DATE:11.11.2014

NRCBshowsthewayforbananafarmers

TheNationalResearchCentreforBanana(NRCB),Trichy,oneofthe India’s premiere research institutes in the field of agriculture,has trained farmers belonging to Krishna district in pre and postharvestingtechnologiesinbananacultivationandprocessing.AgroupoftwentyfarmersactivelyinvolvedinbananacultivationinThotlavalluru mandal was groomed in value added products ofbanana by the scientists last week. Inspired by a strong localbanana marketing system owned and being run by the Krishnadistrict farmers, the National Bank for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment has ensured them the ‘scientific training cumexposure visit’ under it’s Capacity Building for Adoption ofTechnologyProgramme.NRCB Principal Scientist Dr. Kumar had shared his scientificexperience with the farmers, enabling them exposure to existingtechnologies meant for seed selection and post harvestingmethods. “Scientists mainly focused on soil management, cropmaintenanceand identificationofdisease.Theyalsoadvised thefarmers topreferdrip irrigationsystemwith fatigation tanks,”saidNetham(NGO)DirectorSureshVesamwholedthefarmers.On the other hand, another scientist Dr. Siva had displayedpreparation methods of value added products developed frombanana – banana fibre, drink, chips, wine and jam. The farmerswere told the export potential of the selected value addedproducts. The training included visit to various banana units inTrichydistrictofTamilNadu.The success story of Solar Dryad Banana Unit in Trichy, a pilotprojectencouragedbyaGermanBank--KFW,helpedtheKrishnafarmers to explore areas in banana cultivation and marketing toregistergrowthintheirincome.ThefarmersalsolearnthowTamilNadu farmers tapped the overseas market for banana and itsvalueaddedproducts,which isbeingexported toPhilippinesandotherEuropeancountries.

NABARD,OrigopacttobenefitfarmersBridgeloantohelpavoiddistresssaleoffarmproduce.InAndhraPradesh, theschemewill beextended to thedistrictsofKrishna,Kurnool,GunturbesidesEastandWestGodavariintheupcomingharvestseason.The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD)andOrigoCommoditieshaveforgedamemorandumofunderstanding that will help farmers in Andhra Pradesh andTelanganaStateavailthemselvesofabridgeloanagainsttheagriproduceandtherebyavoiddistresssale.

A press release on Monday said the farmers could pledge theproduce under negotiable warehousing receipt financing. Itinvolvesdepositingtheharvestedcropatawarehouse,closesttohis farm, and get financing from banks up to 75 per cent of thecommodity’s value. “This scheme enables the farmers obtain abridge loan at low interest rates thereby avoiding distress sale…selltheproducewhenthepriceisright,”thereleasesaid.

TheMoUwillenablefarmersusethewarehousinginfrastructureofPrimary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) and also the100pluswarehousesmanagedbyOrigoCommoditiesacrossthetwoStates.nAndhraPradesh,theschemewillbeextendedtothedistricts of Krishna, Kurnool, Guntur besides East and WestGodavari in the upcoming harvest season. According to therelease, a similar initiative last year, small andmarginal farmerswereabletorealise20to30percenthigherpriceinTelangana.

NABARDchiefgeneralmanager(AndhraPradeshandTelanganaregional office) Jiji Mammen said the initiative also focuses onWarehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA)accreditation tohelp farmersgetpostharvest loansatsevenpercentwithinterestsubvention.

OrigoCommoditiesdirectorSunoorKaulsaidthecompanywouldputallefforts to facilitate the requisite infrastructure,pertaining topost-harvest in rural areas, to benefit the farmers and transformthesupplychains.

Budget high on ambition, low onallocations:TDPTheRs.1 lakh-crore budget of Telangana State offered preciouslittle to implement its ambitious programmes -- be it revival ofagriculture,overcomingpowercrisisoraddressingacute regionalimbalances in the State, said Telugu Desam MLC PotlaNageswaraRaohereonMonday.Participating in the budget discussion in the Legislative Council,Mr.NageswaraRaoexposedthechinks in theTelanganaState’smaiden budget and said some of its programmes like HarithaHaram for improving forest cover and distribution of three acreagriculturallandtodalitsweremutuallycontradictory.The budget was silent on how and from where the governmentwould procure land for distributing to dalit farmers. The averagelandholding decreased from 1.3 hectares in 2005-06 to 1.1hectaresin2010-11and68percentoffarmersinTelanganaweremarginal farmers. Could one increase landholding overnight likebudget,hewondered.Mr. Nageswara Rao said the budget failed to spell out concretemeasures to strengthen the agriculture sector with over 55 percentofpeopledependingonitbutonlycontributing14percenttoGSDP.WideninggapDeploringthatthebudgetproposalshavenothingtobridgethegapbetweenthedemandandsupplyofenergy,hesaidwhiledemandwasincreasingby11to14percentayear--700MW,therewasno allocation to proportionately increase generation. The keyirrigation, health and Road and Building sectors ended up withmeagreallocations,hesaid.

Dr.K.Nageshwar(PDF)expressedapprehensionsthatwitha17percentoffiscaldeficit,impositionoftaxes,moreborrowingsandcut on welfare programmes could become inevitable. The crisis-riddenpowersectorgotonlytwopercentofbudgetallocations.While the burden on power subsidies was Rs. 6,300 crore, therevenue shortfall was about Rs. 3,200 crore and by 2015-16,power subsidy billwould be aroundRs. 10,000 crore and powertariffincreasewouldbeanotherchallenge.Barring Rs. 5,000 crore for loan waiver, the allocation for theagriculturesectorwaslessthanthatof inthecombinedState,hesaid. On land to dalit farmers, he said no proper exercise wasdoneon that.Therewere three lakhdalit farmersandnine to10lakh acres were required. The government would require Rs.50,000 crore to purchase land and with allocation of Rs.1,000crore, it would become a 50-year project. The KG to PGprogramme too had no funds and how could Telangana betransformed without education and skill development. Thegovernmentshouldponderonthis,Dr.Nageshwarsaid.Owners of mechanised harvesters makehayinErode110machinestobeusedforharvestofKuruvaicrop

INEVITABLE:Machinesarebeing transported toGobichettipalayam inErodefor mechanised harvesting of paddy crops, due to manpower shortage.-PHOTO:M.GOVARTHAN

Start of harvest season in Gobichettipalayam and T.N. Palayamblock has heralded a busy schedule ahead for owners ofmechanisedharvesters.Nearly 110machineswould be used for harvest of Kuruvai cropcovering about 5,600 hectares in the two blocks, according toofficial sources. Unlike manual harvesting that warrants 15 mandays inanacre,mechanisedharvestercompletesthetask in justan hour, resulting in enormous time saving. But, it is quiteexpensiveasthechargeshoveraroundRs.3,500peracre,anditgoesupwhenthedemandrises.Nevertheless, farmers relyheavilyon themechanisedharvesterssincethestrawdoesnotgowasteandcouldbeutilisedasfodder.There are only a few mechanised harvesting machines in thedistrict,andtherestarebroughtfromotherdistricts.Themachinesaretransportedtotheharvestingspotsonlorries.With agricultural labourers becoming scarce, dependence onmechanisedharvesters is bound to grow further in future, officialsourcessaid.

Divert surpluswater fromMetturDam to f i l l lakes,ponds:committeePetitionsubmittedtoDistrictCollectorDemandingthatthesurpluswaterreleasedeveryyearfromMetturDambediverted to fill lakesandponds in thedistrict,more than350 members of Cauvery Surplus Water Action Committeeobservedday-longfastneartheCollectoratehereonMonday.Led by its president M. Rajarathinam, secretary M. Velan andcoordinator R. Thambaiyah, members said that surplus waterreleased through 16-vent Ellis Saddle surplus channel flow onlyintotheseaanddoesnotbenefitanyone.

“Wehave been fighting for 40 years to divert thewater towaterbodies so that it could be used for agricultural activities,” theyadded.Members said that if the Thoppaiyar water pumping scheme isimplemented, Rivers Cauvery – Sarabanga – Thirumanimutharuand Vashista can be interlinked. They also demandedimplementationofThanadiyur–Moolakaduwaterscheme.MemberssaidthatCauverywatercanbepumpedfromMetturandtakenthroughKonurandKunjandiyurtoreachMecherisoastofillwaterbodies.Iftheseprojectswereimplemented,waterbodiesinthe district would receive water, improves groundwater level,besideshelpingagriculturists.Vil lages“Many villages had submerged during the construction of MetturDam. But, it is painful to see surplus water flowing into the seawithoutbenefittinganyone,”theyadded.Memberssaidthatthecommitteewasformedtwoyearsagowiththesoleobjectiveofutilising thesurpluswater tobenefit farmersandhence,theywouldresorttoprotestuntilthegoalisreached.Later,theysubmittedapetitiontoCollectorK.Maharabushanam.Petit ionsubmitted toSalem DistrictCollector

“Community participation can endencroachmentofwaterbodies”In what could be termed watershed thinking, farmers in theCauverydeltadistrictsofThanjavurandTiruvarurareyearningforthe revival of the long-forgotten concept ofkudimaramathuorcommunity participation inperiodic renovationandupkeepof thewaterbodies and irrigation channels in their village for their ownbenefit.

This comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’srecent stress on do-it-yourself mode rather than depend ongovernmentforallworks.Improper dredging, courtesy political interference and officialapathy,coupledwithmismanagementofthewaterbodiesallowingscopeforencroachmentshaveleftthefarmingcommunityfedup.Theoriginal kudimaramathu conceptwas simple –all communitymembers join in the repair and renovation of irrigation sourceseveryyearsothatthevillagebenefitsasawhole.But theso-called landreformsputpaidtothatconceptwithsmallandmarginalfarmerslosinginterestwhilebigfarmershadnosayin theprogramme, leading to itseffectivedemise,opinesgeneralsecretary of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers WelfareAssociationMannargudiS.Ranganathan.There was a brief attempt during the early 1990s to turn thingsaroundbutthemomentumcouldnotbesustained.Therecentshabbydredgingoffieldchannelsandthesubsequentloss to farmers has made us think again of kudimaramathuwherein beneficiary farmers would not be cheated, Mr.Ranganathansaid.Thefreebiesculturehasdevouredthemindsofthefarmersandthatmustbereversed,headds.The renovationof irrigation channelsandwater sourcesmustbeentrusted to the respective panchayats and the villagers so thatmalpracticesarepreventedand thatwouldbebetterachievedbyembracing kudimaramathu, said secretary, Thanjavur DistrictCauvery Farmers Protection Sangam Swamimalai Vimalnathan.WelcomingthePrimeMinister'sstressonthedo-it-yourselfmode,Mr.Vimalanathansaid that itwassad farmerswerenotwilling todotheirbitfortheirowncause,hesaid.

People’s participation could effectively end encroachments thathad eaten up the waterbodies. It was the responsibility of everyfarmer toprotecthis livelihoodsourcesuchas irrigationchannelsthrough personal contribution by way of kudimaramathu, Mr.Vimalanathansaid.The amount spent on implementing Mahatma Gandhi NationalRuralEmploymentGuaranteeSchemecouldhavebeengainfullyutilisedhadkudimaramathubeenadoptedbeforehand,hesays.Theirviewsareechoedbythedistrictvice-presidentoftheAllIndiaAgricultural Workers' Sangam V.Jeevakumar, who said thatawarenessmustbecreatedamongthefarmingcommunityontheneedforwholesomepeople'sparticipationinrepairandrenovationofwaterbodiestopreventmalpracticesbypoliticiansandofficials.

Farmersworriedoverfal l inarecanutpricesPriceof‘hosarashi’varietyhascomedowntoRs.350akg

The proposal before the State government to impose a ban onproductionandsaleofsmokelesschewingtobaccohastriggeredaslumpinthepriceofarecanutinthelastoneweek.Thepriceofhosarashivarietyofarecanut,whichwasRs.350akgonNovember3,hascomedowntoRs.230now.Owingtoagap

betweenthedemandandsupply,thepriceofarecanuthadrisentoRs. 830 a kg inMay this year. The gapwas owing to a seriousdeclineintheyieldscausedbythefruitrotdisease,alsoknownaskoleroga.Withtheentryof freshproduceintothemarket inSeptemberthisyear,thepricesstartedcomingdowndrastically.Bythefirstweekof October, the price of arecanut had stabilised and the tradersbought the produce at the Shivamogga Agriculture ProduceMarketingCommittee(APMC)atRs.350akg.D.M.Shankarappa,arecanutmerchantattheAPMChere,toldTheHinduthatarecanutpricesweresensitivetopolicydecisionsofthegovernment.Alongwith hosarashi variety, the prices of saraku, bette and apivarietieshadalsocomedownby30percentto35percentfallinthelastoneweekowingtothereportsofabanbeingimposedonsaleofsmokelesschewingtobaccoinKarnataka,hesaid.The thenUnionMinister forHealthHarshVardhanhadwritten toall theStates toenforceabanonchewing tobacco.According tosources,actingonhisletter,theDepartmentofHealthandFamilyWelfarehadpreparedaCabinetnoteseekingapprovalforthebanonthesaleofloosecigarettesandsmokelesschewingtobaccoinKarnataka.TheissueislikelytobediscussedinthenextmeetingoftheStateCabinet. As a major chunk of the arecanut is consumed withtobacco, the arecanut merchants and farmers are apprehensivethat the ban on production of smokeless and chewing tobaccomightbringdownthedemandforarecanutaswell.K.T.Gangadhar,workingpresidentoftheKarnatakaRajyaRaithaSangha, said that every year during harvest season, the large-scalearecanut traderscreateapanicamong farmersoverpolicyissues related to the produce. Earlier too, rumours of a possible

bangutkhaand the letterwrittenby theUnionMinistryofHealthand Family Welfare to Food Standards and Safety Authority ofIndia to examine scientific evidences on harmful effects ofconsumingarecanut,hadtriggeredfluctuationsinthemarket.However,thepricesstartedrecoveringlateron.Astheproposaltobanchewingarecanuthascreatedapprehensionamongarecanutgrowersand themerchants, itwasup to thegovernment tocleartheseconfusionsandprotecttheinterestsofarecanutgrowers,hesaid.According to traders, prices of saraku, bette and apivarietieshavealsocomedownbynearly35percent

RainsraisehopesofgoodharvestThe good rains have raised the hope of increased agriculturalproductivity in Tuticorin district this year. The early onset ofNortheastMonsoon,whichaccountedforamajorshareofannualrainfallinthedistrict,hasturnedouttobeapromiseforfarmers.Pulses andmillets were the principal rainfed crops cultivated bymanyfarmers.TheseasonalshowersnearlydoubledtheaverageOctoberrainfallof150.7mmto294.6mmthisyear,JointDirectorof Agriculture N.K. Dhakshinamoorthy toldThe Hinduhere onSunday.Anticipatingrains,farmershadfirstsownmaize,blackgram,greengram and ‘cholam’, and they had sown ‘cumbu’ later, he said.While Kovilpatti, Pudur and Kayathar blocks experienced earlyshowers, Vilathikulam, Ottapidaram, Pudukottai and Karungulamblocksreceivedlateshowers.

Areaundermaizecultivationhaddwindledthisyearduetoerraticrainfallover the last twoyears.Thedistrictexperienceda rainfalldeficitof42percentlastyear.Normally,40,000hectareswouldbecoveredundermaizecultivation,butthisyearithadcomedowntoaround25,000ha.Tooffset the shrinkingmaize cultivationarea,many farmershadswitchedovertopulsesandcotton,whichwasoftenreferredtoas‘white gold’. Cotton cultivation was expected to cover 7,000 hafrom 5,000 ha at present. Cotton crop grew well in Kovilpatti,Kayathar, Pudur and in some parts of Vilathikulam andOttapidaramblocks.The total cultivation area of pulses was around 70,000 ha andmillets 60,000 ha. With a good storage of rainwater, paddyplantationwouldpickup in thepishanamseason in themiddleofNovember.Waterwould be drawn from53PWD tanks. Farmerswouldbeengagedintransplantingpaddyshootsgrowninnurserybeds inpaddyfieldsmostly inSrivaikuntam,AlwarthirunagariandKarungulamblocks.Paddywasexpected tobe raisedon17,500ha,headded.FirstconsignmentofureaarrivesTwomoregoodstrainstobeunloadedshortly;ureastockpositioncomfortable

RELIEFFORFARMERS:UreabeingunloadedatTirunelveli railway junctiononMonday.—Photo:A.SHAIKMOHIDEEN

Muchtothereliefoffarmers,thefirstconsignmentofureaarrivedatTirunelvelirailwayjunctiononMondayafternoon.Thefarmerswerefeelingtheheatofureashortagewhilegearingup for the ‘pisanam’ paddy cultivation. They had complained toCollectorM.Karunakaranaboutsaleoffertilizersatinflatedprices.Since the farmers in the district have raised paddy on 62,000hectares, pulses on 18,000 hectares, millets on 7,600 hectares,cotton on 5,000 hectares and sugarcane on 1,900 hectares, therequirementofureaforNovemberstandsat10,300tonnes.After the goods train with 2,800 tonnes of urea of RashtriyaChemicalsandFertilizersLimited(RCFL)arrived,Dr.Karunakaranordered that the chemical nutrient be sent to all 163 PrimaryAgriculture Cooperative Banks (PACBs) in the district wherefarmerscanbuya50-kgbagforRs.270.“As the total consignment is to be shared among Kanyakumari,Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Virudhunagar and Sivaganga districts, ourdistrictwillgetover900tonnes,”saidJointDirectorofAgricultureC.Chandrasekaran.Even as unloading of the RCFL urea started around 5.15 p.m.,another 1,350 tonnes of urea from Indian Potash Limited (IPL)arrivedatVanchiManiyachijunction.ThisconsignmentislikelytobeunloadedinTirunelvelionTuesday.“Moreover, another 2,500 tonnes of urea from Krishak BhartiCooperatives Limited (KRIBHCO)will arrive here on Friday. Thefarmers can expect to have a comfortable stock of urea in thePACBs,”saidDeputyDirectorofAgricultureGajendraPandian.Dr. Karunakaran haswarned private stockists against selling theurea at inflated prices.“Farmers should get the receipt with theirnameandaddressforeachsale.Ifastockistsellsthefertilizerataninflatedprice,hewill losehislicence,andpunitivelegalactionwillbetakenagainsthim,”theCollectorsaid.

Meanwhile, a stockist from Sivaganga, who contacted thiscorrespondentoverphone,saidCollectorsofotherdistrictsshouldfollow thestrategyofDr.Karunakaran. “Sinceunloading isgoingon at Tirunelveli, clearing charges of Rs. 7 per bag andtransportation cost of Rs. 25 per bag will cause an additionalburdentothefarmers.IftheCollectorsofotherdistrictsfollowDr.Karunakaran’s strategy of bringing the fertilizer directly to thedistrictconcerned, theadditionalexpenditurecanbeavoided,”hesaid.

Farmers t ieupwithState toprovide fox tai l mil letseeds‘Kudiraivaali’productionturnsprofitableinVedasandurForthefirsttime,farmers,whoraiseonlysmallgrainsintherain-fed areas of Vedasandur block in the district, have gone to thelevelofhavingatie-upwiththeStategovernmenttosupplysmallgrainseeds.Their efforts and team work have made ‘kudirai vaali’ (fox tailmillet) production a profitable business. To strengthen bondwiththegovernment,20farmersatThoppupattihaveformedacluster,namedSmallMilletGrowersAssociation, toexpand ‘kudiraivaali’cultivationareato50acres.“Insteadofsellingthegainsinopenmarket,wesellthemasseedsto the government,” they said. “The cluster procures seeds atRs.50 a kg. We pack grains in two kg and five kg bags fordistributiontofarmersinotherpartsoftheStatebecausetwokgofgrainsarerequiredtogrowfoxtailmilletinoneacreandfivekgforonehectare,”saysassociationpresidentS.Appavu.Atpresent, theproductiondoesnotmeet therisingdemand.“Wehaveplanstoropeinmorefarmerstoexpandcultivationarea,”headds.

“We have gained experience in supplying quality seed grains toTamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore which, in turn,distributedthemto506farmersinWesternregion.Now,ourvillagehas become a major seed production centre for ‘kudirai vaali’,”farmers say. (The cluster had harvested 1,250 kg of seeds lastyearandsoldthemtotheTNAU.)“Earlier, as individual farmers,we raiseddifferent crops in small-scaleandthemarginwasverylow.Thisjointventurescaleddownexpenditure and enhanced profit,” says R. Kamaraj, anotherfarmer.Thisdrought-tolerant crop requires lesswaterandgrowseven inhardterrain.Twospellsofrainfallswillsufficefor90-day-oldcrop.Plant protectionmeasures are almost nil and pest attack is veryless,saysAssistantDirectorAgricultureP.Suriliappan.Besides buy-back arrangement, Agriculture Department offeredseedsandinputsfreelyandarevolvingfundofRs.20,000tomeetexpenses,saysDeputyDirectorforAgricultureM.Thangasamy.‘Kudirai vaali’ is used as fodder for cattle and seed for humanconsumption.It isrichinfibre,protein,minerals,phosphorous,calciumandironwith less carbohydrate, says Joint Director for Agriculture N.SampathKumar.

Sugarcaneryotsfaceproblemofplenty

Sugarcanefield.

Surplus production set to dictate the remunerative price, thefarmersopineManya timeexcessproduction, insteadofprovingadvantageousto the farmers, works against their interests. Earlier, the glut intomato production forced the farmers to unload their product ontheroadsinprotestagainstthelowmarketprice.Andthistimethesugarcanefarmersarelikelytofacesimilarsituationthoughnotofthatscale.ThesugarcanecrushingseasonwillbeginatMagiandKamareddyinNizamabaddistrictandaboutadozenvillagesinMedaklocatedatNarayanakhedwillsupplycaneto thesefactories.Farmersareanxious about the price their product would fetch as they arehopingtogetatleastwhattheywerepaidlastyear.Thedecreasing‘gateprice’(thepriceofsugarthatwouldbesoldby the factorymanagementswithin thepremises todealers)’hasbecomeaseriouscauseforconcerntothefarmers.ThepricefelldowntoRs.2,750perquintalfromRs.3,300inthepast.Surplusproductionofsugaracross thenationby the factorieswasstatedtobethereasonforthis.

Accordingtosources,thecurrentproductionis2.35lakhtonnesofsugar while the nation required only 2.20 lakh and there was asurplusproductionof15lakhtonnes.Thishasbecomeanobstacleforthefarmersinsecuringaremunerativeprice.“WedonotknowhowtoapproacheventheCollectorforabetterprice.Weareworriedaboutwhetherwewouldgetthesamepricethat was offered to us by themanagements in the past. This isverypertinentasthesituationisnotinfavourofthefarmers,”saidNagi Reddy, a farmer from Medak. He attributed these fears tosurplusproductionasitmayleadtolowerprice.In Medak district sugarcane was cultivated in about 22,000hectaresandyieldofsugarcanewasexpected to touchabout12lakh tonnes. While admitting that there was surplus productionacrossthenation,AssistantCaneCommissionerCh.VenkataRaviwasconfident that farmerswouldget theprice theywereofferedlastyear.Bittersweetdreams*SugarcanecrushingseasonwillbeginatMagiandKamareddyinNizamabaddistrictshortly*More than a dozen villages located at Narayanakhed supplysugarcanetothesefactories*Thedecreasing‘gateprice’becomesaseriouscauseforconcerntothefarmers*Excess production set to play the spoilsport in securingremunerativeprice*Sugarcaneiscultivatedinabout22,000hectaresinMedakdistrictandtheyieldmaytouch12lakhtonnes*Farmershopetogetatleastthepricethatprevailedlastyearandanythinglessthanthatwillspelltroubleforthem.

Farmers seek long-term scheme for waterstorageNeedformodernisationofchannelsstressedFarmershavecalledforalong-termschemeforstorageofrun-offwater from Krishnagiri Reservoir into the intervening lakes ofPenukondaapuramhereinMathur.The run-off from Krishnagiri Reservoir has not been tapped intoduring timesof floodalert, evenas thereare critical lakes in thearea, say farmers of Mathur networked under thePenukondaapuramPaasanadhararSangam.Watershedareashit According to K.M. Soundarajan, Paasana Vivasayigal Sangam,Mathur,theerstwhilepracticeoffillingupLakePenukondaapuramwith the run-off water from Krishnagiri Reservoir has beendropped,affectingthewatershedareasofLakePenukodaapuram.“We are issued flood alert warning ahead of heavy rainfall, butthere has been no scheme to harvest the run-off water fromKrishnagiriReservoir.”AlleginglaxityonthepartofthePublicWorksDepartmentforthepoormaintenanceofthechannels,farmerscalledforallocationoffunds for tapping run-off water. According to the farmers here,LakePenukondaapuramalongwithall intervening lakesbetweenKrishnagiri Reservoir andPaambaruDamwere filled to the brimwiththerun-offsincethe90s.“The water from Penukondaapuram Lake was later released toPaambaruDam,andtheLakesofMalayandahalli,Thippanur,andAthipallam. But since 2009, Penukondaapuram has not beenfilled,”allegesMr.Soundarajan.

Paambaru Dam with a 240 million litre capacity should beallocatedwithfundsfor itsmaintenanceandtheinterveninglakesfrom Krishnagiri Dam should be brought under an exclusivemaintenancescheme,sayfarmers.Unless a scheme is designed for modernisation of the PWDchannels,watercannotbesaved,saysMr.Soundarajan.Demanding that the intervening lakes be brought under the‘system’ ofmaintenance similar to that of themain reservoir andanannualallocationbemade,farmersheresayharvestingofrun-offwaterwouldbailofftheircropsduringperiodsofdrought.Thelakeshereformacriticalsourceofirrigationdirectlyfor10,000acresandasgroundwater replenishment forabout25,000acres,forpaddy,ragi,andotherhorticulturalcrops,includingmangoandplantain.Similarly,PaambaruDamprovidedcritical irrigationforsugarcaneinitswatershed.Inabidtocallattentiontotheirdemand,farmersofMathurstagedaone-daytokenhugerstrikeonMonday.

Decisionon issuinggun l icences to farmerssoonEffortstodealwithhuman-animalconflictTheStategovernment isactivelyconsideringaproposal to issuegun licences to farmers in areas near forests for self and cropprotection,ForestMinisterThiruvanchoorRadhakrishnanhassaid.Therehadbeenreportsofincreasedhuman-animalconflictinsuchareas.Thishadprompted thegovernment to thinkof issuinggunlicences. The issue would be discussed threadbare in the nextCabinettakingadecision,Mr.Radhakrishnansaid.TheMinisterwas inaugurating theVanashreeForestComplexatVidyanagarinKasaragodonMonday.

Theauthorities, in recentmonths,hadbeen receivingcomplaintsofwildanimal incursions into farmlands.TheWildLifeProtectionAct1972put inplace restrictionson theuseofarms towardoffthreats from animals. The government was considering anamendmenttotheexistinglaw,hesaid.There was a State-wide project, costing Rs.259 crore, to erectsolar-powered electric fences in such areas. The district hadreceivedRs.40lakhforthepurpose,hesaid.N.A. Nellikkunnu, MLA, presided over the function. P.B. AbdulRazak, E. Chandrasekharan, K. Kunhiraman, all MLAs; districtpanchayat president P.P. Shyamala Devi, Principal ChiefConservator of Forests, Social Forestry, B.S.Corrie; andDistrictCollectorP.S.MuhammedSagirwerepresent.

Govt. considers dedicated engineering wing forFisheriesDepartment

EngineersfromotherdepartmentsworkingonfisheriesprojectsThere isaproposalbefore theStategovernment foradedicatedengineeringsection for theDepartmentofFisheries,according toV.K.Shetty,ManagingDirector,KarnatakaFisheriesDevelopmentCorporation.Addressing a gathering after inaugurating a ten-day training forfisheries officials on ‘recent developments in engineeringtechniques for aqua farms’ here, he said that Kerala had aseparatewingofengineersattachedtothedepartment.Mr. Shetty said that currently engineers from other governmentdepartments were implementing the projects of the FisheriesDepartment.Adedicatedengineeringwingwithin thedepartmentwouldhelpinthetimelycompletionofprojects,henoted.

Mr. Shetty said that deep-sea fishing had reached a stage ofstagnation and inland fisheries or aqua farming was picking upnow.K.M.Shankar,Dean (Fisheries),CollegeofFisheries,Mangalurusaidthattherewasaneedforadvancedtechnologiesinaquafishfarming and added that harvest technology was one of them.Catching fish using nets was traditional and other harvestingdevices were required to provide options in harvesting for fishfarmers.LakshmanNandagiri,Professor,DepartmentofAppliedMechanicsandHydraulics,National InstituteofTechnology–Surathkal,saidthat anyadvances in technology shouldensureminimumdangertotheenvironment.S.Varadaraju,co-ordinatorofthetrainingandan associate professor (fisheries engineering and technology),CollegeofFisheries,saidthatthetrainingwouldcovertopicssuchasselectionofsites foraqua farming,designandconstructionoffarmsamongothers.Theparticipantswouldbe informedaboutgadgets tobeused forpumpingwater,equipmenttobeusedforoxygensupply,re-useofwaterfromaquafarms,cagefarming.Hesaidthattheselectionofsiteswasveryimportantforachievingprofit in aqua farming. Unless the aqua farms were constructedscientificallythefarmerswouldsufferloss,hesaid.The trainingwasbeing impartedunderaschemeof theNationalFisheriesDevelopmentBoard.

WaterreleasedfromdamFordrylandsineightvillagesofUthamapalayamblock

WaterhasbeenreleasedfromShanmugaNadhidamforirrigationofdrylandsineightvillagesofUthamapalayamblockonMonday.Releasingwaterfromthedam,CollectorK.S.Palanisamysaidthat14.47 cusecs of water had been released from the dam forirrigation. A total of 1,640 acres of dry lands will benefit. Waterreleasedfromthedamwillbestoredinirrigationtankstorechargegroundwater and also for irrigation. Water will be releasedcontinuously from thedam toenable farmers to raise thecrop. Itwouldbebeneficialtomeetdrinkingwaterneedsofcattlealso,headded.Farmers at Royappanpatti, Mallingapuram, Chinna Ovalapuram,Erasakkanaickanur, Kanniservaipatti, Azhagapuri,Vellaiyammalpuram and Odaipatti in Uthamapalayam block willbenefit.Healsoappealedto farmers toutilisewater judiciouslyandgetabumperharvest.Waterlevelstoodat52feetinthedam.Farmersappealed to include two more tanks at Odaipatti andSukkangalpatti to recharge them and irrigate 600 acres. TheCollectorassuredtorechargethesewellsalso.Thedamhasbeenoverflowing for thepast15days.Ninecusecsofwaterhasbeendrainedintotheriver.

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Chennai-INDIAToday'sWeather

PartlyCloudy

Tuesday,Nov11

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30o |25o

Rain:0 Sunrise:06:05

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Weak global demand drags soyamealexportsBuyersresorttoneed-basedpurchases

Bangalore, November 10:Exports of soyameal declinedsharply in October on poor demand from overseas buyers, whoareseenresortingtoneed-basedpurchasesinabearishmarket.

Theexportof soyamealduringOctober2014was29,690 tonnescompared with 1,94,486 tonnes in the same period a year ago,according to a statement issued by the Soyabean ProcessorsAssociationofIndia.Ona financialyearbasis,exports tillOctober in thecurrent fiscalwere 1.27 lakh tonnes (lt) compared with 10.71 lt in the sameperiod a year ago, a 88 per cent, said Davish Jain, Chairman,SOPA. Soyameal exports have declined sharply fromDecember2013onwardsduetopoorsupplyofthebean,hesaid.

Country-wisebreakupIran, the largest buyer of Indian soyameal in recent years, haspurchased 25,000 tonnes during October, after a gap of almostfivemonths. In thecurrent financial year, so far, Iranhasboughtabout 60,500 tonnes of Indianmeal, accounting for close to halftheexportsduringtheperiod.Inthelastfiscal,Iranwasthelargestbuyer of Indian soyameal and imported some .15million tonnes,accounting for over 40 per cent of the country’s total shipmentsduring 2013-14. Indonesia was the second largest buyer duringOctoberat2,589tonnes.Japan,thesecondlargestbuyerofIndianmeallastfiscal,isyettomakelargepurchases.Sofar,Japanhaspurchasedonly297tonnesinthecurrentfiscal.ProductionSOPA has pegged the domestic output of the oilseed at 10.4million tonnes, an increase of about a tenth over last year. TheincreaseinoutputisattributedtohigheryieldperhectaremainlyinMadhyaPradesh,thelargestproducingState.

Coonoor teaplanter comesupwith solutiontocutchemicalfert i l isers’useKolkata, November 10:A Coonoor-based planter has comeup with a pilot project proposal that can help reduce the use ofchemicalfertilisersbyhalfwhiledoublingtheyield.ThiscomesatatimewhentheIndianteaindustryisdoggedbyahostofissuesconcerningchemicalresidue,

AccordingtoNLakshmanan,DirectorofGoldenHillTeaEstateinthe Nilgiris, the current method of broadcasting nitrogenousfertilisers(applyingbyhandonthesurface) iswastefuland leadsto soil toxicity.Water soluble fertiliser, if kept in the open, losesefficiencyduetovolatilisation.Alsopartofthenutrientsaresweptaway by rain and irrigation. Lakhsmanan says the loss issignificantandcanbereducedbyinjectingfertiliserdirectlyatthe

roots,6-8inchesunderthesoil,atasuitabletimewhentheplantsaremostactive.Theprocessiseasiersaidthandone.Ateabushreleasesspecificenzymesthroughitsrootstocollectthenutrientsfromsoilfortwohours a day. This is referred to as nitrate reductase activity(enzymes that reduce nitrate contents). Manuring can be mosteffective,iffertilisersareinjectedduringthattwo-hourwindow.Lakshmanan proposes the biotechnology department of IndianInstitute of Technology (IIT),Madras, should spearhead the pilotproject todetermine theexact timeofnitratereductaseactivityofeachplant.The informationwill be fed into a software – to bedevelopedbyGoldenHill TeaEstate – for further use of a e logical controller,whichcanbeprogrammed,thatwillsendradiosignalstoactivateautomaticdripirrigationmachines,fordueinjectionofmanure.Theplanter held preliminary discussionswith Israel’sNetafim fordripirrigation.Texas-basedNationalInstrumentswillberopedintosupplythelogicalcontroller.TurmericgainscolourondemandErode, November 10:Spot turmeric prices increased on thebackofdemandfromupcountryonMonday.

“Turmericgrowershavebroughtonly2,700bagsandsometraderswho received upcountry orders started bidding at a higher price.Therestwentforalowerpriceaccordingtothequality,”saidRKVRavishankar, President of the Erode Turmeric MerchantsAssociation.Traders showed interest in buying the hybrid varietyandprocuredallthe610bagsputupforsale.SalemHybrid:ThefingervarietywassoldatRs.5,705-7,619; therootvarietyRs.4,699-6,111.Ofthe507bagsthatarrived,79weresold.

Cardamom rules steady as demandmatchessupply

Kochi,November10:Cardamompriceswereunchangedlastweekattheauctions.Arrivalscontinuedtoincrease,asharvestinghasreacheditspeakandisinthethirdroundofpicking.

All the buyers were active and 90 per cent of participation wasthereattheauctions,anauctioneersaid.Exporters were also covering small quantities and they areestimatedtohavebought40tonnes.Qualitymaterialisarrivingingood volume and that constituted high percentage of 8 mmcapsules,andhencethebulkwasfetchingRs.750-800akg.At the Cardamom Planters Association auction on Monday inBodinayakannur, 52.8 tonnes of cardamom arrived and of which51tonnesweresold.TheauctionaveragewasatRs.738.48/kg.At theSundayauctionheldby theKeralaCardamomProcessingand Marketing Company, arrivals were 125 tonnes against 120tonnesthepreviousSundayandtheentirequantitywassoldout.ThemaximumpricewasRs.1,003andtheminimumwasRs.498.The auction average was up atRs.761 (Rs.778) a kg theprevious Sunday, PC Punnoose, General Manager, CPMC,toldBusinessLine.Inthecurrentseason,priceshavebeenrulingatmoderatelevels.

At this time last season, average prices ruled betweenRs.580andRs.620,hesaid.TheindividualauctionaveragepricemovedupbetweenRs.730andRs.780.Supplyof8mmboldcardamomconstituted30percentofthelotsandgoodcolourboldcapsuleswere fetchingRs.950-1,000akg.Totalarrivalsduringtheseasonstood6,134tonnesagainst7,103tonnesduringthesameperiodlastyear.Thesaleswereat6,023tonnesand6,851tonnesrespectively.The individual auction average as on November 9 was ataroundRs.760 and on the corresponding date last year was ataroundRs.583.Prices of graded varieties (Rs./kg): 8mmbold 950-1,000; 7mm-8mm800-830;6mm-7mm720-730;below6mm650-660.Fresh‘ low’ inAndamanSeamayhelpbreaklul l inN-EmonsoonThiruvananthapuram, November 10:A fresh low-pressureareahasformedoversouthAndamanSea,anupdatebyIndiaMetDepartment said this afternoon. It is expected to strengthen aroundandbecomewell-markedbyTuesday.

Birth of the ‘low’ alsomeant the premature death of a persistingwell-marked counterpart over west-central Bay of Bengal off thecoastofAndhraPradesh.Remainderwhirl Thesea-basedcouldnotmake it to the coast.Onlya remaindercirculation hovered higher in the atmosphere above the sea, theMetsaid.Theparentsystemwasdoneinbythelowersea-surfacetemperaturesnearertothecoastmakingforcooltocoolerwaters.Coolwaterpreventsevaporation from takingplaceand thuscutsoffmoisture feed into thesystem.Moisture is the fuel thatmakes

the storm engine hum and sustains it. Also, wind shear values(sudden shifts in wind direction and strength with height) weretending to be high along the coast with a western disturbanceapproachingfromtheoppositedirection.RainsforTNThese conditions may prevent the new ‘low’ from achievingtraction as a strong weather system. Indications are that thesystemmayseekoutwarmerwatersalong theSri Lankancoastforalandfall.Thus, itmayavoidtheTamilNadu-AndhraPradeshcoastswherethe waters have cooled down to negative values (less thanthresholdtemperaturesof28degCelsiusforsystemstosustain).Butthesecoastsmayexpectrainorshowersoverthenextcoupledays fromtheouterwindbandsof the incomingweathersystem.TheMethasforecastheavyrainalongtheTamilNaducoastandprogressivelyintotheinteriortomorrowanddayafter.Rains may grow over south coastal Andhra Pradesh,RayalaseemaandnorthTamilNaduonThursdayandFriday.TheymayalsoextendtoKarnatakaandMadhyaMaharashtra.Maybreakspell TheincomingspellofrainisexpectedtobreakthelullintheNorth-East monsoon rains during the last week when even the TamilNaduMetsubdivisionregisteredadeficitof54percent.Thedeficitisworsewithneighbours–99percentinnorthinteriorKarnataka;97percentinsouthinteriorKarnataka;and87percentinRayalaseema.Keralawasrelativelybetteroffwithadeficitof24percent.

Therestofthecountrydidn’tfaremuchbettereitherwithall-IndiadeficitfortheweekendingonOctober31at78percent.Evenforthe season (October 1 to November 5) for which statistics areavailable,theoverallrainfiguresforthecountrytossedupadeficit30percent.TamilNaduprovidesanexceptionhavingrecordedexcessrainfallof23percent.Keralawasnextbestwith16percent(classifiedasnormal).Therestofpeninsulaisvariouslyunderdeficit.Why India has lost i ts hold in the globaloi lmealsmarketAccessingnewmarketatthecostofexistingonesseemstohavebackfired

Thedrastic fall inexportsofoilmealsfromIndia isaneye-openerforexportersandregulators.According toDGCISestimates, totaloilmeals export during April-September 2013 wasRs.6,084.28crore, while shipments have halved toRs.3,057.69 crore in thesame.ExportsofoilmealsduringSeptember2014weredownby74percentcomparedwith thesamemonthayearago.Suchasuddenfallmayaffectthemarketandthus,itneedstobeprevented.

OpportunisticapproachIn the calendar year 2013, Indiawas the fifth largest exporter ofsoyameal with the value of shipments being $2.86 billion,accountingforoverninepercentofthetotalglobalexports.Anunexpectedgrowthwasseeninsoyamealexportslastyear,asEUandUSimposedasanctionontradewithIranwhichpavedthewayforIndianexporterstocapturethismarket.Had Indian exporters maintained the supply to other traditionalmarket such as Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, the opportunisticbehaviour to meet the demand from new segment would havebeenjustified.RidingontheopportunitycreatedbysanctionsimposedbytheEUandUS,exportersareonthevergeoflosingeventheirtraditionalmarket.LosingcharmSinceIndianexporterswerecashinginonthesanctionimposedbyEUandUS, theeasingofsanctionshashitexportsofsoyameal.Countries such as Brazil and Argentina are capturing their lostmarket by giving tough competition to Indian exporters in Iran.During the second quarter this year, soyameal exports to Iranplunged to$21.8million,86.6percent lower thanexportsduringthefirstquarter.AtthetimeofpeakexportsofsoyamealtoIran,exportersfetchedapremiuminthemarket.Now,theymaynotgetthesameduetointensecompetitionfromLatinAmericancountries.Lossoftradit ionalmarketsIn 2011, some 59 per cent of Japan’s total imports of soyamealwerefromIndia.

Inthefirstquarterlastyear,IndiaboosteditsexportstoIranandinthesecondquarter,asaresult,exportstoJapandroppedto$6.7million from$98.7million in the firstquarter.Thesituation turnedfrom bad to worse when exports fell further during the first andsecondquartersthisyear.During the second quarter of 2014, soyameal exports to JapanfromIndiawerevaluedat$32,000only.Mostofthemarketsharein Japan is now captured by China, Paraguay and the US, asnegligence towards the traditional market paved the way forcompetingcountriestomakeinroads.AsimilarpatternofexportsfromIndiawereobservedinThailand.During the second quarter last year, shipments dipped in thismarketandwerevaluedat$104,000from$116.7millioninthefirstquarter.Indianexportersare yet to regain their position in thismarket asduringthefirsttwoquartersthisyear,exportswerevaluedat$12.5millionand$1.2millionrespectively.WayaheadAccessingnewmarketatthecostofexistingmarketmaynotbeaneffectivestrategyinthelongrun.Looking at the situation, Indian exporters’ move to encash theopportunity was a good move. However, an effective strategywould have resulted in creating sustained demand fromboth oldmarketsandthenewone.To gain the trust of traditional buyers, exporters should haveprioritisedtheirneedsevenwhilehavingampleopportunityinothermarkets.

Tomeetthedemandfornewmarketaswellasmeetingdemandintheexistingmarket,exportersshouldhavealsomadeanattempttoprocureadditionalquantitythroughimports.Also,exportersnowshould adopt strategies to bring back the “lost sheep” to boostexports in the traditional markets. The writer is associated withNational Institute of Agriculture Marketing, Jaipur. Views arepersonal.

Alegupforentrepreneurship

In twoyears, theStartupVillage inKochihasspawnedhundredsof budding entrepreneurs. But challenges remain, says KPMBasheerAs a computer science student,Rohildev had been interested inthehuman-machineinterface.So,inJanuary2012whenthesoon-to-be-launched Startup Village, Kochi, invited him to an ‘open

coffee’event,hegrabbed theopportunity.At theevent,Rohildevdiscussed his idea of controlling a computer’s operations usinghandgestures.Afterthesession,SijoKuruvilla,thethenChiefExecutiveOfficerofStartupVillage,suggestedthatRohildevbecomeapartofStartupVillageandworkonhis idea.Threemonthslaterandfreshoutofengineering college, Rohildev was sitting at his own desk in thevillage.“It was an exciting place,” Rohildev recalls. “We had free,unlimited, high-speed internet, and gadgets and apps that wecouldmakeuseofanytime.”Thevillagewasopen24hours.Andwhen he decided to launch his own venture— Fin Robotics—helpwasaroundtogetthecompanyregisteredandtohandlelegalandadministrativeissues.“ThroughtheexcellentnetworkofcontactsatStartupVillage,start-ups can access a whole set of services, including funding andproduct developers. Almost all the services were free,” Rohildevsays.(NowStartupVillagechargesamonthlyfeeofRs.1,000fora‘seat’.)Less than two years later, in 2013, Rohildev came out with theprototype of ‘Fin’, a ring-like device that controls smart gadgets.When the productwon recognition,Rohildev raisedRs.1.2 croreon the international crowd-funding platformindigogo.com. A fewmonths back, Fin Robotics moved out of the Startup Villagebuildingwhentheteamexpanded.“ButforStartupVillage,Iwouldperhapsnothavedeveloped‘Fin’andsetupFinRobotics,”the25-year-old CEO says. He plans to market his product from May2015. “It was exactly for helping young people like Rohildev tofollow their dreams and usher in an entrepreneurial mindset inKerala’s new generation that Startup Village was created,” saysPranavKumarSuresh,thecurrentCEOofStartupVillage.First incubatorSet up in 2012 and housed in theKinfraHigh-TechPark on theoutskirts of Kochi, Startup Village is a technology businessincubator and is the first in India in theprivate-public-partnership(PPP) mould. It brought together the Kerala Government, theCentral government’s Department of Science and Technology,

Thiruvananthapuram’s Technopark; and MobME Wireless, thecountry’s first campus start-up. Currently, about 50 start-ups arehousedintheVillage.Nearly500moreare“virtuallyincubated”asspaceislimited.Mostareinternet,telecomandelectronicsoutfits,with a fewalso specialising in gamingand robotics. “TheVillageaims to create a vibrant start-up ecosystem and entrepreneurialcultureinKeralaandencourageyoungpeopletosetuptheirownbusinessventures,”saysInfosysco-founderKrisGopalakrishnan,who is also the Chief Mentor of the Village. “We hope to see abillion-dollarcompanyemergefromacampusstart-upinKeralainthenexttenyears,”headded.CreatinganecosystemThough technology incubators host start-ups for a maximum ofthreeyears,atStartupVillage,aproductstart-upcanstayforfiveyears. The infrastructure at Startup Village, which presentlyoperatesoutofa20,000sq.feetbuilding,isgettingaboost.Withinayear,itwillgetanadditionalonelakhsqftofworkspaceattheTechnology Innovation Zone in the Kinfra Park. CEO Sureshpointsoutthatthiswouldhelpthevillageincubate250morestart-ups. “We aimed to incubate 1,000 in ten years, but see, in justunderthreeyearswehavemorethan500waitingtomovein,”hesaid.Spaceisjustonepartoftheecosystem.“It’sthenetworkingrather than the infrastructure at the village that helps a youngentrepreneur likeme themost,” says Jibin Jose. He had startedvisitingtheVillageduringweekendsinhissecondyearatcollege.“Yougettipsonsolutionstoproblemsyouface—beitmarketing,finance or government-related issues,” says Jose, now the co-founder and CEO of Flip Technologies. The start-up hasdeveloped a smartphone app that provides diagnostics forskateboarding.JosegotanetworkingopportunitythisyearwhenhewasselectedforamentoringprogrammeinCanada.Lastyear,theVillagehadsenthimandfourotherentrepreneurstoSiliconValley.Asmajorityof theentrepreneursareeitherstudentsor those justoutofcollege,unawareofthebasicsofrunningafirm,mentoringtakes several forms at the village. For instance, when start-upMashinga needed help to design its touch-screen table,

Gopalakrishnan put the company in touch with a hardwaredesigner associatedwith Infosys. In amonthly community event,experts fromoutsidegive tips to buddingentrepreneurs.When itcomes to specific issues, the entrepreneurs can access StartupVillage’snetworkofpartners,suchasKPMGandnet4,whoofferservicessuchasaccountingandwebhostingatasubsidisedrate.AstheVillagehasalimitedsourceoffunds,itusesthisnetworktohelp start-ups raise money. Financial institutions and investorshaveprovided loans to20start-ups.And twoof them (MindHelixTechnologiesandSectorQubeTechnologies)raisedmoneyontheKickstarterglobalcrowd-fundingplatform.“TheStartupVillageisauniqueincubatorinthatherecompaniescangofromideatoinitialpublic offering,” points out Sanjay Vijayakumar, chairman of theboardofgovernorsofStartupVillage.Seekingself-sustenanceBut is Startup Village a sustainable entity? “Frankly, we don’tknow,” saysSuresh. “It is just 28months old and inmanywaysStartup Village itself is a start-up. We are a not-for-profitorganisation, but we want to stand on our own financially,” headds.At present, the infrastructure is provided by State governmentagenciesandexpensesaremet fromthe five-year,Rs.2.5crore-grant from the Department of Science and Technology. MobMEWirelesshassofarraisedRs.4croreandGopakrishnangivesanannualgrant.“Findingasustainablerevenuestreamisourbiggestchallenge now,” says Suresh. Despite the challenges, StartupVillage has had an impact. That was visible at the YoungEntrepreneur Summit organised on September 12. Against theexpected turnoutof2,000,more than4,000studentsgatheredatthe summit. To inspire more campus entrepreneurs, thegovernment gives students creating start-ups a 20 per centconcessiononattendanceand4percent‘grace’marksinexams.And the attitude is changing. “The risk-averse middle-classfamilies,whicharekeenontheirchildrengettingsecurejobs,nowdonot sayanoutrightno if their sonsordaughterswant go intobusiness,”saysJose.

American Tower keen to develop ‘vi l lagesofthefuture’NewDelhi,November10:

Everyone is now thinking about taking affordableInternet services to the next bi l l ion. From a towercompany’s point of view, how do you plan to overcomethechallengesaroundcosts?Wearedevelopingaconceptcalledthe ‘villagesof thefuture’ forreaching mobile Internet to the village population. It has to becraftedcarefullybecauseofthecostissues.Mobileoperatorshavetofundallthisandthatmeansupplierslikeusneedtobringdownthe costs as much as possible. We believe this has to be acollaborativeapproachwheretheindustrycanworktobringcostslowsothatreturnoninvestmentforoperatorsisefficientwhichinturnenablesruraluserstogetaffordableservices.Whatare thebuildingblocks for thisvi l lageof the futureplan?Oneway to do is to share tower infrastructure. It’s easy to buildonetowerandmultipleoperatorscanshareit.Fortunately,inIndia,themodel is already here.We also need to help operators withbackhaul connectivity. In the US, backhaul is most expensivebecause you need so much bandwidth to connect the tower. InIndia,theGovernment isworkingonthenationalopticalfibreandwe can work with the Government to plan for this, in terms ofidentifying sites to be connected. The other thing you need iselectricity.Tower transmissionshouldbegiven firstpriority togetgridconnections.Anotherconceptthatwehaveexploredinsomecountriesalongwithenergycompanies is tosetup1MWpowerstationatvillagestosubstituteforthegrid.Thetowercanbecometheanchortenantandthentheexcesspowercanbedistributedtothevillagesaroundit.Haveyoustarteddiscussionsonthis?Wehavestarteddiscussionsandsomebigpowercompaniesareinterested.WehavestartedsomekiosksofourowninIndia.Buttoscale it up, it’s going to take some leadership on the telecomoperators’partastheymaynotmakemoneyfromdayone.That’s

where the Government should step in to build the ecosystem.Governments’ delivery services should be available whereverthere’s a tower. For example, banks can put their ATMs in thepremisewheretowersarelocated.TheCommonServiceCentrescanbelocatedhere.Companies l ikeFacebookandGoogleareexperimentingwith solar powered drones and balloons to addressaffordabil i ty. Do you see these as disruptive to yourbusiness?ThetoweristhemostefficientmeanstodeliverInternetservices.It’shardtoimaginehowthesesolutionswillbecosteffective.Thebenefit, however, is that traditional telcosmaynotbecreativesoit’s great to have these companies from silicon valleys throwingrocks.HowdoyouseeIndiaonATC’sglobalplans?Ourview is that the regulatoryenvironment is improving in India;theglobaleconomyisimprovingandthecostofhandsetiscomingdown so we are re-engaged in evaluating further investments inIndia.Wehaveaccess tocapital. It’samatterof finding the rightassetatriceprice.You have 12,500 towers in India. What’s the target forthenextyear?Wedon’thavenumericaltargetforanymarket.Wearehappywithourgrowthhere,andinfact,theIndiaoperationispunchingaboveitsweight.Weareputtingin1,500newsitesinIndiaayear,whichis the biggest build plan in any single country across ouroperations.Wewould like to expandandgetmoreassets, but ithastomeetourinvestmentcriteria.Are you in talks with any Indian players for anacquisit ion?Weareconstantlyevaluatingopportunities,butwehaveaglobalacquisitionmapandarelookingatassetsinAfricaandalsointheUS.

ArethereanyregulatoryconcernsinIndia?In India, there is still no clarity on licensing on infrastructurecompanies.Inallouroperationsinothercountries,Indiaistheonlyplacewhichistalkingabouttaxingtowercompanies.Ifthelicencefeecomes,thenallourinvestmentmodelswillgotothenegative.GreenshootsinRajasthan

Leading the water charge Govardhan with Atul Rishi, chiefexecutive of PHD Rural Development Foundation RasheedaBhagat

Radicalchangesinagriculturearetransforminglivesandlifestylesinonce-aridvillagesA visit last week to a cluster of villages in the Sikar and Alwardistricts of Rajasthan, where over 50 check dams have beenconstructedinthelastfewyearstodramaticallyalterthelivesandlivelihoods of Rajasthan’s farmers, was an education, anentertainment and a positive account of Indian agriculture… allrolled intoone.Barely 10 yearsago, these villages,within80-90km of Jaipur, were defined by parched land and farming totallydependantonthevagariesofthemonsoon,allowingonlyonecropofbajraandsomeothermillets.

This isalso the regionwhereMagsaysayAward-winnerRajendraSingh ushered in a water harvesting revolution through checkdams. Govardhan, 65, had worked with him for 16 years beforeteaming up with the PHD Rural Development Foundation andRotaryIndiatobuildcheckdamstopreventrainwaterrun-offanddramaticallyimprovewatertablesinthesevillages.LandtransformedGovardhan’s 60bighasof land (20bighasmake an acre) arecollectively owned by him and his five brothers. While the soft-spokenGovardhantalksaboutfarmersnowharvestingthreecropsa year, including wheat and one cash crop, his flashy nephewBanwari, 33, fillsme in on farmers’ changing lifestyles, and theirchildreninbetterschools,beforeroundingoffthediscussionwithamouth-wateringaccountofhisfondnessforfood.Govardhanrecallsthat10yearsagowhenhecamefromAlwartoGuwaravyas,aninteriorvillageabout65kmfromJaipur,wherehehasnowbuiltacomfortablehousewithtoilets,“thewatersituationwas terrible. At 800 feet, they could find just enough water fordrinking.ThingsweresobadthatthemenweremigratingtoDelhi,Bombaytoworkasporters,tile-layers,etc”.But today, with seven check dams built around his andsurroundingvillages, theharvestedwaterhas filledup theirwellsandeventhoughthemonsoonhasfailedthisyear,thereisenoughwater in the wells and in two of the bigger dams to see themcomfortablythroughtwoyearsofgoodfarming.“Farmers are now sellingbhindi(okra) worthRs.50,000andtinda(a type of gourd) worthRs.1 lakh. Migration has beenreversedandmenhave returned from the cities towork on theirownland,”saysGovardhan.“Forgethumanbeings;wearegreedyanyway.Today there is copiouswater for animals andbirds andplantsandtreestoo,asyoucanseefromthegreeneryaround,”headds.

“Bhindiwas never seen in this part of Rajasthan; we now growtomatoes, green chillies and other vegetables and will plantsugarcaneinfourbighathisyear,”beamsBanwari.Hewasoneofthe first this year to harvest his bhindi crop and sold a part of itatRs.58akg.Later,asmore farmersharvested theirokracrop,thepricefelltoRs.8akg.“ButIhadmademymoney,”hegrins.EntertractorsThe farmers gathered at Govardhan’s home where we weretreated to a delicious lunch of hotmakki ki rotiwith lots ofghee,methiand potatosabzi,kadhi,pooris, and lassi, have allbuiltpuccahomeswithtoilets“whichwereearlierunheardofinourvillages”.Someofthefarmershavebuiltnotonebutthreehomes.Malliram,60,isonesuch.Allhisfivesonswhohadmigratedtothecitiesoverthelast10yearshavereturned,andlastyearheboughtatractorforRs.5lakh.Amanoffewwords,hesumsuphisstatusinonesentence:“Khoobpani,khoobanaj,khoobpaisa(Wehavelotsofwater,lotsoffoodgrainandlotsofmoney).”ButBanwari loves to talk.Ashedriveswithme throughsomeofthe villages, he points to thekikartrees that grow wild onuncultivableland.Kikargrowswithin8to10years,andeachtreecanfetchuptoRs.15,000foritswoodusedforbothfurnitureandcremation.“With10kikartrees,youcancomfortablyrear10goatsand2camelsonthefodderitprovides.”He thenpoints toaloeverawhichgrowswild in this region. “Weuseitforfencingandalsoforourfood,asithasseveralmedicinalproperties.Myfatherhasjointpainandwegivealoeverajuicetohim,andalsomakeourwheatatta(dough)with it.Soourrotisorbaati(aRajasthanstaplerollmadeofwheatflour)havealoeverajuice.Doyouknowpimplesdisappear if you rubapieceof it onyour face?” Banwari then goes on to explain how all the facialcreamssoldoverseashavealoeveraandointmentssoldbyBabaRamdevcontain“bothtulasiandaloevera.”

Nonasha,justfoodInanothervillage,hepointstofieldsgrowingtobaccowhich“sellsatRs.100akgnowasinbighotelstheyoffersheesha/hukkah.Sothe price of tobacco, which was earlierRs.30-40 a kg has shotup.Hamesha bekar cheez ki value jyada hoti hai(Useless thingsarealwaysmoreexpensive).”As he waxes eloquent on how the sale ofsharab(liquor) ispropping up the Indian economy, and the economics of applyingforsharab ke thekey(liquor shops) I ask him what his favouritepoisonis.“I don’t believe innasha(intoxication) of any kind. I don’t evendrinktea;Idrinkmilkandlassiandmusthavemithai(sweets)aftereverymeal. Even in hotmakki ki roti,ghee chopad ke(smearedwith ghee), I mix powdered jaggery and consume it. And formorningkaleva(breakfast)wemakemakki ki rabriandeat itwithmilkordahi.Ifyoueatallthisyouwillnotgetanydiseaseandnotagefasteither.”Butthenyouhavetoburnitall,thewayheandotherfarmersdointheir fields. “Yes, today there is goodmoney in farming, but wehavetoput inhard labour.Wecangetsuchprofitsonlybecauseour entire families work in the fields during sowing, harvesting,”saysheyoungman.Sohowfarhashestudied?“Oh,IhaveadoubleMAinhistoryandpolitical science from Rajasthan University. After building checkdams I’ve got a diploma in water conservation fromIGNOU.Sochta hoon ke ab social work mein PhD kar loon(I’mthinkingofaPhDinsocialwork),”headds,casually.