Agroinsurance

India - Farmers fear loss of crops and income after currency ban

For farmer Buddha Singh, who works a small plot of land in the village of Bajna south of New Delhi, the government's decision to abolish Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes to crush the shadow economy could hardly have come at a worse time. He and millions of other farmers cannot get enough cash to buy the seeds and fertilisers they need for their winter crops, threatening production of key commodities and hurting rural communities only just recovering after two years of drought. "We can't buy our full requirements of seeds, fertiliser and pesticides on credit. There is a limit," said Singh, a turbaned man in his 50s, who tills a two-acre field near the highway running from the capital to the holy city of Mathura. "We're running out of time as we've only 10-15 days more to plant crops like wheat, mustard and chickpeas," he added, to murmurs of assent from around 30 fellow farmers sitting under a neem tree and discussing their predicament. India's 26.3 crore farmers mostly live in the cash economy, exposing them to the full impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shocking 8-November announcement that larger denomination bank notes would immediately cease to be legal tender. Modi's drive to purge "black cash" from the economy has, at a stroke, wiped out 86 percent of the money in circulation. Delays in printing new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes mean that money could be tight for weeks to come. While city dwellers are still queuing up to exchange or deposit old money at the bank, and to draw new funds, many villagers live miles from the nearest branch and have yet to see the new notes being rushed into circulation. Dragged down Delays to the planting season that began last month threaten to dent agricultural and overall economic growth, wiping out gains for farmers who this year cashed in on decent monsoon rains after being hit by drought in 2014 and 2015. Farmers who have already spent money on ploughing and irrigation to keep the soil moist can ill afford to leave their land fallow. Late sowing typically reduces yields and increases the risk that inclement spring weather could damage crops. "In all likelihood, we'll not be able to recover our cost of cultivation as the prime sowing time has nearly lapsed," said Prakash Chandra Sharma, another local farmer. The farmers said they spent an average of Rs 58,000 per hectare to grow wheat, only to eke out an income of Rs 70,000. That assumes a crop yield of about 3.2 tonnes per hectare. A drop in wheat output would boost local prices that are already near record highs. Stocks are at their lowest level for nearly a decade, and even before the latest cash crunch, private traders were expected to import around 3 million tonnes this year. Devinder Sharma, an independent food and trade policy analyst, said rural communities in particular would suffer from the demonetisation move. "It's a little early to hazard a guess about the extent of crop loss," said Sharma. "But both rural income and demand will take a big hit before things start improving from April next year." Thanks, but no thanks In the latest in a series of ad hoc steps, the government on Thursday allowed farmers to withdraw up to Rs 25,000 a week against their crop loans to ensure that sowing of winter crops "takes place properly". Shaktikanta Das, a top finance ministry official, also said a time limit for farmers to pay crop insurance premiums had been extended by 15 days. But that cuts little ice with farmers, who often rely for their cash not on banks but on money lenders charging annual interest of up to 40 percent. Most farmers have already availed of their farm loan for the previous summer season and, for the handful who can still withdraw, the ceiling is too low," said Tejinder Narang, a New Delhi-based farm expert After selling their rice crop last month, many are stuck with old 500 and 1,000 bills they can no longer spend. They are only allowed to exchange Rs 2,000 into new money, and the rest must be deposited before the notes cease to be accepted by banks after 30 December. "Four banks cater to 200 villages of about 2,000 people each. It's not easy to get your old currency notes converted," said Harbir Singh, another local farmer. Markets idled The breakdown in the cash economy is causing major disruptions to the supply of produce to the cities, with payment alternatives such as plastic cards or digital wallet apps on smartphones yet to gain widespread acceptance. At Delhi's Azadpur Mandi, Asia's largest fruit and vegetable wholesale market, traders said business was at a virtual standstill, and labourers who usually earn between Rs 300 and Rs 500 a day sat idle. "The bosses are giving us Rs 500 bills, but we are refusing to take those notes," said porter Raju Kumar Rathore. "Then they are telling us to collect our money after a week or 10 days. For us that is a big problem." Source - http://www.firstpost.com

Africa's farmers are among the most hurt by climate change

Experts use many numbers when talking about climate change. However, rising temparatures, the resulting crop failures, and the consequent loss of livelihoods and destitution of millions of households are this year’s most important and urgent development for millions of smallholder farmers across the vastness of the African agro-ecological landscapes. To illustrate the unfolding crisis, let us consider the case of Malawi, one of the few countries to have achieved a fair deal of agricultural success but that is now facing the worst drought in over three decades. As is the case with many countries in southern Africa, Malawi has experienced widespread crop failures due to a devastatingly strong El Niño. The country witnessed late on-set of rains, erratic rainfall, floods and prolonged dry spells. As a result, the production of maize - the country’s main staple crop - is estimated at just over 2.5 million tonnes in 2016. This is 16 percent lower than the reduced harvest in 2015 and 34 percent below the previous five‑year average. It has left 39 percent of the population dependant on national and international food aid to survive - a 129 percent increase over last year’s vulnerable population. In the hardest hit areas, harvest reduced by 70 percent while farmers in some areas simply couldn’t plant as the rains never came. Dealing with this challenge in the future will require both efforts to reduce climate change and, most importantly, strategies to enable farmers to adapt to its effects. All eyes are now on the meeting taking place in Marrakesh of the world’s climate change experts and policy makers, which is seeking to set the world on track to reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Last year, the same experts met in Paris and reached a welcome agreement that seeks to limit the rise in global temperatures above pre-industrial levels by under 2 degrees Celsius. However, the emissions of greenhouse gases are not yet falling and the effects of climate change are worsening. Much more still needs to be done to address this challenge proactively. Nowhere else is the imperative to act more urgent than in Africa, where 70 percent of the population is dependent on rain-fed, smallholder agriculture. As the case of Malawi demonstrates, rising temperatures in Africa often signal drought and other extreme weather events that put the lives and livelihoods of smallholder farmers at greater risk, increasing their vulnerability to famine and diseases. This reality is here with us today, and far beyond Malawi and southern Africa, with large swathes of the continent currently under the grip of a historical drought. For this reason, those of us from the African continent hope that such a backdrop will give the first post-Paris meeting a greater sense of urgency. Inaction will be catastrophic. Although Africa emits less than 3 percent of the climate change inducing greenhouse gases, it will suffer its effects disproportinately. Mean temperatures will rise faster than the global average, exceed 2 degrees Celsius and may reach as high as 3 degrees to 6 degrees Celsius by 2100. For every year our global leaders fail to make progress against their commitments, it is Africa’s families that will pay the greatest price. This is not to leave everything in the hands of global leaders, as the prosperity of Africa and its farmers will also depend on how well farmers, especially smallholders, are able to adapt to the changing climate. This is much more within our control. Indeed, the work of AGRA and our partners has shown that African farmers are not powerless in the face of climate change. There are many ways in which they can survive and even thrive despite the dramatic shifts in growing conditions they are likely to endure. For instance, farmers in some parts of Malawi, who are planting more drought-tolerant crops — cassava, sweet potato and pigeon pea — and using better agricultural practices are not only surviving the drought, they are expecting to generate a good income on this year's harvest. The insurance and finance sectors have also stepped up to the plate by designing innovative products that are minimizing the effects of climate shocks to farmers. In Malawi, tens of thousands of farmers in the worst hit areas south of the country will now have access to credit from a microfinance institution that has protected these loans with a yield insurance that covers the crops against the impact of floods and drought. Overall, to achieve food security under climate change, the resilience of communities and individual farmers needs to be strengthened through pro-active and longer-term adaptation actions. Although a lot more is yet to be accomplished, the continent has invested in the development and adoption of many new agriculture innovations and technologies which should be scaled up. We cannot put off further action on mitigating and adapting to climate change without expecting even greater pain for smallholder farmers and others around the world. From Marrakesh to all countries’ capitals and decision making tables around the world, I hope world leaders will seize the moment to take action and continue to put us on a path toward a better future. A future where African smallholder farmers can fully exploit their potential to deliver food security, contribute to poverty reduction and achieve inclusive economic growth and development. Source - http://news.trust.org

USA - How disasters are creating uncertain future for some SC farmers

The Double R Farm has produced abundant crops for four generations of Rabon family farmers here, and despite the double whammy of record rains during the October harvest last year and last month’s hurricane, they are determined to weather the hardship. “I'll do whatever I gotta do, even if it means I’m worn out and broke,” said Ronald Rabon. “But if I make it this year, it will take a miracle from the Lord.” Tropical storm-force winds and 12 inches of rain from Hurricane Matthew battered 700 acres of his cotton just as the bolls began to open, resulting in hardlock that made picking nearly impossible. They were able to salvage about 100 acres, mostly from farm lands tucked among wooded areas protected from the wind. Instead of 1,400 bales of cotton this year, the Rabons will likely end up with about 450 bales. “I’ve lost more money than I made in two years,” Rabon said. The Rabons and farmers across South Carolina were hit by a drought last year, and after months of praying for rain, the heavens opened in early October and dropped about 14 inches in 24 hours. Farmers in Horry County racked up $9 million in damage, while statewide the amount topped $530 million. William Hardee III, Clemson University’s area agronomy agent for Horry County, said farmers were on the path for a perfect crop this year – until Matthew hit. Cotton was hit; soybeans and peanut crops also were severely damaged, Hardee said. “We needed a perfect year to make up for last year, but this took our chance away,” Hardee said. Although the final damage assessment has not been tallied, Hardee said it appears that the hurricane will not exceed last year’s drought and record flood destruction of crops. “It’s not doom and gloom, not the devastation we saw last year, but it was bad for a lot of folks, worse for some others,” Hardee said. Out of 600 acres of cotton planted last year, the Rabons salvaged 200 acres that amounted to less than 350 bales. “Now I’m telling you, it’s been tough,” said the patriarch of the family, 86-year-old Dock Rabon. Gov. Nikki Haley vetoed $40 million in farm aid this spring, calling it an industry bailout, prompting a backlash from farmers and lawmakers who voted to overturn her decision. That funding eventually paid about 25 percent of Rabon’s losses, and he was forced to refinance the 1,200 acre farm. “I expected to make it up this year, but the cotton hit the dirt. And what didn’t fall, hardlocked. It ain’t looking good,” Rabon said. Nearly 800 farmers in Horry County have applied for assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture because of damage caused by Hurricane Matthew. However, direct payments for damaged crops were eliminated in the 2014 Farm Bill, so aid is limited to emergency conservation problems, property damage, debris removal, leveling land or repairing fences for livestock. State agriculture officials are still assessing the recent damage and officials are mum on whether any financial assistance will be forthcoming. “Two years in a row is rough,” said Jared Martin, who estimates he lost half of his 300-acre peanut crops due to Hurricane Matthew. “We’ve got to have some help, I can’t handle no more,” said Martin. “Insurance don’t pay nothing, and our government just ain’t helping.” Martin and his father at the D and J Farm managed to pay their bills last year, with only $2,000 left to split between them. This year, Martin said he will break even. “I’m working all year for nothing,” Martin said. Rabon and Martin are uncertain about their future in farming, and Martin isn’t willing to commit to planting crops next year. “All I know is farming, but I guess I could go to Walmart and shake some hands,” Rabon said. Rabon has already reached out to state and federal lawmakers to let them know the severity of the damage, but he’s counting on private refinancing to pull him through to farm another year. “In all the years I’ve farmed, I’ve never had to call my congressperson or governor for help, we’ve always made a living,” Rabon said. Rabon says he’s not looking for a free handout, but unless the Farm Bill is amended, he says farmers won’t be able to survive severe natural disasters, like the back-to-back harvest storms. “When I’m dead, it’s over,” Rabon said. “My kids can’t make a living farming, and I don’t blame them. They watched me go broke and wore out.” And when that happens, he asked, “Who will feed this country?” Source - http://www.thestate.com

India - Farmers to get crop insurance

After a wait of more than a year, over 21 lakh farmers from the state are going to receive crop insurance . "The government will soon start disbursing crop loan to 11 lakh farmers as both the state and the Centre have sanctioned Rs 800 crore each. This apart, farmers have contributed nearly Rs 150 crore," said chief secretary A P Padhi after here after a meeting of the state agriculture cabinet led by chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India - Farmers to get Rs 4,414 cr crop insurance claim in Bhopal

A fund of Rs 4,414 crore received under national crop insurance scheme for 20.45 lakh farmers, who were affected due to drought in Kharif season-2016, will be adjusted in their bank accounts. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said it is first time since independence, when any state has received such a big corpus of fund under the scheme. Chouhan said national agricultural insurance scheme was successfully implemented by the state government to compensate the damage caused to farmers due to drought. The said insured amount would be given to 20,45,794 farmers. Rs 2027 crore were given as centre’s share while Rs 2027 crore were state’s share. Due to instant action by the state and the centre, the farmers are able to avail this benefit. Source - http://www.freepressjournal.in

India - Centre releases Rs 800 crores of Crop Insurance for Odisha Farmers

The Chief Secretary, Aditya Prasad Padhi on Thursday informed that the Central Government has provided Rs 800 crores as central assistance in crop insurance to the farmers affected by last year’s drought in Odisha. The received crop insurance will be disbursed to farmers as soon as it possible, said Aditya Padhi. Earlier, the State Government has submitted its crop yield data to the Ministry of Agriculture on September 3, 2016 requested centre to release its share of Rs 795.31 crores for settlement of crop insurance claims of the farmers for 2015 Kharif season. Source - http://www.odishanewsinsight.com

Asia - Farmers start adapting to climate-related risks

Saffron is not only the heritage crop of Kashmir but has also been a lucrative agricultural activity in the region for decades. It is considered the world’s costliest spice, and Kashmiri varieties fetch around USD 3,000 per kg although prices have droppped in recent years. In 2011, the fame of Kashmiri saffron was used as an anti-narcotics candidate for weaning Afghanistan’s farmers away from poppy when farmers’ delegations from that country were invited to Kashmir for learning the skills of growing saffron from Kashmiri farmers and agricultural experts. The mountainous Kashmir valley has always had a monopoly in saffron production in India and the production of this high-value crop had reached its peak in the 1990s in the Kashmir region with an annual average of around 15.5 metric tonnes over 5,700 hectares. Impacted by Climate Change But both saffron land and crop production have declined in recent years. According to Kashmir’s agriculture department, saffron land has got reduced from 5,700 hectares in 1990s to 3,715 hectares in 2016, while per hectare production has come down to 1.88 kilograms. The declining production in recent years, according to the farmers, is forcing them to shift to other crops. For example, Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat, a farmer in Lethpora-Pulwama, has converted half an acre land out of his 2.50 acre saffron land into an orchard and one-third of an acre into a vegetable farm. “I am planning to convert another kanal (one-eighth of an acre) of saffron land into garlic cultivation because garlic now fetches good money in the market,” Bhat said. He and his fellow farmers said that a number of others have done so while some others find it more profitable to sell saffron land to builders or carry out constructions themselves on it despite the Saffron Act , under which changing saffron land for any other use is banned. The farmers said that a few spells of rain, from the month of August to October, play a crucial role in flowering of the saffron crop. “But, in most of the years since late 1990s, we have been witnessing that these months pass off without any rainfall,” said Dilawar Reshi, a farmer in south Kashmir’s Pulwama, where 90 per cent of Kashmir’s saffron is grown. Firdous Nahvi of Kashmir’s Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), who has carried out extensive research on saffron and has been helping farmers rejuvenate the saffron crop though a USD 60 million federal farm ministry project, said that the issue of irrigation is the actual reason why saffron yield is on decline. “Creating sprinkle irrigation facility was the critical part of the project because we have observed in recent years that it doesn’t rain when the crop needs the moisture. In any part of the world, farming is unthinkable without water,” Nahvi said and added that other help for farmers like providing fertilizers and corms (seeds) to them [as part of the project] is useless unless their crop gets sprinkle irrigation. The government project, launched in 2010, was supposed to create the irrigation facility four years back, but is yet to do so. Agriculture and climate change According to the 5th IPCC assessment report, on a global level, climate change could affect food security by the mid-21st century and that most of the food insecure would continue to be in South Asia, where there are currently roughly 300 million undernourished people. “Climate-related declines in food productivity will impact on livelihoods and exports, increasing poverty levels. For instance, in Bangladesh, these factors would cause a net increase in poverty of 15% by 2030,” the report said. A report prepared by Climate Action Network South Asia and Asia Pacific Adaptation Network says that agriculture is the mainstay of several countries in South Asia and is also one of the largest sources of employment continuing to be the single largest contributor to the GDP in the region. As three-ﬁfth of the cropped area is rain-fed, the economy of South Asia, says the report, hinges critically on the annual success of the monsoons, indicative of the well-being of millions. “In the event of a failure, the worst affected are the landless and the poor whose sole source of income is from agriculture and its allied activities,” it said. Farmers’ Response Farmers in south Asia are already struggling with the climate-related changes and have started responding to them. “The common perception of farmers towards the impacts of climate change at least in four states of India — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka — where I carried out my survey, was rising temperatures, decreasing precipitation and prolonged dry spells,” said Ravi Shankar, Principal Scientist at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) in Hyderabad. “The common adaptation measures by farmers towards these changes are buying insurance, change in planting dates and cropping pattern, and planting different crops.” For example, Shankar says, staggered sowings, change in planting dates, requiring of drought-resistant crops, and construction of water-harvesting structures are the major adaptation measures followed by farmers toward climate change in Mahbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. “Also, the farmers in Mahbubnagar are used to observe the pattern of rainy season, and if gets conspicuous, they will continue farming. Otherwise, they migrate and work as construction labourers at Gangavati, Hyderabad, and Bangalore,” said Shankar, the lead author of Climate Change and Agricultural Adaptation in South Asia, published in Elsevier. A study carried out in 2015 in three districts of Punjab province of Pakistan, has identified a number of climate-related risks perceived by farm households such as extreme temperature events, insect attacks, animal diseases and crop pests. “Limited water availability, high levels of poverty and a weak role of local government in providing proper infrastructure were the factors that make farmers more sensitive to climate-related risks,” the study says. “Due to these constraints, adaptation in agricultural is self-initiated and varies [in] different socio-economic settings such as level of education, land holdings, tenancy status, access to institutional resources and farm location,” said one of the authors of the study, Muhammad Abid of Centre for Earth System Research and Sustainability, University of Hamburg. “Small farmers, less educated and tenants mainly prefer to adopt short term or low cost adaptation measures such as changing cropping varieties, crop types or planting sowing dates. On the other hand, the adoption of long term or advanced adaptation measures such as crop diversification, soil and water conservation is only considered by either highly educated or large farmers.” Adaptive capacity According to Abid, to enhance the adaptive capacity of farmers and adaptation in the agriculture sector, serious efforts are required in the functioning of local agricultural institutions and their scope. Further, he says, policies need to be designed based on field based research and should be area specific considering local issues and needs. “New adaptation measures need to be developed through research and informed to farmers accordingly through extension.” Using data from a household survey of 2660 farm families in Bihar state of Eastern India, Terai of Nepal and coastal Bangladesh, a study in Current Science in April 2016 says that late or early planting, adopting new crops or varieties, introducing legumes in rotations, and planting improved, disease- and pest-tolerant varieties are the most frequently cited changes being made to farming practices in these surveyed areas. “While we did not attempt to isolate climate-resilient practices per se, it does appear that these shifts are related to rainfall and water-related constraints. Other studies show that in certain parts of Nepal’s Terai and India, many households have shifted to rice varieties that require less water and/or that can be sown at a later date to adapt to rainfall variability,” the study has found. The study says that strategies such as adjusting planting dates and new varieties have been found to contribute to climate change adaptation. Drought tolerant According to International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), farmers in Sri Lanka are shifting from annual crops to perennial drought tolerant plantations like cashew, particularly in rain-fed areas where the potential for irrigation is not available. This move is mainly driven by the urge to avoid the risk of crop failure. It says that farmers are also moving towards the use of short duration varieties, hybrids and drought tolerant varieties wherever seed is available. Another important adaptation strategy is diversification of the means of livelihood by marginal and smallholder farmers. Farmers in Sri Lanka, according to the ICRISAT, experience difficulty in accessing inputs and this is probably an impediment to effective adaptation of any improved management practice. It further says that farmers have diversified their incomes into nonfarm sectors and business. “Outward migration and earnings from service are the major sources of diversification. In recent times, income diversification has reduced the risk of rainfall variability through reduced dependence on agricultural incomes.” About Bangladesh, ICRISAT says that the farmers perceive that more efficient and increased irrigation potential through surface and groundwater sources will improve their production sustainability and productivity. “Farmers feel that crop insurance will help them cover the risks, but the present scheme of Crop Insurance is with private players and the farmers perceive that it is not universal in its coverage. A universal Crop Insurance scheme that covers all crops will be of great help to the farmers.” Source - http://indiaclimatedialogue.net

Australia - Reality of frost damage across Western Australia sets in as farmers begin harvesting

As the 2016 grain harvest kicks off, Western Australian farmers' worst expectations for frost damage are being met, with some experiencing crop losses of up to 90 per cent. Grain growers from around the state were aware the damage from a series of frost events late in the season could be significant, but had continued to hope for the best come harvest time. However the cards have not fallen in their favour. Narembeen farmer and shire councillor, Bevan Thomas, has estimated a loss of 50 to 70 per cent of his barley crop, and 30 per cent of the canola. "It's a mixed bag, but probably towards the bottom end of the bag," Mr Thomas said. And on top of losses due to frost, further quality issues have arisen. "To rub a bit of insult to injury, we're fighting on the weights of the barley as well. "It's bad enough you can not be getting yield, but all of a sudden your quality can change quite dramatically, too." Although much of the district is yet to begin harvesting wheat crops, Mr Thomas is not confident for much improvement. "Say a 100-hectare paddock you go through from one side to the other and you get nothing on your yield monitor. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="340"] PHOTO: Wheat crop destroyed by frost on Tony York's Tammin property. 26 September 2016 (Supplied: Tony York)[/caption] "But that's not to say the whole paddock is gone," Mr Thomas said. "On that one particular paddock I would say that is 90 per cent [frost damaged]. "But the one next door to it, and lower down into the valley, may be okay. "So hopefully everyone's finding some good, and some bad." Damage felt state-wide In nearby shire, Hyden, long time farmer, Colin Nicholl, has also experienced a "mixed bag". "We've found some of our barley has yielded very well, it's had very little affect from the frost, but other parts of it have been very badly affected," he said. Mr Nicholl said the high expectations for a "bumper harvest" this year had added to the blow. "There's a higher level of disappointment because back in August and the early part of the year we thought we were in for an absolute bumper year, one of the best years ever. "And to have it taken away from us by an event like frost, you find it very hard to accept. "But it's one of the vagaries of frost — the better the crop, the harder it seems to affect it. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="340"] PHOTO: Branden Gryll's farm 25 kilometres west of Corrigin saw frost cover his farm. (Supplied: Braden Gryll)[/caption] And Mr Nicholl said despite research efforts, at this stage there was very little grain producers could do to prevent the impact. "GRDC (Grains Research & Development Corporation) have come and examined quite a few of the crops in the district, and other parts of the state, with the idea of trying to find causes or solutions to it. "And it's one of the big events that we haven't been able to find a solution to." Reality setting in Although growers had expected the heavy losses, Bevan Thomas said it was now hitting home. "When you get in a header and you see your yield monitor saying zero, that is a little bit more confronting. "I've got a Swiss guy working for me and sometimes it's good that he's driving the header." Despite significant confirmed losses of up to 90 per cent for some growers, there are positives in the mix. "Some people are finding they've got some barley that's going well," Mr Thomas said. "I think it's good to just have a chat in the sample hut or wherever you are and they find you're not the only one having a bit of trouble." If you would like to speak with someone, the Regional Men's Health Initiative can be contacted on (08) 9690 2277, or Lifeline on 13 11 14. Source - http://www.abc.net.au

India - Officials submit crop loss report to Central team

Severe crop loss has been estimated in 1.98 lakh hectares of land in Ballari district for the kharif season in view of the deficient rainfall. Crops had been sown in 3.69 lakh hectares in the district. In a report submitted to the Central drought assessment team when it visited here recently, the district administration has said that the district recorded deficient rainfall during August, September and October, resulting in loss of standing crop in rainfed areas. Maize was severely affected in 94,430 ha of 1.02 lakh ha, followed by bajra (15,113 ha), jowar (11,864 ha), paddy (2,457 ha), minor millets (1,696 ha), tur (9,314 ha) and horse gram (307 ha). Groundnut (38,051 ha) and sunflower (8,670 ha) were affected among oilseeds, while cotton (13,907 ha) was among the commercial crops hit. As much as 7,947 ha under horticultural crops were hit, with chilli (1,958 ha) and onions (5,874 ha) the most affected. Kudligi taluk was the worst hit, with 75,248 ha severely affected. In Hagari Bommanahalli, 46,491 ha was affected, followed by Hadagali (39,418 ha), Sandur (14,194 ha), Hosapete (9,758 ha), Sirguppa (9,604 ha) and Ballari (5,105 ha). Though the exact quantum of loss is yet to be assessed, the district administration’s estimation of adequate input subsidy to farmers is Rs. 139.98 crore. Source - http://www.thehindu.com

Australia - Damage inspections underway to shape relief for Riverland growers hit by hail storm

State Government assessors are visiting Riverland properties to witness firsthand the extent of damage from South Australia's devastating hail storm on Friday. They have inspected farms from Taylorville to Yamba in the Riverland and met with growers at informal shed meetings and barbecues this week. A storm recovery hotline (0476 834 530) set up in the wake of the disaster has received calls from 80 primary producers. The damage assessment will form the basis of any government financial relief packages and growers have been encouraged to report all storm damage. "The only estimates we have are some industry estimates around $100 million but we really need to quantify that to move forward," Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) acting deputy chief executive Will Zacharin said. "[We are] putting the damage picture together and understanding the extent of the storm hail scar so we can provide that to government to tailor an appropriate recovery package." The hail storm on Friday November 11 stripped some stone fruit, almond, grape, vegetable and grain crops. It has also damaged tree buds and vines and may impact on next year's citrus, grape and stone fruit crops. "Damage to wine grapes has been significant, we understand there are over 200 growers affected across the Riverland, those areas include Taylorville, Berri, Barmera and Lyrup in particular," Mr Zacharin said. "We have also had some heavy damage and losses of between 80-100 per cent to stone fruit including nectarines, apricots and also damage to almonds. "It is quite significant although it has been patchy; some people who own multiple blocks have got pretty well smashed on one block and another block half a kilometre away hasn't been touched." Farmers band together after 'catastrophic' storm Growers have been reaching out to support each other, calling up to check in on friends and neighbours amid concerns about the mental health of those facing heavy losses. A gathering of growers was held at Cadell on Wednesday morning and at a barbecue at Lyrup in the evening; impact assessors were present at both events to provide support and technical assistance. One of the first stories to emerge from the storm was that of Yianni Koutouzis, a Berri wine grape grower who watched from his farm shed as golf-ball sized hail stones hit his orchard. "It was catastrophic; we have been farmers for over 40 years we were scared for our lives," said Berri wine grape grower Yianni Koutouzis. "Our farms were totally wiped out, 100 per cent wiped out. Our wine grapes and table grapes all gone. We're shocked, scared and don't know what to do next." The storm caused a power outage that affected more than 2,000 customers. Public libraries at Berri and Barmera were forced to close after flooding and businesses and schools experienced flooding and damage to roofs and sheds. Patients at Barmera Hospital were moved after storm damage and roofing iron was ripped from the Tailem Bend hospital staff accommodation while several hospitals had flooding. Houseboats were damaged at Mannum and hail damage to vehicles left a hefty insurance bill across the Riverland and South Australia. Source - http://www.abc.net.au

Australia - Freak storm destroys 1000s of banana bunches

Banana growers of Cassowary Coast are still counting the costs after a wild storm battered crops and left tens of thousands of banana bunches on the ground on Sunday 13 November. Craig Buchanan, from LMB Farms, was right in the firing line as hail and wind gusts of up to 150km/h battered crops in a 15-minute barrage at East Palmerston, west of Innisfail in Queensland, on Sunday afternoon. Mr Buchanan has farmed through severe tropical cyclones and floods, but said he had only experienced a storm like this one a few times. "We've lost probably 30 per cent of the bunches we had hanging on our farm, in 15 minutes." Mr Buchanan and wife Jade were still counting the costs yesterday as 40–50 workers carried out the painstaking task of removing protective bags and chopping up fallen banana bunches. "It's about 15,000 bunches, so probably looking at around 30,000 15-kilo cartons," Mr Buchanan said. "Our bunch size will drop a lot for probably the next three or four months, I'd say. "It's a bit depressing for a few days. Hopefully we don't get too many more [storms]." Growers this year have endured one of the worst banana gluts in memory, and while prices had increased for about six weeks, they were again heading south as weekly production levels exceeded 550,000 cartons. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com

USA - Major crop loss may mean the end for local organic farm

Major crop loss following one of the wettest summers on record may mean the end for Featherstone Farm in Rushford. The certified organic farm, owned by Jack Hedin since 1997, suffered more than $350,000 in total crop loss in 2016. A majority of the loss came in the form of cabbage, of which the farm relies heavily on to store and sell to retailers in the spring. "We had a big loss in crops all across the board, like tomatoes, melons and squash, carrots, but where we felt the money hit was with the cabbage," Hedin said. A storage cooler usually filled floor to ceiling with crates of cabbage is nearly empty, with only a few crates of carrots and onions inside. "From a risk management standpoint, our management strategy is to have many different crops," he said. "But this year, the one thing we can't control, the weather, cost us 80 percent of our cabbage crop." Hedin said heavy rains in August and September didn't allow his vegetable crops to dry out. As a result, disease overtook the crops. "That period of time is when cabbage is super vulnerable, so nearly all the cabbage we planted in June was wiped out by the persistent rain," he said. As a result of the loss, the farm is turning to the community for help staying alive. It's looking to raise $150,000 by Thanksgiving in order to stay open. "There's no doubt about it, if we don't get the $150,000, and I face the choice between going into the 2017 season weaker than ever, or closing the business, I think we would close the business." Despite the grim outlook, employee Jennifer Breitlow says the staff of 50 is remaining positive. "I believe in Jack's vision and he has been the most energetic and optimistic person I've ever worked for and that is what keeps us believing," she said. Source - http://www.wxow.com

India - Marketing, crop insurance key to restore farmers’ confidence

Flagging crop insurance and marketing support to the produce as key to restore the confidence of farming community in the agriculture sector, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today directed the administration to see how these two facilities are ensured to agriculturists even as she suggested use of CDF funds to give a push to rural economy. Chairing a meeting of J&K Board for the Development of Kissans here today, the Chief Minister said over the decades farmers have started losing interest in the trade due to poor or unstable marketing facilities or fear of crop loss in the event of any natural calamity like drought, hailstorm, floods etc. She asked the administration to plug the loopholes in this regard and see how various schemes and programmes meant for marketing agricultural produce and insurance of the crops are effectively and extensively executed on the ground. Likewise, she said, transportation also plays a role in the timely dispatch of the agriculture produce to mandies and directed augmentation of the same. The Chief Minister, who is also chairperson of the board, said rural economy needs to be given a push as other economies have either reached a saturation stage or are not so rewarding. She said agriculture and allied sectors still hold a good scope of employability in rural and semi-urban areas. She said if concerted efforts are made agriculture would see a turnaround in the coming four to five years. Mehbooba Mufti expressed happiness that procurement mandies are being set up in many areas of the State which would enable farmers in stabilization of selling price of their produce. She said also more and more soil testing labs are being set up to advise farmers which land is suitable for which cultivation. She suggested commercial exploitation of wild foods, herbs and mentioned specifically Anar Dana to be promoted for commercial cultivation. The Chief Minister mentioned the demand of flowers in our daily life and asked the Floriculture Department to promote flower cultivation in a big way. She suggested that the Market Intervention Scheme should not be restricted to fruits only but be extended to flowers and other produce. She said funds won’t be a problem in this regard. Mehbooba Mufti suggested that funds under Constituency Development Fund may be used to undertake economic activities in poultry, fisheries, apiculture and other areas of rural economy. She also suggested creating constituency-wise model villages for poultry, milk, fisheries, vegetables, basmati, mushkbudji, sheep etc. where these rural economy sectors would be developed exclusively and extensively. She said Animal & Sheep husbandry sector has a huge potential in strengthening rural economy. Making his intervention, Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Singh complimented the board for its activation and sought increase in the frequency of its meetings. He said the cooperative movement needs to be revived in the State and sought to undertake a data assessment of impact level in the agriculture sector in the State. He said the Agenda of Alliance of the present Government has vowed the growth and development of agriculture in the State. Earlier, Ministers for R&B, Finance, Cooperatives, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs and Grdens& Floriculture also made their interventions and suggestions for the development of agriculture sector and to make the functioning of the board more vibrant. Vice Chairman, Kissan Board thanked the Chief Minister for closely monitoring the activities of and taking interest in the activities of the board. He said the Chief Minister has restored the trust of kissans and today’s meeting in which she listened to the suggestions of individual farmers keenly is a pointer in this direction. He demanded setting up of permanent mandies for procurement of paddy. Chief Secretary, B. R. Sharma, Chairman, J&K Bank, Mr. Parvez Ahmad, Financial Commissioner, Agriculture Production, Pramod Jain, administrative secretaries of several Departments and members of the board were also present in the meeting. Source - http://www.greaterkashmir.com

Australia - Grain crops hammered by hail

FARMERS throughout South Australia and north-western Victoria are faced with crop losses tallying in the tens of thousands of tonnes after a freak series of hail storms ripped through the region on Friday. Damage was most intense in the eastern Millewa in Victoria where entire swathes of crop have sustained 100 per cent damage. Merrinee, south-west of Mildura, farmer Chris Hunt estimated there could be up to 50,000 tonnes of lost production in his local area. “On our own place, I’d suggest around 50pc of the wheat is a 100pc wipeout. “It’s different to other storms in terms of how much damage it has done, there will be thousands of hectares around here with heavy damage and then you’d obviously get a bigger area that has a lower degree of crop loss.” He said the majority of grain farmers in the area were covered with crop insurance. “We are a little luckier in that respect than those in horticulture where it can be a bit too expensive to insure.” Yarrara farmer Ron Hards in the central-western Millewa said the worst of the damage went around him, but said reports were of a wide strip of heavy hail. “It seems to have gone through in a band two or three kilometres wide, which is very large for a hail storm, getting out to a peak of around 4km at its peak.” He said a storm earlier in the day had brought heavy wind, but the destruction was done with another front that produced the hail. Mr Hards said he had received 30mm of rain in the storm but thought it would not cause crop quality issues. Across the border in eastern South Australia, Taldra, near Loxton, farmer Tim Pannell said there were strips of severe damage in his area. “We’ve got lentils we think could have 40pc damage and some canola could be up to 70pc down on yield,” he said. “It blew through the northern end of our farm and was pretty drastic – it is fair to say the crops didn’t like it too much.” Grain Producers South Australia chief executive Darren Arney said while the worst of the damage was in the eastern Mallee and the Riverland, reports had come in from areas as far away as Crystal Brook and Saddleworth in the Mid North. “There’s been patches of hail everywhere, but certainly the worst of it seems to be in those areas near the river,” he said. Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) grains group president Brett Hosking urged growers to be on the front foot in terms of involving their insurance agencies. “Talk to your insurer, get your claim in early and include just as much information as you can.” “The best results come when you have an open and frank dialogue with the insurers.” Mr Hunt said the storm had been surreal. “All the hail on the road, we went for a drive and it felt like you were in North Dakota, it looked like snow.” He said it was a disappointing event with early yields coming in well above average. “We’d just got going in the wheat and yields were well above average. “While we’ve got insurance it is a shame not to get the crop off.” The storm has also ruined growers’ ability to tap into a lucrative short term wheat price spike. Domestic end users have been caught short due to the slow start to harvest meaning prices for prompt delivery are markedly higher than what is expected when harvest hits full swing in southern Australia. Source - http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au

USA - Tobacco farmers accused of filing false claims under federal crop insurance program

The federal government alleges several individuals filed false claims under the federal crop insurance program. United States of America recently filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Waycross Division against Julian Rigby, Jasper Allen, Benjamin Swain, Alma Brightleaf Blueberry Farms Inc., Julian Rigby Inc., Georgia-Florida Tobacco Exchange Inc. and Heritage Tobacco Inc. citing the False Claims Act and other counts. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that beginning in crop year 2008 through crop year 2010, it has suffered damages for paying defendants' higher insurance claims under the Multi-Peril Crop Insurance program. The plaintiff holds Rigby, Allen, Swain, Alma Brightleaf Blueberry Farms Inc., Julian Rigby Inc., Georgia-Florida Tobacco Exchange Inc. and Heritage Tobacco Inc. responsible because the defendants allegedly devised a scheme to improperly obtain money from the federal crop insurance program in excess of what they were entitled and submitted false claims through the federal crop insurance program to ensure payment. The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment in its favor for statutory damages, disgorgement of illegal profits, and for all other and further relief as the court may deem just and proper. It is represented by assistant U.S. attorneys J. Thomas Clarkson and Charles W. Mulaney. Source - http://legalnewsline.com