Not Available ; Abstract Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) is a non-edible oilseed plant with adaptability to marginal semi-arid lands and wastelands. The Indian Government is promoting jatropha to reduce dependence on the crude oil and to achieve energy independence by the year 2012, under the National Biodiesel Mission. Selected strains of Bacillus spp., either supplemented with or without chitin, were tested for their ability to promote growth of jatropha seedlings in pot culture studies. The strains supported growth of jatropha seedlings up to 42 days after sowing. Among all strains, Bacillus pumilus (IM-3) supplemented with chitin showed over all plant growth promotion effect resulting in enhanced shoot length (113%), dry shoot mass (360%), dry root mass (467%), dry total plant mass (346%), leaf area (256%), and chlorophyll content (74%) over control. Treating seeds with strain IM-3 without chitin resulted in enhanced dry shoot mass (473%), dry total plant mass (407%), and chlorophyll content (82%). However, Bacillus polymyxa (KRU-22) with chitin supported maximum root length (143%). Either strain IM-3 alone or in combination with other promising strains could be promoted further for enhanced initial seedling growth of jatropha. ; Not Available
Not Available ; Today energy crisis is worldwide because conventional forms of energy supply and consumption are causing serious economical as well as environmental problems. In our country consumption of petroleum products is increasing day-by-day resulting in huge gap of demand and supply. India rank 6 th in the world in terms of energy demand accounting for 3.5 percent of world commercial energy demand in 2001. India currently imports about 70 percent of its petroleum needs by paying Rs.1, 27,000 crores every year. The demand target may be 120.4 m t for 2006-07. Our domestic production of crude oil and natural gas will remain around 33.97 m t during 2006-07.The huge gap between demand and supply of 86.43 m t may be met only by import or by producing biofuels. The current consumption of diesel in India is approximately 40 m t forming about 40% of the total petroleum product consumption. This is expected to reach 52.32 m t by 2006-07 growing at approximately 5.6 % per annum. Government of India has already introduced petrol blended with 5 percent ethanol for use in motor vehicles in 9 states. A committee constituted by Planning Commission for Development of Biofuels recommended replacing about 10 % of diesel with biodiesel by the end of year 2011-2012 (Singh, 2003). Biodiesel production was spread in 21 countries mainly in Europe, Malaysia and USA. The largest biodiesel plant currently in operation was in Rouen, France with a capacity of 120, 000 tonnes. France is currently the world largest producer of biodiesel using it in 50 percent blend with petrol and diesel. During the last few decades, researchers tried all the edible and non-edible vegetable oils in compression ignition and spark ignition engines for different utilities. Since India cannot afford the usage of edible vegetable oils as power source because of short supply, planners suggested the use of non-edible vegetable oils as alternative fuels like Pongamia, Jatropha, and Neem etc. As Indian nation consists of 40 % of wasteland, it is better to develop all these lands by growing non edible oil plants which not only gives the oil but also enriches the environment by adding the green forest cover for ecological balance. In India, rural areas, in general are facing steep power crisis during the last two decades. Farmers are unable to irrigate their lands because of interrupted and short-term power supply. Finally it is effecting the agriculture production very badly. In this context, it is better to use the available plants, which produce the non-edible oil seeds to cater the needs at rural level for self-sustainability. Though there are more than 300 different species of trees, which produce oil-bearing seeds, Pongamia and Jatropha are the drought resistant plants, which grow with limited water. These two plants suit for the Andhra Pradesh ecological zone as it consists of 60 % of dryland, which has enough potential to meet the fossil fuel demand at rural level. Hence these plants can well be utilized to produce the biodiesel at rural and industrial level. ; Not Available
Not Available ; I. History of Rainfed Agriculture A. Pre-Independence period From time immemorial, the chief form of agriculture in the dryland tracts of India was cultivation of drought resistant crops viz., millets for food and fodder. It used to be a gamble with rainfall. During good rainfall years, the hardships of farmers seem to have been mitigated, as surplus grain and fodder were available. But, as water is the most important single factor of crop production, the inadequacy (200-800 mm/year) and extremely uncertainty (cv: 60-70%) of rainfall often caused partial or complete failure of crops leading to periodic food scarcities and famines. Drought was a frequent phenomenon. These factors made the economic life of the dryland cultivator extremely difficult and insecure. To address these issues, the Government of India appointed the First Famine Commission in 1880. The Commission recommended creation of protective irrigation projects in the dry tracts. However, irrigation in scarcity tracts of Madras, Bombay, Mysore and Hyderabad provinces was possible only to a limited extent. Thus, most of the scarcity tracts of south and some in north India had to depend on rainfall for crop production (Kanitkar et al., 1968). The first systematic and scientific approach to the problem of dry farming was attempted only in 1923 to eradicate drought related problems. Dr H.H.Mann, the then Director of Agriculture, in consultation with Shri C.V.Mehta, the then Minister for Agriculture, Bombay Province, initiated research on dry farming on a small plot at Manjari Farm, near Pune, under the leadership of Shri V.A.Tamhane, the then Soil Physicist to the Government of Bombay. After the transfer of Shri Tamhane in 1926, Dr N.V.Kanitkar took up the responsibility. --- ; Not Available
Not Available ; Agricultural partnership between US and India, to achieve global food security was announced during November, 2010 during the state visit of US President Mr. Barak Obama to India in November 2010. Thereof a MoU signed on India-US trilateral cooperation with Africa to address the food security challenge by adapting technological advances and innovative solutions. Initially as a pilot scheme, National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad and National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur conducted 7 program in training of 219 executives from Kenya, Liberia and Malawi. Based on the impact assessment suggesting extremely successful and overwhelming response, it was considered to further extend the program to African and Asian countries. Accordingly, USAID and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India identified additional countries among those involved in GOI-supported development programs and redefined the program as Feed the Future-India Triangular Training Program (FTF-ITT) and was launched on 25th July, 2016. Subsequently, 17 such countries partner from Africa and Asia were considered. Those include Afghanistan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Mongolia, Vietnam, Botswana (Asian countries) and Kenya, Malawi, Liberia, Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Tanzania & Sudan (African countries), It was envisaged that during the program period till 2020, approximately 1400 agricultural professionals from these countries will be trained with skill enhancement. The modus operandi of this program include conducting of 32 such training program on various aspect of agricultural development and livelihood security at selected Indian Institutions and each training program shall include 25 participants. The course module mostly focused on the themes for which Indian institutions of repute has demonstrated the comparative expertise that could effectively contribute in enhancement of human capital on agricultural development and livelihood security to the target countries' existing human resource capacity. The MANAGE, Hyderabad is implementing this program in collaboration with various Subject Matter Institutions. Accordingly, the MANAGE, identified Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (ICAR-CRIDA) as a potential institute to impart training on one of the 5 important theme of "Strategies for Enhancement of Farmers Income in Dryland Agriculture". Thus MANAGE requested ICAR-CRIDA to organize one 15-days international training program for 22 international executives representing partner countries from Africa and Asia. In view of above, the present international training had been conducted in accordance with standard operating procedure for implementation of FTF-ITT as devised by MANAGE, Hyderabad ; Not Available
Not Available ; Improved crop production forms an integral part of the intervention proposals of the UN Millennium Project to eradicate poverty and hunger in southern Africa. The objective of this study was to collect information on socio-economic aspects and farming practices that could affect adoption of improved agricultural practices. This study highlights the importance of appreciating the complexity of agricultural systems into which development agencies and researchers want to introduce improved technologies. Farmer surveys conducted in dryland and irrigation systems in Limpopo province of South Africa were used to describe the farming communities and identify factors that may affect adoption of improved crop production practices. Surveys involved 367 farmers in seven villages between 2000 and 2003. Surprisingly the incidence of mechanised cultivation was very high. Adoption of new technology in the form of Napier grass trap crops was significantly higher amongst farmers that relied only on farming as a source of income. There were no significant relationships between adoption of improved technologies and farmer age, off-farm income and cultivation methods. These factors are used to illustrate the complexity of agricultural systems and how certain aspects may affect and the role that certain farmer profiles may play in adoption/non-adoption of improved crop production strategies. It is concluded that there may be a lack of need and political will to develop strategies to improve crop production. ; Not Available
Not Available ; India is the seventh largest country in the world and Asia's second largest country, with an area of 3,287,590 km2. The Indian mainland stretches from 8°48 to 37°68N latitude and 68°78 to 97°258E longitude (Figure 1). It has a land frontier of some 15,200 km and a coastline of 7516 km. India's northern frontiers are with Xizang (Tibet) in the Peoples Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan. In the northwest, India borders Pakistan; in the northeast, China and Burma; and in the east Burma. The southern peninsula extends into tropical waters of the Indian Ocean with the Bay of Bengal lying to the southeast and the Arabian Sea to the southwest. For administrative purposes India is divided into 24 states and seven union territories. Most of the Indian land mass is in the semiarid tropical belt characterized by seasonal rainfall lasting over a period of three to four months. Agriculture contributes about 46% of the gross national product (Harbans, Singh 1983) and is also the main occupation of the people and the preoccupation of the government having the responsibility to provide adequate food for a population that makes up about 16% of the world (Nanda 1991) and holds a potential agricultural which only 14% of the world's total (Sinha and Swaminathan 1989). It has been estimated that the absolute maximum possible food production in India is 4572 million tons, which is much higher than the current production of 170 million tons. They have considered only one constraint— total potential agricultural land is limited to 143 million hectors—and assumed optimal conditions in all other aspects to arrive at the maximum food supply potential of soils of different grades. Four crops a year, adequate irrigation and nutrient availability, suitable ambient temperature, along with protection against weeds, pests, and pathogens are assumed. It is unlikely, therefore, that the theoretical potential of 4572 million tons will never be reached. Water supply for irrigation would be a major constraint (Ghosh 1987). ; Not Available
Not Available ; India is a country of about one billion people. More than 70 percent of India's population lives in rural areas where the main occupation is agriculture. Indian agriculture is characterized by small farm holdings. The average farm size is only 1.57 hectares. Around 93 percent of farmers have land holdings smaller than 4 ha and they cultivate nearly 55 percent of the arable land. On the other hand, only 1.6 of the farmers have operational land holdings above 10 ha and they utilize 17.4 percent of the total cultivated land. Due to diverse agro-climatic conditions in the country, a large number of agricultural items are produced. Broadly, these can be classified into two groups - foodgrains crops and commercial crops. Due to the challenge of feeding our vast population and the experience of food shortages in the pre-independence era, 'self reliance' in foodgrains has been the cornerstone of our policies in the last 50 years. Around 66 percent of the total cultivated area is under foodgrain crops (cereals and pulses). Concurrently, commercial agriculture developed for whatever reasons in the pre-independent phase also kept flourishing during the post independent period. Commercial agriculture not only catered to the domestic market but has also been one of the major earners of foreign exchange for the country. Crop diversification is intended to give a wider choice in the production of a variety of crops in a given area so as to expand production related activities on various crops and also to lessen risk. Crop diversification in India is generally viewed as a shift from traditionally grown less remunerative crops to more remunerative crops. The crop shift (diversification) also takes place due to governmental policies and thrust on some crops over a given time, for example creation of the Technology Mission on Oilseeds (TMO) to give thrust on oilseeds production as a national need for the country's requirement for less dependency on imports. Market infrastructure development and certain other price related supports also induce crop shift. Often low volume high-value crops like spices also aid in crop diversification. Higher profitability and also the resilience/stability in production also induce crop diversification, for example sugar cane replacing rice and wheat. Crop diversification and also the growing of large number of crops are practiced in rainfed lands to reduce the risk factor of crop failures due to drought or less rains. Crop substitution and shift are also taking place in the areas with distinct soil problems. For example, the growing of rice in high water table areas replacing oilseeds, pulses and cotton; promotion of soybean in place of sorghum in vertisols (medium and deep black soils) etc. ; Not Available
Not Available ; Agroforestry, the integration of woody perennials with farming systems, has been practiced in India since time immemorial as a tradition land use system because it offers both economically and ecologically viable option to farmers and rural people community for large-scale diversification in agriculture to get supplement fuel, fodder, fruits and fibers on one hand and environment amelioration on the other hand. Despite Agroforestry's huge potential in India, the adoption rates are still low because there are several challenges that reap the benefits of agroforestry like shortage of superior planting material, insufficient research, lack of market infrastructure, cumbersome and frustrating legislation in respect of tree felling, wood transportation, processing. The adoption of National Agroforestry policy by the government of India in 2014 expected to remove these challenges as well as increases the farm productivity and the livelihood of the small and marginal farmers substantially in the future. ; Not Available
Not Available ; Intellectual property rights (IPRs) can be broadly defined as legal rights established over creative or inventive ideas. Such legal rights generally allow right holders to exclude the unauthorized commercial use of their creations/inventions by third persons. The rationale for the establishment of a legal framework on IPRs is that it is a signal to society that creative and inventive ideas will be rewarded. This does not mean that there is no other way of rewarding such ideas or that this system is absolutely necessary, even less sufficient, to reward inventiveness or creativity. Nevertheless, it would be difficult to deny that IPRs do have a role to play in setting up of any such reward system. There are two broad categories of IPRs: one, industrial property2 covering IPRs such as patents, trademarks, geographical indications and industrial designs; two, copyright and related rights covering artistic and literary works, performances, broadcasts and the like. IPRs that do not fit into this classical division are termed sui generis, meaning one-of-its-kind. Such sui generis rights include those covering lay-out designs of semi conductor chips and plant breeders' rights. This paper will in the next section distinguish the IPRs relevant to agriculture and explain these rights. In Section III the international intellectual property law for these rights will be described. Section IV sets out India's international obligations vis-a-vis her own IPR laws and Section V goes on to an analysis of the public debate in India on the controversial IPRs and the status of the legislation on these. This paper concludes in Section VI with prescriptions for public policy on IPRs and agriculture in India. ; Not Available
Not Available ; With more than four million residents, the city of Hyderabad is the capital of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (Figure 1). It is India's seventh largest city and one of its fastest growing. Over the last two decades, the city's population has expanded at an average rate of over three percent per annum; more recently, this rate has increased to 5.6% per year. Now, every ten years, 2.2 million more people come to reside in Hyderabad. By 2020, it is expected that its population will reach 11 million.1 Andhra Pradesh's dynamic young Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, likes to take credit for both the growth and the increasing productivity of Hyderabad. Ever since he took power in 1995, Naidu pursued an aggressive strategy of modernization and technology-based development. He hoped to steal the mantle of "Software Capital of India" away from the city of Bangalore, capital of neighboring Karnataka. Recognizing that Hyderabad lacks Bangalore's numerous universities and defense research centers, Naidu aggressively targeted technologybased businesses to locate in his state's capital by promising to provide them world-class infrastructure. Among Naidu's major successes were luring Microsoft to establish its Indian headquarters in Hyderabad in 1998 and hosting US President Bill Clinton during his whirlwind visit to India in 2000. Naidu is proud of his achievements, but he is also worried about the ability of his city to cope with the roughly 250,000 new people that relocate to Hyderabad each year. He is particularly concerned about fulfilling his promise of providing high-quality infrastructure to firms and households. A combination of heavily subsidized pricing for public services and a lack of adequate investment funds has put tremendous pressure on Hyderabad's public agencies. For several years, Naidu has led a reform effort in Hyderabad's public service agencies, encouraging government employees to become more customer-oriented and professional in their performance. In his re-election campaign of 1999, Naidu pursued a strategy novel in Indian politics by openly promising better public services in exchange for higher tariffs—a pledge that won him re-election. Although many of Naidu's reforms have improved performance in Hyderabad's public agencies, they have not fully addressed the key challenge of expanding infrastructure to keep pace with the rapidly growing city. With encouragement from the World Bank, Naidu has become convinced that privatization of key utilities is the most expedient solution to Hyderabad's impending infrastructure crisis. ; Not Available
Not Available ; The recurrent emergencies in southern Africa1 caused by natural and biological hazards, such as floods, drought, cyclones, pests and diseases have exposed an important segment of the population to high levels of vulnerability. This is sometimes further aggravated by civil strife, HIV/AIDS and economic set-backs. Climate change, and the expected increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, will affect the agriculture sector, thereby increasing the risks faced by the rural populations, the majority of which are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods and food security. International emergency programmes have done much to overcome the immediate shocks of extreme events and emergencies by providing immediate food and shelter needs and to redress the negative impacts on people's lives and their livelihoods. There is a need to not only focus on response, but to also increase the resilience2 of vulnerable communities through prevention and reduction of the impact associated with disruptive events and 1 Angola, Botswana, Comoros, DR of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe. 2 The ability of a household to keep within a certain level of well-being (i.e. being food secure) by withstanding shocks and stresses. increasing people's preparedness for response in order to reduce their vulnerabilities. Disaster risk reduction/management (DRR/M) and climate change adaptation have been assigned a high priority in the FAO corporate strategy in order to support governments to better respond to natural disasters with adequate policies, institutions and coordination mechanisms, and to strengthen capacities at national and local levels to assess, reduce and adapt to climate and disaster risks. ; Not Available
Not Available ; Palada et al. (2006) defines a vegetable as a plant that is cultivated for an edible part such as the leaf, stem or root. Vegetables are very essential for the nutrition security of the people of the Caribbean and are absolutely important and vital for human health and not a luxury (USDA 1996). Vegetables are a rich source of many essential micronutrients, including vitamins C and K, foliate, thiamin, carotenes, several minerals, and dietary fiber. In fact, UN-SCN (2004) stated that vegetables are the most stable and sustainable sources of micronutrients. According to the overview statement of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI 2011), the Governments of the Caribbean islands have identified vegetables as part of the 'Regional Food Basket' and great efforts are being dedicated towards achieving 'food sovereignty'. From 1987, CARDI in both Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have devoted a considerable amount of effort on research and development on leafy vegetables. Research included the Amaranth ( Amaranthus sp), which is called 'callaloo' in Jamaica and cabbage and lettuce in Trinidad and Tobago (Chandler 1987). The CARDI factsheets for the region provides information of work that begun in the 1980's. The data provides information stating that the Trinidad and Tobago unit, together with CARDI St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines carried out studies on non-leafy vegetables like tomatoes, onions and sweet peppers; the Barbados unit worked on carrots and scallions (Hudson 1992); the St. Lucia unit studied chayotes also called 'cristophene' (Chase 1985); and CARDI Grenada researched eggplant (Buckmire 1980). Some of the work done have led to successful production of some vegetables ; Not Available
Not Available ; This comprehensive handbook is the revised version of the "BioFuel Technology Handbook" developed under the Biofuel Marketplace project, supported by the Intelligent Energy Europe Program of the European Commission. It was created in order to promote the production and use of biofuels and to inform politicians, decision makers, biofuel traders and all other relevant stakeholders about the state-of-the-art of biofuels and related technologies. Thereby, the large variety of feedstock types and different conversion technologies are described. Explanations about the most promising biofuels provide a basis to discuss about the manifold issues of biofuels. The impartial information given in this handbook further contributes to diminish existing barriers for the broad use of biofuels. Emphasis of this handbook is on first generation biofuels: bioethanol, biodiesel, pure plant oil1 , and biomethane. However, it includes also second generation biofuels such as BtLfuels and bioethanol from lingo-cellulose as well as biohydrogen. The whole life cycle of biofuels is assessed under technical, economical, ecological, and social aspects. Characteristics and applications of biofuels for transport purposes are demonstrated and evaluated. This is completed by an assessment about the most recent studies on biofuel energy balances. GHG balances and sustainability aspects are important issues in the current discussion about biofuels. This handbook describes the current discussion about these issues and summarizes results of several studies. GHG calculation methods are presented and potential impacts of biofuel production characterized: deforestation of rainforests and wetlands, loss of biodiversity, water pollution, human health, child labor, and labor conditions. Finally, future developments in the biofuel sector are outlined. This includes discussions on 1st versus 2nd generation biofuels, integrated refining concepts and strategies for new vehicle technologies. ; Not Available
Not Available ; A new Agriculture Partnership between US and India to achieve Ever Green Revolution to address Global Food Security was announced during the State visit of US President Mr. Barak Obama to India in November 2010. The effort included Triangular Cooperation adapting technological advances and innovative solutions to address Food Security Challenges in Africa. This pilot stage focused on three African Countries i.e., Kenya, Liberia and Malawi with potential to expand throughout the African Continent in future. Consequently, National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad and National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur conducted 7 training programs covering 219 executives from Kenya, Liberia & Malawi. Participants Surveys were conducted in Kenya, Liberia & Malawi to assess the impact of training programs. Results were beyond expectations. Due to the success of first seven training programs, there have been considerable enthusiasms from the prospective Executives from Africa and Asia to participate in the training program. As a result, USAID and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Govt. of India identified 17 additional countries and designated as Feed the Future; India Triangular Training Program which was launched on 25th July, 2016 at New Delhi. During the program period until 2020, around 1400 Agricultural professionals will be trained in Africa and Asia in phased manner. The program will conduct 32, fifteen days training courses (excluding travel period) at select Indian institutions for 25 participants in each programme. In addition 12 Nos. ten days duration trainings (excluding travel period), in selected partner countries in Africa and Asia, for up to 50 participants per programme. Each course module will focus on themes or sub sectors in which Indian institutions of reputed or have demonstrated comparative advantage to offer such trainings and ensure that it effectively responds to the target countries' capacity gaps. This approach is designed to respond to the needs of target countries based on the Demand Analysis carried out at the beginning of this program. Based on the demand analyzed, it was identified that Mechanization of small farms has been a major challenge for developing countries. Farm mechanization is essential to sustain the interest of small farmers. Accordingly ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering was selected as a training institute based on the extraordinary works undertaken by the institute in the field of Farm mechanization. ; Not Available
Not Available ; There is a dearth of knowledge on the employment effect of modern agricultural technology on rural women in Bangladesh. The present study provides a systematic estimate of women's participation in crop production activities and examines their influence in the diffusion of modern technology and their participation in hired labor market. Farm-level input-output data of fourteen crop groups is taken from two intensive surveys, crop years 1989 and 1996, respectively, in three agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh. Findings suggest that the prevailing claim that women are involved only in post harvest processing of crop production is an underestimation of women's contribution to agricultural production. Women's share of total labor requirements is between 10 - 18 percent in foodgrain production and between 6 – 48 percent in non-cereal crop (lowest for jute and highest for vegetables) production. Increased demand for labor owing to technological change was almost entirely met by hiring male labor, revealing that women were deprived from reaping full benefits from modern agricultural technology. The few women, who were hired, were paid significantly lower wages; revealing unequal opportunities and a lack of bargaining power for women in the hired labor market. Analysis of modern technology adoption behavior revealed a significant negative association between working women family members and modern variety adoption rate, implying a lack of participation of women in technology adoption decisions. Analysis of determinants of labor demand revealed negative association of working women family members with labor demand, implying that increased demand for total labor is substituted from female family labor thereby increasing their workload. A decentralized crop diversification policy toward non-cereal crop production would promote women's gainful employment. Also, a policy of equal minimum wage for men and women is urgently needed. Moreover, building up of human capital by providing gender sensitive educational programs facilitated through a collaborative effort between government and NGOs could be a positive step toward achieving the goal of balanced development in the long run. ; Not Available
