The 2023 Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor, a flagship publication of AKADEMIYA2063 and the International Food Policy Research Institute, provides an overview of trade in agriculture in Africa, including analysis of short- and long-term trends and drivers behind Africa’s global trade, intra-African trade, and trade within Africa’s regional economic communities. The …
A SMALL, green caterpillar has proved to be the scourge of the 3 cotton-growing northwestern Indian states of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. Over the past 2 years, the seemingly innocuous American bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) has chewed its way into ripening bolls of cotton, destroying over half the cotton crop. The …
INPUTS such as irrigation, high yielding seeds, fertilisers, agro-chemicals and electrical power should have made life easier for the farmer. But despite the availability of such facilities -- or because of it -- 24 small and marginal farmers of Andhra Pradesh's Guntur and Prakasam districts committed suicide in 1987-88 because …
WITH the limitations of synthetic insecticides and their adverse effects on the environment, scientists are trying to tackle crop pests such as bollworms by integrated pest management (IPM). "IPM is the consolidation of evaluated pest management techniques into a unified programme to manage pest populations to minimise economic loss and …
EXOTIC COTTON (Long-stapled) Advantages • Fibre is fine • Fibre can easily be spun into threads • Fibre is strong and maintains shape • Ideal for mechanised spinning and weaving in textile industry • Definite flowering periods Disadvantages • Susceptible to pests and diseases • Seeds outweigh fibre • Higher …
THE US firm Agracetus is at the centre of a controversy in its home country, too. In 1992, it was awarded a patent that gives it rights over all forms of genetically engineered cotton - even ones that are to be invented (New Scientist, Vol 141, No 1913). The consequences …
A RECENT move by the government of India should pacify sceptics of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and intellectual property rights (IPRs). In a remarkable step, it has begun the procedure for revoking a patent for a method of producing transgenic cotton granted in May 1991 to …
THE Prime Minister, P V, Narasimha Rao, took a commendable step by revoking the patent granted to the US company, Agracetus, in 1991. Agracetus was awarded the patent for its transgenic cotton by the Indian Patent Office even though the Patent Act specifically forbids the Patenting of "investing process related …
"Colour without dyes" is the aim of Indian plant breeders, who have been trying to develop cotton coloured by nature itself. "Our labs have the germplasm of many types of coloured cotton and scientists are trying to develop stable colours," said S S Narayanan of the Central Institute of Cotton …
THE INDIAN cotton crop, already attacked by several insects resistant to most insecticides, is now falling prey to a new insect -- the American serpentine leaf-miner. Scientists suspect this new threat, a native of southern USA, entered the country in 1990-91, probably from Kenya or Europe, along with chrysanthemum cuttings. …
PAKISTAN'S cotton crop will reach the target of 960 million kg despite the locust threat and reports of a virus attack, according to the country's central cotton committee. The final output, however, will depend on the extent to which Pakistan is able to mitigate the damage from the locust attack. …
THE recent locust attack has made India and Pakistan suspend their rivalry and launch a large-scale joint operation along their border between Punjab and Sindh. "This is a common problem. We'll have to face it together close to border areas," said Zahid Saeed, Pakistan's acting foreign secretary. The country's cotton …
THE NEXT time you see a kalamkari sari, treat it with respect, for it employs an ancient technique of dyeing cotton fabric, and the patterns are traditional. India's fabric trade goes back to the Phoenicians who are believed to be the first foreign merchants to come into India (Gujarat), and …
AND, NOW, it's environmentally conscious fashion designers. Advocating a switch to environmentally friendly cotton with brand names like Green Cotton 2000 and dissuading consumers with posters proclaiming "Danger Cotton", US fashion designers are promoting organically grown cotton in a big way, says Pesticide News (Issue 16, 1992). This has brought …
Bihar is a predominantly agricultural State with 86 per cent of her population depending upon agriculture. In my study of the National Income of Bihar published in the Indian Journal of Economics, July 1951, I had estimated the gross agricultural income of Bihar for the year 1846-47 at Rs. 230 …
