soilwhere food begins... - agriculture today

AGRICULTURE TODAYDecember 2020 1

DECEMBER 2020

Spo light india seed awards 2020

SOILWhere food begins...

VOLUME XXIII | ISSUE 12

AGRICULTURE TODAY December 20202


From the CEO’s Desk...Reverse Migration Due to Lockdown…

A Blessing in Disguise!

I read somewhere that in a digital world, geography is history. With Niti Aayogtransforming the dynamics for a New Digital India, sustainable work opportunities in rural India will lead to a new revolution of reverse migration. But before this could happen, an unprecedented pandemic trigered distress movement of labour back to their roots. There are crucial activities in a cropping cycle like sowing and harvesting which

are labour-intensive. There is lesser involvement of manpower in between due to technological advancement and mechanization. To enhance family income, this excess labour in rural areas migrates to urban areas and seeks employment as per their varied skills. India’s corona virus lockdown has compelled mass migration of this labour back home, due to loss of employment and social distancing. Authorities were left in a tizzy as a deluge of daily wagers in the informal sector jostled to leave big cities for their native places. Now, a big challenge for the government is to provide gainful employment for the migrants who may not want to go back to the cities for livelihood and live in dismal conditions. Rural areas that witness the arrival of skilled in-migration movements have been known to experience an increased diversity of activities and products that contribute to new dynamics in local businesses and its marketing. These migrants contribute to the reinforcement of synergies between urban-rural spaces, like an increase of urban tourists to rural communities, or through new services like direct delivery of fresh agricultural products to urban dwellers. Availability of this reverse migrated human resource may be considered an opportunity to re-structure the rural agrarian setup by strengthening the agricultural value chain there.Employment can be generated in their own domicile in several ways.Value Addition Projects for Agricultural Products - The major concern of agricultural produce is perishability. After meeting the requirements for fresh fruits and vegetables, food processing through cottage industry, cooperatives, MSMEs and food processing industry should gear up to meet national and international market demands, which will automatically

Grain storage at family levels, new grain storage silos and cold storages,housing projects for skilled and semiskilled building industry workers and upgrading the rural infrastructure can be answers for tackling this anomalous situation. Agro-tourism is another innovative agricultural activity that can be promptly developed, leveraging upon this bizarre scenario. More than a profession or a business, agriculture is India’s culture. Hence, adding additional income generating initiatives to the existing rural set up will increase the contribution of agriculture in the national GDP. Serious efforts need to

agro-tourism is high. It has a great capacity to create employment opportunities for farmers.The resilience and high adaptability of

role. Urbanization will decrease, creating

the same time, there will be sustainable and lucrative employment in rural areas and agricultural produce will be optimally utilized. and development in India after the lockdown pause?Lets explore!!!

Happy Reading…

PresidentDr. MJ KhanCEO & Group Editor Mamta JainGroup Executive EditorRajni Shaleen ChopraEditor Agri NewsSanjay Kumar

Andhra PradeshSatish Babu GaddeBiharGirendra NarayanHaryana Bijender Singh DalalHimachal Pradesh Rakesh KumarKarnataka Santosh LangerMaharashtra Pasha PatelMadhya Pradesh Rakesh DubeyPunjab Puneet Singh ThindRajasthanParvinder Singh ChauhanTelangana Jaipal ReddyUttar Pradesh Umesh ShuklaUttarakhand Narendra Singh Mehra

Admin & IT HeadAnilIT ManagerAnkit

Web Designer & DeveloperDeepakGraphic DesignerAbhishek

Circulation Rajkumar

Graphic DesignerA. Rehman

From the CEO’s Desk...

Publisher & Printer – Dr. MJ Khan on behalf of M/s Con-cept Agrotech Consultants Limited, Published from 306 Rohit house Tolstoy Road New Delhi-110001 and printed by Everest Press E-49/8, Okhla Industrial Area-II New Delhi-110020Phone No. 011-23731129 Fax No.011- 23731130E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

No part of this magazine can be reproduced, imitated or transmitted in any form, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or any information stage retrieval system or extracted in any way without permission from the publishers. Views expressed in the magazine need not necessarily be those of the Editor / Publisher.

Pages in the magazine: 68

www.agriculturetoday.in

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How can I stand on the soil and not feel its power? How can I have a meal and not feel gratified for the selfless role of soil in producing it? Since ages, we have tried to learn more about celestial bodies than the generous soil, where agriculture begins! We have taken the soil’s humble modesty for granted!!

As mentioned by Dr Ashok Dalwai in his address at India Seed Awards 2020 on World Soil Day, Soil, water, air, fire and ether constitute the ‘Pancha Bhutas’ and anchor the inorganic and organic life on earth. Soil and water

are critical and are directly relevant inputs in Agriculture. It takes nature, a thousand years to form one inch of soil. And our callousness causes

a n irreparable loss of soil through erosion & poor practices.

Soil health can be defined as a soil’s ability to function and sustain plants, animals and humans as part of the ecosystem. However, due to the

opacity of the soil and the fact that (most of the time) plants grow, the health of the soil

is often over looked.

A healthy soil also has plenty of air spaces within it, maintaining aerobic conditions. It provides an effective

buffer to extremes in temperature and rainfall. It is also to maintain high

productivity.

When a soil has limited air spaces, anaerobic conditions dominate, leading to waterlogging and stagnation of roots and

the proliferation of anaerobic microbes and de-nitrification. A healthy soil will filter water slowly, retaining the nutrients and plant protection products

applied to the crop. If rainfall moves through the soil profile too quickly or if it is prevented from entering

the soil through compaction or soil sealing, surface runoff increases, taking

soil and nutrients with it, increasing the risk of flooding.

Ironically, soil fertility is a concept that not everyone is familiar with. For the average person, it is simply treated as part of the ground and grows plants, trees, and crops. This needs to change promptly…

Healthy Greetings of World Soil Day to All Farmers, Agriculture Professionals & Enthusiasts!

Happy Reading

Page in the magazine: 80


VOLUME XXIII | ISSUE 12 | dEcEMbEr 2020

C o n t e n t

The Way aheadCruCial linksFuTure Wise

saving For PosTeriTy

PoliCy ThrusT aT ProFile

Dr MH Mehta

Mr Prasad Karumanchi

Mr M Prabhakar Rao

Prof Rattan Lal

Mr Rajiv Ranjan Mishra

Mr Chhabilendra Roul

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26

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Editorial 03

The Power of oneDr M Ramasami: Cotton Man ofthe Country 12

Agri VisionVegetables: Emerging wealth generator for smallholder farmers 22

Agri ecosysTemsICAR: Creating Awareness on Soil Health 24

Addressing fArmers’ concernsNAFED Bio Fertilizers: Enabling Sustainable Agriculture 30

indusTry sPeAkSoil Fertility and Nutrition 34

deliberATionsInteraction on Invasive and Migratory Pest Management 37

sAVing for PosTeriTyNBPGR Efforts for Protection 38

AT AnAlysisAgrochemicals Industry & Soil Health – Bane or Boon! 40

fighTing AdVersiTyManaging Salinity for Soil Health 44

unsung heroJungle Rice: Potential Superfood 48

The wAy AheAdEco Agriculture for Soil Health andNutrition Security 5 0

counTer ArgumenTSolution for Paddy Stubble 52

new horizonsHow Organic Farming Boosts Soil Health 54

smArT AgriculTureRole of Hyperspectral Imaging Technology 58

Vision And suPPorTIndian seed industry: A Landscape 60

Vision And suPPorTSoil Health for a Healthy Nation 62

IndIa Seed awardS 2020

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Anatomy of Farmers Agitation -10 Facts

The farmers’ agitations that broke out in Punjab with the passage of three farm bills gained momentum with the formation of the 30-party coordination committee and with the support extended by political parties and certain stakeholders. The initial engagements of farmer

leaders with the Government happened late and were informal in nature. The Government restricted itself to explaining benefits. Farmers insisted on written assurance on continuation of MSP and treating MSP as floor price. As no positive signals were seen, the farmers in Punjab backed by political and business interests decided to intensify the agitation and move the protest sites to Delhi. I have been involved in coordination with farmers’ bodies. Here I list the 10 developments that led to the situation that we face today:

1. No consultation with farmers before or after the Ordinances or before tabling the bills in the House, and until September 30, 2020.

2. The adoption of the route of Ordinances for ordinary business matter; Bills not being referred to select committee for wider consultations.

3. Weak initial arguments of BJP spokespersons that this will help farmers a) sell anywhere b) store any quantities c) decide price themselves. Farmers enjoyed this freedom earlier too.

4. Government’s wait and watch approach helped farmers expand the protests constituency to the Hindi belt of the Green Revolution area of Haryana and Western UP.

5. Use of force in Haryana garnered domestic and international support for farmers

6. First official invitation sent to disproportionately large number of 30 farmers unions and of Punjab alone. The meeting was on a subject that needed political view, but no Minister was present in the meeting.

7. As protests site shifted to Delhi, these gained massive media focus nationally and globally. The government then upscaled the meeting to a group of three ministers led by the Agriculture Minister.

8. The composition of meeting being disproportionate representation of one side and non inclusion of farmers voices which take balanced view or supported these bills.

9. Lack of effective articulation by BJP spokespersons about the benefits of legislations for small farmers, FPOs and agri start-ups.

10. At Vigyan Bhawan meetings, lack of broad representation of other key stakeholders such as FPOs, start-ups, trade, industry, states, farmer leaders from other states. This made the scope narrow and created deadlock.

The Government now has limited options to amicably resolve the crisis. Broad-basing the discussions to include other key stakeholders, involving state governments in consultation, accepting one or both key demands, making MSP the floor price and passing to the states the same formula as SAP for sugarcane, formation of agri reforms commission, suspending the legislation for six months to buy more time could be the solutions. Scrapping these Acts and converting them into Model Acts for States to adopt could be the last option. But it shall not be progressive. Market reforms are vital for unleashing the potential of farm sector for the benefit of farmers. All the experts and expert committees constituted during the last 25 years are unequivocal in their recommendations for widespread market reforms.The author is Chairman of Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture and can be reached at [email protected]

from THE prEsIdEnT’s dEsk

from THE prEsIdEnT’s dEsk

DR. MJ KHAN


Diversity in farm operations is the road to prosperity

The ongoing protests of farmers are a matter of concern for the entire nation. Food security impacts us all. The farmers protesting against the farm laws toil in their fields so we may have good food. It is natural that the nation’s sympathies should be with

the farmers. There has been vociferous discussion on the agriculture groups on social media regarding the stalemate over the agri laws. The farmers want that Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be guaranteed by legislation. The implementation of MSP across the country has largely been disappointing. This implementation failure is symptomatic of a deeper malaise. Socialism has failed, and public sector performance has been inefficient, through there are instances of individual brilliance. Socialism shall never become the magic wand that we desire in order to transform our society and economy. Going by past experience, we cannot count on the performance of the public sector.

It is a sad state of affairs that out of sheer inefficiency or complicity with middlemen, the government- controlled procurement system slows down the procurement. This forces the hapless farmers to sell at prices far below (MSP).

The way forward for India’s large majority of small-holder farmers is to form cooperatives under the FPO scheme. This shall bring them together in an organized manner and enable them to opt for better-planned agriculture and better yields. In addition, farmers shall have collective clout at the time of selling. Then the buyers shall not be able to take them for a ride. India’s farmers have to opt for this system in order to build a prosperous life for themselves.

It is common knowledge that there are loopholes in the state procurement system. While politicians and middlemen flourish, the farmers continue to suffer losses. The large silent majority of the country wants the government to suitably address the core concerns of the farmers.

In various sectors like banks and airlines, the public sector now co-exists with the private sector. The consumers have benefited through this. The co-existence of the public and private sector ensures healthy competition, better efficiency, better quality and better delivery of services. It also puts a check on market monopolization by any one player. Such co-existence of the two sectors may benefit the agriculture sector too.

An agricultural economist stated that politics is a short game, like a T20 match. A nation’s economics is a long-term five-day Test Match. It is difficult to reform in a democracy. A populist who promises rice at Re 1 per kg will usually defeat the reformer at the polls. Hence successful reformers spend more time selling reforms rather than doing them.

The farmers in north India shall do well to learn from their brethren in south India and diversify into high-value crops and also into other areas of agricultural growth like dairy, poultry, fisheries, floriculture and horticulture. This may indeed be their road to prosperity.

from THE ExEcuTIvE EdITor’s dEsk

from THE ExEcuTivE EdiTor’S dESk

RAJNI SHALEEN CHOPRA


renewaBLe reSOUrCe? Prof Rattan Lal is a Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University. He was President of the Soil Science Society of America (2006-2008), and the International Union of Soil Sciences (2017-2018). Prof Lal has h-index of 150 and 101,811 citations. He is winner of the 2018 GCHERA World Agriculture Prize, 2018 Glinka World Soil Prize, 2019 Japan Prize, 2019 US Awasthi IFFCO Prize, 2020 IICA Chair in Soil Science and Goodwill Ambassador, the 2020 World Food Prize, and 2020 Arrell Food Innovation Prize.

abouT The auThor

IS SOIL a



Soil, the essence of all terrestrial life, is a finite resource. It is prone to degradation by land misuse and soil

mismanagement. Soil degradation processes include the following:

i) Physical (i.e., decline in soil structure and tilth, crusting, compaction, reduction in water infiltration capacity, accelerated runoff and erosion by water and wind, decrease in plant available water capacity, drought/inundation, sub or supra-optimal soil temperatures)

ii) Chemical (i.e., nutrient imbal-ance resulting in deficiency of some and toxicity of others, acidification, sa-linization, leaching, decline in cation ex-change capacity (CEC)),

iii) Biological (i.e., depletion of soil organic matter content, decline in soil biodiversity and reduction in activity and species diversity, of soil biota, emission of greenhouse gases from soil to the atmosphere, dominance of pests and pathogens)

iv) Ecological (i.e., disruption in biogeochemical and bio-geophysical cycling, shift in flora and fauna, eutrophication of water, disruption in coupled cycling of elements)

Some degradation may happen even if erosion-induced physical removal does not occur. In the absence of any type of accelerated soil erosion, soil can be reclaimed over a short period of 5 to 10 years.

Soil is a non-renewable entity over human time frame if severe soil erosion truncates the topsoil and the effective rooting depth is drastically curtailed. In case of soils prone to severe erosion, such as those overlying a bedrock or a root-restrictive horizon at shallow depths, soil can also get extinct and/or endangered because of a severe erosion hazard.

Factors and Causes of Soil Degradation Factors of soil degradation are biophysi-cal environments. Important among

these are climate (i.e., precipitation, temperature, solar radiation, wind veloc-ity), growing season, terrain (slope gra-dient, length, aspect, shape), vegeta-tion, soil properties (texture, structure, clay minerals, water retention and trans-mission, nutrient reserve, pH, CEC, soil organic carbon (SOC), soil biodiversity, profile/solum depth). Soil degradation processes can be more severe in harsh tropical ecoregions than in milder tem-perate climate. All other parameters remaining the same, the extent and se-verity of soil degradation increases with increase in mean annual temperature.

Causes of soil degradation are anthropogenic activities, such as land use and soil management. Important among causes of soil degradation are deforestation, biomass burning, plowing, drainage of wetlands, removal of vegetation cover, none or unbalanced use of nutrients, nutrient mining, extractive farming, flood-based irrigation with brackish or poor quality water, monoculture, uncontrolled and excessive grazing, etc. These practices would leave the soil unprotected against climatic elements.

There is also a strong interaction between factors and causes. Inappropriate land use and soil mismanagement (i.e., plowing, flood-based irrigation, biomass burning)

can have more severe impact on soil quality and its capacity to generate ecosystem services in the tropics than in temperate climate. Under any ecoregional (or biome) conditions, risks of soil degradation depend more on how a crop is grown rather than what is grown. Choice of an appropriate land use and soil management is critical to decreasing the risks of soil degradation. Just as is the case in managing human health, prevention of soil degradation is also better than restoration of degraded soils through curative measures.

Increasing Soil Renewability by Managing Soil Health Soil quality and soil health are related but two subtly different parameters. Soil quality, its capacity to perform diverse ecosystem services, is an overall term encompassing different components: physical, chemical, biological and ecological. Soil biological characteristics, viz. soil organic matter (SOM) content and its composition, activity and species diversity of soil biota, respiration quotient, enzyme activity are among primary determinants of soil health.

With SOM content and its characteristics being the dominant control, soil health is defined as “soil’s capacity, as a dynamic and biologically



active entity, within natural and managed landscapes, to sustain multiple ecosystem services including net primary productivity, food and nutritional security, biodiversity, water purification and renewability, carbon sequestration, air quality or atmospheric chemistry, and elemental cycling after human wellbeing and nature conservancy: (Lal, 2016).”

SOM content, and its physio-chemical properties along with the turnover time, is also among the predominant indicators of soil health. It is hard to define the optimum range of SOM content. In general, range of 3.0% to 4.0% of SOM content (or 1.5% to 2.0% of SOC content) in the top 20 cm layer is considered optimum for soil of the temperate compared with 2.2 to 3.0% of SOM (1.1 to 1.5% of SOC) content for soils of the tropics. Therefore, restoration and sustainable management of SOM is an important strategy for enhancement and maintenance of SOM content. An objective of land use and soil

management, in the context of reducing risks of soil degradation and reversing the trend of degradation to restoration, is to create a positive soil/ecosystem carbon (C) budget.

Basic Principles of Soil ManagementWhile there is no one size fits all best management practice (BMP), basic principles of soil management include maintaining a continuous and preferably live vegetation cover; minimizing me-chanical soil disturbance; replacing nu-trients and other constituents removed from soil through harvest of agricultural products (Law of Return); predicting what may happen over time to soil pro-cesses and properties, and responding pro-actively and wisely to any natural or anthropogenic perturbations.

Some of the BMPs, including but not limited to, are system-based conservation agriculture (CA), agroforestry, strengthening of nutrient

and water cycling mechanisms, and integrating crops with trees and livestock. A system-based CA has the following pillars: i) no-till, ii) retention of crop residues as mulch, iii) incorporation of a cover crop during the off-season, iv) complex rotation including forages/meadows, v) integrated nutrient management (C -NPK rather than NPK), and vi) integrated past management including formation of disease-suppressive soils through increase in soil biodiversity by input of compost and other biofertilizers. Incorporating a cover crop in the rotation cycle and retention of crop residues mulch on the soil surface are critical to enhancing adaptation of CA under diverse soil and climatic conditions. Cover cropping may not be appropriate for arid and semi-arid conditions because of the depletion of soil moisture reserves.

Increasing Soil Renewability Recarbonization of soil, and the




terrestrial biosphere, for restoring and sustaining soil health, along with adaptation and mitigation (ADAM) of climate change is also affected by and in turn affects the rate of soil renewal. Adoption of a system-based CA can avoid emissions associated with plowing (by reducing diesel consumption and rate of mineralization of SOM) and decreasing rate(s) of other energy-based inputs (i.e., nitrogenous fertilizers, irrigation, pesticides, herbicides). A system-based CA may also reduce emission of CO2 by moderating soil erosion, and reducing erosion-induced transport and subsequent mineralization of SOM. Improvement of soil structure and aeration with long-term adoption of CA can also make soil a sink for atmospheric methane (CH4). Long-term increase in input of biomass-C, both below ground through roots and above ground through retention of crop residues, enhances the rate of SOC sequestration. In general, the latter is more in soil of temperate climate (0.5-1.0 Mg C/ha. yr) compared with those of warm/arid climates (0.05-0.5 Mg C/ha. yr). Soils of arid and semi-arid climates also have a capacity to sequester soil inorganic carbon (SIC) as secondary carbonates and/or through leaching of bicarbonates (Lal,2019). Restoration and sustainable management of soil health can offset anthropogenic emissions and promote ADAM of climate change.

Soil RenewabilityThe perpetual problem of food insecurity affecting 699 million people globally during 2019-2020 and aggravated by Covid 19, is also related to renewability of soil health. Disruptions in food production and supply chains caused by Covid may add another 80-130 million to those already prone to under-nutrition. Over and above the problem of under-nutrition, as many as 2 billion people are prone to malnutrition because of the deficiency of protein, vitamins and some essential micro-nutrients. Restoration

and sustainable management of soil health, through sequestration of SOC and the attendant improvement in soil functionality can increase agronomic productivity and also enhance nutritional quality of the food. Improving soil health in arable and grazing lands of developing countries is essential to eliminating hunger and malnutrition. People being mirror image of the land, soil health affects human wellbeing both directly and indirectly. Indeed, health of soil, plants, animals, people, eco-regions and the planet is one and indivisible. The inter-connectivity necessitates launch of global initiatives to enhance and sustain soil health.

Realizing UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)Similar to the fate of the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (2015-2030) are not on-track because the rate of soil renewal is lower than the rate of degradation. This is especially so in developing countries. A systematic and coordinated effort to restore and sustain soil health and improve agriculture can advance and realize several inter-related SDGs.

Improved agriculture must be integral to restoring the environment and enhancing human wellbeing. Improving agronomic productivity by restoring soil health through SOC sequestration in developing countries is critically important to realizing SDG #1 (No Poverty), #2 (Zero Hunger), #3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), #5 (Gender Equality), #6 (Clean Water), #8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), #10 (Reduced Inequalities), #13 (Climate Action), #15 (Life on Land), #16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), and #17 (Partnerships). Restoring soil health is also pertinent to achieving the Land Degradation Neutrality initiative launched by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 2012.

Improving Soil Renewbility Increased awareness about the importance of soil science and its renewability to address global issues has received the attention of policy makers since 2015. Political will and prudent governance are essential to translating scientific knowledge into action. Soil scientists and agronomists must seize the moment and support policy makers in implementing several global issues. Important among soil-centric global initiatives are: 4 per Thousand (4 PT) launched at COP21 in Paris in 2015, Adapting African Agriculture (AAA) launched at COP22 in Marrakesh in 2016, and Platform for Climate Action in Agriculture (PLACA) launched at COP25 in Madrid/Santiago in 2019. Implementation of these and other soil-centric initiatives is important to advancing SDGs, promoting human wellbeing and enhancing nature conservancy.

Soil-Planetary Health Nexus Renewability of soil health is essential to restoring planetary health. Soil is also called Geoderma or the skin of the Earth. Indeed, soil is a geo-membrane. It denatures and filters pollutants from water. It moderates climate through sequestration of atmospheric CO2 and emission of greenhouse gases. IT is an energy source and habitat for all biota. It is an archive of human and planetary history. It is the source of all victuals (food, feed, fiber, fuel, shelter) for human wellbeing. Soil health is critical to maintaining global peace and political stability. The finite and fragile global soil resource is nonrenewable over the human time scale of decades or a generation. Thus, it must never be taken for granted, but always enhanced and sustained through judicious land use and prudent management. Furthermore, prevention of soil degradation is better than adopting any curative measures which may be too late, too expensive and often in-effective at a decadal or human time scale.



The PoWer oF one

Dr M RamasamiRasi Seeds



The PoWer oF one

Dr M raMasaMi Cotton Man of

the Country

Dr M Ramasami is a self-made professional with a strong desire to serve the farmers. Rasi Seeds was envisioned and founded by Dr. M Ramasami in 1973. Since then, he has focused on creating su-perior quality, high yielding seeds that add value to the community.

Dr Ramasami has been focused about his mission of providing latest farming technology to Indian farmers in timely and cost-effective manner. His vision of providing quality seeds for every Indian farmer have led him to build one of the best and largest educated team of scientists in a seed com-pany. He has been recognized with the award Cotton Man of the Country in 2019 for his exemplary contribution to seed cotton and cotton trade. He has been recently nominated as a member of the National Steering Committee of the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) by the Secretary, DARE & DG, ICAR.

He is active with various agriculture and policy guiding forums of national and global repute. He is currently the chairman of one of the apex seed associa-tions of India (Federation of Seed Industry of India). For his exemplary contribu-tion to the society, in 2008 Tamil Nadu Agricultural University conferred him as Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa). His contribution to the famers and Indian agriculture has been recognized by various institutions, leading to titles - Person of the Year Award etc. Later he was conferred by Lifetime achievement awards by Cotton Research Development Association, Haryana.

His approach for quality and farmer centric are the guiding principles of Rasi Seeds (P) Ltd.

13


Mr Chhabilendra Roul is Secretary to Government of India, Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers

abouT The auThor

National Mission for Sustainable A g r i c u l t u r e (NMSA), under the Ministry

of Agriculture and farmers Welfare, promotes Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) for betterment of soil health. A highly important activity under NMSA is universal soil testing and issuing soil health cards to all the 140 million farmers in the country. Various programmes are undertaken by GOI for restoring or augmenting soil health in the country. These include promotion of Micro

irrigation under PMKSY in areas prone to soil salinity due to flow irrigation (ii) use of soil and agro-ecological information for Land Use planning (iii) treatment of alkaline, acidic and sodic soils through RKVY funds (iv) prevention of stubble burning by encouragement to use conservation agricultural practices through heavy subsidisation of machinery and (v) promotion of organic farming.

Factors like entrepreneur-ial spirit, motivation, adapting capacity, skill and ability to ac-quire modern management

Policy iMPeratives for Managing soil HealtH

AGRO-ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY OF INDIAN FARMING SYSTEMS

PoliCy ThrusT


practices and ability to pay – these sig-nificantly influence the adaptation of sci-entific management practices to maintain or enhance soil fertility. Structural factors like rigid factor market, land leasing and tenancy enactments, fragmentation of holding etc. also play a role for adaptation of modern input management practices. Fertiliser policies influence the incentive structure for better input management for the soil. These have limited role because of the dominance of other important poli-cies and factors.

Many academicians and policy plan-ners believe that the existing subsidy policy for fertiliser encourages the use of chemical fertilisers, especially nitrog-enous fertilisers (due to skewed relative prices). The encouragement of use of City Compost by the Department of Fertilisers is a good step. This needs to be extended to other manures and composts.

The various policies aimed at agricultural sustainability lack coherence to lead to agricultural sustainability in general and soil sustainability in particular. For example, the nutrient subsidisation policy of India is adversely affecting soil health in many parts of the country. The thrust of the initial decades of green revolution to promote adaptation of chemical fertilisers to supplement soil nutrients has outlived its utility. Fertiliser subsidisation is now seen as a tool for reduction of cost of cultivation, rather than a policy for balanced use of fertilisers. The existing policy is less conducive for the promotion of use of manures, composts and other innovative and customised fertilisers/nutrients. This is due to an inherent policy bias for skewed relative price of chemical fertilisers vis-à-vis non-chemical fertilisers. A systems or holistic approach that takes advantage of synergies and balances trade-offs of various policies can be adopted to make real dent on the deteriorating soil health of the country. Potential conflicts of objectives and interests between national, provincial and local governments and sectoral policies of the various federal and provincial departments should be

identified and resolved as far as possible. Three-step analytical approachWe should adopt a three-step

analytical approach consisting of (i) inventory of policy objectives (ii) screening of the policy matrix and (iii) a more in-depth analysis of key interactions to identify synergies and conflicts at these three levels. The specific area for attention is the need for adopting some regulatory measures to prohibit certain kind of irrigation (flood or gravity irrigation, water pricing), imposition of restriction on grazing in certain areas, and regulating cropping system in certain agro-climatic zones. The policy programmes may encourage active participation of the civil society and communities in addition to the farming community in policy design, implementation and evaluation.

There may be aggregate nutrient/input support rather than stand alone and compartmentalised subsidisation programmes for fertilisers, seed, farm mechanisation, water and energy use. Aggregate support for agriculture should be linked to performance in respect of adopting sustainable farming practices relevant for the agro-climatic condition. The distorted fertiliser subsidy regime may be rationalised through introduction of Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) in urea and Direct Cash Transfer to the farmers for fertilisers or aggregate inputs.

The Department of Fertilisers has initiated comprehensive policy dialogues to rectify distortions in the fertiliser sector. There are five technical and stakeholder groups which deliberate on the policy

initiatives concerning statutory/legal; administrative/institutional framework; quality issues; promotion of new and innovative fertilisers; and introduction of NBS in urea and DCT in fertilisers. The recommendations of the groups have been finalised and are under examination in the Ministries of Chemicals and Fertilisers, and Agriculture and Farmers welfare. What has come out succinctly is the need for rectifying subsidy distortion relating to various chemical fertilisers, introduction of incentive structure for new and innovative fertilisers - both chemical (nano, water soluble, slow release or controlled release urea, nitrogen solutions and anhydrous ammonia, ammonium polyphosphate solution and other liquid fertilisers etc) and bio-fertilisers, growth stimulants and soil conditioners – and also traditional organic fertilisers like city compost, vermin compost, fertilisers/compost based on agri-residue, biogas sludge/slurry, biochar etc. There is need for promotion of community level “Waste-to-wealth” plants and skill development and start-ups in this emerging field of innovative and organic fertilisers. It was felt that the existing statutory and administrative structure like the Fertiliser Control Order, 1985 needs significant overhauling.

The Department of Fertilisers has constituted an Inter Ministerial Committee to recommend additional new and innovative fertilisers including growth stimulants, soil conditioners, nano fertilisers and other composts other than city composts to be added to list of items to be given promotion of production, marketing etc under the Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme. The committee has experts from the community of scientists and academicians, apart from representatives of the Departments of Fertilisers, Agriculture, Animal husbandry, Biotechnology and ICAR, FAI, NITI AYOG and others. It is expected that this committee will come out with robust policy framework for promotion and use of new and innovative fertilisers.

PoliCy ThrusT

Mr Roul’s favourite leisure activi-ties are trekking and exploring

places, reading and writing


He dreamT He aCHIeved


Mr Prasad Karumanchi is the founder of Prasad Seeds Private Limited (PSPL), a successful fam-ily owned business estab-

lished 40 years ago. Over a period of time, Prasad Seeds has emerged as an indus-try leader in the seed processing domain.

Mr Prasad was born in a farming fam-ily at Kakumanu village in Guntur district, about two hours’ drive from Vijayawada International Airport, Andhra Pradesh. His parents are Mr Karumanchi Kottaiah, a smallholder farmer and Mrs Karuman-chi Naga Ratthamma, a housewife who helped her husband for farming activities in addition to handling the household.

Mr. Karumanchi Prasad is a com-merce graduate and has spent more than 35 years in the field of agriculture. He completed his intermediate from PAS College, Pedanandipadu in Guntur dur-ing 1973-75. He graduated in Commerce from Osmania University in 1978 and joined the family business.

Mr Prasad started his journey as a farmer and then a grower. Now he is a notable industrialist. He founded Prasad Seeds in 1982 as a proprietary firm. With sound knowledge of agriculture and al-lied sectors, astute sense of quality and

a clear vision to empower the farming community, Prasad Group’s first venture was incorporated as Prasad Seed Farm Industries (PSFI) in 1986 and in 1994 as Prasad Seeds Pvt Ltd. PSPL started as a jute seed production and marketing company. The company has taken great strides across various sectors of seed processing and allied fields globally. Mr Prasad like to call himself as a farmer.

Today PSPL is regarded as India’s largest outsourced partner in the seed processing domain, delivering end-to-end turnkey solutions to global seed companies. Group core business exper-tise includes customized seed produc-tion, drying, processing, packaging, stor-ing and distribution solutions for the corn, paddy, millet, sunflower, cotton and jute seed industries.

Currently, PSPL Group operates facilities/plants in India, Philippines, In-donesia and Vietnam. Facilities are in implementation stage in Zambia, Ghana and Nigeria for global seed companies. The current capacity of PSPL is about 120,000 tons of corn cob drying, 130,000 tons of seed conditioning and packaging for different crops which corresponds to 68% of India’s total requirement.

Under Mr Prasad’s leadership, the

group diversified into seeds, agri-seeds infrastructure, integrated cold chain sec-tor, agri inputs – pesticides and insecti-cides within India and abroad.

Mr Prasad lives in his modest home on the outskirts of Hyderabad with his wife Karumanchi Ramadevi and children Karumanchi Hemanth Kumar, Pasala Karthika. He likes to spend his leisure with his grand-children, and also with his farmer and CEO friends.

With his passion and sheer hard work, Mr Prasad created a niche for himself and Prasad Seeds. He gave new direction to seed industry by allowing multinational companies to focus more on research, development, marketing and distribution. Prasad Seeds supported these multina-tional companies with end-to-end seed production and processing both in field and plant. Going forward, his vision is to modernize seed production and process-ing by introducing advanced mechaniza-tion and digitalization technologies.

Mr Prasad’s dream is to introduce mechanization and digitalization technol-ogies to provide customized contractual services to individual farmers, starting from land preparation to harvesting – thereby making agriculture more remu-nerative and profitable.

He dreamT He aCHIeved PSPL Milestones...India - 34 Units(17 Drying Units & 17 Conditioning Units)

International - 6 Units(4 Drying Units & 2 Conditioning Units)

Proprietary FirmPartnership

FirmPrivate Firm

MNC Firm

Global Expansion

Expanding toNew Countries

African ContinentExpansion

19821986 1994

1999

2014-2015

Partnered withWorld leadersin Seeds

2000-2013

2016-2017

2018

Production &Supply of Seeds

Jute SeedProduction & Marketing

First Seed DryingUnit for Monsanto

Built 28 Processing &Drying Units in India

First SeedDrying Unit inPhillippines

Additional SeedDrying &Processing Unit inPhillippines & Indonesia


Key challenges, opportunities and growth drivers ofIndian seed industryT

oday the Indian seed industry is among the top 5 globally valued at USD 4 billion. To ensure steady growth, it is essential to have clear

understanding of the opportunities, growth drivers and key challenges which underlie Indian agriculture and also the seed sector.

1) Low productivity and profitability: The fragmentation of land as a resource and small size of farms leads to predominance of smallholder farmers. Realization of economies of scale and scope in such small land area is difficult and implementation of automation and mechanization is a challenge for improving crop productivity. These conditions lead to sub-optimal performance of Indian agriculture and also to overdependence of a large population on agricultural activities. The value and average productivity in India in several crops is lower than the global averages, although India has the largest arable area on the planet. The above factor is intricately linked to growth

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Mr Mandava Prabhakar Rao is President, National Seed Association of India. He is Chairman & Managing

Director, Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd, Hyderabad. In addition to his contribution to the seed industry, he has contrib-

uted substantially towards industrialization by making combined investments of about Rs. 10,000 crore (USD

2 bn) in Power, Textiles, Integrated Sugar Factories and IT Infrastructure in the form of IT Parks, IT SEZs etc. The

Group has planned projects with capital outlay of Rs. 25,000 crore (USD 5 bn) in next 5-6 years and employs

about 20,000 people directly

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of seed industry and industrialization of agriculture which has been achieved in certain countries like USA, China, Australia, Brazil, where high aggregate productivity levels have been achieved.

Achieving higher productivity for such arable area in India, which is a key challenge and also presents tremendous opportunity in which Seed sector can play an important role, as seed is the primary input and driver for Indian agriculture. Overall growth of agriculture is hinged on the growth of seed sector.

2) Diversity in Agro Climatic Conditions: The agro-climatic diversity of India presents tropical, sub-tropical and temperate climates and also immense soil diversity, which enables growth of wide variety of crops. While agro-climatic diversity, availability of assured irrigation or rainfall and soil types in terms of varied conditions enabling suitability for crop cultivation and management pose a challenge in breaking aggregate productivity barriers, the conditions again present an opportunity to specialize in select crops specific to the regional requirements. This enables India to focus on development of crop-wise clusters in different regions and become the agriculture hub of the world. Accordingly the Government is also promoting specific agricultural and horticultural crops in arid and semi-arid regions and also encouraging agri-industrial clusters to develop demand driven production. Given the diverse agro-climatic and edaphic conditions, India can not only be an innovation driven R&D seed industry for its domestic market in specific crops, but also a seed production base for similar agro-climatic zones in especially in Asian and African continents. Further the diverse climatic conditions within India also necessitate development of a comprehensive varietal evaluation system for commercialization of new plant varieties.

3) Need for quality seed and increase in Seed Replacement Rate (SRR): Many of the food crops being Open Pollinated Varieties (OPVs),

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farmers save the seed from their grain produced by them and utilize the same as seed. This is called Farm Saved Seed (FSS), which is extensively used in crops like Rice, Wheat, Soybean, pulses, oilseeds, etc. However repeated used of FSS leads to loss of genetic purity

and lowers the crop yields. The seed replacement rate (SRR) in many of the crops in food grains ranges from 20% to 40% and is continuously improving as farmers all over India are recognizing the need to use quality OPV seed with high genetic purity, which is produced fresh only for seed purpose. The doubling of SRR can tremendously increase the value of Indian seed industry.

4) Increasing rate of hybridization: Harnessing heterosis or hybrid vigour in crop plants for improving overall productivity is a key genetic strategy in seed industry. Hybrid plant varieties in many crops have not only lead to high input responsiveness and delivered high yields, but also led to improvement in tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses leading to prevention of yield losses.

There is huge scope for hybrids in certain crops like Maize (70%-80%), Mustard (40%), vegetable crops, etc. In crops like wheat, pulses and oilseeds, hybrids with significant advantage over varieties need to be developed for large scale adoption. Therefore not only the increase in hybridization in different crops, but also value addition through Biotechnology approaches such as transgenic crops, Gene-edited crops, etc., can be realized coupled with both hybrids and open pollinated varieties.

5) Low investments in R&D: India

Mr. Prabhakar Rao is an alumnus of Benares Hindu University. He ranked second in BHU in B.Sc

(Agriculture) and first in M.Sc (Ag-riculture). He received the Gold Medal and Merit Scholarship

in his post graduation. Mr Rao developed Cotton hybrids Bunny and Mallika, and many leading hybrids in Rice, Corn and Veg-

etables which are highly popular amongst farmers. About half

the cotton produced in India will have genetics of lines developed by him. The company promoted

direct sowing in rice as part of its CSR activity, benefitting farmers in reducing water requirement

and increasing profitability in the Krishna river delta region


has low crop productivity and thereby low profitability in agriculture. This throws up scientific challenge to the Indian seed industry for an opportunity for innovation and R&D for development of climate resilient plant varieties suitable for smallholder farmers. This can increase productivity in arid and semi-arid tropical regions. Further development of plant varieties to biotic and abiotic stresses and the dynamic consumer and market requirements also provide an excellent opportunity for the seed industry to develop new crop varieties on a regular basis which can create sustainable growth for Indian seed industry. This needs investment in R&D both by Indian companies and also in public sector research institutions. Currently the R&D investment is 3% to 5% in Indian seed organizations, whereas the required R&D investment is from 9% to 12%. The huge untapped potential of Indians seed sector can be unlocked by right investments in both applied and basic R&D in plant breeding, agronomy, seed technology and biotechnologies for moving from sub-optimal equilibrium to an optimal equilibrium of productivity.

6) Moving from supply-driven to demand-driven agriculture: If the predictability of demand improves across the supply chain with integration of global demand chains and market linkages, high value, demand driven seed sector can be developed in India with focus on exports. Our exports are abysmally low as Indian seed industry largely operates in line with the supply-driven nature of

Indian agriculture. This shift to demand driven agriculture presents an excellent opportunity for being a key growth driver of Indian seed industry. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play a key role in the same.

7) Need for convergence: Another key challenge is to adapt the multi-disciplinary approach in the rapidly changing information age. The seed sector needs to align with ICTs and digital technologies and emerging technologies such as Blockchain, Artificial intelligence, Robotics, Nano technologies, Data science, etc. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) which supply manpower to Indian agriculture also need to align their curricula to the dynamic changes in technology and developing body of new knowledge. An emerging area of importance for seed sector is biological inoculants. These can be used as seed treatments not only for protecting seed health, but also to improve overall productivity of the crop by making

nutrients available to the plant, providing climate resilience, etc. The opportunity for seed industry to seize is to gradually adjust to the needs of convergence which will become a key enabler for growth of the industry.

8) Skilled manpower: Human resource is the key strength of India. Availability of educated and skilled workforce in India in various functions of seed industry, viz. R&D, seed production, agronomy, seed quality, sales and marketing , ICT, etc., gives India the capability and a strong base to develop a seed sector with sustainable growth. With expertise in all the key disciplines of seed industry, India can become a hub for global seed sector and agribusiness by leveraging its human resource strengths and diverse agro-climatic conditions suitable for seed industry.

Government interventions requiredIndia is moving towards a new regime of seed laws with the introduction of the new Seed Bill 2019. GOI is planning to implement new processes and systems for seed traceability across the country. Certain basic reforms are critically required. 1. Increase in R&D investment and

developing an enabling environment with public-private partnerships to foster convergence of multi-

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disciplinary approaches to improve innovation and profitability of Indian seed sector. GOI should promote centres of excellence in project mode with clear outcomes and deliverables for improvement of R&D in both public and private sector. Special emphasis should be given for capacity-building of domestic seed companies, FPOs in seed sector and seed producers for improvement of their enabling infrastructure and capabilities for developing a globally competitive Indian seed industry. GOI should develop mission mode projects for seed sector to trigger a massive push for transformation. This shall enable transformation of Indian agriculture.

2. For seed companies which have comprehensive organizational functions such as R&D, production, processing and marketing with operations in multiple states, a single centralized integrated license should be provided for ease of operations.

3. Implementation of uniform procedures for issue of seed license and inclusion of new variety in seed license is an essential requirement to be implemented on a pan-India basis.

4. Keeping in view national interest, 100% FDI in seed sector should not be allowed. Indian citizen/entity

should have controlling stake in any seed company with foreign investment. Such policy restrictions exist in China and many SE Asian countries for protecting domestic sector and enabling a competitive market.

5. Development of standards-driven accreditation system for recognition of third party seed quality testing laboratories (STLs) shall improve quality assurance in seed sector. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in seed sector should be encouraged for quality seed production by providing free access to such accredited STLs.

6. R&D investment by SME companies with 100% shareholding by Indian citizens should be reimbursed to the extent of 50%.This encourages local companies to further focus on R&D and spur innovation to deliver improved plant varieties as per market and consumer requirements.

7. PPP between Indian companies with 100% shareholding by Indian citizens and the National Agricultural Research system (NARS) should be encouraged with respect to private sector capacity building and commercialization of R&D.

8. The arrangement of adequate low interest working capital loans and soft loans for investments in R&D and infrastructure and capital subsidy to the extent of 25% is an essential requirement for strengthening seed sector. Further all loans to seed companies need to be classified as agriculture loans under priority sector lending.

9. With varied agro-climatic zones, India can be an excellent low cost standards driven production hub for various countries of North and South. Special economic zones for different crops identified for specifically export oriented seed production will not only add value but also generate gainful employment.

10. Varietal testing fees in ICAR AICRIP

trials should be reduced and rationalized, especially for domestic seed companies with 100% local ownership, so that a large number of seed companies can test their varieties at maximum locations and successfully meet requirements of regional and local markets.

11. Policy & procedures for custom seed production of foreign varieties exclusively for export purpose should be made. Training/capacity building of Indian companies for standards driven custom production process need to be enabled.

12. ICAR and SAUs in constant interaction with industry should tailor their syllabus and courses to align with human resource needs of seed industry.

13. GOI has been promoting FPOs and agri-business parks for one decade. Policy intervention for involvement of FPOs in seed sector and integration with agri-business parks for creating demand driven supply chain will be an important step for aligning government policy and industry needs.

14. With respect to dispute resolution regarding Income Tax, the proposed resolution by NSAI which is also issued by DACFW, is pending with CBDT. This may be resolved by bringing a rule like in case of Coffee, Tea or Rubber, so as to tax about 20% income as seed production which involves agriculture operations in addition to processing, packing and labeling as per Seeds Act.

15. The only IPR protection available for seeds and Plant Varieties including transgenic plant varieties is under PPVFRA. All trait licensing including GM traits shall be as per section 26 of PPVFRA. Section 3(j) of Indian Patent Act (which excludes seeds and plant varieties) shall be enforced in letter and spirit in India so as to stop monopoly in seed industry which is detrimental to farmers and national agriculture as well.

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Covid-19 has brought into sharp focus the need to reorient the food basket. Plant-based nu-trition is a more sustainable system of production and con-

sumption from the environment and nutrition viewpoint. Therefore, vegetables offer a bet-ter economic choice for smallholder farmers as high-value crops grown on smaller farms can yield better returns.

East-West Seed is a global leader in the tropical vegetable seeds market. Founded by Dr. Simon Groot, winner of the World Food Prize 2019, the focus of East-West Seeds is to develop improved vegetable varieties to help smallholder farmers increase their pro-duction and incomes. We are also #1 on the 2019 Global Access to Seed Index, which recognizes the commitment and perfor-mance in providing the world’s smallholder farmers access to quality seeds.

East-West Seed was recently ranked in the top 30 of FORTUNE’s 2020 “Change the World” list of global companies that are “do-ing well by doing good.” This again showcas-es the power of capitalism to improve human condition by identifying companies that have made a significant social or environmental impact through their profit-making strategy and operations.

While we are among the top ten seed companies in the World, we are among the top six companies in India. Our goal is to be among the top three vegetable seed com-panies in India by 2022, driven by market-leading growth. Currently, we offer 150 varie-

ties across 32 crops for Indian farmers and continue to invest in expanding in India with R&D centers, warehouses, people, and new products.

EWS Knowledge Transfer initiativeVegetable farming is not just a business mod-el for East-West Seed. We have a unique so-cial development approach towards farmer training. Knowledge Transfer (KT) is an in-dependently funded and managed nonprofit initiative that seeks to improve the skills, knowledge, and techniques of growers in the most rural, underdeveloped re-gions. Equipped with advanced agricultural practices, these growers earn bigger yields and higher profits, which sets the stage for long-term market development. As more growers adopt these practices, we catalyze the development of competitive input markets.

The Knowledge Transfer team works alongside com-mitted partners like USAID, ISSD, UKAID, Wageningen Uni-versity, Solidaridad, Mercy Corps who share our vision of healthier, more economically developed rural communities working towards trans-forming farming and bringing more varieties of vegetables to more people.

Globally, East-West

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Mr Dilip Rajan is the Managing Director of East-West Seed India. The Dutch-based tropical vegetable seeds company has 35 years of experience in breeding, producing, and delivering high-quality vegetable seeds, and is reaching new milestones

emergIng weaLTH generaTOr fOr SmaLLHOLder farmerS

Vegetables


Seed dedicates 1.25% of its revenues for this initiative. Our Knowledge Transfer has helped more than 35,000 smallhold-er vegetable farmers in India by providing knowledge on better farming practices in high-quality vegetable seeds.

Launch of new seed categories There is an increasing trend towards urban farming or growing food in these uncertain and challenging times. Experts say the benefits of plants (psychologi-cal, health, economic, productive) in this period of forced isolation can be crucial. A vegetable garden in home spaces can bring recreational, health, economic and environmental benefits. To tap into the segment, East-West Seed has launched Go Grow. This is a new range of 14 crops designed to help enthusiastic gardeners kick-start the cultivation of fresh vegeta-bles. All products are carefully selected and curated based on urban consumers’ requirements of vegetables at home and easy-to-grow products. Go Grow packs come with a planting guide with handy information on cultivation practices such as sowing, spacing, fertilizing with plant-ing, and harvesting calendar.

Another exciting crop category we

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are introducing is Butternut (Cucurbita moschata). This is a type of winter squash that grows on a vine. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin, tan-yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp. It of-fers a good source of fiber, vitamin C & A, magnesium, and potassium.

Personal-sized vegetablesThe personal-sized vegetables were in response to the emergence of the ‘nu-clear family’ in urban India. Small house-holds required nutritious vegetables but do not want to buy/store the currently available large sized vegetables. For ex-ample, a typical snake gourd is 50-60 cm long. That would be a challenge to store and consume for a small family. We introduced Covai, a short (24-28 cm) but high-yielding snake gourd vari-ety with a 200-300g weight that met the small family’s needs and the smallholder farmer. Similarly, we have personal size cucumbers, bitter gourds, watermelons, and pumpkins that are perfect for a fam-ily of four and one-time cooking.

Bitter gourd is one of the most remu-nerative crops and has been a preferred choice among vegetable crops. While the crop thrives in hot and humid cli-

mates, it also is susceptible to powdery mildew and virus infections. To counter that, East-West Seed recently launched Pia – a itter gourd variety that offers a substantial and early yield advantage coupled with a disease tolerance pack-age enabling higher yields and profit-ability to the smallholder farmers.

Strategies to support vegetable farmers Smallholder farmers will need support to not only enhance their productivity but also to market the food they pro-duce. We will need to exploit all levers to achieve this objective. We need to change the narrative from just “food security” to more of a “nutrition secu-rity” and from just “farm productivity” to “raising farmer’s income”. This is where vegetables play a crucial role and must not become the forgotten crop. Concen-trated and coordinated efforts must be undertaken to promote vegetable farm-ing for marginal farmers, migrant work-ers, and the youth as an economically viable profession. High-quality vegetable seeds combined with knowledge transfer must be provided to smallholder farmers urgently.


inDian council of agricultural researcH

Creating awareness on soil HealtH

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Caring for the soil is extremely impor-tant for sustain-ing healthy life on earth. It is said in

the Vedas, Upon this handful of soil our survival depends. Care for it, and it will care for your food, the fuel that you need, that will shelter you and sur-round you with beauty. Abuse it and the soil will collapse and die, taking us all with it. The root cause of deteriorating human and animal health is poor health of soil. Only healthy soil can support healthy plant growth to provide nutritious produce to keep us healthy. Awareness among people on Healthy Soils for a Healthy Life is important for sustaining life systems on earth.

Deterioration of soil health is considered as a major rea-son for declining nutrient use efficiencies and stagnation of agricultural productivity. Climate change impact on soil has fur-ther aggravated the situation. Healthy soil ensures proper retention and release of water

and nutrients, promotes and sustains root growth, maintains soil biotic habitat, responds to management, resists degrada-tion and acts as a buffer against environmental pollution.

Soil degradation in IndiaAs per the harmonized da-tabase (NAAS 2010), nearly 120.4 M ha in the country are subjected to soil degradation, viz. 82.6 M ha by water erosion, 12.0 M ha by wind erosion, 24.7 M ha by chemical degradation and 1.0 M ha by physical degra-dation. Out of the total degraded area, 104.2 M ha is arable land. Around 17.36 M ha of arable land of the country is affected by chemical degradation with very low productivity (< 1 t/ha). This includes about 10.72 M ha suffering from acute soil acidity (pH < 5.5). Around 6.64 M ha are salt-affected soils, compris-ing 3.64 M ha under high sodic-ity (pH >9.5). About 3 M ha are under salinity, including 1.25 M ha coastal salinity. Nearly 89.52 M ha suffer from physical

constraints like shallow depth, soil hardening, slow and high permeability, sub-surface com-pacted layer, surface crusting, temporary water-logging and permanent surface inundation etc. Polluted surface water and groundwater add several harm-ful chemicals into the soil body when used for irrigation. More than 35 billion liters of urban waste water and 25 billion liters of industrial wastewater are re-leased every day. A significant part of this enters agricultural land as irrigation, carrying di-verse pollutants.

Indian soils are generally low in organic carbon, and de-ficient in both macro and micro nutrients. Nutrient deficiency in the country is in the order of 95, 94, 48, 25, 36.5, 23.4, 12.8, 7.1 and 4.2% for N, P, K, S, Zn, B, Fe, Mn and Cu respectively. The limiting nutrients do not allow the full expression of other nutri-ents, thereby lowering fertilizer responses and crop productivity.

Indian Council of Agricul-tural Research (ICAR) through


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Indian Institute of Soil Science (IISS), Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation(IISWC), Dehradun, Cen-tral Soil and Salinity Research Institute, Karnal and All India Coordinated Re-search Projects (AICRPs) on Soil Test Crop Response (STCR), Micro and Sec-ondary Nutrients and Pollutant Elements (MSNP) and Plants, Long Term Fertilizer Experiments (LTFE) and Network Pro-ject on Soil Biodiversity-Biofertilizers, Network Project on Organic Farming (NPOF) are organizing training and front-line demonstrations related to vari-ous aspects of soil health management in the country.

Awareness among farmersIn order to create awareness among

farmers, the Natural Resource Manage-ment Division of ICAR has re-oriented its research in farmers’ participatory mode, addressing issues at ground level and developing location specific, cost effec-tive, eco-friendly, socially acceptable sci-entific farming practices in the areas of soil health management, keeping in view the farmers’ resource availability, tradi-tional indigenous technology knowhow and grass-root farm innovations. The list of institutes that impart training-cum-awareness programs on various aspects of soil health management are as under:

With the Soil Health Management (SHM) component of National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), the government has made provision of training STL staff, extension officers and

Creating awareness on soil HealtH

farmers. Training is provided regard-ing appropriate measures for SHM, importance of organic manures and bio-fertilizers, and also balanced and integrated use of fertilizers for enhanced productivity with reduced cost of cultivation.

The awareness programme com-prises two levels.

(i) Trainers training pro-gramme: Two-day training program for STL staff and field functionaries on balanced use of fertilizers.

(ii) Training Programme for Farmers: Two-day program. Focus on balanced use of fertilizers.

Indian Council of Agricultural Re-search (ICAR) through its research institutions and KVKs celebrates World Soil day every year on Decem-ber 5 to create awareness among farmers about the importance of soil for healthy life. Plays, debates, paint-ing competitions, workshops, lectures etc are organized. Soil health cards are also distributed to farmers.

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Dr SK Chaudhari is Deputy Director General (Natural Re-source Management), Indian Council of Agricultural Re-search (ICAR)

Aspects of soil health management

Institute Contact person

Soil Testing Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal

Project Coordinator, Soil Test Crop Response

Balanced and Integrated Nutrient Management

Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal

Project Coordinator, Long Term Fertilizer Experiment

Importance of Micro and Secondary Nutrients

Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal

Project Coordinator, Micro and Secondary Nutrients

Use of biofertilizers Indian Institute of Soil Science Network Project Coordinator, Soil Bio-diversity and Bio-fertilizers

In-situ crop residue management

Indian Institute of Soil Science Head, Division of Soil Biology

Improved composting techniques,

Indian Institute of Soil Science Head, Division of Soil Biology

Organic Farming and composting technique

Indian Institute of Farming System Research, Modipuram

Network Project Coordinator, Organic Farming

Reclamation of saline, sodic and waterlog soils

Central Soil and Salinity Research Institute, Karnal

Director, CSSRI, Karnal

Soil Conservation for control of soil erosion

Indian Institute of Soil Water Conservation, Dehradun

Director, IISWC, Dehradun

Control of soil erosion(wind) /desertification

Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur

Director, CAZRI, Jodhpur

Reclamation of Ravine land

Indian Institute of Soil Water Conservation, Dehradun

Director, IISWC, Dehradun

Amelioration of acid soils ICAR Research Center for NEH Region, Barapani

Director, ICAR RC NEH, Barapan

Conservation Agriculture Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal

Head, Division of Soil Chemistry

Fertigation Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar

Project Coordinator, AICRP on Water Management


River Ganga is the cultural and spiritual mainstay for India. It also provides eco-nomic sustenance, water and food security to more

than 43% of country’s population. Nama-mi Gange mission aims at rejuvenation of Ganga with an integrated river basin approach. Its integrated approach gives priority to improving flow and ecology in

(biotic and abiotic) are adequately pre-served over time. The main abiotic or physical resources of a river basin are soil and water. Water follows an an-nual cycle of replenishment and losses, whereas formation of mature soils is a long drawn-out process taking hun-dreds or thousands of years. Changes in a basin’s water resource status tend to be relatively faster and easily detected,

addition to pollution abatement and to make agriculture scientific, natural and organic along the river. This shall improve the farmers’ income and also conserve our ecology, soil, water and biodiversity. Sustainable agriculture is essential for rejuvenation of Ganga contributing to making it aviral and nirmal.

River basin management needs to ensure that a basin’s natural resources

HeaLTHy SOIL fOr HeaLTHy rIver

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while those of soils are slow and often go unnoticed for long periods. It even finds a mention in the ancient texts. Kautilya in his Arth Shastra explains manuring and other systems of soil fertility man-agement, water conservation and the dependence of healthy water on healthy soil.

Soil and water are interrelated through many biotic and abiotic process-es. The degradation of either has impact on the other. Plants, animals and micro-organisms, the biotic resources of a ba-sin, interact among themselves and help shape the basin’s environment. The soil is the storage room for living organisms, plants, animals, and people. It sustains our ecology. Human lives are dependent

on for survival. Micro-organisms living in the soil are the source of many antibiot-ics such as penicillin. Frequent mining of soil, indiscriminate use of fertilisers and pesticides has led to soil degradation.

The significance of soil health has also been recognized globally for both economic and ecological existence, as established by the launch of the ‘4/1000 initiative’ at the UN Climate talks in Paris in 2015. This aimed to demonstrate that agriculture and in particular, agricultural soil can play a crucial role in food security and climate change.

Major concernsA major concern in Ganga basin has been the removal of top soil for brick making because of the absence of stone layer on top and fewer trees in the allu-vial regions. This has been diverting good agricultural soil and affecting its fertil-ity. Rapid increase in urbanization has

led to 40,000 hectares being used to provide accommodation and infrastructure for about a million people. With annual increase in the global population being about 75 million per year, conversion of about 3 million hectares of prime crop land for urban land use takes place. Million plus cities daily need six thousand tons of food. Hence the daily nutrient used for crop production and sustainable food production is very high.

Rivers are victim of discharge of domestic and industrial waste without proper treatment. There is pressure of ever-increasing popula-tion and huge abstraction of water, mainly for agriculture, which has very low water use ef-ficiency. The nutrient disproportions in soil and the existence of human pathogens in the soil ecosystem can severely contaminate the groundwater. Soil run-off damages the aquatic flora and fauna in the rivers, harming the eco-logical health of the rivers. Combined with pol-lution and environmental hazards, soil health and hence ecosystem gets badly degraded.

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Mr Rajiv Ranjan Mishra is Director General,National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

Ms Priyanka Jha is Environment Specialist, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ministry of Jal Shakti, GOI


The significance of soil is way be-yond its innate purpose of being a culti-vating avenue for agriculture. There are a multitude of supplementary outcomes that emanate from high functioning soils, such as clean rivers, nutrient cycling in soil resource and biodiversity on land as well as water. There is an inextricable connection between soil and river health. Clean rivers result in adequate availability of clean and fresh water for irrigation. Sci-entific research has established that high functioning and healthy soil helps recover nutrient cycles for nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur while inhibiting stream eu-trophication.

This in turn reduces water run-off during rainy season, improves storage capacity of the soil, diminishes flood risk and prevents silting of the run-off in riv-ers. The improved storage capacity of soils also boosts summer base flow in streams.

Considering the significance and appreciating the concern about envi-ronmental degradation of the river, the Namami Gange is based on the multi-sectoral approach for Ganga rejuvena-tion adopting basin-based planning to address the challenges of quality and

quantity of water. The vision is to restore its wholesomeness defined in terms of Nirmal Dhara (unpolluted flow), Aviral Dhara (continuous flow), and recognition of the river as geological and ecological entity. The programme also recognises the inter-dependent factors which need to be worked upon as sub-missions under the Namami Gange Mission for rejuvena-tion of the Ganga River and other water bodies – one of these being the soil. The key interventions to improve upon the

health of the soil and develop sustainable agri-scapes are afforestation, organic farming, natural farming and improving water use efficiency in Ganga Grams.

Multiple objectives Agri-scapes are extremely heterogene-ous in the Ganga basin. These comprise of cold Himalayan upper catchments, fertile alluvial plains, semi-arid central highlands and the fragile delta region. Nature of farming is different in different

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locations, for e.g. farming at high altitude from where the Ganga River originates includes growing native millets and off-seasonal crops that will provide more economic benefits to the local communi-ties. In villages located in Indo-Gangetic plains, different cropping patterns are ob-served with considerable usage of chem-ical fertilizers and pesticides, particularly during the post green revolution era. Sus-tainable agricultural practices aligned with conservation goals are needed for better yield and productivity that contrib-ute in making the economy robust and sustainable.

Conventional agriculture has dramat-ically increased soil erosion around the world. Apart from soil erosion, regular tillage and the extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides have debilitated soil’s nutrient cycles. This has led to pro-gressive soil degradation and reduced soil fertility. There is an urgent need to devise and promote appropriate sustain-able agricultural practices to protect the basin.

“Soil health is a journey and not a destination”, states the noted soil scien-tist and World Food Prize 2020 Winner, Dr Ratan Lal. The need of soil health keeps changing from generation to gen-eration. It is a dynamic concept depend-ing upon the requirement of the soil at that point of time. We are trying to look at the developments and changing needs to device our strategies.

In order to mitigate the above-men-tioned negative impact of the convention-al farming in the Ganga plains, NMCG is closely working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and state agencies. The effort is to promote organic farming and to improve farming practices for improving water use effi-ciency. This can be done by promoting micro-irrigation and better irrigation prac-tices such as educating against flood ir-rigation which contributes to soil erosion. The National Ganga Council (NGC), chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, prioritised sustainable agriculture in the Ganga Basin. This was done by promot-

ing organic clusters in a 5-7 km stretch on both sides of the Ganga Basin, fa-cilitating natural farming and training farmers in these eco-friendly agricultural practices.

This led to scaling up of this program with organic farming taken up for more than 50,000 hectares of land in 7 districts in Uttarakhand and on 35,780 hectare land area for Uttar Pradesh in 11 districts. Along the Ganga in Bihar, 13 districts have also embarked upon organic farm-ing. It involves careful management in such a way that the soil stays healthy – rich in organic matter, nutrients and mi-crobial activity. Soil cultivated by organic practices like composting, green manure and symbiotic association hosts thou-sands of beneficial bacteria and fungi. These break down chemicals and plant residues into useful soil nutrients that im-prove soil moisture, water retention, wa-ter infiltration and also provide opportuni-ties for local entrepreneurship.

Boost to organic farmingNMCG has successfully attracted thou-sands of farmers towards organic farm-ing, and discouraged use of chemical pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers. This is important to help retain the nutri-tional value of soil, preventing run-off of toxic chemicals into nearby water bodies. Setting up of organic farming corridors, multiple capacity building including on farm training under PMKY etc., are help-ing in this area. Distribution of hybrid and improved seeds of various crops to pro-mote the native species of plants for or-ganic farming and use of green manures are promoted to increase the quantity of organic carbon in the soil.

Under Namami Gange, scientific af-forestation along Ganga, agroforestry, medicinal plantation, biodiversity conser-vation, wetland protection and rejuvena-tion activities are also helping in check-ing soil erosion, restoring soil nutrients, improving soil fertility, maintaining the in-tricate relationship between soil and river health and improving overall ecology. Re-generating forest cover in the catchment

to restore soil nutrients and decrease the impact of soil erosion, and in turn ensure river flow and recharge of ground water, strengthen floodplain stability. They also provide natural resource including herbal, medicinal plants, fuel and fodder for the dependent communities.

Namami Gange mission gives priority to improving peoples’ connect with Ganga and its ecosystem and diverse commu-nity-based structures of volunteers such as Ganga Vichar Manch, Ganga Pra-haris, Ganga Doots (NYK), Ganga Task Force etc. The District Ganga committee (DGC) headed by District Magistrates coordinates all activities. The DGCs are mandated to promote these ecological activities along with cleaning projects and involve people. Organic, natural farming, afforestation, biodiversity conservation, farmer managed irrigation system, water body protection and water conservation etc. are part of evaluation parameters for best DGC under PM award for civil serv-ants for Namami Gange.

As Dr Ratan Lal says, “Soil health means soil is life. Every living thing has rights. Therefore soil also has rights”. Rivers have rights over its water and its land, i.e. flood plains. In Namami Gange, the notification of environmental flow for Ganga, for the first time, formally recog-nizes the right of river over its water to perform its ecological functions. Protec-tion of flood plains will help improve the flow and ecology. Agreeing with Dr Lal, we need to reflect on the right of the soil to complete this narrative. We humans consume natural resources from soil such as food, water, minerals etc., we owe it to soil to put efforts in reducing soil degradation and working towards im-proving soil health and its nutrient com-position. In the absence of soil restora-tion, the nutrient value of crops is already low. The crops may fail despite all other components for sustainable agriculture like rainfall, good crop species etc., be-ing in place. For our future generations, it is essential that soil resources are protected, preserved and restored to its best health.

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Agricultural practices should focus on developing farm-ing enterprises that are economically viable and biologically sustainable.

Soil health is the most important factor influencing the quality and productivity of the farm produce. This in turn influ-ences the return to the farmer. Maintain-ing soil health without compromising on environment sustainability is one of the biggest challenges in agriculture today. Soil health can be improved by the adop-

nafed BIO ferTILIzerS: enaBLIng SUSTaInaBLe agrICULTUre

addressing Farmers’ ConCerns

tion of various management strategies. Biofertilizers are one of the means of fixing the nutrient availability in the soil, thereby enhancing soil health.

Use of Bio Fertilizers maintains the natural habitat of the soil, increases crop yield, replaces chemical nitrogen and phosphorus by upto 30%, and stimu-lates plant growth. It provides protection against drought and some soil-borne diseases. Being natural fertilizers, bio fertilizers not only protect the environ-ment from pollutants, but also preserve

the quality of soil by destroying harmful substances in the soil that can cause plant diseases. It is for this reason that Government of India is encouraging the use of bio fertilizers over chemical fer-tilizers through various schemes/pro-grammes. These include Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) and National Food Se-curity Mission (NFSM).


addressing Farmers’ ConCerns

ICAR, as part of its Network Project on Soil Biodiversity – Bio Fertilizers, has developed improved and efficient strains of bio fertilizers specific to diverse crops and soil types. The ICAR study indi-cates that bio fertilizers can improve crop yields by 10-25 per cent. They can and supplement costly chemical fertiliz-ers (N, P) by nearly 20-25 per cent in most of the cases when used along with chemical fertilizers.

Chemical fertilizers are manufac-tured artificially. It is important to remem-ber that they are chemicals that carry nitrogen, phosphate and potash as main soil nutrients. Bio-fertilizers are natural. They are made of bacteria (like azoto-bacter and rhizobium) and fungi etc. that fix free nitrogen from the atmosphere, which is then used by the crops.

NAFED Bio Fertilizers For a Greener Mother Earth Understanding their significance for a sustainable environment, NAFED ven-tured into bio fertilizers in 1984-85. Its first bio-fertilizer manufacturing unit was set up in Indore, Madhya Pradesh with annual production capacity of 450 MT. The second unit came up in Bharatpur in 200-2001. The production at the two units was started under the consulta-tion and guidance of research bodies like Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), Council of Scientific and Indus-trial Research (CSIR) etc. The consist-ent efforts of the R&D team of NAFED Bio Fertilizer Units (NBF) have led to the production of following product being sold under the brand name of NAFED.l Rhizobium l Azotobacter

l Azospirilluml P.S.B.l Composting Culture l Trichoderma Viride Biofungicides

NAFED bio fertilizers provide eco-friendly organic agro-inputs. NAFED bio fertilizers such as Rhizobium and Azoto-bacter have been in use for a long time. Rhizobium inoculants are used for legu-minous crops. Azotobacter can be used with crops like wheat, maize, mustard, cotton, potato and other vegetable/hor-ticultural crops. Azospirillum inoculations are recommended mainly for sorghum, millets, maize, sugarcane and wheat. Trichodermabio fungicides can be used for all crops. Composting culture is used for decomposition of organic waste. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) are beneficial, and capable of solubiliz-ing inorganic phosphorus from insoluble compounds. When PSB is used with rock phosphate, it can save about 50% of the crop requirement of phosphatic

fertilizer. The use of PSB as inoculants increases phosphorus intake by plants.

The performance of NAFED bio fertilizers in terms of capacity utiliza-tion, quality control, extension and pro-motion of this noble biotechnology has been duly recognized by the National Productivity Council (GOI) by conferring upon it the prestigious Best Performance Awards 11 times. NAFED bio fertilizers enjoy popularity amongst farmers de-spite the prevalent cut throat competition in the trade. NAFED bio fertilizers are marketed through all the branches of the Federation across the country in order to facilitate proper and timely distribution to farmers. NAFED has also started the production and marketing of liquid bio fertilizers. These products are helping the farmers to improve the productivity and quality of their crops significantly. NAFED believes that sustainable prac-tices shall always keep us connected to Mother Earth.


It is now well understood that intensive cultivation along with practices such as excessive use of one type of nutrient, im-balanced nutrition, excess and continuous use of chemical fertilisers, reduced use of

organic fertilisers like FYM/compost have seri-ously degraded soils across the country in tex-ture, nutrient content and organic carbon and consequently in fertility.

It is imperative that a balanced approach be taken towards trying to reduce this prob-lem. The mantra now is for increasing use of bio fertilisers and reduced use of chemi-cal fertilisers. It is abundantly clear that use of bio fertilisers will play a crucial role in the vital aspect of regeneration of carbon in the soils. But there are still perhaps questions to be answered regarding the capability of only bio fertilisers to meet the widespread and ever increasing requirement of all the other nutri-ents essential for plant growth. Bio fertilizers can enable or assist in the greater availability of nutrients. The soil which has been used to

SOIL ferTILITy and nUTrITIOn

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Mr Deepak Shah is Chairman, Sulphur Mills Ltd.

Mr Suketu Doshi is Di-rector, Sulphur Mills Ltd

produce crops after intensive cycles of culti-vation needs to be replenished by minerals (which are core building blocks of plant and animal cell function). These may not be gen-erated to the required extent by bio fertilizers.

It does appear hence that we will still need to continue to use chemical fertilisers to pro-vide these nutrients. The following can be done:

a) Promote seriously across crops and soil types the need for balanced nutrition – es-pecially the need for secondary nutrients like Sulphur, Calcium and Micronutrients like Zinc, Boron, Iron and others

b) Take steps to set right the skewed ra-tio of NPK use due to the rampant and exces-sive application of urea

c) Introduce newer more efficient fer-tilisers using advanced technology through which the chemical load applied on the soil is significantly reduced, as also controlled re-lease fertilisers.

d) Start to take steps to reduce costs and increase access to various aspects of pre-cision farming – so that the four R comes into practice – right product is applied at the right time in the right place at the right dose


Sulphur Mills Ltd, although seen as primarily a crop protection company, has been working extensively and intensively on two of the four aspects listed above: to promote balanced nutrition as also under its Reap brand; introduce high nutrient use efficiency (NUE) products registered under FCO and made from its in house technology which (along with the products) has been recognised vide granting of patents worldwide including in USA, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan, China and of course India.

Two such high NUE products are introduced in India based on the fourth essential nutrient Sulphur as also the important micronutrient – Zinc – un-der brand names Fertis and Techno Z. These have gained widespread accept-ability by farmers growing various crops across the country and are marketed by leading fertiliser companies.

Vide its microgranule technology, Sulphur in Fertis and Zinc (in the form of Zinc Oxide) in Techno Z is made available to crops much more quickly than any other prod-uct, and then released for a long period of the crop cycle. These micro-granules are basi-cally capsules within which are nutrient particles of very fine particle size 3-4 microns, result-ing in vastly increased surface area for activity, and significantly reduced dose compared to other products.

For nutrient Zn, currently farm-

er practice is to apply Zinc Sulphate 21 pc or 33 pc at doses of 10 kg and 5-8 kg per acre respectively. As against this the

Reap micro-granule Techno Z contains 14% Zn as insoluble Zinc Oxide. It pro-vides better results at a much lower dose of 4 kg/acre. Calculation will show that if in theory all the Zinc Sulphate applied in

the country is replaced by such a high NUE product, the chemical loading of Zn as applied to soil is reduced by over 60 pc. This is exactly in line with the need to reduce actual quantity of chemi-cal fertiliser applied, and that too with improved performance, vitally, more uptake and presence of Zinc in each grain. The health benefits of this, especially in to-day’s environment are well under-stood. This is a classic example of ‘More from Less’.

As mentioned, there is great need for all institutions and persons interacting with farmers to create awareness of need to apply most if not all of the 16 nutrients, and

the need for application of nutrients in

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Pastille Avg-100 microns size Fertis: 2 to 4 micron size Less root interception Higher root interception


the correct balanced dose.Liebig’s law states that growth only

occurs at the rate permitted by the most limiting factor. Hence crop growth would be diminished in the lesser than required quantum of even one of the required nu-trients.

Sulphur is the fourth essential nu-trient. For some crops, particularly oil crops, pulses and even cotton, the re-quirement of Sulphur is higher than that of Phosphorus (P). It is an essential el-ement for protein synthesis and hence vital element for growth. It allows for higher yields across crops, superior and uniform quality like eg. pungency, sugar content, fruit size & keeping quality.

Beyond this, Sulphur plays a key role in Nitrogen fixation. It is less well under-stood that depending upon crop, I unit of Sulphur is required for every 6-9 units of Nitrogen, & Urea/N performance is di-minished in Sulphur’s absence.

Sulphur also helps in improving po-rosity of the soil and in alkaline soils (where large quantity of urea is used, for example) helps to bring pH towards neutral. This improves uptake of almost all other nutrients in the soil. It thus plays a critical role in showcasing the benefits of balanced nutrient application.

nies like IFFCO, for example, have also introduced high NUE products under the umbrella of Nano fertilisers.

The cereal nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in 2015 was 35, 41, 30, and 21% for the world, USA, China, and India, re-spectively (Omara et al., 2019). The low NUE in China & India is due to high N use, low use of other fertilizers (P, K, & micro-nutrients).

Let all of us working in agriculture and with farmers, propagate the use of a judicious mix of chemical and bio fertilis-ers. While doing so, we must encourage the use of high NUE fertilisers. These allow for better performance at much lower doses, and that too at a relatively incremental cost per acre, as compared to the value to the user and contribution towards preserving the fertility of soils.

Total uptake Kg/Ha

Yield (kg/Ha) N P K S

Wheat 3900 137 26 137 12

Rice 2682 56 12 59 7

Maize 2132 61 10 51 7

Chick Pea 1500 91 6 49 13

Lentil 2000 114 13 36 6

Pigeon Pea 1200 85 8 16 9

Black Gram 600 45 8 18 5

Green Gram 870 82 13 90 7

GroundNut 1900 121 19 15

Mustard 2596 131 25 133 45

Soybean 2500 125 43 101 22

Sunflower 2308 114 26 141 17

Sugarcane 87600 180 29 270 26

Tea 1000 110 16 37 10

Tobacco 2845 55 6 64 8

Crop Wise Nutrient Requirement

Sulphur Mills’ S 90 fertiliser Fertis was granted a patent in many countries for high performance, very quick avail-ability and lowest known dose. Hence both Fertis and Techno Z are solid ex-amples of the benefits of High Efficiency

Fertiliser- allowing for higher uptake and performances at lower dosages -hence producing higher and better yields with less chemical loading and as vital cogs in balanced nutrition portfolio.

Other responsible fertiliser compa-

The soil which has been used to produce crops after intensive cycles of cultivation needs to be replenished by minerals (which are

core building blocks of plant and animal cell function). These may not be generated to the required extent by bio fertilizers

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InTeraCTIOn On InvaSIve and mIgraTOry PeST managemenT:cHallenges anD Way forWarDASSOCHAM hosted an interaction

on Invasive and Migratory Pest Management: Challenges and

Way Forward to focus on the damage by crop pests.

Chief Guest for the interaction Shri Parshottam Rupala, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said that pests harm food security. The country needs a long-term policy to effectively deal with pests. He emphasized on the need of a forum which should be formed for dissemination of information. He urged the industry to suggest ways to curb the sale of spurious pesticides. He said that India can gain from international knowledge and experience in curbing pests. He suggested discussing the outcomes of the day’s meeting at subsequent interactions so that suitable action could be planned and taken.

Secretary General, ASSOCHAM Shri Deepak Sood focused on the importance of the agriculture sector in generating employment and income generation. He said that threat to the country’s food security can be a major challenge. Invasive pests can alter water level, change environment conditions and cause various diseases. He said that the reforms initiated by the government have aided the development of the sector.

Shri Raju Kapoor, Director Corporate Affairs, FMC Corporation, said that the program SAFFAL (Safeguarding Agriculture & Farmers against Fall Armyworm) launched by FMC provides a case study on Fall Armyworm management in India. He said that in order to deliver sustainable solutions to farmers, it is necessary to create awareness, have capacity building,

provide resources and build partnerships.Shri Sagar Kaushik, COO, UPL Ltd.

said that it is important to understand the role of agrochemicals in safeguarding food crops and environmental safety. He urged the MOS to form a committee in association of Ministry of Agriculture to ensure proper dissemination of information regarding pests.

Shri R K Aggarwal, Chairman, Dhanuka Agri Tech, emphasized upon the importance of agriculture inputs including pesticides. He urged for a simpler system for registration of pesticides. Shri Aggarwal stated that 25-30 pc pesticides are spurious, and this menace must be tackled effectively.

Shri Rahoul Sawani, MD South Asia,

Corteva Agrisciences, said that our food system is very fragile because we react rather than being proactive. He stressed upon the significance of IPM (Integrated Pest Management), and how technology can be leveraged to help farmers.

Shri Subhash Chandra, Professor and Principal Scientist, IARI said strengthening international alliances, quick detection, early communication and prevention are essential for effective pest management.

Shri Rajvir Rathi, Head - Public Affairs, Science & Sustainability, Bayer Crop Science & Co Chairman, National Council on Agriculture & Farm Inputs, suggested the formation of a forum including members from the government, industry and FPOs to provide real-time data for pest management. He also gave the concluding remarks and the vote of thanks.

The session was moderated by Prof. V Padmanand, Partner, Grant Throntan Bharat. It was well attended by stakeholders including industry, academia and students.

deliberaTions

Shri Parshottam Rupala, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GOI



Biosecurity in agriculture refers to preventive and mitigative measures to reduce risk of trans-boundary and in-country

movement of pests in crops and livestock. In India, crop production is at risk from exotic pest attack mainly due to free trade of agricultural commodities under Word Trade Organization (WTO). In addition, development of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) along with unrestricted movement of people and commodities within and across borders lead to introduction and spread of new pests. Agricultural biosecurity has emerged as a solution requiring both policies and technological capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to such threats.

As personnel working in quarantine, we have always raised the issue of increasing public awareness about plant quarantine (and quarantine in general), and also the risk of introducing unwanted pests and diseases in bringing undeclared plant materials from abroad. To save agriculture/plant biodiversity from the ravages of introduced exotic pests

and diseases, almost all countries impose plant quarantine measures. These are government endeavours to regulate the introduction of planting materials, plant products, soil, living organisms, etc. in order to prevent inadvertent introduction of pests (including fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, insects and weeds) harmful to the agriculture of a country/state/region, and if introduced, prevent their establishment and further spread.

In India, the entry of plants or their parts happens in two ways. Bulk import for commercial use and consumption is monitored by Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage (DPPQS), Faridabad. Small samples for research purposes are imported through ICAR-NBPGR. For both, Plant Quarantine (Regulation of import into India) Order


Silent Saviours of Indian Agriculture

NBPGR EFFORTS FOR PROTECTION

Samples infected/ infested with different pests (1976-2019) Exotic Pests Intercepted Not Yet Reported from India



2003 must be followed. The order empowers NBPGR to undertake quarantine processing of germplasm including transgenic planting material imported for research purposes. NBPGR also issues Phytosanitary Certificate for research material meant for export. NBPGR has well- equipped laboratories, green house complex and a CL-4 level Containment Facility to undertake quarantine processing effectively. NBPGR also has a well-equipped quarantine station at its regional station at Hyderabad, which mainly deals with import and export samples of International Crop Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics and south India.

Rigorous quarantine of imported PGRMore than 100,000 samples of seeds and planting material of various crops/plant species are imported annually through ICAR-NBPGR for our researchers in both public and private sectors from more than a hundred countries. The consignments are accompanied by an import permit issued by ICAR-NBPGR and have a phytosanitary certificate stating its health status. Several pests have been intercepted in them, many of which are not yet reported from India. The potential damage of the introduced pest depends on it getting introduced in new areas, finding suitable environmental conditions and susceptible hosts to survive and complete their life cycles. These pests vary in vitality. Some are resistant to desiccation and extremes of temperature. Others are susceptible to these factors and are delicate and short-lived. The scope of quarantine is influenced by biological characteristics of the pest organism; the kinds and part of plants affected; whether or not the part is used in commerce (such as root, tuber, cutting, seed or flower); alternate hosts and the nature of the inoculum in case of a

abouT The auThors

Dr Kuldeep Singh is Direc-tor, ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resourc-es. He is the recipient of SciGenom Research Foundation Excellence in Science award 2018 and the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative Gene Steward-ship Award 2018

Dr Kavita Gupta is Prin-cipal Scientist & Nodal Officer of PME (Prior-ity Setting, Monitoring & Evaluation) Cell, ICAR-NBPGR

Dr. S.C. Dubey is Head, Division of Plant Quar-antine at ICAR-NBPGR. He is monitoring the quarantine processing of germplasm at the na-tional level

plant disease. A major factor is whether the host or other potential carrier can be treated to eliminate the possibility of its carrying any viable reproductive form of the pest organism. Plant quarantine measures act as filters against entry of exotic species and check or delay the introduction of unwanted organisms.

From 1976-2019, more than 35 lakh samples have been processed by the quarantine personnel at ICAR-NBPGR and 78 pests including fungi (6), viruses (19), insects/ mites (26), nematodes (9) and weeds (18) that are not yet reported from India have been intercepted. A systematic step-wise strategy has been followed for testing of each of the samples imported for presence of any unwanted pests. All the samples found infested/ infected with exotic pests were salvaged. If they could not be salvaged, they were rejected and destroyed by suitable means.

Impact analysis of selected exotic pests if they get introduced into IndiaA total of 78 pests (Table 1) including fungi (6), viruses (19), insects/ mites (26), Nematodes (9) and weeds (18) not reported from India and of quarantine significance for India were intercepted in imported germplasm. Keeping in view yield losses in exporting countries due to these pests, if not intercepted, some of them could have been introduced in India and flourished if favourable environmental conditions were available.

Assuming a total production and minimum support price of maize, wheat, soybean and cotton during 2018-19 and 2019-2020, respec-tively, impact analysis was carried out. This revealed that if some pests namely, viruses - Maize chlorotic mottle virus, High plains virus in maize, Barley stripe mosaic virus in wheat, Bean pod mottle virus in soybean; Fungi – Monographella nivalis in wheat, Peronospora manshurica in soybean; Weeds – Bromus se-calinus in wheat; Insect- Anthonomus grandis in cotton) had been introduced, these would have caused a probable annual yield loss of 0.1%, running into monetary loss of millions of rupees. Quarantine personnel are silent sav-iours of agriculture in the country. They also help the researchers get healthy plant/ plant-ing material to develop better varieties for our farmers.


The demand for food-grains and fruits & vegetables in India is growing at a steady pace driven by increasing population, rising per capita

income, changing dietary habits and the Government’s focus on ensuring food security. While the demand is augmenting, net cultivable land has been stagnant at approximately 140 million hectares over the last five decades. The country has been able to meet its rising demand for food-grains and fruits & vegetables through multiple initiatives and reforms such as The Green Revolution, Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI) etc. India produced 285 Mn MT of food-grains, 314 Mn MT of fruits & vegetables, 32 Mn MT of oil seeds and 10 Mn MT of other cash crops such as sugarcane, cotton and jute in 2018-19. The role of various agriculture inputs including seeds, fertilisers, agrochemicals, farm mechanisation and micro-irrigation has been critical in driving improvement in productivity over this period.

In order to fulfil the growing demand of the country and enhancing farmer’s income, crop productivity needs to be further increased. It is estimated that approximately 15%-25% of crop harvest is lost due to infestation by insects, weeds and diseases. Crop loss is a major challenge for India as the sunk cost of the damaged crop is valued at INR1.48 trillion annually.

Estimated losses which can potentially be circumvented by using agrochemical inputs are as follows:

aT analysis

According to the IARI estimates, the use of agrochemicals offers attractive cost benefit ratio to farmers e.g. 1:7 for Rice, 1:4 for Pulses, 1:3 for Maize, 1:7 for Cotton, 1:13 for Sugarcane and 1:26 for Groundnut.

Indian agrochemical IndustryIndian agrochemicals market is estimated at ~INR 42,000 cr. expected to grow at 11 % CAGR over next 5 years.

The share of herbicides in Indian agrochemical market has been traditionally lower (23%2 in FY19) as compared to market share globally (45%3 in FY19) due to cheaper availability of labour for manually removing weeds. With rising labour cost in India, the adoption of herbicides

AgrochemicAls industry & soil heAlth – BAne or Boon!

is happening at much faster pace (12%2 CAGR) as compared to other product segments. Increasing domestic and exports demand for fruits and vegetables have accelerated adoption of fungicides in India. The farmers growing fruits such as grapes, pomegranate, etc. have shown adoption of relatively higher priced specialty products to meet the Minimum Residue Level (MRL) requirements for the exports market.

Overall, the domestic agrochemical market in fruits and vegetables segment is expected to grow faster at a CAGR of 12%-15%3 over next 5 years. In the same period, paddy, cotton, wheat and soybean are expected to grow at a CAGR of 6%-8%3 only. Growing health consciousness among end-consumers has led to growth in organic farming and adoption of natural products over synthetic products. Bio-pesticides segment is emerging and is expected to witness strong growth of over 15%3


aT analysis

CAGR over next five years. Indian Agrochemical market is largely a multi-source generics market with over 80%3 share vis-à-vis ~65%3 globally. The domestic market is likely to remain a multi-source generics market given products with USD 7 Bn2 market size are likely to go off-patent globally over the next five years.

The domestic agrochemical industry faces certain key challenges including presence of spurious products in the market, limited awareness among farmers regarding application methods, high time investment for new product registration and limited investment in R&D. Agrochemicals in India are currently regulated by The Insecticides Act, 1968 and The Insecticides Rules, 1971.

As this act is over 50 years old now, a new Bill namely the Pesticides Management Bill (PMB) 2020 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on the 23 March, 2020. The objective of PMB 2020 is to ensure availability of safe and effective pesticides, and to strive to minimise risk to human beings, animals,

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Mr Srinivas Kuchibhotla is Partner, Food and Agricul-ture, KPMG in India and Rajeev Ranjan is Director, KPMG in India

Mr Rajeev Ranjan

1: Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI): Pesticide – A critical input for increasing crop yields

2. FICCI, Company data, Macquarie Research, July 2020, KPMG Analysis


living organisms other than pests, and the environment.

3. Indian Agrochemical Market Overview, James Lind Institute School of Agribusiness, 05 August 2019; Phillips McDougall; Industry Sources, KPMG Analysis

With the Government’s plan to enable formation of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), the importance of FPOs as potential alternative channel for the industry is increasing. Additionally, the start-ups with hybrid business model that integrates e-commerce with brick and mortar retail stores are emerging as another alternative channel. Further, the recent announcements on governance and marketing reforms are likely to enable food processors to work with farmers to drive improvement in quality aspects including standardisation, visibility and control on MRL and traceability enabling India to become more competitive in global markets.

Agrochemicals Industry and Soil HealthWhile the role of agrochemicals in minimising the crop losses and therefore, increasing return on investment for the farmers are well accepted, often there are concerns raised regarding non judicious usage of agrochemical impacting soil health. Also, there has been rise in number of cases regarding breach of minimum residue levels (MRL) in the produce. The indiscriminate usage of agrochemicals has led to an adverse impact on exports of products such as rice, fruits and vegetables to countries in Europe, Middle East and USA. As an example, India’s rice exports to Europe plunged around 40 per cent in 2018-194 due to the issue regarding MRL.

Soil fertility is dependent upon three mutually dependent components: physical fertility, chemical fertility and biological fertility. Biological fertility refers to the organisms that live in the soil and perform many vital processes in the nutrient and carbon cycles. Typically, there are billions of microbes

in just one tea spoon of healthy soil. The soil microorganisms or microbes play essential roles in the nutrient cycles and are responsible for the biological fertility of the soil. The key microbes in soil are the bacteria, fungi, soil algae and soil protozoa. The bacteria acts as decomposers, eating dead plant material and organic waste and releasing nutrients that other organisms could not access, therefore, changing the nutrients from inaccessible to usable forms. Fungi have the ability to break down nutrients that other organisms cannot. Algae help in adding organic matter to soil when they die and thus increasing the amount of organic carbon in soil. Most soil protozoa derive their nutrition from ingesting soil bacteria and, thus, they play an important role in maintaining microbial/bacterial equilibrium in the soil.

The impact of agrochemicals on soil health has been analysed as part of multiple studies. It has been highlighted in various studies that agrochemicals negatively influence biological functioning of microbes, their diversity, composition, and biochemical processes potentially impacting soil fertility. Also, some of the agrochemicals are stated to cause hazards to soil environment and human health because some of these products and their

derivatives remain in the soil system for a considerable period.

Being a tropical country, agricultural production in India is exposed to a large array of weeds, diseases and plant-eating insects. In view of the need to enhance productivity further across multiple crops, the importance of agrochemicals as a critical input cannot be discounted. Overall, agrochemicals has proved itself as a boon for the country given its favourable cost benefit ratio for the farmers, and the role it has played as a critical agri-input to increase production of food-grains and fruits and vegetables for feeding the growing population with constant arable land.

4. India adds checks to rise exports to European Union, Economic Times, 09 January 2020; accessed on 14 August 2020

Way forwardGiven the impact of agrochemicals on soil health and observed residue levels in agriculture produce, there is clearly a need for taking concerted efforts to ensure judicious use of agrochemicals by farmers. The Government has been taking steps to assess the risk posed by select agrochemicals on human and animals and has been issuing notifications time to time to ban the identified pesticides. In 2018,

aT analysis


the Government of India banned 18 pesticides citing the harmful effects they could cause on humans and animals. In May 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Government of India issued a draft gazette notification wherein 27 molecules are proposed to be banned in India, subject to objections and representations from the industry before the final notification.

We need to gradually adopt Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices with focus on integrating usage of bio pesticides along with discriminate usage of agrochemicals depending on extent of pest infestation. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization defines IPM as “the careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides and other interventions to levels that are economically justified and reduce or minimize risks to human health and the environment”. Typically, farmers are inclined to leverage IPM practices if they are rewarded proportionately with increase in price realisation for their produce on account

of lower MRL. In this context, the proposed facilitative legal framework to enable farmers for engaging with processors, aggregators, large retailers, exporters etc. in a fair and transparent manner is likely to incentivise farmers to adopt IPM practices to improve quality of produce.

There is need to increase awareness among key stakeholders including farmers, distributors and retailers about judicious use of agrochemicals through agriculture extension activities by the agriculture departments of various states, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs), agriculture universities and private companies operating in this segment. The Government agencies and private companies may also join hands in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode for scaling up and strengthening extensions activities. Additionally, there is need to promote adoption of new formulation technologies and safer molecules that can bring down the agrochemicals consumption per unit area.

With introduction of PMB 2020, the Government should strive to streamline the registration process to minimise the time for new product

registration. The Bill should provide framework for regulatory regime around emerging technology/ solutions for crop protection e.g. AI for detection of pest, spray technologies, crop protection service model. Apart from the industry players, the Government should also proactively work towards identifying newer products available globally that may be more effective and safer vis-à-vis existing registered products for the focus crop-pest segments of the country. It should explore digitisation of quality testing process from sample collection to reporting results to improve transparency.

In summary, while agrochemicals will continue to play an important role in ensuring food security of the nation and enhancing farmer’s income, the Government and all value chain stakeholders need to work towards integrating available alternative options such as bio pesticides, safer agrochemical products, new formulations, emerging spray technologies along with discriminate usage of currently registered agrochemicals for sustainable improvement in productivity.

aT analysis


Soil salinization is the third im-portant chemical soil degra-dation. It develops because of relative preponderance of soluble and sparingly solu-

ble salts of sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Excess salts and inad-equate soil-water movement and spe-cific ions toxicities in these soils con-sequently impede ecosystem functions and limits crop performance. Rehabilita-tion of salt-affected soil (SAS) occupies a major focus in the current policies of the government in order to achieve land degradation neutrality and land restora-tion. These are relevant for Sustainable Development Goals (particularly SDG 15-Life and Land) of United Nations.

Shortage of freshwater, erratic rain-fall pattern, rising temperature, sea level rise, intrusion of brackish water, expan-sion of irrigated agriculture and depend-ency on waste water use for irrigation cause huge salt-load in the farmland. In-appropriate drainage network promotes the risk of salinization/sodication and deterioration of soil physical condition. Several agro-technological options are

managIng SaLInITy fOr SOIL HeaLTH

FighTing adversiTy

recommended to mitigate the adverse effect of salinity. A package of practices of amendments application and salt-tol-erant cultivars of major crops are avail-able for neutralize alkalinity and reclaim sodicity and sustain crop production.

Salt affected soils and associated lossesIn India, total 6.74 mha area is affected by soil salinization comprising 3.79 and 2.95 million ha sodic and saline soils, respectively. Uttar Pradesh (35.8%), Gu-jarat (14.4%), Maharashtra (11.2%) and Tamil Nadu (9.4%), Haryana (4.9%) and Punjab (4.0%) together share 80% of the total sodic soils in India. Soil salinity, intrusion of sea water, salinity associat-ed with water-logging and groundwater irrigation salinity are distributed across 13 states. The largest area is in Guja-rat (56.8%) followed by West Bengal (14.9%), Rajasthan (6.6%) and Maha-rashtra (6.2%). Presently, sodicity dimin-ishes more than 11 million tonnes (MT) of produce valued at Rs 15,000 crore.

Salinity hampered more than 5.66 MT of produce annually, valued at Rs

8000 cores. State-wise crop production losses due to sodicity reveal that UP suffered annual production losses of 7.6 MT, followed by Gujarat at 2.1 MT. State-wise production losses due to sa-linity stand at Gujarat (2.7 MT) followed by Maharashtra (0.92 MT), West Bengal (0.89 MT) and Andhra Pradesh (0.40 MT).

Strategies for reclamation and soil health improvement Rehabilitation of salt-affected soil is a requisite to meet the demand of food for a growing population. The reclamation of salt-affected soils is possible with green-ing underproductive or barren land. These soils are the outcome of specific drivers of chemical land degradation such as the climate, geology, hydrology, soil types and land management imple-mented in the area.

Reclamation statusOver the past few decades, chemical amelioration of sodic soils in the Indo-Gangetic regions of Punjab, Haryana and UP has been well standardized.


FighTing adversiTy

With the support of World Bank, European Union and other devel-opmental agencies, India has re-claimed 1.95 M ha of alkali lands. Several pilot scale manually laid subsurface drainage (SSD) pro-jects, undertaken by ICAR-CSSRI during 1980s, have slowly paved the way for mechanically installed large projects in Haryana, Rajas-than, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. Implementation of large mechanically installed subsurface drainage projects has increased exponentially during the past 10 years with provision of govern-ment funding under schemes like CADA, RKVY and others. So far, about 66,500 ha waterlogged saline soils have been reclaimed with SSD in India.

Gypsum and alternate reclamation technology Mineral gypsum, inorganic sul-phur, press mud, acids, acid-

formers, phosphogypsum, fly ash, pyrites, aluminium chloride, bio-augmented material with gypsum etc. are generally recommended for reclaiming soil sodicity. If ir-rigation water quality is safe for soil and crop, then reclamation of soil sodicity is largely a one-time investment for sustaining produc-tion. Rice-based cropping cycle reaches its productivity potential level in nearly three years from reclamation. For managing incipi-ent sodicity develops as a conse-quence of alkali water irrigation, application of gypsum or other amendment are needed at regular interval. The gypsum recommen-dation is advocated when RSC (residual sodium carbonate) of irrigation water exceeded 2.5 me L-1. The net present worth (NPW) of gypsum technology is average-ly estimated to be ₹ 52,000/ha with benefit cost ratio (BC) of 1.43 and internal rate of return (IRR) of 25% of the technology. The technology

abouT The auThors

Dr Parbodh Chander Sharma is Director, ICAR-CSSRI, Karnal, Haryana. He has developed salt tol-erant varieties of rice, mustard, wheat and lentil

Dr Nirmalendu Basak is a Scientist at ICAR-CSSRI, Karnal

Dr Arvind Kumar Rai is Principal Scientist at ICAR-CSSRI, Karnal

Fig. 1. State-wise distribution of sodic (a) and saline (b) soils

Fig. 2. State-wise annual production and monetary losses due to sodicity (a) and salinity (b)


have been successfully implemented for improved soil health, increase resource use efficiency, raise farm income, mini-mize flood hazards and water logging and augment groundwater recharge.

Calcareous sodic soils are recom-mended for reclamation through appli-cation of elemental sulphur. However, elemental S must first be oxidized to sulphuric acid by soil microorganisms before they are available for reaction. Further, conjunctive application of sul-phur and gypsum in 1:1 ratio significant-ly reduced the exchangeable sodium. Application of organic materials (city waste compost, gypsum enrich com-post, sulphur rich compost, by product of sugarcane industry press mud) with conjunctive doses with gypsum require-ment decrease the precipitation of Ca and carbonates, increase removal of Na

in drainage waters, decrease soil pH and exchangeable sodium and improve crop yield.

Agronomic practices for saline soilLeaching with good quality water (sea-sonal rain, canal or underground-water) to remove excess salts below the root zone is accomplished by ponding of wa-ter in well leveled field. The quantity of salts leached from soils depends on the quantity and quality of irrigation water and texture of soils. Sometime flushing with water is practiced to remove surface deposited salts in low permeable soils. Field scale salinity management needs proper soil and water crop management strategies to sustain cultivation in saline soil and with reduced risk of soil saliniza-tion and sustaining soil and environment

quality. Properly leveled field, conserva-tion tillage, mulching, conjunctive saline water irrigation in cycling and mixing mode, saline warer application avoiding physiological critical stages (germina-tion and panicle initiation) and adoption of water efficient irrigation techniques (drip/sprinker) facilitating the washing of root zone salinity and sustaining crop production seems promising in produc-tive utilization of salt-affected lands and use of saline water.

Subsurface drainage for inland saline soil with shallow water table Sub-surface or surface drainage is a long-term solution for lowering water ta-ble and leaching of salts and to provide a favorable salt-balance in surface soil. Perforated corrugated PVC pipe cov-

Plate 2. Reclamation technologies for rehabilitation of salt-affected soils.

FighTing adversiTy


ered with synthetic filter mechanically in-stalled in proper plan below the effective rooting depth to lower down poor quality water table and leach excess salts and water by gravitational action or pressur-ized pump. The average cost of interven-tion and output per unit area is ₹60000/ ha in alluvial soils of North West India and ₹75000/ ha for heavy textured soils of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Due to notable increase in crop yields, the tech-nology results in three-fold increase in farmers’ income.

Land shaping technologyLand shaping techniques changes the landscape by developing raised and sunken beds by alternatively digging soil from one strip and putting it on the other. The modified land surface provides the scope for practicing integrated farming with diversified cropping round the year, creating irrigation facility, reducing sa-linity and improving drainage condition. The likely cost of intervention is about ₹99,000 per ha for soil excavation.

Bio-drainageExcess soil water in shallow water table can be managed by facilitating physi-ological transpiration of tree. Waterlog-ging in saline soils with congestion of drainage problem can be managed by bio-drainage. This also provides ad-ditional benefit wood and associated ecological services. Benefits accrued by increased cropping intensity up to 300% vis-à-vis increase nutrient use efficiency, growing arable crops including pulses and oilseed, which otherwise is not pos-sible on waterlogged soils and increased employment generation.

Crop managementSalinity and sodicity tolerance can be exploited for satisfactory yield under giv-en levels of root zone salinity/ sodicity. Less water requiring crops like oilseed crops can tolerate higher levels of irriga-tion water salinity over salinity-sensitive pulses and vegetables. In coastal eco-systems, paddy is advised because of heavy downpour in kharif and facilitates

CropTolerant varieties

Abiotic stressors

Sodic, pH Saline, EC(dS m-1)

Rice CSR 27 9.9 10.0

BasmatiCSR30*, 9.5 7.0

CSR36* 9.9 11.0

CSR43 10.0 7.0

Wheat KRL1-4,KRL 19 9.3 7.0

KRL210 9.3 6.0

KRL283 9.3

Indian mustard CS56 9.3 9.0

(Raya) CS58, CSR604* 9.5 12.0

Gram KarnalChana 1 9.0 6.0

Sugarbeet Ramonskaaya 06,

MariboResistapoly

9.5–10 6.5

Sugarcane Co453, Co1341 9.0 10.0

Table 1. Salt-tolerant varieties

leaching of soluble salts. Genotypic vari-ability in different crops is now exploited to develop cultivars well suited to these abiotic stresses. A significant change in cropping landscape of salt affected areas is now because of the salt toler-ant cultivars of rice, wheat, mustard and chickpea.

Way forwardMineral gypsum is easily available, cheaper and easy to handle. It is the most common amendment for sodic soils. Gypsum consumption in country is rising with rapid infrastructure developments. The agriculture sector is facing issues of low availability and inferior quality of ag-ricultural grade gypsum. Other alternate sources like phospho-gypsum, pyrites, pressmud and distillery spent wash are also used in some areas for reclamation of sodic soils. Limited availability, slow

rate of reclamation and associated envi-ronmental hazards limit their application as substitute for gypsum. Recent devel-opments in material science have led to the development of some formulations like polymers, nano-materials, acidified biochars, elemental sulphur, sulphurus acid generator and flue gas desulphuri-zation gypsum (FGDG) having potential for replacing gypsum as an amendment. In future, scientifically managed city wate compost can also supplement the sodic soil reclamation programme. Poor policy support for subsurface drainage technology is limiting the success of salinity management in the country. De-velopment of the updated database of salt affected soils and groundwater and ensuring the public-private partnership through people’s cooperation can accel-erate the pace of inland salinity manage-ment in India.

FighTing adversiTy


Echinochloa colona, barnyard millet or jungle rice is de-scribed as rice weed or wild grass originating in tropical Asia. Commonly known as

Sava ka chawal, mordhan or vrat ke cha-wal, it is loaded with almost all the es-sential aminoacids, iron, zinc, fiber and minerals sodium, potassium, magnesi-um, copper, manganese. It is sugar, and cholesterol and gluten free, and can be promoted as healthy food or super food.

Jungle rice is an annual plant that can succeed in a wide range of environ-ments from the temperate zone to the tropics. It can be found at elevations up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 30°c,

During Navaratri, it is a good substi-tute t for rice eaters. The grain can be cooked whole in water, like rice, or boiled with milk and sugar to make kheer. The seeds can be ground into flour. E. colona is a highly appetizing fodder relished by animals.

Myanmar considers E. colona to be the best grass for feeding milch animals. The contents of phosphorus and calci-um are sufficient for cattle requirement. Shoots of barnyard millets are consid-

ered as a nutritious vegetable. It is also used as feed for caged birds.

This under-utilized minor millet has long-term beneficial effects on chronic diseases and can help to prevent them. It is not expensive, and hence is use-ful for under-developed and developing countries. E. colona can increase im-munity and TLC (Total Leucocye Count) and also improve haemoglobin value.

The weed contains medicinal properties for wound healing. It has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.

Multiple uses of E. colona prove that this weed has the potential to be utilized on large scale.

Deepti Rai, Abha Saxena and Anup Kalra, Ayurvet Research Foundation, Ghaziabad

unsung hero

Jungle rice

PotentialSuPerfood

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AGRICULTURE TODAYDecember 2020 49© 2015 Syngenta International AG, Basel, Switzerland. All rights reserved.The SYNGENTA Wordmark and BRINGING PLANT POTENTIAL TO LIFEare registered trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. www.syngenta.com

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The Way ahead

fOr SOIL HeaLTH andnUTrITIOn SeCUrITy

eCO agrICULTUre

Sustainable soil manage-ment is the basic need for healthy soils, healthy food and healthy people. Soil formation is the result of

synergy between clays from mother rock and humus. If you destroy fauna by excess chemicals, you damage the availability of oxygen. Anaerobic bac-teria increase, which convert nitrogen back to ammonia and lead to loss of fertilizer. But if you have soil with humus or fauna, you have microbes to produce nitrates and other nutrients, and fauna to produce galleries for flee flow of ox-ygen. Healthy soils can contain up to 25,000 species of micro-organisms per gram. Depleted soils might contain only one-fifth of this number.

Soils must contain a healthy mix-ture of microorganisms, including fun-gi, yeast and bacteria to produce good crop yields with minimal disease loss. Beneficial soil microbes like rhizobia, mycorrhiza fungi, acitomycetes diazo-tropic bacteria etc. promote nutrient mineralization and availability to pro-duce plant growth hormones. They fight plant pests, parasites and diseases.

Improvement in soil fertility and

productive capacity of the ecosys-tem should evolve around increasing carbon pools in soils and vegetation. Soil carbon sequestration is an effec-tive strategy to improve soil health and raise crop yields. Available soil organic carbon (SOC) in most uplands in In-dia is only around 0.2 to 0.5 per cent. This is much below the threshold level (around 1.1 per cent). Application of soil amendments such as crop residues and animal manure can enhance SOC pool significantly especially in rain-fed areas. Burning of rice straw and other crop residue should be stopped. Or-ganic recycling to improve soil health has become the most important need.

Eco-Friendly Bio InputsFuture gains in production come from use of improved soil-based systems in combination with elite germplasm. Our understanding and increasing use of

Padma Shri Dr MH Mehta is Chairman, Working Group on Eco Agri/ Organic Farming, Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA). He is also Chairman of The Science Ashram / Gujarat Life Sciences and for-mer Vice Chancellor of Gujarat Agricultural University

abouT The auThor

The 20:20 model is a practical way of transformation

to eco-agriculture. such developments offer hope for

enhancing productivity in perpetuity without ecological harms and moving towards

evergreen revolution



The Way ahead

Dr Mehta is fond of tennis, swimming and cycling. He

enjoys poetry and plays a rare Indian musical instrument, the Kastha Tarang. He has given several public perfor-mances and participated in radio programs playing this

musical instrument

new generation, eco-friendly agri bio inputs like bio fertilizers, bio pesticides (including bio fungicides), bio com-posts and bio stimulants show hope for sustainable farming future. Along with this, integrated farming, scientific agro waste management, inter-cropping, water saving rice system etc are impor-tant needs for eco agriculture.

Chemicals cannot be wished away overnight. But there are visible signs of agri bio inputs making in-roads. The 20:20 model is a practical way of trans-formation to eco-agriculture. There are thus developments and hope for enhancing productivities in perpetuity without ecological harms and moving towards evergreen revolution.

Crop Residue and Agro-Wastes to Bio CompostsIndia has more than 600 million tons of crop residue and agro wastes. From this, more than 200 million tons of or-ganic carbon can be made available. Each ton of crop residue provides 5.5 Kg N, 2.3 Kg (at 40%) P, 25 Kg (at 10%) K, 1.2 Kg S and 400 Kg Organic C, apart from a host of other micronu-trients.

Consortia of micro-organisms convert agro wastes to bio composts. These hold tremendous potential of converting the wastes to high value bio composts to enrich the soil. In-situ treatment of crop residue should be taken up on large scale to solve the problem of air and soil pollution. It also enriches the soils.

Successful applications of Re-life

multi-microbial consortia in Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat have underlined the urgency of scaling up this on large scale. There are added advantages of increase in water and fertilizer use ef-ficiency, and using the resource gain-fully. These are also promising devel-opments in off-site treatments of agro wastes from sugar industries, bamboo industries, municipal wastes etc. De-velopments like Biochar can be applied in specific situations with many advan-tages.

4 per 1000 initiativeIt is estimated that the world’s soils con-tain 1500 billion tons of carbon in the form of organic material. The amount of carbon increase in the air is nearly 4.3 billion tons per year. If we increase car-bon in soil by 0.4%, we can halve the annual increase of CO2 in air.

At COP21 and 22, the 4 per 1000 (0.4%) initiative was taken up with the aim to adapt eco agri practices for stor-ing carbon in the soil. The main steps emphasized were reducing chemical fertilizer, using legume in crop rota-tion, organic re-cyclation, agro-forestry, changing diets of cattle etc. Soil carbon sequestration is an effective strategy to improve soil health, raise crop yields and help meet challenge of climate change.

Nutrient-poor soils cannot produce healthy food. Soil degradation leads to loss of soil macro and micro nutri-ents. Healthy soils are a basic need for healthy food, nutrition security and a healthy nation. Soils and agriculture are most affected areas due to climate change, but together they are areas of solution. Our understanding and appli-cations of Eco Agriculture or Agro Ecol-ogy can convert the big problem into big opportunities. We need fast action on larger scales. We can chart a new path of healing our planet literally from the soil on which we stand.

Our dreams are for the earth, not heaven

For heaven is here to make, not on cloud seven!



It is wrong to promote the ICAR-IARI mi-crobial decomposer as a solution for the problem of paddy stubble burning. It is wrongly being claimed that the Pusa de-composer can decompose paddy stubble

in-situ within 15-20 days. Even ICAR-IARI did not claim this, but clearly stated that ‘Bio-augmented process of Pusa decomposer may result in mature compost within 60 days of decomposition’ under controlled experi-mental conditions in the lab.

Further observations by the Pusa de-composer team were that “during bio-de-composition rapid process, the temperatures increased to more than 50 degree C for first 10-15 days”. This makes the Pusa bio-decomposer detrimental during the first two weeks of its application to the fields. This is because such high temperatures (50C) will

badly affect seed germination of winter crops wheat, gram, mustard, potato etc. These need average ambient temperature of about 20 degree C.

The ICAR-IARI research team also con-firmed that ‘Microbial decomposer completes the process of ex-situ decomposition of paddy straw within 90 days of its application at low temperature during winter season. Another waste bio-decomposer based on microbial cultures isolated from cow dung developed by NCOF-MOAFW (GOI) is in the market for many years. It has not been found useful or suitable for in-situ or ex-situ decomposition of crop residue including paddy straw.

The ICAR-IARI reports confirmed that Pusa Decomposer completes the decom-position process of paddy straw in 60 to 90 days under different temperature regimes.

CounTer argumenT

ab

ou

T Th

e au

Tho

r

Dr. Virender Singh Lather is former Principal Scien-tist (Genetics & Cytoge-netics), ICAR

mICrOBIaL deCOmPOSer nOT vIaBLe

SOLUTION FOR PADDY STUBBLE


All these reports suggested that paddy straw needs 60 to 90 days for its decom-position under in-situ decomposition with or without artificial bio-decomposer. This is not suitable for farmers, who get only about 20 days between paddy harvest-ing and the next crop sowing.

In long term experiments, it was also observed that in-situ incorporation of paddy stubble depressed wheat yield (caused yellowing of growing crop and heavy infestation of insects and pests). This may be due to competition for nitro-gen among decomposing paddy residue and the growing wheat crop. GOI is pro-moting paddy straw in situ decomposi-tion in two ways. One, by incorporating paddy straw in the soil before sowing of next crop. Second, by direct sowing of crop though use of happy seeder and other machinery. These increase cost of cultivation for the farmer.

PPP model may be usefulIt shall be unwise to impose any laws which may prove to be counterproduc-tive from the perspective of the farmers and other stakeholders. Instead, an ef-ficient management system is needed in Public-Private Partnership mode. This should be in accordance with Supreme Court’s directives to pay Rs 100 per quin-tal to the farmers for paddy straw man-agement. The government ignored the SC directive. It decided to provide sub-sidy on heavy machinery to the farmers

CounTer argumenT

for in-situ incorporation of paddy straw to the soil, or collection of paddy straw with the help of balers. Both options have not been adopted by most farmers due to technical and economical challenges like the disposal of huge quantity of collected paddy straw.

In India, about 140 MT surplus crop residue is generated. Out of this, about 90 MT is burned annually. India has 536 million livestock population with annual dry fodder requirement of 530 million tonnes, and 30 pc deficit of dry fodder. This is likely to increase to 40 pc by 2025 (ICAR-NIANP report 2019). Dry fodder, which caters to more than 50 pc of the demand for livestock feed in India, com-prises crop residue (the straw left behind after rice and wheat harvested). The shortfall of dry fodder state-wise was re-

ported to as follows: Maharastra (98%), Gujarat (63%), Jharkhand (67%), Utta-rakhand (55%), Orissa (45%) etc. The effort may be supplemented by setting up ‘National Dry Fodder Board’ for col-lection of 25MT paddy straw from NCR and neighboring states. This may be purchased with investment of Rs 5000 crores at the rate of Rs 200 per quintal for distribution to dry fodder deficit states. This shall prove to be an efficient solution for NCR pollution. This shall also gener-ate significant employment in the rural sector.

The announcement made by Punjab government for the promotion of ‘New and renewable sources of energy pol-icy’ to promote biomass and cogenera-tion based power/energy plants is also a welcome step for proper utilization of crop residue including paddy straw. This may encourage other state governments to set up biomass-based power plants in every district/ blocks of major paddy growing areas.

Solution for Paddy Stubble * Conservative farming by incorporat-

ing crop residue back to soil through in-situ or ex-situ compositing

* Utilization of crop residue as dry fod-der to meet fodder shortage for ani-mals

* Utilization of crop residue as biomass in power plants for energy generation and ethanol production.

paddy straw needs 60 to 90 days for decomposition

under in-situ decomposition with or without artificial

bio-decomposer. This is not suitable for farmers, who get only about 20 days between

paddy harvesting and the next crop sowing


neW horizons

HOw OrganIC farmIng BOOSTS SOIL HeaLTH

Organic farming is a system of cultivating the land and growing crops in such a way that it continuously enriches

the soil in many ways. To achieve this, organic farming relies on a number of objectives, principles and common practices which help in minimizing the impact on environment, and ensure that the agriculture system operates naturally.

According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, “Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity.”

Beginning of Organic MovementStudies show that the agriculture sector is responsible for 20 pc of the global anthropogenic Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. According to studies, nearly 70 pc of global N2O emission is from artificial fertilizers. Five pc of global carbon dioxide comes from the emissions from fossil fuel consumption and biomass burning. Nearly 50 pc of global methane emission is from enteric fermentation and rice paddies. Thus conventional agricultural practices are unsustainable for mainly three reasons:(i) Destroys the complex ecosystem that was responsible for keeping the balance of the nutrients and soil. It not only leads to soil leaching or erosion but such practices also cause removal of nitrogen-

fixing bacteria.(ii) Excess use of agrochemicals and mechanization results in soil de-conditioning. This has an adverse effect on the water retention capacity of the soil. The practice also leads to ground-water contamination.(iii) Over-grazing and deforestation increases GHG emissions and affects vegetation, resulting into reduction of land’s ability to sequester CO2.

In order to practice sustainable farming practices and control climate change, adoption of organic agriculture is the need of the hour.

The organic movement across the globe started nearly a century ago by visionary pioneers. They realized the connection between the way we live,


neW horizons

the food we produce and consume, our health and the eco-system. Later in the 70s, the writings and agricultural systems developed by the pioneers were codified into standards which were later converted into legally-mandated regulatory systems.

According to the International Federation for Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM), “Organic Agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, eco-systems and people, is based on the principles of health, ecology, fairness and care.”

Soil Health Organic farming relies primarily on healthy soils. The two major parameters of soil health are: (i) Organic matter in the soil, measured by Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) (ii) Soil microbial life—presence of beneficial micro-organisms in the soil.

Soil is the skin of the earth and provider of food for all plant life. It is important to have a healthy soil for the plants to grow. Primarily, a healthy soil will have the presence of bacteria, fungus, and micro-organisms—the beneficial types.

Organic farming introduces combination of sustainable practices which includes region specific crop rotation, incremental soil improvement/humus application, diversified and mixed farming with compost making.

All these measures help in building up of SOC levels by an average of 10 times compared to the conventional agricultural practices. It has been estimated that an increase in SOC level by every 0.1 pc has the potential to sequester 3,500-4,500 kgs of CO2 per acre. Thus, by sequestering carbon, the soil is acting as a carbon sink. The phenomenon is a climate change mitigating factor.

Organic manures enriched with bio-fertilizers increase the supply of mineral nutrients by establishment of micorhizal symbiosis. This is highly significant for those nutrients whose ionic forms have poor mobility in the soil.

Further, use of on-farm resources, such as livestock manure for fertilizer or feed produced on the farm, helps in maintaining the content and texture of the soil.

In organic farming, compost, a natural input, is used which adds organic matter and SOC. Chemical pesticides, fertilizers and weed killers are harmful to the plants. They also disturb the symbiotic relationship between plants and micro-organisms present in the soil.

Lakpath Pandit, an organic farmer of Jharkhand started farming in 2002. For nearly 16 years, he used chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Use of chemicals led to decrease in the production of crops and vegetables. It also led to hardening of soil, low water retention capacity, soil erosion and increase in irrigation. All this

Mr Manoj Kumar Menon completed B.Sc. (Agri) from Gujarat Agriculture University. He was the state topper in his degree. He did MBA from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi. He has nearly two decades of experience in management of agricultural projects and estates. He’s also the founder director of IFOAM, Asia

abouT The auThor

Mr Menon is an avid badminton player and ho rarely misses his

morning practice sessions. He’s fond of reading books and ar-

ticles on varied subjects. He loves listening to music. He is keen on the acquisition of knowledge to be a thought leader and create

models in sustainable agriculture

further caused a considerable drop in the production of crops and vegetables. The decay of plants caused the 40-year-old farmer a huge loss every year. Lakpath struggled to reap a good harvest of crops from his farm land.

In 2018, Lakpath underwent an organic farming training programme organized by the International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA). He received training in preparing Beejamruth, Jeevamruth, Panchgavya, and Dasgavya. These organic fertilizers are made of cow dung, curd, cow milk, ghee, sugarcane, tender coconut water and jaggery.

After the completion of the training, he started preparing these fertilizers and pesticides at home. Within a year of their application, Lakpath saw a phenomenal change in the quality of soil. The soil became comparatively soft with improvement in soil structure. It gained water retention capacity as the irrigation cycle reduced. Lakhpat had to water his crop 4 to 5 times earlier. This dropped to 3 to 4 times per crop-cycle.

Improved Efficiency of Water UseResearch reveals that organic systems use water more efficiently.Volume of water retained/ha (to 30cm) in relation to Soil Organic Matter (SOM)• 0.5pcSOM=80,000litres(common

level Africa, Asia)• 1pcSOM=160,000litres(common

level Africa, Asia)• 2pcSOM=320,000litres


• 3pcSOM=480,000litresAdapted from Morris, 2004

Soils rich in micro organisms take care of the crop nutrient requirement. There are two basic items to enrich soil. The first include on-farm inputs like green manure, crop residues, biomass, Farm Yard Manure (FYM) compost, enriched compost, vermi-compost etc. Among off-farm inputs, oil cakes, lime, rock phosphate, bio-fertilizers and bone meal are used.

In order to maintain the soil temperature, biological mulch is applied to the surface of soil. Mulch helps in the conservation of soil moisture, improves the fertility and health of the soil and reduces weed growth. If biomass residue is added to mulching, it helps in protecting all life forms including earthworms in soil.

Another method in organic farming that helps in maintaining soil health is green manuring and cover crops. Growing of green manure crops like sesbania, dhaincha and other leguminous crops and cover crops can protect the soil from soil erosion and moisture loss. This can be ploughed back into soil.

Soil fertility is the fundamental criteria in determining the productivity of a

farming system and its ability to supply nutrients to crops.

In a status report entitled Technology Intervention in Organic Farming through system Comparison and Development Of Organic Package of Practices, prepared by ICCOA for the Government of Sikkim, it has been mentioned that less use of fertilizers and pesticides in the region, which is far below the national average, makes the region highly suitable for organic farming.

ICCOA carried out studies during the year 2010-2013 in Sikkim in five different locations on maize, ginger, and cherry pepper as major crops and radish, spinach, mustard and cabbage as the rotation crop.

Under the system comparison trials, the effect of organic manures and bio-fertilizers was assessed on the soil fertility status of the experimental plots. The results clearly indicated that organic treatments had significantly improved the soil organic carbon content. It also resulted in increasing the percentage of all the three major nutrients NPK, viz. Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium.

Organic farming has now become an integral part of the agricultural sector of many countries including India. It

includes all agricultural systems that promote environmentally, socially and economically sound production of vegetables. These systems take local soil fertility as a key to successful production.

By respecting the natural capacity of plants, animals and landscape, organic farming aims to optimize quality in all aspects of agriculture and the environment. Organic vegetable agriculture reduces external inputs by refraining from the use of chemo-synthetic fertilizers pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Instead it allows the powerful laws of nature to increase both agricultural yields and disease resistance.

We have exploited our natural resources beyond all limits to realize high productivity and production. Some of the chemicals used for the management of pest and diseases and increase soil fertility do not degrade easily. They enter into our food chain, leading to health hazards.

The need of the hour is ‘Go Organic’ for the betterment of both human beings and the eco-system. Use of organic manures will keep the soil protected, thus keeping the crops and fruits hale and hearty.

neW horizons


smarT agriCulTure

role of HyPersPectral iMaging tecHnology

The landscape of agriculture is fast evolving and technology solutions are being sought to address the age-old problems facing

agriculture. Upgrading the technology quotient in agriculture is eliciting interest as it is expected to help farmers improve crop productivity, increase the yield and reduce damage to crops. In this context, the advanced technology options, often backed by artificial intelligence and digitization, are fast becoming a buzzword in agriculture. Hyperspectral imaging, which harnesses the power of sophisticated digital technology to empower farmers and create sustainable agriculture practices, has emerged as a niche technology, with numerous agriculture applications.

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a 30-year-old technology, originally created by NASA in the US which has since been commercialized. It is a camera fitted with a drone which

can help characterize chemical and biological traits of plants and soil by way of analyzing their reflective properties across a range of narrow spectral bands. The technology essentially extends human vision to diagnose limiting factors of plant growth in an ecosystem at an earlier stage in real time and accordingly make the correction. It is a relatively new technology which is nondestructive, nonpolluting, highly accurate and provides consistent and quick results. In fact, the development of aerial and ground-based hyperspectral and multispectral imaging equipment has been a breakthrough in the expansion and practical application of precision agriculture techniques.

Applications in agricultureThere are a wide range of applications for HSI in agriculture. These include vegetation mapping, yield estimation, crop disease monitoring, pest and pollutant detection, among others.

ab

ou

T Th

e au

Tho

r

Ms. Shobha Ahuja is an indepen-dent economist and consultant on economic policy. Her previous working assignment was as Di-rector, Economic Policy and Re-search Division, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Before that, she has worked with PHD Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry, and with ASSOCHAM. She is also Adviser, Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA)

IMPROvING AGRICULTURE PRODUCTIvITY


Specifically, HSI technology can be used for control of crop pests that harm target crops in the farms. Some of the most common pests include insects, bacteria, and fungi. Early detection of pests would help prevent crop loss. Hence, it can reduce yield loss by up to 20-40% , depending on the crop type and growth stage. The use of HSI technology, which enables the farmer to employ sensors in the field, helps create awareness about the presence of pests and weeds in the farm so that preventive steps can be taken to save the crop and avoid a monetary loss. The environment is also protected as the usage of pesticide and weedicide can be confined only to areas that require treatment. Significantly, the HSI technology brings significantly more efficiency and accuracy in crop pest detection as compared to the traditional methods. Presently, it is presently reported that pests damage the crop and leads to reduction in farm yield by as much as 30-50%.

Role in Food Processing Industry Secondly, there is growing interest in HSI for safety and quality assessments in the food processing industry. This technology, when combined with intelligent software, enables digital sorters to identify and accurately remove defects and foreign material (FM) in food products that are invisible to traditional camera and laser sorters. This improves food quality and brings safe and hygienic food to the table. The commercial adoption of hyperspectral sorters is also being considered for use in the potato processing industry to solve product quality problems.

Thirdly, the HSI technology also finds an application in the detection of animal proteins in compound feeds to avoid bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as the mad-cow disease.

Fourth, on a smaller scale, hyperspectral imaging can be used to rapidly monitor the application

systems. Similarly, German scientists are also planning to use satellite images and hyperspectral analysis to detect disease infestation in fruit trees such as apple and pears and in the process replace time-consuming field assessments and laboratory analyses. Some of the key players in the hyperspectral imaging market are Airbus Defence and Space, Hexagon AB, CYIENT, Planet Labs, and Satellogic SA, among others.

Coming to India, the first Indian hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HySIS) was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from Sriharikota on 29 November 2018. The satellite is expected to be used for earth observation in applications related to agriculture, forestry, geology, assessment of coastal zones and environmental studies.

It is hoped that the technology would find a use in Indian agriculture especially since an estimated 15-25 per cent of potential crop production is lost due to pests, weeds and diseases. At a time when time when the country needs not only to raise production but also ensure food security and nutrition for its growing consumption needs, there is need to study the efficacy of use of such a technology for use in agriculture operations and to increase the yield frontier.

While the technology has many advantages, there is a need to also look at where it falls short. The major constraint in the application of HSI is the high cost and complexity. For instance, analyzing hyperspectral data requires the use of fast computers, sensitive detectors and large data storage capacities. This increases the cost of acquiring and processing hyperspectral data. Further, since the technique is relatively new, the full potential of hyperspectral imaging has yet to be realized.

Having said so, it is important to seriously consider the feasibility of applying HSI technology in the farmland as it could open new vistas of opportunity in critical areas of agriculture production.

smarT agriCulTure

Ms. Ahuja is a prolific writer with over 50 publications to her credit in leading newspapers and jour-

nals. Her leisure activities include reading, writing, travel and tast-

ing different varieties of food

of pesticides to individual seeds for quality control of the optimum dose and homogeneous coverage.

Recognizing the stellar contribution of HSI technology in terms of providing accuracy, efficiency, consistency and simplicity in use, the hyperspectral imaging market is witnessing an upsurge. Already, reports suggest that the market for HSI technology is estimated to grow at a steady CAGR of 5% from 2019 to 2029.

Useful monitoring toolMany countries are planning to adopt HSI in a big way for monitoring the development and health of crops. For instance, in Australia, work is under way to use imaging spectrometers to detect grape variety and develop an early warning system for disease outbreaks. Furthermore, work is also underway to use hyperspectral data to detect the chemical composition of plants, which can be used to detect the nutrient and water status of wheat in irrigated


vision and suPPorT

IndIanSeed IndUSTryA lAndscApeS

eed is the primary input in agriculture, and encapsu-lates the genetics of plant variety. At the core of the seed industry is plant variety

development through conventional plant breeding in the process of genetic im-provement of crops. Plant variety there-fore is the key product of seed industry, with each new variety showing incremen-tal advantage over pre-existing varieties.

Globally, the growth of the seed in-dustry and especially private seed sec-tor happened over the harnessing of the concept of hybrid vigour or heterosis, where hybrid seeds express significant improvement in economic attributes over the parent varieties. Hybrid seeds were initially launched in crops like Maize, Mil-lets, Cotton, Vegetable crops etc. They have also been developed for Rice, Mus-tard etc. However, in many self-pollinated crops like Wheat, Pulses, Groundnut etc., the concept of heterosis is yet to be har-nessed as there is no significant advan-tage of hybrid seed over varietal seeds. Therefore OPV seeds are still utilized in crops like Wheat, Rice, Red gram, Green gram, Black gram, Soybean, Groundnut, etc.

The seed industry in India is a mix of large, medium and small seed compa-nies in public and private sector. Certain

large companies have competencies in all the industry functions such as R&D, production, processing, marketing and distribution. Small companies specialize in one or more functions. The Indian seed sector developed on the strong founda-tion laid down by public sector research institutions in 1960s and 1970s since the era of green revolution.

The public sector is represented by the National Seed Corporation (NSC) and the State Seed Corporations (SSCs). Currently there are more than 700 seed

companies in India both in private and public sector. The public sector research of State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and Indian Council of Agricultural Re-search (ICAR) has not only fuelled the development of Indian seed industry, but also continues to drive the industry with continuous delivery of new improved plant varieties.

The Indian seed industry is regulat-ed by Seeds Act, 1966 which regulates the quality of seeds sold to farmers. The Seed Control Order, 1983 oversees the process of licensing for conducting of seed business. In general, private sec-tor specializes in high value hybrid seeds and varietal seeds and offers them to farmers as Truthfully Labelled (TL) seeds. Public sector specializes in high volume OPV seeds and offers them to farmers as Certified Seeds. The Indian seed sec-tor is valued at USD 3 billion. It is the fifth largest globally as per NSAI estimates. The farm seed saved and used by farm-ers and exchanged between farmers is not included in market size. However with respect to exports, India has a miniscule share and has a huge opportunity to be-come a global seed hub. The unorgan-ized sector also includes seed and prop-agating materials, nurseries.

With respect to the various players in the seed industry landscape, the in-


dustry has domestic seed companies, MNCs, domestic MNCs, small and me-dium R&D driven companies, small and medium companies specializing only in one or more industry functions, NGOs in-volved in seed production, public sector companies, FPOs specializing in seed production, etc. In addition to the R&D driven companies with all the industry functions, there are companies which specialize only in seed production and processing, or companies which focus only on marketing of seeds by licensing plant varieties from other companies.

The National Seed Association of India (NSAI), an apex association of the Indian seed industry, encourages ing its member companies to investment in the state of the art R&D to bring to the Indian farmer superior genetics and technolo-gies, which are high performance and adapted to a wide range of agro-climatic zones. NSAI also actively contributes to seed industry policy development, with the concerned governments. This is to ensure that the policies and regulations create an enabling environment, includ-ing public acceptance, so that the indus-try is globally competitive.

Challenges for seed industry1) Seed law enforcement for

harmonization of laws across the

country• Uniformrulestocarryoutseed

business in all states as per Seeds (Control) Order

• Uniformmarketingofproprietaryhybrids / research hybrids

2) Stringent seed policies and laws: Varietal notification and registration are compulsory and time-consuming in the bureaucratic system. Seed certification is another important time-consuming task, though truthfully labelled seeds do not need certification.

3) Issues relating to Plant Variety Protection.

4) Uniform pattern of seed subsidy for both public and private sector

5) Climate, Pest and Disease related problems: Seed production is a seasonal activity. Seed crops are grown in open conditions which are subject to environmental extremes. Generally seed production is done over larger area with same variety to avoid contamination, but it is vulnerable to pest outbreak and diseases or epidemics. Management of these pest and diseases increases the cost of production.

6) Nature of seed (perishability, moisture content, viability): Seed is a living entity and a biological product

unlike fertilizers and chemicals manufactured in factories. It is subject to death depending upon its genetic potentiality to remain viable amid the given storage conditions.

Future prospects, strategy to boost exportThe following are some potential strate-gies that can boost India’s export com-petitivness. 1. Atmanirbhar Krishi Bharat: India’s

has a unique advantage of varied agro-climatic zone. This is favourable for producing quality seeds. This can help us lower our seed import.

2. Creation of Seed Export Zone and incentivizing export to seed companies to encourage foreign trade and export. For example, concessional air freight.

3. Strong need of implementation of PPP model in seed research sector

4. Upgration of seed infrastructre like cold storage, seed testing laboratory and storage houses

5. Phytosanitary certification processes are cumbersome. They need to be made more efficient in execution.

- National Seed Association of India (NSAI)

Institution Partner for ISA 2020


SOILHeaLTH

fOr aHeaLTHy

naTIOn

Healthy soil equates to healthy crop. Decline in soil health is often cited as one of the reasons for stagnating or declining yields. A national database on land degradation prepared by Indian Space Research Organisation in 2016

shows that 120.7 million hectare (mha), or 36.7 per cent of India’s total arable and non-arable land, suffers from various forms of degradation. Water erosion is the chief contributor in 83 mha (68.4 per cent). Water erosion re-sults in loss of organic carbon, nutrient imbalance, soil compaction and decline in soil biodiversity. Soil pollution leads to contamination with heavy metals and pesticides. According to National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), the annual soil loss rate in India is 15.35 tonnes per ha, resulting in loss of 5.37 to 8.4 million tonnes of nutrients.

A major cause of the problem is over-fertilization and cultivation of rice, a water-guzzling crop. The flooding technique for rice cultivation is common in Punjab, Hary-ana, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. These states are running short on groundwater. Further, the residue of these crops is burnt. This releases toxic gases in the air and also stops carbon sequesteration in the soil, reduc-ing crop yield and requiring greater amount of fertilisers to grow crops for next season. The soil organic matter content in the surface layer should be between 2-3 per cent. Due to heavy tillage, the figure stands at 0.5- 0.2 per cent for soil in Punjab, Har-yana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and in parts of

vision and suPPorT


central and south India. Crop rotation and planting cover crops improves soil carbon and nitrogen content.

Renowned scientist and World Food Prize Winner Dr Ratan Lal de-veloped and promoted the idea that healthy soil must not only have the usual nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The de-pleted carbon must be restored by leaving crop residue. Dr Lal strongly urged that crop residue must not be burnt.

In the last 25 years, GOI made huge investment in managing soil health. Several developmental schemes like Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) have benefitted thousands of field functionaries and farmers through skill development and capacity building. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is successfully running across the length and breadth of the country.

Soil health management, a sub-scheme of NMSA, promotes soil test-based balanced and integrated nutri-ent management. Central Govern-ment, State Governments and NAB-ARD provide support in various forms to strengthen soil health programmes.

In 2015, National Mission on Soil Health Card (SHC) was launched to provide soil test-based fertilizer rec-

ommendations to the farmers. By the end of 2019, the government had dis-tributed 235 million SHCs. The card is issued to a farmer after an analysis of the land. It provides recommenda-tions on dosage of different nutrients needed, and encourages farmers to use fertilisers according to soil defi-ciencies.

Karnataka and some other states are taking steps to improve the soil health of the farms. Karnataka plans to set up soil health centres at local bod-ies (gram panchayats) to help farmers make optimal use of their land. It plans to set up soil health centres in 6,000 local bodies across the state under NMSA.

Technologies like AI can support precision agriculture with localized fertigation and irrigation. AI is being

used to power a sowing app in Andhra Pradesh, resulting in a higher crop yield per hectare. AI algorithms are being used to monitor crop and soil health. AI-based analytics solutions are used to plan events like crop har-vesting, pest control and fertilisation to optimise yields.

Other than better pre sowing and crop management of soil health, we can use seeds with traits that improve soil health. These can be crops that have higher nutrient use efficiency, so that they yield better with low nu-trient uptake, thereby preserving soil. We can have crops that associate with microbes to fix nitrogen in air, and can grow in limited water. Cultivation of crops with shorter vegetative stature and short life cycle that yield better should be preferred over long dura-tion crops. These traits in the seeds can be incorporated by conventional breeding, GMOs or using new breed-ing tools like gene editing.

For better management of soil, skill development, capacity building and training on soil health management are essential with the evolution of new tools and techniques. Use of ICT will increase the analytics and will help in proper management and planning of crop for a longer period.

An unhealthy soil produces un-healthy crops with poor nutritional quality. This ultimately affects the health of the people. Soil health is an important aspect that cannot be ignored. It is essential that farmers adopt practices like no-till farming, use compost and bio-fertiliser, integration of crops with trees and livestock and recycle bio-waste on land. (Federation of Seed Industry of India)


The Agriculture Today Group organized India Seeds Awards 2020 on December 5 to celebrate the achievements of the robust Indian seed sec-

tor and acknowledge the pivotal role it has played in the growth of Indian agriculture.

Agriculture Today Group also award-ed the outstanding performers in diverse areas of activity in the seed sector. The winners for the coveted awards were de-cided by a highly eminent jury headed by Dr. K.V. Prabhu, Chairperson, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights

agrICULTUre TOday grOUP OrganIzeS

IndIa Seed awardS 2020

Authority, GOI. The awards were given away at a glit-

tering virtual function organized by the Agriculture Today Group.

Dr Ashok Dalwai, CEO National

Rainfed Area Authority and Chairman of the Committee on Doubling Farmers Income was the Guest of Honour for the awards function. He commemorated the Agriculture Today Group for instituting India Seeds Awards. Dr Dalwai pointed out that nearly 45 per cent of net culti-vated area in India is covered by certified seeds. Dr Dalwai said that his presented tremendous opportunity of growth to In-dia’s seed sector.

Dr Dalwai added that with India’s di-verse agri-ecology also gave the seed sector immense potential for growth in


india seed aWards 2020

order to have a strong global presence. He highlighted that the new Seed Policy, which is coming up, shall significantly boost the growth of the Indian private sector. He urged the state governments to play a major role in aiding the growth of the seed sector both in public and pri-vate domains and also maintain strict quality control.

Mr Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was the Guest of Hon-our for the awards function. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the develop-ment of sustainable agriculture is a ma-jor part of NMCG. It was very important for the Mission, he said, to develop and promote the right agricultural practices among the farmers who were involved with this project.

Mr Mishra highlighted that protection of bio-diversity and also the wetlands are two important aspects of the mission. It was decided to create an organic farm-ing corridor along the river. He noted that the health of the soil or the water was not good, it would ultimately impact human health.

Dr SK Malhotra, Agriculture Com-missioner, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, also graced the oc-casion with his presence. He said that

ATG Thanks All Jury Members

The Agriculture Today Group is indebted to Dr. K.V. Prabhu, Chairper-son, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, GOI, and other eminent Jury members for ensuring that India Seeds Awards adhered to high standard in choosing the winners.

Mr Ram Kaundinya, Director General, Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and Mr R K Trivedi, Executive Director, National Seed As-sociation of India (NSAI) provided highly valuable support to Agriculture Today Group for organizing India Seed Awards 2020.

various policy initiatives were taken by the Centre during the lockdown period to benefit the seed sector.

Dr Malhotra said that the Seed Certi-fication Manual would be published soon so that there was uniformity in this pro-cess across the country. He urged the seed industry to support government agendas like boosting the production of millets, pulses and oilseeds through the production of quality seeds. Dr Malhotra revealed that following the initiative taken by GOI, 2023 will be celebrated as the International Year of Millets.

Speaking at the awards function, Mr Karumanchi Prasad, Chairman & Managing Director, Prasad Seeds Pvt Ltd commemorated the Agriculture To-day Group for instituting the India Seeds Awards. Mr Prasad said that he had started his career in the agriculture sec-tor as a grower. Now his company had vast domestic and multi-national opera-tions, and there was still great potential for growth in the sector.

Dr MJ Khan, Chairman of Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) said that India has a robust seed industry. He said that the industry ably meets the

farmers’ needs for quality and low cost seeds. Dr Khan said that India has tre-mendous advantage in the seed sector. It was time for the Indian seed industry to broaden its focus by serving the farmers globally. Dr Khan stated that the Indian Seed Trade Board would be formed to support and enable our seed industry to meet the needs of the global market.

Ms Mamta Jain, CEO and Editor of the Agriculture Today Group, delivered the introductory address at the awards function. Ms Jain thanked the eminent members of the Jury for their generous and whole-hearted support to the Agri-culture Today Group in organizing the first edition of India Seed Awards.


The Agriculture Today Group gratefully acknowledges the generous and highly valued support of Dr RC Agrawal and Dr Narendra Kumar Dadlani in organising India Seed

Awards 2020.

Dr Agrawal, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Education), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi and Dr Dadlani, Adviser, Indian Chamber of

Food and Agriculture, and a horticulture expert provided invaluable assistance in short-listing the winners for India Seeds Awards.

Dr Agrawal and Dr Dadlani painstakingly scrutinized all applications which were

received for India Seeds Awards. The Agriculture Today Group is highly grateful for their professional assistance and support.

Our Humble Gratitude




JURY - INDIA SEED AWARDS 2020JURY CHAIR CO-CHAIR

DR KV PRABHUCHAIRMAN, PPV & FRA

DR NEELAM PATELSENIOR ADVISER (AGRICULTURE)

NITI AYOG

DR DK YADAVADG - SEEDS, ICAR

MR RAM KAUNDINYADIRECTOR GENERAL, FSII

DR ANAND KUMAR SINGHDDG-HORTICULTURE, ICAR

MR ASHWANI KUMARJS, SEEDS, GOI

MR RK TRIVEDIEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NSAI

DR TILAK RAJ SHARMADDG-CROP SCIENCE, ICAR

DR KULDEEP SINGHDIRECTOR, NBPGR

DR MALAVIKA DADLANIJOINT DIRECTOR (RES) IARI

DR VK GAURCHAIRMAN, NSC




Telangana State Seed CertificationAuthority

Kaveri Seed Company Limited, directly and through Kaveri Bhaskar Rao Charitable Foundation (CSR) Trust is actively involved in upliftment of the rural poor. Kaveri Seeds adopted Gatla Narsingapur, a village in Telangana state and conducted several programs here for rural welfare. From January 1, 2018, Kaveri Seeds has spent Rs 1436.75 lakhs for its various CSR activities. Kaveri Seeds built a school at Gatla Narsingapur village, equipped with all modern facilities. The company undertook the digging of borewells at Gatla Narsingapur. With this, crop yield substantially improved and farmers benefitted immensely. The company has provided safe drinking water, carpeted roads, community halls, street lights etc in the village.

Telangana State Seed Certification Authority has emerged as a model seed certification authority in the country. It has introduced several transformative policy changes in the field of seed certification. TSSCA takes up certification of 18 to 20 lakh quintals of seed annually and facilitates seed supply to 10-12 neighbouring states.

For the first time in the country, TSSCA implemented complete online seed certification process and adopted modern IT technologies. These include digitisation of offices (e-office), seed traceability through QR coding and geo-tagging of field inspections. These initiatives ensure transparency, accountability and speedy services to the seed industry and also ensure quality in seed supply system.

Kaveri seeds company limited

Best csr initiative

Best seeD certification agency



uttar Pradesh

Best state in seeD suPPly Planning

The Department of Agriculture, Uttar Pradesh, has prepared an advance plan of seed supply in the state, known as Seed Rolling Plan. This includes the target of annual seed replacement rate for every crop and seed requirement to distribute among farmers in the state. It also includes the plan for seed production at the department’s agriculture farm and the farm of other agencies authorized by the state government. This plan is prepared for five years. On the basis of this plan, the department prepares every season’s seed distribution plan. The Department has a strong network of seed producing agencies and seed distribution agencies.

Kaveri seeds company

Kaveri continues to pursue excellence across its operations backed by strong R&D, a robust supply chain and state of the art seed processing infrastructure facilities. The company has 7 mega seed processing plants with 17 processing machines with capacity of more than 125 TPH at all strategic locations. It has more than 10 lakh SFT of warehouse facility for storing 75,000 MT of seed and four cold storage units with capacity of more than 15,000 MT. The company has 6 sophisticated maize crop drying units with capacity of more than 4500 MT per cycle. The company introduced the environmentally safe and pollution free cotton delinting plant with 2.2 TPH capacity.

excellence in seeD infrastructure – Processing



incotec india

With 17 cold storages across Hyderabad and Aurangabad and total capacity of 11.8 million cubic feet, Gubba plated its place in the prestigious Limca Book Of Records in 2014 as the ‘Biggest Cold Storage in the country’. Gubba is the first to develop a dehumidified cold storage in India and to introduce world-class racking system to preserve seeds. Gubba has developed a completely mechanized cold storage plant with the use of pallet trucks, EOT cranes and jumbo bags that can store up to 2 tons of seed in a single bag. Gubba Germplasm Bank is one of the finest innovations of the Indian seed Industry in the private sector.

INCOTEC is a leading seed enhancement global player with its headquarters at The Netherlands. INCOTEC India has been active since 1998 with clear focus on improving the quality of seeds with the help of unique seven seed enhancement technologies like Seed Upgrading, Seed Priming, Seed Hygiene, Seed Coating, Encrusting & Pelleting, Application of Actives & Additives and Analytical Services. The seed technologies of INCOTEC can give growers of India a greater tool to improve the profitability and yield of many different crops. It also enables farmers to use less plant protection products, less fertilizers and less water in the most sustainable way.

Gubba Cold Storage

Best seeD infrastructure – storage

researcH, innovation & tecH DeveloPMent



Dr.umarani ranganathanProfessor (Seed Science and Technology)Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore

researcH, innovation anD tecHnology DeveloPMent aWarD (PuBlic sector)

Dr. Umarani Ranganathan has been a forerunner in developing novel technologies in the field of seed science and technology, focussing on seed quality enhancement through priming, pelleting, coating and other similar interventions. She has done extensive work to develop an indigenous, cost-effect composition of seed pelleting mixture. She has also developed a step-wise, crop specific protocol for pelleting of seeds, besides developing an indigenous seed pelleting prototype.

She has made invaluable contribution in the field of seed enhancement by developing new seed coating polymer formulation and the crop specific coating protocol for improving the seed germination percentage, root system architecture, plant growth and crop yield.

Acsen HyVeg

Acsen HyVeg deals in almost all cultivated species of vegetable seed comprises of 280 plus cultivars of 35 crops. The total volume handled by Acsen HyVeg is more than 2000 MT. The brand “HyVeg” is known for high genetic and physiological quality. The company has well-equipped Seed Testing facilities at Gurgaon and Bangalore for assuring all quality parameters. Its labs are conferred with membership of ISTA since 2010. The company has completed all norms and cleared all proficiency tests to qualify for ISTA accreditation. The company has also developed in-house stringent parameters and protocols for checking physical and physiological quality to provide best quality seed to the growers.

Best seeD testing laBoratory – Private sector (vegetaBles)



Maharashtra state seedscorporation limited

Nuziveedu Seeds Limited (NSL) has been ensuring consistent delivery of quality seeds every season for more than 4 decades to millions of farmers across 22 states of the country. On an average 1.5 to 2 lakh samples are tested every year. Service levels are defined for each of the tests which are tracked for compliance.The Biotechnology Department of NSL acts as a strong enabler to the Quality assurance system. It has been involved in various supporting measures including (i) Molecular marker based analysis of genetic purity, (ii) Gene purity assessment for Bt Cotton seeds and (iii) Development and standardization of markers for hybridity testing, varietal testing and genetic purity testing.

Akola is one of the leading State Seed Corporations in India, popularly known as MAHABEEJ. It is serving farmers since the last four decades with glorious achievements like 16 National Productivity Awards and a Skotch Award. MAHABEEJ provides the best quality seeds to farmers at reasonable rates and in time. On an average, 52,000 seed samples are tested annually at Akola for various parameters. This is only possible because state of art infrastructure, testing as per Indian Minimum Seed Certification Standards and following standard practices & protocols including ISTA.

Nuziveeedu Seeds

Best seeD testing laB – Private (fielD croPs)

Best seeD testing laBoratory in PuBlic sector



Bayer crop science

farMers cHoice aWarD

Bayer Crop Science division works with nearly 2 crore smallholder farmers in India. Bayer has seven manufacturing sites, four R&D centers and 11 call centers to cater to the evolving needs of Indian agriculture.

As a market leader in the Indian crop protection industry and with businesses in seeds, traits, biologicals, digital farming and environmental science, Bayer is committed to building a resilient agricultural system that helps Indian smallholder farmers generate sustainable farm incomes, promote rural entrepreneurship and improve rural livelihoods.

Farmers in India trust the Bayer brand because of its innovative products, technologies and ‘seed to harvest’ solutions.

With its business models such as Better Life Farming and Food Chain Partnerships, Bayer is contributing towards production of high-quality food, feed and fibre, in line with the company’s global vision of ‘Health for all, Hunger for none’.



lifetiMe acHieveMent aWarD – PuBlic sector

Dr SK Rao is a renowned educationist and researcher. He has wide experience in agricultural education and research management with expertise in crop improvement, seed systems management, commercial research farm management and agribusiness incubation. Dr Rao is a versatile professional with proven history of development of 20 varieties of various crops. He has developed seed production and supply systems in tribal areas to improve the availability of quality seeds, and enhance the livelihood of tribal farmers. Dr Rao also developed infrastructure for maintenance breeding diversified nucleus and breeder production systems.

dr sK rAoVice-Chancellor, RVSKU, Gwalior



lifetiMe acHieveMent aWarD – Private sector

Dr. M.Ramasami is the Chairman of the largest Bio-Agri company – Rasi Seeds (P) Ltd. Dr. Ramasami’s passion for Science and Research tempted him to attract Dr.R. Krishnamoorthy, a renowned and reputed cotton breeder to his fold. This laid the strong foundation for R & D during 1988. Having excelled in the research and development in Cotton seeds, it went on to expand into multi-crop, multi location quality research that has proved to be beneficial for the farming community. Dr Ramasami has established world class R&D facility to deliver high yielding Hybrids like RCH 2 that changed the productivity benchmark in the country.

dr m ramasamiRASI Seeds



Dr Keshavulu has vast experience in the research, administration and the seed sector. Currently, he is leading the Telangana State Seed Organisations, and providing strategic and scientific vision. Dr Keshavulu has introduced several policy reforms in the seed sector at the state and national level. This has resulted in exemplary growth in the areas of seed production, quality control, marketing and cooperation with international organisations. Under the leadership of Dr Keshavulu, the Telangana State Seed Organisations have emerged as a model in the country, and have supplied quality seeds to more than 10 states in India.

Policy leaDersHiP aWarD fortHe seeDs sector-2020

Dr Keshavulu KunusothManaging Director, Telangana State Seed Organisations &

Vice-President, ISTA, Switzerland



Dr Rao has contributed substantially towards the growth of the seeds sector of India. Under his leadership, Nuziveedu Seeds developed Cotton hybrids Bunny and Mallika, and many leading hybrids in Rice, Corn and Vegetables which are highly popular amongst farmers. About half the cotton produced in India will have genetics of lines developed by him. Dr Rao has played a pivotal role in introducing good agricultural practices among farmers. Under his leadership, Nuziveedu Seeds promoted direct sowing in rice as part of its CSR activity, benefitting farmers in reducing water requirement and increasing profitability in the Krishna river delta region.

inDustry leaDersHiP aWarD fortHe seeDs sector-2020

Dr Mandava Prabhakar RaoPresident, National Seed Association of India, and Chairman

and Managing Director, Nuziveedu Seeds Limited.


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