Agricultural diversification in India and role of urbanization

Indian agriculture is diversifying during the last two decades towards High-Value Commodities (HVCs) i.e., fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, and fish products. The pace has been accelerated during the decade of 1990s. HVCs account for a large share in the total value of agricultural production. Supply and demand side factors coupled with infrastructural development and innovative institutions drive these changes. In this paper, the focus is on diversification towards HVCs in the context of urbanization. Group of urban districts (districts with >1.5 million urban population) have a higher share of HVCs compared to the urban-surrounded (near urban districts) and other districts (districts in the hinterland). Among the HVCs, vegetables and meat products have a higher share in urban districts compared to the other two groups. Milk production is more widespread due to excellent network of co-operatives and infrastructure facilities. Using GIS (geographic Information System) approach it was found that urban-surrounded districts with better road network connection to urban centers have been able to diversify towards HVC's to meet the demand in the urban centers. Model results further confirm these findings. Thus, urbanization is a strong demand side driver promoting HVCs. Since urban population is growing at more than 3% per annum, demand for HVCs will drive their production. The analysis has also brought out regional variations in HVCs across different districts in the country that has implications on regional development and planning, and consequently on public and private sector investment strategies.

Status and prospects of millet utilization in India and global scenario

Sorghum and millets are important cereals that play a significant role in the food and nutrition security of developing countries. Together, they account for 10% of Asia's coarse grain production. India is the largest-producer of sorghum and millets, accounting for over 80% of Asia's production. However, the yield levels in India are relatively low despite the adoption of improved cultivars and hybrids. The pattern of utilization for both sorghum and millets varies across countries/regions. In countries of Africa these crops are used primarily as food grain and form the staple particularly for the poor. In recent years the use of sorghum and millet grain for beer manufacturing is gaining in importance in Africa. In Asia In the last two decades their importance as food staples, particularly in Asia, has been declining due to various factors that include rising incomes, growing urbanization and government policies favouring the production and consumption of fine cereals like rice and wheat. However, the same factors are driving the demand for these crops in alternative uses like feed (cattle and poultry) and alcohol. For both the crops more than 50% of the production is now finding its way to alternative uses as opposed to its consumption only as a staple. The demand.for Value added / processed food products (being promoted as health foods) from sorghum and millets from urban consumers is also increasing albeit from a very low base. In the developed countries sorghum is used largely as a feed grain and millets are used as bird feed. Here too the demand for sorghum is closely linked to maize prices. Globally, sorghum prices generally track maize prices and are 15 -20% lower than maize prices historically. This paper highlights the utilization patterns of sorghum and millets globally with special emphasis on their use in India and future prospects to sustain their utilization particularly in Asia. The first section highlights the utilization pattern .of sorghum followed by millets in section 2. Conclusions and way forward are discussed in section 3..

Inclusive Market Oriented Development (IMOD) at ICRISAT

IMOD is the unifying conceptual framework for ICRISAT’s work for the period 2011-2020. It emerged from the extensive global consultations, analyses and deliberations of the 2010 Strategic Planning process.In a nutshell, IMOD is a development model that frames ICRISAT’s strategy to help the poor to harness markets while managing risks, in order to most effectively reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation across the dryland tropics. This brief birds-eye view of IMOD and its origin sets the context for describing its features in more detail, below..

Selective IR laser chemistry of CDF<SUB>3</SUB> in natural fluoroform

Selective decomposition of CDF3 at natural abundance level (&#8776;150ppm) in fluoroform has been achieved by infra-red multiple-photon excitation at moderate substrate pressure using 100 ns FWHM CO2 laser pulses. Effects of energy fluence, number of laser pulses, buffer gas pressure and substrate pressure on decomposition yield and bulk selectivity are reported and discussed

Enabling Markets, Trade and Policies for Enhancing Sorghum Uptake

A number of dynamic changes are taking place in the sorghum economies globally in the last two to three decades both in developed and developing regions where the crop is grown. In Asia, its use as a staple food crop is declining with a shift in consumption towards rice and wheat. Rising per capita incomes, urbanization, change in tastes and preferences are driving this change. However, at the same time, its demand in alternative uses like poultry feed and potable alcohol manufacture is growing. In recent years driven by the greater awareness of the health benefits of sorghum, there is also a growing demand for processed sorghum products particularly in India for ready to use and eat food products mainly in urban areas (from a low base). To sustain the change in the sorghum economies (plate to plough), there is a need to reorient the marketing system by linking farmers to the end users through innovative institutional arrangements. Policies should ensure sorghum competitiveness on farm and directly or indirectly promote its use in food processing and alternative non-food uses. In developed countries and in Latin American countries, sorghum is mainly used as feed but its use is fluctuating and variable depending on its price competitiveness and policies related to trade in feed crops. In the last one to two decades with governments mandating use of renewable fuels for blending with gasoline, sorghum along with maize are being used for ethanol production that has implications for the livestock sector. Policies related to ethanol production will have implication for sorghum production and trade

Carbon-13 enrichment by IR laser chemistry of CHF<SUB>3</SUB>-Cl<SUB>2</SUB>

IR laser chemistry of CHF3 is investigated in both neat form and in the presence of Cl2 for carbon-13 enrichment. Infrared multiple-photon dissociation of CHF3 is an order of magnitude more efficient in the scavenged system compared to the neat case. The photolysis of CHF3/Cl2 mixture results in two products, viz., CF2Cl2 and C2F4Cl2 but with different enrichment factors. The parametric studies show that C2F4Cl2 arises due to MPD of CF2Cl2 in secondary photolysis

Laser isotope separation of <SUP>13</SUP>C: a comparative study

IR laser chemistry of (CF3Br/Cl2) mixture and neat CF2HCl are examined in the context of 13C enrichment. Decomposition extent, enrichment factor and energy absorbed are measured for both systems at their respective optimum conditions. A direct comparison is obtained by keeping extraneous factors such as laser, its pulse duration, cell, irradiation geometry etc. the same. The halogen scavenged CF3Br MPD requires lower fluence compared to neat CF2HCl irradiation. Overall throughput for a product with 60-65% 13C content in a single stage is the same for both systems requiring a similar amount of energy. However, at lower enrichment levels, CF2HCl MPD is better than (CF3Br/Cl2) photolysis in terms of both product yield and energy absorption

Sorghum and Pearl Millet Economy of India: Future Outlook and Options

Coarse cereals such as pearl millet and sorghum, the hardiest and least risky cereals, are mainly grown in India's arid and semi-arid regions. These crops possess high nutritive and fodder value and are primarily consumed by their producers. On the supply side, there has been a large shift in the area under cultivation to rice and wheat and other commercial crops. On the demand side, the distribution of rice and wheat at subsidised prices through the public distribution system has led to a fall in the consumption of sorghum and millets. The decline in cultivated area could result in a problem for the livestock sector in many regions. It is crucial that the sorghum and millet sector be supported by strong government policies and programmes for food, fodder, and better nutrition through value addition and demand creation

Dynamics of Rural Labor Markets in India: Implications for Inclusive Development Strategy

The rural labor market in India has undergone remarkable changes over the years. Diversified opportunities for employment with increased economic growth, introduction of employment guarantee scheme, demographic change along with expansion of universal education for all girls and boys, increased connectivity and mobility from rural to urban areas, changes in trade policies, attitude towards participation of women in economic activities outside their home have altered the rural labor market dynamics. This policy brief deals with the dynamics of rural labor markets in India. It focuses on the trends in rural employment, rural labor markets, and sources of livelihood and living standards of the rural labor class. It documents both short and long-term changes in rural labor markets observed in India. It identifies the key drivers of changes in the rural labor market, determinants of labor supply and wage rate. Finally, some suggestions are put forward to overcome the challenges in the rural labor market and for an inclusive growth strategy in India. The term inclusive growth is used in this policy brief to include landless labor, smallholder farmers, women and youth who will all be an integral part of the growth process and benefit from the rural and overall economic growth in the country..

IR MPD CDF<SUB>3</SUB> in two-frequency IR fields

The effectiveness of various sets of laser frequencies was analyzed for two-frequency MPD of CDF3 molecule at the different pressures of buffer gas. It was shown that MPD yield increased compared to either single-frequency or two adjacent frequencies irradiation