AgriNews

Daleys Fruit Tree: 3 Mistakes You Make When Choosing Fruit Trees

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:02:00 +0000

Daleys Fruit Tree: 3 Mistakes You Make When Choosing Fruit Trees

UAF campus at Vehari next year

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 09:30:00 +0000

VC says the university administration also planned to open its campuses in Bahawalnagar, Layyah and Mandi Bahauddin. PHOTO: FILE

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FAISALABAD:

The University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) will set up its new campus in Vehari district, Vice Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said on Friday. He was addressing a meeting of the dean’s committee at the New Syndicate Hall.
The VC said that undergraduate classes will begin at the Vehari Campus in 2013.
He said the university administration also planned to open its campuses in Bahawalnagar, Layyah and Mandi Bahauddin to provide education opportunities to students from the under developed areas.
Dr Khan said that the UAF had a great track record of setting up three universities- PMAS Arid Agricultural University, Rawalpindi; UVAS, Lahore; and Ghazi University in Dera Ghazi Khan. He said the Toba Tek Singh campus would become an independent university soon.
Prospects Development & Utilisation of Alternative Energy in Pakistan
A two-day Agricultural Engineers’ Moot began at the UAF on Friday.
The event is being jointly organised by the UAF Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology and the Pakistan Agricultural Society (PSAE).
On the first day, a PSAE business meeting was held at the New Senate Hall. It was presided over by PAES president Mushtaq Ahmad Gill.
Speakers and participants discussed matters relating to the amendments in the Constitution, the establishment of PSAE headquarters, the launch of the society’s website and a monthly newsletter. On the second day (today), a seminar on Prospects Development and Utilisation of Alternative Energy in Pakistan will be held at the Iqbal Auditorium.
Dr AQ Mughal, vice chancellor of the Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, and Dr M Abbas Chaudhary, vice chancellor of the University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, are expected to address the seminar. They will highlight probable solutions for the energy crises.
The seminar will be followed by an agricultural machinery exhibition.
An engineers’ night based on performances by members of the UAF young agricultural engineering society will mark the closing of the event.
A winter flower exhibition will also be organised today at the Institute of Horticultural Sciences.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2012

Green tractors: 15 tractors given to farmers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 09:27:00 +0000

BAHAWALPUR: Fifteen tractors were handed over on Tuesday to farmers in Bahawalpur, Yazman and Ahmadpur East in accordance with Green Tractor Scheme. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Mian Baligur Rehman handed the keys of the tractors in a ceremony.
Rehman said the chief minister had decided to offer farmers a Rs200,000 subsidy on each tractor. He said a total of 439 tractors will be given this year. He said a 15 per cent additional quota had been allotted for farmers in southern Punjab. He said agriculture was the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. The Agriculture EDO said as many as 312 tractors had been distributed through a ballot by now. He said the Bahawalpur district had received a Rs878 million subsidy to provide the tractors.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2012

Plant diseases: Workshop stresses promotion of scientific techniques

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 08:09:00 +0000

Published: December 23, 2012

Injudicious spray of insecticides on plants dangerous to human health. PHOTO: AFP

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FAISALABAD:

There is a dire need to promote scientific techniques to control plant diseases, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), Faisalabad, Director General Dr Noorul Islam said on Saturday. He was addressing a workshop on the subject.

He said viral diseases spread from nematodes significantly decreased the production of vegetables.

The scientists should evolve new techniques in addition to educating the farming community to control nematodes so that the country could become self-reliant in food.

Punjab Agriculture Research Board Project Director Dr Nazeer Javed said a project had been launched in collaboration with the AARI and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) to eliminate nematodes.

He said the project would help introduce new scientific techniques to develop resistance in crops against the diseases.

He said that injudicious spray of insecticides on plants was dangerous to human health.

He said this project would help evolve techniques to control some of the plant diseases without resorting to spray. AARI Plant Pathology Research Institute Director Altaf Husain also addressed the workshop.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2012.

Pakistan may Start importing Indian Tractors next year

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 06:04:00 +0000

Unlike a lot of industries, the local tractor industry is not war of opening of trade with India. In fact, it is looking forward to it. Universal Traders are in talks with an Indian counterpart to start importing tractors to Pakistan once the negative list is phased out and trade with India opens up next year.

Escorts Limited and Universal Tractors of Pakistan will collaborate next year to import 7,500 tractors. It is interesting that the two companies have been working together since 2003. However because of the ban on imports from India, these tractors were being imported from sister concerns of the Indian company from Norway and the US, at much higher cost.

The two companies are now hopeful that with the removal of the negative list tractors will be legally imported from India which will also help in combating smuggling.

The tractors will not be imported as a CKD and assembled in Pakistan. The assembly plant was commissioned under the tenure of former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and is already at an advanced stage of completion. Rajiv Kumar, Head of Exports at Escorts Limited spoke to The Express Tribune said that his company is already exporting to over 60 countries. Kumar also said that the company was initially set up in partnership with Ford in the 1960s. Ford left India in 1996 and since then the company is a full-fledged Indian enterprise. The company started off with an annual production of 20,000 tractors which has now gone up to 80,000. Basically this means that an Escorts tractor is manufactured every four minutes. The total Indian market for tractors is 650,000 a year.

Kumar also said that where Indian tractors would prove beneficial in overcoming the shortfall in the demand for tractors in Pakistan, there was no reason why Pakistani tractors could not make a foothold in the vast Indian market. He also spoke about the possibility of assembling in Pakistan for further onward exports.

Managing Director of Universal Tractors Pakistan, Muhammad Iqbal told The Express Tribune that they had imported 100 Indian tractors since 2003 through their European and American enterprises. He further said that once the negative list was phased out they planned on importing 28,500 tractors over the next three years. Iqbal also said that with the shortfall in demand of 20,000 tractors annually in Pakistan, imports from India would benefit agriculture. He said that Indian tractors were not more expensive than local tractors and would become even cheaper after local assembly.

Iqbal said that at present Pakistan needed 650,000 tractors immediately. He also said that the transport of tractors would be cheaper because of easy access from Wagah border.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2012.

Sugar scam: Head of investigation resigned quietly 15 months ago

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 06:59:00 +0000

Inquiry into artificial price hike could not be completed, culprits get off scot-free.

By Shahbaz Rana

Published: November 11, 2012

An old photo taken during the sugar crisis, which saw prices rise to exorbitant levels. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: The nation will probably never know the names of those who made billions out of the sugar price scam of 2009 as a judicial commission could not complete its investigation in absence of much-needed financial resources.

Justice (retd) Sardar Raza Khan, who was the sole member and head of the commission, quietly tendered his resignation almost 15 months ago after he got the ‘cold shoulder’ instead of a helping hand from the government, according to people close to Khan.
Khan, who was supposed to submit an inquiry report to the prime minister in 45 days, submitted the resignation on August 19, 2011 in a letter addressing former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Known for his integrity that earned him respect in all walks of life, Khan could not convince the finance ministry to allocate resources for the smooth functioning of the commission, these sources said. It took him five to six months just to get an office and some staff.
Ironically, he has so far not even received the confirmation that his resignation has been accepted.
In 2009, according to reports at that time, influential and politically-connected sugar mill owners as well as hoarders sparked an artificial crisis, sending sugar prices soaring. An inquiry report prepared by the Competition Commission of Pakistan – the anti-competition watchdog – also established the existence of a cartel in the sugar industry.
The judicial commission was constituted in January 2011 after the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) reached a consensus. Both the parties held negotiations on a 10-point economic reforms agenda, presented by the PML-N, and probe into the sugar scam was part of it.
However, the commission could not get funds or a designated bank account, which it said should be under the control of the finance ministry to ensure transparency. The money was needed to pay for travel expenses of witnesses coming from other cities to appear before the commission to record their statements.
Some officials attributed the fiasco to lack of interest from both the PPP and PML-N. The situation was further aggravated by sympathisers of the sugar mafia in government circles.
According to a notification issued by the law ministry, the commission was required to fix responsibility and recommend action against those responsible for omission and commission. It also had to recommend effective measures to prevent such incidents in future which involved corruption, corrupt practices, price hike, hoarding, scarcity, profiteering and heavy cost to poor people.
The commission started work in May-June last year and recorded statements of over two dozen witnesses. These witnesses were from Islamabad who did not require any travel allowance and a couple of volunteers came from Lahore and Karachi.
According to knowledgeable people, the witnesses helped the commission understand the working of the industry, but the body was nowhere near conclusion.
When it contacted people who had direct stakes in the sugar price scam, they asked their travel expenses should be borne by the commission, which according to the officials was a lawful demand.
Sources said the head of commission wrote many letters to the finance ministry, but it did not even respond to a single letter.
Ironically, when the commission was asking for funds, the finance ministry was busy in heavy spending. This was the year when the prime minister spent roughly Rs5 billion over and above his discretionary development budget and the government paid Rs45 billion in fertiliser subsidy.
Power sector subsidies, mainly on account of inefficiency and bad governance in power distribution companies, swallowed close to Rs500 billion that year.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2012.

ECC unearths ''sugar scam''

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 06:58:00 +0000

ECC unearths ''sugar scam''

Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet is said to have unearthed a financial scam in the procurement of sugar by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) in 2010 in violation of government directives, sources close to Secretary Industries told Business Recorder.

This scam was disclosed at a meeting of ECC on December 18, 2102 presided over by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh when a summary of Commerce Ministry came under discussion on the disposal of 700 metric tons of imported sugar in the open market. Utility Stores Corporation (USC) had refused to lift "substandard" sugar, arguing that it is not only fine grain but also infested with stones and foreign particles. The sugar is of Indian, Brazilian and Middle Eastern origin and is stocked at the TCP''s Pipri godowns.

The sources said in light of the directive of the ECC of the Cabinet in its meeting on January 12, 2010, TCP imported 1,104,605 tons of sugar from world-wide sources during 2010-11 and the same was stored in TCP Pipri godown. Subsequently, almost all the imported sugar was delivered to Director General Procurement, Pak Army, Pak Navy, Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistan (USC), Canteen Stores Department (CSD). Some of it was also provided to the local market with a view to stabilising its prices.

During a heated debate, the ECC observed that it had allowed TCP to import only 0.5 million tons of sugar while as per documents, TCP imported 1,104,605 tons of sugar. Besides, the ECC in its decision of January 12, 2010 had directed that the average landed cost of sugar should not exceed Rs 51 per kg. and documents revealed that the average landed cost worked out by TCP was Rs 59 per kg.

One of the ECC members said sugar had not been disposed of for the last two years which had caused a loss to the national exchequer and demanded a detailed investigation into the matter. Another view was that in order to avoid further loss to the exchequer, the proposal made in the summary may be approved with the direction to the Ministry of Commerce to present complete details of the case in the next ECC meeting.

The ECC directed the Commerce Ministry to investigate the following: (i) quantity of sugar imported which ECC had allowed for import and the procedure followed for this purpose; (ii) why the average landed cost of sugar exceeded the approved procurement cost of Rs 51 per kg; (iii) for how many years sugar was lying in TCP goodowns and why the case for its disposal was not moved earlier; (iv) the difference between the average landed cost including mark-up and the present estimated sales price; and; (v) What will be the loss to public exchequer and who will bear that loss?

Commerce Ministry in its summary said that in order to resolve the issue, TCP decided to approach USC with a chemical report on sugar, verifying its suitability and fitness for human consumption and Chairman TCP wrote to Managing Director, USC to depute a team of officials to lift the saleable quantity of sugar from Pipri godown. On the request of USC, TCP arranged segregation of "Renuka" brand sugar at a high cost to enable USC to lift maximum bags of their choice. However, the USC still refused to lift sugar stocks. The estimated value (landed cost + interest/mark-up) of 700 tons of sugar works out to Rs 52.26 million. No storage charges are paid as godowns are owned by TCP.

The sources maintained that TCP sent the sample from left over "Renuka" brand sugar to Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) laboratories working under the control of Ministry of Science & Technology for examining the suitability and fitness for human consumption and the report received on July 18, 2012 revealed that the sugar is fit for human consumption and also within standard limit of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) for moisture. According to standard specification of PSQCA, 0.08 percent moisture is acceptable whereas the sugar sample of "Renuka" brand contains 0.046 percent moisture, which is within permissible limit and the stocks are not harmful for human consumption. Apparently, the bags are in good condition except that the cosmetics of the bags have deteriorated due to prolonged storage.

Courtesy Business Recorder

Sunflower to be sown over 0.2 million acres of land in Punjab

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 06:43:00 +0000

Over 0.2 million acres of land would be brought under sunflower crop in various parts of the Punjab. The agriculture department was making hectic efforts to motivate growers and farmers that they should cultivate oilseed crops including sunflower for making the country self-sufficient in edible oil and reduce the import of it.

Sources in agriculture department told Business Recorder on Thursday that at present 66 per cent of edible oil was being imported and only 34 per cent of edible oil was produced within the country to meet the domestic demands.

The agriculture department was making adequate efforts to motivate the farmers to bring their maximum land under sunflower crop including other oilseed crops for bringing down the import of edible oil. In Sialkot district, 5,000 acres of land would be brought under sunflower crop while tehsil wise break up is 2,000 acres in Pasrur, 2,000 acres Daska and 1000 acres in Sambrial tehsils. The department has directed the sunflower growers to use only recommended sunflower seeds for attaining maximum output of the crop.

Courtesy Business Recorder

Cotton spot rate rises to Rs5,900 per

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:34:00 +0000

KARACHI: The Karachi Cotton Exchange (KCE) increased its spot rate by Rs50 per maund (37.324 kilogram) to Rs5,900 per maund as the price of the commodity continued to rise at the local and New York cotton markets, said a dealer on Monday.

“Cotton crossed Rs6,200 per maund at the open markets in Pakistan after a gap of almost six weeks,” said Shakil Ahmed, a broker at the KCE. “Increase in the local markets is seen due to rising trends at NYCM.”

Earlier, the KCE kept its spot rate unchanged for seven consecutive days at Rs5,850 per maund.

The broker said that if New York cotton market crosses 80 cents per pound then the local markets would see a jump in cotton prices. “March futures contract was trading at 76.60 cents per pound at NYCM, and if it crosses 80 cents per pound, then India might cancel its export orders to Pakistan. The situation would cause an increase in the commodity price at the local markets.”

The minimum price of cotton increased to Rs5,850 per maund from Rs5,300 on Saturday. Similarly, the maximum price improved to Rs6,200 per maund from Rs6,100.

Spinning mill-owners bought around 25,600 bales against 14,500 bales bought on Saturday, according to the KCE.

Rahim Yar Khan witnessed highest trade of 7,000 bales at Rs6,100 per maund followed by Upper Sindh (BCI), which traded 4,600 bales at Rs6,200 per maund.

Bahawalpur, Layyah, Noorpur (BCI), Fazilpur, Rajanpur and Mianwali traded significant number of bales at Rs5,900-6,200 per maund, it added.

The broker said that continuous depreciation in the rupee against the dollar may also increase the commodity price at the open markets. “The rupee is trading at 98.10 against the dollar and if the trend continues in the interbank market, then it will make imports expensive and convince the mill-owners to buy the commodity from the local markets instead.

Agriculture: 1 million farmers to get tips by phone

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:26:00 +0000

FAISALABAD:

The provincial government aims to teach farmers how to use modern production methods by sending them information on their mobile phones.

Agriculture Department officials said that by March the government planned to register one million farmers in the programme. The farmers will be trained to use modern technology to increase production, they said. Moreover, farmers will also be able to ask for solutions to specific problems by sending questions via their mobile phones.

They said that farmers would have to provide their CNIC numbers, mobile numbers and details related to their agriculture land and crop for registration. The details will be sent to a communication technology centre set up at the office of the agriculture director general. The centre will communicate with the farmers.

The Agriculture Department (Faisalabad extension) has been given a target of registering 20,000 farmers for the programme. A registration cell has been set up under the supervision of District Officer Chaudhry Abdul Hameed.

The DO said that the department hoped the programme would improve the farmers’ knowledge of crops and production.

Courtesy The Express Tribune

AgriNews

Daleys Fruit Tree: 3 Mistakes You Make When Choosing Fruit Trees

UAF campus at Vehari next year

Green tractors: 15 tractors given to farmers

Plant diseases: Workshop stresses promotion of scientific techniques

Pakistan may Start importing Indian Tractors next year

Sugar scam: Head of investigation resigned quietly 15 months ago

Inquir­y into artifi­cial price hike could not be comple­ted, culpri­ts get off scot-free.

ECC unearths ''sugar scam''

Sunflower to be sown over 0.2 million acres of land in Punjab

Cotton spot rate rises to Rs5,900 per

Agriculture: 1 million farmers to get tips by phone

Inquiry into artificial price hike could not be completed, culprits get off scot-free.