaplants Limited at Cornawalis 200 kms away from Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia province of Northern Canada. This company is doing advanced R&D work on bio products. ICFA is studying this market to promote trade and technology cooperation with India.

Meeting with Malaysian Minister of AgricultureOn 4th November, 2016, Minister of Agriculture from Malaysian State of Kelantan, Mr. Date Che Abdullah Mat Nawi, visited ICFA headquarter in New Delhi along with five member delegations of Malay Chamber of Commerce, which discussed ways of increasing the bilateral trade between India and Malaysia, covering the opportunities in areas of palm oil, aquaculture, poultry farms, timber, rubber, bananas and plantation crops.

Visit to Oman Ministry of AgricultureDr. MJ Khan, Chairman, ICFA conducted three day visit to Oman meeting the top officials of Oman Ministry of Agriculture. During the visit, scope for making the agricultural sector internationally competitive, introducing incentives for foreign investors and obtaining self-sufficiency in food pro-duction by improving agricultural conditions were discussed. Opportunities for increasing trade in agri- inputs and food products from India were also discussed.

Meeting with Ambassador of Czech RepublicOn 1st November, 2016, the ICFA team led by Dr. MJ Khan, Chairman held a meeting with Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Mr. Milan Hovorka along with Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr. Roman Masarik to discuss ways for boosting trade, technologies, investments and cooperation in food and agriculture sector betweenthe two countries. The Ambassador emphasised the opportunities in meat prod-ucts, processed food, wineries, bio and organic products, crop protection prod-ucts, processing and farm equipments, chemicals, cotton and tobacco products.

US Delegation led by Minister for Agricultural Affairs,Mr. Scott Sindelar attended meeting at ICFA HQOn 4th November, 2016, US Delegation comprising of Mr Scott Sindelar,Minister for Agricultural Affairs, Mr. Mark Wallace, Agricultural Attachéand Mr. Santosh K Singh, Agricultural Specialist attended a meeting at ICFAHQ with Dr. MJ Khan, Chairman, along with other board members of ICFA.

Prof. MS Swaminathan visits ICFA HQ15th November, 2016, ICFA received the Father of India’s Green Revolu-tion, Prof. MS Swaminathan at its HQ in New Delhi. Prof. Swaminathan along with Noble Laureate, (Late) Dr. Norman Borlaug and Bharat Ratna, (Late)Mr. C. Subramaniam saved India from the starvation threat to over 200 millions and thus saved humanity. He was joined on this occasion by Dr. MJ Khan, Chairman, Mr. AB Rapolu, MP, Dr. JS Sandhu, Dy DG-ICAR and some ICFA Board Members.



ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

NEED FOR SUITABLE LIVESTOCK CONSERVATION POLICY FOR COPING UP WITH INCREASING

DEMAND AND GLOBAL WARMING

population and buffaloes with 109 million population, were popular as a source of milk and bullock power, as compared to sheep (65 million) and goats (135 million), which are mainly used for meat production.

Among over 38 cattle breeds of India, 4 breeds such as Gir, Red Sindhi, Sahiwal and Tharparkar, with an average milk yield of 1500 kg/lactation, were recognised as milch breeds. Farmers used the bullocks of these breeds for tillage operations, although they were not as efficient as other breeds. There are over 25 different breeds maintained for raising bullocks for agricultural operations and rural transportation, which were known as draught breeds. Some of the popular draught breeds are Nagor, Malvi, Hallikar, Amritmahal, Khillar, Gaolao, Krishna

With 485 million livestock, India accounts for 17% of the world population of

livestock. Livestock is an important source of nutritional security, employment generation and sustainable livelihood for a majority of the small and marginal farmers, who represent 85% of the land holders in the country. However, over 70% of the livestock are low productive and uneconomical due to severe genetic erosion, lack of protection from diseases and huge shortage of feed and fodder resources. Thus, often, livestock turns out to be a liability although it is maintained with an aim to generate gainful self-employment. Among major species of livestock, cattle with 191 million

Valley and Khangayam. The milk yield of these breeds is less than 500 kg/lactation and mostly used for calf feeding. There are 7 dual purpose breeds namely, Haryana, Kankrej, Rathi, Ongole, Dangi, Deoni and Mewati with a milk yield ranging from 600 to 1200 kg/lactation, while the bullocks are fairly good for agricultural operations. The only mode of conservation and improvement of these breeds was through breeding with elite bulls, maintained by private owners. Such breeding service was availed by a small number of cattle owners, while a majority of the cows were served by scrub bulls, when they were let out for grazing. The genetic status of important buffalo breeds such as Murrah, Nili Ravi, Jafrabadi, Badhavari, Banni, Surti


ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

and Pandharpuri, was also poor due to lack of breeding facilities. It was only after Indian independence, that the State Animal Husbandry Departments introduced the artificial insemination service by using liquid semen. However, it was not well accepted by the livestock keepers due to poor rate of conception. This has resulted in inferior progeny and decrease in milk yield, turning dairy husbandry uneconomical.

Traditionally, bullocks were the only source of energy for farming operations. However, with the mechanisation of Indian agriculture in the 80s, even small farmers have shifted to farm machinery using hired equipment, as the tillage activities could be carried out efficiently and economically instead of depending on their own bullocks. Most of the farmers needed bullocks for hardly 10-15 days in a year and maintaining them idle for the rest of the year was unaffordable. Thus, farmers started neglecting their cattle of nondescript genetic base and draught breeds, which are low in milk production, while the bullocks were not required any more.

Genetic UpgradationConsidering the need for genetic improvement of the nondescript cattle, the Government of India introduced the policy of crossbreeding through intensive cattle development programme in the early 50’s. This enabled most of the small farmers to use their nondescript cows to produce superior progeny through crossbreeding. Indeed, this created the White Revolution in the country, transforming a milk deficit country into the highest milk producing

country in the world. The process of genetic

improvement requires rigorous selection of germplasm and control on inferior population. This has been the reason for significant improvement in the productivity of buffaloes. Extensive use of elite Murrah buffalo bulls has enabled farmers to produce superior progeny and to dispose off their uneconomic buffaloes and males for meat purpose. This facilitated the process of culling, resulting in increased milk production. Presently, buffaloes contribute 51%, of the total milk production in the country, while crossbred cows contribute 24.3% and indigenous cows contribute 20.9% of the total milk production. The national average daily milk yield of buffalo is 4.71 kg while that of crossbreds is 6.97 kg and that of native cows is 2.27 kg/day. With rigorous selection, buffalo bulls having dams’ milk yield of 4000 kg/lactation, are now available for semen production and breeding and this is bound to increase the average

Among over 38 cattle breeds of India, 4 breeds such as Gir, Red Sindhi, Sahiwal and Tharparkar, with an average milk yield of 1500 kg/lactation, were recognised as milch breeds


milk production of buffaloes, to transform buffalo husbandry into a further profitable activity in the future. However, suitable policy support is needed to sort out the problems related to cattle development.

Major Issues of Cattle ConservationWith regard to cattle development and conservation of native breeds, there are several policy issues hindering the development of this sector. These are conservation of native breeds, management of males and unproductive female cattle and role of exotic breeds in India. These issues need to be addressed on priority, based on the economic and environmental considerations.

Conservation of Native BreedsAccording to the 19th Livestock Census of Government of India, out of the total cattle population of 191 million, 151.17 million were indigenous and 39.73 million were crossbred and exotic. Among indigenous cattle, 25% (37.919 million) represented pure native breeds or their upgraded progeny, while 75% (113.253 million) were nondescript cattle with very low productivity. Out of 38 million cows of native breeds, only 11.384 million were recognised milch breeds (7.53% of indigenous cattle), 11.724 million dual purpose breeds (7.76% of indigenous cattle) and the rest were draught breeds (9.71% of indigenous cattle). There is an urgent need to develop a policy for conservation of these breeds. With regard to native milch breeds which yield around 4-5 kg milk per day, farmers are willing to maintain them. Hence, for use of elite bulls for breeding, farmers should be encouraged to groom good bull calves. With regard to dual purpose and draught breeds, there is a need to develop a suitable breeding policy, based on scientific justification and farmers’ choice, as farmers are extremely reluctant to maintain such cows, which are not economical. Blind enforcement of

the regulations may not convince the farmers to take good care of these animals, resulting in further genetic erosion. However, most of the farmers are concerned about the utility of the male cattle.

To address this concern, agencies like BAIF are looking forward to introduce a new technology of sexed semen, which has been developed and patented by a private firm in USA. Under this technology, male sperms present in the semen, are separated and discarded while the remaining female sperms are used for insemination, where the chances of getting female calves are more than 90%. The only constraint for the time being is the high cost of segregated semen. Hopefully, with further Research and Development, it should be possible to reduce the cost of production of segregated semen of Indian breeds, for the benefit of our farmers.

Upgradation of Nondescript CattleManagement of nondescript cattle which accounts for 75% indigenous cattle population is a major concern. For upgrading their progeny, the best option is to cross with exotic milch breeds such as Jersey or Holstein Friesen to produce crossbred cows of 50% exotic blood level. Subsequently, these crossbreds can be bred with elite Indian breeds of farmers’ choice to introduce higher

levels of Indian blood. This will be attractive to farmers as they are ensured of substantial returns from dairy husbandry while maintaining cows of high blood level of Indian breeds. Indeed, Brazil had adopted this strategy to improve the production of Indian Gir cows, after importing from India over 100 years ago. As a result, the average milk production of Gir breed in Brazil has increased to over 6000-8000 kg/lactation. Three such cows can provide sustainable livelihood to a family, which is an excellent opportunity for ensuring sustainable livelihood to most of the rural population.

There are many lobbies who are against crossbreeding of nondescript cows. Their antagonism against crossbreeding is more imaginary than based on practical evidence. Farmers maintaining crossbred cows are aware of the advantages and drawbacks. They are aware of the health issues and impact of higher exotic blood levels. However, they continue to expand their dairy enterprises, because of assured higher income. People who are making false propaganda are not fully aware of the ground realities. With large number of uneconomic cattle and objection to crossbreeding to improving their progeny, and ban on cattle slaughter, the livestock owners will face serious economic crisis, while posing a serious threat to the environment. Therefore, these

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY


lobbies who are against crossbred cattle, should consider permitting slaughtering of crossbreds, exotic and male population in the country which will not only reduce the unwanted animals but also increase the supply of meat which is in high demand by certain sections of the society, as a source of low cost protein. Permitting the export of cattle is another option, as there is good demand for Indian cattle in Asia and Africa. In the absence of a suitable programme to reduce the population of low producing cattle, farmers tend to neglect them, which in turn will contribute significantly to global warming through emission of greenhouse gases and imposing heavy pressure on feed resources.

Policy on A1/A2 type Milk: During the last few years, there has been a new controversy on the use of A1 and A2 types of milk, which has been causing concern among the population. The controversy pertains to the type of protein in milk. A1 type of protein which is present in most of the exotic breeds of cows has a molecule of amino acid called histidine, also called beta-casomorphin-7, which has narcotic property. Some people have difficulty in digesting this protein. Some scientists in New Zealand have raised doubt about the harmful effects of this protein, but the Health Authority of New Zealand has not taken any decision to issue warning about this milk due to lack of evidence. Unfortunately, without properly assessing the impact of this protein, the lobbies interested in promoting Indian cattle breeds are misguiding the common public. Therefore, it is high time that the Government of India promotes authentic research and clinical studies about the impact of A1 and A2 types of milk on human health and creates proper awareness among common public.

Delivery of Health Care Services:Health care is a major concern affecting the productivity of the

livestock. This includes disease prevention through regular vaccinations, timely diagnosis of diseases to contain the disease and timely treatment to reduce the loss due to ill health. Unfortunately, the Animal Health Service managed by the Government, is not able to attend to any of these challenges, primarily due to severe shortage of veterinary doctors in the country. Presently, more than 50% Veterinary Officers’ posts are vacant and even in locations where veterinarians are posted, their priority has been on treatment of animals, which is of their personal preference. Lack of awareness about the emerging diseases among farmers and inability to diagnose and report to the concerned authority has been causing difficulty in controlling the diseases effectively. This sector is further handicapped due to rigid rules of the Veterinary Council, which insists on engagement of qualified veterinary doctors even for vaccination and deworming. The time has come to review the role of veterinary doctors and allow the paravets and supervisors to share responsibilities of the veterinarians to undertake minor veterinary care. Experience in many states has confirmed that trained paravets can carry out breeding and minor veterinary services efficiently. The Government should review the current rules of the Veterinary Council and relax them as necessary to ensure easy access to veterinary care by small livestock holders.

Feed and Fodder Management: Fodder shortage is a chronic problem in the country since decades. It is estimated that over 25% of dry fodder and 50% of green fodder and concentrate are in short supply. As a result, most of the livestock are under fed in the country. This calls for a policy to increase the animal production without increasing the livestock population. Suitable policy should also be developed to control the livestock population either by way of using sexed semen technology or by other means such as export of cattle to other countries.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

To reduce fodder shortage, farmers should be educated to make efficient use of crop residues. There is scope to utilise the village common lands and private wastelands for fodder production.

Other Support:Dairy husbandry, fodder production in particular, requires sizeable investment but farmers have no easy access to crop loans. With easy availability of loans, livestock owners can expand their enterprise to enhance their income significantly. Hence, livestock husbandry should be included in the priority sector for lending credit by the financial institutions.

With the ban on cattle slaughter, farmers are facing a serious problem of disposing off their unproductive cattle. Thus, incentive may also be given to those who want to maintain low productive cattle. There have been several claims about benefits of different medicinal products made out of cattle milk, butter oil, urine, dung, etc. Due publicity may be given after conducting valid studies.

Although livestock has the potential to provide food security and sustainable livelihood for over 140 million rural families in the country, it is difficult to harness its potential, until suitable policy support is provided. Major issues which can boost livestock production are selection of suitable breeds to upgrade nondescript cattle population, conservation of elite native milch breeds, control of livestock population, enhancement of feed and fodder production, efficient delivery of veterinary services and availability of credit on easy terms. Farmer friendly livestock conservation policy, based on the ground realities, will empower small and marginal farmers to play an active role in animal husbandry, while boosting the economy and reducing the adverse effects on global warming.

Dr. Narayan HegdeTrustee and Principal AdviserBAIF Development Research

Foundation


Where in agriculture does sea weed find use?Sea Weed based products are part of the Bio-stimulants & Bio-nutritional category within the plant health in global agricultural markets and one of the fastest growing segment, helping growers world over deal with some of their most difficult challenges facing agriculture today. They are neither macronutrient fertilizers nor crop protection products and composed of natural extracts and are becoming an integral part of the integrated crop solution approach. Their application along with conventional crop protection products & synthetic fertilizers improves the efficiency and efficaciousness of fertilizers and pesticides both. Bio stimulants improve soil health, promote root growth, increase photosynthesis efficiency, drought tolerance, cold tolerance, heat tolerance, salinity tolerance, more and better-quality flowers and fruit sets, fight diseases resulting in higher quality yield & give better return

on investment for farmers. Acadian products optimize plant performance from seed to harvest by improving plant establishment, nutrition & stress management while protecting the environment & society.

What is the business presence of the company?For our branded business, we were mostly focused in America and a few other countries globally. For our extract based traditional products, we sell them in 70-80 countries. Some of our common brands include Acadian®, Stimplex®, Stella Maris® and Toggle™ and are used as soil and foliar inputs on over 70 crops. Going forward our focus will be to become truly global.

We have started expanding our business in Asia Pacific & Europe with focus on key countries like India, China, Australia & Spain with regional focus on South East Asia, South Africa and ANDEAN in South America in addition to stronghold in USA, Brazil & Mexico.

Optimizing Plant PerformanceAcadian Plant Health™ (APH), a division of Acadian Seaplants Limited, is the world leader in bio-stimulant and bio-nutritional solutions derived from Ascophyllum nodosum, scientifically proven to increase crop yields & ROI for the farmers. Acadian Plant Health™ is dedicated to sustainability and maximizing crop yields while protecting the environment. Acadian products optimize plant performance from seed to table by improving plant establishment, nutrition, and stress management. Acadian Seaplants Limited (ASL), a globally recognized industry leader in the processing & manufacturing of seaweed based products for agricultural market, animal feed supplements, food & speciality functional ingredients for cosmetics & health care, was founded by Louis and present CEO Jean – Paul Deveau almost 35 years ago in Canada and today Acadian products are being exported to over 80 countries across the globe. Acadian Seaplants have been bestowed with many awards & recognition and to name a few like Canada’s

Best Managed Company, Environment award for its sustainable harvesting of natural resources, Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame.In an interview with Agriculture Today, Roger Tripathi, President Acadian Plant Health talks about the role of sea weeds, biostimulants in Indian agriculture.

How did Acadian evolve as a Plant health company?There are more than 2000 species of seaweeds but most important is Ascophyllum nodosum for its unique array of bio chemical compounds & only being found in tough growing conditions of North Atlantic Ocean in cold water & inter tidal zone. Ascophyllum are harvested by us and we are one of the leading company which harvest sea weeds sustainably. We harvest them in a manner so there is no damage to the ocean ecosystem and it grows back. We take the extract and process it differently and supply it to different agriculture, animal, food and cosmetic industry for using it as a raw material. We use cold and not harsh process, so that all active bio chemical compounds in Ascophyllum are extracted in its natural form in our products. We are known for our consistent quality & environmentally sustainable harvesting process. The importance of the biostimulant sector, within global agricultural markets,

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is advancing at an unparalleled rate and as a part of Acadian Seaplants’ long term growth strategy, re-branded its agricultural products division and launched this new division as Acadian Plant Health (APH) in an effort to reflect its commitment to providing effective solutions to growers within the agricultural industry. The division, Acadian Plant Health (APH), has a fundamental purpose of sustainably empowering plants and will offer a range of premium products for maximizing crop yields. Focusing on innovation, sustainability, grower & partner focus, and its people, APH’s vision is to empower growers and their crops to sustainably feed the world today and in the future.

How big is this industry and what is Acadian seaplants’ market share?Global Bio-stimulants market is growing exponentially and presently valued through different sources at approximately $1.8 billion. Best sources reveal that Seaweed based bio-stimulant captures about 35% of the $1.8 billion bio stimulant market and is expected to grow at a higher rate to reach $5.8 billion by 2025.This segment is growing at 13-14 percent per year and Acadian is growing higher than the segment growth. Bio-stimulant segment is still not organized like MNC in crop protection. The definition is also blurry from place to place. However, main industry players are working together for finding a common definition of biostimulants.

How does India appear as a market for these products?India is a huge market for these kind of products for many reasons. First of all, Indian agriculture has evolved a lot. Our farmers are becoming much more aware & educated, they want to use good products for their crops. Secondly, rapid economic growth & increasing population is demanding more from the farms than ever before in terms of quantity, quality, safety, health & nutrition which has resulted into intensive agricultural practices. On the other hand, we are facing a depleted soil conditions, adverse impact of climate change, lack of needed investment in agriculture, inadequate market linkages & market linked innovations on sustainable products and technologies compounding the challenges in agriculture. It has become imperative to grow more food in

INTERVIEW

Soumendu Ghosh

Mr. Soumendu Ghosh, Business Development Manager-South Asia, Acadian Plant Health says, “Presently, India is at nascent stage of growth for these categories of products. Indian Agriculture provides tremendous growth opportunity for the continued growth of Bio stimulants on account of large acreages and year-round growing seasons.

Increasing farmer’s awareness on the relevance of good quality biostimulant in increasing yield & quality along with government support and promotion for sustainable technologies in agriculture driving the demand for Bio stimulants. Bio stimulant and PGR’s presently valued at ~ INR 1500 Cr. ($ 225 M) and growing at faster pace than other agriculture inputs. Sea Weed accounts for 50% of the total bio-stimulant and PGR’s market. Increasing focus by companies to grow the segment and create value through quality products and service differentiation augurs well for the development of this segment. Presently, the market is crowded with low quality products and farmers are looking for high quality premium products to improve the quality and productivity and hence return on investment. Most of the sea weed products in Indian markets are me - too type and not necessarily Ascophyllum nodosum, the prized sea weed species.

Acadian Plant Health (APH) uses only Ascophyllum nodo-sum the rolls-royce of sea weeds to manufacture products of consistent quality through a unique proprietary process that lib-erates array of biochemial compounds. Acadian - A Cut Above the Rest!


the country using environmentally sustainable & socially inclusive technologies. Therefore, any product like Acadian is critical for countries like India and China.

Acadian products work in a natural way using plant genetics itself by accelerating the genes expression in the metabolism and in the physiology of the plant. Acadian is also developing its own full range of unique specialized bio-nutritional products and will promote these new solutions to help growers manage abiotic stress and mitigate biotic stress. It’s being driven as an integrated crop program approach. We are working on bringing seed to soil health product, foliar nutrient range and also a pre / post- harvest solutions, targeting specific farmer needs.

Are these products cost effective for the Indian farmers?Bio-Stimulant, related to soil health, abiotic and biotic stress management helping farmers grow better crops.

Improving farmers knowledge & productivity is at the forefront of our

strategy, by focusing on main pillars of sustainability – Planet, People & Profit. Our product always helps in increasing productivity and getting good return on investment for farmers.

Acadian Plant Health™ will provide growers with the solutions they need to maximize their crops’ ROI and hence keep sustainability at the forefront.”

What are Acadian Plant Health (APH) business interests in India?

India is one of the focus countries for APH business growth & expansion. Since more than a decade, APH’s indirect presence in India is through PI Industries and this relation is based on long term sustainability with win – win partnership approach. The PI’s Biovita brand made from Acadian Technical ingredient is a dominant one in sea weed based products in India. We at Acadian take immense pride on Biovita & our partnership with PI Industries.

Acadian Plant Health’s expansion strategy is based on a multipronged approach while upholding our com-mitment to PI Industries & protecting each other business interest.

For branded business, as a breaking news that this month we have signed Distribution MOU with leading Indian Agricultural Companies such as Crystal Crop Protection, Tamron – astra, Krishi Rasayan & SDS Ramcides. InGene, a premium product division of Biostadt India also collaborating with Acadian Plant Health to bring co – formulated & co – branded premium range technologies for Indian farmers.

As a breaking news that this month we have signed

distribution MOU with leading Indian Agricultural Companies such as Crystal Crop Protection, Tamron –

astra, Krishi Rasayan & SDS Ramcides. InGene, a premium product division of Biostadt

India also collaborating with Acadian Plant Health to bring co – formulated &

co – branded premium range technologies for Indian

farmers.

INTERVIEW

“I was deeply impressed to see the advanced scientific work being done on marine plants at Acadian Seaplants Limited at its R&D Centre, about 120 kms from Halifax in Canada. During my visit to the production unit and to the R&D Centre of the company last month, I realised the wonders that human efforts can do. The work of the company is not only results cleaning of the sea by way of extracting the sea weeds, but also offering innovative products made under highest production and safety standards to address to the plant nutrients needs of the farmers. I was much impressed to see the processes adopted in the production and at the R&D in bio-products. We generally see less of science and more of experience in producing bio-products, but at Acadian, it is strict science that one can see at work. The R&D with a mix of lab and land work and the strict QA norms results into high quality products coming out from this company. And for a market like India, which is poised to become big in organic agriculture, the Acadian products will be very useful in boosting up the yields, as a substitute of chemical based nutrients.”Dr. MJ Khan, President, Agriculture Today Group


REPORT

CHALLENGES IN PROCUREMENT OF AGRICULTURE PRODUCE AND MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE (MSP)

of consumers, total supply in economy, new technologies, export opportunities or import vulnerabilities.

The discussion therefore focussed upon steps which can be taken to tackle the problems generally faced with effective provisioning of Minimum Support Price (MSP). Suggestions, like, taking early action at all levels i.e., at district, state and central level whenever the market price collapses, appointing an officer to procure the produce when the market price falls below the MSP, categorizing of commodities to evaluate their realistic MSP, analysing Inter-state transportation problems including VAT, entry tax etc., scrutinization of transportation problems and renewal of custom duty on imported agriculture produce especially on canola oil should be done if the MSP is being increased.

The following recommenda-tions were made:l First and foremost, the

ICFA received the Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr. Parushottam Rupala at its headquarters in New Delhi for an interaction

with its Board Members on 19th November 2016. Chairman, ICFA, Dr. MJ Khan welcomed the Minister and introduced ICFA team, which included its Board Members, Mr. Ravi Verma, MP; Dr. HS Gupta, former DG, BISA; Mr. Yudhvir Singh, Asia Director, International Farmers Alliance; Dr. PK Joshi, South Asia Director, IFPRI; Dr. M Moni, former DG, NIC; Mr. M Prabhakar Rao, President, National Seeds Industry Association; Mr. Vijay Sardana, Head – Food Security, UPL Group and Mr. NS Randhawa, ED, ICFA.

Speaking on the occasion, the participants concurred on the effect of a glut on the farming community. To safeguard the farmers against any sharp fall in farm prices, Minimum Support Price (MSP) of certain notified crops are fixed by the Government of India. The MSP is fixed on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). Recently, the number of crops covered by MSP scheme has been increased to 24. Other alternate price discovery system such as Agmark, e-mandi provides data about quality and price of commodities which helps in the evaluation of MSP.

The MSP regime has been widely criticised on the undue influence it exerts on the production patterns. Also, huge stocks result in Open-ended procurement where government can’t decide on the quantity it wants to buy. Present system has created glut in the market of particular crops as there is no such competitive environment in the field of agriculture and the farmers usually remain unaware of the upcoming trends of demands

awareness among the farmers need to be increased and the information should be timely disseminated to the lowest level so that the knowledge would increase the bargaining power of the farmers.

l Delays in MSP payments have negative effects on the farmers which needs to be corrected and timely payment should be ensured.

l MSP should be announced well in advance of the sowing season so as to enable the farmers to plan their cropping.

l The MSP scheme requires a complete overhaul in those States where the impact of the scheme ranges from ‘nil’ to ‘at-best marginal’ to ensure that MSP as an important instrument of the Government’s agricultural price policy is not undermined.The meeting ended on a positive

note with Dr. M.J Khan, welcoming the thought of holding meetings with the farmers to discuss the issue and challenges related to procurement and farm price.



INTERNATIONAL

MEXICAN PRODUCTS IN 150 COUNTRIES:CHALLENGES, DYNAMICS AND PERSPECTIVES ON

MEXICAN AGRIBUSINESS

no further areas can be incorporated to agricultural croplands, that water availability is decreasing and that climate change is a reality with still unpredictable consequences.

Experts, researchers, authorities and institutions involved in food production are studying scenarios and preparing possible solutions. National experience shows that these solutions have to do mainly with the organization and association of small and micro producers, the use of innovation, knowledge and technology, generating economies

The responsibility of the food industry is to provide the population with the necessary nutrients in the required quantity and

quality. Addressing this challenge requires taking into account that in the coming decades—in Mexico and around the world—the food demand will grow substantially by the sum of two phenomena: population growth and the overall improvement of living standards. The challenge is even greater if it becomes apparent that

of scale to revitalize the role of producers, value chains and agro logistics to bring down post-harvest losses, and building efficient systems of distribution. Other solutions are the promotion and modernization of family farming, support for small producers with timely and inexpensive financing, technical assistance, and modern irrigation systems, improved seeds, fertilizers, and facilitating domestic and international market access, among others.

Situated between the two main

Producing food in the countryside and in the sea is a good business, and a great opportunity that Mexico takes advantage of because it is a source of jobs and wealth. Mexico has the clear potential of providing its people and the world with quality food alternatives, in the best and most competitive conditions of the market.


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oceans of the world, and gifted with great diversity and natural wealth, the Mexican territory contains nearly 198 million hectares, 11,500 kilometers of coastline and more than three million square meters of seas. Thanks to these geographical characteristics, we are the 14th largest country on the planet in terms of our extension. For its natural vocation, topography, humidity, soil and communication facilities, the Mexican territory includes regions with different levels of development and agricultural and fishing potential that in sum present the nation with a mosaic of challenges and opportunities.

Although corn—closely linked to our history and culture—is the basis of our local diet and the most important crop in the country, many other products—hundreds of them—are served at the tables of Mexicans and even reach far away countries, placing the name and presence of Mexico around the world.

More than 500 agricultural products—cereals, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables, ornamental plants, fodder and crops for industrial use—, dozens of livestock, fishing and aquaculture products, and the increasingly important products of the food industry, form the supply of the sector as a result of the work of nearly seven million men and women working in the fields and seas of Mexico.

The food industry is a strategic pillar of the economy, generating over 8% of the country’s GDP and,

Mexico, India and the Green RevolutionWhen it comes to agriculture, Mexico and India share a common history. During the 1940s, Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture created the Office of Special Studies (OSS) in order to research ways to raise its agricultural productivity, particularly on bean, maize, potatoes and wheat. This allowed the country to develop high-yielding wheat varieties and to become self-sufficient in wheat in 1956.

In the 1960s, the seeds from this knowledge were made freely available to researchers worldwide, including India, where it was imported to stave off famine. Between 1965 and 1972 India more than doubled its wheat production, making it the third largest producer in the world and sparkling the Green Revolution.

Today, the work of the OSS is continued by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), an international organization based in Mexico where very year researchers from all over the world, including India, work in cutting-edge research to help speed the access of developing country farmers to the benefits of science and innovation.

in the last two years, has proven to be the most dynamic sector in terms of growth. Throughout 2015, the annual growth trend in the agricultural GDP is at about 5%, which explains why it is in the process of consolidating itself as one of the engines of the national economy. Mexico is on track to become a power in terms of production and export of agrifood. We are the 12th food producer in the world, the 11th in livestock products, the 13th in agricultural crops, and the 17th in fishing and aquaculture.

Our country is the number one world exporter of avocado,

Mexico has gone from growing little more than 21,000 hectares of organics ten years ago, to more than 500,000 today, and from 13,000 farmers we now have 170,000 working in this activity


beer, guava, mango, papaya, and, of course, tequila; number two in asparagus, tomato, lemon, and watermelon; and we occupy prominent places in other products such as honey, nuts, and pumpkins.

Export capacity has grown substantially, to the degree that our agricultural trade balance, traditionally in deficit, has accumulated a surplus of over 1.1 billion dollars up to September. Products such as beef and live cattle recorded an increase in foreign sales of more than 34% this year. Organic and gourmet products are a fast growing niche in the international food market and are therefore an area of opportunity, particularly for small producers. The production of organic food concentrates the elements of new agriculture, implying technical modernization and good practices, productivity, safety, agro logistics and fair trade. In this regard, there are big opportunities offered by the organic and gourmet product markets in the USA that will surely benefit with Mexican products.

A good example is coffee

production, an activity that represents half of the area devoted to cultivating organic products

in this country, and which is basically run by small producers, among them 22 ethnic groups, mainly in the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca. As a result, we are the number one producer and world exporter of organic coffee. Organic production—not only agricultural, but also livestock and aquaculture, as well—is consolidating as a viable, profitable and sustainable possibility, and its products are increasingly appreciated by larger groups of consumers in Mexico and around the world.

The figures prove it: Mexico has gone from growing little more than

21,000 hectares of organics ten years ago, to more than 500,000 today, and from 13,000 farmers we now have 170,000 working in this activity.

The existence of a network of 11 free-trade agreements with 46 countries, with a potential market of over 1.155 billion people—equivalent to 58% of the world GDP—, and the recent signing of the Trans-Pacific Protocol (TPP) for Economic Cooperation, encourage the search for new opportunities and better conditions for the sale of agricultural, livestock and fishing products from Mexico to the world

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markets.Due to its importance, is should be stressed that

the increase in more than ten percentage points of the national participation in the supply of major grains and oilseeds—rice, beans, wheat, soy and sorghum—, passing from 58.2% in 2011 to more than 69% in 2014, it puts us within six points to reach our goal of food security, set in accordance with international standards at 75%.

Of course, neither the increase in production nor the accelerated expansion in exports is the result of chance. First of all, it is the realization of the efforts of workers, employers, providers of services, distributors, and all those who intervene in agrifood production: close to 6 million men and women cultivate over 22.2 million hectares of soil; more than 760,000 people work in breeding different types of livestock and poultry, whose activities are spread across more than half of the national territory; and almost 300,000 are devoted to fishing and aquaculture. The use of technology in seeds, crops and irrigation, or the care and feeding of animal species is fundamental for increasing productivity.

We have also made progress in introducing technology to irrigation surfaces, and as we complete the first half of this Administration, we have modernized 410,000 hectares out of a target of 460,000, and with the rehabilitation of Pemex’s Pajaritos plant in Veracruz, starting next year the national supply of fertilizers will cover up to 80% of consumption, which today depends basically on imports.

In terms of credit, the implementation of structural reforms will allow us to provide financing to small producers in the countryside—who before were almost always excluded from this benefit—, with lower requirements and single-digit rates, especially in the case of projects headed by women, to whom a preferential rate of 6.5% is granted. This year funds of 55 billion pesos have been delivered by Financiera Nacional de Desarrollo Agropecuario, Rural, Forestal y Pesquero (FND, National finance institution for agricultural, rural, forestry and fishery development).

The strength of the productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector is based on the international recognition of the sanity and safety of our products, as a result of the activities of regulation, consultation and surveillance that are carried out by Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (Senasica, National Food Sanity, Safety and Quality Service).

Thanks to the responsible efforts of both producers and authorities, Mexico is free from classical swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, cattle screwworm, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, rabbit viral hemorrhage, swine vesicular disease,

African horse sickness, and avian salmonellosis; and in the case of pests that attack crops, we are free of Mediterranean fruit fly, cactus moth, citrus canker, Pierce disease in avocado, citrus leprosis, khapra beetle and the red palm mite, among other pests.

The sanity and safety system promotes good practices in the production and consumption of healthy, high quality and nutritious food, and has backed the entry of Mexican products to 150 countries in all five continents.

Other strategies are applied to boost productivity and the modernization of the countryside, including the promotion of value chains in agrifood production, the association of farmers to create economies of scale and added value, which is very relevant if it is taken into account that 80% of Mexican farmers have small plots of land (of less than five hectares).

A relatively new field which we’re advancing towards is agro logistics, conceived as the integration of the activities in the supply chain, necessary to adapt the product offering with the market demand, for which it is necessary to coordinate production, processing and distribution in a way that ensures having a product of quality and safety in the right place, on time, and at a lower cost.

These expressed comparative and competitive advantages are attractive to any investor seeking to consolidate a participation in the increasingly global agricultural market. Undoubtedly, the population growth and rising living standards that humanity is experiencing, makes the Mexican countryside an extraordinary destination for productive investment. Mexico has the clear potential to offer its population, and the world, quality food choices in the best and most competitive market conditions.

All this brings us to the fulfillment of the provisions of Mexico’s National Development Plan, which conceives “a strategy to build the new face of the countryside and the food industry, with a focus on productivity, profitability and competitiveness, which is also inclusive and incorporates the sustainable management of natural resources”, and reminds us of the social dimension of the issue: rural development and the flourishing of agriculture will only be meaningful to the extent that it generates welfare for those who live and work around them. Mexico’s countryside still concentrates the highest levels of backwardness and marginalization. To close these gaps, government and society must work closely together in a way that prosperity can reach the rural population, and becomes a factor of peace and national progress.

José Calzada Rovirosa, Secretary of Agriculture , Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and

Food (SAGARPA)

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LIVESTOCK

NATIONAL CATTLE DEVELOPMENT BOARD – A NECESSITY

Every cattle produces dung and urine, the proper use of which and the use of draught power of the male cattle shall add to the farmer’s income. While cattle development is the subject of Dept. of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, use of cattle dung and urine and draught power of the male cattle has not been properly included in its mandate. Establishment of shelters for cattle is also not on the active consideration list of any Government Department.

The Government needs to promote organic farming and use of bullock driven implements in every village by every farmer. Development of medicines and other products from dung and urine also needs research, and widespread development to

Development of cattle needs to be promoted on a large scale all over the country. The Government has largely confined the

scope of cattle development to breed improvement alone with a focus on the milk yield. Other aspects of cattle development i.e. use of draught animal power, use of cattle dung and urine to prepare biogas, organic manures and pesticides, medicines, soaps, phenyl, mosquito repellent coils and other value added products from cow dung, urine etc. have not received the requisite attention. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare runs Projects for promotion of organic farming, the annual expenditure on which is a few hundred crore rupees, while the annual subsidy on chemical fertilizers runs up to one lakh crore rupees.

supplement the income of the farmers and cattle shelters. Development and distribution of improved bullock carts, bullock driven tractors, water pumps, generators and other bullock driven implements are also required on a large scale.

Institutions keeping cattle like Goshalas, Gosadans require necessary government support for their sustenance. It is incumbent on the part of the Government to ensure provision of shelters for stray cattle wherever they are required. These institutions/shelters should be integrated with the overall Cattle Development Programmes.

State Governments have their laws for prevention of slaughter of cattle. Rampant violation of these laws is witnessed everywhere. The cattle are abandoned or sold for slaughtered,


LIVESTOCK

because they have become ‘useless’. The ‘useless’ cattle can be made ‘useful’ cattle by proper use of dung, urine and draught animal power. If the farmer is still unable to keep such cattle, the shelters will take care of them and make proper use of their dung, urine and draught power. Inaction of the Government. in this regard is the root cause of the rampant violation of the cattle preservation laws.

Widespread development of pastures is another area requiring immediate attention. Fodder development efforts so far have been insignificant. Pastures should be developed on vacant lands adjoining railway lines, highways and other degraded lands. Afforestation programme should include plantation of fodder varieties to the maximum possible extent. Harvesting operations should invariably be combined with reaping of agricultural residues for fodder which are often burnt down after harvesting of foodgrains. In case of extreme scarcity of fodder, forest areas should be liberally opened for

grazing.The degraded forest land patches

should be used for provision of temporary cattle shelters for a few years during which these patches will be re-claimed by the cattle dung, urine etc. The cattle dung/urine can also be used to prepare compost manure/pesticide for departmental plantation/nursery. The cattle can be subsequently moved to another shelter and old shelter land along with its boundary, water system etc. be ideally used for plantation. Forest land

should also be provided for permanent shelters.

Availability of cheap fodder and developed pasture lands coupled with proper use of cattle dung, urine and draught animal power will always make cattle ‘useful’ for farmer and income generating assets. The need to establish shelters for abandoned stray cattle shall also be greatly reduced.

The Government should promote the use of draught animal power by reserving short distance government sponsored transport for this sector. Examples could be of foodgrain transportation from FCI godowns to fair price shops and short distance transportation of wooden logs in forest areas to Forest Depots. This shall also reduce environmental pollution and save the use of scarce oil resources. Government farms and farmer training institutions should use bullock driven implements for agriculture, demonstration and training and should promote organic farming.

The above and many similar efforts need to be carried out in a big way


all over the country. Establishment of the National Dairy Development Board has revolutionized the milk scenario in the country. A similarly high powered National Cattle Development Board is required to be established for development of cattle in all aspects.

The functions of the National Cattle Development Board should be as follows:-• Organization and co-ordination of research on

indigenous breeds of cattle in various research institutions; production of pedigreed indigenous breeding bulls of all indigenous breeds of cows.

• Promotion of biogas and organic farming using cattle dung and urine all over the country.

• Development and large scale distribution of bullock-carts, bullock-driven tractors, water pumps, generators and other bullock driven implements.

• Promotion of the use of draught animal power in Government, Semi- Government and Private Sector.

• Research and development for preparation of medicines and other useful products from cattle dung and urine.

• Large scale development of pastures and all steps to increase availability of cheap fodder.

• Promotion of establishment of shelters for cattle and their integration in the overall Cattle Development Programme.

• Facilitation of the Central Government /State Governments in enactment/implementation of cattle preservation laws/rules.

• Coordination with various Central Government Departments, State Governments, local bodies and NGOs to ensure the above objectives.All existing cattle schemes of the Government

of India for development of cattle, organic farming, fodder etc. should also be transferred to the National Cattle Development Board for cohesive and widespread implementation.

The National Cattle Development Board should have a distinguished person as its Chairman and Managing Director and representatives from all the three departments of the Ministry of Agriculture and Family Welfare (Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Department of Agricultural Research and Education), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, other concerned Government Departments and representatives of few State Governments (by rotation) as its members. The Board should be anchored in the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, as cattle development is primarily the subject of this Department. The Board should be given suitable autonomy and sufficient resources to plan its activities and implement them all over the country.

The National Cattle Development Board thus established with a mandate to ensure cattle development in all aspects all over the country would contribute significantly in achieving the targeted annual growth rate of 4% in agriculture and allied activities. The cattle with better feed, upkeep and optimum utilization with improved agricultural implements shall also be saved from cruelty and slaughter. This will bring in the real sense of prosperity for farmers and welfare of cattle.

Rajeev Gupta, Secretary, Youth Affairs,

GoI

LIVESTOCK


KNOW YOURLEADER

From being a weaver to working his way to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) as officer to being elected as member of parliament to becoming a union minister now, Arjun Ram Meghwal’s journey has been a source of inspiration for many. A modest politician, humble social activist and a simple human being, Shri Meghwal commands respect from all sections of society.

HUMILITY PERSONIFIED

Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Union Minister of State in Finance and Corporate Affairs in Government of India assumed this new role in the recent cabinet reshuffle of

July 2016. Belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party, he was the former party Chief Whip in 16th Lok Sabha.

Born into a traditionally weaver family of Kismidesar village in Bikaner to Shri Lakhu Ram Meghwal and Smt. Hira Devi Meghwal on 20 Dec 1953, he continued his studies while

also working with his father as a weaver. He graduated with a BA degree from Sri Dungar College in Bikaner and also earned an LLB and a Master’s from the same institution. He has also done MBA from the University of Philippines.

After his studies, he started preparing for competitive examinations and got into Indian Post and Telegraph Department as a telephone operator. He had his first stint with politics when he contested and won the elections for the post of general secretary of Telephone Traffic Association. While working



KNOW YOURLEADER

as a telephone operator, he passed the examination for Rajasthan State Administrative Service and got selected for State industrial services. Following this, in 1994, he was recruited as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan. He reached the peak, when he was promoted to the Indian Administrative Services and worked as District Collector of Churu district.

As he received immense respect from people, he felt that they looked up to him as a role model and expected him to play an even greater role. Politics was just the platform to serve this purpose. He took the final leap in 2009, when the Bharatiya Janata Party offered him a ticket for Lok Sabha from Bikaner region. He won the election, becoming a member of parliament. He was re-elected from the same constituency in 2014. He was Member of Committee on Defense and Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forest. He was awarded the Best Parliamentarian Award in 2013.

He had been socially involved in many campaigns and participated in many programmes for the development of the Rajasthani language; extended full cooperation in various capacities for recognition of Rajasthani as an Indian language in VIIIth Scheduled of the Indian Constituion. He worked as a Principal Advisor of Bhwana Meghwal Memorial Trust, which is committed to promoting the talented and economically deprived students by providing scholarships etc. and guidance by various programmes. The trust has been conducting group marriage programmes of the weaker sections of the society and seminar, workshops to awaken the people about social issues.

Shri Meghwal makes his striking presence felt with a multicoloured Rajasthani pagdi (turban) and kurta-pyjama . He makes his way to his office, the Parliament in his modest red cycle that carries a saffron-green board announcing that the rider is the Lok Sabha MP from Bikaner, Rajasthan. By ditching luxury cars and SUVs, the favourite of most politicians, Meghwal is making a statement—that cycling to work is environmentally friendly and best serves the needs of the country.

The distance between his home at Janpath in central Delhi and Parliament is not more than a kilometer but Meghwal’s efforts have drawn praise from many quarters. Among other things, he has been following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of spending one night a month sleeping under moonlight to promote energy conservation. He does this in Bikaner. “It was Prime Minister’s call to people to switch to cycles that inspired me. Moreover, developed countries keep saying that due to rapid development in India and China carbon emissions are increasing. This is my way of cutting down on carbon emissions even though India is not a major polluter,” says Meghwal.

Shri Meghwal has always believed in the upheaval of the most deprived members of the society for which he strongly suggested that the benefit of economic development must reach the last mile. He has also mentioned that the Government will strive to ensure that the benefits of PMJDY, Mudra and other Social Security Schemes should reach the common man. Shri Meghwal said despite world economy slowing down, India still manage to grow at 7.6 per cent. He said that the Government’s priorities include to speed-up the process of economic growth and make all out efforts to achieve the goal of development so that poor and vulnerable sections of our society are benefitted.

Shri Meghwal has always believed in the upheaval of the most deprived members of the society for which he strongly suggested that the benefit of economic development must reach the last mile


“Rivers play an important role in Swachh Bharat

Abhiyan. Ganga is a symbol of cleanliness as well as purity since time immemorial in India. To

make the Ganga clean again, it is imperative that organic farming

be promoted in the townships and villages along the banks of the Ganga to minimise the

use of harmful pesticides, fertilisers and other

chemicals in agriculture”

RADHAMOHAN SINGHUnion Agriculture Minister

“A farm product which perishes in two days in India stays fresh for up to ten days in Israel. We need to adopt such technologies to increase the shelf life of our food items so that they can be sent to far-off markets”

“There will be 6-7 per cent increase in agricultural produce and 3 per cent rise in value-added agricultural products compared to last year,” he said.“This will increase the food supply and raw materials. Rural demand for goods is likely to pick up.”

“We are growing at the rate of 7 per cent, and this year we hope our agriculture growth will be more than 4 per cent”

“Investment in agriculture is necessary both for social and economic reasons. If we have to double farm income then we have to increase agriculture output and for that irrigation is a necessity as we cannot depend on monsoon alone”

VASUNDHARA RAJEChief Minister, Rajasthan

C RANGARAJANformer RBI Governor and Chairman, Madras School of Economics

ARJUN MEGHWALUnion Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs

ARUN JAITLEYUnion Finance Minister

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“World over, crores of poor people are fighting hunger, malnutrition and poverty. To address these issues, science and technology are very important. While finding solution to these problems, we should not ignore sustainable development and conservation of biodiversity”NARENDRA MODIPrime Minister

from the editor’s desk · at azadpur mandi, the largest wholesale market in asia, sales...

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