Mushroom farming at crossroads
By Satish Handa
MUSHROOM farming in Haryana is passing through testing times. The state government has initiated schemes for mushroom farming in rural areas with a motive of generating employment but lack of infrastructure and inadequate measures to draw a marketing system has made the scheme fruitless with more than 50 per cent of the farmers planning closure. About 150 mushroom farms have come up in the state in the recent past.

Case for urban agriculture
By Deepak Bagai
WE are living in an era of fast transitions. Growth with social justice has been the primary objective of the Indian planning. The first human settlement was rural in nature. The Primary goal of the people here was agriculture. The need for trade, commerce, education, healthcare, etc. gave rise to urban settlements. Travel and communication problems, coupled with inherent fear of the outside world, hampered the rural-urban movement.

ICAR plans 25 new krishi kendras
By S.C. Dhall
THE Indian Council of Agricultural Research has decided to set up 25 new krishi vigyan kendras (agricultural science centres) in seven states and one union territory to speed up the transfer of latest technology to the farmers.

Feed, fodder crisis hits dairying
By Suraj Bhan Dahiya

NEXT to breeding, feeding is the keynote of livestock development. Dry fodder basically is the bread of the cattle, and green fodder and concentrates are their vegetables and pulses, respectively. While the country is self sufficient in foodgrain, surprisingly it is facing the fodder scarcity.There is extraordinary concern over the continued prolonged fodder crisis in India. Unless something is done in this area, the unemployment of agricultural labourers, who eke out their bread from dairying, will be the single largest casualty of the next millennium.

The fodder famine has caused tremendous harm to the landless agricultural labourers and the small farmers who in distress are disposing of their milch animals from some time past. Dairy analysts say that a quantitative change for the worse is about to take place in the rural unemployment scenario and it will be a great setback to our dairy farming.

But why has such a fodder famine occurred? The agricultural experts candidly admit that the “bhusa” catastrophe could be due to a large-scale hybrid crop cultivation. The dwarf varieties of wheat hardly grow up to 2 to 2.5 feet. In contrast, the indigenous varieties of this crop grow up to 7 feet. This desi wheat sown earlier yielded wheat and “bhusa” in the ratio of 1:2 whereas the new varieties now cultivated yield very little quantity of “bhusa”. More so the combine harvester used for harvesting the wheat crops now considerably destroys “bhusa” thereby compounding the “bhusa” calamity.

The fodder crops should be harvested when their quality and quantity are optimally matched. However, varieties so far evolved have single object: “grow more grains”, irrespective of their fodder attributes. Take the example of bajra which has been our major dry fodder resource for the winter. The hybrid bajra currently sown attains the maximum height of 2 to 3 feet and thus is a poor fodder yielder. In comparison, the indigenous bajra sown until recently rose up to 10 to 12 feet and farmers never felt the dearth of bajra stalks. These stalks are known even today the winter fodder bank. Alas! our fodder banks are empty and the dairy farmers woes are manifold.

There is another anti-climax in the countryside. We do not come across the jungle of sugarcane fields now a days which was a very familiar sight in the recent past. Believe it, if a farmer is blessed with a piece of sugarcane field, he neither faces fodder scarcity nor of calorie intake deficiency throughout the winter. There has been shrinkage in the sugarcane crop acreage in recent years. Consequently the farmers’ miseries have multiplied. And they have to procure even the substandard quantity of “bhusa” at a rate of Rs 3 a kg to save their livestock. Neither the animal husbandry departments nor the agriculture departments of the states are concerned of the shortfalls.

The resources of feeds and fodders as available in the country now are far adequate both in quantity and quality to meet the nutritional requirement of our cattle population. In accordance with the nutritional norms laid down, the available feed and fodder are just sufficient to meet the nutritional need of about half of the existing livestock. Because of this limitation, to enhance milk productivity or any product of animal origin, the fodder resources can be so planned as to make available 50 per cent non-legumes and 40 per cent of legumes for our stock. This planning can ensure availability of quality fodder for atleast eight to nine months. In monsoon, some grazing will be available to supplement fodder requirement for two-three months. The excess of fodder can be made into palatable silage to regulate the supply of green at the time of shortage.

The present annual requirement of green fodder is around 600 million tonnes, besides what is obtained from grazing. For building up a viable dairy industry nearly seven million hectares should come under fodder crops every year. Sadly, this appears unachievable as dairying does not fall on priority under our agricultural strategies. The animal husbandry departments are pursuing cross breeding programmes for cutting down the livestock number for which green fodder is prerequisite. But the agriculture departments under the influence of the multinationals are advocating for soyabean and surajmukhi cultivation instead of jowar, bajra and mustard crops. The former do not provide fodder while the latter are dual purpose crops. There are thus enough indications that dairy farming in the country is heading towards decay.

In Israel, dairy is treated as an industry. With just 1.2 lakh dairy cows, Israel is producing 1.1 billion litres of milk annually. In India, 80 billion litres of milk is produced per year with 10 million dairy animals. Cattle feeding in India is all wrong. All milch cattle here are underfed and all good dairy cattle are being punished.

Mushroom farming at crossroads
By Satish Handa

MUSHROOM farming in Haryana is passing through testing times. The state government has initiated schemes for mushroom farming in rural areas with a motive of generating employment but lack of infrastructure and inadequate measures to draw a marketing system has made the scheme fruitless with more than 50 per cent of the farmers planning closure. About 150 mushroom farms have come up in the state in the recent past.

The state government offers 50 per cent subsidy on the purchase of compost, a special type of fertiliser for mushroom growing, and spawn in the Shivalik area in Ambala and Yamunanagar districts. But with the subsidy available to farmers only up to 150 bags, mushroom farming is uneconomical. The small mushroom farmers are facing difficulty in selling their product in the limited local market in the state. “We have to depend on local consumers as it is difficult and uneconomical for small growers to pack and carry limited quantity of mushroom to the nearest wholesale market in Delhi,” says Bal Raj, a farmer from Panjeton village near Yamunanagar, having his farm in 400 square feet. He says the interests of small farmers have been ignored by the government.

Since the demand for mushroom is not much in the state except during the marriage season, a lot of their produce rots,” says Naresh Jhamb, a grower in village Rattangarh. According to Jhamb, the major demand of mushroom in the local market comes from hotels and restaurants, but the stiff competition has forced them to keep rates low. There is a lot of price fluctuation. Jhamb supplies his entire produce to other growers who have the infrastructure to market mushroom. “We supply mushroom to Delhi and Haryana vegetable markets. A few regular local consumers buy stocks from small farmers in the area,” says Chander Mohan Luthra, who is running his farm in 1200 square feet area with a daily production of over 40 kg. He suggests the government should open purchase centres as well as a canning unit for the sale and storage of mushroom. The agriculture department started a mushroom purchase centre at Karnal some time ago but it was closed down after two months,” says Luthra. Lack of storage facility, packaging and forwarding charges work out to be very high in case the limited quantity of stocks is despatched to adjoining areas of Punjab and Haryana, he adds and suggests that the government should set up a pickle industry where mushroom can be consumed.

Most of the small mushroom farming units are facing a financial crunch. The banking system is also not helpful. A cumbersome procedure for getting loan from banks and other financial institutions discourages rural entrepreneurs.

More than one-third of the mushroom farms in Haryana are located in Sonepat since it is near to Delhi.

Rural banks provide loan up to Rs 15,500 for a mushroom farm with a 100-tray capacity at reasonable rate of interest. Government schemes can help provide a good return if supported by proper marketing infrastructure.

Case for urban agriculture
By Deepak Bagai

WE are living in an era of fast transitions. Growth with social justice has been the primary objective of the Indian planning. The first human settlement was rural in nature. The Primary goal of the people here was agriculture. The need for trade, commerce, education, healthcare, etc. gave rise to urban settlements. Travel and communication problems, coupled with inherent fear of the outside world, hampered the rural-urban movement.

The rural migration to the urban areas has increased with the event of an industrial revolution. Rural skills are in great demand for the artistic growth of urban areas. At the same time, these migrations have deprived the rural areas of their talent. The largest sufferer is the agriculture sector. The mismatch between the urban-rural interface can be plugged with the concept of “urban agriculture”.

Land is being converted from rural to urban use at a very fast rate. Urban hunger is on the increase. The age-old thinking that food can be produced only in remote rural areas has lost significance. The coming years will see the urban food demands being met by locally grown food. Economic advancement and conservation of the environment can be achieved with the help of urban agriculture. Active research in the area of biotechnology has paved the way for genetically superior crops designed for the urban city.

The government can play a major role in the development of urban agriculture. City farmers should be given access to the public land. Instead of having unauthorised colonies and stray cattle roaming about on the land, it is better to cultivate useful crop in these areas. Urban agriculture has to be part of overall architectural design of the city. The areas in the city are marked for schools, colleges, hospitals, shops, clubs, residential and commercial establishments, roads, parks, industry, etc. Similarly, areas need to be assigned for urban agriculture. The proper utilisation of the urban land will provide value addition to the national agro-resources. Vegetables and fruits grown in houses will make society self-sufficient.

A city having an agriculture base will be healthier, cooler, greener, environment friendly and shall provide food security. The day is not far when the cities will have better access to agriculture with a balanced development between food and cash crops, processing of agro-production and marketing the same. This, in turn, will promote the city’s economic and social base.

ICAR plans 25 new krishi kendras
By S.C. Dhall

THE Indian Council of Agricultural Research ( ICAR) has decided to set up 25 new krishi vigyan kendras (agricultural science centres) in seven states and one union territory to speed up the transfer of latest technology to the farmers.

Besides, 53 zonal research stations of the ICAR’s network are being upgraded to take up the job of technology dissemination under the World Bank-assisted National Agricultural Technology Project.

The seven states, and the union territory which will get the new krishi vigyan kendras are Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Of these, UP alone would have five new kendras at Bagpat, Gazipur, Pratpgarh, Bulandshar and Unnao.

The kendras will be run by the state agricultural universities and research institutions of the ICAR.

With this the total number of vigyan kendras in the country would rise to 339. The final goal is to have at least one kendras in every district of the country to serve as a single window, multi-disciplinary storehouse of technical advice and assistance.

The kendras would take care of varied needs of the farmers and conduct of farm demonstration and testing of new technology.

— Grazing of dairy animals should be carried out in morning and evening hours. Feed the animals in the cooler hours of the day.

— Keep the animals in shade and provide wellowing or bath the animals one to two times daily.

— Concentrate should have 2 to 4 per cent more crude protein than winter concentrate. This can be done by increasing oilseed cakes in the feed.

— Silent heat is a major problem during this period, especially in buffaloes. Judge the heat symptoms in animals in the morning and evening from mucous discharge from vagina rather than other symptoms in summer.

— Rains are due next month. Get your animals vaccinated against “gal ghotu” if not done in May.

— Save your animals from ticks, lice and flies. These such blood cause irritation and spread diseases.

— If an animals starts bleeding from nose, don’t disturb it much and pour cold water over face and keep the head lifted. Transfer the animal to a cool shady place. Consult your veterinarian early.

Poultry:

— Provide double number of waterers for increasing space as birds remains sitting around waterers and do not allow other birds to drink water. Change the water frequently to provide cool water.

— Sprinkling of water around the sheds, more green areas surrounding the shed is helpful in reduction the heat. White-washing of poultry shed from outside will be helpful in reflecting the sun rays back from the shed.

— Increase the proteins, minerals and vitamins level in feed as the feed intake is reduced during summer.

— If there is sudden fall in egg production or mortality, consult the poultry expert immediately.

— Get your birds of six to eight weeks of age vaccinated with injection of R2B Ranikhet disease vaccine. Do not give this vaccine in drinking water or lassi. In the case of an outbreak of Ranikhet disease immediately give R2B vaccine injection to healthy birds to avoid further loss. Provide vitamin supplemented water to the vaccinated birds.

— Provide no light to growers of six to eight weeks age but layers must be provided light at night to compensate the decreased feed consumption during the day time.

Reclamation of ‘kallar soils’:

— After applying heavy irrigation, gypsum may be applied according to the soil test report to levelled field and a shallow ploughing may be given. Give irrigation and transplant paddy after planking. These soils do not need puddling. Two to three seedlings per hill may be transplanted to cover the mortality risk.

— Progressive Farming, PAU