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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE | Monday,
November 3, 2003, Chandigarh, India |
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You pay
high, yet the farmer gets a pittance Saffron
hopes lose colour Winter
maize, a viable alternative
A scabbed potato tuber.
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You
pay high, yet the farmer gets a pittance You may feel the price you pay for your food is high, and yet, ironically, the farmer who produces it remains perpetually poor. Where does the money paid by you go? Cash-crop producers, particularly those growing vegetables, and consumers equally suffer at the hands of commission agents and retailers, who pocket huge "margins." In the commission agent-retailer driven market, neither the farmer gets his due nor does the consumer have any benefit from the relatively low production cost. Both are squeezed by unscrupulous elements to earn maximum profits. In this scenario, the role of the retailer is the greatest as it is he who pockets the biggest chunk. A survey of different mandis of the Doaba region reveals that retailing vegetables is one of the most profitable businesses. The profits in this business are up to 100 per cent, at times even higher. Most commission agents also make a tidy sum, though in a different way—by eating into the market committee fee by under measuring. In either case, the silent sufferers in the brutal game are the poor farmer and the consumer, who have no alternative but to follow the dictates of these market "governors." There have only been half-baked efforts—like the setting up of apni mandis by the government in some cities—to bridge the gap between the farmer and the consumer. A Tribune investigation reveals that farmers are selling a kilo of potato at the Jalandhar vegetable market for Rs 1.5, and the same is available in the retail market between Rs 4 and 4.5—a price rise of 300 per cent. Where does this 300 per cent margin go? Into the retailer’s pocket and the marketing system. The potato costs the retailer 163.5 paise, as he has to pay 4 per cent market fee and another 5 per cent of the cost to the commission agent. According to this calculation, the retailer still gobbles up a minimum of Rs 2.37 for selling 1kg of the commodity. Even if transportation cost or wastage is discounted, he earns a minimum profit of Rs 2 per kilo, which means a solid 100 per cent, even if he sells a kilo for Rs 4. Similar is the case of other vegetables in Doaba markets. Nirbhai Singh of Rayia, who had come to sell his cabbage in the local wholesale vegetable market, had no option but to sell it at Rs 2 per kg. Within a few hours, his produce fetched prices varying from Rs 4 to 6, thanks to the "efforts" made by retailers and commission agents. Only he had no share of this increased price. The best part is these middlemen are doing no value addition to the product, only handling it. The consumer gets what the farmer produced as it is. Not much different was the case of Punjab Singh, a farmer of Mucchal village, whose radish fetched a meagre Rs 2 per kg. The vegetable is selling in the retail markets for not less than Rs 4 a kg. Brinjal turns out to be even more profitable for retailers and wholesalers as after purchasing it for prices between Re1 and Rs1.5 a kg, they are selling it for up to Rs 5. A kilo of cauliflower sold between Rs 4 and 5 in the wholesale market, is available in retail markets at between Rs 8 and 10. The wholesale price of green chilli of Rs 7 a kg becomes Rs 10-12 as soon as it reaches retail markets and vendors. In this whole price engineering, the farmer and the consumer have no role to play at any stage. One sells and the other buys at the prices quoted, and the scope for haggling is minimal. The retailer-wholesaler
profits are, however, comparatively less in vegetables like onion, which
come from other states. "After all, we have to pay for the wastage
and transportation," quipped one in a group of retailers, but
without explaining the actual calculations. |
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Saffron
hopes lose colour PAMPORE: It is harvest time for saffron at the "karevas" near here, attracting groups of men, women and children to pluck the tiny flowers in the hope of making a good income ahead of the approaching winter. These purple flowers in specially designed patches of land add a pleasant aroma to the typical surroundings bathed in the shades of autumn, and produce the world’s best crop of the costliest spice. A number of vehicles carrying tourists and others from Srinagar come to a halt at the sight of the vast patches of land with the saffron crop in full bloom. Many of the tourists like to have photographs against the background of the purple fields and local families busy plucking the flowers with care. For the farmer, though, the tourists may be an encumbrance, disturbing children in their work. Poor people from far-flung areas of the Valley move from one family to another, waiting to be offered a couple of flowers and making an earning out of that. For Abdul Salam Dar, a small saffron farmer, the crop is only going to fetch about Rs 10,000 this year. Other members of his family are busy on another patch of saffron near Lethapora, about 5 km away. Dar, a resident of the nearby Sambora village, is not happy with the state government. He had hopes pinned on his paddy field, but laments that there is no crop due to lack of irrigation facilities. A water pump from the time of Bakshi’s regime remains unattended, which could have helped in irrigation of the paddy, says Dar. This year the rains were not timely, which reduced the yield of the saffron crop to a considerable extent. The crops have suffered a lot during the previous five years due to drought conditions. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, in December last year had distributed Rs 73.69 lakh as relief among 8,245 families of 25 villages around Pampore, whose crop had been damaged due to drought during the previous three years. The Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology, Shalimar, Srinagar, has been asked to find out the other reasons behind the decline in saffron production in the area. A total of 2,947 hectares in the Pampore area, about 15 km from Srinagar on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, grows the costliest variety of saffron, which earned an annual income of over Rs 25 crore last year. There has been a decline
in saffron production over the past six years. In 2001 alone, a decline
of about 75 per cent was registered. Saffron, which is believed to have
been imported from Iran, is the costliest spice. The Pampore saffron is
regarded as the world’s best saffron. It also grows in Iran and Spain.
Over 18,000 flowers after being sun-dried make an ounce of saffron. It
fetches Rs 400 per tola (10gm). It is only the stigma of the flower that
forms the actual saffron. It finds its way to the national and
international markets in November and December months. In Kashmir it is
used to prepare kahwa and Wazwan mutton dishes, especially on marriages. |
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Winter maize, a viable alternative WINTER maize, owing to its high yield potential (approximately 80 q per hectare) and low incidence of insect pests, is a viable diversification option for Rabi. It is a long-duration crop (about 180 days), but fits well in sequence with almost all Kharif crops like soybean, mash, moong, rice, or maize. To make the crop more remunerative, pea can be inter-cropped in it for green pods. Alternatively, winter maize can be grown as an inter-crop in sugarcane. Earlier, summer local varieties were sown in Rabi, which were highly susceptible to cold, giving poor yield during winter. Recently, Punjab Agricultural University has recommended a cold-tolerant hybrid, Sheetal, for cultivation under Punjab conditions. This variety also has relatively better tolerance to common rust. The sowing of winter maize can be done on flat or raised beds. It can be done up to November 10 or on east-west ridges up to November-end. To sow, use 25kg seed/ha after treatment with Bavistin or Agrozim @ 3g/kg seed as a safeguard against seed-borne disease. Generally, two seeds per hill are sown with dibbling method at a spacing of 45 x 20 cm or 60 x 15 cm. There is a gain of 1-2 q/ha yield if sown on raised beds (1 or 2 lines per bed); besides, that also increases fertiliser use efficiency and results in saving of water. To attain proper plant population, thinning should be done to keep one plant per hill about one month after sowing. Optimum fertilisation and proper weed control is essential to realise a high yield. A fertiliser dose of 175 kg nitrogen, 60 kg phosphorus and 30 kg potash, along with 25 tonnes/ha farmyard manure should be applied to the crop. One-third of the nitrogen and all of phosphorus and potash should be applied at the time of sowing, but farmyard manure should be applied at the time of seedbed preparation. Optimally fertilised crops have been observed to withstand cold spells well, which are common in late December and early January. Atrazine/Simazine @ 1250 g/ha should be applied within 2-3 days of sowing, using 500 1itre of water and additional hoeing may be done twice or thrice at 45 days’ interval after sowing for proper weed management. Atrazine @ 1500g/ha can be sprayed post-emergence, 30- 35 days after sowing. Irrigate the crop at monthly intervals up to mid-march after sowing; thereafter irrigate at 10-15 days’ interval. Give a light irrigation at the time of frost as it helps the crop to withstand frost better. There is generally no serious insect-pest in winter maize. However, spray Metasystox 25 EC @ 500 ml/ha in 125 1itre of water if there is an attack of white fly/ jassid or Ripcord 10 EC @ 100 ml in 50 1itre water/ha against stem/stalk borer. The crop is ready for harvest when the cob husks have dried but the leaves and stalks are somewhat green. These stalks, along with leaves, are excellent animal feed as they are highly nutritive and the grain produce is shelled after husking, using conventional grain thresher. —J.S. Randhawa, R. S. Brar and J.
S. Deol |
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Common scab, bane of seed potato THE agro-climatic conditions of the cold arid zone of Himachal Pradesh are highly suited for successful cultivation of seed potato. All popularly grown varieties were introduced in Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts, cold dry areas bordering Tibet, for growing seed potato. Among bacterial diseases of potato, common scab caused by Streptomyces spp., which was previously considered to be of minor importance, is now considered a serious problem in the production of seed potato in several states of India, including Himachal Pradesh. In certain cases, the crop is rendered extremely unsightly by common scab, causing farmers heavy loss. Symptoms: Two types of lesions are formed on the tubers: shallow and deep. In shallow scabs, the tubers show superficial rough areas, sometimes raised, but often slightly sunken. In deep-pitted scab, the lesions are 1-3mm or more in depth and are darker than the lesions in shallow scab. These are either an extension of the shallow lesions, combined effect of the scab organism and some chewing insects, or due to some specific strain of the scab organism. Scabbed potatoes are unsightly and it is necessary to remove a thick layer of the skin when before cooking. Heavily infected tubers have a peculiar earthy odour, to which consumers object. Such potatoes also shrink excessively in storage owing to greater water loss. When badly scabbed potatoes are used for seed there can be a marked reduction in yield. Disease cycle: Common scab is tuber borne as well as soil borne. The young tubers, during formation of internodes and before suberisation of lenticels, are most susceptible to infection by the scab organism. Infection may occur through newly formed lenticels, stomata, wounds or directly through the cuticle when it is thin. Various soil factors influence the severity of the disease. Like all bacteria, this organism is also susceptible to acidity. The disease is significantly decreased when soil pH is brought down to below 5.2. Within the pH range of 5.2 and 8.0, the severity of the disease decreases with rising pH. Optimum temperature for growth of the organism is 25-30°C. Unlike other bacteria, Streptomyces spp. is most active in dry soils. Therefore, the disease is suppressed by watering. Superphosphate reduces scabbiness of tubers. Control: To check the disease, use clean, scab-free seed, preferably certified stock. Crop rotation with potato coming in a 3-4-year cycle reduces soil infection. Application of elemental sulphur to the soil reduces pH, which limits growth of the disease. Biological control through green manuring and cover crops like soybean also helps. Dip tubers for 10 minutes in 0.25 per cent suspension of an organomercurial fungicide such as Emisan-6, Agallol-6 or Aretan before sowing. Application of Brassicol @ 20-30 kg/ha reduces the extent of the disease. The following varieties are cultivated in Himachal Pradesh: Kufri Chandramukhi: Early maturing with attractive oval, white tubers. It degenerates slowly and keeps well. It gives a high yield and cooks easily. Kufri Jyoti: A widely adaptable fertiliser-responsive variety, it possesses a high degree of field resistance to late blight disease in the foliage and also a good degree of tuber resistance to the same disease. This variety is also resistant to wart and moderately resistant to Cercospora leaf spot. — Akhilesh Singh,
Dhanbir Singh and H.L. Thakur |
Varinder
Singh
PAMPORE:
It is harvest time for saffron at
the "karevas" near here, attracting groups of men, women and
children to pluck the tiny flowers in the hope of making a good income
ahead of the approaching winter. These purple flowers in specially
designed patches of land add a pleasant aroma to the typical
surroundings bathed in the shades of autumn, and produce the world’s
best crop of the costliest spice.
