Agroinsurance

USA - Farmers in wait-and-see mode for cotton

Farmers and agricultural producers are in a wait-and-see mode after the generous rains received this month in Dawson, Borden and Lynn counties, as well as the rest of the South Plains.“The insurance adjusters have already been looking at the cotton, since about Sept. 15,” Chris Rhodes, manager of United Gin, told the this week. “But I think the farmers won’t take that first offer and will ask the adjusters to wait until the bolls open up.”Rhodes is hopeful that the rains still will aid the 2014 cotton crop.“I still think it will help. But, we’re just playing the waiting game for now,” he said.Gary Roschetzky, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Agent for Dawson County, admits there will be some damage to the cotton plants due to heavy rainfall amounts.“You’re gonna see some regrowth. There may still be some boll fill, but how good is the quality of the cotton going to be this year?” he told on Wednesday morning.Some cotton already was turning black-purple due to 40 degree temperatures during the nighttime hours recently.Source - http://www.pressreporter.com/

UK - Winter floods hit Autumn apple harvest in Somerset

Autumn is here, English apples are in season and this year they're said to be particularly big, sweet and juicy because of the summer growing conditions. The national crop is up fifteen percent, the biggest for years, as the resurgence in planting apple trees continues.But not everything in the orchard is rosy. Some growers in Somerset say their branches are almost bare, particularly in low lying areas hit by heavy rain and floods last winter.At Charlton Orchards in Creech St Michael near Taunton they have fifteen acres of cooking and eating apples but for many of the varieties they grow here the crops are far from heavy. It's yet another knock-on effect of all that rain we had last winter.There's very few apples at all. These should be dripping, hanging down on the ground now at this time of year. The problem is down in the roots. The rain saturated the ground for so long, the deep roots have been killed off.When they need to draw water up and nutrients from below, there are no roots left so although there are small roots in the surface which stop the tree falling over, the down deep roots have all gone.It wasn't just the winter. When spring came and the rain continued, there was a lack of bees and other insects during the key pollination time.The most mature apple trees in the Charlton Orchard would normally be relied upon to give a really good crop of apples but because of all that rain last winter, there's barely a crate of apples between them.It's certainly not a disaster though. Plums, greengages, damsons and cherries have done very well this year and some apple varities weathered the storm better than others.The good news is the apples have had plenty of sun over the summer which helps develop the sugar so what fruit there is is sweet and tasty and really good quality.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

Pakistan - Debate begins about extent of flood damage

As floods, by and large, clear Punjab to enter Sindh, the debate starts on the extent of damage it wreaked on the crops and livestock in the province. As usual, the officials are conservative in their estimates. Farmers, understandably, are liberal. The truth may be somewhere between both the guesstimates.In Punjab, where its fury peaked, the final damages are now a matter of debate. The National Disaster Management Authority had projected damage to over 1.5m acres of crop. Out of them, 1m acres came from the rice zone and the central Punjab districts. Logically, the rest 500,000 acres should now belong to cotton belt, where breaches were also made and water allowed to spread far and beyond.The government would announce some sort of compensation package, as it did in 2010, and farmers would go for wheat. In other areas, where hot and severe humid conditions would persist because of flooding in adjoining areas and Met forecasts, farmers might not have much incentive and money to further invest in the crop. Thus, the provincial target of 10m bales seems to be far from the mark at this point of time.The Punjab agricultural bureaucracy, however, is equally worried about citrus and mango crops as well. It recently issued advisory for both of them, along with rice and cotton. The citrus crop is at the fruiting stage in the province, where such conditions can cause canker, root rot, dieback and scab. It advisory pleads for trees’ treatment on war footing. Floods hit the zone after torrential rains. The fruit earns substantial foreign exchange.Similarly, Chenab waters have hit mango orchards in Multan, Khanewal, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan and Bhawalpur districts and increased the risk of dieback, gomosis, anthranose, root rot and sudden death of trees. Prolonged stay of water in these orchards can be a threat to the crop.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

India - Crops worth Rs 3,675 crore damaged in Kashmir floods

Crops worth Rs.3,675 crore have been damaged by floods in the Kashmir valley, officials said here Wednesday.Of the three lakh hectares crop area in Kashmir division, around 1.35 lakh hectares have been fully damaged and the remaining 1.65 lakh hectares have have been severely affected due to incessant rains, drop in temperature and disease, said a report prepared by the agriculture department."The loss in terms of production has been assessed at 8,54,213 tonnes in respect of cereals, 5,08,492 tonnes of vegetables, 14,02,472 tonnes of fodder, 1,773 tonnes of pulses and 11 tonnes of saffron."The overall loss has been assessed at Rs.3,675 crore", department officials said here.The department has calculated the relief amount due to farmers at Rs.217.42 crore.The report said the floods have also badly affected agriculture land. Large chunks of land have been washed away, while in many areas large quantity of silt has got deposited in agriculture fields, rendering 3,811 hectares uncultivable across the valley."To reclaim the damaged land, extensive soil conservation measures would be required for which a Rs.453.51 crore plan has been formulated."Similarly, the damages estimated to the departmental buildings, labs, farms and other infrastructure has been pegged at Rs.24.66 crore," it said."The department has also formulated an assistance plan of Rs.64.17 crore to assist farmers by providing them seeds free of cost for the coming Rabi season, wherein Rabi crops are grown on approximately 1.3 lakh hectares. The free of cost seed assistance will cover an area of about 60,000 hectares and free fertilizer for all 1.3 lakh hectares in Kashmir division," officials said.Source - http://www.mid-day.com/

Grim reaping for east Ukraine sunflower farmers

Fields of sunflowers burnt brown under blue skies are ready for harvest -- but artillery and rocket attacks are stopping farmers in east Ukraine's frontline villages from gathering their crops.Ukraine is the world's biggest exporter of sunflower oil, with more than half the global market, but fighting between separatist and government forces has left fields strewn with mangled metal shell casings and torn up clumps of mud.On the dirt road between Vilkhivka and Zuevka, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the flashpoint city of Donetsk, an unexploded rocket sticks javelin-like in the earth and unharvested sunflower fields sway in the breeze.Rebels in the area accuse the Ukrainian army of indiscriminate fire, with villagers staying close to home, ready to hide from the shelling in their basements."We're not stopping the local people from harvesting their crops but they're too scared to come out," says local rebel commander Vasiliy Petrovich as he drives past the sunflower fields, without a farmer in sight.The sunflower is Ukraine's chief oilseed crop, generating export income of $3.28 billion in 2013 according to government figures.Analysts say overall yields in Ukraine will remain high despite the conflict, with the sunflower seed crop totalling more than 10.2 million tonnes this year compared to 11 million in 2013/14.The Donetsk and Lugansk regions of eastern Ukraine account for just 15 percent of the country's total sunflower seed production.But those regions are facing a 20-30 percent crop loss, according to analysts, although the majority of harvesting is going ahead.However, it will be the smaller farmers who are too scared to harvest or have nowhere to sell their crops who suffer most."I think that small farms will go bankrupt this year and next year they will not plant crops," says Yulia Garkavenko, head of oilseeds and vegoils at the consulting agency.Source - http://www.mysinchew.com/

USA - Warm weather delays persimmon harvest

While a mild winter and a warm spring have contributed to early harvests for many of California's crops, persistent warm conditions have delayed the start of this year's persimmon harvest. As supplies are slow to come on, the market could remain strong for the first weeks of the season.“We really haven't started on persimmons yet because it's been too warm,” said George Kragie of Western Fresh Marketing. “Normally, we'd be picking at this time of the year. Everything else, like stonefruit, has been early because of warm weather, so the odd thing is that persimmons are picking later because of that warm weather.” Persimmons need cool weather in order to acquire the colour necessary for the fruit to be picked, and with lingering warm conditions, most of the fruit hasn't reached the proper maturity for harvesting. With a delayed harvest, supplies will be light and prices strong.“We need it to be cool for fruit to get its colour, and the persimmons have not gotten the colour they need,” explained Kragie. “I think the market will react well because there won't be much competition.”Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

USA - September frost chills outlook for some Minnesota farmers

Some farmers in southern Minnesota are assessing their losses after an early frost a week ago.It was reported that the unseasonable cold hit corn and soybean farms in Sibley and Le Sueur counties the hardest. Some farmers there told that their fields got cold enough to freeze plants to the ground.The cold snap added insult to injury to the farmers, who had to plant later than usual last spring because of heavy rains. They needed extra time for the crops to mature because of the delay.Some farmers could see as much as a 30 percent decline in the soybean harvest.An update from the University of Minnesota Extension that tracked the frost noted that damage varied, based on local climate conditions, crop maturity, and topographical features.For corn, a killing freeze occurs when temperatures are 32°F for 4 hours or 28°F for minutes. A frost or killing freeze can still occur when temperatures are above 32°F, especially in low and unprotected areas.The frost could have taken a toll on more Minnesota farms.“A few degrees colder and things could have been much, much worse,” said Bruce Potter at the University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center.Source - http://bringmethenews.com/

Pakistan floods damage nearly 1m hectares of crops

Monsoon rains have proved too heavy in Pakistan, damaging nearly 1m hectares of crops, but too light in neighbouring India, prompting a forecast of a 9m-tonne drop in production of summer-sown grains.Floods in Pakistan which are reported to have killed more than 300 people, and displaced more than 500,000, caused "severe damage" to agriculture, as well as houses and roads, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said."About 986,000 hectares of standing crops, particularly paddy fields in low-lying areas, have been adversely affected," the FAO said, equivalent to some 11% of the area planted with the main summer, or kharif, crops.These include cotton, sugar cane and rice, which are "an important source of foreign exchange earnings, and are cash crops for small farmers", the agency said.Indeed, Pakistan is the world's fourth-ranked rice exporter, behind India, Thailand and Vietnam, and the fourth biggest producer of cotton for its sizeable textile industry, a significant employer and source of exports.Furthermore, the floods have cast a cloud over the planting of the important wheat crop, which starts next month, by destroying inventories of fertilizer, machinery and seed.India prospectsThe crop losses contrast with a dent to India's summer crop prospects from weak monsoon rains, which have run 12% below average.Ashish Bahuguna, the country's farm secretary, on Friday estimates at 120.27m tonnes the country's harvest of kharif grains, a fall of 9.0m tonnes year on year, thanks in part to a 3% drop in sowings.Much of the production decline would be felt in rice output, seen falling 3.7m tonnes to 88.02m tonnes.Corn output was pegged at 16.03m tonnes, down from 17.68m tonnes last year.Among other crops, total oilseeds output was pegged at 19.7m tonnes, from 22.4m tonnes last year, while the cotton harvest was estimated at 34.6m 170-kilgramme bales (5.9m tonnes), down 5.5%.Source - http://www.agrimoney.com/

Subsidies to cotton industry declines in 2013/14

Subsidies to the cotton industry have declined in 2013/14 compared to a year earlier, according to a new report released by the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).The report titled ‘Production and Trade Policies Affecting the Cotton Industry’, prepared by the ICAC secretariat estimates subsidies, including direct support to production, border protection, crop insurance subsidies, and minimum support price mechanisms, at US$ 6.5 billion in 2013/14 cotton year.The estimated amount of subsidies to the cotton industry in 2013/14 is lower compared to the record $7.4 billion subsidies in 2012/13.Under the heading ‘Government Support to the Cotton Industry’, the report states that a total of ten countries provided subsidies in 2013/14 to the cotton industry, and the subsidies averaged 26 cents per pound, the same as in 2012/13.The ICAC Secretariat has been reporting government measures in cotton in 1997/98 season, and it has found that there is a strong negative correlation between subsidies and cotton prices. “In years when prices are high, subsidies tend to decline and in years when prices are low, subsidies tend to rise,” the report mentions.In 2013/14 season too, the negative correlation continued. As the Cotlook A Index increased from an average of 88 cents per pound in 2012/13 to an average of 91 cent per pound in 2013/14, subsidies provided to cotton growers declined.In some countries, such as Brazil, India, Pakistan and Mexico, minimum support price (MSP) programs were not triggered during 2013/14 because market prices were above the government intervention prices.The share of world cotton production receiving direct government assistance, including direct payments and border protection, increased from an average of 55 percent between 1997/98 and 2007/08, to an estimated 84 percent in 2008/09. During 2009/10 through 2013/14, the share declined and averaged 47 percent. In 2013/14 the share of production receiving direct assistance is estimated at 44 percent.Some countries provided subsidies for cotton inputs in 2013/14, especially for fertilizers, storage, transportation, classing services and other marketing costs, the report mentions.Source - http://www.fibre2fashion.com/

India - Kashmir floods destroy Rs 1,000 Cr apple crop

This month's massive floods have caused a loss of Rs 1,000 crore to the apple crop in Kashmir, threatening a collapse of the horticulture industry in the state.Kashmir's apple crop worth Rs 1,000 crore has been destroyed, causing a financial ruin for growers and the risk of high prices for fruit consumers in the country, a report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said.The worst-hit districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Sopore are the largest producers of apple and extensive damage has been reported there.The picturesque Kashmir has suffered its worst floods in decades, with hundreds of thousands people stranded without access to food, clean water, electricity and phone networks.Entire neighbourhoods were submerged in swirling floodwaters when the Jhelum river breached its banks, causing a huge loss to property and business.More than half of the state's winter capital Srinagar was inundated."Horticultural production of the state contributes about 50 per cent of the Rs 2,000 crore agricultural production of the state involving 30 lakh people. Apple production accounts for 86 per cent by value of the state's horticultural output," the Assocham report said."Apple is the mainstay of Kashmir's economy with a turnover of Rs 1,200 crore a year and its production in the state has reached about 1.6 million metric tonnes annually," it pointed out.The sector also employs nearly 30,00,000 people directly and indirectly. Apple accounts for a lion's share of the state's fruit output and contributes about 10 per cent to its economy."Kashmir apples, known for their taste and juice, have already lost a huge market share to those grown in other north Indian states due to the low prices of the latter variety," said DS Rawat, secretary-general of Assocham."Kashmir apples are favourite not only in the domestic market but also abroad. With the supply line closed from Kashmir, the price of apple has already started shooting up and the ensuing Navratra season will see further jump by 40-45 per cent. As the supply from rest of the country will not be able to make up for the loss, dependence on imports will also increase," he said.Fruit Bowl of IndiaThe wholesale market organisers in Delhi are projecting more than 60 per cent fall in the quantity of apples from Kashmir in the entire season.Most families in Sopore in north Kashmir and Shopian in the south are involved in the cultivation of the fruit that flourishes in the hilly environment.Orchards in Kashmir Valley once known as the fruit bowl of India are full of fragrant apples but growers fear the disastrous year of business.The horticulture industry in Kashmir generates Rs 500-600 crore for the state exchequer annually, according to Assocham.Kashmiri apple varieties like the red, glistening "Firdous" and "Amri" have over the years become hugely popular world over, it said, adding India is the world's 11th largest apple producer.Though apple is the major fruit grown in Kashmir, other fruits like cherry, peach, apricots and pears are also grown on a large scale.Kashmir's apple and pear varieties are considered best in the world.While the fruit production in the Valley is around 15 to 17 lakh metric tonnes annually, the growers say Kashmir has a capability to produce 25-30 lakh tonnes every year.Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah admitted the administration's response to the disaster was slow but said the government was overwhelmed by the scale of flooding.Source - http://www.businessworld.in/

India - Punjab, Haryana face kharif deficit, West UP too affected as deficient monsoon retreats

The country’s grain bowl — Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh — may end up being the driest in the country this kharif season in the wake of an erratic monsoon season. Things are not looking up for the upcoming rabi season either.The southwest monsoon is set to begin its retreat within 48 hours, starting with the west end (Rajasthan), after having overstayed its visit to the northwest by more than three weeks.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says "conditions are favourable for the withdrawal of seasonal rain from some parts of the northwest during the next two days".There is, however, still time for the IMD to officially declare the retreat from the rest of the northwest. The conditions that led to heavy downpour over Jammu and Kashmir have weakened considerably in the past 10 days.Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has already warned that the areas that received deficient rain during kharif (primarily Punjab, Haryana and western UP) will continue to face challenges during the rabi season.The first advance kharif foodgrain production estimates released this Friday have projected a decline of over 7 per cent because of deficient monsoon.The government estimates put the foodgrain production at 120.27 million tonnes (MT), down by nearly 10 MT from the fourth advance estimate of 129.24 MT last year.The production of key winter crop wheat is estimated to go down from 91.69 MT a year ago to 88.02 MT in 2014-15.Terming the initial kharif forecast “conservative”, Singh remains optimistic that production could rise in the following estimates — a trend observed in the past years. But the situation is not as bad as 2009 — another bad monsoon year.The Centre has asked states to focus on 3.37 million hectare left unsown to make up for the expected kharif shortfall. Singh said during rabi, the focus would be on improving production of pulses and oilseeds since acreage under these two crops had been affected the most because of delayed rain.In 2014, the southwest monsoon began its sojourn with a delay and topped it up with deficit in some areas and excess in others.Normally, monsoon begins withdrawing from Rajasthan in the first week of September, completing its retreat journey through the region by mid-September.But there have been instances in the past when monsoon overstayed its visit. IMD officials say there are no hard and fast deadlines and variations in arrival and departure dates are normal. For instance, last year the retreat began from Rajasthan on September 9 and from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana around September 19.While a delayed departure can help in sowing of winter crops by adding moisture to the soil, seasonal rain extending beyond a point can harm the standing crops — particularly paddy and cotton — ready for harvest. For rain-deficit parts of the northwest, this extra rain is helpful but not beyond a point.Overall, the northwest deficit is down to 21 per cent, primarily on the back of the 15 per cent excess rain that lashed Jammu and Kashmir over a few days. But most of the other subdivisions of the region, except Rajasthan, are down with a severe shortfall.But with 47 and 55 per cent shortfall so far this year, Punjab and Haryana will go down as the worst affected states in the entire country along with western UP (-54) and eastern UP (-41).Hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are short of 26 and 35 per cent rain, respectively. East and West Rajasthan have so far received 3 and 2 per cent extra rain, respectively. Marathwada and Telangana are the other two regions to have suffered a rain shortfall in the country, which has otherwise now improved to a deficit of 12 per cent.Source - http://www.tribuneindia.com/

22.09.2014

India - CM Removes Crop Insurance Thorn

When Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa announced on Saturday that the old National Agriculture Insurance scheme (NAIS) will be valid for Samba, she took a major thorn out of the delta farmers’ flesh.For, the Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) introduced by the erstwhile UPA government a few years ago was seen as hostile by the farmers because of its high premium and low cover. In fact, though the government specified an agriculture loan disbursal target of `1,826 crore for 2014-2015 Samba crop, only a small section had availed of it so far since they were wary of the MNAIS. Now, the Chief Minister’s announcement has lifted that burden.Farmers comfortable with NAIS because of its low premium claim that the MNAIS, instead of providing security, acted as a burden. They said they were uncertain on taking the crop loan since they would be forced to pay about 50 per cent of the loan amount as premium under MNAIS.Speaking to Express, Cauvery Dhanapalan, general secretary of the Cauvery Farmers Welfare Association said, “Under MNAIS, the maximum cover per acre is `6,000. In other words, after I spend about `20,000 for paddy cultivation per acre, I will get just `6,000 in case of crop failure. So, insurance companies will reap the benefits while farmers will bear the burden.”Under the NAIS scheme, for receiving claims of `6,000 per acre, small and medium scale farmers had to pay two per cent of their claim amount as premium. That worked out to `120 per acre. Large scale farmers paid 2.5 per cent premium, which amounted to about `150 for `6,000 insurance cover. But under the MNAIS, farmers say that they had to pay `1,725 (28.74 per cent of the cover amount) as premium for insurance of `6,000 per acre. “If a farmer avails `1 lakh as agriculture loan, he would have to shell out as much as `52,000 as premium under MNAIS. Worried over the hefty premium, farmers were unwilling to avail of bank loans for Samba,” Dhanapalan claims. District Collector T Munusamy concurs.Happily, all that has now changed since the old scheme is back in force.Source - http://www.newindianexpress.com/

India - Efforts on to improve crop insurance scheme

Chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan said constant efforts are being made to improve crop insurance scheme in the interest of farmers. For this, dialogue is being held with Centre.Chouhan was launching distribution of certificates for crop insurance claim amount in the state from Nasrullahganj in Sehore district on Thursday. As a token, he gave away certificates to 50 farmers. In Sehore district, certificates worth Rs 296 crore 50 lakh will be given to farmers.For the first time in the history of Madhya Pradesh, crop insurance claim amount worth Rs 2,167 crore 43 lakh is being distributed to 14 lakh 20 thousand 602 farmers of 34 districts.For the first time in the country, Madhya Pradesh government had distributed Rs 12 thousand 345 crore from its own resources to over 1.50 crore farmers for losses due to hailstorm and frost in year 2013-14, bonus on procurement and various subsidies. The amount was deposited directly in the bank accounts of majority of the farmers.Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Bulgaria - Grapes crop reports drop countrywide

“There are problems with the preservation of the vines throughout the entire country,” Associate Professor Angel Ivanov, wine technologist and lecturer with the Agrarian University in Bulgaria’s second biggest city of Plovdiv.“2014 started very badly, yet from the spring – frequent rain-showers, pouring rain, hail and storms, which hampered the normal process of the phenophase of the vines,” Ivanov remarked.According to the expert, the grapes crop will most likely register a decrease but the loss will be different for the different regions in the country.“In some places the crops may reach 60% - 70% of last year’s ones, while in other places there will be almost nothing to harvest,” Ivanov commented further.Source - http://www.focus-fen.net/

USA - Florida orange growers could replant 6M trees under new fed program

Florida’s citrus growers whose groves are affected by a deadly citrus disease can recoup some of the cost of tree removal and replanting under a federal program announced Wednesday.U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that the Tree Assistance Program is now being extended to Florida growers affected by citrus greening.The program allows farmers replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes and vines damaged by natural disasters. Under the program, Florida citrus growers will be eligible for up to 50 percent of the cost of the removal of diseased trees, 65 percent of the cost of replanting and labour, and 65 percent of the cost of seedlings. Losses must have occurred on or after Oct. 1, 2011.Vilsack said it’s important for Florida growers to remove the diseased trees and replant new trees, otherwise the industry will continue to suffer crop and job losses.“We don’t really have a definitive solution and in order to keep this contained and hopefully over time, reverse it,” said Vilsack. “It’s going to be necessary for us to put an emphasis on removing diseased trees and planting new trees.”He estimated around 4,500 grove owners could be eligible for the program. Growers can recoup up to $125,000 in assistance; individuals or business with average gross income exceeding $900,000 are ineligible for payment.“We need 6 million trees to be replanted to make up for the losses already sustained,” said Vilsack.Florida’s citrus growers have been the hardest-hit in the U.S. Researchers are working furiously to come up with a vaccine or cure.Citrus is a large part of Florida’s agriculture landscape. The state’s oranges, and orange juice, are iconic, having been marketed to Americans for decades as a wholesome breakfast drink.The citrus industry contributes $9 billion per year to the state’s economy and supports about 76,000 jobs.Most of Florida’s oranges are used for juice, unlike California oranges, which are destined for the fresh fruit market. According to the USDA, the U.S. citrus crop was worth $3.15 billion in the 2012-2013 growing season, down 15 percent from the previous season.The value of the Florida citrus crop was $1.53 billion in the 2012-2013 growing season, and the state comprised 63 percent of all U.S. citrus production.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/