WTO Issues + GM Crops Trials + Development Issues

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In This NEWS Bulletin ************************************ On WTO ISSUES ----- 1. India Plans Withdrawal Of Subsidies To Its Farm Sector - NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEET ON AGRICULTURE - Reduce fiscal aid to farm sector, says NDC panel 2. Indian dairy products can compete in distortion-free global market, say experts 3. India's Focus shifts to raw sugar export - As importing countries are setting up high-capacity refineries On GMOs ---- 4. On GM Crop Field Trials - GEAC urged to move Supreme Court 5.

Monsoon sets over Kerala ON DEVELOPMENT ISSUES---- 6. PM worried over rural road works corruption 7. Village road scheme gets vision document 8. Govt set to define role of minorities development corporation ----------------------------- India Plans Withdrawal Of Subsidies To Its Farm Sector NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEET ON AGRICULTURE Reduce fiscal aid to farm sector, says NDC panel http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=165507 ASHOK B SHARMA

Posted online: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, MAY 28: The National Development Council’s sub-panel on agriculture has called for a review and subsequent reduction of fiscal support to the farm sector, particularly subsidies that result in market distortions, resource use efficiency and environment degradation. As an alternative, the sub-panel suggested the resources should be made available to support critical, albeit WTO permissible services like research and extension, pests and disease control, marketing and promotion services, infrastructure development and agricultural insurance. It suggested to the state governments to facilitate direct marketing of farmers’ produces by corporate houses, contract farming and setting up of markets in the private and cooperative sectors. It suggested setting up of a quasi-judicial mechanism to resolve disputes arising

out of contract farming. The chief ministers and members of NDC are slated to deliberate on Tuesday the recommendations of six working groups on agriculture with a view to ensure a annual growth rate of 4% and above in the farm sector. The NDC sub-panel deliberating on WTO issues also suggested that domestic food production should meet global sanitary and phytosanitary norms to ensure food safety. It called for identification of products that are critical for ensuring food security, livelihood and rural development, to take advantage of the flexibilities in terms of tariff cuts that would be provided to Special Products of developing countries in the WTO negotiations. An institutional mechanism should be put in place to take advantage of the new flexibilities being negotiated to safeguard vulnerable producers from a surge in imports or decline in global prices. Policy flexibilities and safeguard

provisions for food and livelihood security and rural development should be meaningfully incorporated in various free trade agreements (FTAs) under operation or being contemplated. The sub-panel also called for strict implementation of the Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act should be strictly implemented as this legislation is consistent with WTO obligations. NDC sub-panel deliberating on technology issues recommended creation of state-of-the-art national institutions for genomics and bio-informatics, molecular breeding, transgenics with a view to make India globally competitive in biotechnology. It suggested launch of an aggressive strategy for developing human capital for R & D in all fields of biotechnology.-------------------------------- Indian dairy products can compete in distortion-free global market, say experts http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=165413 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday, May 28, 2007 at 0107 hours IST NEW DELHI, MAY 27: The gains of white revolution are likely to be wiped out if Indian dairy products do not get adequate access in the global market, which remains distorted due to the subsidy regime of the developed world. India has maintained its lead as the largest producer of milk by producing about 100 million tonne in 2006. Experts say that Indian dairy products can compete in the world market, if the rich countries phase out their subsides, substantially reduce their tariff barriers and do not apply unnecessary stringent non-tariff barriers

like sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) norms and animal welfare-related issues. India can cater for organic milk products which has a growing demand in global market. Also, the demand for ethnic dairy products is increasing. The compendium, Dairy India-2007 has estimated that the domestic market size for dairy products is likely to grow from Rs 227,340 crore (valued at consumer prices) in 2005 to Rs 520,780 crore in 2011—indicating more than doubling of the size. It however said “Managing growth is the challenge before the sector”. “With globalisation of trade and entry of big players in the organised sector, the challenge before the Indian dairy industry is to manage the growth in production, processing and marketing without harming the harbinger of this growth—the small farmer who is the most competitive milk producer in the world,” the compendium said. The father of the white revolution in the country, Verghese Kurien suggested that the future of India’s dairy industry will have to be built on quality and quality alone. The Indian dairy industry must have the latest modern technology for milk processing and product manufacture. “We must define the standards necessary to achieve and maintain world-class quality,” he said. Writing in Dairy India-2007, Kurin endorsed that the merit of the cooperative ideology in co-ordination and balancing fundamental principles of equality, democratic control and practices to maximise social welfare should not be ignored. Unless rural India becomes socially and economically free, there will be no true progress, he said. The managing director of the Mumbai-based Devashree Foods Pvt Ltd, Deepak Jain said in India 70% of milk comes from small , marginal and landless farmers. If we had farms like New

Zealand, then, we would need only 100,000 farmers to produce all of India’s milk. But then what about the livelihood of the balance 69.9 million farmers? Our dairy policies, therefore, will have to continue to focus on improving farm incomes within the smallholder centred approach.” The chairman of the center for management in agriculture in the Ahmedabad-based Indian Institute of Management, Vijay Pal Sharma said “The WTO agreement on agriculture has not yet led to strong changes in dairy policies and dairying still remains a highly protected sector in the developed world. As India moves towards globalisation of agricultural sector, the success of white revolution in achieving self-sufficiency in milk production through millions of rural producers is likely to be threatened due to distortions in the world markets.” The Global Dairy Alliance (GDA), a diverse group of national dairy industries from Argentina,

Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, New Zealand and Australia, has called for elimination of export subsidies within three years. It has also called for strong disciplines on the use of food aid and all other export competition policies like export credit, substantial and progressive improvements in market access for dairy products leading to elimination of dairy product tariffs and tariff quotas. GDA has demanded progressive elimination of all trade-distorting subsidies in developed countries. RS Khanna of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Federation suggested that the government and the dairy organizations install a structure and mechanism to gather market information and intelligence, monitor trends in global dairy markets. These relevant information should help the government to take corrective measures like imposition of anti-dumping duties and suitable hikes in tariff to protect the dairy industry from unfair competition. He suggested that India and

Pakistan can together meet Asia’s need for milk. --------- Focus shifts to raw sugar export As importing countries are setting up high-capacity refineries http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=165414 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday, May 28, 2007 at 0110 hours IST NEW DELHI, MAY 27 : The destination market for Indian plantation white sugar is gradually shrinking with importing countries setting up high capacity refineries. The domestic sugar industry, faced with the situation of surplus production and falling prices, has now planned to export raw sugar in a big way. “Our traditional markets are Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, east African and the Gulf countries. These countries are setting up refineries and will not import plantation white sugar from India,” said SL Jain, director-general, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA). Bangladesh has already set up 8 refineries with a total capacity of 1.5 million tonne. India exports about 800,000 tonne plantation white sugar to Bangladesh. In the previous year India exported about 1.5 million tonne plantation white sugar to Bangladesh. Indonesia has set up 6 refineries with a total capacity of 1.5 million tonne. In Dubai in UAE one refinery of one million tonne capacity has been set up, while in Egypt a 750,000 capacity refinery has been set up. Another factor is that while the global prices of plantation white sugar are on a declining trend that of raw sugar are gradually

appreciating. Sugar export in the current year has been only to the tune of 700,000 tonne against the government’s 1.6 million tonne release order for export. Jain alleged : “the government should make public the release order for exports. The importers become aware that India is going to export sugar in a big way and this causes a slump in global prices.” According to industry estimate, sugar production in the current year is likely to be over 27.7 million tonne against the domestic consumption demand of only 19.5 million tonne. The carryover stock from the previous year is 4.2 million tonne. The surplus stock coupled with falling prices in the domestic market have pushed the industry to a critical situation. The cane price arrears payable to farmers have aggregated to Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60,000 million).---------- On GM Crop Field

Trials GEAC urged to move Supreme Court http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=165327 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online : Sunday, May 27, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, MAY 26 : The developer of transgenic mustard crop and the VC of Delhi University has urged the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) to appeal to the Supreme Court and seek modification of its order on maintaining isolation distance of 200 metres between the transgenic crops under field trials and the normal crop fields. Delivering the 14th BP Pal Memorial Lecture

here on Saturday, Pental , who is also a member of GEAC, suggested a change in the policy approach to facilitate research. He decried the NGOs opposing GM crops as having a west-European or Japanese mindset.He said that both marker-aided selection and transgenic technology was necessary for Indian agriculture.--------- Monsoon sets over Kerala http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=165482 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, MAY 28: The south-west monsoon finally arrived at the Kerala coast on Monday. The onset of monsoon has boosted the prospects for early planting of crops such

as rice, oilseeds, and cotton. The normal time for arrival of the monsoon is around June 1. Weathermen predict good rainfall as the global models have projected 55% chances of emergence of La Nina factor by mid-2007. Rainfall distribution would be uneven with concentration on the west coast and on the middle and upper parts of peninsular India. There had been isolated heavy rainfall over Kerala in the last two days. There was dense cloud cover Arabian Sea causing rainfall. Country’s weathermen were watching the situation and trying to find out whether the monsoon had actually arrived on the mainland. Finally, the official weather forecasting agency, India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared the onset of the monsoon at the Kerala coast on May 28. IMD attributed the present “strengthening and deepening of westerly and southwesterly wind flow

over Arabian Sea and south peninsula and development of an off-shore trough extending from Karnataka to Kerala coast” as the cause for the advancement of the monsoon. South-west monsoon had arrived at the Andaman Seas on May 10, this year, about a week earlier. This prompted the weathermen to predict its entry into the mainland. The IMD after reviewing the situation on May 14 predicted early arrival of the monsoon on May 24, subject to a model error of 3 days on either side. Later on May 23, the IMD said that the arrival of the monsoon would be delayed as the situation was not conducive. The US-based Center for Ocean Land Atmosphere Studies (COLA) had, however, said that the monsoon would touch Kerala coast between May 21 to 28. However, the arrival of the monsoon is on its normal time which is around June 1. The US-based International Research Institute for Climate and

Society (IRI), summing up the forecasts of several statistical and dynamical models, has concluded that the spoil sport, El Nino (warming of Pacific water beyond normal) would recede to pave the way for emergence of the opposite phenomena La Nina. There is a 55% possibility of peak rise of La Nina by mid-2007, IRI said. Rainfall distribution has been significantly uneven since the past two years with heavy rainfall in drought-prone areas and scanty rainfall in flood-prone areas. Meteorologists are trying to establish the cause of this shift in rainfall pattern in relation to the ongoing climate change.- PM worried over road works corruption http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=165054 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online : Thursday, May 24, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, MAY 23: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said corruption in road construction projects had spread like cancer to every corner of the country. Inaugurating a national conference on rural roads here, he said, “I am concerned about the fact that we invest crores of rupees every year in road construction and maintenance and yet, with every monsoon, our roads get worn.” A major reason for poor quality roads was corruption and a lack of quality assurance, he added. Calling for quality assurance and benchmarks similar to those for national highways, Singh said the government would now spend Rs 48,000 crore on a four-year project ending in 2009 to connect 66,000 villages. “Rural road

connectivity is a critical component of our overall strategy for rural development. It promotes access to economic and social services and facilitates the growth processes in our rural economy,” he added. According to data available with the rural development ministry, the government has spent Rs 21,365 crore till April this year on rural roads. Since the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in December 2000, over 1,22,727 km of road has been built and work is in progress in another 1,00,000 km. Besides stressing the use of cost-effective technologies for rural roads, the Prime Minister said, “We need to make road construction as labour-intensive as possible. It has been successfully demonstrated in other countries that intermediate, labour-based methods can be used for construction of rural roads without compromising on quality….This is where I see a synergy

between Bharat Nirman and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme.” He called for a policy and strong institutional framework for mainstreaming these alternatives to the maximum possible extent for expansion and development of rural roads. He outlined the importance of regular maintenance and upkeep of rural roads as a necessary pre-condition for sustaining the benefits of rural road connectivity and promoting decentralized systems for maintenance and management of rural road network. "While we make every effort to mobilise resources for launching new construction projects, we display a remarkably niggardly attitude when it comes to routine maintenance," the prime minister said The deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahaluwalia speaking on the occasion, has said that rural roads were critical for rural infrastructure and for inclusive growth in the country. Rural road

connectivity was the single most determinant to remove poverty because of its direct effect on income generation, he said. He disclosed that the 11th Plan strategy would focus on rural roads and set clear target for rural connectivity under the ongoing Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and Bharat Nirman and funds would be made available for both these programmes. The Union rural development minister, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said time-bound and targeted programmes were in progress to ensure rural road connectivity. He said that more than 1,22,000 km. of roads have been completed under PMGSY so far and that work is in progress in respect of projects covering another 100,000 km. State governments were taking steps to overcome various constraints in the implementation of the programme like contractor shortage, material shortage, he said -------------------------------- Village road scheme

gets vision document http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=164925 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online : Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, MAY 22: The Union ministry for rural development has drafted a vision document for giving a direction to the programme for construction of village roads. This document entitled ‘Rural Roads Plan : Vision-2025’ will be released by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh at a national conference here on Wednesday. A handbook on quality assurance for rural roads will also be released by the vice president, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat at the valedictory session of the three-day conference. Briefing the

mediapersons on the eve of the national conference, the Union minister for rural development, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh strongly defended the achievements of the ongoing rural roads scheme Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). He said that under this scheme more than 122727 km of road work have been completed and the work was in progress for completion of 100,000 km PMGSY is being implemented December 2000 with the total support of the ministry with the aim of providing all weather connectivity to habitations of 500 plus in plain areas and 250 or more habitations in hilly, desert and tribal areas. Up to April 2007 an expenditure of Rs 21,365 crore has been incurred by the government for construction of rural roads, said Singh. Singh lashed out at the Union minister for panchayati raj, Mani Shankar Aiyer for his recent statement that the government was not spending much for public

good. Commenting on Aiyer’s statement, Singh said that the budgetary allocation for the rural development ministry has been increased from Rs 24,000 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 31,000 crore in 2006-07 and to Rs 40,000 crore in 2007-08. He said that the budgetary allocations of his ministry were being effectively used. He alleged that Aiyer has not been able to use the budgetary allocation for 147 districts under the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF). Singh said that PMGSY has come under the Bharat Nirman Programme of the government since 2005 with a timebound programme to provide connectivity to 66802 habitations by 2009 with 146000 km of new link roads. Also 194000 km of existing links are sought to e upgraded. - Govt set to define role of minorities development corporation http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=164977 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online : Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, MAY 22: The government is set to define the role of the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) and align it with the 15- point programme of the Prime Minister. Inaugurating the one day a conference of the NMDFC's state channelising agencies in Capital on Tuesday, the secretary in the ministry of minority affairs MN Prasad the government was committed to provide higher allocations to NMDFC in order to substantially increase the coverage and fulfill the objectives of the prime minister's 15-point programme. He also informed that the government has taken

cognizance of the deficiencies of the state channelising agencies. Accordingly a scheme has been launched for strengthening these agencies in the plan for the current financial year. The scheme was being finalized and would be introduced very shortly, he said. He also said that the government had formed a high level committee of the eminent bankers and financial sector experts to review the functioning of NMDFC. The committee has already submitted their report to the ministry. The ministry would soon take a decision on the panel recommendations. So far the NMDFC has provided loan assistance to about Rs 916 crore to 335,000 beneficiaries. National minorities like Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis are entitled to be beneficiaries.-

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