Adviser and Co-Vice Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Ryhtu Sadhikara Samstha T. Vijaya Kumar having a look at the sama crop cultivated under ZBNF at Baliyaguda in Araku mandal in Visakhapatnam district on Friday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangment
Sonnu gets yield of 6.5 quintals an acre
Following zero budget natural farming, Pangi Sonnu of Araku Valley mandal cultivated sama (little millet) got a yield of 6.5 quintals an acre.
The crop-cutting experiment in a 5×5 square metre plot was conducted at the ZBNF Sama festival at Baliyaguda village on Friday.
The festival was organised by Agriculture Department, Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, Sanjeevini Rural Development Society, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources and Watershed Support Services and Activity Network (WASSAN).
The yield in broadcast farming was only between 2 and 2.5 quintals. Because of transplantation, weeding twice and using ‘jeevamrutham’ (bio fertilizer) following ZBNF the yield has gone up, a press release said.
‘Grow pulses’
Adviser and Co-Vice Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Ryhtu Sadhikara Samstha T. Vijaya Kumar suggested that farmers should grow pulses like red gram and cow pea between rows of millets to enhance soil fertility.
Programme Manager from WASSSAN Sanyasi Rao said sama productivity could go up to six quintals in ZBNF.
State Resource Person (ZBNF) for promoting System of Millet Intensification (SMI) P. Devullu said plans were ready to convert 5 % of sama farmers into SMI. In the tribal region of Visakhapatnam, sama is cultivated in 5,319 hectares.
At a farmers interactive session organised as a part of the event farmers who had grown ragi under ‘Guli’ system shared their experiences.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – November 10th, 2018
ZBNF growers preparing cow-based fertilizer at Padarthi village in Prakasam district. | Photo Credit: KommuriSrinivas
Farmers on cloud nine over dramatic turnaround in fortunes
D. Rama Rao, like other farmers, had been using chemical fertilizers and pesticides recommended by shopkeepers at Kothapatnam. Despite heavy investments, the yield had not improved and his losses kept mounting.
However, after attending a workshop on Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) at Kakinada a couple of years ago, the farmer from Padarthi village in the coastal Kothapatnam mandal switched to the environmentally-friendly practice.
Seeing for themselves the result, a majority of the farmers in the village also returned to the traditional way of cow-centric agriculture made popular by Subash Palekar.
“About 70% of the villagers have now turned ZBNF farmers. We will make our village a model one by persuading the rest of the farmers to take to chemical-free agriculture,” he says in a conversation with The Hindu.
“Now, we prepare cow dung and urine-based concoction with ample use of neem and other natural products for various purposes starting with seed treatment to plant protection,” says another progressive farmer Koteswara Rao, who has taken up groundnut cultivation in sandy loam.
Undoing the damage
“We spray diluted cow urine to get blemishless colocasia crop,” says yet another another armer, Srinivasa Rao. It took two years to restore the soil health damaged by use of chemical fertilizers, adds the proud farmer showing the good number of earthworms in his farm, thanks to adoption of mulching technique.
Large tracts of land once used to be fallow in the village in the absence of assured irrigation.
Now, a variety of crops, including organic vegetables, are grown throughout the year by installing micro irrigation system, they say, adding “we are able to get a better price for the produce from the ZBNF store in Ongole and other places.”
“We will take the natural farming movement to other villages in the mandal,” they say, adding that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who wants to bring six million farmers under ZBNF fold, is their inspiration.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by S. Murali / Ongole – October 31st, 2018
Marci Zaroff, an American and founder-CEO of MetaWear.
An American decides to use blockchain technology to promote ‘ECOfashion’
Setting a trend, she has become an ambassador for eco-friendly textiles. Meet Marci Zaroff, who after completing her specialisation in business management from University of California, Berkeley, coined the term ‘ECOfashion’ by promoting various lifestyle brands.
The American, who is the founder-CEO of MetaWear, a leading sustainable fashion manufacturer, has now decided to use blockchain technology in Andhra Pradesh from sowing seeds to the final product to prove genuineness on organic cotton-growing. She also has plans to replicate it in China, Turkey, Pakistan and Africa in future through partner-NGOs. She is involved in promoting cultivation of organic cotton in various parts among marginalised sections mainly women and tribal people through Chetna, an NGO in Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and Grameena Vikas Kendra in Andhra Pradesh.
During the past one and half decades, through Chetna, 2,500 tonnes of processed cotton was procured and supplied to 30 popular brands in the United States. The value of cotton was put at $5 million. The value of final product was in the range of $30 million to $40 million.
In Andhra Pradesh, she is supporting the launch of a pilot project involving 250 tribal farmers in Gummalakshmipuram in Vizianagaram district.
Expansion plan
Ms. Zaroff has plans to expand it to over 15,000 farmers in five years. During her recent visit, she told The Hindu that they wanted to sequestration of 80,000 to 160,000 tonne of carbon by 2022.
She said implementation of eco-friendly best practices would not only benefit the farmers in getting higher yield but also reduce cost of operation and ensure climate resilient cotton farming.
Ms. Zaroff said the total organic cotton produced in India was 59,470 tonne during 2016-17 growing season. India is on top in the world in organic cotton production followed by China, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Tajikistan.
“We have been successfully selling T shirts, neckwear, legging, bedding, summer clothes and undergarments through various brands by associating at various stages of supply chain be it retailer, branding and stockists,” she said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Santosh Patnaik / Visakhapatnam – October 23rd, 2018
Scuba divers exploring the wreck sites in the sea off Visakhapatnam | Photo Credit: By Arrangement
Tourists visiting Visakhapatnam will soon get to admire the coastline from various angles. A series of tourism initiatives will offer different experiences to travellers and locals. Paragliding will start at the city’s iconic hilltop, Kailasagiri, giving adventure lovers a chance to glide over the cityscape and the Bay of Bengal.
On the occasion of World Tourism Day today, a demo will be held by the team at Livein Adventures. “We have three sets of tandem paragliders and six solo paragliders. The activity depends on the wind pattern. Participants will be in the air for about 15 minutes,” says Balaram Naidu of Livein Adventures. A tandem ride lets one enjoy the thrill of paragliding, without having to learn it. The trial runs by the team which were held earlier this week were a success. “The ideal wind speed is about seven to 13 kilometres per hour,” Balaram adds.
Trials for paragliding being carried out at Kailasagiri in Visakhapatnam | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
After last season’s find of two shipwrecks during scuba-diving explorations off the coast of Visakhapatnam, a team of three dive masters and one instructor is gearing up to search new areas under the ocean. The fresh explorations will be done along the coast of Yendada, Mangamaripeta, till the sea opposite Kailasagiri. The scuba-diving community across the globe has been excited about the recent discoveries. “On an average, we cater to 30 clients for scuba diving in a day during the season (October to February),” says Balaram. The bookings can be done online on Livein Adventures. A scuba-diving academy is underway at Chintapalli in Vizianagaram district and is expected to be operational by November.
Among other initiatives, a skydiving facility will come up by the Rushikonda coast. The initiative, that was recently announced by Himanshu Shukla, CEO-AP Tourism Authority, is a joint venture between Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) and Rajasthan-based Aero Sports Adventure Club. PTDC will support the adventure club by providing infrastructure. The thrill doesn’t end here. Re-launching of heli-tourism services by Visakhapatnam Metroplitan RegionDevelopment Authority is in the pipeline as well. The Ramakrishna Beach recently got a facelift with 100 coconut trees being planted on the three-kilometre sand stretch. Visakhapatnam district saw a footfall of over two crore tourists last year and the recent initiatives are expected to give a boost to its tourism sector.
Log onto: liveinadventures.com
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home>Life & Style> Travel / by Nivedita Ganguly / September 26th, 2018
Threads of nature: Eco-friendly khadi dress material put on display by a group of weavers in Chirala.
Traditional weaving is fading, but enterprising producers in Chirala have taken a green turn
Weavers from Chirala, which derives its name from word chira (sari), have carved a niche for themselves, making silk and cotton fabrics for men and women for centuries.
But the going has been tough in the era of global textile competition, and members of GenX from the community from across the State have been quitting the profession. Many weavers have also been hurt by the GST regime.
But a group of enterprising weavers in the handloom town want to show that some innovation can make things different. They have taken to making organic Khadi dress material for women in a big way.
Even if the khadi dress material is a bit costly, they are in great demand as they are free from chemicals that harm the skin. The dress material made with natural dyes are particular favourites, say the weavers. They have been producing environment-friendly dress material in a span of just three days. What makes some dress material special is that it carries seed remnants.
Guntur cotton
The weavers first came out with eco-friendly khadi shirting material for men. “Encouraged by the good response, we now make dress material — top, salwar and dupatta — from good quality cotton produced by farmers from neighbouring Guntur district,” said Indira Abhyudaya Silk Handloom Weavers Society president B. Shyam Sundar.
But saris are never out of fashion, and the target audience includes youth. “We will soon come out with khadi saris as well, anticipating a good demand from women of all ages,” adds S. Aruna, an expert at producing dress material from the Janarpeta area.
With elections round the corner, new demand is expected. We hope to bag orders from politicians as well as party workers, said B. Balashankar Rao, who takes his consignment of specially-made khadi dress material to “Neta Bazaar.”
Still mostly offline
Though these weavers had launched online marketing, the bulk of the sale happens through Neta Bazaar in Chirala.
The clothes are also popular at handloom expos organised by the Union and State Governments, according to weavers.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News>States> Andhra Pradesh / by S.Murali / Ongole – August 03rd, 2018
A golden jackal in search of prey outside its habitat in the Bandar Reserve Forest area. | Photo Credit: T_APPALANAIDU
Destruction of mangrove cover in Bandar Reserve Forest may trigger man-animal conflict
Destruction of mangrove cover in the Bandar Reserve Forest is forcing the golden jackal (Canis aureus) out of its habitat, triggering a conflict with the local communities.
Recently, The Hindu documented how a young golden jackal was swimming in the brackish waters out of its habitat for prey near the Palletummalapalem village in Machilipatnam mandal in Krishna district.
“We have recorded several golden jackals in the BRF through camera traps. The sighting out of its habitat is a sign of its destruction,” said A. Appa Rao, an expert engaged in the restoration of the mangrove cover.
Aqua ponds
The conservation status of the animal is the ‘least concern’ and it preys on wild crab and fish.
Amid uproar over the aqua ponds, the Vigilance authorities in 2017 recommended to the State government to hand over the 24,363 acres under the BRF and the BRF extension (I to IV) to the Forest department for protection.
Since 1970 (G.O.No. 2204), the BRF has been in the hands of the Revenue department as the final notification to de-reserve the forest land (25,259 acres) was still pending owing to various reasons.
The Revenue authorities, on the other hand, are helpless in preventing the encroachment of the mangrove along the Machilipatnam coastline.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam – July 16th, 2018
Reliance Foundation is bringing all the stakeholders of primary sector on one platform by using technology. | Photo Credit: SPECIALARRANGEMENT
Reliance Foundation’s ICT initiative makes visible impact in East Godavari
Bridging the gaps among the stakeholders of the primary sector by making better use of the available Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is what the Reliance Foundation has been doing for the last six years.
From mere double digit, the number of its stakeholders has now touched the one million mark spreading in about 3,500 villages and hamlets. Launched as a pilot project in East Godavari district in 2012, the services of the foundation have now expanded to all the 13 districts of the State.
Weather updates
“We have been serving farmers and fisherfolk by making use of ICT. From providing weather updates and the satellite data pertaining to the potential fishing zones in the Bay of Bengal to arranging interactive sessions with scientists and subject experts in the video conferencing mode are the free services we are providing to the end users now,” says Chittibabu Nagulapalli, senior manager at the foundation.
Be it choosing the right time for plantation and harvest to the advice on the quantity of fertilizer and pesticide to be used, farmers are depending on the foundation’s call centre without any hesitation. Nearly 20% of the beneficiaries are from East Godavari district.
Video interaction
“Video interaction with the veterinary doctors is best among the services being provided by the foundation. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for us to cart the ailing cattle to the doctor and wait for our turn in the queue by postponing the day’s work,” explains Jalligampala Rambabu, who runs a mini-dairy at Kapavaram.
For fishermen, advance information about the potential zones is the major advantage. “It saves time and fuel as well. At the end of the day, we are able to get significant returns from fishing,” says Dooda Masenu, motorboat owner from Uppada. Information collected from the INCOIS is being disseminated to the stakeholders on their mobile phones. “We can also take the help of the call centre during the sudden climate change when we are in the sea,” he points out.
“All we are doing is to ensure coordination among the departments concerned and making better use of the available technology. Officials and scientists too are evincing interest in taking part in the virtual interactive sessions. We are playing the role of the facilitator,” explains Mr. Chitti Babu.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by K N Murali Sankar / Kakinada – July 03rd, 2018
The point where jasmine is traded at Chandragudem of Mylavaram mandal in Krishna district. | Photo Credit: BYARRANGEMENT
It’s big business with turnover touching IRs. 20 crore every year in Mylavaram mandal of Krishna district
The delicate and elegant flower of blissful fragrance from the tiny mandal of Mylavaram in Krishna district is spreading its scent in faraway places.
Jasmine (jasminum sambac or Bondu Malle in Telugu), and Andhra Pradesh State’s official flower, has become the centre-piece of the agri-economy bouquet of this small mandal as its exports are blooming.
Consider this. According to estimates, the jasmine business exceeds a whopping ₹20 crore during the season – January to September. “Jasmines contribute a significant share in the agriculture economy in Mylavaram mandal, where over 1,000 farmers are directly engaged in its cultivation. Annual turnover has crossed ₹20 crore, given the extent of land under cultivation,” Suresh Vesam told The Hindu.
Mr. Vesam is Director of Nestham, an NGO working on jasmine cultivation and marketing facilities in rural Krishna district.
According to estimates, over 200 acres in the mandal are under its cultivation.
Blooming grace
Realizing the huge demand for this small and graceful flower of fragrance, local farmers have been growing jasmines in big land parcels – up to four to five acres – basketing large quantities in key villages such as Pulluru, Chandragudem and Kothagudem.
On the land, “A majority of the farmers are going for the drip irrigation method which results in a bumper yield. Mylavaram farmers have learnt the technique from Tamil Nadu farmers by adopting best farming techniques,” Horticulture Department Assistant Director N. Sujatha told The Hindu.
“We want our farmers to take every opportunity that is available in the market. We are now witnessing that many traders in Hyderabad would wait for the arrival of jasmines from Mylavaram,” added Ms. Sujatha. Hyderabad is the prime market destination of the Mylavaram farmers, who transport their produce daily by road.
Going places
Looking beyond neighbouring Hyderabad,
“Plans are afoot to export jasmines directly to Singapore from next year through farmers producers’ associations from the Mylavaram area.
“Being Andhra Pradesh State’s official flower will help to tap marketing prospects in other states and abroad,” said Mr. Suersh Vesam.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam – July 02nd, 2018
ZBNF is considered ‘zero budget’ because costs of raising the main crop are offset by the income that farmers earn from intercrops.
Photo: Sayantan Bera/Mint
Vijaywada/New Delhi:
About three years ago, Pawan Kumar, working as an IT professional at Hyderabad, decided to quit his job and return to his village to become a farmer. His father, a small farmer in West Godavari district, tried to discourage him but Kumar who had read about a new method of “natural farming” would not listen.
“My mother cried a lot… they told me no girl would marry a farmer but I am happy I came back. My father was initially reluctant to let me farm even an acre, but now he has allowed me to convert all five acres to natural farming,” says Kumar, 26.
Kumar is among 163,034 farmers in Andhra Pradesh practising zero-budget natural farming or ZBNF, where chemical fertilizers and pesticides make way for locally available cow dung and cow urine, jaggery and pulse flour. These are used to make a fermented culture which stimulates microbial activity in the soil, promoting better plant growth and protect crops against pest attacks.
Mulching, or covering the top soil with crop residues to increase water retention and supply the soil with essential nutrients; and intercropping, say coconut farms with cocoa or banana plantations with yams and pulses are also integral to ZBNF. The method was pioneered by Subhash Palekar, an agriculturalist from Maharashtra and a Padma Shri awardee from 2016.
On 2 June, the Andhra Pradesh government launched an ambitious scale-up of the ZBNF programme to take it to 6 million farmers by 2024. The programme will be promoted by a specialized wing of the government called Rythu Swadhikara Samstha. An interesting innovation here is that the agency has recruited over 100 natural farming fellows—agriculture graduates who are paid ₹30,000 a month to demonstrate the benefits of ZBNF by taking up farming in rented plots and staying in villages to answer farmers’ queries.
The programme will be financially assisted by the Sustainable India Finance Facility (SIFF)—set up jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Agroforestry Centre and BNP Paribas—with targeted investments of ₹16,000 crore over the next six years.
“Our core objective is to scale investments in sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture that are transformative at many levels… we believe the target set by Andhra Pradesh is achievable, but this will require creation of a ‘natural farming’ brand to help market the produce and earn a better value for farmers,” said Satya Tripathi, chair of SIFF.
Driven by the promise of ZBNF, N. Satya Narayana, a farmer from Dommeru Village in West Godavari district converted all of his six acres of banana farm to natural farming last year. “Last month when a hailstorm flattened other farms, mine was unaffected as the plants were strong,” Narayana said, pointing to a bunch of bananas which looked fatter than those grown with chemical inputs. However, some farmers Mint spoke to also said that for field crops like paddy, there is an initial drop in yield which they managed to overcome by selling the produce locally at higher prices.
“Costs come down drastically under ZBNF, but some of the savings are used up by the rise in labour costs to prepare Jeevamrutham (fermented microbial culture which is used as the base fertilizer) and other inputs,” said V. Venkataraman, another farmer.
Crop-cutting experiments, which are conducted to assess yields, showed that ZBNF groundnut farmers’ yields from 2017 were 23% higher than non-ZBNF plots, while for paddy, yields were 6% higher, noted a 2018 brief prepared by the Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water.
“ZBNF is considered ‘zero budget’ because costs of (raising) the main crop are offset by the income that farmers earn from intercrops,” the brief said, adding, “once implemented across all farmlands, ZBNF can have considerable health benefits for over 50 million consumers in the state, who would be able to avoid exposure to inorganic chemicals present in crops.”
“ZBNF makes nutrients locked up in the soil bioavailable.. so consumers find food from natural farming sources to be tastier… studies have shown presence of vitamin B12 in bottle gourd, something the vegetable is never associated with,” said T. Vijay Kumar, adviser, agriculture to the state government and the chief architect of the programme.
But how is natural farming different from organic farming? “In organic and traditional agriculture, cow dung is used as a fertilizer, in ZBNF it is an inoculum… so, dung from one cow is adequate for up to 30 acres,” Kumar adds.
source: http://www.livemint.com / Home> Politics / by Sayantan Beera / June 12th, 2018
A pair of parakeets perched atop the branch of a tree. | Photo Credit: V_RAJU
Conservationists, culture aficionados spar over State bird
The rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula Krameri), known as the ‘Ramachilaka’, is very popular with poets and lyricists. Ideal couples are compared to a pair of parakeets. The male is distinguished by a rose-pink collar. The quintessential female is ‘chilaka’.
‘Chilaka Joshyam’, where a parakeet foretells the stars, is also very popular in the Telugu States.
Though there was general appreciation when the State government had announced the dimorphic bird as the State bird recently, it has also triggered a debate. For ornithologists and conservationists, it is a wrong choice but a right one for those rooted in Telugu culture.
None other than birdman of India, Salim Ali, has something unpleasant to say about them. In his The Book of Indian Birds, he describes it as “highly destructive at all times to crops and orchard fruit, gnawing and wasting far more than it actually eats”. Britain officially declared it as a pest in 2009 and seriously considered culling them in 2016 for displacing the local birds.
The conservationists feel that the new State has lost a great opportunity to project Jerdon’s Courser, which is found only in the State and is highly endangered. It’s locally called ‘Adavi Uthatitti’ meaning ‘jungle empty purse’. Declared extinct in 1900, it emerged eight and half decades later in January 1986. Subsequently, the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary was created to protect it, said former Assistant Conservator or Forest P Gracious. A great message could have been sent by selecting it, he said.
On the other side, there are those like Banaras Hindu University professor Bhudathi Venkateswarlu who contends that the parakeet has a very significant place in the Telugu culture. “Chiluka is the vahana of Manmadha (Indian Cupid). Sweet and pleasant words (chiluka palukulu) are compared to the chattering of the parakeets and finally the fruit half eaten by these birds is considered very sweet,” he says. Activist of Telugu language movement G V Purnachand says though the choice is okay, rooster which ‘reflects Telugu pride’, would have been better.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by G. Venkataramana Rao / Vijayawada – June 08th, 2018
