FARMER OF INDIA

 

 How many people must die before we will end the injustice that marked their lives when they were alive? The inevitable consequence of the neglect and indifference that agriculture has been subjected to is that more of our farmers will die in the coming months too, as they have each month for the last few years -- first by the few, then by the handful, the dozens, and now the hundreds.

Each death is a personal tragedy, one that not only ends the faint hopes that may have lingered to the end, but also leaves survivors behind who are scarred forever and must live with their own burdens. And yet, even the smallest regard -- or respect -- for their deaths does not appear upon the face of our nation's policies towards agriculture and the abject poor who toil our lands.

Agriculture engages more Indians than any other occupation does. Indeed, by most accounts, anywhere between one-half and two-thirds of the people are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood directly or indirectly. In such an overwhelmingly agrarian society, the government's attitude to agriculture is significantly more important than its position on other issues.

Similarly, given this enormous footprint from one line of work, one would expect that the majority of news reports, analysis and commentary from the country's major media institutions would focus on it. Every major news organisation should be crawling with farming types pointing to all sorts of developments; by contrast, other less popular activities should occupy a small corner of space once in every few weeks. Right?

Alas. You would be fortunate to read one-tenth of the coverage of agriculture that is necessary to understand what is really going on with the livelihoods of the nation's majority. By now, the indifference to agriculture has reached such heights that in 'elite' publications, it can hardly be noticed that India is a largely agrarian nation.

But in fact it is, and however much we choose to ignore that, eventually we are forced to confront that reality. The plain truth is that if the news you are reading everyday does not include significant coverage of agriculture, then it is grossly incomplete, and for that reason, bears very little resemblance to the reality of India. Our expressions of surprise at 'unexpected' political developments are in fact more surprising for a different reason -- that we have become so deluded by our minor privileged sphere that we are unable to comprehend what great numbers of Indians experience. The most recent example of this disconnect is the election result in Andhra Pradesh, where the agricultural crisis swept our most celebrated chief minister from a glory that we imagined to near-total irrelevance in the blink of a political eye.

The inattentiveness to agriculture has made it easier for policy decisions to be made that are catastrophically harmful to the rural poor. Two recent developments in agriculture should remind us of this.

In the past fortnight, most news reports of the World Trade Organisation's negotiations on trade in agriculture have declared
progress. Somehow, it seems the developing and developed countries have found a formula by which poor farmers in Third World nations will be protected against the illegal subsidies that US and EU farmers get from their governments. These subsidies have allowed Western producers to lower their prices so much that small Indian farmers simply cannot compete. Reforming this state of affairs has been an absolute must for many years now.

Any progress, therefore, must make the playing field a little more level, one would think. But the WTO doesn't work like that. In Geneva, what matters more is not leveling the playing field, but being able to make an announcement that the arena for competition is now more fair. The actual terms of the deal brokered become unimportant if a loud enough claim is made that the negotiations have been successful. Thus, trade representatives in the US and EU have both been quick to point to the lowering of subsidies in those countries, and this is parlayed around the planet as a breakthrough in the hitherto-stalled negotiations.

But read the fine print. Cuts in subsidies that America and the European Union agreed to are not based on their actual current levels. Instead, they are based on a maximum permitted level of subsidy which is considerably higher than it is now. The 'cuts', therefore, will have no meaningful effect on the amount of money doled out to First World farmers. And understandably, as a result, this 'progress' on paper is unlikely to make any difference to unfair competitive conditions that Indian farmers actually face. They are merely being told to accept that their condition could have been worse, and that their current plight must therefore be seen as a boon in comparison to that worse alternative.

The bait-and-switch is so blatant that one can scarcely believe that this is the outcome of a negotiation. And yet, incredibly, so far I've been able to find only one Indian entity that is unequivocally happy about all this -- the government!

Another example of the under-the-radar developments in agriculture is what's happening with genetically modified (GM) crops. These are plainly risky to public health, and the claims of improved nutrition from them are mostly unproven. Don't take my word for it; that's also what the Indian Council of Medical Research had to say about this recently.

If tests on animals show that a particular gene may be causing stunted growth and damage to the immune system, how happy would you be feeding on this variety of potato? How would you respond to 'nutritional imbalances' from eating your daily diet of GM rice? If the country's leading medical body is concerned about this, shouldn't the government be going slow on providing clearances for planting and sale? The agri-businesses contend that the risks of GM foods must be proven before they can be banned. But is that any way to guard public health? Wouldn't it be wiser to demonstrate their safety first before permitting widespread planting?

Genetically Modified crops have been tested in India in only the most rudimentary manner. The test results aren't public, and the claims aren't verifiable. The few tests that were conducted failed to show any advantage and in some cases actually showed losses compared to non-GM alternatives. So much so that farmers sought compensation from GM seed producers for making false claims. Under those circumstances, why are unapproved GM cotton seeds available so widely in the country, and what are the regulators doing about it? They are supposed to care about Indian consumers' health and about Indian seed security, but what do they actually do when faced with the inconvenient data? They allow further 'testing' of GM crops on such a large scale that it is ridiculous to call it testing anymore.

There's something else you should know about GM foods. The 'high-yielding strains' are touted as the answer to the world's
problems of starvation and malnutrition. But how true is that? The ICMR report notes that three-fourths of genetic modification is for tolerance to herbicides, and another fifth is to ward off insects. Less that 0.1 per cent, in fact, is modification for yield improvement and enrichment of vitamins. What is really being starved is the truth, while GM foods that are banned in many European countries are now being pushed in the Third World under the banner of benevolence.

That, then, is agriculture. Hundreds of millions who depend on it for their livelihood have no way of engaging the secretive
deal-making that devastates their lives. And while this great majority of the nation is steered into a complete corner, the privileged are led by the media on an endless fantasy -- of an India that is growing in economic strength, and about to challenge the global powers and take her 'rightful' place in the family of nations.

That's not going to happen. Not unless we connect the personal fortunes of the rural poor with the ambitions of the privileged few. The increasingly leftist politics that is taking hold in New Delhi is the price of neglecting this connection. Remember India Shining? There's an elementary amount of math to all this. While reality isn't the exclusive domain of one profession or another, when overwhelming numbers of the people are engaged in one line of work, it follows naturally that the particular reality they experience is the overriding reality for the nation as a whole. In this case, the reality that counts is this: countless families face the loss of their livelihood, and thousands of them are driven to such desperation that they have taken their very lives.

Signs Jokes

Signs Jokes

Written above the toilet...
If you think you're gonna miss, please raise the lid before you piss.

Solmon from Oman

solomon,

its called life. there is birth, disease , death for each and everyone of us. and we suffer diffrently as predestined by the all powerful Allah. Have faith in the almighty that wahtever is happening is for good. and do your duties towards yourself,your wife, your children, , your parents , your relatives, your neighbours and your friends diligently. thats it. dont think too much.

remember me in your prayers.

http://www.blogger.com/profile/3242455

 

----- Original Message -----

From: salman

To: saleem

Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 8:28 PM

Subject: Solmon from Oman

Hi,

Salim Ka. I am fine here. read your message and was delighted at knowing all the news.

I am doing lots of work on the computer these days. Making Building plans for clients at the behest of my sponsor/architect.

I love you also from the bottom of my heart and pray that this bond strenghthens further.

But the problem i am facing in life is a new version for me as i have never seen disease, death etc.

.

Invitation from Islamic Finder

thats quite helpful

thanx

http://www.blogger.com/profile/3242455

 

----- Original Message -----

From: shakil

Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 3:03 PM

Subject: Fw: Invitation from Islamic Finder
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Islamic Finder [mailto:info@islamicfinder.org]
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 11:47 PM
To: nonameforme82@yahoo.co.uk
Subject: Invitation from Islamic Finder

 
Assalamu Alaikum!

**Please forward this message to all Muslims you know and remember that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) says "Whoever guides to good, will be rewarded equally".

We are pleased to inform you that IslamicFinder now offers new services to all the Muslims around the world.

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Globalisation

Thats nice !!!
http://www.blogger.com/profile/3242455

----- Original Message -----
From: Alam S.I.
Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 5:31 PM
Subject: Globalisation


> Question:
> > > > >What is the truest definition of Globalisation?
> > > > >
> > > > >Answer:
> > > > >Princess Diana's death.
> > > > >
> > > > >Question:
> > > > >How come?
> > > > >
> > > > >Answer:
> > > > >An English princess
> > > > >with an Egyptian boyfriend
> > > > >crashes in a French tunnel,
> > > > >driving a German car
> > > > >with a Dutch engine,
> > > > >driven by a Belgian who was drunk
> > > > >on Scottish whiskey,
> > > > >followed closely by Italian Paparazzi,
> > > > >on Japanese motorcycles,
> > > > >treated by an American doctor,
> > > > >using Brazilian medicines!
> > > > >
> > > > >And this is sent to me by an New Zealander, and I
> > > > >am an Indian
> > > > >sending it to you
> > > > >using Bill Gates' technology,
> > > > >and you're probably reading this on one of the IBM
> > > > >clones, that
> > > > >use Taiwanese-made chips, and a Korean-made
> > > > >monitor, assembled by
> > > > >Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant,
> > > > >transported by lorries driven by Indians,
> > > > >hijacked by Indonesians,
> > > > >unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen,
> > > > >trucked by Mexican illegals,
> > > > >and finally sold to you by Indians.
> > > > >
> > > > >That, my friend, is Globalisation!
>

BLOND JOKES

Blonde Jokes

On a flight to New York the flight attendant said to a lady sitting in first class, "Ma´am, I'm afraid you'll have to sit in the back since you have a coach ticket." The lady responded, "Listen, I'm a beautiful blonde, I'm going to NY, and I'm sitting in first class."

The two argued for a while but finally the flight attendant went and got the first officer - who came and said, "Ma´am, I'm afraid you'll have to move into the coach section since you have a coach ticket". To which she replied, "Listen, sir, I'm a beautiful blonde, I'm going to NY, and I'm sitting in first class."

After they argued for a while the first officer gave up and went to get the Captain who said, "I'll handle this. I'm married to a beautiful blonde." So - the Captain went right up to her, whispered in her ear, after which she got right up and moved into the coach section.

Both the flight attendant and first officer were shocked and asked the Captain - "I don't get it sir. What did you say to make her move back to coach." To which the Captain said, "Oh that was easy, I just told her first class wasn't going to NY!"

================

There was once a blonde who hated her life and so she wanted to commit suicide. She decided the best place to do it would be in public. So she stood on the sidewalk for hours and hours. A man walks by and asks "why do you have that rope around your waist?" the blonde says, "I put it around my neck and I couldn't breath"

=======================

Rude Jokes

Q. What did the hurricane say to the coconut tree?

A. Hold on to your nuts this is no ordinary blowjob!

===================================

 

SIVIK SYSTEM COST CHART OF A BIO GAS PLANT

02.05.2004 SIVIK SYSTEM IS A LICENSEE OF  BARC BIO GAS PLANT. ENVO is associated with SIVIK system for execution of plants..

HOW TO START UP AND RUN A BIO GAS PLANT

FOR MORE DETAILS

www.envoprojects.com     9899300371 9810004529

STARTING UP A BIO GAS PLANT

POST NUMBER :08   Date : 02/05/2004
BIO GAS PLANT PROCESS DESCRIPTION:

Biotechnology process

stage one : hydrolysis by hydrolytic bactaria, conversion of extracellular molecules

stage two : thermophilic fermentation based on carbohydrates

stage three : synthesis of volatile fatty acids by acetogenic bacteria

stage four : synthesis of methane by methanogenic organisms

STARTING UP A BIO GAS PLANT:

OPERATION OF BIO GAS PLANT

FLOW CHART: CRUSHER(less than 7mm particle size)----thermophilic Aerobic digester(Temp 55 degree C  )---Mesophilic Anaerobic Digester(37 Degree C )---Manure Pit

Aspect	Bottlenecks	Remarks
CONTROLS	Check for Gas leaks	Check hood , pipe etc. Monthly checking of leakage by pressure system and or with soap water
	Cow dung slurry	Make slurry of cow dung and fresh water in the ratio 2kg dung 15 liter water (thumb rule 10% dung of water volume). Fill up the bio digester with the slurry.
	Slurry fermentation	Wait for slurry to form gas. It normally takes 3 to ten days.Gas formation can be seen by rising of floating dome or pressure gauge in fixed dome.
	Start of Feeding	Start fresh feeding after formation of gas. Start with small quantity of feed material in 1:1 ratio. After 15 days, start feeding full capacity.
	Complete Release of first gas produced	Gases should be released to the atmosphere at least three  times at a gap of three days each. It may be needed to be released more till methane percentage of 60% reached .Do a sample bio gas test to know exact position of gas produced.
Technical	Improper preparation of influent solids leading to blockage and scum formation	Proper milling and other treatment measures (pre- soaking, adjustment of C/N ratio); removal of inert particles: sand and stone.
	Temperature fluctuations	Careful regulation of temperature through use of incorporation of auxiliary solar heating system.
	Maintenance of pH for optimal growth of Methanogenic bacteria C/N ratio	Appropriate choice of raw material, regulation of C/N ratio and dilution rate. Appropriate mixing of N-rich and N-poor substrates with cellulosic substrates.
	Dilution ratio of influent solids content	Appropriate treatment of raw materials to avoid stratification and scum formation.
	Retention time of slurry	Dependent upon dilution ratio, loading rate, digestion temperature.
	Loading rate	Dependent upon digester size, dilution ratio, digestion temperature.
	Seeding of an appropriate bacterial Population for biogas generation	Development of specific and potent cultures.
	Corrosion of gas holder	Construction from cheap materials (glass fibre, clay, jute-fibre reinforced plastic) and/or regular cleaning and layering with protective materials (e.g., lubricating oil).
	Pin-hole leakages (digester tank, holder, inlet, outlet)	Establishment of "no leak" conditions, use of external protective coating materials (PVC, creosotes
	Occurrence of CO2 reducing calorific value of biogas	Reduction in CO2 content through passage in lime-water
	Occurrence of water condensate in gas supply system (blockage, rusting)	Appropriate drainage system using condensate traps
	Occurrence of H2S leading to corrosion	On a village scale, H2S removed by passing over ferric oxide or iron filings
	Improper combustion	Proper air gas  mixing appliances necessary
	Maintenance of gas supply at constant pressure	Regulation of uniform distribution and use of gas; removal of water condensate from piping systems; appropriate choice of gas holder in terms of weight and capacity
Residue utilization	Risks to health and plant crops resulting from residual accumulation of toxic materials and encysted pathogens	Avoid use of chemical industry effluents; more research on type, nature, and die-off rates of persisting organisms; minimize long transportation period of un-dried effluent
Health	Hazards to human health in transporting night soil and other wastes (gray-water)	Linkage of latrine run-offs into biogas reactors promotes non-manual operations and general aesthetics
Safety	Improper handling and storage of methane	Appropriate measures necessary for plant operation, handling, and storage of biogas through provision of extension and servicing facilities

DO NOT USE eggshells, Onion peels or left-over bones in this system as they will affect the efficient functioning of the system

Hazards: Methane in a concentration of 6 to 15 percent with air is an explosive mixture. Since it is lighter than air, it will collect in rooftops and other enclosed areas. It is relatively odorless and detection may be difficult. Extreme caution and special safety features are necessary in the digester design and storage tank

POSTED BY SALEEM ASRAF SYED IMDAADULLAH AT 5/02/2004 11:13:00 PM

Cost details, saving and payback period from a biogas plant:

The cost details and the savings envisaged from the plant are given in the following table. The life of the plant could be 20-30 years and payback period is 4-5 years.

Capacity (Tons / Day)	Installation Cost (Rs In Lacks)	Monthly Operation and Maintenance Charges (Rs)	Methane Generation M3	Manure production (tons /day)	Area Required M2	Power	Manpower	Fresh Water (KL /day)	Hot water (Ltr / day of 50-60 C0)	Cooking Fuel (Equivalent to LPG Cyl / day)
1	8-10	8,000/-	100-120	0.1	300	5hp(2hr)	2	2	200	2-3
2	10-12	12,000/-	200-240	0.2	500	5hp(3hr)	3	3	400	4-5
4	20-22	22,000/-	400-480	0.3	700	5hp(3hr)	4	5	400	8-10
5	28-30	30,000/-	500-600	0.5	800	10hp (4hr)	5	7	600	12-14 (25Kw)
10	65-70	50,000/-	1000-1200	2.5	1200	15hp (4hr)	10	15	1000	22-25 (50Kw)

* This is an approximate cost for biogas generation plant and may increase by 10%–20%, depending on location, site-specific parameters, cost of materials, labour cost, etc., in different states/cities. Cost of additional infrastructure like office space, toilets, security, Godown, Shades and power generation will be extra, if required.

Rs – rupees; m3 – cubic meters; m2 – square meters; h – hour; kL – kilolitre; LPG – liquefied petroleum gas; kW – kilowatt; cyl –