Conceived conclusions in favour of GM cotton? - a riposte to a paper in Science

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Participatory varietal selection: A case study on small millets in Karnataka

Modern plant breeding has catered more to the needs of rich farmers who could afford high management under irrigated situations. In contrast, subsistence farmers growing millets in unfavourable environments use low levels of inputs and have not been benefited by high yielding variety (HYV) technology. In the present study, the usefulness of the participatory approach for identifying cultivars for harsh environments and acceptable to resource poor farmers has been demonstrated. In little millet five varieties, viz., CO 2, PRC 3, OLM 20, Sukshema and TNAU 98 were selected for testing on farmers fields. Trials was conducted at Jekinakatti village of Savanur taluk and Chandapu

Experimental investigation of bifurcations in a thermoacoustic engine

In this study, variation in the characteristics of the pressure oscillations in a thermoacoustic engine is explored as the input heat flux is varied. A bifurcation diagram is plotted to study the variation in the qualitative behavior of the acoustic oscillations as the input heat flux changes. At a critical input heat flux (60 Watt), the engine begins to produce acoustic oscillations in its fundamental longitudinal mode. As the input heat flux is increased, incommensurate frequencies appear in the power spectrum. The simultaneous presence of incommensurate frequencies results in quasiperiodic oscillations. On further increase of heat flux, the fundamental mode disappears and second mode oscillations are observed. These bifurcations in the characteristics of the pressure oscillations are the result of nonlinear interaction between multiple modes present in the thermoacoustic engine. Hysteresis in the bifurcation diagram suggests that the bifurcation is subcritical. Further, the qualitative analysis of different dynamic regimes is performed using nonlinear time series analysis. The physical reason for the observed nonlinear behavior is discussed. Suggestions to avert the variations in qualitative behavior of the pressure oscillations in thermoacoustic engines are also provided

Assessing Farmer’s Willingness to Participate in the On-farm Conservation of Minor Millet using Direct Compensation Payment

The farmers, predominantly the small and tribal,particularly in regions of rich agro-biodiversity immensely contribute to the on-farm conservation and enrichment of this diversity, often at personal cost. The past and present agricultural progress could not have happened without these genetic resources and associated knowledge conserved by farmers. On-farm conservation assumes more importance in the context of climate change in view of the gene evolution it promotes. Therefore, it plays crucial role to the future global food and nutritional security.. Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu had been a region where six species of minor millets are under cultivation during last several hundred years. Farmers here over this period had evolved significant genetic variability in these crops. They are, however, under threat due to high competition from tapioca as well as the easy access to PDS rice at low prices. This study attempts to examine the role of farmer incentive mechanisms to conserve minor millets in Kolli Hills. The millet varieties were classified either as most preferred varieties (MPVs) or least preferred varieties (LPVs) by the farmer respondents based on their yield and consumption preferences. The farmer willingness to accept compensation to participate in the conservation programme is estimated using a contingent valuation method. Seemingly unrelated bivariate probit regression is used to estimate the determinants of willing to participate in on-farm conservation of minor millets

Assessing farmer’s willingness to participate in the on-farm conservation of minor millet using direct compensation payment

The farmers, predominantly the small and tribal,particularly in regions of rich agro-biodiversity immensely contribute to the on-farm conservation and enrichment of this diversity, often at personal cost. The past and present agricultural progress could not have happened without these genetic resources and associated knowledge conserved by farmers. On-farm conservation assumes more importance in the context of climate change in view of the gene evolution it promotes. Therefore, it plays crucial role to the future global food and nutritional security.. Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu had been a region where six species of minor millets are under cultivation during last several hundred years. Farmers here over this period had evolved significant genetic variability in these crops. They are, however, under threat due to high competition from tapioca as well as the easy access to PDS rice at low prices. This study attempts to examine the role of farmer incentive mechanisms to conserve minor millets in Kolli Hills. The millet varieties were classified either as most preferred varieties (MPVs) or least preferred varieties (LPVs) by the farmer respondents based on their yield and consumption preferences. The farmer willingness to accept compensation to participate in the conservation programme is estimated using a contingent valuation method. Seemingly unrelated bivariate probit regression is used to estimate the determinants of willing to participate in on-farm conservation of minor millets

Assessing Farmer’s Willingness to Participate in the On-farm Conservation of Minor Millet using Direct Compensation Payment

The farmers, predominantly the small and tribal,particularly in regions of rich agro-biodiversity immensely contribute to the on-farm conservation and enrichment of this diversity, often at personal cost. The past and present agricultural progress could not have happened without these genetic resources and associated knowledge conserved by farmers. On-farm conservation assumes more importance in the context of climate change in view of the gene evolution it promotes. Therefore, it plays crucial role to the future global food and nutritional security.. Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu had been a region where six species of minor millets are under cultivation during last several hundred years. Farmers here over this period had evolved significant genetic variability in these crops. They are, however, under threat due to high competition from tapioca as well as the easy access to PDS rice at low prices. This study attempts to examine the role of farmer incentive mechanisms to conserve minor millets in Kolli Hills. The millet varieties were classified either as most preferred varieties (MPVs) or least preferred varieties (LPVs) by the farmer respondents based on their yield and consumption preferences. The farmer willingness to accept compensation to participate in the conservation programme is estimated using a contingent valuation method. Seemingly unrelated bivariate probit regression is used to estimate the determinants of willing to participate in on-farm conservation of minor millets

Use of contingent valuation to assess farmer preference for on-farm conservation of minor millets: case from South India

Smallholder farmers all over the world, particularly in regions of rich agro-biodiversity contribute to on-farm conservation. Past and present agricultural progress could not have happened neither without these genetic resources nor the associated farmer knowledge. Six species of minor millets are grown in India on more than 2 million hectares. The Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu has been a region where five of these millet species have been under cultivation over the last several hundred years. These minor millets are currently under threat due to high competition from tapioca (cassava) as well as easy access to PDS rice at low cost. Over last three decades there has been decline in the millet area and number of farmers cultivating these species. It is in this context that this study attempts to examine the role of farmer incentive mechanisms to conserve minor millets in Kolli Hills. The millet varieties existing in the study area were classified either as most preferred varieties (MPVs) or least preferred varieties (LPVs) by the farmer respondents based on their yield and consumption preferences. The farmer willingness to accept compensation to participate in the conservation programme is estimated using a contingent valuation method (CVM). Seemingly unrelated bivariate probit regression was used to estimate the determinants of willing to participate in on-farm conservation of minor millets. The result shows that the impact of bid value is significant and positive to participate in the on-farm millet conservation of MPVs. The farmers participating is millet related organization are willing to accept lower compensation for MPVs and higher for LPVs compared to farmers who are not participating in such organization

Use of contingent valuation to assess farmer preference for on-farm conservation of minor millets: case from South India

Smallholder farmers all over the world, particularly in regions of rich agro-biodiversity contribute to on-farm conservation. Past and present agricultural progress could not have happened neither without these genetic resources nor the associated farmer knowledge. Six species of minor millets are grown in India on more than 2 million hectares. The Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu has been a region where five of these millet species have been under cultivation over the last several hundred years. These minor millets are currently under threat due to high competition from tapioca (cassava) as well as easy access to PDS rice at low cost. Over last three decades there has been decline in the millet area and number of farmers cultivating these species. It is in this context that this study attempts to examine the role of farmer incentive mechanisms to conserve minor millets in Kolli Hills. The millet varieties existing in the study area were classified either as most preferred varieties (MPVs) or least preferred varieties (LPVs) by the farmer respondents based on their yield and consumption preferences. The farmer willingness to accept compensation to participate in the conservation programme is estimated using a contingent valuation method (CVM). Seemingly unrelated bivariate probit regression was used to estimate the determinants of willing to participate in on-farm conservation of minor millets. The result shows that the impact of bid value is significant and positive to participate in the on-farm millet conservation of MPVs. The farmers participating is millet related organization are willing to accept lower compensation for MPVs and higher for LPVs compared to farmers who are not participating in such organization

Minor millets in South Asia: Learnings from IFAD-NUS project in India and Nepal

The publication reports the experiences and results of UN Programme supported by IFAD (‘IFAD NUS I Project’) implemented in India and Nepal from 2002 to 2004. It is a useful analysis of challenges and opportunities across the value chains of minor millets in south Asia and how these have been addressed through community-based and highly participatory approaches. The document describes latest findings on the status of minor millets in these countries, their ex situ and in situ conservation, improved cultivation techniques, harvest and post harvest methods, value addition methods, nutritional profiles of raw and processed products, enhanced food technology, their deployment in school feeding programs as well as methods tested out with success for enhancing marketing. Recommendations for enabling policy frameworks have been also proposed for a more sustainable and equitable use of these species. All activities have been designed and implemented with a special focus on women and their empowerment and to that end, the lessons learnt with regard to the establishment of Self Helps Groups are particularly significant. The book is highly recommended for all Agencies and workers engaged in promoting minor millets in India and Nepal and all other countries in south Asia where these marginalized crops represent a strategic livelihood asset for fighting poverty and nutrition insecurity within a climate changing scenario

Metal Cluster's Effect on the Optical Properties of Cesium Bromide Thin Films

Cesium Bromide films grown of glass substrates by thermal evaporation showed interesting optical properties. The UV-visible absorption spectra showed peaks which showed red shift with time. Structural and morphological studies suggested decrease in grain size with time which was unusual. Theoretical simulation shows the optical behaviour to be due to surface plasmon resonance resulting from Cesium clyindrical rods embedded in the films.Comment: 22 pages and 10 figure