on BIO-FUELs + BIRD FLU + BASMATI RICE + GMOs + IDRC + Global Agri-Industries + Barley + Palm Oil

[Guest guest]

NEWS Bulletin from Indian Society For Sustainable Agriculture And Rural Development ********************************** 1. Bird flu affected await govt sops On BIO-FUELs---- 2. Pest control on bio-fuel crops needed 3. Even as GoM deliberates, some states kick off bio-fuel schemes 4. Sugar industry seeks special

status for ethanol 5. Canada to help set up next gen bio-fuel projects 6. New BASMATI RICE variety can resist bacteria - (also researches in GMOs) 7. Row over crude palm oil duty 8. DBT to search bio-molecules for new

antibiotics 9. Canada's envoy in India to head IDRC 10. India to host first global agro-industries meet 11. Barley gains attention of beer industry 12. Govt expects wheat

output to touch 75 mt --------- Bird flu affected await govt sops http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Bird-flu-affected-await-govt-sops/276644/0 ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Sunday , February 24, 2008 at 2251 hrs IST New Delhi, Feb 24 The poultry industry, which has suffered losses on account of the recent outbreak of avian flu in West Bengal, is eagerly waiting for the government's subvention on interest rates charged on loans extended to them by banks. The Reserve Bank of India, last week, had issued guidelines to banks suggesting a one-year moratorium on repayment of outstanding loans, conversion of working capital loans into term loans, and re-schedulement of term-loan repayment as a relief to the affected poultry industry. According to sources, the finance minister P Chidambaram may announce the government's subvention rates on loans extended to the poultry industry either before the Budget or may spell it out in his Budget speech. The Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had earlier announced that the government would work out separate relief packages

for the poultry sector - one exclusively for poultry farmers in West Bengal and the other for the poultry industry in the country as a whole, which has suffered in sales due to a dip in prices in the country and the ban imposed by different countries on Indian poultry imports. The government's package would include subvention rates on interest charged by banks. He had assured that the financial package would be an improved one over that announced in March 2006 on account of the outbreak of bird flu. The March 2006 package contained 4% interest subvention, a one-year moratorium period for repayment of loans, conversion of working capital into loans, and extension of fresh loans for working capital. "The poultry industry had demanded zoning of poultry areas in the country based on geo-climatic conditions, so that exports from bird flu-free zones can be business as usual, ban on export of corn and soybean to

augment feed availability, 7% central government's interest subvention on loans, and a two-year moratorium on repayment of loans," said Anuradha Desai, chairperson of the National Egg Coordination Committee. The government has turned down the proposal for zoning of poultry areas, even though the industry had pointed out such zoning or compartmentalisation exists in the US and is allowed by the world animal health organisation - OIE. It has also refused to impose a ban on exports of corn or soybean. India has a poultry population of 489 million (nearly 3% of world's poultry), out of which 51% is concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Due to the recent incidence of avian flu in West Bengal, culling operations were undertaken not only in this states but also in parts of the neighbouring states - Assam, Bihar, and Jharkhand --- Pest control on bio-fuel crops needed http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Pest-control-on-biofuel-crops-needed/276729/0 ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Sunday , February 24, 2008 at 2354 hrs IST New Delhi, Feb 24 The Hyderabad-based Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) has said that plantation of different tree borne oilseeds in wastelands under different agro-climatic conditions can be taken up for production of bio-fuels. But pests control

needs adequate attention. CRIDA has conducted on-farm experimentation in three districts in Andhra Pradesh, namely Anantapur, Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda alongwith the state government's rainshadow area development department. In general, the experiments showed the survival of Jatropha was about 95% after two years of planting and that of Pongamia was around 98% after a year of planting. "Experiments on pruning of Jatropha plants in different districts have shown good response to the treatment at a height of 45 cm and 60 cm from ground level by reflecting in increased number of branches (10-15 per plant) and also vigorous growth", said GR Rao of CRIDA. However, with a view to develop good plant growth, the inflorescene should be removed during the first year. It was observed that the pruning had reflected in more pest problems as pruned plants had more vigor and also because of

pruning injuries, he said CRIDA suggested that legume intercropping should be taken up in the three-year gestation period of Jatropha plantation with a view to provide immediate income to the farmer and improving soil fertility. It experimented with such intercropping of pigeonpea, blackgram and horsegram in 2006. The spacing should, however, be at least 3m between rows of Jatropha while that for Pongamia at least 5x4m. Still wider spacing of 6x4m or 6x6m is preferred for Pongamia to get good growth. According to CRIDA study major pests were, however, observed on bio-fuel plants namely Semilooper (Archaea janata), red hairy caterpillar (Amsacta albistriga), leaf webber (Pempelia morosalis), stem girdler, grass hoppers, Defoliater, leaf and inflorescence webber (Pempelia morosalis), spotted bugs (Scutellera nobilis/Chrysocoris purpureus), scale insects (Megapulvinaria maxima), leaf miner, leaf blight and leaf galls (Eriophyes cherian). CRIDA initiated on-station trials with Jatropha way back in 1992 and on Pongamia since 2003. It identified 218 Jatropha species and over 197 Pongamia species in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and collected and screened germplasm on the basis of oil content in the seed and thereafter short-listed 42 Jatropha accessions

and 23 Pongamia accessions for evaluation. "The screened accessions of Jatropha and Pongamia are being evaluated in progeny trials. Germplasm of these two species were exchanged with network partners, representing all state governments for multi locational trials," said Rao He said that CRIDA has taken up standardized mass multiplication and other agro technologies for raising elite accessions of Jatropha and Pongamia and intiated trials on inter and intra specific breeding in Jatropha. The negative and positive interactions in bio-fuel plants based agro-forestry systems were being evaluated to develop a sound agro-forestry system suitable to dryland areas. Grafting in Pongamia standardization and performance of grafts vis-avis seedlings were being evaluated in the fields, he said and added that CRIDA has already designed a mini oil expeller by modifying the screw and oil

chamber of traditional oil expeller to suit the needs of extracting oil from Jatropha and Pongamia.... ------ Even as GoM deliberates, some states kick off bio-fuel schemes http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Even-as-GoM-deliberates-some-states-kick-off-biofuel-schemes/276702/0 ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Sunday , February 24, 2008 at 2337 hrs IST New Delhi, Feb 24 : Some state governments, without waiting for a decision by the group of ministers (GoM) on bio-fuels, headed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, have gone ahead with their own programme of large-scale plantation of Jatropha. "We have launched our Jatropha plantation programme taking a cue from the Planning Commission's document, National Mission on Biodiesel. We are aware that the GoM on bio-fuels is deliberating the issue. The broad policy of the central government has already been

enunciated in the Planning Commission document. The GoM is discussing incentives to be provided and the work of central government agencies in aiding implementation of the programme," SK Shukla, executive director of Chhattisgarh Bio-fuel Development Authority (CBDA), told FE. The CBDA, which is headed by the chief secretary of the state, has identified 15.7 million hectare out of 201.5 million hectare revenue fallow land in different parts of the state for Jatropha. Chhattisgarh has 170.18 million hectare of degraded forest land in 17 out of 18 districts which can used for Jatropha plantation. "But for this, we need clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests," Shukla said. The Indian Railways also owns 7,309.557 hectare land along the tracks and other holdings amounting to 1,096.871 hectare, which can be used for Jatropha, he added. State government agencies have raised about 390 million

Jatropha saplings in nurseries and have distributed them free to farmers for planting in 1,55,000 hectare in the last three years. In 2008-09, 200 million Jatropha saplings would be raised in nurseries. Chhattisgarh has also announced support prices for Jatropha seed at Rs 6,500 a tonne, Karanj seeds at Rs 6,000 a tonne and for Jatropha and Karanj oils at Rs 18 per litre. Also, it has framed a new policy for leasing out wastelands to investors. In addition, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is being used for Jatropha plantation. The Bio-fuel Authority of Rajasthan, too, has identified 2,106.8 hectares in 11 districts for Jatropha, said PC Chaplot, of the directorate of extension education in Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology. The state is also exploring the possibility of diverting 2% to 3% farm land for Jatropha in the form of hedges around fields for protecting crops, water harvesting as well as acting as a windbreak. In the south, Karnataka

has set up an autonomous Bio-fuel Board with members drawn from institutions, agriculture universities, forest and agriculture departments, industry and NGOs for integrated development of the bio-fuel programme and formulating support prices for seeds, oil and oilcakes, KV Sarvesh, of the state agriculture department told FE. In Uttarakhand, Uttaranchal Bio-fuel Board has been set up. Uttaranchal Biodiesel Ltd, a company having its corporate office in Mumbai and registered office in Delhi, is setting up a sate-of-the art multi-feed bio-fuel refinery for production of 600 tonne per day (TPD) bio-fuel. The primary feedstock for the refinery would be Jatropha oil. Of late, emphasis is being given to the use of Pongamia seed oil as a substitute for diesel in electricity generation in rural areas of Tumkur and Ramanagara in Karnataka and Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh. Jatropha oil is being directly used in place of

diesel for tractors and water lifting devices in Tamil Nadu and Punjab. - Sugar industry seeks special status for ethanol http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Sugar-industry-seeks-special-status-for-ethanol/276212/ ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Saturday , February 23, 2008 at 0059 hrs IST New Delhi, Feb 22 As the government is becoming proactive

in promoting bio-fuel programme in the country, the sugar industry is eagerly waiting for a reduction in excise duty on molasses, which is currently high at Rs 750 a tonne. The sugar industry has also sought for placing ethanol in the "special category of goods" under clause 5A of the Central Sales Tax Act, so that the state governments will not impose local taxes on this commodity. At present, there is a provision for mandatory doping of auto-fuel with 5% ethanol throughout the country, with the exception of the northeastern region and hilly areas. All states except West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have implemented the 5% mandatory doping programme. The government has plans to increase ethanol doping to 10% from October 2008. The government has also allowed the sugar mills to deploy appropriate technology to source ethanol directly from sugarcane juice instead of following the molasses route, which is costlier. Molasses, a byproduct of the industry, is processed into ethanol. Speaking to FE, the director-general of Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), SL Jain said, "At present, the excise duty on molasses is Rs 750 a tonne which is about three

times the price of molasses, being in the range of Rs 200 to Rs 350 a tonne in different parts of the country. The issue of reduction in excise duty on molasses and placing ethanol in the special category of goods under clause 5A of the Central Sales Tax Act is pending before the group of ministers (GoM) headed by the Union agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar. As the GoM could not decide on this issue so far, we expect the finance minister, P Chidambaram, appreciating the urgency of the situation, would address the problem in the forthcoming Union Budget." Jain also alleged that there were also problems of deliberate delays in lifting of ethanol by the oil companies. --- Canada to help set up next gen bio-fuel projects http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Canada-to-help-set-up-next-gen-biofuel-projects/275284/ ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Thursday , February 21, 2008 at 0009 hrs IST New Delhi, Feb 20 Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) roped in Saskatchewan University in Canada for advanced researches in second generation technologies for bio-fuels. IARI director, SA Patil said, "Agri residues such as bagasse, wheat straw, sorghum and maize starws, leaf litter and various other plant biomass, which have not

been adequately utilised for energy production, provide ample opportunities for use as bio-fuels. Conversion of biomass to clean energy such as hydrogen, ethanol and biogas offer promising solutions. We have entered into an agreement with the Saskatchewan University in Canada for four specific projects on bio-fuels." One project is for conversion of biomass to ethanol using different technologies like acid hydrolysis and super critical carbon dioxide to produce fermentable sugars, which will be converted to ethanol via fermentation. Another project is production of bio-diesel from Jatropha and other tree bearing oils (TBOs) using ultra sound technology. Other two projects are for conversion of waste biomass to biogas and biofertilisers and for biomass conversion to hydrogen through super critical water process. The dean in the college of engineering in the Saskatchewan

University, Janusz Nozinski said, "Saskatchewan province is a leader in production of peas and lentils. We also export to India. Chickpea in India and Canada face among other stresses, the disease of Ascochyta blight. We have signed and agreement for collaborative research on identification and development of molecular markers linked to Ascochyta blight resistance." Breeding of chickpeas for resistance with mutually shared breeding populations for multi-region, multi-race based disease screening and phenotyping will be taken up along with identification and charcterisation of races and resistances in the germplasm. The joint collaboration would also aim at researches in plant genomics (SNP markers for diagnostic and molecular breeding), development of transgenic crops resistant to abiotic stresses and QTL identification.----- New basmati variety can resist bacteria - (also researches in GMOs) http://www.financialexpress.com/news/New-basmati-variety-can-resist-bacteria/270955/ ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Saturday , February 09, 2008 at 0115 hrs IST New Delhi, Feb 8 The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has developed an improved variety of its Pusa Basmati-1 rice called Pusa-1460 resistant to bacterial leaf blight. "As the Pusa Basmati-1 developed by us was not resistant to bacterial leaf blight, we developed Pusa-1460 which has the same agronomic features of Pusa Basmati-1 in addition to being resistant to bacterial leaf blight," said the IARI director, S A Patil. He said that IARI also

developed many new cultivars, which were released for cultivation in different agronomic conditions. The high-yielding wheat variety HD2932 was released and notified for late sown variety of wheat for central and peninsular zone of the country. The LES-1-27 (Pusa Mustard-21) low cruces acid (single zero) variety of Indian mustard has been released by Central Varietal Release Committee for several states in northern India for timely sown irrigated conditions. Two mustard varieties (Pusa Mustard 24 and Pusa Mustard-22) and one short duration pigeonpea variety, Pusa 2002 have also been identified for release. An extra early maturing variety of Hirsutum cotton, PSS2 (Arvinda) with determinate habit and tolerance to hot humid conditions has been released for West Bengal. Among horticulture crops, Patil said that a variety of IARI's Pusa Ujwal - Ash gourd - has been identified for commercial cultivation in Zone VII.

Several new hybrids in rose and gladiolus have been developed. He said that several studies on identification and sequencing of novel genes and promoters, transgenic research and development and structural and functional genomics were taken up. Entomopathogenic nematode for attracting and killing subterranean termites has been developed. A biopesticidal formulation 'Pusa Nema Gel' based on an indigenous heat tolerant entomopathogenic nematode, steinernema thermophilum, has been found to be highly efficacious against the subterranean termite infestation on maize and is ready for commercialisation. -- Row over crude palm oil duty http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Row-over-crude-palm-oil-duty/275750/ ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Friday , February 22, 2008 at 0025 hrs IST New Delhi, Feb 21 The tariff structure on vegetable oils has become a contentious issue between the two opposing sections of the industry. The producers of hydrogenated vegetable oil (vanaspati) want the duty on crude palm oil (CPO) to be reduced to 20%, while the manufacturers of refined vegetable oils want the duty to remain at the existing 46.35%, which they say is "already quite low." Both the sections of the industry have made separate presentations to the Union finance minister, P

Chidambaram before the Union Budget, staking their demands with justifications. The secretary general of Indian Vanaspati Producers' Association (IVPA), SP Kamrah said that the main raw material for the industry, CPO, was being imported at 45% basic duty as against the import of the final product - vanaspati - against zero duty under free trade agreements with Nepal and Sri Lanka. This had made the industry uncompetitive in terms of prices. The cost for Indian producers was Rs 880 for 15 kg pack while that for Sri Lankan producers was Rs 810, he said The IVPA alleged, "The higher duty on CPO against the duty-free import of vanaspati from neigbouring countries has created a uneven playing field. For example, in Sri Lanka, duty levied on CPO is $ 25 (Rs 1,000) per tonne while in India it is Rs 8,225 a tonne." Kamrah said that though duty-free import from Nepal was limited to only

100,000 tonne, in actual practice about 150,000 tonne more were being smuggled into India. He demanded that vanaspati producers be allowed to import CPO against a flat rate of duty at Rs 4,000 a tonne instead of the present ad voleram duty. Alternatively, pending this decision, the government should allow vanaspati producers to import CPO at 20% duty. The chairman of the Central Organisation for Oil Industry and Trade (COOIT), Davish Jain said that with the freezing of tariff values for different grades of vegetable oils at August/September 2006 levels, the effective duty has already become quite low - 18.67% for CPO and 16.81% for crude soybeanoil. Any further reduction in tariff would adversely affect the oilseed growers. Taking advantage of further reduction in tariff, the overseas exporters would raise oil prices imperiling the benefits due to consumers.---- DBT to search bio-molecules for new antibiotics http://www.financialexpress.com/news/DBT-to-search-biomolecules-for-new-antibiotics/276000/0 ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Friday , February 22, 2008 at 1916 hrs IST New Delhi, February 22: The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has initiated a Rs 24.86 crore network project for screening of bio-molecules from microbial diversity in different ecological niches, in response to the growing demand for new and more effective antibiotics. The demand more effective antibiotics is growing particularly due to the increase in bacterial resistance to antibiotics. In 2005, worldwide

sales of oral antibiotics totaled $ 25 billion, including US sales of $ 8.5 billion ($ 7 billion for adults and $ 1.5 billion for children). The market for antibiotics is seen growing at a fast pace with adult and pediatric prescriptions growing at 8.5% and 10.8% respectively. Briefing mediapersons in New Delhi on Friday, the Union Science and Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal said that the the Rs 24.86 crore project initiated by DBT will involve nine institute with NPIL Research and Development Ltd (NRDL) as an industrial partner. The DBT would contribute Rs 17.98 crore while NRDL would contribute Rs 17.98 crore. The project envisages a mega scale screening programme for various environmental isolates. This is the first project in the country where industry and academia will work together to screen such a large number of bacterial isolates. Different academic institutes will isolate organisms specific to

diverse ecological niches. For each sample, isolation of bacteria will be carried out on 30 different growth media. This multi-institutional effort will generate approximately 7000 isolates per month (~1000 per institute), which will be regularly sent to NRDL. Screening will be carried out for anti-cancer, anti-infective, anti-diabetes and anti-inflammation properties. In addition to culture dependent method, the culture independent approach

will also be taken up for a few selected samples. The project will lead to selection of potential candidate molecules, which will be taken to process scale-up strategies with appropriate partners. The credit sharing in this project amongst the PI and industry has been mutually worked out and an agreement has been signed on 22nd February 2008 in the presence of Sibal. A separate microbial repository will be set up at National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune to maintain the 2,00,000 isolates generated under this project. This would be the largest such facility in the country and would confirm to International Depository Authority (IDA) standards. Sibal also informed that the method for diagnosis of tuberculosis by smear microscopy, culture and polymerase chain reaction using processed clinical samples and kit thereof' developed by the Delhi-based All India Institute of

Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was transferred by Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL) to Arbro Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a Delhi based pharmaceutical and diagnostics company. The technology developed by Jaya Sivaswami Tyagi at AIIMS with support from the DBT, enables TB detection (pulmonary and extra-pulmonary infection) with high sensitivity and specificity. The devR gene of M. tuberculosis was identified in Tyagi's laboratory at AIIMS and used to develop PCR assays. The PCR test is based on amplification of a short segment of the devR gene. The sensitivity of PCR is >90 % in both sputum and CSF samples and 45 – 85 % in extra pulmonary samples including pleural fluid, pleural tissue and lymph node biopsy specimens. The specificity has ranged between 66 – 100% in various studies carried out on pulmonary and extra pulmonary samples. The performance of PCR is significantly better than the conventional tests and PCR

promises to be a very valuable tool for rapidly diagnosing extra pulmonary tuberculosis. An Indian patent was granted for this technology and national phase filing in various countries was completed. The results of most of the studies are published in international peer

reviewed journals. The technology will find use in any laboratory that handles M. tuberculosis and MOTT bacilli-containing specimens. In addition to tuberculosis it is also suitable for the diagnosis of other mycobacterial diseases by smear microscopy and culture and by PCR with the use of species-specific amplification primers.... -- Canada's envoy in India to head IDRC http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Canadas-envoy-in-India-to-head-IDRC/275574/ ASHOK B

SHARMAPosted online: Thursday , February 21, 2008 at 2009 hrs IST New Delhi, February 21: Canada's High Commissioner in India, David M Malone has been appointed as the President of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). His appointment was announced on Thursday by the Canada's Minister for External Affairs, Maxime Bernier, a press release issued by the Canadian High Commission said. Malone will replace Maureen O'Neil. And take charge of his new responsibility on July 1, 2008. In New Delhi, where IDRC has located one of its six regional offices, Malone said: "I will be tremendously sorry to leave India, an assignment I have loved. But I am delighted to be offered the opportunity to work with the very impressive IDRC Board and staff on a broad range of issues

highly relevant to India and on which India's leadership will be of systemic importance to development efforts in the rest of the world." IDRC is a Crown corporation created by Parliament in 1970 to help developing countries use science and technology to find practical, long-term solutions to the social, economic and environmental problems they face. Support is directed toward building an indigenous research capacity to sustain policies and technologies that developing countries need to build healthier, more equitable and more prosperous societies. IDRC works collaboratively with many federal government departments, especially Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency. Guided by a 21-member international Board of Governors, IDRC reports to Parliament through the Minister of Foreign Affairs. "Mr. Malone is an accomplished

diplomat and respected scholar His immense experience in the field as well as in academic research covers areas such as international economic trends, conflict prevention and human rights. He will be a great asset to the Centre, " said Bernier. Malone joined the department of external affairs in 1975 and served in increasingly senior positions in Ottawa, Cairo, Amman and New York. He is currently Canada's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan and Nepal, managing Canada's largest diplomatic mission abroad. From 1998 to 2004, he was President of the International Peace Academy in New York, an independent non-profit research organization. He has taught at a number of universities in Canada, France and the United States and has published numerous books and articles on international relations. ------ India to host first global agro-industries meet http://www.financialexpress.com./news/India-to-host-first-global-agroindustries-meet/276580/ ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Sunday , February 24, 2008 at 1803 hrs IST New Delhi, February 24: India will host the first four-day global conference on agro-industries, to be held in Delhi from April 8, 2008. The Global Agro-Industries Forum (GAIF) will promote the

importance of agro-industries for economic development and poverty reduction, a press release of GAIF said. Around 500 senior representatives from the agro-industry, governments, technical and financing institutions, civil society and UN agencies will discuss the potential of agro-industries and the challenges they are facing. The conference will be jointly organised by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in close collaboration with the Indian government. The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh will officially inaugurate the Forum on April 9, in the presence of The FAO director-general Jacques Diouf, UNIDO director-general Kandeh K. Yumkella, IFAD President Lennart Bage. Rapid globalisation, market

liberalization, and urbanization have created new opportunities for countries to trade agricultural and food products. However, they have also created challenges and increased risks. Countries with inefficient agro-industries are likely to be left behind those with modern and efficient agro-industries. While high-income countries add, on average, US$180 of value by processing one tonne of agricultural products, developing countries generate only $ 40 of value per tonne, the press release said. Increasing the market opportunities particularly for small-scale producers in rural areas, by improving their production, processing and marketing capabilities, will be one of the main issues of the conference. Delivering better products at lower prices could be beneficial for poor consumers and could also create employment opportunities. The GAIF will also encourage dialogue between the private and public sector in

order to foster partnerships for developing competitive agro-industries. ----- Barley gains attention of beer industry http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Barley-gains-attention-of-beer-industry/264029/ ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Monday , January 21, 2008 at 2351 hrs IST New Delhi, Jan 21 The orphan crop, barley, is now gradually gaining the attention of the industry for preparation of beer. SKOL Breweries Ltd of the SAB Miller-India is encouraging farmers in Rajasthan to cultivate

the type of malt barley required by the industry. Barley grown in India has high protein content of 13% to 15% as a coarse cereal it caters to poor man’s nutrition needs. But as a neglected crop, the area under barley has been fast decreasing over the years. In the last year, area under barley was only 0.671 million hectare. The reason being that farmers prefer to cultivate crops which has higher support prices and greater market demand. “Market demand for a crop can be created if alternate uses are put in place. Right now Indian barley has few alternate uses. The high protein content in Indian barley is not suitable for making beer. Ideally the protein content in barley should be in the range of 7% to 10% if it is to be used in the beer industry, “ said the director of corporate affairs and communication in SAB Miller-India, Sundeep Kumar. He

said that in previous year out of the total production of 1.227 million tonne barley, only 200,000 tonne was used for making beer. “We are sourcing seeds from different countries and trying to find out the right ones that can be crossed and backcrossed with the Indian variety,” he said. SAB Miller-India has selected Rajasthan as an ideal place where barley can be grown under suitable climatic conditions for having lower protein content required by the beer industry. It has launched a programme called Saanji Unnati for educating farmers to sow the right type of certified seeds and practices." "Much depends upon the agronomic practices of farmers in producing the right type barley. We are advising farmers on input uses," said Robert Persyn, general manager of Semper, who is rendering technical expertise for the Saanji Unnati programme. The marketing aspect is taken up by Cargill India. Rajasthan produces about 431,000 tonne barley (35.% of country's production) over 183,000 hectare area (28.8% of country's barley area). Normal productivity in the state is 2354 kg per hectare. -------- Govt expects wheat output to touch 75 mt http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Govt-expects-wheat-output-to-touch-75-mt/269891/ ASHOK B SHARMAPosted online: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 at 2320 hrs IST New Delhi , Feb 6 The government expects that with favourable weather conditions the wheat output in the current season would cross 75 million tonne. Briefing the mediapersons at the sidelines of the 65 th general council meeting of the National Cooperative Development Corporation in Delhi on Wednesday, Pawar said ; “This is one of the best year for wheat production. The cold weather is favourable. We expect wheat output to cross 75 million tonne.” He, however, said that the cold weather and frost have caused damage to mustard crop, mangoes and grapes in some areas. He the culling of birds in the avian flu affected West Bengal was almost complete. The government would work out two separate revival packages – one would be exclusively for West Bengal where 75% of the affected were small backyard poultry farmers and other would be for the poultry industry which have suffered from the downturn in sales and prices on account of the incidence of bird flu in West Bengal. While appreciating NCDC for its ‘spectacular’

performance, Pawar asked this apex financial institution in the cooperative sector to re-orient its decision making process to respond to fast emerging challenges. He emphasized that large investments would be required to achieve 4% annual growth of the farm sector in the XI Plan. Though the annual growth rate has shown a rising trend in the last two years, reversing the deceleration experienced during the previous Plans would need further mobilizing resources, creating infrastructure, facilitating easy availability of inputs, organizing research and technology development, institutional support services and putting in place contingency measures to safeguard crops from natural calamities. The cooperative sector would have to play an important role in this endeavour, the minister said. NCDC has chalked out an ambitious programme of Rs. 19640 crore for the XI Plan. The NCDC has shown record performance on all

major parameters in 2006-07. -------

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