It is to mark the 25th anniversary of the annual flower and fruit show
More than one lakh varieties of flower and fruit from across the country are on display at the 25th edition of the annual flower and fruit show being held on the premises of the Horticulture Department here. It has been organised by the Department of Horticulture and the District Horticulture Association.
According to official sources, the association was formed in 1981 to create awareness among the people on different varieties of flower and fruit grown in the State.
The show also focuses on the steps that growers should take to get more yield by utilising the available resources in the district.
The major attractions at the show are flower arrangements depicting Shravan Kumar, who devoted his life for serving his parents and Gautham Buddha.
Different varieties of flower such as orchids, carnation plants, cockscomb, celosia, lilies, salvia, cosmos and pentas are on display.
More than 10,000 saplings of each variety have been exhibited. Farmers from six taluks of the district have been given the opportunity to exhibit the best quality fruits and flowers grown on their land. “It took five months for the authorities to make preparations for the show and develop the garden on the premises of the Horticulture Department,” sources said.
The authorities have also organised competitions such as rangoli, essay writing, drawing, singing, and preparation of fancy dresses by using flowers and fruits.
Prizes would be given to winners of these competitions on the concluding day.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Pradeepkumar Kadkol / Chitradurga – January 31st, 2016
D.D. Bharamagoudra, who practised and promoted organic farming in rain-fed areas, passed away in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The funeral took place at his native place in Gadag district on Thursday.
He was 77. A native of Yalavatti village in Shirahatti taluk of Gadag district, Bharamagoudra was a pioneer in initiating organic farming in rain-fed areas and also motivated many to follow him.
He was president of the Organic Farmers’ Association of India and a member of the Organic Farming Mission set up by the BJP government in the State. He was also honoured with ‘Karnataka Rajyotsava’ award and was known as a resource person on organic farming.
Apart from being a pioneer in growing cotton and chillis under organic farming in rain-fed areas, he had also worked towards preserving native varieties of seeds.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Hubballi – January 15th, 2016
Shivamogga youth claims to have received 350 orders in two days at ISC
Nithin Herale displaying his invention
Mysuru :
True to the saying ‘Necessity is the Mother of all Inventions,’ a young farmer who was unable to get skilled climbers to pluck arecanut in his farm, turned himself as an inventor, came up with a Multi-Tree Climber equipment and is all set to help other farmers including coconut and arecanut growers with his invention.
The young farmer is 23-year-old Nithin Herale, a resident of Gajanur village which is about 10 kms from Shivamogga. Nithin, a diploma dropout, has displayed his invention at the Pride of India Science Expo being held as part of the 103rd Indian Science Congress (ISC) in city.
Nithin, speaking to SOM, said that the Multi-Tree Climber is his sixth modified version of the equipment and has used Stainless Steel 304 grade to reduce the weight of the equipment. He said that when he first invented the equipment, it weighed about 16 kgs and was finding it difficult to carry it to the farm. He then thought of reducing the weight of the equipment so that it would be easy for even women farmers to carry it.
He further said that keeping in mind to reduce the weight, he modified the equipment using SS 304 grade Stainless Steel and added that his equipment now weighs just 7.2 kgs.
Nithin, who has gone commercial by launching his equipment in the market, claims that he has received 350 orders in two days from customers especially in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
He further said that initially he invented equipment for his purpose but due to demand from other fellow farmers he opened a small workshop in his village to manufacture the equipment and even obtained licence to sell it.
He said that the Multi-Tree Climber works on a two assembly locking system, safety belt gripper and rubber plates to help climb tress with ease and added that even those with no expertise or special skills can also easily climb a branch-less tree.
He further said that equipment which is also very useful to climb coconut tress is priced at Rs. 8,000 and comes with an instruction CD.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Thursday – January 07th, 2015
The Yadahalli Chinkara Wildlife Sanctuary will be spread over 9,636.91 hectares in villages of Bilagi and Mudhol taluks.
Karnataka will get its first wildlife sanctuary for chinkaras (Indian Gazelle) at Yadahalli in Bagalkot district.
Karnataka will get its first wildlife sanctuary for chinkaras (Indian Gazelle) at Yadahalli in Bagalkot district.
The government, in its notification, said the sanctuary is spread over 9,636.91 hectares in villages of Bilagi and Mudhol taluks. The region has a lot of wildlife significance since it is the only habitat for endangered Indian Gazelles.
The forests with beautiful mosaic of shrubs, grasslands and rocky patches are the habitat for critically endangered wolves, jackals, wildcats, stripped hyenas, and a variety of other mammals, reptiles and birds, the notification said. The area has numerous seasonal nalas, which drain into river Krishna in the north and into the Ghataprabha on the southern side of the sanctuary. “It acts as an important catchment for the two rivers,” it said. The sanctuary does not cover patta lands and revenue lands.
M.R. Desai, Honorary Wildlife Warden of Bagalkot, said the notification now provides a complete legal backing for habitat improvement of the region as well as ensuring the population of the endangered chinkara population remains on the upswing.
“This is a shrub forest that has seen some damage owing to plantations. For the past two years, we have tried to halt these activities. A sanctuary status will ensure that the commercial exploitation of the region stops,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / Nagesh Prabhu / Bengaluru – January 01st, 2016
Basavaraj Arjun Rao Patil taking a look at the sweet corn crop in his field at Udnur, a village on the outskirts of Kalaburagi, on Monday.— PHOTO: ARUN KULKARNI
Basavaraj Arjun Rao Patil has earned a profit of Rs. 50,000 from one acre of land
For progressive farmer Basavaraj Arjun Rao Patil, the cultivation of sweet corn on his 14-acre agriculture plot has turned out to be a virtual money spinner.
While a majority of the farming community is reeling under heavy loss by taking up the cultivation of traditional crops due to failure of rain, it has been a windfall for Mr. Patil, who reaped a profit of Rs. 50,000 from one acre of land by taking up the cultivation of sweet corn.
He has turned out to be a benevolent seller of green fodder to needy farmers at a time when the farmers are facing severe shortage of fodder to feed their cattle. Talking to The Hindu in his agricultural field, Mr. Patil said that the market for sweet corn was very good and the traders come to his agriculture field to purchase the crop which was in great demand in Kalaburagi and outside. .
Average income
He said that the average income by selling the fodder and the sweet corn in an acre was around Rs. 55,000 to 60,000 and after deducting the cost of the cultivation the average profit from one acre of land was around Rs. 50,000. Mr. Patil said that the green fodder was edible and mixed with jaggery and salt water, the fodder would be more acceptable to the cattle.
Mr. Patil said that the maintenance and cultivation of the sweet corn was very easy compared to other crops.
Another added advantage was that it was a short duration crop and the harvest of the crop can be done after 75 days. The only costly thing in the cultivation of the sweet corn was the seeds, he said. “I used to cultivate sugarcane and banana.
The average income generated was around Rs. 50,000 per season and the duration of the cultivation of these crops was one year, whereas sweet corn is a short duration crop,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka/ by T.V. Sivanandan / Kalaburagi – December 01st, 2015
The University of Horticulture Sciences, Bagalkot, will hold a workshop on papaya farming at the varsity on December 8.
A release said that 250 papaya growers had registered for the event which would be inaugurated by progressive farmers and the former Minister Ajaykumar Sarnaik. Vice-Chancellor D. L. Maheshwar would be present. An interaction programme between farmers and experts would be held and farmers could share their views and seek clarifications from the experts.
Second session
The second session would deal with pest management in papaya plantations and the last session would deal with the equipment required for papaya farming, preservation of the fruit and its marketing.
Exhibition
A special exhibition of material related to papaya cultivation too would be held, the release said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Staff Correspondent / Bagalkol – December 07th, 2015
After witnessing an increase in tiger population over the last five years, Bandipur National Park emerged as the most visited tiger reserve in the country, according to a recent study by a travel information portal.
The report by HolidayIQ says that for two successive years, Bandipur National Park was the most visited tiger reserve even as tiger tourism in the country has grown by 230 per cent.
“Based on user interactions on our portal during the travel season of October, November and December last year and this year, the number of visitors to Bandipur National Park has shown a marked increase. The interactions also reveal that tiger tourism is fast growing in the country,” a representative for HolidayIQ told The Hindu .
A senior forest official at Bandipur attributed the popularity of the national park to “increased frequency of sightings” and “accessibility”. He said the national park, which was on the road to Ooty, is a natural choice for tiger tourism. Besides, the tiger population in Bandipur had increased, which translates into higher frequency of sightings.
The Forest Department accommodations can house 88 persons and bookings are almost always full during weekends and holidays, and show 70 per cent occupancy during weekdays. In addition, private resorts can accommodate about 250 persons. The department also organises safaris in the morning and evening.
The tiger population in Bandipur and the adjoining Nagarahole, Mudumalai and Wayanad forests was estimated at 570 in 11,000 sq km of habitat, according to a report on status of tigers in India-2014, which also showed that tiger population in the country had increased from 1,706 in 2010 to 2,226 in 2014.
Wildlife experts in the region believe that Bandipur, which is spread across around 870 sq km, hosts more than 110 tigers.
Meanwhile, the study by HolidayIQ shows that couple travellers account for almost 36 per cent of the visitors to tiger reserves, closely followed by families, who account for 32 per cent, while group travellers account for 28 per cent.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Laiqh A. Khan / Mysuru – December 16th, 2015
‘Integrated Disease Management in Vegetable Crops’
Mysuru :
A free training programme for farmers on ‘Integrated Disease Management in Vegetable Crops’ was jointly organised by Krishi Jnana Vijnana Vedike (KJVV) and Lions Club of Mysore Heritage City recently.
Dr. Vasanth Kumar Thimakapura, the Founder of KJVV and Rajyotsava Awardee, addressed the farmers on how to grow vegetable and fruit crops scientifically without the indiscriminate usage of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
He elaborated the harmful effects of these not only on the health of consumers but also on the farmer’s cost of production and suggested practical ways to avoid them.
He stressed the importance of using disease-resistant varieties, bio-control agents and environmental-friendly practices of cultivation to get maximum yield.
Dr. Vasanth Kumar suggested farmers to utilise his free plant clinic service in order to increase their productivity and yield.
More than fifty farmers from various parts of the district participated. A few progressive farmers shared their views and ideas during the session.
Dr. Lakshimipathigowda (former Deputy Director General of ICRISAT), Jayaprakash (Public Relations Officer of DRDO), Bannur Narayan (Farmer Leader) and Ln. Jai Prakash (Lions Club of Mysore Heritage City) were among the distinguished guests. KJVV Director D. Bharath and Scientists Dr. Harish, Dr. Yogesh and Dr. Chandrashekar were also present.
For any crop problems, suggestions and information on upcoming training prog., contact Dr. Harish on Mob: 98806-22979 or Dr. Chandrashekar on Mob: 97393-85165.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 15th, 2015
Dr. K.N. Amruthesh (right) is seen receiving the National Award from former Chief Minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat, at the awards ceremony held in Panaji, Goa, on Dec.6.
Mysuru :
Dr. K.N. Amruthesh, Senior Lecturer and Principal Investigator at Department of Studies in Botany and Co-ordinator, CSIR/UGC- NET Coaching Centre of University of Mysore, has been given the prestigious “Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam National Award” by the International Institute for the Social and Economic Reforms, Delhi.
This award was conferred for his significant contributions in the field of major agricultural crops’ disease management strategies, especially for his extensive research work on pearl millet downy mildew host pathogen interaction and reporting of two new plant species to the Science, Research Publications and Teaching.
Dr. Amruthesh received the National Award from former Chief Minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat at the Entertainment Society of Goa, Panaji, on Dec.6. The award comprises a certificate, memento and a citation.
Dr. Amruthesh, who obtained his doctoral degree from University of Mysore with Government of India, ICAR Fellowship, completed his post doctoral degree research work at University of North Texas (UNT), Texas, United States of America (USA).
He started his professional career in 2002 as a Senior Scientist with the Danish Government, Copenhagen-funded collaborative research project at the Department of Biotechnology and subsequently was appointed as a faculty in 2004 to the Department of Botany of the Varsity.
Dr. Amruthesh has published more than 65 research articles in the national and international reputed journals and 3 book chapters so far on plant – microbe interaction and disease management strategies. He has successfully guided 7 Ph.D. scholars for their doctoral degree and currently 7 Ph.D. scholars are working under his guidance. He is the Principal Investigator for three research projects funded by DST, UGC and DBT. Dr. Amruthesh is also the recipient of Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) & Department of Science & Technology (DST)- Young Scientists’ Awards among others.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Monday – December 14th, 2015
With farmers’ suicides in Karnataka touching 800, the highest ever in the state, the government is quickly pushing through an initiative to promote cash-rich horticulture farming by linking up the poor and marginal farmer directly to private companies that deal with agri-produce.
Using a programme devised by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance ( UPA) in its second term for integrated agriculture development through private-public-partnerships (PPP-IAD), the state’s horticulture department is dovetailing state, central and corporate initiatives to turn the farmer into a horti-business entrepreneur.
Karnataka, with lakhs of small and marginal farmers, has the third largest area under horticulture crop in the country. It is the seventh in production. The state is the highest exporter of cashew, roses, gherkins, rose onion, spices and condiments, earning a whopping Rs 8,453 crore annually.
Tomatoes grown in Kolar travel all the way to Kolkata for sale, while lemons from Bijapur are sold in Bihar. Income generation from the sector is Rs 36,000 crore. Still, Chawla sees a vast, untapped market for horticulture crop and value-added products from the state. “Why can’t the extraspicy Byadgi chilli become as famous as Mexican chilli?” he asked.
The area that the state wants to fix is the 20 to 25% post-harvest losses in the sector. The idea is to find value additions to the horticulture produce that will use up the highly perishable items without causing any loss to the farmers.
They want to do this by facilitating private intervention, rather than set minimum support prices for all products. Chawla pointed out that the government-sponsored HOPCOMS (Horticultural Producers Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society Ltd), which purchases vegetables and fruits from the farmers and sells them to consumers through stalls, covers hardly 3% of the 12,000 tonnes consumed in Bengaluru city.
Government Intervention
The horticulture department has studied several models including the PPP-IAD implemented by Maharashtra, which began functioning in 2012. Karnataka is also looking to scale up through government intervention two private, successful models in horticulture.
The sale of vegetables from groups of farmers through linked-up groups of vendors under the Samriddhi brand by IIM-A alumnus Koushalendra Kumar in Patna is one model the state wants to replicate. The other is that of the Siddhivinayak group in Maharashtra, where everything from seeds to modern, efficient technology to turning of the grown potato crop into chips and their sale is handled by the company, through agreements with farmers.
Here’s how the Karnataka model, inspired by those from the other states, works: about 20 farmers first get together and form an interest group. About 50 such groups join together and register a farmer producer organisation (FPO) under the Companies Act, complete with a board of directors with two representatives from each interest group.
The FPO is adopted by either the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research or the University of Horticulture Sciences, Bagalkote, which provides technical support. The government pitches in by paying for a technically qualified chief executive to run the FPO as management support for a period of three years. Besides this, the government gives the FPO members all the subsidies provided in the sector and Rs 90 lakh towards permanent infrastructure such as cold storages, on the condition that the FPO puts in Rs 10 lakh.
The state is expecting a range of companies, including the Big Four consulting firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young, to come forward to bid for tenders to provide manpower to support this project on the marketing, BPO and IT side. The government is likely to give each FPO seed money of Rs 25 lakh, while the centrallyfunded Small Farmers Agriculture-Business Consortium (SFAC) will give an equity linked grant of Rs 10 lakh that the state will facilitate. Besides this, NABARD is committed to give each FPO Rs 5 lakh.
Horticulture officials and farmers discussing how to store and market vegetables through the FPO
The FPO draws up a detailed project report with help from the horticulture department and focuses on a specific area. For example, Yogananda of the alreadyregistered FPO in Chikkamagaluru district, told ET Magazine that their FPO will focus on vegetables including tomato, potato, cabbage, beans and green chillies. And they are planning a cold storage to store them and sell them to FPOs in districts that don’t grow vegetables, or to other private outlets. “Farmers are not getting good prices, so these FPOs that we have formed among ourselves are a very good idea to ensure that we don’t suffer.
The FPO will get fertilisers and pesticides at cost and sell them to all of us shareholders, who have paid Rs 1,100 to join it, at cost. We will also get all benefits and no taxes. There will be no intermediaries and we will sell directly to the consumers or the company that links up with us,” Yogananda explained. The state is aiming to register 92 FPOs this financial year and get them off the ground.
The horticulture department insists that the FPO model will work better than the cooperatives that have been racked with politics and power play. Yogananda pointed out that he was a BJP supporter, but Congress and JD(S) farmers were also present in his FPO. Rudresh, a director of another registered FPO in Davanagere district, said: “Politics may come in at some point, but currently, we are all just farmers who are working together for the welfare of all. We can plan who will put what crop and work out benefits for everyone.
As an initiative, this FPO idea is very good and can work at the ground level.” The government is further incentivising FPOs by giving them trader licences in the agriculture produce market committee (APMC) markets that sell agriculture products in each district. The FPO can itself sell to consumers directly at these markets without going through any agents, as they are a group of farmers and not individuals. The FPOs also get priority storage space in all APMCs.
IT Support
All FPOs will be linked up through a database that can be accessed by any company which wants to work with them. The horticulture department will identify five local resource persons who will geo-map the land owned or leased or used by each FPO member. There will be constant updates in all the project area and at any point in time, the state of the land, the fertilisers that have been used, the state of the crop and how it is progressing towards harvest, can be accessed at fingertips.
“A package of practices, which is a set of prescribed practices like the seeds, pest and disease details, pesticides and fertilisers and so on, recommended by University of Horticulture Sciences, Bagalkote will be given to the farmers. These will be monitored at every step through an app, developed for the purpose,” Kshama Patil, deputy director of horticulture (project monitoring unit), told ET Magazine.
Chawla has written to several companies that linked up with the contract farmers in Maharashtra and other states, besides all food processing majors and super-markets including Hindustan Unilever and Metro Cash and Carry, inviting them to attend a workshop on the project and begin the linkage process. “The companies can directly link up with the FPOs and control the whole process of growing their raw material, like providing the seeds, the fertilisers, the know-how and finally purchase the product.
However, unlike contract farming, if the farmers want to sell the produce to someone else who will give them a better rate, they are free to do so. They are not bound to the company. So the company will have to pay them market rates,” Chawla explained. Prabhakar Rao, trustee of the Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Trust, said he has expressed interest in attending the workshop. “I believe the PPP-IHD model has great potential as demonstrated by the Sri Sri Farmers Market we have going in Madhya Pradesh. It is fully run by The Art of Living as a direct linkage between farmers and consumers.
With government support, we believe that there is tremendous potential to take it further,” he told ET Magazine in an emailed response. Hemant Gaur, managing director of Siddhivinayak Agri Processing, pointed to the success of his model in Maharashtra, where everything from seeds to the final marketing of potatoes was done by his company, benefitting everyone along the line. “I don’t believe that the middleman or the dealer has managed to make a lot of money between the consumer and the producer as, if that was the case, the middleman should now be very rich. That has not happened. But what we are looking at is control of the quality of the product that we deliver to the consumer and, for that, this system is very effective,” he said.
source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / www.etsmallbiz.com / ET Home> Small Biz> Entrepreneurship / by Sowmya Aji, ET Bureau / November 29th, 2015
