‘Livestock protection vital to boost farmers’ economy’

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Thursday said agriculture and livestock have seen a gradual growth in the last few decades, but both farmers and consumers are yet to derive its full benefits.

Addressing the first annual convocation of Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Hisar, Mr. Singh said protection and promotion to livestock are important factors to drive farmers’ economy and the country.

He said the Centre was emphasising on new research and development works through National Gokul Mission and National Livestock Policy.

Balanced development

“Mechanisation is essential for the development of agricultural field and importance of livestock cannot be denied in this perspective. If it is developed in a balanced way, it will be beneficial for both farmers and agronomic field,” he said.

He said under the National Livestock Policy, the government is promoting to increase animal strength so that environment-related balance may be maintained along with the continuity of livelihood of the people related to livestock.

“Importance of livestock related products has increased due to the enhancement of income, urbanisation, altered lifestyle and food preservation resources,” he added.

Agriculture and livestock have seen a gradual growth, but farmers are yet to derive benefits

Source : The Hindu 

NABARD projects Odisha’s credit potential at over Rs.58,880 crore

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Thursday projected overall credit potential of Odisha at Rs.58,882.39 crore for priority sectors during the year 2016-17 – a jump of 23.3 per cent over last year.

The bank had made a credit projection of Rs.47,756.44 crore during 2015-16.

“The aggregation of the district-wise potential linked credit plan (PLPs) for 2006-17 projects a credit flow of Rs.58,882.39 crore for the State indicating an increase of 23.3 per cent over the last year. Out of total credit potential for the State under total priority sector, Rs.32,207.90 crore has been assessed under agriculture,” announced NABARD Chief General Manager S. K. Kale, addressing the State Credit Seminar 2016-17.

“Credit potential under agriculture constitutes 54.7 per cent of total priority sector. Out of total credit of Rs. 32,207.90 crore estimated under agriculture, Rs.29,710.95 crore (92.2 per cent is under farm credit), which comprises of both crop loans and term loans for agriculture and allied activities,” he said.

Focusing on 2015 drought in Odisha, the NABARD has suggested measures which have potential for providing perennial risk heading and coping mechanism. The bank recommends formation of producer organisations by taking small and marginal farmers for better marketing of produces, amendment of tenancy act for financing share croppers and popularisation of lift irrigation projects for mitigating crop failure.

Inaugurating the credit seminar, Chief Secretary A. P. Padhi expressed concern over low credit to GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) ratio in the State.

“While economists want 100 per cent credit to GSDP ratio, the same is ridiculously low at 10 in Odisha compared to 40 per cent in Maharashtra. The credit to GSDP ratio in Kandhamal district is as low as 2 per cent. There is huge scope for lending especially in agriculture sectors. Bankers must have to lend and make the State grow,” said Mr. Padhi.

The Chief Secretary also came down on slow progress on financial inclusion. “We had set a target to make banking service available in all gram panchayats within four year time last year. But a recent review revealed the achievement at 10 per cent. What kind of financial inclusion we are talking about when a person travel 25 km to just to access his bank account,” he observed.

Development Commissioner R. Balakrishnan and Regional Director of Reserve Bank of India P. K. Jena also spoke on the occasion.

Recommends several steps for better marketing of farm produce, mitigating crop failure

Source : The Hindu 

Call to tap potential of floriculture

: An international symposium on succulents and other ornamental plants, which concluded at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Ambalavayal, on Wednesday, stressed the need to formulate policies to promote floriculture in the district to ensure sustainable income to the farming community. The four-day symposium was organised jointly by the International Society for Horticulture Science (ISHS), Belgium, and the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) in connection with Pooppoli-2016, an international flower show being organised by the KAU on the RARS premises.

Addressing the concluding session, Sisir Kumar Mitra, chairman, ISHS, said commercial flowers had a huge demand in the international market and the sub-tropical climate in the high ranges, like Wayanad, was quite suitable to the industry. Collective ventures headed by progressive farmers can “make floriculture a promising occupation and it would ensure sustainable income from the sector, Dr. Mitra said adding that the system had proved “to be a huge success in remote villages in a small State like Sikkim where more than 70 per cent of rural women were ensured employment round the year in the booming orchid industry. Dr. Mitra said the same result could be achieved in Wayanad by tapping the unexplored potential of floriculture industry.

Tim Briercliffe, secretary-general, International Association of Horticulture Producers (AIPH), said there was a huge marketing network for all commercially important cut flowers throughout the world. There was a possibility to activate the production and export of floriculture products from the country through the AIPH network, he added. Delivering the keynote address, A.K. Singh, Managing Director, National Horticultural Board, assured all support of his organisation to launch commercial floriculture in the hill district.

Source : The hindu 

Marine fisheries census from February 1

After a gap of 6 years, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, a research body under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR-CMFRI), will begin a month-long National Marine Fisheries Census - 2016 from February 1 in all maritime States and two Union Territories of the country.

Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, Principal Scientist of CMFRI P.P. Manoj Kumar said the island regions of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep would be enumerated under the supervision of Fishery Survey of India.

The marine fisheries census would be conducted for a duration of 30 days from February 1.

The exercise includes collecting information about marine fishermen families, fishing crafts and gears, social and educational profile and demographic features of marine fishing villages.

This exercise, funded by Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DAHDF) of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India is being coordinated by the staff of regional, research, field centres and headquarters of ICAR - CMFRI located along the maritime coast of the country.

About 3,000 enumerators trained by ICAR-CMFRI officials will visit 11 lakh fishermen families spread across 4,250 marine fishing villages located in 73 districts to collect details. The entire process would be monitored and supervised by around 220 officials of ICAR - CMFRI posted at the 26 centres.

“The enumerators will be given schedules formatted to collect details pertaining to social, educational, fishing infrastructure aspects of marine fisher families. The schedules are devised to collect information pertaining to each household on the above said details alongside specific fishing occupation particulars such as fishing, processing, handling, marketing and value addition,” Dr. Manoj Kumar said.

The schedules used at household level have been translated into eight regional languages. Apart from the schedules, the personnel involved have been provided an instruction booklet to clarify various heads under which details are being collected.

Another set of schedules have been devised to collect information pertaining to infrastructure facilities in fishing villages and other fish harvesting and processing facilities available in various coastal districts.

The ICAR-CMFRI authorities had already conducted training programmes for supervisors and prospective enumerators at various locations along the coastline.

Help in policymaking

The data would be analysed by the scientists of ICAR - CMFRI to develop a comprehensive census database, which would be helpful in facilitating formulation of fisheries related plans and policies in the marine sector, Dr. Manoj Kumar said.

Source : The Hindu 

திருந்திய நெல் சாகுபடி முறை: வேளாண் அலுவலர் யோசனை

திருந்திய நெல் சாகுபடி முறையில், ஒற்றை நாற்று நடவுமுறையில் அதிக மகசூல் கிடைக்கும், என வேளாண் உதவி இயக்குனர் ஆசைதம்பி கூறினார்.

மேலும், அவர் கூறியதாவது: ஒரு ஏக்கருக்கு, 25 முதல், 30 கிலோ வரை விதை நெல்லுக்கு பதில், திருந்திய நெல் சாகுபடியில், 2 முதல், 3 கிலோ விதை போதுமானது. மேட்டுப்பாத்தி நாற்றங்கால், ஏக்கருக்கு ஒரு சென்ட் பரப்பளவு போதுமானது. நாற்றங்கால் பரப்பு குறைவாவதால், நீர் பாய்ச்சுதல், பூச்சி, நோய் கண்காணிப்பு குறையும். சென்டுக்கு, 2 கிலோ டி.ஏ.பி., உரத்தை தூள் செய்து இட வேண்டும். 30 முதல், 40 நாள் வயதுள்ள நாற்றை நடவு செய்வார்கள். இம்முறையில், 10 முதல், 15 நாள் வயதுள்ள இளம் நாற்றை, ஒரு குத்துக்கு ஒரு நாற்று என நட வேண்டும். 22.5 செ.மீ.,க்கு, 22.5 செ.மீ., என்ற அளவில், முக்கால் அடி இடைவெளி பயிருக்கு பயிர், வரிசைக்கு வரிசை இருக்க வேண்டும். கயிற்றில், ஒவ்வொரு வரிசைக்கும் அடையாளம் செய்து, நட வேண்டும். சீரான இடைவெளியால், கோனோவிடார் களைக்கருவியை பயன்படுத்தலாம். மண்ணில் காற்றோட்டம் ஏற்பட்டு, வேர் வளர்ச்சி அதிகரிக்கும். தவிர, 10 நாள் இடைவெளியில், நாற்று இடையில் கோனாவிடார் வைத்து உருட்ட வேண்டும். இதனால், ஒரு டன் அளவுக்கு, களைகள் அமுக்கப்பட்டு, பசுந்தாள் உரமாகும். இதன் மூலம், மண்ணில் அங்கப்பொருளின் அளவு அதிகரிக்கும். சாதாரண முறையைவிட, இம்முறையில் பாதி அளவு நீரே போதுமானது. ஈரப்பதம் மறைந்து, மண்ணில் சிறு கீரல் தோன்றும்போது, மீண்டும் நீர் பாய்ச்ச வேண்டும். இதனால், 30 முதல், 120 தூர்கள் வரை வளரும். பூச்சி, நோய் தாக்குதல் குறையும். இம்முறையில், ஒரு ஏக்கரில் சாதாரணமாக, 4,000 கிலோ மகசூல் பெறலாம். அதிகமாக வைக்கோலும் கிடைக்கும். சாதாரண முறையைவிட, 7 முதல், 10 நாட்களுக்கு முன் அறுவடை செய்யலாம். இம்முறையில், ஏக்கருக்கு, 15,000 ரூபாய் நிகர லாபம் கிடைக்கும், என அவர் தெரிவித்தார்.

Source : Dinamalar

Spending more on food is associated with a healthier diet: study

 The study appears in British Journal of Nutrition. (Photo: Pixabay)

Washington: You may want to start spending more on food to keep those extra kilos at bay as a new study suggests so.

According to the epidemiological study carried out by researchers at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), increasing the money you spend on food is linked to a better quality diet, particularly increased consumption of fruit and vegetables, leading to a healthier weight and decreased risk of cardiometabolic diseases like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular problems.

The researchers monitored a group of 2181 Spanish men and women aged 25 to 74, all part of the REGICOR (Registre Gironi del Cor) programme, for a period of ten years. They measured their height and weight, and recorded dietary data obtained from a scientifically validated food frequency questionnaire. The average food cost was calculated using official government data.

Researcher Helmut Schroder said that they have seen that a 1.4 Euro increase in average spending on food is associated with the consumption of 74 grams more vegetables and 52 grams more fruit, per person per day, for a 1000 kcal diet.

Schroder noted that a reduction of 0.06 Euro in average spending is linked to a decrease of 121 grams of vegetables and 94 grams of fruit, as well as increased consumption of foodstuffs like fast food and baked goods. This implies weight gain that could be related to a higher risk of cardiometabolic complications in the future.

Source : Deccan Chronicle 

பூச்சிகளை கட்டுப்படுத்தும் பயிற்சி

வாலாஜாபாத்:'அட்மா' திட்டம் சார்பில், நெல் மற்றும் வேர்க்கடலை ஆகிய பயிர்களில், தாக்கும் நோய் பூச்சிகளை கட்டுப்படுத்தும், தொழில்நுட்ப பயிற்சி முகாம் நடந்தது.வாலாஜாபாத் வட்டார வேளாண் விரிவாக்க மையத்தில், நேற்று, காலை 11:00 மணி அளவில் நடந்த, நெல் மற்றும் வேர்க்கடலை ஆகிய பயிர்களில் தாக்கும் நோய்களை பூச்சி மருந்தினால், கட்டுப்

படுத்தும் தொழில்நுட்ப முகாமிற்கு, வட்டார வேளாண் உதவி இயக்குனர் ஜி.லதா பானுமதி தலைமை தாங்கினார். மண் பரிசோதனை வேளாண் அலுவலர் பா.காளிஅம்மாள், 'அட்மா' தொழில்நுட்ப மேலாளர் எஸ்.கலியபெருமாள் ஆகியோர் முன்னிலை வகித்தனர்.

வேளாண் உதவி அலுவலர் எஸ்.பரமன் இலை சுருட்டுப்புழு மற்றும் தண்டு துளைப்பான் ஆகிய நோய்களை கட்டுப்படுத்தும் ஒருங்கிணைந்த பூச்சி நிர்வாகம் குறித்து, விவசாயிகளிடையே விளக்கி பேசினார். பயிற்சி முகாமில், வாலாஜாபாத் வட்டாரத்தைச் சேர்ந்த, 40 விவசாயிகள் மற்றும் வேளாண் உதவி அலுவலர்கள் உள்ளிட்ட பலர் பங்கேற்றனர்.

Source : Dinamalar