Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - THREE HUNDRED Twenty TWO
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
An Indian police officer has claimed that a prominent politician made a provocative speech moments before the 1992 sacking of a mosque in Ayodhya.He happens to be the Chairperson of BJP Parliamentary Committe who also happens to be one of the THREE Memeber Key Power Politics for Economic Ethnic Cleansing, Economic reforms. Other Two are Bengali Brahmins!Marxist Brahamin Buddhadev and Economic Disaster Master Pranab, the De Facto Prime Minister. Ruling Zionist Brahamin Hegemony works with this AXIS of VICIOUS Circle which Includes the Government of India Incs, Political parties, tarde Unions, NGOs, Corporate Maoists, World bank fed Civil Society, Intelligentsia, economists and Policy makers along with the TOILET Pet media.
Back to back Kolkata Inferno, Adwani episode is on the Floor once again as Modi is yet to be questioned for his role during Gujarat Genocide. Planning Commission has prepared a Blue Print for the Privatisation of agriculture which was published by Economic Times last day. Today ony the Financial newspaper published a supplement focusing on Subodh kant Sahai and emphasising Industrialisation of Agriculture which was tried best by the Brahamin Marxists of Bengal.
Only day after TOMORROW, for the First time Ambdkarite Bharat Mukti Morcha has to BURN the ANTI People Anti National BUDGET nationwide. Please stand ROCK Solid in Resistance against the VICIOUS ZIONIST CORPORATE Brahaminical SATANIC Fascist Imperialist LPG Mafia CIRCLE!
That family farming has not become the dominant agrarian form in post-Soviet countries is now both an accepted fact and puzzle of the post-Soviet period. Rapid privatization of agriculture was expected to result in the dissolution of the inefficient, large-scale state and collective farms, and instead harness market forces to create highly productive, household-based small-scale farming, similar to family farms in the West. This paper focuses on the Russian context, drawing on interviews
with current and former agricultural employees in a Russian territory, to identify reasons why family farming has not developed as anticipated. Findings suggest the failure of Western academics to adequately contextualize the post-Soviet situation, in particular the skills and expectations arising from decades of experience in Soviet-style agriculture. However, study findings also demonstrate that useful insights can be drawn from the Russian experience, particularly the importance of agricultural employees in agrarian change processes.
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A Short Note on "Agriculture Policy"
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The investments that are good for agricultural growth-technology and its dissemination, ... Generation and effective assessment and diffusion of packages of ..... innovative approaches to promote family planning and providing primary ...
planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/bkpap2020/24_bg2020.doc - [DOC]
Agriculture Strategy for Eleventh Plan: Concerns and the Way Ahead
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The Planning Commission had also set up twelve 11th Plan Working Groups*** ... 2.1 Deceleration in agriculture growth: In the last decade there has been a ..... There must be regular and accurate assessment of actual groundwater use in ...
planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/53rdndc/AgricultureStrategy.doc - [PDF]
NEPAL ECONOMIC GROWTH ASSESSMENT Agriculture
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growth in agriculture. The present assessment was carried out involving reviews, ...... Agriculture and Forestry. Division, National. Planning Commission ...
pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADN016.pdf - [PDF]
Macroeconomic Environment, the Financial Sector and Agricultural Se
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by EO Eyo - 2008
Macroeconomic Environment and Agricultural Sector Growth in Nigeria. Emmanuel O. Eyo .... of Nigeria the Nigerian National Planning Commission. Existing literature indicate that .... Besides, an assessment of credit to the agricultural ...
www.idosi.org/wjas/wjas4(6)/18.pdf - Similar - [PDF]
Rural Poverty and Agricultural Performance in India
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performance for India as a whole, suggesting that agricultural growth by itself tends to ... is to evaluate the empirical basis for this assessment of past trends ... by the Planning Commission in 1962.4 Dandekar and Rath [1971] also ...
planningcommission.gov.in/aboutus/speech/spemsa/msa031.pdf ::News4u:: » GDP at 6.5% expected during current fiscal year
5 Nov 2009 ... The Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission told reporters at the ... in New Delhi on Wednesday that assessment of economic growth is ... He said that the growth of agriculture would hover around 1.5 percent this year. ...
news4u.co.in/?p=42350 - CachedNEPAL ECONOMIC GROWTH ASSESSMENT
National Planning Commission, "Three Year Interim Plan (TYIP)" from Donor's .... NEPAL ECONOMIC GROWTH ASSESSMENT Agriculture. Views: 23 | Downloads: 3 ...
www.docstoc.com/.../NEPAL-ECONOMIC-GROWTH-ASSESSMENT - CachedCompass: Search Results: "macro" (Page 2)
http://planningcommission.nic.in:80/plans/annualplan/ap2021pdf/ap2021ch6-1.pdf ... FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY 6.1 AGRICULTURE The agriculture in India is largely ... IN ANDHRA PRADESH -AN ASSESSMENT (Sponsored by Planning Commission, ... PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH 10.1 Factors Affecting Variations in Performance ...
search.nic.in/compass?scope=macro...ui... - Cached - SimilarAgricultural land evaluation and site assessment in Latah County ...
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Site Assessment. While the SCS was preparing the land evaluation scores based upon physical properties of the soils, the planning commission went about the ...
www.springerlink.com/index/X44203G614482P44.pdfPlanning in India Ppt Presentation
21 Mar 2010 ... The planning commission was established in 1950. ... increased sharply and there was negative impact on industrial and agriculture growth. ...
www.authorstream.com/.../umanggoknp-354023-planning-india-five-years-commission-national-development-council-education-ppt-powerpoi... - Cached
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- Advani 'euphoric' on Babri demolition day, says eyewitness cop IANS - 04:47 PM
Rae Bareli (Uttar Pradesh), March 26 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani 'looked euphoric' as he declared in Ayodhya on Dec 6, 1992, shortly before the demolition of the Babri Masjid, that a Ram temple would be built on the site, police officer Anju Gupta testified before a court here Friday.
Praising Pakistan's efforts to combat terrorism, the United States has pledged tens of millions of dollars of aid for roads and power plants, but sidestepped Islamabad's demand for an India-type nuclear deal.• `Headley story shows close Al Qaeda, LeT links`
• `US efforts in Pak vital to success in Afghan`
• Osama threaten US over 9/11 execution
• 67,000 children skip school in Britain
• Hillary suggests no nuke deal with Pak
• Ten militants killed in clash in Pakistan
Without tax, petrol costs Rs 23/ litre
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hu, Mar 25 08:49 AM
Enlarge Photo A scene from the film "Love Sex aur Dhokha"/REUTERS A new Bollywood film has put the spotlight on changing sexual mores in small-town India, unsettling conservative filmgoers with spy cam footage and pushing the limits of the country's censorship board.
"Love Sex aur Dhokha" (Love Sex and Betrayal) is the latest in a series of avant-garde offerings stripping the film industry of decades of inhibition and dramatically changing the traditional formula of song-and-dance romances and violent revenge sagas.
The film, which opened in cinemas last week with an adults-only rating, has courted controversy with blurred visuals of a naked woman and voyeuristic sequences in its trailers.
Director Dibakar Banerjee says "Love Sex aur Dhokha" is more about a change in attitudes than it is about sex.
He says the film explores the lack of privacy in the modern world -- one where even mobile phones can capture, and broadcast, intimate moments.
"What my camera is doing is that it's recording a story that is changing in front of the camera," says Banerjee. "Earlier, sex used to be behind closed doors but now that is changing."
A decade ago, when a coy couple were about to kiss on screen, the camera would glide to two flowers brushing against each other or birds pecking at each other's beaks. Audiences just assumed the couple had done the deed.
In that sense, Banerjee's film, with a bunch of unknown actors, broke new ground with an extended sex scene which didn't quite escape the censor board's scissors.
But it's the director's use of unconventional cameras -- spy cams, handycams, supermarket security cameras and even underwater ones -- that seems to have won over the critics and drawn comparisons with Hollywood blockbusters "Paranormal Activity" and "The Blair Witch Project".
The story is told from the point of view of the camera, making it almost a character in a plot that interweaves three storylines -- a student who falls in love with his film's lead actress, a shop manager who traps an employee in an infamous MMS scandal and a sting operation on a rock star.
"The film effectively exposes the fat, sexual underbelly that sags out of the middles of this disturbingly prejudiced middle India," critic Mayank Shekhar wrote in the Hindustan Times.
Although critics agree "Love Sex aur Dhokha" marks a big leap for conservative India, it might take more than a few films to change mindsets.
When director Banerjee spoke to his mother about the project, she didn't repeat the name of the film because she didn't want to use the word 'sex'.
(Writing by Tony Tharakan, Editing by Miral Fahmy)
Vicious Circle of LPG Mafia on Killing Spree!World trade in merchandise goods is expected to rebound strongly this year as economic recovery takes hold, expanding by 9.5 percent, World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy said on Friday.Lamy said last month that trade contracted by 12 percent in 2009, its biggest fall since World War Two, the WTO said.On the other hand, keeping MUM on Economic Ethnic Cleansing and Man Made disaster, sustaining the Zionist Brahaminical Manusmriti apartheid Rule and Hopping on FII FDI control, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Friday, quite Ironically, attacked the government's strategic alliance with the US over the latter's decision to go for negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan at the cost of New Delhi's interests.
Thus, CPI-M flays India's strategic alliance!While, BJP silent on revisiting Babri ghost!Meanwhile, Mayawati Justifies her MONEY Power Empowerment of the Excluded Majority Enslaved Black Untouchable Politics with solid stance in Favour of Economic Ethnic Cleansing as she stands as Virtual STATUE in a Brahaminical Zionist Set Up she succeeded to constitute with her Social Engineering modifying Ambedkarite Ideology and ensured Departure from the Bahujan Politics of kanshiram.BSP leader charges Sonia Gandhi of wearing cash garland.
Despite facing severe criticism from all quarters for the currency note garlands that were presented to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati during the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) silver jubilee celebrations, Naseemuddin Siddiqui, a senior leader of the party, has charged Congress President Sonia Gandhi of receiving a similar garland.
Addressing a rally in Lucknow, Siddiqui displayed a photograph of Sonia Gandhi being presented a garland of thousand rupee notes. He said Congress party workers had taken the matter of Mayawati's garland to Parliament, but forgot about their own wrong deeds.
"Even Sonia Gandhi was wearing the garland made of thousand rupee notes on the occasion of Valmiki Jayanti, which was gifted by Valmikis (people of lower social strata)," said Siddiqui.
"I want to ask the Valmikis how they managed such a huge amount of money. Till today, Sonia Gandhi has not able to notice or comment on that," he added.he income-tax department is investigating the source from where the money came for Mayawati's currency garland.
The Samajwadi Party and the Congress have both demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry in the matter.
Congress leader Digvijay Singh has accused Mayawati of misusing public money, and said, that she is not the daughter of a Dalit, but a daughter of wealth.
Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev has also criticized Mayawati for doing business through politics.
The multi-crore garland was just a small part of the extravagant Rs 200 crore celebrations that marked the BSP's 25th anniversary, and its founder Kanshi Ram's birthday, with a massive rally in Lucknow on March 15.Lamy told a news conference after WTO members reviewed progress on the eight-year-old Doha round to open world trade that no members were calling for a suspension of the round.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday refused to comment on L.K. Advani's former personal security officer telling a Rae Bareli court that the BJP leader 'looked euphoric' before the Babri Masjid was razed, saying that the demolition case was 'subjudice'.
'The BJP won't comment on that,' BJP spokesperson Ramnath Kovind told reporters here when asked about the party's reaction to the statement by Advani's former personal security officer Anju Gupta in a special court in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh Friday.
Anju Gupta Friday morning testified before a court saying that Advani 'looked euphoric' on Dec 6, 1992, shortly before the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
Gupta, who was then posted as assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in the temple town of Ayodhya, was deposing before a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court.
'Advani not only looked euphoric but also declared before the huge crowds at Ayodhya on Dec 6, 1992, that the Ram temple would be built at the disputed site in the temple town,' she said.
Advani, Gupta said, 'gave quite a provocative speech for which he was applauded by his other party colleagues and the crowds'.
India probes sabotage behind huge arms depot fire!
A huge fire destroyed about 200 tonnes of arms and ammunition in one of India's biggest army depots early on Friday, triggering an investigation into possible sabotage, defence officials said.
The fire broke out at the army's Panagarh depot in West Bengal and officials said they were surprised how such a blaze could have broken out in a high security zone.
"We are exploring all possible angles," an army official said. The store has been completely gutted, Mahesh Upasani, a defence spokesman said.
India remains jittery about the threat of militant attacks. A blast in Pune killed 17 people last month, the first major militant strike since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
'(This) has exposed the blind spot in India's foreign policy and the counter-productive nature of the Manmohan Singh government's strategic alliance with the US,' the party said in a statement after a politburo meeting here.
'Contrary to the repeated assertions of the Indian government that the US should stay the course in the fight against the Taliban, both the US and President Hamid Karzai are moving for negotiations with sections of the Taliban to ensure an early exit for the US-Nato forces.
'Pakistan, whose (intelligence agency) ISI has close links with the Taliban, has come into the picture for any future negotiated settlement. India has been virtually left out in the cold,' it said.
'The US-Pakistan partnership is being strengthened. A high-level US-Pakistan strategic talks has just concluded in Washington. The US is stepping up military assistance to Pakistan while it has got the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government to buy large-scale weaponry worth billions of dollars from it.
'Even on the vital issue of terrorism, the US is refusing to have any reciprocity as evident in the manner in which it has denied Indian authorities access to (Mumbai terror suspect) David Headley. The illusion perpetuated by the government that the US considers India as its primary strategic ally in the region now stands exposed.'
The CPI-M asked the government to explain 'why it is embarking on buying billions of dollars of US equipment and getting further tied to the US when it is amply clear that the Afpak strategy is central for the US in this region'.
Ousted king raises storm in Nepal
Two years after Nepal's interim parliament officially abolished monarchy, Nepal's last king, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, continued to dominate the news Friday with his bitter foe, the Maoists, going on war footing against him once again.The former Maoist guerrillas, who had fought a 10-year war to dethrone the king, began a war council of its top leaders here Friday to decide their future course of action following a public statement by Gyanendra that monarchy was not yet dead.
At the end of the meeting at Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's residence, the leaders called for unity among the major parties to oppose the return of the crown, just like the uneasy unity they had forged in 2006 to unitedly oppose the coup staged by Gyanendra.
'Taking advantage of the political turmoil, the former king is conspiring to catch fish in muddy water,' Maoist deputy chief Baburam Bhattarai told the media at the end of the meeting.
'But he is day-dreaming if he thinks monarchy can be reinstated in republic Nepal.'
The unease among the parties comes after Gyanendra, who had been keeping a low profile since the abolition of monarchy, began attending Hindu religious festivals since last month.
On Wednesday, his visit to the Ram Janaki temple in Nepal's Terai generated more attention than President Ram Baran Yadav's, especially after a brief interview given to a private television station.
Gyanendra told Avenues TV that people's wishes and opinions should be respected on the subject of monarchy or any other issue. 'I want whatever the majority wants,' he said.
'May the garland that our ancestors assembled be never torn asunder,' he said, in a tacit reference to his ancestor conqueror Prithvi Narayan Shah, who was regarded as the unifier of Nepal but is now vilified as a colonialist.
Still using the royal 'we' that he had been wont to employ as king, Gyanendra denied dabbling in power politics, saying he could have done that much earlier had he wanted to.
He also admitted he had erred in 2005 when he sacked the prime minister and seized power.
'I learnt the lesson that people wanted an inactive king,' he said. 'But people should remember that the king is also their guardian and should take steps dictated by time.'
The interview also irked Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who said the former king was day-dreaming, thinking monarchy would be restored.
But though they are scoffing at monarchy, the major parties are yet to get their act together.
A week after Koirala's death, they are yet to choose a new chairman for the high-level political committee that was chosen to reach an agreement on contentious issues.
Though the Maoists, Koirala's Nepali Congress (NC) and the prime minister's Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist met Friday, they could not name a new chairman.
The search has caused a tussle between the Maoists and the NC and also in the NC itself, with three second-generation leaders claiming the right to step into Koirala's shoes.
Land ceiling and land survey progs on in Bihar
Bihar Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Narendra Narayan Yadav today said the revisional survey of land was going on in 15 districts of the state along with land ceiling programme in 2,149 villages. The revisional survey of land was complete in 11 of the 38 districts in Bihar, Yadav said while replying to a debate on the budgetary demands of Rs 432.49 crore for 2010-11 for his department in the state assemby.The districts where revisional survey was complete were Purnia, Katihar, Kishanganj, Araria, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Saharsa, Madhepura, Supaul, Vaishali and Sheohar, he said. The districts where the survey was in progress were Patna, Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada, jehanabad, Arwal, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Buxar, Kaimur, Bhagalpur, Banka, Darbhanga, Samastipur and Madhubani.
Yadav said the land ceiling work was going in 2149 villages and "we have decided to cover Bhojpur, Rohtas, Kaimur, and Buxar during 2010-11." He said efforts were afoot for establishment of data centres from districts to blocks level under the national Land Record Modernisation Programme (NLRMP) under which digitization of data entry, redata entry, data conversion and survey of maps would be ensured.
Decision on NHRC top post after Supreme Court order
A decision to amend the law on appointment of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairperson will be taken after considering the Supreme Court's order on a similar petition pending before it, the central government informed Delhi High Court Friday.A division bench of acting Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Mukta Gupta asked the government to file an affidavit by April 7 stating the present status.
Conveying the government's stand on the issue, Additional Solicitor General A.S. Chandhiok said: 'A similar petition is pending before the Supreme Court. A decision would be taken after perusing the orders passed in that petition.'
According to the existing law, only retired Chief Justices of India can head the NHRC.
Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Centre for Public Interest Litigation, an NGO, said 'changing the law to enable others except retired Chief Justices of India to become the chairperson is not a difficult task'.
'The central government, which had assured the court that it would amend the law, has taken seven adjournments in the case. Moreover, it has so far not filed its reply,' he said.
The petition claimed there are two retired chief justices of India eligible for the post, but the government is reluctant to appoint them.
'Non-appointment of chairperson in accordance with the Act (Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993) in such a situation despite the presence of two eligible candidates is arbitrary, unreasonable and in violation of principles enshrined in Article 14 of the constitution,' Bhushan said.
Earlier, the central government had told the court that it is considering amending the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 to allow a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a chief justice of high court to head the panel.
BJP silent on revisiting Babri ghost
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday refused to comment on a senior police officer testifying in a court against L.K. Advani that he gave an instigating speech in Ayodhya shortly before the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
'The BJP won't comment on that. It is a matter subjudice,' party spokesperson Ramnath Kovind told reporters here when asked about the party's reaction to the statement by senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anju Gupta in a Rae Bareli court.
Gupta, who was then posted as assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in the temple town, was deposing before a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy, another BJP spokesperson, also refused to comment and told reporters at a separate news conference that the case needs 'no political rejoinder' from the party.
'It is being looked into by a court and needs no political rejoinder,' Rudy said.
Gupta, who is now inspector general with external intelligence agency RAW in Delhi, Friday morning testified before the court saying that Advani 'looked euphoric' on the day when the Babri Masjid was demolished by Hindu fanatics.
'Advani not only looked euphoric but also declared before the huge crowds at Ayodhya on Dec 6, 1992, that the Ram temple would be built at the disputed site in the temple town,' she said.
Advani, Gupta said, 'gave quite a provocative speech for which he was applauded by his other party colleagues and the crowds'.
Supreme Court rejects PIL for M F Husain's return
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which urged the Central Government to take steps to ensure M F Husain's safe return to India and withdraw all cases pending against him.
The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan rejected the petition, saying Husain has every right to stay in India, but he has to take a decision in this regard
The Supreme Court said it could not direct the Union of India to withdraw the cases as private individuals had filed the complaints.
The judges were hearing the petition filed by Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party Chief Bhim Singh. He had filed the PIL on February 26. (ANI)
Cash-at-door scam: Court orders CBI to probe more
A special court here Friday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to further probe a case in which Rs.1.5 million were recovered from outside the door of a Punjab and Haryana High Court judge's house nearly 19 months ago.
CBI special court judge Darshan Singh also dismissed a petition filed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association opposing the CBI's request to close the case, also known as the cash-at-door scam.
The court fixed May 26 for the next hearing.
The CBI December last year filed a closure report in the case as it did not get the sanction to prosecute some of the main suspects.
The scam came to light after a packet containing Rs.1.5 million was delivered Aug 13, 2008 at the door of Sector 11 residence of newly-appointed high court judge Nirmaljit Kaur.
She complained to police and got a case registered.
Police later arrested the (then) Haryana additional advocate general Sanjeev Bansal, property dealer Rajiv Gupta and Delhi-based hotelier Ravinder Singh.
Bansal and Gupta told police that the money was meant for another high court judge, Nirmal Yadav. They claimed that another packet containing Rs.1.5 million was later delivered at Yadav's Sector 24 official residence.
Yadav, who went on leave Aug 22 after her name figured in the case, was recently transferred to the Uttrakhand High Court.
While the case was handed over from Chandigarh Police to the CBI, the Supreme Court also set up a committee of senior judges to investigate the matter separately.
Muslims hail court order on Andhra quota, want states to follow
The Supreme Court order restoring four percent quota for backward class Muslims in government jobs and education in Andhra Pradesh has come as a relief for students aspiring for professional courses and has been welcomed by the community, which now wants more to states implement it.Students, who feared they would lose an academic year because the Andhra Pradesh High Court last month quashed the quota, were elated with the Supreme Court's interim order. The court Thursday observed there was nothing wrong in providing a quota for Muslim backward classes.
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who is spearheading a campaign for the restoration of Muslim quota in the state, termed the court verdict as 'remarkable'. 'This is our first victory and will save the academic year of Muslim students,' he said.
The court order will enable students from 14 backward Muslim groups in Andhra Pradesh, where the community accounts for 9.2 percent of the 77 million population, to avail of the reservation benefits for the fourth consecutive year. Since a constitution bench of the apex court will take up the hearing in August, admissions to most of the professional courses would be completed by then.
'The court order will encourage us to do well and we can continue to avail of the quota benefit,' said Mohammed Saifullah, a Class 12 student who hopes to get admission to an MBBS course.
In the past three years, about 30,000 Muslim students were admitted to various professional courses and higher education and nearly 3,000 candidates were recruited in government jobs.
The apex court judgment has also raised hopes among Muslim students appearing for the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) examinations, where reservations have not only benefited Muslims in getting lower cadre government jobs under Group II but helped them to occupy higher administrative positions too, like that of deputy collectors.
The beneficiaries and community leaders give credit for this to late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who provided reservation soon after coming to power in 2004.
Fulfilling his election promise, YSR had provided five percent quota to Muslims through a government order in 2004. But the high court quashed it on petitions by some individuals.
However, on the court's advice, the government reconstituted the backward classes commission and directed it to conduct a detailed survey of the socio-economic conditions of Muslims.
On the commission's recommendations, the government issued an ordinance in 2005 for five percent reservation, and the assembly subsequently passed the legislation. However, it was quashed by the high court on grounds that this would exceed the 50 percent quota limit set by the Supreme Court.
The government then issued another order in 2007 providing four percent quota in government jobs and educational institutions for backward classes among Muslims.
A seven-judge bench of the high court Feb 8 quashed the Andhra Pradesh Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of Muslims Act of 2007, this time saying reservations cannot be extended on religious basis.
Muslim leaders in Bihar, where the community accounts for 16 percent of the state's 83 million people, also welcomed the apex court order and called on various state governments to similarly extend the benefits of reservation to the community.
Terming it a 'historical decision', the influential Patna-based Imarat Shariah's chief Maulana Syed Nizamuddin told IANS this would have a long-term effect on the development of Muslims in India.
The government should provide reservation for 15 years to backward members of the Muslim community as well as other categories of Muslims, said Nizamuddin, who is also the general secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
Dalit Muslim leader Irshadul Haque said that reservation for Muslims, particularly backward members, will help empower them.
Maulana Anisur Rahman Qasmi, chairman of the Bihar Haj Committee, said the Muslim community deserves reservation for their empowerment.
Gulam Ghaus, a legislator of the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal, said that Muslims will have to fight for a similar reservation in other states. 'Muslims are as backward and poor as Dalits in the country. Reservation is a tool to push them ahead,' he said.
Vicious circle: CM speaks, CM sleeps, CM wakes up | ||
| OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT | ||
Calcutta, March 25: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee today held aloft as an "eye-opener" one of the worst-kept secrets in the state: "A vicious circle involving a section of the administration and realtors" does exist. The "revelation" came after a barrage of questions on the fire at Stephen Court on Park Street from a hostile Congress in the Assembly. The chief minister sought to reassure the Opposition by asserting that the vicious circle "now has to be dealt with firmly" — more or less echoing the sentiments he had expressed two years ago when the Nandram highrise caught fire. January 2008: NANDRAM FIRE March 2010: STEPHEN COURT FIRE Between Nandram and Stephen Court, little has changed. In fact, Nandram still stands tall as a symbol of defiance of the building laws and a testimony to the blessings it had received from all parties.
Today, Calcuttans ranging from politicians to officials expressed doubts whether the government would summon the courage to take the political risk of ordering steps needed to break the "vicious circle". The only difference is the smouldering anger the Park Street tragedy has fuelled among large sections of the people. Many felt that the chief minister was making "the right noises" only because of the coming civic polls. They think electoral reverses have made the government far too vulnerable to take any bold step. If Bhattacharjee was keeping an eye on the polls, he rose to the occasion today. "Who is the owner of the building?" the chief minister thundered in the Assembly. "How were the two new floors added to the building? They were totally illegal. Who broke the law? The devastating fire in the heart of the city is an eye-opener for us." The answers will take the questioner back to 1984, when the CMC was run by the Jyoti Basu government. But the chief minister did admit that he was not completely in the dark about the murky developments. "I am well aware of such things because I had shouldered the responsibility of the department for some time," said Bhattacharjee, who was the urban development minister from 1987 to 1993. Then, he wondered aloud: "Who was at the helm at the municipal corporation then (in 1984, when two floors of Stephen Court were regularised by the civic authorities)." In 1984, a government-appointed administrator was running the CMC — the CPM formed the board the following year. Officials said the fact that the Marxists had been in power at the CMC for most of the period since then had prevented the government from taking the "firm action" Bhattacharjee promised today. "These illegal activities are mostly the handiwork of his own partymen and officials, who are in league with the CPM," an official said. "The government did not, or could not, do anything when it was powerful. How can it do anything now?" They cited the example of Nandram Market, where the civic authorities have been unable to demolish illegal floors for the past two years. Calcutta mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya said: "I should not comment on what the chief minister has said. But it is for the administration to conduct an inquiry to find out whether such a nexus exists. If the chief minister has said so, let the facts come to the surface through a probe." Former mayor and Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee said Bhattacharjee's utterances were "simply pre-poll rhetoric". But urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya hit the nail on its head. "All parties have a stake in this nexus," Bhattacharya said. "So unless there is a consensus, nothing can be done." | ||
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Agriculture Policy: Vision 2020
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
India has made impressive strides on the agricultural front during the last three decades. Much of the credit for this success should go to the several million small farming families that form the backbone of Indian agriculture and economy. Policy support, production strategies, public investment in infrastructure, research and extension for crop, livestock and fisheries have significantly helped to increase food production and its availability. During the last 30 years, India's foodgrain production nearly doubled from 102 million tons in the triennium ending 1973 to nearly 200 million tons (mt) in the triennium ending (TE) 1999. Virtually all of the increase in the production resulted from yield gains rather than expansion of cultivated area. Availability of foodgrains per person increased from 452 gm/capita/day to over 476 gm/capita/day, even as the country's population almost doubled, swelling from 548 million to nearly 1000 million.
Increased agricultural productivity and rapid industrial growth in the recent years have contributed to a significant reduction in poverty level, from 55 percent in 1973 to 26 percent in 1998. Despite the impressive growth and development, India is still home to the largest number of poor people of the world. With about 250 million below the poverty line, India accounts for about one-fifth of the world's poor. Child malnutrition extracts its highest toll in this country. About 25% children suffer from serious malnutrition. More than 50 percent of the pre-school children and pregnant women are anemic. The depth of hunger among the undernourished is also high.
India has high population pressure on land and other resources to meet its food and development needs. The natural resource base of land, water and bio-diversity is under severe pressure. The massive increase in population (despite the slowing down of the rate of growth) and substantial income growth, demand an extra about 2.5 mt of foodgrains annually, besides significant increases needed in the supply of livestock, fish and horticultural products. Under the assumption of 3.5% growth in per capita GDP (low income growth scenario), demand for foodgrains (including feed, seed, wastage and export) is projected in the year 2020 at the level of 256 mt comprising 112mt of rice, 82mt of wheat, 39mt of coarse grains and 22mt of pulses. The demand for sugar, fruits, vegetables, and milk is estimated to grow to a level 33mt, 77mt, 136mt and 116mt respectively. The demand for meat is projected at 9mt, fish 11mt and eggs 77.5 billion (Table 1).
Future increases in the production of cereals and non-cereal agricultural commodities will have to be essentially achieved through increases in productivity, as the possibilities of expansion of area and livestock population are minimal. To meet the projected demand in the year 2020, country must attain a per hectare yield of 2.7 tons for rice, 3.1 tons for wheat, 2.1 tons for maize, 1.3 tons for coarse cereals, 2.4 tons for cereal, 1.3 tons for pulses, 22.3 tons for potato, 25.7 for vegetables, and 24.1 tons for fruits. The production of livestock and poultry products must be improved 61% for milk, 76% for meat, 91% for fish, and 169% for eggs by the year 2020 over the base year TE 1999. Average yields of most crops in India are still rather low.
Emerging Trends
The agriculture sector recorded satisfactory growth due to improved technology, irrigation, inputs and pricing policies. Livestock, poultry, fisheries and horticulture are surging ahead in production growth in recent years and will have greater demand in the future. Industrial and service sectors have expanded faster than agriculture sector resulting in declining share of agriculture in national accounts. Despite the structural change, agriculture still remains a key sector, providing both employment and livelihood opportunities to more than 70 percent of the country's population who live in rural areas. The contribution of small farmers to the national and household food security has been steadily increasing. The water availability for agricultural uses has reached a critical level and deserves urgent attention of all concerned.
India has high population pressure on land and other resources to meet its food and development needs. The natural resource base of land, water and bio-diversity is under severe pressure. Food demand challenges ahead are formidable considering the non-availability of favourable factors of past growth, fast declining factor productivity in major cropping systems and rapidly shrinking resource base.
Vast uncommon opportunities to harness agricultural potential still remain, which can be tapped to achieve future targets. There are serious gaps both in yield potential and technology transfer as the national average yields of most of the commodities are low, which if addressed properly could be harnessed.
Concentration was on enhanced production of a few commodities like rice and wheat, which could quickly contribute to increased total food and agricultural production. This resulted in considerable depletion of natural resources and the rainfed dry areas having maximum concentration of resource poor farmers remained ignored, aggravating problems of inequity and regional imbalances. This also led to a high concentration of malnourished people in these rainfed, low productive areas. This era also witnessed rapid loss of soil nutrients, agro-biodiversity including indigenous land races and breeds.
The agriculture policy must accelerate all-round development and economic viability of agriculture in comprehensive terms. Farmers must be provided the necessary support, encouragement and incentives. It must focus both on income and greater on-farm and off-farm job and livelihood opportunities.
Main Issues
In national priority setting, the following recurring and emerging issues for sustainable agricultural development and poverty alleviation must be considered:
(i) Population pressure and demographic transition;
(ii) Resource base degradation and water scarcity;
(iii) Investment in agriculture, structural adjustment and impact on the poor;
(iv) Globalization and implication on the poor;
(v) Modern science and technology and support to research and technology development; and
(vi) Rapid urbanization and urbanization of poverty, and deceleration in rural poverty reduction.
In addressing the above issues, a policy statement on agriculture must take note of the following uncommon opportunities:
- Conservation of natural resources and protection of environment.
- Vast untapped potential of our soil and water resources, and farming systems
- Technology revolution especially in the areas of molecular biology, biotechnology, space technology, ecology and management.
- Revolution in informatics and communication and the opportunity of linking farmers, extension workers and scientists with the national and international databases
Vision
The Agriculture Policy document must articulate a clear vision on following few basic parameters of the agricultural sector around which a policy framework must be developed.
- Organization of agriculture: A clear long-term vision where inter-sectoral linkages are explicit.
- Sustainability and natural resource management: Prescription must lie in the domain of political economy. Otherwise, allocating funds for watershed development, agroforestry, soil conservation, and so on will not produce desired results.
- Institutional change: Policy document must spell out new approaches and new institutions free from the shackles of bureaucratic and self-help framework.
- Investment priorities: There is a need to develop a consensus on investment themes, priorities and policies. Policy document must lend strength to the claim for greater investment in rural areas, and also re-examine its programmes in the light of complementarities.
- Incentives: Document must articulate a clear vision on the incentive framework.
- Risk management
Challenges, Policies and Strategies
Enhancing Yield of Major Commodities
Yield of major crops and livestock in the region is much lower than that in the rest of the world. Considering that the frontiers of expansion of cultivated area are almost closed in the region, the future increase in food production to meet the continuing high demand must come from increase in yield. There is a need to strengthen adaptive research and technology assessment, refinement and transfer capabilities of the country so that the existing wide technology transfer gaps are bridged. For this, an appropriate network of extension service needs to be created to stimulate and encourage both top-down and bottom-up flows of information between farmers, extension workers, and research scientists to promote the generation, adoption, and evaluation of location specific farm technologies. Ample scope exists for increasing genetic yield potential of a large number of vegetables, fruits as well as other food crops and livestock and fisheries products. Besides maintenance breeding, greater effort should be made towards developing hybrid varieties as well as varieties suitable for export purposes. Agronomic and soil researches in the region need to be intensified to address location specific problems as factor productivity growth is decelerating in major production regimes. Research on coarse grains, pulses and oilseeds must achieve a production breakthrough. Hybrid rice, single cross hybrids of maize and pigeonpea hybrids offer new opportunities. Soybean, sunflower and oil palm will help in meeting future oil demands successfully. Forest cover must be preserved to keep off climatic disturbances and to provide enough of fuel and fodder. Milk, meat and draught capacity of our animals needs to be improved quickly through better management practices.
Integrated nutrient management: Attention should be given to balanced use of nutrients. Phosphorus deficiency is now the most widespread soil fertility problem in both irrigated and unirrigated areas. Correcting the distortion in relative prices of primary fertilizers could help correct the imbalances in the use of primary plant nutrients -nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash and use of bio-fertilizers. To improve efficiency of fertilizer use, what is really needed is enhanced location-specific research on efficient fertilizer practices (such as balanced use of nutrients, correct timing and placement of fertilizers, and, wherever necessary, use of micronutrient and soil amendments), improvement in soil testing services, development of improved fertilizer supply and distribution systems, and development of physical and institutional infrastructure.
Arresting deceleration in total factor productivity: Public investment in irrigation, infrastructure development (road, electricity), research and extension and efficient use of water and plant nutrients are the dominant sources of TFP growth. The sharp deceleration in total investment and more so in public sector investment in agriculture is the main cause for the deceleration. This has resulted in the slow-down in the growth of irrigated area and a sharp deceleration in the rate of growth of fertiliser consumption. The most serious effect of deceleration in total investment has been on agricultural research and extension. This trend must be reversed as the projected increase in food and non-food production must accrue essentially through increasing yield per hectare. Recognising that there are serious yield gaps and there are already proven paths for increasing productivity, it is very important for India to maintain a steady growth rate in total factor productivity. As the TFP increases, the cost of production decreases and the prices also decrease and stabilise. Both producer and consumer share the benefits. The fall in food prices will benefit the urban and rural poor more than the upper income groups, because the former spend a much larger proportion of their income on cereals than the latter. All the efforts need to be concentrated on accelerating growth in TFP, whilst conserving natural resources and promoting ecological integrity of agricultural system. More than half of the required growth in yield to meet the target of demand must be met from research efforts by developing location specific and low input use technologies with the emphasis on the regions where the current yields are below the required national average yield.
Literacy had a positive and significant relation with crop productivity and a strong link exists between literacy and farm modernisation. A recent study (Kumar and Mittal, 2000), has shown that literacy emerged as an important source of growth in adoption of technology, use of modern inputs like machines, fertilisers, and yield. Recognising that in the liberalised economic environment, efficiency and growth orientation will attract maximum attention. Literacy will play a far more important role in the globalised world than it did in the past. Contribution of literacy, through TFP, will be substantial on yield growth and domestic supply. As future agriculture will increasingly be science-led and will require modern economic management, high return to investment on education is expected.
The investments that are good for agricultural growth-technology and its dissemination, rural infrastructure (roads), education and irrigation - amount to a 'win-win' strategy for reducing rural poverty by also increasing the non-farm economy and raising rural wages. Creating infrastructure in less developed areas, better management of infrastructure and introduction of new technologies can further enhance resource productivity and TFP. Generation and effective assessment and diffusion of packages of appropriate technologies involving system and programme based approach, participatory mechanisms, greater congruency between productivity and sustainability through integrated pest management and integrated soil-water-irrigation-nutrient management, should be aggressively promoted to bridge the yield gaps in most field crops. Besides this, efforts must be in place to defend the gains and to make new gains particularly through the congruence of gene revolution, informatics revolution, management revolution and eco-technology.
Many observers have expressed concern that technological gains have not occurred in a number of crops, notably coarse cereals, pulses and in rainfed areas. Recent analysis on TFP growth based on cost of cultivation data does not prove this perception (Table 2). In all the 18 major crops considered in the analysis, several states have recorded positive TFP growth. This is spread over major cereals, coarse grains, pulses, oilseeds, fibres, vegetables, etc. In most cases, in the major producing states, rainfed crops also, showed productivity gains. There is thus strong evidence that technological change has generally pervaded the entire crop sector. There are, of course, crops and states where technological stagnation or decline is apparent and these are the priorities for present and future agricultural research. Farming system research to develop location specific technologies and strategy to make grey areas green by adopting three-pronged approach - watershed management, hybrid technology and small farm mechanisation will accelerate growth in TFP. It is necessary to enlarge the efforts for promoting available dry land technologies. Promoting efficient fertiliser practices, improving soil-testing services, strengthening distribution channel of critical inputs specially quality seed and development of physical and institutional infrastructure will help resource-poor farmers.
Bridging Yield Gaps: Vast untapped potential in the yield exists for all crops in most of the states accounting for more than three-fourths of crop area. Emphasis must be given to the states in which current yield levels are below the national average yield. Bihar, Orissa, Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are the priority states accounting for 66% of rice area which need emphasis on bridging yield gaps to attain target demand and yield growth. For wheat we must focus mainly on Uttar Pradsh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan accounting for 68% of wheat area. For coarse cereals, major emphasis must be given to Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. To meet the demand for pulses greater emphasis is needed in almost all the states with particular focus on Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar pradesh which have three-fourths of total pulse area. The target growth in pulse yield from these states annually must be 6 per cent; otherwise the nation will experience shortage of pulses for all times to come. The task of attaining self sufficient in pulses production looks difficult without area expansion and irrigation. In cases of oilseeds greater emphasis is needed on Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh to increase the yield by about 4 per cent. The possibilities of developing processing industry for extracting edible oils from non-oilseeds commodities, like rice bran etc, needing to be explored. The introduction of palm cultivation for oil production may release pressure on traditional oilseeds crops to meet future edible oil demand. In case of sugarcane, research and development efforts are to be strengthened in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to increase the yields per hectare by about 4% per annum. The demand for sugar can also be met by developing mini sugar mills so that substantial sugarcane production can be diverted from Khandsari to sugar production. This may also help release some sugarcane area to other crops. Cotton crop requires greater yield improvement emphasis on 81 per cent of the cotton area in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
Water for Sustainable Food Security
India will be required to produce more and more from less and less land and water resources. Alarming rates of ground water depletion and serious environmental and social problems of some of the major irrigation projects on one hand, and the multiple benefits of irrigation water in enhancing production and productivity, food security, poverty alleviation, as mentioned earlier, are well known to be further elaborated here: In India, water availability per capita was over 5000 cubic metres (m3) per annum in 1950. It now stands at around 2000 m3 and is projected to decline to 1500 m3 by 2025. Further, the quality of available water is deteriorating. Also, there are gross inequalities between basins and geographic regions.
Agriculture is the biggest user of water, accounting for about 80 percent of the water withdrawals. There are pressures for diverting water from agriculture to other sectors. A study. has warned that re-allocation of water out of agriculture can have a dramatic impact on global food markets. It is projected that availability of water for agricultural use in India may be reduced by 21 percent by 2020, resulting: in drop of yields of irrigated crops, especially rice, thus price rise and withdrawal of food from poor masses. Policy reforms are needed from now to avoid the negative developments in the years to come. These reforms may include the establishment of secure water rights to users, the decentralization and privatization of water. management functions to appropriate levels, pricing reforms, markets in tradable property rights, and the introduction of appropriate water-saving technologies.
The needs of other sectors for water cannot be ignored. Therefore it is necessary that an integrated water use policy is formulated and judiciously implemented. Several international initiatives on this aspect have been taken in recent years. India should critically examine these initiatives and develop its country-specific system for judicious and integrated use and management of water. A national institution should be established to assess the various issues, regulatory concerns, water laws and legislations, research and technology development and dissemination, social mobilization and participatory and community involvement, including gender and equity concerns and economic aspects. This institution should function in a trusteeship mode and seen as the flagship of a national system for sustainable water security.
Emphasis on Rainfed Ecosystem
Resource-poor farmers in the rainfed ecosystems practice less-intensive agriculture, and since their incomes depend on local agriculture, they benefit little from increased food production in irrigated areas. To help them, efforts must be increased to disseminate available dry land technologies and to generate new ones. It will be necessary to enlarge the efforts for promoting available dry land technologies, increasing the stock of this knowledge, and removing pro-irrigation biases in public investment and expenditure, as well as credit flows, for technology-based agricultural growth. Watershed development for raising yields of rainfed crops and widening of seed revolution to cover oilseeds, pulses, fruits and vegetables. Farming system research to develop location specific technologies must be intensified in the rainfed areas. Strategy to make grey areas green will lead to second Green Revolution, which would demand three-pronged strategy - watershed management, hybrid technology and small farm mechanisation.
Accent on Diversification of Agriculture and Value Addition
In the face of shrinking natural resources and ever increasing demand for larger food and agricultural production arising due to high population and income growths, agricultural intensification is the main course of future growth of agriculture in the region. Research for product diversification should be yet another important area. Besides developing technologies for promoting intensification, the country must give greater attention to the development of technologies that will facilitate agricultural diversification particularly towards intensive production of fruits, vegetables, flowers and other high value crops that are expected to increase income growth and generate effective demand for food. The per capita availability of arable land is quite low and declining over time. Diversification towards these high value and labour intensive commodities can provide adequate income and employment to the farmers dependent on small size of farms. Due importance should be given to quality and nutritional aspects. High attention should be given to develop post-harvest handling and agro-processing and value addition technologies not only to reduce the heavy post-harvest losses and also improve quality through proper storage, packaging, handling and transport. The role of biotechnology in post-harvest management and value addition deserves to be enhanced.
Accent on Post-Harvest Management, Value Addition and Cost-Effectiveness
Post-harvest losses generally range from 5 to 10 percent for non-perishables and about 30 percent for perishables. This loss could be and must be minimized. Let us remember, a grain saved is a grain produced. Emphasis should therefore be placed to develop post-harvest handling, agro-processing and value-addition technologies not only to prevent the high losses, but also to improve quality through proper storage, packaging, handling and transport. With the thrust on globalization and increasing competitiveness, this approach will improve the agricultural export contribution of India, which is proportionately extremely low. Cost-effectiveness in production and post-harvest handling through the application of latest technologies will be a necessity. The agro-processing facilities should preferably be located close to the points of production in rural areas, which will greatly promote off-farm employment. Such centres of processing and value addition will encourage production by masses against mass production in factories located in urban areas. Agricultural cooperatives and Gram Panchayats must play a leading role in this effort. In doing so, the needs of small farmers should be kept in mind.
Increased Investment in Agriculture and Infrastructures
The public investment in agriculture has been declining and is one of the main reasons behind the declining productivity and low capital formation in the agriculture sector. With the burden on productivity - driven growth in the future, this worrisome trend must be reversed. Private investment in agriculture has also been slow and must be stimulated through appropriate policies. Considering that nearly 70 percent of India still lives in villages, agricultural growth will continue to be the engine of broad-based economic growth and development as well as of natural resource conservation, leave alone food security and poverty alleviation. Accelerated investment are needed to facilitate agricultural and rural development through:
- Productivity increasing varieties of crops, breeds of livestock, strains of microbes and efficient packages of technologies, particularly those for land and water management, for obviating biotic, a biotic, socio-economic and environmental constraints;
- Yield increasing and environmentally-friendly production and post-harvest and value-addition technologies;
- Reliable and timely availability of quality inputs at reasonable prices, institutional and credit supports, especially for small and resource-poor farmers, and support to land and water resources development;
- Effective and credible technology, procurement, assessment and transfer and extension system involving appropriate linkages and partnerships; again with an emphasis on reaching the small farmers;
- Improved institutional and credit support and increased rural employment opportunities, including those through creating agriculture-based rural agro-processing and agro-industries, improved rural infrastructures, including access to information, and effective markets, farm to market roads and related infrastructure;
- Particular attention to the needs and participation of women farmers; and
- Primary education, health care, clean drinking water, safe sanitation, adequate nutrition, particularly for children (including through mid-day meal at schools) and women.
The above investments will need to be supported through appropriate policies that do not discriminate against agriculture and the rural poor. Given the increasing role of small farmers in food security and poverty alleviation, development efforts must be geared to meet the needs and potential of such farmers through their active participation in the growth process.
Government should facilitate and support community level action by private voluntary organizations, including farmers groups aimed at improving food security, reducing poverty, and assuring sustainability in the management of natural resources. In addition, governments should enhance efforts to ensure good nutrition and access to sufficient food for all through primary health care and education for all.
Modern biotechnology tools, genetic engineering, as well as conventional breeding methods are all expected to play important roles in the generation of higher yielding, pest and stress resistant varieties of rice, wheat, maize and other cereal crops. The availability of genetic innovations in developing countries will depend on continued high levels of investments in agricultural research, both at the international and the national levels. Free and unhindered access to germplasm to breeders worldwide is absolutely crucial to the rapid dissemination and adoption of improved germplasm. This free movement and the dissemination of modern biotechnology innovations to developing countries are hampered by increased patent protection and private sector investments. There is an urgent need to address this problem of free access to technology in the future.
Increased attention will also have to be given to development of sustainable systems that protect the natural resource base. Recent evidence of resource degradation and declining productivity in some intensively cropped areas is of particular concern. Also population driven intensification of agriculture without the use of external inputs, is leading to a serious problem of mining soil fertility
Sustaining global food supplies will depend on continued high levels of investments in research and technology development. It is essential that research capacity has to be increased substantially. In addition to investments in research, infrastructure investments, particularly in irrigation, transport and market infrastructure development are equally important for sustaining the productivity and profitability of food crop production.
Mobilize the best of science and development efforts (including traditional knowledge and modern scientific approach) through partnerships involving national and international research institutions, NGOs, farmers' organizations and private sector in order to tackle the present and future problems of food security and production.
Donors and Government must urgently increase funding for agricultural research targeted at the needs of the rural and urban poor, and every effort must be made to ensure the free flow of information, technology and germplasm so that a proper sustainable agriculture can be achieved.
Fighting Poverty and Hunger
Nearly one-fourth of India's population, 251 million out of nearly one billion, is below the poverty line. One hundred seventy millions of the poor, 68 percent, are rural and the remaining 32 percent are urban (Table 4). Number at the national level in rural area has decreased after 1983; the number of poor in the cities has been increasing. This is essentially due to migration of the destitute from villages to cities. There are serious implications of this trend on feeding the cities and food security of urban people, urban poverty and environment. A question may be asked as to whether the rural settings and opportunities could be improved for securing livelihood security and consequently rationalizing the migration to the cities.
An analysis of the incidence of rural poverty and hunger by farm size revealed that more than half of the landless people are poor. Poverty got significantly reduced from 54 percent in the landless group to 38 percent in the sub-marginal group (Table 5), suggesting that even a small piece of land, less than 1/2 hectare, can greatly reduce both poverty and hunger1. The incidence of hunger and poverty gets reduced as one is able to meet even part of his/her dietary energy requirement through growing his/her own food (Table 6). Studies show that even a small plot of one's own helps women to escape extreme poverty and deprivation. Land is the main asset for livelihood security.
Although several factors affect the extent and depth of poverty and hunger, some of them have overwhelming impacts under the Indian setting. These include, irrigation, farming system and literacy. Generally, there is higher concentration of poor, and hungry people in rainfed areas as compared with those in irrigated zones. Even with 20 percent of the irrigation intensity, there is a sharp fall in the proportion of hunger and poverty and it remains there irrespective of further intensification of irrigation (Table 7). Evidences suggest that extensive irrigation will prove much more effective than to adding more and more water, and often wasting it along with the associated degradation of the natural resources. Such a policy will not only reduce poverty and hunger, but will also promote equity and environmental protection and natural resource conservation. An effective water policy and institutional support is needed to ensure judicious and equitable allocation, distribution and exploitation of water and water resources.
Livestock has the highest effect on reducing poverty and hunger. In rural India, 43 percent of the people who do not own even a single livestock are malnourished. Addition of one cattle or one buffalo to their assets reduces the hunger prevalence by 16 and 25 percentage points, respectively (Table 8). Only 14 percent of the people who owned one cattle and one buffalo were malnourished. In urban areas also, the addition of one cattle or one buffalo had significant impact on reduction of proportion of malnourished people. Livestock sector should also receive high priority with multiple objectives of diversifying agriculture, raising income and meeting the nutritional security of the poor farm households.
Literacy has a very high impact on poverty alleviation as well as on hunger reduction (Table 9). The illiterate people, whether urban or rural, are the most poor and malnourished. In urban areas the impact of literacy on poverty is the highest. Education, even above primary level, is extremely effective in reducing both poverty and hunger. Graduate and technical education is, of course, the most important instrument for reducing both poverty and hunger. But its impact is most visible on poverty reduction. Therefore, the education policy of the country must be geared to remove illiteracy as soon as possible, as 50 percent of our people are still illiterate. Free education up to 8'th standard coupled with mid-day meal in the schools will go a long way in reducing both poverty and hunger and will thus help build a strong India. Further, this move will greatly reduce the violation of child labour laws and will offset some of the non-tariff restrictions imposed by developed countries on exports from developing countries on the grounds of use of child labour.
Accent on Empowering the Small Farmers
Contributions of small holders in securing food for growing population have increased considerably even though they are most insecure and vulnerable group in the society. The off-farm and non-farm employment opportunities can play an important role. Against expectation under the liberalized scenario, the non-agricultural employment in rural areas has not improved. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on non-farm employment and appropriate budgetary allocations and rural credit through banking systems should be in place to promote appropriate rural enterprises. Specific human resource and skill development programmes to train them will make them better decision-makers and highly productive. Human resource development for increasing productivity of these small holders should get high priority. Thus, knowledge and skill development of rural people both in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors is essential for achieving economic and social goals. A careful balance will therefore need to be maintained between the agricultural and non-agricultural employment and farm and non-farm economy, as the two sectors are closely inter-connected.
Raising agricultural productivity requires continuing investments in human resource development, agricultural research and development, improved information and extension, market, roads and related infrastructure development and efficient small-scale, farmer-controlled irrigation technologies, and custom hiring services. Such investments would give small farmers the options and flexibility to adjust and respond to market conditions.
For poor farm-households whose major endowment is its labour force, economic growth with equity will give increased entitlement by offering favourable markets for its products and more employment opportunities. Economic growth if not managed suitably, can lead to growing inequalities. Agrarian reforms to alleviate unequal access to land, compounded by unequal access to water, credit, knowledge and markets, have not only rectified income distribution but also resulted in sharp increases in productivity and hence need to be adopted widely. Further, targeted measures that not only address the immediate food and health care requirements of disadvantaged groups, but also provide them with developmental means, like access to inputs, infrastructure, services and most important, education should be taken.
Identification of need-based productive programs is very critical, which can be explored through characterisation of production environment. We have to develop demand-driven and location-specific programs to meet the requirements of different regions to meet the nutritional security of most vulnerable population in the rural areas. Improved agricultural technology, irrigation, livestock sector and literacy will be most important instruments for improving the nutritional security of the farm-households. Watershed development and water saving techniques will have far reaching implications in increasing agricultural production and raising calorie intake in the rainfed areas. Livestock sector should receive high priority with multiple objectives of diversifying agriculture, raising income and meeting the nutritional security of the poor farm households. Need based and location-specific community programs, which promise to raise nutritional security, should be identified and effectively implemented. Expansion of micro credit programmes for income-generation activities, innovative approaches to promote family planning and providing primary health services to people and livestock and education should enhance labour productivity and adoption of new technologies. Development of the post-harvest sector, co-operatives, roads, education, and research and development should be an investment priority. A congenial policy environment is needed to enable smaller holders to take the advantage of available techniques of production, which can generate more incomes and employment in villages. For this poor farmer needs the support of necessary services in the form of backward and forward linkages. Small-mechanised tools, which minimise drudgery and do not reduce employment, but only add value to the working hours are needed to enhance labour productivity. Special safety nets should be designed and implemented for them. Can agricultural co-operatives internalise and galvanize these marginal and excluded people? Off-farm employment provided through co-operatives will go a long way in pulling them out of the state where poverty breeds poverty. Therefore, investment in the empowerment of the small landholders will pay off handsomely. Let us create rural centres of production and processing by masses through co-operatives or empowerment of Gram Panchayats to promote co-operatives. This will improve efficiency of input and output marketing and give higher income. There is need to disseminate widely post-harvest handling and agro-processing and value addition technologies not only to reduce the heavy post-harvest losses but also improve quality through proper storage, packaging, handling and transport. Panchayati Raj institutions and co-operatives can play significant role in all these directions. Giving them power over the administration, as contemplated under the 73rd and 74th Amendment of the Constitution has not been implemented seriously so far in any of the states.
Disaster Management
The frequency and intensity of disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones and earthquakes have increased in the recent years. The devastating earthquake in Gujarat has brought untold miseries to the whole state and caused a national disaster. Special effort should be made to develop appropriate technologies for increasing preparedness to predict and to manage the disasters. Effective and reliable information and communication systems, contingency planning and national and international mobilization of technologies and resources are a must. Experiences of other countries in prevention and management of the disasters should be shared.
Keeping Pace with Globalisation
The globalization of agricultural trade will bring to the fore access to markets; new opportunities for employment and income generation; productivity gains and increased flow of investments into sustainable agriculture and rural development. I believe that if managed well, the liberalization of agricultural markets will be beneficial to developing countries in the long run, It will force the adoption of new technologies, shift production functions upwards and attract new capital into the deprived sector. However, this will only come to pass if we are mindful of the interests of billions of small and subsistence oriented farmers, fisher-folk and forest dwellers in the short and medium tern. So far the magic of globalization has not been felt in India. During the past one-decade of liberalization certain trends such as deceleration of the growth rate of agricultural GDP, declaration in yield growth rates, and low non-agricultural employment have emerged against expectations. As we globalize, however, it is imperative that we do not forget social aspirations for a more just, equitable and sustainable way of life. Trade agreements must be accompanied by operationally effective measures to ease the adjustment process for a small farmer in developing countries.
Exploiting Cyberspace
Information is power and will underpin future progress and prosperity. Efforts must be made to strengthen the informatics in agriculture by developing new databases, linking databases with international databases and adding value to information to facilitate decision making at various levels. Development of production models for various agro-ecological regimes to forecast the, production potential should assume greater importance. Using the remote sensing and GIS technologies, natural and other agricultural resource should be mapped at micro and macro levels and effectively used for land and water use planning as well as agricultural forecasting, market intelligence and e-business, contingency planning and prediction of disease and pest incidences.
Table 1: Demand for Agricultural Commodities
| Item | Achieved TE 1997-99 | Demand in 2020 (million tons) | Yield target in 2020 | ||||
| Area (Million ha) | Production (Million tons) | Yield (Kg/ha) | LIG | HIG | LIG | HIG | |
| Rice | 42.2 | 85.7 | 1903 | 112.4 | 111.9 | 2664 | 2652 |
| Wheat | 26.2 | 69.1 | 2582 | 82.3 | 79.9 | 3137 | 3045 |
| Coarse cereal | 30.7 | 30.4 | 1041 | 38.9 | 37.3 | 1268 | 1214 |
| Cereal | 99.1 | 185.2 | 1814 | 233.6 | 229.0 | 2357 | 2311 |
| Pulses | 21.7 | 13.8 | 608 | 22.3 | 23.8 | 1029 | 1095 |
| Foodgrains | 120.8 | 199.0 | 1595 | 255.9 | 252.8 | 2119 | 2092 |
| Edible oil | 28.6 | 6.4 | 269 | 10.8 | 11.4 | 379.7 | 399 |
| Potato | 1.2 | 21.6 | 17188 | 27.8 | 30.6 | 22279 | 24566 |
| Vegetables | 5.3 | 74.5 | 14204 | 135.6 | 168.0 | 25673 | 31812 |
| Fruits | 3.2 | 43.0 | 13437 | 77.0 | 93.6 | 24064 | 29259 |
| Sugarcane Gur | 3.7 | 26.9 | 7006 | 32.6 | 33.7 | 8788 | 9088 |
| Milk | - | 71.2 | - | 115.8 | 137.3 | - | - |
| Meat | - | 5.0 | - | 8.8 | 11.4 | - | - |
| Eggs number | - | 2873 | - | 7750 | 10000 | - | - |
| Fish | - | 5.3 | - | 10.1 | 12.8 | - | - |
Source: R.S.Paroda and Praduman Kumar (2000). Food Production and Demand in South Asia. Agril. Econ. Res. Rev. 13(1):1-24.
LIG: Low income growth 3.5% per capita GDP growth
HIG: High income growth 5.5% per capita GDP growth
Demand includes export 4.7mt rice, 3.6 mt wheat, and vegetables 2.2 mt fruits 1.4mt
And fish 0.49 mt.
Table 2: Total Factor Productivity trends for crops in selected states
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: IARI-FAO/RAP study (2001) based on cost of cultivation data, DES, GOI.
Table 3: Priority states for increasing national average yield of crops, India
l
| Crops | Target growth Per cent | Priority states | Percent share of priority states in total crop area |
| Rice | 2.35 | BH, OR, AS, WB, UP | 66 |
| Wheat | 2.22 | UP, MP, BH, RJ | 68 |
| Sorghum | 1.36 | MH, KN, MP, AP | 82 |
| Pear-millets | 0.43 | RJ | 47 |
| Maize | 2.00 | BH, Up, MP, RJ | 60 |
| Chickpea | 4.34 | MP, Rj, UP, MH | 83 |
| Pigeon pea | 4.28 | MH, GJ, KN, AP, MP | 72 |
| Groundnut | 2.51 | AP, GJ, KN, MH | 76 |
| Rapeseed & Mustared | 2.11 | RJ, UP, MP, WB | 74 |
| Soyabean | 1.11 | MP, RJ | 83 |
| Cotton | 3.78 | MH, GJ, KN, RJ, AP | 74 |
| Sugarcane | 3.07 | UP | 51 |
Note: AP: Andhra Pradesh. AS: Assam. BH: Bihar. GJ: Gujarat. KN: Karnataka. MP: Madhya Pradesh. MH: Maharashtra. OR: Orissa RJ: Rajasthan. UP: Uttar Pradesh. WB:West Bengal.
Table 4. Number and percentage of population below poverty line in India
| Rural | Urban | All India | ||||
| Year | No. of persons (million) | % of person | No. of persons (million) | % of person | No. of persons (million) | % of person |
| 1973 | 261 | 56 | 60 | 49 | 321 | 55 |
| 1983 | 254 | 46 | 74 | 41 | 328 | 45 |
| 1993 | 213 | 33 | 75 | 32 | 288 | 32 |
| 1998 | 170 | 24 | 81 | 30 | 251 | 26 |
Source: IARI-FAO/RAP study (2001) based on 50th NSS
round (1993-94)
Table 5. Incidence of hunger and poverty by farm size in rural India
| Land class | Percent of population | |
| Hungry | Poor | |
| Land less | 49 | 54 |
| <0.5 ha | 32 | 38 |
| 0.5-1ha | 24 | 27 |
| 1.0-2ha | 17 | 19 |
| 2.0-4ha | 12 | 14 |
| >4ha | 12 | 13 |
Source: IARI-FAO/RAP study (2001)based on 50th NSS
Round(1993-94)
Table 6 Relationship between home produced calories and hunger
and poverty in rural India
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Source: IARI-FAO/RAP study (2001)based on 50th NSS
Round (1993-94)
| |||
|
'Everyone Wants Wheat And Rice'
It is only 8 am, but India's Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, 69, is already at work businesslike behind a desk in his home office, dressed in his trademark starched white shirt and trousers. Of course, his largely deserted house at New Delhi's 6, Janpath, belies both his importance in Indian politics and his popularity with the people in Maharashtra, who flock in larger numbers when he is in Mumbai or in his hometown of Baramati. In the eye of a storm over rising food and vegetable prices, a defiant Pawar spoke at length to TEHELKA's AJIT SAHI and RANA AYYUB to defend his agriculture policies during his six-year tenure. Excerpts from the interview:
 |
| PHOTO: REUTERS |
AGRICULTURAL PERFORMANCE UNDER UPA
Agricultural growth was practically facing stagnation when UPA came to power. A report from [Planning Commission Deputy Chairman] Montek Singh Ahluwalia says growth in the first two years of the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12) was 3.2 percent, which is definitely better than the 10th Plan. Our target was 4 percent, and if we had achieved it, the country's overall economic growth rate would have crossed 8 percent. But last year, there was no rain in many districts. Practically more than half of India faced a drought.
One of the important things we have done is that the investment in agriculture has substantially improved. The percentage of agriculture in GDP has improved from 14.1 percent in 2004-05 to 19.8 percent in 2008. For the farmer, the purchase of seed at the appropriate time is the main thing. They had been borrowing from private moneylenders at an abnormal rate of interest. When this government came to power, the total crop loan disbursement was Rs 86,000 crore. This year it was Rs 3.2 lakh crore.
Our flagship programmes of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, the National Horticultural Mission and National Food Security Mission are doing very well. We have invested Rs 55,000 crore in the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and have authorised states to decide the area they want to concentrate on. Some want to concentrate on fishery, others on horticulture. The choice to formulate schemes is also given to them. The only condition we've put is state support. Normally, it is Rs 100 and if they are ready to pay Rs 150, we'll give another Rs 50. For the National Food Security Mission we have concentrated in three areas — wheat, rice and pulses. Rs 5,000 crore have been earmarked, basically to provide excellent quality seeds.
The new procurement [of foodgrain] will start in less than 15 days. Our expectation is we'll cross last year's figures. [We need to work out] where to keep the crop, and continuously, we are trying to offload it in the open market. We have started daily selling [on the Internet]. Substantial quantity has been given to the public through the Public Distribution System (PDS). There are three categories in PDS — AAY (for the poorest of poor), BPL (below poverty line) and APL (above poverty line). For AAY, we are charging Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3 per kg for rice. Even APL was only Rs 7. These were fixed in 2002. Our costs have gone up but the issue price has not changed.
If you recollect, when the last session of Parliament started in 2009, the first two days we could not function because the farmers came in from UP and tried to gherao Parliament. What was the demand? The entire Opposition in Parliament said you have to enhance price. Okay, we took the decision. Now when we enhance the sugarcane prices, it will automatically reflect on sugar. In those days, the farmer got near Rs 120. Today it is Rs 250. So, sugar prices have gone up. Farmers have started concentrating on sugarcane. The initial industry assessment was, we will produce 140 lakh tonnes of sugar this year. I'm sure we'll reach 170 lakh tonnes.
 |
| SUGAR DADDY Pawar defends high levels of sugarcane farming saying demand has gone up for cash crops such as sugar, wheat and rice, but not for cereals PHOTO: REUTERS |
ON COARSE CEREALS VERSUS CASH CROPS
The real problem here is that there is no demand. In my childhood, we used to eat bhakra (flatbread made of millet). Today we eat chapatis made of wheat at home. We have taken to produce bajra and ragi but not a single state is ready to accept these items. They say give us wheat and rice. Now we are changing our food habits. Those places which depended on jowar and bajra now want wheat. In southern India, nobody touched wheat. Now even Kerala asks for wheat. Change in food habits means that the focus is shifting from coarse grains and cereals to wheat and rice. There are many states like Punjab, Haryana, western UP, Chhattisgarh and Orissa which are investing in rice and doing extremely well. But in the long term, continuous cultivation of wheat and rice will spoil the texture of the soil. This is not good.
ON COTTON FARMERS' SUICIDES
In fact, the cotton farmers got maximum subsidy in last two years. If you look at the reports or go to the villages in Vidarbha and see that construction is going on, the standard of living is changing.
| 'If we succeed in GM, our approach will not be like Monsanto.They want to earn money' |
ON SUPPORT TO MONSANTO
You see, Monsanto is a bad name. I am sorry to say that. This is one of the companies that are facing maximum number of cases even in America. In India, 40 institutions are working on GM technology and we are doing a lot of research in this area. But we are very cautious. If we succeed, our approach will not be like Monsanto, because they want to earn money. They are not here for charity. If they are investing in research, they will try to earn money. We cannot blame them. My complaint is that they should not exploit. Only thing we need to do is find solutions.
ON LOWERING OF IMPORT DUTIES
Three years back, there was a lot of sugar stock, and prices were practically collapsing. When we entered the international markets, the markets collapsed. Whenever we enter to purchase, the markets go up; we enter to sell, the markets go down. I am sure in another two years if things are good with sugar, wheat and rice, there will be too much production of these things and we will have to enter international markets to sell. If we take a restrictive approach, tomorrow other countries are going to create the same problems for me.
VISION FOR THE NEXT 20-30 YEARS
Sixty-two percent of the population depends on agriculture. You must see the reason and analyse why prices are going up. Unless and until I motivate the producer, why should he produce? Unless he gets a good price, given that the prices of all commodities are going up, why should he produce? If you have to improve the overall economy of the country, you cannot neglect your own population. That's why we have to strengthen their purchasing power. We also have to change the overall face of this country, but we cannot neglect rural India. And of course, the major problem which India is facing today is too much concentration on agriculture.
| 'Sugarcane farmers wanted higher prices for their crop... now cost of sugar has gone up' |
When India got freedom, its population was 35 crore and 80 percent of it was dependent on agriculture. Today we are 106 crore and 62 percent is dependent on agriculture. That means growth in agriculture is 300 percent. But is there any growth in the land? In Delhi, most of the area around the airport was agricultural land. Look at what has happened today. Each and every city is expanding. We are constructing national highways and SEZS by acquiring [agricultural] land. We even construct village school buildings by acquiring fertile land. That is the reason 85 percent of the farming community works on less than five acres of land each. And out of them, 60 percent has no water. So having to look after one's family is impossible. This explains the poverty. If we have to improve, we have to shift the pressure from agriculture to non-agriculture sectors. We also have to invest substantial money to create new irrigation. Sixty percent [land] is non-irrigated and if we improve that, production will improve. So all these are interlinked. Manmohan Singh is the first prime minister who started taking interest in this.
Linked to this is science and technology. Consider how the first Green Revolution succeeded. Most of us had been asking for traditional wheat. Many of us took a conscious decision to import the Mexican variety of wheat. Nobody was ready to touch it. Punjab did so, and suddenly there was a spurt in growth. Within one year, the whole country took to it. In the 1960s, the success of the Green Revolution was due to a hybrid variety. Today if we have to resolve the basic problem of food security, we have to develop varieties, whether it is hybrid, GM [Genetically Modified] or any other. [But] if you are going to develop any new variety, we have to be cautious if it will have an adverse impact on the health of people, birds and animals. If the scientific community concludes that this is fair from all angles, [only] then we should go ahead.
WRITER'S EMAIL
ajit@tehelka.com
rana@tehelka.com
| Related | |
| • | Gathering Storm HIGH FOOD PRICES IS ONLY THE TIP OF A LOOMING AGRICULTURAL DISASTER. A HUGE PARADIGM SHIFT IS NEEDED, BUT MINISTER SHARAD PAWAR ISN'T LISTENING. AJIT SAHI AND RANA AYYUB REPORT |
| • | 'Everyone Wants Wheat And Rice' It is only 8 am, but India's Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, 69, is already at work businesslike behind a desk in his home office, dressed in his trademark starched white shirt and trousers. Of course, his largely deserted house at New Delhi's 6, Janpath, belies both his importance in Indian politics and his popularity with the people in Maharashtra, who flock in larger numbers when he is in Mumbi or in his hometown of Baramati. In the eye of a storm over rising food and vegetable prices, a defiant Pawar spoke at length to TEHELKA's AJIT SAHI and RANA AYYUB to defend his agriculture policies during his six-year tenure. Excerpts from the interview: |
Residential apartment catches fire in Kolkata
Press Trust of India - 2 hours agoKolkata, Mar 26 (PTI) Two days after the Stephen Court inferno took place here, a fire broke out at a residential apartment in north Kolkata, however it was ...Kolkata fire: Stephen Court files missing; death toll 27 - NDTV.com
Two more bodies found in Stephen Court, toll 26 - Hindustan Times
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NDTV.com - 15 hours agoIn the many battles with the inferno at Kolkata's Stephen Building on Monday afternoon, Mohammad Zulfikar Ali's stands out. The 24-year-old carpenter was ...Kolkata inferno toll touches 24 - indiablooms
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all 522 news articles »Massive fire at WB army camp
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MUMBAI: Just the way a peer's passing reminds one of one's own mortality, the inferno that engulfed Stephen Court in Kolkata, claiming 24 lives, ...Kolkata fire: Families fight over bodies
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Jobless labourer plays the hero, plunges into inferno, saves 12 lives
Indian Express - 2 days ago... out of Stephen's Court at 18, Park Street, a 25-year-old daily wager's exceptional show of selflessness and courage gave Kolkata a new hero on Tuesday. ...Raj Mullick (left), Bijay Das and Ranjan Bhunia, strangers who ... - Kolkata Mirror
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Long wait for kin of Kolkata fire victims
Deccan Herald - 21 hours ago... are still missing after Tuesday's inferno at the Stephen Court building in city's ... Meanwhile, even as the Kolkata Municipal Corporation(KMC) began to ...Inferno on Park Street
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Court frames MCOCA charges against two extortionists
A Delhi court today framed charges against two brothers under the anti-organised crime law MCOCA for allegedly being involved in several cases of extortion and cheating in the national capital. Finding prima facie substance in the allegations against them, Special Judge J R Aryan charged Jag Mohan and Jai Chand with various offences under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
"By use of violence or threat of violence or intimidation with the objective of gaining pecuniary benefits or gaining undue economic or other advantages, you are being charged under MCOCA," the court said. According to the Delhi police, Jag Mohan and Jai Chand had committed crimes relating to extortion, cheating, attacking police party and obstructing public servants from discharge of their duties among others.
Both the brothers had earned notoriety by resorting to extortion and intimidation of the business community of Daryaganj and Chandani Chowk here, the police alleged. They were apprehended in September, 2005.
Goa govt refuses to ban use of mobiles in schools
Goa government today refused to ban use of mobiles in primary and higher secondary schools contending that a circular has already been issued to the institutes seeking to curb misuse of cell phones. Education Minister Atanasio Monserratte today said the managements of institutes should be responsible for curbing the misuse of the cell phones in high schools and higher secondary schools.
BJP legislator Damodar Naik had moved a private member''s resolution seeking a ban on cell phones in primary and higher secondary schools demanding that necessary enactment may be carried out by the government. "There are scams and suicides due to use of mobiles in school premises.
It also distracts other students'' in the school," Naik said adding that at times teachers left the class to attend a call on their mobile phones. Monserratte, citing the circular issued by the Education Ministry, said banning the mobile phones in primary and higher secondary schools may draw opposition from the parents.
"We can''t ban the use. We can ban the misuse of mobiles in these institutions," Monserratte said.
He said if there is any complaint by head of institutions, stern action would be taken in the matter.
Russia bans Hitler's 'Mein Kampf'
Russia has joined the list of countries banning Adolf Hitler's autobiographical work 'Mein Kampf', 65 years after the Nazi dictator's suicide.The state prosecutor justified the decision in Moscow Friday by saying the 'extremist' work contains ideas that preach murder and racial discrimination, the Interfax news agency reported.
Russian media outlets complained the move came 84 years too late, pointing out that Hitler had written 'Mein Kampf' in the mid-1920s.
The book contained demands for Lebensraum, a concept calling for a defined territory for the German people, at the expense of the Soviet Union and described Slavic people as inferior beings.
Human rights advocates have long lamented the high number of right-wing extremist attacks in Russia. In the last year alone, 74 people were killed in racially motivated crimes.
Historian Jan Ratchinski of the organisation Memorial, which works to preserve information about Soviet-era persecution, compared 'Mein Kampf' to books written by Russian revolutionary Lenin and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Both called for mass terror in their works, he said.
Germany banned the dissemination of 'Mein Kampf' decades ago.
Hasina visit to India a landmark moment
Bangladesh's envoy to India Tariq A. Karim said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's January visit to India would bolster the partnership between the two countries and chart a new success story in South Asia's politics.
Karim described Hasina's four- day visit ( January 10 to 13) to India as the most fruitful since 1974.
' The exhaustive joint communique following bilateral talks between the two sides touches every aspect of the bilateral ties. It is the most forward looking document to emanate from the heads of government since 1974. This document is not just a statement of wishes. It is a work order for both governments that needs to be implemented for a better future. It is a vision document for strengthening bilateral ties,' Karim said on the eve of Bangladesh’s national day on Friday.
Hasina, also chief of the ruling Awami League, is often described as India’s best friend in Bangladesh, which has seen governments in the past harbouring anti- India elements.
But Hasina’s victory in the country’s December 2008 elections heralded a new chapter in the bilateral ties.
During Hasina’s visit, five accords were signed, including three counter- terror treaties and a MoU on power sector cooperation.
India also announced a huge Line of Credit worth $ 1 billion for a range of projects.
Karim said Hasina had a vision to create a new and modern Bangladesh.
“ Her speech ahead of the general elections, which reflected this vision, contributed to her electoral success. The government is working towards translating this vision into reality.
At this juncture India’s support is imperative to boost Bangladesh’s economy that has been growing at a steady rate of six per cent over the last few years,' the envoy said.
However, alluding to the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny of February 2009, Karim cautioned that certain forces had been trying to derail the Awami League government.
'By masterminding the mutiny last year, they had wanted to destabilise the government.
That would have created a political void enabling backdoor entry of such forces into power,' claimed Karim.
Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2010. MTNPL. All rights reserved.
US companies impressed by Indian aviation sector growth
The US administration has informed India that their companies are very impressed with the growth displayed by that country's aviation sector.The civil aviation sector has emerged as the fastest growing component of bilateral trade, accounting for about 15 percent of US exports to India.
This was informed to Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel during his recent meetings with the US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt in Washington.
During the meeting, the US administration also informed that their companies were keen to contribute to India's aviation growth.
According to Patel, during the meetings, both sides acknowledged the positive role of aviation in improving connectivity between the two countries since the signing of the Open Skies Agreement in 2005.
Patel said these companies needed to show a long-term commitment beyond just exporting to India.
"They should seriously explore the possibility of establishing manufacturing bases and investing in aviation infrastructure like airports," Patel added.
He also urged Locke to explore the possibility of liberalizing the export controls regime for India.
Patel invited both the US Secretaries to visit India to see for themselves the numerous opportunities that India offers for mutually beneficial partnerships in general, and in aviation, in particular.
He also addressed a luncheon round table at the US Chamber of Commerce where many US companies engaged in aviation-related activities were present.
Patel gave them an update on recent developments and encouraged them to deepen their technological collaboration with India.
The US-India Business Council organized the event.
During his visit, Patel also addressed US Government officials, business representatives, Non Resident Indians (NRI), and Indian Americans at the celebration 'Air India's Capital to Capital Connectivity: Bringing Washington and Delhi Closer'; a cultural reception organized by the US-India Business Council.
The event was organised to publicize the new Air India link between Washington DC and New Delhi.
Congressman Jim McDermott was a special guest on the occasion.
The service that commenced from 1 December 2009 provides the only single-plane link between the two capitals.
As both countries take their bilateral strategic partnership to a new level of multifaceted and a broad based relationship, there is a shared appreciation of the importance of robust cooperation in the aviation sector as it makes possible the flow of people, goods and services.
This led to the establishment of the bilateral Aviation Cooperation Programme, a trilateral cooperation among the Union Civil Aviation Ministry, the Federal Aviation Administration, US Trade Development Administration and US industry, which has been most successful.
The number of companies in the programme has gone to 32 from seven at inception.
The US has participated actively in both the Civil Aviation exhibitions that have been organized in India.
The second bilateral Aviation Summit held in Washington DC in December 2009 had large participation from both sides and provided an excellent forum for dialogue and cooperation. (ANI)
Fri, Mar 26 06:05 AM
While Pakistan may have pitched hard with the US for early transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft and other sophisticated military equipment, a concerned India is learnt to have raised the stakes by indicating to the US that such a transfer may not go down well at a time when two US companies are bidding for the 126 multi-role combat aircraft tender floated by India.
This $10 billion-plus tender is considered one of the biggest international military contracts in the world now. At present, six companies are in the fray: F-16 from Lockheed Martin (US), Boeing's F-18 SH (US), Eurofighter from a European consortium, the Rafale from France, the Swedish Gripen, and Russian Mig-35.
Most trials are over with the IAF planning to shortlist contenders on the basis of their performance in the next few months.
Pakistan has been in negotiations with the US on obtaining 18 F-16s for the past few years. However, this has been riddled by fears of it being used only to strengthen its military capabilities against India and not justifiably needed in the war against terror.
The Obama Administration had initially said it would ensure that military aid is directed to building Pakistan military's capacities in counter-insurgency warfare alone.
In this context, India has been concerned over reports that Washington is now making way for F-16 supplies along with laser-guided bomb kits besides other sophisticated equipment. It's learnt that the matter came up for detailed discussion during Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao's recent visit to Washington, which was meant to carry forward the conversation on high technology trade.
While the US assured India that it was not contemplating to move forward with a Pakistan-specific nuclear deal which would only accentuate proliferation concerns in the region, there has been lesser clarity on military sales and transfers. India, sources said, has told the US that the intention of the Pakistan government seems to be to only build its military profile against India using American aid. Weapon systems such as the F-16 aircraft are a clear pointer to this, added sources.
By linking this with the 126-aircraft MMRCA deal, India is not ruling out the possibility of such a transfer to Pakistan becoming a factor in its ultimate selection process.
This apart, Rao's visit also saw India underline the need for Washington to do a prompt rethink on the entities list which still has certain ISRO entities on the list and that this does not augur well with the fact that the two countries worked together in the successful conduct of the Chandrayaan mission.
Given that there is already a case-by-case clearance mechanism before transfer of high technology goods to any Indian entity, India feels that this "double screening" is proving counterproductive.
Sex video of Swami Nityananda with another Tamil film actress emerges
Kuala Lumpur, Mar 25 (ANI): A new sex video involving spiritual leader Swami Nityananda and another Tamil film actress, Yuvarani, has reportedly surfaced on the Internet.
According to the Tamil Nesan, the spiritual leader is currently missing after his sleazy acts with South Indian actress Ranjitha were televised by a private TV channel about two weeks ago, reports Star Online.
TV channels cannot broadcast the current video owing to a Karnataka High Court order prohibiting the airing of any sleazy video of the swami.
Yuvarani has filed a petition with the Chennai police commissioner requesting that the video be removed from the Internet.
She has denied having any sexual relationship with the swami but admitted to having met him with her two children. (ANI)
Indian-origin economist hailed as messiah
London, March 25 (IANS) A British economist of Indian origin has been left perplexed after being hailed by a cult as its 'chosen one' who it believes was hiding in the Himalayas for 2,000 years.
'I'm not the messiah... I'm just an economics expert,' an exasperated Raj Patel has been saying after being bombarded with email messages from followers of cult Share International across the world.
The cult, founded by Scotsman Creme in the 1950s, believes that the 18-million-year-old Maitreya - the 'chosen one' -- combines elements of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam and has been living for the past 2,000 years in the Himalayas.
It all began when Patel, 37, gave a television interview in the US in January to discuss his book, 'The Value of Nothing', on the global financial crisis.
Thereafter, Share International founder Benjamin Creme stated that the cult's 'chosen one' or Maitreya had finally arrived, The Sun reported Thursday.
He told the cult members: 'Maitreya recently gave his first interview in America. The master of all the masters for the first time in human history himself came on a well-known television programme on a major network. But undeclared as Maitreya, just as one of us.'
According to the cult, Patel shares many of the characteristics of Maitreya.
Raj, who was raised a Hindu, was quoted as saying: 'I started getting emails saying 'Are you the world teacher?' Then it wasn't just random internet folk, but also friends saying, 'Have you seen this?' It's absurd to be put in this position when I'm just some bloke.'
He rejected his so-called holy credentials. Yet two members of the cult flew 2,400 miles to meet him at a book signing in his current US hometown, San Francisco.
Raj said: 'It frustrates me it might disappoint those looking for Maitreya that, in fact, I'm just an ordinary bloke.'
Are India's rich charitable? Not very, study shows
Tue, Mar 23 09:42 AM
Enlarge Photo A beggar walks past a shop window with designer clothes in New Delhi in this... The number of wealthy Indians has been rising fast over the last decade, but they're not ready yet to let go of their hard-earned cash, even for charity, according to a study by business consultancy Bain & Co.
The number of so-called "high net worth individuals" in India has grown at about 11 percent every year since 2000, possibly the fastest pace in the world, to more than 115,000 now.
Two industrialists, Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani and Lakshmi Mittal, are among the five wealthiest individuals in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
But when it comes to giving away money, India's rich are not very keen on loosening their purse-strings.
Charitable giving in India probably totalled about $7.5 billion in 2009, according to the study by Bain & Co, equivalent to about 0.6 percent of the country's GDP.
That percentage is higher than Brazil's 0.3 percent and rival China's 0.1 percent, but it falls way short of the 2.2 percent in the United States, and 1.3 percent in Britain, the report said.
Most Indians have no qualms about giving cash to family, friends, household staff and religious institutions, but given the scale of poverty -- an estimated 40 percent of India's 1.1-billion population lives on less than $1.25 a day -- Indians need to become way more generous, said Bain partner Arpan Sheth.
"Should individuals, particularly the well-off, be giving more? Can they afford to make larger donations? The answer to both these questions is absolutely yes," Sheth said at the first Indian Philanthropy Forum in Mumbai, the country's financial hub.
There are an estimated 2.5 million non-profit organisations in India, and about half of all donations in the country go to religious, sports and cultural organisations, the Bain study showed.
A huge 65 percent of donations comes from the central and state governments, with a focus on disaster relief. A large amount also comes from foreign organisations.
Only 10 percent comes from individuals and corporates, in sharp contrast to the United States, where 75 percent of charitable giving is from individuals and corporates, Sheth said.
And in India, its not about who has more money: in fact, the wealthiest social class has the lowest level of giving, just 1.6 percent of household income, which palls when compared to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has given away some 82 percent of his net worth.
Bain & Co's Sheth said Indians' reluctance to part with their cash stemmed from a variety of reasons including no tax breaks for charitable donations and a deep-seated suspicion of what charitable organisations really do with the money.
"Accumulation of wealth is a fairly recent phenomenon in India -- it really began only with the opening of the markets, and we do have a history of scarcity," Sheth added.
"So it may be harder for people to let go of their newly-earned wealth."
But change is coming: software czar Azim Premji and telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal have set up charitable foundations, and Vineet Nayyar, head of software firm Tech Mahindra recently gifted a third of his shares to another charity.
"Such high-profile donations, private foundations, greater organisation in the NGO landscape and mass events that encourage fund raising, will encourage a greater culture of philanthropy in India," Sheth said.
"What's also needed are conducive tax laws," he added.
(Editing by Miral Fahmy)
Business News
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New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) Six key sectors of the economy grew 4.5 percent in February, slower than the 9.4 percent in the previous month, official data showed Friday.
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New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) Traders will shut shops in Delhi Saturday to protest the rise in prices of diesel and other items.
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International
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Mumbai, March 26 (IANS) A benchmark index for Indian equities Friday made a steady start and was ruling 78 points higher than its previous close, about half an hour into trade.
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Mumbai, March 25 (IANS) Helped by a late surge in buying, a benchmark index for Indian equities Thursday closed 107 points higher than its previous close.
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Mumbai, March 25 (IANS) Helped by a late buying surge, a benchmark index for Indian equities Thursday closed 110 points higher than its previous close.
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A euro zone and IMF safety net extended to debt-laden Greece boosted the euro and commodities on Friday but broader market reaction was muted as longer-term worries about fiscally vulnerable European economies persisted.
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Technology News
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General
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Experts have come up with a new security system for Internet using a special laser that may help keep hackers' prying eyes off for good.
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BEIJING (AP) Google Inc.'s business ties in China unraveled a little more amid a widening backlash to the U.S. Internet company's decision to move its Chinese search engine offshore in a challenge to the country's online censorship laws.
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Internet
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Washington, March 24 (ANI): Experts have come up with a new security system for Internet using a special laser that may help keep hackers' prying eyes off for good.
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Thiruvananthapuram, March 23 (IANS) India will join an elite club of five nations in April when a rocket carrying a satellite blasts off using an indigenous cryogenic engine, an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official said.
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New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Australia and India plan to jointly conduct research on climate change and the impact of human population growth on oceans.
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Dhaka, March 23 (IANS) A photography exhibition on extra-judicial killings carried out by government agencies was shut by police here. Indian writer and human rights activist Mahasweta Devi, however, went ahead and inaugurated it on the road outside the gallery.
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Software
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China's quality control watchdog said an investigation into Hewlett-Packard Co showed the company had sold some faulty laptop computers, and ignored consumer protection regulations.
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Will spotty wi-fi coverage in India cause iSpotting? Will it protect your data from embarrassing leakage? Why would they pass up on ?iTampon?? Are there any women on Apple?s marketing team? No. Period. For over a month, the Web has been drowning in iPad reviews, iPad jokes, iPad news. You would think there?s nothing else happening.
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Washington, March 10 (ANI): Scientists have identified potential new security threats against new generations of smart mobile phones that could be carried out without the owner's knowledge.
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We were discussing cars last week, and when I mentioned a value-for-money brand, my auto expert colleague piped up.
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Govt allowed Stephen Court to flout norms
Published on Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 21:11 in India section
Tags: Kolkata Fire, Stephen Court , Kolkata
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Kolkata: Kolkata is demanding answers for the loss of 24 lives in the Stephen Court inferno in Park Street. Police have arrested the building's caretaker and assistant.
Even though the West Bengal government has said that the top floors of Stephen Court were illegal, CNN-IBN has learnt that the state government turned a blind eye to the illegal construction of the top two floors.
Stephen Court is owned by the Armenian Paul Trust and it is is controlled by Official Trustee of West Bengal.
But the state government allowed local property dealers like Sanjay Bagaria and Shiv Prasad Bagaria to illegally take over.
The state government has collected the "rents" for the lease of this property but the beneficiaries of the Trust have not received any money for last 30 years.
Under the scanner is is a notorious builder Parasmal Lodha,too, who illegaly built the fifth and sixth floors of Stephen Court.
Lodha is yet to be questioned by the police.
Also going scot-free are senior officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, fire and emergency services department and the city police.
There are the people who turned a blind eye when building and fire safety norms were being flouted in Stephen Court.
Epilogue to the Park Street inferno
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Faculty Private Extension
 Private Extension : Examples Profile of Private Extension Service Providers Performance of organisations : Status of Information Consultancy Pattern : Future Focus |
The fruits and benefits of an effective agricultural extension service have long been recognized, yet very often extension services in developing countries have failed to accomplish desired objectives and meet people's expectations.
In Indian context, the role of agricultural extension in bringing the benefits of the green revolution to the farmer and making the country self reliant in food production is appreciated. Still, people's expectations are not fully met. They are not happy with the rate at which their problems are solved and the rate at which agricultural development is taking place.
Some of the problems in public extension system observed are:
Public extension services are widely viewed as supply driven rather than demand driven.
Commercialisation of agriculture gave rise to specialized client and demand for location specific extension services which are not catered by public extension system.
Public extension deals with a large area, large population and diverse cropping pattern. Extension services provided are general in nature rather than specific and intensive.
High cost, low impact of extension programmes, growing conflicts between farmer's interest and policy goals, poor motivation of staff and conflicting roles are observed in public extension.
Insufficient face to face contact between extension worker and farmer.
Inadequate funds for operational purpose.
Majority of the extension services are curative in nature.
Inadequate technical qualifications of VLW.
Incomplete extension services.
Inadequate internal organisation structure
Inefficiency of extension personnel
Inappropriateness or irrelevance of extension content.
Dilution of impact.
This public sector monopoly came under increasing threat in the 1980's as many started questioning the desirability of this situation on economic and efficiency ground. Increasing restraints on government finances and emergence of new extension arrangements offered by the private and voluntary sector have accelerated the process of limiting the role of government in extension. Extension privatization is under active consideration in India and many state governments have initiated measures to achieve this end.
Savas (1987) defined privatization as the act of reducing the role of government or increasing the role of private sector in an activity or in the ownership of assets.
When agriculture extension is discussed, privatization is used in the broadest sense of introducing or increasing private sector participation which does not necessarily imply a transfer of designated state owned assets to the private sector.
But, private extension services are primarily of two types. The first is the entirely private type which is directly involved in farming activities through consultants, agri-business, agricultural input industries etc. The second type consists of farmer's organizations, NGO's etc., which remain largely dependent on government subsidies.
The farmer's problems and agricultural technology become ever more complicated, there can no longer be dealt with effectively from a centralized and bureaucratic public entity. Public sector has definitely reached its limit. Therefore, the time has come to turn whenever possible to the private sector for support, though not for total substitution. Intermediate steps do exist between a solely public extension system and a solely private one.
The following examples will help illustrate some of the various stages that can eventually lead to users and the private sector as a whole taking increasing responsibility for extension.
| Ecuador - Extension and sharecropping China - An Extension contract system Denmark - Management Committees Netherlands - Toward fifty-fifty Sweden - Consultants to farmers United Kingdom - Public Extension for a fee Germany - Decentralization Portugal - Gradual Privatisation Spain - Still centralized Tunisia - Geared for change Chile - Subsidized private consulting services : Costa Rica - An Extension voucher pilot programme : Private extension scenario worldwide : |
Ecuador - Extension and sharecropping
In the highlands of Ecuador, extension agents share crop with farmer for a profit. Their low salary motivate extension agents to share crop. The farmer's provide land and labour while the extension agents supply agricultural inputs and technical advice. Hired labour and other costs are shared. The agents have fixed salary, they easily obtain farm inputs from suppliers on credit until the harvest. Sharecropped field serves as a demonstration plot. To broaden this sharecropping practice, a suggestion has been made that the extension agents be allowed to share in the profits of joint farming enterprises.
China - An Extension contract system
A system of contract extension has been introduced in some provinces. Agro-Technical Extension Centres (ATEC's) which operate all the way from the national to the township level draw up contracts to provide technical services and inputs to a farmer or a group of farmers. The extension stations / centers are compensated by the farmers with typically 20 percent of the value of the crop above the agreed target.
If the harvest falls below the agreed target as a result of poor technical recommendations or non-supply of timely inputs, the pay or bonuses of the contracted extension workers may be reduced upto 80 percent of the shortfall.
It is estimated that only around 5 to 10 percent of the total number of extension workers in China remains with the large commodity oriented state farms, whereas the rest work with the many households. Many non-state extension agents work independently without being officially registered. For instance, individual farmers with experience may provide advice to outsiders for a fee, or farmers may organize themselves in producers associations which may advise other farmers on a paying basis.
Research institutions, agricultural colleges and individual scientists and teachers in China may sign contracts with rural units or farmers to provide technical support on an annual or continual basis. Some research results are now directly sold in the market place. At the same time, China is also enforcing a patent law to protect proprietary rights to research results.
Denmark - Management Committees
The government plays a minor role in Rural development but by contrast, is heavily involved in training and in adaptive research. The Danish extension service operates under management committees, that are administered by farmers. There is one national development center and about one hundred local ones. The local extension agents are supported by 99 advisors from the Danish Agricultural Advisory Centre. The extension agents work is planned by farmer's elected to the committees. A law defines the role of extension and makes sure its agents are impartial and not beholden to commercial interests.
Government funding of extension services has gone down from 37 percent in 1972 to 14 percent in 1991, and further cuts are contemplated. Farmer's contribution decreased from 17 to 8 percent during the same period. Most impressive has been the increase from 46 percent to 78 percent in the amounts billed to and paid by farmers. The later are charged by the hour for each visit by an agent to their household. Information and advice by phone are free.
Netherlands - Toward fifty-fifty
Farmers pay for advice and technical recommendations from the Agricultural Industry and Agri-business. Since the beginning of 1993, farmers have to pay for an increased share of the extension services, by annual increments of 5 percent until their share reaches. 50 percent in 2003. Farmers contribution will, by 2003 derive as follows, 15 per cent from a general tax based on the size of each farm, 15 per cent from direct contributions for services and 20 per cent from taxes and levies on farm produce.
Sweden - Consultants to farmers
Agricultural Extension activities are carried out through a wide range of organizations. Farmers cooperatives and private commercial firms employ increasing numbers of people trained in agriculture to serve as consultants to farmers. Some rural communities employ their extension agents. Additionally, the public radio and television networks offer educational and informative programmes aimed at farmers.
United Kingdom - Public Extension for a fee
1987 onwards funds of public system started to decrease, the public extension services mould gradually from cost-free-to-farmer to fee paying consultancies. These are usually in the form of contracts that include a package of actions and / or visits. Public system initially aimed for covering 50 percent operating cost, and eventually becoming 100 percent autonomous.
Some 200 out of 4000 public system extension workers have gone private. They are members of British Institute of Agricultural Consultants (BAIC) and look after their own groups of farmers. Their fees are no higher than those of public agents, the latter being at a disadvantage due to overhead costs. The consultants are now targeting the small landholders, who appear to be those in most need of advice.
In the early 90's, there were some 3,323 agents supported by the public sector, of which 2,750 were employed by the chambers of agriculture. In addition to public extension, some 2,760 private advisers belonged to various professional groups, farmers associations, unions, training centers and private firms. To ensure high standards, farmers are advised to retain the services of those extension agents that are certified by the German Society for Agriculture. Advice from public extension remains free to farmers. Increasingly, farmers with similar activities and interests are forming groups to get the support of specialized technicians. The groups pay an additional contribution to the chamber of agriculture for such technicians. Private firms together with co-operatives also provide advice.
Portugal - Gradual Privatisation
An interesting programme of privatization was initiated in Portugal in late 1991. The purpose was for the government to gradually privatize the Agriculture Ministry's traditional functions with the exception of research and experimental agriculture. Since 1988, about 400 servants have left the public sector to become employees of private farming organizations and to work directly for cooperatives.
The extension responsibility is rested with Ministry of Agriculture. The extension services were decentralized among country's 17 regions, resulting in regionally autonomous but still public extension services. Advice provided by these services remain free. Country has 8000 chambers of agriculture which are funded by the institute for rural relations. The major unions has some technicians who work in close collaboration with the public extension service.
The government is increasingly diverting itself from a growing number of support services to agriculture. In addition to the services concerned with supplying farm inputs, collecting farm produce and providing veterinary services. Some private extensionists earn more than the average salary in the United States. This will certainly encourage other extensionists to try going private. Some large cooperatives have their own technicians as well. Public extension have new role that needs to be more clearly defined, i.e. more geared to training, improving links with research, preserving natural resources, ensuring sustainable development etc.
Chile - Subsidized private consulting services :
Agricultural Development Institute (INDAP) is an agency created within Ministry of Agriculture with the mandate to raise small scale farmer's living standards. INDAP handles a subsidized private consulting services. It is publicly funded and privately executed by private technology transfer firms that are certified by INDAP. Farmers are not free to select the firm of their choice but have to accept the one designated by INDAP for the region. However, if the farmers as a group decide to change to another firm, they can ask INDAP for such a change. These firms do not provide supplies but focus only on technology transfer. The farmers who sign annual contracts with a firm are expected to contribute upto 30 percent of the cost of the programme by the time the project is completed. The ratio of farmers versus extension agents is typically 48:1. INDAP prepares the terms of reference, select consulting firms through competitive bidding and supervises and evaluates firms performance. Medium and large scale farmer's also participate in a similar programme which directly transfers research results to the farm level. Currently this programme is totally private funded. In this project the extension services are provided by private sector firms and NGOs and the concept of graduation is to be applied both to extension and credit programmes to reduce small farmers dependence on the public sector in three phases over a period of 6 years.
Costa Rica - An Extension voucher pilot programme :
In Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture, some extension personnel are moved to the private sector. A private technical assistance voucher pilot programme will increase the capacity of producers to contract private extension. During 7 years implementation period, the programme will consist of packages of vouchers varying according to type of farmers and level of technology. Farmers will trade vouchers for individual and group technical assistance to be delivered by private extensionists. Type-I and Type-II farmers are distinguished according to whether they require high or low intensity technical assistance. At project completion, beneficiaries of the voucher programme are expected to complete with solely private technical assistance. The private extensionist is to indicate annually to the Ministry of Agriculture which individual farmers should graduate from programme. Finally, training is to be provided by the private extensionist.
Some observations of private extension scenario worldwide :
- Private extension reduces the economic burden of governments – Netherlands
- Increases the efficiency of extension services provided upto the satisfaction of farmers
- Economic interest of the extension agent increases his involvement in providing extension services – Share cropping
- Privatisation increases the accountability of extension agent – extension contract system on China
- Privatisation increases the competency of the research system – Extension contract system in China
- It is possible to present the farmers being exploited by private extension agents by proper legislation – Management Committees of Denmark
- Money spent by private consultants to provide the same extension services provided by public system is less due to high overhead charges in latter case
- Government can ensure quality extension services by technically competent extension agents through legislation – certification in Germany
- Government can privatize extension while concentrating more on important areas – Tunisia
- Government can have maximum control over private extension activities – Chile
Types of organizations providing private extension services in India
| Sl.No. | Individual / Organisation | Private Role | |
| Funding | Delivery | ||
| 1. | Krishi Vigyan Kendra | Public | Private |
| 2. | Farmers Associations | Private | Private |
| 3. | Producers Cooperatives | Private | Private |
| 4. | Consultants | Private | Private |
| 5. | NGOs | PrivatePublic | PrivatePrivate |
| 6. | Print Media a)News papers b) Agricultural Magazines | Private | Private |
| 7. | Television – Private channels | Private | Private |
| 8. | Agri-business firms | Private | Private |
| 9. | Input dealers | Private | Private |
| 10. | Private sector Banks | Private | Private |
| 11. | Internet | Private | Private |
| 12. | Donor Agencies | Private | Private / Public |
Profile of Private Extension Service Providers
| State Agricultural Universities: Krishi Vigyan Kendras: Farmer's Associations : Producers' Cooperatives : Research Institutions Input Companies : Consultancy Services : Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) : Commodity Boards : Media-AIR and Doordarshan : Media-Print : |
Department of Agriculture :
Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India is the agency which oversees all agricultural activities taking place in the country. Directorate of Extension is the nodal agency which assists and encourage the state departments in organizing, maintaining and operating professional extension services. The role of directorate is essentially collaborative, providing guidance, technical support, exchange of information and coordination
Agriculture is a state subject. Line departments include various state departments such as agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairy development, fisheries and sericulture. Line department staff makes routine visits and pass technical messages on what needs to be done in crops. DOA activities in all states are constrained by inadequate operational funds and partly by inadequate subject matter knowledge / training of majority of the staff. Most of their time goes on implementation of a number of state and central sector programmes that have some input / subsidy delivery. All most all services are free.
Out of 80,800 village extension workers, 78,000 belonged to the Department of Agriculture in 1988 (Misra,1990). Presently state employ some 1,10,000 extension staff of whom around 20% are graduates (ICAR,1998).
The report of the working group on extension for the formulation of IX Five Year Plan describes the current status of agricultural extension services as follows:
1. Largely in the public sector, other operators remain at the periphery without clear policy enunciation or institutional support.
2. Operate largely in an interpersonal mode of select contact farmers (largely men) without planned and optimum utilization of the media and other modes
3. Low level of involvement of farmers in technology development and dissemination process.
4. Substantially top-down leaving little scope for localized planning and action.
5. Upward looking, therefore generate uniformity rather than specificity and focus on farm and rather than substance.
6. Manned by functionaries with low morale, low knowledge level and low incentives with limited exposure to recent developments in communication technology and
7. Resulting in depleting credibility, self esteem, relevance and public support (DAC,1996 a)
One factor deciding the overall effectiveness of extension is the amount of operational funds available for extension. One of the major criticisms of the agriculture departments has been the heavy salary bills leaving little for operational support for extension. A study revealed that the operational expenditure available for extension vary from 3.7% to 15.4%. In other words, salary accounts for about 85-97% of the government expenditure in line departments. Another study found that the actual cost of operating T and V based extension services in India (17 states) is about Rs.4000 million or USD 150 million. This works out to about Rs.50 per agricultural farm holding or about Rs.27 per ha cultivated (Macklin, 1992).
States are all encouraging the NGOs to take up extension activities. The Department of Agriculture, Rajasthan has extended an invitation to NGOs to take up extension work in any defined extension unit such as a cluster or an AAO circle. Under agricultural development project, the functioning of three AAOs circles were handed over to NGOs, i.e., GDC Research Foundation, Jaipur, Social Policy Research Institute, Jaipur and Jandhara Trust, Jaipur. Many NGOs given grants by the government for specific projects such as watershed development.
Review of the projects revealed that, two important issues constrained the effectiveness of collaboration. They are:
1. Suspicion on the motives and competence of NGOs by the government departments resulting in non-cooperation in activities at field level and active resistance by the employees who find in this a threat of loosing jobs in the long run.
2. Lack of staff and experience on agricultural research and extension by most NGOs.
But these constraints are not insurmountable and a lot of scope exists for active collaboration between the two so that the efficiency and effectiveness of both systems could be enhanced.
State Agricultural Universities:
There are 31 agricultural universities in the country. The universities perform three major functions namely teaching, research and extension. The major extension role of the university is to provide technical support and consultancy service to government departments (training) engaged in agricultural development work and to farmers in special cases. In terms of priority, agricultural extension ranks low in SAUs as evident from the expenditure and manpower allocated for it. In 1991-92, SAUs spent only 5% of its expenditure on extension education. In the same year, the SAUs employed only 4.7% of its manpower on extension units. The responsibility of planning and coordinating all extension activities of the university lies with Directorate of Extension. It has three major units i.e. communication center, training unit and farm advisory service. From farmers point of view, the directorates may not be of immediate benefit to farmers except for those residing nearly or near to it or nearby district of its location. The chances of constant interaction are also low because of the few technical manpower in the directorates and the large population to be covered in their operational area.
Some universities showing inclination for providing the services by charging. University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore is planning to establish agri-business advisory service where technologies are sold to private organsiations by charging and facilities are provided to private firms to conduct research on charging basis.
With newer technologies becoming more knowledge based and thereby necessitating newer skills to adopt, the demand for a full fludged training centre become increasingly appreciated. By design, KVKs have an appropriate mix of multi-disciplinary expertise including specialists in important areas. Currently there are 261 KVKs in the country of which 27 are in ICAR institutes, 139 in SAUs, 86 in NGOs and remaining nine under Central Universities and Agricultural colleges. Till 1992, KVKs had been fully supported by the ICAR. But from the eighth plan period the funding is being phased out. The KVKs are presently being actively encouraged to generate additional resources. Some KVKs started charging for their training, sale of planting materials, seeds etc. Some went one step ahead like Vidya Bhavan, KVK, Udaipur in getting resources for adaptive and socio-economic research programmes from donors abroad like Ford Foundation and NORAD. All these are expected to make many of the KVKs financially sustainable even after the complete phasing out of government funds. Though many KVKs have started charging for their training, this seems to have not diminished the demand for KVK training.
User groups, including farmer's organisations, farmer clubs, commodity growers associations, young farmer's clubs, women farmers groups, special interest groups etc. are expected to be effective institutional devices for creation of client driven agricultural research and extension system. Often farmer's associations are the starting points for the development of producer's cooperatives. Commodity specific farmers associations exist in only very few commodities in India. The need for initiating farmers associations in crops has been well recognised under NATP, it is proposed to use NGOs to organise farmers into groups. The idea is to encourage farmer's groups to organise different types of services for themselves, including input supply, credit and or technical services and marketing arrangements – activities that would increase their productivity and incomes, while decreasing their dependence on government (ICAR, 1998).
Producers' Cooperatives are often formed to improve the marketing prospects in specific comodities where market operators are disadvantageous to the producers. They provide farmers the advantage of the economies of scale by bringing together produce from individual farms and marketing the same. Some of these organisations also provide extension services to its members. Most successful among them in India being the milk cooperatives.
Research institutions of ICAR are doing some extension programmes as part of their outreach programmes. First of them are organising training programmes to the senior officers of the state line departments. Some are doing extension work through KVK also. Many ICAR institutes have been implementing the front line extension activities in select villages and this has improved the interaction between scientists and farmers in these selected villages. The institute village linkage programme (IVLP) is the latest in this direction.
Many of the agro-input companies performs some extension functions. This could be also viewed as one function of marketing. It is not surprising to see that the marketing officers are the one who also oversee the extension related functions. Schwartz (1994) notes that private extension is generally not a stand alone activity but will be provided where three conditions hold. First, purchased inputs must be necessary to achieve desired production results. Secondly, these purchased inputs must be cost effective relative to output prices. Third, there should be a fairly high degree of competition between input suppliers for the same market share. In many countries, much extension work is done by companies selling pesticides and other agro-chemicals and animal feed companies (Van Den Ban, 2000). Major categories of input companies include those dealing with seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and agro-machinery. Some of the extension methods adopted are :
Input companies spend considerable amount on advertisement, mainly to boost the sale of their products through bill boards, wall paintings, leaflets and media advertisements;
They also take up few demonstrations to publicise the new product;
Some companies also sponsor the cost of some extension activities of line departments such as agricultural seminars;
But in high value crops such as flowers, there are input firms which provide total extension support to their growers. This includes advise from site selection to technological guidance throughout the growing period and advise on marketing;
Some fertilizer companies arrange soil testing facilities;
Village adoption programmes are also carried out.
Emergence of paid extension services in agriculture is a recent phenomenon.
A study by NCAP revealed that some farmers availed the services of experts from the public sector on payment basis on specific crops such as Fig and Grapes. Many professionals after retirement from the public system have also been providing consultancy to the farmers. The farmers often meet the travel expenditure of the expert besides payment. The farmers have also joined together on certain instances to avail the benefits of consultants. Knowing fully well the scope for such services and the revenue it may generate, some organisations are presently opening up their facilities for paid consultancy services young technically qualified professionals have also now entered into the fray by starting their own consultancy firms. There are also few big firms in the market willing to offer their technical expertise in farm development, glass house erection, micro irrigation systems, tissue culture etc. Many foreign firms are providing consultancy to Indian firms and farmers. Input companies engaged in floriculture are also providing consultancy services to growers who buy inputs from them.
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) :
Around 15,000 - 20,000 NGOs in India are actively engaged in rural development. Wide variations in the densities of NGOs is observed among states and even districts. Certain districts have high densities of NGOs which overlap and complete for clients while in other areas there are hardly any NGOs. Annual NGO revenue from abroad is in the region of Rs.9 billion (Farrington and Lewis, 1993).
To increase the involvement of NGOs in efforts to strengthen the research – extension delivery system, a pilot Central Government Scheme, agricultural extension through voluntary organisations was launched in 1994-95, implemented on pilot basis by involving 14 NGOs from 8 states. Experience has been encouraging both in terms of physical targets and in integrating NGO efforts with those of the main extension system (DAC, 1996 b). The number of NGOs is proposed to increase to 50 covering more States in the ninth plan. In Rajasthan on pilot basis, few AAO circles are handed over to NGOs to carry out extension work.
Commodity boards are engaged in activities which gives competitive edge to major Indian commodities. There are six commodity boards, 20 export promotion councils and two authorities to promote production, marketing and export of various commodities. They have their own research, extension, marketing and promotion wings. Extension activities is also supported by providing credit, subsidies and inputs. They have their own farm magazines in local languages and also training centres. Some commodity boards also introduced charging system for extension services like soil analysis, farm visits, training and publications.
At present there are 81 AIR stations producing and broadcasting agricultural and rural programmes (Kaurani 1995). For effective linkage between the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, a three tier mechanism for media coordination (national, State and Kendra level) has existed since 1994. The expenditure varies from 20 paise to 54 paise / ha. The agricultural programmes are aired in the morning and evening.
Now-a-days many private TV channels are telecasting agricultural programmes considering the cost effectiveness (cost / farmer), time at which they can reach many farmers at a time and the effectiveness of the media, efforts are needed to harness this potential.
Organised attempts to use print media for extension work started with the initiation of Farm Information Bureaus in DOA and Universities. Books, magazines, leaflets are printed and circulated widely. Newspapers are also covering agriculture news items. Almost all dailies presently devote one page once in a week covering aspects of agriculture. Newspapers are published in 100 languages during 1995. Many private individuals and organisations are also in the publishing business in the field of agriculture. They are catching the attention of farmers now-a-days.
Performance of organisations :
NCAP through a study (2000) made an attempt to compare the performance of these organisations through three indicators. They are :
a) Expenditure intensity :
It is the expenditure incurred by an organisation on extension activities per ha of net cropped area. Here, operational cost of extension activities is the numerator.
Expenditure incurred on extension activities by an organisation in its operational area
Expenditure intensity = -------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cropped area in its operational area
b) Contact Intensity :
Contact intensity is derived based on the number / frequency of actual contacts an organisation makes with their clients in an year and the time involved with them. The product of contact numbers and time involved is derived by the target population of the organisation.
Sum total of contact achieved by the organisations (in hours)
Contact Intensity = -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Target population / cultivators
c) Technical Manpower :Cultivator Ratio (TC Ratio) :
TC Ratio is the ratio between the number of field level technical officers and the number of target population covered by the organisation in their operational area. The technical manpower available for extension includes only the field level functionaries directly involved in agricultural extension related tasks.
Total population covered
TC Ratio = -----------------------------------------------------------------
No. of field level functionaries available for extension
This data is based on the study published by NCAP in 2000 and study was carried out in four states.
Table showing ranking of organisations based on extension performance considering low expenditure, high contact and narrow TC Ratio:
| Sl. No. | Organisation | EI | CI | TC Ratio | Overall ranking |
| 1. | DOA | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 2. | Directorate of Extension | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
| 3. | KVK | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| 4. | Farmer's Organisations | 10 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 5. | Producer's Cooperatives | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| 6. | Research Institutes | 5 | - | - | - |
| 7. | Seed Companies | 4 | 10 | 8 | 6 |
| 8. | Fertilizer Companies | 1 | 7 | 11 | 3 |
| 9. | Agri-Business Companies | 2 | 9 | 10 | 5 |
| 10. | NGO | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 11. | Commodity Boards | 12 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
| 12. | AIR | 3 | 5 | 12 | 4 |
| 13. | Agricultural Magazines | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Status of Information Consultancy Pattern :
NCAP study (2000) reveals that dealers, relatives / friends of farmers, newspapers and farm magazines are the important sources of information consulted by farmers for making decisions in agriculture out of 22 sources existing.
Statewise details are as follows:
State | Dealers | Other farmers (Relatives/friends) | DOA
|
| Maharashtra | I | II | III |
| Rajasthan | III | II | I |
| Kerala * | - | - | I |
* Newspaper – II, Farm Magazines – III
Level of satisfaction of farmers to their first preferred
source of information
State | Source | Level of satisfaction | ||
High | Medium | Low | ||
| Maharashtra | I Dealers | 27.1 | 61.4 | 11.4 |
| II Other farmers | 28.6 | 60.7 | 10.7 | |
| III DOA | 44.4 | 46.6 | 8.8 | |
| Rajasthan | I DOA | 33.3 | 46.4 | 20.2 |
| II Other farmers | 26.7 | 57.7 | 15.5 | |
| III Dealers | 17.4 | 58.7 | 23.9 | |
| Kerala | I DOA | 42.2 | 40.6 | 17.2 |
| II News Papers | 38.1 | 54.8 | 7.1 | |
| III Farm magazines | 41.4 | 58.6 | 0.0 | |
(NCAP, 2000)
In all the States, majority of the farmers had medium level of satisfaction with all the information sources, except with DOA in Kerala. Therefore, efforts are needed by all organsiations to increase the satisfaction level of farmers.
Willingness to pay for agriculture related information
State | Yes | No | Undecided |
| Maharashtra | 57.5 | 38.3 | 4.2 |
| Rajasthan | 38.8 | 55.0 | 6.7 |
| Kerala | 48.3 | 51.3 | 0.4 |
Total | 48.2 | 48.2 | 3.6 |
(NCAP, 2000)
Almost half of the farmers expressed their willingness to pay for extension services.
The reasons may be:
Farmers are shifting from food crops to non-food crops.
They involve high investment and needs information which majority of the time not available in DOA. They look for other agencies and ready to purchase information which is vital to make profit.
Sl.No. | A. Types of Information | Percentage |
1. | Advice to solve specific problems in the field | 53.6 |
2. | Advice on plant protection measures | 22.0 |
| 3. | Totally new information / technologies | 7.3 |
4. | Training programmes | 7.3 |
5. | Advice on marketing (market prospects, prices etc.) | 4.9 |
6. | On hybrid seeds (characteristics and availability) | 4.9 |
B. Conditions for Payment | ||
1. | Expert advice made available at one place | 36.7 |
2. | Advice based on field visits | 32.6 |
3. | Sharing of costs with farmers | 16.3 |
4. | Effect of advice if guaranteed | 14.3 |
Sl.No. | A. Types of Information | Percentage |
1. | Advice on plant protection measures | 40.0 |
2. | Training programmes / study classes | 23.0 |
| 3. | New technologies | 20.0 |
4. | Information on loans, subsidies and other assistance to farmers | 16.7 |
B. Conditions for Payment | ||
1. | Advice based on field visits | 47.5 |
2. | Sharing costs for an expert at the village level | 37.5 |
3. | Seasonal / annual contract | 15.0 |
Sl.No. | A. Types of Information | Percentage |
1. | Training programmes on new technologies | 37.3 |
2. | On all aspects of growing new (non-traditional) crops | 36.0 |
| 3. | Proper plant protection advice | 26.7 |
B. Conditions for Payment | ||
1. | Advice based on field visits | 38.7 |
2. | The charges should be reasonable | 24.0 |
3. | Firms to be brought under the purview of consumer court | 21.3 |
4. | The firms to provide receipts for the payments made | 16.0 |
Crops having high demand for paid services
State | Crops | % of farmers willing to pay |
1. Vegetables | 45.3 | |
2. Flower Cultivation | 22.7 | |
3. Grapes | 20.4 | |
4. Citrus | 9.1 | |
Rajasthan | 1. Oilseeds | 54.3 |
2. Vegetables | 31.4 | |
3. Flower Cultivation | 14.9 | |
1. Vegetables | 46.8 | |
2. Flower cultivation | 29.0 | |
3. Spices | 24.2 |
(NCAP, 2000)
Table indicates that majority of the farmers were willing to pay for the services in relation to cultivation of vegetables and oilseeds where they can expect more returns than food crops.
Willingness to pay
Willingness to pay (Rs.) | Percentage |
10 | 27.3 |
| 20 | 11.2 |
25 | 30.2 |
50 | 21.0 |
100 | 10.3 |
Majority of the farmers are willing to pay Rs.25 as fee to extension adviser. However, that also depends on quality of information, crop cultivated and demand of farmers.
Privatising extension activities and conditions for success
No. | Activity | Conditions for success |
| 1. | Initiating and sustaining Self Help Groups of farmers | Prioritise activities to give group formation more importance Limit implementation of schemes having input and subsidy distribution in selected blocks only Officials of the department well trai4w3ned in the approaches of group formation |
| 2. | Contracting extension services to non-profit, voluntary organisations in remote and difficult areas | Identification of potential collaborators Evolving transparent mechanisms of selection and funding them Monitoring performance |
| 3. | Franchising private agencies for input delivery | Identification of private agencies for providing these services Evolving transparent mechanism for awarding franchise Monitoring performance |
| 4. | Initiate consultancy services | Encourage private individuals or firms to register as consultancy firms with the government Provide assistance to initiate the same DOA to initiate consultancy services at district / block levels by availing the services of SAU staff and trained and qualified staff preferably in plant protection SAU units to start the same in the respective units |
| 5. | Expanding training programmes | KVKs to organise more training programmes (more off campus) Provide assistance to farmers groups to avail these services Support KVKs, NGOs or SAU units in arranging more number of farmers trainings Encourage input industries to initiate farmers training programmes by offering incentives/concessions
|
| 6. | Cost recovery | Training programmes and consultancy activities to be charged at least nominally Cost of inputs supplied to be recovered fully or the maximum possible extent |
Priorities for public sector extension
No. | Activity | Conditions for success |
| 1. | DOA to concentrate in the short run on | Programmes that improve the educational level of farmers on input use, availability, time and method of application of inputs (seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, credit etc.) prices, markets etc., especially in food crops Facilitate building farmers groups Build linkages with other technology providers Enhance use of media in educational programmes Initiate paid (nominally) consultancy services by maintaining a cadre of qualified staff at district and sub-district levels |
| 2. | In the long run on | Transferring extension responsibilities to farmer groups Limit its role in maintaining linkages and facilitate the functioning of these groups Strictly focus on educational programmes unattractive for private sector delivery (such as soil and water conservation, safe use of pesticides pest and disease forecasting etc.) Monitor the performance of various agencies in the provision of extension services and take corrective measures |
1. Agricultural Consultants :
Conducting training programmes for agricultural graduates who wish to become agricultural consultants. MANAGE will be the certifying authority. Certified consultants form a professional body at national level having base at MANAGE on the lines of IMC. They work out professional guidelines to regulate the activities of consultants in liaison with government. This professional body can take over bigger agricultural projects reducing burden on government but working with government. Government can insist for certified consultants for assigning work.
3. Agri-business firms :
There is a scope to conduct a research study on 'Advertising for Rural Masses". The outcome / findings will serve as input for training programmes to be organised for agri-business firms. Even NGOs and GOs could also make use of the programme to push social issues among masses. This work can be collaborated with IIMC, New Delhi.
All the agri-business companies are interested in marketing their products, and hence carry out extension activities with respect to their product like seed, fertilizer separately. But, from a farmer's point of view, he needs a package rather than a product or practice. Thus, a seed company, a fertilizer company, a pesticide company, an agri-machinery company, an agro-processing company together carry out extension activities ultimately benefiting themselves and farmer both. Case studies if available have to be documented, studied or agri-business firms may be persuaded to carry out a pilot project that will serve as input for training programmes to be conducted for agri-business companies.
Workshop on factors influencing the growth of private extension.
4. Agricultural Dealers :
- It is necessary to press for legislation making training compulsory for seeking license for dealership.
- MANAGE can also take up the responsibility of conducting training at district level to dealers in association with KVKs/NGOs/SAUs.
5. Farmer's organisations / Producer's Cooperatives :
- Documentation of success stories / case studies;
- Training on 'Innovative Extension Approaches in Farmer's Organisations';
- Training on 'Rural Marketing' ;
- Pilot study on 'Young farmer's club' and subsequently training.
6. GO-NGO sector :
- Training on 'Initiating and sustaining self help groups'
- Pilot study on contracting extension services to non-profit organisations in remote and difficult areas
- A case study on substitution of public extension with private extension.
7. Government organisations :
Training on 'Public-private extension cooperation- Approaches and challenges'
8. Newspapers, TV channels, Internet and Agricultural Journals :
a) Training on 'Agricultural Journalism – New Dimensions' ;
Pilot study on 'Agricultural Extension through media coordination committees'
9. International Cyber Seminar on Private Extension
10. Workshop on "Guidelines for Private Extension"
11. Workshop on " Public Sector in Private Extension Development through policy reforms and institutional changes.
12. Seminar on "Low Cost and No Cost Agricultural Technologies:"
13. WTA and its impact on "Indian Agricultural Extension: Banner Seminar"
14. Website on Private Extension
References
Rasheed Sulaiman. V and Sadamate, V.V. (2000), Privatising Agricultural Extension in India, Policy paper – 10, NCAP, New Delhi.
Rivera, W.M. and Cary J.W.(1997), Privatising Agricultural Extension, Improving Agricultural Extension – A reference manual, FAO, Rome
Charles Ameur, 1994 Agricultural Extension – A step beyond the next step. World Bank Technical paper number 247. The World Bank, Washington, D.C.
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