Food Processing in Andhra Pradesh Opportunities and Challenges

There has been diversification of Indian diets away from foodgrains to high value products like milk, meat products, vegetables and fruits. Food-processing industry has been registering good growth since the past few decades and particularly after nineties. The conditions are now ideal for the growth of this industry. The central government has taken some steps to deregulate and encourage the sector after 1991. However, the role of states is vital. The government of Andhra Pradesh released a policy in November 2003. There are no major initiatives in the policy and still can be called a good beginning. As against the robust growth at the All-India level, the growth rate in net value - added in the nineties was almost the same as that in the eighties in the state. Against this background, the study is taken up in the state of Andhra Pradesh with the following objectives 1. To study the opportunities and challenges in processing of rice, fruits and vegetables, oilseeds and livestock products 2. To study the working of contracts between processors and farmers 3. To identify the future areas 4. To recommend suitable policy options The contracts are working, on the whole, well in both oil palm in West Godavari and gherkin in Chittoor district of the state. The firms try to attract with favourable conditions initially, but later tighten them as a part of agribusiness normalization. Therefore caution is needed before a final conclusion can be drawn on the usefulness of contract farming in the state for the farming community. The contracts in oil palm 3 are widespread, covering many farmers and stabilized. The total extent under gherkin is very low. The contracts work through facilitator in gherkin. There are some signs of some mistrust between the facilitator-company and local farmers. The contracts are also evolving gradually to accommodate both parties. The participation of small farmers in oil palm cultivation is almost negligible. On the other hand, in gherkin, participation of small farmers was considerable. The contracts are oral and price is not assured in oil palm. In oil palm gardens, the depletion of ground water level is faster compared to other crops. In the case of gherkin, the processing industry is totally dependent on exports for sustenance, which may not be ideal. The establishment of an independent ministry of food processing and department, enacting of contract farming laws and providing for an efficient arbitration in cases of contract violation, encouraging NGOs participation in food processing sector, formation of product-wise farmers' associations, changing the animal slaughter laws and formation of some more agri-export zones for livestock products are some of the recommendations under institutional aspects. In the case of taxes and subsidies, the recommendations are - exemption from sales tax and market cess and relaxation of duties and taxes on packing material industry. Under research and training, large scale publicity to promote processed foods, undertaking demand driven research by developing processable varieties and required equipment, establishing food processing training centers, developing technology for the tiny food processing units, evolving marketing plan covering the recently emerging super markets, DWCRA bazaars, international markets etc., are some of the suggestions. In case of infrastructure, encouraging some large aseptic packaging units, establishment of a radiation technology plant, encouraging private sector in cold storages, precooling units, pack houses etc., establishment of training courses for service and repair of food processing machinery, formation of expert consultant committee and provision of one incubator are the major suggestions. Other major recommendations are provision of insurance facilities to all horticultural crops and livestock products, taking steps to ensure participation of small farmers in the contract farming, launching of a common brand of mango juice and enactment to regulate the feed industry and nurseries in the state.food processing, Andhra Pradesh, India

Socio-economic Impact of Transgenic Cotton

Agricultural and Food Policy,

The seed and agricultural biotechnology industries in India: An analysis of industry structure, competition, and policy options

Since the late 1980s, technological advances and policy reforms have opened up new opportunities for growth in India's seed and agricultural biotechnology industries. The impacts of such changes have been significant in India's cotton sector, but less so for the country's main cereal crops, where both yield and output growth rates have been relatively stagnant. Some public policymakers and corporate decisionmakers are confident that the private sector will help reverse these trends, arguing that the right combination of new technological solutions and progressive policy reforms will unleash a significant increase in private investment in productivity-enhancing products and services. The structure of India's seed and agbiotech industries, as well as the policies designed to support their growth, will be a significant determinant of this expected impact. This paper examines the structure of India's cereal seed and agbiotech industries, its potential effects on innovation and social welfare, and the policies that may improve both industry performance and the delivery of new technologies to resource-poor, small-scale farmers in India's cereal production systems. We focus our analysis on indicators and scenarios within India's agricultural innovation market for improved seed and agricultural biotechnology products. This market includes firms engaged in the development, commercialization, and marketing of new seed-based technologies; it is characterized by a high level of knowledge intensity, relatively high levels of R&D investment, significant barriers to entry, significant levels of regulation, and relatively few products in the market. And it is within this market that factors such as strategic corporate behavior and public policy can affect the balance between a socially desirable rate of innovation, on the one hand, and a socially desirable distribution of the gains from innovation among consumers, farmers, and innovators, on the other hand.Seed markets, Agricultural biotechnology, industrial organization, Cereal crops,

The Ideal Convergence of Strongly of Γ

The aim of this paper is to introduce and study a new concept of the Γ2 space via ideal convergence defined by modulus and also some topological properties of the resulting sequence spaces were examined

The Semi-Difference Entire Sequence Space cs ∩ d 1

Let Γ denote the space of all entire sequences. Let Λ denote the space of all analytic sequences. In this paper, we introduce a new class of sequence space, namely, the semi-difference entire sequence space cs ∩ d 1 . It is shown that the intersection of all semi-difference entire sequence spaces cs ∩ d 1 is I ⊂ cs ∩ d 1 and Γ Δ ⊂ I

Ultrastructural changes in the oocytes and hepatocytes associated with the maturation of gonads in the protogynous spinycheek grouper Epinephelus diacanthus (Valenciennes)

Ultrastructural changes in the oocytes and hepatocytes in the female Epinephelus diacanthus were studied with the progress of maturation. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) observations revealed cytological changes associated with ovarian development. Nucleolus number increased in the perinucleolus stage, which is an indirect indication of increase in protein synthesis with the onset of oogenesis. Zonation of yolk sphere and presence of microvilli in the zona radiata were observed in mature oocytes. In comparison to the immature phase, mature/ripe satge hepatocytes showed greater development of both endoplasmic reticulum and increased density of mitochondria in the cytoplasm which is an evidence of progress in vitellogenin synthesis

Growth performance of litopenaeus vannamei in biofloc treatments grown with different carbon sources

Experiments were conducted with three biofloc treatments and one control in triplicate in 1000 ltr capacity indoor tanks and water level filled up to 600 ltr. Enhanced shrimp growth was noticed in biofloc treatment tanks and a significant difference in the final average body weight of (15.92±0.07g) was found in the wheat flour treated shrimps than those of control group shrimp. The Feed Conversion Ratio differs significantly (P<0.05) between biofloc treatment group and control groups. Lowest FCR (0.5±0.07) was recorded in wheat flour as carbohydrate source biofloc treatment during the experiment. Highest Specific Growth Rate (4.59) was observed in the wheat flour treatment groups than that of other treatments and control groups. Wheat flour utilization as carbohydrate source to biofloc development for rearing of L. vannamei was proved to be the best option among all treatments. All the carbohydrate sources (wheat flour, tapioca flour and molasses) utilized for biofloc treatments indicated highest growth than control treatment

Total Factor Productivity in Andhra Pradesh Agriculture

The variations in the indices of total factor productivity in the crop sector, foodgrain crops and non-foodgrain crops in Andhra Pradesh have been studied, and the contribution of the total factor productivity in the state during 1980-81 to 1999-2000 has been evaluated. Tornquist-Theil Index has been used to calculate the index of total factor productivity. The average annual index of total factor productivity during the post-reform period has been found five per cent less than that during pre-reform period in the state in the crop sector as a whole. In the case of non-foodgrains, it has been found nine per cent less than that during the pre-reform period, while in case of foodgrains, it is less than 100 during both the periods. The contribution of total factor productivity to yield growth has been found to be a healthy 31 per cent in the pre-reform period. An absolute decline (–37) has been noted during the post-reform period in the crop sector of the state. The absolute decline in the contribution of technical change has been drastic in the case of non-foodgrain crops in the state during the post-reform period. This absolute decline in total factor productivity seems to be one of the main reasons for the distress of farmers in the state which has been manifesting in the form of suicides since the late-1990s