Cotton blues and Soil degradation

1. As reported on this blog earlier, farmers are finding it difficult to sell cotton at MSP fixed by the government. Farmers who are in desperate need of money are selling for whatever they are getting as it is impossible for the CCI to go in every nook and corner of the country. Government, however, is doing its part of bailout announcements. This time it is mulling a bailout package for the cotton industry.

2. Some news from Karnataka agriculture: Sugarcane growers are cribbing on getting lesser prices than fixed by government. One of the ministers says that 40 percent of Karnataka's soil is degraded. The noted soil scientist J. C. Katyal, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Choudhary Charan Singh Agricultural University (Haryana), said the root of the problem has been traced to degradation of soil quality. If the soil lacks any nutrients, the agricultural produce grown on it will also suffer from nutrient deficiency and ditto with people who eat these produce, he said.

Wireless sensors, Equitool for organics

1. A scientist of Indian origin, along with his team, is developing wireless transceivers and sensors that would collect and send data about soil moisture within a field. The sensors could help researchers understand precisely how water moves through a field, develop better models to predict crop growth and yield and understand the carbon and nitrogen cycles within soils, as well as help farmers manage their nutrient and water resources, which could maximize yields and profits, and minimize environmental impacts.

2. Equitool is a tool to help decision-makers assess whether an organic production and processing standard applicable in one region of the world is equivalent, ie not identical but equally valid, to another organic standard. It will help streamline acceptance of products that are traded internationally according to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).