Edi Australian red meat and the environment – sustainable agriculture
As custodians of nearly 50 per cent of Australia’s land mass, the Australian red meat and livestock industry recognises its responsibility to agricultural sustainability – sustainably managing the environment for all Australians while providing a nutritious, quality food product.
A focus on sustainable agriculture is a priority for the Australian livestock industry, with improved environmental practices having benefits for not only the environment, but also productivity. At every stage of the process from the paddock to the plate, there are opportunities for continuous improvement in environmental management and sustainable agriculture practices.
The red meat industry invests over $13 million annually in research and development to better understand the environmental impact and to further improve the environmental performance of the industry and sustainable farming.
The industry has initiated research and development into sustainable production to reduce emissions and water use, improve biodiversity, create energy efficiencies, minimise waste and implement environmentally sustainable land management practices.
In Australia, cattle and sheep are mostly grazed on large areas of semi-arid and arid rangelands.
As with all primary food production the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices is essential in ensuring that Australia is able to feed a growing population with minimal environmental impact.
Sustainable agriculture – The Australian livestock industry
Agricultural sustainability in the Australian livestock industry is best understood in the context of: – Environmental sustainability – Economic sustainability, and – The sustainability of regional communities
Ensuring the industry employs sustainable farming practices has benefits for not only producers, processors and the supply chain but for the regional and rural communities that rely on the employment and economic stimulation of the livestock industry.
To ensure economic sustainability, farmers need to sustainably manage the environment. After all, it’s the soil, grass and water on farmers’ properties that enables them to graze cattle and sheep.
Improving environmental sustainability
Over the past 10 to 15 years the livestock industry has been focused on improving its environmental sustainability. Farmers have been managing the twin challenges of environment sustainability, at the same time as striving to increase productivity in the context of a highly variable climate.
The red meat industry acknowledges that prior to this time that many practices had a negative impact on natural resources across the country. Early Australian agriculture tried to farm the country in a European manner, as a result, a range of government policies and on-farm practices led to environment degradation in some areas.
Today most farmers understand that to be sustainable they need to manage the environment in a sustainable way and employ sustainable agriculture practices.
The industry has invested significantly in research and development to ensure environmental sustainability, including: – Grazing strategies – Soil and groundcover management – Water management – Reducing emissions – Revegetating
The livestock industry is proud of the improvement it has made in sustainably managing natural resources. Right across the country the improvement in soil health, groundcover, vegetation and biodiversity can be seen on farms.
agriculture sustainability is an important topic to consider for all farms in australia. Find out more at www.redmeatgreenfacts.com.au
Agriculture Not Be A State Subject
CII today organized a Seminar on Reforms in the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) Act , and its impact in the Southern States. This is an initiative of the Agri Business Sub-Committee, CII-Southern Region. Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Shankarlal Guru, Chairman-International Society for Agricultural Marketing said Agricultural sector is in urgent need of reforms by the respective State governments to help drive the economy to a higher growth rate that is expected by the policy makers, but a comprehensive agenda for reforms in this crucial sector is yet to emerge. Hence, the need for Agriculture to be made a central subject and not a state subject, thus alienating it from politics, said Mr. Guru. Contract farming should be encouraged as it will help bring technology and modern practices into the agriculture sector – opined Mr. Guru.
The APMC Act in each state of India requires all agricultural products to be sold only in government – regulated markets. These markets impose substantial taxes on buyers, in addition to commissions and fees taken by middlemen, but typically provide little service in areas such as price discovery, grading or inspection. A key impact of this regulation is the inability of private sector processors and retailers to integrate their enterprises directly with farmers or other sellers, eliminating middlemen in the process. Farmers also are unable to legally enter into contracts with buyers. This leaves no incentives for farmers to upgrade, and inhibits private and foreign investments in the food process sector.
Also addressing the audience was Mr. Sivakumar, Chairman Agri Business Sub-Committee, CII-Southern Region and Chief Executive – Agri, ITC Ltd. Said that Agri business in India is at a transition point. Having sailed through the shortage economy to an economy with surplus in grains, it is important that Governments at the Centre and State recognize the need for inclusive growth to take agriculture forward in India. Setting the context for the day’s discussion, Mr. Sivakumar emphasized that in spite of employing about 57% of the population of the country, agriculture on contributes 27% to the GDP of India. This distortion makes agriculture not a lucrative employment generator and hence, keeping with the global view, India needs to carve out opportunities in agri-exports sector. Contract farming and direct marketing to retail chains and processing units are the need of the hour he said.
Regulations to keep pace with these needs are required, which need alternative marketing mechanisms. Hence, reforms in the APMC Act are recommended in various fields, he added.
Making a presentation on “Aligning State Policies with emerging new marketing models”, Prof. S Raghunath from the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, emphasized the need for an effective and efficient distribution system for agri-produce and provision for supply-demand transparency. Since the main objective of the APMC Act was to prevent exploitation of farmers by various intermediaries, reforms were required in the Act, with changing face of agriculture and the agricultural supply chain, opined Prof Raghunath. India is the largest producer of vegetable in the world, with a total share of 15% of global produce. 8% of world’s fruits are produced in India, ranking it second in the world market. In spite of this, there is a high cumulative wastage of 40% in India, informed Prof. Raghunath. Inadequate infrastructure and lack of organized supply chain were the main cause for such a disparity, he said. Thus, reforms in this sector need to catch up with the pace of development in the economy and dis-intermediation and participation of organized players in the sector will remove the lacunae, opined Prof. Raghunath.
Centre asks states to amend APMC Act
In a move to allow farmers to directly sell their produce to industry, contract farming and setting up of competitive markets in private and cooperative sector, the Centre has asked the state government to amend the Agricultural Produce Marketing Act.
Under the present Act, the processing industry cannot buy directly from farmers. The farmer is also restricted from entering into direct contract with any manufacturer because the produce is required to be canalised through regulated markets. These restrictions are acting as a disincentive to farmers, trade and industries.
The government has recently approved a central sector scheme titled Development/strengthening of agricultural marketing infrastructure, grading and standardisation.
Under the scheme, credit linked investment subsidy shall be provided on the capital cost of general or commodity specific infrastructure for marketing of agricultural commodities and for strengthening and modernisation of existing agricultural markets, wholesale, rural periodic or in tribal areas.
The scheme is linked to reforms in state law dealing with agricultural markets (APMC Act). Assistance under the new scheme will be provided in those states that amend the APMC Act.
The Centre has asked the state governments to inform as to whether necessary amendments to the APMC Act have been carried out, in order to notify the reforming states for applicability of the scheme.
Along with the Centre, the industry is also interested in the amendment to the APMC Act as it restricts the growth of trade in agricultural commodities.
The policy regime pertaining to internal trade is particularly restrictive. The agricultural sector continues to be hamstrung by a plethora of controls, which were introduced during the era of shortages, said the PHDCCI.
Meanwhile, a decentralised system of procuring wheat and rice would make the Public Distribution System more cost effective, the government has said.
[Top]Irrigation And Its Importance To Agriculture In Tasmania
Tasmania is situated in the southern part of the Australian continent, considered a splendid getaway island that boasts of untouched wilderness, thousand-year-old trees, rugged coastlines, and rushing whitewater rivers. Tasmania is capable of producing high quality farm products. Its fertile soil, temperate climate and adequate water supply complemented by developed irrigation systems, all contribute to its progressive agricultural industry. In Tasmania, agriculture plays a major part in the economy as there are other industrial sectors that also rely in agriculture.
The government of Australia is oblivious to the fact that agriculture plays a key role in their economy and for this reason, the need to closely monitor and strengthen their irrigation systems in the face of calamities like drought and natural disasters is but imperative. One third of Tasmanias 68000 square kilometers land area is attributed to the agricultural industry which is why irrigation plays an integral part in its agricultural sector.
Statistics reveal that 14,000 gigaliters or 65% of the total water consumed are used for irrigation of agricultural land in Australia. It is alarming to note that this amount of water is not efficiently used the way it should be. Here lies the importance of an efficient irrigation system so that water can be conserved and utilized for the right purpose.
The sprinkler type or overhead irrigation is the one of the most commonly used irrigation systems in Tasmania. Water is sprayed over the crops by use of sprinklers or guns attached to an elevated structure. In a solid set sprinkler system, water is fed from a pump set and runs through a row of pipes or hard hoses. This kind of sprinkler is permanently installed at strategic locations of the farm area that need irrigation.
In a travelling irrigator system, the sprinkler is attached to a wheeled mechanism and has mobility to move across the farm area to perform its irrigation function. Another type of sprinkler irrigation system is the pivot irrigation device where pieces of pipes are connected to a framework of beams holding the pipes together. The sprinkler head moves in a circular motion and water is supplied into the pivot point at the center of the circle. Of all the sprinkler irrigation systems, the centre pivot irrigation is the most widely used by farmers in Tasmania.
A more traditional type of irrigator system is flood irrigation which is considerably the least expensive of all the irrigation systems. Here, water is allowed to flow on the crops directly to the farm bed. It does not require complicated machines to irrigate farms by this means. On the other hand, in furrow irrigation, shallow water canals are hollowed out between rows to catch the water that irrigate the crops.
The importance of an efficient irrigation system is crucial to the development of the agricultural industry in Tasmania. Since agriculture is highly reliant on abundant water supply, emphasis should be given on the proper irrigation agriculture practice by means of getting the appropriate irrigation equipment suitable to the needs of the agricultural lands in Tasmania.
[Top]Modern Agricultural Techniques In India.
India is primarily an agriculture country dating back to more than ten thousand years. Today, India ranks the second largest in agricultural output worldwide. Agriculture contributes approximately 33 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and round about 70 percent of Indian population is engaged in agriculture sector. Most of the agricultural outputs including wheat, tea, coffee, cotton etc are exported to foreign countries contributing about 8.56 percent of India?s exports. About 43 per cent of geographical land is used for agricultural activity. India accounts world?s number one country in sugarcane and stood second rank in rice output.
Modern Agricultural Techniques:
With years of practice in agriculture there have been new inventions and modern techniques adopted by farmers in agriculture To spread and encourage knowledge of agriculture among the youth generation, government has even launched new programmes and courses with specialization in agriculture Modern Agricultural comprises of improved farming techniques and the using of irrigation and high-yield grains resulting into increased production. The main drawback is being the inadequate monsoon, which accounts a crucial role in influencing agricultural production in India since most of the cropped area even now does not have any assured irrigation. Although measures are being undertaken by government authorities to eradicate the inadequacy of monsoon by introducing water dams and river project for effective irrigation.
In fact, India is facing the biggest challenge of producing enough food grains to cater the increasing population of India. Hence measures are been taken to expand farmland area and with quality grains the farmers are now able to produce double output in the same amount of land.
Farmers have adopted modern improved irrigation techniques that have the potential to increase agricultural production with improved farming techniques in areas that rely on monsoon also could improve yield. Moreover, improving the use of fertilizer, especially on rain fed land, also would help to increase the production. Government of India is trying a variety of plans and strategies with sophisticated water management techniques replacing the traditional farming practices.
[Top]Important Applications Of Edta Products In Various Industries
EDTA is a well known chelating agent used in food and Pharmaceutical industries for preparing various formulations. It actively binds with several toxic metals like cobalt, lead, mercury that makes them inactive-nontoxic to dissolve in blood and excrete out from the body organs. Due to this property they are widely used in agriculture, horticulture, food and pharmaceuticals.
Various combination of EDTA with several minerals has increased their industrial usages. The active formation of Disodium with EDTA is used in molecular biology as an inhibiting agent. The mineral formations of EDTA contains different molecular weight and PH values applicable differently. Due to their chemical actions on human body, these EDTA products are applied widely in producing high quality crop in bulk quantity. Even minerals enrich EDTA also used in preparing human food as well for animal feeds.
Applications of Various EDTA Products
EDTA Tetrasodium is having the best cleansing property used in preparing cleansing materials, also used in agriculture to fulfill the Tetrasodium requirement of soil for better quality plantations.
EDTA Zinc is used in manufacturing zinc enrich fertilizer that is widely demanded in agriculture industry now-a-days. EDTA Zinc fulfills the requirement of Zinc to the soil and helps the crop growing well.
EDTA Copper provides the nutritional element of copper for better agriculture production. This creates a great combination while mixing with other EDTA products in fertilizer and increases the fertility of the land. Every farmer should know the content ingredient of the fertilizer while purchasing them.
The high grade EDTA Manganese is used in several fertilizers to provide the manganese to the soil. The pure EDTA manganese are pinkish color powder with minimum metal content increase the manganese level of the soil that is required for better growth of plantation and crop and ultimately gives bulk agriculture production. For more information on EDTA Manganese, Visit http://www.shivamagroind.com/?page_id=86
The role of EDTA Magnesium is quite important in fertilizer industry as it promotes the photosynthesis process in the plants, also increase the absorption value of irons in them. It stimulates the enzymes in plants for fast processing. EDTA Magnesium is one of the most important and widely demanded ingredients in agriculture industry.
EDTA Calcium is another chelating agent effectively works on metal and makes them non-toxic. The chelated calcium also used as fertilizer to increase nitrogen metabolism and gives hard structure to the plants. It also applies in healing process in pharmaceuticals and agriculture.
EDTA Ferric has also a contributing to enrich the soil with ferric, when used in fertilizer. It is good water soluble micronutrients that provides better nourishments to the plants and grow them well. Dried Ferrous Sulphate is used to stimulate the growth in animal body as well having good importance value in agriculture fertilizer to increase the crop production.
Shivam Agro Industries is a leading manufacturer of EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid) products including EDTA Acid, EDTA Disodium, EDTA Tetrasodium, EDTA Zinc, EDTA Copper, EDTA Manganese, EDTA Magnesium, EDTA Calcium, EDTA Ferric and Dried Ferrous Sulphate at the most affordable rates.