Category Archives: Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021)

This Kerala nutritionist is commited for balanced diet among children

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , ,

KERALA :

By directly procuring ingredients such as wheat, raggi, millets and almonds needed for products directly from farmers, Shamila ensures a profit for them as well.

Shamila with her husband Muhammed Shahabaz
Shamila with her husband Muhammed Shahabaz

Ernakulam : : 

With adulterated food posing a serious hazard, staying healthy now depends as much on trustworthy sources as on a balanced diet. Worried parents face a difficult time trying to get their children to eat nutritious food.

Doctor-turned-entrepreneur Shamila Shahabaz, 30, is aiming to make life easier for such parents. ‘Mama Papa Zay’, Shamila’s venture, aims to provide a variety of fully homemade and preservative-free products for children, right from eight months old. By procuring ingredients like wheat, ragi, millets and almonds directly from the farmers, the venture is earning profits for them as well. 

“The idea struck me when I became a mother,” said Shamila, who is also a certified child nutritionist.

“People, generally, don’t have the habit of reading labels and ingredients before buying a product. This should change. You will stop buying so many products just by reading the ingredients list such as added sugar, artificial flavours and preservatives. It shocked me too and I wondered what to feed my baby. When I started sharing my recipes on social media after my pregnancy, people asked me whether I could make the products myself on a larger scale. Now we are getting orders from all over the world.” 

Local farmers are benefiting greatly from Shamila’s initiative. “Kannankaya is the key ingredient used to make banana powder. We have a few local farmers cultivating it, and we directly deal with them. Shops charge Rs 35-40 per kg for the fruit. We pay Rs 20-25 directly to the farmers, who thus get a better deal than selling their produce in the market. Millets, ragi, nuts and other ingredients are similarly sourced from farmers in Salem and Mysuru,” said Mohammed Shahabaz, Shamila’s husband.

“We are playing a small part in trying to transform our society’s health as a whole, by cultivating healthy food habits. This is just a small step, we hope to be known as a trustworthy source of nutritional food for children. Young mothers should never find themselves in the quandary I was in, to identify unadulterated baby food,” said Shamila.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Anuja Susan Varghese, Express News Service / May 22nd, 2022

Rouf Hamza has documented 100 mushroom varieties of Kashmir

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Amazing Feats, Green Products, Leaders, World Opinion, ,

JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Dr. Rouf Hamza Boda
Dr. Rouf Hamza Boda

Srinagar:

Dr. Rouf Hamza Boda has documented 100 indigenous and yet little known varieties of mushrooms in the Valley to earn the sobriquet of ‘Mushroom Man of Kashmir’. This includes the most expensive fungi in the world – Gucchi (Morel) – and the exotic Porcini.

Dr Boda is the author of Nano Mushroom Identifier, a Book that is beginners’ guide on mushroom cultivation. He belongs to Doru Shahabad of Anantnag and works as a lecturer in Government Higer secondary School, Verinaag in South Kashmir.

He says, “Since I come from a village (Doru Shahabad, Anantnag), I used to be part of the mushroom hunting groups in spring. I used to collect mushrooms in wicker baskets. Along the way, I often saw mushrooms of various shapes and sizes. Sometimes, seeing the large size of mushroom was intimidating.”

His childhood exposure made his pursue a Master’s degree in Botany and, he followed it up with a doctoral research on Mushrooms.

“My guide, Dr. Abdul Hamid Wani inspired me to research on wild mushrooms. I am the first person in the valley to research on wild mushrooms,” he says.

In his research paper, he has documented about 100 mushrooms from forest areas in South Kashmir and evaluated them for antioxidants. Rauf Hamza Boda says, “I have documented their nutritive value, cultivation pattern and studied their classification.”

He said that all mushrooms are fungi and they produce spores similar to pollen or seeds that are spread by wind. A mushroom mature only after this process is completed.In nature the mushroom grow in soil or on wood.

A local variety of mushroom on South Kashmir jungles

Mushrooms grow well on a pine tree. Hamza explains: “Mushroom extracts water and some minerals from the soil and gives it to the roots of these trees and the tree undergoes photosynthesis. This in turn produces many sugars for the mushroom.”

He says Kashmir has many naturally growing types of mushrooms, some of which are edible, including well-known species such as buttons, oysters, porcini and chanterelles, he said.

However, there are inedible ones too that can cause abdominal pain, or vomiting if eaten. Some can even prove fatal.

He says mushrooms are today known for their significant health benefits as these contain a variety of medicinal properties. “Mushroom is a low calorie food. It is rich in many health-boosting vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Mushrooms have been recognized as an important part of the diet.

For example, mushrooms exposed to ultraviolet light are a good source of vitamin D, an important component in bone and immune health. In addition, many of them have anti-cancer properties.”

However, he pointed out that climate change and urbanization have affected many mushroom species. As a result, there has been a gradual decline in the mushroom production including that of Gucchi mushrooms.

“I have been tracking them for the last 10 years. It is estimated that their production has decreased as a result of climate change, deforestation and habitat destruction. Similarly, other mushrooms that grow in early spring, such as the monkey cap, are beginning to disappear. Earlier, they were seen in March and April.

He said that mushroom growing is a profitable venture for anyone who has the basic knowledge about the technique and art of growing mushrooms.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Youth / by awazthevoice.in / May 03rd, 2022

Kerala man’s story of reaping rewards of dairy farming in coconut grove

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KERALA :

8 yrs into venture, V Hakeem has over 150 cows and supplies 650l of milk daily, reports A SATISH

Palakkad :

By 2am, V Hakeem is on his feet. He then goes to his coconut grove, located more than a kilometre away, and wakes up his eight migrant workers. And they begin work at his dairy farm in the village of Kamblichungam near Chittur. Hakeem’s foray into dairy farming happened with the cost of purchasing manure for his coconut grove becoming unaffordable. “So I decided to set up a dairy farm inside the grove,” he recounts.

Eight years down the line, Hakeem now has more than 150 cows and supplies 650 litres of milk daily to the Panniperunthala milk society, of which he is the president.

On Friday, he received the district’s best farmer award instituted by the dairy development department. Last year, he supplied 1.36 lakh litres of milk. Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister J Chinchurani gave away the award. “It is the involvement of the farmer that brings in the results,” Hakeem says.“Apart from high-breed varieties like Holstein Friesian and Jerseys, we also have native varieties like Sahiwal, Vechur and Gir.” 

He decided to set up the shed there as the cows can be housed in a cool place. “There are coconut palms on all sides, which helps the cattle stay cool and produce more milk. The only issue is that I have to replace the sheets of the shed occasionally as dry palm leaves fall on them.”

He now plans to install a machine that can automatically milk 20 cows in seven minutes. “It will reduce the workload,” he points out. Hakeem says dairy farmers should be given at least Rs 50 per litre to ensure a minimum return on investment, with the cost of feed and other inputs increasing substantially. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by A Satish, Express News Service / April 03rd, 2022

Family from Mysuru village donates land to school

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Karnataka (under research project), ,

HD Kote Taluk (Mysuru District), KARNATAKA :

The land was handed to the Government Higher Primary School in Bachegowdanahalli, and registered in the name of the headmaster, who can utilise it to enable rural children avail education.

Mohammed Rakib hands over land documents to the Bachegowdanahalli government school authorities at the registration office in HD Kote

Mysuru : 

At a time when the hijab row has engulfed most districts of the state, a Muslim family from a remote village in HD Kote taluk of Mysuru district has donated 2.5 acres of their land to a government school in a bid to promote education.

Fulfilling the dream of their late father Mohammed Jafar, a resident of Marchalli village, who had pledged to donate a piece of land for serving the educational needs of children in the neighbouring villages and improving literacy rate, his children have now donated 2.5 acres, valued at over Rs 50 lakh, for the purpose.

The land was handed to the Government Higher Primary School in Bachegowdanahalli, and registered in the name of the headmaster, who can utilise it to enable rural children avail education. Speaking to TNIE, Jafar’s son Mohammed Rakib said, “My ‘Ayya’ (father) had pledged to donate a plot of land to the school, to ensure that no one is deprived of education and help improve the literacy rate in the region.

We are six siblings — four brothers and two sisters. We had a discussion and decided to give away 2.5 acres as per the wishes of our late father, and we got the land registered in favour of the school on February 15.”

The family, which is into agriculture, owns over 12 acres of land in the village and has donated 2.5 acres of it. Their hope that if there is any dearth of classrooms, new ones can be built on the donated land, or the latter can also be turned into a playground for children, or used for other development activities.

Expressing happiness over the gesture, HD Kote Block Education Officer Chandrakanth said, “The donated land can be utilised to help develop the school and also for the construction of new classrooms, if required, in future. This gesture of the family is exemplary and will motivate others to help.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Karthik KK, Express News Service / Februrary 18th, 2022

Researchers document 43,118 butterflies in Dakshina Kannada

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Education, Green Products, Karnataka (under research project), , ,
Painted Sawtooth (Prioneris Sita)  

The ‘winged beauties’ are a good indicator of the ecological health of a habitat

Butterflies are excellent communities to monitor the ecological health of a place. A team of researchers from Mangalore University, in collaboration with other two institutes, has identified and documented 43,118 butterflies (individuals) belonging to 175 species in Dakshina Kannada.

Of them, 22 species were habitat specific. The researchers were pursuing the ‘winged beauties’ for the past two years.

Yellow Pansy (Junonia Hierta)

The team comprised M. S. Mustak, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University and Deepak Naik, a PhD student at Mangalore University. The study was done in collaboration with Shyam Prasad Rao, a researcher at Yenepoya Deemed to be University, Mangaluru and Krishnamegh Kunte, a researcher from the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru.

The butterflies were identified at eight heterogeneous landscapes ranging from coastal sand dunes to agricultural fields to botanical gardens to semi-evergreen forests on the foothills of the Western Ghats.

Sahyadri Lacewing (Cethosia Mahratta) 

“Using indicator value analysis, 22 habitat-specific and several shared indicator species were identified. The study also documented larval host plants, and over 283 habitat-specific host-butterfly species pair interactions,” Mr. Mustak told The Hindu.

Their research paper – study on abundance and habitat preference of butterflies of the Western Ghats – has now been accepted for publication by the Journal of Insect Conservation, an international journal devoted to the conservation of insects and related invertebrates.

Shiva Sunbeam (Curetis Siva)  

The researchers said that butterfly communities indicate the type and state of a habitat, and can easily be conserved by the restoration of habitats with diverse host plants. They have great public appeal and easy to work with, and are the indicators of a healthy ecosystem.

Mr. Mustak said, “People usually cherish abundant and widely distributed butterflies, but fail to appreciate less common or habitat-specific species. Our study gives quantitative data on the butterflies of the Western Ghats, which is essential for public awareness and outreach.”

Malabar Tree Nymph (Idea Malabarica)  

The team conducted a systematic transect survey for two years to get baseline data on the abundance patterns and habitat preferences of butterflies of the Western Ghats. The study gives an important dataset for future assessment, monitoring and conservation of butterflies of the Western Ghats.

Sahyadri Birdwing (Troides Minos) 

The study showed interesting patterns. Some of the most abundant species are Common Crow (Euploea Core), Common Emigrant (Catopsilia Pomona), Common Four Ring (Ypthima Huebneri), Tawny Coster (Acraea Terpsicore), Lesser Grass Blue (Zizina Otis), Rustic (Cupha Erymanthis), and Chocolate Pansy (Junonia Iphita)

Blue Oakleaf (Kallima Hosfieldii)  

Some species, though very abundant, are restricted to specific habitats. For example, Tawny Coster (Acraea Terpsicore) is common in coastal regions, Common Bush Hopper (Ampittia Dioscorides) in found in agricultural habitats, and Malabar Tree Nymph (Idea Malabarica) in semi-evergreen forests. Some species, such as Common Mormon (Papilio Polytes) and Common Leopard (Phalanta Phalantha), though rare, are found everywhere.

Tree Flitter (Hyarotis Adrastus)  

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Raviprasad Kamila / Mangaluru – December 04th, 2021

Innovative Dharwad farmer Nadakattin gets Padma Shri

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Products, Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, Science & Technology, , ,

Annigeri Town, Hubballi (Dharwad District), KARNATAKA :

pix: nadakattin.in

Hubballi:

Abdul Khadar Nadakattin, was on Tuesday named among the winners of the Padma Shri award.

He is an innovative farmer from Annigeri town in Dharwad district. Being a mechanic by hobby, he developed an interest in agriculture in his inherited land of 60 acres falling in dry area.


His experiments started with planting mango, sapota with intercrops like chilli and ber in the 1980s. His innovative ideas turned into reality in 1994 when he developed a device to separate tamarind seeds from the pulp after spending Rs 3 lakh and six months. In one day, this device can carry out the work equivalent to 500 labourers per day.

Nadakattin started innovating in 1974 soon after he left school as he could not get up early in the morning and his father wanted him to become a farmer. At that time, he had developed a kind of bullock drawn tiller capable of deep plouging in which whetting was not needed. He also invented a multi–purpose sowing machine in 1985.

He established Vishwashanthi Agricultural Research and Industrial Research Centre in 1975.

Now agricultural equipment named after ‘Nadakattin’ are famous across the country.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Hubballi News / by TNN / January 26th, 2022

Salim Pichan Honoured with State Award

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Wayanad, KERALA :

Bagged State Biodiversity Board’s Custodian of Traditional Knowledge Award 

Kerala State Biodiversity Board has conferred their award for the year 2019-20 for“custodian of traditional knowledge/ citizen scientist” to Sri. Salim Pichan, an employee of MSSRF.

The award is given to persons who have an excellent track record in biodiversity conservation, environment protection and traditional knowledge.

As a zealous para taxonomist, Mr Salim Pichan accrued the knowledge pertaining to the plants, uses and modalities of its applications through his association with traditional healers and tribal communities over a period of two decades. Mr Salim Pichan, a person with intermediate qualification has first become a lover of nature then a para taxonomist and eventually a custodian of traditional knowledge!

This is what his life’s journey is all about.

He has contributed to the discovery of eight new species of plants to science, seven new plant records to Kerala and has also published several books and articles.

As a dedicated conservationist, his 30 cents of land is protecting 300 plant species, of which 100 of them belong to the Rare Endemic and Threatened (RET) category.

A collection of Ceropegia, a unique climber is what makes his garden exceptional along with protection of 11 species in addition to 130 numbers of Orchids, 13 numbers of Dioscorea spp and 123 numbers of medicinal plants.

Most of these plants are collected from different forests and vegetation types across the state and are carefully protected with utmost care.

Many awards and recognitions have reached him in the past as well with the notable ones including Vanamithra award by Kerala State Government in the year 2012 and Swami Vivekananda Yuvaprathibha Puraskaram in 2015, Wayanad District Youth Award in 1998.

To honour his efforts in biodiversity conservation, some taxonomists also named a plant endemic to the Western Ghats as a tribute with his name Seidenfadenilla salimii.

source: http://www.mssrfcabc.res.in / M S Swaminathan Research Foundation / Home> News Room / July 30th, 2021

With Hosapete win, AAP opens account in ULBs

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, , , , ,

Hosapete (Vijayanagara District), KARNATAKA :

Shaikh Shah Wali secures 703 votes

The efforts by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to enter the Urban Local Bodies has finally yielded result with its candidate winning in Hosapete City Municipal Council in the newly formed Vijayanagara district.

In the elections held to 58 urban local bodies (ULBs) in 20 districts of the State, the AAP secured the lone seat at Hospet with its candidate Shaikh Shah Wali winning in ward no. 22 of Hosapete CMC.

Mr. Wali secured 703 votes and registered a win against the Congress candidate by a margin of 71 votes. Among other candidates in the fray, three Independents secured 381, 359, and 293 votes respectively, pushing the BJP candidate, with 61 votes, to the last position.

While there were 4,515 voters in the ward, only 61% (2,759) voted. Mr. Wali secured 25% (703 votes) of the votes cast.

Mohammad Nasir, a local AAP member, told The Hindu that Mr. Wali, who belongs to the semi-nomadic tribe Helavaru, was chosen by community elders to contest as the AAP candidate largely because development issues in their area were ignored.

Successive governments have neglected the Helavaru community. Due to the alleged failure of the State Government in providing facilities and amenities to the tribal community, they decided to vote collectively for the AAP candidate, he said.

A farmer, Mr. Wali joined the AAP eight months ago.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Staff Reporter / Kalaburagi – December 31st, 2021

Muslim outfit gifts new clothes to villagers in Bankura

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Community Involvement / Social Issues, , , ,

Lodda Village (Bankura District), WEST BENGAL :

The 20 youths held a meeting a fortnight ago to survey how many among the Hindu community in their locality needed garments.

A member of the Muslim community hands over new clothes to a needy Hindu villager in Lodda, Bankura / Rupesh Khan

A group of Muslim youths at remote Lodda village in Bankura district on Sunday gifted new clothes to around 400 poor Hindu families after they held a survey on how many villagers could not buy any for Bengal’s biggest festival.

The 20 youths, mostly farmers and small traders, held a meeting a fortnight ago to survey how many among the Hindu community in their locality needed new clothes.

“Most of the Hindu families in our area are poor. We visited the homes to see if they were able to buy new clothes for their family members. Many could not. So we took details like age and gender of the family members, including children, as these were important before purchasing dresses. We distributed the clothes on Sunday,” said Sheikh Bapi, a member of the Lodda Muslim Yuva Sampradai that organised this event.

On Sunday, during a cultural programme at the village grounds,  the members handed over new clothes to those who had enlisted their names.

“We believe in amity and here both Hindus and Muslims live like brothers. We also celebrate our festivals together. For us, religion is a personal affair but festivity is for all,” said Sheikh Mojammel, a member.

The youths said that to buy the new clothes they pooled their own money and from other philanthropic villagers to raise Rs 1 lakh. With this, they brought new clothes for the 400 families, including around 50 children and 200 women.

Bablu Bauri, whose elderly parents, wife and child received new clothes from the Lodda Muslim Yuva Sampradai, said he was in deep financial crisis and was in no position to buy clothes.

“I am a daily wage earner and used to work as a mason’s helper here. I have not been earning regularly since the pandemic started. I had no money to buy new clothes for my family during Durga Puja this year,” Bablu said, thanking organisers for the gesture.

Lodda is a village in Khalagram gram panchayat in Taldangra block area of Bankura. The village is the only one in the area with a sizeable Muslim population. The village has around 400 Muslim families, most relatively better-off.

In Bankura district, the Muslim population is only 8.08 per cent as per 2011 census.

This is not the first time that the Muslim youths have come forward to help needy Hindu families. During the lockdown, they helped villagers who had lost their jobs with dry ration like riceand pulses.

“When there was partial lockdown or curbs during the second wave of the pandemic we used to serve cooked food to the needy families,” added one of the youths of the group.

The organisers said they will continue similar drives in the future too.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online Education / Home> West Bengal / by Snehamoy Chankraborthy / Bolpur (Birbhum) / October 12th, 2021

A new species of fruit fly named after Siruvani

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Education, Green Products, Leaders, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Siruvani, TAMIL NADU / Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

A team of naturalists participating at a forest department survey   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A new species of fruit fly discovered for the first time has been named after Siruvani in the Western Ghats

A fruit fly has created a buzz with its maiden show in Siruvani, a biodiversity hotspot of the Western Ghats. It turns out to be a new species that has been reported, named, and documented for the first time ever. The fruit fly is now scientifically named as Euphranta siruvani, after the place where it was first collected.

A research student at Annamalai University, H Sankararaman, first spotted this unusual visitor on a light trap which he had set up to capture moths at a non-forest space near Siruvani. “The fruit fly was attracted towards light and I was lucky enough to have spotted it. It has a distinct V-shaped black band on its forewing,” recalls Sankar.

Euphranta siruvani   | Photo Credit: Magnolia Press. Zootaxa

The discovery now appears in Zootaxa journal in a paper authored by David K J and Sachin, K, ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR), Bengaluru, DL Hancock from the UK, Sudhir Singh from Forest Research Institute, Dehradun and H Sankararaman from Annamalai University. According to David, there are 104 recognised species in the genus Euphranta that are distributed across the world. “Of this, 14 are recorded so far from India. The discovery of Euphranta siruvani is the brand-new addition to the checklist.”

“This fruit fly is a rare species and a valuable addition to the diversity,” says David K J, scientist at ICAR-NBAIR, one of the National Institutes with several taxonomists of international repute. “We first check with the regional/world catalogue, then refer to available literature, and connect with authorities around the world over mail before confirming it as a new species,” explains David.

A species can be named after the ‘type locality’ (the place from where the holotype was collected), a specific characteristic feature, after the collector or after an eminent taxonomist for his contributions. In this case, they chose the place, a thriving ecosystem of rich fauna and flora and also the source of drinking water for Coimbatore.

Omyomymar hayati   | Photo Credit: Magnolia Press. Zootaxa

Apart from the fruit fly, additionally a brand new fairy fly species was found at Siruvani. The species Omyomymar hayati is named after Professor Mohammad Hayat of Aligarh Muslim University for his contributions to insect taxonomy.

“I have described several species after the type locality for example Acidoxantha galibeedu in 2014 based on specimen collected near Coorg. Later, I had collected the same species from other parts of Karnataka and Kerala. Similarly, may be the E.siruvani can be seen across the Western Ghats and Kerala in South India. We have to study further to understand its distribution,” explains David, who has identified and described 28 new species of fruit flies of India.

The genus Euphranta comprises many fruit/seed infesting species, including Euphranta cassiae that feeds on the pods of Kanikonna (Cassia fistula) trees. “There are 5,000 species of fruit flies across the world. In India, we have nearly 290 species so far; we keep adding to the list.”

K D Prathapan, an expert on beetles, who works at Kerala Agricultural University, says fruit flies have an average lifespan of three to four weeks. “By infesting fruits, they damage the reproductive capacity of plants. Some species breed in bamboo shoots. And then there are cucurbit fruit flies that are pests of cucurbits such as cucumber, gourds, and pumpkins.”

The study of fruit flies is important for the agricultural economy, as they infect mangoes, melons, gourds, and guavas, says Sankararaman. “It lays eggs in fruits and the larvae feed on the pulp. We are yet get insights about the biology of the species discovered in Siruvani.”

K Mohan Prasath, founder of Act for Butterflies, says there are also many parasitic insects that are helpful to farmers in pest control. Mohan and his team have compiled a list of over 1,000 species of moths across Tamil Nadu and plan to bring it out in a book form soon. “We hope such discoveries build interest in entomology that covers insects, butterflies, and moths. Identification of new species is especially relevant now as there is habitat destruction of many species because of climate change.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Environment / by K Jeshi / January 12th, 2021