03-01-2017

TNAUscientistscultivatevelimasaal,
registerprofit

TheTamilNaduAgriculturalUniversitysSugarcaneResearchStationatSirugamaninearTiruchihasshowna
successfulexperimentofcultivatingfoddervelimasalandmarketingittoneedylivestockowners.
Velimasalaccountsforalargeamountofnutrientandlivestockparticularlygoatsandsheeppreferthefodderto
anyothervariety.TheResearchStationtookupthecultivationofvelimasalonalowkeywithalimitedexpense.
But,tooursurprise,therehasbeenagrowingdemandforthefoddertosuchanextentthatthestationhasregistered
ahugeprofitaboutfourtofivetimesofourinvestment,saidN.Chandrasekaran,ProfessorandHeadofthe
Station.
Hesaidthatthecropcanwithstanddroughtconditionsandcanbeharvestedoncein45days.Thismultiharvest
systemhasfacilitatedustogainprofit,hesaid.
Thelivestockpreferthisleguminousfeedbecauseitisrichinprotein.Livestockownersnormallypurchaseitand
mixitwithgrassbeforeuse.
Apartfromharvestingvelimasal,thestationhasallottedaseparatefieldwhereseedplantsaregrown.Theseed
plantisnotharvested,asitrequiresmoretimeupto120daystodevelopseeds,saidR.Nageswari,Assistant
ProfessorofAgronomyofthestation.

Thestationhasstocked60kgofseedsandfarmerscangetfurtherdetailsbydialling9486201357duringworking
hours.

Workshoponassessmentoffoodlossfrom
fisheriesincitytomorrow
AworkshoponassessmentoffoodlossfromselectgillnetandtrammelnetfisheriesofIndiawillbeheldatthe
CentralInstituteofFisheriesTechnology(CIFT)onJanuary4.
TheworkshopisbeingjointlyorganisedbytheInstituteandtheFoodandAgricultureOrganisation(FAO).The
IntegratedCoastalManagement,Kakkinada,AndhraPradesh,ispartneringwiththeprogramme.Thestudywill
coverselectmarineandinlandfishinglocationsinKerala,TamilNadu,AndhraPradeshandGujarat,saysa
communicationissuedbySuseelaMathew,directorinchargeofCIFT.

FarmersdemandhigherMSPforredgram

Say MSP of Rs. 5050 along with State government

incentive of Rs. 450 a quintal is too less considering
the cost of cultivation
KarnatakaPrathaRaithaSangha(KPRS),KarnatakaRajyaRaithaSangha(KRRS),AllIndiaKisanSabha(AIKS)
andRedgramGrowersAssociation,Chittapur,haveplanneddifferentformsofstrugglesfordemandingbetter
MinimumSupportPrice(MSP)forredgram.AddressingajointmediaconferencehereonTuesday,theleadersof
theorganisationssaidthattheMSPofRs.5050plusStategovernmentincentiveofRs.450aquintalwastooless
consideringthecostofcultivation.
AsperthereportsubmittedbyAgriculturePriceCommission,thecostofcultivatingredgraminanacreis
betweenRs.18,000andRs.25,000.Consideringtheperacreyieldbetweenthreeandfourquintal,Rs.6,500is
requiredtoproduceonequintalofredgram.Basedonthesecalculations,Karnatakagovernmentrecommendedan
MSPofRs.6,500aquintalofredgram,buttheUniongovernmentgaveonlyRs.5,050,MaruthiManpade,
president,KPRS,said.Karnatakagovernment,headded,shouldincreaseitsincentivefromRs.450aquintaltoRs.
1,500aquintalsothatitsownrecommendationtoUniongovernmentwouldgetfulfilled,headded.
Imports
Mr.ManpadelashedoutattheUniongovernmentforworkingagainsttheinterestsofdomesticredgramgrowersby
dutyfreeimportsofthecropfromvariouscountries.
Wearenotagainstimports.Ourdomesticpulsesrequirementis222lakhmetrictonnesayearandourdomestic
productionis175metrictonnesayear.IfyouconsiderWorldHealthOrganisationsrecommendationof80grams
ofpulsesperdayperperson,thedomesticrequirementwouldfurthergrow.Wemayrequiretoimportspulseswhen
domesticproductionisnotenoughtomeet.But,weshouldimposeatleast30percentimportdutysothatdomestic
growerscouldcompetewithbigcorporateclassesintheimportbusiness,hesaid.HeallegedthattheUnion

governmentwasimposingnotaxesontheredgramimportsjusttofavouramajorimporteroffoodgrains,
sacrificingtheinterestsofdomesticgrowers.
Struggle
Mr.Manpadesaidthefarmersorganisationswouldlaunchcoordinatedstrugglesatvariouslevelsdemanding
increaseinMSPforredgram.Asafirststep,redgramgrowersrepresentatives,alongwithMallikarjunKharge,
leaderofCongressinLokSabhaandSharanPrakashPatil,MedicalEducationMinisterandKalaburagiIncharge,
wouldmeetthreeconcernedUnionMinistersNirmalaSitharaman,RadhaMohanSinghandRamVilasPaswan
anddiscussonimportduties,MSPandotherissuespertainingtoredgramprocurement.
Ifthemeetingsarenotfruitful,wewilllaunchstreetstrugglesblockingroadsacrossredgramgrowingareasinthe
State,hewarned.
FarmersleadersAmbarishGowdaBalabatti,AshokMyageri,MoulaMullaandotherswerepresent.

Woollyneckedstorksspottedincity

Thesouthernpartsofthecityanditssuburbshavebecomeahavenforbirdwatchers,oflate,withmultiplesightings
ofrarespecies.
Agroupofzoologistshavedetectedtheunusualpresenceofwoollyneckedstorks,avulnerablespecies,nearthe
wetlandsofAttukal.Whilethepresenceofthemigratorybirdhasbeenreportedfromvariousplaces,including
Sasthamcotta,Vembanad,kolewetlandsandalongthebanksoftheBharathapuzhainPalakkad,ithasbeenspotted
inThiruvananthapuram,possiblyforthefirsttime.TheywerespottedinpaddyfieldsoftheCollegeofAgriculture,
Vellayani,functioningunderKeralaAgriculturalUniversity.

Thelargewadingbird,whichisapproximately95cmlong,hasdistinctfeatureswithblackheadandbodywithan
iridescentsheen,andwhiteneckandunderbelly.Thelargebillisgreywithareddishtipandthebirdhasdeepred
eyes.
Thelegsandfeetarealsoprominentlyredincolour.Theyareknowntoinhabitwetlands,marshes,rivers,pondsand
lakes.
AccordingtoR.Sreejai,AssistantProfessorattheDepartmentofZoology,St.StephensCollege,Pathanapuram,
wholedtheresearchteam,thewoollyneckedstorks(knownasKaruvarakkuruinMalayalam)werefoundtobe
comfortableinthepaddyfieldsandadjoiningareasalongwithblackheadedibisandegrets,whicharecommonly
foundinsuchwetlands.
Bothgendersofthespeciesaresimilarinappearance,whilethejuvenilesaredullerandlackedtheiridescencethat
isnotableinmatureones.
Theyarepredominantlycarnivorouswiththeirdietconsistingoffish,frogs,toads,snakesandlizards.Woolly
neckedstorkshavebeencategorisedasvulnerablebytheInternationalUnionforConservationofNature(IUCN).
Itwasyettobeascertainedwhetherthepresenceofthemigratorybirdspeciesinhithertounexploredregionscould
beattributedtoclimatechanges,evenwhilesuchfactorscouldaffectmigrationpatterns.
Thepresenceoflargetractsofpaddyfieldsintheregion,whichincludedVellayaniandPunchakkari,hasledtoa
largenumberofmigratorybirdsflockingtothearea.

DeclareThanjavurdistrictdroughthit
TheDMKcadresstagedademonstrationhereandinKumbakonamonMondayurgingtheStateGovernmentto
immediatelydeclareThanjavurdistrictasdroughthitamongotherdemands.
InthedemonstrationheldinfrontofthePanagalBuildingsinThanjavur,partySouthdistrictsecretaryDurai
ChandrasekaranledtheagitationinwhichOrathanadMLAM.Ramachandran,townsecretaryT.K.G.
Neelamegam,YouthWingOrganiserS.Ramanathanandothersparticipated.AtKumbakonam,thedemonstration
washeldneartheHeadPostOffice.
Theotherdemandsincludedwaiverofallagriculturalloans,grantingadequatesolatiumtothefamiliesoffarmers
whocommittedsuicideorlosttheirlivestoshockatthelossofpaddycrop,compensationofRs.30,000peracreto
thosewhohadraisedpaddyandRs.5,000tofamiliesofagriculturallabourers.

CSIRlaunchesaquaculturetechcoursesin
Goa

TheCouncilofScientific&IndustrialResearchs(CSIR)NationalInstituteofOceanography(NIO)haslaunched
skilldevelopmentcoursesinaquaculturetechnologytoaddressthegrowingdemandforaskilledworkforce.
TheskilldevelopmentcentreinaquaculturetechnologywasinauguratedbyDr.S.Ayyappan,NABARDChair
Professorandformersecretary,DepartmentofAgriculturalResearchandEducation(DARE)oftheUnionMinistry
ofAgricultureandDirectorGeneraloftheIndianCouncilofAgriculturalResearch(ICAR).
NIOdirectorDr.S.PrasannaKumartoldTheHinduonMondaythatunderthisprogramme,all38laboratories
underCSIRwilltrainonelakhpersonnelinvariousskills.
Theprogramme,beingimplementedbytheGoabasedoceanresearchinstitute,proposestoconductfourcourses
initially,withjobrolesorqualificationpacksforAquacultureTechnician,AquaticMicrobiologyAssistant,
AquacultureWorkerandBrackishwaterAquacultureFarmer.
TheCSIRNIOisintheprocessofdocumentationforaffiliationandaccreditationwiththeAgricultureSkillCouncil
ofIndia.Thoseparticipatinginthecourseswillhavetosolvetheoreticalandpracticaltasks,andwillbegivena
certificatedescribingthecontentofthecourseandhoweachparticipantwasabletosolvethetaskssetoutupon
completion.
Candidateswhocompletethecourseswillhaveemploymentopportunitiesasfishbreeders,hatcherymanagers,
farm,hatchery,feed,watersystemtechniciansandskilledfarmers.Thecoursewillcatertovarioussectorsincluding
governmentbodiessuchastheNationalFisheriesDevelopmentBoard,MarineProductExportDevelopment
Authority(MPEDA),FisheriessurveyofIndia(FSI),FishFarmersDevelopmentAgencies(FFDA),Coastal
AquacultureAuthority(CAA),CentralMarineFisheriesResearchInstitute(CMFRI),StateFisheriesDepartments,
amongothers.

Theywillalsobequalifiedforentrepreneurshipinornamentalfishculture,aquaculture,hatcheryandseed
production,commercialpearloysterproduction,fishdiseasediagnosticcentre,consultancyservices,and
establishmentofaquaclinics.Ancillaryservicesincludeaquafeedpreparation,fishoilantibioticandaquadrug
supply,preservationandmarketingofseaproducts.
Dr.Kumarsaidinthewakeofglobalisation,technologyflowhasincreasedandfisheriesandaquaculturesectorsare
alsotransformingintoindustriesatafastpace.This,hesaid,hasledtoademandforknowledgeableandskilled
humanresourceforthedevelopmentofstandardproductsandservicesinthesector.
CSIRinitsPlatinumJubileeyearproposestomountamajorprogrammeonCSIRIntegratedSkillInitiative.With
8,000talentedscienceandtechnologypersonnelandinterdisciplinaryexpertise,stateoftheartfacilitiesandpan
Indiapresence,CSIRisinauniquepositiontocontributetothisinitiative,saidDr.Kumar.