Geography

Wegner’s Continental Drift Theory

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Alfred Wegner was a German Meteorologist in the early 1900s who studied ancient climates. Like most people, the jigsaw puzzle appearance of the Atlantic continental margins caught his attention. He put together the evidence of ancient glaciations and the distribution of fossil to formulate a theory that the continents have moved over the surface of the Earth, sometimes forming large supercontinents and other times forming separate continental masses. He proposed that prior to about 200 million years ago all of the continents formed one large land mass that he called Pangea .

According to Alfred Wegener, the entire landmass of the globe was together about 280 million years ago. It was termed as Pangea, a super continent. The huge water body surrounding the Pangea was known as Panthalasa. From 80 to 150 million years ago, Pangea was broken latitudinally into northern and southern parts known as Laurasia (Angaraland) and Gondwanaland, respectively. Both of them drifted away and in between a shallow sea emerged by filling up the water from Panthalasa. It was known as Tethys sea. Later on Laurasia and Gondwanaland rifted and finally drifted to form the present day distribution of land and water on the earth .

 

Wegener’s explanation of continental drift in 1912 was that drifting occurred because of the earth’s rotation. Fossil records from separate continents, particularly on the outskirts of continents show the same species.

The evidence which gave rise to the theory of continental drift includes the following:

  • The coasts of the continents surrounding the Atlantic ocean could, if the continents were moved closer, fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
  • Living animals in widely separated lands are similar. For example India and Madagascar have similar mammals, which are quite different from those in Africa, even though it is now near to Madagascar.
  • Fossil plants in India, South Africa, Australia, Antarctica and South America are similar to each other. This so-called Glossopteris flora is quite different from plants found in other parts of the world at the same time.
  • There are numerous geological similarities between eastern South America and western Africa.
  • Apparent Polar Wandering: Paleomagnetism tells us how far from the poles rocks were when they formed, by looking at the angle of their magnetic field. The story told by different continents is contradictory, and can only be explained if we assume the continents have moved over time.There are ridges in the floors of the main oceans.Paleomagnetism shows that the sea floor has spread away from these ridges. Distinct patterns of stripes can be seen in the magnetism of rocks on either side of the ridges.

POULTRY FARMING and SILVER REVOLUTION IN INDIA

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POULTRY FARMING (SILVER REVOLUTION) IN INDIA

  • practice of raising poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, as a subcategory of animal husbandry, for the purpose of farming meat or eggs for food.
  • requires small capital and provides additional income and job opportunities to a large number of rural population in the shortest possible time.
  • The vast majority of poultry are farmed using factory farming techniques.
  • The contrasting method of poultry farming in free range and friction between the two main methods, has led to long term issues of ethical consumerism.
  • Opponents of the factory farming argue that it harms the environment and creates health risks, as well as abuses animals.
  • In contrast, proponents of factory farming highlight its increased productivity, stating that the animals are looked after in state-of-the art confinement facilities and are happy; that it is needed to feed the growing global human population; and that it protects the environment.

 

Poultry Farming in India

  • Poultry farming in India is quite old.
  • At present, more than three million people are directly or indirectly employed in poultry farming.
  • Further, landless labourers derive more than 50 per cent of their income from livestock, especially poultry.
  • Uninterrupted supplies of feed as well as avian influenza are critical for the continued robust growth of the poultry sector.
  • The first outbreak of avian influenza occurred in India in the state of Maharashtra in the Nandurbar district on 18th Feb. 2006.
  • The Central Poultry Development Organisation has been playing a pivotal role in the implementation of the policies of the Government with respect to poultry as a tool for alleviating nutritional hunger and palliating the impecuniosity’s of the resource-poor farmers, especially the women.
  • The mandate of the Central Poultry Development Organisation has been specifically revised, by restructuring all poultry units of this Department to focus on improved indigenous birds, which lay on an average 180-200 eggs per annum and have a vastly improved FCR ratio in terms of feed consumption and weight gain.
  • The Central Poultry Development Organisations have been entrusted with the responsibility of producing excellent germplasm in the form of day-old chicks and hatching eggs of these varieties like Nierbheek, Hitkari, Vanaraja, Shyama, Cari, Chabro, etc.
  • Besides, these organisations are also playing a crucial role in analysing feed samples.
  • A new Centrally-sponsored scheme called Assistance to State Poultry, is being implemented during the Tenth Plan where one time assistance is provided to suitably strengthen the farms in terms of hatching, brooding, and rearing of birds with provision for feed mill and their quality monitoring and in-house disease diagnostic facilities.
  • A new scheme, Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital Fund, has been launched during the 2004-05, wherein there is a provision to grant subsidy on interest payment.
  • The nodal agency for the implementation of this scheme is NABARD through nationalized commercial bank.

 

Indian Agriculture- Current Status, Issues & initiatives.

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Indian Agriculture

  • Mainstay of Indian Economy
  • Since independence, undergone a change from being the sector contributing the highest share to the GDP to one contributing the lowest share.
  • Agriculture is a state subject.
  • GDP contribution (Agriculture and allied sector)
    • 5 pc in 1950-51
    • 7 pc in 2008-09 and 14.6 pc in 2009-10. It was 19 pc in 2004-05. (2004-05 prices)
    • Agricultural GDP grew by 0.4 pc in 2009-10 and -0.1 pc in 2008-09.
  • Employment
    • 9 pc in 1961
    • 9 pc in 1999-2000
    • 2 pc in 2008-09
    • 1999-2000: Number at 237.8 million
  • GCF
    • Share in total GCF 2009-10: 7.7 pc (2004-05 prices)
    • GCF as % of agricultural GDP: 2007-08 – 16.3, 2008-09(P) – 19.67, 2009-10(QE) – 20.3
    • GCF as % of total GDP: 2007-08 – 2.69, 2008-09P – 3.09, 2009-10QE – 2.97
  • Contributes to agricultural growth and industrial demand
  • Contributed 10.59 pc of total exports in 2009-10.
  • Due to the large number of workforce in this sector, the growth of agriculture is a necessary condition for inclusive growth.
  • Food grains production
    • Highest in 2008-09: 234. 47 mn t
    • 2009-10: 218.11 mn t

Agriculture and Industry

  • Agriculture as
    • Supplier of wage goods to the industrial sector
    • Provider of raw materials
    • Consumer of agricultural capital goods produced by industry
  • Stagnation in agriculture
    • Get data on CAGR

Land Reforms

  • Great scarcity and uneven distribution of land
  • Focus of agricultural policies in the initial years was on institutional changes through land reforms
  • Two objectives of land reforms in India
    • To remove the impediments to agriculture that arise due to the character of agrarian structure in rural areas
    • To reduce or eliminate the exploitation of tenants/small farmers
  • Four main areas of land reforms in India
    • Abolition of intermediaries (zamindars)
    • Tenancy reforms
    • Land ceilings
    • Consolidation of disparate land holdings
  • Economic arguments for land reforms
    • Equity
    • Small farms tend to be more productive than large farms
    • Owner cultivated plots of land tend to be more productive that those under sharecropped tenancy
  • Abolition of zamindari was successful while the other three areas of land reforms met with limited success
  • Operation Bargha. Also, LR in Kerala
  • Regional trends in LR
  • Effect of land reforms
    • On tenants
      • Absentee landlordism declined
      • Tenancy declined. In some cases, tenants were evacuated from the land.
      • In some cases there was a drift of tenants into landless
      • Where tenants had not been evicted, tenancy was pushed underground
    • On equity
    • On productivity
    • On agrarian power relations
  • The National Commission on Farmers has placed the unfinished agenda in land reform first in its list of five factors central overcome an agrarian crisis
  • Way forwards
    • Land reforms that make tenancy legal and give well defined rights to tenants, including women, are now necessary

Technology and Green Revolution

  • In the early 60s India faced several crises
    • It had to fight two wars: Pakistan and China
    • Severe drought in 1965 and 1966
    • US was using PL-480 food supply as a means to twist India’s arms to meet US interests
  • This called for an overhaul of the agricultural strategy and the need to be self-sufficient in food production
  • Three phases of green revolution
    • 1966-1972
    • 1973-1980
    • 1981-1990
  • 1966-1972
    • C Subramaniam and MSS
    • 1965: Agricultural Prices Commission and Food Corporation of India set up
    • Introduction of HYV seed of wheat from Mexico created by CIMMYT
    • Under the new agricultural policy, the spread of HYVs was supported by public investments in fertilisers, power, irrigation and credit
    • Food grain production shot up
      • 1966-67: 74 mt
      • 1971-72: 105 mt
    • India became nearly self-sufficient in food grains
    • What led to the increased production?
      • Favourable pricing policy led to adequate incentives
      • National research system proceeded to indigenise the new seeds to tackle their shortcomings
      • Availability of inputs including canal water, fertilisers, power and credit
      • Subsidies
      • Role of credit began to be important after 1969
    • 1973-1980
      • This phase saw many challenges
      • Consecutive droughts in 1972-73
      • Oil shock
      • Production fell. Imports began again.
      • Thereafter, government increased fertiliser subsidies
      • Groundwater irrigation increased in  importance
      • HYV technology extended from wheat to rice
    • 1981-1990
      • 1986
        • Rice prod: 63.8 mt (1964: 37)
        • Wheat prod: 47 mt (1964: 12 mt)
      • Even when the ‘worst drought of the century’ struck in 1987, food needs could be adequately met due to buffer stocks
      • HYV technology spread eastward to states like West Bengal and Bihar
      • The impact of HYV technology had started to plateau however
      • Input subsidies kept on increasing
      • 1991: Input subsidy was 7.2 pc of agricultural GDP
    • What was the impact of highly regulated policies on agriculture?
      • There were barriers on pricing, movement and private trading of agricultural produce
      • The external sector was burdened with various tariff and non-tariff barriers to agricultural trade flows
      • The overvalued rupee produced an anti-export environment for agriculture
      • High protection to industry produced high industrial prices and adverse terms of trade for agriculture, reducing the relative profitability of the primary sector
    • What was the aim of agricultural pricing in pre-reform era?
      • Ensure inexpensive food for consumers
      • Protect farmers’ incomes from price fluctuations
      • Keep the balance of payments in check
    • Agriculture in post-reform era
      • Impact: 1. Growth in PCI led to an increase in food demand and also diversification. Terms of trade between agricultural and industrial prices improved in favour of agriculture
      • Increased profitability has led to increase in private investments which are now double the public investment in agriculture.
      • Growth rates
        • 1980s: 3 pc
        • 1990s:
        • 2000s:
        • Tenth Plan: 2.47 pc (as against 7.77 pc of overall economic growth)
      • This has however not translated into reduction of poverty
      • There has been an increase in both urban and rural inequality
    • Deceleration in agricultural growth
      • Declined during 90s
      • Deceleration in the growth of area, production and yield
      • Food production of Rabi crops has off late equalled the Kharif crops. This has to an extent reduced the over dependence on monsoon and imparted some stability to agricultural production
      • Area-wise, the deceleration was more in case of the Indo-Gangetic region
    • The instability in agricultural growth is more in states with high percentage of rain-fed areas
    • Acreage: declining trend in most crops during the period 1995-96 to 2004-05
    • Productivity: sharp decline (1995-2005). Healthy performance of cotton and maize though

Major factors affecting growth potential

  • Lack of long term policy perspective
    • No long term strategy for agricultural development
    • National Agricultural Policy was announced only in the year 2000
    • Sectoral priority to industry from the second FYP
    • Weaknesses of policies followed for agricultural development
      • Policies provided little incentives for the farmers as the prices were depressed and the sector was disprotected vis a vis other sectors of the economy
      • Inward-looking policies
      • Excessive price based focus than non-price factors like water, infrastructure, R&D, extension services etc
    • Investment in Agriculture and Subsidies
      • There have been cutbacks in agricultural investment and extension, but not in subsidies
      • Agricultural subsidy as pc of GDP:
      • Public investment in agriculture declined from 4 pc of agriculture GDP in 1976-1980 to
      • Subsidies on fertiliser, power and irrigation have contributed to soil degradation
      • It is important to reduce subsidies and increase public investment in crucial areas such as soil amelioration, watershed development, groundwater recharge, surface irrigation and other infrastructure
      • Public Sector GCF in agriculture stood at less than Rs 50 bn at 1993-94 prices
      • It is imperative to reduce these subsidies for stepping up public investment in agriculture
      • After 2003, the investments have started to increase. In  2006-07 public sector GCF was 3.7 pc of agricultural GDP and  total GCF was 12.5 pc of agricultural GDP
      • Three areas should get priority in public investments
        • Rural roads
        • Electricity
        • Irrigation projects
        • <all three of them are under Bharat Nirman project>
      • Complimentarity between public and private sector capital formation in agricultural sector. Public sector can create infrastructure while the private investment is essential for short term asset building mainly in the areas of mechanisation, ground levelling, private irrigation etc
    • Lagging research and development efforts
      • After the green revolution, there has been no major breakthrough in agricultural research. GM is a promising area but its safety has not yet been conclusively established.
      • Poor productivity in India compared to other countries and even compared to world average
      • India, however, has the largest public agricultural research establishment in the world. ICAR and agricultural universities
      • India spends only 0.3 pc of agricultural GDP for research as compared to 0.7 pc in other developing countries and 2-3 pc in case of developed countries.
      • There is hardly any scope for expansion of area. Hence, productivity must increase to keep up with the increasing demand. R&D has a lot of role to play here
      • New varieties of seeds need to be developed suited to different regions of the country
      • The research system should be responsive to the changing needs and circumstances
    • Technology generation and dissemination
      • Fixed land. Hence technology
      • Focus on yield as well as sustainable use of land
      • Focus should be on specific requirements of each agro-climatic region
      • Ned to develop much stronger linkages between extension and farmers
    • Rising soil degradation and over-exploitation of groundwater
      • Around 40 pc of Indian’s total geographical area are officially estimated as degraded
      • Soil health is deteriorating in Punjab and Haryana
    • Degradation of natural resources
    • Subsidies vis-a-vis investments and farm support systems
    • Agriculture’s terms of trade and farm price volatility
      • Ensure rapid development of backward farm linkages
    • Summary: Need to correct the policy bias against agriculture, make higher investments, develop new varieties of seeds, conserve natural resources like land and water and provide incentives to the farmers to adopt modernisation

 

Some Issues in Indian Agriculture

  • Low public investment
  • Halt in the modernization of agriculture
  • Agricultural indebtedness
  • Farmer suicides
  • Agricultural imports and future markets

Subsidies

  • Talk about bringing urea under the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) system and decontrolling its prices
  • Downsides
    • Fertilizer subsidy touched almost 1 lakh crore in 2008-09
    • Promotes overuse of fertiliser and thereby catalysing soil degradation
    • As a result, agricultural production in the bread baskets of the country has stagnated, posing a threat to the food security of the country
    • Drylands do not receive the benefit of crores of subsidy given in fertilizers

Government Intitiatives

  • Green Revolution
  • National Policy on Agriculture, 2002
  • National Policy for Farmers, 2007
    • Major policy provisions include provisions for asset reforms, water use efficiency, use of technology, inputs and services like soil health, good quality seeds, credit, support for women etc
    • Focus on millets as well

Agriculture during the 11th plan

  • Flagship schemes
    • Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
    • National Food Security Mission
    • National Horticulture Mission (2005-06)
    • Integrated Scheme of Pulses, Oilseeds and Maize
    • Technology Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture in North-east and Himalayan States (2001-02)
    • National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
    • National Mission on Micro Irrigation was launched in 2010 in addition to the earlier Micro Irrigation Scheme launched in 2006
    • National Bamboo Mission
  • Avg growth of 2.03 pc against the Plan target of 4 pc per annum.
  • For sustainable and inclusive growth
    • Must focus on the small and marginal farmers as well as female farmers
    • Group approach should be adopted so that they can reap economies of scale
    • Bring technology to farmers
    • Improving efficiency of investments
    • Diversifying while also protecting food security concerns
    • Fostering inclusiveness through a group approach
  • Irrigation
    • Envisages creation of an additional potential of 16 mn ha
    • Bharat Nirman aims to bring an additional 1 crore ha of land under irrigation by 2012
    • Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme still on

Irrigation

  • 45 pc of nearly 175 mn ha of cropped area is irrigated
  • Trends
    • Nearly trebled from 24 mn ha in 1953-64 to 75 mn ha in 1998-99
    • It accounts for the largest part of total investments in the agricultural sector
    • Importance of ground water as an irrigation source has also increased considerably
  • Uneven access
    • Inter-regional variance
    • Inequality in access within the farming population
  • Areas of concern
    • Depletion of ground water
    • Environmental concerns
    • Costs
  • Steps to take
    • Improving water use efficiency
    • Water governance
    • Economic incentives for efficient use
  • Govt Schemes
    • Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme was started during 1996-97. It extends assistance for the completion of incomplete irrigation schemes
  • In 11th FYP – refer previous section

Way Forward

  • Second green revolution (?)
  • Relook at all the issues offering forward and backward linkages in the agricultural production cycle
  • Focus on oilseeds, pulses and coarse cereals
  • Coarse cereals: high nutrition, can be grown in dry areas, enhance fertility of soil in rotation
  • PDS should be reformed: coarse cereals should also be provided through PDS
  • Timely availability of credit at affordable costs
  • Wider extension of insurance facilities to the farm sector
  • Water and irrigation infrastructure
  • Drip irrigation
  • Organic manures should be popularized and their commercial production encouraged
  • Educate farmers about technology and agricultural techniques

Food Security

  • Food security should also incorporate nutritional security. This requires emphasising the increase in production of pulses, fruits, vegetables, poultry and meat.
  • Interpreted broadly
  • Includes nutritional security which particularly incorporates maternal health and infant health due to the involvement of the nutritional aspect
  • Also covers employment security (?)
  • Affordability, accessibility and availability
  • Food security seeks to address all the three dimensions of hunger: chronic, hidden and transient
  • It also is the first step towards inclusive development

Public Distribution System

  • High procurement prices

Irrigation

  • The total irrigation potential in the country has increased from 81.1 mn hectares in 1991-92 to 108.2 mn hectares in March 2010.
  • 1996-97: Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme initiated
  • Reservoir Storage Capacity: 151.77 billion cubic metres

Agricultural Pricing

  • To ensure
    • Remunerative prices to growers
    • Encouraging higher investment and production
    • Safeguard the interest of consumers by making sure that adequate supplies are available
  • It also seeks to evolve a balanced and integrated price structure in the perspective of the overall needs of the economy

 

Investment in Agriculture

  • FAO estimates that global agricultural production needs to grow 70 pc by 2050 in order to meet projected food demand
  • Hence investment should grow by a whopping 50 pc
  • In India, public investment in agriculture has witnessed a steady decline from the 6th FYP onwards
  • Share of investment in agriculture has been between 8-10 pc
  • Most of this has gone into current expenditure in the form of increased output and input subsidies
  • Though private sector investment has been increasing, it has not proved to be enough
  • Decreased public spending in creation of supporting infrastructure in rural areas has discouraged private investment in this sector
  • Some of the measures could be
    • Investment in general service like R&D, education, marketing and rural infrastructure
    • Increased investment in rainfed areas
    • Private sector participation
    • Increased investment for sustainable development

 

WTO and Agriculture

 

  • Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations were concluded after 7 years of negotiation in December 1993
  • The WTO Agreement on Agriculture was one of the main agreements which was negotiated
  • Agreement on Agriculture contains provisions in three broad areas of agriculture
    • Market Access
    • Domestic Support
    • Export Subsidies
  • Market Access
    • This is the most important aspect of the negotiation because all countries restrict market access while only few have export subsidies and domestic support
    • This includes tariffication, tariff reduction and access opportunities
    • Tariffication means that all NTTBs should be withdrawn (such as quotas, minimum export prices etc)
    • Adopts a single approach using a tiered formula
    • Single approach: everyone except LDCs have to contribute by improving market access for all products
    • Sensitive products: All countries can list some sensitive products and are allowed flexibility in the way these products are treated, although even sensitive products have to see ‘substantial improvements’ in market access.
    • Special and differential treatment
      • Purpose: for rural development, food security and livelihood security
      • Specifically, special treatment is to be given to developing countries in ‘all elements of the negotiation’, including ‘lesser’ commitments in the formula and long implementation period
      • Special products: developing countries will be given additional flexibility for products that are specially important for their food security, livelihood security and rural development.
      • Special Safeguard Mechanisms: is intended to provide contingent protection to poor farmers in developing countries from negative shocks to import prices or from surges in imports. [Safeguards are contingency restrictions on imports taken temporarily to deal with special circumstances such as a sudden surge in imports. AoA has special provisions on safeguards. In agriculture safeguards, (unlike normal safeguards) can be triggered automatically when import volumes rise above a certain level or if prices fall below a certain level; and it is not necessary to demonstrate that serious injury is being caused to the domestic industry]
    • AoA requires (from 1995)
      • 36% average reduction by developed countries, with a minimum per tariff line reduction of 15% over six years
      • 24% average reduction by developing countries with a minimum per tariff line reduction of 10% over ten years
    • Domestic Support (subsidies)
      • AoA structures domestic support into three categories
        • Green Box
        • Amber Box
        • Blue Box
      • Green Box
        • Non (or minimal) trade distorting subsidies
        • They have to be government funded and must not involve price support
        • They tend to be programmes that are not targeted at particular products and include direct income supports for farmers that are not related to current production levels or prices. They also include environmental protection and regional developmental programmes. These subsidies are therefore allowed without limits
      • Amber Box
        • All domestic support measures considered production and trade fall into the amber box
        • These include measures to support prices, or subsidies directly related to production quantities
        • These supports are subject to limits which are allowed: 5% of total production for developed countries, 10% for developing countries
        • Reduction commitments are expressed in terms of a “Total Aggregate Measurement of Support” (Total AMS)
      • Blue Box
        • This is the “amber box with conditions” – conditions designed to reduce distortion
        • Any support that would normally be in the amber box, is placed in the blue box if the support also required farmers to limit production
        • At present there are no limits on spending on blue box subsidies.
      • Export subsidies
        • Developed countries are required to reduce their export subsidy by 36% (by value) or 21% (by volume) over the six years
        • For developing countries the % cuts are 24% (by value) or 14% (by volume) over 10 years
      • India’s commitment
        • As India was maintaining QRs due to balance of payments reasons (which is a GATT consistent measure), it did not have to undertake any commitments in regard to market access
      • In India, exporters of agricultural commodities do not get any direct subsidy. Indirect subsidies are given

 

 

Food Processing

  • Food processing is a large sector that covers activities such as agriculture, horticulture, plantation, animal husbandry and fisheries
  • Ministry of Food Processing indicated the following segments within the Food Processing industry:
    • Dairy, fruits and vegetable processing
    • Grain processing
    • Meat and poultry processing
    • Fisheries
    • Consumer foods including packaged foods, beverages and packaged drinking water
  • Industry is large and has grown after 1991. However, of the country’s total agriculture and food produce, only 2 per cent is processed.
  • FP has 9% share in manufacturing
  • Structure
    • 42 pc: Unorganised
    • 33 pc: SSI
    • 25 pc: Organised

 

Constraints & Drivers of Growth
Changing lifestyles, food habits, organized food retail and urbanization are the key factors for processed foods in India, these are post-liberalization trends and they give boost to the sector.
There has been a notable change in consumption pattern in India. Unlike earlier, now the share and growth rates for fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy have gone higher compared to cereals and pulses. Such a shift implies a need to diversify the food production base to match the changing consumption preferences.
Also in developed countries it has been observed that there has been a shift from carbohydrate staple to animal sources and sugar. Going by this pattern, in future, there will be demand for prepared meals, snack foods and convenience foods and further on the demand would shift towards functional, organic and diet foods.
Some of the key constraints identified by the food processing industry include:

  • Poor infrastructure in terms of cold storage, warehousing, etc
  • Inadequate quality control and testing infrastructure
  • Inefficient supply chain and involvement of middlemen
  • High transportation and inventory carrying cost
  • Affordability, cultural and regional preference of fresh food
  • High taxation
  • High packaging cost

In terms of policy support, the ministry of food processing has taken the following initiatives:

  • Formulation of the National Food Processing Policy
  • Complete de-licensing, excluding for alcoholic beverages
  • Declared as priority sector for lending in 1999
  • 100% FDI on automatic route
  • Excise duty waived on fruits and vegetables processing from 2000 – 01
  • Income tax holiday for fruits and vegetables processing from 2004 – 05
  • Customs duty reduced on freezer van from 20% to 10% from 2005 – 06
  • Implementation of Fruit Products Order
  • Implementation of Meat Food Products Order
  • Enactment of FSS Bill 2005
  • Food Safety and Standards Bill, 2005
  • Mega Food Parks

Apart from these initiatives, the Centre has requested state Governments to undertake the following reforms:

  • Amendment to the APMC Act
  • Lowering of VAT rates
  • Declaring the industry as seasonal
  • Integrate the promotional structure

 

Plan Schemes

During the 10th Plan, the Ministry implemented Plan schemes for Technology Upgradation/Modernization/Establishment of Food Processing Industries, Infrastructure Development, Human Resource Development, Quality Assurance, R&D and other promotional activities.

In the 11th Plan, it has been proposed to continue assistance to the above schemes with higher levels of assistance. In the 11th Plan, the Ministry proposes to launch a revamped Infrastructure Scheme under which it will promote setting up of Mega Food Parks, cold chain infrastructure, value added centres and packaging centres. The Mega Food Park Scheme will provide backward and forward linkages as well as reliable and sustainable supply chain. The emphasis will be on building strong linkages with agriculture and horticulture, enhancing project implementation capabilities, increased involvement of private sector investments and support for creation of rural infrastructure to ensure a steady supply of good quality agri/horticulture produce. It will provide a mechanism to bring farmers, processors and retailers together and link agricultural production to the market so as to ensure maximization of value addition, minimize wastages and improve farmers’ income. The Mega Food Park would be a well-defined agri/horticultural-processing zone containing state of the art processing facilities with support infrastructure and well established supply chain. The primary objective of the proposed scheme is to facilitate establishment of integrated value chain, with processing at the core and supported by requisite forward and backward linkages. It is envisaged that the implementation of the projects would be assisted by professional Project Management Agencies (PMA) from concept to commissioning. In 11th Plan it is planned to support establishment of thirty (30) Mega Food Parks in various parts of the country.

Vision 2015 on Food Processing Industries

A vision, strategy and action plan has also been finalized for giving boost to growth of food processing sector. The objective is to increase level of processing of perishable food from 6% to 20%, value addition from 20% to 35% and share in global food trade from 1.6% to 3%. The level of processing for fruits and vegetables is envisaged to increase from the present 2.2% to 10% and 15% in 2010 and 2015 respectively. The Cabinet has approved the integrated strategy for promotion of agri-business and vision, strategy and action plan for the Food Processing Sector, based on the recommendations made by the Group of Ministers (GOM).

Integrated Food Law

An Integrated Food Law, i.e. Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 was notified on 24.8.2006. The Act enables in removing multiplicity of food laws and regulatory agencies and provide single window to food processing sector. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has been designated as the nodal Ministry for administration and implementation of the Act.

National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship & Management (NIFTEM)

The Ministry has set up a National Institute of Food technology Entrepreneurship & Management (NIFTEM) at Kundli (Haryana). The Institute will function as a knowledge centre in food processing. Certificate of Incorporation of NIFTEM as a section 25 Company under the Companies act 1956 has been obtained.

 

SWOT Analysis of Food–Processing Industry
Strengths

  • Abundant availability of raw material
  • Priority sector status for agro-processing given by the central Government
  • Vast network of manufacturing facilities all over the country
  • Vast domestic market

Weaknesses

  • Low availability of adequate infrastructural facilities
  • Lack of adequate quality control and testing methods as per international standards
  • Inefficient supply chain due to a large number of intermediaries
  • High requirement of working capital.
  • Inadequately developed linkages between R&D labs and industry.
  • Seasonality of raw material

Opportunities

  • Large crop and material base offering a vast potential for agro processing activities
  • Setting of SEZ/AEZ and food parks for providing added incentive to develop greenfield projects
  • Rising income levels and changing consumption patterns
  • Favourable demographic profile and changing lifestyles
  • Integration of development in contemporary technologies such as electronics, material science, bio-technology etc. offer vast scope for rapid improvement and progress
  • Opening of global markets

Threats

  • Affordability and cultural preferences of fresh food
  • High inventory carrying cost
  • High taxation
  • High packaging cost

 

Subsidies

 

Fertilizer Policy:    Urea is the only fertilizer under statutory price control.  Government of India has introduced nutrient based subsidy with effect from 1st April, 2010 in respect of phosphatic and potassic  fertilizers. Under the policy, subsidy is based  on the nutrient (N,P,K and S) content of the  decontrolled P and K fertilizers. Price of Urea has been increased by 10% while price of other subsidized fertilizers are being maintained around current levels. Additional subsidy on micronutrients has been introduced on Boron and Zinc, to begin with.  In order to promote the concept of balanced use of fertilizers and to encourage use of micronutrients, several fertilizers fortifed with Boron and Zinc have been incorporated in the Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985.

 

 

 

 Air masses and fronts

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Airmasses

 

An airmass is a large body of air with relatively uniform thermal and moisture characteristics. Airmasses cover large regions of the earth, typically several hundred thousand square kilometers. Airmasses can be as deep as the depth of the troposphere or as shallow as 1 to 2 km.
Airmasses form when air remains over a relatively flat region of the earth* with homogeneous surface characteristics for an extended period of time. ( Canadian and Siberian plains, cool oceanic regions such as the North Atlantic and Pacific, deserts, such as the Sahara and the American southwest, and tropical oceanic regions including the equatorial Atlantic and Pacific, and smaller water bodies such as the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico).

Polar air masses, containing little moisture and low temperatures move downward from the poles.  Air masses that form over water are generally moist, and those that form over the tropical oceans are both moist and warm. Because of the Coriolis effect due to the Earth’s rotation, air masses generally move across North America from west to east.  But, because of the differences in moisture and heat, the collision of these air masses can cause instability in the atmosphere.

Polar air mass is cold and tropical air mass is warm. When cold air mass and warm air mass blow against each other, the boundary line of convergence separating the two air masses is termed as front. When the warm air mass, moves upward over the cold air mass the front formed in such a situation is called warm front. On the contrary, when the cold air mass advances faster and undercuts the warm air mass and forces the warm air upwards, the front so formed is called cold front. The frontal surface of cold front is steeper than that of a warm front . A prevailing air mass in any region – polar, tropical, maritime or continental largely controls the regions general weather.

Different air masses are:-

  1. Maritime tropical (mT)
    ii. Continental tropical (cT)
    iii. Maritime polar (mP)
    iv. Continental polar (cP)
    v. Continental arctic (cA).

Where ‘m’ stands for Maritime; ‘c’ stands for continental; ‘T’ stands for tropical; ‘P’ stands for polar and ‘A’ stands for arctic region.

Fronts

An important properties of air is that it is a poor conductor of energy. This means that when two different bodies of air come together, they do not readily mix. Rather, each body of air will retain its individual properties, and a boundary forms between them. When two large air masses meet, the boundary that separates them is called a front. Fronts represent fairly abrupt transitions between two large air masses. The warm, moist air might dominate an area hundreds of miles across, while in another part of the continent a cold, dry air mass holds sway over an equally large region. However, where the two air masses meet, the transition layer between them may be only a few tens of miles across, clearly a sharp transition between two massive bodies of air.

Fronts are recognized by the following properties:-

  • Sharp temperature changes over a relatively short distance. Sometimes change of 10 to 20 C may be observed.
  • Change in moisture content
  • Rapid shifts in wind direction
  • Pressure changes
  • Clouds and precipitation patterns

Types of Fronts:-

Warm Fronts: A warm front occurs when a warm air mass advances and replaces a cold air mass. On a weather map, a warm front is depicted as a red arc, with red semicircles pointing in the direction of the advancing warm air.

Cold Fronts :-A cold front occurs when a mass of cold air advances into a region of warmer air.

Stationary Fronts:- A stationary front forms when a cold front or warm front stops moving. This happens when two masses of air are pushing against each other but neither is powerful enough to move the other. Winds blowing parallel to the front instead of perpendicular can help it stay in place.

Occluded Fronts:- Sometimes a cold front follows right behind a warm front. A warm air mass pushes into a colder air mass (the warm front) and then another cold air mass pushes into the warm air mass (the cold front). Because cold fronts move faster, the cold front is likely to overtake the warm front. This is known as an occluded front

 

 

SECOND GREEN REVOLUTION

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SECOND GREEN REVOLUTION

The main objectives of the second Green Revolution are:

(i) To raise agricultural productivity to promote food security

(ii) More emphasis on bio-technology

(iii) To promote sustainable agriculture

(iv) To become self-sufficient in staple food, pulses, oil seeds, and industrial raw material

(v) To increase the per capita income of the farmers and to raise their standard of living.

 

Green Revolution in India

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Green Revolution in India

  • A term coined to describe the emergence and diffusion of new seeds of cereals.
  • Norman-e-Borlaug is the Father of Green Revolution in the world, while Dr. M.S. Swami Nathan is known as the Father of Green Revolution in India.
  • The new cereals were the product of research work and concentrated plant breeding with the objective of creating High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of use to the developing countries.
  • New varieties of wheat were first bred in Mexico in the 1950s and that of rice, like IR-8 (miracle rice) at the International Rice Research Institute, Manila, (Philippines in the 1960s).
  • The increase in the yield from the new seeds has been spectacular as during the last forty years, agricultural production, particularly of wheat and rice, has experienced a great spurt and this has been designated as the Green Revolution.
  • The Green Revolution has been used to mean two different things. Some experts of agriculture use it for referring to a broad transformation of agricultural sector in the developing countries to reduce food shortages.
  • Others use it when referring to the specific plant improvements, notably the development of HYVs.
  • Whatsoever the meaning of Green Revolution may be taken as, the adoption and diffusion of new seeds of wheat and rice has been considered as a significant achievement as it offered great optimism.
  • In fact, these varieties of seeds have revolutionised the agricultural landscape of the developing countries and the problem of food shortage has been reduced.
  • In India, hybridisation of selected crops, i.e. maize, bajra (bulrush millets), and millets began in 1960.
  • The Mexican dwarf varieties of wheat were tried out on a selected scale in 1963-64. Exotic varieties of rice such as Taichung Native I were introduced in India in 1964.
  • The diffusion of HYVs, however, became fully operational in the country in the Kharif season of 1965-66.
  • The diffusion of the new seeds was mainly in the Satluj-Ganga Plains and the Kaveri Delta.
  • Subsequently, a number of varieties of wheat and rice were developed by the Indian scientists and adopted by the Indian farmers.

 

Merits of the High Yielding Varieties

The High Yielding Varieties have certain advantages over the traditional varieties of cereals which are given as under:

 

  1. Shorter Life Cycle
  2. Economize on Irrigation Water
  3. Generate more Employment

Geographical Constraints in the Adoption of New Seeds

The new seeds are less resistant to droughts and floods and need an efficient management of water, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides.

The conditions required for the good harvest of new seeds have been described below:

 

  1. Irrigation
  2. Availability of Chemical Fertilisers
  3. Plant Protection Chemicals
    • The new seeds are very delicate and highly susceptible to pests and diseases.
    • The danger of pests and insects may be reduced by using plant protection chemicals.

 

  • The problems of crop disease and pests may also be tackled by timely application of insecticides and pesticides

 

  1. Capital Constraint
  1. Mechanization
  1. Marketing and Storage Facilities
  1. Extension Service
  1. Human Factor

Environmental and Ecological Implications of Green Revolution

Some of the environmental and ecological problems that emerged out of the cultivation of the High Yielding Varieties are depletion of forests, reduction in pastures, salination, water-logging, depletion of underground water-table, soil erosion, change in the soil chemistry, reduction in bio-diversity, decline in soil fertility, silting of rivers, increase in weeds, emergence of numerous new plant diseases, and health hazards.

 

An overview of these environmental and ecological problems has been given here.

  1. Salination

 The saline and alkaline affected tracts, locally known as kallar or thur in Punjab and kallar or reh in Uttar Pradesh have expanded and increased in area.The problem of salinity and alkalinity can be solved by use of manure (cow dung, compost, and green manure) and by a judicious selection of leguminous crops in the rotation

 

  1. Waterlogging

Water logging is the other major problem associated with over-irrigation.The progressive and ambitious cultivators of the irrigated areas of these districts have changed their cropping patterns and have introduced rice and wheat in place of bajra, pulses, cotton, and fodder.Repeated irrigation of these crops in the summer and winter seasons have resulted into waterlogged condition, especially along the canals.

 

  1. Soil erosion
  2. Pollution:
  3. Lowering of the Underground Water-Table:
  4. Deforestation
  5. Noise Pollution:
  6. Health Hazards:

 

Green Revolution—Achievements, Problems and Prospects

Green Revolution—Achievements

The main achievements of Green Revolution may be summarized as under:

 

  1. The production and productivity of wheat, rice, maize, and bajra has increased substantially.
  2. India has become almost self-sufficient in the matter of staple foods.
  3. The double cropped area has increased; thereby intensification of the Indian agriculture has increased.
  4. In the areas where Green Revolution is a success, the farmers have moved from subsistent to market oriented economy, especially in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and the plain districts of Uttarakhand (Hardwar and Udhamsinghnagar).
  5. The adoption of High Yielding Varieties under the Green Revolution has generated more rural and urban employment.
  6. Green Revolution has increased the income of farmers and landless labourers, especially that of the big farmers and the semi-skilled rural workers. Thus Green Revolution has increased rural prosperity.
  7. Green Revolution has created jobs in the areas of biological (seed fertilisers) innovations, and repair of agricultural equipments and machinery.

 

Green Revolution—Problems and Prospects

  1. Depletion of soil owing to the continuous cultivation of soil exhaustive crops like rice and wheat.
  2. Depletion of underground water table due to over-irrigation of more moisture requiring crops like rice and wheat.
  3. Green Revolution has increased the income disparity amongst the farmers.
  4. Green Revolution led to polarization of the rural society. It has created three types of conflicts in the rural community, namely, between large and small farmers, between owner and tenant farmers, between the employers and employees on agricultural farms.
  5. Green Revolution has displaced the agricultural labourers, leading to rural unemployment. The mechanical innovations like tractors have displaced the agricultural labour. 6. Agricultural production in the Green Revolution areas is either stationary or has shown declining trend.
  6. Some valuable agricultural lands have submerged under water (water-logging) or are adversely affected by salinity and alkalinity.
  7. Green Revolution is crop specific. It could not perform well in the case pulses and oil-seeds.
  8. The traditional institution of Jijmani system has broken. Consequently, the barbers, carpenters, iron-smith, and watermen have migrated to the urban areas.
  9. The soil texture, structure, soil chemistry, and soil fertility have changed.
  10. About 60 per cent of agricultural land in the country remains unaffected by Green Revolution.
  11. Green Revolution technologies are scale neutral but not resource neutral.
  12. Punjab feeds the nation but farmers in the state, especially in the Malwa region fall prey to cancer. The take ‘Cancer Train’ to Bikaner for cheap treatment.

 

Tropical and temperate cyclones

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The atmospheric disturbances which involve a closed circulation about a low pressure centre,
anticlockwise in the northern atmosphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere are called
cyclones. They fall into the following two broad categories: (a) Extra-tropical or Temperate and (b) tropical cyclones.

(a) Temperate Cyclones
Temperate cyclones are formed along a front in mid-latitudes between 35° and 65° N and S. They blow from west to east and are more pronounced in winter season.Temperate cyclones are mainly observed in Atlantic Ocean and North West Europe . They are generally extensive having a thickness of 9 to 11 kilometers and with 1040-1920 km short and long diametres respectively. Each such cyclone alternates with a high pressure anticyclone. The weather associated with the cyclone is drizzling rain and of cloudy nature for number of days. The anticyclone weather is sunny, calm and of cold waves.
(b) Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclones are formed along the zone of confluence of north-east and south-east trade winds. This zone is known as the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Cyclones generally occur in Mexico, South-Western and North Pacific Ocean, North Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. These cyclones differ from temperate cyclones in many ways. There are no clear warm and cold
fronts as temperature seldom differs in Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. They do not have well-defined pattern of winds and are energised by convectional currents within them. Generally, these are shallow depressions and the velocity of winds is weak. These are not accompanied by anticyclones. The arrangement of isobars is almost circular. These are not extensive and have the diametres of 160-640km. However, a few of them become very violent and cause destruction in the regions of their influence. They are called hurricanes in the Carribean Sea, typhoons in the China, Japan and phillipines,

 

 

 

 

 

 Evaporation and Condensation: dew, frost, fog, mist and cloud, rainfall types

 Evaporation 

 

Evaporation is the process of which water changes from its liquid state to gaseous form. This process takes place at all places, at all times and at all temperatures except at dew point or when the air is saturated. The rate of evaporation is affected by several factors. Important among them are as under:
(i) Accessibility of water bodies :-The rate of evaporation is higher over the oceans than on the continents.
(ii) Temperature :-when the temperature of an air is high, it is capable of holding more moisture in its body than at a low temperature. It is because of this that the rate of evaporation is more in summers than in winters. That is why wet clothes dry faster in summers than in winters.
(iii) Air moisture :-If the relative humidity of a sample of air is high, it is capable of holding less moisture. On the other hand if the relative humidity is less, it can take more moisture. Hence, the rate of evaporation will be high. Aridity or dryness of the air also increases the rate of evaporation. During rainy days, wet clothes take more time to dry owing to the high percentage of moisture content in the air, than on dry days.
(iv) Wind :-If there is no wind, the air which overlies a water surface will get saturated through evaporation. This evaporation will cease once saturation point is reached. However, if there is wind, it will blow that saturated or nearly saturated air away from the evaporating surface and replace it with air of lower humidity. This allows evaporation to continue as long as the wind keep blowing saturated air away and bring drier air.
(v) Cloud cover :-The cloud cover prevents solar radiation and thus influences the air temperatures at a place. This way, it indirectly controls the process of evaporation.

Condensation

Condensation the process by which water vapor (gas) in the atmosphere turns into water (liquid state). It is the opposite of evaporation. This stage is very important because it is the cloud formation stage. Cool temperatures are essential for condensation to happen, because as long as the temperature in the atmosphere is high, it can hold the water vapor and delay condensation.

When a gas is cooled sufficiently or, in many cases, when the pressure on the gas is increased sufficiently, the forces of attraction between molecules prevent them from moving apart, and the gas condenses to either a liquid or a solid.

  • Example: Water vapor condenses and forms liquid water (sweat) on the outside of a cold glass or can.
  • Example: Liquid carbon dioxide forms at the high pressure inside a CO2 fire extinguisher.

The temperature of the air falls in two ways. Firstly, cooling occurs around very small particles of freely floating air when it comes in contact with some colder object. Secondly, loss in air temperature takes place on a massive scale due to rising of air to higher altitudes. The condensation takes place around the smoke, salt and dust particles which attract water vapour to condense around them. They are called hygroscopic nuclei. When the relative humidity of an air is high, a slight cooling is required to bring the temperature down below dew point. But when the relative humidity is low and the temperature of the air is high, a lot of cooling of the air will be necessary to bring the temperature down below dew point. Thus, condensation is directly related to the relative humidity and the rate of cooling.

here are four types of condensation and the worst period for such problems is September to May:-

  1. Surface condensation. This is the most familiar type of condensation, taking the form of water on window panes, cold wall surfaces and tiles.
  2. Interstitial condensation. This is condensation forming between walls or within the building structure.
  3. Reverse condensation. This is also called “Summer condensation”. If rains drenches a wall and strong sunlight then dries it, the heat can actually force water vapour into the wall. When it then meets an insulated surface, it forms condensation at that barrier.
  4. Radiation condensation. This is sometimes called “clear night condensation“. If there is a sudden temperature drop at night, it can cause condensation on the underside of roof coverings, for example: often this drips onto the insulation quilting and causes a distinctive mottled effect upon the quilting.

 

Dew, Frost, Fog, Mist and Cloud

Dew: When the atmospheric moisture is condensed and deposited in the form of water droplets on cooler surface of solid objects such as grass blades, leaves of plants and trees and stones, it is termed as dew. Condensation in dew form occurs when there is clear sky, little or no wind, high relative humidity and cold long nights. These conditions lead to greater terrestrial radiation and the solid objects become cold enough to bring the temperature of air down below dew point. In this process the extra moisture of the air gets deposited on these objects. Dew is formed when dew point is above freezing point. Dew formation can be seen if the water is poured into a glass from the bottle kept in a refrigerator. The outer cold surface of the glass brings the temperature of the air in contact with the surface down below dew point and extra moisture gets deposited on the outer wall of the glass.
Frost: When the dew point is below freezing point, under above mentioned conditions, the condensation of extra moisture takes place in the form of very minute particles of ice crystals. It is called frost. In this process, the air moisture condenses directly in the form of tiny crystal of ice. This form of condensation is disastrous for standing crops such as potato, peas, pulses, grams, etc. It also creates problems for road transport system.
Mist and Fog: When condensation takes place in the air near the earth’s surface in the form of tiny droplets of water hanging and floating in the air, it is called mist. In mist the visibility is more than one kilometer and less than two kilometers. But when the visibility is reduced to less than one kilometer, it is called fog. Ideal conditions for the formation of mist and fog are clear sky, calm and cold winter nights.
Cloud: Clouds are visible aggregates of water droplets, ice particles, or a mixture of both along with varying amounts of dust particles. A typical cloud contains billions of droplets having diameters on the or- der 060.01 to 0.02 mm; yet liquid or solid water accounts for less than 10 parts per million of the cloud volume. Clouds are generally classified on the basis of their general form or appearance and alti- tude.

Rainfall types.

Precipitation or Rainfall is defined as water in liquid or solid forms falling to the earth. It happens when continuous condensation in the body of air helps the water droplets or ice crystals to grow in size and weight that the air cannot hold them and as a result these starts falling on the ground under the force of gravity.

Different types of Rainfall are:-

  • Convectional Rainfall :-Excessive heating of the earth’s surface in tropical region results in the vertical air currents. These currents, lift the warm moist air to higher strata of atmosphere. When-the temperature of such a humid air starts falling below dew point continuously, clouds are formed. These clouds cause heavy rainfall which is associated with lightning and thunder. This type of rainfall is called conventional rainfall. It is very common in equatorial region where it is a daily phenomenon in the afternoon
    (b) Orographic or Relief Rainfall :-Orographic rainfall on formed where air rises and cools because of a topographic barrier. When their temperature fall below dew point, clouds are formed. These clouds cause widespread rain on the windward slopes of the mountain range. This type of rain is called orographic rainfall. However when these winds cross over the mountain range and descend along the leeward slopes, they get warm and cause little rain. Region lying on the leeward side of the mountain receiving little rain is called rainshadow area (see figure 12.4). A famous example of orographic rainfall is Cherrapunji on the southern margin of the Khasi Hills in Meghalaya India.
    (c) Convergence or Cyclonic Rainfall:-Convergence rainfall, produced where air currents converge and rise. In tropical regions where opposing air currents have comparable temperatures, the lifting is more or less vertical and is usually accompanied by con- vention. Convectioned activity frequently occurs along fronts where the temperature of the air masses concerned are quite different. Mixing of air along the front also probably contributes to condensation and therefore to the frontal rainfall. When two large air masses of different densities and temperature meet, the warmer moist air mass is lifted above the colder one. When this happens, the rising warm air mass condenses to form clouds which cause extensive down pour. This rainfall is associated with thunder and lightning. ‘This type of rainfall is also called frontal rainfall. This type of rainfall is associated with both warm and cold fronts, (fig. 12.5) It is gener- ally steady and may persist for a whole day or even longer.

 

 

DRY FARMING IN INDIA

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DRY FARMING IN INDIA

  • The spread in the regions where the average annual rainfall is less than 75 cm.
  • rainfall is scanty and uncertain, where hot and dry conditions prevail.
  • It is not only that the average annual rainfall is low, the variability of rainfall in these areas varies between 25 to 60 per cent.
  • Agriculture belongs to fragile, high risking and low productive agricultural ecosystem.
  • The areas in which more than 75 cm of average annual rainfall is recorded are known as the areas of rain-fed agriculture.
  • In India dry-lands cover about 32 million hectares or about 25 per cent of the total arable land.
  • The dry farming areas cover the greater parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Moreover, there are small tracts of dry land farming in Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, harkhand, Orissa, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
  • These areas having scanty rainfall and high variability of rainfall are adversely affected by erratic precipitation, frequent droughts, high temperature, and high wind velocity resulting in soil erosion.

 

Significant Features of Dry Farming

  • Moisture conservation is basic to dry farming. In order to achieve this objective, the field is ploughed repeatedly, especially during the rainy season.
  • Sowing of crops in alternate years or fallowing of land after each harvesting of crop. The fallowing of agricultural land helps in the recuperation of soil fertility.
  • Pulverisation of the soil before sowing.
  • Regular hoeing and weeding of the crop. Hoeing is generally done before sun-rise so that the night dew may be mixed into the soil to provide moisture to the crops.
  • Covering of the land with straw to prevent evaporation of the soil moisture and to control soil erosion.
  • Livestock keeping and dairying are also important allied agricultural activities in the dry farming regions.

Crops

  • The main crops grown in the dry farming areas are coarse, grains (maize, millets, bajra), pulses, groundnut, oilseeds and fodder.
  • Though 75 per cent of the total population of dry-farming regions are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture, their per capita income, and standard of living are significantly low.

 

Main Problems of Dry Farming

The main problems of dry farming agriculture are as under:

  1. Scarcity of precipitation, erratic occurrence of rains leading to famines, droughts, and floods.
  2. The soils, being sandy, lack in humus and organic nutrients.
  3. The dry farming areas are highly vulnerable to soil erosion.
  4. These are low yields per unit area.
  5. In the absence of moisture and irrigation, the use of High Yielding Varieties and new technology is not possible.
  6. Most of the farmers in the dry farming regions being poor are not able to apply the new costly inputs.
  7. These areas are not having the basic irrigation and other infrastructural facilities, like roads, marketing and storage

 

Strategy for Development

  • As stated earlier, agriculture is a highly vulnerable occupation in the scanty rainfall recording areas in which dry farming is practiced.
  • In dry farming areas, water harvesting should be done. The government and other non-government agencies should provide the necessary guidance to the people.
  • Seeds of food crops which are drought resistant should be provided to the farmers at a subsidized rate.
  • Efforts should be made to check soil erosion by adopting soil conservation practices.
  • The farmers should space their crops at a wide gap and there should be regular weeding and hoeing.
  • Seeds of the quick and short duration maturing crops should be developed.
  • Cultivation of crops requiring more moisture should be done in the low lying areas, especially in the lower parts of the catchment.
  • Cotton should be grown only in the areas where rainfall is more dependable or sprinkle irrigation is available.
  • Soil fertility should be enhanced by applying cow dung and compost manures.
  • Repeated tilling of the field is required during the rainy season.
  • Research should be promoted in the dry land farming.

 

SERICULTURE IN INDIA

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SERICULTURE IN INDIA

Production

  • Silkworm larvae are fed on mulberry leaves and after the fourth molt, they climb a twig placed near them and spin their silken cocoons.
  • The silk is a continuous-filament fibre consisting of fibroin protein, secreted from two salivary glands in the head of each larva, and a gum called sericin, which cements the two filament together.
  • The sericin is removed by placing the cocoons in hot water, which frees silk filaments and readies them for reeling.
  • The immersion of cocoons in hot water also kills the silkworm larvae.
  • In India, silk worms thrive on the leaves of mulberry, mahua, sal, ber, and kusum trees. India ranks third among the silk producing countries of the world.
  • Silk production is mainly confined to areas between 15° and 34° N latitudes.
  • The state of Karnataka is the largest producer of raw silk (65°/o) followed by Andhra Pradesh (17%) West Bengal (8°/o), Tamil Nadu (5°/o), and Assam (3%).

 

AQUA CULTURE

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AQUA CULTURE

  • the cultivation of aquatic organisms.
  • aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, implies the cultivation of aquatic populations under controlled conditions.
  • Mariculture refers to aquaculture practiced in marine environments.
  • Particular kinds of aquaculture include agriculture (the production of kelp, seaweed, and other algae), fish farming, shrimp farming, shellfish farming, and growing of cultured pearls.

Growth and Development of Aquaculture

  • has been used in China since circa 2500 BC.
  • practice of aquaculture gained prevalence in Europe during theMiddle Ages since fish were scarce and thus expensive.
  • Americans were rarely involved in aquaculture until the late 20th century but California residents harvested wild kelp and made legal efforts to manage the supply starting circa 1900, later even producing it as a wartime resource.
  • the rise of aquaculture is a contemporary phenomenon.

 

Types of Aquaculture 1. Algaculture

  • A form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae.
  • Majority of algae are intentionally cultivated fall into the category of microalgae, also referred to as phytoplankton, microphytes, or planktonic algae.
  • Macro algae, commonly known as seaweed, also have many commercial and industrial uses, but due to their size and the specific requirements of the environment in which they need to grow, they do not lend themselves as readily to cultivation on a large scale as microalgae and are most often harvested wild from the ocean.

 

  1. Fish Farming
  • The principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture.
  • Involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food.
  • Fish species raised by fish farms include salmon, catfish, tilapia, cod, carp, trout, and others.
  • Increasing demands on wild fisheries by commercial fishing operations have caused widespread overfishing.
  • Offers an alternative solution to the increasing market demand for fish and fish protein.

 

  1. Freshwater Prawn Farming
  • An aquaculture business designed to raise and produce freshwater prawn or shrimp for human consumption.
  • Shares many characteristics with, and many of the same problems as, marine shrimp farming.
  • Unique problems are introduced by the development life cycle of the main species (the giant river prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergiz).
  1. Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture
  • A practice in which the by- products (wastes) from one species are recycled to become inputs ( fertilisers, food) for another.
  • Fed aquaculture (e.g. fish, shrimp) is combined with inorganic extractive (e.g. seaweed) and organic extractive (e.g. shellfish) aquaculture to create balanced systems for environmental sustainability (biomitigation), economic stability (product diversification and risk reduction), and social acceptability (better management practices).
  1. Mariculture
  • a specialised branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other products in the open ocean, an enclosed section of the ocean, or in tanks, ponds or raceways which are filled with seawater.
  • the farming of marine fish, prawns, or oysters in saltwater ponds.
  • Non-food products produced by mariculture include fish meal, nutrient agar, jewelleries ( e.g. cultured pearls), and cosmetics.

 

  1. Shrimp Farming
  • an aquaculture for the cultivation of marine shrimp for human consumption.
  • Commercial shrimp farming began in the 1970s, and production grew steeply, particularly to match the market demands of the US, Japan, and Western Europe.
  • About 75°/o of farmed shrimp is produced in Asia, in particular in China and Thailand.
  • The other 25% is produced mainly in Latin America, where Brazil is the largest producer.
  • The largest exporting nation is Thailand.
  • Shrimp farming on modern lines is being done in Andhra Pradesh (Nellore District), a state of India (see Blue Revolution)

Strategies for the Fisheries Development

  • Under the Jawahar Rozgar Yojna, village panchayats have been authorised to carry out fisheries development programmes in respective villages.
  • Under the programme of Development of Model Fishermen Villages, basic civic amenities such as housing, drinking water and construction of community halls for fishermen villages are provided.
  • Brackish Fish Farmers Development Agencies (BFDA) functioning in the coastal areas of the country is providing a package of technical, financial and extension support to shrimp farmers.
  • Insurance facilities have been extended to fishermen for the insurance and security of their life.
  • The government is collecting data on the micro-climates of various water bodies to promote fisheries in the country.

Problems and Prospects

  1. Most of the fishermen are poor. They are not able to purchase good equipment to improve the harvest of fish.
  2. The water bodies (rivers, lakes, ponds, and coastal areas of the seas) are increasingly polluted.
  3. The area of paddy fields in which fisheries used to be kept is also decreasing under the impact of fast growth of population, industrialisation, and urbanisation.
  4. Adequate information about the environment of water-bodies (ponds, lakes, rivers, and sea is not available).
  5. Unpredictable nature of monsoon as a result of which the inland fisheries suffer adversely.
  6. Problem of marketing, storage, and transportation.
  7. Inadequacy of research and extension service facilities.
  8. There is need of Pink Revolution (Prawns) in the coastal regions of the country.

 

BLUE REVOLUTION IN INDIA

  • the adoption of a package programme to increase the production of fish and marine products.
  • started in 1970 during the Fifth Five-Year Plan when the Central Government sponsored the Fish Farmers Development Agency (FFDA).
  • Subsequently, the Brakish Water Fish Farms Development Agency were set up to develop aquaculture.
  • brought improvement in aquaculture by adopting new techniques of fish breeding, fish rearing, fish marketing, and fish export.
  • tremendous increase in the production of shrimp. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have developed shrimp in a big way.
  • The Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh is known as the ‘Shrimp Capital of India’.
  • There are more than 1800 species of fish found in the sea and inland waters of India, of which a very few are commercially important.
  • important sea fish include catfish, herring, mackerels, perches, mullets, Indian salmon, shell fish, eels, anchovies, and dorab.
  • the main fresh water fish include catfish, loaches, perches, eels, herrings, feather backs, mullets, carps, prawns, murrels, and anchovies.
  • Marine fisheries contribute about 50 per cent of the total fish production of the country.
  • Kerala is the leading producer followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Goa.
  • The fishing season extends from September to March.
  • The higher fish production in the Arabian Sea is due to the broader continental shelf.
  • The important fish varieties include sardines, mackerel and prawn.
  • The East Coast contributes about 28 per cent of the total production of marine fish in the country.
  • The fishing activity along the East coast is mainly carried on from Rameswaram in the south to Ganjam in the north, with fishing season from September to April along the Coromandal Coast.
  • The National Fisheries Development Board has been set up to realize the untapped potential of fishery sector with the application of modern tools of research and development including biotechnology.