TALL CLAIMS OR GROUND REALITY?-WHO KNOWS!

If all the good things spoken by the Agriculture Minister Sharad Power are true India is the most efficient producer of horticultural products though it is true that, in terms of volume of production the country has a global standing. If all the statistics and proclamations coming out of the government quarters are true India will become the top producer soon outpacing every other country in the world. The glitch is in the reliability of the government figures which are often not verifiable. If India is producing as much fruits and vegetables as being claimed why should there be all round price escalation seen in almost all types of this category of protective foods being experienced by the common man? Who can afford to pay a princely price of Rs 150 per kg for Apple or Rs 70 per kg of Orange or Rs 60 per kg of grapes or Rs 40 per kg of Banana (so called poor man's fruit)? The variation in price of vegetables is so wide that Tomatoes can command a price of Rs 40 per kg one day and then crash to Rs 10 per kg within a few days! The Minister seems to be living in a make believe world assuring himself that there in nothing wrong with the horticultural industry in the country! Listen to his grand standing on this front in a recent meeting which as usual patted the efforts of the government without bothering to understand the difficulties of people in getting access to cheaper fruits and vegetables any where in the country.

Shri Sharad Pawar, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries today complimented farmers and all those associated with the development of horticulture in the country for achieving an all time record production of over 240 million tonne of horticulture produce. Addressing the National Conference on Horticulture Production and Productivity here today Shri Pawar said that increase in production has resulted in higher per capita availability of fruits and vegetables, besides substantial increase in its exports, which has helped the country to earn foreign exchange to the tune of Rs. 14,000 crore. Shri Pawar announced the formal launch of 2012 as the "Year of Horticulture" to bring horticulture development in the country to centre stage. The Minister said, " While we have achieved considerable success on the production front, the supply chain issues still need to be addressed. The Vegetable Initiative for Urban Clusters is an important step in this direction. This was launched during the current year with an outlay of Rs. 300 crore under the aegis of RKVY. To start with, the Scheme is being implemented with focus on sustained supply of good quality vegetables to urban centres having a population of one million and above. The scheme lays special emphasis on promoting protected cultivation of vegetables in green houses and shade-net houses for enhancing its productivity. Besides, formation of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) and linkage with financial institutions through Aggregators is an innovative feature of the Scheme, Over 62,000 farmers have already been mobilized into over 3000 Farmer Interest Groups (FIG) and 50 Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) under this scheme." 

While announcing a series of nice sounding "Schemes" with attractive acronyms the Minister seems to have forgotten about the previous "avatars" of such "novel" programs which did not make any impact at all in easing the availability problem a wee bit. No one knows what the much heralded National Horticulture Board (NHB) is doing or for that matter the fate of the "Horticulture Mission", announced by the same Minister some time back. Does this not amount to pulling the wool over the eyes of the citizens? National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) which was asked to do an "Amul" on fruits and vegetables in nineteen eighties has not been given a free hand and its "cooperatization" strategy for production and marketing seems to be withering away with no dramatic or visible impact in any states in the country. Is it not laughable when one hears about the philosophy of the government when the now abandoned FDI policy in retail sector was touted as a savior for the Indian farmers! Claiming that India was able to achieve an export of Rs 14000 crore is no credit for any one considering the difficulties faced by the citizens in accessing fruits and vegetables at affordable cost. Government must seriously consider measures to increase productivity and creation of a stable distribution and marketing system to ensure uniform prices through out the year whether in cooperation with private players or through organizations like NDDB with proven track record.   

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

POPULAR "DOLE OUTS"-AN EASY WAY OF RULING THE COUNTRY?

That a blind and insensitive government can cause immense damage is amply borne out by some of the reckless policies being pursued by the present government in India. Most audacious policy which has caused fierce controversy is its new so called "food security" bill which is being sought to be pushed through for the sake of garnering vote banks for riding to power again. It is scary for the citizens that national resources are being frittered away in the name of social equity because a bankrupt country cannot exist for long without massive foreign aid and debt burden. Impartial observers may fret and fume about these policies but the magnet of power can make political parties impervious to criticism or suggestions from those who are knowledgeable on this score. Here is a commentary on GOI policies as being pursued bringing out the dangers inherent in such policies. 

"Taking forward its 'aam aadmi' agenda through policies like the Food Security Bill, the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre looks set to pursue more such policies after the UP polls. In fact, sops announced in the run up to the Assembly polls like the financial package for handloom weavers that will result in a financial burden of Rs 6,303 crore to the government will have to be implemented. With such populist measures costing the government dearly, bureaucrats at North Block are a worried lot, as they grapple with the task of containing a rising fiscal deficit. According to Congress sources, with a better performance for the party in UP being a foregone conclusion, more such popular policies will be pedalled out. A National Advisory Council (NAC) member, speaking to Business Standard, said the Council had already been deliberating on an entire range of policy initiatives for the poor and the disadvantaged, but the model code of conduct makes it difficult for them to speak openly about it at present. Some of the policies the NAC is working on include schemes for street vendors, the urban poor and tribal groups. Significantly, the much-hyped Food Security Bill — a pet project of Sonia Gandhi-led NAC and which the Congress has even committed in its poll manifesto — is likely to push up the subsidy by Rs 27,663 crore by conservative estimates. While Gandhi's 'big ticket' policy was opposed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar initially, citing financial difficulty, it was ultimately pushed through keeping in mind the crucial Assembly elections in UP. The legislation will enable priority households seven kg of rice, wheat and coarse grains to per person per month at Rs 3, Rs 2 and Rs 1 a kg respectively. In the run up to the polls, the financial package for handloom weavers in UP that will set back the government by Rs 6,234 crore was announced by textiles minister Anand Sharma. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's famed Bundelkhand package for drought mitigation has a total outlay of Rs 3,606 crore for use over three years. What was a one time specific need measure has now become a template for further dole outs. The Congress has now gone ahead and promised a series of packages for other "backward regions" in the state such as Mirzapur, Sonbhadra and Chandauli, based on the Bundelkhand package model. Political sociologist Dipankar Gupta speaking to Business Standard said, "These initiatives are effective as one time 'relief measures' to alleviate a crisis situation. The problem arises when instead of being discontinued after some time they are retained as perennial policy."

With a massively corrupt PDS system which is similar to a big sieve that allows more grains to be pilfered before reaching their destination, adding more resources to subsidize this white elephant is nothing but farce perpetrated on the honest citizens of this country. It is shocking to see many recipients of PDS grains feeding the grains to their cattle and poultry birds because of its bad quality and excess grains, more than they need, being given to them! There seems to be no acknowledgment that the PDS as it exists to day has not reduced the poverty level to any significant extent during the last few years. Feeble attempts to address the issue are no substitute to bold action to "engineer" a more equitable and foolproof system to overcome hunger and poverty in the country within a reasonable time.

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

   

A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON "SOUND EATING"-NEED FOR MORE DEBATE

Importance of sustainability to protect mankind from impending crisis vis-a-vis energy shortage cannot be over stressed. Practically every knowledgeable expert agrees with the contention that food raising practices will have to cut down on energy intake as existing reserves of non-renewable energy resources are bound to be exhausted sooner than later. No amount of glib talking about renewable or inexhaustible energy sources can mask the reality that it is nothing but a Utopian dream. Emergence of movements like Locavores, Slow Foods, Urban farming, Campaign against industrial farming etc can be attributed to this realization which is slowly dawning on people impacting their living styles. Contrary to the common perceptions that GMO is bad, commercial agriculture is detestable and more local foods must be eaten to safeguard future is debunked by a recent analysis by a reputed economist in the US which is interesting to read. Here is a take on the issue.  

"Food people need to pick their issues," says Tyler Cowen, an economist, blogger, and connoisseur of cheap, ethnic eats in the Washington, D.C., metro area. "I think the issues that are important to pick are meat and antibiotics." Issues that are not important, in Cowen's view? Eating local, going organic, eliminating GMO crops. Cowen's new book, An Economist Gets Lunch, takes a series of unorthodox stands on the best way to eat well while improving the world. It reads like a how-to guide for adopting Cowen's particular brand of conscientious eating and tosses aside certain closely-held tenets of foodies and environmentalists. Locavorism gets the hardest rap, and agribusiness an unusual amount of praise. It's occasionally aggravating, particularly since Cowen often cites details without research to back them up. (In the great dish-washing debate, for instance, he advocates for hand- over machine-washing but apparently wasn't aware of the energy and water-saving advantages of the dishwasher.) Still, it's worth considering the points on which he aligns with traditional food gospel and the points on which he differs. Taken together, they offer a reasonable, alternate vision for how to approach these issues. Like most environmentalists, Cowen supports a policy that would control carbon emissions. His policy of choice is a carbon tax, which would help guide consumers' choices to low-carbon products and activities and release us from the burden of remembering what we're supposed to be doing and what we're not. "Most people, even well-informed people, don't have a good sense of how much an afternoon drive in a Mercedes contributes to the climate change problem relative to buying a batch of flown-in asparagus or subbing in a steak for a chicken breast," he writes in the book. He sees deforestation as a major problem, and supports a higher tax on meat and efforts to support reforestation. He also wants to encourage lower-carbon urban living by eliminating height limits and parking requirements for developers. Most environmentalists could get on board with that vision. But Cowen also defends agribusiness on environmental grounds: its efficiency has kept more land free of agricultural development, he argues, and makes feeding cities possible. He thinks that countries where hunger is still a problem need to adopt similar systems, including GMO crops, and that, on balance, chemical fertilizers have both advantages and disadvantages"

Of course everybody has a right to express his or her opinion on any matter and if there is some substance in such views people are bound to listen. Here is an economist who has expressed his views on to day's issues concerning food and energy which seems to be attracting wide attention. Whether his opinions are based on reality needs to be debated and in a democratic world every dissenting voice must be heard before coalescing towards a consensus. It is for the international community to take note of the new dimensions thrown up by the above report. After all there is no difference regarding the urgent need for cutting down on carbon emissions and controlling criminal energy guzzling practices of to day and variance is only regarding the best solution that can abate the alarming situation being faced by Homo sapiens.  

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

THE WEIGHT "FRAUD"!-A RAMPANT OCCURRENCE

Consumers world over have to trust the market players when it comes to the weight or volume of contents in a portion sold to them whether packed or fresh. Each country is supposed to have iron-clad rules to protect its citizens from weight frauds indulged by sellers as the consumer cannot be expected to carry measuring devices with them while going for shopping. Citizens depend on the government to discipline the trade through deterrent measures when corrupt selling practices are detected and a vigilant monitoring force is a pre-requisite for identifying fraudsters who indulge in such devious activities. In big countries like India or China, the monitoring agencies often do not have adequate infrastructure and personnel to systematically and continuously catch the culprits, thereby harming the economic interests of the consumers. Here is a story from China which speaks of such frauds in that country as reported recently. 

"SOME hypermarkets and wet markets in the city are cheating consumers on products' weight, particularly on fresh food products, Shanghai quality watchdogs say. Officials with the Shanghai Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision said in some of the hypermarkets, the weight stated on food labels included the weight of the packages. In the Tesco Zhenbei branch in Putuo District, the weight of a pack of sea cucumbers was nearly 15 grams lighter than what the label said, forcing consumers to pay 1.2 yuan (US19 cents) more for each pack, said the bureau. In the NGS No. 118 store, also in Putuo, 10 types of products included the package weight - cooked food, imported fruits, fresh meat, aquatic products and others. And in some wet markets, officials found some vendors rigged electronic scales with a program written into the scales' computer chips, officials said. Yesterday in a vegetable wholesale market in Minhang District, a vendor was using a scale which could control the readout of the weight by pushing designated buttons. Hu Jianping, an city quality official, said the cheating was subtle enough that common consumers could not tell". 

In India there was a time when the Standards of Weight and Measures regulation was in force and those indulging in malpractices were dealt with severely. Sadly in its pursuit of economic liberalization and growth, the government policy underwent drastic changes allowing sellers to pack foods in any non-standard norm and the result is utter chaos in the market. The hapless consumer in the country finds it hard to choose products based on weight because the present labeling provisions do not insist on including the unit cost prominently. In their drive to expand sales manufacturers are adjusting the contents to suit round figures like Rs 2, 3, 5, 6, 10 20 etc and it is common to find same types of products selling at a particular price with varying contents! Similarly there are millions of retail stores which sell loose commodities using defective or manipulated weighing devices. Same is true with wet markets which sell fruits and vegetables using defective balances. One is yet to hear of a fraudster being booked for such heinous crimes! A sad reflection on the ability or commitment on the part of the government to consumer welfare!  

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

TAMING THE MNC FOOD GIANTS-CHINESE EXAMPLE

Most developing countries have the tendency to bend backwards to please multinational food companies for attracting foreign investment at "any cost" by evolving policies that are considered too liberal. In India most MNCs have a field day with barely any visible strategy or vigilance on the part of the government to monitor their actions which cannot be considered consumer friendly too often. The infamous Bhopal Gas Tragedy is still fresh in the memory of people and how the government then in power enabled the responsible people to escape with barely rap on their knuckle is part of history. Even to day the successor company Dow Chemicals is least bothered about the human tragedy that shook the international community. With unlimited freedom given to these companies Indian food sector is dominated by half a dozen such giants operating with impunity, destroying the domestic food processors slowly. In contrast look at the Chinese landscape where the government has shown great alacrity in booking those causing potential injury to its citizens. Latest to be booked is the global potato fry manufacturer who had to apologize to the country for its deficiencies in safeguarding the safety of products served by them. Here is a take on this episode as reported from China. 

"Just weeks after launching an advertising campaign focused on food and quality safety in China, McDonalds is under fire for local food safety violations. State-run China Central Television accused the company of selling chicken wings more than an hour and a half after they were cooked, which is about an hour past the company's self-imposed rule. The report also said that workers prepared and served beef that had fallen on the floor. The investigation was launched to mark World Consumer Rights Day on Wednesday. "McDonald's China attaches great importance to this," the company responded on its website. "We will immediately investigate this isolated incident, resolutely deal with it earnestly and take concrete actions to apologize to consumers." 

Interestingly there is an orchestrated campaign in that country as well as in the international circuits that MNCs re being discriminated against by Chinese authorities who are showing extra lenience while dealing with local processors. There may be some truth in that allegation but it does not speak well of these food giants when they start comparing themselves with their domestic counterparts while claiming at the same time that their technological superiority gives the consumers a better and safer product!. Chinese government, in spite of all food safety scandals happening in the country must be given due credit for disciplining the foreign food manufacturers who have greater potential to harm the consumers through their awesome technological and financial clout. Countries like India must learn a lesson from this episode to increase state vigilance on the working of some of the MNCs who have the notoriety in manipulating state policies in their favor and cause irreparable damage in the long run. 

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

DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE!-ANOTHER VIEW ABOUT PDS IN INDIA

That the PDS system which is supposed to serve millions of impoverished Indian population is in total shambles is well known with massive pilferage being the hall mark of the program. The only point on which there is difference of opinion among impartial observers concerns the percentage of intended beneficiaries who get the real benefit, the estimates varying from 40% to 65%! In spite of the criminalization of PDS, country's GDP seems to be registering amazing growth with people to day having more money in their hands like never before. If the latest revelation that PDS grains are used by many families to raise Chickens and other domesticated food yielding animals is true, Government needs to rethink the strategy as to whether the PDS is really serving the purpose for which it was created. Probably those who receive the PDS grains find it hard to consume them because of extremely low quality and hence are feeding the same to raise meat, egg and milk! The brand new Food Security Bill further seeks to raise the subsidy and provide these grains at practically throw away prices of Rs 1-3 per kg! These reckless policies, with a hidden agenda of cornering vote banks, especially in rural areas, can only lead to more starvation, under nourishment, malnutrition and bankruptcy of the economy in the long run. 

Padmini, a native of Chertala Taluk in Kerala says that she gets more than enough foodgrains to feed her family at subsidised rates of Re 1 to 2 per kg. So she sees no harm in feeding the excess grain to household chicken and ducks. After all, eggs, chicken and duck fetch substantially higher value at the market. Moreover, it would be far more expensive to buy rice-brawn and coarse cereals which were fed to the poultry earlier. While the political masters are deliberating the prudency and expediency of the newly revised poverty line, millions like Padmini have no doubt crossed the invisible line which divides the poor from the rich in India. Suffice to say that it has been a feat without parallel in Indian economic history. A feat, more remarkable than India's tryst with liberalisation programmes. Despite all the success stories about India's green revolution and self sufficiency in food grain production, per capita availability of cereals stagnated around the 400 gram mark during the past 50 years. Productivity had marched ahead. Food grain production had tripled. But for occasional vagaries of weather and wild swings in production there was nothing substantially wrong with India's food production. The visible signs of prosperity both in India's rural heartland and urban sprawls are real. These signs meant that India's poor were consuming more. Per capita food grain availability should have zoomed. But that has not been the case.

According to recent reports, country's food production is expected to be unusually high and if procurement prices are right there could be a large inflow into the granaries of the government. With the storage capacity in the country being limited a substantial portion of the procured grains will have to be kept under CAP system of open storage which will further aggravate the quality problem already being experienced with PDS grains. If the cash distribution option being considered in lieu of food grains is implemented what will happen to the PDS is a million dollar question. A fundamental issue that is ignored by the policy makers is whether such free distribution of national wealth will not impact the human productivity in the country adversely as the need to work to get food is obviated by the government largess. Unless subsidized food is confined and restricted to those who are really poor by standard economic markers as assessed by scientific census there is no justification to waste national wealth so recklessly as being proposed.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

BUSINESS CAN BE A "BINDING FORCE"-THE "PULSE" AGREEMENT

A hungry China is a sure bet for good business for many developed countries as the Chinese foreign exchange holdings are very high sufficient to pay for import of goods required by the population there. USA and Canada are two countries which produce lot of excess agriculture crops including food which are more than that required by their population. Interestingly pulses are never a significant part of neither American nor Canadian diets but still commodities like dry peas and Lentils are produced in these two countries most of which need to be exported. Chinese is also not a legume consuming country and the recent agreement for China to import legumes from Canada is therefore surprising. Here is a take on this new bon homie between Canada and China. 

"We've been told China is a hungry country looking for partners to help feed it. Canada, a country heavily dependent on exports, is emerging as an important player in this quest. China has the ways and means to pay its bills, and represents a superb opportunity for North American farmers. It's becoming increasingly aggressive in wanting to sign food-related deals with the western world. Although it claims to be about 95 per cent self-sufficient in grains, its agricultural trade deficit grew by almost 50 per cent last year, as its population grows interested in an increasingly varied and healthy menu. Among its new interests are pulses — peas and lentils among them, which despite having been around forever are becoming renowned for their exceptional nutritional benefits. Canadian farmers grow the world's best pulses, and last year Pulse Canada, the progressively minded commodity group representing these crops, began collaborating with the Chinese Cereals and Oils Association to pursue new product development using pulses. Pulse Canada says Canadian and Chinese researchers are now working together to introduce pulses into Chinese staple foods such as noodles, steamed breads and dumplings, as well as snack foods and meat products. Last week, Canada and China signed a new memorandum of agreement — in which education, agriculture, science and technology were specifically mentioned — to increase the connection between the two countries, opening even more doors for development as the two countries drive toward a potential free-trade agreement. At the signing of the memorandum, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the rapidly increasing commercial, cultural and scholastic ties between our two countries are creating new jobs and economic growth. Indeed, this is a hot market and a growth area that Canada does not want to miss."

One is reminded of the historic attempts in the past by the US in expanding wheat consumption in Asian countries like Korea so that the surplus wheat production can be exported to these countries. Organizations like the Wheat Associates were conspicuous by their promotional activities in countries like India till recently and to day wheat has become a standard item in the menu of many erstwhile rice eating nations. Same is happening in legumes also and the presence of agencies representing the growers in the US and Canada are working over time to find markets for their pulses in these places. The unfortunate aspect of this development is that the imported pulses compete directly with domestic produce and with heavy subsidies received by the farmers in these countries the market price for the imported pulses are invariably much less than that of the local produce. China may well aware of these implications while operationalizing the bilateral agreement.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com