Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Appreciate APEDA

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is authorized to take measures for registration and protection of IPR (Intellectual Property rights) in respect of special products in India and outside. Lok Sabha passed the APEDA amendment bill 2008 on 12/23/08 aims to provide for the protection of IPR of a new category of” special" agricultural products, including Basmati rice. The new legislation would empower APEDA to safeguard IPR of our other special products and safeguard interests of farmers and traders. In this era of globalization and open market, it is imperative that India takes proactive measures to safeguard and protect IPR of its products.
APEDA has to focus on Geographical Indication (GI) to protect our special products like Basmati rice, Ponni rice, Darjeeling Tea, Nilagiri Tea, Alfonso Mangos and so on. APEDA has to work with Pakistan for protecting Basmati GI status for common interests of the two countries against Biopiracy. More Details:APEDA

Monday, December 15, 2008

Farmers to be blessed by Nanotechnology

"Nanotechnology promises immense possibilities for agriculture," said Prof Dr Basavaraj Madhusudhan of Kuvempu University. Dr. Madhusudhan, while addressing the Bangalore Nano 2008 conference said “Nanotechnology has immense possibilities of growth for Indian agriculture.Nano sensors in plants can detect disease and can provide nano medication. Nanotechnology can reduce agricultural waste and thus pollution. Nano lamination can improve the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. These applications should reach farmers in India in five years.” More details:Bangalore Nano-2008-PIB News

Nano Technology: Nano is a Greek Word, It means one billionth of something. Nanotechnology is the manipulation or self-assembly of individual atoms, molecules, or molecular clusters into structures to create materials and products with new or vastly different properties.

Nano Technology for Agriculture: Agriculture is the backbone of most developing countries, with more than 60% of the population reliant on it for their livelihood. Nanotechnology can improve our understanding of the biology of different crops and thus potentially enhance yields or nutritional values. Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize the agriculture with new tools for the molecular treatment of diseases, rapid disease detection, enhancing the ability of plants to absorb nutrients etc. Smart sensors and smart delivery systems will help the agricultural industry combat viruses and other crop pathogens. By using data to determine soil conditions and plant development, seeding, fertilizer, chemical and water use can be fine-tuned to lower production costs and potentially increase production- all benefiting the farmer.
We should pass the existing technologies to the farmers, afterwards we can think about creative technologies. There is lot of gap between Know-how and Do-how in the farm level.