Narendra Modi is anti-poor & anti-women, can't spell agriculture: Congress

NEW DELHI: Against the backdrop of EU Ambassadors engaging with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Congress today dubbed him as "anti-poor and anti-women" and one "who does not know how to spell agriculture". 

The party also sought to project BJP as a divided house saying as to why it should waste time to know who is BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate when there were seven contenders in the opposition party. 

At the AICC briefing, party spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary sidestepped questions on the "clean chit" given to Modi by the European Union and instead asked whether the controversial Chief Minister has got visa from the US. 

"He has no respect for his own wife or someone else's wife.... He is anti-poor, anti-rural development, anti-women. He lives in urban fantasies... and he does not know how to spell agriculture," Chowdhary said. 

Asked about the reported statements of JD-U chief Sharad Yadav implying that the corporates were backing Modi, Chowdhary said that the JD-U leader was intelligent and was not given to making accusation without substantive evidence. 

The Congress attack came at a time when there has been growing chorus in sections of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar to make Modi as PM candidate of the party and reports of envoys of EU countries having a lunch with Modi as part of efforts to engage with him. 

Yesterday, the AICC had sought to project Modi as a state leader and dismissed suggestion that he had hijacked Rahul Gandhi's agenda of connecting with youth. 

Two days back, the Gujarat Chief Minister used a college platform here to project himself nationally saying his focus was on development politics and not that of vote-bank, which he said has "ruined" the nation.

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Agriculture Committee adopts plans for modern and flexible EU farm policy

EU farm policy reform must distribute EU funding more fairly, make "greening" measures mandatory but flexible, better equip farmers to cope with market challenges and cut red tape. So says the Agriculture Committee's opening position for negotiations with EU member states, as set out in texts voted on Wednesday. This will be the first EU farm policy reform shaped by Parliament as a full co-legislator with member states.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), one of the EU's oldest, must be properly funded to continue to ensure secure supply of high-quality food to EU citizens and enable farmers to protect the environment better, said MEPs, voting on the four legislative proposals.

"This is the moment of truth. The Agriculture Committee has said today how the new CAP should look. It should be more efficient, greener and able to respond to the enormous challenges ahead of us. Such ambitious goals entail higher costs. So any further cuts to the CAP budget are simply inacceptable," said committee chair Paolo De Castro (S&D, IT). He also called on EU leaders to agree on their proposal for the EU's long-term budget, which is "essential to design the final shape of the future CAP", as soon as possible.

Fairer funding

To ensure that direct payments go only to active farmers, the committee included a list of entities, such as airports and sports clubs, which should be automatically excluded from EU funding unless they prove that farming contributes a substantial share of their income. Member states could extend or adapt this list.

MEPs also said that differences among EU member states in the levels of EU funding that farmers receive should be reduced slightly faster than the Commission proposed. Under the new rules, no member state's farmers should receive less than 65% of the EU average.

"The committee has voted for a stronger redistribution of aid among member states, as it is difficult to accept differences of roughly €300 per ha between farmers in different member states", said Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos (S&D, PT), rapporteur for the Direct payments and Rural development regulations.

The rate of payments to farmers within each member state could also be made equal by 2019, but to avoid sudden sharp falls in support that could jeopardise the viability of many farms, member states should still be allowed to deviate from the average by up to 20%, MEPs add.

Capping direct payments

MEPs endorsed Commission proposals to cap direct payments to any one farm at €300,000, and reduce payments to those receiving between €250,000 and €300,000 by 70%, and payments to those receiving between €200,000 and €250,000 by 40%.. Payments to farms receiving between €150,000 and €200,000 would be cut by 20%

Other amendments, seeking to reduce payments to bigger farms even further or on the contrary calling for the capping to be completely rejected, failed to win the support of a majority in committee. MEPs nonetheless adapted the rules proposed by the Commission so as to exclude cooperatives and other groups of farmers who distribute payments received to their members (AM770) and ensure that capped money remains in the region where it was capped and is used for rural development programmes.

More flexible greening

New environment protection rules, which will make 30% of national budgets for direct payments conditional upon compliance with mandatory greening measures, must be made more flexible, say MEPs. The three key measures - crop diversification, maintaining permanent pasture and permanent grassland and creating "ecologically focused areas", would remain but with certain exceptions, e.g. to reflect the size of the farm. Farms with under 10 ha of arable land should be exempt and the rules should be relaxed for holdings of 10 - 30 ha, say MEPs.

Farms that are certified under national of regional environmental certification schemes, and hence are already using environment-friendly practices, would be exempt from "greening" measures provided that the measures they apply have an impact that is at least equivalent to that which the mandatory greening ones would have.

"We have managed to bring greening into the first pillar of the CAP, making it possible for every farmer in the EU, not just those in countries that can afford to fund it under rural development programmes. This greening is clearly subject to EU rules, and now needs to be paid for by real EU money for a public good", Mr Capoulas Santos said.

Risk management

Risk management tools should be funded from the budget for rural development programmes, not from the direct payments budget as is the case today, said MEPs, agreeing with the Commission's proposal. The income stabilisation tool should take the form of financial contributions to mutual funds or to buy insurance against the risk of severe drop in income, MEPs say. They also call on the Commission to do a mid-term review of the risk management tools and table a legislative proposal, if needed.

Strengthening farmers' bargaining position

To better equip farmers to cope with market volatility and manage crises but also to strengthen their price bargaining position, producer organisations should be given significantly wider powers and new tools, say MEPs. Farmers' organisations should be allowed to use crisis-prevention and crisis-management instruments including, as a last resort, market withdrawal. Furthermore, they should have the right to negotiate, on behalf of their members, input and delivery contracts without falling foul of competition law, say MEPs.

"The idea that farmers should band together must not translate into cartels but it should allow them to break free from economic dependence and guarantee them a decent standard of living. Establishing strong producer organisations for all sectors, with much greater freedom of action than originally proposed by the Commission, is an appropriate way to achieve that aim", said Michel Dantin (EPP, FR), rapporteur for the Common markets organisation regulation.


Improving spending controls while cutting red tape

To make farmers' lives easier while keeping a close eye on compliance with common rules and how EU funds are spent, the committee approved several measures designed to get remove unnecessary bureaucracy for farmers and ensure that penalties for breaching rules are proportionate.

"This is the leitmotif of the new system of checks and penalties. But the principle of proportionality should apply not only to the infringements but also to delays and the degree of responsibility of farmers", said Giovanni La Via (EPP, IT), rapporteur for the financing, management and monitoring regulation.

"We also need to cut the time farmers must spend with paperwork. To this end, member states should have the option to create an aid application that would remain valid for several years so that farmers do not have to register their claim each year but only when there are changes. Furthermore, if money earmarked for rural development is not fully spent, the remainder should stay in the national budget rather than being returned to Brussels", he adds.

Rather than imposing sanctions immediately, member states could set up an early warning system to deal with cases in which non-compliance does not constitute a direct risk to public or animal health. An alert would be sent to a beneficiary who breaches a rule for the first time and inform him of the need to remedy it. This alert should be followed by checks to ensure that the breach has been put right. If this is done, payments should not be reduced, say MEPs.

Finally, the committee rejected a Commission proposal to make public the names and municipalities of those in receipt of direct payments or money from rural development programmes. In the past, many MEPs have expressed concern that such extensive transparency rules would breach beneficiaries' privacy rights and could be rejected by the European Court of Justice.

Results of the votes so far

The draft mandate for negotiations with member states on the future direct payments rules was approved by 31 votes to 12 with 1 abstention.

The draft mandate for negotiations with member states on the future rural development rules was approved by 34 votes to 10.

The draft mandate for negotiations with member states on future common market organisation was approved by 26 votes to 14 with 4 abstentions.

The draft mandate for negotiations with member states on financing, management and monitoring rules was approved by 35 votes to 5, with 2 abstentions.
Next steps

The Agriculture Committee's negotiating position must win the blessing of Parliament as a whole before MEPs can start negotiations with member states on the final shape of future EU farm policy. The plenary vote is provisionally scheduled for March session in Strasbourg, pending final figures for the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2014 to 2020. The next summit of EU heads of states and governments to deal with the future MFF is scheduled for 7-8 February.

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Ag Census Demonstrates Value of Agriculture, Data Critical for Programs and Policies

Today, farmers and ranchers have less than three weeks to return their Census of Agriculture – and at USDA, we hope that everyone who can get their response back to us as soon as possible.

Currently underway by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Census collects detailed data covering nearly every facet of U.S. agriculture. It’s the only source of uniform, comprehensive and impartial agricultural data for every county in the nation, and this year’s Census will provide USDA current information as we work to support American agriculture and build up the rural economy.

Accurate statistical data regarding our rural areas is important as we work hard at USDA to design effective programs and deliver quality service, even as we work to streamline operations and reduce our budget footprint.

But for me, the Census goes well beyond numbers on a page. The Census data represent a critically important picture of American agriculture and rural America. This could not be more important today, in a time when just 16 percent of Americans live in our small towns and rural communities. The fact is, it’s more important than ever to tell the story of a rural America that makes and creates amazing things.

The importance and value of data from the Census of Agriculture goes beyond our nation’s farm fields, ranches, and rural communities – it tells the story of American agriculture for the 98 percent of Americans who don’t live on the farm and more than 80 percent of our citizens who aren’t in rural areas. Data from the Census of Agriculture is used by policymakers and programs that have a coast-to-coast impact, affecting everything from health care, to business and trade, to manufacturing, to natural resources and conservation.

At a time when fewer farmers are producing the food, fuel, and fiber needed for a growing world, I remind producers to complete and return your Census. You can play an important role in showing our nation the value and importance of agriculture.

For more information about the Census, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov or call 1-888-4AG-STAT (1-888-424-7828). The Census of Agriculture is your voice, your future and your responsibility.

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New Agriculture Committee Post will benefit Arkansas

Agriculture is the number one industry in Arkansas. Our congressional district is home to a great variety of agricultural interests. The Mississippi River Delta produces cotton, rice, corn, soybeans, wheat and even peanuts. In contrast to the Delta, stand the Ozark Foothills where we have poultry, cattle, dairy and timber producers. More rice is produced in our congressional district than any other district in the nation. In fact, our district is responsible for half of all rice produced in the United States. For farm families in our state to thrive, strong representation in Congress is essential.

This week I was honored to have House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas ask me to serve as the Chairman of the Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development and Credit in the 113th Congress. While I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the subcommittee, I know much work must be done to ensure mid-South producers can stay in business.

My new subcommittee will have jurisdiction over: livestock, dairy, poultry, meat, seafood and seafood products, inspection, marketing, and promotion of such commodities, aquaculture, animal welfare and grazing, rural development, farm security, family farming matters, and agricultural credit. No other subcommittee better reflects the diversity of our region's agricultural-based economy.

Serving as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development and Credit will give me a larger platform to advocate for farm families in Arkansas and across the country. As Chairman of the Subcommittee I will be able to call Congressional hearings on issues critical to producers and craft common-sense policy that gives farmers the chance to continue producing the safest, most abundant and affordable source of food on the planet. I also want shine light on federal programs that can be run more effectively and efficiently.

Annually, agriculture in Arkansas has a $16 billion economic footprint and employs over 260,000 Arkansans. Of all the members on the House Agriculture Committee, I am the only representative from the mid-south. With my new leadership position, I hope to be an even stronger voice for the concerns of mid-south farmers and I will work to educate members of the committee from other regions about the challenges our producers face.

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Gambia: U.S. $20.28 Million Grant to Boost Agriculture

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will provide a US$20.28 million grant to The Gambia to help improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers, with a particular attention to rural women and youths in the country.

The financing agreement for the National Agriculture Land and Water Management Development Project was signed today by Abdou Kolley, minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, and Kanayo F. Nwanze, president of IFAD.

In The Gambia, agriculture is an important sector for the country's economy, employing over 72 per cent of the population and contributing about 30 per cent to the gross domestic product.

Most Gambians living in rural areas are extremely poor and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Women, in particular, who make up a large proportion of this group, lack economic opportunities and access to productive resources like credit, land, skills and services.

The project will enhance rice and vegetable production nationwide through sustainable land and water management practices to help smallholder farmers increase their incomes.

The project will increase the productivity of limited farmland and support improvements to infrastructure such as water and roads. It will strengthen farmers' organizations to help commercialize their activities to boost household incomes.

The project aims to transform the Gambian agricultural sector from simply subsistence farming to an increasingly efficient market system. It will contribute to the objectives of both the Gambia National Agricultural Investment Plan and Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment.

Co-financed by the government of The Gambia and the Islamic Development Bank, the project will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, and about 22,000 poor rural households, including 660 young rural women and men will directly benefit from the project.

With this new project, IFAD will have financed 10 programmes and projects in The Gambia for a total investment of approximately $73.9 million benefitting 149,200 households, since 1982.

IFAD works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested almost US$14.3 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries through projects empowering about 400 million people to break out of poverty, thereby helping to create vibrant rural communities.

IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome - the United Nations' food and agriculture hub. It is a unique partnership of 169 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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Minister of Agriculture asks to tighten food security control

On December 24, over a month before the Lunar New Year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development met to discuss the measures to control the quality of agricultural products and foodstuffs. 

According to the Department of Plant Protection, it collected 400 samples of fresh fruits and vegetables for testing. Sixteen samples were detected with pesticide residue exceeding the permitted level, accounting for 4 percent. The test of nearly 700 samples of pesticides revealed 11 imported samples of poor quality.

The Department’s chief Nguyen Xuan Hong said the percentage of vegetable contaminated with pesticide residue in Vietnam is relatively high compared with other countries. "From now to the lunar New Year, the Department will collect many more samples from wholesale markets for testing, will increase checks and tighten quarantine," Hong said.

According to the Department of Animal Husbandry, the widespread use of banned substances in animal husbandry, aquaculture production makes consumers confused. 

Currently, this situation has been closely tightened but the time before the lunar New Year is the sensitive time that the use of banned substances in animal husbandry, aquaculture production may increase. In addition, this is also the time that livestock epidemics can break out due to weather changes and the increase of slaughter and transport of livestock and poultry. 

Compiled by Le Ha

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Africa: Charting the History of Agriculture and Climate Change

A new info graphic that maps the progress of the agricultural sector in addressing climate change throughout the history of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations has been launched on the sidelines of this year's climate summit in Doha.

Launched ahead of Agriculture, Landscapes and Livelihoods Day 5 on December 3, The Story of Agriculture and Climate Change: The Road We've Travelled highlights significant events in the international calendar, such as the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the initiation of REDD in 2005 and the first ever Agriculture and Rural Development Day in 2009.

"Agriculture is already being hard hit by climate change and the outlook is even worse. However there are many options for adaptation, and some of these even bring mitigation co-benefits," said Bruce Campbell, Director of the CGIAR Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security research program.

Agriculture supports over 1 million of the world's rural poor, yet is responsible for 80% of overall deforestation and an estimated 31 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing agricultural yields and improving farming techniques are just some the way that the sector could help reduce its overall contribution to climate change.

As such negotiators at COP18 in Doha must "support the unique role of agriculture in the global climate change response", argues Tracy Gerstle, co-Chair of Farming First.

The infographic features a call-to-action from 19 of the world's leading agricultural organisations, calling for the creation of a Work Programme on Agriculture under the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technology Advice (SBSTA) - a scientific advisory group to the UNFCCC.

It is hoped that a new SBSTA work programme would document and share knowledge of improved agricultural practices to inform decision-making around agriculture and climate change to the UNFCCC's Conference of the Parties as they prepare national strategies to address climate change.

"Now is the time to act. Farmers around the world are experiencing the impacts of climate change today and they need support if they are to adapt. Farming can also become part of the solution, given the potential of agriculture to mitigation," added Gerstle.

The infographic was created by Farming First, a coalition of farmers associations, engineers and scientists, in partnership with the CGIAR Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security research program (CCAFS) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

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Africa: Europe Signs Pact to Protect Traditional African Agriculture Products

BY MASAHUDU ANKIILU

The European Commission has signed a co-operation agreement with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) to improve the protection of traditional agricultural products (geographical indications -GIs) in Africa.

This will involve, among other matters, promoting the GI legal framework, informing producers and other stakeholders and enhancing the public's awareness of GIs and their potential for African producers.

The following names have been proposed as candidate for GI protection in joint work carried out by the EU and the African Union. These include: Ghana Fine Flavour Cocoa, Shama shea butter from Ghana, Rooibos and Karoo lamb, both from South Africa and Rift Valley Coffee from Tanzania.

Dacian CioloÅŸ, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said "This cooperation will result in better protection for farmers' traditional and indigenous products across Africa. This is an important initiative, which will help secure the interests of African farmers."

He added, "I urge officials on both sides to work together and with stakeholders to make the geographical indications programme a reality in 2013. This will make a strong contribution to the FAO's International Year of Family Farming in 2014."

Speaking at the opening plenary of the 36th session of ARIPO's Administrative Council in Zanzibar, Tanzania, where the agreement was signed, Dr Gift Sibanda, ARIPO's Director General, declared "I am delighted with this agreement.

We took a strategic decision last year to develop geographical indication protection. Through this cooperation with the Commission, we hope to build a system of effective GI protection, suited to African farmers' needs."

Instructively, the (non-legally binding) agreement is an administrative memorandum of understanding in which the Commission's agricultural department and ARIPO undertake to work together in development of GIs.

The EU has developed over time a comprehensive scheme of protection of geographical indications, which encourages diverse agricultural production, protects product names from misuse and imitation and helps consumers with information on specific characteristics of products.

In December 2011 the ARIPO Council adopted a decision to develop a system for protection of geographical indications. The Commission has worked with ARIPO through regional seminars to promote the use of intellectual property rights in inter-regional and international trade.

The present memorandum of understanding will formalise this cooperation in respect of geographical indications.

ARIPO is based in Harare, Zimbabwe, and brings together 18 member countries (Botswana, the Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and 12 observers.

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Agriculture Value Chains Conference Held

A conference under the theme of ‘Making the Connection: Value Chains for Transforming Small holder Agriculture’ was held at the UNECA late last week.

The conference hosted by the ACP-EU, Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation and the African Economic Commission was attended by delegates from various countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The conference was organized to encourage action on the issue of value chain which has been a focus of discussion for a long time with the view of creating connections between resource constrained farmers and large corporations said Micheal Hailu, Director of the CTA.The conference focuses on the need to transform the small scale farmer as food demands increase around the world to ensure that the more than half a billion small hold farmers ultimately feeding the world are no longer threatened by food insecurity.

The role of large multi-national companies like Walmart in recognizing the value of small hold farmers in sustaining the several billion dollar food industry was discussed by a presentation given by Professor Emeritus David Hugh.

Many of the multi-nationals are becoming increasingly aware of the need to support and afford technological aid to small hold farmers for their own long term benefit according to the Professor.

Developed countries need to ensure fair market access to developing countries like Ethiopia according to Wondyrad Mandefro Ethiopian Minister for Agriculture.

Source: The Reporter

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The bright future of agriculture

ALI TOCKER

Within Waikato University's halls of learning, with laptops, notebooks and inquiring minds at the ready, future leaders of our primary industries are being primed to contribute to New Zealand, Ali Tocker reports. 

Energy, drive, intelligence - if that's what you want on your farm or in your business, look no further than the bright young minds studying agribusiness at Waikato University.

Future entrepreneurs, rural managers, consultants and bankers are being trained to think and act locally and globally, to help sustainably grow the economic powerhouse that is our primary sector.

Waikato Times Farmer wanted to see what goes on behind lecture-room doors and how our young people are shaping up, so we paid an impromptu visit to a class studying sustainable agriculture.

The class is led by agribusiness professor Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, who has become something of a lightning rod for the importance of agribusiness for the future, with a worsening global shortage of food needing to be addressed.

Rowarth is an outspoken champion of the need for more young people in New Zealand to study agribusiness at tertiary level, not least because it enables them to have rewarding careers.

"Careers in agribusiness bring rewards from doing something that matters, being well paid and having great variety in the job. Security is also something the Y generation wants and, with global demand for great people in agri-food, they get choices," she says.

The presence of a reporter and photographer in class did not faze these students, all aged between 18 and 23.

Unlike many of our modern-day politicians and captains of industry, they did not need media training, press secretaries or pre-prepared questions. They handled a round of agribusiness questions with intelligence and grace, proving they not only know who they are and why they are studying, but also what they want to give to their country.

They have an appreciation of the importance of primary industries to driving this nation's economy, an awareness of the importance of the environment and sustainability, and a world view.

They know that competitive advantage is important for our primary industries, and that societal, environmental and regulatory challenges abound

They believe the only way forward for farmers is to farm both profitably and sustainably. It's dollars and sense.

Sustainable agriculture is a second-year paper, covering the economic and social aspects of agribusiness. It can be studied as part of a degree, including a Bachelor of Management Studies.

Agribusiness is a relatively new major. It can also be taken as a second major or supporting subject within most degrees.

With Rowarth as the university's relatively new chair of agribusiness comes extra confirmation of the university's commitment to the primary sector.

The academic definition of sustainability reflects real-world realities, and would sit well with most farmers.

It's about agribusiness being economically viable, increasing or maintaining production, reducing risks, protecting natural resources from land degradation for future generations and being socially acceptable.

It's clear Rowarth loves teaching.

"The enthusiasm being shown by the students is really terrific, and bodes well for the future," she says.

There are no gumboots in the classroom. "This is the new era of agribusiness," but the students have opportunities to visit and work with local agribusinesses.

Two of them, Thomas Macdonald and Stephanie Wilson, already have solid work experience with local agribusinesses, Macdonald with stock nutrition company Seales Winslow and Wilson at Waikato Innovation Park. Both will work with Rowarth as research students this summer, signalling their potential as future agribusiness leaders.

Macdonald thrived on his experience at Seales Winslow, saying he got a lot out of it and that such opportunities can open doors.

He has a long-term, big-picture view.

"Everyone agrees we have to have sustainability - it's how we achieve it that is causing debate. The face of farming is changing. We're not looking at the traditional family farm any more. Agri-innovation is the way of the future."

Wilson says everything in agribusiness needs to be done efficiently to maximise wealth, while also protecting the environment. "We already have a huge gap between rural and urban communities and that gap has to be bridged."

Studying in Waikato is "phenomenally" helpful, she says.

"The business community is really supportive of the University of Waikato, and really getting behind the emphasis on the agribusiness major.

"It's really helpful to apply everything we learn in class on our back doorstep. It's only a two-minute trip to AgResearch or Waikato Innovation Park. There are cows literally in our backyard."

REAL-LIFE RESEARCH

As part of their study, the students research and write a report on a key issue impacting sustainable agriculture.

Because sustainable agriculture is a second-year paper, the research is literature-based. At third-year level, real businesses are involved.

The students explain here what they are looking for from their study.

Layla Croker

Croker is studying environmental planning with an interest in sustainable soil management and ecology. She wants to work in conservation, saying agriculture is very important to New Zealand.

She grew up at the beach, in Papamoa near Tauranga.

Research report

"I'm researching biosecurity, looking at the border management processes and what went wrong with the kiwifruit vine disease Psa and how they're going to manage it.

"The cost to the Government of Psa is about $800 million over 15 years and about $400m for the next five years.

"There's a lot of miscommunication between the industry and government authorities. A lot went wrong with Psa, with people not informing each other what was happening.

"I find it interesting such a small thing could have such a huge effect in New Zealand.

"The Government definitely needs to do more. I don't think people are educated enough to understand the real effects."

Bryce Fausett

Fausett is studying for a Bachelor of Management Studies degree, majoring in agribusiness. He grew up in Morrinsville and wants to be part of the agribusiness sector when he graduates.

He wants to encourage other young people to consider a career in agribusiness.

"I think it's extremely important more people get involved in agriculture and study agribusiness in New Zealand, especially the younger generation."

Research report

"My report is on biofuels, looking at it as an alternative to fossil fuels. In particular, I'm looking at it from a New Zealand perspective and in terms of sustainability and competitive land use.

"If you use land to make crops for biofuels, you lose that land for food production, so have you the tradeoff effect.

"I think a balance needs to be found, and it all depends on what the future holds in terms of crop yields for biofuels, what other methods there are of creating fuel and how much fossil fuels are left."

Daniel Jaques

Jaques is in his fifth year at university, studying for a Bachelor of Management Studies, with an accounting major and agribusiness specialisation. He is also doing a graduate diploma in strategic management.

He wants to go into rural banking, accounting or consultancy.

He grew up in a small rural town in Wairarapa, with farmer parents.

"My background at university is in accounting, so the sustainable agriculture paper has been great for me to learn about the science side of things.

"I have knowledge from working on farms and living on farms that I'm using in my study."

Research report

"My project is based around erosion and its impact on sustainability.

"Erosion is a fairly natural process, mostly involving water. My research is not so much about stopping it from happening It's more about preventing or minimising the damage once it is happening.

"I am looking at what councils and farmers have investigated."

Steven Law

Law is in his third year of study, after cross-crediting his first two years at Waiariki Institute of Technology towards a Waikato University degree in management studies. He finds the workload a bit more intense at university but, other than that, finds the learning similar.

"I love this class because it is a small group," he says.

Law grew up in the Bay of Plenty.

Research report

"I'm studying nutrient management, including the application of fertiliser, effluent and issues surrounding that. I'm looking at nutrient runoff and how it's degrading waterways.

"I'm looking at the management side of it, including how you much runoff can be reduced by effective management, for example, with fertiliser management plans, investing in different infrastructure, stand-off pads, building herd shelters.

"Herd shelters will be one of the ways we can help reduce and control animal effluent.

"I've done a couple of cost-benefit analyses. I'm looking at the management plans that have no or minimal cost associated with them, and a bonus of being socially acceptable in the community.

"We want to find a sustainable method to go ahead into the future."

Thomas Macdonald

Macdonald is in his second year of a Bachelor of Business Analysis degree, majoring in agribusiness and finance. His goal is to work in rural finance.

He grew up in Gordonton.

Research report

"I'm looking at the implications of water allocation and water quality, including Waikato Regional Council's Variation 6 and Horizon's One Plan.

"What's that going to cost our dairy farmers? How do they get their opinion across? I'm looking at any economic or environmental implications it inflicts on our farmers and what's it going to mean for them.

"Both plans are blanket policy. I don't think that works for farmers. Obviously, both covered a whole region and farmers don't really agree with lots of it.

"I'm hoping in writing the report to bring out a lot of the facts. There have been a lot of emotive-based arguments."

Taylor Spence

Spence is studying for a business management degree, majoring in human resource management, with agribusiness as a second major.

She grew up on a dairy farm on the Hauraki Plans.

Research report

"I'm looking at whether New Zealand is doing enough to protect against foot-and-mouth disease entering the country, and the implications if it did hit New Zealand and whether it could be managed.

"Most of my research has been looking at Ministry of Primary Industries information, and a Reserve Bank simulation of potential effects if foot-and-mouth entered New Zealand, including its effects on gross domestic product.

"Foot-and-mouth affects all cloven-hooved animals - beef, dairy, sheep, deer and pigs. The national animal identification and tracing (Nait) scheme will help, as animals will be more easily managed if there is a disease outbreak."

Monique van Heuven

Van Heuven is studying for a Bachelor of Science degree. She chose to study sustainable agriculture, as she wants to understand how the world will address the global shortage of food and how farming practices need to be more sustainable.

"We need to produce higher crop yields and better pasture to support demand."

Proving she has her feet firmly in the real world of farming, van Heuven can often be found looking after her own farm animals, including pigs.

Research report

"I'm looking at a report on conversion from forestry to dairy farmland and whether or not it's sustainable for New Zealand. We have a conversion in Tokoroa, where 29 farms were converted - more than 29,000 hectares - and a new community has been produced.

"I'm looking at an economic view of whether there is more money to be made in forestry or dairy conversions and the environmental impacts. You plant a tree and you have to wait 30 years before it can be cropped. The forestry industry isn't going as well as the dairy industry."

Stephanie Wilson

Wilson is in her third year of a Bachelor of Management Studies, with a double major in agribusiness and supply chain management. She aims to work with farmers in implementing innovative ideas on their farms to improve their production capacity, and help bring middle-sector farms up to be top-level farms.

She came from an orchard enterprise in Hawke's Bay.

Research report

"My project is in land use and how to grow Hamilton without using all the agricultural land. It's about striking a balance between being a productive city but also having a cool city centre.

"I'm looking at urbanisation, the spread of suburbs and the cost of converting land into housing developments. I'm also looking at the implications of losing the productive capacity of that land."

- © Fairfax NZ News

No truth in Punjab's charge on drought package: Ramesh

Chandigarh: The Centre on Sunday rejected Punjab's charge that it was "deliberately denying" the state drought package in the wake of deficient monsoon rains. 

"There is no such thing. There is no truth in this," Union rural development minister, Jairam Ramesh told a news agency in Mohali on the sidelines of a function. 

Ramesh also denied that Centre was apathetic towards genuine demands raised by Punjab from time to time. 

"I don't think it is fair (on Punjab's part) to say this," he said. 

The Union Minister admitted that though there was shortfall of rains in Punjab this year, "it was not as bad as it was in the beginning (June-July period)." 

Punjab received bulk rains in August and from June 1 to September 26, Punjab had received 266 mm of rains as against normal of 488.2, a deficiency of 46 percent, according to Chandigarh's Meteorological Department. 

Speaking at a public meeting in Bathinda earlier this week, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had alleged the "deliberate" denial of drought package to Punjab was a testimony towards Centre's step motherly treatment to the state, saying other states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Odisha had been allowed this package. 

"Punjab has been deliberately kept out on the pretext that the state government had not requested the Centre to send a special team to assess the damage," Badal had said. 

Badal had also said that Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar accompanied by Jairam Ramesh had recently held detailed parleys with the senior officers of the Punjab government here over the deficient rains issue. 

Punjab has demanded a special financial package of Rs 5,112 crore to bail out the beleaguered farmers as well as state government for incurring extra expenditure to save paddy "in the wake of drought like conditions across the state." 

PTI 

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Agriculture and rural development

Verghese Kurien (1922-2012), father of the White Revolution, empowered Indian farmers through cooperatives. He democratised farming from the grassroots – through several institutions and based on his belief that “by placing technology and professional management in the hands of the farmers”, the lives of millions of poor people can be improved.

Kurien’s intriguing success story, captured in a film clip on Amul.com, pays tribute to him for making Indian agriculture of, by and for the farmer. It took Verghese Kurien to turn a barren land into one flowing with milk; an ordinary farmer into the owner of India’s largest dairy cooperative; to persuade farmers to accept their wives’ economic equality.

Nigerian youths can emulate Kurien’s dedication to farming. In 1979, Kurien founded the Institute of Rural Management whose mission is “to promote sustainable, ecologically-friendly, and equitable socio-economic development of rural people through professional management.” 80 percent to 90 percent of farmers in India are smallholders. For farmers with no more than a cow, Kurien turned India into the world’s largest producer of milk.

His model is one Nigeria, a developing country yet to tap its agricultural wealth, can replicate. Thankfully, 2012 has been designated by the UN as the year of cooperatives. Kurien’s “Operation Flood Programme, of which Milk Producers’ Cooperatives were the central plank, emerged as India’s largest rural employment programme.”

Kurien believed that India’s greatest asset was its people and dedicated his entire life to helping rural Indians to fully develop themselves. He put in place systems and institutions that harnessed the power of people to promote their larger interests.

The Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovation and Development (PRESSID) to sponsor outstanding students in science and technology for postgraduate studies in the top 25 universities in the world – and other initiatives like Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Agric Fellowship – can replicate the scholarship system that inadvertently led Kurien to stay in Anand, Gujarat. He was assigned to this backwater by the government to serve his bond period after completing his Masters degree in the US.

From the foregoing, it is imperative that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, coordinating minister for the economy and minister of finance; Lamido Sanusi, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); and Akinwunmi Adesina, minister of agriculture and rural development, work in tandem. Young Nigerians that benefit from government’s scholarship programme can be assigned to Nigeria’s high-potential breadbaskets. In these regions that straddle Nigeria, chances are that other Kuriens will revolutionise the cultivation and distribution of cotton, tomato, maize, cassava, soya beans, rice, cocoa, leather, palm oil and aquaculture, thereby transforming Nigeria’s agriculture.

It will take private and public cooperation to implement what CBN has identified as key policy requirements, i.e., the provision of inputs: fertiliser, seed, R&D, infrastructure, land use; cultivation: extension services and irrigation; logistics: storage and price stabilisation; and processing: cluster policy. These policies will complement education and training in rural development centres (preferably established by like-minded individuals, communities and non-government organisations, like the academies and free schools in the UK).

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Agriculture Ministry to establish youth department

Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will establish a Department of Youth in Agriculture to cater for youths in agribusiness, under the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) initiative.

The Minister, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, made this known in Abuja at the end of a two-day workshop on the National Presidential Initiative on YEAP.

According to him, the department will ensure that the programme designed by the youths during the workshop is implemented.

He said that this way, a system would be put in place for monitoring and evaluation.

Adesina said that government resolved to set up a structure that was youth-led to enable them design a programme that would create the next “Nagropreneurs’’ in the country.

“All the things that came out of this workshop will be implemented within an institutionalised framework. The initiative is important to Mr President because he promised Nigerians that he was going to create jobs and we hope to create one million jobs from this initiative.’’

The minister said that the president promised the youths that he would ensure the development of an insurance facility around the YEAP initiative.

He told the youths that he would convey the decision reached by them at the workshop to the President Goodluck Jonathan.

Earlier, Alhaji Bukar Tijani, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, observed that the Federal Government would engage the youths in rice production to sustain the transformation agenda on rice.

He said that the young farmers would be directly linked to rice mills that would process the rice after harvest.

“This is to help the young farmers sell their rice because the demand for rice in this country is up to 5 million tonnes on an annual basis and the production for rice about 50 per cent.

“So, the other 50 per cent will have to come from our own production. Gradually, before 2015, we will be producing all the required rice in Nigeria.’’

He encouraged other young famers to embrace the initiative.

In his remarks, Mr James Awoniyi, member of the Cassava Growers Association (CGA), advised the Federal Government to critically examine funding in agriculture.

He said that government should do everything possible to get youths involved in agribusiness.

A farmer, Miss Cynthia Umoru, commended the ministry for allowing the youths develop a framework to overcome the image of drudgery that had discouraged many youths from going into agriculture.

According to her, she left a “choice’’ career to go into agriculture and has never regretted taking the decision.

Seventy youths attended the workshop from across the country.

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Weak policy commitment hits agriculture strategy

KATHMANDU: Weak commitment to policy and weak implementation capacity will be an obstacle to get the desired results from the Agriculture Development Strategy, according to participants at the ‘Policy Dialogue: Workshop on Agriculture Development Strategy’, here today.

The strategy has a target to increase agriculture exports by almost seven times, land productivity by more than three times, labour productivity by three times, and contribution of agriculture to the GDP by three times. However, society has to completely change its perception of farming from being unattractive and full of drudgery, to an honourable professional activity, according to senior agriculturist at the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) Sabnam Shivakoti.

Similarly, the exodus of youth from rural areas, growing rural-urban gap, loss of agricultural land, weak smallholder farmer organisations, and adoption of improved technology 

are some of the key challenges to transform the agriculture sector that includes broader areas from crops to livestock, forestry and fisheries, production, trade, processing to marketing, and spans across different ministries and agencies, and includes not only government agencies but farmers, private sector enterprises, cooperatives, NGOs, and service providers.

The strategy is trying to address the current agriculture system that has become less important as a share of labour and GDP, she said, adding that after the implementation of the strategy, agriculture could become more productive in terms of higher agricultural labour income and GDP.

For better results, technology development and dissemination that is demand-driven and responsive to farmers and enterprises, needs to be developed, besides ensuring that input supply and distribution system provides timely, quality, and reasonably priced inputs to farmers, providing a favourable environment and specific measures to increase the level and effectiveness of public and private investment including investment in infrastructure and irrigation.

However, market development and commercialisation of agriculture is key to achieve growth potential of agriculture, driven by expanding domestic and regional demand, emergence of innovative and competitive enterprises, and increased value addition, added Shivakoti. “Along with proper land management that ensures effective implementation of land planning and management to promote productive use of land, rights of tillers, and environmental protection must also be ensured.”

The policy dialogue shared the process and content of the strategy with the wider public so that its assumptions, analyses, priorities and thematic thrusts could be scrutinised. Its aim was to also identify weaknesses and strengths in the process and its content, and review viable changes and suggestions if needed. The dialogue had an objective to also review the initiatives taken in mainstreaming organic agriculture integration, and to provide inputs.

The strategy that envisions ‘a competitive, sustainable and inclusive agricultural sector that contributes to economic growth, improved livelihoods, and food and nutrition security,’ also has to include the voice of farmers and practitioners in the planning process and engage key policy shapers and makers, according to the civic society that blamed the policy for being donor driven and of techno-bureaucratic interest and orientation.

Nepal is on the threshold of a new socio-cultural, political and economic change, and reshaping agricultural policies and strategies could play a vital role in economic development.

There have been a number of policies and programmes for the development of the agriculture sector since 1995.

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FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the Uni : Putting Swaziland's smallholders first

You cannot tackle rural poverty, if you don't put the smallholder farmers first11 September 2012, Mbabane, Rome - Rural farmers in Swaziland are starting to reap the fruits of a comprehensive effort by the government and FAO with support of the EU to reverse the country's declining agricultural productivity.

Consecutive years of drought, a crushing aids pandemic, decades of economic slowdown and more recent soaring prices of food and agricultural inputs: it has become increasingly hard to make a living for Swaziland's cash-strapped rural population, highly dependent on subsistence farming.

According to FAO's most recent hunger figures, almost 20 percent of the country's one million people is undernourished.

Since 2009, the EU has been supporting a wide-ranging initiative of the government and FAO to raise nutrition levels of the rural population and stimulate their economic growth potential, known as the Swaziland Agricultural Development Project (SADP), a 5-years programme funded with over €14 million of EU and almost €350 000 by FAO.

Although it was challenging to get such a complex project off the ground, Amadou Traoré, the EU's chargé d'affaires a.i. in Swaziland feels that things are moving in the right direction. "European taxpayers are willing to show their generosity," he says, "but especially now, when Europe itself experiences financial and economic difficulties, they want to see results." 

Louise McDonald, country program manager for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for Swaziland, says that SADP's achievements have strengthened collaboration between IFAD and FAO in assisting the government and smallholder farmers. "Together, we will work on bridging SADP's activities with a US$ 47 million program to be co-financed by IFAD", she says.

Smallholders

Fundamentally, SADP is all about smallholders, says Nehru Essomba, the project's Chief Technical Advisor: "You cannot tackle rural poverty, if you don't put the smallholder farmers first."

Connecting farmers to the market is a major challenge, Essomba says. So close to South Africa with its big scale producers, the environment is extremely competitive. SADP is setting up a €1 million Marketing Investing Fund, particularly to promote niche crops that offer small farmers a comparative advantage on the market place.

Equally important is to improve the environment in which the agricultural sector operates, both institutionally and physically. While major infrastructural rehabilitation works are being prepared, policies relating to research and extension are being updated and large scale capacity building of farmers, organisations and extension workers is underway.

At the same time, SADP helps spreading good agricultural practices, important for farmers to increase their productivity, while preserving the environment and lessen the pressure on Swaziland's limited natural resources. So far, more than 2 000 farmers have been trained in a wide range of practices, including conservation agriculture and agro-forestry.

Holding on

"Food security will come in two ways: by growing your own food and by growing to sell at the market," says Dr. Robert Thwala, Principal Secretary of Swaziland's Ministry of Agriculture, explaining SADP's focus on improving crop and livestock production and on agro-business development.

In Swaziland, where HIV prevalence is the highest in the world, the most vulnerable among the rural poor are the elderly and the youth, who have lost either parents or children, as the generation in between was decimated by the aids pandemic.

A total of 340 vegetable gardens have been established for vulnerable families to grow vegetables and herbs for household consumption, or in case of excess production, for sales to community members. Over 2000 people have directly benefited from the gardens, while also receiving nutritional education, through demonstrations in food preparation and processing. 

To support the younger generation, SADP is helping youth groups set up small agricultural businesses. Sixty groups, comprising around 2 500 youngsters, are engaged in poultry farming, pig production or vegetable and field crop production. They get the equipment, tools, inputs, medicines and training to make their business run.

The Mhawu Youth Club from the Ngudzine area in southern Swaziland is raising chickens. Sixteen year old member Nomcebo Simelane finds a lot of encouragement at her club: "Your peers tell you that when you want to make your dreams come true, you should just hold on."

Moreover, the poultry business offers her a way to do just that. She hopes that she will make enough money out of it to go to university and become a nurse.

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Angola: Chinese Group Supports Agricultural Projects in Malanje, Uije

Luanda — The Chinese CITIC business group is supporting agricultural projects in the provinces of Uije and Malanje, with the creation of centres of studies of agricultural researching, on Wednesday here said its CEO, Chang Zhenming, Angop has learnt.

The participation of the Chinese technicians was debated on Tuesday in Luanda, during a meeting between a Chinese team and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural development, Pedro Canga. In Malanje, the project is in its most advanced stage as was already built a modern centre of agrarian scientific research and inputs for agriculture to deal with the treatment of seeds for the foment of the local agriculture.

In the future, the Angolans trained in China will assure the functioning of the mentioned centre, as well as will train other cadres of this field, including in Uije Province.

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African States Urged To Pursue Rapid Productivity Growth In Agriculture

LAGOS, NIGERIA, Sept 20 (BERNAMA-NNN-GNA) -- African countries have been urged to pursue rapid agricultural productivity growth, and institutional reforms which will make their agriculture sector viable, efficient and competitive.

Dr Akinwunmi Ayo Adesina, Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who made the call, says achieving agricultural productivity growth will also require a structural change in the labour composition of the sector which calls for encouraging young commercial farmers to meet the increasingly complex challenges of market and technology.

"Agriculture holds the greatest potential to create millions of jobs, we therefore need to create jobs for our many unemployed youth and then feed our rising population well into the future," he said in a speech read out at the opening of a two-day Regional Creating Shared Value (CSV) Forum here on Tuesday.

The minister said the sector should be seen as a business and not a development programme and there was also a need to focus on agricultural value chains instead of just increasing production.

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Cross-border operation to combat sheep smuggling

A major cross-border operation has been carried out into alleged sheep smuggling between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It took place in Gortnagriffin, near Florencecourt in County Fermanagh, on Wednesday 12 September.

A large number of untagged sheep, cash, cheques, veterinary medicine and animal ear tags were uncovered.

The PSNI said the find was "significant".

The operation involved the Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Social Services, the PSNI and Revenue and Customs.

Department of Agriculture officials in the Republic of Ireland also carried out raids on their side of the border.Stolen animals

PSNI Inspector Roy Robinson said it was part of an ongoing operation into cross-border criminality involving the movement of sheep.

"There have been concerns about the thefts, illegal movement and identification of livestock in border areas and a suspicion that the stolen animals were being moved across the border from both sides into the other jurisdiction," he said.

"We have carried out a number of search operations recently, however, this is the most significant series of finds.

"Dealing with rural crime is a priority for police in Fermanagh, whether that is the theft of livestock or machinery."

He appealed for anyone with information about such criminal activity to contact police.

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Biggest US ag lender says it will stand by drought-hit customers

The Farm Credit System, the largest single lender to U.S. agriculture, said on Wednesday it would meet the borrowing needs of rural America and stand by its customers challenged by the worst drought in more than half a century.

"The Farm Credit System remains well positioned to meet the borrowing needs of rural America, notwithstanding the difficult conditions brought on by the drought of 2012," the presidents of the FCS's four regional banks said in a joint statement.

The banks -- AgFirst of Columbia, South Carolina; AgriBank in St. Paul; Denver-based CoBank; and Farm Credit Bank of Texas in Austin -- fund the FCS network of 82 financial associations in 50 states. The System, a U.S. government-sponsored entity (GSE), has more than $230 billion in assets and accounts for 40 percent of U.S. ag loans.

"The System's role is to stand by its customers, in good times and bad, and it will continue to fulfill that need in a safe and sound manner. That includes working collaboratively with borrowers who are experiencing distress related to the drought on a case-by-case basis."

Concerns about the health of the U.S. farm economy escalated over the past 12 weeks as farmers watched their crops wilt in the fields and prices rose to record or near-record prices. Ranchers, cattle feeders, and dairy, hog and poultry producers will be hit hardest as feed costs have nearly doubled.

The U.S. Agriculture Department on Wednesday estimated that the U.S. corn crop will be the lowest in six years and soybeans the lowest in nine years due to drought losses.

But USDA projected farm gate prices for corn would rise to $7.20-8.60 a bushel, compared with $6.25 a year ago. Soybean prices for farmers should be in a range of $15-17 a bushel in coming months, versus $12.45 last season. Wheat and milk prices were also projected to higher than a year ago, USDA said.

Grain cooperatives will also be hurt by lower revenues for storing, drying and blending grains given the drought-stressed crops, FCS said. But ethanol production is expected to consume 4.5 billion bushels of corn in the coming year, down only 5 percent in demand from last season.

"Despite these myriad challenges, we believe that financial conditions for American agriculture are far better than they were in 1988, the last time the nation experienced a drought of similar magnitude. Many producers are coming off several consecutive years of strong profits, which have enabled them to reduce leverage, improve liquidity and invest in new equipment," FCS said.

Fitch Ratings noted last week that roughly half of the four regional FCS banks loan portfolio consisted of long-term real estate mortgage loans secured with farmland, putting them at risk if commodity market prices trigger a correction in record high farmland values.

The FCS, the oldest GSE, was set up by the United States in 1916, long before the better known -- and now troubled -- GSEs such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac -- to provide a reliable source of credit to the U.S. agriculture industry.

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