NCDC DISBURSED RS 7K CRORE TO AGRI COOPERATIVES DURING 2015-16
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister , Mr Radha Mohan Singh has said that National Cooperative Development Corporation ( NCDC ) will extend utmost cooperation in all matters pertaining to providing necessary technical support and financial assistance to the Cooperatives . Mr Singh further said that all such proposals will be considered and new projects implemented immediately .
The Agriculture Minister stated this while presiding over 80th meeting of General Council of NCDC held recently . He informed that NCDC promotes cooperative development in the country by providing financial assistance to Cooperatives in agriculture & non agriculture , industrial and service sectors . NCDC ’ s scheme have been formulated keeping in view increase in income and improvement in livelihood of economically weaker sections like farmers , artisans , weavers , poor agricultural masses , women and tribals etc . The Corporation has been working towards providing financial assistance , continuous promotion and development of Cooperatives for more than last five decades .
Mr Singh said that NCDC has disbursed more than Rs 7000 crore during the year 2015-16 , which is 24.10 % higher than that during the preceding year .
CHANGE IN ENVIRONMENT A KEY FACTOR FOR EMERGENCE OF NEW PATHOGEN RACES
Pests and pathogens evolve continuously and rate of evolution speeds up if environment becomes congenial . Thus , change in environment is key factor for emergence of new races of pathogen , minor diseases of insect-pests become major biotic stresses . Elevated Co2 , a greenhouse gas responsible for climate change , can increase levels of simple sugars in leaves and lower their nitrogen content . These can increase the damage caused by many insects , who will consume more leaves to meet their metabolic requirements of nitrogen . Thus , any attack will be more severe . Higher temperatures from global warming , mainly due to elevated CO2 , will mean that more numbers of pests will survive the winter season .
The Agriculture Minister , Mr Radha Mohan Singh recently chaired the In- Session meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on “ Emerging biotic stresses as a challenge under changing climate ” in New Delhi . Mr Singh said that while there is clear evidence that climate change is altering the distribution of animal and plant pests and disease , the full effects are difficult to predict . Changes in temperature , moisture and atmospheric gases can fuel growth and generation rates of plants , fungi and insects , altering the interactions between pests , their natural enemies and their hosts . " Changes in land covers , such as deforestation or desertification , can make remaining plants and animals increasingly vulnerable to pests and diseases . While new pests and diseases have regularly emerged throughout history , climate change has now resulted in emergence of large number of unknown biotic stress challenges in the environment ," he said .
GOVT ' S POLICY ON GM CROPS BASED ON AGRICULTURAL NEEDS : Y S CHOWDARY
" The policy for introduction of genetically modified ( GM ) crops in the country is based on recommendations of the Task Force on Application of Biotechnology and Agriculture under the Chairmanship of Prof M S Swaminathan and constituted by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare , Government of India in May , 2003 ," stated the Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences , Mr Y S Chowdary in a reply to a question in the Parliament recently .
Adding further , Mr Chowdhary mentioned , " The policy for introduction of GM Crops in the country is aimed at providing direction to research and development in relation to priorities based on national problems and needs of agriculture as well as devising a system for commercialization of transgenic / GM products ; and developing a clear policy on GM food and feed in the country ."
The policy is also governed by Rules 1989 of Environmental Protection Act ( EPA ), 1986 . The regulatory framework involves biosafety data generation on several parameters in laboratory and field following an elaborate food and environmental safety assessment by statutory bodies under the EPA-1986 , said the Minister .
INDIA AIMS AT CREATING 10,000 ORGANIC FARMING CLUSTERS IN 3 YEARS
The Ministy of Agriculture is promoting organic farming across the country through the dedicated scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana ( PKVY ) and Organic Value Chain Development for Northeast regions ( OVCDNER under National Mission for
Sustainable Agriculture ( NMSA ).
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Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana ( PKVY ) scheme is the first comprehensive plan based on a 20 hectare cluster whose implementation is done by the state governments . In a cluster maximum financial assistance of up to 1 hectare is provided to the farmers . Every farmer of a cluster will be provided financial assistance Rs 50,000 per hectare during the 3 years period . 10,000 organic clusters of 20 hectare will be developed to cover certified area by 2 lakh hectare during the 3 years .
Under PKVY scheme , the Annual Action Plan of 29 States and 1 Union Territory was approved with total outlay for Rs . 511.76 crore to develop 7186 clusters out of which Rs 226.00 crore has been released during 2015-16 . To achieve the target 10,000 clusters , 2814 clusters to be prepared during the 2016-17 under centrally sponsored scheme Pramaparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana ( PKVY ) in which Rs 297 crore has been allocated for the scheme during 2016-17 .
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