BHUBANESWAR: Odisha will soon get its second agriculture university in the poverty stricken KBK (Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput) region of the state.

"The state is planning to establish its second agriculture university in an area under KBK districts and the government has already made budgetary allocation for the purpose," agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy said on Friday.

The existing Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) could accommodate only 1,808 students in an academic year, he said.



OUAT, established on August 24, 1962, is the second oldest Agriculture University in the country.

It has been discharging its triple functions of education, research and extension education programme in an integrated manner in the field of agriculture and allied sciences.

The minister said OUAT had been largely successful in fulfilling its major thrust of improving quality of academic standards in agricultural education by producing quality professionals in the field of agriculture and allied sciences.

It has been generating and refining agricultural technologies by conducting demand driven as well as basic research in agriculture.

While felicitating 37 meritorious students of OUAT who have got junior research fellowship of ICAR, Maharathy also said that a Veterinary University was also on the anvil.

Another college of agriculture was being established under Xavier University, he said.

Amongst 66 universities, OUAT is the first university in the country to achieve the rare record of 37 students getting JR fellowship in an academic year.

NEW DELHI: The Haryana Government has decided to continue to charge both market fee and Haryana Rural Development Fund (HRDF) on cotton at a reduced rate of 0.8 per cent each for the year financial 2013-14.

A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting held by Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda with the delegation of cotton and ginners association.

Mr Hooda said that this fee reduction should be given only for those stocks that are corroborated by web based gate pass and the millers could themselves download from the web. He made it clear that in case any trader or ginner is caught evading market fee and HRDF, the same may be recovered from such trader or ginner for the entire season at the rate of two per cent each.

The rate of levy of market fee on cotton and HRDF was reduced from 4 % (2 % each) to 1.6 %(0.8 % each) for the season 2011-12. The government had also extended this fee structure for the year 2012-13.

The representatives of cotton and ginners association said that that they would achieve the target of 135 lakh quintals of cotton as against the current arrival of 120.78 lakh quintals.

 

Courtesy : www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

NEW DELHI: Eyeing the export market, Delhi based Simbhaoli SugarsBSE -2.60 % is all set to commission its sugar processing unit near the Kandla port in Gujarat by the end of this year.

The plant has a crushing capacity of 1,000 tonne per day and is expected to produce 3 lakh tonne of white sugar. Company officials said the total investment on the unit was Rs 280 crore.

"Proximity to the port would help us tap the export market for white sugar," said an official of the company.

Announced in April last year, the project is being built by Uniworld Sugars, a joint venture of Simbhaoli with European firm ED&F Man Holdings. "We will source cane from Maharashtra. This will reduce our transportation cost," said an official.

Simbhaoli has its three sugar units in Uttar Pradesh. "This is our effort to venture out of UP and look at markets beyond the country," said the official.

With a huge surplus production this season and good cane crops this year, the company is hopeful that exports would get a huge impetus in the sugar season starting next month.

In the sugar season 2012-13, India produced 24.5 million tonne of sugar, which is expected to go up to 25 million tonne in 2013-14.

There is a huge demand for Indian white sugar in the neighbouring countries. In sugar season 2011-12, 34 lakh tonne was exported to sugar deficit markets like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Middle Eastern countries. In the current season, 60,000 tonne has been tied up for exports yet.

Exports world over are dominated by Brazil, the largest sugar producer. This sugar season, which will end in September, Indian exports have suffered due to rupee depreciation and cheaper exports from Brazil.

Courtesy : www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

NEW DELHI: Total summer-sown grains output is likely to rise marginally to 129.32 million tonnes in the current crop year due to ample monsoon rains, Farm Commissioner JS Sandhu said on Tuesday, despite patchy rains affecting rice in some eastern states.

The output for summer-planted rice in the crop year to June 2014 is expected to be 92.32 million tonnes, he said, announcing the farm ministry's first estimates for summer planted crops. The ministry will update forecasts as harvests progress.

India, the world's second biggest producer, grew 92.76 million tonnes of the grain in the year ago season.

Courtesy : www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

CUTTACK: In a bid to accord an entrepreneurial status to rice farming in Odisha, Central Rice Research Institution here has come up with an innovative unit to look into the aspects of business, planning and development of rice growers.

The unit called Business Planning and Development (BPD) unit was lunched here on Saturday. As agricultural land under rice cultivation is decreasing, farmers are turning away from rice cultivation as it is not profitable. But rice is staple food for over 65 per cent people of our country.

Lunching the unit, director of New Delhi-based National Agricultural Innovative Project ( NAIP) Dr Rama Rao said the BPD unit will go a long way in attracting rice farmers towards entrepreneurship.

Speaking on the occasion, CRRI director Dr T Mohapatra said BPD unit is a World Bank funded project.

While rice is the staple food of nearly 65 per cent of country's population, rice farmers end up as losers getting a meager price for their produce.

"The current Minimum Support Price ( MSP) of rice is only Rs 1320 per quintal which is not encouraging," project inspector Dr G A K Kumar said.

If such trends are not arrested, the ambitious food security bill will come as a cropper, opined the speakers on this occasion.

BPD also aims to impart training in setting up agri-enterprises and their management. This unit will also look into production, finance, personnel and marketing aspects to evolve successful agri-preneurs.

"Once unit is registered as a Company, it will provide legal assistances to agri-preneurs," Dr Kumar said.

With a view to popularize its inventions of farm techniques, CRRI also organized a brain-storming discussion on this occasion.

Courtesy : www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Sugar production in India is estimated to touch 25 million tonne in the sugar season 2013-14 starting from October. As per the estimate done by industry body ISMA ( Indian Sugar Mills Association), the availability of cane acreage for crushing in sugar season 2013-14, will be around 52.89 lakh hectare.

Good monsoon this year would help augment the sugar production for the coming season. In 2012-13 sugar season, India produced 24.5 million tonne of sugar.

Sugarcane acreage for Maharashtra is reported to be around 9.4 lakh hectare and a sugar production of 7.8 million tonne. Sugar recovery for the state would also go up by 11.44%. Whereas in Uttar Pradesh, the cane acreage is around 25.13 lakh hectare and would lead to a sugar production of 7.7 million tonne of sugar.

"ISMA is expecting slightly lower yields from UP than last year on account of lesser millable sugarcane per hectare availability due to excess rains, which affected the late sown sugarcane plants this year," said a statement by the industrial body.

Karnataka sugar production is expected to remain at almost the same levels of last year i.e. around 3.4 million tonne, while major fall is only expected from Tamil Nadu which may give 15% lower production of 1.6 million ton, as compared to last year's production of about 1.9 million tonne of sugar.

Courtesy : www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

NEW DELHI: Indian wheat particularly produced in Madhya Pradesh is high on demand in the international market, food ministry officials said. Beating the earlier trend when more and more Indian wheat was believed to be imported for animal feed in many countries now because of the good quality produce in MP, Punjab and Haryana are being used for human consumption.

 

Senior food ministry sources said that so far about 42.5 lakh tonnes in 2012-13 while the target set was 45 lakh tonnes. The main importers of grains are Korea, South Africa, Middle East, Bangladesh and a few European countries. Officials added that though June end was the deadline for meeting the export target soon government will export another 50,000 tonnes to mop up a tally of 43 lakh tonnes.

 

"The Indian wheat getting more takers because of better quality is also evident from the price at which we are exporting. When we invited tenders for the first time in 2012 keeping reserve price at $228 per tonne considering the global bad economic condition the minimum price quoted by importers was $296 per tonne," said a ministry official.

 

He added that when the second batch of tenders was out last December government had increased the reserve price to $300 per tonne. Though there were a few who quoted less most of the bidders offered better price. The weightage average price was approximately $311.38 per tonne. "Some of the bidders even quoted at $350 per tonne. MP wheat is has greater demand for its high protein content and all other indicators are close to the best international standard. Even major Indian companies prefer to buy MP wheat because of the quality. Even wheat from Punjab and Haryana is also of international quality," the official added.

 

India had banned wheat export in 2007, but in September 2011 the ban was lifted.

 

During current financial year, government plans to export another 20 lakh tonne wheat at reserved price of $300 per tonne. India is the world's second-largest wheat producer. It would soon resume exports after a gap of three months.

 

According to industry insiders, the depreciating Rupee may make Indian wheat more competitive in the world market.

Courtesy : www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

India’s national capital, Delhi, is all set to become the first state in the country to roll out the food security scheme.

 

The Indian government has said that it is fully prepared to meet obligations under food security ordinance, and called on states to complete identification of beneficiaries within six months.

 

Under the Food Security Bill, wheat will be distributed for two rupees per kilogram and rice at three rupees per kilogram to the poor and needy. Seventy five per cent of the population will be covered from the rural areas and fifty per cent from the urban areas.

 

Sudhir Kumar, Secretary Food and Public Distribution, said the states have been asked to go about the identification of beneficiaries in a transparent manner. He said, the states have also been asked to improve on the public distribution system for successful implementation of the food security law.

Participating in the discussion, Member of National Advisory Council N C Saxena said there is enough food grain production in the country to meet the demands. Saxena also asked the States to do away with private dealership and dual pricing system.

 

Delhi is all set to become the first state in the country to roll out the food security scheme. Delhi Government has decided to launch the ambitious food scheme on the 20th of next month, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Talking to AIR, Delhi Food and Supply Minister Harun Yusuf said that State Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit met the Union Food Minister K.V Thomas in the national capital yesterday and conveyed her decision to launch the scheme. Yusuf said that his government has begun the ground work for implementation of the scheme.

Courtesy : www.southasia.oneworld.net

JAISALMER: On the lines of Gulf countries, dates have been planted in the deserts of Rajasthan. The effort is opening up huge possibilities for date production in Jaisalmer district.

 

With efforts of the state government, Jaisalmer, the desert district of Rajasthan, has entered into the era of modern agriculture side by side with traditional farming has methods. The date palms have already started growing, thanks to the help of scientists and experts. Earlier growing date in the state's deserts was a long cherished dream.

NEW DELHI: The Center is likely to include a clutch of agriculture-related works under the rural job guarantee scheme to make it agriculture friendly.

The impending addition to the bouquet of works permissible under the job scheme is to assuage the grievance that diversion of laborers to MGNREGA was affecting farm output. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar recently wrote to the PM that the job scheme be taken off for a certain period every year to help the farm sector.

 

An ongoing review of the scheme will see the government allow 18 new types of work for which labourers can be employed under the job scheme. Works like soil conservation measures, production of compost and bio-pesticides, construction related to sowing and harvesting activities such as threshing would help landlords extract valuable farm activities on MGNREGA funds.

 

It would be the second initiative to help the job scheme aid agriculture, having allowed work on the lands of small and marginal farmers.

 

Synergy between the scheme and agriculture at Centre's cost will help the farm sector with men and money. A committee headed by Planning Commission member Mihir Shah is looking into the issue and may give its report by January.

 

Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said agriculture would have the maximum works allowed under the job scheme, which would result in greater convergence. The statement forms the core of his letter to the PM, rejecting Pawar's argument that the job scheme was hitting the farm sector and it be taken off during the agriculture season.