The revised draft Seeds Bill 2019, which the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare placed in the public domain recently for suggestions and comments, seems to be a watered down version of a draft prepared about nine years ago by the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Among other things, …
RICE: 130 varieties • Thopchini: mota chaaval or fat rice which gives a very good yield ranging between 70-72 quintals per hectare; 75 per cent of the rice can be recovered after pounding • Jhumkia: the ear of the rice is like a jhumka (earring); 75 per cent of the …
The field trials of US-based biotech company, Monsanto, on transgenic cotton "Bollgard' in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have, stirred a lot of controversy. On November 29, a group of farmers belonging to the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha MRS), a farmers' union, set fire to the first trial of the genetically …
Brazil has broken its ban on genetically engineered crops by approving of Monsanto's transgenic Roundup Ready soybean seeds. This decision will open up the world's second largest soybean producer to modified crops. Monsanto's herbicide-resistant seeds will be regulated like any other agricultural product, although a decision has yet to be …
SEEDSAVERS of crops worldwide face an unprecedented threat. A technology, appropriately called the 'terminator technology', has been creating waves in agricultural circles since March. So much so that it has jolted the normally somnolent agriculture ministry of the government of India into some sort of action. On July 17, minister …
WHILE delivering his budget speech in Parliament, the union finance minister, Yashwant Sinha, went on to state, "The rural economy is central to India's economic and social development-there is no reason why our farmers should not reap the benefits of access to the wider global market." It was, therefore, surprising …
A new genetic technology patented in the US that prevents germination of seeds saved from harvest, may pose serious problems for farmers. The new "Terminator' technology is potentially "lethal' and a global threat to farmers, biodiversity and food security. If commercially viable, the technology developed by the US Department of …
The Seeds Rules provides for the institution of the National Seeds Board, its function and tasks and all the related procedures dealing with: the registration of seed varieties; the Seeds Dealers; the classification of seeds and their sources; the procedures for certification and related fees; the contents of labels on …
agricultural scientists at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (crida), Hyderabad, have identified neem clones which yield a substantial amount of the chemical azadirachtin, used as a biocide and in health care products. Scientists were looking for seeds with azadirachtin content higher than 0.4-0.8 per cent. Neem (Azadirachta indica) …
Agro-scientists at West Bengal government's rice research station have developed four high-yielding rice varieties which will increase current levels of yield by an average of 30 per cent. While the seeds for two of the varieties have been derived through a process of
FIVE years ago, I was cultivating a local variety of cotton and produced 1.8 tormes (t). The cost incurred was Rs 2,000 and one could earn a profit of Rs 8,000. But soon after I chose to use a hybrid variety, the yields and profits began sliding down and costs …
INDIA'S fields and seed stores are the cradles of tremendous biological wealth in the form of diverse crop varieties. These varieties or 'landraces' have been shaped by farmers over generations to fit the requirements of often harsh environments, the opportunities of diverse production 'niches' and people's preferences for different products …
THE Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is promoting a Rs 3.3 crore project to develop new hybrids of vegetables, for increased production by small farmers. Initially, nine vegetables - tomato, brinjal, chilly, Capsicum, ladies-finger, onion, cucumber, bittergourd and cabbage - have been selected to be researched on. Studies will …
ALTHOUGH the majority of rural folk have always been lacking access to clean hygienic water for a considerable time, traditional water purification techniques have generally been overlooked. Some of these traditionally proven methods use locally available plant seeds much in contrast to the modern treatment of water. Functionally significant, these …
An international conference on "Using Diversity" was organised by the South Asian office of the International Development Research Centre in New Delhi between June 19-21, 1995. The main focus of the conference was enhancing and conserving agricultural or cultivated diversity. The discussion revolved around understanding farmer seed and variety systems, …
HYBRID rapeseed and mustard seeds -- the Holy Grail of agricultural researchers worldwide -- that could substantially increase the yield of these crops, may soon be available to the Indian farmers. Scientists at the Delhi-based Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) claim to have already developed rapeseed hybrid seeds that are …
THE scientists at the School of Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, are a happy lot these days. And with good reason: India's first rice hybrid, MGR1, released by them after 15 years of research, has met with an enthusiastic response from farmers. The hybrid, named after former Tamil …
GLOBAL trade and agriculture now embarks on a new phase on January 1, 1995, with the establishment of the World Trade Organisation. However, the prickly question of control over crop seeds of the world seems likely to bedevil international negotiators. The latest uncomfortable reminder was exemplified by 2 separate challenges …
The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) -- a farmer's organisation -- has taken the lead in proposing an alternative to the Union government's draft bill on protection of plant varieties, which is based on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations. In February, representatives of six groups, including …
The Union government claims it has found a way to protect the interests of Indian farmers in the ongoing Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). For some time now, the Centre has faced the ire of the farmers, who strongly protest the clause in the …
THE KARNATAKA Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), which recently destroyed a processing unit of multinational Cargill Seeds, has lent strong support to a broad-based campaign against a plant set up in collaboration with W R Grace & Co of USA to produce a biopesticide from neem seeds. KRRS and several other …
