Marketing of Milk in Various Agro-climatic Zones of Jammu and Kashmir

The study has examined the prevailing marketing system, utilization, marketed surplus / consumption, channels of distribution, processing / demand and supply scenario of milk in Jammu and Kashmir. The study is based on the primary data collected from 150 households rearing milch animals, 20 vendors and 20 milk shops from each delineated agro-climatic zones, besides qualitative and quantitative information obtained from co-operative / private dairy owners involved in milk trade. Crossbred cows have been found to have higher productivity than of buffaloes and indigenous cows. Marketed surplus as percentage of total production varies from 68 per cent in intermediate zone to 73 per cent in sub-tropical zone. Overall, sale price of milk has shown a highly erratic trend, irrespective of the zone. Per capita milk consumption varies from 338 g/day in intermediate zone to 569 g/day in sub-tropical zone and is higher in each zone than minimum quantity recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Producer share in consumer rupee has been found highest in channels I and IV. The dairy cooperative, a most significant market functionary in milk trade, is either missing or handles meagre quantity of milk. The study of milk processing has revealed that profit per litre in packaged milk is encouraging. Also, organized sector meets only 21.76 per cent and 16.32 per cent demand of the cities and towns of Kashmir and Jammu divisions, respectively. The study has suggested that an integrated dairy development project should be implemented in the state to boost milk production with regular / remunerative market to the milk producers and to capture a major share of urban milk markets with regular supply of quality milk.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Marketed Surplus and Price Spread of Vegetables in Kashmir Valley

The paper has reported the growth of vegetable sector in relation with technology mission, extent and determinants of marketed surplus and price spread of vegetables in the Kashmir valley. A substantial increase in the area and production of vegetables has been observed under Mini-Mission-II scheme of Technology Mission. At the farm level, vegetables have been observed to occupy an important place in the cropping pattern. The intensity of cropping in the study area has become more than 250 per cent due to multiple cropping of vegetable crops. On an average, producers’ marketed surplus has been found more than 92 per cent of the total production of selected vegetables. The estimates of regression function have revealed that the production, area under improved varieties, net price received by producers and education level are the significant and positive determinants of marketed surplus, while spoilage at farm level and consumption have shown a negative contribution. The price spread of vegetables with respect to various marketing channels has indicated that the producers’ share has an inverse relationship with the number of intermediaries. The net price received by the producers is relatively higher in the channels in which the produce is directly sold to the consumers or retailers. Across different vegetables, producers could receive higher absolute net returns in tomato, followed by brinjal and cauliflower in all the channels. The study has suggested that the coverage of technology mission should be expanded to other niche areas of vegetable cultivation. The study has also highlighted the needed effective measures to reduce marketing losses at various stages. Study has emphasized on the strengthening of institutions, establishment of processing units and development of market infrastructure in the area.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Effect of incorporation levels of oat and green pea flour on the properties of an extruded product and their optimization

An extruded product was made based on oats and dried green pea using central composite rotatable design. Effects of incorporation level of oat flour (OF, 15.86 to 44.14%) and dried green pea flour (DGPF, 7.93 to 22.07%) on the physical and functional characteristics of extruded products based on composite flour were studied using response surface methodology. Second order polynomial equation was used to describe the effect of OF and DGPF on lateral expansion (LE), bulk density (BD), water solubility index (WSI), water absorption index (WAI), and hardness (HD). Results indicated that OF had negative effect on LE, while positive effect on BD, WSI, WAI, and HD. On increasing DGPF, LE and WSI increased, but it had negative effect on BD, WAI, and HD. Numerical optimization resulted in 41.91% OF and 7.93% DGPF to produce acceptable extrudates. The results suggest that oats and dried green pea flour can be extruded with rice flour and corn flour into an acceptable snack food

Rapid synthesis of Tb3+-doped gadolinium oxyhydroxide and oxide green phosphors and their biological behaviour

Green phosphors based on terbium doped GdOOH and Gd2O3 powders are prepared through a rapid microwave-assisted solution based method using ethanol as a solvent and without using anysurfactants. The as-prepared Tb3+:GdOOH powders are crystalline and show a flower-like morphology comprising many two-dimensional flake-like structures. The as-prepared powders show good luminescence properties under UV excitation and their conversion to Tb3+:Gd2O3 by annealing takes place at modest temperatures. A considerable increase in luminescence intensity is observed for the annealed powders, which is ascribed to phase change from oxyhydroxide to oxide as well as an increase in crystallinity as a result of annealing. Cytotoxicity studies reveal that the as-prepared powders show considerable toxicity towards the cells, whereas the annealed powders do not hamper the cell growth.

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Marketing of Milk in Various Agro-climatic Zones of Jammu and Kashmir

The study has examined the prevailing marketing system, utilization, marketed surplus / consumption, channels of distribution, processing / demand and supply scenario of milk in Jammu and Kashmir. The study is based on the primary data collected from 150 households rearing milch animals, 20 vendors and 20 milk shops from each delineated agro-climatic zones, besides qualitative and quantitative information obtained from co-operative / private dairy owners involved in milk trade. Crossbred cows have been found to have higher productivity than of buffaloes and indigenous cows. Marketed surplus as percentage of total production varies from 68 per cent in intermediate zone to 73 per cent in sub-tropical zone. Overall, sale price of milk has shown a highly erratic trend, irrespective of the zone. Per capita milk consumption varies from 338 g/day in intermediate zone to 569 g/day in sub-tropical zone and is higher in each zone than minimum quantity recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Producer share in consumer rupee has been found highest in channels I and IV. The dairy cooperative, a most significant market functionary in milk trade, is either missing or handles meagre quantity of milk. The study of milk processing has revealed that profit per litre in packaged milk is encouraging. Also, organized sector meets only 21.76 per cent and 16.32 per cent demand of the cities and towns of Kashmir and Jammu divisions, respectively. The study has suggested that an integrated dairy development project should be implemented in the state to boost milk production with regular / remunerative market to the milk producers and to capture a major share of urban milk markets with regular supply of quality milk

Marketed Surplus and Price Spread of Vegetables in Kashmir Valley

The paper has reported the growth of vegetable sector in relation with technology mission, extent and determinants of marketed surplus and price spread of vegetables in the Kashmir valley. A substantial increase in the area and production of vegetables has been observed under Mini-Mission-II scheme of Technology Mission. At the farm level, vegetables have been observed to occupy an important place in the cropping pattern. The intensity of cropping in the study area has become more than 250 per cent due to multiple cropping of vegetable crops. On an average, producers’ marketed surplus has been found more than 92 per cent of the total production of selected vegetables. The estimates of regression function have revealed that the production, area under improved varieties, net price received by producers and education level are the significant and positive determinants of marketed surplus, while spoilage at farm level and consumption have shown a negative contribution. The price spread of vegetables with respect to various marketing channels has indicated that the producers’ share has an inverse relationship with the number of intermediaries. The net price received by the producers is relatively higher in the channels in which the produce is directly sold to the consumers or retailers. Across different vegetables, producers could receive higher absolute net returns in tomato, followed by brinjal and cauliflower in all the channels. The study has suggested that the coverage of technology mission should be expanded to other niche areas of vegetable cultivation. The study has also highlighted the needed effective measures to reduce marketing losses at various stages. Study has emphasized on the strengthening of institutions, establishment of processing units and development of market infrastructure in the area