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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
The shortage of fertilisers is proving to be a major cause for the current peasant unrest in Bangladesh. Farmers, unable to grow the region's main rice crop this season, demonstrated before the district collector's office in North Bengal to voice their protest. They are also demanding a fair price for …
Bangladesh is in the grip of a crisis, us,farmers take to the streets, block roads, snatch fertiliser'tonsignments,and even set ablaze government offices and the residences of political leaders. They are irked at the recent steep hike in fertiliser prices: a 50 kg bag ofchemical fertiliser has doubled from US $5.75 …
OVER the years, the application of chemical fertilisers has grown vertiginously in India. In percentage terms, however, this spectacular rise has left far behind the growth in food production, according to a report released by the Bombay-based Akhil Bharat Krishi Goseva Sangh. From 1951 to 1953, fertiliser application increased by …
P D BAPNA is the owner of a 20-ha sapota (cheeku or sapodilla plum) orchard in the Dahanu area of Maharashtra. Back in the '60s, like other growers, Bapna used chemical fertilisers. But in 1975, after his plants became weak and prone to disease, "perhaps because of the over-exploitation of …
AGRICULTURAL scientists and economists warn farm subsidies are leading to the wasteful use of resources such as land and water. Highlighting the grave consequences of electricity and fertiliser subsidies, they suggest any decision on public funding for agriculture should be based on an environmental cost-benefit analysis for sustainable use of …
WHAT DISTINGUISHES the Gloria Land (GL) farm of Pondicherry"s Aurobindo Ashram and the farm run by Julie and Vivek Cariappa near Mysore from that of their neighbours, is that a mash of leaves, cattle dung and a carefully chosen mix of crops have displaced inorganic fertilisers and pesticides completely. Yet …
The removal of subsidies on phosphatic and potash fertilisers this year has led to an almost three-fold price increase and a sharp drop in their consumption, according to the annual review of the Fertiliser Association of India. Warns an association spokesperson, "If the trend continues, the yield and quality of …
DO PRICES determine increase in use of fertilisers, which are heavily subsidised by the government, in India? Fifty-six-year-old Madhusudan Reddy, who owns 50 ha in Chaganur village in Karnataka's Bellary district, disagrees. "I use the same quantity of fertilisers I did before the government increased their prices two years ago," …
WHILE it has become fashionable to talk of ecological economics, minus the jargon, the subject simply attempts to calculate the full cost, which includes environmental costs, that the society should pay for producing a commodity. And that is where it differs from everyday market economics -- it takes into account …
STRINGENT environmental stipulations and falling quality, due to techniques used to boost production, have resulted in a crisis in the high-tech, $2.8 billion a year Dutch flower industry. Dutch growers are also hurting because of increasing competition from southern European countries, Israel and some developing countries, which has reduced prices …
DESPITE environmental pressure against the use of chemical fertilisers, world fertiliser production increased to 158 million tonnes in 1989, which is a 32 per cent increase over production in 1982. However, in some Northern countries, fertiliser output declined because of controls on Crop production imposed in the 1980s as a …
ENVIRONMENTALISTS are concerned that plans by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to provide Cambodia with a US $3.78 million aid package, includes supply of 30 tonnes of insecticides worth US $800,000. Japan Tropical Forest Action Network, an NGO, reports two of the chemical fertilisers are diazinon and sumicidin, which are …
WHEN GOD forbade Adam and Eve from eating the apples from the Tree of Knowledgehe probably had environmental interests in mind. But Eve couldn"t resist the temptationand neither could Adam. Too bad. The price for their folly is still being paid. The Indian governmenttooit seemscan"t fight temptation. Encouraged by successes …
PAMPERING APPLES Subsidies for apple growers in Himachal Pradesh, 1985-86 to 1990-91. Rs (in crores) HORTICULTURE DEPARTMENT Medicines against scab disease Foot sprayers Power sprayers Insecticides Transport of timber from outside the state 4.06 0.18 0.41 0.17 1.05 FOREST DEPARTMENT Concessional timber for packing crates 47.32 HPMC Concessions on cartons …
