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System of rice intensification technique (SRI) boosts paddy yield |
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| The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) has helped farmers in Tiruchi district in TN to cope with an unreliable monsoon and shortage of farm labour. The production cost of paddy under the new cultivation technique is in the range of Rs.2,000-3,000 a hectare, whereas it is close to Rs.10,000 under traditional cultivation methods. Where traditional methods of paddy cultivation yielded about two tonnes of paddy a hectare, under SRI farmers are able to get up to 6.7 tonnes a hectare. For many farmers, this has meant an additional income of Rs.25,000-30,000 per acre. |
It requires a high level of farmland manure and a minimum quantity of seeds.” Only 2 kg of seeds were required per acre. The minimum age of seedlings would be eight to 12 days. SRI requires minimal use of water. The aim is to maintain the soil by wetting, not by flooding the fields as traditional cultivation methods suggest. |
| Aerobic rice cultivation saves water use by half : |
| Normally, 3,000 to 5,000 litres of water is needed to produce 1 kilogramme of rice. Such profligate use of water in irrigated paddy cultivation is unsustainable. According IRRI’s reckoning, a 10 per cent reduction in water use for paddy irrigation, globally, can spare 150 billion cubic metres of water (equivalent to 25 per cent of all the water used in Asia) for non-agricultural use. The new know-how helps cut down water requirement of paddy by 40 to 50 per cent. BS 080909 |
| High labour costs make paddy farming unviable in Kerala : |
| Area under paddy cultivation declined more than 74% in 32 years. During 1975-76, it was 8.76 lakh ha. It reached 2.29 lakh ha in 2007-08. Production of rice during 1981-82 was 13.39 lakh tonne in 1981-82. Output of rice was at 5.28 lakh tonne during 2007-08. Productivity in autumn, winter and summer were 2168 kg/ ha, 2370 and 2404.5, respectively. |
Escalation in the cost of production is the main reason why many are giving up paddy cultivation. In Kuttanand, labour cost alone works out to 65% of the cost of production. An agriculture department estimate reveals that it needs Rs 21,000-23,000 for cultivating paddy in a hectare, while the value of output received from the land is only Rs 24,000-26,000. Hired human labour accounts for more than 45-50% of the cost while the imputed value of household labour stands at around 5%. FE 070909 |
| Declining Rate of Growth of Area under irrigation : |
While Gross Irrigated Area increased at simple annual growth rate of 3.12% during 10 year period ending 1995-06, the simple annual growth rate for the next 10 year period ending 2005-06 was down by half to only 1.16%. If full exploitation of the ultimate irrigation potential is realised, 80% of the cultivable area would be irrigated as against 40% irrigated area now resulting in doubling of irrigated area. |
| What needs to be done to achieve four percent growth rate in Agriculture? |
In order to contribute towards goal of achieving 4% output growth, India need to increase area under irrigation is required to be increased annually by 1.95 percent and fertilizer consumption in agriculture by 4.35 percent. Further, there is a need to shift about 0.5 percent area from foodgrains to non-foodgrains every year. Technology innovation and its dissemination, improvement in infrastructure and farmer’s knowledge and skill applied to farming are other contributing factors. Ramesh Chand |
| Shortfall in Kharif output est. by 10mt : |
The Centre expects a shortfall of 45-50 lakh hectares (lh) in the total kharif paddy area this year resulting in reduction in this year’s kharif output by 9-10 mt. The States where acreages are currently lagging include Uttar Pradesh (40 lh versus 61), Bihar (22 lh versus 34 lh), Jharkhand (7 lh versus 15lh), Andhra Pradesh (14lh versus 20 lh) and West Bengal (39lh versus 43 lh). |
| 2. News Nook- in Brief : |
| a. Maize Success Story : |
From 1998-99, maize output increased steadily till 2006-07 to about 15 million tonnes after which it took a quantum leap to about 19 million tonnes in 2007-08. In 2008-09, maize production reached a new high of 19.3 million tonnes. The Government’s Accelerated Maize Development Programme has delivered results. The main emphasis has been on transfer of modern crop production technology to the farmers’ fields. |
Lower productivity: Yields, however, have been low at a little over 2,000 kg a hectare. The coarse cereal is cultivated mostly in rain-fed or unirrigated land. The crop is subject to a lot of weather uncertainties. There is scope for increasing the production through increase in yield through improved crop management practices. BL070909 |
| b. NCAER STUDY ON "Impact of SHG Bank Linkage Programme" -Positive Impact : |
The overall findings of the study suggest that SBLP has significantly improved the access to financial services of the rural poor and had considerable positive impact on the socio-economic conditions and the reduction of poverty of SHG members and their households. It has also reportedly empowered women members substantially and contributed to increased self-confidence and positive behavioural changes in the post-SHG period as compared to the pre-SHG period. However, the study could not survey the SHGs that failed, as it was difficult to survey groups that ceased to exist. " |
| c. Cotton exports to double : |
Cotton exports during the 2009-10 season starting October are expected to more than double to 65 lakh bales (of 170 kg each). Imports are seen lower by three lakh bales at seven lakh bales. An estimate by the Cotton Association of India, said the season would see a higher production of 312.25 lakh bales against 292.75 lakh bales this season. BL 080909 |
| d. ‘MSP of Pulses Meaningless’ : |
Pulse production in India has been stagnant at 14.8 million tonnes for the last three years even though prices in the markets have been going up. Pulse farmers say the current MSP is meaningless. For example, the MSP for arhar is just Rs 2,000 a quintal, but farmers can sell it at Rs 6,000 a quintal at the mandi. So it’s in the farmers’ interest that the shortage continues since there is no promise of a good price if they were to produce more. The MSP is like a threat to farmers against large-scale production”, he said. “If they were to produce more, they would be condemned to sell it at a low rate. Food analyst Bhaskar Goswami said it’s as if the government is expecting farmers to subsidise consumers. |
Mahendra Dev of CACP admitted the government has to pay Myanmar and Canada almost the retail rates to import pulses. He said the Planning Commission had found that known technologies are enough to give a fillip to pulses production. “If we take known technologies to farmers and also push new research, there will be an impact,” Dev added. BS 080909 |
