02-01-2017

Mango trees spared in road widening

Thanks to conscientious officers like District Forest Officer Sivala Rambabu, extinction
of a local variety of mango has been averted. His reluctance in giving permission to
uproot trees for widening of the Gudihatnoor-Utnoor Road has saved at least 100 mango
and neem trees which line the important road passing through tribal areas.
There are nearly 100 trees which are a major source of the king of fruits in the region.
Villagers from at least 20 habitations on either side of the road use the locally-grown
mangoes for pickles.
Indigenous variety
We are happy the R&B has decided not to fell the mango and neem trees, observed
Boorla Ramakanth, a resident of Tosham village. As these 30-year-old trees are the only
ones belonging to indigenous variety in the area, their decimation would have resulted in
the variety being lost forever, he pointed out.
The R&B had initially planned to uproot about 150 trees along the 30-km stretch of the
road between Mankapur and Utnoor and accordingly applied for permission from the
District Forest Protection Committee. As uprooting of trees was against the spirit of
environment protection and more importantly the spirit of Telanganaku Haritha Haram, a
prestigious tree plantation programme of the State Government, Mr. Rambabu declined
permission.
Though a few trees were uprooted when work on the road began, the move of the Forest
officer forced the engineering officials see reason. They decided not to remove the old
trees completely but carry on works by pruning those branches which were hindering
smooth working of road laying with machinery.
Eco-friendly
Yes, we have settled for this environment-friendly move, conceded R&B Adilabad
Superintending Engineer Md. Nazeer. As most of the trees are over 1 metre away from
the edge of the black top road, we decided not to cut them totally, added Executive
Engineer K. Venkat Reddy.

The trees along the road are R&B property but had lacked in protection. Over the years,
unscrupulous villagers had felled at least 50 mango and neem trees to expand their
agricultural fields on the road side.

Demonetisation alters economys recovery path

The move must be backed by follow-up measures so that theres no return to an era of
inspectors and tax terrorism
The Centres demonetisation move has hurt private consumption and impacted sectors
such as real estate, automobiles and FMCG, which in turn has altered the economys
recovery path in the short-term, economists said.
But it could yield some benefits in the medium- to long-term, provided follow-up
measures are taken and theres no return to an era of inspectors and tax terrorism,
according to economists.
One big reason for the slowdown post-demonetisation is that it came in at a time when
the spending cycles should have started, which have now slowed down on account of the
shortage of currency, which has affected quite a few industries especially consumer
goods, automobiles, real estate, FMCG goods, and textiles, Madan Sabnavis, chief
economist at Care Ratings told The Hindu .
Several sectors that rely on household consumption have been affected by
demonetisation; therefore, there will be a push-back on the overall growth of industry.
Mr. Sabnavis added that even spending by the farming community, which was expected
to pick up due to the higher kharif output and the stronger monsoon, has been squeezed
due to despair sales taking place because of the unavailability of cash and the fact that all
mandi transactions are carried out in cash.
Demand hit
The sector-specific immediate effects of demonetisation have been mostly negative,
Rajiv Kumar, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research said. Demand has taken a
hit, whether it is in automobiles, motorcycles, real estate, or construction. Except, of
course, as the Finance Minister pointed out on Thursday, unexpectedly, the airlines have
shown improvement.
In the run-up to the demonetisation announcement on November 8, private sector
investment was on the cusp of a recovery on the back of recovering household demand,

easing inflation, and the boost to agriculture due to the stronger monsoon. This
momentum has since been lost, and will likely begin to return only in the next financial
year.
It looked like consumer spending would continue to improve in October and November
and so private investment could pick up, Mr. Sabnavis said. But that is something that
has gotten thwarted.
Private investment prior to demonetisation was subdued, but we were on the precipice of
seeing something happening, Mr. Sabnavis added.
A major reason investment is not taking place is because we have surplus capacity. We
have surplus capacity because there is low demand for products. So if demand picks up
then capacity utilisation can improve and thats when you go in for fresh investment.
Message against graft
Mr. Kumar, however, believed that demonetisation will have medium-to-long term
benefits for the economy as an increasing share of economic activity gets formalised, not
to mention the message such a policy move will send against corruption and black-money
hoarders.
If this move has been successful in capturing a part of the informal, black economy,
which is estimated to be 40 per cent of GDP, those numbers will now be reflected in the
formal GDP numbers, so that will likely lead to an increase in the growth numbers, Mr.
Kumar said. So, the effect could be an uptick in the GDP numbers in the third or fourth
quarter.
However, its success will be dependent on the follow-up measures which have to be
persistent and yet not heavy-handed, so that we dont need an emergence of inspector
raj or tax terrorism in the country, Mr. Kumar added.

Farmers open zero-balance accounts for fresh crop loans

Farmers in the district are being facilitated to open zero-balance accounts at the District
Central Cooperative Bank as per Know Your Customer norms for the purpose of
disbursing fresh farm loans.
The bank accounts were opened through conduct of special camps.

In recent weeks, Rs. 32.54 crore was disbursed as crop loans to 8,365 farmers, a press
release said.
So far during this year, the 227 primary agricultural cooperative banks had forwarded Rs.
207.49 crore as crop loans to 25,139 farmers. During 2015-16, there were 65,106
beneficiaries of crop loan to the tune of Rs. 451.61 crore, the release said.

J&K to implement crop insurance scheme

The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to implement the new crop insurance,
PMFBY, in the ongoing rabi season, covering a dozen crops including wheat and paddy.
With this, total number of states and Union territories implementing the Pradhan Mantri
Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), launched early 2016, has reached 27.
The State has finalised the tender. The State-level coordination committee on crop
insurance (SLCCC) met last week and finalised the notification, a senior Union
Agriculture Ministry official told PTI.
The notification will be issued any time soon. Paddy, maize, wheat and some oilseeds
will be covered under the scheme, he said.
Although the State is implementing the policy almost towards the end of the rabi sowing,
farmers can still take up PMFBY as the Central government has extended the deadline for
enrolment till January 10.
The J&K government had sought the Centre to give permission to cover horticulture
crops, especially apple, mango and saffron under PMFBY, but its proposal was denied.
Kharif crops
The State had last offered the crop insurance scheme NAIS (National Agricultural
Insurance Scheme) for 2013 kharif (winter) crops, under which 4,545 farmers had
enrolled insuring a sum of Rs 1,858 lakh, while the claims to the tune of Rs 2.34 crore
was given to about 183 farmers.
It had also offered Weather-based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) in 2014, under
which 1,364 farmers had enrolled insuring total sum of Rs 461 lakh and Rs 30 lakh
claims was given to all those who had taken the policy.

These two crop insurance policies were merged to launch a new crop insurance scheme
PMFBY, under which farmers pay very nominal premium and get full claim for the crop
damage.

MIS for areca: Deadline ends without procurement

The government has decided to procure areca through five co-op. societies in State
The Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) announced by the Union government for
arecanut has concluded without any procurement.
As the prices of arecanut had slumped by about 10 per cent following the Union
government decision to demonetise Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 notes, farmers were optimistic
that MIS would result in recovery of prices.
However, as no procurement was made owing to the confusion prevailing regarding cost
sharing and the guidelines to be followed for the process, the farmers have demanded that
the Union government extend the procurement period.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare had announced to procure arecanut
through five cooperative societies in the State from December 7 to 31. It was decided to

procure red variety of arecanut at a market intervention price (MIP) of Rs. 27,000 per
quintal and chali variety for Rs. 25,100 per quintal.
However, the procurement process did not commence owing to the confusion prevailing
between the Centre and State government on cost sharing.
The cooperative societies could not take up procurement owing to lack of proper
directions from the Central and State government on finance, quality of the produce to be
procured, and on the volume to be procured from small and marginal farmers. With the
conclusion of the period of MIS without making any procurement, farmers are
disappointed with the way in which both the Union and State governments have handled
the issue.
H.R. Basavarajappa, general secretary, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha has said that both
the Union and State governments have become insensitive towards the problems faced by
areca growers. It is a grave irresponsibility that the Centre made an announcement on
MIS without issuing proper directions to the State on the cost issue. The State
government has also failed to seek clarifications from the Centre in proper time in this
regard. There was no proper communication between the Union and State governments
over the issue owing to which areca growers have suffered, he added.
Rajappa, an arecanut grower from Siddapura village, had postponed the sale of areca at
his disposal hoping that MIS would result in recovery of prices.
As I have to clear the loan that I had borrowed from a moneylender last year for sinking
a borewell in the plantation, I have to sell the produce for the prevailing price to clear the
loan, he added.

As another drought looms, farmers yet to receive promised relief

Even as a severe drought looms large following the failure of monsoon in the State, the
farmers in Kozhikode district who suffered huge losses due to drought over the last three
years are yet to get the full compensation announced by the Union government.
The payment of around Rs. 75 lakh, sanctioned by the Union government during the
2013-14 fiscal, is still pending with the Agriculture Department in the district. Though the
fund is claimed to be ready for distribution through various Krishi Bhavans, it is unlikely
to be paid to the beneficiaries before the impending drought.
Fresh applications for drought relief for the subsequent years will be considered only
after clearing arrears, adding to the worries of small farmers.

Agriculture officials said the Union government had sanctioned only half the
compensation claimed in 2013-14. In the 2014-15 fiscal, the total claim under the drought
relief package amounted to Rs. 1.96 crore. The following year, it was around Rs. 14 lakh.
In the current fiscal year, the department received claims for Rs. 10 lakh.
Officials pointed out that the Agriculture Department had not processed the claims
received between 2014 and 2016. The claims, amounting to Rs. 2.20 crore, would be
considered only after the distribution of the pending Rs. 75 lakh compensation amount of
2013-14 fiscal.
Irrigation plan
Adding to the concerns of the farmers, the district irrigation plan with a slew of special
measures is yet to get the approval of the State-level sanction committee. The irrigation
plan, which sought Rs. 1,312 crore for five years to implement various water
conservation programmes and drought relief measures, has been pending approval for
more than a year.
The district irrigation plan proposed under the Prime Ministers Krishi Sanjayee Yojana
was also aimed at improvement and conservation of the districts fast vanishing water
sources, an official said. The approval process was time-consuming. The current delay on
the part of the State machinery in forwarding it to the Centre would directly affect
farmers, he added.

Credit plan released for Namakkal

A potential-linked credit plan (PLP) of Rs. 5,527.36 crore has been projected for
Namakkal district during 2017-18 by NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development).
District Collector M. Asia Mariam released the plan at the district level review committee
meeting recently and asked bankers to increase their target of medium and long-term
credit for agriculture as there was good potential to promote farm mechanisation, micro
irrigation systems, horticulture and animal husbandry.
The plan reflects a 19 per cent rise in credit flow over the current financial year.
S.K. Dhinesh, District Development Manager, NABARD, said that the credit flow of Rs.
2,271.25 crore was for crop loan, and Rs. 569.75 crore was projected for micro, small and
medium enterprises.

S. Raveendran, Assistant General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, said that banks need
to create awareness on digital payments through financial literacy awareness programme.
S. Chandrasekar, Lead District Manager, said that banks would strive to achieve the
priority sector lending targets.

Govt. to increase red gram procurement

From 7 lakh tonnes, it will be raised to 10 lakh tonnes, says Sharanprakash Patil
The State government will enhance the target to purchase red gram, cultivated in
Kalaburagi district, from 7 lakh tonnes to 10 lakh tonnes, said Sharanprakash Patil,
Minister for Medical Education.
Inaugurating various development works, taken up under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas
Yojana in Agrculture Produce Marketing Corporation (APMC) yard at Sedam town on
Saturday, Dr. Patil said that out of 20 lakh tonnes of red gram cultivated in the district, the
government had accepted to buy 7 lakh tonnes.
Decision to increase the procurement upto 10 lakh tonnes will help farmers he added.

He said that the farmers, in Kalaburagi, Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur and Koppal, were selling
their agricultural produce at procurement centres at a price of Rs. 5,500 per quintal,
which included Rs. 5,050, the Minimum Support Price fixed by the Union government,
and Rs. 450 bonus given by the State government for each quintal.
Besides the existing warehouse of 5,000 tonnes capacity, the State Warehousing
Corporation will construct a new warehouse with a storage capacity of 10,000 tonnes at
an estimated cost of Rs. 9 crore.
These warehouses would help farmers to stock their produce for reaping a good price, Dr.
Patil added.
Efforts are on to make Sedam a model town, Dr. Patil added, and said that Rs. 5 crore has
been allocated for the construction of the Ranga Mandir at Sedam town, Rs.10 crore for
construction of Mini Vidhan Soudha.
The taluk would also get an indoor stadium soon at an estimated cost of Rs. 2 crore.
In addition, the government has allocated Rs. 20 crore to facilitate 24x7 drinking water
schemes and Rs. 20 crore for underground drainage system at Sedam town.

Fertigation facilitates banana cultivation at research institute

Though the failure of monsoon has been influencing the growth and cultivation of a large
number of agricultural produce, fertigation -- a combination of drip irrigation and
application of fertilizers, being adopted at the Agricultural Engineering College and
Research Institute of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University at Kumulur near here to irrigate
banana crop, has started showing results.
The experiment is being done on Elarasi banana variety, which is raised by a limited
number of farmers in the district.
We supply water and fertilizer through drip irrigation technique as and when required.
The duration of supply is closely monitored so that not even a drop of excess water is
used, said K. Arunadevi, Assistant Professor, Soil and Water Conservation Engineering
of the Institute.
Monitoring of the moisture content ensured the speedy and quality growth of plants.
Further, the growth was found to be uniform in all the plants, she added.
Normally, it involves labour-intensive care throughout its duration for about a year. The
growth of the banana plants, raised about a couple of months ago, has been quite normal.
Water should not be used excessively but banana farmers tend to use a huge quantum of
water, particularly in the Elarasi fields. The experiment aims to drive home the point
that limited use of water can yield better result.
Advantages
The limited supply of irrigation water has ensured not only economy in water but avoided
leaching of nutrients and problems caused by weeds. Drip irrigation, through uniform and
direct application of water at root zones, has eliminated the problem, he said.
The experiment is being done on Elarasi banana variety, which is raised by a limited
number of farmers in the district

Credit plan envisages flow of Rs. 7,543 crore for Tiruchi

The Potential Linked Credit Plan for 2017-18 prepared by the National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has envisaged a credit flow totalling Rs.
7,543.36 crore for the district. The projection registers a growth of 13 per cent over the
one prepared for 2016-17.
A lions share of about Rs. 4,299.71 crore, accounting to 57 per cent of the projection, is
earmarked for agriculture sector; Rs.1,206 crore for Macro Small and Medium

Enterprises and Rs. 980 crore for housing. Projections for education, export credit, social
infrastructure and renewable energy have also been incorporated in the Plan. As part of
agricultural activity, the plan has envisaged a credit flow of Rs.277.53 crore for food and
agro processing. An area-specific dairy development scheme with Rs.15 crore has also
been included.
K. S. Palanisamy, District Collector, released the plan and the first copy was received by
S. Thyagarajan, Assistant General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, Chennai at a function
held here on Friday. The Collector stressed the need to step up credit flow for capital
formation in agriculture and MSME sector. He lauded the functioning of Farmers
Collectives, which were playing crucial role in the area of transfer of technology, input
aggregation, value addition and marketing of produce. Highlighting the importance of dry
land farming, he underscored the need for improving production and productivity of
millets, pulses and oilseeds in the current scenario. He called for inclusive growth for all
sections of the society.
S. Suresh Kumar, Assistant General Manager, NABARD stated that the plan aimed at
achieving the goal of doubling farmers income by 2022 through adoption of weatherbased cropping and market determined production system, adoption of less water
intensive crops, formation of Farmer Producers Organisations, strengthening of supply
chain management and infrastructure development.