"NUTRITION FARMS"-A NEW AGRI-INITIATIVE IN ODISHA

If ideas and plans of governments can be really translated into reality, India would never have been in the present sorry situation. Some of the laws and regulations in the statute books are excellent in concept but there is no teeth in implementing the same in letter and spirit. Whether political class is to be blamed or it is bureaucratic machinery that is responsible for the malaise is a million dollar question begging for an answer! In the latest proposal emanating from Delhi, a Rs 200 crore project is about to be launched for setting up a cluster of nutritional food farms in Odisha State on lands belonging to the farmers for producing new crops which are more nutritious compared to their traditional counterparts and as a pilot project if this attempt succeeds same strategy is sought to be replicated throughout the country. GoI deserves full kudos for this idea though there can be many a slip between the cup and the lip! Here is a report on this proposal as being drafted by the Agri Min of GoI.  

The Union Ministry of Agriculture has launched a pilot project to set up nutrition farms in Kalahandi district. The project is aimed at promoting cultivation of crops rich in critical micro nutrients to improve the nutrition level in food in those districts of the country which are affected by mal-nutrition. The Central Government has earmarked ` 200 crore for the implementation of the  project. Besides Kalahandi, the project will be implemented in Boudh, Dhenkanal, Gajpati, Koraput and Malkangiri districts. Deputy Director of Agriculture Kalahandi circle Kailash Chandra Behera said it is programmed to organise and demarcate the clusters for the nutritionally rich selective bio fortified crops. The varieties to be grown in Kalahandi are AD-43 paddy fortified with zinc and micro nutrients, HQPM - 1 to 5 varieties of maize which is rich in lysine and tryptophan and finger millet of PRM-1, VL-315 and VL-324 varieties which are rich in iron and zinc. It is programmed to set up farms in the fields of beneficiaries. Paddy will be raised in 100 clusters, maize in 230 and finger millets in 100. Each of the clusters will be of 10 hectares. Seed, micro nutrients and fertiliser worth `5000 per hectare will be given to the beneficiaries while ` 500 per hectare will be given for miscellaneous expenses to execute the works. The pilot project is a new concept and will be gradually popularised, added Behera.

Iron and Vitamin A are the two critical micro nutrients which are grossly inadequate causing anemia and blindness among many rural folks. The new seeds and other required inputs are sought to be supplied to the identified  farmers with necessary technical assistance for familiarizing them with right agricultural husbandry practices to enable them to raise the new crops. Whether the eating quality of new varieties being propagated would be satisfactory as far as the consumers are concerned or whether theses farmers will face any problem in marketing the surplus production remains to be seen. One may recall similar efforts earlier to propagate Vitamin A rich rice varieties by the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) which was not an unqualified success because of the yellow tint evident in the grains. Same fate should not befall here also and GoI should be beware of this.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

A NEW FRESH VEGETABLE INITIATIVE-THE A.P.EXPERIMENT

If there is one single initiative any government has taken recently benefiting the farmer and the consumer equally, it is the recent program launched in Andhra Pradesh by the Horticulture Department of the state for delivering fresh vegetables at the door steps of the families. The beauty of the program is that there are triple beneficiaries all getting a fair deal under the arrangements put in place. Farmers in villages are divided into clusters, with each cluster being assigned to an entrepreneur who is equipped with specially designed vans to collect and bring to different colonies in cities nearby. This is an example of how well intentioned, soundly designed and efficiently executed public programs can serve the communities well and reduce the impact of uncertainties and fluctuations in prices commonly experienced these days due to the brutal middlemen who exploit both the farmer and the consumer for his self interest. Here is a take on this approach of A. P. government which needs to be congratulated for the citizen friendly program that enables people to get access to the protective foods so necessary for protecting health.  

"The 'Farm Fresh Vegetables on Wheels'  launched by the Department of Horticulture involving clusters of farmers and farming entrepreneurs is catching up with the citizens of the city welcoming it. The state-wide programme launched on March 18 in the city had been formulated with farmers groups in a village formed into a cluster. The farmers in the cluster supply freshly harvested vegetables to the Horticulture entrepreneurs who are either from among the families of the farmers or an outsider, who collects vegetables in the early hours of each day from the vegetable farms and carry them in his specially designed mobile vegetable sales outlet given by the department of Horticulture. The posh looking mobile outlet is given on a subsidy of Rs.2 lakh out of a total cost of Rs.5.3 lakh. A loudspeaker is fitted to the vehicle and a recorded message announces the arrival of the vehicle at the residential colonies. The entrepreneur brings the vegetables to the city by 9 a.m. to the designated residential localities. One of the entrepreneurs selected by the department Nagi Reddy Sathyanarayana told The Hindu that he hailed from Adduru village in Chodavaram mandal. He is also a vegetable farmer and part of the cluster of farmers in his village. Nagi Reddy sells vegetables in the posh residential colony of Waltair Uplands and is quite happy with the success of the scheme. Local resident Mercy Paul, a regular customer at the outlet said that she was very happy with the quality of vegetables. They are fresh and fine. The prices appear to be higher than Rythu Bazzar but the vegetables are arriving at our doorstep, she adds. As the mobile outlet arrives women can be seen grabbing the fresh vegetables".

Since the program has been launched very recently it may take some time before a value judgment regarding its efficacy or impact can be made though involvement of private entrepreneurs can definitely give it a fair chance of success. One cannot forget the Fruit and Vegetable initiative taken way back in 1980s under the NDDB umbrella which promised many things but could not manage a pan India foot print so far for many reasons. This responsibility undertaken while Dr Verghese Kurien was alive, was entrusted to NDDB because of its vast experience in organizing milk cooperatives which contributed in no small measure to the roaring success in the form of White Revolution. In a smaller way HOPCOMS in Karnataka organized fruit and vegetable vending kiosks in many urban areas in the state with active participation by the Horticulture Department and this program also could not show any dramatic results as reflected by the poor condition under which many vegetable vending kiosks in most cities work to day. The novelty of the A P Scheme is that the fresh commodity is delivered in a prime condition to the house holds at reasonable prices and if the new initiative really succeeds, it can be a model that can be replicated all over the country with great relief to the much harassed consumer and badly exploited farmers!   

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

THE GREAT FOOD "TAMASHA" IN THE US-WHAT A TRAGEDY!

"Small is beautiful" is a famous saying that set the policies of many countries in promoting small and micro enterprises during the last millennium. But the world seems to have turned on its head with the emergence of "oligopoly" that controls the food market in countries like the US. The Americans boast that theirs is a country with unlimited choices of foods to the consumers who can pick and choose from over 50000 products offered in big and well organized super market outlets, may be literally true but a close critical look will reveal that these products are made by a few players with deep pockets and political power to sabotage any well meaning policies considered good for the consumers. The very fact that more than two thirds of the 300 plus million population in the US are either obese or overweight tells its own story regarding the track record of these handful of giant transnational companies. Fast disappearing breed of small and family farmers because of the onslaught of powerful corporate players further limits the choice of the consumer who is forced to "eat" what is offered and not necessarily what is good for him. Here is a critical commentary on this disturbing trend which is spreading across the world with unabashed capitalism spreading its wings.   

"Just five companies account for almost half of supermarket food sales in the United States. And what about the food those companies offer us? Let's take meat. A meal is not a proper meal without it, at least for 97 out of 100 Americans. Just four companies provide us with 79 percent of our beef, 65 percent of our pork, and 57 percent of our poultry. So, no matter what kind of meat we have for dinner, most likely it comes from the same handful of companies: Tyson,JBS, Cargill, Smithfield. You can never decide which bacon to bring home? Armour, Eckrich, Farmland, Gwaltney, John Morrell, Smithfield – all owned by Smithfield. So, market power is consolidated in the hands of a few multinational corporations. What does this mean for the food we eat and the people who produce it? They explain: Control of our food supply has been wrenched from independent farmers and ranchers in the corporate boardrooms of agribusiness giants. Since 1980, four out of 10 farmers who raise cattle and nine out of 10 who raise hogs have gone out of business.Under this Darwinian survival of the fittest model, control of most production is now in the hands of large corporations. But farmers still raise cows, and pigs, and chickens, right? Yes they do, say the professors, who recently also co-authored Slaughterhouse Blues: The Meat and Poultry Industry of North America, but "most of them don't really own the animals they raise. Virtually all the chickens sold in the United States are grown under production contracts to a handful of companies, who own the birds from egg to supermarket."

It has to be conceded that any investor pumping in money for taking up a manufacturing venture must be assured of a decent return on his capital but this has to happen under an environment where equity is the hall mark with every one, small and big getting equal opportunity. This is not what is actually happening as those with big money invariably buy out the smaller fish with highly tempting terms. Which small investor can resist the temptation of selling his venture if prices offered are 50-150% of the real value? While main stream food production and processing industry has been monopolized by a few giants, it is apprehended that organic food industry, evolved to escape from the risks inherent in most products offered by the modern processing sector, will also be eventually assimilated by the latter through economic aggression. Developing countries must shun such a model and put in place constructive policies and frame works to nurture small enterprises and ensure protection from the marauding poachers. Those countries clamoring for foreign investments in food processing and retailing with open arms, must guard against the transformation of their food sector into the ugly food scenario that predominates in the US where the powerful industry lobby is dictating terms to the government regarding what is good for the citizen!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com