From: bcsabha.kal...@gmail.com To: http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=76919&boxid=28023&ed_date=2015-03-15&ed_code=820009&ed_page=3 Untimely rain may kill Alphonso 2nd seasonFarmers advise mango lovers to buy it in April itself, instead of waiting for May-June as usual Sudhir Suryawanshi @ss_suryawanshiMumbai: If you want to taste the ‘king of Konkan’, the Alphonso mango, this season, do it early.Though the first season of the Alphonso mangoes, in April, will go off well, farmers say getting the mangoes for the second season – in May and June – will be difficult.Premature rains in the region has badly affected the second season.“The first batch has arrived in the market. The current rate is between Rs 300 and Rs 1,000 per dozen. Untimely rains have damaged almost 30% crops. It will affect supply in the coming days. Normally, in the healthy season, we do not get damaged fruits,” said Sanjay Pansare, director at Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC).Pansare himself is a wholesale mango dealer.What’s the buying pattern?Normally, people wait till May and June to get the mango at cheaper rates. “But this year, there will not be a good second season. Therefore, mango lovers should enjoy their favourite fruit now,” says Pansare.Will the price increase?European countries have lifted the ban on mango imports from India. “We are exporting 17,000 boxes each day. Most of them are going to Gulf and Western countries. Very soon, European countries will also start importing the Alphonso. The high demand will lead to price rise,” a mango seller at APMC said.Why did Europe ban imports?The ban was imposed last year after they found some fruit flies. “Actually, in Konkan mangoes, there are no fruit flies. They are found mostly in mangoes grown in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Farmers in these states go for multiple crops. In Konkan, we do not follow a multiple crop pattern. Therefore, we get good quality mangoes,” Dinesh Sawant, a Konkan farmer, said.What about vegetable prices?APMC gets abundant supply of vegetables. As a result, rates are normal. “We receive 700 truckloads a day against the normal supply of 500. Also, due to untimely rains, farmers are bringing the produce to market early,” said Shankar Pingale, APMC director.Published Date: Mar 15, 2015========http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=76919&boxid=28047&ed_date=2015-03-15&ed_code=820009&ed_page=3 Rains hit crops in Nashik, 9,000 farmers affected Vaishali Balajiwale @dnaNashik: Incessant rains, hailstorm and strong winds have caused heavy damage to crops here. Since Friday, 9,400 farmers have been affected, with Sinnar the worst-hit.This is for the fourth time in a fortnight that bad weather is hitting crops. The bout of rains that began on Thursday continued through Friday and Saturday.Crops like pomegranate, gram, onion, grapes and maize were washed out.Nashik district saw 400mm of rainfall between Thursday and Friday. Nashik received the highest (78 mm) rainfall, followed by Sinnar (42mm), Kalwan (40mm) and Niphad 41mm.“Rabbi crop has been hit the worst, with grapes, onion, wheat, pomegranates and others also being severely,” said collector Jiteendra Kakuste. lMore reports, P2Published Date: Mar 15, 2015=======http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=76917&boxid=29327&ed_date=2015-03-15&ed_code=820009&ed_page=4 Nature’s fury still haunting NashikShift in polar jet stream, caused by decrease in sun’s activity, leading to unseasonal rains Vaishali BalajiwaleThe vagaries of nature have been causing problems for farmers and the crops repeatedly in the past few years. Unseasonal rains and hailstorm in Nashik district have been witnessed over the past three-four years.The present situation of rains and hail showers has been caused by the shift of polar jet stream, the winds blowing from west to east, southwards. Explaining this Shriniwas Aundhkar, director at Mahatma Gandhi Mission, Centre for Astronomy and Space Technology, Nanded said, “A a normal pattern the polar jet streams blow in India from Afghanistan and Pakistan and cross over Madhya Pradesh and Kanpur. As such the northern regions normally experience unseasonal rains and snow. However, as the north pole is experiencing more snowfall and so are regions up north in India, these winds are being pushed southwards due to the pressure. Presently they are seen blowing over Gujarat and western and central Maharashtra. Hence the hailstorms these regions are experiencing rains and hail storm”.This phenomenon has been witnessed for the last two-three years and has been observed seven-eight times this year itself. He added that the activity on the sun is affecting the earth.“If we observe the last two sun cycles where the sun activity is noted in the form of formation of sunspots it can be seen that normally the range of a sun cycle for sunspot activity is seen over a period of 11-11.5 years. However, the 23rd cycle from 1996 to 2009 ranged for 13-13.5 years. The 24th cycle is going on.In the 23rd cycle more than 170 sunspots were noted. This meant that the sun was active.However, in the present cycle, not more than 70 spots have been noted thus far, leading to the conclusion that there has been adecrease in the sun’s activity.“The sun is probably undergoing load shedding,” Aundhkar states.He further explains that as a result of this decreased sunactivity, the north pole is experiencing heavy snow for long periods which is also seen in northern areas of the world as well as in the Himalayas and Kashmir in India. The winters are getting colder and the snow heavier.Aundhkar further forecasts that as a result of all this the Indian summer will not be as hot as expected, and the weather will be extreme: the monsoon will be harsh on Marathwada, Vidarbha and Telangana, and the winters will be stronger; in fact, by 2018, we may see snow in Delhi, he said.Published Date: Mar 15, 2015=====http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=76908&boxid=25235&ed_date=2015-03-15&ed_code=820009&ed_page=5 For Maharashtra farmers, it’s a feeling of déjà vu Sudhir Suryawanshi @ss_suryawanshiNothing seems to have gone right for farmers in the current financial year. It began with a delayed monsoon. When it came, the rainfall was scanty. Just when the farmers were preparing to move on, with whatever they could grow, they were struck by repeated spells of unwanted, unseasonal rains – three in as many months, to be precise. The effect has been cataclysmic, with extensive damage to wheat, corn, onions, grapes, mangoes, etc.With their money and hard labour gone down the drain during both kharif and rabi seasons, the farming community in Maharashtra is staring at a grim future. The disasters have pushed most of them to the brink of bankruptcy.People have either postponed or called off daughters’ marriages. More and more students are dropping out of schools and colleges in rural belts. With no money to support families and livestock, scores of farmers will soon end up in dingy corners of big cities, looking for odd jobs. Those with low threshold may choose to take the extreme step: ending their lives.This human tragedy has been a regular feature across Maharashtra for past many years. It’s high time the state and the Centre took urgent and concrete steps to save lives and families. The situation in Marathwada has been so bad that it has emerged as the epicenter of farmer suicides this year.The farmers were pinning their hopes on the newly elected BJP government, especially with a young chief minister at the helm of affairs. However, their patience is wearing thin as they are being given promises after promises by CM Devendra Fadnavis and various leaders from ruling parties.To express solidarity with the farmers, Fadnavis recently spent a night at a farmer’s house. But one doesn’t know if he has really won their trust again in the absence of any tangible action. Take the case of Sanjay Patil. The 49-year-old farmer from Jalgaon lost his entire crop in hailstorm in November. Despite promises of compensation made in the winter session of the assembly in Nagpur, Patil and hundreds of farmers are yet to get any relief.If this is the pace at which the government functions, then when will farmers from Konkan, Khandesh and Western Maharashtra – areas hit by the latest spell of hailstorm and unseasonal rains – get any help is anybody’s guess.What is holding up the government from doling out compensation packages? There is no concrete answer. All one can get is different versions. Babus say they have sent proposals to the Centre thrice, but in vain. BJP leaders say while the Centre has agreed to help, they are clueless about when it will be coming.In the absence of clear answers,one can only surmise: there is a huge communication gap between the state andCentre; state doesn’t have much influence upon Delhi; or the Centre is least bothered about the ordeal of farmers in Maharashtra.PM Narendra Modi often claims that he is for the farmers and will not take any decision against them. Isn’t it the time the farming community badly needs government help? Opposition Congress-NCP are holding press meets to rake up the issue, but they don’t seem to be loud enough to draw the government’s attention.Some leaders in the ruling party say there is no money in the government’s coffers to help the farmers. If the state continues to receive untimely rain and hailstorm, then it will lead to a much bigger agrarian crisis. The government must work on short-term as well as long-term plans to tackle the situation. Farmers say they have a strong sense of déjà vu.To begin with, the government should direct the administration not to recover loans and interests from the farmers. It should extend tenure of loan repayment and make immediate arrangement for additional financial help so that the farmers can get back on their feet and prepare for the next season. At the same time, the government can implement weather-based forecasting of crop yields and updating the farmers in advance about weather bullies through text messages.Published Date: Mar 15, 2015=======
