DATE:29.10.2014

Meltingglaciers,changingcl imate

TheHinduSCALINGNEWHEIGHTS:Glaciology isnot for the faint-hearted.Picture shows Mohd Soheb, a glaciology researcher, checking theprecipitationgaugeattheJNUbasecamp.Photo:BySpecialArrangementThoughstudiespointtoanincreaseinthepaceofglacierwastageinthewesternHimalayas,long-termmonitoringisrequiredtostudyglacierevolutionanditsrelationtotheclimateAtdawn,MohdSohebbeginsanarduoustrektothehighcampatChhota Shigri glacier in the Pir Panjal range in Spiti valley,HimachalPradesh.FromthePWDguesthouseatChotaDara,hewalksdowntotheChandrariverwherehetravelsacrossinasmallironcrateusinganingenioussystemofpulleystothebasecampatabout3,850metressetupbytheJawaharlalNehruUniversity’s(JNU)SchoolofEnvironmentalSciences.From the camp, the snout of the glacier located at about 4,050metres, looks deceptively close but actually requires a two hourclimb overmoraine. Covered by a sheet of dirty ice, it is almostblocked by stones but has a clear stream flowing from it which

meetstheriverdownstreamatChotaDara.Sohebwillgoaheadto4,800metres,tothehighcampfromwherehewillbecarryingoutstudies.Steamdrillsarecarriedallthewayuptodigintothesnowand ice to place bamboo stakes up to 10 metres deep formeasuringmeltingatintervalsafterthesnoutoftheglacier.About100 km from Manali, the glacier is relatively accessible, but forstudentslikeSohebdoinghisM.Philinglacierstudies,thehardestpart is getting there. The five-hour drive from Manali over non-existent roads is bone crushing and then the climbing overmoraine filled with giant boulders. What is more challenging ismeasuring the winter snow accumulation, also called winterbalance, just when the snow starts melting in late May, Sohebsays.Lastyearhe,alongwithotherresearchers,walked30kmtoreachtheglaciersincetheareawassnowedunderandtheroadswerenotopen.Glaciology, therefore, isnot for the faint-hearted. JNUsolved theissueoftrainedhumanresourcesbylaunchingaprogrammefrom2013underaDepartmentofScienceandTechnology(DST)-Indo-Swiss capacity building programme for budding glaciologists,training nearly 30 persons for advanced research in Himalayanglaciology. Chhota Shigri is one of the earliest glaciers in thecountry to be studied since 1986 as part of the HimalayanGlaciologyResearchProgrammebyDST.Thiswasdiscontinuedin1989.MassbalancestudyDr.PottakkalGeorge Jose, scientist at JNUandnowpart of theDST’srenewedprojectonChhotaShigriglacier,says the ideaofstartingmassbalancestudies,which is themostaccuratewayofmeasuringglaciermelt,wasmootedin2002.Heexplainsthatitisabenchmarkglacierandisamongtheveryfewinthecountrythatarebeingstudiedonalong-termbasiswithdataonmassbalance.Massbalanceisthedifferencebetweentheamountof icegainedby a glacier in winter and the amount lost in summer. A glacierwhich is gainingmass has a positivemass balance:more ice is

added in thewinter than is lost in the summer.Anegativemassbalance indicates that the glacier is losing mass. Chhota Shigriglaciermetmostofthebenchmarkrequirementsforthestudy.

“Studies on select glaciers have been carried out by the

Geological Survey of India and the snout of the Chhota

Shigriglacierhasbeenfoundretreating”

AStatus Report on the Chhota Shigri glacier in 2011 says that,“Apart fromhelpingus tounravel thepastclimate,understandingthe dynamics of Himalayan glaciers has their applicability in theenvironmentalappraisalandmitigationofhazardslikeavalanches,lake outbursts, etc. in high altitude regions of the Himalayas.”Glaciersnoutposition is thesimplest indicatorofglacieradvanceor retreat over a period of timewhich generally happens due toclimatic fluctuations. Studies on Machoi, Sonapani, Bara ShigriandChhotaShigrihavebeencarriedoutbytheGeologicalSurveyofIndia(GSI),theReportsaysandthesnoutoftheChhotaShigriglacierhasbeenfoundretreatinginrecenttimes.Dr. A.L. Ramanathan, professor, JNU School of EnvironmentalSciences,saysthemassbalancestudiesonChhotaShigriglacierhave become a Bible of sorts for glacier studies and it usesstandardfieldmethodology.Since2002theglacierhasthelongestrunning series of mass balance measurements in the Himalayarange,headds.A2013paperontheChhotaShigriglacierbyC.Vincent, Professor Ramanathan, Dr. Jose and others (in TheCryosphere7,569-582),pointstothesparsefielddataonglaciers,adding that the study of the Chhota Shigri fills a gap in theknowledgeofWesternHimalayanglaciermassbalance.However,the representativeness of the Chhota Shigri glacier cannot beextendedtotherestoftheWesternHimalaya.Italsostressedtheneed to develop ground based mass balance studies onbenchmarkglaciersintheHimalaya.

AninventorybroughtoutbytheGeologicalSurveyofIndia(GSI)in2009showsthatthereare9,575glaciersintheIndiaadministeredpart of the Himalaya, belonging to various climate regimes andonly a sample reflecting certain benchmark properties can betaken up for study. In 2000, DST assigned Survey of India topreparean inventoryofmajorglaciers in IndianHimalayaswhichidentified327majorvalleyglaciers-60inJammuandKashmir,85inHimachalPradesh,162 in theUttarPradeshhillsand20 fromSikkim.PoorsamplingApaperbyPatrickWagnon,A.L.Ramanathanandotherson theChhota Shigri glacier published in the Journal of Glaciology,Volume 53, No.183, 2007 says the Himalaya is the largestmountainrangeoftheHinduKushHimalayaregionbutitsglaciersareverypoorlysampled in the field.Oneof themost recentandcomprehensive global inventories includes only eight glaciers inIndiaandthreeinNepalwithmassbalancemeasuredforatleastayear,exceptDokrianiglacier in theGarhwalHimalayawhichhasmassbalancesurveyedoversixyears(1992-2000).Withfewlongtermstudiesgroundmeasurementsareneededforcalibrationandvalidation since mass balance cannot be measured from space,the paper says. The four-year study and remote sensing dataindicateanincreaseinthepaceofglacierwastageinthewesternHimalaya, probably related to global warming but long- termmonitoring of Chhota Shigri glacier is needed to study theevolutionofglaciersandtheirrelationtotheclimate.InanoverviewoftheglacierstatusinHimachalPradesh,DrS.S.Randhawa,seniorscientificofficeroftheHimachalPradeshStateCentreonClimateChange,saysthatglaciersaredirectindicatorsof global warming and satellite data analysis of glaciers inHimachalshowsretreat inglaciersnouts,variation insnowcoverextentandformationofmorainedammedlakes.

TheHimalayanecosystemhas51millionpeoplewhopracticehillagriculture and whose vulnerability is expected to increase onaccountofclimatechange.Henotesanoverallreductioninglacierarea from 2077 sq.km. to 1628 sq.km. from 1962-2001 in theChenab,ParbatiandBaspaBasins,andoverallde-glaciationof21percentoftotalareainthesebasins.StudiesbyGSIofprominentglaciers in Himachal Pradesh shows a retreat in four glaciersincludingChhotaShigri.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)underscores the need for glacier studies and says, “The watercontained in glaciers and ice caps (excluding the ice sheets ofAntarctica andGreenland) is equivalent to about 0.5mof globalsealevel.Glaciersandicecapsarerathersensitivetoclimatechange;rapidchangesintheirmassarepossible,andarecapableofproducinganimportantcontributiontotherateofsealevelrise.Toevaluatethis contribution, we need to know the rate of change of totalglacier mass. Unfortunately, sufficient measurements exist todeterminethemassbalanceforonlyasmallminorityoftheworld’s105glaciers.”With the new government’s announcement of a Centre forHimalayan Studies and DST support for research on ninebenchmark glaciers in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,Uttarakhand,SikkimandArunachalPradesh, there issomehopethatatleasttheneedforsuchdataisbeingtakenseriously.

Farmer’sfr iend

Youmayhaveheardthesayingthatadogisaman’sbestfriend.Thoseofyouwhohavepetsathomecansurelyvouchforthis.Inthesamewaydoyouknowwhoisafarmer'sbestfriend?No,notthebullheusestotilltheground,butthehumbleearthworm.Youmusthavereadaboutearthwormsinyourbiologyclassesastohow theyplough thesoil andmake it fertile for crops togrow.Charles Darwin, the celebrated naturalist, estimated that morethan10tonsofmaterialsarebroughttooneacreofsoilsurfacebyearthworms.Well,that’saprettylargeamountisn’tit?Alittlebigofdiggingintohistory brings to light the fact that Cleopatra had a greatfascination for these worms. Ancient Egyptians considered theworms to be sacred and removing them from the soil wasconsidered a crime punishable with death. They associated thewormswiththegodoffertility.TheNile valley was considered to be themost fertile region theworldonce.Wellnoguessesastowhythiswasso:Infact,astudypublishedinthelate1940’sattributesthefertilityofthesoilhereinlargepart to theworkofearthworms.Notonly theEgyptians,buttheGreekstooheldthesewormsinhighesteem.

Aristotle, thephilosopher, referred to thewormsas the intestinesoftheearth.Infactevenbeforetheploughwasinventedbymanitwas thesewormswhich tookupon themselves theact of turningthesoiltomakeitcultivable.Theywerenature'sfirstploughsbecausetheyburrowintothesoiland theseburrowscreatepores throughwhichoxygenandwatercanenterandcarbondioxidecanleavethesoil.Whatdotheydo?Earthworms burrow horizontally and vertically into the soil withthese burrows running very deep. Their job is to eat the soilparticles and expel them. The expelled particles make the soilfertileandrich.Forthosewhohavegardensinyourhomesdoyouknowwhatishappeningbeneaththesoil?Thewormsareworkingall throughthedaymakingtunnelswhichhelps the soil turn loose and aerates it. This helps seeds togerminateandgrowwellsinceitsrootsareabletogettherequiredwaterandminerals.Likeall livingthingsearthwormsalsoneedtoeat.Theirmaindietisdirt,decayingleavesandanyotherorganicmaterialinthesoil.Animalmanures such as cow dung and cow urine also form animportantsourceoffoodforthem.HERE’SANACTIVITYFORYOU! Dig up the soil in your garden to check for earthworms.If you can’t f ind any, chances are that your garden soilis not sohealthy!Discusswith your class teacheraboutkeeping a potted plant in a glass jar in your classroomwindow. This way you can see the worms workingthroughthejar.

Bananagrowersf loatf irmToimproverevenueandpreventpost-harvestlosses

Tamil Nadu ranks first in India in banana productionwith 2.5 lakh acres oflandundercultivation.—Photo:A.MuralitharanA group of 1,000 banana farmers across the State have joinedhands and floated a company with objectives of improvingrevenue,preventingpost-harvest lossesandidentifyingorganisedmarketstodispatchtheirproduceatacompetitiveprice.Christened Tamil Nadu Banana Producer Company Limited, theincorporated firm will have its central office in Tiruchi, a leadingdistrict in banana production. Encompassing 40 banana growersocieties, thecompanyhasbeenstarted in tunewithgovernmentofIndiaguidelineswithRs.1,000providedascontributionbyeverymemberasequityshare.TheStategovernmentwouldprovideRs.45.80lakhasaidinthreeyearsfororganisationalstrengthandbusinessplandevelopment.Thecompany,expectedtobecommissionednextmonth,wouldbeaplatformforthebananagrowersocietiestointegrate,identifythecustomers’ requirement and percolate them to member bananagrowers.

It would enable banana growers to interact and know the latestcultivationandmarketingpractices.Thecompanywouldsensitisemembergrowers to thepost-harvestprocedures,grading,sortingandpacking.Theimmediateplanistoreducepost-harvestlossesbysettinguppackhousesinbananagrowingdistrictsincludingTiruchi,TuticorinandTheni,saiditssecretaryG.Ajeethan,anagriculturistbasedatMohanurinNamakkaldistrict.Tamil Nadu ranks first in banana production with the total areacoverage being around 2.5 lakh acres. Tiruchi, Tuticorin, Theni,Cuddalore, Erode and Nagercoil are the major banana growingdistrictshousingmanybananaclusters.Traditionalvarietiessuchas‘poovan,’‘karpooravalli,’‘neipoovan,’‘rasthali,’ red banana, ‘matti’ and ‘cavendish’ are raised in TamilNadu which has surpassed Maharashtra in average yield andproductivity to reach the top slot. Banana varieties raised in theStatewereyettopenetratenorthIndianmarketsintheabsenceoflogisticsupport.Thewholeobjectiveof forming thecompany is to try to taphugeupcountry markets by perfecting logistics and seeking help fromintervening agencies such as Small Farmers Agri-BusinessConsortiumandAgriculturalandProcessedFoodProductsExportDevelopmentAuthority,saidMr.Ajeethan,alsogeneralsecretaryoftheTamilNaduBananaGrowersFederation.Preliminary negotiations were held with authorities of the KisanMandiatNewDelhitoshowcaseandmarkettheproduceinnorthIndianmarkets,hesaid.

NABARDunveilscreditplanEstimatescreditdisbursementbybanksatRs.2,679.54croreNationalBank forAgriculture andRuralDevelopment (NABARD)has unveiled a Potential-LinkedCredit Plan (PLP) for the districtfor the year 2015-16 and estimated the credit disbursement bybanks at Rs.2,679.54 crore for the period, an eight per centincreaseoverpreviousyear’sprojection.Collector K. Nanthakumar released the credit plan at a meetinghere on Tuesday, which was attended among others by IndianOverseas Bank (IOB) Chief Regional Manager M. Valayapathy,NABARD Deputy Divisional Manager C. Mathiazhagan, ReserveBank of India (RBI) AssistantGeneralManagerSundaresan andLeadBankManagerK.S.SureshBabu.Detailing thePLP,Mr.MathiazhagansaidNABARDhad finalisedtheplandocument in consultationwithvariousStategovernmentdepartments, bankers and other stakeholders functioning in thedistrict.As per RBI directive, the credit plan would form the basis forallocationofdisbursementstovariousbankbranchesinthedistrictundertheAnnualCreditPlan(ACP),hesaid.NABARDhadreleasedadetailedcreditplandocumenttwoyearsback,covering thecreditprojections for theentire12thFive-YearPlanperiodupto2016-17.Theprojectionsmade for2015-16hadbeen reviewed taking intoaccount the present and future infrastructure, policy initiatives ofthe government, thrust areas identified for development and thestrengthandweaknessesoflendinginstitutions,hesaid.

Thedocumentpresentedacomprehensivepictureofthephysicalpotentialthatcouldbetranslatedintocreditpotentialforlendingbyvarious commercial bank branches, comprising both public andprivatesectorbanks,healsosaid.As thedistrictwaspredominantlyagricultureoriented, thesector,comprisingcrop loanand term loans foragricultural investments,andanimalhusbandrysector—dairyandpoultry—wouldgetamajor share of 76 per cent, amounting to Rs.2,037.70 crore,followed by 16 per cent (Rs.441 crore) for other priority sectorcomprising small road transport operations, education, housingandconsumerloans,hesaid.The PLP also emphasised the need to increase coverage offarmers under Revised Kisan Credit Card scheme and issue ofBio-metricRupaycards,hesaid.To provide supplementary income to the farmers, the documentsuggestedfinancingoralliedactivitiestothefarmers.

RainbringscheertofarmersinBijapur

Bijapurdistricthasreceivedaround40mmraininthelasttwodays.Therainthatthedistrictreceivedinthelasttwodayshasrekindledthehopesoffarmersofharvestingagoodcropthisyear.According to the Agriculture Department, the district receivedaround40mmraininthelasttwodays,duetowhichthestandingcropshaverejuvenated.

ThoughtheaveragerainfallinthemonthofOctoberis97mm,thedistrict has received around 65 mm of rainfall. However,agriculturalexpertsbelievethateventhelimitedrainhascomeasablessingforthefarmersandthecrop.Therainhascomeattherighttime.As thecropsweregradually losingmoisture, the freshrainwouldenable the soil to storeabundantmoisture for the standing crop,the experts said. “The farmers were desperately waiting for rainbecausethestandingcropwaslosingmoisture.Therainhasgivenus the much-needed relief and now we can hope to have goodreturns after harvesting,” said ParashuramKalasgonda, a farmerofUtnalvillageofBijapurtaluk.The rain would primarily help crops such as tur, Bengal gram,jowar and wheat and some horticulture crops that were in direneedofwater.However, theysaid therainmayattractpests to the turcrop,butpesticidesprayingwouldavoidthisproblem,theexpertssaid.Meanwhile, officials of the Agriculture Department toldTheHinduthat for the rabi season, the department had set a targetsowingareaof4.36lakhhectares,ofwhichsowingwascompletedin3.48lakhhectares.Ofthetotalareacovered,sowingofjowariscompletedin1.3lakhhectares, bengal gram in 1.6 lakh hectares andwheat in 22,000hectares.Theofficialssaidthatfollowingthegoodrainfall,farmerswouldbeable to take up the sowing even in the remaining areas and thetargetareawasexpectedtobecoveredbytheendofNovember.

RainhelpsrevivesowingoperationsThedesperatemeasurebyfarmerstotakeupthesowingofcropsinthebeginningoftherabiseason,despitethesevereshortfallofrain,haspaidoffwiththedistrictreceivingsomecopiousrainfallinthelastweekofOctober,savingthegerminatedcrop.September and October were crucial months for the farmers totakeupthesowingoperationsof therabicrop.Withthefailureofraininkharifseasonandalargearealeftunsown,therabiseasonwastheonlyhopeforfarmers.However,therabiseasonalsoprovedtobeanon-starterwiththerain gods playing hide and seek in the beginning of the season,delayingthesowingoperations.However, the farmers expecting some rain in the last week ofOctoberwent inforsowingoperationsof theBengalgram, jowar,sunflowerandothercrops.Andthegamblepaidoff.TheraininthelastweekofOctobernotonlysavedthesownrabicrops,butalsogaveanewleaseoflifetothewitheringredgramandothercropstakenupinthekharifseason.TargetThe rain has also revived the sowing operations in the entiredistrict.AgricultureDepartmentofficialssaidtherewasstilltimeforthe farmers to complete the sowing and were hopeful that thefarmerswouldachieve the5.15 lakhhectares target fixedby thegovernment.As per the latest details available, the farmers have completedsowinginjustover2.38lakhhectares,achieving46percentofthetargetsfixedfortheRabiseasonthisyear.

Agriculture Department officials toldThe Hinduthat the farmershadcompletedsowingoftheBengalgram,thesecondmajorcropof theRabiseason, in1.05lakhhectaresasagainstthetargetof1.98lakhhectaresandtheconditionofthecropwasgood.ThesowingofJowar,thestaplecropoftheHyderabad-Karnatakaregion,haspickedupnow.Asagainstthetargetofcovering2.63lakhhectareswith jowarcrop,so farsowinghasbeencompletedin95,404hectares.Showersgiveanewleaseof l i feto thewithering redgramcrop

RevisedpricesofcropsbyNovemberThe Karnataka Agriculture Price Commission, set up to fixremunerative prices for agricultural crops, will submit itsrecommendationsontherevisionofpricesofcertaincommoditiestothegovernmentinthefirstweekofNovember.To begin with, the commissionwould recommend revised pricesforragiandjowar,widelyconsumedinsouthandnorthKarnataka.It would also ensure that growers were benefited by the revisedpricesfromthecurrentseasonitself,APCchairmanT.N.PrakashKammardisaidhereonTuesday.Heexpressed concernover shrinkingof theareaunder ragi andjowar in recent years.Nearly 20 lakhhectareswereunder thesetwo crops in the two regions. But, the areawas declining at therateoftwotothreepercenteveryyear.Thecommissionwouldrecommendtothegovernmenttoenhancearea for the twocrops to15 lakhhectaresand10 lakhhectares,respectively.

Projecttodevelopeasy-to-usefarmtoolsInitiativeistheeffortoffarmvarsity,KAMCO,KAICOTheKerala Agricultural University (KAU), Kerala AgroMachineryCorporation(KAMCO)andtheKeralaAgroIndustriesCorporation(KAICO) have decided to launch collaborative projects fordevelopingeasy-to-usefarmmachinery.The institutions will jointly develop farming tools for pre-harvest,plantmanagement and post-harvest activities. Ameeting held atthe KAU headquarters on Tuesday decided to improve the toolscurrentlyusedandmakethemgender-friendly.KAU Vice-Chancellor P. Rajendran, who chaired the meeting,calledforaninnovativeapproachtodesigningfarmmachineryandtools.“Farmtoolsshouldbeeasyforyouthandwomentohandle.Thoughbigtractors,tillersandothersuchmachineryhavebecomepopular,machineryandtoolsforsmallsegments,homesteadsandevenunusedpublicplacesareyettobedeveloped,”hesaid.Earlierintheday,theVice-Chancellorinauguratedthesaleofcoolseason vegetable seedlings produced in the University at afunction held at the Agricultural Research Station (ARS),Mannuthy.He called upon scientists to develop protocols for all-seasoncultivationofcoolseasonvegetables.He also stressed the need for standardising easy-to-use micronutrient supplymechanisms for optimising plant health and cropproductivity.The ARS has produced more than two lakh seedlings of coolseasonvegetablesandeightlakhseedlingsofothervegetables.

IntegratedfarmingAtwo-dayworkshoponintegratedfarmingsystems,organisedbythe Directorate of Extension, began at the Central TrainingInstitute,Mannuthy.KAUregistrarP.V.Balachandraninauguratedthe workshop. Jose Mathew, associate director of extension,presided.AlexanderGeorgeandBinuP.Bonyspoke.RaindamagespaddycropinNalgondaAlready hit by the prevailing drought conditions, farmers facedfurther losses due to the recent rains in Nalgonda district,particularlyinthesouthernparts.The district witnessed heavy rains on last Saturday and Sundayand parts of the district also witnessed drizzle on Monday too.Paddy fields in huge extents were damaged in Mattampally,Nereducherla, Damarcherla, Mellacheruvu, Huzurnagar,Vemulapally and Chilukur mandals. Speaking toThe Hindu, afarmerfromShettipalemvillageofVemulapallymandal,MajjigapuSudhakar Reddy, said that paddy crop in about 70 acres in hisvillage was flooded with rainwater. He said the ready to harvestsuperfinevarietyofpaddyhasremainsubmergedinthewaterforacoupleofdays.Statingthatpaddygetsdiscolouredwithuntimelyrains,hesaidnoonewould come forward to purchase them.Complaining that noofficer from either agriculture or revenue department arrived toassess the lossof crop in their village, heappealed to theStategovernment tosenda teamofofficials toassess the lossand tocompensate themby identifying thosewhoactually suffered lossdue to the rains. Joint Director, Agriculture, B. Narasimha RaotoldThe Hinduthat they have sent an initial report to thecommissioner of agriculture informing that paddy in about 400hectareswasdamaged.However,hesaidthattheywouldinspectmorevillagesiftheyreceiveanycomplaintsfromfarmers.Init ial reports sent to commissioner of agriculture saythatpaddyinabout400hectaresisdamaged

HudhudatwisterforsugarcaneIt isestimated thatcrop in2,300hahasbeendamaged.Mostofthe cane grown in the area is used for making jaggery. Even ifsomeofthecanecanbeusedtomakejaggery,theunitsareinnoconditiontoworkasthereisnopower.Sugarcane, paddy, cashew, casuarina — anything that came inthewayof theseverecyclonicstormHudhudmetwith thesamefate,leavingfarmersshell-shocked.In Munagapaka mandal, where mostly sugarcane is grown, thedestructivegaletwistedthecane,brokethestalk,andbentit.Thecrop may appear to be alright for about a month, but rots fromwithin,sayfarmers,whodonotknowwhattodo.Lossisstillbeingassessedbyenumerators.Apart from the loss, it costs a lot for farmers to remove thedestroyedthecrop.Mostofthecanegrownintheareaisusedformaking jaggery.Even if someof the cane can be used tomakejaggery,theunitsareinnoconditiontoworkasthereisnopower.Fourteamsofenumeratorsareatworkandtheyhavetocover27panchayats.Estimateshaveputthedamagetosugarcanecropin2,300haandpaddyin230hasofar.Cashewandcasuarinahavealsobeendamaged.CashewgrovespresentasorrypicturewithtreeaftertreeuprootedatNagavaramandotherareas.CompensationSince it will take some time for the loss to the assessed, thegovernment should give some advance compensation forsugarcane-growersbasedonpreliminaryinformation,saysBoddetiPrasad,formerchairmanofRECS.

In the low-lying areas such as Vadrapalli, paddy is still under asheet of water. All other crops in the area such as sugarcane,coconut, banana, cashewhavebeen fully damaged, says farmerPetakamsettyRamuNaidu.Farmerssay thatacanal thatonceservedasanoutlet forwaterwasencroachedupondecadesagoand itwascausingproblemseverytimetherewasacyclone.IntheNagavaram,Rajupeta,Venkatapuramareasalone,cashewcrop in 300 acres has been fully damaged, says a farmer P.Ramasuryanarayana.Hybridcashewtakesfourtofiveyearstogrowand,fromthenon,farmersgetRs.60,000toRs.70,000ayear.Whilesugarcaneandpaddy are yearly crops, casuarina has to grow for five years,gettingaone-timeincomeofRs.1lakhanacre.Butitalsocouldnotwithstandthegales.Inmanyvillages,powerisstillbeingrestored.

PLPenvisagesoutlayofRs.7,581croreThe Potential Linked Credit Plan (PLP) of National Bank forAgricultureandRuralDevelopment (NABARD)hasenvisagedanoutlayofRs.7,581croreforVelloredistrictfor2015-2016.DistrictRevenue Officer K. Manivannan released the PLP report onTuesday.A press release said NABARD, which played a pivotal role inagriculture and rural development works, has been preparingdistrict-wise PLP’s since 1988-89 to improve agriculture andagriculture-based industries. This plays a vital role in thepreparationofannualcreditplanbybanks.

Inthis,Rs.3,004crorehasbeenplannedforshorttermcroploan,Rs. 1,411 crore as long term loans for water resourcesdevelopment, agricultural equipment, animal husbandry,horticulture crop cultivation and agricultural warehouses and Rs.633crorefornon-farmsector.AtotalofRs.2,533crorehasbeenallocatedforotherpriorityloans.ThePLP also provides details on the required infrastructure andtechnology to improve agriculture and allied sectors in Velloredistrict.ThemainobjectiveofthePLPwastoincreasecapitalformationinagriculture and its related departments, thereby benefittingfarmers.Thedocumentalsocontaineddetailsonnewagricultureschemesof Central and State governments and new policies of ReserveBankofIndiaandNABARD,thereleaseadded.WithseveralpartsofVellorerelyingonrainsforagriculture,animalhusbandry and dairy development also played an important role.Taking this intoconsideration, thedocumentalsocontainsdetailsforanimalhusbandryforthreeunionsinthedistrict–Alangayam,ArcotandKaveripakkam.Among others, Manohar Singh, project director of District RuralDevelopment agency, Nagarjuna, regional manager of IndianBank, Kathirvel, assistant general manager of NABARD andSampath, assistant general manager of Reserve Bank of Indiawerepresent,thereleaseadded.

PaddyfarmersinKottayamfacingacrisis

TheHinduPaddyripeforharvestingintheKumarakom-Kaipuzhamuttuarea.HeavyrainanddelayinharvestinghaveledtothedamagePaddycultivatorsinthedistrictarefacingadeepcrisis.Theheavynorth-eastmonsoonandtheresultantdelayinharvestinghaveledto widespread damage to paddy. There is an abject dearth ofcombineharvestersandaboveall, inspiteofthecommencementof paddy procurement operations by the Kerala State CivilSupplies Corporation, uncertainty looms large over the timelydisbursaloftheremuneration.SaysJoseGeorge,paddy fieldofficer “Wewereexpectingnearly27,000 mt of paddy during thisviruppuseason from the district.However, if thingsmove at this pace, it is not going to be even22,000mt”.During the just concluded puncha season, the Civil SuppliesCorporation had procuredmore than 49,000mt from the district.The procurement during the lastviruppuseason was alsodepressing,hesaid.

Theprocurementagencieswhowereexpecting25 to30quintalsper acre earlier, do not expect more than 20 quintals per acreunderthepresentconditions,MrGeorgesaid.The situation in Vechoor, Thalayzham areas where more than3,500acresareunderviruppucropisdismal.Sincethecombinedharvesterswerenotavailableontimeintherightnumbers,paddyinmostofthepoldersisfacingdamage.In fact, the farmers have joined together and initiated manualharvestinginthearea.Harvesting,whichwas expected to commence by earlyOctober,startedeffectivelyonlyafter15thofthemonth.TheUmavarietyofpaddy which can be harvested after 120 to 140 days have notbeenharvestedevenafter170daysinmanyplaces.InareaslikeKelakkari, theharvestingshouldhavebeencompletednearly twoweeksback,thoughitisyettobeginthisyear.While the rains played havoc with thevirippucrop, what hascomplicated the situation was the dismal performance ofauthorities in keeping the combine harvesters ready. “We need100 combine harvesters now, in place of the less than 30operational in the district now,” said Mr George. Machinesprovided by contractors from Tamil Nadu, who arrive with ownmaintenance team, charge up to more than Rs.2,000 an hour,though in many polders, the harvesters remain jammed in theheavilywetconditionsofthefields.So far, the disbursal of remuneration of the procured paddy hasnotbegunand there isconfusionover the timelydisbursalof thefunds. Says Fr. Thomas Peeliyanickal, executive director,Kuttanad Vikasana Samithi: “There is nothing new about thecurrentstateofaffairs. It isa repeatingphenomenon.Unless theauthorities take a sympathetic outlook and bring out acomprehensive strategy, the conditionof thepaddy farmer isnotgoingtochange.”

CleaningupthecountryCleanliness,whethermoralorenvironmental,canbeachievedbysocietyonlyifitbecomesthegoalofeveryindividual.There.Nowyoudon’tneed toplough through therestofmycolumnbecauseI’ve dug up the nub ofmy argument and handed it to you on aplatter—orshouldIsayonthebladeofaspade?Youdon’tneedto readwhat I have to say about cultural notions of cleanliness.You don’t need to read about the gold you throw away after afestivalormyfruitlesssearchforatongue-cleanerinanalienland.Okay,maybethatlastonetickledyourcuriosity—fessup,now.A tongue-cleaner was a long, narrow, thin strip of plastic withwhichoneused to, in thedistantpast, scrapeone’s tongueaftercleaningone’steeth.Sincetheybrokeeasily,thefrugalthingtodowas to buy the durable U-shaped stainless steel model. Yourmouth wasn’t considered clean until the surface of your tonguehadbeenscrapedrawandpinkbythis implement.Aquarterofacentury ago I had just landed in eastern USAwhenmy tongue-cleaner—asteeloneno less—snapped in two. Ididn’t think Icould survive six months without it so I started asking all andsundryaboutshopsthatmightstocktheitem.‘Tongue-cleaner’lefteveryoneutterlyconfounded.IpresentedmyproblemtoanIndianfriendwholivedontheWestCoast,but insteadofcommiseratingwith me he ribbed me mercilessly and suggested that I use atoothbrushtocleanmytonguelikeeveryoneelse.It is throughdisplacement thatwebecomemostkeenlyawareofour inheritance.What I had inherited, in this case, was a set ofprejudicesabout‘dirtyforeigners’:theydon’ttakeabathdaily,theydrink theirmorning coffeewithoutbrushing their teeth, theydon’twash their bottoms after doing Number Two, they wallow in dirtfromtheirownbodiesbysittinginthebathtub,andsoon.

What I had also inherited were notions of cleanliness that areboundupwithritualsratherthanbasedonscience,fixationsaboutpurityandpollutionthatarecentredonourbodiesandourhomes.Clean the ‘inside’: to hell with the ‘outside’. Who’ll clean theoutside?Oh,somebodywill.It’snotourjob.Thisiswhatwehavegrownupwith—aSomebodytocleanupafterus,aSomebodytoquiteliterallycartawaytheshitweleavebehind.How majestically they pose for photographs, those bigwigssymbolically holding long-handled brooms that resemble gardenrakesandarenothing like the stubbybroomsticks that low-casteSomebodys are forced to stoop over during their daylong,backbreaking labour.Bothpublic filth and thosewhoclean it areinvisible tous.Thisblindspot ispartofourDNA,andunlessweget rid of it, neither two lakh crore rupees nor twenty times thatwould suffice for cleaning India. I was emerging from our localorganic store when a woman came out of the shop next doorarmedwith two largeplasticbagsofgarbage.Shedumped themnonchalantlyintothewidestorm-waterdrain.Iwaswalkingdownaneighbourhoodstreetwhenashowerofconfetti flutteredontothepavement.Awomanhadtippedabucket-loadofshreddedpaper,heave-ho,rightoverafirstfloorbalconyrailing.Themomentwe’vefinishedcleaningtheinside,nevermindwhattimeofdayornightitis,we instantly fling thepolluting refuseoutside.This iswhyyouwill see someone strolling down the road just after the garbagelorryhaspickeduptherubbish,totossabulgingbagatthestreetcorner.Streetcorners,transformer‘cages’,thepillarsofNammaMetro—manysuchhotspotsshowuponthegarbageradar.Therearenodustbins because the civic authorities removed them in 2000,remember?They launchedanover-ambitiousdoor-to-doorwastecollection system but the public, instead of handing over theirgarbage,continuedtolitterthespaceswherering-shapedconcretedustbinsoncestood.Inmyneighbourhood,theghostofonesuchbinrefusestobebusted.Itsspectraldimensionscoverastretchofpavementandexpandonfestivaldaystohalfthewidthoftheroad

alongside it. Festival garbage is pure gold, teeming with leaves,rotting vegetables and other biodegradablematter, whichmakesmymouthwater,notbecauseIwanttochomponitlikeacowbutbecausethepossibilitiesaresotempting.Justimaginethemforasecond. In my Clean Bengaluru fantasy, every city-zen not onlysegregates at source but recycles at source. Plastic, glass andpaper are collected by theBBMP.Wemake compost out ofwetwaste in our domestic recycling units (the three-tier terracottakhamba).Wedispatchthisorganicfertilisertofarmersinexchangefororganicvegetables.And the farmers,who’vebeencursingusfor creatingpoisonousmountainsnext to their fields,nowwait toreceiveourrichcargo.Whystopthere?Wasteshallbeconvertedtoelectricity,feedthepowergrid...“Dreamon,DonaQuixotedeLaHuchcha,”Itellmyselfsharply.Todislodge entrenched habits, to be responsible for public hygieneandaccountable for the trashwecreate,weneed to take radicalmeasures.IsuggesttweakingourDNA.

“Excesswateruti l isedeffectively”Excess water released from Sothuparai dam has been utilisedeffectivelytofill80percentofruralirrigationtanksinPeriyakulamblock. At present, the entire inflow of 180 cusecs has beenreleased from the dam to recharge irrigation tanks, according toCollector K.S. Palanisamy. Inspecting Sothuparai dam here onTuesday, he said Public Works Department workers had beenworkingona rotationbasis tomonitor dams to releasewater forirrigation and recharge rural tanks. Farmers could contact PWDofficialsforreleaseofwaterforirrigation,hepointedout.Earlier, theCollector disbursedwelfare assistance to the tune ofRs.25.84 lakh to 751 beneficiaries under social security schememeantforworkersinunorganisedsectors,marriageassistanceofRs.1 lakh each to 24 beneficiaries and Rs.2.83 lakh to 14beneficiariesunderotherschemes.AsumofRs.5 lakhwouldbegiventothefamilymembersoftheworkerswhodiedinaccidents,henoted.

‘Testfeedingredients’Poultry farmers are asked to test the feed ingredients formycotoxinbeforefeedingthepoultries.A weather advisory bulletin issued by Agromet Field Unit,Veterinary College and Research Institute here and RegionalMeteorologicalCentre,Chennai,saidtheskywasexpectedtobecloudy over the next three days with chance of rainfall at a fewplaces. “Ensure the moisture content of newly arrived feedingredientsislessthan11percent,”itsaid.Mycotoxinoccurrencewas observed in sunflower meal and maize and hence farmerswereaskedtotestthefeedingredientsanduseforpoultry.Demand for organic ferti l izers, pest-controlsolutionsontherise

OrganicfertilizersandpestcontrolsolutionkeptforsaleattheNiravuOrganicVillageoutletinKozhikode.—Photo:K.RageshThe recent resurgence in organic farming seems to have givensales of organic fertilizers and pest-control prescriptions a hugeboostinthemarket.Different city-basedgroupsandcollectivesengaged inpromotingorganic farming and marketing organic products includingvegetablesandfruitstestifytothistrend.Besidesotherchannels,

therecentlylaunched,NABARD-fundedexclusiveoutletforlocallycultivatedorganicvegetablesunderNiravuVengeri,aprogressiveresidential forum here, sees a ‘growing demand’ for a variety oforganicfertilizersandpest-controlsolutionsitdealsin.Some of its fertilizers likeJeevamritham, which is a mixture ofcow-urine, cow-dung, jaggery and cowpea-flour andVeppennaLayani,madeofNeem-oil andsoap-waterhaveahugedemandthatsometimesitissoldout.These fertilizers and pest-control solutions are made by thememberresidentsoftheforumbringingasteadyincometothem.“Wepreparethemduringour freetimeandwith thehelpofothermembers in the family,” says Priya Mohandas, a residentofNiravu.Besides different fertilizer compounds, products such as driedcow-dung,rawcow-urineandneem-cake-powderalsoaresoldattheoutlet.“Around half-a-dozen families are engaged in the preparation ofthese products atNiravu,” says Babu Parambath, coordinator ofspecial projects for the residential forum. According to him,demand for theirproducts is several timeshigher thanwhat theycandeliver.Demandfororganicfertilizersishighwithincreasingawarenessoforganicfarming,saysM.P.RajulKumar,presidentofGreenView,acollectiveoforganicfarmersfromKozhikode.“There used to be a huge demand for dried cow-dung,Chakirichoru(coconuthuskpowder)andNeemcake,”saysMr.Rajulkumar.

CattlehealthcampsheldThe reproductive health camp and deworming programme forcattle was conducted at various villages across the district onTuesday. A team of veterinary doctors screened the animalsincluding milch animals and goats that were distributed by theState government through Animal Husbandry department to thepoorbeneficiaries.Otherfarmersbesidesthebeneficiariesoffreedistributionofmilch cowsandgoats alsoavailed this opportunityandgot theiranimalscheckedanddewormed.Thehealthcampswereorganisedinaroundsixtyvillages,reliablesourcessaid.During the camp, infertility problems of the cattle were alsochecked.Theschemewaslaunchedtouplift theeconomicstatusof thepoorwomenfolk.Theveterinaryhealthcareprovidershadbeen rendering services since the government stressed on postpurchase care of the cattle given under the free distributionscheme.Inordertohavesustainedmilkproductionfromthemilchcowsandto improvetheweightgain ingoatsprovidedunder thescheme,suchexerciseshadbeencarriedoutatregularintervals,sourcesadded.Examiningcl imatethroughexperiments

Studentsparticipateinthedistrict-levelNationalChildren’sScienceCongressheldatPresidencySchoolinPuducherryonTuesday.—Photo:S.S.KumarA group of Class 11 students from the Kasturba GandhiGovernment Girls Higher Secondary School, Bahour, hadobserved farmers placing a layer of dried leaves over the soil.

Curious,theyaskedtheirscienceteacherM.Mangayatharasuwhythiswasbeingdone.Thetimingcouldnothavebeenmoreperfectastheschoolwaspreparingstudentstoparticipate inthedistrict-level competition of the National Children’s Science Congress(NCSC).Ms. Mangayatharasu grouped the enthusiastic students to studyorganic mulches and its relation to weather, and entered themamongthe120projectsfromPuducherryvyingforselectiontotheState-level of the NCSC. The team took readings of moisturecontentandexperimentedwithdriedleavesmulchesandcoconutcoir mulches. “We observed more moisture content in driedleaves,” said K. Nishanthi, team leader of the group. The groupalsotookrainfallreadings.At Tuesday’s district-level competition, students had to presenttheirprojectonthethemeandwereaskedquestionsbyapanelofjudges.TheboysofPetitSeminaireHigherSecondarySchooltookup a study on mangroves in Puducherry and its relation toweather. They observed the species found there and studiedsalinity and pH levels in relation to rainfall. The boys guided bytheir teacher, Albert Jaclin are so enthused the project that theyhave decided to present a petition to the Chief Minister withrecommendations on how to protect mangroves and raiseawareness.“Wegottoknowthepresenceofmangrovesreducesthe impact of calamities like a tsunami,” said C. Rakesh, teamleader.Meanwhile, a group of girls from the St. Patrick MatriculationHigher Secondary School took up the impact of climate on skindiseases as their project topic. Asked why, they answered inunisontheywantedtopursuemedicine.The NCSC is organised under the Ministry of Science andTechnologyand isheldannually inDecember.Thisyear’sevent,which will be held in Bangalore, has the focal theme:UnderstandingWeatherandClimate,with6sub-themes.

Studentscompete indistrictandstate levels in twocategoriesofjunior (10-14 years) and senior (14+ to 17 years). Around 170guideteachersfromPuducherry,KaraikalandMaheweretrainedto guide students numbering three to five in a group. For thePuducherry State level, around 30 projects are expected to beselected, following which team leaders of six teams, two guideteachers and State coordinator B. Ravichandran will attend theNCSCinBangalore.“The presence of mangroves reduces the impact ofcalamitiesl ikeatsunami”

weather

| Chennai-INDIAToday'sWeather

Sunny

Wednesday,Oct29

Max Min30o | 25o

Rain:0 Sunrise:06:01Humidity:79 Sunset:05:43Wind:normal Barometer:1013

Tomorrow'sForecast

Cloudy

Thursday,Oct30

Max Min32o | 25o

ExtendedForecastforaweek FridayOct31

SaturdayNov1

SundayNov2

MondayNov3

TuesdayNov4

32o|25o 32o|25o 32o|25o 32o|25o 32o|25oCloudy

PartlyCloudy

Cloudy

PartlyCloudy

PartlyCloudy

Vijayawadarecordshighestrainfall

The 12-ft water storage level at Prakasam barrage (left) mightinundatethenewAPcapital,whichistocomeupatGunturintheKondaveetiVaagustreamarea.(Photo:DC)Hyderabad:Vijayawada,ArogyavaramandKadapareceivedthehighest rainfallonTuesdayunder the influenceof theNorth-Eastmonsoon.Vijayawada recorded 56mm, Arogyavaram received 44mm andKadapa received41mm. InTelangana,KhammamandWarangalalsoreceivedgoodrainfallonTuesday.TheNorth-EastmonsoonhasbeenactiveoverRayalaseematoo.Metofficialspredictedmoderatetoheavyrainorthundershowersat a few places in north coastal Andhra Pradesh, south coastalAndhraPradesh andRayalaseemaand light tomoderate rain orthundershowersatisolatedplacesinTelangana.

RainslashedmanyplacesinRayalaseema,afewplacesinsouthcoastal Andhra Pradesh, north coastal Andhra Pradesh and atisolated places in Telangana. More districts including Chittoor,Nellore,Kurnool,Krishna,Visakhapatnamalsoreceivedsignificantrainfallinthelast24hours.This is a good news for districts of Andhra Pradesh andTelangana, which experienced major deficit during the South-WestmonsoonsbetweenJune1 toOctober28, thisyear.ApartfromSrikakulam,VizianagaramandVisakhapatnam,all theotherdistrictsinAndhrarecordedsevereshortfallinrains.MeanwhileInundationthreattoAPcapital Thestorage levelof12ftofwateratPrakasambarragecanbeathreat to the capital city location. Currently, the 12ft water levelbeingmaintainedatPrakasambarrageismandatoryforprovidingwatertopowergenerationneedsofNTTPC,Kondapalli.Several areas along Kondaveeti Vaagu stream face inundationthreateveryyear.On theotherhand,becauseof the12-ftwaterstorage level, the barrage structure including pillars and crustgatesarealwaysunderwaterwithnoscopetocheckthesafetyofthebarragepillars.The irrigation department had repaired the barrage almost 12yearsagobyconstructingabundonKrishnaRiver.Whileitshouldbe checked once in three years, the water supply linkage withNTTPChindersintheregularmaintenance.Asawayout,theexpertshavesuggestedaRs35-croreprojectofinitiatingrepairworkonthedownstreamside.

Mullaiperiyardampoisedtotouch136ftChennai:The water level in the Mullaiperiyar reservoir onTuesday touched the 133-footmarkwith an inflow of over 3,710cusecs.Ifthepresentinflowofover3,500cusecsismaintainedforthenextthreedays,thewaterlevelwillreach136feetbyOctober30or31,accordingtoPWDsourcesThewaterlevelinthedamhasincreasedbyafootonasingledaydue to increased inflow following heavy rain in the catchmentareasinKerala.Inthelast24hoursending6amonTuesday,thecatchmentareasofMullaiperiyarreceived44mmrainfall.OnMonday,thewaterlevelstoodat132feetwithaninflowofover3000 cusecs. The discharge from the dam stood at 456cusecs.Withwater level inthedaminchingtowardsthe136-foot-mark,thefive-membersub-committee,comprisingtwoKeralaandTamilNaduPWDofficials,would visit thedamonOctober 30 toprovide necessary information about its status to the SupremeCourt constituted high-level supervisory committee. ThesupervisorypanelwillbevisitingthedamonNovember3.The panel, comprising Central Water Commission (dam safetyorganisation)chiefengineerL.A.V.NathanandTamilNadupublicworks department secretary M. Saikumar and Kerala waterresources department additional chief secretary V.J. Kurien, willinspectthedamanddiscussfuturecourseofaction.Thesub-committee,whichmakesperiodicinspectiontosubmititsreport to theSCpanel, inspected thedam lastonOctober13. Intheinspection,theKeralaengineersraisedtheissueofincreaseinthewaterseepageinthedam. Meanwhile,Floodalerthasbeensounded in Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Cuddalore and Coimbatoredistricts and district collectors have formed special squads toevacuate people living in low lying areas, adjacent to lakes andreservoirsbrimmingupinsouthernandwesterndistricts.

“Major reservoirs including Amaravati, Mettur and Manimutharuhave filled to the brim and the engineers have been asked tomonitortheinflowandoutflowofwater,”aPWDofficialsaid.Inflowandoutflowofthereservoirsareunderconstantmonitoring,saidKrishangiricollectorT.P.Rajesh.Police, revenueandvillageadministrative officers have been instructed to alert the publicaboutthereleaseofsurpluswaterfromthereservoirs."Two days back, it was pouring in Tirunelveli district and onTuesdaythesituationisnormal.Sofartwopeoplediedoflightingand about 100 houses were damaged. Compensation and reliefmaterialswereprovidedandthespecialsquadsaremonitoringthelakes and canals to prevent any breach," said Tiruneveli districtcollector M. Karunakaran. “Waterlogging has affected severalhectares of crops in delta districts and we have submitted amemorandumtothegovernmentseekingrelief,”saidMrArupathyKalyanam, general secretary, Federation of Farmers Association(CauveryDeltaRegion).Parts of western districts including Coimbatore and Tirupur,receivedrainfallonTuesday.Followingdischargeofsurpluswaterfrom rivers and dams, the district officials sounded flood alert inlow lyingareas.RiverNoyyal isoverflowingwith twomajor tanksbrimming to fullandabout4,000cubic feetofsurpluswater fromAmaravatidamisdischarged,sourcessaid.WeatherUpdateThe met department forecast rains for southern TN. And forChennai, light rain is expected for the next two days, due to atroughshapingascyclone ismoving towards thewesternpartofthecountry.Several parts received heavy rain on Monday and Tuesday.Samayapuram (Tiruchy) received 18 cm, Gobichettypalayam(Erode) 13 cm, Oddanchatram (Dindigul) 12 cm, Mettupatti(Madurai)andBhavanisagar(Erode)each11cm.

UpasiasksCentretocurbrubberimports

Coonoor,October28:The United Planters’ Association of Southern India (Upasi) hasurged theCentre to curtail unrestricted imports of natural rubberimmediately.“Thecrisisintherubbersectorcontinuesunabated.Overamilliongrowers and half a million workers will be in dire straits. Manysmall andmediumgrowershave stopped tapping, bringingdownSeptemberproductioninSeptemberto60,000tonnesfrom80,000tonnesinthesameperiodayearago.“Non-remunerative prices and increasing costs of wages andfertilisers will makemore growers stay away from tapping,” saidUpasiPresidentVijayanRajesinastatement.“Priceofthelargely-tradedRSSIVgradehascrashedtoRs.120akgfromRs.165thistimelastyearandRs.243inApril2011.Thisisdue to importof3.25 lakh tonnes in2013-14against2.17 lakhtonnesthepreviousyear.

Where is the justification to import 3.25 lakh tonnes whenproduction is8.44 lakh tonnesandconsumption is just9.81 lakhtonnes?”hewondered.“Besides,importsduringpeakproductionseasonsuppressprices.So, there should be a mechanism to monitor imports andGovernment should cap the quantity before it damages thedomestic rubber industry. Till September, 2.26 lakh tonnes hadbeenimportedcomparedto1.81lakhtonnelastyear,”hesaid.

LowerfreightdragssugarMumbai,October28:SugarpricesontheVashiwholesalespotmarketdeclinedRs.10-30aquintalonTuesdayasfreightratesdroppedbyRs.10-15perbag with availability of trucks turning easy. Before Diwali,transportation charges went up byRs.20-25.Nakaprices easedbyRs.10forS-gradeandRs.30forM-grade.Vashimarketcarriesover110truckloadsstockskeepingstockistsawayfrombuildingfreshinventories.Arrivals at Vashi market were 61-62 truckloads while localdespatchesremainedlowerat58-60.OnMonday, 18-20mills offered tenders and sold 58,000-60,000bags atRs.2,770-2,890 (Rs.2,770-2,900) for S-gradeandRs.2,880-3,000(Rs.2,880-3,000)forM-grade.Bombay Sugar Merchants Association’s spot rates were: S-gradeRs.2,932- 3,046 (Rs.2,932- 3,046) and M-gradewasRs.3,032-3,182(Rs.3,062-3,192).Nakadelivery rates were: S-grade Rs.2,860-2,970 (Rs.2,870-2,980)andM-gradeRs.2,950-3,090(Rs.2,990-3,120).

TurmericlosessheenonqualityErode,October28:Poor quality of arrivals continued to keep turmeric pricesbelowRs.6,500 a quintal. Of the 2,000 bags that arrived onTuesday,1,090weresold.Thehybrid fingervarietyprice increasedbyRs.350aquintalbutthepriceof the fingervarietywasdownbyRs.200 inErodeandGobichettipalayam Cooperative Marketing Socialites auctioncentres.At the Erode Turmeric Merchants Association sales yard, thefinger turmeric was sold atRs.4,099-6,334 a quintal. The rootvarietywassoldatRs.3,706-5,577.SalemHybrid:ThefingerturmericwassoldatRs.5,481-6,909,therootvarietyatRs.4,606-5,751.Of the614bags thatarrived,126weresold.At the Regulated Market Committee, the finger varietyfetchedRs.5,439-6,320. The root variety was sold atRs.5,119-5,920.Ofthe442bagsthatarrived,226werepickedup.Consumers switch to cheaper options ascoconutoi l soarsKochi,October28:With its prices surging, coconut oil is losing its sheen as localdemand is dropping in view of consumers shifting to cheaperedibleoils.Thalath Mahmood, Director, Cochin Oil Merchants Association(COMA),said that the trendofshifting toricebranandsunfloweroil by households and even hotels due to unaffordable prices ofcoconutoilisontherise.

With prices dropping, currently coconut oil is ruling atRs.14,700per quintal in Kerala, downRs.100 from the last week. Prices inTamil Nadu were quoted atRs.14,200 againstRs.14,500 lastweek.CopraheadssouthCopra prices also moved southwards toRs.10,200 per quintalandRs.9,800aquintalinKeralaandTamilNadu,respectively.Week-longDiwali holidaysand rains inTamilNadualsoaffectedthemarket,whichwilltakeacoupleofdaystorevivefully,hesaid.According to him, high prices of coconut oil resulted in rampantadulterationwithpalmkerneloilandotherlowgradeoils.Anothertrendseeninthemarket,especially inthenorthernpartsof Kerala, is the availability of coconut oil extracted from chipsused for coconut powder production. This, he said, is not food-gradeoilbutanextractedonemadefromcoconutwastediscardedbycompanies.He said the State Government should monitor coconut oilconsignments arriving from neighbouring States by setting uplaboratories.COMAwill help in setting up amonitoring facility in cooperationwith the Coconut Development Board, he said adding that theassociationhadalreadysubmittedaproposaltotheGovernment.

Domestic offtake wil l continue to driveimportsofedibleoilsInsufficient production, lower productivitymay drive shipments torecord

India’s demand for edible oils has been rising consistently at acompoundedannual growth rate of 2.7 per cent in the last threeyears and around 5.5 per cent in the last five years. Apart frompopulation growth, another significant factor driving edible oildemand is the increase indisposable incomeamongthegrowingmiddleclass.Usually,Indiaimportsabout60percentofitsedibleoildemandof17-18milliontonnes.Itsdependenceonimportedoilhit a recordhigh thisyearand isexpected topost freshhighs inthefuture.According to Solvent Extractors’ Association data, vegetable oilimportsinSeptemberincreased21percentto1.05milliontonnes(mt) from the year-ago period, after hitting a record at 1.3mt inAugust.Oftotal1.05mtofvegetableoilsimportedinSeptember,edible oilsmade up 1.02mt and non-edible oils shipmentswere28,853tonnesagainst0.83mtand30,062lakhtonnesinthesameperiod a year ago. Vegetable oil imports are turning cheaperfollowingtheeffortsofIndonesiaandMalaysia–twooftheworld'stoppalmoilproducers–tocleartheirinventories.

Tocurbcheapimportsandprotectlocaloilseedsfarmers,industryassociations have been demanding a rise in the import duty ofcrude and refined edible oils from current levels. The SEA hasbeendemandingadutyhikeincrudevegetableoilsto10percentfrom2.5percentandinrefinedvegetableoilsto25percentfrom10percent.UnionMinisterforFoodRamVilasPaswanisreportedtobeexamining the industrydemand to raise the importdutyonedible oils as oilseeds prices have fallen in the domesticmarketduetohighimportsalongwitharrivalsofkharifoilseeds.However,Indiadependslargelyontheimportsofedibleoil.Duetoinsufficient production of oilseeds, it imports a significant portion.Oilseeds productivity is still low compared to other producingcountries.Themainreasonforlowproductivityisdropinoilseedsacreageonaccount of switch over by farmers to other profitablecropsanddependenceonrainfallratherthanirrigation.Apartfromproductivity, there has been a paradigm shift in edible oilconsumptionpatternoverthelastfewyears.Despite thegovernment extending various incentives, thegrowthin oilseeds production has not been able to bridge the gapbetween production and consumption. In fact, increase in directconsumption of the oilseeds leading to lower availability of rawmaterialforcrushinghasalsoresultedintohigherdependenceonimports,evenwiththemarginalincreaseinoilseedsproduction.Soyameal, derived from soyabean is currently not competitive inthe export market leading to lower crushing of beans andincreasing dependence on imports. In case of palm, zero exportduty from Malaysia and Indonesia is leading to fears that moreimportsareoncards.Hence,domesticconsumptionisexpectedtocontinuedrivingdemandforimportededibleoil.ThewriterisSeniorResearchAnalyst,GeojitComtradeLtd

CCI steps in to procure cotton as pricesplungeBegins buying in AP, Telangana, Karnataka as rates fall belowsupportlevelBangalore,October28:Withcottonpricesfallingbelowtheminimumsupportpricelevels,the Cotton Corporation of India has begun procurement in theselect markets of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh andMaharashtra.OnMonday,CottonCorporationstartedapurchasecentreforthisseason at Gadag in North Karnataka, while it has been buyingfrom Adilabad, Shadnagar, Warangal, Guntur in neighbouringTelanganaandAndhraPradeshforthepastfewdays.Sofar, ithaspurchasedsome17,000bales(170kgeach)cottonacrossthecountry.BulkofthepurchaseshasbeenmadefromtheTelanganaandAndhraPradesh,aseniorofficialsaid.“We are purchasing wherever the prices has dropped below theMSPlevels,”hesaid.TheCentrehaddeclaredasupportpriceofRs.4,050aquintalforthecurrentseasonthatbeganthismonth.TheCottonCorporationhasalsoopenedcentresinMaharashtra,PunjabandHaryana,buttheprocurementhasbeenlessaspriceshavebeenhoveringabithigherthantheMSPlevels.Ithasnotsetanyprocurementtargetforthecurrentseason.In Karnataka, the modal price or rate at which most trades incotton took place wasRs.3884 a quintal at Gadag, while itwasRs.3,750 atRaichur on Tuesday. In Kadi,Gujarat,kapasorrawcottonendedmarginally loweratRs.870.5foramaundof20kg.

MillersstayawayA four per cent tax levied by the Andhra Government oncottonseedsmakes itexpensive tobuy fromthatState,saidMBLal, Managing Director of Shail Exports. Also, high moisturecontentinrawcottoniskeepingbuyersaway,LalsaidaddingthattheCottonCorporationisforcedtointervenequicklythere.Against the accepted natural moisture level of around eight percent, the levels inAndhraPradeshcottonvariesbetween15and20percentasfarmerspourwateronkapasbeforebringingthemtomarkets.“Pricesareexpectedtocomeunderpressurewiththepickupinarrivalsfrommid-November,”saidRamanujaDasBoobof theRaichur-basedBhagawanCottonGinnersPvtLtd.HesaidthemillsarebuyingselectivelyasthestockswiththemwilllasttillNovember.RecordharvestThe downtrend in cottonseed prices is also influencing cottonprices,Boobsaid.Cottonseedpriceshavedroppedbyover10percent fromRs.1800 per quintal to aroundRs.1,600 in the lastcouple of weeks. Also, the cotton prices are expected to bebearishonexpectationsofarecordharvestamidstrestrictionsonimportsbyChina,world’slargeimporter.FarmersinIndiahaveplantedarecord12.57millionhectaresandproductionisprojectedtoexceedfourcrorebalesthisyear.

Riceexportsmayfall30%asharvestsettofallRiceshipments from India, the topsupplier in2014,willprobablydropasmuchas30percentasdroughtandacyclonethismonthcurboutputExportswilldeclinetoaboutsevenmilliontonnes(mt)toeightmtfrom10mtthisyear,saidSamarenduMohanty,headofthesocialsciences division at the International Rice Research Institute.Productionwill drop toa rangeof95mt to100mt in2014-2015from106mtayearearlier,Mohantysaid.IndiawillconcedeitspositionasthelargestsuppliertoThailandin2015afterweakrainsduringthefirsthalfof themonsoonreducedoutput, according to the Food & Agriculture Organization.Productionoffoodgrainsownintherainyseasonmaydroptothelowestinfiveyears,AgricultureMinisterRadhaMohanSinghsaidlastmonth."Plantings were delayed, then floods came inmany parts of thecountryandafter the floods, thecyclonecame,"Mohantysaid inan interview in Bangkok today. "All these events will reduceproduction." Seeding of crops from rice to soybeans and lentilswere delayed as about 90 per cent of the country had belownormalrainfallinJune,theIndiaMeteorologicalDepartmentsays.

HalfamillionhectareswereaffectedbyCycloneHudhud,whichhittheeastcoastthismonth,Mohantysaid.Weakrainsinthefirstpartofthemonsoonwillcutmilledoutputto104mt from 106.5mt, FAO said in a report October 2. Exportsfrom theSouthAsian nationwill drop 20 per cent to 8mt,whileThailandwillship10.6mt,theRome-basedagencysaid.The spread of Ebola may disrupt Indian shipments to Africa,Mohantysaid.India isthetopsuppliertosomecountriessuchasLiberia,GuineaandSierraLeone,hesaid.UPfarmersreiteratedemandforRs350/quintalforsugarcaneUttar Pradeshfarmerson Tuesday reiterated demand for hikingstatesugarcaneprice by 25 per cent toRs 350 a quintal for thecomingcrushingseason.The farmers raised the demand at the cane price fixationcommitteemeetingchairedbystateChiefSecretaryAlokRanjanhere.Theywantcanepricerevisionduetohigherfarminputcostsandsteepfuelprices.Therepresentativesofprivatesugarmills,however,saidtheircostofsugarproductionhadalsoincreased.Themillsarewillingtopayupfront at the rate of Rs 220 a quintal, which is the fair andremunerative price (FRP) for cane fixed by the Centre. Anypaymenttofarmersbeyondthatpricewoulddependuponmarketsugarprices,themillerssaid.

Lastweek,asimilarmeetingwasheldat the levelof stateCaneCommissioner S C Sharma, where the farmers had raised thedemand for Rs 350 a quintal. Now, the high-level committeeheaded by the chief secretary would make recommendationsabout cane price to the state cabinet, whichwould finally take adecisiononthematter.Thereareoverfourmillioncanefarmersinthe state and the sugar economy is pegged at over Rs 30,000croreyearly.Theprivatesugarmillshavebeensteppingpressureonthestategovernmentagainstraisingthesugarcanepricesinthestate.Thepressure worked last year, when the state government hadretainedthepreviousyear's(2012-13)stateadvisedprice(SAP)ofcaneatRs280aquintalwhilegivingfurtherincentivestothemtothe tuneofRs20a quintal. Thismade theeffectiveSAP in thestateatRs260aquintal.