Agriculture

Vadamalai Media Group

November 2018 | `75

& Industry survey

India's Leading Business Magazine for Agriculture

HYDROPONICS FROM VETERINARY

EXPERT MEDICINE TO ANIMAL
Mr.Neelkanth HUSBANDRY!
More, Pune based Dr. R K Chaluvaiah — It takes
expert can help hard work, compassion and
you get started in empathy to build and gain
hydroponics from animals

CERTIFYING MARKETING
AROMATIC
ORGANIC STRATEGY
GRASS
PRODUCE CONSULTANT
Mr. Narayana CULTIVATION Mr. Devidas Bhadange
Upadhyaya with Ashok Kumar
— The trick lies in
his masters in Jonwal on
understanding the gap in
horticulture set out, reasons why
the market and aligning
decades ago, to make projects fail!
your product to fill those
a difference in the gaps, with patience.
field of agriculture.

d
How
rones &
ataareIndia's
changing
farms

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 1

 CONTENTS
Agriculture Insurance
15
Company?
5
Where is it?
Farmers' litigations: reduce
pending court cases.
Farmers must be
17
compulsorily insured
and that includes even
healthcare insurance. can help you get started in
6 21
Farmers earning as much
as rupees 3 lakh per acre
cultivating herbs 
7 24
Government increases
Minimum Support Price This robotic Icelandic farm
8
How drones and
data are changing
India's farms
9 Plantation sector
in deep crisis
10
26
28
Nearly half our calories
come from just 3 crops.
Not a good sign
11
India simply cannot
afford to keep supporting
agriculture the dumb way
13
The lack of land underlying
India’s farm crisis
33 Site selection for
a new borewell
Talking to Mr. Narayana
Upadhyaya - Certifying
organic produce
Talking to Neelkanth More
- Pune based expert who
hydroponics
Talking to CJ Prabhakar-
Business, opportunities in
silkworm farming
Talking to Dr. RK Chaluvaiah
From Veterinary Medicine
35
to Animal Husbandry in
Karnataka Technology turns over
a new leaf for Indian
marginal farmers
36
has made its cows much
happier - with dramatic
results
Dr. Neema.K.N
37
Lady entrepreneur in food
processing Can indoor farming feed
“I never tried to compete the world?
with big brands. I have my
own brand and my own
customer base.”
Aromatic grass cultivation
Ashok Kumar Jonwal on
reasons why projects fail
39
These Kenyan farmers are
preparing for the future -
42
by rearing crickets
Question and Answer
45 Experts listings
50
Personal View
Mr. Devidas Bhadange New-type dictators,
Marketing strategy autocrats and
consultant for agriculture authoritarians abound
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 3
PUBLISHERS NOTE
Agriculture
Indian media has let & Industry survey
down agriculture
Vol. XXIX No. XI
November 2018

Chairman & Founder

Cultivating public opinion about the high priority of agri V. Isvarmurti
sector on which the Indian economy’s backbone is lacking Managing Editor

I
Kartik Isvarmurti
ndian media landscape doesn’t spot the place and role of agriculture in In- editor@agricultureinformation.com
dia's development paradigm!
Indian media landscape is highly distorted. Priorities are not clear.
There is an explosion of TV news channels, alright! Magazine Coordination
Where do the peoples or the country's development priorities come in? A. Kavitha
Whether the news channels do much service or they cater to other objec- kavitha@agricultureinformation.com
tives can be debated. The TV channels are started by many types of people;
entrepreneurs for the sake of service or others from the real estate and also Website Coordination
from those businessmen, already established but want to build up lobbies, to Rajani Jain
get the governments do their bidding or else can be also debated. rajani@agricultureinformation.com
The Indian languages channels are very shrill at many times and they cater
to a lower denominator audience. There are channels exclusively for enter- Dhanalakshmi S
tainment, this is said to be the fastest growing segment and other objectives dhanalakshmi@agricultureinformation.com
like propagating religion or pure superstition like astrology etc. All these
Office Coordination
make for a vibrant TV and entertainment industry.
Shobhana
There are certain hidden issues, the emergence of media monopoly and the
shobhana@agricultureinformation.com
media houses are again some shady issues into which we can’t go here.
Even the so-called mainstream TV segment has to survive and we know
that even the much admired quality channels as standalone ventures are get-
ting into debts and the monopoly mainstream industry, the capitalist and the Contact Number and Email
monopolist enters this segment by many ways, often very devious ways and 9620-320-320
support@agricultureinformation.com
means. Money is such a funny thing that it penetrates into any segment and
money corrupts! More money means more corruption in more segments!
So, in these media explosion what chance for a socially committed sectors
like agriculture, rural development or some other purely intellectual areas like To subscribe visit the website
public interest spheres. www.agricultureinformation.com
The BBC example might be far-fetched or for that matter channels like Al Online Version
Jazeera or the many new ones that are aired today in India. Even politics and www.agricultureinformation.com
public opinion are not served well and there are lots of biases and fears for the
media segment.
Even at the grassroots level, at the very lower ties block development Office Address:
agencies, there are any number of farmer-related policies like disbursing Vadamalai Media Group
subsidies. But we don’t hear them! We have to go there and wait for seeing the C-2/286, 2 C Cross,
lowest level agri officials there are latest policies. Don't you think it is the duty Domlur II Stage
of the district Collector or their higher ups, why even the ministers to seek for Bangalore 560071
media outlets and propagate their policies. India
We have written volumes on the need to link the agri universities to pub-
licise their researches. No responses. The universities are now many but the
statistics about the R&D in agriculture might frighten you. So little pittance! Published by
Also, the agri universities admissions and other approaches are biased Vadamalai Media Private
towards urban, educated middle classes, not the real farmers's families. The Limited
agri universities management committees are filled with party cadres not one
rep from the agri media or even the local TV channels. Regd Office: Pichanur,
We need really public spirited corporations to use their CSR (Corporate Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Printed,
Social Responsibility) funds to promote public opinion, to educated public Published & Edited by Mrs. Shenbi
opinion and sensitise the public spirit to realise that agriculture is the very on behalf of Vadamalai Media (P)
soul of India. The Tatas, their Trusts are said to promote tribal farmers. Fine. Ltd. Published from
But please, let us realise that cultivating public opinion about the high priority C-2/286, 4th Main, 2-C Cross, BDA
of agri sector on which the Indian economy’s backbone is built should be Layout, Domlur II Stage, III Phase,
propagated. Bangalore - 560 071 and Printed
at Print-o-Graph, No.124, Sultanpet,
Bangalore.
* Copyright-Vadamalai Media (P) Ltd.
4 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
AGRICULTURE
INSURANCE COMPANY?
Where is it?
Farmers' litigations: reduce pending court cases.
L
Farmers must be compulsorily insured and that includes even healthcare insurance.
et us recognise the grim reality
of rural India. It is not a pleasant
sight.
Farmers are also prone to
much litigation. So, please take
steps to reduce the number of litigations in
which farmers, both the sides, sometimes
as tenants and landlords or sometime out
of rivalries or jealousies in claiming own-
ership title or sometimes simply grab-
bing lands as a way to accumulate wealth
through illegal means. You see there are
many issues in the running of the govern-
ment. One is to impress the public that the
incumbent Alamelu has openly said that
the payments of premium by the govern-
ment itself has been delayed for various
reasons. In our view one important reason
is the huge volume of business involved.
Another one is the unwillingness on the
part of farmers to get their premium pay-
ments debited from their crop loan ac-
counts.
It is human psychology that we are
only interested to get the insurance policy
encashed at times of emergency but when
it comes to paying the premium we delay
payments! Anyway, it is at times a tough
job to get the bureaucratic machinery de-
liver results.
India is a democracy all right. But then
it is also the world's biggest bureaucratic
machine! Take any case at any time. You
see the bureaucratic wheels within wheels.
Take the reports of the CVC, Central Vig-
ilance Commissioner. His report for 2017
shows the number of complaints had come
down from what it was in the previous
year, almost half the number! Why? Is it
because the corruption disease gone! No,
no!
Simply because the public had lost trust
in the machinery had gone!
Who believes that corruption is an is-
sue with the government?
There are no institutions like Lokpal,
Lokayukta or other institutions. Also,
who is now investigating cases, the CBI,
ED and Income Tax raids people only who
have some public exposure. Most of the an-
ti-corruption cases are all of this type only.
Only in some states like Karnataka where
some occasional raids take place and the
bureaucrats caught with hoards of cash,
gold, flats and agricultural lands.
In the neighbouring state, TN, there
was a court case against the incumbent
CM. The state deployed its own anti-cor-
ruption department and it gave, what else
you expect, a clean chit to the incumbent
CM! This is becoming a joke.
A state which was rooted in large scale
corruption, where the Chief
Secretary to the government was caught
red-handed with cash in his official rooms
is let off; no one knows what happened to
the case! Much more serious corruptions
have been let off; we don’t know where the
cash parcels in a lorry were taken for safe
custody!
So, what chance for farmers to get their
crop insurance scheme succeed?
The rural scenario is not a happy one
when it comes to really turn farmers into a
well-behaved lot.
Farmers have their own limitations as a
responsible citizenry.
What we need a new type of propagan-
da for the farmers to safeguard themselves
from many pitfalls.
There is a book before us, titled, Wid-
ows of Vidharba by Kota Neelima that ex-
amines the suicide of farmers of this cotton
belt of Maharashtra.
The state machinery classifies the farm-
ers into different categories, farmers, culti-
vators and agri labourers.
This is silly, to say the least!
All this is statistical jugglery to deny
genuine victims of the tragedy that is agri-
culture in India.
There is no point in spending time on
the finer versions of any academic or jour-
nalistic study.
The only way out seems to pay directly
to the affected families by some summary
enquiry, not raising the troublesome minor
details.
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
Editorial
Minister, please
move out of your
comfort zones in
the capital !
T
here was a time when the agricultural
leaders went to Delhi; they were treated
in a condescending manner. But days
seem to have changed, these days farmers’
marches to Delhi have frequented much more
and they, the farmers and their leaders have
also become a frustrated lot and they no more
believe any of the government assurances. So,
they learnt to march towards the PM's resi-
dence itself!
The choice of ministers for the agri portfo-
lio. Any agriculture minister of India and his
deputies must be seen as travelling ministers.
They must be seen in all the states. Unfortu-
nately, while Mr.Modi is energetic and active,
the same can’t be said about some of his col-
leagues.Many are unsuited to the portfolios
they hold right now, even after four and half
years of the present regime.
We don’t want to name them, nor the port-
folios; in particular, the agri ministers are not
since active and they say many things that are
not sympathetic to the farmer’s causes. Farm
debt is notoriously difficult to tackle. This re-
quires a genius, if not a more gifted individual
or individuals.
The BJP government is seen as a party with
a paucity of talents. If we can say so, it is not a
sin if we seek a competent person even from
outside the party. Next to farm debts, is the
litigation sin of the farming community? Our
various land legislations, tenancy, land ceiling
laws etc are now seen as totally outdated and
proving to be the hell for progressive farmers,
farmer investors.
Let the PM enter into a village, one in the
North and one in the South and personally test
for himself what we say here. We need liberal-
isation of the land reform laws. Some we can
write-off. Who wants to live in the village and
undergo all the negative features of village life?
For an energetic agri minister or officials
there are unlimited work at the Krishi Bhavan!
Let us energise the agri sector with new
enthusiasm. Minister, please move out of your
comfort zones in the capital!
5
 3
News
Farmers lakh per acre
earning as
much as ` cultivating
H
ere’s a little-known story of Indi-
an farming — a happy one. Led
by strong and rapidly growing
industry demand, a small group
of farmers are earning as much
as Rs 3 lakh per acre, a figure that’s put in
true perspective when you consider wheat
and rice farming doesn’t pay more than
Rs30,000 per acre.
Herbs and aromatic plants used for
ayurvedic medicines and personal care
products – sold by companies like as Dabur
NSE 3.09 %, Himalaya, Natural Remedies,
Patanjali – are the main ingredients of this
farm earnings boom.
Many of the herbs have exotic names and
pretty much all the numbers are remark-
able. Ateesh, kuth, kutki, karanja, kapik-
achhu, shankhapushpi… these herbs and
aromatic plants mean little to the urban con-
sumer but represent life-changing income
opportunities for some farmers.
Industry estimates put the market for
herbal products at Rs 50,000 crore, growing
at a fast annual clip of 15%. Acreage devot-
ed to herbs and aromatic plants is still very
small — 6.34 lakh hectares out of the total
currently cropped area of 1,058.1 lakh hect-
ares — but growing at 10% annually, accord-
ing to government data.
Even more remarkable are farmers’ re-
turns. A farmer growing ateesh herb, large-
6 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
herbs
ly used in ayurvedic medicine, in the high-
er reaches of Uttarakhand and Himachal
Pradesh may easily get Rs2.5-3 lakh per acre.
A lavender farmer may get Rs1.2-1.5 lakh re-
turns per acre.
These returns are why Bharat Bhushan
of Khellani village in Doda district of Jammu
and Kashmir switched from maize to laven-
der for his 2 acre plot. By this November, he
will be adding another 10 acres.
“I planted the crop for the first time in
2000 and the returns are four times what I
used to get for maize,” he says.
Lavender flowers are harvested and pro-
cessed to obtain oil, dry flowers and other
value added products.
Vidya Karan, another 2-acre farmer, in
Sangla village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kin-
naur district, has a multi-herb portfolio:
ateesh, Rs 2.5-3 lakh per acre, rattan jot, Rs
1.15 lakh per acre, and karu, Rs 1.5-2 lakh per
acre.
He points to another big advantage these
crops give to growers. “We don’t have to wa-
ter the herbs too much or spray fertilisers
on it,” he says. This has allowed farming in
areas where even one crop a year was tough
on account of poor rainfall. Dabur works
with farmers to grow medicinal plants like
shankhapushpi in Barmer, Rajasthan.
Companies who buy these herbs and
aromatic plants are equally bullish. “Some
high-value herbs like ateesh, kuth, kutki are
currently more profitable because of supply
shortage,” says Amit Agarwal, director, Nat-
ural Remedies.
He says on an average a farmer can
earn Rs 60,000 per acre by growing herbs,
provided there’d assured demand. Natural
Remedies says it is doing contract farming of
herbs on 1,043 acre of land.
Patanjali’s CEO Acharya Balkrishna
says the company is “helping farmers culti-
vate herbs on 40,000 acre”. Kutki, shatavari,
and chirayata are on top of his list of best
earners. And India has plenty of potential to
grow this business, he says, because it is way
behind China in production and there’s high
global and domestic demand.
Big players are getting more involved.
In 2017-18, Dabur, under its Bio-Resources
Development programme, saw an increase
of 25% in area under cultivation of medici-
nal herbs —more than 5,000 acres across 19
states, involving 2,400 farmer families, ac-
cording to Dabur India CSR head A Sudha-
kar. Himalaya Drug Company works with
over 800 farmers, covering over 3,500 acres,
says a company spokesperson.
The Indian Institute of Integrative Medi-
cine in Jammu has been promoting lavender
and aromatic plants like rosemary, gerani-
um and clary sage. “Demand for oils from
these plants is coming from domestic com-
panies dealing in perfumery and cosmetics,”
says Ram Vishwakarma, director, IIIM.
Source & Courtesy: Madhvi Sally,
Economic Times
Government increases
Minimum Support Price
P
rime Minister Narendra
Modi said his government
had fulfilled the long-pend-
ing demand of farmers by
considerably increasing the
Minimum Support Price of around two
dozen crops recently and was working
towards ensuring 50% profit for them
over input cost.
Mr. Modi was speaking at a public
meeting in Garhi-Sampla in Haryana to
unveil the 64-foot-tall statue of Jat lead-
er Sir Chhotu Ram, a prominent politi-
cian in British India’s Punjab Province
credited with working for the uplift of
the farming community.
The unveiling of the statue, the tallest
in Haryana, is being seen as an attempt
by the Bharatiya Janata Party to woo
the majority Jat community, which feels
alienated over the reservation issue.
The Prime Minister said efforts were
on to supply irrigation water to places
where it had not reached for the past
30-40 years.
Mr. Modi said a scheme was also initi-
ated to compensate the farmers who had
failed to get the MSP for their crops.
Ayushman Bharat, a healthcare
scheme, he said, was also introduced so
that the farmers do not end up spending
their income on hospital bills. He said
that in less than two weeks’ time since
the scheme was initiated, more than
50,000 people had availed its benefit.
Govt. Bends before farmers’ furry!
A day after facing intense farmers’ pro-
tests over multiple issues at Delhi-Uttar
Pradesh border, the Centre hiked the
minimum support price (MSP) of all
six rabi (winter sown) crops whose pro-
curement will begin ahead of Lok Sabha
polls next year. The move will ensure
minimum 50% return to farmers over
cost of production of all notified crops.
The rabi crops, covered under the
hike, include wheat, barley, gram, lentil
(Masur), mustard & rapeseed and saf-
flower. The MSP of 14 kharif (summer
sown) crops had been increased in July
for the marketing season which began
this month.
“The MSP hike of both kharif and
rabi crops this year will give additional
return of Rs 62,635 crore to the farmers
as now all the notified crops will fetch
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
News
them minimum 50% return over cost
of production,” said Union agriculture
minister Radha Mohan Singh.
Officials in the agriculture ministry
said that the move of MSP hike had
nothing to do with the farmers’ pro-
tests. “The matter was scheduled in
advance for approval by the Cabinet on
Wednesday. Since the government in its
budget promised return of minimum
50% to farmers over their cost of pro-
duction of all notified crops, the hike for
Rabi crops has been in the pipeline in
tune with the increase in support price
of Kharif crops,” said an official.
An analysis of cost of production of
rabi crops shows that the farmers will
get maximum return of 112.5% if they
opt for cultivating wheat followed by
89.9% for mustard & rapeseed, 76.7%
for lentil, 75.2% for gram, 67.4% for bar-
ley and 50.1% for safflower.
As against the cost of production of
Rs 866 per quintal for wheat, the gov-
ernment fixed its new MSP at Rs 1,840
per quintal - return of 112.5% over cost.
Except for safflower, all other rabi
crops had provided more than 50% re-
turn to farmers even last year.
7
 News
d
How
S
ince its green revolution of the
late 1960s, India has made great
strides towards achieving food
self-sufficiency by leveraging bet-
ter technologies and agricultur-
al methods. However, Indian farmers still
face serious challenges, including a lack of
better price realization, market information
and knowledge, weak market linkages for
their produce and inefficient supply chains.
Realizing the urgent need to address these
opportunities, the Prime Minister of India,
Narendra Modi, has shared his vision for
doubling farmers’ income by 2022.
Technological innovations, especially
emerging technologies driven by the Fourth
Industrial Revolution, possess tremendous
potential to meet Prime Minister Modi’s
target. McKinsey estimates that technolo-
gy-based applications and services in Indi-
an agriculture can help unlock between $45
billion and $80 billion of economic impact
and help 90 million farmers earn higher
incomes. However, as the recent World Eco-
nomic Forum Innovation with a Purpose
report has shown, the food sector has been
slow to harness the potential of disruptive
technologies.
In spite of this, technological disruption
is occurring in Indian agriculture. Innova-
tive start-ups are disrupting existing models
to not only improve smallholder farmers’ in-
come, but to provide positive environmental
and nutritional benefits.
For example, start-ups such as Skymet,
Satsure and CropIn are using satellite im-
agery to provide better market information
and hence better risk management in agri-
culture. Stellapps is the first dairy technolo-
gy company in India that leverages the Inter-
net of Things (IoT), big data and analytics to
cover the entire value chain from milk pro-
duction to farmer payments. Y-Cook uses
differentiated processing that retains the
8 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
rones &
ata India's farms
are changing
freshness and nutrients of natural products
for one year without any preservatives, ad-
ditives or even refrigeration. Technology pi-
oneers such as Microsoft, meanwhile, have
partnered with research institute ICRISAT
to launch an intelligent cloud pilot that has
increased yields by 30%.
The Government of India has also
launched several initiatives to foster inno-
vation and entrepreneurship in agriculture.
Initiatives such as the eNational Agricul-
ture Market (eNAM) aim to act as virtual
platforms through which millions of small-
holder farmers can sell their produce, thus
eliminating intermediaries from food value
chains. Recently the Government has an-
nounced an Agriculture Grand Challenge
to encourage innovation and entrepreneur-
ship and created a ‘Fund of Funds’ to ensure
entrepreneurs do not face a shortage of in-
vestment.
The World Economic Forum has also
been at the forefront of shaping the devel-
opment and application of Fourth Industrial
Revolution technologies for the benefit of
humanity. Realizing India’s potential to lead
in and influence the Fourth Industrial Revo-
lution, the World Economic Forum has now
partnered with the Government of India to
launch the Center for the Fourth Industrial
Revolution India in Mumbai.
One of this new body’s key projects will
focus on developing an agricultural drones
and a data utility platform in the state of
Maharashtra. This project will build on a
six-year collaboration between the World
Economic Forum’s New Vision for Agri-
culture initiative with the Government of
Maharashtra in a flagship agriculture value
chain partnership platform that has become
a model for other states. The new data proj-
ect will address key challenges in the digital
and analytic agriculture ecosystem in Ma-
harashtra to leverage technologies such as
drones, IoT, and satellite imagery towards
developing the drones and data utility plat-
form. The project plans to conduct drone
mapping of one or two entire districts in
Maharashtra, the largest drone deployment
ever conducted in India. It will also support
the Government in developing a framework
for addressing key policy and coordination
issues related to the Government’s use of
drones to meet agriculture needs, such as
better market information and predictive
pricing for smallholder farmers.
Technology alone might not solve all of In-
dia’s agriculture challenges - but in combina-
tion with increased private sector investment,
the right incentives, governance frameworks
and an enabling environment in which to
scale innovations, we believe it could have a
transformational impact that can positively
impact India’s smallholder farmers.
 Source: World Economic Forum
 News
Plantation sector in deep crisis

T
he United Planters’ Association
of Southern India (Upasi) has
said that all plantation crops
- tea, coffee, rubber and spices-
are currently passing through an
unusually difficult phase, with the basic
problems of low commodity prices com-
bined with high cost of production owing
to low productivity of labour & land, fur-
ther complicated by climate change .
Upasi outgoing president T Jayaraman
said at the 125th annual conference of the
association at Connoor that the current tea
crop prospects for south India, is not en-
couraging, with Jan-Aug production being
22 million kg lower than last year. Heavy tivation. The production in the current tons during 2017-18. Again, pepper pro-
crop losses are being reported in most tea year has been severely impacted with the duction this year will be severely impact-
growing regions due to the very heavy heavy rains in Kerala. Rubber board has ed due to the heavy rains and is estimated
south west monsoon, he said. . estimated a loss of 125,000 tons against to be only 50% of last year’s production
Coffee production in India, during the last year as heavy rains have flooded many resulting in a production loss of around
ensuing season, is expected to slump to of the rubber farms and the threat of fun- 30,000 tons.He said funding of R&D re-
its lowest level in the last three decades; gal diseases looms large quirements would be a critical help to the
heavy rains, floods and landslides, in the Cardamom growing areas in Kerala industry at a time of crises. While gov-
main coffee growing areas in Karnataka were also severely affected by the heavy ernment of India funds 100% of all R&D
and Kerala, have caused severe damage rains and it is estimated that the crop activities for the coffee, rubber and spices
and the Coffee Board has estimated a re- would be lower by about 50% this year. boards, in the case of tea, funding is to
duction of 85,000 tons. Large areas of cardamom were damaged the extent of 49% and restricted only to
The production of natural rubber in due to huge fallen trees and fungal infec- certain heads of expenditure. He request-
India has shown progressive decline pri- tions. Cardamom prices should remain ed the government to continue current
marily due to un-remunerative prices. firm due to the huge shortage in produc- funding and to elevate the funding status
Low prices have been driving farmers tion in both India and Guatemala. for tea on par with the other commodity
to stop tapping or abandon rubber cul- India's pepper production was 64,000 boards.

AGRICULTURE
R&D SPEND: A
REALITY CHECK
According to the Economic
Survey 2017-18, the total
R&D expenditure in India as
percentage of GDP has been
stagnant at 0.6 to 0.7 per cent
in the last two decades —
much lower than the US (2.8
per cent), China (2.1 per cent),
South Korea (4.3 per cent) and
Israel (4.2 per cent). To keep
the numbers in perspective,
one must keep in mind that
GDPs of the US and China are
around seven and four times
bigger than that of India. So
when Ramesh Chand implicitly
puts India’s R&D spend on par
with China, it calls for a reality
check.

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 9

 News Nearly half our calories come from
just 3 crops. Not a good sign
D
id you know that not all banan-
as are yellow or curved like a
half moon? Some are straight,
some are stumpy, some are even
red! There are actually 1 000
different varieties of bananas, but many of
us wouldn’t know that from our markets
or stores where Cavendish bananas are
the ones primarily featured. Because they
bruise less easily in transport and have high
yields, these “typical” bananas are the ones
most often produced. Despite the huge vari-
ety that exist in the world, Cavendish banan-
as constitute nearly 50% of bananas grown
globally. The story is the same for many of
our fruits and vegetables.
Over human history, out of about 30 000
edible plant species, 6 000 – 7 000 species
have been cultivated for food. Yet, today we
only grow approximately 170 crops on a
commercially significant scale. Even more
surprising, we depend highly on only about
30 of them to provide us with calories and
nutrients that we need every day. More than
40 percent of our daily calories come from
three staple crops: rice, wheat and maize!
There are thousands of crops that have
been neglected or underutilized for cen-
turies. This is not just a shame for all the
flavors that we are missing out on, but also
for the nutrients that they provide. These
“neglected” crops are generally indigenous
or traditional crops that thrive in specific
regions of the world. Either because they
are grown in small geographical areas, have
low yields, require extensive processing, are
susceptible to pests or simply haven’t been
well researched, they never entered into the
global market and, therefore, many people
never know they exist – sometimes even
products from our own regions. Backed by
the right policies and funding, these neglect-
ed varieties could one day get recognition in
the global market.
Here are 5 reasons why we should stop
neglecting the crops that can revolutionize
our future of food:
1. They enrich our diets – Traditional
crops are often very nutritious and can offer
us a more well-balanced diet. Quinoa, for ex-
ample, is the only cereal that contains all the
amino acids needed by human beings. The
bambara ground nut offers a great source
10 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
of protein, and millet is high in calcium and
iron. Currently, about 1.5 billion people in
the world are affected by one or more forms
of micronutrient deficiency. Deficiencies
in iron, zinc, iodine, vitamins A, B12 and D
are widespread in both underdeveloped
and developing countries, especially among
women and children. These deficiencies oc-
cur not only in people who are underweight
but also in people who are overweight and
obese. Many traditional and underutilized
crops such as these are rich in micronutri-
ents and can help add essentials back into
our increasingly oversimplified diets.
2. They safeguard our agriculture – By
relying on so few crops to feed the majority
of the world, we leave ourselves vulnera-
ble to one disease or pest destroying a large
part of our food systems. Monocropping,
growing just one type of crop, is particularly
prone to devastation, reduced yields and soil
degradation. Relying on a greater number
of crops that are valued and appreciated on
the global market, means that farmers have
more options of what to grow and how to
inter-plant their fields. These make for more
sustainable food production systems and
stop the spread of some pests and disease
infestations.
3. They beat climate change at its own
game – Traditional crops are particularly
useful as many have climate-resistant prop-
erties, like being able to survive floods or
droughts. They can also grow in some types
of climates in which other “standard” crops
cannot grow. Cactus pear grows in deserts
and arid areas, oca and quinoa survive at
high altitudes and some breadfruit varieties
even thrive in sandy or saline soils. With de-
sertification a growing challenge and climate
extremes becoming more frequent, these
crops are solutions for places where it is dif-
ficult to grow any other food.
4. They keep traditional knowledge alive
- It is not just traditional crops that are being
ignored, it is the traditional way of growing
and harvesting them. Indigenous peoples,
for example, have used many agricultural
methods, terracing is one of these, that are
naturally sustainable i.e. making better use
of water, requiring little to no fertilizers or
helping replenish the soil, as some exam-
ples. Going into a future where we need to
grow more food for more people on the plan-
et, we need to make sustainability our new
way of life, and these traditional methods are
valuable tools in this approach.
5. They can boost the livelihoods of small-
scale farmers and local producers – Some
traditional crops have good commercial po-
tential and could be an excellent cash crop
for a small scale or family farmers. Quinoa,
as one example, used to be a subsistence
crop in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, but be-
cause of increased visibility and attracted
interest, production almost tripled between
1992 and 2010. It is now grown in over 70
countries. In addition, traditional crops,
like pulses, are also useful for intercropping
and actually increase yields of other crops,
helping to raise incomes for farmers and
their families. Next time you are in a local
market, instead of gravitating towards the
same fruits and vegetables, look around for
ones that you don’t normally notice and try
something new. You can diversify your own
diet while starting to shine the light on some
of these forgotten foods. Let’s start to know
what we have been missing.
 Source: World Economic Forum

India simply cannot
afford to keep supporting
agriculture the dumb way
S
ubsidies cost 8% of agri-GDP
vs public investment of just
2.2%; the MSP-plan that costs
1% of GDP will make it worse.
Agriculture subsidies
were around Rs 170,811 crore in FY15, or
around 8% of agriculture GDP—most of
these subsidies like those on electricity
or irrigation go to just a small fraction of
farmers.
Though Icrier and Syngenta Foun-
dation economists Ashok Gulati, Mar-
co Ferroni and Yuan Zhou didn’t say
as much, that their book—released by
finance minister Arun Jaitley—is called
Supporting Indian Farms, the smart
way makes it clear they feel this is being
done the dumb way right now.
Dumb in the sense that, while the
costs of subsidies are very high, just a
handful of farmers corner these benefits.
And so, at a time when the government
needs to do a lot to help farmers—agri-
culture grew just 2.4% p.a. in the last
four years—it doesn’t have the money
to do so. Its recently announced MSP-
based deficiency payments plan to help
farmers could cost as much as 1% of GDP
—`1.75 lakh crore—if market prices fall,
as they often do, to 20% below the gov-
ernment-mandated MSP. The govern-
ment clearly doesn’t have this money
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
Opinion
and, just last week, in response to the ru-
pee collapsing and bond yields soaring,
Jaitley promised investors that he would
stick to his 3.3% of GDP fiscal deficit tar-
get and wouldn’t cut capital expenditure
either.
Even without this, as Gulati/Ferroni/
Zhou point out, agriculture subsidies
were around Rs 170,811 crore in FY15, or
around 8% of agriculture GDP—most of
these subsidies like those on electricity
or irrigation go to just a small fraction
of farmers. Indeed, this doesn’t include
Rs 190,000 crore spent to procure wheat
and rice—this is counted under food
subsidy for the poor—from just 4-5% of
the farmers in the country.
While subsidies rose from 2.8% of
agri-GDP in 1980-81 to 8% in 2014-15,
government investments fell from 3.9%
to just 2.2%. While the government must
invest more in agriculture, subsidies for
a handful of farmers beat investments
4:1.
Thanks to increased taxes over the
past few years, Jaitley said, the govern-
11
 Opinion
ment has more money to spend on ag- this one, pale into insignificance when
riculture. While he spoke of the need compared to this annual tax; that the
to harmoniously blend investment and loan waivers are so small compared to
subsidies, the government’s increased the ones big industrialists have got un-
expenditure is mostly of the dumb type; derscores this even more.
increased expenditure on rural roads, Interestingly, another point made in
though, is smart. the Icrier-Syngenta study relates to the
The `1.75 lakh crore on MSP-based benefits to farmers from spending on
deficiency payments will not just dra- farm R&D, to get better seeds and other
matically add to subsidies, what is more inputs. While the top agri-biz firms like
important is the damage this will cause. Syngenta, Bayer, Monsanto and Dow
In the case of rice, for instance, MSPs spend $6-7 bn on R&D each year as com-
will rise by 13.5%, making local rice cost- pared to less than a billion by India’s
lier than that globally; India exported ICAR, it is interesting to note how, since
$7.8bn of rice last year. And, in the case Modi came to power, the government
of cotton, where MSPs will rise by 28%, hounded Monsanto, by putting a cap on
this can potentially hit $20bn of exports seed prices, then trying to put a cap on
of cotton-based products as Indian cot- its royalties and even telling the court
ton gets more expensive than that glob- that the patent it had been granted in In-
ally. The saving grace, for now, is the dia was illegal! It is not clear whether the
collapse in the ` and the US-China trade authors have got their message across to
war that is creating fresh openings for the government, but one thing is clear,
Indian exports. and it is that India simply cannot afford
Indeed, high MSPs for water-guzzlers to keep supporting agriculture the dumb
like rice and sugarcane is also hitting the way—it is too expensive and it does not
country’s water table. In Maharashtra, work.
sugarcane is grown on 4% of the land Source & Courtesy - Sunil Jain,
but uses two-thirds of the water. And Financial Express
while the government has raised ethanol www.financialexpress.com
prices dramatically to help sugar mills
find an alternative source of demand to
pay for the excessively priced sugarcane,
once oil prices fall to reasonable levels,
oil PSUs won’t be able to afford the eth-
anol.
If, instead of wasting money support-
ing agriculture the dumb way, the gov-
ernment were to be smart, it wouldn’t
need to spend as much and farmers
would be better off. In order to keep
prices low for consumers, India has his-
torically banned exports or put other re-
strictions—like not allowing it to be sold
across state boundaries—on farm pro-
duce. In the case of wheat, where India
is very competitive, an export ban was
imposed from February 2007 to Septem-
ber 2011; after the ban was lifted, exports
rose to over $5 bn in 2012-13.
Gulati/Ferroni/Zhou calculate the
Producer Support Estimate after taking
these restrictions into account. Since this
was minus 14.4% of the value of farm
produce between 2000-01 to 2016-17, it
means Indian farmers were effectively
taxed by this amount. This tax is much
higher than the subsidy-spend each year.
Indeed, even the farm loan waivers, typ-
ically criticised by pink-papers such as

12 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018

 Inside article

With shrinking
farm sizes and
lack of accurate
land records,
farmers find
it difficult to
generate enough
income to
provide for their
households

The lack of land underlying

India’s farm crisis

F
rom farm subsidies to farm loan
waivers, the Indian government
spends crores on farmer wel-
fare, but these efforts will be in-
adequate unless they can tackle
an increasingly daunting barrier: lack of
land. The provisional figures from the lat-
est agriculture census reveals how land—
the most critical input for agriculture—is
getting more fragmented.
Since the first agriculture census over
45 years ago, the number of farms in India
has more than doubled from 71 million in
1970-71 to 145 million in 2015-16, while the
average farm size more than halved from
2.28 hectares (ha) to 1.08ha (chart 1).
Smaller, more numerous farms have
been driven by rural population growth.
Between 1970-71 and 2010-11, the number ic and Political Weekly research paper, icant variation in farm sizes. With an
of farms increased by 194%, almost ex- this relationship is a reflection of India’s average size of 5ha, Nagaland is home to
actly in line with rural population, which inheritance pattern, which leads to farms India’s largest farms. Punjab and Hary-
increased by 189%. As Ramesh Chand divided between multiple heirs (chart 2). ana, two states known for their agricul-
and others pointed out in a 2011 Econom- Within India though, there is signif- tural output, also have larger farm sizes

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 13

 Inside article
(3.6ha in Punjab and 2.2ha in Haryana).
However, these are exceptions. The ma-
jority of India’s farms (86%) are less than
2ha. The bulk of which are located in the
poorer states such as Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar (chart 3).
The Indian experience shows that
small farmers are more productive than
large farmers. Ramesh Chand and oth-
ers show that small farmers use more
inputs (such as fertilizers), use their land
more intensely (planting more crops) and
adopt more technology. Yet, despite this
efficiency, farm incomes remain poor. It is
the poor returns to farming—despite in-
tensive efforts put in by farmers—that lie
at the root of India’s farm crisis, and the
recent farm angst.
Given household sizes in rural India,
small farms struggle to generate enough
income for everyone in a household and
often lack alternative sources of income.
A 2016 paper by Sanjoy Chakravorty of
Temple University, and others, uses the
National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO)
2003 and 2013 surveys of farmers to show
how farm size is an important determi-
nant of income and, consequently, income
inequality.
They find that in 2013, for margin-
al farmers(less than a hectare of land),
household consumption exceeded net
monthly income of less than ₹ 5,500 from
both farming and non-farming activities.
Using the 2015-16 census data, this would
14 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
mean nearly 100 million farming house-
holds would struggle to make ends meet.
Examining farmer incomes between 2003
and 2013, they find that incomes grew the
least for marginal farmers and growth of
incomes was proportional to the size of a
farm. Doubling of farm incomes is a reali-
ty only for the largest land-owning group
(chart 4).
One obvious solution to small farm
sizes will be consolidating land into larger
farms by enabling land leasing. However,
this can be a complex and costly process,
made more difficult by the lack of accu-
rate land records. As a report by PRS Leg-
islative Research has highlighted, land re-
cords in India are poorly maintained and
do not reflect ground realities. It pointed
out that, despite most states computeriz-
ing and digitizing land records, as of 2017,
spatial data had only been verified in 39%
of villages. This is particularly problem-
atic for small farmers who, without accu-
rate land records, cannot access credit or
secure insurance.
India’s farmers are not alone in these
struggles. A 2016 study estimated that
around 84% of the world’s farms are less
than 2ha. While many of these small
farms face the same challenges, some
small farmers, such as those in China,
have been more successful in securing
sustainable livelihoods. This is a result
of several different factors, but econo-
mists agree that improving land records,
investing in research and development,
providing local rural non-farm employ-
ment opportunities and building better
rural infrastructure are policies that can
help small farmers.
Source & Courtesy:
Vishnu Padmanabhan, LiveMint
www.livemint.com

M
r. Narayana Upadhyaya
with his masters in hor-
ticulture set out, decades
ago, to make a difference
in the field of agriculture.
Currently, Mr. Upadhyaya, along with
Aditi Organic Certifications Pvt. Ltd. has
been involved in organic inspection and
certification for over a decade now. Ex-
cerpts from a recent interview.
What is new in terms of your company’s
activities ?
As you know, Aditi Organic Certification
Pvt. Ltd. was established in the year 2007
and we are into certification of organic
agricultural products as per national and
international standards, i.e., the firm is
accredited to offer certification accord-
ing to NOP, USDA standards, COS/COR
standards, Starbucks C.A.F.E. practices
standards, Fair trade standard and Bird
Friendly Coffee standard. Aditi has addi-
tional accreditation from CAEQ, Canada
and Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Besides this, the Government of Nepal has
also recognized and accredited Aditi’s cer-
tification services.
We are also one of the accredited re-
gional councils to offer certification as per
participatory guarantee system under the
Paramparagatha Krishi Vikaasana Yoja-
na. Currently, we handle projects in Kar-
nataka, Jarkhand and Bihar.
What profile of farmers would be
seeking your services? Are they large
farmer associations, individual farmer,
Mr. Narayana Upadhyaya
Certifying organic produce
corporates, estate owners or all?
From small-sized individual farmers to
group corporate traders, we have a whole
range of people approaching us. Over the
years, we have registered around twenty
thousand farmers, spanning across about
twenty states in India.
Nowadays, there are various
certification agencies.
Yes, that is true there are many agencies,
today, offering certification services.
So, is there a marked difference, to the
farmer, as to which agency certifies
their produce. Are there differences in
the way different agencies function in
India?
Few are State government organizations
who offer certifications. Then there are
organizations like us who cater to multi-
national companies. Apart from that there
are foreign certification bodies also ven-
turing into certification services. Like you
rightly said, there are also retired profes-
sors who have been taking to certification
activities.
In our industry, we all honor each oth-
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
Talking to
er. We are all accredited to the National
Board, which permits us to conduct cer-
tifications. So, we interact with each and
honor each other.
The fees structure may vary across or-
ganizations. Government organizations
may be able to offer services at costs that
may not be viable for players like us. But,
all the organizations in this spectrum are
united by one goal - to encourage farmers
produce organic products, enable them to
have a better life, enriching and healthy
life for the consumers of these products
and promoting a better and cleaner envi-
ronment.
At Aditi Certifications Pvt. Ltd., cur-
rently, we have over 40 employees and we
are planning on opening a branch in all
the states.
Where are you located ?
Our head office is in Bangalore But, we
have contact offices in Tiruvannamalai in
Tamil Nadu, Ranchi in Jharkhand, Gaya
in Bihar, Haryana and in Jaipur.
I am a farmer and I want my farm
certified, how would you advise me
to decide on which agency to go to
because I see many choices. What
should I keep in mind when I decide on
an appropriate certification agency?
The first and foremost thing is you have
to be clear about why you want to go in
for a certification. Certification is mainly
sought after for export purposes. I agree
that in domestic markets also there is a
demand. Your crop, your budget, etc.
matters. So a farmer should take into con-
sideration many factors before zeroing in
on an agency.
So, talking about budgets - what
are the parameters when the fees is
considered?
Our tariff structure is given in our website
. Whoever wants to know details regard-
ing the tariff structure, may simply go to
the website, check it and if they have any
15
 Talking to
questions or if they need more details,
they can directly get in touch with us.
You have been into certifications for
over a decade now. How has your
experience been? What challenges have
you faced?
The experience has been wonderful and
it’s a matter of gratitude and pride that we
have been successful throughout the last
10 years.
There are many challenges like meet-
ing expectations, running the show, cop-
ing up with the workload. There is limited
financial resources and we have human
resources that cannot be kept at bay. Over-
head costs are quite a challenge.
From the farmers’ side of things, record
keeping and documentation is absolutely
crucial in this line of business. Attending
to the paper work can be very demanding.
Sometimes data collection itself becomes a
challenge. Then, there is the challenge of
data protection because data has the po-
tential to get misused and we need to take
measures for that not to happen.
We are developing a software now to
address such issues but software is not
a complete solution because we can face
technical difficulty like low internet con-
nectivity. Using such tools, shoots up the
costs. Farmers can’t bear such costs.
We are working on digitization of the
16 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
entire certification process. The amount of
paper we use for our procedures is spiral-
ing high. We have to keep existing papers
for a minimum of 5 years.
So, this line of business is equally chal-
lenging and fulfilling.
For certifications, self-discipline is also
important isn’t it?
Yes, of course. In many cases, if the de-
mand is too high and supply is deficient,
things may go wrong. So, we must keep an
eye on the critical cropping stage. When it
came to products like organic tea, organic
basmati rice, soya bean, cotton - organic
cotton was on high demand at one point.
Then things took a different turn, people
started attaining fake certification. An-
other dilemma crop was vanilla. It was
400 USD per kg at some point and then
suddenly it collapsed.
Looking forward the next 5 years, what
do you think will the big picture be?
The future is very bright, there is a lot of
scope. Lot more manufacturers will get
into the organic sector. A certification is a
quality check post not just for the econom-
ic part of affairs, it is about the environ-
mental wellbeing, as well. I am sure way
forward is very bright. The Indian market
has the potential to produce superlative
products and we must strive to keep the
show running.
Mr. Narayana Upadhyaya
Aditi Organic Certifications Pvt.Ltd.
No. 38, 1st Floor, 20th Main Road, First
block, Near Rajaji Nagar Metro
Station, Rajajinagar, Bangalore-560010
Mobile no: 9108696476 / 9845064286
Email: sukanya@aditicert.net /
aditi@aditicert.net
Website: www.aditicert.net
 Talking to
Neelkanth More
Hydroponics expert
Pune based expert who can help you
get started in hydroponics
ponics comes to picture. Through this
method, we can cultivate crops with nil
pesticides, fungicides, etc. because this
method employs cultivating plants in a
controlled environment. Also, we do not
need soil, so we don’t have to worry if the

M
r.Neelkanth More, com-
pleted his Ph D in Zoolo-
gy and worked for a good
20 years as a pathologist.
It is only later that he felt
passionate about agriculture. His story is
one of wonder because he sought to tread
a whole new different path in the agricul-
tural space and finally stumbled upon a
horizon where technology met amicably
with cultivation. The answer was Hydro-
ponics.
Having gained considerable experi-
ence in aquaculture and hydroponics, Mr.
Neelkanth Moreis now an expert and has
garnered expertise and devised method-
ologies by which hydroponic farms can be
set in the most economical way possible.
What is hydroponics and what is its
relevance in India?
Hydroponics is a cultivation method-
ology, wherein plants are grown using
nutrient-rich sand, gravel, or liquid; but,
without soil. There are many methods by
which hydroponics can be executed.
One thing is that India is highly pop-
ulated, which means plenty of food is a
need always and we have plenty of land,
which is not put to use yet. Furthermore,
excessive use of pesticides and fungicides
for fertigation has adversely affected the
agricultural industry. Hybridization also
led to increase in production. The adverse
effects we get to see are obesity, diabetes,
etc.
This is where the relevance of hydro-
soil is contaminated or not.
What is the advantage of hydroponics
in India? The reason I ask is because
we have got plenty of soil here. So, how
does growing without soil help in India?
Basically, nutrients from the soil are suffi-
cient. However, with hybridization it has
been noticed that crops are not absorbing
major nutrients from the soil. Whereas,
in hydroponics we are supplying the crop
with appropriate and optimal amount of
nutrients because of which the output of
a crop keeps increasing.
If through conventional agriculture we
get 2-3 harvests per year, then using hy-
droponics, we can expect at least 10 har-
vests a year.
You mentioned that conventional
methods came to imbibe usage of lot of
chemicals, which in turn began harming
the crops and the soil. Are you saying
that here we need the same nutrients
like before but without the soil?
Also, I hear about greenhouses and
hydroponics – are both the same?
Yes, the nutrients are the same, but fertil-
izers like urea and all are very harmful for
us and the plants. Here, we won’t be em-
ploying harmful chemicals. Here, plants
are provided with nutrients without the
harmful effects of chemicals, in a green-
house set up.
To answer your question on green-
houses, they may not necessarily mean
that hydroponics is used. Greenhouses
can be employed for farming without em-
ploying hydroponics as well.
How did you come into this hydroponics
space? What activities are you involved
in currently?
I am 47 years old now. 3 years ago I took
the decision to transform to the agricul-
tural sector. I hold a PHD in Zoology and
worked as a pathologist for 20 years. I I
gained experience in aquaculture at Ma-
harashtra for 3 years. This sector got me
very interested and that’s how I arrived at
running a consultancy to provide hydro-
ponics’ support.
These methods employ cultivation
of crops without fertilizers. We feed
the plants with water from aquaponics
through hydroponics. The more I under-
stood, the more I wanted to dive deeper
into hydroponics. I got in touch with sci-
entists from the US, Canada and many
others places and got answers to all my
questions.
Finally, I decided to open my centre in

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 17

 Talking to
India.
Are you working on projects
independently or are you tied to a
company?
Yes, I got my consultancy registered in
May 2017.
This year, I completed a project for a
company in Dubai. We built 1000, 6x4 sq.
foot greenhouses, in Pune and sent them
to Dubai. This was in association with a
company called Growell Hydroponics.
Growell Hydroponics, contacted me
after checking our website - we got into an
agreement to support their hydroponics
and aquaponics initiative. As of now, we
have signed 2-3 contracts and the first is
already successfully completed.
So, what are these small greenhouses
for? Is it for people to keep in their
gardens?
Yes, people in Dubai hardly have any land.
But, there is a growing demand for grow-
ing their own vegetables and fruits. So,
using these green houses, they can now
cultivate their own crops in the minimal
land they have in front of their villas, that
too without soil.
For this project, did you provide the
hydroponics technology as well?
No, I just built the green houses and sent
it across. Growell will provide the technol-
ogy assistance because they have a show-
room in Dubai. We have provided all units
with a pot of organic mix. This mix was
made out a double organic formula.
So, where are you based out of
Mr.Neelkanth More?
Yes, I am located at Pune, in Chakan. I
have a 1000 sq. foot workshop here. We
are working on hydroponics systems
here. There are many other companies
from whom we get a lot of help.
We get orders for tray systems, vertical
systems, pipe vertical system and NFT
and DWC systems. We build all of these
here and sell them to our customers in
Pune and adjoining areas; even South In-
dia.
18 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
Where in India is your customer base?
Where do you get more calls from?
I choose to answer that question slightly
differently. In India, the engineering sec-
tor is quite saturated. 95% of my custom-
ers are people with an engineering back-
ground who are looking forward to doing
something different.
You mean the IT folks?
No, not just from the IT sector. I get calls
from people from the production, auto-
mobile, electronic sectors etc. Some of
these people have jobs right now - they
may be people who are doubtful about the
sustainability of their current job, some
are not satisfied with what they are do-
ing now. Also, to top it some say that their
earnings are not enough to run their var-
ious expenses. So, they end up exploring
other fields and this is one among them.
In short, most of my customers are engi-
neers.
Interesting! But, they don’t have any
agricultural background right?
No, they don’t. But, they understand tech-
nology very well. Problem is they do not
know how to implement the technology in
India economically. My rates are consider-
ably low.
One of my core unique selling points is
my flexi-pricing system. My biggest satis-
faction is that I am sharing knowledge and
helping people who are devoid of jobs. I
even get to train freshers and/or people
thinking of starting something new.
I work on 1300 sq. meter greenhouses
for Rs. 5500/- per sq. meter, which is just
fraction of the cost.
es, and I make a profit as well. The
reason I get to give it away at that price is
because I work on it quite differently. My
principle is to run this among various
people at various locations.
My dream is to build a network of
hydroponic farms, linked to each other
through my consultancy. Then, we can
find customers for the vegetables cultivat-
ed in these farms, together.
So, if an engineer comes to you saying
that he/she is interested in developing
a farm like this, how would you go
about it?
First, I have to teach them about the bio-
logical aspect behind this. Once they get
satisfied with the explanations and once
all their questions get answered, we try
to gain clarity on what they picture cul-
tivating in those hydroponic farms, after
which we start discussion on the technical
part.
They will usually get technical part
fairly quicker because of their engineer-
ing background. Per our agreement, I will
remain a life-long consultant for the bio-
logical aspect of their farm. So the bond is
on-going and so is the commitment.
By the biological part, did you mean
that you would suggest what plant to
grow and how to grow it – when should
the nutrients be supplied to the plants,
etc.?
Yes – exactly. They being engineers,
they may not know the biological side of
things. On the other hand, they would
understand about the technology fairly
quicker. So, my guidance, at the first stage,
will be more in terms of the biological as-
pects. Also, I would take the responsibili-
ty of the biological aspects of the farm for
a lifetime.
Now, after a particular stage, usually
after the first cycle, he/she will usually

grow independent. Overtime, he will gain
the expertise. However, after the harvest
of the crops, he will need a network to sell
these crops.
Yes, I was about to ask you about this.
The investor sell about 50% of the produce
on his own social network. For the balance
50%, he will need support. To tackle this,
I am approaching supply chains like ask
me, i etc. to aid us in selling the produce.
I can personally do the marketing bit for
all the crops.
One of our farms in Ratnagiri sells its
produce to the Mc Donalds chain. An-
other company in Mumbai has recently
approached Big Basket for distribution
of their produce. This will take another
1 and half months to shape up. I am still
training them on the biological part of the
project. Once it is done, they will sell via
Big Basket. They have struck a deal with
Big Basket for 1 year. From 5 November we
will load Big Basket with a stock of 50kg.
So, what is a typical unit? What is the
investment one should be looking
at? What are the prerequisites? For
instance, should they have land
available? What is your process?
We should ensure that the land or the
greenhouse we set up should be near to
the city. Proximity to the city is an import-
ant piece.
Another important factor is that their
unit should have 24 hours of power sup-
ply. This factor is so important that they
should also have a backup power supply
because electricity is crucial to this meth-
od of cultivation. They should have at least
3 days of surplus power as backup. The
thing is that even in the worst case power
failure scenario, the unit must be backed
up with power supply. These two are the
basic needs for this project.
The conventional agriculturists don’t
understand this demand for electricity
and proximity to cities.
Suppose a person comes to you,
who meets both these requirements,
how much land should he have in
possession, at a minimum?
He should have at least 2,000 sq. ft land.
Or, a maximum of 10,000 sq. ft. Per calcu-
lations, you can easily generate a revenue
of Rs 80,000/- per month from a 2,000 sq.
ft vertical hydroponics unit. In a vertical
space you can cultivate equivalent of what
you cultivate in 1 acre plot of land.
We are now going to set up a unit in
Chennai. The project is in its initial stag-
es only. We are working on a 10,000 sq. ft
hydroponics farm for cultivating zucchini
- a variety of cucumber. We are planning
on cultivating one single crop there using
the vertical Dutch bucket system, which is
a 5 tier system. This 10,000 sq. ft unit will
produce crops equivalent to the produce
in a 30,000 sq. ft plot of land. This will
obviously have a positive impact on their
income.
What should his investment be?
We have published our rates on the online
store section of your website – agricul-
tureinformation.com.
If I get an enquiry from someone
through agriculturalinformation.com, de-
pending on how interested they are to go
ahead with this technology and the size of
their order, I will offer a 10-20% discount
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
Talking to
on the published rates.
What will be the main cost involved in
this? The setting up of the greenhouse
will obviously, attract a cost. What are
the other cost-attracting things in this
project?
The minimum rate per sq. ft of greenhouse
would come up to Rs 850/sq. ft. This can
go up to a maximum of Rs 1,250/- per sq. ft.
Will this cost involve all the equipment
for running a hydroponics farm?
This cost will make sure the structure is
complete.
In hydroponics, the humidity, tem-
perature and all climatic conditions are
set. We do a comprehensive training for
the investor. We will set up all the sys-
tems connected to the controlled system.
Although slight temperature may tend to
happen, there is automated steaming set
to controls the temperature in the green-
house, during such conditions. This pro-
gram is tried and tested for good results.
After the unit is functional, you don’t have
to start or stop anything. Just leave it the
way it is. It is automated to monitor itself
through sensors.
So, if the cost is, for instance, Rs1,500/-
per sq. feet for a 2,000 sq. ft unit – it
comes to about 30 lakhs, correct?
Yes, exactly.
Does this cost cover everything - are
there any other costs?
This is for the greenhouse alone. The hy-
droponics system has a different charge.
How much does the hydroponics
system cost?
That will range from Rs 650/- – Rs 1,250/-
per sq. ft, depending on which hydroponic
method you would opt for
So this means this amounts to roughly
a Rs. 30 lakhs for the greenhouse
and another similar amount for the
hydroponics unit. Right?
Not exactly because the hydropon-
ics cost depends not just on the plot
size. The room for battery backup
and all will vary. So it will not be a
19
 Talking to
proportionate double the cost.
Any other cost involved - any one-time
costs, for instance?
Besides this, the owner should invest in
the consumables. We will supply a set of
seeds but we won’t give the net pot, foam
for supporting the plants, etc. Such con-
sumable items must be purchased by the
consumer - the nutrients, the RO machine
for RO water and PH maintenance, bat-
tery backup is to be brought by the owner.
Also you have to study your market and
accordingly we will supply seeds.
Also, we need to know what kind of
crops to grow in our area right?
In my opinion, there are so many herbs
in demand. So many organic companies,
hotel industries or pharmaceutical com-
panies are creating a demand for such
herbs. For the hotel industry, we target on
decorative plants.
For such crops you can even demand a
premium price because conventional
farmers cannot cultivate it in India,
right?
That is true. They can be cultivated only
using hydroponics in India.
Also, I would suggest that you don’t
grow regular vegetables using hydropon-
ics. It is a better ROI when we consider
the investment, to grow exotic crops and
sell them at a premium price. The rate
at which you make an ROI will be much
faster. Within one and half years you can
recover your investment costs.
How long does this investment last?
I mean how long before you need to
perform maintenance works on the
greenhouse?
The internal system is very long lasting. It
lasts up to 20 years. But in 10 years it is bet-
ter that you upgrade it at a lesser cost. So,
10 years of maximum warranty is what we
give away for the poly houses and for the
internal systems. After 10 years, we need
to do techno scanning. For 10-15 years,
there is no question of any trouble.
What about consultation fees? Don’t
you levy charges for setting these
20 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
structures up, consultation services
etc.?
My consultation fees is10% of the amount
spent on the green house and the hydro-
ponic system. For example, if the initial
investment goes up to Rs 50,00,000/-, I
will charge 10% of 50,00,000 as my con-
sultancy fees. But, this is payable only af-
ter the first harvest. That way the investor
has full faith that I will, indeed, take full
responsibility to grow the crops, run the
farm and market the produce. I will be in
contact with the farm owner even after the
first harvest.
Do you charge consultation fees after
each harvest?
No. By the end of the first cycle, the inves-
tor will be able to take over almost inde-
pendently. So the required intervention
from my side, in future cycles, will be nil
or almost nil.
So far which are your successfully
completed projects? Do you have any
completed projects in and around
Bangalore or anywhere in South India?
There are 2 full-fledged hydroponic
farms at Ratnagiri.
There are unfortunately no completed
farms in Bangalore. I have had 2-3 people
approach me from there but they are yet
to decide whether to go ahead with the
project. I also had a call from Ooty who
expressed interest in growing strawber-
ries. Those discussions are still in the ini-
tial phase.
There is a client from Vishakapatnam
whose idea was to gather a group of 25
farmers and grow organic crops using
the hydroponics technology. I have visited
some organic farms to understand how
to convert them into hydroponic farms. I
decided on the best economical system for
their hydroponic set up and the farmers
are also in agreement to this. This is for 35
polyhouses.
Who are your competitors? And, what
are the challenges you face in this
industry?
3 years ago when I zeroed in on this indus-
try, I realized that there is no competitor
in this field because the working time and
style of this is very unique. Also, convinc-
ing people to get into this mode of farming
is an extremely difficult task.
Each time I get tied up with a client,
I consider it a huge victory and it gives
me 100% satisfaction. Our work is huge
and it has a huge potential. We take 1 and
half months to set up an internal system.
There is a lot of sincerity and dedication to
make sure that no mistakes happen.
Why do you think most people show
this resistance?
For example, I have two IITians who have
approached me. They were two people
who are well-settled in their business.
Even after having extended discussions
on this venture, they asked me if there is
any subsidy from the government for this
venture. Sadly, this is the mentality that
most Indians have even if they have lots
of money and even there is an assurance
for earnings 10 times more than what they
invest.
People think that where there is a
farmer, there is a subsidy. This is a mind-
set which I find impossible to crack.
Perhaps they worried about the
marketing part?
They admit that they have sufficient mon-
ey. But still they want some money from
the government or the horticulture de-
partment. I have visited 2-3 areas in Ma-
harashtra and contacted a horticulture
department in Haryana, they said they
don’t have the facility to train on hydro-
ponics. So there is no form of support I get
from the government.
Neelkanth More
CleanGreen
Hydroponic = Aquaponic Consultancy
Mobile No. +919422343844,
09552862410
e mail- more.nilkanth@yahoo.com
morenilkanth71@gmail.Com

M
r. C J Prabhakar, Retd Sci-
entist, Central Silk Board,
Bangalore has, over the
years, served as Research
Assistant, Research Offi-
cer, Deputy Director and as Scientist-D in
Research Institutes, Silkworm Seed Lab-
oratory, National Silkworm Seed Organ-
isation and Muga & Eri Silkworm Seed
Organisation. He has published over 25
research papers as author and co-author
in science journals, conferences and peri-
odicals. Mr. Prabhakar has also present-
ed 2 papers at the 2010 International Wild
Silk Moth Conference, Tokyo.
Today, he works as an independent
consultant to reputed international con-
sultant companies, NGOs at Assam,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and In-
ternational Insect Food groups. Through
his body of work, Mr. Prabhakar strives
to effectively disseminate the knowledge
and experience he has amassed over 3
decades in sericulture development into
planning, implementation and moni-
toring with critical analysis for local fine
tuning in Mulberry, Eri and Muga seri-
culture.
Excerpts from an interview with Mr.
Kartik Isvarmurti, Managing Editor,
agricultureinformation.com.
To start off can you introduce us to the
world of sericulture?
Sure. Sericulture is an agro-based
textile industry, with distinct sections –
feeding-the-silk worms section, rearing-
the-silk section and the weaving section.
The first two fall under the agricultural
sector, while the third is part of the textile
industry.
There are 4 different types of silk-
worms that we grow in India:
1 Mulberry Silk: This is most common
among the 4 types of silks. The silk-
worms feed on mulberry leaves.
2 Tasar Silk – This is a forest-based
production because these worms feed
on fern, which grow in the forests of
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Oris-
3
sa and Chattisgarh.
Eri Silk – Here the feeding crop is the
castor plant, which is common in the
CJ Prabhakar
Business
opportunities in
silkworm farming
Whether you seek
additional income from
your agricultural plot
or if you seek better
opportunities, silk
rearing can perhaps be
your answer
North Eastern part of India. This is a
small and secondary activity of farm-
ers in Assam. About 3-3.5 lakh fami-
lies produce Eri silk to generate a sec-
ondary income.
4Muga Silk: Muga silk is golden silk
and it is exclusively produced only
in a few north eastern states of India.
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
TALKING TO
Assam is the main producer and total
production doesn’t exceed 100 metric
tonnes per annum. This output varies
year on year. The plant that required
here Som, which is mainly grown in
Assam and it is quite local to that area.
Does the species of worm also differ?
Or, is it just the plant that makes all the
difference?
Silk worm species also differ – yes! Mul-
berry silk is produced by a silkworm
called bombyx mori and muga by an-
theraea assamensis. Eri is produced by
samia cynthia ricini and tasar by anther-
aea mylitta. India tops in the production
of Eri and Muga silks. In fact, we are the
only producers of Muga silk.
What are the business opportunities
for new entrepreneurs? Or, is this
activity restricted to tiny or medium
scale farmers?
Mulberry silk production is one of the
most viable and fruitful commercial ac-
tivities. It is a cash crop of Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in
the South and West Bengal in the West.
Silk production serves as income for
nearly 5 lakh farmers. Farmers tend to
earn at least 5-6 lakh a year, which is not
easily possible with other agricultural/
horticultural crops. Once the mulberry
crop is planted, it will sustain for about
25 years, if maintained well. The plants
for silk production can be maintained in
the form of trees or shrubs. In Southern
India, the crop is maintained in the form
of a shrub. The branches are cut and
fed to the worms. This is called branch
method of feeding. Every 2-3 months, the
branches are ready for harvest. The good
news is that farmers who face limitation
of water – those who cannot plant sugar
cane or paddy - can switch to mulberry
cultivation. Once farmers have mastered
the art of silk rearing, it stands to be one
of the most fruitful among agricultural
produces.
Is it the farmers who grow the mulberry
that rear the silkworms as well?
Yes, they do both. Simply growing mul-
21
 TALKING TO
berry won’t fetch you much profits.
On an average, what kind of income
can a farmer make from say, an acre of
land?
In 1 acre of land, for instance, the initial
investment will be around Rs. 30,000/-
and by the 6th or 8th month, the crop will
be ready for harvesting – that is the first
month’s story. In the months that follow,
the harvesting time shorten. That is from a
1acre garden you can rear about 200 DFLs
(disease free laying). 1 moth lays close to
500-600 eggs. This is termed as one DFL.
Likewise, in a 1 acre garden about 200
DFLs can be reared and from 200 DFLs,
you can easily rear about 120 – 130 kgs of
cocoons. Each g can fetch you about Rs.
250-400. This means that from one acre
of land you can make a gross income of
about 6.4 lakhs. Almost 60% will flow out
as expenses if there is hired labor etc. So,
in short, a farmer can earn a net income of
about 1 lakh from an acre of land through
sericulture.
How many acres of land would you
advise people to begin with?
We would advise to start small. It is ideal to
start on a 1 acre plot. The thing is bigger the
size, it is easy to lose focus. It is best to start
small, master the technicalities and then
expand. Silk worms are very sensitive to
humidity, temperature, winds, everything.
So, one has to master how to balance ev-
erything, plan for adverse natural con-
ditions, diseases etc. With technological
interventions, losing crops have become a
rarity but yes, it is important to master the
art before plunging into large scale pro-
duction. In Karnataka, people involved in
sericulture are doing very well – esp. the
farms in Kolar, Ramanagara, Mico Dis-
trict, etc. For generations they have been
dependent on sericulture and are still do-
ing very well.
What kind of government subsidies
exist for sericulture?
The government has pampered the seri-
culture industry with subsidies. Karnata-
ka pioneered the sericulture department
about 100 years ago followed by Tamil
Nadu and Andhra governments. Current-
22 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
ly, all subsidies are owned by the state gov-
ernments. Central government subsidies
are limited to only certain activities like
silk production and weaving activities –
mainly to do with the textile industry.
The subsidies provided by the govern-
ment will meet planting requirements,
first and second year maintenance, labor
requirements, etc. Additionally, to rear
these worms, we need rearing houses. For
a 1 acre plot we will need 25 to 40 ft rearing
house, which comes to about Rs. 1.5 lakhs
unit cost. For this you get a subsidy of
about 50%. You get subsidies for the equip-
ment as well. Having said that, the govern-
ment will cater to subsidies in its own time
and style. So, it is wise to have sufficient
funds in hand without waiting for govern-
ment subsidy. So, start with the money you
have or avail a bank loan rather than just
depending on subsidy.
Also, for those interested, there are
farmers’ training units at various loca-
tions. There are district training centers
in Karnataka. The agriculture department
also has some training schools. Chintam-
ani has an exclusive sericulture college. In
Mysore we have Central Silk Board (CSB)
institute. In most of the places – Karnata-
ka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra there are dis-
trict sericulture offices that houses modal
officers who facilitate subsidies, planning,
etc.
Can bank loans be availed for these
projects?
Yes, it can. This may require an evaluation
and project documentation.
Mr. Prabhakar, what are you focused on
off late?
I retired in the late 2016. Even prior to my
retirement, I was extending services to a
few NGOs. Generally NGOs will require
support in planning the activity and at lo-
cations they plan to implement it. Usually
support is required because farmers will
not have much information on sericulture.
I educate them about the advantages; more
than the advantages, I had to make clear of
the requirements. NGOs also reach out
when they have issues at places where
sericulture activities already exist.
For example, in one state some farmers
were motivated to take up sericulture only
because the subsidy was very high. They
compared it with the subsidy they would
otherwise get. If instead of focusing on the
subsidy they focused on the plantation,
they would have earned lots more. From
my experience I know that on an average
a person can comfortably earn about 50-
60 thousand rupees per garden. Outside
Karnataka there are markets for cocoons.
They have a huge market in Ramanagara.
They handle about 30 - 50 tonnes of co-
coons per day. Close to 13000 - 15000 farm-
ers bring their cocoons there.
How about the scope for entrepreneurs?
Does this field have any such avenues?
With respect to entrepreneur activi-

ties, we have:
1 Chawki Rearing Centers: That is small
silkworms will be reared in naphtha-
lene plants - we call these silkworm
naphthalene plants. Silkworms in the
first 10 days requires the perfect climat-
ic conditions. That is provided by these
exclusive centers. They work on about
six thousand DFLS at a time with 20-
25 farmers and then they sell it. This
is a popular entrepreneurial set up.
We have around ten thousand chaw-
ki centres in Karnataka now. Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu also have
similar centers popping up. You should
have the facility and 20-25 farmers to
start such a set up.
2 Mulberry Nursery: This is yet another
entrepreneurial activity that one can
pursue. A 1 acre nursery can cater to
plantlets that can serve for 20-30 acres
of plantation.
With your experience and accumulated
knowledge, people must be contacting
you for various guidance and help,
isn’t it? What kind of enquiries do you
normally get?
Yes, I do and it’s a mixed bag of queries.
Majority of the queries come from those
who are new to the industry. They will
have basic questions. For example, if their
land is suitable or not, what is the invest-
ment they will need to be ready with, etc.
Then there are NGOs who will want
to introduce sericulture at some place and
will need help to understand how to go
about it, plan it and implement it.
Existing farmers who run into prob-
lems in the first year of cultivation also gets
in touch with me.
Once they start and get settled, for dis-
ease problems and all, quite frankly within
the
Mysore-Bangalore premises we have
100s of retired people who are helping
around. My presence may not be required
there. They can take care of things by
themselves; unless they are totally new to
the subject.
If someone contacts you saying they are
interested in sericulture but they want
to spend a few days to look around.
Would you be open to rendering that
kind of support?
I understand. In Japan, there is a person
who annually conducts silk tours. From
various countries people go there and an
approximately 15-day tour to places of seri-
culture plantations, is organised.
To be frank, our sericulture department
is very active. If you just write to them that
you need exposure to a certain place for
sericulture cultivation etc., usually the
Central Silk Board will make appropriate
arrangements.
I am certainly open to these things. But
so far, such enquiries are a rarity. People
can even be introduced to farmers who
can share facts on how it can be grown and
marketed etc. In fact, if they are interested
in knowing the professional working pat-
tern, we can take them to the most profes-
sional of farmers.
Do you feel there is anything that
we may not have covered in our
conversation today?
I would like to add a few things:
1. For those interested and have many
questions looming in their head, here
are 5 points that they can help resolve
their dilemma:
i. The Land: The land that they have ear-
marked for this project should be even.
A 10-15% slope is permissible, but high-
ly uneven land is neither permissible
nor conducive for sericulture. For avail-
ing subsidy, the land should be in the
name of the requestor. Subsidy cannot
be availed by tenants.
ii. Water Resource: The land should have
access to a water source, like a pool or
a well. There should be a year-round
supply of water. Drip irrigation also
works. The amount of water required
is less than that required by sugar cane
or paddy, but about 3 times more than
that required by dry crops like jowar,
ragi etc. If the water is slightly acidic in
nature, it works well.
iii. Keep Away from Toxins: The proposed
land should not be in proximity to
any toxin-emitting factories or tobac-
co plantations. It should be neither in
proximity to plantations that require
heavy dosages of pesticides like cotton,
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
TALKING TO
tea, coffee etc. nor near stone quarries
or highly polluted areas.
iv. Electricity Supply: The land should
have a steady supply of electricity for
temperature maintenance etc.
v. Approachability: Easy approachabil-
ity to the road is desirable because the
silk worms should be fed late in the
evenings and early in the morning. So
approachability is very desirable.
Limitations:
1 Labor: Labor availability is a huge re-
quirement. That is why it is not feasible,
for example, in Kerala. Kerala’s labor
cost is high and the labor class there can
be very demanding. If the labor cost is
high, your breakeven will be farfetched
dream. If you can have family labor, it
will be extremely good.
2
Temperature: Optimum temperature
or huge temperature variations can
prove bad for sericulture. In summer,
if temperatures are above 30-35 degree
Celsius or if winters are too cold like in
Ooty or Coorg, the mulberry plant will
not thrive.
Whoever wants to know more infor-
mation, please check for state government
published websites. These are maintained
by the state agricultural department.
These sites will have useful and latest in-
formation on subsidies and all.
Also, if a group of around 10 people or
an NGO want to get introduced to seri-
culture they can directly contact me at
any time. A group is always better than
individuals. Also, a group is better when
it comes to labor sharing activities. So, if a
group of 10 start with around 15-20 acres
of land, it can be better managed. That,
according to me, is a sustainable project as
well.
C.J. Prabhakar,
Sericulture Expert
SCIENTIST –D (Rtrd),CENTRAL SILK
BOARD , MADIVALA, BANGALORE-INDIA
560064
Corresponding Address: C.J.PRABHAKAR,
No.1189,, 2nd Main, Srirampura 2 nd
stage, Mysore-570023.
Ph: +91 821 2364599, +91 8618168927(m),
E mail:-prabhakarcj@gmail.com
23
 TALKING TO
Dr. RK
Chaluvaiah
From Veterinary
Medicine to Animal
Husbandry in
Karnataka
It takes hard work,
compassion and
empathy
D
r. R K Chaluvaiah has worn
many hats during his 36-
year stint with veterinary
medicine and animal hus-
bandry. During his tenure,
Dr. Chaluvaiah has associated, in differ-
ent capacities, with many organizations
namely, BAIF, Karnataka Milk Federa-
tion, Department of Animal Husbandry
and Veterinary Services, Government of
Karnataka and RKVY Implementation at
Commissionerate of Animal Husbandry.
Upon our query, Dr. Chaluvaiah dis-
closes that his main area of interest is ca-
tering to animal husbandry and animal
health. Administering precautionary
medicines and curing livestock of diseas-
es, improving livestock breeding and up-
grading existing breeds are areas of great
interest for Dr. Chaluvaiah.
Dr. Chaluvaiah throws light on the
fact that the government has interesting
schemes for those who decide to take the
plunge into dairy farming, even if you may
own just 2 cows. Through this investment,
you can make an additional income. Dr.
Chaluvaiah explains that the government
has a Special Bhagya scheme, wherein SC/
ST people can avail 50% and others get 25%
24 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
subsidy. Besides that there are special state
government schemes like Amrutha Yo-
jana, Special Component Plan, etc. These
give a subsidy of up to 60% or Rs 50,000/-
whichever is lower. The NABARD scheme
also provides subsidy assistance for estab-
lishing dairy units, cattle breeding units
etc.
According to Dr. Chaluvaiah, currently
in the dairy sector, there is huge scope for
milk marketing. We have ample amounts
of milk procurement but struggle to sell
it. So, the private sector who can establish
dairy farms, can add value by helping to
market the procured milk and aid in the
making of various milk products. Dr. Ch-
aluvaiah points out that everybody only
concentrates on marketing their products
in urban areas. It is often overlooked that
there is a market for these products in
the rural areas as well, which is yet to be
explored. He explains that there are rural
areas, where there is a deficit of milk and
milk products. As per health recommen-
dation, we are supposed to consume about
290 grams of milk per day but the avail-
ability is still stagnant at about 280 grams.
That in itself is a reason for such products
to be marketed in rural areas.
Animal husbandry in our country, says
Dr. Chaluvaiah, is a practice that is passed
on traditionally. It was mainly all about
maintaining and managing the local cows
and buffaloes. Today, we have new breeds
that give high milk yields. Farmers need
to realize tangible benefits from managing
dairy farms. To attain tangible benefits,
ensuring that the cows are healthy is ex-
tremely crucial. Dr. Chaluvaiah reminds
us that vaccinating animals should be
done religiously to keep diseases at bay.
The government has stocked up all vacci-
nations and farmers can get vaccination
information from veterinary units across
the country. It is encouraging that there
are about 18-20 government institutions
providing formal animal husbandry train-
ings in the entire state. Lead banks also
help in providing trainings. The Karnata-
ka Milk Federation (KMF) also provides
training sessions in about 3-4 places across
the state.
Dr. Chaluvaiah points out some im-
portant facts that farmers need to be
crucially aware of:
1 Machine Milking: Milk being a perish-
able item one has to adopt a hygienic
method of milking the cows and col-
lection of milk. This way, spoilage and
wastage of milk will decrease. Hence,
machine milking. These machines are
also available at subsidized rates for
people who have 5 or more animals. It
saves time, effort and keeps milk fresh-
er for longer. This, in turn, reduces
spoilage and wastage by 90%. Farmers
need to be trained about this.
2 Animal Feed: Fodder for animals is
dependent on climatic conditions of a
place – there can be draughts, floods
owing to which there can be non-avail-
ability or rise in price for fodder. Hence,
fodder should be diligently procured
when it is low-priced and stored me-
thodically. There are new methods of
storing available, which is also some-
thing people can explore. These are
some of the things that can have a posi-
tive effect on the output and profit made
by farmers and hence, our economy.
When queried about the biggest chal-
lenges faced by dairy farms of Karna-
 TALKING TO

taka, Dr. Chaluvaiah made the follow- ning a dairy farm. He can guide farmers in of treatment should not depend on how
ing observations: establishing their farm, sourcing animals, much the owner of the animal can pay.

1 Fodder management and security: As

mentioned earlier, this aspect should be
planned very well.
etc. He can even help farmers/entrepre-
neurs with all kinds of project reports re-
lated to animal husbandry and provide
Quality should be consistent.
Being empathetic to animals is a must
in this profession. If one does not hold

2 The downslide in the production of ag-

ricultural crops: The focus on cultivat-
ing cash crops has created a huge shift
in focus from agricultural crops. The
flip side is that it is agricultural crops
that is our main source of fodder. On
this note, at least people who have an-
imals farms and plots of land, should
take care that at least 10-15% of the land
holdings produce agricultural products
so that they can procure bulk of the fod-
der from their land itself. The govern-
ment should disperse subsidized rates
for seeds, fertilizers, etc. to make this a
reality. Good fodder and crops enrich
milk production and therefore, avail-
ability of balanced cattle feed is a must.
assistance related to central and state gov-
ernments support details.
What would Dr. Chaluvaiah’s advice be
to the present generation who would like
to major in veterinary science in Universi-
ty?, we queried.
Be ethical and true to your job! Dr.
Chaluvaiah cannot stress enough on the
importance of being ethical to one’s profes-
sion. Per his observation, nowadays, per-
haps because of advanced lifestyles, ethics
often takes a backseat. He reminds us that
most government-appointed veterinary
doctors deal with farmers - a majority of
who are uneducated. These farmers take
the doctor’s word as the only version of
the truth. Also, keeping in mind that the
compassion for animals, this profession a
wrong route and a waste of one’s energy
and position.
As for people who aspire to study vet-
erinary science and desires to render ser-
vices at a grass root level, it’s good to know
that they live their dream whether or not
they are associated with the government.
They can establish themselves at a private
level. There is no law forbidding you to
establish your own farm, training centres
etc. There are farmers who set up training
centres, and distribute breeding stock etc.
That line of business is remunerative too.
By doing such things ethically, you gener-
ate business and create a name for your-
self.

3 Mastitis: 15-20% of milk reduction is

because of mastitis. Antibiotics given
to the cattle to cure Mastitis, and the
animals cannot communicate in our lan-
guage, misleading people may seem be an
easy thing to do but it ultimately ends up
Dr R. K Chaluvaiah ,M.V.SC.VETY.
MEDICINE, Rtd Additional Director
disease – both account for reduced being a disgrace on one’s own self. Animal husbandry and Veterinary
milk production. According to Dr. Ch- It is worth noting that in hospitals, if services , Govt of Karnataka ,
aluvaiah, the cure should be prescribed an animal is bought for treatment, then it Bangalore 560091
based on the sensitivity of the cow. is the vet’s, not the assistants’ duty, to treat Phone:9448041544,
Symptomatic treatments will not help all the animals that come in. Also, quality 9686934880
and can be damaging in the long run.
According to Dr. Chaluvaiah, govern-
ment departments and universities can
help mitigate the above-stated issues.
Governments should come up with a reg-
ularized policy because antibiotics keep
changing every year and more it is used,
the more damaging it is for the animals
and their productivity. Training and keep-
ing farmers aware of best practices can be
carried out by universities and colleges.
Per Dr. Chaluvaiah, delivering govern-
ment policies and practices to the farmers
diligently, is what he marks as his achieve-
ment. “I have left good footprints where
ever I have worked.”, says Dr. Chaluvaiah.
He explains that the goodwill he carries is
evident when the farmers whom he has
catered to still remember him, irrespective
of how long ago he may have worked in
many places. This, he holds very close to
his heart and is certainly a feather in his
cap. Having been a government servant,
Dr Chaluvaiah takes pride in that fact that
he could honestly deliver products and
policies, dispersed by the government to
the beneficiaries.
Till date, Dr. Chaluvaiah is open to pro-
viding sound technical guidance for run-

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 25

 FOOD PROCESSING
Dr. Neema.K.N
Lady entrepreneur in food processing
“I never tried to compete with big brands. I have my
own brand and my own customer base.”
T
here has been remarkable
growth over the decade in
the food processing industry
with a multitude of compa-
nies and start-ups offering
ready-to-eat and other processed
food. Dr.Neema, who holds a master’s
degree in biotechnology, developed a
fascination towards food processing
during her tenure with CFTRI, My-
sore. As part of her disser-
tation she worked under Dr.
S. Raghava Rao, Senior Sci-
entist and Director of CF-
TRI, in the food engineering
department that focussed
mainly on processing of
food products and ready to
eat mixes.
During that time, she also
did a one year program on
food processing and packag-
ing technology and had the opportuni-
ty to train under renowned personal-
ities in the food processing industry.
She was exposed to equipment design
as well, like for instance the chappathi
making machine. When the Tsuna-
mi had badly hit India, she and her
team was able to make thousands of
chappathis and send them to the relief
camps in Chennai. By then Dr.Neema
had inculcated a passion for pursuing
a career in the food processing sector.
This is what paved way for the forma-
tion of Tabitha Food Products.
26 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
Tabitha Food Products was incor-
porated in 2014 in a place called Na-
guvanahally 7kms from Mysore. The
company was established to pro-
cess and manufacture high quality
instant breakfast mixes, hygienical-
ly processed flours and masala pow-
ders without preservatives. Having
a skilled food technology expert as a
proprietor of the company, gave them
an upper edge to focus on quality,
training, research and development.
Dr.Neema also dedicates time to
train the women sector and provides
employment opportunities to the la-
dies who are not able to come out of
their houses or village because of their
own constraints. She has trained more
than 100 women in Food processing
and packaging technology across Kar-
nataka as part of Entrepreneurship
development programs (Skill India,
Initiative). Dr.Neema was invited as
a trainer at one of the centres of the
railway department as part of a proj-
ect initiated by the government. Here
several women were identified and
trained to run a food processing busi-
ness unit. She also supports women
who collaborate with her to get their
products processed, packed and
priced appropriately.
FUTURE OF THE FOOD
PROCESSING SECTOR
Diverse changes have taken place in
the rural and urban lifestyle. More
and more women from the rural areas
have started looking for employment
opportunities. They have started com-
ing out of their households to earn a
living. As there are several players fo-
cussing on spices, frozen food, pickles
and ready to eat mixes, many avenues
have opened up for the women of the
rural sector.
Life in the urban areas have also be-
come very fast. People are in a hurry
and don’t have the time or patience
to cook. Several people have started
going abroad for work or studies be-
cause of which eating habits have also
changed drastically. Everybody wants
it quick and easy urging them to look

for instant solutions. This is result-
ing in an increase in the consumption
of ready to eat products and canned
food. Hence there is huge market po-
tential for food processing in both the
rural and urban sectors.
WHAT MAKES TABITHA STAND OUT
Dr.Neema ensures that through
Tabitha she offers hygienic food pro-
cessed in a scientific manner. Her
products are 100% preservative free
and does not make use of any sort of
chemicals. They source authentic in-
gredients for making instant break-
fast and snack mixes then processes
it. Thus Dr.Neema tries to give a good
blend of rural and urban preferenc-
es. Inspite of such efforts people do
have their own concerns as well. Many
of them want their traditional home
cooked food and are not ready to try
instant processed food. It is difficult to
convince such people that the quality
of the food is not being compromised
even though it is processed. There are
several ready to eat dishes made us-
ing chick peas, kidney beans, cottage
cheese etc which is packed in food
grade pouches that just needs to be
dipped in hot water and is then ready
for consumption. Such quick fixes of-
fered by the food processing industry
helps people in their fast life. There
are many more of such avenues that
can be explored in this industry.
CHALLENGES FACED BY
TABITHA FOOD PRODUCTS
With tycoons like MTR, there is lots of
competition out there in the market.
Many big players already exist and
many more are trying to creep in, mak-
ing it difficult for start-ups to set their
foot in and thrive. Everything right
from packaging to branding plays a
vital role. Market surveys shows that
if people are given two options, one
being healthy & hygienic food in a sim-
ple see-through transparent packag-
ing and another a very colourful and
fancy packaging the contents of which
cannot be seen or judged, most of the
people always opt for the colourful
one. Dr.Neema has not been able to
talk them out of the colourful packing
concept. Such mindsets are compel-
ling small companies to invest more
on aspects like packaging instead of
the quality of the product. Howev-
er, Dr.Neema opts to focusses on the
quality itself. They aimed at serving
the upper and middle-class markets
in India. People in Mysore know her
brand and inspite of not being pack-
aged in a beautiful fancy cover they
go for it as it is 100% preservative
free. Big brands like MTR have a huge
demand. Some of them encourage
start-ups like Tabitha Food Products
by sourcing their products and then
reselling it in the market under their
brand name. This is a huge boost for
the growth of start-ups.
THE DRIVING FORCE
“If you think there is a competition
everywhere and you have to break
through all that, it would not work
out. Just keep moving ahead parallel
to them”, says Dr. Neema. She nev-
er tried to compete with big brands.
She has her own brand and her own
customer base. At this juncture, they
cannot afford to try out big market-
ing tactics like “Buy one, Get one free”
offers in malls. She is trying to break
even and sustain it instead of compet-
ing with the rest of them. They have
been able to cover a lot by just direct
marketing itself.
“Whatever I choose to eat, is what
I would want to give others too. If we
opt for fresh, healthy, chemical free
food, then give the same to others
as well” says Dr.Neema. She strictly
against the usage of strong chemical
or preservatives. Consequently, they
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
FOOD PROCESSING
ventured into manufacturing quality
products by utilizing the most ad-
vanced production technology. Be-
cause of their high quality standards
and reliable delivery schedules, they
have been able to build and maintain
a solid customer base in Mysore, ca-
tering to the needs of most of the
Schools, Banks and the people out
there. Her products are also exported
to countries like Dubai, Bahrain, Rus-
sia, US etc. purely on demand.
As a start-up they had their own
share of hiccups all along the journey.
It was not easy to get through the gov-
ernment policies, certifications need-
ed for being able to export products
inspite of having an FSSAI certifica-
tion and valid company registration.
The introduction of GST also brought
up many changes. As they grew, it was
sometimes difficult to manage the in-
crease in demand with a small group.
FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
The willingness to take up challenges
combined with a passion to be in this
industry are the two key ingredients
needed for pursuing a career in the
food processing sector. Every area has
its own comfort zones and back logs.
Ample home work and research needs
to be done to identify the market to
which your products can reach out to.
Only after the market pulse is clearly
understood should production begin.
Once a company is set up, taking it to
the next level is also important.
The food processing industry has
an ocean of food products in it. Dr.
Neema concentrates on products, like
healthy breakfast mixes, that serves
the needs of the urban sector. For any
budding entrepreneur, her advice
would be to focus on one product, es-
tablish yourself with it and then diver-
sify to other products taking one baby
step at a time.
Dr. Neema.K.N
Proprietor Tabitha Food Products,
Mysore
Phone: 8050061183
27
 Medicinal Plants
Aromatic
grass
cultivation
Ashok Kumar Jonwal on
reasons why projects fail
A
Ashok Kumar Jonwal, Direc-
tor, Pacific Herbs Agro Farms
based at Nagpur is a stock-
house of knowledge when
it comes to various types of
farming activities. His firm offers con-
sultation services for aromatic grass
cultivation and also supplies all types of
medicinal and aromatic herbs, planting
material and seeds.
In a recent conversation Mr. Jonwal
talked about why more than 90% of new
aromatic grass cultivation projects cur-
rently fail in India. The main reasons
for this high failure rate according to
Mr. Jonwal are lack of awareness about
cultivation, lack of awareness about
markets and
Currently, the main factors impact-
ing production are:
1 Lack of awareness/understanding on
what it takes to be successful in this
venture: Attention to detail and nu-
ances of aromatic farming must gain
traction for a cost-effective optimum
yield and to keep up to the standards
and demand of the national and in-
ternational market demands.
2 Eliminating small-scale farms: Arun
Kumar sites examples of how he ad-
vises against plunging into aromatic
farming with 3-4 acres of land. This,
per his expertise, is a stepping stone
to failure because it tips the balance
when it comes to machinery pur-
chase/maintenance, fuel charges and
28 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
crop yield. For optimum yield, it is
absolutely necessary that the plot
size chosen for cultivation is at least
as big as 15-20 acres. If cultivation is
intended on multiple plots that add
up to 15-20 acres, the plots should
be within 1-3 km distance from each
other. This ensures that all plots
stays within the best harvest period
and it ensures optimum utilization of
the fuel charges and transportation
costs, which has a direct impact on
your ROI.
3
The intent for project undertaking:
Like for any project, if the intent
behind taking up the project is any-
thing other than yielding good pro-
duce, the project tends to fail. In his
quest to understand the failure of ar-
omatic produce in India, Mr Jonwal,
with his team, conducted a survey on
28 units in Maharashtra and nearby
states, and realized that the reason
for failure was lack of knowledge
and aberration of intent. Anything
apart from gaining good yield and
contributing to the aromatic indus-
try, for example, having an eye for
subsidies is bound to fail.
4 Improper marketing: Mr Jonw-
al throws light on the fact that the
cultivation is dependent on villages
and farmers having knowledge and
expertise on marketing the product.
This is a rarity. Hence, effective mar-
keting of the crops is as essential as
following the rules to gain optimum
produce.
Due to these reasons many aromatic
grass projects are winding up. With all
these factors in the play, it is crucial that
the farmers/entrepreneurs are support-
ed with excellent consultation. This will
help in timely intervention as and when
an issue arises.
Per Mr. Jonwal, the national and in-
ternational markets express high de-
mand for aromatic oils with the buzz
for organic products in today’s world. If
the farmer is internet savvy then selling
is not tough as there are many buyers at
Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Chen-
nai for these aromatic grasses and oils.
Unfortunately, this may not be the case
most of the time.
When asked about the services that
Pacific Agro provides, Mr Jonwal ex-
plains that, as consultants they conduct
land surveys, produce project feasibili-
ty reports, advise on the best variety of
grass that can be used - this is soil de-
pendent, advise on the importance and
 Medicinal Plants
proper usage of distillation systems, le- that many of these, like labor cost and on the nuances of farming, marketing
gal buy-back agreement and marketing fuel/fertilizer charges are recurring ex- and the economics of it all.
advise. penses. But on an average, for a 20-acre
Mr Jonwal, in our interview couldn’t plot, the farmer/entrepreneur should Ashok Kumar Jonwal
stress enough on the importance of have funds amounting to about INR 10 Pacific Herbs Agro Farms Pvt. Ltd.
having your own distillation unit right lakhs (subject to various factors). 9, Sant Saikripa Society, Narendra
from the beginning of your project. He From our enriching conversation Nagar, Nagpur- 440 015,
believes in declining projects where with the Mr. Ashok Kumar Jonwal, we Maharashtra, India.
farmers/entrepreneurs decide to share realise that having experts at hand can Mobile: 94228 81280, 70837 57145.
distillation units for their sites. From lead you to the success of agro projects. Email: agrigum@gmail.com,
experience, Mr. Jonwal says that this is With experience and enriching knowl- herbal_globe@rediffmail.com
not a sustaining plan as timely harvest edge, they build foresight to advise you Web: http://www.aromediherbs.com/
and distillation is very crucial for this
project and it has a direct effect on the
quantity of produce. The grass has to be
distilled after precisely one day of har-
vest, he says. It should neither be done
immediately nor should the distillation
wait for after 2-3 days. One day gives
sufficient time for the grass to wilt and
release moisture. Moisture can have an
adverse effect on the oil yield. But, if the
distillation waits for more than one day,
the oil also tends to evaporate, which of
course, accounts for poor yield.
When asked if his firm offers experts
on the field at all times, an honest Mr
Jonwal declines that kind of support
simply because it isn’t necessary. How-
ever, he did admit that timely interven-
tion is made possible with exchange
of videos and pictures of the various
farms they monitor. Pacific Agro, today
is involved in aromatic farming in over
10 states that range from Dehra Dun to
Madurai.
When queried if rains were neces-
sary, Mr Jonwal advises against farm-
ing this crop in heavy monsoon-prone
areas because monsoons can put away
harvest periods which adversely affects
yield and hence, profit. Having said
that, continuous irrigation is a must
have for aromatic crops. But does this
mean that this crop demands water like
a sugar cane crop? No, it demands on
1/10 of the water that a sugar cane crop
would demand. The type of irrigation to
be employed can be advised only upon
site inspection depending on the climat-
ic conditions, moisture-retention of the
soil etc.
Finally coming to the economics of it
all, we queried on the investment/acre
that one should be ready with to un-
dertake such a project. This would de-
pend on the size of your plot taking into
consideration the one-time investment
charges like cost of machinery, cost of
the grains for the grass, labor cost, fuel
charges etc.; not eliminating the fact

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 29

 CONSULTANT
Mr. Devidas
Bhadange
Marketing strategy
consultant for
agriculture
T
he trick lies in understanding
the gap in the market and align-
ing your product to fill those
gaps, with patience.
Mr. Devidas Bhadange, with
his in-depth knowledge and experience in
marketing, believes in a creative approach
to crack the market. Over the years, he
has strategically designed and carved out
business plans for the many organiza-
tions. Mr. Bhadange has helped his clients
realize success, and has led them from
seed stage to market entry and become
market leaders.
Our conversation with Mr. Bhadange
opened up a plethora of interesting stories
during his stint at many companies – each
story carrying a lot of valuable lessons.
Mr. Bhadange was instrumental in
ramping up operations at organizations
like Warana Dairy, Rajdhani Flour Mills
Ltd., Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd., etc. and
how he currently contributes his services
towards the betterment of the dairy in-
dustry.
Can we start by talking about your
academic background and work
experience?
I did my BSc Agriculture followed by a
course in MBA. Post that, I signed up for
a management training at a pharma com-
pany called Hindustan Antibiotics, where
I launched veterinary and agricultural
formulations. It is the same antibiotics
that we use for humans, but in high dos-
ages for animals, depending upon their
body weight. I have also introduced anti-
biotics for agriculture. Both of these proj-
ects were successful.
Then, I joined Warana Dairies as a
marketing manager. They are a coopera-
tive organization and their products were
marketed in Mumbai-based government
organization called MASCO. When I
joined Warana, I found their marketing
strategies too haphazard. I set up a unique
system of sales and distribution network
30 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
in Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. This
system is being nurtured by the organiza-
tion even to this day. This system got the
brand Warana Shrikhand popular.They
are nearly selling 5000 tons per year now
and have become a brand leader.
It is an interesting story how I achieved
that. Warana Dairies is an organization
with a unique philosophy. The leader of
that organization, being a freedom fighter,
believed that he didn’t want to load ex-
penses incurred from advertisements on
consumers. I had requested a budget of
11 lakhs for marketing their product, and
only 3 lakhs was sanctioned. I opted to
advertise on the radio and the newspaper
but this didn’t fetch us any enquiries. So, I
ceased those advertisements and decided
to market the shrikhand by promoting its
benefits. The ad stated the benefits in a po-
etic manner and the sales shot up so much
that we began falling short of supply.
Now, that the demand shot up, the
challenge we faced was transportation
of the product. This organization, being
small did not have refrigerated vehicles.
This was way back in 1989. Our product
was transported in ordinary vehicles. To
keep the product fresh, we charted a route
whereby we could distribute the product
in10 villages and towns, within a matter of
48 hours. Our selected distributors were
given a timetable stating when our deliv-
ery vehicle would get to them. They were
instructed to place their orders in advance
and keep their payment DD ready. We had
time only to unload, collect the DDs and
proceed to the next distribution point im-
mediately.
Warana Shrikhand’s profit spiraled
up to 9 crores.
Life at Warana was an exciting chal-
lenge. Our then Chairman, Mr Tatyasa-
heb Kore, then came up with a demand
that he wasn’t interested in paying taxes
to the government. The freedom fighter
in him saw taxes as just another form of
loot by the government – another form
of the British government prior to Indi-
an Independence. He wanted to distrib-
ute the entire 9 crore profit to the people
who worked in the making of Warana
Shrikhand – the workers at Warana and
the farmers who supplied us milk. We
gave away Rs1/lit, bonus to all farmers
who supplied us with milk that year. This
ran into lakhs of rupees. Remaining 40%
was given to the workers during school
reopening time so that they could utilize it
to buy school requisites for their children
and the rest 20% were distributed during
Diwali. We didn’t have any bank accounts
at the time. So, we made lockers, trans-
ferred cash to the villages and distributed
it in cash. It was a miraculous and hum-
bling experience.
So what happened next after you left
Warana Dairies?
I left that organization in 1991 because
there were no more challenging projects
for me. I believe, I gave their products a
pipeline and all they had to do was follow
the same for all other products.

Then, I joined Ruchi Soya. I was there
from1996 - 2004. Their ask was brand
building. Their business was a family en-
terprise – the Sahara family were masters
in edible oil trading. They used to import
oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, USA, etc.
But, they realized that they wanted a
name in the society. So, their need from
me was to build their brand.
I told them that brand building doesn’t
happen overnight. It is different from
sales because in sales you are looking only
at volume of products being sold. Good
branding demands a brilliant attitude and
sound philosophy.
I then built a strategy around their
commodity - commodity to label - label
to brand. We segregated and labelled the
end products as 15 kg tins, 5 kg, 1 liter and
½ liter. That is, instead of selling loose oil,
we changed the manner in which oil was
being sold and in the process, named the
oil as well. We came up with 10-15 brand
names for different types of oils. Ruchi
Gold, Nutrella, Sunrich, Ruchi No 1, etc.
This branding activity shot up their sales
to 90000 tons per month. Honestly, that
was an unimaginable result for me as well.
Also, when we started with Ruchi Gold
in Chennai, we gave our distributors an
offer that if they bought 100 boxes of 10
pouches each, they would get 1 similar box
for free. With the evolution of that scheme,
all the small players were thrown out of
the game.
In Guwahati, the challenge we faced
as transportation. It used to take about 1
month for our trucks to reach Guwahati
from Indore. So, I suggested that we send
goods in a wagon – a 40-bogie wagon.
This shortened our transportation time to
7 days and saved us 75% of the then trans-
portation cost. We used those savings to
improve our trade. At least 20 wagons
were dispatched per month to remote
places like Guwahati, Dehra Dun etc.
Another stunt was with Nutrella soya
chunks. In Mumbai, we had 20 kg bags.
We realized that small manufacturers
adulterated their product and so sold
them at much more competitive prices.
We couldn’t compete with those prices be-
cause our product was of superior quality.
I used the same wagon strategy and used
those savings for the distribution prices.
Within 3 years there was an eradication
of adulterated products and those small
players. Later, we set up plants in Dehra
Dun, Vijayawada and Bijapur.
Sounds like improving a product’s
market share through innovative
methods is your core strength.
Yes, you are right. I also got associated
with Rajdhani Flour Mill in Delhi. This
association was between 2005-2007. This
brand was quite well known and they
maintained very good quality gram flour
(besan).
As a strategy, we developed 5-6 variet-
ies of besan, depending upon the coarse-
ness – gundi besan, kadi pakoda besan
etc. This encouraged people to buy vari-
ous varieties available and stock it at their
homes depending on what they want to
make. This shot up our sales.
Next, I queried as to why, as a compa-
ny, we were sticking to besan alone. So, we
dived into Channa too – Rajdhani Channa
– their black and white varieties of channa
is in good demand. So, now they Rajdhani
has multiple products.
What is it that you do now as a
consultant - CEO of Abhishek Business
Consultants ?
I advise and suggest business strategies –
impart knowledge on how businesses can
be run smartly
Lot of people from the dairy farming
sector come to me. They come for advise
on installing their units, marketing the
milk and milk products.
In dairy farming, your role in my
understanding, comes into picture
after they have set their dairy units by
consulting a dairy expert. That is, to
market the milk. Is that correct?
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
CONSULTANT
Yes, that is correct.
There is a company called Baramati
Agro. I was associated with them when
they wanted to venture into the dairy in-
dustry. They are the Pawar group. From
the name, I got an impression that they
must be a huge investor. So, I suggested
marketing paneer, cheese, etc. They got
back saying they were not interested in
such products. They were looking for a
dairy venture within 10-15 lakhs invest-
ment. That, honestly, was a big surprise
for me. I, of course, took it up and regis-
tered a brand called Freshious Milk.
We started marketing this product in
Pune and Baramati and in 6 months we
could sell around 5k-6k liters per day.
Milk marketing is quite difficult be-
cause of the number of traditional players
in the market. In Pune alone there are
about 250 brands. And players like Gokul,
Warana, Chitale Dairy etc. have been
around since 50 years.
Also, nowadays diary is an ingredient
market because hardly anybody drinks
milk every day. It is usually consumed in
the form of tea, coffee, etc. The moment
there is a slight change in taste, the entire
household will question the milk first.
Also, people would not be interested in
switching milk brands. So, this creates
the need for a lot of branding, sampling
and convincing. I suggested keeping a low
profile in the industry – the low-margin-
high-volume route.
People venturing into the dairy indus-
try must have a lot of patience and dedica-
tion. It is, however, very much a growing
market.
So, now you are based in Pune. Do you
provide your services across states? Or,
do you have a geographic constraint?
See, I will need to formulate a strategy, re-
cruit a team to execute the strategy, train
the team and monitor the team. So, there
is no geographical constraint.
So, how long would an ideal association
with you be? For instance, if I am setting
up a dairy unit and come to you for milk
marketing - how would we go about it?
Well, if you are commissioning for the
plant – that takes about 6 months. From
setting up the plant to getting established
it takes about 3 years. So, the association
would be for around 2 and a half to 3 years.
Looking forward at the next 5 years,
what do you think will the big picture
be?
Being a marketing person, I understand
31
 CONSULTANT
that the I-have-money-and-I-want-to-do-
things attitude days are gone. Nowadays
people have surplus choice. For anything
in the market, consumers are spoiled with
choice.
For instance, if you want to get estab-
lished in Bangalore, you need to identify
the gap in the market there. You will need
to analyze and understand what is that
you require to penetrate the market - what
new can you get to the consumer? For ex-
ample, cheese.
Owing to the growth in the pizza de-
mand, cheese is a huge requirement in
Bangalore. There is a 30-35% increase in
the demand for cheese.
Once we identify the gap, we need to
dig in and be more specific. For example,
in the case of cheese, what kind of cheese
is in demand? Once we understand that,
we need to understand that, nowadays, lot
of people keep travelling to the European
and American countries on work or lei-
sure. They have tasted the food there and
are aware what the cheese tastes like. I still
remember how smoked cheese tasted – I
tasted that in 1990.
In Pune, cheese costs around
Rs15,000/- per kg, in malls. Our govern-
ment has not exactly handled the milk
input of the country very well. It was ex-
pected that we will have lots of milk in
India. The truth is we have not planned
proper strategies for the input we have to-
day. Highest storage of milk can be done,
converting it into cheese. But we only go
for butter and milk powder.
Today, the international prices for
skimmed milk powder is on the decline,
which means the cost price of raw milk
will go further down. This will lead to a
situation where our farmers will not be
able to afford his farm. This is because,
other than liquid milk, most of the man-
ufacturers only go for butter and powder
with their excess milk.
It is high time that the government
strategizes around the cheese market.
Producing good quality milk and cheese
can lead to export of this product too, esp.
to the gulf market. Transportation to the
Dubai port from Mumbai port only takes
8 days. They need it too because they are a
market that do not produce surplus milk.
If a new entrepreneur comes to you
seeking advice about cheese as a
business opportunity, how do you go
about it? They would also be thinking
about the ROI etc.
When entrepreneurs come to me, they
32 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
need to pay up Rs 5000/- as an advance
token. Paying this up ensures that the
enquirer is serious about a dairy venture.
Honestly, if they don’t want services, I am
open to refunding the amount. The im-
portant thing is retaining people who are
serious about this business.
What is the next step?
Then we sign the standard NDC agreement.
If they need help in establishing a farm,
which is not my area of expertise, I can help
get them a team. But it’s up to them. They
can even do that part themselves.
My work starts from planning out a
strategy for the milk that is yielded, as
per market requirements. So, if I provide
the team for technical consultancy, for
instance, my last assignment. A group,
conventionally from the seed-agricultur-
al sector, approached me. They were not
aware of the working of the dairy sector.
To top that, they hired someone who
didn’t know anything about dairy. So they
ended up with wrong facts. When it came
to me, I advised that they go only for a
25,000 liter dairy. In short, I advised them
to start small.
The thing is the margins are very thin
in the dairy industry so your operational
costs must be competitive. To run a 1 lakh
liter dairy, you must have a minimum liter
balance of 30,000 liters. This is how you
balance between milk and milk products.
But when you don’t have the right person
advising you, you cater only for liquid
milk and don’t think of how to strike a bal-
ance etc.
If you do not know the pulse of the
market, your strategies will not work and
you will run into losses. The worst part is,
you will not know why you are running
into losses because according to you, you
are doing everything right.
Yes, that can be a sticky situation. Mr.
Devidas, what is your fee structure like?
We charge a 0.5% - 2% commission charge,
depending upon the project. For market-
ing, the fees is based on the project turn-
over.
I do not indulge or engage in any proj-
ects half-way because, this can be a huge
hit on my reputation. If I get involved, I
make sure I make it is a success.
Are you open to taking up projects
where somebody has already set up
their unit but finds it difficult to market
the end product? Or, are you insistent
that they set up a unit only through you
and by the team that you advise?
No, it is not required that people go
through me to set up their unit. The im-
portant thing is that they move in the right
direction at every stage. They should be
aware of what all facilities they require.
They need to strike the balance be-
tween milk and milk products. Some-
times, what happens is that the liquid
milk bit runs on profit but the milk prod-
ucts run into losses and vice versa.
Mr. Devidas. Is there anything you
would like to add?
Yes, I would like to add that it is one
thing to hope for success and another to
get greedy. The latter is a stepping stone
to failure at some point. For example, I
worked for a firm and using various cre-
ative strategies help shoot up their sales
from 200-300 tons of produce to 5000
tons a year. Even after that they kept ask-
ing me to increase the sales.
People don’t understand that there is
a limit for everything. If you want to go
beyond that, you get into malpractices,
which I am not game for.
I have decided not to get engaged with
one company alone, anymore. This de-
cision was based on my father’s advice
that knowledge needs to be shared with
as many people as possible. Our expertise
should benefit as many people as possible.
Contact details:
Devidas Bhadange Abhishek
Business Consultant
C-201 Megha Centre, Magarpatta
Chowk,Hadapsor, Pune-28
dmbhadange@gmail.com
www.abhiebusiness.com
7507671313, 7385770101

Site selection for
a new borewell
M
r.Vivek Pandit is a con-
sultant at Nashik for the
geological investigation
of water and is the pro-
prietor of Shripad Con-
sultancy. Site selection for a new bore
well or open well, survey with the help
of soil resistivity meter, underground
pipe leakage detection services, old
open well water geological investigation
and site determination for rain water
harvesting are the kind of services they
provide.
Mr.Pandit is a mechanical engi-
neer who graduated from Bandra . He
started his career in Mumbai as a de-
sign engineer designing machinery &
installing them at the client site. After
marriage, he joined hands with his fa-
ther-in-law who was into manufactur-
ing of soil resistivity meters and there
has been no looking back since then.
Here are the excerpts from our in-
terview with Mr.Vivek Pandit
When was the inception of Shripad
consultancy?
Shripad Consultancy was formed in
2001 and we have been in this business
for the last 18 years.
You talk about using something
called resistivity meter for selecting
the ideal place to dig a borewell.
What is a resistivity meter, what does
it do?
Every substance has the physical prop-
erty of resistance. Soil resistivity is the
measure of resistance offered by the soil
to the flow of electricity. The resistivity
of the soil depends on the various fac-
tors likes soil composition, moisture,
temperature, etc. Generally, the soil is
not homogenous, and their resistivity
varies with depth. So when the probes
are inserted into the ground and elec-
GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION
tric waves are sent to almost 300 feet,
we can detect the point at which the soil
strata is changing. The classification of
soil layer is then done based on the re-
sistivity it exhibits. Using this data we
can predict if there is water in that hori-
zontal layer or not.
Is the resistivity meter used for other
purposes?
The resistivity meter can also be used
during the construction of buildings.
The foundations of buildings should
be hard and strong. So we use the same
resistivity meter for finding the depth
upto which hard rock is present under-
neath.
It can also be used during the con-
struction of dams. When dams are be-
ing built, there should not be any cavity
beneath it. The presence of a cavity can
cause damage when the weight of wa-
ter exerts pressure. So before building
a dam, we have to check if there is any
cavity and if at all a cavity is present, till
where does it extend.
What are the other services that
Shripad consultancy offers?
Since the last 18 years we have been
doing many things like underground
pipe leakage detection, old open well
water geological investigation and site
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
selection for rain water harvesting etc.
But mostly people approach us in order
to determine the availability of water.
They want to know if water is there
for drinking purpose, harvesting, for
making borewells etc. We will be able
to show them the source of good water.
That is the major work we do.
You are located at Nasik, where do
you get major enquiries from?
70-80% of the enquiries are from Maha-
rashtra. Very few enquiries come from
outside Maharashtra.
So how does it work? If a person
wants to put a bore well, how do
you go about it, what are the steps
followed?
We first have a technical discussion
to understand the client requirement.
Then we fix a date for the field visit. We
ask them to deposit the fee to our bank
account before the field visit is conduct-
ed. Once the payment is made we make
sure we visit the site on the fixed date
and time. Due to some reason if we are
not able to visit the site, we request for
another date or refund the fees.
How long does it take to do the
testing once you reach the site?
There are two methods for testing soil
resistivity – the 2 pin method and the 4
pin method. If we reach the farm land of
around 4 acres at 9 am and we start our
work using the 2 pin method at 9.30 am,
by around 3.30 pm we would be able
to determine if the percolating line is
present in the natural resource or not.
If water is present and if the water line
is faded, we use the 4 pin method to de-
termine if we can dig a well there. This
might require us to work till 6 pm fol-
lowing which we would have to do some
documentation work. In total, we might
require almost 10 hours for 4 acres. If
the land area is more, we would require
several days to determine the best place
for the bore well.
What are your fees?
The consultation charges for site selec-
33
 GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION
tion for a borewell using 2 pin method
is Rs.8000 and Rs.10000 for an open or
horizontal borewell. The cost of travel-
ling, lodging , boarding etc is also borne
by the farmer.
Do you also help in putting up
the borewell or is it just the site
selection?
We can tie up with people who dig
borewells, but as we roam all over Ma-
harashtra, it is not possible to bring that
resource all the way from Nasik. The
next option would be to tie up with the
local service providers, but that would
turn out to be harmful for the farmer
since we may not bhe able to find a re-
liable service providers to partner with
all over the state.
What has been your observations
over the course of time? What are the
changes you have noticed in the last
18 years?
The education level has improved. The
farmer himself is able to decide whether
to do farming there or not. When I start-
ed in 2001, I used to go the bus stand
and from there I used to go to the farm
in an auto rickshaw, bullock cart or bi-
cycle But nowadays its either a 2 wheel
or 4 wheeler ..And if it is a 4 wheeler the
AC would be ON Now I do not have to
34 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
bear the hardships that I had to when I
started 18 years ago.
What is the basis for this testing, is it
proper science?
There are many methods, there is a
science behind that too just like how
there is a science behind the way we are
communicating with each other now.
If there is a cave and there is constant
breeze, because of the friction a magnet-
ic field is created and the machine gets
activated.
As the soil quality may vary greatly
with depth and over a wide lateral area,
estimation of soil resistivity based on
soil classification provide only a rough
approximation. Actual resistivity mea-
surements are required to fully qualify
the resistivity. So there is some mea-
surement, some basis behind all this.
What is the total cost for putting a
borewell in Maharashtra? What is
the average expense incurred by a
farmer?
Now as the fuel price has shot up, it
would cost around Rs.70 per feet. So it
would add up to around 15-20K for the
farmer.
What is the depth of the borewell
nowadays?
The machine that we use can go upto
300-350 feet below the surface of the
earth, but we detect the presence of
water by around 200-250 feet mostly.
The rain water percolates into the earth
based on the porosity of the soil. Gen-
erally the porosity does not allow water
to go deeper than that level. Water can
be found around 500-700 feet also. But
that would be black water.
Bore wells came into existence in the
80s, before that it was just wells and
ponds. Rain water was harvested and
used. Everything was based on that and
that is indeed the best solution.
Contact details:
Mr Vivek Vijay Pandit
Contact details: Shripad Consultancy :
D 171/172, Hanuman Nagar, Panchvati,
Nashik -422003
Mob: 9404517494 Email:
shripadconsultancy@gmail.com

TECHNOLOGY TURNS OVER
A NEW LEAF FOR INDIAN
MARGINAL FARMERS
U
W civil and environmental en-
gineering (CEE) researchers
are developing a revolutionary
irrigation data system to in-
crease the stability of marginal
farmers in India.
Small and marginal agricultural hold-
ings make up 80 percent of Indian agri-
culture. Marginal farmers are defined as
those who own less than one hectare of
land, a size that is generally too small to
make more than a subsistence living. Not
only are there so many farmers owning
small plots of land, but over time these
plots tend to decrease in size as they are
split and handed down generationally.
“They make enough to survive but not
enough to survive crop failure,” UW CEE
professor Faisal Hossain said.
The Indian government has set a goal
to double farmer income by 2022 to in-
crease welfare. This is crucial in light of
recent findings that identified shocks in
farmer income as an important factor
leading to a recent sharp increase in farm-
er suicides.
UW CEE researchers aim to increase
yield, maximize efficient water usage, and
generate greater stability for marginal
farmers by providing irrigation informa-
tion using weather data. This technology
provides advice directly to farmers about
when and how much to water their crops.
A central goal of the technology is to
help farmers conserve their water by
avoiding over-watering their crops. By
managing their water resources properly,
they will automatically be able to increase
their yield. This also helps farmers with
planning for their water usage since the
availability of water can be erratic and
unreliable.
The new system uses ground sen-
sors and a combination of atmospheric
readings to collect temperature data and
information about farmers’ particular
crop types in a database. This allows the
researchers to provide very specific data
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
IRRIGATION
for each farmer to address their needs.
UW CEE researchers additionally
focused on making this technology as
accessible as possible to the farmers they
work with. They worked to ensure that
expensive tools, hard-to-install equip-
ment, or complicated devices wouldn’t be
a barrier between the farmers and the in-
formation they need to be successful.
The project envisions a system that
will eventually require only a small sub-
scription fee and a mobile phone to relay
the knowledge. Because most farmers
have access to a mobile phone, it’s easy
for them to receive and put to use the data
that is gathered.
“Right now, they go off generational
knowledge,” Hossain said. “They use
techniques that they learned from their
fathers.”
Putting this technology into the hands
of farmers empowers them to build on
their generational knowledge and see
growth in their crops, profits, and long-
term security.
Currently, the research team is work-
ing in conjunction with local partners and
marginal farmers to develop and test the
system’s effectiveness. As they continue
their research, they hope to learn to mon-
itor crop quality in addition to irrigation.
Eventually, this technology could be use-
ful for subsistence farmers in other parts
of the world as well.
This is key because food scarcity is a
prominent issue around the world, par-
ticularly in South Asia.
“Tens of millions of people will grow
up undernourished,” Hossain said.
This technology assists marginal
farmers and their families as well as the
larger communities their crops feed. The
long-term effects will be more apparent
as this project grows in the future. Sup-
porting subsistence farmers to grow an
increased yield of nutritionally rich crops
is part of the solution to reducing world-
wide food disparities.
Rhea John at science@dailyuw.com.
Twitter: @rheamjo
Source & Courtesy: The Daily of the
University of Washington
http://www.dailyuw.com
35
 FOREIGN AGRICULTURE
This robotic
Icelandic farm
has made its
cows much
happier - with
dramatic results
U
ows don’t normally get a say
in how they spend their days.
The first milking often comes
at dawn, where they form a
cow conga line to their milk-
ing stations. Then comes feeding, then
resting, then more milking (and per-
haps a wander in the pasture, if they’re
allowed to graze in open fields at all).
Commercial farming operations repeat
this cycle two to three times a day, with
each cow having to abide by the farm-
ers’ schedules, not their own.
But what happens when you leave it
up to the cow to decide how often she
wants to be milked, and whether she
feels like eating, drinking, or simply re-
laxing?
Aðalsteinn Hallgrímsson and his
brother Gardar own a dairy farm in
northern Iceland, just outside the city
of Akureyri. They know the answers to
those questions—and others you’d nev-
er to think to ask—thanks to the robots
they’ve installed in their barn.
In 2007, the Hallgrímssons rebuilt
their barn from the ground up, spend-
ing kr160 million ($1.46 million) on
technologies such as milking robots, an
automatic feeding system, and cleaning
robots. The investment quickly paid
off, says Aðalsteinn’s son, Einar örn
Aðalsteinnson. Within a year, their 80
cows were producing 30% more milk
and the rate of infections had plummet-
36 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
ed, cutting the farm’s veterinarian bills
from kr2 million a year to under kr0.5
million.
Their success was because of one
simple factor: The cows are much hap-
pier now.
When one of their cows wants to be
milked, she walks to the center of the
barn to one of the three self-milking Lely
machines. She enters the machine—a
gated, cow-size booth—and first has her
teats inspected and cleaned. Next, the
robot attaches its equipment to extract
her milk while the cow chows down on
some cow candy: tasty corn pellets sup-
plemented with various vitamins and
minerals. The whole process takes 10
minutes or less.
The door to the barn is left open un-
less the weather is bad, leaving the cows
free to wander outside to graze in the
pasture. If they’d rather, they can relax
on their 2-inch-thick foam mattresses,
which are lined up in a tidy row along
one side of the barn. There’s a massage
machine when they want to scratch
that itch on their back, and fresh grass
or hay is always available, delivered via
an automatic feeding system. Robots
scurry around cleaning the barn, with
cow poop dispatched through slats in
the floor to be automatically gathered
as manure for the farm. An AC system,
controlled by a weather station on the
roof, automatically opens and closes
the windows, ensuring fresh air (which
is very important to the operation, says
Einar). Another computer-commanded
machine feeds milk to the baby calves.
The Hallgrímsson farm wasn’t the
first to automate—computerized sys-
tems have been sold commercially
since the early 1990s. But it was the first
farm to install all this technology in
one place, says Einar. Western Europe
has led the way in adopting automatic
milking systems, which have been slow
to penetrate the US market. This is in
part because herd sizes in North Amer-
ica typically number in the thousands,
which makes the cost prohibitive.
As word of the farm’s robots spread,
visitors started showing up to see the
Icelandic cow shed. To accommo-
date the foot traffic, in 2011 Einar and
his wife, Sesselja, decided to take the
plunge together and open a restaurant.
Kaffi Kú, (literally Cafe Cow) is partly
suspended above the barn with floor-to-
ceiling windows offering aerial views of
the cows. It specializes in dishes created
with the farm’s products—such as beef
goulash and burgers, and hot choco-
late and pastries made using the cows’
milk—which provides the farm with an-
other revenue stream.
All that equipment gathers reams of
data on each cow—what time they were
milked, the quality of milk from each
teet, what vitamins or minerals they’re

missing, how much milk they’re pro-
ducing—arming their owners with
a lot more intel on their herd. Einar
says this allows them to get to know
their cows far better.
“People always joke that farmers
with this technology can go on vaca-
tion, but it’s more time consuming,
not less,” he says. “The difference is
that the farmers can spend all their
time taking care of the animals. The
job changes. It’s easier, and it’s a lot
more fun.”
The cows have more fun, too.
“They’re not tied up in the same stall
for months on end. They interact
with each other, have friends, a clear
pecking order. You get to know their
personalities and behavior.”
The robots’ success does mean
there are fewer jobs for farmers. Ein-
ar estimates their current herd size
of 150 would have required six farm-
hands before, but now needs only
two.
So what are the answers to some
of those original questions? In case
you’re wondering, these cows like to
be milked four times most days, ver-
sus the two times you see on typical
farms. Oh, and they all have names.
“It’s an old tradition,” says Einar, “but
we’re having to dig deep now that the
herd’s gotten so big.”
FOREIGN AGRICULTURE
Can indoor farming
feed the world?
W
hen the earth calls on
us, as its tenants we
have to listen. From the
invention of the steel
plow in 1837, to the in-
dustry-altering tractor in 1892, right
down to more modern pesticides and
genetic modification — each time, the
challenge of feeding the world's grow-
ing population has been met by hu-
manity's innovation, using every scien-
tific and mechanical technology within
our grasp in order to squeeze more food
out of dwindling natural resources.
With the planet's population now
at 7.4 billion, and projected to grow by
another billion in the next decade, his-
tory tells us that the time has come once
again for humanity to use the techno-
logical advances at our disposal to cre-
ate the next agrarian revolution. After
practicing one form of agriculture for
the last 10,000 years, the potential for
delivering delicious, nutrient-rich,
high-yielding and high-quality quality
produce, year-round and worldwide, is
greater than ever before.
Indoor farming is creating a new
power to feed the world, and to feed it
well.
Not only do indoor farms make it
possible to produce otherwise land and
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
water-hungry fruits and vegetables
with previously unheard-of efficiency,
but unlike with past agricultural inno-
vations there is no longer a need to sac-
rifice quality, nutrition or flavor in or-
der to maximize yield and accessibility.
By removing the constraints of the sun
and seasonality from harvesting crops,
indoor agriculture combines proven
plant science and transformative tech-
nologies to grow fruits and vegetables
of the highest quality. It cuts out the
time, distance and costs of trucks and
warehouses while decreasing water
usage by 99%, adding weeks of shelf life
and opening up access to fresh produce
for heretofore unreached geographic
and socioeconomic groups.
At Plenty, we grow flavor-rich vari-
eties of fruits and vegetables that have
never been grown commercially, be-
cause they’re too finicky to be profitable
in a traditional farm. The majority of
produce grown today are tough, taste-
less and tired varieties bred to survive
being picked early so they can be trans-
ported across continents.
How does Manhattan fit 1.7 million
people inside one 23-square-mile is-
land? When it ran out of room to grow
outward, it grew upward. In addition
to growing plants side-by-side, Plen-
37
 FOREIGN AGRICULTURE
ty's vertical farms grow crops up 20-
foot towers; inside a space roughly the
footprint of a football pitch, these crops
can achieve yields up to 350 times that
of even the most productive outdoor
equivalent footprint. Due to their con-
venient size and self-sustained envi-
ronment, vertical farms can be placed
anywhere — say, just outside a city cen-
ter, or right on top of otherwise infertile
land — to create indoor spaces where
computer vision and other technolo-
gies monitor what's happening inside
plants, facilitating optimal conditions
at all stages of growth.
For a nation like China, which must
feed nearly one-fifth of the world's pop-
ulation with less than 10% of its arable
land, the growth efficiency available
through indoor agriculture is rapidly
becoming necessary. In regions limited
by water, such as the Middle East, the
ability to cultivate a more diversified
crop mix using 99% less water than
traditional farming is revolutionary.
Further, removing these unpredict-
able variables in national food securi-
ty and curbing large swings in import
demand stands to have a far-reaching
global impact as the agricultural sector
stabilizes.
With indoor farms, produce doesn't
have to be trucked across the country
or flown around the world to provide
people with the fruits and vegetables
they want and the nutrition they need.
The viability of harvesting fresh pro-
duce within a few hours' drive of any
community means cutting out weeks
and thousands of miles that current-
ly wring the life and joy out of what’s
on the shelf. Eliminating all that time,
distance and distribution centers from
the farm-to-table journey eliminates 20
– 35% of the costs currently associated
with the produce sold inside American
grocery stores.
Beyond just making produce more
affordable, without the need to travel
in a truck for two weeks, produce can
be harvested at peak-joy rather than at
peak-truck-travel-performance (think
hard strawberries, balls of tasteless ice-
38 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
berg lettuce, tough-skinned tomatoes).
This means that indoor farms are able
to grow produce with a level of delight
and flavor previously unavailable at
scale in an uncontrollable production
environment.
We believe that all 7.4 billion people
on earth deserve access to affordable,
desirable, nutrient-rich fruits and veg-
etables in their diets, no matter the en-
vironmental or economic stressors of
their area. That's what inspires indoor
farming: driving crop prices down to
provide all nations around the world
with an infinitely customizable and
adaptable platform from which to har-
vest their own food.
Just as people have moved inside to
create the most optimal living condi-
tions, farming is headed indoors too,
to provide the most habitable environ-
ment for nutrient-rich produce ever
achieved. Where we once harnessed
the power of animals, then the power
of machinery to push yields to new
highs, we now look to sensors, camer-
as, intelligent computer systems, plant
science, flavor science, artificial intelli-
gence and other technological capabil-
ities to provide plants with the perfect
environment they need to thrive and
taste amazing - every minute of every
day. And when the fruits and vegeta-
bles that we put into our bodies are at
their peak condition, they nourish us
to our peak condition. We will eat more
of what’s best for us and less of what’s
not.
Perfect produce may sound like
hyperbole; producing 40 plants inside
the footprint where one conventional-
ly-grown plant once stood might sound
like a parable; artificial intelligence and
infrared grids controlling indoor farm-
ing conditions may sound like other-
worldly science-fiction. But it's not.
There are 7.4 billion mouths to feed and
bodies to nourish in this world, and we
are developing the technology, systems
and know-how to do it. The future of
farming is already here. We simply
have to listen to the call.
Source: World Economic Forum
I
t used to be that two sorts of peo-
ple in this part of western Kenya
ate crickets: the hungry, and sing-
ers who believed consuming the
chirping insects would improve
their voice.
Times have changed. In recent
years the business of rearing insects
for human consumption - known as
entomophagy - has begun to take off
in Kenya.
That's in part because there is more
interest in alternative, sustainable
sources of protein as climate change,
population growth, and intensive
farming and grazing increase pres-
sure on land and water, according to
experts at the International Centre of
Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICI-
PE), a Kenyan-based research body.
Ex-motorbike-taxi-driver Rogers
Oduli is a former six-legged food scep-
tic. Now he works at one of the larg-
est bug farms in Kisumu, the region's
main city.
"These are the pinheads," he said,
lifting the lid on a plastic box of baby
crickets to show hundreds of black
dots bouncing around on green leaves.
"We give them kale, for vitamins,"
he said.
Like many his age, 26-year-old Od-
uli once regarded insects as inedible,
and believed eating them was a tradi-
tion that had died out with his grand-

These Kenyan farmers are
preparing for the future -
by rearing crickets
parents. No longer.
After two weeks on the job, he sam-
pled the crickets - which are sold dried
and whole in bags, or ground up and
used in breads and sweets at the farm
shop - and was converted.
"They taste sweet to me, and they're
nice because they're high in protein
and make me feel good," he said.
HEALTHY OPTION
The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Or-
ganization (FAO) estimates at least
two billion people worldwide eat more
than 1,900 species of insects. Beetles,
FOREIGN AGRICULTURE
caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grass-
hoppers, locusts and crickets are the
most popular.
Many insects are nutritious and a
good source of protein, vitamins, min-
erals and healthy fats, the FAO notes.
The increased interest in in-
sect-farming comes as global popula-
tion growth and an expanding middle
class have raised per capita meat con-
sumption by 50 percent over four de-
cades, fueling fears of a protein pinch.
In rich nations, eating insects is
becoming less taboo. And in poorer
countries - the ones often increasing-
ly bearing the brunt of climate change
- startups and charities are reviving
centuries-old customs of eating in-
sects, or getting them into diets for the
first time.
Over the past five years, a joint
Dutch-Kenyan-Ugandan initiative
called the Flying Food project has
worked to get more than 1,000 people
living around Lake Victoria in Kenya
and Uganda to become cricket farmers
or consumers.
The aim is to improve wealth and
health in places where farming is al-
ready suffering due to land degrada-
tion from climate change and overuse,
said Kenya coordinator Phoebe Ow-
uor.
"We soon might not have enough
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
soil to even grow food, let alone keep
animals, because we have destroyed
it," Owuor said.
"In the next 20 to 30 years, we might
not even have cows, and we will have
to depend on insects."
Backed by Rafode, a micro-finance
institution, the project has provid-
ed 100 farmers around Kisumu - and
another 100 in Uganda - with an $800
loan each to cover equipment, a starter
stock of parent crickets and training
over the first year.
Among the farms supported is the
one where Oduli works - and another
100 farmers in Kenya will have loans
by the end of October, project backers
say.
The Flying Food project also works
to build supply and demand from local
markets to ensure success, said project
manager Erwin Beckers.
Typically, a farmer can expect to
produce eight kilograms of crickets
monthly, worth 700 Kenyan shillings
($7) per kilogram, said Beckers - al-
though yields over the past year have
been lower due to disease and flooding.
Andrew Magunga farmed crickets
in buckets for years before he joined
the project and began to rear in crates
what he believes is the food of the fu-
ture.
"I studied the food chain and real-
ised that soon our lake will be depleted
- (and) fish is the main ingredient for
our food and animal feeds," he said.
Magunga earns up to $400 a year
harvesting crickets, a job that takes
him a few hours each day, and another
$1,000 annually working part-time in
information technology at a college.
Crickets require very little space,
39
 FOREIGN AGRICULTURE
water and feed, placing a much smaller
burden on the environment than tradi-
tional livestock, Beckers said.
"You need one kilo of greens to pro-
duce one kilo of cricket, and with a cow
it's about ten times that amount, so
that's the biggest advantage related to
(climate) change," said Beckers, who is
based in the Netherlands.
"People will keep their crickets alive
during a much longer period of time
during drought, and so what we've
done is set up a new form of livestock."
BUNS AND PORRIDGE
In recent years, farming six-legged food
has evolved from research and charity
projects to a commercial venture, said
John Kinyuru, a food expert at Jomo
Kenyatta University of Agriculture and
Technology (JKUAT) in Nairobi.
"People from the Nairobi and Central
region and around Mount Kenya are
getting more interested," said Kinyuru,
who is known as 'the insect hunter'.
JKUAT has trained 1,000 Kenyan
farmers in insect farming over the past
40 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
five years, although just 20 percent are
producing due to the impact of a crip-
pling disease that hit crickets last year,
compounding a range of startup diffi-
culties.
Kinyuru noted that recent research
in Kenya supports the findings of a
small U.S. study released last month
that eating crickets improves gut health
and reduces inflammation.
"We fed school-going children for six
months with porridge made from crick-
ets, and we collected stools over the
period, and there is clear shift of micro-
bial diversity from when they started,"
Kinyuru said.
Florence Gundo is a self-confessed
cricket crusader.
After the Flying Food project donat-
ed a cricket farm in 2015 to her shelter
in Kisumu for women and orphans,
Gundo started adding ground crickets
to the weekday porridge and Sunday
buns.
Before the addition, some of her
charges "were malnourished, some
were bedridden," she said. But after-
ward, rashes disappeared, anaemia
declined and mental health improved.
"Now there's no one bedridden,"
she said.
Gundo, 73, said it was time to pro-
mote insects as a miracle meat-sub-
stitute for the poor - to bring back the
food of her ancestors to help future
generations.
But the myth that eating insects
helps people sing better needs to go,
she said.
"Those who were singers, they were
eating a lot of crickets for their voice to
become clear - and it worked. But that
was just psychological," she said.
 Mushroom suppliers wanted
Harish Jadwani, AHIMSA FOOD
a 238 2nd Floor Okhla Industrial
Area Phase 1, New Delhi 110020
Tel. No.:+91-9953309885 / +91-11-
40574993 / +91-9212537636
Website: ahimsafood.in
Required Pomegranate
Deseeder Machine
Mufaddal Sodawala
shebamenterprises@rediffmail.com
09840200913
Looking for 100 to agricultural 200
acres land/ 15k to 20k in odhisa
RAVINDRA PRAVEEN
8328699327
praviin.br@gmail.com
we are import company from
Israel for food raw materials,
we are looking for vanilla beans
producers. We require 200-300 kg
per month.
Haim GONEN mr
GONENH5@GMAIL.COM
972547590577
I need 5 to 10 tons of Mono
calcium phosphate (MCP) every
month. If any one is really ready to
supply please contact me.
RAMANJANEYULU
ramanj.003@gmail.com
(995)990-0589
I am looking for ready to Fruit bags
of 500gms to 1 kg. I am staying in
Solan Himachal Pradesh. I want to
order them online and get them
through Currier. Is it possible.
I am not interested in Button
Mushroom.
SS Prasad
ssprasad2010@gmail.com
✆09816629968
We need agri land Near
Gobichettipalayam Erode District.
Tamil Nadu
CHANDIRA Thangavel
nlcthangavel.r@gmail.com
(824)894-0528
I am looking for suppliers of fresh
and good quality vegetables and
fruits to Kerala. All interested We want to buy land for
exporters may contact me. agriculture purpose in
Thomas Mathew, 9632406420. any region in AP
We are looking to find reliable Damodhar
suppliers who can supply Red p_damodhar@yahoo.com
aloevera leaf with consistent 9010087600
quality on a regular basis. Product
Specifications: red Aloevera leaf Require detailed information on
Form: Leaf Style: fresh Quantity medicinal plant cultivation.
Required : 1500kgs Shipment S K Sharma-
Terms : CIF / DAP Destination Port : Madhya Pradesh
Bangalore, India skgaur2@yahoo.in
Narasimha 8791847260
janapara247@gmail.com
08139999111 Melia Dubia plants required
Sapna
Wanted agricultural land on main Madhya Pradesh
highway NH7 between Anantapur sapnakshamarao@gmail.com
and Bangalore. 3-5 Acres. 9900609418
Interested seller please contact:
piyushw5@gmail.com HRMN-99 plants required
9505575661 Vinod Jain
Gujarat
Any one wants to sell white vinodjain_1956@yahoo.com
or black Musli on bulk order 9927344482
minimum 100kg as per market rate
may contact me. Need information on horticulture
Ali Hasan and greenhouse & cattle rearing
9868434898 Srivalli- Pune
aalisiddiqui@yahoo.com 8978078708
casrivalli.m@gmail.com
Agricultural land in and around
Chengalput, TN Guidance required what sort of
Our budget is Rs.30 lakhs. We plant can be cultivated in UP
want 15 to 20 acres of agricultural region, Shekar Agarwal
land in and around Chengalput, UP
Tiruvannammalai District or 100- (735) 454-0004
150 Km from Chennai. shekharagrawal10@gmail.com
S. Ramachandramoorthy
ramachandramoorthy9@yahoo.co.in Rabbits for sale in Davangere
9444650325 Kumar
Davengere
Nee d arecanut for soap making 9008808677
purposes. Requirement - 200 hithesh.ngr@gmail.com
pieces per month
Nagalakshmi, Erode Potato-G4 seed variety - 50 tonnes
9842965708 required on monthly basis
agaramorganic2018@gmail.com Dr.Brijesh Kumar
Assam
Willing to buy Agricultural land b.kumar@cgiar.org
10-20 acres. Cost per acre around 9718835999
20000-40000. Interested sellers
can contact me - Quinoa seeds required on regular
Hari Prasad Reddy basis. Contact for further details
harireddyca@gmail.com Rahim -Assam
09986277702 eston.org@gmail.com
8500622550/(814) 255-9790
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 41
 Q&Auestion
Q Q
Require guidance to start Desi Cow Gaushala
01 near Mumbai. I am not from farming background
but keen to learn and put my best efforts
ANSWER 1: We are dairy consultant , contact for
complete set up and guidance for starting Gaushala.
Dr.Dasharath Thakor. 9426366718
ANSWER 2 : We can provide you complete DPR for you
Cow Gaushala. No need to have any farming background
for Dairy farming ,the only thing you required is a Right
Consultant for that and we are here to help you as we
have an Expert of Food Technologist. They will provide
you complete guidance for your Dairy Farming.
Contact us for more details:
EcolAgro Venture Pvt Ltd
Mail Id: agrifoodbiz.india@gmail.com
Call : 0522-2347200,9260995976,07544012577
ANSWER 3 : We are start-up business consulting com-
pany, we surely can help you in starting new business-
es. Get consultation for all your business queries - at
Meticulous
l Initial Consulting – Business Modelling
l Business Plans /Project Report
l Company Registration
l Land Selection Assistance
l Project Design
l Assisted Machinery Buying Program
l and Much more ...
Meticulous Business Solutions Private Limited
info@meticulousbizsol.com/info@meticulous.in
ANSWER 4 : I have 100acer land at Shahpur for desi cow
farming.
Please contact on whats up 9136024567
ANSWER 5 : What is your disposable fund position?
If you may expect donations it may / may not happen
as proposed wherein animals need to survive. why Desi
Cow?
Goshala - basically - is to take care of animals which are
sick, weak etc! based on this formula - no need to start
a Desi cow goshala and is possible to farm as such as
42 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
nswer www.agricultureinformation.com/discuss
desi cows are usually Healthy.
If you are seriously interested i can put you on to One
expert, consultant, a Vet', pan India presence, live in
Mumbai, he shall ask you all these questions, if you do
not have authentic answers, if your posting is Impulsive,
well keep away from him. Give it a thought, think what it
may take from you, what you may need to give in.
SUGGESTION: Not to Jump.
This is a friendly gesture professionally.
Need information on malabar neem with inter
crop of sandal wood (white) cultivation
02
ANSWER 1: Hi I can guide you contact 9666647177
ANSWER 2: Don’t plant Malabar neem as inter-
crop in sandalwood. Indian sandalwood farms
MOB-9441982491
Q
I want to buy a new tractor please give me
information how to avail government subsidy
03
ANSWER 1: There is a subsidy to buy tractor for
agriculture purpose. Ask in your nearest bank.
ANSWER 2: Go to your nearest bank and ask them for
Tractor Subsidy or Go to khetigaadi website and check
Tractor Finance section.
Q
Hello can anyone suggest and help regarding
aloe vera farming
04
l Where to buy required things to start aloe Vera
farming
lWhat should be investment for half acre of land
lWhen is right time to start aloe Vera farming
lIs there any particular person who can help us
during aloevera farming. Guiding us
lHow to harvest how to export packaging system
l Who are agencies or companies who will buy it
ANSWER: Here is the answer to your queries:
l I render consultancy service for aloevera farming from
grass root level till the harvesting.
l You have to buy aloevera saplings (baby plant)
 Q&A uestion
nswer www.agricultureinformation.com/discuss

l 1/2 acre land is not at all a viable proposition as 60-
80 MT of aloe vera leaves per acre can be available
per year having 4 cuts per year . For 1/2 acre, you will
get only 30-40 M.T. per year. Return will be Rs.2.40
lacs. The production cost will be around Rs.2.00 lacs.
ANSWER: Avoid Glyphosate at any cost. There are so many
bad news coming daily in the newspapers and online.
Padmanabhan Ganesan

Q
Hence, margin is only Rs.40,000.00 per year that is I want to plant areca in a coconut farm. My query is
Rs.3000.00 which is very minimal. Invest will be around that can I plant arecanut saplings in a square
Rs.30,000.00 for baby plant+ Rs.20,000.00 being soil 07 format. That is in one pit can I plant 4 saplings at a
preparation ,irrigation, manure , Rs.1.50 manpower cost. distance of 3 ft apart..? As of my knowledge areca
trees root grows horizontally upto 2ft. If I implement this
l You can buy from any local big nursery to have less
cluster method, I can increase the number of plants per
transportation cost
acre.. Cluster to cluster distance is 10 ft.. So can it be
l Right time is during August -October under the Indian implemented.?
climatic condition.
ANSWER: At a distance of 3 ft you can plant an areca sap-
l You can all sorts of guidance from me as consultant ling. Crop yield quantity may be reduced and yield yime
against my charges may be late. To counter these two factors Ensure:
l Your quantity will be so minimal that you should forego 1) To Plant Best Quality Areca Breed.
your idea of export and most importantly you can’t 2) Best Quality Fertilizer
export aloevera leaves as is is perishable after 36 hours 3) Appropriate Watering.
of cutting.
l You should visit different service providers for B2B
marketing, local consumers
Er.Alok Ranjan Dutta, B.E.(CHEMICAL);
M.I.E.;P.G.D.M.M.;P.G.D.P.T. CONSULTANT ENGINEER
Kolkata:700061
Whats app no:093306 27195 / +91-08335950049 / +91-
09163772225
e-mail: alok212003@gmail.com
Facebook: alok.dutta.1675@facebook.com

Q
I am a betel leaves manufacturer. I want to export.
I am in Tirunelveli, South Tamilnadu. If anyone have
04 any information please suggest.
l To export Betel leaves, you must get a IE Code
number or Import Export code number from DGFT...Dep-
uty Director General of Foreign Trade. Chennai. You can
apply online & get it...Some agents/CAs will do it for a

Q
fee. I am Ramakrishna from Guntur. I am interested to
farming tulasi but I don’t have proper guidance
l Next u must have a company current bank account. 08 and i dont have own land, but i am interested on
tulasi oil extraction plant. Give me some guidance

Q
I want to be a Jatropha farmer. Could anyone share and project report of tulasi plantation
more details on this?
05 ANSWER 1: We are one of the Country's top Consultant in
Food Processing and AgriBiz, expertise in making Project
ANSWER: It's a project report by SIDBI. I think this
may be useful to you Report. We can provide you complete project report and
guidance for your Tulsi Cultivation.
https://smallb.sidbi.in/sites/default/files/knowledge_
base/biodiesel_from_jatropha.pdf Feel free to contact us: EcolAgro Venture Pvt Ltd
ISO 9001 Certified Company
Mail Id: agrifoodbiz.india@gmail.com

Q
Is Glyphosate 41% used as herbicide harmful for Call : 0522-2347200,9260995976,07544012577
the soil? Does it have any residual effect to harm
06 the soil in the long run?
ANSWER 2: We are buyers of Tulasi farm. Want regularly in
tones. We will educate farmers interested in farming
Further details : organicfarm30plus@gmail.com

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 43


Q
Can anyone help me with
details on teak plantation.
09 1. From where I'll get plants
2. What time requires for
growth of these plants
3. Cost of baby plants
4. Cost of plants during selling .
ANSWER 1: Call me regard teak plan-
tation for cultivation & marketing.
+919916178623.
ANSWER 2: Teak plants available
in the form of seedlings, RS (Root
Stump) plants and Tissue Culture.
Prefer Tissue Culture. You google for
MOTHER BIOTECH, BENGALURE for
worlds best teak plants. talk to them.
visit them and then take a decision
l It will take 20 years plus to get mar-
ket acceptable quality. The girth of
the tree should be not less than 4
feet at GBH
l It ranges from FREE to Rs.300/-
l It depends upon the how many
cubic feet of good timber available
from a tree. In general buyers pay
you for tree. You can expect one
fifth 1/5th of cubic feet market
44 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
Q&Auestion
nswer
price. If the cubic feet is Rs.2,000/-
in the market, you can expect
Rs.400/- for cubic feet. if the tree
gives ten cubic feet you can expect
Rs.4,000/- In general a a well grown
tree gives 18 -30 cubic feet.
Regards
Raghu Ram
Sampada Farms & Consultants
www.agricultureinformation.com/discuss
Q
I'm from Trinidad and Tobago,
in the Caribbean and I've
09 planted approximately 130
coconuts (yellow and green)
short varieties. However, the trees
are beginning to blossom and are
now bearing fruits for the first time in
about 4 years but most of the trees,
the flower stalks are turning black
and shriveling while the young
coconuts are dropping off or not even
appearing.
lCan I send pics?
lIs it a fungus or insect responsible
and what can I do?
Tom , Motin1234@yahoo.com
09446120914 whatsapp
ANSWER 1: I had a similar prob-
lem with my coconut trees. @hen
I checked with the experts, they
advised me to spray 0.05% concen-
trated Neem Oil or its derivative on
the fonds every 15 days for 6 ap-
plications, Apply NPK at the rate of
2Kgs per tree or 3Kgs fish meal per
6 months & water the palms at the
rate of 200 Liters per day. I have done
it & I notice that the fruit dropping
has dramatically reduced. Since you
are on the coast, speak to your local
agriculture expert as addressing your
problem can be different. Good luck.
Experts
LISTINGS
AGRICULTURAL LOANS FROM BANKS
Description
Talk to an expert on all matters related
to availing bank loans for the purpose of
polyhouse cultivation, open field cultiva-
tion & also for dairy farming.
Areas of Expertise
Bank loans for polyhouse cultivation, open
field cultivation, dairy farming, preparing
project reports for the loan application.
During the call following points about
availing bank loans can be discussed in
more detail:
How to seek loans, entire documents
DAIRY FARMING
Description
Talk to an expert on dairy farming . You
can discuss everything related to dairy
farming from breed selection to hygiene
We will connect you over phone with experts who can help you.
needed for sanction of loan and topics
like:
l Types of loans under agricultural activi-
ty
l Your actual experience in the line of
activity
l Whether you intend to do alone or in
partnership
l Types of loans & their implications
l Importance of CIBIL and its implications
l Default in repayment & bank actions
l Early repayment and incidental charges
there on
l Late repayment and its outcome
standards, management of farm and
more.
Areas of Expertise: Dairy farming and
fodder production.
Languages Spoken: English, Kannada, a
little of Hindi
During the call following points can be
AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 |
TALK TO EXPERTS. SAVE TIME
www.agricultureinformation.com
l Economics of the investment from
Bankers’ view point
l Bank loans & subsidies attached to poly
house farming under NHM & NHB, sub-
sidies under dairy activity and in open
cultivation of crops
Services Provided by Expert:
n Consultancy in getting the bank loan
n Preparation of detailed bankable proj-
ect report
For more info, visit
https://bit.ly/2RV1rjF
discussed in more detail:
Dairy farming
l Milch breeds – cows/buffaloes
l Unit size
l Shed construction(space requirement)
l Selection of milch breeds
l Feeding – milking cows/dry cows/
heifers/calves
l Feeding and management
l Clean milk production
l Breeding
l Health coverage and vaccination/
disease prevention
l Management of dairy animals in
summer/draught situation.
About the Expert
l Expert has been working with reputed
Government Institutions. He has been
working with the Department of Animal
Husbandry And Veterinary Services,
Govt. of Karnataka for 34 years now.
Expert is a qualified doctor with BVSc.
(1982) and MVSc. (Vet Medicine) (1994)
degrees.
For detailed info about the expert visit -
https://bit.ly/2AcqKqh
45
Experts TALK TO EXPERTS. SAVE TIME
LISTINGS We will connect you over phone with experts who can help you.
www.agricultureinformation.com

DAIRY FARMING (MILKING

BREEDS, HYGIENE, LOANS..)
Description
Talk to an expert on dairy farming. Discuss
topics like milking breeds, hygiene, fodder,
loans and more.
Areas of Expertise
Dairy farming, greenhouse farming, open
field cultivation
Languages Spoken by Expert
English, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi,
During the call, following points about
dairy farming can be discussed in more
detail:
l More productive breeds
l Milking & dry period care
l Productive life of dairy animals
l Minimum requirement of space for ani-
mals you intend to rear
l Indian climatic conditions to rear dairy Additional Services Offered by Expert with banks for seeking agricultural loans,
animals conducting private classes, teaching farm
l Hygiene in maintenance of animals
The expert can prepare clan with latest & improvised cultivation
l Requirement of feed ( dry fodder, green Detailed bankable project report for
l of crops viz., in green houses, for quality
fodder & concentrates) dairy farming – Physical copy printed in & quantity produce, its financial implica-
l Milking & dry period care color and mailed directly to you. tions, investment & returns, governmental
l Required exposure to for startup in dairy About the Expert benefits passed on farmers, to sensitize
l You intend to do alone or in partnership them in the culture of going about with
l Economics of the investment in dairy Equipped with a degree in Agriculture from
dairy farming.
l Bank loans & subsidies attached in dairy Maharashtra, the expert has been helping
You can now speak to the expert over
l Our role in getting you bank loan& also farmers in preparing bankable agricul-
phone and have a detailed discussion on
preparing your project report tural project reports, liasoning farmers
dairy farming.

FODDER PRODUCTION
Description
Talk to an expert on fodder production.
You can discuss everything related to
fodder production like varieties, best
practices, methods etc.
Areas of Expertise
Fodder production and dairy farming.
Languages Spoken
English, Kannada, a little of Hindi
During the call following points can be
discussed in more detail:
Fodder production
l Fodder varieties – perennial, single cut/
monocotyledon/dicotyledon
l Package practices
l Fodder trees
l Requirement of feed and fodder for a
diary cow
l Fodder enrichment About the Expert of Karnataka for 34 years now. Expert is
l Silage production Expert has been working with reputed a qualified doctor with BVSc. (1982) and
l Non conventional fodder varieties Government Institutions. He has been MVSc. (Vet Medicine) (1994) degrees.
l Hydrophonic method of fodder working with the Department of Animal For more details visit -
production Husbandry And Veterinary Services, Govt. https://bit.ly/2QUYM8i

46 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018

Experts TALK TO EXPERTS. SAVE TIME
LISTINGS We will connect you over phone with experts who can help you.
www.agricultureinformation.com

GREENHOUSE / POLYHOUSE CULTIVATION

Description
Talk to an Expert on greenhouse and poly-
house cultivation.
Areas of Expertise
Greenhouse and polyhouse cultivation.
Languages Spoken by Expert
English, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi,
During the call, following points about
greenhouse/polyhouse cultivation can be
discussed in more detail:
1. Technical advantages of cultivation in
Greenhouse & its implication on cost &
benefits
2. Setting up of a greenhouse, provision
of fabricators & technical assistance.
3. Irrigation & its methodology in poly-
house cultivation
4. Procedures of how to approach Horti-
cultural departments
5. What are the crop varieties to be
grown in a polyhouse
6. What would be the total (cost) Project
out lay of 1 acre, ½ an acre & 1/4th of
an acre cultivation in polyhouse
7. How does the State & Central Govt sup-
port poly house cultivation by passing
on benefits like subsidies
8. How do Banks in India support poly-
house cultivation by providing loans
and its procedures
9. Provision of Project Report & its Im-
portance
10. Why polyhouse eliminates Natural, Bio,
Threats – an elaborate discussion
11. Marketability of polyhouse produce
and various Indian markets attached to
poly house produce & its advantages
Additional Services Offered by Expert
The Expert can prepare
Detailed Bankable Project Report for
l
Poly House Cultivation – Physical copy
printed in color and mailed directly to
you.
For details, contact -
https://bit.ly/2pUS5Hz

NATURAL AND
ORGANIC FARMING
Description

Talk to an Expert on natural farming

/ permaculture farming / organic
farming
Areas of expertise:
Natural farming, organic farming,
sustainable farm management, water
conservation, degraded soil man-
agement, soil building, restoration of
abandoned farms, dairy/fish/poul-
try/duck/goat farming, preparation
of organic inputs like manure, growth
promoters and organic pesticides.
1. Providing techniques to under-
stand knowledge & importance
about their local ecosystem of
their farm.
2. Identifying and advising impor-

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 47

Experts
LISTINGS
tance of local eco system compo-
nents (flora and fauna).
3. Giving training about adoption of
ancient knowledge of farming like
Vrikshayurveda (ayurvedha for
plants)
4. Providing Suitable solutions to
achieve sustainability of farm to
enhance the farmers’ livelihood
without spending more money.
Ultimately sustainability of farm will
be achieved.
5. Various Organic Inputs preparation
methods.
6. Integrated farming with multiple
cropping.
OPEN FIELD CULTIVATION
Description
Talk to an expert on open field cultivation.
Areas of Expertise
Open field cultivation.
Languages Spoken by Expert
English, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi,
During the call, following points about
open field cultivation can be discussed in
more detail:
1. Crops which can be grown to reap a
good harvest with minimum cost &
maximum benefits
2. What are the advantages & disadvan-
48 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
We will connect you over phone with experts who can help you.
Environmental benefits of
organic farming
• Reduces cost to usage of Pesticides
and Chemicals that are harmful for
environments.
• Builds Healthy Soil.
• Helps to reduce soil Erosion.
• Fights the Effects of Global Warm-
ing.
• Supports Water Conservation and
Water Health.
• Supports Animal Health.
• Encourages Biodiversity
Permaculture
• “Basic principles of farming are
tages of growing the crops in the open
3. Irrigation methodology in open cultiva-
tion & its implications
4. Benefits that govt passes on in open
cultivation
5. Crop failures & its remedies in open
cultivation
6. Draughts & its impact on farmers
7. Vagaries of nature & its impact on open
cultivation
8. Marketability of open cultivation pro-
duce & its returns on investment
Additional Services Offered by Expert
The expert can prepare:
l Detailed bankable project report for
open cultivation – Physical copy printed
in color and mailed directly to you.
TALK TO EXPERTS. SAVE TIME
www.agricultureinformation.com
Reducing, Repairing, Reusing and
Recycling of each resources on
farm by adopting these 4r’s we can
improve our livelihood and reduce
the losses.
• Due to vast conventional
farming methods Mother Nature was
severally disturbed consequent-
ly Farmers also being losing their
valuable assets like their fertile soil,
balanced ecosystem and ultimately
their livelihood – Be responsiveness to
the eco system.
For more details, contact - https://bit.
ly/2z64Q6D
About the Expert
Equipped with a degree in Agriculture from
Maharashtra, the expert has been helping
farmers in preparing bankable agricul-
tural project reports, liasoning farmers
with banks for seeking agricultural loans,
conducting private classes, teaching farm
clan with latest & improvised cultivation
of crops viz., in green houses, for quality
& quantity produce, its financial implica-
tions, investment & returns, governmental
benefits passed on farmers, to sensitize
them in the culture of going about with
open field cultivation.
You can now speak to the expert over
phone and have a detailed discussion on
open field cultivation.
Experts TALK TO EXPERTS. SAVE TIME
LISTINGS We will connect you over phone with experts who can help you.
www.agricultureinformation.com

VETIVER CULTIVATION
Description
Talk to an Expert on Vetiver farming and discuss
everything related to medicinal and aromatic
plants, soil fertility/ productivity and farm man-
agement using advanced techniques.
Areas of Expertise
Vetiver cultivation, Soil science (Soil chemistry
& fertility, Agrometeorology), Land development,
Soil reclamation techniques, Crop-weather
simulation modeling, Agro-Technology of various
crops specially medicinal and aromatic plants
(MAPs), food grain and pulses and some fruits
and vegetables, Agri marketing and export of
MAPs etc.
During the call following points about
Vetiver can be discussed in more de-
tail:
1 Origin of the crop
2 To confirm suitability of crop for particular soil
type and prevailing agro climatic conditions
3 What to do and what not to do. Accurate plan-
ning for the crop
4 To understand prospects and constraints/
issues
5 Ideal requirements of the crop during produc-
tion phase and after harvest.
6 1How to prepare field according to set of con-
ditions
7 Available planting material types and compari-
son among them
8 Per acre cultivation cost, production and
returns
9 National/ international market demand and
price trend in different parts of the year
10Package of practices including methods of
planting, fertilization, irrigation, cultural
practices etc.
11 Potential, prospects and constraints of organic
farming
12 Post harvest management and retention of
harvested raw material
13 Buyback/ Market assistance and Export
14 Discussion about subsidies/ grants from fund-
ing agencies
 For more detals, https://bit.ly/2OJRQ0O

TULSI FARMING
Description
Talk to an expert on Tulsi farming
During the call following points can be
discussed in more detail
1. Per acre cultivation cost
2. All plants varieties
3. Cost of setting up
4. Per acre production
5. Organic certifications
6. Buy back facility
7. Raw materials
8. Organic farming
9. Brief idea of subsidies

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018 | 49

Personal View New-type dictators, autocrats
and authoritarians abound
T
he Global Democracy Index
in 2017 places India from 32 to
42nd rank analysing 165 states.
Norway and Sweden comes
top. US ranked 21st!
In India we have to practice ethical
behaviour, truth, personal integrity and
moral courage to make India a great de-
mocracy!
Just recently there was a TV debate
in which the just retired Chief
Justice of India, Deepak Misra and
one fellow sitting judge, with top legal
officer of the government, K.K.Venugo-
pal and Prof.N.R.Madhava
Menon, a highly respected legal
scholar/academic participated.
The subject was what is Constitu-
tional Morality and how the
Constitutional principles upheld.
Of course it was a tough topic for the
common man. But what message went
out is that Indian Constitution is robust
and the judiciary is very sensitive to
current realities and by implication the
common man has an idea that Indian
democracy is vibrant. Fine?
This debate, among other factors
triggered the idea that democracy is
spreading in the world all over. From
the traditional democracies to new
types of partial and variously disrupted
societies. And it is also time to reflect on
the issues in governance as we see in In-
dia in recent times. Another debate on
the same day also debated that how un-
der the Prime Minister Narendra Modi
a series of actions by the government
saw that series of actions by the vari-
ous agencies like the CBI, ED and the
Income Tax authorities have harassed
the Opposition leaders and also how the
courts in many cases dismissed many
proceedings as not proved in law and
dismissed these actions as politically
motivated.
The Indian public know these many
cases where even the Opposition lead-
ers, former Cabinet Ministers and Chief
Ministers, have been named. There are
also continued raids in Delhi and Kar-
nataka and elsewhere where one can
see the raids as politically motivated.
The significant point here is that
while Indian democracy is vibrant,
there are administrative and gover-
nance norms are not what they should
be. It is pointed out that in the last four
and half years, for instance the Lokpal
50 | AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY | November 2018
institution has not been constituted. So
too the various agencies like Lokayuta,
also the functioning of the Right to In-
formation Act and many other high lev-
el offices are left vacant.
So too the very vital organs like judi-
ciary, free media etc.
There are also the ugly head of vio-
lence in the name of religion etc.
The list can go on.
The purpose of this column is to
examine how the very institution of
democracy in the world, after 1945,
had evolved and spread across the
world over. Democratic governments
and democratic practices like elections
through ballot boxes have become a
modern world’s respected symbols of
democracy. Here again India is a great
example, both positively and negatively
an example.
There are issues after issues like im-
proving the transparency and also cor-
rupt practices like unaccounted money
in electoral processes. India is here an
example again. Politics is becoming
more and more unprincipled attempts
to grab power by hook or crook! So, In-
dia, rather Indian democracy is again a
living testimony to the current practices
of democracy.
One latest example is Maldives
where recently held election shows
that the defeated candidate hesitates to
vacate the office and there have been
unrest over peaceful transition. But
these days there is also the internation-
al public opinion and even pressures of
various sorts to force the wrong-doing
politicians to concede victory to the gen-
uine winner.
Ballots have acquired a new meaning
and power. In spite of so many deficien-
cies the vote becomes a crucial symbol
and so too the election processes with
all its inherent proneness to go wrong.
Even in India with its otherwise im-
pressive electoral democracy there are
arbitrary political interference the ones
defeated after the ballot is counted the
electoral officers are forced to reverse
the losers into winners! Though such
extreme cases are rare and far between.
Elections are the legitimate weapons
and even the USA saw legal battles as in
the case of George Bush vs Al Gore in
2010. India's
Election Commission was much
admired at that time. America is the
world's biggest and powerful democ-
racy. That saw some troubles with big
money and other factors. But despite
these issues US democracy is greatly
admired for there the President's term
is limited to two terms and after that
the President ceases to hold power.
This Constitutional limit to power in
a democracy is a supreme example of
genuine democracy. It is not so in any
other country including India. Russia
and China also practice some form of
democracy, though they practice ar-
bitrary power openly. In Russia, the
Opposition is not allowed to contest; in
China under XI almost life-time pow-
er is granted. Russia and China, not to
speak of other countries also indulge in
mass, in millions, detention and what
is called thought education(in China0.
There seems to be no limit to anti-dem-
ocratic practices, from Turkey to Egypt
to many other countries in the Mid-
dle-East and beyond.
Let us turn back at home. Here one
more, why one more, why many more
anti-democratic practices, many coun-
tries. Even in Europe where in many
countries the rightwing parties have
won, countries that turn back refu-
gee-caring boats and almost daily news
about people sinking in the seas!
The world under Donald Trump
lives not with a sense of security and re-
lief but much in unpredictable fear!
The UN is almost non-functional
and given the rising sense of protection-
ism in the world democracy or democ-
racies in their outward forms and ritu-
als, is not enough to ensure mankind's
hopes for a better future. Can we enter-
tain any optimism? Thinkers don’t give
a clear answer.
May be we have to live with the cur-
rent tendencies for utter selfishness,
dictatorial behaviour not from elected
representatives but from unelected
leaders of political parties themselves.
Which political party in India doesn’t
display dictatorial behaviour, dynastic
inclinations and indulge in patent cor-
ruption and blatant feudal mindset.
Democratic values, even in India,
seems to be a long way off.
V. Isvarmurti
Founder, Agriculture
& Industry Survey
isvarmurti@gmail.com
 Talk to Experts

Advanced Intercropping Technique –

4 Layer Farming Aloe Vera Cultivation

Dairy Farming & Cattle Feed Hydroponics and Aquaponics Lemongrass Cultivation
Projects Farming

www.agricultureinformation.com
| AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY SURVEY November 2018 | 51