European WTO Subsidy + ORGANIC FARMING + Farmers' Suicides + Cooperative Credit

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In This NEWS Bulletin ****************************** 1. European Green Women Leaders Criticise WTO Subsidy Regime 2. Case for ORGANIC FARMING - Grave Sulphur Deficiency In Indian Soil, Says TSI Chief 3. Farm Policy Change Needed To Check FARMERS' SUICIDES - Prime Farm Land Should Not Be Diverted For Non-agricultural Purposes - National Commision On Farmers, Headed By MS Swaminathan 4. Emulate Mexican Model For Cooperative Credit And MFIs, Says Bansefi Chief 5. Food Park And Cold Chain To Come Up In Haryana ------------------------------- European women leaders criticise subsidy regime http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=142394 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Thursday, October 05, 2006 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, OCT 4: A section of influential European women leaders have criticised the subsidy regime of developed countries and promotion of industrial agriculture at the expense of environment and food security in the Third World. The former German minister for agriculture, food and consumer protections, Renate Kunast speaking to FE said alleged anti-farmer and anti-consumer policies being pursued in the developed world and the same model was being dictated by the WTO regime, IMF and the World Bank. “There is a need for a basic change in attitude to agriculture to make it sustainable and promote conservation of biodiversity,” she said. Kunast, a Green parliamentarian, was made

Germany’s agriculture, food and consumer protection minister in January 2001, when Europe was under the grip of mad cow disease. She blamed the prevalence of the disease was a result of industrial agriculture. Kunast said she took steps to offer an alternative path to the farmers during her tenure. She also blamed the system of giving special subsidies for production of special crops. She initiated decoupling of farm subsidies in Europe during her tenure, she said. “Even being part of the system, I was feeling alien and had tough times to fight for a change. I initiated the move to have 20% of the area earmarked for organic farming. It was just a beginning. More needs to done, ” she added. Caroline Lucas, member of UK Green Party and a member of the European official delegation for the WTO negotiation in Cancun, alleged that the current trade regime has caused “food swap”,

meaning displacement of local food and monoculture in cropping system at the dictates of the big corporations. She said the export of live birds and industrial poultry was the cause of the recent outbreak of avian flu. Both Kunast and Lucas was in India at the invitation of Vandana Shiva of Navdanya to deliver 7th Howard Memorial Lecture on October 2 - Gandhi Jayanti day. A shift in preference for sourcing local food is also marked in US. Judy Wicks has set up retail chain - White Dog Cafe - in Philadelphia for sourcing local organic produces.----------- ‘Grave sulphur deficiency in Indian soil’ http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=142405 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Thursday, October 05, 2006 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, OCT 4: A study by The Sulphur Institute (TSI) has estimated that 68 million hectare cropped land or 40% arable land in India suffers from serious sulphur deficiency, causing a deterioration in soil health. In a one-to-one interview to FE, Robert J Morris, president of the US-based institute, said, “We have done mapping of sulphur deficiency in the soil in India and in other countries. In India, the total application of sulphur should be 2.3 million tonne to correct the imbalance in soil health, but in actual practice only 0.7 million tonne of sulphur is applied each year. Thus, there is a gap of 1.6 million tonne.” The Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) and International Fertiliser Industry

Association (IFA) were partners of the study. It brings to fore the imbalance in application of chemical fertilisers in agriculture due to the patronage given to the nitrogenous fertiliser urea over others. There is, of course, a school of thought that gradual switching over to organic farming can restore soil health better and increase productivity. But Morris’s argument centres more round rectifying the imbalance in use of different varieties of chemical fertilisers as a remedy. The ratio of application of nitrogen, phosphate, potassium and sulphur to the soil in India stands disburted at 16.1 : 6.6 : 1 : 1, while ideally it should be 4: 2: 1 : 1. According to Morris, sulphur is the fourth important chemical fertiliser next to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. There are others who believe that not only sulphur deficiency in the soil, but also deficiency of micro-nutrients like zinc needs to be rectified. The TSI study has estimated that if sulphur deficiency in soil is rectified, it would result in a 10% increase in crop yield. In India, 4.3 kg of suphur per hectare are used in farming as compared to 26.1 kg per hectare in China. However China needs to apply 1.9 million tonne more of sulphur to rectify its soil health.--- ‘Farm policy change needed to check suicides’ NFC says prime farmland should not be diverted for non-agricultural purpose http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=142530 ASHOK B SHARMA ECONOMY BUREAU Posted online: Friday, October 06, 2006 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, OCT 5: The fifth and

the final report of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) has suggested the need for a policy approach to deal with the situation, which has led farmers to commit suicides. It said prime farmland should be conserved and not diverted for non-agricultural purpose. It has recommended distribution of land to the landless, and review the formula for estimating compensation to farmers on acquisition of their land. The panel said agriculture should be brought under concurrent list under the Constitution where the Central and state governments can have an equal say in the policy matter. The agriculture ministry should be restructured and renamed as ministry for agriculture and farmer’s welfare. National Food Security and Sovereignty Board should be constituted under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister. On purchases of grains by the government designated agencies, the

panel said it should done as per the prevailing market price, and not by the minimum support prices (MSPs) fixed by the government. Government purchases should be expanded to include other crops besides wheat and rice. Purchases should be done in newer areas. Crops in the rain-fed areas like milet and pulses should be marketed. “The second green revolution belongs to dry land and, hence, pulses and millets are important,” said NCF chairman, MS Swaminathan on Thursday. “Time has come when policy interventions should address those who are behind the farming activities rather than the farm sector,” he said. The panel suggested the need for organic farming, green agriculture, transgenic crops, protected agriculture like greenhouse farming and fertigation and insurance for transgenic crops by seed companies. It suggested policy approaches for tribal farmers, pastorals,

plantation labour, island and urban farmers. It suggested diversification of activities by farmers into livestock, poultry and fisheries, and also initiatives for non-farm livelihood. Other proposals are for protecting biodiversity and bioresources, conservation of natural resources and easy institutional credit to farmers at 4% interest rate.------ Mexican role model for co-op credit, MFIs http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=142315 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, OCT 3: Several concepts have been evolved across the world to make social and community banking sector work, but the Mexican model have proved to

be a success, said Javier Gavito, CEO of the National Savings and Financial Services Bank (Bansefi in Spanish) This is an example which India can emulate for strengthening the cooperative credit structure and micro-finance institutions (MFIs), he said. According to Gavito, Indian primary cooperative credit structure (PACS), which does directing lending to farmers and other beneficiars, needs to be self-reliant by attracting deposits from the local people. PACS should not only be lending institutions but also agencies for mobilising deposits, he said. Gavito was in Delhi at the invitation the apex body of MFIs in India, Sa-Dhan, which had to sought to learn from the Mexican example. “The situation in Mexico has undergone a dramatic change with the enactment of the Popular Credit and Savings Act in April 2001. In

order to support and coordinate the development of the popular savings and credit sector, in November 2001, the National Savings Patronage (Pahnal) was transformed into (Bansefi) was formed,” he said. Gavito said that the public sector institution, Bansefi, does not lend to banks, but provides technical assistance to the federations and confederations of savings and credit cooperatives which disburse credit directly to the beneficiaries." According to Gavito, Bansefi unlike Nabard in India is not a refinancing agency. The cooperative banks in Mexico which lend directly to the public aim at becoming self-reliant by attracting attracting deposits. The situation is, however, different in India where Nabard's refinance passes through state and district level cooperative banks to PACS for lending. This results in higher transaction costs. Gavito said that the policy of the Mexican government was to

encourage both savings and loan culture among the people. Community banking can only be a success if there was a saving culture, he said and added that Bansefi too attract deposits and would launch its provident fund scheme for the employee of cooperative societies. Bansefi through its branches makes payments to beneficiaries under the federal government's programmes. - Food park to come up in Haryana http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=142300 ASHOK B SHARMA ECONOMY BUREAU Posted online : Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, OCT 3: The Central Warehousing Cold Chain Pvt Ltd

(CWCCL) on Tuesday announced the launch of the country’s first ever controlled atmosphere storage facility and food park. It projected an investment of Rs 700 crore for setting up this facility in select commercial spots across the country. The Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar is slated to inaugurate a controlled atmosphere storage facility near Azadpur Mandi in Kundli in Haryana on Wednesday. CWCCL is a joint venture company floated by Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), a public sector undertaking and the RT group of companies. CWC has an equity holding of 26% and the RT group has an equity holding of 74% in the CWCCL. The CWC chairman SK Tuteja is, however, the chairman of CWCCL. Rasmi Bhimyani of RT group and managing director of CWCCL said, “We are beginning with a small venture in Kundli, which marks the phase-I of the plan to

establish similar facilities in Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. The Kundli project will cover 21,000 cubic metres, sufficient to store 5,000 tonne of apples. The total investment for the Kundli project is Rs 40 crore, which includes Rs 20 crore as loan from IDBI." Bhimyani further said the company would go for contractual arrangements with growers and extend micro-credit to them. The company will particularly eye apple growers in Kashmir valley and Himachal Pradesh. The storage facility is also for medicines and other products.-------------------------------

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