Agri culturw

Agriculture:

Weather and climatic information plays a major role in the entire crop cycle right from selecting the most suitable crop/variety upto post‐harvest operations and marketing. It helps farmers in the following manner:

• It helps in devising agronomic strategies to cope with the effects of erratic and adverse weather on agricultural production. For example, delay in the start of crop season can be countered by using short duration varieties of crops.

• Soil moisture can be exactly determined from climatic water balance method. This can be used to diagnose the soil moisture stress, drought and necessary protective measures such as irrigation can be undertaken.

• Management of crop involves various farm operations such as, sowing fertilizer application. Plant protection, irrigation scheduling, harvesting etc. can be carried out on the basis of specially tailored weather support. For this the use of operational forecasts, available from agro met advisories, is made. Example‐ o Weeding harrowing, mulching etc. are undertaken during dry spells forecasted. o Fertilizer application is advisable when rainfall is not heavy and soil moisture is between 30 to 80%.

• Suitable crop models, devised for the purpose can provide information or predict the results about the growth and yield when the current and past weather data is used. This can lead to better land and water management.

• Better planning for transportation and storage of final produce can also be done.

Hence, the meteorological information may help the farmer make the most efficient use of natural resources, with the aim of improving agricultural production; both in quantity and quality.

Rainfall in India is becoming less frequent but more intense, which is increasingly affecting the use of natural resources and agricultural production.



Farmers are ill‐prepared for the consequences of climate change. In this context it becomes important for the information system to be effective and inclusive for climate smart agriculture. The following steps can be taken:

•the information needs to be combined and provided with other environmental information such as ground cover, soil type, soil organic matter, soil radiation, soil temperature, soil moisture and long‐term drought conditions.

• More investment by government and private sector to strengthen the agriculture extension services and information system of the country is the need of the hour.

• To make information system more inclusive following steps can be taken:

o Increasing the flow of information between national and local levels – through institutions such as extension and weather information services.

o Local knowledge, as well as the capacity to link research and local activities should be strengthened.

o Supporting effective risk management at the farm level through coordinated actions that may include insurance, safety nets, income diversification and storage capacity.

Plantation Agriculture:

Plantation agriculture is a form of commercial farming where a limited number of cash crops like sugarcane, tea, cocoa, tobacco, are grown in large farms for profit. It is generally found in tropical and subtropical regions.

Features of Plantation Agriculture:

• It is undertaken over large estates, covering thousands of hectares.

• It is labour and capital intensive.

• It lays emphasis on single crop specialization (monoculture), using scientific techniques.

• crops grown have a long life cycle and take years to mature, but afterwards they are productive for long periods.

• It is generally export‐oriented activity, and thus requires good transportation infrastructure.

Problems faced by plantation agriculture:

• Climatic hazards: Generally, climatic requirements of crops include constantly high temperatures, high relative humidity and very heavy rainfall, which affect and lower the labour productivity.

• Prevalence of diseases and insect pests: High temperatures and humid conditions encourage the growth of insects and bacteria and also the spread of diseases

• Rapid deterioration of tropical soil: Overexploitation and absence of crop rotation.

• Destruction of bio‐diversity: Most of the plantation farms are set‐up by clearing the forests.

Due to favorable climate and landscape in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Kerala, etc., considerable area has come under palm‐oil plantation.

Benefits of the oil palm cultivation:

• High yield per hectare: Oil Palm is one of the world's most efficient crop in terms of yield of vegetable oil per hectare and today it is largest source of vegetable oil in the world.

• Labour intensive, thus providing employment opportunities to semi‐skilled and un‐skilled people.

• Potential for utilization of wastelands.

Challenges faced by the oil palm cultivation:

• North Eastern States need additional investment in land preparation due to hilly terrain.

• Large investment farmers are reluctant

• Lack of adequate participation of private entrepreneurs/Cooperative bodies/Joint ventures for large scale plantation.

• Humanitarian concern for plantation labourers Poor living and working conditions, coupled with very low wages. Lack of basic facilities like healthcare, education, potable water etc. Vulnerability to communicable diseases No fora to share problems in the absence of trade unions

• Environmental concerns Tropical forest destruction and consequent bio‐diversity loss. Slash and burn for palms lead to increased emission of green‐house gases.

Promoting palm cultivation through initiatives like NMOOP (National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm) will help in utilization of wasteland for palm cultivation, attract corporate bodies towards oil palm and is crucial in reducing India‘s import bill for edible oil. Also, it is important to effectively implement the Plantation Labour Act (PLA), 1951 so that socioeconomic development of plantation labourers is adequately taken care of.




Sea farming

it refers to aquaculture of organisms for food or other products in Open Ocean, an enclosed section of the ocean, or in tanks, ponds which are filled with seawater. The choice of a particular cultural system for sea farming depends on several factors such as existing natural conditions, availability of financial support and education/training level of fishermen. Several cultural systems commonly adopted include:

•Pond Culture in marine and brackish waters (Ponds are fed sea water either as tidal ponds or by pumping)

•Floating Raft Culture ‐using floating rafts for shallow‐sea farming

•Pen Culture‐ in intertidal areas where low fences and water gates are built

•Mud Flat Culture‐ especially suitable for farming benthic species

•Inshore cage culture –very popular world‐wide, especially in Asia. (cage is usually made of wood or steel and covered with net or meshes) •Offshore Cage Culture

Sea farming has become a promising area of aquaculture and contributing substantially to the increased demand for highvalue seafood items in the global market. Countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia have gone far ahead in sea farming while India has not realized its potential yet.

In India, there is urgent need to enhance the earning capacity of the people living along the coastal areas. Sea farming through large scale seaweed cultivation is being considered as an alternate and additional means of livelihood. Seaweed is considered as one of the best sources of food, fodder, fertiliser, medicine and chemicals. Its extract is widely used in toothpaste, ice cream, tomato ketchup, textile printing and various other industries and thus its adaption has potential of providing sustainable livelihood.

Apart from it, the prospects and potential realization pertaining to sea farming in India lie in 7517 km of coastal boundary and well developed continental shelf. In the year 2015‐16 marine fish production in the country stood at 3.58 million tonnes against the potential yield of 4.41 million tonnes estimated for India’s EEZ. India required aiming for one million tonnes of marine fish production through sea farming in next ten years.

Sea farming will have three benefits

1. increase in the farmers income

2. there will be progress in the country’s export and GDP

3. it will ensure nutritional and food security in the country. Challenges in adoption of this technique:

•Coastal aquaculture in the open water requires statutory support as well involvement of local communities which will be a tedious task.

•Streamlining the technology for commercially important species and identifying the products and markets for such species require special attention.

•Coastal aquaculture enterprises in India are primarily operated by small and marginal farmers and financing sector is not too ambitious about aquaculture projects.

•Managing open sea cage culture farms is one such area in which expertise is not readily available in India.

•Challenge in diversification as right now shrimp and scampi culture is occupying major percentage.

•Long term environmental impacts need to be studied beforehand. For instance there is an urgent need to study environmental impacts of marine farm wastes from cage cultures, genetic pollution, habitat modification concerns etc.