Hingalganj experience

Recently, I went to Hingalganj near Sundarban and Bangladesh. I met 53 farmers and noticed their failures in following five areas:

1. Inability to create customer;
2. Unorganized crop production;
3. Lack of diary writing ;
4. Lack of knowledge about risk analysis and financial management;
5. Lack of knowledge about project analysis and goal setting.

Their educational level ranged from class VII to B.A.

My visit was arranged by Shri Nilangshu Gain of Swanirbhar.
Ardhendu Bhattacharya was with me.

comment from orkut friend

Some of the problems faced by small farmer are;

Lack of knowledge: Lack of knowledge about modern farming techniques, Lack of knowledge about abt various govt measures, availability of farm loans and knowledge about use of pesticides are common among farmers. They are many farmers ( I guess more than 60-70%) who never approached agriculture department. Many of them are not even aware of existence of such institution.

Lack of better price: Most of the farmers do not get good prices for their produces. There is involvement of many intermediaries in between which result in less prices for the agri produces of a farmer. There are many farmers who are not even aware of APMC. People approach local dealer and sell their produce at the price quoted by the dealer. Since small farmers cannot afford to transport their products to mandis, they don't get a good deal.

Cost of farming : The cost of farming has increased substantially over the years. It is quite natural that the workers demand higher wages as they get similar salary outside. However we didn't see such a similar rise in the income of farmers. Earlier small farmers used to do most of their farm work with the help of family members. Since we don't have many joint families, the labor cost in farming has increased substantially.

Non availability of Labor: Non availability of Labor is one of the problem now and going forward it will be one of the biggest challenge for the farmer. People's attitude towards farming, the hard work involved in farming and other lucrative opportunities available are some of the reasons for that.

Dependence on single crop: Most of the farmers are small scale farmers and they rely on single farming and in case diseases or fall in prices incur huge losses.

I think multi tasking is one of the best way to become a successful farmer. Rather than depending on a single crop farmer should try multi produts. NGOs should come forward and help farmers in logistic issues and NGOs must try to educate famers..

Value change

Farming is basically based on collectivistic values. Farmers are interacting with each other. They maintain a good social network system through which they learn different procedures of farming, and develop market.

This is noted that farmers are moving from collectivistic values to individualistic values possibly due to market competition as is noted in urban based industries.

Baduria visit and new experience

Yesterday (3rd Nov.2009), I met almost 30 farmers engaged in sustainable agriculture procedure. Debalina Chatterjee and me went there with the help of Shri Neelangshu Gain. Shri Gain is running one NGO named
'Swanirbhar'. The NGO aims at spreading education about sustainable agriculture system among rural poor farmers. Through the Secretary of DRCSC, Shri Anshuman Das, I get opportunity to interact with Shri Gain.
Shri Gain is versatile person having vast knowledge about sustainable agriculture. In SA, focus is on engineering education about organic instead of chemical fertilizers and germinated seed transplantation. He told us about diversified education and affiliation ranging from software engineering to agricultural education to health sciences. He did some researches on mangroves of Sundarban, AILA etc. His research method usually follows evidence based model rather empirical statistical data analysis.

We collected data from a training center managed by Swanirbhar. Shri Gain was with us despite his active involvement in different areas. The place from where we collected data is 10/15 Kms away from Baduria.

There I have learned that successful plantation requires biodiversity. Farmers who engineer biodiversity are effective in the followings:
1. Multi farming
2. Land utiliization
3. Leadership development in marketing
4. Innovation

These farmers are not anxious at all for availability of fertilizers, pesticides and weedicides. All the three are under their control.
Another advantage is killing bad insects and rearing good insects.
They are using vermicompost system with knowledge getting from local training centers managed by NGOs.

On the other hand non biodiversified plantation farmers are using pesticides and others in considering their own assumptions. If they get poor result, they are asking for advice from the local fertilizer shops. These local fertilizer shops are also not well educated.


Mr. Gain assisted us to visit one successful farmer. Below is his life style:


Here is a farmer, commerce graduate, 60 years old, has one small plot of land (4 bighas) and one small pond. He himself is farming land using traditional instruments - 'kurul', 'kaste' etc. He constructed some 'macha' around the pond and cultivated vegetables. Pond is used for fishing. Many crabs are making their shelters around the pond. So his earning comes from the crab also.
He has some hens they are using for making the land more fertile. Their excreta help to make more insects. Insects are taking shelters in the land. This makes the land fertile. Besides, the farmer prepares own vermicompost. He is using organic fertilizers in the land and selling them to local farmers.
He cultivates land for 3 times rice crop production. He has some mango trees. Beneath the trees, I have seen some vegetable plants. He is not using any pesticide or weedicide. Rather, he is telling about plantation of some medicinal plants in such a way so that insects are misguided. He is earning through medicinal plants also.
He told me his own shop in the market. Buyers who can afford more buy from his shop.


Baduria
Baduria is a city as well as a municipality located in the North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal in India. It is a part of the Basirhat subdivision and also has a police station. The administrative hub of the North 24 Parganas district is Barasat. The district is located between latitudes 23°15` North and 22°11` North and longitudes 89°5` East and 88°20` East. The district is a part of the Ganges- Brahmaputra delta. The river Ganges flows parallel to the entire west border of the district. There are numerous over rivers. Ichhamati, Jamuna, and Bidyadhari are a few to name. The soil type of this region ranges from sandy to clayey loam. This district experiences tropical climate similar to the remaining part of the Gangetic West Bengal. The characteristic feature of the climate is the Monsoon, which lasts from early June to mid September. The weather conditions range from dry during the winter (mid November to mid February) to humid during the summer. The annual rainfall is normally about 1,579 mm. The people of the North 24 Parganas district are primarily farming or service people. Important towns of this district include Barrackpore, Barasat, Habra, Bongaon, Gobardanga, Duttapukur, Naihati, Madhyamgram, Sodepur, Jagulia, Belgharia, Basirhat and Khardaha.

The town of Baduria in this district is located at 22.74° North and 88.79° East. This town is situated 8 meters (26 feet) above sea level. In accordance with the 2001 India census Baduria has a population of 47,418. Males and females respectively comprise 51% and 49% of the population. The standard literacy rate of this town is 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. 55% of the male population and 45% of the female population are literate. 13% of the population is less than 6 years of age.
Ref: http://www.indianetzone.com/6/baduria.htm

Indian women farmers coping with climate change

Indian women farmers coping with climate change
Ref: http://southasia.oneworld.net/fromthegrassroots/indian-women-farmers-coping-with-climate-change

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Manisha Prakash
26 October 2009


At a recent public hearing, Indian women farmers voiced their helplessness in dealing with the ramifications of global warming. While men are increasingly migrating to towns in search of employment, women are left to struggle against erratic weather patterns, rising temperatures and decreasing groundwater levels to support their families.

Patna: Neelam Devi, 35, and Israwati Devi, 45, from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, respectively, are women farmers struggling to make ends meet, as unpredictable rain patterns, rising temperatures and falling groundwater levels ruin crops and devastate the well-being of their families.

Far removed from the jargon of climate change these women, along with several other ordinary farmers, shared their experience of coping with climate change at a public hearing on ‘Climate Change and Livelihoods in Flood Prone Areas’ held in Patna, recently.

The hearing is part of a nationwide series organised by Oxfam International to provide a platform for climate-affected people at the grassroots, so that they can catch the ear of policy makers and administrators.

The testimonies

The testimonies of Neelam and Israwati - along with those of eight other farmers, who came from places like Muzaffarnagar in Bihar and the villages of eastern Uttar Pradesh - will be taken to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference that will be held in December this year.

“I belong to the flood-prone Raghopur village in Muzaffarpur district. In recent years, climate change has adversely affected our lives, agriculture and our cattle. We now face a changed weather system: During the monsoon there is little or no rain; then suddenly the skies open out and we have to face floods,” explained Neelam in a steady voice.

She pointed out that the changing weather pattern has left farmers with little option but to desert the land that had sustained them all these years and seek out new sources of income.

Neelam linked migration to climate change. She believed that “agriculture is no longer an occupation that can offer much to those who till the land.” Both Neelam and her husband were on the verge of relocating themselves, much against their wishes, when help arrived.

Recalls Neelam: “My husband was desperately making plans for us to migrate when this SHG stepped in and assisted us in setting up a shop so that we could earn a livelihood.”

Disturbing new realities

Those who stay on have to confront disturbing new realities. Upendra Choudhary, 50, from Dumri village of Muzaffarpur, has observed three trends that are increasingly making themselves felt in the region: Temperatures rising to 40 degrees Celsius - very rare in earlier days - dangerously declining groundwater levels and frequent floods. In fact, some blocks of Muzaffarpur witness floods almost every year.

"Anomalies like this are adversely impacting every single person. Falling water levels have hit farming operations considerably. The more prosperous farmers are now resorting to pumps run on diesel and electricity to squeeze out precious groundwater from the earth,” explained Choudhary.

Having travelled to Patna from eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP), Hublal Chauhan, 50, from Maharajganj, also mentioned that he now missed the early winter nip in the air that had once marked the onset of the month of October.

Chauhan appeared to be a keen observer of nature. According to him: “the migratory birds and the common sparrow have disappeared from our regions.” Chauhan, like many other villagers, has been forced to adopt new ways of coping with the unpredictable situation. He now does mixed cropping on his fields and believes that grain banks have become essential to ensure a modicum of food security for the household.

While the urban populace finds quick relief from rising temperatures by installing air conditioners, which incidentally only contribute to the problem, marginal farmers and their families know very well that there is no device that can instantly raise groundwater levels or improve the quality of the harvest.

Impacts of extreme weather

The testimony of Israwati, a woman farmer from Sant Kabir Nagar in UP, was eloquent. “The milk yields from my cattle have declined greatly because of the unbearable heat. Even the size of fruits has decreased.”

Israwati is part of a growing tribe of rural women who have been forced to become farmers and breadwinners for their families. This is largely because the men have moved out of the villages in search of better paying work, leaving the women to tend to the fields that they had once tilled.

The women who are left behind now have to bear the double burden of having to farm the land as well as play their traditional roles as caregivers within the household.

As various voices - seldom heard by the city elite - threw light on the impact of extreme weather on local livelihoods and incomes, it also became apparent that it is the women, children and the elderly who are the worst affected.

Not only has climate change adversely impacted on the quantity and quality of food available to them, people who are either too young or too infirm to look after themselves suddenly find themselves without adequate familial support.

Tough routine

Well-known Bihar-based Hindi writer Usha Kiran Khan, who was part of the five-member jury at the Patna hearing, elaborated on the tough routine of the women when the men are away from the villages for most part of the year.

“In the area around the Kosi river, you can see women row boats to ferry sick family members to hospital. It also leaves them vulnerable to attacks from hoodlums,” she said.

Jharkhand-based academic, Dr Ramesh Sharan believes that the time has come to perceive climate change as a part of development. He also reiterated the fact that while the men can escape to the cities in search of jobs, most women have no option but to suffer the worst consequences of climate change. And, as Professor Santosh Kumar of the National Institute of Disaster Management, observed, “when women are affected, the whole household is affected.”

Khan felt that a public event, like the one that was staged in Patna, would go some way into helping city people understand the problems and experiences of those living vulnerable lives in the rural hinterland who are otherwise unseen and unheard by those who make policies.

Taking to Copenhagen

The testimonies presented at the Patna meet will now be documented and presented at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, which will be attended by heads of government. Jeremy Hobb, Executive Director, Oxfam International, underlined the fact that climate change was an international problem and strongly felt that the changing circumstances on the ground called for serious policy changes.

Earlier at the hearing, participants staged a play to demonstrate how unpredictable weather patterns takes everyone by surprise and leaves ordinary people with little time to take protective action.

Madhubani's Chandrakala Devi poignantly summed up the situation: “Our lands can no longer promise us food all the year round. We hardly know the mood of the weather so our men are forced to leave us and go out to the cities to earn so that we can eat. We are left with nothing but huge responsibilities and mental agony.”

Visi to Chakdaha

Thanks to all. I met few farmers who are farming more than 12 kms away from the high road. Pesticide observation is correct. I have noted their following problems:

1. They use fertilizers following the advice of shop rather expert ;
2. They want regular visit of ADO from whom they can get idea about different diseases in the plant;
3. They want book on farming in local language;
4. One big farmer having 12 acre of farm land initially uses pesticides, weedies, fertilizers in the small area of land and getting good result, he introduces it in other areas. He has no education. For 35 years, he is engaged in farming. Currently. He has one shop of fertilizers. URL company tests his land as model plot. He is very much self-efficacious.
His only word - be attached in the farming despite of all odd circumstances.

Acknowledgments:

Professor (Retd) Amiya Saha of Kalyani University: He arranged two students to meet the farmers.


ATTITUDE TO MANPOWER AND FARM LAND

Changing family system from joint to nuclear causes huge loss of manpower in farming.
Another loss is due to higher education ( beyond primary education). People shift from traditional occupation to non-traditional areas due to higher education. I ask this issue to some farmers and get positive response.

During my visit in the north - east, I have noticed that many people do not want higher education due to loss of manpower in agriculture.

One farmer having more than 3 acres of land sells 4 bighas in every year for higher education to his son in Commerce. The son replied that he would not come to the agriculture. To him, loss of land is inevitable process for changing life style.

I ask similar question to my punjabi student but her reply is different. For her land is the asset and it's value is adding in geometric progrression.

It comes to my mind that attitude towards land varies with state or locality.


Attitude change

Yes, attitude change is possible if scientists instead of political figures with vested interests come forward to the farmers for education.

Currently, farmers are puzzled as the lands are not in their hands. I have seen their difficulty to make the land more fertile after use of chemical fertilizers. Some farmers wanted to learn some simple methods of soil testing. Soils are collected according to certain specifications. All farmers are not aware of it.

Again, they were apprehended about soil mixture - is the tested soil related to thier own land ?

We have to stop their unnecessary apprehension by cost effective scientific approach.

Perceived environmental uncertainty

a. Prediction difficulty
b. Dynamicity
c. Complex

Spring is a time of transition—leaves bud, the grass hints at green, and farmers are preparing for spring planting of crops that grow over the summer (such as corn, soybeans, and rice). It is also a time of uncertainty, as farmers and others try to get a sense of how the new season will unfold. Key data presented in USDA's annual Prospective Plantings report (released March 31) and other publications are helpful assessment tools. Still, questions remain. What will farmers plant, and how will markets respond?

At first glance, uncertainty this year appears particularly keen. Fluctuating energy prices in late winter and early spring have implications for farm production costs, including diesel fuel, irrigation pumping, and fertilizer. Prolonged dryness in the western U.S. and parts of the Great Plains complicates planting in those regions. Heightened competition from foreign countries in several markets—Brazil for soybeans, Russia and Ukraine for wheat, and China for several commodities—raises questions of how the global marketplace will shape up in 2003.

While weather and international factors are obvious sources of uncertainty, government policies affecting agriculture—including trade, commodity, and environmental policies—can be sources of uncertainty, too. Indeed, a USDA survey in the late 1990s indicated that policy and regulatory changes were perceived by farmers to rank highest among the risks they faced.

But are times more uncertain now than in the past? Uncertainty in agricultural markets can be measured in many different ways, but variability in commodity prices is one "bottom-line" way to assess the situation. Using prices for corn, a major crop planted in the spring, the answer appears to be "no." Variability in corn prices was quite high during the 1920s and 1930s, largely due to the collapse in grain prices in the post-World War I period and low yields in several years. Variability was low during the 1950s and 1960s, a period characterized by high government support, fairly stable yields, and consistent demand. From 1990 to the present, corn price variability appears to be near its long-term average.



Over time, of course, the prices an individual producer receives may be more or less variable than those at the aggregate level. Whatever comes, spring is a time for renewal…and, for farmers…a time to gather information and analyze it to best position themselves to weather the ups and downs of the market.

Source: http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/April03/UpFront/




ANXIETY OVER PEST MANAGEMENT

Farmers are anxious about different pests in the field and how to manage them with available pest management systems.

ANXIETY OVER FIELDS
This is applicable for shifting cultivators. They are anxious to understand which fields will produce more crops.

Job analysis: seeding

Job analysis includes (1) task taxonomy and (2) personnel specification. These are the basic jobs:

1. seeding -
1.1 Seed production and multiplication

In market, different HYV seeds are available. But the problem of planting these seeds is loss of genetic diversity in the land. Loss of genetic diversity can lose genes that could increase yield of new varieties in future.

Some farmers are breeding seeds in their farms. They multiply seeds by three ways - (a) self pollinated; (b)cross pollinated (c)both. The commercial crop wheat and rice are pure line varieties. Cross pollinated crops are maize and sunflower. Clonally propagated crops are some varieties of potato, sugarcane.

1.2 Processing and storage: Processing involves drying, cleaning, treating with chemicals, packaging seeds and assuring internal quality. Quality seed means the seed that resists pests and generate nutrients. In this stage, knowledge about different characteristics of seed is important.





1.1 Direct : seed spreading manually : Competency in eye-hand co-ordination,
1.2 Indirect: Using rice seed machine : Competency in eye-hand co-ordination.











2.Weeding
3. Irrigating
4.Harvesting
5. Threshing
6. Drying
6.Milling
7.Storage
8.Product processing
9. Trading

LINKS

About Fertilizer
http://www.fadinap.org/

SRI techniques

CHENNAI: Recently, N Sripathi of Paduvencherri, some 30 km south of Chennai, braving ridicule from co-farmers adopted the System of Rice
Intensification (SRI) on his two-and-half-acre farm. Now, he is expecting to double last season's harvest.

Last year, K Purushothaman of Nanmangalam adopted SRI and got per hectare 18 bags' more than the conventional method of farming (each bag weighs 75 kg of paddy).

In the traditional method, the average yield is around 45 bags' per hectare; Purushothaman got 63 bags.'. Last year, each bag' of paddy was sold for about Rs 1,050. "SRI has many advantages in terms of production cost and the yield per hectare. Farmers can adopt it to maximise net yield," said Purushothaman.

Under SRI, the adequate space between crops 22.5 cm ensures free air circulation and provides them with much-needed oxygen to grow tall. The adequate spacing also helps farmers detect rats and weeds. Using this technique, the required period for paddy cultivation can be brought down by 10 days (it is 120 days in the conventional method).

The most common pieces of equipment in SRI are the Conoweeder used to crush weeds and include them as bio-manure and Marker used to mark space between each crop. "At a time when housing projects and companies are coming up on farming lands in the suburbs, we have to adopt new methods to stay in our ancestral job. SRI can help us do that," said Sripathi.

Rice type and production

THE INTERNATIONAL Year of Rice is drawing to a close. But rice continues to be `life' for the Asians, in general, and Indians, in particular. Asia cultivates 137 million hectares of rice, of which India has a lion's share of 45 million hectares (137 million tonnes or two tonnes per hectare) that is a distant second to China, whose tonnage is twice that. Rice contributes to 15 per cent annual GDP of India and provides 43 per cent calorie requirement for more than 70 per cent of Indians.

India's population is expected to be 1.2 billion by 2012 and it will have to produce a whopping 120 million tonnes of rice to meet the burgeoning demand. Major constraints to rice production that India will face are land, water, labour and other inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides, and even high quality germplasm, without affecting the already degraded and stressed agricultural environment. The big question is can India do it, given the current status of its agricultural capability.

At the moment, India has only high yielding varieties such as IR-64, Jaya, and Srjoo 52, and about 17 hybrid rice varieties have just made a hesitant debut. Resistance to major pests and diseases such as stem borers, gall midge, blast, bacterial leaf blight and sheath rot are limited both in high yielding varieties and hybrid rice. There has been a ten-fold increase in the cost of hybrid rice compared to high yielding varieties. The cost of hybrid rice seed per hectare is about Rs 2,000.

Under optimum growing conditions hybrid rice can provide a yield advantage of 1- 1.5 tonnes per hectare (still far short of China's 5 tonnes per hectare), and certainly provides a cost advantage of an average Rs 4,000 per hectare. Yield advantage of hybrids is still not consistent in all parts of South India where they have been introduced and, as such, adoption by farmers is slow.

Large-scale hybrid rice seed production is still undergoing refinement, and continues to represent major challenges for large-scale adoption. Although hybrid rice cultivation is an economically beneficial proposition, it has not been taken up on a large-scale by all rice farmers.

The mainstay of Indian rice cultivation is high-yielding rice varieties. Rice as a crop has notched impressive gains in its study and understanding in the past 25 years, thanks mostly to the efforts of research community aided by a fantastic applications of molecular biology and biotechnology through Rockefeller Foundation's International Rice Biotechnology Network and the IRRI-based Asian Rice Biotechnology Network, of which India has been an active partner. Rice genome has also been completely mapped and its sequence has been delineated in the last couple of years both by public and private sector scientists.

Once again, Indian scientists have made significant contributions to these international efforts and there is an impressive array of biotechnology research projects funded both by the Department of Biotechnology and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, to develop genetically engineered rice for stem borers, blast resistance, bacterial leaf blight resistance and biofortification of micronutrients; of which Golden Rice is important.

Indian scientists have developed Bt rice and have been field testing for a couple of years now, and it is time to push it for rapid commercialisation after a thorough regulatory review. The chances of finding natural resistance to major pests and diseases in rice seems bleak and hybrid rice may not be much of a salvation.

Therefore, the best option now seems to be the deployment of genetically engineered rice that is undergoing field tests. The GM rice varieties must be rapidly commercialised through a rigorous regulatory review encompassing all aspects of bio safety and environmental impacts.

The alleged significant environmental impact issue relative to GM rice is that it has the potential to reduce or seriously impact the wild and weedy relatives (biodiversity) of rice, as India is one of the major centres of rice biodiversity.

This issue is not as significant as it is made out to be as rice is predominantly a self-pollinating crop and gene flow is limited to the rice growing tracts far away from where rice biodiversity occurs. And, even if novel genes from GM rice flow into wild and weedy relatives, their introgression will be very low due to lack of selection pressure and the progeny will be sterile and unfit for survival.

Any gene introgression into wild weedy relatives will only result in enhanced genetic diversity and not less. There is really no known plausible pathway of gene flow from GM rice that would deleteriously affect rice biodiversity.

India is also home to the world's largest number of malnourished people, most of whom are women and children.

Almost 15 million women and children suffer from Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) and most of them fall under the poorest of poor category. The golden rice development must be put on fast track and be made viable to the suffering people.

Similarly iron-rich GM rice is also under development along many other bio-fortified crops that should not be delayed or denied to suffering deserving and needy sections of India.

Another important problem of rice production in upland rice is weed control that costs almost 30 per cent of the total cost of crop cultivation. In transplanted rice, yield loss due to weeds can vary from 18-48 per cent and yield loss of up to 90 per cent is not unheard of.

The number of herbicides for weed control in rice cultivation is getting narrower, making integrated weed management a real challenge in medium- to largescale (20- 100 acre) rice farms.

Additionally, manual labour costs are making it increasingly uneconomical to cultivate rice in many parts of India. Herbicide resistant GM rice can be a weapon of choice for weed control under such circumstances, an option that should not be dispensed with based on the fear of the scientifically bogus "genetic pollution" and 66 genetic contamination" scares.

Non-GM herbicide resistant rice is already available as an option but only for imidizialone class of herbicides, and what is needed is a broad spectrum, post-emergent herbicide resistance crop that is now readily available in the form GM rice, and it should be tested and tried to determine its feasibility without having to worry about undue biosafety or environmental impacts that are no more or less the same as for any other introduced rice variety into Indian agriculture.

If non-GM herbicide resistant rice has not done any damage to the biodiversity of rice, then there is no earthly reason why GM herbicide resistant rice should not be cultivated.

Many environmental impact assessments of GM rice have come to a finding of no significant impact on the environment, and as such there should not be any unique environmental impact issue in the Indian situation.

Salt-and drought-tolerant GM rice is also undergoing field tests, which should also be put on a fast track to commercialisation. GM rice has a clear advantage as it can address many of the production constraints in India and help protect environment by cutting down on chemical inputs.

There is a global movement to stop or delay deployment of GM crops technology and India must not allow useful GM rice to be held hostage and deny itself the fruits of this technology.

India must put in place a scientifically rigorous regulatory oversight system to address any potential biosafety and environmental impact issues and bring the fruits of modem technology to bear on rice improvement and production.

Given some of the major biotic and abiotic: constraints for increasing the rice production in the years ahead, GM rice becomes a highly relevant option for India, and an option that must not be either delayed or denied based on baseless unscientific fears. China, which is already way ahead in rice production now, has announced that it will commercialise GM rice in 2005.

If India does not get ready to implement GM rice in a short order, stealth GM rice will find its own way into Indian markets just as Bt-cotton did. India must not waste too much time on evaluating the utility of GM rice for improving agriculture.

Source:http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/12/17/stories/2004121700110900.htm

Agricultural psychology: review

From: Shanteau, J. (2001), Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science (3rd ed). Craig-
head, W. E., & Nemeroff, C. B. (Eds). NY: Wiley.
AGRICULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

In contrast to other social sciences that have developed specialized subdisciplines and/or applica-
tion interests in agriculture, psychology historically has not been known for its concern with rural
issues. For instance, there has not been any psychological counterpart to such social science spe-
cialties as agricultural economics, rural sociology, agricultural marketing, or rural geography.
Nonetheless, psychological perspectives have interacted with agricultural issues in several do-
mains: (1) assessment of the therapeutic needs of rural populations, (2) investigation of farming
tasks and skills, (3) analysis of expert agricultural judges, (4) evaluation of farm management deci-
sions, and (5) statistics and experimental design.

THERAPEUTIC NEEDS
Rural life is often portrayed in an idyllic “down to earth” fashion. Rural communities are assumed
to be less stressful and more humane than urban life. However, epidemiological studies have
shown serious mental health problems exist in rural communities (Henggeler, 1983). In fact,
Husaini, Neff, and Stone (1979) found that many interpersonal problems have higher rates of inci-
dence in rural areas. Despite the need, rural communities often lack many of the mental health ser-
vices taken for granted in cities. Hoagland (1978) reported that only 17.5% of rural poverty areas
had adequate mental health services (compared to 49% of 49% of urban poverty areas).

One major reason for this lack of mental health services is that most clinicians and counselors are
trained in large urban universities. Faculty (and students) are thus unfamiliar with the values, con-
cerns, and even the language of rural living. Consequently, specialized programs have evolved to
prepare mental health-care providers with the skills and abilities to cope with problems encoun-
tered in rural communities. For example, Heyman (1983) described a model for preparing commu-
nity psychologists to work in rural regions of the country. Similarly, Edgerton (1983) considers
some ingenious methods that mental health professionals have used to cope with the limitations of
providing services in rural contexts, e.g., traveling clinics and in-school centers.

One issue that has received much attention in studies of rural communities has been child abuse.
Such abuse involves a pathological interaction between the child, the caregiver, and the situation.
Rural environments are different in many respects from the more widely understood urban envi-
ronment. It should not be surprising, therefore, to find that rural child abuse is perceived in a dif-
ferent light and frequently goes unreported. Nonetheless, home-based early intervention programs
are successful in helping “at risk” children in rural areas (Rosenberg & Reppucci, 1983).

FARMING TASKS AND SKILLS
Traditionally, farmers and ranchers were expected to be proficient in many manual and physical
tasks. Work psychologists have been involved in examining these skills, e.g., Tomlinson (1970)
found that dairy workers must be proficient in nine separate tasks, ranging from operating milking
machines to evaluating the health of cows. Thus, a traditional farmer or rancher needed to be a
jack-of-all-trades, with general skills in many areas.
However, with the increased mechanization and computerization in agriculture, there has been a
shift in the skills needed. Instead of many general abilities, more specialized skills are necessary
now. Moreover, instead of emphasizing manual skills, modern agribusiness places greater demand
on cognitive abilities. For example, Matthews (1978) reported that handling a modern combine
harvester involves simultaneous monitoring and control of at least seven tasks. Given the complex-
ity of the cognitive demands, there has been considerable concern over the human factors compo-
nent in increasingly high rate of farm accidents (Mainzer, 1966).

With the trend away from small family farms to large corporate farming, there is a greater need for
farmers with problem solving and management skills (Stevens, 1970). This has produced changes
in both the education and the practice of today’s farmers. As a result, behavioral investigators have
turned their interests toward analysis of higher thought processes (Shanteau, 1992).

AGRICULTURAL EXPERTISE
Many early insights into the psychology of expertise arose from studies of agricultural workers.
For instance, one of the earliest known studies of experts in any domain was conducted in 1917 by
Hughes. His data revealed that corn rated highest by expert corn judges did not produce the highest
yield. In 1923, Wallace (later vice-president under Franklin Roosevelt) reanalyzed Hughes’ data
using path analysis. He showed (1) corn judges largely agreed with each other, but (2) their ratings
correlated only slightly with crop yields.

Trumbo, Adams, Milner, and Schipper (1962) asked licensed grain inspectors to judge samples of
wheat. Nearly one-third of the samples were misgraded and, when graded a second time, over one-
third were given a different grade. Also, increased experienced made judges more confident, but
not necessarily more accurate. Finally, more experienced judges tended to overgrade the wheat
samples (perhaps the original form of “grade inflation”).

One source of errors in agricultural judgment is the presence of irrelevant factors. Gaeth and
Shanteau (1984) noted that nondiagnostic material (e.g., excessive moisture) significantly im-
pacted the decisions of soil judges. They also found that cognitive training was successful in com-
pensating for the presence of these irrelevant materials. Another approach to improving expert
judgment was observed in weather forecasting. Murphy and Winkler (1977) found that precipita-
tion forecasts could be improved using a feedback system based on Brier scores (a quadratic scor-
ing system). Since then, accuracy of weather forecasts has increased dramatically (Stewart, et al.,
1997).

FARM MANAGEMENT DECISIONS
There have been frequent analyses of the choices needed to manage a farm. Most of this work has
been concerned with how economic decisions should be made. There has been concern recently in
helping farmers cope with cognitive limitations when they make choices. Rajala and Sage (1979)
considered various methods intended to help farmers think more effectively about their decisions.
For instance, farmers consistently make suboptimal allocations when buying crop or drought in-
surance (Anderson, 1974). However, Kunreuther (1979) found that farmers could be persuaded to
think more effectively about buying insurance, e.g., by taking a longer time perspective.

Insights into marketing and consumer behavior have come from studies in agriculture. For in-
stance, the pioneering analysis of new-product diffusion by Rogers (1962) was based on farmers’
willingness to adopt new agricultural equipment. His classification of individuals into “innovators,
early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards” is now widely accepted.

STATISTICS AND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
One area where there has been a long-standing interface between psychology and agriculture has
been in the development of statistical analysis and research design. A century ago, psychologists
such as Galton were instrumental in building the basis of modern statistical thinking (Gigerenzer,
et al, 1989). Through such seminal efforts, later psychologists (e.g., Cattell and Thurstone) built
the foundation for application of statistics to behavioral research.

Parallel to this effort, statisticians working in agricultural settings (such as Fisher) developed much
of what is now considered standard experimental design and analysis. According to Brown (1972),
concepts of random assignment and factorial designs initially were proposed to advance agricul-
tural science. Indeed, many terms commonly used today in statistics, e.g., “split plot designs,” r e-
flect an agricultural background.

In summary, although “agricultural psychology” is not normally recognized as a subfield of ps y-
chology, there have been many applications of behavioral ideas in agricultural settings. Moreover,
agricultural issues have impacted psychology in a variety of often unappreciated ways.

REFERENCES

Anderson, D. R. (1974). The national flood insurance program – problems and potentials. Journal
of Risk and Insurance, 41, 579-599.

Brown, B. W. (1972). Statistics, scientific method, and smoking. In J. M. Tanur (Ed.), Statistics: A
guide to the unknown. San Francisco: Holden-Day, Inc.

Edgerton, J. W. (1983). Models of service delivery. In A. W. Childs & G. B. Melton (Eds.), Rural
psychology. NY: Plenum Press.

Gaeth, G. J., & Shanteau, J. (1984). Reducing the influence of irrelevant information on experi-
enced decision makers. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 33, 263-282.

Gigerenzer, G., Switjink, Z., Porter, T., Daston, L. J., Beatty, J., & Kruger, L. (1989). The empire
of chance: How probability changed science and everyday life. London, Cambridge Univ. Press.

Henggeler, S. W. (1983). Needs assessments in rural areas: Issues and problems. In A. W. Childs
& G. B. Melton (Eds.), Rural psychology. NY: Plenum Press.

Heyman, S. R. (1983). Problems in program development and the development of alternatives. In
A. W. Childs & G. B. Melton (Eds.), Rural psychology. NY: Plenum Press.

Hoagland, M. (1978). A new day in rural mental services. In, New dimensions in mental health:
Report from the Director, National Institute of Mental Health. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govern-
ment Printing Office.

Hughes, H. D. (1917). An interesting corn seed experiment. The Iowa Agriculturalist, 17, 424-425.

Husaini, B. A., Neff, J. A., & Stone, R. H. (1979). Psychiatric impairment in rural communities.
Journal of Community Psychology, 7, 137-146.

Kunreuther, H. (1979). Why aren’t they insured ? The Journal of Insurance, XL, No. 5.

Mainzer, W. (1966). Accident prevention in the cowshed. British Journal of Industrial Medicine,
23, 24.

Matthews, J. (1978). The farm worker. In W. T. Singleton (Ed.), The analysis of practical skills.
Baltimore: University Park Press.

Murphy, A. H., & Winkler, R. L. (1977). Can weather forecasters formulate reliable probability
forecasts of precipitation and temperature? National Weather Digest, 2, 2-9.

Rajala, D. W., & Sage, A. P. (1979). On information structuring in choice making: A study of sys-
tems engineering decision making in beef cattle production. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man,
and Cybernetics, SMC-9, 525-533.

Rogers, E. M. (1962). Diffusion of innovations. NY: The Free Press.

Rosenberg, M. S. & Reppucci, N. D. (1983). In A. W. Childs & G. B. Melton (Eds.), Rural psy-
chology. NY: Plenum Press.

Shanteau, J. (1989). Psychological characteristics of agricultural experts: Applications to expert
systems. In A. Weiss (Ed.), Climate and agriculture: Systems approaches to decision making. Lin-
coln, NB: University of Nebraska Press.

Stevens, G. N. (1970). The human operator and quality inspection of horticultural produce. Jour-
nal of the Institute of Agricultural Engineering, 25, 1.

Stewart, T. R., Roebber, P. J., & Bosart, L. F. (1997). The importance of the task in analyzing ex-
pert judgment. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 69, 205-219.

Tomlinson, R. W. (1970). The assessment of workload in agricultural tasks. Journal of the Pro-
ceedings of the Institute of Agricultural Engineering, 25, 18.

Trumbo, D., Adams, C., Milner, M., & Schipper, L. (1962). Reliability and accuracy in the inspec-
tion of hard red winter wheat. Cereal Science Today, 7, 62-71.

Wallace, H. A. (1923). What is in the corn judge’s mind? Journal of the American Society of
Agronomy, 15, 300-304.
SUGGESTED READING

Childs, A. W., & Melton, G. B. (1983). Rural psychology. New York: Plenum Press.

Dillon, J. L., & Scandizzo, P. L. (1978). Risk attitudes of subsistence farmers in northeast Brazil:
A sampling approach. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 60, 425-435.

Kohler, W. (1929). Simple structural functions in the chimpanzee and the chicken. In W. D. Ellis
(Ed.), A source book of Gestalt psychology. NY: Harcourt Brace.

Lorenz, K. (1937). The companion in the bird’s world. Auk, 54, 245-273.

Meadows, A. W., Lovibond, S. H., & John, R. D. (1959). The establishment of psychophysical
standards in the sorting of fruit. Occupational psychology, 33, 217.

Phelps, R. H., & Shanteau, J. (1978). Livestock judges: How much information can an expert use?
Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 21, 209-219.

Seabrook, M. F. (1972). A study of the influence of cowman’s personality and job satisfaction on
yield of dairy cows. Journal of Agricultural Laboratory Science, 1.


J. SHANTEAU
Kansas State University

Rice as seed

Rice as grain

Rice is a member of the grass family and is related to other grass plants such as wheat, oats and barley which produce grain for food. These are known as cereals. Rice is an annual plant, which means it completes its entire life cycle within a year.



Rice plants start their life as tiny rice grains sown in irrigated fields, and grow to become green, grassy plants about one meter tall. Each plant contains many heads full of tiny rice grains which turn golden when the rice plant is ready to harvest.

Source:
The Workbook Series - Rice Book, Kondinin Group 2000
Ricegrowers Limited - Sunrice

WITHIN RICE



RICE MILLING

Rice is harvested from rice plant in form of seed called paddy, consisting of husk, bran, germ and starch. This starch part is what we consume as rice.

To get from paddy to rice needed to pass through several steps:



Source: www.bernas.com.my/process.htm

Rice cultivatiion

Farmers themselves are ploughing the land in specific season. Small farmers have 1 or

1.5 hectares of land. They can not afford tractor. But big farmers can afford the tractor. Some farmers develop cooperative system to plough the land by tractor.
In the early morning, usually farmers are leaving their houses with cattle and ploughing materials. In order to avoid heat of scorching sun, usually, they wear caps.


1. Seeding
2.Weeding
3. Irrigating
4.Harvesting
5. Threshing
6. Drying
6.Milling
7.Storage
8.Product processing
9. Trading

Experience of farmers (Punjab)

In Punjab, many women have adopted to various modern techniques and are promoting alternative farming.

Sixteen-year-old Gagandeep Kaur of village Khemuanna in Bathinda is the youngest of her three siblings and dreams of becoming a successful farmer.

Apart from being a help to her father, Gagandeep believes in trying newer farming techniques and practicing crop diversification.

“I drive tractor in the fields, do farming and work at home as well,” said Gagandeep Kaur, the young farmer who also studies in standard seven.

Gagandeep’s father Manohar Singh, is a happy man, He takes pride in the fact that his young daughter is eager to be a helping hand in farming. “I have never felt any difference between having a girl or boy. Today, it hardly matters to me whether I am the father of a girl or a boy child, as I am proud of my daughter,” said Manohar Singh, Gagandeep’s father.

In another instance, a number of women in Jhandu Singha Village at Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur Road are involved in potato farming. Recently these women formed a Women Farmers’ Club, a 30-member group, where the women discuss issues related to seed quality, farming techniques and marketing.

This club has added a refreshing feeling in these village women’s lives, as some of the members have today have gone in for alternative farming and thus ventured into floriculture and horticulture.

Women here are now taking the lead in making farming viable financially.

“Earlier, we used to produce two crops in a year and remained idle after the harvesting and selling of the crop. Now, we have started producing potatoes, melon, and a variety of vegetables, sunflowers and some other crops. The labourers with us are engaged for the whole year. We have benefited a lot. We have crops that follow one after the other,” said Jyoti Nijjar, a member of the women farmers’ club in Jhandu Singha.

“Women are now progressive. We have formed a club, which helps us to do corporate farming, get good quality seeds, medicines, manure and machinery for farming. It has lots of benefits. There is a huge scope of involvement of women in farming and it will increase even more,” said Arvind, another woman member of the Women Farmers’ Club, Jhandu Singha.

These women work individually and also in groups to lead Punjab towards another Green Revolution.

Educated and attentive - women are now aware of what more farming can offer.

It is due to the entrepreneurship of these women that the Women Farmers’ Clubs are able to export potatoes to Sri Lanka, Dubai and Australia. By Avtar Gill (ANI)

Ref:http://blog.taragana.com/n/women-redefining-farming-in-punjab-27109/

SUICIDE IN PUNJAB

Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana is all set to submit the much-awaited report on suicides committed by farmers in Sangrur and Bathinda. It has been ascertained that the department is giving final touches to the report which is being prepared by the department of economics and will be presented before the department of financial commissioner (development) within a week. RS Sidhu, head, department of economics, PAU, who headed the team to conduct the survey declined to divulge the details of the report as he has special instructions from the state government to remain tight-lipped on the findings of the report.

The team of PAU which had begun its survey in August, 2008, carried out a door-to-door study scanning 576 villages of Sangrur and 306 villages of Bathinda. Sangrur and Bathinda being a cotton belt are considered to be the worst affected areas and reportedly many farmers had committed suicides in this belt due to failure of the cotton crop.

The study aimed discovering the various reasons behind the suicides including inability to repay the debt, poor

living condition of farmers or some other motives. The survey has taken into account farmer suicides which occurred after April 1, 2005, and has also included the cases of suicides committed by the farm labourers.
Ref:http://www.financialexpress.com/news/punjab-agri-varsity-to-submit-report-on-farmers-suicide/441940/


ORGANIC FARMING

After the success of the Green Revolution and its accompanying lessons, the Punjab farmer is waking up to the benefits of organic farming, reports Jangveer Singh

In Punjab, the ‘food bowl’ of India, where a high yield has always been the main pursuit of farmers, organic farming has never been a preferred option because of low output. But things have changed over the last few years, due to increasing awareness as well as preference for organically grown food, not only in many major cities, but also in small towns. Even farmers know that these organically grown crops are not a health hazard.

The organic movement in Punjab has many home-grown components as many social activists as well as NGOs are working for a change in their homeland. Though many activists from other states, too, are flocking in, appalled at the high suicide rates and health problems being faced by the farmers of India’s food bowl.

A serious debate is presently on, following the publication of a paper “Organic farming and its necessity – how far it can go” by the Punjab State Farmers Commission in December last year. However, the farmers of Punjab are yet to give their verdict on the issue. Although the yield-loving farmers are still sticking to intensive farming or ‘chemical farming’ as organic adherents call it, but many ‘chemical farmers’ are now also experimenting with organic crops.

Novel concept

One such NGO is Kheti Virasat, which started the Nabha organic cluster in 2000. It is providing real time as well as extension service to farmers wishing to go organic. Meeting the organic farmers of Nabha is like meeting converts to a new religion. They have been armed with light traps (to trap flies), pheromone traps (to stop harmful insects from mating), trico-derma cards (to help friendly insects), vermin composts and mixtures of neem and dhatura to tackle pests. However, their mainstay is jeevamrit, a mixture made from the dung and urine of indigenous cows, jaggery and gram flour. These ingredients are mixed with water during irrigation of crops. This mixture is also sprayed on plants during the growing stage.

Seventy-nine year old Balwant Singh of Khanora village is one of the first farmers in Patiala district to opt for organic farming. “People try to discourage you but you have to override this negativity to start off on the road to self-discovery,” he says, adding he grows organic produce on six acres. “It is booked in advance in the Gobindgarh market. I get 72 quintals of wheat from five acres. Although the yield is not much, but still it has been difficult to save enough even for my own consumption,” he adds.

A Saholi village resident Inderjit Singh, who has been a successful intensive farmer, says he also started organic farming on five acres. Inderjit has two Sahiwal indigenous breed cows and gives away jeevamrit, free of cost, to neighbouring farmers. Inderjit says the possibility of yield reduction should not be made an issue while opting for organic farming. “In future people may start getting more from organic farming than they do from chemical farming. Yield in chemical farming is also decreasing despite an increase in the use of fertilisers and pesticides. So the farmer has to be presented with an alternative.”

The organic cluster in Nabha is continuously adopting new practices. The cluster also believes in the science of ‘bio-dynamics’ with farmers planting crops according to the different phases of the moon. Ram Singh of Labana Tikku village claims that this sowing pattern gets him a better yield. Kheti Virasat director Surinder Singh says presently 246 farmers are cultivating more than 447 acres, which have been certified for organic farming. The Nabha foundation, headed by the late Maharaja’s grandson Uday Khemka, has borne the expenses for getting the certification.

Kheti Virasat is selling organic milk and vegetables to consumers in Nabha at only 25 per cent more price than that of conventional products. “We have contacted Vishal mega mart and Reliance for the purpose and also propose to start processing plants to add value to our organic produce,” adds Surinder.

Social movement

Unlike in Nabha where the organic farming is aimed at the market, the organic movement, also known as ‘natural farming’, started as a social movement in the Bathinda belt. It was aimed at making farmers aware of the hazards of “chemical farming’ following news reports of farmers boarding trains to get treatment for cancer.

Umendra Dutt of the Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM), which is spearheading this movement, is of the opinion that farmers alone can bring in the change in farming practices. The mission claims it has reached 400 villages with the farmer strength in each village ranging between two and 70.

Dutt says his organisation is against certified organic farming being thrust on the farmers by some other organic farmer organisations as well as the Punjab Farmers Commission. “For us, farming is an issue of livelihood, sustainability, ecology and agricultural sovereignty. I have to rid Punjab of this poison. Bhad me gayi market (the market can go to hell). It (market) will come afterwards,” is how he puts it.

The KVM leader says he would not like to go in for certification, which has corporate control. Dutt advocates the participatory guarantee scheme method of certification. He says under this method it would be the responsibility of village-level committees to give certificates, which could be verified by district-level and state-level committees. “This system will have more checks and balances and will be stronger than any MNC certification,” he says, adding, “The International Federation of Organic Farming (IFOM), too, has accepted this model.” Dutt, who regularly conducts drives against the use of pesticides in the Malwa region, says in Indonesia 56 pesticides were banned in one day. He says even if this cannot be replicated in Punjab, the government should at least give a time-frame of two to three years for this to happen. He claims that Rs 12,000 crore is being given to Punjab farmers by the way of subsidies to purchase pesticides, which about one-third of the state’s total budget.

Kavita Kuruganti, a volunteer with the KVM, says it is unfortunate that business interests have crept up into organic farming (certified farming) which has made it expensive. Kuruganti says there is a need to make the farmer realise that if he himself brings down the input costs then only can his exploitation through a rigged market be brought down.

Litmus test

The two men behind the report of the Punjab State Farmers Commission, which advocates organic practices for vegetables and milk production but says these practices may be counter productive for wheat and rice due to their effect on yields, are sticking to their guns. They have decided to check the yield claims of organic growers for the coming rabi season besides analysing jeevamrit scientifically. Dr Karam Singh says the claimed efficacy of jeevamrit, as a source of nutrients, will be put to test by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. While admitting that jeevamrit is a rich source of microbes, he said he had doubts whether it could provide the needed nutrients. “A Punjabi farmer puts in 60 kg of nitrogen in his field. Whether jeevamrit can replace this has to be tested,” he added. Dr Karam Singh claims a reasonable yield of rice is possible through organic farming but it is not possible for wheat and maize. “In winter, the availability of nitrogen decreases. Only if you put the recommended fertiliser, will you get the results or else the yield will decrease by 30 to 35 per cent.” He said the decomposition of organic matter also slows down in winter.

There is scepticism about the claims of organic growers among agricultural scientists. “If organic farming can ensure the same yields as those achieved with intensive farming, and can improve the quality of the produce and reduce input costs, then why are Punjabi farmers not taking to organic farming en masse,” asks Dr Karam Singh. He said marketing was another major issue and it was to be seen whether organic produce would continue to fetch the prices being demanded at present.

Dr J S Kolar, paper’s co-author, who visited organic fields in March last year, says the state of the crop did not look as if it would give the yield ,being projected by organic farmers. “The organic farming is okay for virgin land but not land under the wheat–rice cultivation. Also the call by organic proponents to use cow dung of only indigenous cows could also affect the milk productivity.”

Ref: http://www.sikhnet.com/news/sikh-state-punjab-going-green

BONUS TO FARMERS

CHANDIGARH: Punjab government has decided to pay the Rs.50 per quintal bonus on paddy directly to the farmers which is considered a first step towards making full payment of crop to the farmers directly into their accounts. The government would also introduce crop insurance for marginal farmers from rabi season.
Adesh artap Singh Kairon minister for food and supply Wednesday said that this was for the first time that bonus would be paid directly to the farmers based on the records obtained from mandis. The minister said that database of paddy sold by farmers was being computerised every day. He said that even government has proposed to issue J form to the farmers online. He said that this was major step towards e-governance in agriculture which is based on Singapore model.
Kairon further said that from the rabi season (wheat season) beginning in November 2008, the department of food and supply would introduce crop insurance for the marginal farmers in the state. He said that funds for the purpose have been mobilised through internal resources. He said that department has raised Rs.80 crores from the security deposit taken by sheller owners who wanted excess alloction of paddy. The department would pay the insurance premium out of these funds. He said that this system would also wipe out the corruption in the system.
Adesh Partap Singh said that he had taken up with center government to allow them to send the grains directly to consumer states instead of routing it through Food Corporation of India. He said that FCI was not lifting stocks which proving costly to the state. He said that presently about 72,000 lakh tonnes of paddy and wheat was stored in Punjab and 40 percent of it is lying in open storage. He said that he had taken up the case to make a storage policy. He said that FCI was holding about Rs.4400 crores of funds of Punjab for various reasons. He said that if anytime crop failed in Punjab, it would have global impact and he sought to deal the state in that context.
Kairon said that the paddy production in Punjab was expected to reach 165 lakh tonnes against the initial estimate of 105 lakh tonnes projected by agriculture department. He said that food and supply department should also be involved in deciding which varieties of crop required to sown in the state. He said that state government had imposed a tax of Rs.8000 per tonne on export of 2122 variety of basmati for export. He said that center would earn Rs.650 crores from Punjab alone and state will not get any share in it. He said that it was discrimination.
He also said that movement of paddy from mandis was suffering due to shortage of transportation. He said that he had written to State Transport Commissioner to allow tractor trolleys to transport paddy from mandis. He said that STC had refused to accept the proposal and conveyed to the department that if tractor trolleys had good transport licence they can do it. He said that he wanted that farmers who are having tractor trolleys could also earn money from the transportation. He said that his aim was to strengthen the financial position of farmers.
He also informed that online payment has been started to ahrtiyas in two districts of Amritsar and Fatehgarh Sahib. He said the system was successful and would be extended to whole of state in near future. He claimed that paddy procurement was going on smooth.
Kairon who is bed ridden due to operation of his back bone today spared time to announce the new schemes of the state government.

Ref: http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/13234/38/

Rice seed news

Rural land use

http://wbenvironment.nic.in/html/StatuaOfEnvironment/status12.htm






Powerful seed companies and government subsidies are weakening crop diversity and may be destroying some of the very keys to future climate adaptation, a group of researchers warns as the World Seed Conference opens today in Rome.

The researchers – from the non-profit International Institute for Environment and Development and partner organizations in China, India, Kenya, Panama and Peru – say seed diversity and ancient traits that could sustain crops through droughts and disease are quickly being lost.

Around the world today, a small range of modern seeds bred by corporations to produce higher yields are taking over agricultural markets. In many places, government subsidies have made these modern seeds cheaper, effectively pushing out a wide variety of traditional and native seeds that local farmers once used.

Ref: http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090908/scientists-warn-international-seed-laws-are-stifling-crop-diversity

Questionnaire development

3o-items questionnaire to assess self-efficacy of agricultural farmers was framed from August to September. Now, next step will be to validate the questionnaire. Thank goes to Ms. Debalina Chatterjee, project assistant for her sincerity in assisting me to complete the item framing.

self-efficacy references

Research on Memory Self-Efficacy

Bagwell, D. K., & West, R. L. (In press). Assessing compliance: Active vs. inactive trainees in a memory intervention. Clinical Interventions in Aging.

West, R. L., Bagwell, D. K., & Dark-Freudeman, A. (In press). Self-efficacy and memory aging: The impact of a memory intervention based on self-efficacy. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition.

West, R. L., Bagwell, D. K., & Dark-Freudeman, A. (2005). Memory and goal setting: The response of older and younger adults to positive and objective feedback. Psychology and Aging, 20, 195-201.

West, R. L., & Yassuda, M. S. (2004). Aging and memory control beliefs: Performance in relation to goal setting and memory self-evaluation. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 59B, P56-P65.

West, R. L., Thorn, R. M., & Bagwell, D. K. (2003). Memory performance and beliefs as a function of goal setting and aging. Psychology and Aging, 18, 111-125.

West, R. L., Thorn, R. M., & Bagwell, D. K. (2003) Memory performance and beliefs as a function of goal setting and aging. Psychology and Aging, 18, 1-21.

West, R. L., Welch, D. C., & Thorn, R. M. (2001). The effects of goal-setting and feedback on memory performance and beliefs among older and younger adults. Psychology and Aging, 16, 240-250.

West, R. L., Welch, D. C., & Yassuda, M. S. (2000). Innovative approaches to memory training for older adults. In R. D. Hill, L. Backman, & A. S. Neely (Eds.), Cognitive rehabilitation in old age (pp. 81-105). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

West, R. L., Dennehy, D., & Norris, M. P. (1996). Memory self-evaluation: The effects of age and experience. Aging and Cognition, 3, 67-83.

Welch, D. C., & West, R. L. (1995). Self-efficacy and mastery: Its application to issues of environmental control, cognition, and aging. Developmental Review, 15, 150-171.

West, R. L., & Berry, J. M. (1994). Age declines in memory self-efficacy: General or limited to particular tasks and measures? In J. D. Sinnott (Ed.), Interdisciplinary Handbook of Adult Lifespan Learning (pp. 426-446). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Berry, J. M., & West, R. L. (1993). Cognitive self-efficacy in relation to personal mastery and goal setting across the life span. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 16, 351-379.

Berry, J. M., West, R. L., & Dennehy, D. (1989). Reliability and validity of the Memory Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (MSEQ). Developmental Psychology, 25, 701-713.

Climatic zone

KVK experience

For the project tilted " self efficacy of agricultural farmers", I visited one Krishi Vigyan Kendra yesterday. Many farmers reported me - " Sir, there is no profit in agriculture, we will die soon.". Reasons are poor rain, failure to get good quality of seeds, failure to buy fertilizers, pesticides due to high price. They are misguided by the private players. They are very much apprehensive about the knowledge provided by the state agriculture depts.
They prefer knowledge should be catered by the central govt officers in stead of state, private players and NGOs. KVK selected one farmer (designated as farm professor) based on their own evaluation. Farm professor will disseminate his success stories to the farmers in front of high ranking officers and professors of Universities.This enhances vicarious modeling of Bandura.
The training follows bottom to up rather up to bottom approach. . Farmers are curious to know many things. They want to know how to identify good quality of seeds, to understand the meaning written on fertilizer or pesticide bags. Soil testing before administration of fertilizer is very much needed otherwise excessive fertilizers can damage the soil. But only one soil testing system is located far away from the villages.
Besides the agricultural issues, lot of psychological issues are noted. Everyone is talking about negativism, they are overgeneralizing simple issues. They are giving priority on outcome factor rather process systems, where in cognitive psychologist can play critical role.
Their life style (wearing trousers in stead of dhoti (bengali local dress) or lungi, tea and smoke dependency, taking biscuits in stead of muri (fried rice), urban mind set ) develop negative attitude to farming. Faulty dream about urban life creates lot of negative outlook to their self concept.
Any suggestion ?

Some questionnaires

Rice production

Rice production map

Ref: Status paper

KVK location

In Burdwan:KVK Burdwan is located at a place called Bud Bud. The place is 36 km west of District Headquarter of Burdwan and 28 km east of another important place, namely Durgapur.

The KVK is located besides one of the busiest National Highway, NH 34. The nearest railway station is Mankar, which is 3 km from KVK. The location is shown in the map below:

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Burdwan
Central Research Institute for Jute & Allied Fibres
(Indian Council of Agricultural Research)
Bud Bud, Burdwan - 713 403
Ph: 0343 251 3651/Fax: 0343 2512007/2004/033 25350415
e-mail: kvkburdwan@gmail.com, kvkburdwan@rediffmail.com

Ref:

http://www.kvkcrijaf.org/reaching_us.html

Nadia:

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya P.O.–Gayeshpur Nadia - 741234 033- 25891271

Maldah

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Block Seed Farm Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya P.O.Ratua (Manik Chawack) Dist.-Malda- 732205 03513- 266913

Midnapur

Krishi Vigyan Kendra Seva Bharati Kapgari, W.Medinipur-721505 03221- 210540

Source:http://new.icar.org.in/?q=node/196

Maps of selected districts

Hierarchical cluster analysis extracted 5 high rice producing districts. They are Burdwan, Nadia, Maldah, Purba and Paschim Midnapore. Maps of all the selected districts are given below:

FERTILIZER MARKET



Ref: http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/agriculture/overview/agrio0009pf.htm

Weak Monsoon Rains Threaten India's Economic Rebound

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124867275575083055.html

NEW DELHI -- An unusually dry start to India's monsoon season is threatening to hurt agricultural output in an economy still hugely dependent on rural areas for growth.
[Parched paddy field ] AFP/Getty Images



This file picture taken on May 14, 2009 shows an Indian farmer and his son walking over their parched paddy field on the outskirts of Agartala. (Parthajit Datta/AFP/Getty Images)

A below normal crop yield may weigh on a nascent economic recovery and push up food prices, straining the government's budget further and complicating the central bank's efforts to revive the economy without letting inflation get out of hand.

After the driest June in 83 years, four of India's 28 provinces have declared drought. More than half of Uttar Pradesh state, India's most populous state and a key rice- and sugar cane-growing area, is drought hit. Rainfall between June 1 and July 22 was 19% below normal, with the northern and northwestern regions worst hit.

The Meteorological Department forecasts rainfall in the June-September wet season at 93% of the long-term average, which is not an unusually large deviation. But the distribution so far has been extremely uneven, with some areas flooded while others have been parched.

The June-September monsoon is critical for summer-sown crops, including oilseeds, rice, and sugarcane, as 60% of fields are rain fed. If rainfall remains sporadic through September, winter crop yields, such as wheat, could also be hurt, analysts said.

This is a challenge to a country where two thirds of the 1.1 billion population live in villages and agriculture accounts for around 18% of gross domestic product. Rural demand accounts for more than half of domestic consumption so any hit to farmers' incomes would hurt demand for everything from fuel and motorcycles to soap and gold, with knock-on effects on the broader economy.

The government is alert to the risks but hasn't sounded the alarm yet. That may reflect confidence that various measures it's taken to spur economic growth in rural areas will help offset some of the shock from a weak crop.

"It's premature to draw any doomsday conclusion and it's better to wait to check if rains revive," said Arvind Virmani, chief economic adviser to the federal Finance Ministry.

But economists are starting to pencil in downside risks to their forecasts for the economy, which has remained one of the most resilient in Asia to the global credit crisis thanks to its relatively small dependence on exports.

Robust rural demand has helped cushion the blow from the global downturn, with India's economic expansion outpacing those of all its regional peers except China. Growth slowed to 6.7% in the year ended March 31 from 9% a year earlier. The government forecasts an expansion between 6.25% and 7.75% for the current year but a poor harvest could cast that projection into doubt.

"If overall rainfall deficiency falls to 20%-25%, India's gross domestic product growth could be pared to sub-5% this fiscal year," said Mridul Saggar, chief economist at Kotak Securities.

It's not clear if the dry weather so far portends more of the same. Heavy rains last Tuesday lashed the northern province of Punjab, among India's top five rice producing provinces, ending its dry spell. Last year's monsoon revived later in the season, helping farm sector output grow 1.6%.

The government forecast a 4% expansion in farm production when it unveiled its budget last month, but Morgan Stanley said low rainfall could limit growth to between 1.5% and 2%.

A slump in the agricultural sector would put pressure on the government to respond with support measures, even as it already struggles with a fiscal deficit that is estimated to swell to a record 6.8% of GDP this fiscal year.

"The government can't look away from the problem and despite the tight fiscal situation, it will try to incentivize farmers, which may swell its subsidy bill," said Shubhada Rao, Chief Economist at Yes Bank.

A bigger hazard could be higher inflation.

The wholesale price index - the main gauge of inflation - fell 1.17% in the week to July 11 from a year earlier, a sixth straight week of declines. But economists say inflation will likely reappear in September, as elevated food prices remain sticky and a recent fuel price hike ripples through the economy.

The Reserve Bank of India expects inflation at 4% by the end of this fiscal year on March 31. Jahangir Aziz, chief India economist at JP Morgan Chase, said inflation could rise by two-to-three percentage points over that baseline forecast if the monsoon rains don't pick up.

India doesn't have a large stock of oilseeds and may have to resort to imports which may cost up to 0.4% of GDP, he said.

Scarce rains have forced some farmers to switch from rice to other crops, such as coarse cereals that can survive with less water. India's summer-sown rice acreage fell about 21% between June 1-July 17 to 11.5 million hectares from a year earlier.

Farm Minister Sharad Pawar Friday told Parliament he has banned exports of wheat and non-premium rice for over a year because of the poor monsoon.

The government may also raise procurement prices for some summer sown crops such as rice by 500 rupees ($10.4) per metric ton to encourage more sowing, a senior farm ministry official said.

Prices of sugar and tea have risen 30%, pulses 17%, and cereals 12% from year ago levels, said Citigroup's Rohini Malkani adding that the government may be able to head off a serious spike in food prices, given high stocks of rice and wheat from previous bumper crops and adequate foreign exchange reserves for imports.

The project

Brief objective and justification: Objective of the study is to examine self-efficacy of agricultural farmers or farmers engaged in agricultural activities. Findings will help to develop new knowledge about psychological counselling to agricultural farmers in distress with interface of agriculture. Currently, Indian farmers expressed low self-efficacy and are deprived of psychological counselling system due to lack of systematic knowledge in this area.

Introduction
Self-efficacy refers to the confidence in one’s ability to behave in such a way as to produce a desirable outcome (Bandura, 1977). Farmer’s judgements of his capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of agricultural performance is called farmer self efficacy. Low self-efficacy is positively related to anxiety and depression. Sometimes, it leads to committing suicide. Currently, many farmers are committing suicide (Gyanmudra, 2007) suggesting development of low self-efficacy within them. High self-efficacy allows one to deal better with uncertainty, distress and conflict and to set more challenging task objectives. In distress, those with high self-efficacy recover more quickly and maintain commitment to their goals (Schwarzer, 1992). It is assumed that farmers with high self-efficacy will improvise or innovate or adopt new technology in farming. Recent study has noted that farmers with high self-efficacy motivate towards cultivation of multiple crops (Dutta Roy, 2008). Self-efficacy is developed through cognitive and social learning processes (Bandura, 1986, 1993). Social learning is a higher form of learning occurring in a social context for the purpose of personal and social adaptation (Goldstein, 1984). In agriculture field, social learning is facilitated through social persuasion by training, enactive mastery experience and vicarious experience. High self-efficacious farmers often use the above process in different ways. The exact pattern of self-efficacy and the social learning process of agriculture farmers in the current changing scenario is not known due to lack of any systematic study in this area. Proposed project will reveal new knowledge about pattern of self-efficacy and its social learning process. This can be used for training, psychological counselling and guidance to farmers with agriculture interface.

Methodology:
Multi stage stratified random sampling will be followed in sample selection. Data will be collected from 960 farmers (20 farmers X 6 districts X 2 blocks (high and low producing), X 2 crops (paddy and non-paddy) X 2 adoption group (more amount of high yielding and less amount of high yielding technology).

Measures :
(a) Farmers self-efficacy questionnaire : A questionnaire will be developed to assess 5 dimensions of self-efficacy – farming self-efficacy, farming self-concept, self-regulation, value of farming, mastering task goal.
(b) Social learning questionnaire : Questionnaire will be developed to study (a) enactive mastery experience (setting task goals, the criteria for evaluation, task difficulty, (b) vicarious experience (social modelling), and (c) social persuasion.
(c) Interview schedule : One interview schedule will be developed to assess (a) socio-economic status, (b) land conditions (land holding, land utilization, irrigated, land salinity, fertility), (c) adoption of technology (amount of high yielding technology adoption), (d) specific difficulties in technology adoption and (e) availability of physical and social infrastructure support system during crisis.
(d) GHQ: Goldberg’s General health questionnaire will be administered to the farmers to assess their mental health and to validate farmer’s self-efficacy questionnaire.

Statistical Analysis : Relevant multivariate statistics will be used to (a) determine main and interaction effect of districts, blocks, technology adoption, crop pattern on self-efficacy pattern of farmers and mental health ; and (b) to explore correlates of farmers self-efficacy.

Research plan
2009-10 : Initially, for development of self efficacy questionnaire, data will be collected from 300 farmers (150 HY adopters and 150 HY non-adopters) using 4 questionnaires. Item analysis, reliability and validity of the instruments will be determined.

2010-2011: In this session, district and block wise sampling will be made. And respective local investigators will be selected. Data will be collected from 480 farmers (20 farmers X 3 districts X 2 blocks (high and low producing), X 2 crops (paddy and non-paddy) X 2 adoption groups (more amount of high yielding and less amount of high yielding technology).

2011-2012 : Final set of data collection will be completed following above sampling procedure and report will be submitted.



Project Beneficiaries :
· Department of Agriculture, Govt. of West Bengal;
· Researchers concerned with psychology in Agriculture;
References:
a) Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behaviour change. Psychol. Rev., 84, 191-215.
b) Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundation of thought and action: A Social cognitive theory, Englewood cliffs, N.J. : Prentice Hall.
c) Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psycvhologist, 28, 117-148.
d) Dutta Roy,D. (2008). Self-efficacy of agricultural farmers; Proceedings of the 12th International and 43rd National conference of Indian Academy of Applied Psychology (IAAP), p.
e) Goldstein, H. (1922). Social learning and change. NY: Tavistock Publications.
f) Gyanmudra, (2007). Farmers suicide in India. New Delhi: Deep & Deep publications Pvt. Ltd.
g) Schwarzer, R. (2001). Social-cognitive factors in changing Health-related behaviours. Current directions in Psychological Science. 10,2, 47-51.