DATE:07.11.2014

Blue Revolution can start from Kerala:UnionAgricultureMinister

The HinduUnion Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh and KeralaChiefMinisterOommenChandyattheinaugurationoftheGlobalAgroMeet2014atAngamalynearKochionThursday.Photo:K.K.MustafahKeralaistherightplaceforastarttoIndia’sBlueRevolution,saidUnion Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh in Kochi onThursday.Hesaidthatissuesrelatedtothemakeoverofthefisheriessectorwould be discussed before the next Union Budget. He wasspeaking at the inauguration of the three-day Global Agro Meetand exhibition of organic products BIOFACH India 2014 atKurkutty,nearAngamaly.The Blue Revolution envisages transformation of the fisheriessector, chiefly marine fisheries and the Centre had appointed acommitteetoreviewIndia’smarinefisheriespolicy.

Mr. Singh said that the panel, headed by B. Meenakumari, hadsubmitted its report and that the report was now open fordiscussions. He called on stakeholders to forward their opinionsandsuggestionsonthereport.Hesaidthathtreport’ssuggestionshadnotbeenimplemented.The report had come under serious criticism from the fisheriesindustryinthecountry.Mr.SinghsaidthatfundshadbeenallottedforthedevelopmentofseveralfishingjettiesinKeralaandemphasisedthegovernment’sconcernforthefishingcommunity.

KCR mulls free power to horticulture,dairiesThrusttogreenhousecultivation,milkproductionIn a major thrust to greenhouse cultivation and milk production,AgricultureMinisterPocharamSrinivasReddysaid that theChiefMinister was examining providing free power to horticulture anddairies.Mr.ReddytoldapressconferencehereonThursdaythattheStategovernmenthadconfirmeditscommitmenttodevelophorticultureandmicro irrigation inabigwaybyallocatingRs.785crore in itsbudget. It was important, therefore, that the sector should besupplementedwithfreepower.In the case of dairy farming, however, the Minister said thegovernmentwasseriousbecauseitwantedtosupplynotlessthanone crore buffaloes to farmers so that they increase milkproductionwhichwasnow just 90,000 litresaday inTelangana.Thegovernmentaims toprocure five lakh litresofmilka day fortheprocessingcentreofState-ownedVijayaDairyatLalapet.

PlanformegadairyThegovernmentalsowantedtoestablishamegadairytoprocesstenlakhlitresofmilkaday.IthadsentaproposaltotheCentretoassistinthesettingupofthedairyatacostofRs.240crore.Thegovernmentproposedtosupplytwobuffaloestoeveryhousehold.“So, it is important that thegovernmentbuyanimalsandprovideother assistance to the sector.” The government will also supplyfodderandgrassseedtoanimalsat50percentsubsidy.Admitting that farmers resorted to suicide due to crop loss onaccount of adverse seasonal conditions,Mr SrinivasReddy saidtherewas noway the government could stop them from sowingcrop and incurring financial loss in anticipation of failure ofmonsoon,particularlyinthecaseofthesouthwestmonsoon.“The failure of north-east monsoon could be predicted and thefarmersrestrainedfromsowingbutitisnotsointhecaseofsouth-westmonsoonbecausefarmersalwaystrustedit,”Mr.Reddytoldapressconference.Inthebackdropoffailureofmonsoonandthepoorpowerposition,Mr.Reddysaidthegovernmenthadissuedanadvisorytofarmersto sow irrigated dry crops for rabi in a bid to check their losses.“Letusseehowtheyreact.”Mr.Reddysaidthegovernmentdidnothavestatisticstoshowhowmany farmers had committed suicide in the past few months,thoughallsuicideswereprojectedbythemediaasaresultofcroploss.

Museumofbio-diversityOnhowsacredgrovesarerestoredacrossthecountry.The origin of the ancient sacred groves, scattered all over India,goesbacktothepre-agriculturalhunter–gatherer.Ashemigratedinsearchof food, stoneswere left in theirplaceoforiginaroundwhich trees grew, becoming markers of identity and graduallyassumed their identity as sacred groves, described today as a“patchofforestprotectedinfavourandfearofGod.”Knownas‘pavitravana’inAndhraPradesh,‘kovilkaadu’inTamilNadu, ‘deo bhumi’ in Uttarkhand and ‘K law lyngdoh’ inMeghalaya, these ancient groves dot every State representing anurturingphilosophyofeco-sensitivityandbio-diversity.Lookedafterandmaintainedbylocalvillagecommunities,manyofthegrovestodayareintactwhilemany‘degraded’onesarebeingrestoredbytheC.P.RamaswamyEnvironmentalEducationCentre(CPREEC),aCentreofExcellenceoftheMinistryofEnvironment,ForestandClimateChange,Governmentof India,setup in1989jointlybytheMinistryandtheC.P.RamaswamiAiyarFoundation.According to Dr. Nanditha Krishna, director, CPREEC, “In India,every village has a sacred grove. It is awholemagical, spiritualexperience when you enter its precincts. So far, CPEEC hasrestored52sacredgroves inKarnataka,TamilNaduandAndhraPradesh. We took up restoration in a one-acre sacred grove inPavapattu. Once intervention was done in Pavapattu and thegroveleftalone–inthecareofthelocals–itgrewgraduallyintoa50-acre grove. Each grove is a museum of bio-diversity.Meghalaya has 54 rare and endangered plant species, whileTiruchihasrarefruit-eatingbatsinitssacredgroves.”

TheCPREECrestorationteamcomprisesDr.P.Sudhakaran,whoascertains which ‘degraded’ groves need to be restored, S.Selvapandian, who looks after the actual restoration, and M.Amritalingam,aspecialist indocumentationofsacredgrovesandtheirmythology.Theyexplainthatnowrestorationisactuallydoneontheground.“We do soil testing to find out which local plants and trees cangrowinaparticular ‘degraded’groveandtalk to theeldersof thevillage, thepanchayat, etc.We involve the locals in theplanting,take care of the ‘restored’ grove for five years and then hand itback to the village community. Gradually, the trees grow, sub-growth takes place with natural pollination, birds come in as doanimalsandawholeeco-systemiscreated.”Atthe‘SacredGrovesofIndia,’exhibitionnowonviewattheC.P.Arts Centre, Eldams Road, Alwarpet, a fascinating world of thecountry’s eco-culture opens up for visitors. Twelve groves fromdifferentregionsarepresentedinenormous12x10ft.photographicframes, creating an idyllic panorama in shades of green. Theprotectivedeityofdifferentforests,alsoonview,hasbeencraftedinthree-dimensionbytheC.P.ArtCentre’sartistVenkatesh.Meghalaya’severgreenforestsprotectedbymenhirsrepresentingancestral spirits, Tamil Nadu’s tropical, dry deciduous grovesprotected by Ayyanar horses, West Bengal’s thick groves andbeautiful kumkum spattered Bankura horses, Rajasthan’s scrubtreegrovesfullofpeacocksandGoa’ssacredcrocodileprotectedevergreenforestsopenpathwaysofknowledgefortheonlooker.Strict taboosareobserved in thesacredgroves,according to theinformative textwhichaccompanies thevisuals.Noonecanwalkwithout footwear , there is no cutting of trees or lopping off ofbranches, hunting and poaching are prohibited as also cattlegrazing,defecation,andconstructioninsidethegrove.The‘SacredGrovesofIndia’ isont i l l November15.

Lakh of f lowers on display at Horti Intex2014Lakh of flowers from India and other countries have landed inCoimbatoretogiveacolourful feast for theeyesofvisitorsat thefirst International Horti Intex 2014 that will begin at the CodissiaTrade Fair Complex here on November 7. It will be held tillNovember9,areleaseherehassaid.VarietiesAtotalof177varietiesof flowersareondisplayforthethree-dayevent thatwillbeopentothepublic from10amto7pmonall thedays.Organiser of the event andheadof theDepartment ofMedicinaland Aromatic Crops, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, K.Rajamani,toldTheHinduthattheflowerswillbearrangedinmorethan25thematicmodelslike—bullockcart,tractoranddomesticandwildanimals.Thefloraldisplayisoneofthethreecomponentsoftheevent.Asmanyas180stallswilldisplayaromaticplants,herbs,andstate-of-the-arttechnologies.EntryEntryisfreeforfarmers.OtherswillhavetopayRs.30.

CoimbatoreTodayTamil Nadu Agricultural University:Renewable energyresources as option formitigating climate change, Seminar Hall,TNAU,9a.m.

FarmersstarttransplantingnurseriesMinisterholdsareviewmeetingwithofficialstotakestockofflooddamage

Farmworkerstransplantingcropinapaddyfield.—Filephoto

Farmersindifferentpartsofthedistricthavestartedtransplantingnurseriesafreshafter removingtheseedlings thatweredamagedduetotherecentspellofheavyraininthedistrict.Rainwater has started receding from paddy fields. According toAgriculture Department sources, the worst affected areas wereVedarnayam, Thalaignayiru, Sirkazhi and some part of Vennardivision.Paddyfieldsintheseareaswereinundatedwithrainwaterfor more than 10 days. Village Administrative Officers and field-levelagricultureofficialshavebeen instructed toassess thecropdamagecausedbytheinundationofpaddyfieldsasthenortheastmonsoonplayedhavocindifferentpartsofthedistrict.Theyhavebeen asked to inform the ground realities to their higher-ups totakeimmediateactionforthebenefitoffarmers.Fishermen have been asked not to place fishing nets neardrainage canals and bridges in order to prevent the seepage ofsea water into paddy fields. In Vennar division, there was ashortfall of seedlings and steps have been taken to bring themfrom other divisions to facilitate farmers start replanting work.

Many farmershavestarted transplantingafreshatKaruvenkadai,ElankadaimanurandSangamangalamnearNagapattinam.ThedistrictsecretaryofAllIndiaKisanSabhaV.Subramaniansaidmost of the ‘A’ channels had been encroached resulting ininundation of paddy fields in different parts of the district. Thegovernmentshouldproviderelief to thefarmerswhosecropshadbeendamagedsothatfarmerscouldgofortransplantationafresh.Owing to short supply of urea, the growth of crop has beenaffectedandthedistrictadministrationshouldtakestepstoensurethesupplyofureatothefarmersas itwastherighttimetoapplyfertilizersforthegrowthofpaddycrops,hesaid.Meanwhile, Fisheries Minister K. A. Jayapal convened a reviewmeetingwithofficialsofvariousdepartmentstotakestockofflooddamagehereonThursday.Hesaidtheheavyrainhadsubjectedfarmers to great hardship especially at Thalaignayiru, Vandal,Kunduranveli,Palayattinkarai,amongotherareasofthedistrict.Seepage of sea water into paddy fields at Vandal andThalaignayiruaffectedthecrops.TheMinisterdirectedPublicWorksDepartmentofficialstoprepareadetailedestimate tostrengthenbanksof riversandchannels toprevent seepage of sea water so that farmers could undertakefarmoperationsintheseareas.Hedirectedtheofficialsconcernedtomonitor leak, if any, in the drinkingwater pipelines to preventoutbreakofanywater-bornediseases.TheMinister instructed doctors of PrimaryHealthCentres not totake leave during the monsoon season and ensure adequatestocks of medicines in their respective centres. He asked theofficialstoensuretheavailabilityofessentialcommoditiesinallfairprice shops. Collector T.Munusamy and District RevenueOfficerA.BenjaminBabuwerepresent.

FarmersadvisedtoinsuretheircropSambacultivationhasbeentakenupsofaron11,000hectaresinAriyalur district. A.Saravanavelraj, District Collector, appealed tofarmers in the district to insure their crop under the NationalAgricultureInsuranceScheme(NAIS).The insurance cover is Rs. 12,800 per acre. Loanees and non-loaneesareeligiblefortheinsurance.Non-loaneefarmersshouldfill the application and submit it to PACCS or concernednationalisedbankbeforeNovember15.

Horticulturecropstoberaisedon300haHorticulturecropswillberaisedon300hectaresinAriyalurdistrictduringtheyear2014-15.AsumofRs.1.86crorehasbeenallottedforthedistrictunderNationalHorticultureMission.Farmers would be encouraged to grow crops such as mango,lemon, papaya, cashew, flowers, chillies and turmeric. Saplingsandinputswillbegiventofarmersat50percentsubsidy.Subsidy will be given to each farmer to a maximum of fourhectares, said A.Saravanavelraj, Collector, said after a field visitandinteractionwithfarmerswhohadraisedthehorticulturecropsinthedistrictonThursday.Farmers of the district are showing keen interest in raisinghorticulture crops. For example,Ayyanar ofMelakaruppur villageinAriyalurtalukhasraisedlemoninhisfield.Othercropsraisedbyfarmersaremaize,redgram,maizeandcotton.Farmershavegonefordripirrigation.Gunasekaran,JointDirectorof Agriculture, M.Subbaiah, Deputy Director, HorticultureaccompaniedtheCollectorduringhisvisit.

Govt. targets 10 lakh organic rooftop andkitchengardensby2017DirectorofHorticultureandPlantationCropsL.Sitherasenansaidthat theGovernmentplannedtoestablish10 lakhorganicrooftopandkitchengardensinasmanyhousesintheStatebyMarch31,2017.“Thiswillbeaverybigleapfromthemere15,000plussuchgardensintheState,”hesaid.He toldThe Hinduhere on Thursday that the purpose of theschemewastohelpmiddleandlowermiddleclassfamilieshaveaself sustainable garden with a variety of vegetables that wouldprovidetheirday-to-dayneedsandhelpovercomemalnutrition.“Atpresent, there are 13,225 suchgardens inChennai and close to2,300inCoimbatore,”hesaidandaddedthatitrequiredamere50sq.ft.toestablishsuchvegetablegardens.The Director said that these organic gardens would help middleclass families not only save a lot on purchasing vegetables, butalsogiveeasyaccesstoconsumingorganicvegetables.Aboutthemassiveimplementationofthescheme,hesaidthattheState Government planned to implement it in all district headquarters and municipalities in a phased manner. “Unlike therooftopgardenscheme thathasbeen implementedso far freeofcost, the new gardens will be established with a subsidisedinvestmentfromtheaspirants,”theDirectorsaid.Mr. Sitherasenan added that the nominal charge collected frompeoplewould be used for providing quality certified seeds of thevegetables (of the consumer’s choice) and service charge. Thedepartmentwouldestablishdistrictlevelservicecentrestoofferitsservicetothegardenowners.“We are planning to have a district level helpline for people toreport pest attack or drop in production and to ensure that theownersdon’tlosetheirinterestinthesegardens.

These issueswillberedressedby thedepartmentstaffafter theyvisitthegarden,”hesaid.Earlier that day, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu AgriculturalUniversity K. Ramasamy told reporters here that the StateGovernment was planning to launchGovernment-labelled qualityseedsin2015toendthesaleofpoorqualityseeds–asallegedbyfarmers.

Horticulturecanbridgemalnutrit iongap’

TamilNaduGovernorK.Rosaiah(thirdleft)givingawaytheHSIShivashakthiLifeTimeAchievement-2014awardtoVice-ChancellorofBiharAgriculturalUniversityM.L.Choudharyatthe6thIndianHorticultureCongress-2014, inCoimbatore on Thursday in the presence of Secretary for Department ofAgricultureandCo-operation for theGovernmentof India,AshishBahuguna(second left), founder of MSSRF M.S. Swaminathan (right) and Vice-ChancellorofTNAUK.Ramasamy(left).—PHOTO:S.SIVASARAVANAN“Despite the country’s agricultural produce exceeding necessity,India has the most number of persons suffering stunted growthand children sufferingmalnutrition. Horticulture could play a vitalrole in bridging the malnutrition gap,” says Ashish Bahuguna,Secretary for Department of Agriculture and Co-operation, theGovernmentofIndia.Mr.Bahugunawasaddressingthegatheringatthe6{+t}{+h}IndianHorticulture Congress – 2014 (IHC-2014), organised by theHorticultureSocietyofIndia,hereonThursday.

He was of the opinion that malnutrition was primarily due toconservatism showed to food security. “Malnutrition can beovercomebyimprovingtheavailabilityoffruitsandvegetables,”hesaid.“Horticultureand the livestock industrycontributed to70percentof agriculture’s share to theGDP, at 35 per cent each. Asmosthorticulture crops require less water, nutrition from the soil andlesserlabour,thesectorispoisedforgreatgrowth,”headded.Noting that a major share of the country’s workforce wasdependedonagriculture,heexpressedtheneedfortheworkforcetodiversifytohorticulture,livestock,dairyingandfisheries.Healsosaid thatagricultureshouldbemadeattractivetodrawyouthandfarmers,whowerequittingagriculture, intotheothervariedformsofagriculture.GovernorofTamilNaduK.Rosaiahsaidthattheproductionof268milliontonnesin2012-13helpedhorticulturesurpassthecountry’sagriculturalproduceof262milliontonnesinthatyear,forthefirsttime.Hesaidthat thismadeIndiathesecondlargestproduceroffruitsandvegetablesintheworld–nextonlytoChina.The Governor said that Tamil Nadu’s diverse agro-climaticconditions had made the State account for 18.1 per cent of thecountry’sflowerproduction,8.2percentoffruitproductionand4.9percentof thevegetableproductionof thecountry. “TheState isthe largest producer of loose flowers in India with a 3.12milliontonnes,”headded.Founder of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation M.S.Swaminathanstressedontheneedforashiftfromfoodsecuritytonutrition security. “This could be attained by an agriculture andhorticulturemix,”hesaid.Accordingtohim,challengesagriculturefacesarepreventingfoodloss,vulnerableclimatechange,marketvolatilityandtheshrinkinglandresources.

Chairman of IHC-2014’s organising committee K.L. Chadha andVice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University K.Ramasamy also spoke. Lifetime achievement award and awardsforrecognisingprogressivehorticulturefarmersandentrepreneursweregivenawayintheevent.

kochitodayDepartment of Agriculture; Kerala State IndustrialDevelopment Corporation:Global Agro meet, paneldiscussiononKeralaagriculture–awayforward,openingremarksby IrrigationMinisterP.J. Joseph,9.30a.m., valedictory function,Governor ofKeralaP.Sathasivam to address;AdluxConventionCentre,Karukutty;5p.m.

Use of agrochemicals up 170 times since1960:expertGlobalusageofinsecticideis44percent;itis60percentinIndia

Scientists urge the farmers to shift to organic farming practices as thechemicalfertilizerscauseseveresideeffects.—Photo:A.SHAIKMOHIDEEN

Thoughthefarmersarebeingurgedtodesistfromusingchemicalfertilizersandpesticides,known foradverseside-effects, theper-hectare use of agrochemicals in farming activities of the countryhas increased 170 times since 1960s, faculty member of Sri

Paramakalyani Centre of Excellence in Environmental Sciences,Alwarkurichi,A.G.Murugesanhassaid.The renowned toxicologist was addressing the UGC ResearchOutreachWorkshopon‘Sustainablelivelihood’heldatSPKCES,asatellite centre of the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University atAlwarkurichi,onWednesday.Theeventwasattendedbyfarmers,representatives of rural local bodies, irrigation managementassociations,school teachers, researchstudentsand thegeneralpublic.According to Dr. Murugesan, the country’s farming system wasonce closely associatedwith the lives of the agriculturists and asustained socio-economic progress could be witnessed in thesociety. But starting from late sixties, the uncontrolled use ofagrochemicals to increase food cropproductivity causeda rangeofadverseside-effects.“The average application of 0.55 kg of chemical fertilizer / ha in1950hasnowincreasedto90.12kg/ha.Similarly,theproductionofchemicalpesticidethatstoodat20,000tonesbetween1955and1970 in thecountry,hasnowcrossed50,000tonnes.Thoughweare using 234 types of pesticides, 46 per cent of them areregisteredpesticides.The toxiceffect of thepesticideshas killedover8 lakhpeopleacross theglobesince1966,”Dr.Murugesansaid.Another alarming fact he revealed was the uncontrolled use ofchemical pesticides in the country. While the global usage ofinsecticide stands at 44 per cent, it has crossed 60 per cent inIndia.“Besides having carcinogenic effect on the growers and theconsumers of the produce, it will also cause other ailmentsincluding reproductive and developmental problems, geneticdefects, neurological defects, kidney malfunction and hormonalchange in human beings. The bio-accumulation of pesticides is

tremendously increasing not only in food products but also inhuman bodies and other non-target animals,” Dr. Murugesanwarned.The need of the hour is to move to organic farming pattern bypromoting plant-based pesticides and fertilizers, which will beeconomicalasthefarmerscanprepareitwithlocallyavailablerawmaterialslikeneem,turmeric,vasambu,cowdung,vermicompost,panchakavyametc.“By telling the farmers about the advantages of organic farmingpractices and the evils of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, thelocal body heads should discuss these issues in gram sabhameetings,” Dr. Murugesan appealed. Faculty member P.Ravichandranspokeonthepreparationanduseofnaturaldyesinmats,woodcarvingsandfabrics.Slideshows and lectures on fish culture, organic fertilizers,environmental challenges due to the use and throw plastics,application of nano science in agriculture, bio fertilizers andconservation of fresh water fishes in local streams andwaterbodieswerealsoarranged.

IntercropsgetmoreincomeforfarmersMulti-croppingpatternrejuvenatessoilhealth

Handful:Afarmershowinggroundnut,anintercrop,onhisfieldatChellakutiurnearVedasandurinDindiguldistrict.—PHOTO:G.KARTHIKEYAN

Intercroppinghasbecomeapotenttoolforsmallandtinyfarmerstoincreaseincomeandtobringdownproductioncost.With no additional investment, farmers of Chellakuttiyur nearVedasandurhavebeenmakingadecentincomethroughadoptionof intercropping pattern. “I have raised red gram as intercrop togroundnutcrop.Groundnutcanbeharvestedin105daysandredgramin135days.Afterharvestingthefirstcrop,residualeffectofthegroundnutcropinthesoilwillenhancetheyieldofredgram,”saidfarmerP.Muthusamy.“Ineednotaddanyinputtoraiseredgram.Itgrowswiththewaterandfertilizersgiventothemaincrop,”headds.Redgramhasbeen raised in four to five rowson thegroundnutfieldasintercropaswellasbundcrop.Redgramasintercropwillgiveone-thirdofthetotalyieldasamaincropwithnoinvestment.Asamaincrop,redgramyieldperacreis400kgandasintercropit is 150 kg. Water, fertilizers and other inputs supplied togroundnutwillautomaticallybegraspedbyredgram,saidDeputyDirectorofAgricultureM.Thangasamy.“Our aim is to propagate leguminous crop as inter crop amongfarmers so that they could earn more without incurringexpenditure,”saidJointDirectorofAgricultureN.SampathKumar.Moreover,multi-croppingpatternwouldrejuvenatesoilhealthandretainitsnutrientvalues.The demand for small grainswas increasing owing to change ineatinghabitsandhealthconsciousnessofthepresentgeneration.Increasing production of small grains would be beneficial tofarmersandwillalsomeetthegrowingdemand,saysMr.Kumar.

Centre of Excellence for fruits to come upincapitalACentreofExcellenceforfruits,vegetablesandflowerswillbesetupinThiruvananthapuramatacostofRs.18croreundertheIndo-DutchActionPlan,saidapressreleasefromtheorganisersofthethree-day Global Agro Meet and exhibition of organic producesandproductsatKarukutty,Angamaly,onThursday.The Union government would give Rs.8 crore and the Stategovernment would provide the remaining amount, the pressreleasesaid.AwarenesscampaignsThecentrewillconducttrainingsandawarenesssessionsonpoly-house cultivation. The inputs needed for ply-house farming suchashybridseedsandfertilizerswillalsobeprovidedbythecentre.Poly-house cultivation is one of the flagship programmes in thecurrent State Plan. “Poly-house farming has the capability toincrease crop yields by five to ten times,” said K. Prathapan,Mission Director of the State Horticultural Mission, which willimplementtheproject.TechtransferThe Netherlands will transfer the required technology for thecentre.ExpertsfromtheWageningenUniversity,TheNetherlands,alongwithKeralaAgriculturalUniversitywilltrainmastertrainersinpoly-housefarming.The Centre wil l give Rs.8 crore and the Stategovernmentwil l provide Rs.10crore

Tobaccoproductionl ikelytogoupExpectedexcessproductioninothercountriesmaybeadampener

VexedwithapoormarketforBengalgramcropforthreeyearsinarow, farmers in Prakasam district cultivated 124 million kg oftobaccoasagainst theauthorised crop sizeof 90million kgandendedupgettingabetteraveragepriceofRs109perkglastyear.Even as farmers began tobacco cultivation in southern Light soil(SLS)areaswithoptimism,theircounterpartsinsouthernblacksoil(SBS) are adopting a wait-and-watch attitude in view of cyclonethreat.ThesowingsareexpectedtobecompletedduringDecember.“Wehave no alternative but to grow tobacco in view of depressedmarketconditionforBengalgramforthelastthreeyears,”farmerscomingunderOngoleIauctionplatformsaid.Butthesituationisnotgoingtoberosyduetoanticipatedexcessproduction in tobacco-growing countries. The main exportingcountriesincludingZimbabweandBrazilhaveacarryoverstockofover 75 million kg and are expecting a bumper crop in 2015,accordingtoIndianTobaccoAssociationsources.

DomesticTradersaresaddledwith25millionkgcarryovertobaccostockwith farmersgrowingunauthorisedcropofabout40millionkglastyearoverandabovethecropsizeof172millionkgfixedbytheTobaccoBoard,thesourcessay.Anticipatinglesserdemandintheinternationalmarketduring2015,tobaccomajorITChadcutdownitsrequirementby20millionkgto90millionkg.“Thishasneverhappenedbeforeinthepast.Inthissituation,farmersinthestatewillnotbeabletoattractbuyersevenfor theauthorisedcropof172millionkg in thecomingyear,” ITAformerPresidentBellamKottaiahexplained.Envisaging a tough year head for tobacco growers, VirginiaTobacco Growers Welfare Association President Ch. Seshaiahsaid farmerswould not be able tomarket any unauthorised croplikeinthepreviousyears.“Farmers should reduce tobacco production by half to scrapethrough during this season,” felt former Tobacco Board memberCh.RangaRao.

Officials brief farmers of ways to controlwilt, leafspotdiseaseA team of horticulture and revenue department officials inspectaffectedcrop

Need-based:Deputy Director of HorticultureS. Raja Mohamedinspecting the affected banana crop in a farm at BrahmadesamnearAmbasamudraminTirunelveliDistrict.

Officials attached to the Department of Horticulture have startedvisitingthebananaplantationinthedistrictfollowingrecentrainstobriefthegrowersonthemeasurestobetakentoprotecttheircropfromdiseases thatmaybecausedby rainwaterstagnating in theranches.Sincethestagnantwatermaycausediseaseslikewilting,leaf-spotdiseasesetc.resultinginhugelosstothefarmers,thehorticulturedepartmenthascommencedthisexercise.A teamof horticulture officers, led byS.RajaMohamed,DeputyDirector ofHorticulture , Tirunelveli, and the revenuedepartmentofficials inspected the ‘Nendran’ banana crop in Brammadesam,East Ambasamudram in Ambasamudram block and Pallkkal inPappakkudi block recently. As the prevailing agro-climaticconditions and the water stagnating in the fields may causediseasessuchaswilting, ‘sikatoka’ leafspotdiseases inbanana,the growers need to take certain prophylactic measures tosafeguardtheircrop.“We happened to see similar condition prevailing atAmbasamudram,Pappakkudi,CheranmadeviandKalakkadblocksin Tirunelveli district. Hence, the farmers should take immediateprophylacticmeasurestopreventdiseasesthatwouldariseoutoftheprevailingagro-climaticconditions,”saidMr.RajaMohamed.Afteraffectingthelowerleaves,yellowstreakswouldappearpriorto the drying of leaves of banana. “Close planting and growth ofweedsfurtherfacilitatethespreadofthedisease,”headded.

As a prophylactic measure, farmers have been advised to drainthe water stagnating in the field first, remove the wilted andaffectedleavesinseparatebasketswithout leavingit inthesamefieldas itwouldenhancethespreadof thedisease.Theaffectedleavesshouldbeeitherburiedorburntsomewhereelse.Then the affected plants should be sprayedwith chemicals suchas copper oxy chloride (2 kg), carbondazim (500 gram) ormancozeb(1.25kg)perhectarealongwithanadhesive.“Thiswillprovideeffectiveremedytothediseasesthatmightaffectthebananacropduringthisseason,”Mr.RajaMohamedsaid.

Ditch ready-to-eat meals to avoid highcalories:Survey

Doyouwant tohelptrimyoursandyour family’swaistlines?Onecansaveoveramonth’sworthofcalorieseveryyearbyditching

‘readymeals’andinsteadtakingaDoitYourself(DIY)approachtomaking common foods. The research by etailerAppliancesDirectfoundthattheaveragefamilystandstosave240,000calories,theequivalentof32days’recommendedcalorie intakeforafamilyoffour,byhome-makingmeals, insteadofrelyingonshoppreparedversions,reportsfemalefirst.co.uk.

The statistics indicate Britain is a nation of false foodies which,despitebeingobsessedwithcookeryshowslikethe“GreatBritishBake Off” and “Masterchef”, has the highest ready mealconsumption in Europe. “Obesity rates have never been higherand that is largely due to our lifestyles. Our grandparents werebrought up on single-ingredient whole foods and we should eatmore like them,”saidNikLitwinenko-Jones, lifestylenutritionistatQualityforLifeFitness.

“Yetnowit’stooeasytooptforready-mealspackedwithlonglistsof ingredients–asa rule the longer the list themoreyoushouldavoid. These meals have best before dates of many weeks,meaning they are packed with salt, sugar and preservatives,increasingyourriskof life-threatening illnessessuchasCoronaryHeartDiseaseandTypeIIDiabetes,”addedJones.

Morethan65percentofBritishersadmittoeatingreadymealsfivetimes per week, while 57 percent buy readymade fruit juices orsmoothies threeormore timesperweek.But not only are thesepre-preparedproductsoften ladenwithexcessivesugar,saltandfat,statisticsindicatetheyarealsomuchmoreexpensive.

Byswitching tohome-prepared foods instead, thestatisticsshowthattheaveragefamilycouldsavealmost2,000poundsperyear,thecostoftheaveragefamilyholiday.

- Seemoreat:http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/ditch-ready-to-eat-meals-to-avoid-high-calories-survey/#sthash.aW3UDvKD.dpuf

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Selectiveliftingirksfarmers

CottongrowersstagedaprotestatthecottonmarketyardagainsttheCCInotliftingtheirproduce

Khammam:The cotton growers are fuming at the CottonCorporationofIndia(CCI)officialsforrejectingnearly75percentof their produce on the grounds that it is of inferior quality.Theystaged a protest at the cotton market yard against the CCI notlifting their produce. In the last three days, nearly 90,000 bagsreachedthecottonmarketyardinKhammam.

On information, revenue divisional officer Vinay Krishna Reddyrushed to themarket yard and asked the CCI officials to lift thecrop.CCI officials argued that much of the cotton brought hadmoisturecontentover10percentwhichtheycan’tbuy.G.SankarNaik,afarmerofTirumalayapalem,saiditwasnotfaironthepartof theCCI tostop liftingcottoncitingmoisturecontent. "WewanttheCCItobuycottonwithhighmoisturecontentatalowerprice,"hesaid.

RainactivitydeclinesinTamilNadu

Tamil Nadu would remain unaffected as the present direction ofthewindisnortherlyandnorthwesterly.(Photo:DC/File)

Chennai:Themetdepartment’spredictionthatrainfallactivitywillgraduallysubsideduringthecourseoftheweekhasturnedouttobe right.For the past few days, no rainfall was recorded inChennai.

Noting that the deep depression, initially feared to develop as atropicalcyclone,formedinsoutheastBayofBengal,isbecomingweak, S.B. Thampi, deputy director general, regionalmeteorologicalcentre,said.

“Overthenextfewdays,itwillmoveandcrossasalowpressuresystem by coastal Andhra Pradesh.” The met department iscontinuouslymonitoringit,headded.

Hesaid thatTamilNaduwould remainunaffectedas thepresentdirectionofthewindisnortherlyandnorthwesterly,whilethestatewill only receive rain from the system if the winds blow in aneasterlydirection.

However,headdedthattheremightbeisolatedinstancesofraininthe state for the next couple of days. Till Wednesday, the staterecorded267.6mmrainfall,well inexcessof theexpected220.3mm.

Oilmealexportdips42%inOct

Highersoyapricesleadtodisparityinglobalmarket

Mumbai, November 6: Delay in crushing and highersoyabean prices resulted in oilmeal exports dropping by 42 percent inOctober.Shipments fell to2,18,307 tonnes from3,75,535tonnesinthesameperiodayearago.Soyameal exports have dropped in the last six months due tolower crop. This has led to a disparity in soyameal prices in theinternational market. However, export of rapeseed meal haveincreased to 7.05 lakh tonnes from 5.61 lakh tonnes in the lastseven months, according to data from the Solvent Extractors’Association.Exports more than doubled in October compared with 1.02 lakhtonnes shipped in September. This was largely due to sharpincreaseinexportofrapeseedmealwhichincreasedto1.33lakhtonnes against 58,567 tonnes in September. Similarly, soyamealexportstrebledto29,071tonnesfrom868tonnesinSeptember.Inthefirstsevenmonthsofthefinancialyear,exportsweredown42percentto11.88lakhtonnes(20.33lakhtonnes).Shipmentsaredown32percentat34.86lakhtonnes(51.29lakhtonnes) in theoilyearendedOctober, largelydue to50percentdropinsoyamealexports.Average prices of soyameal in October dropped to $485(Rs.29,585) a tonne from $569 a tonne in September, whilerapeseed and castorseed meal prices remained stable. Rupeedepreciatedto61.37againstdollarfrom60.90.SouthKoreaandIran,both leadingbuyers, reducedtheir importsto5.68lakhtonnes(6.39lakhtonnes)and1.82lakhtonnes(6.04lakhtonnes),respectively.SouthKoreaimported3.15lakhtonnesof rapeseed meal, 2.50 lakh tonnes of castormeal and 1,744tonnesofsoyameal.

Kandla port handled 9.06 lakh tonnes of oilmeal exportsaccountingfor76percentof thetotalexports. ItwasfollowedbyMumbai Port including JNPT 1.21 lakh tonnes (10 per cent),besidesKolkataandMundraportsmanaging64,096tonnes(5percent)and63,666tonnes(5percent),respectively.Bediaccountedforthreepercentofexports.

As tea prices drop below Rs. 100/kg,growersseekreliefKochi, November 6:Kanan Devan Planters Association hasurgedtheUnionandStateGovernmentstoputinplaceimmediatereliefmeasurestosafeguardtheteaplantationsfromthecrisistheindustryisfacing.

Fall in prices, increase in wages and high cost of fertilisers istakingback the industry to itsworst-everperiod teagrowershadexperienced at the beginning of this century, BP Kariappa,ChairmanoftheAssociation,saidinastatement.Teaprices intheSouthareunviablewiththeaveragepriceuptoSeptemberdroppingbelowRs.100fromRs.115perkgduringthesame period a year ago, down 13 per cent. At the same time,wages have gone up by 19 per cent in Kerala. The increase inwages coupledwith spiralling costs of other inputs have crippledtheteaplantations,whichisonthevergeofcollapse.Inadditiontothebasicwages,theorganisedplantationsectorspendsadditional75 per cent for discharging the obligation of social costs. Therecommendations and assurances given by many expertcommitteesforreimbursingpartoftheexpensesincurredforsocialcostsstillremaininpaper,hesaid.Anunfavourable taxenvironment furtheraggravates thesituationwhere the cost structure already places the products on a weakgroundingvis-a-visthecompetition.Hepointedout thatplantation

tax foranamountofRs.700peryield is leviedwhereas this taxdoesnotexistinanyotherState.AgricultureI-TLikewisetheagricultureincometaxisleviedattherateashighas50percentinKeralaagainstnilinTamilNadu.While30percentis levied inKarnataka,AssamandWestBengal.Apart from this,thebasic land tax increase fromRs. 200 toRs. 500per hectarehasalsoanimpactonthesector,hesaid.Kerala has the highest plantationwages coupledwith a variableDAwhichisrevisedquarterly.Thishadanimpactonwages,whichincreasedby18.34percentinthepasttwoyears,whereastheteapricesdropped13percent,hesaid.

Despite offers belowRs.500/10 kg, notakersforpalmoleinMumbai,November6:

The edible oils market was dull on Thursday due to scatteredphysicalvolumeamidweakoverseasfuturesmarket.NCDEXandBombay commodity exchange was closed due toGuru NanakJayanti. Ruchi and Liberty kept prices unchanged, while Allanalowered prices byRs.2-5 for soya and palm oil. Malaysia crudepalmoilfuturesclosedlowerforthethirdconsecutiveday,trackinglossesinworldcommoditiesmarkets.Sourcessaidduringthedayabout 150-200 tonnes of palmolein changed hands atRs.495.Resellers offered palmolein atRs.497-498 but there were nodemand. At the end of the day, Liberty quoted palmoleinatRs.512-514,superpalmoleinatRs.540andsoyabean refinedoil atRs.615. Ruchi was quoting palmoleinRs.512, soyabeanrefinedoilatRs.601andsunflowerrefinedoilatRs.631.

Allana quoted palmoleinRs.507, super palmolein atRs.550,soyabean refined oil atRs.610 and sunflower oil atRs.645.Vikram global commodities (P) Ltd quotedRs.635forMalaysiansuperpalmoleinNovemberdeliveryMalaysiacrudepalmoilNovembercontractsclosedloweratMYR2,219 (MYR 2,228), December at MYR 2,230 (MYR 2,258) andJanuaryatMYR2,223(MYR2,252).In Mumbai nominal spot rates (Rs./10 kg) were: groundnut oil860,soyarefinedoil610,sunflowerexpellerrefined585,sunflowerrefined 635, rapeseed refined oil 733, rapeseed expeller refined703,cottonseedrefinedoil615andpalmolein505.

Prospectsimproveformustard,oi lIndore,November6:

PROSPECTSTURNBULLISHFORMUSTARDWeak arrival and improved buying lifted mustard oil prices inmandisacrossMadhyaPradeshwithprice in IndoreonThursdaybeing quoted atRs.672 for 10 kg (upRs.5). Amid decline inarrival, mustardseed in the physical market was quoted higheratRs.4,200 a quintal (upRs.100 from last week). A lowercarryoverstockandreportofdeclineinsowingareacouldresultina uptrend in mustard prices in the coming days. last year.OurCorrespondentAscrudeoilplunges,shalesharkscountonOPEC’sweakestl inksLibya,Venezuela,IranandEcuadorwillhaveatoughtimetacklingthecurrentsituation

November6:Here’swhytheUSshaleupstartsjustmightwinaconfrontationwithSaudiArabiaasoilsinks:WhiletheArabnationis as flush with cash as ever, the finances of some fellow

OrganisationofPetroleumExportingCountries (OPEC)membersaredeterioratingquickly.Venezuela, for example, has burned through billions of dollars,leavingitsforeignreservesnearadecade-low,tostaveoffdefault.InNigeria,officialsarestrugglingtostemaselloff in thecurrencythathasleftitatarecordlow.ThosefinancialstrainshaveVenezuelacallingforactiontopreventfurtherdeclinesinoilprices,whileaLibyanrepresentativesaidthe12-memberOPECshouldcutitsoutputtarget.WhenexecutivesatAmericanshalecompanies talkabouthavingmorestayingpowerin a pricewar than someof theSaudi partners, these countries,alongwithplaceslikeEcuadorandIran,arethekeyweaklinksinquestion.Saudi Arabia and the oil-richGulfmonarchies can afford to takethe long-term remedy as they have enough cash reserves,TheodoreKarasik,senioradviseratRiskInsuranceManagement,saidbyphone fromDubaionWednesday.LibyaandVenezuela,ontheotherhand,needaquickinterventionbyOPEC.Brent crude, the international benchmark, plunged 29 per centsinceJuneto$82.54abarrelonThursdayastheshaleboomliftedUS production to the highest in at least 31 years and globaldemand slowed. At this price only Kuwait, Qatar and theUnitedArab Emirates will earn enough to balance their budgets, whileIran, Iraq and Algeria need at least $100, the InternationalMonetaryFundsaidinaNovember2013report.HighercostsShale oil drillers will be hurt by the fall in crude prices beforemembersofOPECbecausetheircostsarehigher,saidthegroupssecretary-general, Abdalla El-Badri. As much as 50 per cent oftightoiloutputwillbeoutofthemarketatcurrentprices,hesaidataconferenceinLondononOctober29.

Executives at several large US shale producers, includingChesapeake Energy Corp and EOG Resources Inc, vowed tomaintain,andevenraise,productionastheyreportedearningsthisweek.Theysaytheirsuccess inbringingdowncostsmeanstheymakemoneyevenifpricesslumpfurther.TheaveragepriceofOPEC’smainexportgradesfellbelow$80abarrelforthefirsttimeinfouryearsonNovember4,thegroupsaidbye-mail.ThegroupwilldecideonfutureproductionquotaswhenitmeetsinViennaonNovember27.OPECmembers’ fiscalbreak-even levels, thepriceatwhich theirbudgets are balanced, are more important for determiningmembersproductionpoliciesthanthecostatwhichtheycanpumpoil,accordingtoanalystsatCommerzbankAGandIHSInc.VenezuelanDiscomfortOPECmembersarecountries,notcompanies,so theydon’t lookattheprofitabilityofwells,theylookattheirrevenueforafiscalorcurrent account standpoint, Jamie Webster, a Washington, DC-basedanalystatIHS,saidbye-mail.Crudeproductioncostsareasecondarymatter.Venezuela,whichgets96percentof itsdollarearnings fromoil,loses $700 million a year for each $1-a-barrel price drop,according to state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA.The country is almost certain to default on its foreign- currencybonds, Harvard University economists Carmen Reinhart andKennethRogoffsaidlastmonth.Ecuador’sdeficit Venezuelanofficialsarealreadyuncomfortableandtheyreallyruninto trouble if prices fall closer to $80 a barrel for a sustainedperiod, Risa Grais-Targow, a Eurasia Group analyst, said by

phone from Washington. The country needs $162 a barrel tobalanceitsbudget,accordingtoDeutscheBankAG.Venezuela is not in any immediate risk of default, SebastianBriozzo,directorofsovereignratingsatStandard&Poors,saidinan interview. The fall in oil prices is very serious for Ecuador’seconomy, said David Rees, an emerging-market economist atCapitalEconomicsinLondon.

Valueaddit ion

The business of antiques is thriving in India. Be it a traditionalbrick-and-mortar model or an e-commerce site, the patina ofsuccessisnowclearlydiscernible

Near the Wellington Fountain Circle (Regal Circle) in southMumbai’s Colaba stands a grand Gothic building marked bypointedarches,turretsandblackstonefaçades.Builtsometimeinthemid-19thcentury,theWaterlooMansion,nowcalledtheIndianMercantileMansion,isoneofthemostphotographedarchitecturalmarvels of the city, featured even in postcards of the early 20thcentury.AnditisunderitshallowedroofthatoneofIndia’soldestantiquesshops,PhillipsAntiques,foundabefittingaddress.

OriginallysetupbyaBritishfamily in1860,theshopwasboughtas a ‘going concern’ by the great grandfather of Farooq Issa.Today, it houses pieces of history in the form of Oriental andEuropean porcelain and pottery, brass toys, Victorian colouredglass, Tanjore glass paintings, sea charts, historical maps andtownplans,besidesarangeofcolonialandethnicfurniture.

The erstwhile Maharajas and royal families were the biggestpatronsofantiquesinthe1950s.Butbythelate’70s—aftertheabolitionofprivypursesin1971—theyhadbecomesellers,givinganewleaseoflifetothebusinessofantiquesinthecountry.Whileno industrystatisticsareavailabledue to theunorganisednatureof the business, antiquesworth billions of dollars are sold every

year in the domestic and exports markets. And the business isincreasing.

“Thedomesticmarket is growing tremendously.Morepeoplearenow aware (of their value), and the emerging middle-class isspendinga lot onbuyingvintageartefacts for their homes,” saysSunny LMalayil, who co-owns Crafters Antiques in Kochi’s JewTownwithbrotherJohny.

Theduo joined the tradenearlyaquarter-centuryago,after theirfamilybusinessofspicesbegantoslowdown.Whentheystarted,95percentoftheirsalescamefromexports.“Buttoday,domesticdemandaloneis80percent,”saysMalayil.

Thefirstitemthatthebrotherssoldwasan80-year-oldcashbox,whichwasboughtfromatharavadu—atraditionalfamilyhouseinKerala. These homes were grand, with one or more courtyards,intricatelycarvedfurnitureanddecorativearticles.

Withthedeclineinthejoint-familysystem,thesebelongingsfoundtheir way to the market, and were bought regularly by antiquesdealers.“Keralahasarichcrafttradition,especiallywoodencraft,whichiscenturiesold.

Families own items like wooden heads of cows and horses,statues and other knick-knacks. A lot of that has come to thestores,”saysDeepakSrinath, founderofPhantomHands, India’sfirstantiquesandvintagecollectiblese-commerceventure.

In Kochi, for instance, Jew Town, which lies between theMattancherry Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue, is a hub ofantiquessellers.

When local Jew settlers, whose history dates back to 700BC,began to move back to Israel in the 20th century, their oldhousehold items, including furniture and vessels, flooded JewTownwithantiques.Notsurprisingly,rowuponrowofshopsheresellantiquesalone—fromfurnitureandcrockerytopaintingsand

silverornaments.Allofwhicheventually find theirway todealersandcollectorsacrossIndiaandabroad.

Opensourcenetworks

IssaofPhillipsAntiquesandSrinathofPhantomHands travel toKochiandotherhubs likeJodhpur,PondicherryandChettinad insearch of ‘hidden gems’. The Chettiars, for instance, had traderelationswithothercountries.

From their travels, they brought back enamelware fromSweden,lacquer boxes and wooden chests from Burma, besides othergems, artefacts and statues. “You find an international flavour ofantiquesinChettinad,”saysSrinath.

Issa says he sources antiques fromcollectors, auctions, estates,royal familiesandevenoldhomes in thecountryside.AmongthemaindrawsathisupmarketColabastore,whichcanwellbecalleda museum, is an exquisite doll’s house in silver, complete withsilverchairs,adiningtable,sofasandbeds,whichoncebelongedtoaprincess.Aqueen’spalanquinprocuredfromBengalwasalsoamajorattraction,until itwasacquiredbyafamilyinPondicherrywithahouselargeenoughtogiveitprideofplace.

Srinath,however,staysawayfromsuchprivatelyownedlegacies.“People we deal with are all first-generation collectors.We don’twanttogetintoanyfamilydisputesatall.”Hesourceshisvintageartefactsfromcollectorsandotherantiquesdealerswithwhomhehasbuiltarapportovertheyears.WhilePhantomHandswasonlylaunched in 2013, Srinath and his wife Aparna Rao have beendecoratingtheirhomewithsuchcollectiblesoveraperiodoftime.

“Oncewe launched the site, collectors startedapproachingus tosell their things.With time,either the tastesofcollectorschange,or they have space or cash constraints, compelling them todispensewiththeartefacts,”saysSrinath, formerlyan investmentbankerwithAllegro.

Hecautions,however,thatenteringthebusinessofantiquesisnotwithout its perils. “It is not something someone can get into andstartsourcingimmediately.

Most antiques dealers are third- or fourth-generation operators,and their relationshipswithsuppliersgoback100ormoreyears.Theirsupplychainsarewell-entrenched,”hesays.

A fourth-generation antiques dealer, Issa, for instance, dependsheavilyonthebusinessrelationshipshisforefathersbuiltover100years.Moreover,dealersandcollectorshavealwaysworkedwithinatight,well-networkedcommunitythatishardtobreachforanewentrant.

Antiques— loosely defined as any item over 100 years old, ofhistoric,artistic, culturalor religioussignificance—arebecomingrarerbythedayandcannotbelegallyexported.

TheyhavetoberegisteredwiththeArchaeologicalSurveyofIndia(ASI). Articles that are 30 to 100 years old are classified asvintage,andthesearetheonesindemandnow.

“Things have changed. Buyers don’t look only at the age of anartefactnow. It ismoreaboutdesignandaesthetics.Mostof thethingssoldtodayarevintage,”saysIssa.Almost90percentofthePhantomHandsinventoryisalsovintage—belongingtotheearly20thcentury.

Keepingthefaith

RehanKhan,thechiefexecutiveofapharmaceuticalmultinational,who is also an angel investor in Phantom Hands, began bycollectingvintagecarpetsandrugsalmosttwodecadesago,whenhe was working across the US, Germany and Sweden, amongother countries. He moved to India six years ago. “Most of thegoodcarpetshave long left thecountry. Inow focusonbeautifulvintage items across genres — furniture, contemporary art anditemsofreligiousandhistoricsignificance.”

Khan,likemostcollectors,ischoosytheaboutpeoplehesourceshisitemsfrominamarketplacefloodedwithfakesandknock-offs.“Thereisamarketbutnowaytocatertoitinanethicalway.Whenalotofpeoplearemakingcopies(oforiginals),howdoyoudoitinatrustworthyway?Canyoutell thehistoryandprovenanceofanitem?Abuyerneedstoknowthat.”

And that is exactly why Khan agreed to fund Phantom Hands,whichworkswithexpertstoensurethateachandeveryproductitsells online is bona fide. Srinath says, “We always work withdealerswhoaretrustworthyandcomewithgoodcredentials.”

Srinathhas taken itastep furtherbyroping inas teammembersantiques dealers, subject experts as well as academicians whocanjudgeifanobject iskosher.Sinceantiquesbelongtoseveralcategories,onepersoncannotbeanauthorityoneverythingfromvintagewatchesandcoinstofansandbicycles.“Whenwearenotsure, we write to relevant experts all over the world to get theirvalidation,”saysSrinath.

Athirdofhiscompany’ssalesnowcomesfromexportmarketsintheUS,EuropeandAustralia.

While objects range from ₹12,000 to a few lakhs at PhantomHands,alithographofaBritishsoldier,forinstance,canbeboughtfor₹3,500atPhillips.“Itisamisconceptionthatantiquescostlakhsof rupees.Many items can be bought for a few thousand,” saysIssa.And that ispreciselywhyyoungprofessionalsaremakingabeelineforvintageartefacts.

“Theyaretheemergingcategoryofclientele—professionals,whoaredoingwell,aremostly in theirearly-to-mid-30sandsettinguptheirfirsthome.While80percentofthefurnituretheybuywillbefromstores,theydowanttohaveoneortwopiecesthatwillstandout,”saysSrinath.

They are, as Issa says, taking baby steps in the vast world ofantiques:“Overtheyears,astheybecomemoreaffluent,theywillperhapsstart investing inuniqueobjects.”Quite likethehighnet-worth individualswhoinvest inantiquestoday,apart fromseriouscollectors, who tend to focus on one or two categories such ascoinsorwatchesorfurnitureofaparticularstyle.

Khan,meanwhile, remainsbullish about the future of antiques inIndia.HecitestheexampleofChina,whereindividualsarebuyingbackChineseantiquesfromallovertheworldastheirpurchasingpowerincreases.“Mostcountriesbecomemorefocusedandproudof theirhistorywithan increase inaffluence. In20years,wewillsee this happening in India as well,” says Khan, who collects anoodle-makerfromAssamwithasmuchfervourasasandalwoodwalking stick fromMysoreor intricately carved legsof a charpoyfromGujarat.“ArticlesIcollecttodayarevintage,buttwodecadesfromnow,theywillbeantiques.”

For collectors like Khan, this is not merely a business, or aninvestment that can give quick returns likemutual funds: “It is awayofpreservingourhistory,cultureandanthropology.”

AndforIssa—whosechildrenarekeenonjoiningthebusinessaswell—itisawayoflife.

TimeforanotherGreenRevolutionNowthatthegainsfromthefirstroundhavepeteredout,weneedtoembracebiotechtoboostfarmproductivity

AsIndiaseekstoignitethenextagrarianrevolution,itmusttryandabsorb some of the lessons of the Green Revolution. Currently,agricultural productivity and growth vary from State to State,resulting in regional disparities. Through targeted policymaking,investment in rural infrastructure and research, and ongoing

support to farmers,wecan levelout these inequitiesandensurethatwegetitright.

TheGreenRevolutionof the1960shadaphenomenal impactonfoodproductioninIndia.Itresultedinarecordgrainoutputof131mt in 1978-79 and catapulted our country into the league of theworld’s leading grain producers. Similar agricultural techniquesimplemented globally showed us a way out of food crises incountriesacrosstheworld.

For example, the International Maize and Wheat ImprovementCenter inMexicoand the InternationalRiceResearch Institute inthePhilippinesdevelopednewhigh-yieldingvarietiesofwheatandricethatsignificantlyboostedoutputandalleviatedcropshortagesincertainpartsoftheworld.

Hitt ingaplateauHowever, the effects of the Green Revolution in India haveplateauedsince then.Though India isnowself-sufficient inmanyaspectsoffoodproduction, itstill reliesonimportsforcropssuchaspulsesandoilseeds,whereproductionhasnotkeptpacewithdemandfromaburgeoningpopulation.

Theagriculturesectorcurrentlylagsgrowthinotherfieldsandtheincomegapbetweenfarmersandnon-farmersiswidening.Hence,the need of the hour is to infuse fresh energy to drive the nextphaseofgrowthinagriculture.

ThoughtheGreenRevolutionwasagamechanger,investmentinkey areas including machinery and irrigation systems to supportthecultivationofhighyieldingcropvarietieswasnotadequate.Asaresult,theeffectsoftherevolutionwerenotuniform,resultinginimbalancedgrowthinmanyregions.

The second agricultural revolution that we now have to igniteshouldbuildonthegoodworkinitiatedbythefirstonewhilefillingsomeof itsgaps.Thegoal isnot justtomakeIndiaself-sufficientinfoodproductionbuttoenablesurplusproductionthatwillallowittobecomeanexporteroffood.

Accordingtotheagricultureministry,Indiaachievedanagriculturalgrowthrateof3.64percentagainstatargetof4percentgrowthoverthe11thPlanperiod.Theincreaseintotalplantedareaundermajor crops (foodgrains, oilseeds, cotton, and sugarcane) byaround9percentsince2000-01to170millionhectares in2011-12 reflects increased irrigation availability leading to increasedcroppingintensity.

HowtosecurefoodneedsAnotherfactthatwouldsupportIndia’scasetobeamajorforceinworld trade is thataccording to theUSdepartmentofagriculture,India has emerged as amajor agricultural exporter, with exportsclimbingfromjustover$5billionin2003toarecordofmorethan$39billionin2013.

Ashok Gulati, renowned agricultural economist and chairprofessor, agriculture, at the Indian Council for Research onInternationalEconomicRelationshasalsocalled for revolutionarymethods to dramatically boost food supply for the nation's 1.2billionpeople.

According to the InternationalCenter forAgriculturalResearch intheDryAreas,drylandsproducehalfthecountry’scereals,77percentofitsoilseedsand85percentofitspulses.Implementationofnew and efficient irrigation methods, better watershedmanagement andmaintenance of vegetation cover in catchmentareas, are all important steps in the quest to match wateravailability to crop needs, and thus the development of cropvarieties tolerant to water stress (abiotic stress) is required tooptimisewaterutilisation.

Goodinfrastructureisanextremelyimportantfactorforagriculturaldevelopment, as it directly impacts the degree to which farmerscanaccessinstitutionalfinanceandmarkets,aswellastheirabilityto boost yield. Agricultural infrastructure has the potential totransform the current landscape of subsistence farming into onedefinedbymodern,commercialfarming.

Publicinvestmentininfrastructuresuchasirrigation,power,roads,food storage, watersheds, dams and agricultural research,including agri-biotechnology, will signal a commitment from theGovernment to transform the face of Indian agriculture andempowerour farmers tocompeteglobally.TheroleofagricultureinimprovingrurallivesandsecuringIndia’sfoodneedsshouldnotbeunderestimated.

Clearly, a priority for the Government should be to refocuspolicymakingenergyonthissector—intermsofprovidingsupportandinfrastructure.ArecentCrisilreportpredictsthatslowdowninothersectorsmayleadmorepeopletoreconsideragricultureasaprimarysourceofincome.

RefocusonagricultureTheGovernment seems to haveunderstood thepriorities for theagriculture sector, especially its call for optimum use of waterthrough ‘per drop, more crop’ and need for related researchtechnologyto thesectorbytakingresearch initiativesfrom‘labtoland’toincreasefarmproductivity.

Also, the Government’s Digital India campaign is anotherencouraging step to transform India into a digitally empoweredsociety and knowledge economy. eKranti, which is one of thepillarsofthecampaignthatalsofocusesontechnologyforfarmerswith real-time price information, online ordering of inputs, andpaymentwithmobilebanking,willenablefarmerstotakeinformeddecisions.

Biotechfoodcropsarealsocriticalforenablingthesuccessofthisnext revolution.Althoughsometimesmisrepresented, thesecropshavebeenproventosignificantlyimproveyieldthroughhighlevelsof disease and pest resistance, improved weed management,abioticstresstoleranceandnutrient-useefficientcrops.

It’s important to note that according to the 2013 report of theInternational Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotechApplications, a record 18 million farmers grew biotech cropsworldwide and the biotech crops hectares increased more than100-fold from 1.7 million hectares in 1996, to over 175 millionhectaresin2013.

Some 7.3 million Indian farmers cultivated a record 11 millionhectaresofBtcottonwithanadoptionrateof95percent.Ifalltheother necessary inputs and infrastructure are in place, biotechcrops can be vital to the kind of sectorial transformation thatwehavetoachieveformeetingourfoodneeds.