|
|
Agriculture
|
Scientists Predict Record Output Of Maize, Wheat Crop This Year
Indian agriculture scientists have estimated record production of maize and wheat in the current year. India is poised to be the top wheat producer in the world within the coming
years.
Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in reducing the oxalyl di-amino propionic (ODAP) acid in kesari pulse (dal). Excess presence of ODAP causes lathirus.
In the current year, maize output is likely to touch a record level of 15 million tonne and in the rabi (winter) season wheat output will also be a bumper at 76-78 million tonne. The area coverage under wheat has increased by 1.5 million hectare. Prospects for mustard and other rabi crops are also bright.
The prevailing cold weather has been beneficial to the standing wheat crop. There has been a good presence of soil moisture after the monsoon season and there has been intermittent rains over central India. All these factors are likely to contribute towards a bumper rabi crop.
India is now poised to be the top wheat producer in the world, by overtaking China which is now the number one wheat producer. India has already excelled US in wheat production and is now ranked second. As the area under wheat crop in China and US are not likely to expand, India can become the topmost wheat producer with its expanding area under the crop.
Green Outputs Market Trends & Potentials in India :
Demand for green agricultural products is a stimulant for growth for input market. In other words if there is demand in market for organically produced farm products will encourage farmers to implement the organic farming practices and also to use organic input like bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, varmi-compost, green manure and FYM.
Estimating area under organic agriculture in India is a difficult task as there is no central agency that collects and compiles this information. Different agencies have estimated the area under organic agriculture differently for instance the study undertaken by FIBL and ORG-MARG (Garibay S V and Jyoti K, 2003) the area under organic agriculture to be 2,775 hectares (0.0015% of gross cultivated area in India). But other estimation undertaken by SOEL-Survey shows that the land area under organic cropping is 41000 hectare. The total numbers of organic farms in the country as per SOEL-Survey are 5661 but FIBL and ORG-MARG survey puts it as 1426. Some of the major organically produced agricultural crops in India include crops like plantation, spices, pulses, fruits, vegetables and oil seeds etc.
Major products produced in India by organic farming :
Products
Commodity
Tea, Coffee, Rice, Wheat
Spices
Cardamom, Black pepper, white pepper, Ginger, Turmeric, Vanilla, Tamarind, Clove, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Mace, Chili
Pulses
Red gram, Black gram
Fruits
Mango, Banana, Pineapple, Passion fruit, Sugarcane, Orange, Cashew nut, Walnut
Vegetables
Okra, Brinjal, Garlic, Onion, Tomato, Potato
Oil seeds
Mustard, Sesame, Castor, Sunflower
Others
Cotton, Herbal extracts
India is best known as an exporter of organic tea and also has great export potential for many other products. Other organic products for which India has a niche market are spices and fruits. Org-Marg’s survey also proves this fact as around 30% of respondents that includes producer, exporters and traders has responded that organic tea is produced in India and this is highest response for any single crop, next are spices, fruits, vegetables, rice and coffee (Garibay S V and Jyoti K, 2003). There is small response for cashew, oil seed, wheat and pulses. Among the fruit crops Bananas, Mangos and oranges are the most preferred organic products.
Export Market : Organic agricultural export market is one of the major drivers of greening of agriculture in India. The current production of organic crops is around 14,000 tons. Out of this production, tea and rice contributes around 24% each, fruits and vegetables combine makes 17% of this total production. From India around 11,925 tons of organic product is exported, that makes around 85% of total organic crop production. Major export market for Indian producers are Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, and USA. Estimated quantity of various products that are exported from India in 2002.
This shows that around 3000 tons of tea was exported and in quantity term it was the highest, next major exports are rice (2500 tons), fruits & vegetables (1800 tons), cotton (1200 tons) and wheat (1150 tons).
|
Product |
Sales (Tons) |
| Tea |
3000 |
| Coffee |
550 |
| Spices |
700 |
| Rice |
2500 |
| Wheat |
1150 |
| Pulses |
300 |
| Oil Seeds |
100 |
| Fruits & Vegetables |
1800 |
| Cashew Nut |
375 |
| Cotton |
1200 |
| Herbal Products |
250 |
| Total |
11,925 |
The bittersweet saga of sugar :
Though the cycle of shortage and surplus in the sugar industry has been overcome in the last six years with the emergence of efficient and modern mills, the carryover stock of sugar in the last four years has resulted in hefty carry-over costs, insurance charges and storage problems.
Corporate agriculture : The implications for Indian farmers
Globalisation has already affected the farm sector in India adversely, as in many other developing countries. This has squeezed farmers incomes, and threatened the viability of cultivation, because of rising input costs and falling output prices.
Farm income surplus may top Rs 40,000 cr
The farming community in the country is likely to be left with a cash surplus of about Rs 40,000 crore after the kharif crop harvest compared to last year.
Govt skips grain export price revision
The foodgrain exports gravy train seems to have come to a halt with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) refraining from announcing export prices of rice and wheat for the January-March 2004 quarter.
High MSP for Durum Wheat not enough to boost exports
The government announcement of higher MSP for Durum Wheat will not have the desired effect of increasing production unless it is backed by a comprehensive package of pre and post harvest technologies.
Foodgrain shipments likely to slow down
Rising grain exports - in terms of both volume and value - over the last three years has no doubt created a sense of euphoria in the Government circles.
Move to scrap cotton import duty will hurt domestic producers
Cotton is a highly subsidised commodity in many of the developed nations including the US. Cotton subsidies in European Union are known to hurt cotton producers in resource-poor African countries.
Soyameal exports may gain on EU norm for GM crops
For India, the new EU legislation and the manner of its implementation should be of great interest.
Indian Soya Farmers Enjoy an Unexpected Boom in Prices
Soya farmers across the country are a happy lot these days. This year has been particularly good for them as the weather has been kind and has resulted in an increased Soya output of 71 lakh tones was the figure for this year, which means an increase of 57.08 per cent compared to the production figure of 45.2 lakh tonnes last year. Moreover, the export market, which has seen prices shooting up, shows a lot of promise for the Indian farmer.
The Organic Food Market and Organic Labelling
Organic Agriculture brings with it a number of added benefits for example, improved soil fertility and water quality, prevention of soil erosion, generation of rural employment, etc.
|
|
|
