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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE | Monday, May 8, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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By Ehsan Fazili WITH the onset of spring, not only the almond blossoms, but the vast fields of yellow flowers of rapeseed-mustard attract nature lovers as also the visitors in Kashmir. Nearly 40 per cent of the paddy fields in the six districts of Kashmir valley are usually covered with mustard during winter months, and in April the field blossom. Straw burning hits soil fertility Alternative seed
supply system
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Accreditation for Agrivarsities AN accreditation system for academic networking of agricultural and allied science universities has now been evolved. It has been designed by the World Bank in close collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It will be applicable to all 28 state agricultural universities, including three research universities — two in veterinary and animal sciences and one in horticulture and forestry — one central and four deemed universities. In addition, three central and 21 state universities (general) and one IIT that offer agricultural education in selected areas, will also require to get accreditation. Together these agricultural educational institutions with 247 constituent an affiliated colleges and faculties offer 11 undegraduate and 95 postgraduate programmes. The total annual intake of students being 13,500 and 5,700, respectively. The first phase of the World Bank programme, involving US $ 75 million assistance to four universities, ends in December, 2000. Dr D.S. Padda, Consultant on
Accreditation from the World Bank and ICAR’s Deputy Director-General (Education), Dr S . L. Mehta, have worked together to evolve the system of accreditation . For this purpose, an Accreditation Board has been constituted. The aim of accreditation is simple: to bring about qualitative change in agriculture education. The “mission” and “mandate” of agricultural institutions is clear: “research and extension”. But it is the “education” which an institution imparts that really matters for the right type of research and extension. With this in view, the accreditation system now introduced ensures, first, institutional self-study and
in-house analysis of its weaknesses and strengths, second, an evaluation by an ICAR team (peer review, as Dr Padda put it) to validate the self-study report, three, review of the self-study and evaluate team report by the ICAR evaluation division, and submission of its recommendation to the Accreditation Board, and four, the Board review of the ICAR recommendations which takes the final decision. A special proforma has been designed to enable a given institution do self-study (evaluation). For this step, the World Bank and ICAR have together held a series of regional workshops and meetings with the vice-chancellors and deans to “educate” them on the accreditation system and its need. The proforma designed is so comprehensive and all encompassing that it involves students, teachers and administrators. The purpose of accreditation is to ensure the agricultural institutions do their job as per their respective stated
objectives. This should ensure that there was “acceptability, marketability and transferability” of every single
graduate who leaves the portals of an institution. Once the board puts its “stamp of approval” the onus of measuring up to the set standards rests with the institution as well as the ICAR, which can
disaffiliate or stop financial assistance to any university or a college if found wanting. Dr Padda said the self-evaluation or study system evolved for accreditation was such that it was like doing MRI on a patient. The only difference being that unlike the MRI which diagnosed only the disease or problem part, the Accreditation proformas on self-analysis pointed to the strength as well of an institution. Once all agricultural education
institutions get accreditation, it will result in networking of the system and improve teaching. Self-study will also mean better “self-regulation”. Those who graduate should be so educated as to become “job- providers” rather than becoming “job-seekers”, said Dr Padda. Given the rigid standards
incorporated into the accreditation system not many universities have got the stamp of approval, so far; certainly, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, one in the forefront of ushering in “green revolution” and being credited with technological breakthrough in agriculture is yet to get accreditation. That it has lagged behind many younger universities are not a secret anymore . The World Bank is keen to see that the money provided for the scheme is properly used and the intended purpose achieved. At present, it was noticed during the regional workshops held by the World Bank and the ICAR, that there was no cross-fertilisation of ideas among the existing agricultural institutions and often the funds available were mis-directed. Therefore the process of self-study was being presented as a “tool” for bringing about the desired changes in the
agricultural education system, added Dr Padda. Incidentally, Dr Padda was the Vice-President for Research and Land-Grant Affairs and Professor of Genetics at the University of Virgin Islands (USA) from 1984 to 1997. Since then he is an international consultant with the World Bank helping to establish the new accreditation and quality assurance system for higher agricultural education in India. He had made a brief stop-over in Chandigarh recently on his way back to New Delhi after holding a work-shop for the vice-chancellors and deans of Punjab, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir universities held at Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan .He was joined there by Dr Mehta as well. The ICAR Director-General, Dr R. S. Paroda, on “Accreditaton for quality assurance in agricultural education” states that to reverse the “stagnation” and “decline” in agricultural education and to improve and sustain the same, the Agricultural Human Resource Development Project, funded by the World Bank, was initiated. Consequently, the Accreditation Board is in existence since 1996. Dr Padda firmly believed that a second “green revolution” would be possible only if radical changes were made in the agricultural educational system. Accreditation system was tried and tested in the USA. Its replication will help India achieve much. |
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Mustard production in Kashmir WITH the onset of spring, not only the almond blossoms, but the vast fields of yellow flowers of rapeseed-mustard attract nature lovers as also the visitors in Kashmir. Nearly 40 per cent of the paddy fields in the six districts of Kashmir valley are usually covered with mustard during winter months, and in April the field blossom. The crop this season has been better than last year due to routine snowfall and normal sub-zero temperatures, says an expert. The rabi crop of mustard starts with the sowing of seeds in September-October and is harvested in May every year. “After the winter the smell of the warm eager earth, which glows with sudden and beautiful colours, is very pleasant, and it is no wonder that the Kashmiris of the city hail the spring with joy, and flock to the almond gardens and pay pilgrimage to the sweet lilacs”, writes a British author on Kashmir. If the tradition of visiting almond gardens on the occasion has become a thing of the past now, people to visit the Mughal gardens — Nishat and Shalimar — that are reopened on April 13 on the occasion of Baisakhi. Many others, who venture out of the city, do enjoy the vast fields of mustard blossoms during the season. According to the details available from the Directorate of Agriculture, Jammu and Kashmir Government, the Kashmir valley comprising six districts has an estimated area of 65 thousand hectares of paddy land under mustard cultivation, which is about 40 per cent of the total area under paddy. However, according to another estimate, the area covered by mustard crop is 70 per cent of the total paddy land. The anticipated production of mustard is thus 65000 metric tonnes, and the anticipated oil production is 22,000 metric tonnes. Of the total area, Anantnag district with 26.50 thousand hectares of land under mustard is at the highest, while Kupwara district in north Kashmir with 0.50 thousand hectares of land has the lowest area under mustard. While the production of mustard in the north Kashmir districts of Baramulla and Kupwara is the lowest at five thousand hectares of land, it is the highest at 51,000hectares in the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag and Pulwama. The central Kashmir districts of Srinagar and Budgam grow mustard over an area of 9000 hectares only. The estimates reveal that 222 quintals of mustard seeds were provided to the farmers during the current season, the harvest of which is to be made from May, before the paddy plantation starts. The anticipated production of oil from its own sources of mustard production this season is being estimated at 22,000 metric tonnes, against the required oil consumption of 52,000 metric tonnes. Thus, 30,000 metric tonnes of oil for cooking purposes is to be fetched from outside the valley, the main source being Punjab. Rapeseed and vegetable oils are mainly used for cooking purposes in the valley, instead of ghee, and therefore, there is a high demand for the oils. India, China, Canada, Poland, France and Pakistan are major rapeseed-mustard growing countries. India, according to a survey, has nearly 4500 thousand hectares under mustard production. According to the officials of the Directorate of Agriculture, the department is supplying high yielding varieties of KDs-1 and KS-101 to the farmers. The crop is also prone to aphid pests, which is being treated by the spray of dichlorovos pesticides. A number of farmers in Anantnag and Pulwama districts complained of lack of attention by the department towards the high yield of mustard oil. There have also been incidents of aphid pests which damage the crop to a great extent. Higher attention towards the protection of the oilseed crop from pests is required. |
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Straw burning hits soil fertility PLANT
tissue is the main source of soil organic matter. Under natural conditions, trees, shrubs and other plants supply large quantity of organic residues annually by way of their roots and tops. Such substances when decomposed by many types of organisms in the soil infiltrate the underlying horizons. The green plant tissue has 75 per cent or more water. The dry matter consists of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and mineral matter. In the rice-wheat cropping zone burning of crop residue is a common practice. Wheat productivity in the Indo-Gangetic plains, which account for 25 per cent of the region’s foodgrains, has started declining. Although straw burning results in losses in tissue nitrogen by volatilization, still it is preferred over straw incorporation because of the low cost of disposal and lack of turnover period between the harvesting of one crop and the sowing of the other crop. Besides losing a substantial part of nitrogen present in the stubbles, straw burning also causes environmental pollution. After the harvesting of fields one can see black clouds of smoke in the straw burning fields. With the mechanisation of agriculture, most of the farmers now use combine harvesters for harvesting rice and wheat. This leaves almost 50 per cent of the crop biomass in the field which represent a substantial portion of the crop residue accumulated over time. In order to prepare the field for sowing the next crop burning crop residue comes handy to the farmer. In the rice-wheat cropping zone approximately 0.8 million-hectare area is at present infested with resistant biotype of littleseed canarygrass (Phalaris minor Retz). The emergence of littleseed canarygrass is higher under residue burning situations of rice. This may be attributed to the breaking of dormancy as a result of heating the soil surface resulting in higher weed populations. Burning crop residues also decrease the efficacy of herbicides because of their absorption on ash particles. The organic matter content of any soil is an indicative of the soil health. Organic matter encourages granulation, reduces plasticity and cohesion and increases the water-holding capacity of the soil. It accounts for 30 per cent to 90 per cent of the absorbing power of mineral soils. Besides, organic matter has easily replaceable nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus and moreover the acid humus extracts nutrients from minerals. Therefore, we must add the leftover crop residue to the soil back. As soon as the organic plant tissues are added to the soil, there is rapid multiplication and great activity of general purpose organisms like bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes, because large amounts of readily oxidisable carbon are available. At the same time there is vigorous digestion and rapid disappearance of easily decomposable compounds yielding large amounts of carbon dioxide accompanied with liberation of energy. As a result some humus is formed. The energy is derived from sugars, proteins and fats as a result of their oxidation which is a burning process. At this stage the demand for nitrogen is very high and the competition is very keen that little nitrification is possible. Therefore, an additional dose of nitrogen is recommended where the crop residues are incorporated so that the crop may not face a stress of nitrogen at this stage. In order to break the yield barrier in wheat productivity in rice-wheat cropping system we have to focus our attention on management of weeds and management of soil health which in town are related to crop residue management. The practice of straw burning, therefore, needs to be discouraged. |
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Alternative
seed supply system THE rapid spread of the high-yielding PBW 343 and HD 2329 varities of wheat had a significant impact on wheat production during the eighties and nineties of the last century. The output increased from 76.77 lakh tonnes in 1980-81 to 136.79 lakh tonnes in 1996-97 and 144.60 lakh tonnes last year (1998-99). The HD 2329 variety ruled as a queen for more than a decade. It was officially released in 1985. Farmers, however, began experimenting with it from 1982 onward when it was under trial. At that time there was no worthwhile stable variety available to the growers. The HD 2329 variety bowed out of cultivation in 1996-97 when it fell prey to rusts. During the earlier period (1985-95) it occupied more than 80 per cent area in its prime years in Punjab and was widely grown in the neighbouring Haryana, Western UP and Rajasthan. The HD 2329 variety was replaced by PBW 343 on its release by the central sub-committee on crop standards, notification and release of varities for the 1996-97 crop season. During the last two years its contribution was impressive. According to Punjab Agricultural University PAU), it covered 82.94 per cent area in 1998-99 which rose to 86.68 per cent in 1999-2000. There is no precedent for the speed with which the two wheat varieties had spread in Punjab. Both these varieties improved the farm economy of the state and made it contribute up to 70 per cent of wheat to the Central Pool. Both these varieties became the vanguard of second-phase wheat revolution through the alternative seed supply system. The PAU and the Punjab Young Farmers’ Association (PYFA) gave the foundation seeds to the growers who exchanged seeds among themselves by multiplying further. The system has proved its success remarkably. Not only that the alternative quality assurance through non-official organisations and progressive farmers hit the official system of production and distribution of seeds through PUNSEED by involving the Seeds Certification Authority and Government Seeds Testing Laboratories. It seems to have failed due to the inherent weaknesses in it. It did not deliver goods. The new system with quick adaptation of the new varieties gave researchers an impetus to develop new farm practices. It encouraged farmers to adopt and apply new farming techniques in the hope of earning higher returns. For farsighted policymakers the spread of these two varieties was a rallying point for strengthening agricultural research capabilities and improving credit availability, input supplies and other services necessary to a productive farming system. The new system provided rich rewards to the growers who marshalled their resources to improve production by making higher investments and mutually transferring technology among themselves. One result of the dramatic advance in wheat production consequent upon the wide adaption of these two varieties in the state was the accumulation of unprecedented reserves creating an extreme paucity of storage accommodation and providing sufficient surpluses for export. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute’s (IARI’s) Professor and Head of the Seed Science and technology Division Dr S.P. Sharma said that the scientists were closely watching the success story of this alternative seed supply system. They have suggested to Punjab growers to
produce seeds for supply to other states. This will improve their returns. Punjab has suitable conditions and a viable environment for growing seed wheat. Dr Sharma said there was a great potential for selling seeds by Punjab growers in UP, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. When all subsidiary alternatives like poultry, piggery and fishery have failed to help them, production and supply of seeds to other states seems to be the new hope for Punjab growers. And for this they need not depend upon any government help. IARI scientists have been suggested that the supply of breeder seeds should be allowed to the progressive farmers of Punjab for producing foundation seeds for sale to other farmers. The educated youth can be comfortably involved in the new venture. It will definitely result in the quick transfer of new technology for seeds production to more and more growers. Until such time that some achievement is made in the crop diversification seed production as a business for Punjab farmers offers the prospects for prosperity. It will do good in another way. That it will eliminate the unscrupulous traders who are liberally selling the fake seeds to the growers. Eventually the government will save a lot by disbanding the existing system of supplying seeds through PUNSEED. The Seed Certification Authority and Government Testing Laboratories which have become known for inefficiency and corrupt practices will either improve or pack up. |
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