This report evaluates emission mitigation options to achieve net-zero carbon emissions through marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves for the existing plants in the fertiliser industry. MAC curves were developed for three major fertilisers produced in India, which account for 85 per cent of total fertiliser production—urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), and …
Gian kaur, 50, is a breast cancer patient. But in her village her ailment does not make her unique or get her visitors to check on her health. Almost every house in her village Giana in Bhatinda district has an ailing patient to tend to. Cancer or less fatal diseases …
A few months, India was besieged by a drought. But the drought did not lead to a famine. A comfortable grain reserve of 26 million tonnes -11 million tonnes more than would be required in a normal year to stave of the famine. But this may be the last time …
Undoubtedly, GR made Punjab one of the richest states in India in terms of per capita income. From Rs 2,674 in 1980-81, the per capita income at current prices rose to Rs 19,770 in 1997-98. Compared to Punjab, Tamil Nadu's per capita income was only Rs 12,989, while that of …
It's been 50 years since politicians have been mouthing the slogan: Jai jawan, jai kisan (Long live soldiers, long live farmers). Now it has started to sound like a raucous chant, at least to the farmers struggling to survive. They till the soil harder, increase their spending to replenish their …
Agreed. The government cannot just do away with subsidies on chemical fertilisers, tractors and diesel. Far too many farmers depend on these. But what keeps the government from promoting livestock as well? "Productivity of the livestock system can be trebled with corresponding increase in rural income. This requires a draught …
the decision of the Nepal government to do away with the subsidy on chemical fertiliser has attracted criticism from all quarters. This decision was taken by the previous regime in 1997 and is meant to end the monopoly on chemical fertilisers and to introduce competition in the fertiliser market. The …
it has been twenty-eight years since the Oriental white stork disappeared from Japan. The birds stopped inhabiting the Japanese countryside due to the overuse of agro-chemicals in paddy fields that killed the loach, a staple food for the birds. In the hope of seeing the birds in Japan again, the …
agro-scientists in India are a troubled lot these days because there are indications that the soil in some of the most-productive regions of the country is losing its micronutrient content. “However, in India, little attention is paid to the possible health impact of depleting micronutrients in the soil,” laments V …
The Punjab state government of Pakistan has approved a Rs 15.5-million grant for a project to study the impact of pesticides and fertilisers. The project is called "Effects of agro-chemicals on soil, water and crops'. According to official sources, efforts will also be made to popularise integrated pest management (IPM) …
Pakistan's Punjab government has decided to launch a campaign to check marketing of substandard zinc sulphate used by farmers to get a higher yield of rice crop. The additional secretary (planning) Arif Nadeem said that the use of substandard zinc sulphate was the major factor responsible for low rice yield …
large numbers of whale deaths off Mexico's coasts were most likely caused by humans polluting the seas, but the real answer may never be known due to government foot-dragging, environmentalists said. Mexico has recorded at least four massive die-offs of whales and other marine mammals since 1993, the latest occurring …
patenting of basmati rice by Ricetec Inc of the us has been in and out of the news since February 1998. In response to a public interest petition filed in the Supreme Court, the Attorney General of India says Indian scientists and the best legal brains in the us are …
A division bench of the Gujarat high court recently directed the Gujarat State Fertilisers Company Limited (GSFC), Vadodara, to take proper steps to ensure the upkeep of the wall which seperates the GSFC and the residential complex. The direction was given so that the wall could withstand pressure of heavy …
researchers have known since the 1960s that nitrogenous fertilisers run-off severely affects lakes and rivers. Recently published studies show a bleaker picture. Polluting waterways of the world and displacing mineral nutrients from forest soils will result in wide-scale destruction of both forest and marine ecosystems. Nitrogenous compounds such as ammonia …
The California-based Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the formation of a study group to examine the need for national action following a series of reports in a Seattle newspaper about crop loss and health problems arising from the use of fertilisers containing recycled industrial wastes and radionuclides. The Washington …
the agricultural revolution in France is over 50 years old. And now, the French are headed in a different direction. A new paradigm of agricultural development is striking roots, seeking to undo the ill-effects of the previous one. It aims at arresting soil erosion, conserving water and biological diversity and …
apple production in the state of Himachal Pradesh ( hp ) has dropped by 50 per cent in the last five years despite an increase of about 27 per cent in the cultivated area. The Himachal Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association ( hfvga ) says the rampant and unplanned use …
increase in the use of fertilisers and cultivation of crops that 'fix' atmospheric nitrogen is leading to loss of soil nutrients, rising atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, and increasing acidification of lakes and rivers. Peter M Vitousek and eight ecologists from the Stanford University, California, say that …
IN SPITE of stringent laws and regulations, illegal timber trade is flourishing in South American Countries. Investigations carried out by the Amsterdam-based Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) in Brazil, Cameroon and Paraguay have revealed that rampant illegal logging not only continues to threaten sustainable forest management, but also creates …
