WTO Farm Draft & India + AVIAN FLU In India + BIO-FUELS + CLIMATE CHANGE

July 30, 2007

NEWS Bulletin From Indian Society For Sustainable Agriculture And Rural Development ************************************* 1. India for clarity in WTO farm draft AVIAN FLU in India---- 2. Poultry industry calls for zoning, notifying regions free of bird flu 3. Bird flu detected in Manipur On BIO-FUELS----- 4. GoM (group of ministers) takes up inter-ministry dispute on bio-fuels today CLIMATE CHANGE------ 5. Climate change affects monsoon, government moves into action ------ India for clarity in WTO farm

draft http://www.financialexpress.com/news/India-for-clarity-in-WTO-farm-draft/207550/0 ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Monday , July 30, 2007 at 0035 hrs IST India has urged for addressing the gaps in the WTO farm draft released by the chair of agriculture committee, Crawford Falconer on July 17, 2007. "The draft is good one for restarting the multilateral trade negotiations, but there are some gaps and areas where clarity is needed. We will take up these issues when the talks are scheduled to begin in September this year," commerce secretary Gopal K Pillai told FE. The right of the developing

countries to designate Special Products (SPs) and the use of Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) with a view to protect the livelihood of farmers and for ensuring food security are vital issues which India is likely to raise in the September meeting. "We are for indicator-based selection of SPs and not for just determination of SPs on the basis of a specific percentage of the tariff lines. We are a multi-crop producing country and farmers' livelihood is involved in cultivation of many of these crops. The appropriate indicators for SPs need to be worked out in detail," Pillai said. SPs would allows protection through maintaining reasonable level of bound tariffs which would not come under reduction commitments. Pillai said that the right to designate SPs by developing countries should not be negotiated on the basis of quid pro quo with the developed countries for designation of

their Sensitive Products. Both are two different aspects, he said. Another issue which India is likely to insist upon is that the developed world switch over from ad valorem duty structure on certain farm products to a specific duty structure, before making commitments on duty cuts. India will also urge for greater flexibilities for developing countries in matters of tariff reduction with a view to check the influx of cheap subsidized imports from the developed world. The recent WTO farm draft has proposed that the US should cap its "trade-distorting support" excluding the Green Box subsidy in the range of $ 13-16.4 billion, while the US has offered to reduce it to $ 17 billion. The G-20 group of countries, including India has demanded that it should be capped at $ 12 billion. The draft has proposed that the European Union cap its

"trade-distorting support" in the range of Euro 16.5-27.6 billion. "The most important is the selection of the base period for effecting the subsidy cut formula. In the years when the global prices rule high, the level of subsidy in the developed world, particularly in US comes down. When global prices are depressed, the level of subsidy rises," said Pillai. India feels that though the draft has called for elimination of export subsidies by 2013, the ambition on volume commitments remains to be addressed. India will initiate a discussion on geographical indications for specific crops and products of developing countries. - Poultry industry calls for zoning, notifying regions free of bird flu http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Poultry-industry-calls-for-zoning-notifying-regions-free-of-bird-flu/207539/ ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Monday , July 30, 2007 at 0023 hrs IST New Delhi, Jul 29 The Rs 15,000 crore poultry industry has asked the government to take necessary precautions to see that the exports are not affected due to a single stray incidence of avian flu. They have suggested that the government should immediately take up zoning of major poultry pockets in the country which are still free from the influence of avian flu and bring it to the knowledge of the world organisation for animal health - OIE - and all importing countries. The National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC) has said that poultry product exporting countries like China, Malaysia and even a small country like Zimbabwe have created zones within their national boundaries and have notified areas which are free from avian flu. “If India can notify areas free from the influence of foot-and-mouth diseases in cattle and buffaloes, why can not it do so in the case of poultry,” NECC said. India’s export of poultry products increased from Rs 110 million to a record high of Rs 3,260 million in 2005-06. However, with the outbreak of avian flu in commercial poultry farms in some specified areas in Maharashtra and Gujarat in February 2006, as many as 12 importing countries banned the entry of Indian poultry products and the exports began declining. According to the data available for the year 2006-07 from April to June, poultry exports have been

only Rs 560.80million. The poultry industry suffered an estimated loss of Rs 30,000 million on account of Avian flu in 2006. After successful culling and containment operations, India was declared free from Avian flu in August 18, 2006. Hardly 12 months have passed again the incidence of Avian flu was detected in a single poultry unit in village Chingmeirong in East Imphal district in Manipur in the northeastern part of the country. The presence of highly pathogenic strain – H5NI – has been detected and the government has undertaken culling operation in the radius of 5 km which would amount to killing about 15 million birds. Surviellance operation is beefed up in the radius of 10 km Farmer leader, Krishan Bir Chaudhary alleged : “The main carriers of Avian flu virus are the exotic birds in commercial farms. The virus might have come from across the borders – from the Avian flu affected countries like Bangladesh or Myanmar. The farmers breeding

indigenous poultry ultimately become victims of the tradegy".------------------------------- Bird flu detected in Manipur http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Bird-flu-detected-in-Manipur/207052/ ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Thursday, July 26, 2007 at 0027 hrs IST New Delhi, July 25 Hardly 12 months ago India was declared free of Avian Influenza. Now this deadly disease has reappeared in the poultry and this time in a remote village in the northeastern part of the country. The Union government after getting reports confirmed on Wednesday the incidence of Avian flu in a small poultry unit in village

Chingmeirong in East Imphal district of Manipur. It said “it is not yet fully confirmed whether the disease spread from the neighbouring Avian flu affected countries – Myanmar and Bangladesh.” The Union animal husbandry secretary, Charusheela Sohoni briefing mediapersons said that 123 birds in this small unit died within six days from July 7. The authorities, thereafter, became alert and collected samples from the remaining 12 birds and forwarded it to the high Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), Bhopal and National Institute of Virology, Pune for testing. The samples were proved positive for highly pathogenic Avian flu with the strain H5 detected. “The experts are at work to detect the N-type strain. After there reports are made available we will be able to say where there is N1 or N2 or N5 strain. But at this level of detection the strain H% is highly pathogenic,” she said. India reported first outbreak of Avian flu in 2006

in Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat. Control and containment measures were successfully carried out to check the spread of the disease as per the protocol prescribed by the world organization on animal health – OIE. Three months after the completion of the successful culling and containment operations and with no further occurrence of the disease, India was declared free of Avian flu by FAO in August 2006. Last year’s incidence of Avian flu caused an estimated loss of Rs 3000 crore to the poultry industry and 12 countries banned poultry product imports from India. “This time we are alert and have taken all necessary operation within a radius of 10 km from the place of occurance to prevent the spread of the disease and compensate the loss to the affected units, said Sohoni. The compensation would be Rs 30 per broiler bird, Rs 40 per layer bird, Rs 10 per 10-day for chicks below 10 day-old and Rs 6 per kgf for feed. The Union health ministry

too has initiated action to prevent the spread of the disease to humans.------------------------------- GoM takes up inter-ministry dispute on bio-fuels today http://www.financialexpress.com/news/GoM-takes-up-interministry-dispute-on-biofuels-today/206639/ ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Tuesday , July 24, 2007 at 2258 hrs IST New Delhi, Jul 24 The group of ministers (GoM) on bio-fuel headed by agriculture minister, slated to meet on Wednesday, is facing a challenging task of resolving dispute between ministries of the rural development and the new and renewable energy over issue of promotion of bio-fuels in the country.

The new and renewable energy has suggested setting up of a national bio-fuel development board (NBDB) and formulation of a national bio-fuel policy. The NBDB would determine the minimum support prices (MSPs) for bio-fuel crops like jatropha, karanja seeds and oil-bearing materials. On the other hand, the rural development ministry has demanded a gross budgetary support of Rs 1,340 crore for five years to setup to the national mission on bio-diesel and the launch of its first demonstration phase of jatropha cultivation in 400,000 hectares. The ministry also suggested a self-sustaining programme for jatropha cultivation in 11.2 million hectares for achieve a target of 20% blending of bio-fuel with fossil oil. The rural development ministry has given in details the expenditure to be incurred for raising seedlings, plantation, R & D and administrative cost. It has said bio-fuel

crops can be cultivated on 4.315 million hectares identified wastelands. It has also mooted that the proposed NMB identify and lay down the framework for supply of quality planting material, for planning and coordination and investment in R & D, training and capacity building, coordinating backward and forward linkages between farmers and the industry. The new and renewable energy ministry has suggested that the government render financial support to oil processors for a period of five years. Industry should be encouraged to produce ethanol directly from sugarcane, in cane surplus areas. Imports of bio-fuels and ethanol should be done to the extent necessary. ------- Climate change affects monsoon, government moves into action http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Climate-change-affects-monsoon-government-moves-into-action/207554/0 ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Monday , July 30, 2007 at 0039 hrs IST Meteorologists have reported perceptible impact of global climate change on regional rainfall patterns in India. This has prompted the agriculture ministry to encourage adaptation technologies in order to prevent onslaught of climate change. Analyses done by the India Meteorological Department and the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology show the same trends as depicted by the recent report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) relating to temperature, heat

waves, melting of Himalayan glaciers, droughts and floods at places and the rise in the sea level. However, at the national level there is no trend in monsoon rainfall during the last 100 years. The country, being divided into different eco-climatic zone, there are some distinct regional rainfall patterns recorded over the years. The weathermen see that these distinct patterns being disturbed with the increase in rainfall along the west coast, north Andhra Pradesh and north-west India. Decrease in monsoon rainfall is marked in the east Madhya Pradesh and adjoining areas, north-east India and in parts of Gujarat and Kerala. According to the meteorologists, a significant warming trend has been observed along the west coast, central India, interior Peninsula and in the north-east India. However, cooling trend has been

observed in the north-west and some parts of the southern India. Instrumental records over the 130 years do not show any significant long-term trend in the frequencies of large-scale droughts or floods in the summer monsoon season. The total frequency of cyclonic storms that form over the Bay of Bengal has remained almost constant in the period 1887-1997. In the current season, the monsoon system has entered a period of temporary crisis after July 11. The rainfall over the country in the week ended July 18 was less by 25%, with 13 out of 36 meteorological subdivisions experiencing deficient rainfall and 9 with scanty rainfall. The regions of low rainfall in the last week are northern, western and central parts of the country and also a part of the Peninsular India. In the following week ended July 25, rainfall over the country was less by 30% with

15 meteorological subdivisions received scanty rainfall, while 10 received deficient rainfall. The patch of low rainfall is contiguous with large areas of northern, western, central and southern India. Only areas to receive good rainfall in the week was Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and north-eastern India, Uttarakhand, Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the Lakshadweep. Due to the erratic pattern of the monsoon, particularly in June, this year, the sowing operations in several parts of the country was delayed. The floods and heavy rainfall in early July also took a toll on the standing crop. With a view to mitigate such a situation in the near future, the agriculture ministry has planned to select varieties which are resistant to droughts, floods, salinity and encourage their cultivation in specific regions.

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