Farmers struggling for fertilisers Saturday, November 17,2007 NEW AGE [1]

DHAKA: Farmers in northern districts are exposed to double whammy because of supply shortage and spiralling prices of fertilisers, which may lead to a huge shortfall in production of winter crops and vegetables.

The government claims there was no fertiliser crisis and steps had been taken to import urea to meet the gap between the demand and supply.

But the reality tells a different story. Fertilisers, particularly the most consumed urea, have become scarce in many parts of the northern region, where growers are making desperate attempts to get those in time.

Supply of fertiliser was found far less than the actual demand in many areas while prices kept soaring abnormally.

Farmers pointed the finger at dealers for the supply problem and blamed them for creating an ‘artificial crisis' of fertilizer to make a fast buck.

‘Crisis of fertiliser has always been there, but it seems that the crisis has deepened this time around,' a small farmer at Kafuria in Natore said. He alleged that a section of people were out to make a fortune out of farmers' woes.

Landlords were somehow managing to get fertilisers by paying additional money or using influence, but marginal farmers were struggling to have even a sack to use in their small holdings.

Despite the government's claims of strict monitoring of fertiliser supply and prices, dealers and traders in many areas were seen manipulating supply and demanding prices at their will. Small farmers were left with no other option but to pay whatever prices fixed by traders. Even then, they failed to get the amount they needed.

Farmers feared that production of winter crops such as onions, garlic, wheat and mustard seeds as well as vegetables would be affected for want of various fertilisers this year.

‘We need fertiliser in time to grow seasonal crops and any delay will reduce production,' another farmer at Jhalmalia Bazar in Rajshahi told New Age on Thursday.

The farmer, who managed to get six sacks of fertiliser for his potato field, said he had to pay Tk 200 to Tk 500 more on each bag, which means production cost would go up and profit margin would fall.

He said many farmers prepared their land for winter crops, but their efforts were set to fail for fertiliser crisis.

Many farmers held the government's wrong estimation and faulty distribution process responsible for the crisis.

‘Sufficient fertilisers should immediately be distributed among farmers. We will, otherwise, not be able to make best use of our land,' said a farmer at Tokia Bazar in Natore.

Field visits revealed that dealers and traders made the situation complicated in some areas.

‘If you ask a dealer for fertiliser, he will readily tell you that there is no supply. But if you offer additional prices, say Tk 300 to Tk 500 for each sack, the same dealer will manage it for you ,' said a farmer in Natore town on Thursday as he was rushing from one shop to another for urea.

He said growing vegetables would be tough for him if he failed to manage at least 10 sacks of urea and triple super phosphate in a week.

District agriculture officials were tight-lipped. One official said they had so far received 4,193 tonnes of urea, but refused to give the amount needed for the season.

Farmers in Lalmonirhat were also feeling the pinch of fertiliser crisis in the peak season of winter crops and vegetables production.

Department of Agriculture Extension deputy director Aftab Uddin Khan said there was a little shortage of fertiliser supply, but hoarding by dealers made the situation worse.

The president of fertiliser dealers' association of the district, Abdul Hakim brushed aside the allegation, saying they were selling what they had received from the government.

‘There is no artificial crisis. We are rather getting far less fertiliser than what we need to meet the demand,' he claimed.

Despite the nagging crisis, government officials, dealers, traders and even farmers and common people were cautious about talking about the issue fearing reprisal from the authorities.

Local journalists were also scared of reporting on the fertiliser issue, which saw farmers' agitation and assaults on administration officials and dealers in some areas, including Manikganj.

Onion prices jump by Tk 10 a kg in 2 day Saturday, November 17,2007 NEW AGE [2]

DHAKA: Prices of onion in the city markets shot up by up to Tk 10 per kilogram in last two days with the local variety of the essential agro-produce retailing between Tk 68 and Tk 70 and Indian variety between Tk 58 and Tk 62 on Friday.

Prices of packed powder milk also crossed Tk 500 per kilogram registering an increase of Tk 30 over the week.

As the supply of perishable items, including fish and vegetables, disrupted due to the inclement weather caused by the cyclonic storm that hit country Thursday evening, their prices also experienced uptrend.

Traders said the supply of Indian onion had come to almost zero-level as the importers had finished bringing the produce from India under the LCs opened before the imposition of a ban on its export by the Indian authorities.

As Bangladesh mostly depends on Indian supply during the off-harvest months, the Indian ban has instigated onion price hike at up to Tk 60 per kilogram in mid-November from between Tk 32 and Tk 40 in October 1 when India had imposed the ban to stop its price spiral at its local market.

The prices of local onion on Friday increased due to the disruption in supply caused by the inclement weather as an influence of Sidr, wholesalers said.

The price of milk powder also increased further in the past week due to the supply shortage, grocers in the city markets said.

Prices of milk powder increased up to Tk 30 per kilogram over the week with the one kilogram pack of major selling brand Diploma retailing between Tk 500 and Tk 510 on Friday.

The product was selling for up to Tk 425 a month ago and Tk 310 a year ago, according to a report of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

Market men argue that sharp rise in its prices in international markets and high duty on the locally produced brands had been making the essential product costlier.

The prices of vegetables that declined during the past two weeks with increased supply of winter vegetables also went up on Friday for what the traders, said supply disruption due to rough weather.

Up by Tk 2-4 over the couple of days, per kilogram of bean was selling between Tk 24 and Tk 28, radish between Tk 12 and Tk 16 while a piece of medium-sized cabbage or cauliflower was selling between Tk 15 and

Tk 20 at the Mahakhali Bazar on Friday. Potato remained stable at its earlier price ranging between Tk 22 and Tk 24.

The price of fishes showed increasing trend and on Friday at Kanthal Bagan bazaar, a pair of hilsas, weighing each around one kilogram, was selling at Tk 400, up Tk 50 over the week, per kilogram of medium sized deshi katla between Tk 140 and Tk 160 and small fishes like tengra and katchki between Tk 120 and Tk 160.

Remaining somewhat stable throughout the week, per kilogram of beef was selling between Tk 170 and Tk 180 on Friday, live broiler between

Tk 95 and Tk 100 and per dozen of eggs between Tk 54 and Tk 57.

Among others major essentials, per kilogram of non-packed soya bean oil on Friday was retailing between Tk 90 and Tk 92, a 5-litre can of bottled soya bean of different brands was selling between Tk 440 and Tk 450. Sugar was selling between Tk Tk 30 and Tk 32 per kilogram and atta between Tk 38 and Tk 40.

Red lentil of different verities was selling between Tk 64 and Tk 80 per kilogram, green chilli for Tk 60, red chilli between Tk 130 and Tk 160.

Prices of rice remained somewhat stable with coarse and medium course varieties selling between Tk 23 and Tk 27 while fine varieties between Tk 30 and 38.

Fertilizer shortage hits eastern region Saturday, November 17,2007 THE HIMALAYAN TIMES [3]

BIRATNAGAR: Farmers in the eastern region could not cultivate wheat this season due to shortage of Di-Amonium Phosphet (DAP) fertilizer here.

farmers complained that the government has failed to supply fertilizer on time. "The season is almost off for the cultivation of wheat this year," they said.

They resort to wheat farming as cash crop after the rice harvesting season each year. Farmers visit the Agriculture Inputs Centre (AIC) daily but they return empty handed due to shortage of fertilizer. Hari Regmi, head at the AIC, Biratnagar office said that the office has no immediate plan to bring fertilizer. "The fertilizer could come only after 15 days, even if there was an agreement between Nepal and India," he said adding that it takes three months to import fertilizer in normal process.

"The farmers should pressurise the government to import DAP fertilizer as early as possible," he added. The farmers were forced to use low quality fertilizers from across the border due to the shortage of fertilizer in the market.

The DAP fertilizer distributed by the AIC consists 47 per cent of phosphorus and 18 per cent nitrogen. According to the AIC, the DAP it sells has credibility among the users as it sells only after the lab test.

However, urea is available at AIC offices in Mechi, Koshi and Sagarmatha zones, AIC office, Biratnagar said. "We also have enough stock of urea fertilizer," he said.

Tanka Bhattarai, a farmer at Morang Babiyabirta-3, said that the farmers were left with no option but to buy low quality DAP fertilizers at high price from across the border. "The AIC used to supply DAP fertilizer at a subsidised rate of Rs 1,295 per sack," Bhattarai said adding that the price has now increased to Rs 2,000 per sack in the market across the border.

The AIC also said that some private businessmen have imported expensive DAP fertilizer from China and the Philippines. According to the statistics, 5,000 MT of fertilizer is required in the eastern region annually.

Bid to wipe out Afghan opium failed: UN Saturday, November 17,2007 INDEPENDENT UK [4]

UNITED NATIONS: The head of the UN's anti-narcotics unit has called on Nato forces to crack down on heroin production in Afghanistan - a policy which contradicts proposals by the Brown government. Gordon Brown will propose paying farmers more than they earn from their poppy harvests in return for ceasing to grow the crop when he makes a statement to the Commons in the next few weeks on his strategy for winning over Afghans and curbing the influence of the Taliban.

Thus far the British campaign to destroy poppy production has been an abject failure, according to the annual report of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The biggest growth area is in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold, where British forces are fighting daily battles.

British and allied forces are looking at ways of targeting the heroin dealers by destroying drug factories inside Afghanistan. However, British ministers are keen to avoid alienating the farmers who are making a living out of the poppy crop.

That has caused tensions with the US administration, which has been pressing Britain to support aerial spraying to destroy the crop. But aerial spraying is opposed by Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and a senior Downing Street official made it clear yesterday that Mr Brown will call for a more sympathetic approach to the farmers. "We have to work closely with the communities involved," he said.

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UNODC, gave new figures showing Afghanistan's export of drugs to the West was fuelling the insurgency in Afghanistan. Releasing the final draft of its 2007 Afghan opium survey, the UNODC chief said poppy growth increased 17 per cent to 193,000 hectares and the growth in heroin production leapt a third to 8,200 tonnes.

The report shows that Afghanistan now accounts for 93 per cent of world opium production and is the biggest narcotics producer since 19th-century China. Helmand produces about half of the national output of heroin. Farmers gained around $1bn (£500m) from the total income from the heroin trade, estimated at $4bn, while district officials took a percentage through a levy on the crops. The rest was shared among insurgents, warlords and drugs traffickers, it said.

The wholesale price of a gram of heroin grew with every border crossed, it noted, rising from $2.50 in Afghanistan itself to $3.50 in Pakistan and Iran, $8 in Turkey, $22 in Germany, $30 in Britain and $33 in Russia.

"The potential windfall for criminals, insurgents and terrorists is staggering and runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars," Mr Costa said.

"Since drugs are funding the insurgency, Nato has a self-interest in supporting Afghan forces in destroying drugs labs, markets and convoys. Destroy the drug trade and you cut off the Taliban's main funding source."

Lord Malloch-Brown, the Foreign Office minister, told peers recently that the Department for International Development was preparing plans to provide long-term payments to farmers for stopping poppy production and growing alternative crops.

However, a British charity, the Senlis Council, is winning support from MPs for an alternative plan to buy up the annual poppy harvest for morphine, which is in short supply.

Agricultural panel chief shoots from hip Monday, November 19,2007 Indian Express [5]

LUDHIANA:Hands folded, tears wetting his cheeks, Saroop Singh, a 52-year-old farmer, begged for deliverance. "Save me or I will be forced to commit suicide." The farmer spoke not just for himself but for the 60-odd farmers gathered to meet Dr T Haque, chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), at the office of the District Chief Agriculture Officer here on Sunday evening.

"The price we get for our crop is too little to sustain us," Saroop went on, telling Haque about his three-and-a-half acres and a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh that he had been unable to repay for the last three years. "Another difficult year and I will have no option but to commit suicide," he sat down, only to spring up again to add: "I am glad I took this loan from a bank, had it been from an arhtiya I would have been dead by now."

Haque, with a frowning look, snapped: "Don't commit suicide, no one will bother. Pick up the gun, or protest in any manner you know." There was complete silence in the room as he went on: "The Vidharbha experiment has failed, we have had more farmer suicides after the PM relief package than before it."

Haque told the farmers how the price they sought and the price that economists and universities recommended was hundreds of rupees apart. "No one seems to be hearing your voice."

As the CACP chairman gave the gathering a patient hearing, looking moved at times and angry at others, the farmers vent their angst against the government, the banks, the nature... everyone.

Gurbaksh Singh, a farmer from Tugal village, groused about the humiliation meted out to them by bank officials. "The banks take advantage of the fact that many of us are illiterate. They send us to the patwari who demands his cut. We end up mortgaging our entire land for a paltry Rs 2 lakh."

Raghuvir Singh from Saharanmajra village wanted farmers to be treated on par with industry. "The subsidies given to industrialists should be extended to us. After all, can the people do without food? There is not a single farmer in this room who is not under debt and if the government doesn't heed our SOS, farmer suicides will become common place in Punjab."

The way out, they told Haque, was fair pricing. As Satnam Singh put it: "Give us Rs 1,400 per quintal for wheat and Rs 1,200 per quintal for rice. Ensure fertilisers on time, give us good seed, and we will be fine."

Haque reiterated his call for protest. "Suicides will not move the government, protests will. Farmer unrest is a national reality that will worsen over the years."

Massive Rabi crops cultivation drive Monday, November 19,2007 FINANCIAL EXPRESS [6]

DHAKA: The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in the district has undertaken a massive programme for Rabi crops cultivation this year, sources said.

A total of 135,226 hectares of land have been brought under the drive.

The DAE has set a target to produce 1.13 million tonnes of crops during the current Rabi season, sources added.

According to the DAE, Boro paddy will be transplanted on 104,790 hectares of land while different kinds of vegetables will be cultivated on 6,423 hectares of land, wheat on 5,000 hectares, potato on 2,700 hectares, sweet potato on 1,698 hectares, lentil on 2,146 hectares, Mashkalai on 1,235 hectares, Mug Dal on 25 hectares, Kheshari Dal on 1,270 hectares, onion on 600 hectares, garlic on 340 hectares, coriander seeds on 1,223 hectares, turmeric on 50 hectares, ginger on 75 hectares, chilli on 2,620 hectares, Til on 861 hectares, groundnut on 259 hectares, Motor Dal on 30 hectares, Orhor Dal on 15 hectares, mustard on 3732 hectares and sugarcane on 130 hectares of land respectively.

Md Rafiqul Alam, deputy director of the DAE, Brahmanbaria, said steps have been taken to ensure smooth supply of quality seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and other necessary agri-inputs to the farmers at fair prices to make the cultivation drive a success.

Govt support boosts orange production Monday, November 19,2007 DAILY STAR [7]

DHAKA: With a steady growth in orange cultivation and its yield in Moulvibazar district during the last few years, the total area under orange cultivation has increased to 494 acres from 59 acres while the average yield has risen to 3.75 tonnes from 3.50 tonnes per hectare.

The growers attribute this development to the initiative by the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) that launched a five-year Orange and Pineapple Development Project (OPDP) in greater Sylhet in 2000-2001 financial year.

The project that later extended till June 2008 has helped to bring dynamism in orange cultivation, growers and OPDP officials said, adding that the OPDP project should be extended for at least five years.

Orange growers now spontaneously join training programmes and their number is increasing, said horticulture development officer Anwar Hussain who is in charge of the OPDP project in Moulvibazar district.

Under the OPDP, 163 orange orchards, each on four bighas of land and with 220 trees, have been created in the hilly lands of Moulvibazar district, he said, adding that now 494 acres of land is used for orange plantation. This year 70,000 of some 1 lakh 40 thousand trees in new and old orchards have yielded fruits, with each plant producing 160 pieces of orange in an average, he said.

This year the fruit is selling at Tk 72 to 84 a dozen at wholesale markets.

Official estimates put this year's orange production in Moulvibazar district at 1,500 tonnes.

There is potentials for development of orchards and rising the yield up to five times if proper infrastructures are built and other facilities given, Anwar Hussain said. The number of plants has increased in recent time as plantation is done in rows in a planned way and farmers are given orange saplings, he said.

Identity cards have been provided to the farmers to avoid hassle by law enforcers while marketing of the fruit.

Earlier, many farmers got discouraged to grow orange as many farmers, especially from orange growing areas of Baralekha and Juri upazilas close to the Indian border, were arrested on false charges of smuggling orange.

Almost all the villagers of Shuknachhera, Hawachhera, Rupachhera, Lamachhera, Lathitila, Uttar Kachurgul, Pashchim Kachurgul, Dumabari, Penagul, Vandergul, Uttar Kuchairthol, Govindapur and Cheragi under Juri upazila and Uttar Shahbajpur, Dakshin Shahbajpur, Maizgram, Dimai, Gulsha, Dakshinbhag, Kathaltoli and Bubarthol, under Baralekha upazila are cultivating the popular winter fruit in a large scale. Almost every family has orange gardens with five to 5,000 orange plants.

Hilly Goalbari under Juri upazila, the main orange producing area of the district, is adjacent to the Indian border, 58 kilometres from Moulvibazar town. Orange is also being cultivated in Prithimpasa, Karmodha and Hazipur unions under Kulaura upazila and hilly areas of Srimongal upazila.

Appreciating the OPDP project, growers said now more people are involved in orange cultivation as they are optimistic about its success.

Sanaul Haque and Sirajul Islam of Lathitila village in Juri upazila close to the border said they learnt improved methods of orange gardening through the training programme under the OPDP project.

Other forms of support including supply of saplings also helped in their effort to grow orange on more area of land and in better quantity, they added.

However, government support for infrastructure development is badly needed as two other main problems irrigating gardens and marketing products -- still remain unresolved, growers said.

As surface water is not available in hills, deep tubewell irrigation is the only alternative, OPDP officer Anwar Hussain said.

Besides, road development is needed to ease marketing of the delicious fruit as carrying it manually from orchards to distant markets adds to the cost, he said.

He said the OPDP project, scheduled to be closed in June 2008, should be extended for five years more to continue the support to farmers.

Orange can be an export item after meeting the home demand as there are vast areas in the country suitable for orange cultivation.

Agriculture Adviser CS Karim, who visited orange producing areas of Suknachhera and Kachurgul under Goalbari union of Juri upazila on November 3, said the government planning steps for solving the problems of irrigation and road communication.

Pepper exporters seek redress Monday, November 19,2007 Daily News [8]

COLOMBO: Stakeholders of the Sri Lankan Spice industry have sought an assurance from the Ministry of Trade and Commerce here that no caps would be imposed for exports of pepper to India. Indian traders have contracted 300 tonnes of pepper from Sri Lanka, an exporter said. India has been importing duty free pepper from Sri Lanka from March 18, 2003, when imports stood at 6,200 tonnes annually.

Over the last two years, it has risen to 7,500 tonnes from 7,000 tonnes.

The Spices and Allied Products Producers' and Traders' Associations recommendation was based on the argument that under the Indo-Sri Lanka FTA, applicable since March ‘03, a maximum quantity of around 3,500 tonnes of Sri Lankan pepper finds its way into the domestic market in India annually.

This was against the total quantity of about 7,500 tonnes exported from Sri Lanka to India, it said.

The difference of 4,000 tonnes was imported by the Indian Pepper Extractors (under advance licence) to manufacture oleoresin for export from the country and other export-oriented units that process pepper.

It said the current exports to India for its domestic requirement is not much over the intended export cap when seen from the point of view of thecountry's pepper production.

As the intended cap from Sri Lanka is for 2,500 tonnes and the estimated imports into the domestic market in India is around 3,500 tonnes.

This was just 2% of India's estimated production of 50,000 tonnes (as declared at the International Pepper Community sessions, 2007), it said.

Paddy production up in eastern region Monday, November 19,2007 THE HIMALAYAN TIMES [9]

BIRATNAGAR: Paddy production has increased by 10 per cent or 20,9,315 metric tonnes this year in comparison to last year in the eastern region.

Timely rainfall and easy availability of seeds and fertilizers are said to be the major reasons behind the increase in paddy production this year. According to the Eastern Regional Agriculture Directorate (ERAD), the production of paddy is satisfactory this year. Jagannath Mahaseth, director at ERAD said that 14,060,56 metric tonnes of paddy was produced in the eastern region this year. The production last year was 12,967,41 metric tonnes only.

As there was timely rainfall, farmers planted paddy in 5,21,705 sq-km of land in the eastern region, however, paddy was planted in 5,14,561 sq-km of land last year.

The production of paddy is enough for the region for this year, according to the ERAD said. "Among 16 districts in the eastern region, the largest production of paddy is recorded in Jhapa and Sunsari districts," Mahaseth said.

Of total areas of 28,45,600 sq-km of the eastern region, the arable land is only 94,6000 sq-km.

Meanwhile, the ERAD is also going to introduce various programmes to encourage farmers towards wheat farming this year.

"It is busy in making necessary coordination to provide seeds and fertilizers to farmers in connection with the programme," Mahaseth added.

India to produce 21 lakh ton cashew nut Wednesday, November 21,2007 pioneer [10]

PANAJI: Indian cashew researchers and developers have carved out a task to achieve annual productivity of 21 lakh ton raw cashew nuts by 2020 as against 5.73 ton produced currently.

India produces 50 per cent of raw cashew nut required for the processing industry in the country.

"What will happen if countries from where India imports raw nuts start processing units of their own?," asked Vijay Mehta, Vice Chancellor Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidhyapeeth, Dapoli, Maharashtra adding that the only solution is to augment the cashew production.

Mehta was addressing a gathering of scientists, researchers and marketing agencies in the field of cashew in the national seminar on research, development and marketing of cashew.

Citing Vietnam as a major competitor in the field, Mehta said that India's average cashew production is pegged at 700 to 800 kg per hectare while that of Vietnam is 2470 kg per hectare.

"In the circumstances when we cannot bring more area under cashew cultivation, we will have to look into methods to increase the productivity of existing crop to achieve the target of 21 lakh ton production by 2020," Mehta added.

MG Bhat, director, National Research Centre for Cashew, Puttur (Karnataka), said said that India needs to be self-sufficient in cashew production, which will also boost the country's economy. "We have required technology and if India wants, we can continue to be number one cashew nuts producing country," he said.

India is the major producer and exporter of cashew kernels and major importers of raw cashew nuts. The country has annual raw cashew nut processing capacity of above 12 lakh tons.

Pakistan far behind in cotton output Wednesday, November 21,2007 DAILY TIMES [11]

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, being the fourth largest producer of raw cotton is still lags behind in productivity per unit of area as compared with hectare yields being realized in some other major cotton growing countries, such as Australia, China, Greece, Turkey and Syria.

The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has informed Pakistan that a critical analysis of the situation reveals that national average yield is almost stagnant due to implications of the vagaries of weather, absence of virus resistant varieties, emergence of new insect pest such as Mealy Bug. The government is concentrating on developing practical solutions to raise the yield level, particularly on small farms, which are in bulk official sources said here Tuesday.

The government of Pakistan has presented a country report in the 66th Plenary Meeting of the ICAC held last month in Turkey and a high level delegation of Pakistan from Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) attended it. The meeting was informed that the cotton research and development related organizations in Pakistan were concentrating on developing practical solutions to raise the yield level. The Pakistan's Cotton Vision envisages enhancing the average yield to at least 1060 kg per hectare by 2015 or even earlier.

The government has taken several steps for improving yield of cotton. The meeting was informed that Pakistan has emphasizing on control of Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) through breeding and crop management and development of commercial cotton hybrids. The government was also stressing on the development of BT cotton, development of heat, insect, salinity and drought resistant and early maturing varieties.

The Pakistani delegation informed the participants of 48 countries in the ICAC meeting that the CLCV was a major problem in the Punjab. However, by evolving CLCV resistant varieties and management strategy by the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC)'s research institutes, Pakistan cotton production was sustained to 10 million bales.

The meeting was informed that Pakistani government was much in favour of introducing BT Cotton cultivation in the country, but through formal means. In this regard the MINFAL in consultation with stakeholders has finalized strategy to regulate release of genetically modified (GM) plant varieties including BT cotton.

In view of the significance of cotton and textile sector in the national economy, there has been increasing emphasis on quality control or the production of cleaner and contamination free cotton to enable the textile industry to expand the marketing base for Pakistani products to realize their intrinsic values in the international market. The meeting was informed that the ministry of industry in collaboration with the MINFAL as well as private sector stakeholders was also working to implement the Cotton Standardization and Grading System at the grass roots level as early as possible.

It is however generally realized that under the WTO post quota scenario a larger crop would pay the real dividends only when its quality matches the spinners' demand at home and abroad, the MINFAL delegation informed the members countries.

Pakistani delegation informed the meeting that cotton crop was believed to be the lifeline of the national economy as it accounts for 8.2 percent of the value added in agriculture and about 2 percent to GDP. They said that Pakistan produced an all time record cotton crop of about 14.3 million bales in 2004-05 followed by the second largest crop of 13 million bales in 2006-06 and 2006-07. A much larger crop may be expected in years to come in view of the latent yield potential of the existing cotton varieties, growing awareness among farmers regarding scientific crop production and protection measures, new areas available for cotton cultivation and the suitable government policies.

The ICAC was informed that Pakistan has made a significant growth in the textile sector and emerged as the third largest cotton consuming country in the world. There was also growing emphasis on the export of more value added textile products instead of confining to the yarn and cloth.

Standing crops affected in Jhenaidah Wednesday, November 21,2007 NEW AGE [12]

JHENAIDAH: RAIN and storm triggered by cyclone Sidr have affected standing crops badly in Jhenaidah.

According to the local Department of Agriculture Extension, transplanted aman paddy on 36,000 hectares out of 90,000 hectares of land was affected by the storm that swept over the district along with other parts of the country between Thursday and early Friday.

Besides aman paddy, vegetables on 2,500 hectares out of 5,500, maize on 2,000 hectares out of 5,700, mustard on

1,500 hectares out of 5,600, onion on 70 hectares out of 350, banana on 750 hectares out of 4,500 hectares and

other crops on 2,600 hectares out of 5,000 hectares were damaged.

The deputy director of the local DAE, Abdul Kader Sarkar, said they got the figure from a primary estimation and the final extent of damage would be assessed shortly.

A number of farmers, while talking to New Age, said the production of crops was likely to decrease due to damage caused by the storm.

Farmers Abul Hossain of village Krishnapur and Abdul Alim of village Dudhsar under Sailkupa upazila, and Ahmed Ali of village Toilatupi under Harinakunda upazila said 25 to 30 per cent of their crops were affected by the storm.

They feared a downfall in crop production in the district this season.

The deputy director also said after the complete assessment, they would take steps to rehabilitate the affected farmers. The DAE will do everything possible for the welfare of the farmers so that they can overcome the losses, he added.

Irrigation areas to face power shortage Wednesday, November 21,2007 NEW AGE [13]

DHAKA: Although the Power Division has decided to give irrigation top priority in supplying electricity in this Boro season, the areas that need irrigation are likely to face a regular shortage of at least 220 MW of power because of limitations in the supply network.

The Power Cell, based on information provided by different power agencies, at an inter-ministerial meeting on Tuesday projected that the power demand of the irrigation pumps, which get low-priced electricity, during the Boro season would be around 1,078 MW.

But the agriculture ministry's representatives told the meeting, chaired by power and energy adviser Tapan Chowdhury, that the irrigations pumps across the country would need around 1,300 MW of power in January-April, the peak of the Boro season.

Power officials, however, said that it would not be possible to supply electricity to those pumps that are out of the network of the power supply system and they would ensure the supply of 1,078 MW.

‘The Rural Eectricity Board provides electricity to pumps that are located within 100 feet of the main lines. The agriculture ministry's representatives, while calculating the demand for electricity, included the pumps that are far away from the main lines,' Tapan told New Age after the meeting.

He said that they had suggested that the pump-owners should take electricity connections beyond 100 feet from main cables by installing lines and poles at their own cost.

‘If they are not able to afford or acquire electricity lines, they can operate their pumps with liquid fuel,' he said.

Tapan said that supplying electricity for irrigation was their top priority because of the food shortage caused the flood and the recent cyclone. ‘The REB is severely constrained because the transmission lines have been damaged by the cyclone. It needs a huge fund to provide electricity beyond 100 feet from the power cables,' he said.

The meeting was told that the power agencies would have to manage the load by load-shedding in urban areas to supply power for irrigation as there would a shortage of around 600 MW of power in the country in the irrigation season.

The meeting was told that if the power agencies could ensure uninterrupted supply of 1,078 MW of electricity to irrigation pumps and the energy division could ensure adequate diesel supply, it would be more than enough for a good crop.

The Power Cell projected that the number of electrical irrigation pumps this season would be around 2.22 lakh. There were around 1.9 lakh electrical pumps last year.

The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation projected that the number of diesel-run irrigation pumps would be around 11.84 lakh.

The Power Cell projected that the demand for electricity would be 4,078 MW in January, 4,240 MW in February, 4,590 MW in March and 4,431 MW in April. Power generation is expected to be between 3,400 to 3,980 MW.

The irrigation pumps will get power for six hours from 11:00pm to 5:00am and for a few hours in the day.

Tapan asked the officials concerned to take steps so that big shopping malls, other shops and markets, except kitchen markets, drug stores and food shops, close their business by 8:00pm as per the earlier decision of the government.

Power secretary M Fouzul Kabir Khan, energy secretary Mohammad Mohsin, Power Development Board chairman Shawkat Ali and other high officials of the division and Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation were present at the meeting.

LCCI plans to promote agri tourism Thursday, November 22,2007 THE HIMALAYAN TIMES [14]

LEKHNATH: Lekhnath Chamber of Commerce Industry (LCCI) has introduced a new concept - targetting tourists, who begin their journey from Talchock to Hansapur of Kaski district - in tourism.

As the tourists start their journey from Talchock of Prithvi highway in Lekhnath municipality, they can prepare their foods like chicken on their own at the different stops like in Sisuwa. They can fish in the Begnas lake, if they like to eat fish. After crossing the lake, they can milk buffalo and even taste honey directly from the hive in Pachabhaiya, after paying. They can pluck fresh oranges, pay and eat in Hansapur.

"We have brought this package for the first time in Nepal," Baburam Jamar-kattel, president of LCCI, said, adding that LCCI has already launched farmers' training with an objective of making the area a model tourist zone. "To make the package more popular, LCCI is focusing on advertisement," he added.

Starting the programme has not been difficult since we have all the basic requirements for this package, said Laxmi Prasad Tripathi, general secretary of LCCI. This programme has been launched to increase the income of the farmers through agriculture-tou-rism with an assistance from different donors.

"An investment of Rs 23,00,000 in the first stage is needed," Tripathi said, adding that LCCI is also launching field visits and skill development programmes to make it an effective and successful.

Farmers expect bumper bean in Pabna Friday, November 23,2007 NEW AGE [15]

PABNA: Farmers of Pabna are optimistic about bumper bean production during the current season as vast areas were brought under cultivation and weather remained favourable.

Some 2,000 hectares were brought under bean cultivation this season and beans worth about Tk 75 crore is expected to be produced, according a source at the Department of Agricultural Extension.

Of the total area, about 1,300 hectares were cultivated in Ishwardi and Atgharia upazilas using intensive cultivation method, the DAE source said. Nearly 4,000 farmers of 40 villages of the two upazilas have changed their lot by cultivating beans.

Shah Jamal, of village Faridpur in Ishwardi upazila, brought ‘Ipsha' and local variety of bean seeds from Jessore a few years back and cultivated bean on just one bigha of land. He made a profit of Tk 15,000 in one year. Encouraged by Jamal's success, many farmers took to cultivating beans in the district.

Vast areas have now been brought under bean cultivation in the district. The areas include Faridpur, Atghariapara, Ramnathpur, Goalbathan, Potirajpur, Sobaikandi, Muladoli, Abdullahpur, Bagh Asla, Bet Baria, Bamnathpur, Sheikhpara and Marmipara of Ishwardi upazila, and Bameshwarpur, Nazimrampur, Alampur, Durgapur, Kakmari, Darbeshpur Chandpur, Gormatia, Gopalpur and Rampur of Atgharia upazila.

DAE sources said on average 60-65 mounds (one mound equal 37.3242 kilogram) of beans are produced on a bigha of land each season.

Mohammad Nasiruddin, a bean cultivator of Muladoli union said he had cultivated bean on 10 bighas of land this season at a cost of Tk 120,000.

He is already selling around 20 mounds of bean daily and expects to earn a net profit of Tk 400,000 at the end of the year.

Like Nasiruddin many farmers have achieved success in bean cultivation, which has been gaining increasing popularity among the farmers here.

Due to massive bean production in the area, a big wholesale market of bean has been set up at Muladoli on the Dhaka-Pabna highway and this created employment for many local people.

Local traders said around 30/35 trucks of beans are supplied daily to various parts of the country, including the capital. The supply is expected to double within a fortnight.

Abdul Khaleq, a field officer of DAE, said bean cultivators were given training through the IPM and NCDP field schools on how to control pest attacks without using insecticides. DAE deputy director Mohammad Akhtarul Afghan said bean cultivation has marked a sharp rise in last five years as farmers found it profitable.