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The annual food price inflation at the wholesale level rose 17.47 per cent for the third week of November, up from the previous week's yearly rise of 15.58 per cent. This followed a surge in the prices of potatoes and onions, which were up 94.17 per cent and 30.89 per cent respectively year-on-year. Pulses were up 37.83 per cent.
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Consumers forced to pay double the mundy rates for onions
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At the Lasalgaon onion mandi in Nashik, the largest onion market in Asia, farmers were selling onions at Rs13 a KG, But consumers are paying Rs 30 a kg for them at Nashik city.
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The vegetable are sold at mundy between Rs 4.15 to Rs 20 a kg. But the consumer across Maharashtra who is paying between Rs 25 and Rs 35 a kg for the vegetable would not know whether it was originally bought at Rs 5 or Rs.20 a kg, or even at the most likely price of Rs 13 a kg at the farm gate, says Dr R. P. Gupta, Director of NHRDF.
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Middlemen are pocketing the difference which is double/treble of farm gate rate. This is naked exploitation of both the e farmers and consumers and the Government is a mute spectator.
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Western U.P. sugar mills to pay Rs200/Q for cane growers
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Sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh are more or less reconciled to paying farmers a price ranging between Rs 200 and Rs 210 a quintal for the sugarcane they will be supplying in the ongoing 2009-10 crushing season (October-September).
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| Sugar output may be around 16 million tonnes in 2009-10 season; It will still be way short of the country's annual requirement of about 23 million tones. ISMA. |
Decline in Farm Investment cause of food shortage-FAO
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FAO says a long-running decline in farm investment is the main culprit behind food shortages and estimates $44 billion in new investment is needed annually to boost agriculture in developing countries. |
The World Bank president said investment in technology is key to boosting farm productivity. "We have to keep those advances in agricultural technology and make sure that it gets to the local sector” he said.
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All-weather roads help raise rural income –World Bank
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All-weather roads in the villages of the country has doubled the income of rural households, raised literacy rate by 10 per cent, and appreciated land prices by up to 80 per cent, says the World Bank.
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“In 2000, about 40 per cent of India’s 825,000 villages lacked all-weather roads ... With access to roads, incomes have soared. Household incomes rose by 50 to 100 per cent on average,” the bank that came out with the results of its Rural Roads Project t hat started in 2004 said recently.
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“Literacy has increased by 10 per cent... land prices by some 60 to 80 per cent on average,” it said.
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The year-round connectivity has narrowed gender gap with access to education for girls and raised job opportunities, IDA said adding every Rs 10 lakh spent on rural roads has helped lift 163 people out of poverty. |
| NREGS effect - How profitable is agriculture? |
Farmers are not sure if rising food prices will really benefit them. Small and marginal farmers are badly affected by the NREGS, which they blame for labour shortage and the steep hike in wages. RASHEEDA BHAGAT on the many contradictions of rural India. |
Farmers are blaming the NREGS for labour shortage, and the steep hike in farm labour rates. In growing vegetables “the biggest problem is labour. The minimum daily wage is Rs 100, and how many kg will a labourer pick in a day to make this profitable?” |
They'd rather go for a NREGS scheme “where nobody checks on the work done. They may be asked to dig or lay 8 metres but can walk away after 2 or 3 metres.” On many NREGS workers not getting total wage, and the money being siphoned off, he says: “But they'd still go there, because there is hardly any work.” |
This farmer is not the only one who blames NREGS for depleting farm labour. Mr Ravi Rebbapragada, Executive Director of Samata, a Visakhapatnam-based NGO working with tribals in Andhra and Orissa, is not too sure rising food prices benefit farmers and improve their lives. In Andhra small and marginal farmers are badly affected by the NREGS. |
“Social and public audit of the NREGS “bunkum” except for isolated pockets, as “also the claim that it is creating an asset base. Nobody is interested in seeing that work gets done; officers just give away money. Today there are no workers for the farm sector… villagers who did not have the concept of a holiday are enjoying a perennial holiday. Worse, a lot of deskilling is happening in rural India. Today, getting ploughing done in a straight line, which is very essential, is impossible. People have lost that skill.” Interviews with the farmers-BL 011209 |
| Small farmers as the centre of all development efforts-IFAD |
The IFAD’s programme in India’s hilly regions, tribal areas and the northeast have shown linkages between development and food security, and focusses on putting poor rural people, particularly women (micro-finance) and small farmers at the centre of all development efforts. |
“Unless you look at the majority of farmers who have small landholdings and who produce most of the food, how can you achieve national development? Does it not make sense to invest in them?” |
| “This juncture calls for a different kind of green revolution for developing countries, focusing primarily on rural communities. The landscape has changed and improving food productivity is the need of the hour. There are over 500 million small farmers who help sustain about two billion people. Agricultural challenges and climate change are real. We are investing in small farmers to help offer ‘business’ opportunities to them and help them get additional economic returns. IFAD-FE021209 |
