agriculture, food processing, PDS and Land reforms

Question 1

T/F: HP has recently planned to set up three Bamboo Clusters with the help of NECBDC.

Answer 1

F

J&K

Question 2

NECBDC (Bamboo)?

Answer 2

North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC)

Formerly known as ‘Cane and Bamboo Development Council’ (CBDC)

Question 3

National Bamboo mission?

Answer 3

• launched in April 2018.
• It aims to-increase area under bamboo cultivation and also adopting region based strategies to promote bamboo products.
• adopting area-based, regionally differentiated strategy and to increase the area under bamboo cultivation and marketing.
• will be a sub-scheme of National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) under the umbrella scheme Krishonnati Yojana.

Question 4

J&K: bamboo potential?

Answer 4

has huge Bamboo reserves that can boost its economy in future

recently decided to set up three Bamboo Clusters through technical knowhow and collaboration from

Question 5

bamboo cultivation in India?

Answer 5

1. grown on 10 mn Ha, covers almost 13% of total forest area
2. total prodn: 5MT/yr; demand for 28MT/yr
3. 8.6 mn people depend on bamboo for their livelihood
4. worth 4.5Bn$ bamboo production in India; instead of importing timber from abroad, Aatmanirbhar
5. govt schemes to promote bamboo cultivation: National Bamboo mission
   
   1. as a replacement for plastic
   2. financial assistance of ₹ 120 per plant will be given to the bamboo cultivators
   3. if a person wants to do business, then the government has also made a subsidy grant.

Question 6

T/F: Bamboo is not classified as a tree by govt.

Answer 6

T

After 90 years, the bamboo has legally ceased to be a tree with the government amending the Indian Forest Act and axing the bamboo — taxonomically a grass — from a list of plants that also included palms, skumps, brush-wood and canes.

doing so promoted cultivation of bamboo in non-forest areas

earlier classification as a tree meant that it couldn’t be easily ferried across State borders. It also required permits from village councils and couldn’t be cultivated in non-forest areas.

Question 7

KALIA Scheme?

Answer 7

Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation

1. Involves payments to encourage cultivation and associated activities.
2. Primary targetsare small farmers, cultivators and landless agricultural labourers. Recent reports have shown many bogus beneficiaries
3. All farmers will be provided Rs 10,000 per family as assistance for cultivation.
4. Each family will get Rs 5,000 separately in the kharif and rabi seasons, for five cropping seasons between 2018-19 and 2021-22.
5. Targets 10 lakh landless households, and specifically SC and ST families. They will be supported with a unit cost of Rs 12,500 for activities like goat rearing, mushroom cultivation, beekeeping, poultry farming and fishery.
6. Exception: A critical trade, dairy production, has deliberately been kept out because keeping a cow is more expensive, while milk production needs to have a collection route or agency that processes and refines this low shelf-life product.
7. It will assist the elderly, sick and differently-abled populationwho are unable to take up cultivation, by providing Rs 10,000 per household per year.
8. The scheme includes a life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh and additional personal accident coverageof the same amount for 57 lakh households.
9. Crop loans up to Rs 50,000 are interest-free.
10. This is also going to be an area-specific schemein the sense that an input support for a particular trade, say mushroom cultivation, will be provided if it is prevalent throughout that locality so that there is aggregation of produce.

Question 8

Odisha’s Kalia scheme: learnings from it?

Answer 8

• Rs 2,500 crore was given as DIS to 51 lakh farmers, in a four-month period
• used a 3 step framewrk- to identify beneficiaries
  
  1. unification: of state databases with “green forms” (applications from farmers who wanted to opt in); led to 1.2 cr applicants.
  2. verification- through databases like SECC, NFSA etc.de-duplication through Aadhar and bank accnt verification through bank databases. used more than 20 databases
  3. exclusion- of ineligible applicants like government employees, tax payers, large farmers, and those that voluntarily opted out
• use of technology and non-farm databases also meant that KALIA could include sharecroppers, tenant and landless farmers
• govts should use an “open digital ecosystems” approach in design of tech systems for social welfare. With more databases and GovTech platforms, keeping them interoperable, modular, with open-source technology and open APIs, will allow these platforms to “talk to each other” and enable their rapid and cost-effective leveraging
• data and privacy protection: Odisha govt obtained consent for use of data and ensured secure firewall. “privacy by design” principles must be woven into the architecture
• effective grievance redressal: as established by Odisha govt in 2019, accessible to farmers offline at CSCs. led to 10 Lakh grievances and their resolution

Question 9

Odisha’s KALIA scheme: achievements?

Answer 9

1. Under its first phase, Rs 2,500 crore was given as DIS to 51 lakh farmers, in a four-month period
2. Smoothening effect on income: a WB evaluation suggest that KALIA beneficiaries are less likely to take out crop loans. Those who do take crop loans, take smaller loans
3. laid the foundation for a state-wide farmer database with 100 per cent Aadhaar, mobile number and financial address seeding. can be further used for issuing customised agri advisories and financial access

Question 10

Meghdoot?

Answer 10

1. Mobile App that will provide forecast relating to temperature, rainfall, humidity, and wind speed and direction, which play critical roles in agricultural operations and advisories to the farmers on how to take care of their crops and livestock.
2. The information would be updated twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.
3. application would be available for 150 districts in different parts of the country.
4. app would provide information in the form of images, maps and pictures to help the farmer to have a clearer picture of what is in store. It has been integrated with WhatsApp and Facebook as well
5. developed by experts from the India Meteorological Department and Indian Institute of Tropical meteorology and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

Question 11

One nation-one ration card?

Answer 11

1. launched on pilot basis in Telangana, AndhraP, MH and GJ
2. Families who have food security cards can buy subsidized rice and wheat from any ration shop in these states but their ration cards should be linked with Aadhar Number to avail this service.
3. It also aims to remove the chance of anyone holding more than one ration card to avail benefits from different states.
4. Migrants would only be eligible for the subsidies supported by the Centre, which include rice sold at Rs. 3/kg and wheat at Rs. 2/kg, It would not include subsidies given by their respective state government in some other state.
5. even if a beneficiary moves to a state where grains are given fr free, he/she will not be able to access those benefits
6. A migrant will be allowed to buy a max of 50% of the family quota. This is to ensure that the individual, after shifting to another place, doesn’t buy the entire family quota in one go.

Question 12

Standard format of ‘one nation, one ration card’?

Answer 12

1. For national portability, the state governments have been asked to issue the ration card in bi-lingual format, wherein besides the local langauge, the other language could be Hindi or English.
2. The states have also been told to have a 10-digit standard ration card number, wherein first two digits will be state code and the next two digits will be running ration card numbers.
3. Besides this, a set of another two digits will be appended with ration card number to create unique member IDs for each member of the household in a ration card.

Question 13

Kosi-Mechi Interlinking project ?

Answer 13

1. This is the second major river interlinking project in the country to be approved by Central Government after the Ken-Betwa project in Madhya Pradesh.
2. His Majesty’s Government of Nepal and The Government of India signed an agreement on 25th April 1954 for implementation of Kosi project to counter Kosi’s frequent flooding
3. The present proposal is an extension of Eastern Kosi Main Canal (EKMC) system upto river Mechi, a tributary of river Mahananda.
4. aim of extension of EKMC upto Mechi river is mainly to provide irrigation benefits to the water scarce Mahananda basin command in the districts of Araria, Kishanganj, Purnea and Katihar during kharif season depending upon the pondage available in Hanuman Nagar barrage.
5. It aims to transfer part of surplus water of Kosi basin to Mahananda basin.

Question 14

PM-Kusum?

Answer 14

Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan

1. It is a ₹1.4 lakh-crore scheme for promoting decentralised solar power production of up to 30.8 GW by 2022 to help farmers.
2. Components:
   
   1. building 10,000 MW solar plants on barren lands; Setting up of grid-connected renewable power plants each of 500KW to 2 MW in the rural area.
   2. providing sops to DISCOMS to purchase the electricity produced,
   3. Installation of standalone off-grid solar water pumps to fulfil irrigation needs of farmers not connected to grid.
   4. ‘solarising’ existing pumps of 7250 MW as well as government tube wells with a capacity of 8250 MW and
   5. distributing 17.5 lakh solar pumps.
3. Financing: The 60% subsidy on the solar pumps provided to farmers will be shared between the Centre and the States while 30% would be provided through bank loans. The balance cost has to be borne by the farmers.
4. Benefits
   
   1. helping DISCOMs: reducing burden as well as reducing Renewable Purchase Obligations Targets
   2. Helps state Govt: decrease subsidy burden
   3. helping farmers: extra income
   4. helping env: subsidised electricity one of the main reasons for GW depletion
5. Challenges:
   
   1. Logistics Issue: While pumps are not a challenge for domestic suppliers, the availability of solar pumps is still an issue; Strict Domestic Content Req. (DCR) causes suppliers to raise the domestic cell sourcing
   2. Omission of Small and marginal farmers: There has been the relative omission of small and marginal farmers, as the scheme focuses on pumps of 3 HP and higher capacities. This excludes nearly 85% of famersin the country
   3. Depleting water tables:In a solar installation, it becomes a more difficult job to upgrade to higher capacity pumps in case the water table falls because you will have to add new solar panels which are expensive.

Question 15

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana?

Answer 15

1. The scheme is voluntary and contributory for farmers in the entry age group of 18 to 40 years.
2. Eligibility:
   
   • Initially, only Small and Marginal Farmers- with <2 Ha of cultivable land
   • Extended in July 2019 to all farmers
3. A monthly pension of Rs. 3000/– will be provided to them on attaining the age of 60 years.
4. The farmers will have to make a monthly contribution of Rs.55 to Rs.200, depending on their age of entry, in the Pension Fund till they reach the retirement date i.e. the age of 60 years.
5. The CG will also make an equal contribution of the same amount in the pension fund.
6. The spouse is also eligible to get a separate pension of Rs.3000/- upon making separate contributions to the Fund.
7. The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) shall be the Pension Fund Manager and responsible for Pension pay out.
8. In case of death of the farmer before retirement date, the spouse may continue in the scheme by paying the remaining contributions till the remaining age of the deceased farmer.
9. If the spouse does not wish to continue, the total contribution made by the farmer along with interest will be paid to the spouse.
10. If there is no spouse, then total contribution along with interest will be paid to the nominee.
11. If the farmer dies after the retirement date, the spouse will receive 50% of the pension as Family Pension.
12. After the death of both the farmer and the spouse, the accumulated corpus shall be credited back to the Pension Fund.
13. The beneficiaries may opt voluntarily to exit the Scheme after a minimum period of 5 years of regular contributions.
14. On exit, their entire contribution shall be returned by LIC with an interest equivalent to prevailing saving bank rates.
15. The farmers, who are also beneficiaries of PM-Kisan Scheme, will have the option to allow their contribution debited from the benefit of that Scheme directly.
16. In case of default in making regular contributions, the beneficiaries are allowed to regularize the contributions by paying the outstanding dues along with prescribed interest.

Question 16

Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana?

Answer 16

1. MMKAY scheme is a target set by the government to provide welfare and financial support to farmers in Jharkhand.
2. The scheme, which was incorporated in the state budget from the financial year 2019-2020, is the first scheme by the state government that provides 100 percent settlement through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) medium.
3. Under the first phase of the MMKAY scheme, Rs 5000 will be disbursed to 13.60 lakh farmers for each acre of their land with a maximum amount of Rs 25,000.

Question 17

Über for tractors?

Answer 17

by Min of agri

app lets farmers hire tractors, rotavator and other farm related machinery on rent for with flexible tenures.

The app would enable farmers to have affordable access to cutting-edge technology at their doorsteps.

The app seeks to efficiently connect farmers with custom hiring centres CHCs, just like Uber connects passangers to cabs.

The app also includes a rating system

Question 18

Draft Seeds Amendment Bill?

Answer 18

Seeks to amend Seeds act, 1966 and Seeds Rules 1968

1. Authorizes CG to reconstitute a Central Seed Committee (based in New Delhi) that will be responsible for the effective implementation of its provisions.
2. ALL varities of seeds for sale have to be registered are are reqd to meet certain minimum stds. For instance, for transgenic varieties of seeds, registration is to be obtained under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. This can bring greater accountability to seed companies.
3. Exempt farmers from obtaining registration for varieties developed by them. However, if the farmer sells such seeds for a monetary consideration, then that sale needs to be registered
4. there is a differentiation between the seed producer, seed processor and seed dealer for the purpose of licensing. However, there is no recognition of National Level Integrated Seed Companies with R&D capabilities.
5. Currently, a large percentage of seed is sold under a self-certification programme called Truthfully Labelled (TL) seeds. The certification process has been kept voluntary.
6. Licence/Registration of Fruit Nurseries, Not all Nurseries
7. Empowers the government to fix prices of selected varieties in case of ‘emergent’ situations such as seed shortage, abnormal increase in price, monopolistic pricing, profiteering, etc. which are open to subjective interpretation.
8. Breeders would be required to disclose the “expected performance” of their registered varieties “under given conditions”.Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to be used to deal with complaints related to the non-performance of seed.

Question 19

Need for change in Seeds Act 1966?

Answer 19

1. The 1966 Act only covers “notified kinds or varieties of seeds”.
   
   • Notified varieties would be mostly those that are bred by public sector institutions — the likes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the state agricultural universities (SAUs).
   • And the provisions of The Seeds Act, 1966, apply only to certified seeds produced of notified varieties.
   • unless a variety or hybrid is notified, its seeds cannot be certified.
2. 1966 legislation was enacted at the time of the Green Revolution when the country hardly had any private seed industry.
3. Most of the private hybrids marketed in India, by virtue of not being officially “released”, are neither “notified” nor “certified”. Instead, they are “truthful labeled”. The companies selling them simply state that the seeds inside the packets have a minimum germination (if 100 are sown, at least 75-80, say, will produce plants), genetic purity and physical purity

Question 20

‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in the State of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh & NCT of Delhi’ Scheme?

Answer 20

1. Central Sector Scheme
2. Obj:
   
   1. Protecting the environment from air pollution and preventing loss of nutrients and soil micro-organisms caused by burning of crop residue
   2. Promoting in-situ management of crop residue by retention and incorporation into the soil through the use of appropriate mechanization inputs
   3. Promoting Farm Machinery Banks for custom hiring of in-situ crop residue management machinery
3. Components of the scheme
   
   1. Establish Farm Machinery Banks or Custom Hiring Centres of in-situ crop residue management machinery
   2. Procurement of Agriculture Machinery and Equipment for in-situ crop residue management
   3. Information, Education, and Communication for awareness
4. Under the scheme, financial assistance @50% of the cost is provided to the farmers for the purchase of in-situ crop residue management machines on individual ownership basis. The financial assistance for the establishment of Custom Hiring Centres of in-situ crop residue management machinery is @ 80% of the project cost.
5. Within one year of its implementation utilizing an amount of Rs. 500 crore, the happy seeder/zero tillage technology was adopted in 8 lakh hectares of land in the North-Western States

Question 21

Tea production: geo climate requirements?

Answer 21

1. Tea bush is a tropical and sub-tropical plant that thrives in hot and humid climate
   
   1. ideal temp for growth: 20-30deg C; T >30 or <10 are harmful
   2. requires 150-300cm of annual rf that is well distributed throughout the yr; prolonged dry spell harmful. stagnant water is injurious though, thus grown on hill slopes or in valleys where drainage is good
   3. high humidity, heavy dew and morning fog is beneficial
2. it is a shade loving plant and is often planted along with shady trees
3. grows well in well drained deep friable loamy soil. However, virgin forest soils rich in humus and iron is best
4. Darjeeling soil has relatively large proportion of P and potash which gives it special flavour

Question 22

Tea production: production and employment?

Answer 22

1. India is world’s second largest tea producer after China.
2. In 2013, India’s estimated tea production was 1.2MT, which counts for around 23-24% of global tea production. tea plantations cover 0.6MHa
3. India is the largest producer and consumer of black tea in the world.
4. India is one of the largest tea exporter with 245000 T export in 2015
5. Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala account for about 95 per cent of total tea production.
6. provides employment to 1 mn workers and to 10 mn by its forward and backward linkages
7. women constitute 50 % of workforce employed by the sector

Question 23

tea production: Assam?

Answer 23

accounts for 51% of India’s production and 55% of area under cultivation

two distinct areas

• Brahmputra valley: from Sadiya to Goalpara accounts for 44% of tea prodn of India. includes districts like Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Sibsagar etc.
• surma valley: in Cachar district

Question 24

Tea production: WB?

Answer 24

• contributes 23% of tea production and 22% of area under cultivation
• localised in only 3 districts - Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Koch Bihar; can be divided into two geographical regions
  
  • Duars: Koch Bihar and Jalpaiguri
  • Darjeeling: annual rf >300cm, moderate temp and fertile soil give special flavour to tea though yields are quite low
  • Acc to a study conducted by Tea board in 2002, land under tea cultivation can be increased by >5%

Question 25

tea production: condition of tea workers?

Answer 25

• community is one of most marginalised in Assam
• Although the tea garden managements pay the wages, the government fixes it.Increasing wages of tea garden workers has been a major demand of the community.
• In 2017, the Assam government formed an advisory board to fix minimum wages of tea workers — the board recommended an amount of Rs 351. The next year, as an interim measure, the Assam government hiked daily wages Rs 137 to Rs 167, which was again recently increased to Rs 217
• initiatives like
  
  • opening bank accounts for the tea workers,
  • Assam Chah Bagicha Dhan Puraskar Yojana using Direct Benefit Transfer
  • provide 2kg of sugar per tea garden family per month free of cost, in an attempt to counter the practice of consuming salt with tea — started in the colonial era to battle dehydration in workers — which has led to health problems like hypertension and heart attacks.

Question 26

Minimum selling price?

Answer 26

• announced for sugar, called Fair and Remunerative Prices
• Price of sugar are market driven but to protect the interests of farmers, concept of Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar was introduced in 2018, so that industry may get atleast the minimum cost of production of sugar, so as to enable them to clear cane price dues of farmers.
• based on the Rangarajan Commitee report of reorganising the sugarcane industry.
• In exercise of the powers conferred under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, Government has notified Sugar Price (Control) Order, 2018.
• MSP of sugar has been fixed taking into account the components of Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane and minimum conversion cost of the most efficient mills.
• determined on recommendation of CACP and announced by CCEA
• difference betn MSP and FRP: FRP is fixed by the government but is paid by the mill owner.

Question 27

Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)?

Answer 27

● FRP is the price declared by the government, which mills are legally bound to pay to farmers for the cane procured from them.
● The payment of FRP across the country is governed by The Sugarcane Control order, 1966. It mandates payment within 14 days of the date of delivery of the cane.

How is FRP decided?
The FRP is based on the recovery of sugar from the cane. For the sugar season of 2021-22, FRP has been fixed at Rs 2,900/tonne at a base recovery of 10 per cent.
● Sugar recovery is the ratio between sugar produced versus cane crushed, expressed as a percentage.
● The higher the recovery, the higher is the FRP, and higher is the sugar produced.

Announced by:
The Central Government announces Fair and Remunerative Prices which are determined on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
● CCEA is chaired by the Prime Minister of India.

The FRP is based on the Rangarajan Committee report on reorganizing the sugarcane industry.

Significance of FRP:
Assured payment is one of the major reasons why cane is a popular crop with farmers.
● Delays in payment can attract an interest up to 15 per cent per annum, and the sugar commissioner can recover unpaid FRP as dues in revenue recovery by attaching properties of the mills.

Question 28

production-linked incentive scheme for the food processing industry?

Answer 28

1. Union Cabinet has approved a production-linked incentive scheme for the food processing industry with an outlay of ₹10,900 crore.
2. applicability:
3. scheme would cover ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat foods, processed fruits and vegetables, marine products and mozzarella cheese, organic products, free-range eggs, poultry meat and egg products.
4. The applicants selected for the scheme would be required to invest in plant and machinery in the first two years.
5. In all, 13 PLI schemes are being rolled out, including those for automobiles, pharmaceuticals, IT hardware including laptops, mobile phones & telecom equipment, white goods, chemical cells and textiles.

Question 29

achievements of women dairy farmers in contributing to India’s ‘White Revolution’ ?

Answer 29

1. Operation Flood, known as the ‘billion liter idea, launched in 1970. Over 700 towns and cities in India were linked by the National Milk Grid. Anand pattern experiment at Amul, a cooperative dairy, was the pioneer behind the success of the program.
2. Prior to this, milk production and distribution was concentrated in hands of few wealthy farmers and rural businessmen which resulted in cartelization and deprived the grassroot farmers and villagers to reap the economic benefits of milk production.
3. led by NDDB (1965), initially registered as a society under the Societies Act 1860, was merged with the erstwhile Indian Dairy Corporation, a company formed and registered under the Companies Act 1956, by the NDDB Act 1987.
4. enhanced incomes:
   
   1. there are more than 1,90,000 dairy cooperative societies across the country, with approx 6 million women members.
   2. As an industry, it employs more than 70 million farmers. Recent years have seen the rise of women-led dairy unions and companies.
   3. A study conducted on Women Dairy Cooperative Society (WDCS) members across Rajasthan showed that with the income generated through dairying, 31% of the women had converted their mud houses to cement structures, while 39% had constructed concrete sheds for their cattle.
   4. women-led cooperatives also provide fertile ground for grooming women from rural areas for leadership positions.
   5. presence of collectives in the form of cooperatives and milk unions plays a significant role in enhancing the knowledge and bargaining power of women.
5. case study: NDDB has played a proactive role in setting up women-led producer enterprises like Shreeja Mahila Milk Producer Company, which was started with 24 women and now has more than 90,000 members, with an annual turnover of approximately Rs.450 crore.

Question 30

Which country recently became the first country to approve open cultivation of genetically modified (GM) Bt cowpea.

Answer 30

Nigeria

It contains the transgene Cry1Ab, which can be toxic for human liver cells and also alter immune systems of lab animals, anti-GM groups claimed.

Question 31

N-LRSI: about?

Answer 31

1. NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research) has released India’s first land records and services index, which evaluates the quality of land records in the country and the extent of their digitalization.
2. covers two aspects of the supply of land records: extent of digitalization and quality of land records.
   
   1. first component, which aims to assess whether a state has made all its land records digitally available, has three dimensions—the text of the land records (also called the record of rights), the official map associated with a land , and the property registration process.
   2. second component of the Index aims to assess if the land records are comprehensive and reliable–are ownership details updated as soon as a sale occurs, the extent of joint ownership, type of land use, land area on the record and on the map, and are encumbrances being recorded.
3. Established in 1956, NCAER is India’s oldest and largest independent, non-profit, economic policy research institute

Question 32

N-LRSI 2021: highlights?

Answer 32

1. M.P., West Bengal, Odisha top in land records digitisation in 2021 report
2. Bihar’s jump from the 23rd to 8th position in the index by making substantial progress in the digitisation of maps, textual records and registration process.
3. existing challenges:

• lack of skilled manpower in land record departments in states
• lack of effective integration across land records departments. eg. revenue department as the custodian of textual records, the survey and settlement department managing the spatial records and the registration department managing regtn
• no state/UT has the provision for online mutation (updating ownership as the result of the registration of a transaction) on the same day as the registration.
• weak linkage betn revenue deptt and survey and settlement deptt creating divergence between the land area reported by the textual and spatial record, enhancing the chances of legal disputes
• In India, stamp duty rates across states vary between 4% and 10%, compared to 1% and 4% in other countries. Further, registration fee is an additional 0.5% to 2%, on an average.
• in India, we have a system of registered sale deeds and not land titles. Therefore, the transaction gets registered, and not the land title. This implies that even bona fide property transactions may not always guarantee ownership, as earlier transactions could be challenged.

Question 33

how updated land recrds can help revive rural economy?

Answer 33

1. According to De Soto, secure property rights are one of the keys to a country’s development
2. importance of land ownership for access to formal loans as well as government relief programmes
3. lessen court burden as well as create a more harmonious society, increasing potential for growth
4. helps dissuade black money in real estate
5. Any infrastructure created on land that is not encumbrance-free can be potentially challenged in the future, making such investments risky.
6. under the Smart Cities and AMRUT, cities are trying to raise their own revenue through property taxes and land-based financing. This necessitates the importance of providing a system of clear land titles.

Question 34

significance of mushroom farming in boosting rural economy?

Answer 34

1. gaining momentum: India produced 17000 MT in 2013 and increased to 4.87 L MT in 2018
2. Case study:
   
   • Koriyahi village in sitamarhi district, with special focus on Mushar community: mushroom farming has helped them cope with hard times due to Bihar floods and COVID lockdowns
3. Mushroom cultivation starts in November, which is soon after the floods, and continues till the first week of March. By December, the farmer starts earning from the cultivation. For the rest of the year, the community has some savings from mushrooms and the daily wage work to fall bank on.
4. social implications: mushroom cultivation requires cleanliness and hygiene. Thus, attachment of Musahars with it has changed perception abt them being unclean.

Question 35

No clarity on actual number of farmers in India. Need to know it?

Answer 35

1. Agriculture Ministry’s last Input Survey for 2016-17 pegged the total operational holdings at 146.19 million.
2. NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey of 2016-17 estimated the country’s “agricultural households” at 100.7 million.
3. PM-Kisan has around 111.5 million enrolled beneficiaries, with an average of 102 million-plus getting payments during 2020-21.
4. Agricultural households, as per NABARD’s definition, cover any household whose value of produce from farming activities is more than Rs 5,000 during a year. That obviously is too little to qualify as living income.
5. A “real” farmer is someone who would derive a significant part of his/her income from agriculture. This, one can reasonably assume, requires growing at least two crops in a year. Out of 140 MHa, a mere 50.48 mh was cropped two times or more. Taking the average holding size of 1.08 hectares for 2016-17, the number of “serious full-time farmers” cultivating a minimum of two crops a year would be hardly 47 million. Or, say, 50 million.
6. This figure match up with other input surveys as well. eg. number of cultivators planting certified/high yielding seeds (59.01 million), using own or hired tractors (72.29 million) and electric/diesel engine pumpsets (45.96 million), and availing institutional credit (57.08 million).
7. Current agricultural crisis is alrgely about these full time farmers. The demand for price parity, that gives agricultural commodities sufficient purchasing power with respect to things bought by farmers, is critical for these full time farmers
8. Most government welfare schemes are aimed at poverty alleviation and uplifting those at the bottom of the pyramid. But there’s no policy for those in the “middle” and in danger of slipping to the bottom.
9. An annual transfer of Rs 6,000 under PM-Kisan may not be small for the part-time farmer who earns more from non-agricultural activities. It is a pittance, though, for the full-time agriculturist who spends Rs 14,000-15,000 on cultivating just one acre of wheat

Question 36

Aadhar related denials of foodgrain rations?

Answer 36

Lokniti-CDS survey conducted in 2019, covered more than 12,000 electors across the country.

1. 28% responded in affirmative when asked whether it had ever happened that they were deprived of their foodgrain rations for lack of Aadhaar, or due to other Aadhaar-related problems such as biometric authentication glitches or failure to link their ration card with Aadhaar
2. This value rose to 39% among Low income HHs and 40% in erstwhile BIMARU states

Case study: In march 2017, JH govt gave ultimatum to link all ration cards with Aadhar or else they will be voided. Later JH govt boasted of having cancelled lakhs of ‘fake’ ration cards. Later on, however, it turned out that most of these ration cards belonged to people who were alive and eligible. Among them was the family of Santoshi Kumari, an 11-year-old Dalit girl who succumbed to prolonged hunger on September 28, 2017.

For India as a whole, the food ministry stated recently in the Rajya Sabha that 2.06 crore ration cards had been cancelled since 2017

factors responsible:

• linking not always easy for poor and illeterates
• assistance and safeguards are rare
• no verification before cancellation
• victims are nt informed, have no right to appeal
• list of cancelled cards is not in public domain
• biometric authentication glitches and also connectivity failures

Question 37

Precision agriculture?

Answer 37

an approach where inputs are utilised in precise amounts to get increased average yields, compared to traditional cultivation techniques such as agroforestry, intercropping, crop rotation etc. AKA satellite agriculture and site specific crop mgmt (SSCM)

uses ICT, sensors, remote sensing, deep learning, AI and IoT

triple goals: profitability, sustainability and env protection

advantages: productivity; soil conservation; reduction of chemicals usage; efficient water usage; reduced cost of production; socio economic status of farmers

schemes like PMKSY’s (Per Drop More Crop) involve Precision Agriculture practices

ICAR and IARI has formulated a project entitled “SENSAGRI: SENsor based Smart AGRIculture”. major objective is to develop indigenous prototype for drone based crop and soil health monitoring system using hyperspectral remote sensing (HRS) sensors.

Drone technology is also being used. It has ability for smooth scouting over farm fields, gathering precise information and transmitting the data on real time basis.

Question 38

present share of GM/biotech crops globally?

Answer 38

1. the area under precision agriculture of GM crops had increased 112 times in 2019 from 1996, when the first BT crop was introduced
2. During 2019, 79 per cent of cotton; 74 per cent of soybean; 31 per cent of maize and 27 per cent of canola acreages globally were under biotech crops, apart from varying acreages under 28 other smaller crops.
3. A study estimated that net global farm income increased by $ 186 billion in 20 years. That helped alleviate poverty of over 16.5 million farmers globally and led to a 8.2 per cent reduction in global consumption of pesticides.

Question 39

GM/BT crops in India: need for increased and swift acceptace?

Answer 39

1. Bt Cotton, the only GM crop introduced in India in 2002, transformed India’s cotton sector, as
   
   • cotton productivity almost doubled in six years.
   • India’s share in the global production of cotton increased from 12 per cent in 2002 to 25 per cent by 2014.
   • From a net importer of cotton, India became the second-largest exporter of cotton.
2. Bt brinjal recommended for commercialisation in October 2009, after it completed regulatory evaluation in seven years, is still under moratorium. Meanwhile, the technology has been adopted in Bangladesh. One study in 2018 stated that net returns of Bangladesh farmers increased six-fold from Bt brinjal, and pesticide usage on brinjal went down by 61 per cent.
3. GM Mustard:
   
   • India imports over 65 % of her edible oil requirement worth over 10 Bn$
   • a high yielding mustard variety developed indigenously using biotech is yet to be approved for commercialisation.
4. impasse is due to irrational opposition to GM crops based on ideology rather than science.
   
   • India imports over 15 million tonnes of edible oil annually, of which over 25 per cent comprises soy oil and canola oil (a variant of mustard oil), which are from GM soybean and GM canola grown all over America. Over 95 per cent of cotton grown in India being Bt cotton, we consume about 1.4 million tonnes of cotton seed oil produced from GM cotton. However, there is opposition to making available the same technology to mustard growers.
   • On the matter of safety and efficacy of biotech crops, over 100 Nobel laureates collectively issued a statement in 2016, vouching for it.

Question 40

Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana?

Answer 40

-> by Deptt of rural dev, MoRD -> exclusively for women farmers -> sub-component of DAY-NRLM -> Funding: upto 60% (90% for NE) for such projects by GoI -> obj: 1) empowering small landholders to adopt sustainable climate resilient agro-ecology and eventually create a pool of skilled community professionals. 2) promotion of sustainable agriculture practices such as Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture (CMSA), Non Pesticide Management (NPM), Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), Pashu-Sakhi model for doorstep animal care services, Sustainable regeneration and harvesting of Non-Timber Forest Produce

Question 41

Which state recently gave approval to transfer of common village land in rural areas to the state’s industry department for formation of land banks?

Answer 41

PJ

Question 42

What is Shamlat?

Answer 42

Village common land in PJ, to be utilised as Land bank.

Question 43

Which state is associated with program KALIA? key features of KALIA?

Answer 43

Odisha 1. payments to small farmers, cultivators and landless agricultural labourers, to encourage cultivation 2. For farmers, Rs 10,000 per family- 5000 each in Kharif and rabi 3. For landless HHs, target is 10000 HHs, esp SC/ST- Rs 12500 for activities like goat rearing, mushroom cultivation, beekeeping, poultry farming and fishery. 4. Exception: A critical trade, dairy production, has deliberately been kept out because keeping a cow is more expensive 5. For elderly, sick and differently-abled population, 10000 per HHs/yr 6. also includes Life insurance cover of 2L+ personal accident coverage 7. Crop loans up to Rs 50,000 are interest-free 8. going to be an area-specific scheme in the sense that an input support for a particular trade, say mushroom cultivation, will be provided if it is prevalent throughout that locality

Question 44

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi: features? recent development? (also rfer mindmap in GS-2)

Answer 44

1. Central sector scheme; implemented by MoAFW
2. for farmers with cultivable land upto 2Ha, but later extended to all land holding farmers
3. Direct income support @ 6000/yr DBT in 3 equal installments
4. Odisha government has decided to merge its flagship scheme- Kalia with it. All states are implementing the scheme, except West Bengal.
5. The entire responsibility of identification of beneficiary farmer families rests with the State / UT Governments.

Question 45

T/F: India is a net exporter of Agri products.

Answer 45

T

Question 46

Boosting Agri exports: situation?

Answer 46

1. India has been a net exporter of agri-produce ever since the economic reforms began in 1991.
2. The golden year of agri-trade, however, was 2013-14. That year agri-exports peaked at $43.6 billion while imports were $18.9 billion, giving a net trade surplus of $24.7 billion.
3. Since 2014, agri-exports have been sluggish and sliding. In 2019-20, agri-exports were just $36 billion, and the net agri-trade surplus at $11.2 billion. But it touched ~42Bn$ in FY 2020-21, a growth of 80% over previous yr.
4. Must remember that today India’s forex reserves are >500Bn$ unlike in 1960s when we had just 400 mn $
5. India’s total agricultural export basket accounts for a little over 2.5% of world agricultural trade.
6. major export destinations were USA, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
7. key agriculture commodities exported from India were marine products, basmati rice, buffalo meat, spices, non-basmati rice, cotton raw, oil meals, sugar, castor oil and tea
8. power and fertiliser subsidies account for about 10-15 per cent of the value of rice and sugar (2nd and 5th largest agri-export item of INdia) produced on a per hectare basis. more importantly, it is leading to the virtual export of water as one kg of rice requires 3,500-5,000 litres of water for irrigation, and one kg of sugar consumes about 2,000 litres of water. Thus, quite a bit of the “revealed comparative advantage” in rice and sugar is hidden in input subsidies.
9. On the agri-imports front, the biggest item is edible oils — worth about $10 billion (more than 15 mt)

Question 47

need for agri-export?

Answer 47

1) NITI Aayof member Ramesh chandra has shown that a 5% increase in farm o/p today can lead to price crashes in excess of 30%
2) india-world’s 2nd largest farm producer bt doesn’t figure in ranks of top 10 exporters and has only 2.2% of 1.6Tn$ share of world agri trade
3) even in Horticulture, of which India is the 2nd largest producer, smaller countries like Thailand and egypt fare better than india.

Question 48

Agri export: Interventions that promoted recent spike in India’s agricultural export in 2020-21?

Answer 48

• Policy-level interventions:
  
  • Pesticide residue problems have affected exports of basmati rice key traditional export product to the EU due to stringent norms imposed for chemicals such as Tricyclazole and Buprofezin, extensively used in rice cultivation in India. In response,
  • Testing by the Export Inspection Council (official export –certification body of India under Ministry of Commerce and Industry) has been made mandatory for basmati exports to the EU
  • Punjab imposed a ban on sales of nine chemicals, including Tricyclazole and Buprofezin, during the Kharif season 2020
• expansion of products into new markets: Demand for Indian cereals was robust in 2020-21, with shipments sent to several countries for the first time, such as rice to countries like Timor-Leste, Puerto Rico, and Brazil; wheat to Yemen, Indonesia, and Bhutan, etc
• opportunities coz of COVID-19: The sharp rise in exports of non-basmati rice can be attributed to lower prices compared to that of major rice exporters, Thailand and Vietnam, and also because these countries stopped exports due to the lockdown.
• rise in demand of organic products: products such as cereals and millets, spices and condiments, tea, medicinal plant products, dry fruits, and sugar grew 51 per cent year on year.

Question 49

Issues facing agri-exports?

Answer 49

1. Lack of Stable Trade Policy Regime: Given the domestic price and production volatility of certain agricultural commodities, there has been a tendency to utilize trade policy as an instrument to attain short term goals of taming inflation
2. Infrastructure and Logistics: Poor connectivity of the land locked production areas (E.g. Bihar, Jharkhand, NE states and hilly regions, etc.) to the ports or terminals. congestion at the ports due to high waiting periods of the shipment. Lack of proper cold chain and warehousing facilities
3. Low volume of horticultural commodities: Exporting horticultural products requires significant volumes of high-quality standardized produce of the same variety. Small landholding pattern and low farmer awareness in India has often meant limited volumes of different varieties of multiple crops with little or no standardization
4. Poor training & Skill level development:
   
   • At farm: Inadequate harvest and postharvest managements paving the way for rejection of products by the importing country through stringent application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
   • At exporters level: Exporters lack awareness on existing schemes and policies related to exports as well as about documentation and procedures to be followed
5. Less involvement of States: Agriculture is a state subject whereas “trade and commerce” are in the Union list and States often see no formal role for themselves in the nation’s agricultural exports.

Question 50

Boosting Agri exports: suggestions?

Answer 50

1. Agriculture Export Policy 2018 sets out a target of US$ 60+ Billion by 2022, for agricultural exports, and US$ 100 Billion in the next few years. It has given following recommendations
   
   1. Stable Trade Policy Regime
   2. Infrastructure and logistics:
      
      • Sea Port - development of dedicated perishable berths, agricultural jetties
      • Railway -infrastructure at stations to handle agri products, Reefer Wagons
      • Airport -Identify the challenges of operationalizing existing defunct infrastructure at ports such as the Centre for Perishable Cargo (CPC) and requirement of new CPCs, loaders, designated and sufficient quarantine areas, better Hinterland Connectivity
   3. address issues of R & D for improved varieties, value addition and packaging, establishment of a good standards regimen, a response to SPS and Technical barriers to trade
   4. Greater involvement of State Governments in Agriculture Exports: identification of a nodal State Department / Agency for promotion of agriculture export; Inclusion of agricultural exports in the State Export Policy
   5. Focus on Clusters: Export centric clusters
2. need to keep in mind the principle of “comparative advantage”. That means exporting more where we have a competitive edge, and importing where we lack competitiveness.
3. power and fertiliser subsidies account for about 10-15 per cent of the value of rice and sugar produced on a per hectare basis. They also consume disproportionate amt of water. we offer similar incentives for exports of high-value agri-produce like fruits and vegetables, spices, tea and coffee, or even cotton intead of rice and sugar
4. need to create “aatma nirbharta” in edible oil, not by levying high import duties, but by creating a competitive advantage through augmenting productivity and increasing the recovery ratio of oil from oilseeds and in case of palm oil, from fresh fruit bunches.
5. while mustard, sunflower, groundnuts, and cottonseed have a potential to increase oil output to some extent, the maximum potential lies in oil palm. This is the only plant that can give about four tonnes of oil on a per hectare basis. India has about 2 million hectares that are suitable for oil palm cultivation — this can yield 8 mt of palm oil.
6. way forward is bringing economy of scale through FPOs; Union budget 2019-20 aims to set up 10000 FPOs in next 5 yrs
7. A ‘Public-Private-farmer Group partnership’
8. establishing Crop-specific councils on the model of Basmati export Dev Foundation
9. marketing and Brand development

Question 51

Agri exports: way forward?

Answer 51

1) way forward is bringing economy of scale through FPOs; Union budget 2019-20 aims to set up 10000 FPOs in next 5 yrs
2) A ‘Public-Private-farmer Group partnership’
3) establishing Crop-specific councils on the model of Basmati export Dev Foundation

Question 52

T/F: Under Essential Commodities Act GoI can fix the MRP of any product that it declares an essential commodity.

Answer 52

T

Question 53

The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020?

Answer 53

The ordinance basically aims at creating additional trading opportunities outside the APMC market yards to help farmers get remunerative prices due to additional competition.

1. The Ordinance will create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce.
2. It will also promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations.
3. It also proposes an electronic trading in transaction platform for ensuring a seamless trade electronically.
4. The farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce under this Act.
5. There will also be a separate dispute resolution mechanism for the farmers.

Question 54

direct seeding of rice vs Transplantation methd?

Answer 54

Direct seeding

• pre-germinated seeds are directly drilled into the field by a tractor-powered machine.
• There is no nursery preparation or transplantation involved in this method. Farmers have to only level their land and give one pre-sowing irrigation.

Transplantation Method

• In transplanting paddy, farmers prepare nurseries where the paddy seeds are first sown and raised into young plants.
• The nursery seed bed is 5-10% of the area to be transplanted. These seedlings are then uprooted and replanted 25-35 days later in the puddled field.

Question 55

Advantages of Direct Seeding Technique?

Answer 55

1. Water savings. The first irrigation (apart from the pre-sowing rauni) under DSR is necessary only 21 days after sowing. This is unlike in transplanted paddy, where watering has to be done practically daily to ensure submerged/flooded conditions in the first three weeks.
2. Less Labour. About three labourers are required to transplant one acre of paddy at almost Rs 2,400 per acre.
3. The cost of herbicides under DSR will not exceed Rs 2,000 per acre.
4. Reduce methane emissions due to a shorter flooding period and decreased soil disturbance compared to transplanting rice seedlings.
5. Punjab government has decided to deploy direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique instead of the traditional transplantation of paddy this year due to the shortfall of agricultural labourers triggered by reverse migration in the wake of COVID

Question 56

LImitations of Direct Seeding Technique?

Answer 56

1. Non-availability of herbicides.
2. The seed requirement for DSR is also high,8-10 kg/acre, compared to 4-5 kg/acre in transplanting.
3. Further, laser land levelling is compulsory in DSR. This is not so in transplanting.
4. The sowing needs to be done timely so that the plants have come out properly before the monsoon rains arrive.

Question 57

”Per Drop More Crop” component of PMKSY?

Answer 57

1. Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare is implementing agency
2. operational in the country from 2015-16.
3. It focuses on enhancing water efficiency at farm level through micro irrigation technologies such as ”drip and sprinkler” irrigation.
4. Funding: Micro Irrigation Fund corpus of Rs. 5000 crore has been created with NABARD, for incentivising micro irrigation beyond the provisions available under PMKSY-PDMC to encourage farmers to install micro irrigation systems.
5. Government provides financial assistance @ 55% for small and marginal farmers and @ 45% for other farmers for installation of Drip and Sprinkler Irrigation systems. In addition, some States provide additional incentives/top up subsidy for encouraging farmers to adopt Micro Irrigation.

Question 58

T/F: MSP for 2021-22 saw highest increase for wheat and pulses.

Answer 58

F

for oilseed and pulses

highest absolute increase was reported for sesame (til), urad and tur.

Question 59

Which state recently became the first state to integrate its land records with web portal of PMFBY?

Answer 59

MH

Question 60

‘Miyawaki method’?

Answer 60

1. Miyawaki method involves planting saplings in small areas, causing them to “fight” for resources and grow nearly 10 times quicker.
2. It originated in Japan, and is now increasingly adopted in other parts of the world, including our Chennai. It has revolutionised the concept of urban afforestation by turning backyards into mini-forests.
3. Process:
   
   • A pit has to be dug, and its dimensions depend on the available space. Before digging the pit, the list of tree species should be chosen judiciously. As there is very little space to work around with, trees with varying heights should be chosen.
   • Fill it with one layer of compost, followed by a layer of natural waste such as bagasse and coconut shells and then top it with a layer of red soil.
   • Plant the saplings following interval and tree height specifications.
   • The whole process can be completed in two to three weeks. The saplings have to be maintained regularly for a year.

Question 61

Buffer stock: norm? actual?

Answer 61

• norm: 21.4MT on 1st april and 41 MT on 1st july
• actual: 75.5MT
• at its economic cost, value of this excess stock with govt stands at Rs 1.6Lcr.

Question 62

PDS in MP?

Answer 62

• coverage has significantly increased frm earlier 18L families to nw 83 L families
• Nominee system: ~18000 families are getting their grain quota through nominees; some other states also hv initiated this policy bt MP is the largest.
• MP has also implemented ‘one state one ration card’ policy within the state since oct 2019.

Question 63

Hemorrhagic septicemia?

Answer 63

1. It is a severe bacterial disease mainly affecting cattles and water buffaloes and bison . recently few cases found in Odisha
2. It is an important cause of livestock mortality in tropical regions of Asia, Africa and the Middle East
3. The disease is also spread through contact with infected animals, contaminated clothing, equipment, and through ingestion or inhalation of the bacteria.
4. Primary symptoms include swishing tails, reduced cudding, undigested food in faeces and reduced milk yield.

Question 64

AgriStack: about?

Answer 64

• AgriStack is a collection of technologies and digital databases proposed by the Union government that focuses on the agricultural sector
• AgriStack may have a Farmers’ Stack, a Farm Stack and a Crop Stack integrated on a technology platform
  
  • Farmers’ Stack can consist of farmer data with Aadhaar as unique identifier
  • Farm Stack can have geospatial information on each farm (with a farm identity) owned by a farmer with cadastral maps, and
  • Crop Stack can contain crop data linked to farms.
• Data would be interlinked to land registration, cadastral maps and satellite images from state government departments and public entities.
• Government’s schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), PM-KISAN and Soil Health Card will be integrated through a common database along with land record details over a period of time.
• Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, recently entered into a MoU with Microsoft Corporation to create a ‘Unified Farmer Service Interface’ through its cloud computing services. The MoU will start as a pilot project in 100 villages of UP, MP, GJ, Haryana, RJ and AndhraP. This sets in motion the ministry’s plan of creating ‘AgriStack’
• With an integrated database for farmers, information related to all benefits and assistances provided through various schemes can be kept at one place.

Question 65

Major areas of digital tech application in farming and agriculture?

Answer 65

1. Financing:
   
   1. insurance payouts linked to weather field data
   2. data backed credit risk assessment
2. farm input;
   
   1. info dissemination thru chat/sms/call
   2. tech enable dagri-extension services
   3. online mkt fr agri-i/p
3. farming
   
   1. precision farming using IoT and remote sensing data
   2. predictive post mgmt
   3. real time yield forecasting
4. selling distribution
   
   1. price discovery
   2. mktng through online channels
   3. track and trace of produce through supply chain

Question 66

Agristack : benefits?

Answer 66

• Improved access to formal credit: It can enable closer study of the flow of agricultural credit to specific land parcels. It will also enable credit flows and interest subventions to become more transparent
• Crop insurance products and delivery can be improved: especially with geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing technologies.
• Smooth mechanism for marketing and price discovery: It can enable the provision of market intelligence for de-risking commodity price fluctuations, demand-supply forecasting and weather advisory.
• Better quality of input: Agristack could address the asymmetry in information flow by providing all information about farmers and their farming easily to relevant stakeholders (seed, chemical fertiliser and pesticides, machinery companies or fin-tech companies).
• GIS and IoT (internet of things) services can be deployed to give feedback to stakeholders. For example, at the post-harvesting stage, a trigger to harvesting equipment suppliers and buyers may be sent, who can approach the cultivator for providing services.
• Prevent leakages of aid with accurate targeting.

Question 67

Agristack : issues?

Answer 67

• data security in the absence of a data protection legislation
• financial exploitation: FinTech corporations can utilise their power asymmetry over farmers
• exclusion error; proposed farmers’ database will be based on digitised land records which is full of loopholes even for land-owning famers and excludes the landless farmers altogether; may also exclude tenant farmers, sharecroppers and agri labourers
• lack of digital literacy and access in rura india

Question 68

govt efforts for digitisation in Agri?

Answer 68

• AI-Sowing App: Microsoft has developed this app in collaboration with International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT). This application sends advisory to the farmers regarding the optimal date of seedsowing.
• NITI Aayog has partnered with IBM to develop a crop yield prediction model backed by AI to provide real-time data and communicate the required advisory to farmers.
• Kisan Suvidha: It is an omnibus smartphone app that helps farmers by providing them relevant information regarding weather, dealers’ market prices, plant protection, agro advisories, IPM practices etc.
• MKisan App: This app enables farmers and stakeholders to obtain advisories and other information being sent by experts and govt. officials
• Crop Insurance App: is used to calculate Insurance Premium for notified crops based on area, coverage amount and loan amount
• Agri Market app: provides information of market price of all crops at the markets located within 50 kilometre radius of the device’s location
• Pusa Krishi App
• Agristack

Question 69

Horticulture Cluster development Programme (HCDP)?

Answer 69

• It is a central sector programme,
• implemented by National Horticulture Board,
• started in 2021 with pilot phase in 12 horticulture clusters (out of total 53 clusters) covering nearly 10 lakh farmers from 11 States/UTs.
• It will leverage geographical specialisation and promote integrated and market-led development; making Indian horticulture clusters globally competitive

Question 70

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)?

Answer 70

1. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the holistic growth of the horticulture sector.
2. Under MIDH,GoI contributes 60%, of total outlay for developmental programmes in all the states (90% in NE and Himalayan states)
3. MIDH also provides technical advice and administrative support to SGs/ State Horticulture Missions (SHMs) for the Saffron Mission and other horticulture related activities
4. strategies:
   
   1. promote R&D
   2. Adopt an end-to-end holistic approach covering pre-production, production, post harvest management
   3. Improve productivity through diversification, extension of appropriate technology
   4. Improve post harvest management, processing for value addition and marketing infrastructure.
   5. Promote FPOs
5. schemes:
   
   1. NHM- in all states except NE and Himalayan states
   2. HMNEH- for NE and Himalayan states
   3. National Bamboo Mission
   4. National Horticulture Board- focussed on commerical horticulture
   5. Coconut development Board- for coconut growing states
   6. Cenntral institute for Horticulture- NE States, focussing on HRD and capacity building
   7. CHAMAN ‘Coordinated programme on Horticulture Assessment & Management using geoiNformatics ’ was initiated in 2014 under MIDH for better horticulture assessment and development through remote sensing, GIS and field survey

Question 71

horticulture in India: facts and stats?

Answer 71

1. Horticulture crops are characterised by high-value crops, higher productivity per unit of area and lower requirement of irrigation and input cost.
2. The diverse agro-climatic conditions and rich diversity in crops and genetic resources enable India to produce a wide range of horticultural crops round the year
3. India accounts for 13% of the global production of fruits and 21% of vegetables, making it the second largest producer, after China.
4. India also ranks at first position in the production of Banana, Mango, Lime and Lemon, Papaya and Okra
5. major horti states in India: UP, WB, MP amd MH
6. area under horticulture: >25mn Ha
7. horticulture production: ~320MT
8. Horticulture is increasingly recognised as a sunrise sector, owing to its potential to raise farm income, provide livelihood security and earn foreign exchange through export
9. accounts for about 37% of the total exports of agricultural commodities in India
10. Overall exports of horticulture produce have recorded sustained rising trend over past several years (18% per year). Further, share of value of export earnings from horticultural crops has been higher than the export value of total food grain.
11. The production of Horticulture crops has outpaced the production of food grain since 2012-13
12. The productivity of horticulture has increased from 8.8 tonnes per hectare in 2001-02 to 12.3 tonnes per hectare in 2018-19 whereas productivity of total food grain increased from 1.7 tonnes per hectare to 2.3 tonnes during the same period
13. Rise in demand: Country’s estimated demand of fruits and vegetables is 650 Million MT by the year 2050.

Question 72

horticulture in India: challenges?

Answer 72

1. Low yield per hectare: The horticulture sector in India is characterized by small, segregated farms, rain fed crops, inadequate supply of quality planting material (like seeds and saplings) which leads to low perhectare yields.
2. Inadequate Post harvest infrastructure: Imperfect coordination between supplies and demand and seasonality and perishable nature of horticulture crops requires adequate cold storage facilities. Capital intensive nature and long gestation period discourages investment in the sector.
3. Huge Wastage: Of the total annual production, 30-40 per cent is wasted before consumption. Horticulture produce suffers significant loss during transport stage due to unsuitable transport containers, overloading of mixed fruits and vegetables,
4. High cost of production: Biotic and abiotic stress, more reliance on fertilisers, low access to markets and lack of bargaining power due to relatively small produce contribute to lesser returns. Repeated price shocks force farmers to shift to less riskier food grains
5. Limited support by Government: For instance, Horticulture crops are not covered under MSP
6. Constraints on exports: Low exportable surplus, non trade barriers like SPS, stiff competition in the global market, poor market intelligence, lack of brand status to the commodities, and export in the form of raw materials are the major market related constrains inhibiting exports growth.

Question 73

Large Area Certification scheme?

Answer 73

1. a component of the PGS-India (Participatory Guarantee System) certification programme
2. It is a unique quick certification programme to harness the potential areas of Organic farming in India.
3. It was launched by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under its flagship scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
4. Under LAC, each village in the area is considered as one cluster or group and simple documentations are maintained village-wise
5. All farmers with their farmland and livestock need to adhere to the standard requirements and on being verified get certified en-mass without the need to go under conversion period.
6. Certification is renewed on annual basis through annual verification by a process of peer appraisals as per the process of PGS-India.
7. Recently, About 14,491 hectare area in Andaman and Nicobar has been certified as organic under the LAC scheme- the first large contiguous territory to be certified

Question 74

Organic agriculture: defn and key charac?

Answer 74

• defn: as per FAO, Organic agriculture is a unique production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity, and this is accomplished by using on-farm agronomic, biological and mechanical methods in exclusion of all synthetic off-farm inputs
• charac:
  
  • maintaining organic matter levels and encouraging soil biological activity in soil
  • using relatively insoluble nutrient sources made available to the plant by the action of soil micro-organisms
  • effective recycling of organic materials including crop residues and livestock manures
  • weed, disease and pest control relying primarily on crop rotaions, natural predators , diversity etc.
  • The extensive management of livestock and animal welfare issues wrt nutrition, housing, health, breeding and rearing
  • careful attention to the impact of farming system on wider env and the conservation of wild life and natural habitats

Question 75

Organic Farming; Benefits?

Answer 75

1. Healthy Foods:
   
   1. Many studies reveal that organic food is higher in certain key areas such as total antioxidant capacity, total polyphenols, etc which are nutritionally significant
   2. Studies have also shown that dairy products from organically raised animals are healthier than conventionally produced dairy products.
2. ecological benefits
   
   1. Improvement in Soil Quality
   2. Reduced Pollution: Due to healthier soil and absence of harmful pesticide and fertilizer, organic farming reduces water and air pollutants
   3. Low Incidence of Pests: It has been observed that if the soil is healthy, the pest problem is negligible as compared to soil where agrochemicals are used or where there is low organic matter in the soil.
3. efficient use of resources:
   
   1. Improved water management: Improving water infiltration and retention capacity through high levels of organic matter reduce the amount of water needed
   2. Lower Energy Use: Many popular crops such as corn require nitrogen rich soil which is a high energy use. Organic farming achieves the nitrogen rich soil, instead, by using composted manure and the use of cover crops.
4. economic benefits:
   
   1. Increased income: In the long run the input cost decreases significantly and the yield of organic crops improves which provides income security to the farmers
   2. Employment Opportunities: According to many studies, organic farming requires more labour input than the conventional farming system.
   3. Eco-tourism: Organic farms have turned into major attraction in terms of Eco-tourism in countries like Italy.

Question 76

Organic Farming: Govt initiatives in India?

Answer 76

1. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY):
   
   1. part of National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
   2. OF is promoted throgh adoption of organic villages by cluster approach and Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification
2. Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD)
   
   1. central sector scheme
   2. aims to develop certified organic production in a value chain mode to link growers with consumers and to support the development of the entire value chain
3. Soil Health Card:
   
   1. aims to improve Soil Health by providing nutrients information to the farmers.
   2. It has led to a decline of 8-10% in the use of chemical fertilizers and raised productivity by 5-6%.
4. Agri export Policy 2018: It focuses on marketing and promotion of organic agriculture products foods to aid organic farming in India
5. ZBNF: Government is actively promoting Zero budget natural farming. It is a method of chemical-free agriculture drawing from traditional Indian practices
6. FSSAI’s Jaivik Bharat logo for Organic Food that enables consumers to distinguish organic food products from other non-organic products

Question 77

Organic Farming: certification system in india?

Answer 77

for any food to be sold as organic in India whether fresh produce a packaged product it must be certified via one of the two systems:

1. National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP):
   
   1. adopted in 2001
   2. administered by Min of Commerce and Industry
   3. one of 28 3rd party certifiers must check that a farm is free of mfd chemicals. in case of processed food, certifier must check that the produce came from an NPOP certified farm and was processed by a NPOP certified processor
   4. certified foods carry teh Indian Organic Logo
   5. stds are recognized by EU, USA and Switzerland
   6. It is expensive and must eb renewed annually
   7. so the programme is restricted to big companies, ones that work with farmers over thousands of acres, and earn revenues largely from exporting non-perishables
2. Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India)
   
   1. operates outside the framework of 3rd party certification
   2. under Min of Agri; since 2018
   3. certifies clusters of small farmers
   4. 5 or more growers living closely together form a grp and get trained in OF under a govt scheme
   5. Then , with the help of Regional Councils (India has 562 RCs) farmers inspect wach other’s holdings. SHould a grower violate any norms, their produce is not sold through the grp
   6. India now has >6500 PGS grps covering abt 2.1L farmers
   7. PGS Green is given to chemical free produce under transition to ‘organic’ which takes 3 years. It is mainly for domestic purpose.
   8. The system is poorly founded- farmers a re often trained poorly and the system does little to create a long term market for organic produce
   9. PGS is not recognized by US, EU- the two big markets for Organic products
   10. They can’t sell their produce to NPOP certified processor either.

Question 78

Organic Farming: challenges faced in India?

Answer 78

1. Low Coverage: About 2.78 million hectares of farmland was under organic cultivation as of March 2020, which is only two per cent of the 140.1 million ha net sown area in the country.
2. Reluctancy of the Farmers: Due to high initial cost and potential impact on immediate income, most of the farmers are reluctant to undertake organic farming.
3. Disparity of Supply and Demand: The major demand of perishable items comes from metros where there are no farmlands to produce organic fruits and vegetables.
4. Lack of support for inputs: The government provide subsidies for chemical fertilisers and pesticides but there is no such provision for organic inputs. Also, organic seeds and inputs are highly regulated and governed by government policies
5. Confused Certification Framework: There is a lack of unique, well known and third party certified policy or framework for selling organic food products in India, which creates trust issues among the customers
6. The High Price of Organic Produce: The final prices of organic produce are mostly higher than conventional products which impact the organic produce market in India.
7. Lack of Quality Standards for Biomanures: There are no fixed standards and quality parameters for biofertilizers and bio manures.

Question 79

Organic farming: stats about India?

Answer 79

1. India ranks 8th in terms of agri land under OF; 1st in no. of producers engaged in OF
2. It produced around 2.75 million MT (2019-20) of certified organic products which includes all varieties of food products namely Sugarcane, Oil Seeds, Cereals & Millets, Cotton, etc.
3. The export of organic food products rose by 51 per cent in terms of value to reach $1,040 million (Rs 7078 crores) in financial year 2021. The major organic exports from India have been flax seeds, sesame, soybean, tea, medicinal plants, rice and pulses.
4. Among different states Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan
5. Sikkim became the first State in the world to become fully organic in 2016

Question 80

Subhiksham Surakshitham Project?

Answer 80

project titled ‘Subhiksham Surakshitham – Bharatiya Prakartik Krishi Padhathi’ is being implemented in Kerala. implemented in around 25,000 hectares with assistance from the Central and state governments as part of promoting natural farming.

On the same lines as ZBNF promoted by Subhash palekar of AP

Through the project, the state is aiming to implement fully eco-friendly cultivation in 84,000 ha in different phases.

Question 81

Cotton cultivation in India: stats ad figures?

Answer 81

1. majority of cotton cultivation comes from ten major cotton growing states, which are grouped into three diverse agro-ecological zones
   
   1. northern zone: PJ, Haryana and Rj ~17%
   2. Central zone: GJ, MH and MP ~55%
   3. Southern zone: Telangana, AP, KN and TN ~27%
2. India highets cotton producing countryin the world (2020); also 1st in terms land area under cotton cultivation (38% of global cotton area)
3. India second largest consumer of raw cotton, after CHina
4. more than 80% of cotton grown in India is Bt Cotton hybrids of American upland cotton (G. hirsutum)
5. cotton value chain employs 60mn people directly or indirectly and further 40-50mn people employed in cotton trad eand its processing. Thus highest employer in India after agriculture
6. contributes 4% to india’s GDp
7. 218-19: textile and clothing constituted 125 of India’s total exports, a large share of which was cotton yarn

Question 82

Cotton cultivation in India: challenges?

Answer 82

1. Low Productivity: Although India is the number one contributor to the world’s total cotton production, its yield (454.43kg/ha) is very low compared to other countries such as the USA (955 kg/ha) and China (1764 kg/ha)
2. Ever increasing cost of inputs: Although GM companies provide better technology, they sell expensive cotton seeds and fertilizers. Costly inputs and non-commensurate market price of cotton is lowering down profitability over time.
3. Poor irrigation facilities: Approximately 62% of India’s cotton is produced in rain-fed areas and 38% on irrigated lands. Lack of irrigation facilities makes cotton cultivation vulnerable to monsoon fluctuations.
4. Inferior Technology: Absence of modern technology in cultivation, as well as ginning, has affected the yield. Non-availability of small scale low cost machines for sowing and picking, Labour shortages and enhanced wages results in delayed crop operations which increases the risk of the cotton getting contaminated
5. Unpredictable market prices: Fluctuating market prices for cotton and the inability to compete with the low prices on the global market, enabled by the important subsidies given to cotton farmers in Western countries, are also affecting cotton planters adversely.
6. Cotton’s climate sensitivities: Cotton is grown predominantly in hot and dry climates, however it is sensitive to various climate parameters during different stages of crop development.
   
   • Gradual changes in climate parameters, rapid shifts in extreme weather events, increase in climate hazards, more erratic and less reliable rain all present increased risk to cotton cultivation.
   • The long growing season (150 to 180 days) makes cotton susceptible to disease and pests. Further, a warmer climate will favour pests and diseases, presenting a further threat to cotton.
7. competition from artificial fibres with a lower cost of production and higher consistency has sprung up
8. Other Challenges: Low soil organic carbon content, significant decrease in fertiliser factor productivity of Indian soils, Insect Resistance development to Bt cotton and insecticides, Imbalanced fertilizer usage and micronutrient deficiencies, adverse effects of pesticides on human health and soil degradation, water pollution and poor microbial diversity

Question 83

“Physical Climate risk assessment for global cotton production” report: by? global findings?

Answer 83

by Cotton 2040, a platform that envisages a sustainable global cotton industry by bringing together leading international brands and retailers, traders, farmers and other stakeholders across the value chain

findings:

1. All global cotton-growing regions will be exposed to increased risk from at least one climate hazard
2. All six highest cotton-producing countries – India, USA, China, Brazil, Pakistan and Turkey – are exposed to increased climate risk, particularly from wildfire, drought and extreme rainfall.

Question 84

“Physical Climate risk assessment for global cotton production” report: India specific findings?

Answer 84

• Climate change could expose one third of India’s cotton growing regions to high risks from temperature increases, changes to rainfall patterns and extreme weather events by 2040
• In the 2040s, cotton-growing regions across India will be subject to greater heat stress than under present-day conditions.
• In some regions, this increase in temperature is projected to be coupled by an increase in water stress.
• Common areas of vulnerability across all studied Cotton growing districts include multidimensional poverty, low female work participation rates, low male and female literacy rates, and limited access to banking services, technology and information

Question 85

Need for lowering tariffs and opening up trade in agricultural equipments in India?

Answer 85

1. On July 15,2021, the Centre moved power tillers (PT) and their components from the “free” to “restricted” category to provide protection to the domestic industry. PTs, also known as two-wheel tractors (2WTs) are tailor-made for the farming landscape in India, dominated by small and marginal farmers.
2. India’s mechanisation coverage is around 40-45 per cent, compared to 90 per cent in developed countries. only PJ, Haryana and western UP have mechanisation rates between 70 and 80 % whereas in eastern and southern states it is between 35 and 45 per cent, with even smaller coverage in NE states
3. tariffs on agricultural machinery are 8-10 times higher in India. High bound tariffs discourage trade in a dynamic sense.
4. It hurts the farmers eg. average cost of imported PT in India is between Rs 70,000 and 80,000, and tariffs, increases it up to Rs 85,200. With handling charges, social welfare surcharge and other duties, the import parity price is near equal to the average cost of locally manufactured PT, that is, Rs 92,000.
5. a shift to restricted category and frequently changing tariffs engenders uncertainty and lowers trade.
6. It also disincentivises domestic machine manufacturers to invest and innovate — the perils of protection. Liberal and stable trade policies will increase access, competition will expand varieties and bring down the prices.
7. case study: BN. in the late 1980s, Bangladesh removed import bans on PT and other machinery like diesel engines. By 1995, PT were made duty free and credit support was provided for purchases. Starting lower, Bangladesh overtook India in mechanisation by 2006. Studies have credited PT in increasing the rice yield

Question 86

Palm oil?

Answer 86

1. Indonesia (1st) and Malysia (2nd) are the top two palm oil producers in world. The two produce 80% of global production.
2. Palm oil accounts for nearly two-thirds of India’s total edible oil imports. India buys more than 9 million tonnes of palm oil annually, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia.
3. Palm oil is currently the world’s most consumed vegetable oil.
4. It is used extensively in the production of detergents, plastics, cosmetics, and biofuels.
5. Two categories of palm oil:
   
   1. Crude Palm oil (CPO): Indonesia excels here, and
   2. Refined, Bleached and Deodorised (RBD) palm oil: main expertise of Malaysia
6. In 2019, India moved RBD oil frm “free” to “restricted” list of imports, and set restrictions on imports of refined palm oil and informally asked traders to stop importing all kinds of palm oil from Malaysia. These were in retaliation to Malaysian PM’s remarks on Art 370 abrogation and sheltering Zakir Nayak.
7. India, the largest edible oil buyer in the world, is Malaysia’s largest oil buyer (and fifth largest export market overall), constituting more than a quarter of the latter’s palm oil export. On the other hand, 70% of edible oil imported by India is palm oil.
8. Malaysia’s exports to India were worth $10.8 billion in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, while imports totaled $6.4 billion.
9. while mustard, sunflower, groundnuts, and cottonseed have a potential to increase oil output to some extent, the maximum potential lies in oil palm. This is the only plant that can give about four tonnes of oil on a per hectare basis. India has about 2 million hectares that are suitable for oil palm cultivation — this can yield 8 mt of palm oil.

Question 87

National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP)?

Answer 87

• new national initiative on palm oil production to help increase farm incomes. The scheme involves investment of over Rs 11,000 crore.
• obj:
  
  • achieve self reliance in edible oil
  • raise domestic production of palm oil by 3X to 11L MT by 2025-26
• features:
  
  • special emphasis of the scheme will be in India’s north-eastern states and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands due to the conducive weather conditions in the regions.
  • government intends to bring an additional 6.5 lakh hectares under oil palm cultivation.
  • Under the scheme, oil palm farmers will be provided financial assistance and will get remuneration under a price and viability formula.

Question 88

India’s oilseed production: stats?

Answer 88

• each Indian consumed 19.5 kg of edible oil every year on an average during 2015-16, up from 15.8 kg in 2012-13. This amounts to an aggregate demand of around 26 million tons of edible oils per year.
• India cultivated oilseeds on 25 million hectare of land, producing 32 million tons of oilseeds in 2018-19, with soybean, rapeseed and mustard and groundnut accounting for almost 90 per cent share in the area. 32 million tons of oilseeds will yield around 8.4 million tons of edible oil.

Initiatives:

• Technology Mission on Oilseeds and other policy initiatives have helped India increase the area under oilseeds in India from 9 million tons in 1986 to 32 million tons in 2018-19, though not sufficient to meet the domestic demand.
• Several other initiatives like Oil Palm Area Expansion under Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, increasing the minimum support prices of oilseed crops, creation of buffer stock for oilseeds, cluster demonstration of oilseed crops, etc are being implemented

Question 89

major challenges in oilseed production?

Answer 89

• Growing in largely rain-fed conditions (around 70% area),
• high seed cost (Groundnut and Soybean),
• small holding with limited resources,
• low seed replacement rate and low productivity.

Question 90

India’s dependence on imports for edible oil?

Answer 90

• India is the world’s biggest vegetable oil importer.
• In 2019, India imported around 15 million tons of edible oils worth approximately Rs 7,300 crore, which accounted for 40 per cent of the agricultural imports bill and three per cent of the overall import bill of the country.
• Palm oil accounted for the lion’s share of the total imports (62 per cent), followed by soya oil and sunflower oil (21 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively).
• India imports about 60% of its edible oil needs, leaving the country’s retail prices vulnerable to international pressures.
• It imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, soyoil from Brazil and Argentina, and sunflower oil, mainly from Russia and Ukraine.
• Apart from a significant burden on the government’s exchequer, dependence on the international market for edible oils causes price volatility affecting both the consumers and producers. For instance, labour shortage in palm oil plantations of Indonesia and Malaysia, drought in Argentina affecting soyabean production, lower production of sunflower crops in Ukrain and rigorous buying of edible oils by China, impacted price of edible oils in domestic as well as international markets in later part of pandemic year. Subsequently, the government has to reduce import tariff of palm oil by 10 per cent in November to ease the domestic price.

Question 91

Increasing oilseeds production: suggestions?

Answer 91

• Based on a rough estimate, 3.6 million tons of additional oils can be produced by means of bridging the yield gap, assuming 1.5 tons per ha as a realizable yield. This requires the wide scale adoption of improved agricultural technologies like quality seeds, optimum use of agro-chemicals and better management.
• Improved varieties like Pusa 12, JS 20-34 of soybean, PUSA-0030 and 0031 of mustard which are low erucic acid as well as high yielding, newer, location specific improved varieties like Kadiri-6, Chattisghar Mungfali 1 (CGM 1) are released for cultivation.
• Farmers need to be made aware about these newer varieties and provided with access to good quality seeds. Cluster demonstrations and other extension activities in this line can be promoted.
• India can also think of expanding the area under oilseed crops by utilising fallow land. India has 11.7 mha of rice fallow, which can be used for the cultivation of safflower and mustard crops, which don’t need much water.
• Alternatives such as rice bran oil is gaining popularity amongst the urban consumers, as it is known to reduce the risk of heart diseases and type 2 diabetes. Around 2 million tons of edible oil can be produced using the available rice bran.
• Cotton seed is also a promising source of vegetable oil and has an untapped potential. Approximately 1.4 Mt of oil can be augmented with cotton seeds.
• Another promising non-traditional source of edible oil is ‘oil palms’. Oil palms yield 4 to 5 tons of edible oil per ha, compared to around 1 tons of yield of other traditional oil seeds. According to studies, India has the potential to expand the area under oil palm by 1.9 million hectares, which can produce around 7.6 million tons of additional edible oil.However, palm oil has a long gestation period, harvesting of the crop is challenging and oil palm is water guzzling crop.
• India has tinkered with tariff rates very frequently in the recent past depending on the demand-supply situation and domestic prices to regulate the imports and to protect the interest of the consumers. However, this is a myopic strategy and in the long run, India will gain by having a stable export-import policy.

Question 92

Threats of increasing Palm Oil cultivation?

Answer 92

1. Oil palm cultivation can have disastrous environmental and social consequences.
   
   1. Studies on agrarian change in Southeast Asia have shown that increasing oil palm plantations is a major reason for the region’s declining biodiversity.
   2. Indonesia has seen a loss of 1,15,495 hectares of forest cover in 2020, mainly to oil palm plantation. From 2002-18, Indonesia lost 91,54,000 hectares of its primary forest cover.
   3. Along with adversely impacting the country’s biodiversity, it has led to increasing water pollution.
   4. The decreasing forest cover has significant implications with respect to increasing carbon emission levels and contributing to climate change.
2. Palm oil plantations have stoked conflict between government policies and customary land rights.
   
   1. Legislation allowing the clearing of tree cover and cutting forests for growing palm trees has led to increasing land-related tussles between government officials, locals and agro-business groups in Malaysia and Indonesia.
   2. Northeastern states are politically sensitive areas, and the oil palm initiative could breed tension there. The region is also a BD hotspot
3. against notion of community self reliance
   
   1. The initial state support for such a crop results in a major and quick shift in the existing cropping pattern that are not always in sync with the agro-ecological conditions and food requirements of the region.
   2. eg. Arunachal government’s changing policy on using forestland for palm oil plantations has begun impacting the forest cover as farmers, armed with government incentives, are switching from traditional crops like rice and maize to palm oil.
   3. people in the Northeast do not use the oil for cooking or any other purpose. The oil is being used by industries for packaged food and medicines, detergents and cosmetics
4. policy also contradicts the government’s commitments under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: “Making agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient by promoting location specific integrated/composite farming systems.”
5. Palm oil cultivation has had a positive impact on poverty eradication in Malaysia, increasing income levels of small and marginal farmers. But, it has also made a sizable number of small landholders vulnerable to variations in global palm oil prices and may of them cntinue to depend on other sources of income. Thus, such an agricultural shift is not self-sustaining and makes local communities vulnerable and exposes them to external factors.
6. To preserve the environment and biodiversity, Indonesia and Sri Lanka have already started putting restrictions on palm tree plantation. In 2018, the Indonesian government came up with a three-year moratorium on new licenses to produce palm oil. Recently, the Sri Lankan government has ordered the uprooting of oil palm plants in a phased manner.

Question 93

Herbicide Tolerant (HT) Bt cotton?

Answer 93

• The HTBt cotton variant adds another layer of modification, making the plant resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, but has not been approved by regulators.
• need: There is a shortage of the labour needed to do at least two rounds of weeding for Bt cotton. With HTBt, simply one round of glyphosate spraying is needed with no weeding. It saves Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 8,000 per acre for farmers.
• issues:
  
  • Fears include glyphosate having a carcinogenic effect. However, many scientists as well as WHO has said that these fears are unfounded, but GoI has refused to grant it approval
  • unchecked spread of herbicide resistance to nearby plants through pollination, creating a variety of superweeds.
  • Despite the lack of approval, The illegal cultivation of Herbicide Tolerant (HT) Bt cotton has seen a huge jump as the sale of illegal seed packets has more than doubled from 30 lakh in 2020 to 75 lakh in 2021.

Question 94

T/F:

1. Bt Cotton is the only transgenic crop that has been approved by the GoI
2. Bt Cotton makes the crop resistant to produce an insecticide to combat the Cotton Stem Weevil.

Answer 94

1. F; Bt cotton is the only transgenic crop that has been approved by the Centre for commercial cultivation in India.
2. F; against bollworm pests like cotton bollworm, Pink bollworm, spotted bollworm etc.

Question 95

T/F: In the past two yrs, Agri sector growth has outpaced the overall economy’s rate of growth

Answer 95

T

farm sector grew 4.3 per cent in 2019-20 and 3.6 per cent in 2020-21, more than the overall GDP, at 4 per cent and minus 7.3 per cent, respectively.

Question 96

Pulse production in India: basic info?

Answer 96

• India is the largest producer (25% of global production), consumer (27% of world consumption) and importer (14%) of pulses in the world.
• Pulses account for around 20 per cent of the area under foodgrains and contribute around 7-10 per cent of the total foodgrains production in the country.
• Though pulses are grown in both Kharif and Rabi seasons, Rabi pulses contribute more than 60 per cent of the total production.
• They provide protein and fibre, and are a great source of vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc and magnesium
• Per capita net availability of pulses in India, however, has reduced from 51.1 gm/day (1971) to 41.9 gm/day (2013) as against WHO recommendation of 80gm/day.
• In India, pulses are grown over an area of 2.38 crore hectares with a total production of 1.86 crore tonnes.
• The average yield of pulses in India is about 760 kg/hectare.
• Pulses are generally grown in irrigated as well as rainfed area and belong to leguminaceae family.
• Gram is the most dominant pulse having a share of around 40 per cent in the total production followed by Tur/Arhar at 15 to 20 per cent
• Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka are the top five pulses producing States.
• In addition to its nutritional advantage, pulses have low carbon and water footprints which make them an integral part of the sustainable farming system. As per estimates, water footprints for producing one kilogram of meat is five times higher than that of pulses. Further, one kilogram of legume emits 0.5 kilogram in CO 2 equivalent whereas one kilogram of meat produce 9.5 kilogram in CO 2 equivalent.

Question 97

Pulse revolution in INdia?

Answer 97

1. India moved from a situation of acute scarcity of pulses in 2015-16 (resulted in India signing an mou with Mozambique in 2016 for five years, its first such agreement with a foreign country, to purchase “pigeon peas and other pulses” through “private channels or through Government to Government sales” every year.), when the country witnessed unprecedented shortage and inflation due to successive droughts, to providing free pulses to most of the citizens in the country.
2. The twin factors critical to an immediate increase in pulses production was the minimum support price (MSP) and procurement from farmers directly at MSP
3. Additional coverage was provided for pulses under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) launched in 2016-17 as well as other schemes like Price Stabilization and Integrated cheme of Oilseed, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize.
4. The government aimed at increasing acreage productivity and production of pulses through distribution of seed mini-kits, subsidy on the prodn of quality seed and creation of 150 seed hubs that involved ICAR institutes and state agriculture varsities for frontline demonstrations.
5. government increased MSP on pulses by 8-16% in 2016-17 and 7-10% in 2017-18. There was a 42% increase in production of pulses, unheard of in any other category of food articles
6. Elaborate arrangements were made for procuring of pulses from farmers under the Price Support Scheme (PSS). The government guarantee for procurement operation was increased manifold. NAFED (Central procurement agency for pulses) played a pivotal role in procurement under PSS and PSF, by procuring 8.7 lakh tonnes in 2016-17. This was equivalent to the procurement made in the last 15 years put together!
7. Procurement of pulses from farmers was more than doubled, by about 20 lakh tonnes. During 2018-19, total procurement of pulses was more than twice that of the previous year, at about 42 lakh tonnes. Even in the lockdown period, the government continued to support farmers by implementing the MSP and procuring about 23 lakh tonnes of pulses and 8.2 lakh tonnes of oilseeds at MSP
8. Foreseeing the need to have a strategic buffer of pulses, a 20-lakh-tonne buffer stock was formed through the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF), with a corpus of more than Rs 10,000 crore.
9. highest ever production of pulses in the country, at 254 lakh tonnes, in 2017-18
10. Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to remove commodities like pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential commodities

Question 98

Pulse production in India: issues?

Answer 98

• Despite the increasing yields of some pulses, the demand for pulses has consistently exceeded production. Though India is the world’s largest producer of pulses, it is also the largest importer. While the domestic production of pulses has risen by 122 per cent between 1981 and 2020—from 11.5 million tonnes to 25.57 million tonnes—the imports have risen by 1,622 per cent from 0.13 million tonnes to 2.2 million tonnes
• Pulses are a far more risky proposition than cereals, with the yields tending to be unstable. They are more susceptible to the vagaries of weather, pests and disease.Therefore, developing pulse varieties, which are both high-yielding and tolerant of stress and pests, is difficult.
• There is ample scope for bringing additional area under these pulses in newer niches areas such as rice fallows, tal (lake) areas, hill agriculture and in intercropping for remunerating cropping system. An estimated additional 3.0 million hectare can be brought under such pulses cultivation across the country.
• Stagnation of kharif pulse: Most of the increase in Pulse production of India is because of the increase in production of chana (Gram), the main kharif pulse of India, but the production of Tur, the main Rabi pulse of India and considered the country’s primary pulse because of its consumption in meals as dal everyday in most northern states , has seen only a modest increase. Chana’s usage is more in packaged foods.
• Farmers moving away from pulse production. Factors:
  
  • with improvement in irrigation facilities, preferred wheat and paddy (yields 2000-3000 kg/Ha) as compared to pulses (~800kg/Ha)
  • damage to pulses by nilgais and other stray animals is a big factor in Uttar Pradesh for farmers moving to other crops.
  • Procurement preference to cereals
• though msp for pulses has been increased in recent years, it is still just about equal to or even less than the cost of production for the farmers
• Tur production is replaced by soyabean production, Farmers prefer soya bean to tur because it is ready in just 110 days and has much higher yield. Soya bean’s’ shorter crop cycle leaves enough time for farmers to cultivate another crop in the season. Plus, soyabeans have huge demand in poultry industry.
• seed replacement rate (srr) (how much area has been sown from certified seeds and how much from farm-saved seeds)of pulses is also quite slow. IIPR says that tur’s ssr currently is 35 per cent
• increase in area under pulse cultivation has been very slow. from 24.66 Mn Ha i 1990-91 to 29.15 Mn Ha in 2018-19. Similarly productivity has been around 500-600kg/Ha from 1960 to 2000, Only in last two decades has it increased from 544 kg/Ha in 2000-01 to 691 kg/Ha in 2010-11 to 757 kg/Ha in 2018-19

Question 99

T/F: NAFED is the nodal procurement agency for pulses.

Answer 99

T

NAFED is the nodal procurement agency for pulses, like FCI is for rice and wheat

Question 100

Pulse cosumption in India?

Answer 100

Pulse consumption has decreased over the years. A survey undertaken by ICRISAT reveals most people in the rural areas only receive some 37 gm of pulses each day, against a ICMR recommendation of 40 gm, and an FAO/WHO recommendation of at least 80 gm in order to meet minimum protein requirements.

Per capita availability of pulses in India today is less than what it was in 1951 and much below the World Health Organization prescribed norm of 80 g per day. In 1951, it was 60.7g/capita/day and stands at 55g/capita/day in 2020

Pulse have a cultural standing in the culinary space. For eg. in UK, There are about 220 pulse varieties - rajma, tur, moong, peas, chana, mauth, kurfali ghenduri and ghalda. The chudkani dip made from bhatts or local soybeans is popular in Kumaon, while urad is used during festivals and celebrations. Dal-roti and dal-rice are every day staples found in all the regions, much like the rest of the country

Question 101

Pulse production in India: regulatory issues?

Answer 101

Essential Commodities Act, 1955, fixes a limit of 200 tonnes for storage of pulses on wholesalers, which is too less. “The storage limit was fixed in 1955, when the population was just 250 million. At present, the limit should be 2,000 tonnes

Acc to Essential Commodities (Amendment) (ECA) Ordinance, 2020—later legislated into an Act— a stock limit would be imposed only if there was a 100 per cent rise in retail prices of perishable food items in the last one year or five years. This would help the farmers in realising fair prices. But CG imposed stock limits again in July 2021 despite the price of chana dal barely higher than the one yr avg and that of tur dal only 4.6% higher than avg of last 5 yrs.

Question 102

pulse procurement system in India?

Answer 102

NAFED is the nodal agency, just like FCI is for wheat and rice

NAFED currently procures five major pulses—gram (chana), green gram (moong), black gram (urad), lentils (masoor), pigeon pea (tur or arhar) on behalf of the Union government from farmers at minimum support price (msp).

pulses are under minimum support price (MSP), but farmer awareness is poor as procurement is not effective.

The procurement is capped at 25 per cent of the actual production for that year/ season. There is no limit on the procurement of wheat and rice.

The registration process is complicated and after that the pulses have to be given within 45 days. There is also an issue of variety and quality. In PHOTOGRAPH: RAJKUMAR VERMA such a situation, farmers sell pulses in the market instead of NAFED

Over the years, there have been demands from various quarters, including nafed and the India Pulses and Grains Association, that the government include pulses in its PDS

some states already include them under their Integrated Child Development Scheme and mid-day meal programmes

no value being placed on the positive externalities of pulse crops like nitrogen fixation ability and lower water and chemical consumption.

Question 103

India’s first even non-GM herbicide tolerant rice varieties?

Answer 103

• called ‘Pusa Basmati 1979’ and ‘Pusa Basmati 1985’
• these rice varieties have been developed by crossing over two existing popular varieties — Pusa 1121 and Pusa 1509 — with Robin, which, in turn, is a drought-tolerant rice variety derived from Nagina 22, another deep root, drought and heat-tolerant rice breed.
• The new herbicide-tolerant varieties have, however, been developed through mutation breeding and not by genetic modification to ensure no foreign gene in the new varieties.
• The new varieties will save labour as well as water.
• Farmers transplant and grow paddy in flooded fields mainly to control weeds, which cannot emerge under water that acts as a natural herbicide. The IARI variety contains a mutated ALS gene making the paddy plant “tolerant” to Imazethapyr, a herbicide effective against a wide range of weeds. This chemical when now sprayed will kill only the weeds, while the paddy can be cultivated without any nursery preparation, transplanting, puddling and flooding. Farmers would save about 30 per cent water, Rs 3,000-per-acre labour costs and 10-15 days’ time from direct seeding, compared to conventional transplantation.

Question 104

Crop varieties with special traits developed in 2021 and released?

Answer 104

herbicide resistant paddy

drought-tolerant variety of chickpea,

mosaic resistant pigeon pea,

early maturing soybean,

biofortified varieties of wheat, pearl millet, maize and chickpea and quinoa among others.

Question 105

doubling Farmers’ income: increasing MSP is not a solution

Answer 105

Findings from the three rounds of Situation assessment Survey (SAS)- 2002-03, 2012-13 and 2018-19

• the share of income from rearing animals (this includes fish) has gone up dramatically from 4.3 per cent in 2002-03 to 15.7 per cent
• the share of income from the cultivation of crops has decreased from 45.8 per cent to 37.7 per cent.
• share of wages and salaries has gone up from 38.7 per cent to 40.3 per cent.
• share of income coming from non-farm business has come down from 11.2 per cent to 6.4 per cent.

these survey results indicate that the scope for augmenting farmers’ incomes is going to be more and from rearing animals (including fisheries). There is no MSP or govt procurement by Govt for animal products. this trend will get reinforced in the years to come as incomes rise and diets diversify.

Wisdom lies in investing more in animal husbandry (including fisheries) and fruits and vegetables, which are more nutritious. The best way to invest is to incentivise the private sector to build efficient value chains based on a cluster approach.

Question 106

Stubble Burning: intro?

Answer 106

Stubble (parali) burning is the act of setting fire to crop residue to remove them from the field to sow the next crop.

• In order to plant next winter crop (Rabi crop), farmers in Haryana and Punjab have to move in a very short interval and if they are late, due to short winters these days, they might face considerable losses. Therefore, burning is the cheapest and fastest way to get rid of the stubble.
  
  • If parali is left in the field, pests like termites may attack the upcoming crop.
  • The precarious economic condition of farmers doesn’t allow them to use expensive mechanised methods to remove stubble.

Question 107

Stubble Burning: causes?

Answer 107

1. Technology: due to the use of mechanised harvesting which leaves several inches of stubble in the fields.
   
   • Earlier, this excess crop was used by farmers for cooking, as hay to keep their animals warm or even as extra insulation for homes.
   • But, now the stubble use for such purposes has become outdated.
2. Adverse Impact of Laws: Implementation of the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act (2009) made the time period of stubble burning coincident with the onset of winter in Northern India.
   
   • Late transplanting of paddy during Kharif season to prevent water loss as directed by PPSW Act (2009) had left farmers with little time between harvesting and preparing the field for the next crop and hence farmers are resorting to the burning of stubble.
3. High Silica Content: Rice straw is considered useless as fodder in the case of non-basmati rice, because of its high silica content.

Question 108

Stubble Burning: effects?

Answer 108

• Pollution:
  
  • emits large amounts of toxic pollutants in the atmosphere which contain harmful gases like methane (CH4), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Volatile organic compound (VOC) and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
  • about 149 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, more than 9 million tonnes of carbon monoxide, 0.25 million tonnes of oxides of sulphur (SOX), 1.28 million tonnes of particulate matter (PM) and 0.07 million tonnes of black carbon.
  • smog in winter months in the region
• soil fertility:Burning husk on ground destroys the nutrients in the soil, making it less fertile.
• Heat Penetration: Heat generated by stubble burning penetrates into the soil, leading to the loss of moisture and useful microbes.

Question 109

Stubble Burning: suggestions: main points?

Answer 109

1. prepare organic fertilizers
2. use for electricity generation
3. CHH model
4. tech and farm m/c banks
5. MGNREGA
6. Animal fodder
7. change in cropping pattern

Question 110

Stubble Burning: suggestions: prepare organic fertilisers?

Answer 110

• From parali (stubble), high-grade organic fertilizers can be prepared by mixing with cow dung and few natural enzymes.
  
  • The total amount of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and sulphur in the parali burnt annually in Northwest India is about seven lakh tonnes, valued at Rs 1,000 crore.
  • Along with the above mentioned nutrients, organic carbon is also destroyed during stubble burning.
  • These nutrients, if successfully utilized in organic manures, can also reduce the risk of cancer in Punjab by reducing the levels of carcinogens caused by chemical fertilizers in soil.

Question 111

Stubble Burning: suggestions: use for electricity generation?

Answer 111

• USA-based New Generation Power International has proposed to set up 1000 MW biomass energy generating plants in Punjab to address stubble burning.
• The company plans to set up 200 plants, each having 5 MW capacity, which will use the stubble as raw material.

Question 112

Stubble Burning: suggestions: CHH model?

Answer 112

• An innovative experiment has been undertaken by the Chhattisgarh government by setting up gauthans.
  
  • A gauthan is a dedicated five-acre plot, held in common by each village, where all the unused parali is collected through parali daan (people’s donations) and is converted into organic fertiliser by mixing with cow dung and few natural enzymes.
• The scheme also generates employment among rural youth.
• The government supports the transportation of parali from the farm to the nearest gauthan.
• The state has successfully developed 2,000 gauthans.

Question 113

Stubble Burning: suggestions: tech and farm m/c banks?

Answer 113

• The most efficient technology tocounter stubble burning at the moment is Turbo Happy Seeder (THS).
  
  • It not only cuts and uproots the stubble but can also drill wheat seeds in the soil that have just been cleared up. The straw is simultaneously thrown over the sown seeds to form a mulch cover.
  • many farmers find the prices of these machines or their rents prohibitive.
• In-Situ Treatment of Stubble- For example crop residue management by zero-tiller machine and Use of bio-decomposers (created by ICAR-Pusa)
  
  • Pusa Decomposer is a mix of seven fungi that produce enzymes to digest cellulose, lignin and pectin in paddy straw.
• Establishing Farm Machinery Banks for custom hiring of in-situ crop residue management machinery.
  
  • Co-operative societies of farmers, self-help groups, registered farmers societies/farmers groups, private entrepreneurs for establishment of farm machinery banks or custom hiring centres.
• More than 23,000 crop residue management machines are being given to farmers for on-site management of straw. Under a 100% centrally-funded scheme, in-situ residue management machines are given to individual farmers at 50% subsidy and to CHCs (custom hiring centres) at 80% subsidy.

Question 114

Stubble Burning: suggestions: MNREGA? animal fodder?

Answer 114

An expansion of schemes like the MGNREGA for harvesting and composting of parali.

Potential as Animal Fodder

• Punjab produces over 20 million tonnes of paddy straw every year.
• The total value of this straw is Rs 400 crore approx
• This accounts for economic loss apart from the loss of 77,000 tonnes of nitrogen and 5.6 million tonnes of Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) which could be used for ruminant production.
• The nutritional value of 20 million tonnes of paddy straw is: 10 lakh tonnes of crude protein (CP), 3 lakh tonnes of digestible crude protein (DCP), 80 lakh tonnes of total digestible nutrients (TDN) and phosphorus.
• But, animals cannot be fed paddy straw directly from fields. This is because high silica and lignin content reduces its digestive properties. Higher selenium content in paddy straw also limits its use as fodder in animals as compared to wheat straw.
• But if given in moderate quantities (up to 5 kg per animal per day), selenium poses no health hazard to the animal.
• Other methods include urea treatment of paddy straw and urea plus molasses treatment.

Question 115

Stubble Burning: suggestions: change in cropping patterns?

Answer 115

• in the longer time span, shifting cropping pattern away from paddy to maize, cotton, fruits or vegetables in Punjab, Haryana and UP.
• The Commission for Air Quality Management has said that a reduction in the area under paddy cultivation in FY 2022 in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (by 7.7%), as well as a shift away from paddy varieties that take long to mature, could see a reduction in stubble burning in 2021
• Crop diversification and moving away from PUSA-44 variety with short duration High Yielding Varieties are part of the framework and action plan for control of stubble burning.

Question 116

Stubble burning: legal view?

Answer 116

• Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) makes stubble burning a crime. Additionally, it was notified as an offence under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
• In 2019, the Supreme Court directed the governments of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to pay farmers a financial incentive to curb the practice.
• In 2020, the Government of Punjab appointed 8000 nodal officers in villages that grow paddy in order to put a check on stubble burning.
• SC had also decided to form a one-man committee chaired by Justice Madan Lokur to monitor/prevent stubble burning in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

Question 117

River Ranching?

Answer 117

• River Ranching is a form of aquaculture in which a population of a fish species (such as salmon) is held in captivity for the first stage of their lives.
• They are then released, and later harvested as adults when they return from the sea to their freshwater birthplace to spawn.
• River ranching programme was introduced as special activity under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme

Question 118

Pradhan Mantri Matsya sampada Yojana?

Answer 118

1. It is a scheme for focused and sustainable development of fisheries sector in the country.
2. 20,000+ crores has been sanctioned for its implementation during a period of 5 years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 in all States/Union Territories, as a part of AatmaNirbhar Bharat Package.
3. 11000 Cr for - Marine, Inland fisheries and Aquaculture activities and 9000cr for infrastructure
4. It seeks to adopt ‘Cluster or Area based approaches’.
5. Aims and targets of the scheme:
   
   1. Enhance fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonne by 2024-25.
   2. Increase fisheries export earnings to Rs.1,00,000 crore by 2024-25.
   3. Double incomes of fishers and fish farmers.
   4. Reduce post-harvest losses from 20-25% to about 10%.
   5. Generate additional 55 lakhs direct and indirect gainful employment opportunities in fisheries sector and allied activities.
   6. hopes to increase seaweed production to 10 crore tonnes by 2025
6. uniqueness of the scheme: PMMSY envisages many new interventions such as
   
   1. fishing vessel insurance,
   2. Ban period support to fishermen
   3. support for new/up-gradation of fishing vessels/boats, Bio-toilets,
   4. Aquaculture in saline/alkaline areas,
   5. Sagar Mitras
   6. Nucleus Breeding Centres,
   7. Fisheries and Aquaculture start-ups, Incubators, etc.
   8. cage culture, seaweed farming, ornamental fisheries
7. national Fisheries Development Board, hyderabad is the nodal agency

Question 119

rainbow revolution?

Answer 119

Rainbow revolution is an integral development programme of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, sugarcane, fishery, poultry and animal husbandry.

The various colors of the Rainbow Revolution indicate various farm practices such as Green Revolution (Foodgrains), White Revolution (Milk), Yellow Revolution (Oil seeds), Blue Revolution (Fisheries); Golden Revolution (Fruits); Silver Revolution (Eggs), Round Revolution (Potato), Pink Revolution (Meat), Grey Revolution (Fertilizers) and so on.

Question 120

Sea weed Farming: about sea weed ?

Answer 120

• Seaweed is the common name for countless species of marine plants & algae that grow in the ocean as well as in rivers, lakes, & other water bodies.
• They are macrophytic which mean they live in water or moist land surfaces.
• They generally grow in the shallow waters in the tidal zone.
• Some are enormous, like the giant kelp that grow in abundant “forests” from their roots at the bottom.
• Seaweeds exhibit highest photosynthesis efficiency due to moist conditions.

Question 121

Sea weed farming: commerical potential?

Answer 121

• Seaweed is full of vitamins, minerals, & fibre.
• Many seaweeds contain anti-inflammatory & anti-microbial agents. seaweed as the main ingredient in various nutraceutical products, from anti-obesity tablets to anti-arthritic and anti-diabetic pills.
• They are known to process significant medicinal effects.
• Certain seaweeds possess powerful cancer-fighting agents.
• They are effective binding agents (emulsifiers) & are used commercial goods as toothpaste & fruit jelly, & popular softeners in organic cosmetics & skin-care products.
  
  • seaweed products such as agar gel can withstand high temperatures — it can be used as a stabiliser and thickener in pie fillings, icings
  • As it is tasteless, it does not interfere with the flavour of the food, and in ice creams it is used to inhibit the crystallisation of ice.
  • Agar-agar, the main ingredient in falooda and jigarthanda, is a seaweed-based product.
  • Carrageenan, extracted from a seaweed, is an additive used to thicken, emulsify, and preserve food and drinks
  • Alginate, another extract, is used in restructured and reformed food products such as chicken nuggets. As a binder and emulsifier, it helps meat retain its shape.
• scientific use:
  
  • AquAgri manufactures a product called Sagarika, derived from the sap of red and brown algae, which acts as a bioenhancer and stimulates the internal growth of plants.
  • Researchers say that an extract from seaweed also helps in the faster germination of seeds, and this was successfully tested on cotton seeds. As organic farming becomes the buzzword, seaweed is becoming the fertiliser of the future.

Question 122

Sea weed farming: benefits of sea weed farming?

Answer 122

• occupation for coastal people
• commerical potential
• eco-friendly
• women empowerment

Question 123

Sea weed farming: potential in India?

Answer 123

• India is among the 12 mega-biodiversity nations in the world with an EEZ of 2.17 million km².
• About 844 seaweed species are reported from India which has a coastline of 7,500 km.
• Tamil Nadu, Gujarat coasts, Lakshadweep & Andaman & Nicobar Islands are abundant in seaweed.
• Gulf of Mannar is home to more than 240 seaweed varieties out of which at least 185 are edible ones.
• Earlier, seaweed was collected by fishermen through natural harvesting. But since 2000, under CSIR, cultivation of seaweeds through bamboo raft method was started and now, the shoreline in places including Mandapam in Tamil Nadu’s Rameswaram are dotted with floating farms of seaweed. fisherwomen in these regions have been cultivating a species of seaweed that yields carrageenan. Carrageenan is an additive used to thicken, emulsify, and preserve food and drinks — it’s a commercially viable venture.

Question 124

Agricultural indebtedness: defn nd stats?

Answer 124

Defn: Indebtedness can be described as impoverishment by debt or as a situation where a household is caught in spiral debts.

Acc to NSO Survey,

• Average income of agricultural households and farm incomes have increased by 25% and 50% respectively betn 2012 and 2018
• average outstanding loan per agricultural household increased 57.7 per cent from 2013 to 2018
• 50.2% agri HHs indebted
• avg amt of outstanding loan per agri HH >Rs 74000
• 20.5% loans were from moneylenders. 70% from institutional sources
• 57.5% loans taken for agricultural purposes

Question 125

Agricultural indebtedness: causes for increasing indebtedness?

Answer 125

1. INcreasing access to insti finance due to Govt efforts: Ground level credit (GLC) to agriculture has nearly doubled (from Rs.7.30 lakh crore to Rs.13.92 lakh crore) during the period 2013–14 to 2019–20
2. INadequate Growth of farm productivity and income due to factors like CC, price volatility, marketing bottlenecks etc.
3. increased cost of cultivation: (almost 95 per cent tractors are taken on loans
4. poor risk mitigation i.e. low crop isurance coverage
5. High cost of informal loans: debt cycle
6. debt for unproductive purposes
7. farm loan waivers
8. litigation

Question 126

Agricultural indebtedness: impact?

Answer 126

• reduced investment in modernisation
• distressed selling
• impoverishment and farmer suicides
• increases NPA risk of banking system
• unviability of agriculture as an economic activity, threatening food security and pushing farmers into a seemingly endless spiral of debt.

Question 127

Agricultural indebtedness: govt interventions?

Answer 127

• PM-KISAN: cash payment
• PMFBY for risk mitigation
• increase in MSPs
• creation of corpus funds like Micro Irrigation Fund, AIF etc.

Question 128

WTO Agreement on Agriculture (WTO-AoA) is tilted against developing countries: basics: about AoA?

Answer 128

• AoA concluded by WTO members came into force in 1995.
• It provides a framework for the long-term reform of agricultural trade and domestic policies, with the aim of leading to fairer competition and a less distorted sector
• Under the Agreement, WTO members agree to “schedules” or lists of commitments that set limits on the tariffs they can apply to individual products and on levels of domestic support and export subsidies
• It also takes into account non-trade concerns, including food security and the need to protect the environment, and provides special and differential treatment for developing countries
• Special Agricultural Safeguard (SSG) was provided to developing economies under which they can impose an additional duty in case of import surge (volume) or fall of import price below a specified reference price
• Three main rounds of negotiations:

1. Uruguay Round
2. DOha Round
3. Nairobi Package

• Three pillars/Coverage of AoA:

1. Domestic Support: calls for reduction in domestic subsidies that distorts free trade and fair price. Under this provision, the Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) is to be reduced by 20% over a period of 6 years by developed countries and 13% over a period of 10 years by developing countries. Under this subsidies are categorized into Green, Amber and Blue Box
2. Market Access: tariffs fixed (like custom duties) by individual countries be cut progressively to allow free trade. It also required countries to remove non-tariff barriers and convert them to Tariff duties.
3. Export Subisidy: Subsidy on inputs of agriculture, making export cheaper or other incentives for exports such as import duty remission etc

Question 129

WTO Agreement on Agriculture (WTO-AoA) is tilted against developing countries: basics: categories of support created by Uruguay Round?

Answer 129

Uruguay Round created certain categories of domestic support:

1. Green Box:
   
   • Subsidies that do not distort trade, or at most cause minimal distortion.
   • They are government-funded and must not involve price support.
   • They also include environmental protection and regional development programmes.
   • “Green box” subsidies are therefore allowed without limits, provided they comply with the policy-specific criteria.
   • applies to both developing and developed countries, but in the case of developing countries special treatment is provided in respect of governmental stockholding programmes for food security purposes and subsidized food prices for urban and rural poor
   • India’s PDS does not come under Green Box
2. Amber Box:
   
   • All domestic support measures considered to distort production and trade, with some exceptions, fall into this box
   • These include measures to support prices, or subsidies directly related to production quantities.
   • eg. MSP, procurement price, subsidies on inputs like fertilizer, water, credit, power
3. Blue Box:
   
   1. These are basically Amber box subsidies but they tend to limit the production. Any support that would normally be in the Amber box, if placed in the blue box if the support also requires farmers to Limit their production
   2. At present, there are no limits on spending on blue box subsidies.
4. Special and Differential Treatment Box:
   
   1. Investment subsidy is like tractors nd pumpsets, agricultural inputs services like fertilizers to farmers etc.
   2. This can be given by only developing and low income countries

Question 130

WTO Agreement on Agriculture (WTO-AoA) is tilted against developing countries: basics: categories of support created by Uruguay Round: what is De Minimis?

Answer 130

Minimal amounts of domestic support that are allowed even though they distort trade

Up to 5% of the value of production for developed countries and 10% for developing

Question 131

WTO Agreement on Agriculture (WTO-AoA) is tilted against developing countries: basics: categories of support created by Uruguay Round: What is peace clause?

Answer 131

Provides protection to domestic support measures and export subsidies of WTO members from challenge by other WTO members.

Please close expired on January 1st 2004.

Another temporary peace clause made at the WTO Bali conference in December 2013 for until 2017. It Stipulated that no country would be legally barred from food security program for its own people even if the subsidy breached the limits in the WTO AoA

Question 132

WTO Agreement on Agriculture (WTO-AoA) is tilted against developing countries: Bali Ministerial COnference?

Answer 132

• An agreement to negotiate a permanent solution for public stockholding for food security purposes
• to expand the green box list of general services a declaration
• to reduce all forms of export subsidies and to enhance transparency and monitoring
• a temporary peace clause was added

Question 133

WTO Agreement on Agriculture (WTO-AoA) is tilted against developing countries: Nairobi Package?

Answer 133

Decision to eliminate agricultural export subsidies and set disciplines on export measures with equivalent effect

WTO members agreed to engage constructively in finding a permanent solution to developing countries use of public stock holding program for food security purposes

Also agreed to continue negotiations on a special safeguard mechanism (SSM)

Question 134

WTO Agreement on Agriculture (WTO-AoA) is tilted against developing countries: concerns raisd by India?

Answer 134

1. Need for a permanent solution to the dispute over public stock holding of food grains for food security purposes. India is not satisfied with the peace clause negotiated at Bali conference that allowed it to go beyond the 10% cap for its MSP with immunity from legal challenge from other WTO members for the next four years. No outcome was reached at Nairobi or at the Buenos Aires conference
2. WTO rules wicket possible for rich countries to get away with farm subsidies which destabilize and depresses the international market prices impacting the farm incomes in developing countries. In 2015, US govt provided a subsidy of $7,860 on an average to each of its farmers. On the contrary, in 2014, Indian government provided on average a subsidy of $417 to 9.05 crore farmers
3. Market Access: Access for products from developing countries, continues to be impeded in the developed country markets due to their high trade distorting domestic support policies coupled with high tariffs and Phyto-Sanitary policies

Question 135

WTO Agreement on Agriculture (WTO-AoA) is tilted against developing countries: suggestions?

Answer 135

1. All measures taken by the developing countries for poverty alleviation, rural development, rural employment and diversification of agriculture should be exempted from any form of reduction commitments.
2. Product coverage requires rationalisation by including primary agricultural commodities such as rubber, primary forest produce, jute, coir, abaca and sisal etc
3. All forms of export subsidisation including export credit, guarantees, price discounts and insurance programmes etc. in developed countries should be added to the export subsidies.
4. Developed country members should not be allowed to use overly stringent trade restrictive SPS measures for protectionist purposes against developing countries.
5. Developing country members should be exempt from any obligation to provide any minimum market access.
6. Developing country members should be allowed to maintain appropriate levels of tariff bindings keeping in mind their developmental needs and the high distortions prevalent in the international markets

Question 136

Seeds regulatory regime in India: current? upcoming bill?

Answer 136

1) Seeds Act 1966 and Seeds control order of 2006 2) Seeds bill 2019 (also in 2014 but lapsed)

Question 137

Need for change in Seeds act 1966?

Answer 137

-> Current act only covers “notified varieties of seed” -> “Release” is a pre-condition for notification of a variety -> Such notified varieties currently are mostly by PSIs like ICAR and SAUs -> 1966 Act brought at a time of GR when country hardly had any pvt sector ind in seeds but since then pvt sector has become significant esp in seeds amenable to hybridisation -> size of pvt seed industry in India is worth 15000 cr. Most of pvt hybrids in India aren’t officially released but instead ‘truthfully labelled’.

Question 138

Notified varieties ofseeds under Seeds Act 1966?

Answer 138

notifies only after officially released after multi-location trials, over 3yrs+ to evaluate their yield performance, disease and pest resistance, quality and other desired traits

Question 139

Seeds Bill 2019: key features?

Answer 139

1) compulsory registration of any kind or variety of seeds to be sold i.e. even hybrid varieties by pvt companies will need to be regtd and theirseeds will need to meet minimum prescribed stds relating to germination, physical and genetic purity. 2) Breeders would need to disclose expected performance under ‘given conditions’ and actual produce fails to, then farmer can seek compensation under Consumer Protection Act 1986

Question 140

Seeds Control Order 2006?

Answer 140

-> passed under Essential commodities Act -> mandates dealer to ensure min stds of germination, purity and other qlty parameters wrt all (notified or otherwise) seed varieties -> The new Seeds bill 2019, if passed, may make this order redundant

Question 141

Hybrid seed/vegetative prop tech adoption rate in India?

Answer 141

Paddy:7-8% corn: 60-70% jowar and bajra: 90% cotton :95% major veggies like okra, cabbage, caulifl.: 80% banana: tissue culture micropropogation planting tech

Question 142

issues with Seeds bill 2019?

Answer 142

1) Process of registration needs to be time-bound 2) Given the lack of manpower and infra witihn govt, multi location trials may need to be carried oyt by the breeder/ applicant himself 3) provision of regulation of price”in emergency like scarcity of seeds, abnormal rise in prices, monopolistic pricing or profiteering”: power given to both centre and states govt

Question 143

Seeds account for _____% of total op costs in most crops?

Answer 143

10%

Question 144

Side effect of poor kharif monsoon and above average rabi monsoon wrt fertiliser?

Answer 144

Total urea sales eschewed: Kharif season: 2.067 MT (2019) vs 2.675 MT (2018) Rabi season: 1.678 MT (2019) vs 1.373 MT (2018)

Question 145

APMCs : original purpose for them?

Answer 145

1) regulating trade by the SG 2) safeguarding farmers against and ensuring trnsprent price recovery 3) farmersback then had ltd knowledge of demand and supply forecasts and domestic and international demand

Question 146

Issues with APMC?

Answer 146

1) over time laws became outdated 2) physical bouandaries of mandis became too imp 3) multiple levy of mkt fee within a state 4) no mechanism to vouch for qlty of produce and thus buyer had to be present physically 5)no relation betn qlty and price realisation

Question 147

states seeking central assistance under e-NAM were reqdto carry out 3 reforms in their APMC acts: what?

Answer 147

1) a single unified license for all mandis in the state
2) single point levy of mkt fee
3) providing for e-auction/e-trading as a mode of price discovery

Question 148

Current expansion of e-NAM?

Answer 148

1) 1000 mandis across 18 states and 3 UTs
2) almost 1.7 cr farmers and 1.97 L traders are regtd (Oct 2021)
3) total value of agri-produce traded on e-NAM is Rs. 1.% L Cr

Question 149

benefits and improvements in e-NAM facilities?

Answer 149

1) assaying of produce qlty: since inception,nearly 64L lots traded on e-NAM have been assayed
2) betn 2016 and 2018, avg no, of bids placed pertrading lot has gone up frm 2.1 to 3.9. eg. adoni mandi in Andhra recieived 34 bids per lot of cotton on e-NAM
3) e-NAM software nw has option of making online payments to farmers and is actively encouraged by giving discounts. Total 504 cr worth payment done this way
4) platform has also seen inter-mandi trade both within and betn different states
5) farmers can now access facilities like: round the clock price info, advance lot regtn, view bids being placed
6) traders can buy frm more than one mkt with same license and quote bids without being physically present.
7) Govt is also planning to introduce warehouse based trading modules (andhra has deemed23 warehouses as ‘deemed mkts’) and to allow inter-operability of e-NAM with other e-trading platforms like Rashtriya e-Mkt services in KN and setting up an insti mechanism for inter-state trade licensing and dispute settlement
8) more than 850 FPOs have come aboard e-NAM to enable cost savings as well as better price realisations
9) Farmgate level transactions by FPOs is being slowly introduced with first such transaction through e-NAM took place recently in Solan, HP
10) case study: GFPCL, an FPO, realised Rs 200 per quintal higher for Maize commodity at Modasa eNAM mandi in GJ

Question 150

NCRB report on Farm workers suicides?

Answer 150

1. The number of agricultural labourers who died by suicide in 2020 was 18% higher than the previous year.
2. Overall, 10,677 people engaged in the farm sector died by suicide in 2020.
3. However, suicides among landowning farmers dropped slightly during the pandemic year.
4. Landless agricultural labourers, who did not benefit from income support schemes such as PM Kisan, may have faced higher levels of distress during the pandemic.
5. The worst among the States continues to be Maharashtra. Karnataka saw a dismal 43% increase in the number of farm worker suicides in 2020.

Question 151

Reasons for limited success/failure of MSP system in India?

Answer 151

1. No robust Procuerment Policy
   
   1. Public procurement accounted for nearly 50% of India’s rice/paddy production last year, while amounting to 40% for wheat and over 25% in cotton.
2. Not reaching all
   
   1. as per Swaminathan report, only 6% farmers using MSP system
   2. In most crops grown across much of India, the prices received by farmers, especially during harvest time, are well below the officially-declared MSPs.
3. The 23 MSP crops together, in turn, account for hardly a third of the total value of India’s agricultural output, excluding forestry and fishing.
4. improper supervision of Food imports
5. inaccurate evaluation of cost by CACP
6. procurement mechanism not reaching small and marginal farmers
7. improper land reforms and irrigation policies
8. neglect of demand side factors in cost calculation

Question 152

Legal guarantee for MSP: why are farmers seeking it?

Answer 152

1. Centre currently announces the MSPs of 23 crops. They include 7 cereals (paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, ragi and barley), 5 pulses (chana, tur/arhar, moong, urad and masur), 7 oilseeds (rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soyabean, sunflower, sesamum, safflower and nigerseed) and 4 commercial crops (sugarcane, cotton, copra and raw jute).
2. While the MSPs technically ensure a minimum 50% return on all cultivation costs, these are largely on paper.
3. In most crops grown across much of India, the prices received by farmers, especially during harvest time, are well below the officially-declared MSPs.
4. And since MSPs have no statutory backing, they cannot demand these as a matter of right.
5. The unions want the government to enact legislation conferring mandatory status to MSP, rather than just being an indicative or desired price.

Question 153

Legal guarantee for MSP: how can that be implemented?

Answer 153

There are basically three ways.

1. The first is by forcing private traders or processors to pay MSP. This is already applicable in sugarcane.
   
   1. Sugar mills are required, by law, to pay farmers the Centre’s “fair and remunerative price” for cane, with some SGs fixing even higher so-called “advised prices”.
   2. The Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 issued under the Essential Commodities Act, moreover, obliges payment of this legally-guaranteed price within 14 days of cane purchase.
2. The second is by the government undertaking procurement at MSP through its agencies such as the FCI, NAFED and Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).
   
   1. Such purchases accounted for nearly 50% of India’s rice/paddy production last year, while amounting to 40% for wheat and over 25% in cotton.
   2. Generally speaking, MSP implementation has been effective only in four crops (sugarcane, paddy, wheat and cotton); partly so in five (chana, mustard, groundnut, tur and moong) and weak/non-existent in the remaining 14 notified crops.
   3. The 23 MSP crops together, in turn, account for hardly a third of the total value of India’s agricultural output, excluding forestry and fishing.
   4. assuming that only 10 per cent of the production of crops other than rice and wheat (excluding sugarcane) is procured, it will cost the government about Rs 5.4 lakh crore annually to procure these other MSP crops.
3. The third route for guaranteeing MSP is via price deficiency payments.
   
   1. Under it, the government neither directly purchases nor forces the private industry to pay MSP.
   2. Instead, it allows all sales by farmers to take place at the prevailing market prices.
   3. Farmers are simply paid the difference between the government’s MSP and the average market price for the particular crop during the harvesting season.
   4. We know very well that Madhya Pradesh adopted this scheme (Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana) in kharif 2017 for eight crops (maize, tur, urad, moong, soybean, groundnut, sesamum, and nigerseed) but had to give up the very next season as traders gamed it, widening the gap between market prices and MSP, and benefited massively from this scheme, while the government incurred heavy expenditure.

Question 154

Legal guarantee for MSP: will it be a panacea?

Answer 154

WHile the other problems of India’s agri sector will continue persist, even for MSP and procurement, it won’t be all pretty.

• The legality of MSP means that no one is allowed to buy a crop below its MSP. If this demand is accepted it will not only mess up the economy but will ultimately turn out to be anti-farmer. The reason is simple: It ignores the basic logic that prices are largely decided by the overall demand and supply.
• Legal backing for the MSP could also lead to the danger of the trade keeping away from places where the law is implemented vigorously.
• For example, when Punjab said it would make MSP legal and binding, wheat traders said they would keep off the state to avoid trouble for themselves.
• Even after procuring more than 50 per cent of the marketed surplus of rice and wheat, the market prices of rice and wheat remained below MSP in several states. For example, in November 2020, market prices of paddy in Chhattisgarh were below the MSP by more than Rs 300/quintal; in UP, the gap was about Rs 102/quintal. This situation prevailed widely in Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and many eastern states. Similarly, in wheat, the crop sold below the MSP in UP and MP, the largest wheat producing states.
• assuming that only 10 per cent of the production of crops other than rice and wheat (excluding sugarcane) is procured, it will cost the government about Rs 5.4 lakh crore annually to procure these other MSP crops.
• Further, FCI’s grain mountain is evidence of how cumbersome public procurement and stocking operations can be. In the crop year 2020-21, about 60 million metric tonnes (MMTs) of rice and 43 MMTs of wheat were procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and NAFED procured about 0.66 MMTs of pulses.
• This is not to mention the huge scope for corruption and recycling/leakage of wheat and rice, whether from godowns, ration shops or in transit.
• Also, while cereals and pulses can be sold through the public distribution system, disposal becomes complicated in the case of nigerseed, sesamum or safflower.
• Even when it comes to sugarcane, the experience of mills accumulating huge payment arrears to growers is proof of the practical limitations of “legal MSP”.
• Even if govt rather choose the alternative of guaranteeing ‘minimum income’ rather than ‘minimum price’ (on a flat per-acre as in the Telangana government’s Rythu Bandhu scheme) or per-farm household (the Centre’s PM-Kisan) basis), the resource requirement of such interventions will be so huge that no government will be left with resources to help farmers through other means like investment in public infrastructure, irrigation, and other incentives.
• The danger of over-reliance on MSP is already visible in the state of Punjab. Agriculture has reached an almost static stage there. The state is unable to diversify away from crops like paddy, which is destroying its natural resources and environment, marring long-term prospects of farming.

Question 155

Rythu Bandhu scheme?

Answer 155

Rythu Bandhu scheme or Farmer’s Investment Support Scheme (FISS) is a welfare program to support farmer’s investment for two crops a year by the Government of Telangana

Under the scheme, almost 58.33 lakh farmers of Telangana state are provided Rs 5000 per acre, per season (crop-sowing) – to support the farm investment twice a year, for both – the Rabi and the Kharif seasons.

Who qualifies under the Rythu Bandhu scheme?
To apply under the scheme and to make the cut, the farmer should have been a resident of Telangana state and must own farming land.
● The scheme is applicable for small and marginal farmers; however, commercial farmers are excluded from the scheme.
● Also, farmers who till rented land are excluded from under this scheme.
Currently, more than 8 lakh farmers in Telangana enjoy the benefits of the Rythu Bandhu scheme.”

How does it compare with the PM-KISAN scheme: Rythu Bandhu is based on anticipated input expenditure for each acre of land and there is no restriction on the number of acres owned by a farmer. PM-KISAN only provides support to the family and not to the farm units.

The Rythu Bandhu scheme has also come in from criticism from several quarters, with one of the major ones being that it ignores the plight of landless or tenant farmers.

Question 156

Legal guarantee for MSP: fiscal cost?

Answer 156

1. The MSP value of the total output of all the 23 notified crops worked out to about Rs 11.9 lakh crore in 2020-21.
2. Taking an average of 75% yield sold – the MSP value of production actually sold by farmers – just under Rs 9 lakh crore.
3. The government is further, as it is, procuring many crops. The MSP value of the 89.42 mt of paddy and 43.34 mt of wheat alone bought during 2020-21 was around Rs 253,275 crore.
4. All in all, then, the MSP is already being enforced, directly or through fiat, on roughly Rs 3.8 lakh crore worth of produce.
5. Providing legal guarantee for the entire marketable surplus of the 23 MSP crops would mean covering another Rs 5 lakh crore or so.

Question 157

MSP calculations?

Answer 157

is based on a calculation of at least one-and-a-half times the cost of production incurred by the farmers.
● The Union Budget for 2018-19 had announced that MSP would be kept at levels of 1.5 the cost of production.
● The MSP is fixed twice a year on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which is a statutory body and submits separate reports recommending prices for kharif and rabi seasons.

CACP considers both ‘A2+FL’ and ‘C2’ costs while recommending MSP.

1. A2 costs cover all paid-out expenses, both in cash and kind, incurred by farmers on seeds, fertilisers, chemicals, hired labour, fuel and irrigation, among others.
2. A2+FL covers actual paid-out costs plus an imputed value of unpaid family labour.
3. The C2 costs account for the rentals and interest forgone on owned land and fixed capital assets respectively, on top of A2+FL.

Question 158

SWAMITVA scheme?

Answer 158

Launched on Panchayati Raj Diwas (April 24th, 2020). Last year, it was extended to all states. Earlier, it was launched only for 9 states.

• The scheme seeks to map residential land ownership in the rural sector using modern technology like the use of drones. So far (Jan 2022) drone surveys have covered close to 1,00,000 villages and maps of 77,527 villages had been handed over to states.
• The scheme aims to revolutionize property record maintenance in India.
• The scheme is piloted by the Panchayati Raj ministry.
• Under the scheme, residential land in villages will be measured using drones to create a non-disputable record.
• Property card for every property in the village will be prepared by states using accurate measurements delivered by drone-mapping. These cards will be given to property owners and will be recognised by the land revenue records department. So far (Jan 2022), Property cards had been distributed to around 27,000 villages.
• govt plans to prepare digital maps of all its 6,00,000 villages and pan-India 3D maps will be prepared for 100 cities.

Benefits of the scheme:

• The delivery of property rights through an official document will enable villagers to access bank finance using their property as collateral.
• The property records for a village will also be maintained at the Panchayat level, allowing for the collection of associated taxes from the owners. The money generated from these local taxes will be used to build rural infrastructure and facilities.
• Freeing the residential properties including land of title disputes and the creation of an official record is likely to result in appreciation in the market value of the properties.
• The accurate property records can be used for facilitating tax collection, new building and structure plan, issuing of permits and for thwarting attempts at property grabbing.

Question 159

Unique Land Parcel Identification Numbers (ULPIN)?

Answer 159

Under the scheme, a 14-digit identification number will be issued to every plot of land in the country.

It is being described as “the Aadhaar for land” — a number that would uniquely identify every surveyed parcel of land and prevent land fraud, especially in rural India, where land records are outdated and disputed. It will be linked to Aadhar, revenue system.

The identification will be based on the longitude and latitude of the land parcel, and is dependent on detailed surveys and geo-referenced cadastral maps.

Six states will get the unique number in first phase

Question 160

Agri startups and Enterprises: intro?

Answer 160

Agristartups are basically startups with products and services that meet the various needs of the agricultural value chain. They perform a myriad of services incl extension services, information dissemination, market linkage, quality control, r&D etc.

Question 161

Agri startups and Enterprises: stats?

Answer 161

1. Globally, India is competing with the US and China in the agri-startup space. According to Agfunder, India witnessed an increase in funding from $619 million in H1 2020 to $2 billion in H1 2021, behind the US ($9.5 billion) and China ($4.5 billion)
2. An Ernst & Young 2020 study pegs the Indian agritech market potential at $24 billion by 2025, of which only 1 per cent has been captured so far. It is estimated that 10Bn$ will be invested in Indian agritech startups over next 10 yrs
3. Among various agritech segments, the supply chain technology and output markets have the highest potential, worth $12.1 billion.
4. Currently, it is estimated that there are about 600 to 700 agritech startups in India operating at different levels of agri-value chains. Many of them use artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), internet of things (IoT), etc, Acc to ES 2019-20, 3.8% of total recognised startups in India are in this space. Of these 54% are classified as agritech while the rest are in the field of dairy farming,food processing
5. novelty of startup-led value chain transformation is not limited to empowering farmers but also co-opting local grocery, mom-and-pop, and kirana stores as well as small agrifood businesses. At the same time, the startup network is able to leverage the bigger front-end players who demand bulk quality produce and have challenges in directly linking with farmers.
6. multiple models of engagement
   
   1. Ninjacart started as a farmer-to-consumer (F2C) venture but soon moved onto farmer-to-business (F2B)
   2. Dehaati Beej Se Baazar Tak is a full-stack agri service startup that engages through B2F (business-to-farmer) and F2B models.
   3. Crofarm is a F2B digital supply chain that manages logistics, inventory and supply of fresh produce directly from farms to retail chains like Big Bazaar
   4. Crofarm’s Otipy is an app-based F2B2C social commerce platform that delivers (in addition to grocery and other household items) fruits and vegetables directly sourced from farmers to consumers through their partner resellers.
7. The agritech startups have a growing footprint. Dehaat is present in Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh; Ninjacart operates in nearly 11 cities. With a farmer network of 10,000 plus, Crofarm has served more than 1 lakh consumers and 5,000 businesses. Otipy has emerged as one of the popular app-based platforms with nearly 2 lakh customers and more than 8.25 lakh mobile downloads.
8. The startups have had a demonstrated impact. Ninjacart reduced wastage to 4 per cent compared to up to 25 per cent in traditional chains through demand-driven harvest schedule. Logistics optimisation enabled delivery in less than 12 hours at one-third the cost in traditional chains. Farmers’ net incomes are reported to have increased by 20 per cent. Dehaat has enabled up to 50 per cent increase in farmers’ income as a result of savings in input costs, increased farm productivity, and better price discovery.
9. Agritech startups-led e-commerce platforms have the potential to steer the shift from government-controlled agricultural markets towards more demand-driven digital markets.

Question 162

Agri startups and Enterprises: various contributions?

Answer 162

Agri can be divided into 4 sectors and agri-startups are contributing to each of them.

1. agri inputs
   
   1. with use of tech like AI, ML and data analytics, help in identifying the right crop to be sown for better yield
   2. Farming-as-a-Service model (FaaS model) is also emerging. It offers innovative solutions for agri through a subscription based pr pay-per-use model which enables stakeholders to make effective data driven decisions to help boost productivity and efficiency
   3. Fasal’s microclimatic forecasts are tailored to each farm locations.
2. agri-financial services
   
   1. enable farmers to upload their records digitally and apply for credit
   2. SatSure, founded in 2016, strives helps them improve crop insurance, innovate on agri-lending services and improve mkt linkages
3. food processing companies
4. farm mechanisation
   
   1. start ups are offering farm equipments, even on rental basis

Question 163

Agri startups and Enterprises: govt initiatives?

Answer 163

1. supported under Start-Up India scheme
2. DPIIT’s Startup India Seed Fund scheme (SISFS) with an outlay of 945 Cr to provide financial assistance to startups
3. MoAFW’s Agriculture Grand challenge
4. setting up of National Centre for Mgmt and Agri Extension (MANAGE) in Hyderabad
5. Deptt of Agri, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DACFW) has launched a new component called ‘Innovation and Agri-entrepreneurship Development’, under RKVY-RAFTAAR. Five knowledge partners and 24 agri business incubators have been appointed by DACFW to advise on smooth and efficient execution of this program in various States. The selected startup shall be eligible for a maximum financial assistance of rupees 5 lakh in the pre-seed stage and for 2500000 In The Seed stage
6. Further innovation is encouraged by Niti Aayog Atal innovation mission, Biotech Park and incubator programs run by department of biotechnology.
7. Ministry of development of North Eastern region has launched initiative for development of entrepreneurs in agriculture (IDEA)
8. Government in the union budget of 2017-18 announce the creation of dairy processing and infrastructure development fund under NABARD with total Corpus of rupees 8000 crores over a period of three years
9. The dairy entrepreneurship development scheme (DEDS) is yet another scheme implemented by department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries.

Question 164

Agri startups and Enterprises: challenges?

Answer 164

1. These companies Unlike the text sector have longer investment cycles and have a high need for patient capital.
2. The combined revenue of all agri tech startups in India is estimated to be less than 100 million dollars which is a drop in the ocean in a market worth more than 350 billion dollars. Thus, the opportunity to scale and disrupt is huge.
3. Challenges facing the factor are
   
   1. Small and scattered land Holdings of farmers reduce the scope of Technology scale up leading to poor cost-effectiveness
   2. Rate of return on technology investment has not proven very profitable in case of agri Tech startup as compared to other IT-cased startups
   3. Technology adoption and penetration is a very slow process which certainly diminisher investors interest
   4. High-priced Technology Solutions are an affordable for a large user group i.e. Small and marginal farmers
   5. Most of the technology solutions available are not localised to emerging markets
   6. Regulations though favourable are complex in nature

Question 165

Digital transformation in Agriculture?

Question 166

Futures trading in agri products?

Answer 166

SEBI has immediately suspended trading in derivative contracts In key farm commodities namely paddy, wheat, Chana, mustard seeds and its derivatives, soya bean and its derivative, crude palm oil and moong for a year (Dec 2021)

It is being suspended to rein in the rising prices of the essential commodities which is fuelling inflation

Question 167

Arrange the following kharif crops in the decreasing order of the total area coverage.

1. Oil seeds
2. Rice
3. Pulses
4. Cotton
5. Sugarcane

Answer 167

2-1-3-4-5

Question 168

Which of the following kharif crops saw its total area coverage decrease in 2021 as compared to 2020?

1. Oil seeds
2. Rice
3. Pulses
4. Cotton
5. Sugarcane
6. coarse cereals

Answer 168

1, 2, 4, 6

(Crop-area in 2021 in Mn Ha- area in 2020 in Mn Ha)

Rice-37.4- 37.8

Pulses- 13.4-13.2

coarse cereals- 16.9-17.1

oilseeds-18.7-18.9

sugarcane-5.4-5.3

cotton-11.7-12.7

Question 169

T/F: total area under Kharif sowing declined in 2021 vs 2020.

Answer 169

T

104.3 Mn Ha in 2021 vs 106 Mn Ha in 2020

Question 170

causes for surge in edible oil price seen in 2021?

Answer 170

● Global commodity prices are extremely high. COVID-19 is a major factor, disrupting supply chains, closing down industries.
● There is insufficient labour in the oil production industry in many countries.
● Excessive buying of edible oil by China.
● Many major oil producers are aggressively pursuing biofuel policies and diverting their edible oil crops for that purpose.
● Governmental taxes and duties also make up a major chunk of the retail price of edible oils in India

Question 171

What are wildraces?

Answer 171

Landraces refer to naturally occurring variants of commonly cultivated crops. These are as opposed to commercially grown crops, which are developed by selective breeding (hybrids) or through genetic engineering to express a certain trait over others.

Biodiversity allows a natural mechanism for crops to develop traits to face challenging situations. However, given the large-scale human interference in crop selection, that ability is now lost in most commercial crops.
● Crop improvement through selection and breeding over several decades has narrowed the genetic base of most crops.
Need for and significance of landraces:
Amid the threat of climate change, a challenge before scientists and policymakers is to develop varieties that can withstand both abiotic and biotic stresses.
● Naturally occurring landraces have a large pool of still untapped genetic material, which can provide solutions.
● Genetic diversity is nature’s survival mechanism. The wider the gene pool, the more the chance of developing a trait that can help in surviving extreme climate events.

Among the winners of this year’s Padma awards is Rahibai Popere, popularly known as Seedmother, from Akole taluka of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.
● Her Padma Shri is a recognition of her work that has helped save hundreds of landraces at the village level

Question 172

Rashtriya Gokul Mission?

Answer 172

‘Rashtriya Gokul Mission’ was launched in 2014 to conserve and develop indigenous bovine breeds, under the National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development (NPBBD).
Key objectives of the mission
● Development and conservation of indigenous breeds.
● Undertake breed improvement programme for indigenous cattle breeds so as to improve the genetic makeup and increase the stock.
● Enhance milk production and productivity.
● Upgrade nondescript cattle using elite indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Deoni, Tharparkar, Red Sindhi.
● Distribute disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service.
Implementation
1. It is being implemented through the “State Implementing Agency’ Livestock Development Boards, i.e., SIA’s (LDB’s).
2. State Gauseva Ayogs are mandated to sponsor proposals to the SIA’s (LDB’s) and monitor implementation of the sponsored proposal.
3. The “Participating Agencies” like CFSPTI, CCBFs, ICAR, Universities, Colleges, NGO’s, Cooperative Societies and Gaushalas with best germplasm.

Question 173

Gokul Grams?

Answer 173

The Rashtriya Gokul Mission envisages the establishment of integrated cattle development centers, ‘Gokul Grams’ to develop indigenous breeds including up to 40% nondescript breeds.

Gokul Grams will be established in:
● The native breeding tracts and
● Near metropolitan cities for housing the urban cattle.

Objectives:
● Promote indigenous cattle rearing and conservation in a scientific manner.
● Propagate high genetic merit bulls of indigenous breeds.
● Optimize modern Farm Management practices and promote Common Resource Management.
● Utilize animal waste in an economical way i.e. Cow Dung, Cow Urine.

Key features of Gokul Grams
● They will be self-sustaining and will generate economic resources from sale of A2 milk organic manure, vermi-composting, urine distillates, and production of electricity fraom bio gas for in house consumption and sale of animal products.
● They will also function as state of the art in situ training centre for Farmers, Breeders and MAITRI’s.
● Gokul Grams act as Centres for development of Indigenous Breeds and a dependable source for supply of high genetic breeding stock to the farmers in the breeding tract.
● The Gokul Gram will maintain milch and unproductive animals in the ratio of 60:40 and will have the capacity to maintain about 1000 animals.
● Nutritional requirements of the animals will be provided in the Gokul Gram through in house fodder production.

Question 174

PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)?

Answer 174

● It is in line with the One Nation – One Scheme theme- It replaced National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).
● Launched in 2016.
● Coverage: All food & oilseed crops and annual commercial/horticultural crops for which past yield data is available.
● Premium: The prescribed premium is 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all rabi crops. In the case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium is 5%. Premium cost over and above the farmer share was equally subsidized by States and GoI, except for NE states wherein GoI bore 90% of costs.

● The scheme was compulsory for loanee farmers availing Crop Loan/Kisan Credit Card (KCC) account for notified crops and voluntary for others

Objectives:

1. To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases.
2. To stabilise the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
3. To encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
4. To ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector.

Coverage:
The Scheme covers all Food & Oilseeds crops and Annual Commercial/Horticultural Crops for which past yield data is available and for which requisite number of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) are being conducted under General Crop Estimation Survey (GCES).

Question 175

PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) 2.0?

Answer 175

• Completely Voluntary: It has been decided to make enrolment 100% voluntary for all farmers from 2020 Kharif.
• Limit to Central Subsidy: The Cabinet has decided to cap the Centre’s premium subsidy under these schemes for premium rates up to 30% for unirrigated areas/crops and 25% for irrigated areas/crops.
• More Flexibility to States: The government has given the flexibility to states/UTs to implement PMFBY and given them the option to select any number of additional risk covers/features like prevented sowing, localised calamity, mid-season adversity, and post-harvest losses.
• Penalising the Pendency: In the revamped PMFBY, a provision has been incorporated wherein if states don’t release their share before March 31 for the Kharif season and September 30 for rabi, they would not be allowed to participate in the scheme in subsequent seasons.
• Investing in ICE Activities: Insurance companies have to now spend 0.5% of the total premium collected on information, education and communication (IEC) activities.

Question 176

PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): performance?

Answer 176

1. Till date, the scheme has insured over 30 crore farmer applications (5.5 crore farmer applications on year-on-year basis).
2. Over the period of 5 years, more than 8.3 crore farmer applications have benefited from the scheme.
3. Moreover, Rs.95,000 crores claims have been paid as against Rs. 20,000 crore farmers share.
4. Aadhar Linking (linking Aadhaar through Internet banking portals) has helped in speedy claim settlement directly into the farmer accounts.
5. One notable example is mid-season adversity claims of nearly Rs. 30 crore in Rajasthan during Rabi 2019-20 Locust attack.

Question 177

‘Meri Policy Mere Haath’ ?

Answer 177

● As part of the celebrations of PMFBY entering its 7th yr of implementation, the Govt. has launched a doorstep distribution drive to deliver crop insurance policies to the farmers ‘Meri Policy Mere Hath’ in all implementing States.
● The campaign aims to ensure all farmers are well aware and equipped with all information on their policies, land records, the process of claim and grievance redressal under PMFBY.

Question 178

Saffron Bowl Project? NECTAR?

Answer 178

North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) under Saffron Bowl Project has identified few locations in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya for saffron cultivation.

• NECTAR is an autonomous body under the DST and in collaboration with the Botany and Horticulture departments of Sikkim Central University implemented a pilot project in Yangyang village of South Sikkim.

Question 179

Saffron: about crop?

Answer 179

• It is a plant whose dried stigmas (thread-like parts of the flower) are used to make saffron spice.
• Saffron cultivation is believed to have been introduced in Kashmir by Central Asian immigrants around the 1st Century BCE.
• It represents the rich cultural heritage of the J&K region.
• It is a very precious and costly product.
• It is referred to as ‘bahukam’ in ancient Sanskrit literature.
• It is cultivated and harvested in the Karewa (highlands) of J&K.
• Saffron production has long been restricted to a limited geographical area in the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
• Pampore region, commonly known as Saffron bowl of Kashmir, is the main contributor to saffron production.
• Pampore Saffron Heritage of Kashmir is one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage systems (GIAHS) recognised sites in India.
• Recently, the Kashmir saffron got Geographical Indication (GI) tag status.

Question 180

National Saffron Mission?

Answer 180

• It was launched in 2010-11 but it was only applicable for the cultivation of saffron in Jammu and Kashmir.
• In 2020, the Government has decided to revive this mission and expand the cultivation of saffron to the north eastern part of the country.
• It comes under the governance of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
• It was a four-year mission (2010-14) which was introduced to increase the cultivation of saffron in Kashmir. However, due to a heavy loss in production during 2014, the mission was given an extension by the Government of India.
• In 2020, the revised objective of the mission was to start the cultivation of saffron in the northeast of India.
• North East Centre For Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) has been given the charge to manage the pilot project which will be started in the northeast for saffron cultivation, under Project Saffron Bowl