Agroinsurance

Canada - Hail insurance urged for B.C. fruit growers

The B.C. government is recommending Okanagan tree fruit growers include insurance for hail damage in their 2015 risk management plans, and take advantage of B.C. premiums being the lowest in Canada.Hail insurance offered jointly by the provincial and federal governments is a cost-effective way for farmers to ensure that weather risks such as hail can be managed and farm businesses can be sustained.“Spring and summer hail storms occur regularly in the Okanagan, but the exact timing and potential areas impacted are unpredictable,” states a release.“To help mitigate their risk, all commercial tree fruit growers can buy hail insurance with the option of increasing their coverage throughout the year. Like any insurance policy, coverage cannot be purchased or adjusted retroactively.”The governments of B.C. and Canada subsidize the premium of each hail insurance policy in the province.A sample policy with 80 per cent coverage for an apple crop worth $100,000 would result in $7,200 in producer premiums, with the governments contributing a roughly equal amount. Though coverage for up to 100 per cent of a crop is available, many growers choose to purchase 80 per cent coverage as an appropriate level.Payments to insured tree fruit growers following 2014 hail storms in the Okanagan totalled about $9 million.The Ministry of Agriculture developed and distributes a guide to tree fruit growers that specifically outlines hail insurance coverage and the different options for them to consider.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

Turkey - Weather changes pose risk to crops

Bad weather in April threatens farmers with the risk of frost at a time of florescence for fruit growers Turkey's western, central and northern regions have been gripped with an onslaught of snowfall and extremely low temperatures over the past few days. The unexpected cold patterns in April will likely hurt farmers due to frost.In particular, the timing of the cold weather poses a danger for fruit growers as most fruits cultivated in the country are in the process of blooming.Şemsi Bayraktar, head of the Union of Agricultural Chambers of Turkey (TZOB), warned farmers of severe frost that will continue throughout the weekend starting from Friday. Western cities from Kütahya to Eskişehir, Ankara and its neighbor, Kırıkkale, Muğla in the southwest and Bursa in the northwest are under threat of frost, according to weather forecasts. Bayraktar said in a written statement that the blooming season has already begun for almonds, apricots, plums and cherries and that the month of April is the time for the blossoming of other fruits as well, cautioning against widespread damage to fruit crops.The government offers a delay of agricultural loan debts throughout the year for farmers whose crops are damaged from frost and other natural disasters, but it remains the sole option for farmers to recover their losses. Bayraktar has urged farmers to take measures against frost. Farmers often resort to burning hay in orchards or covering the area to minimize damage from frost. Bayraktar said they needed to adopt more modern techniques such as installing propellers to change the temperatures.Snowfall in April surprised many in western Turkey, which normally enjoys relatively warmer weather in this month. The rare phenomenon naturally raises concerns of the effect of climate change. Turkey is already on alert against an onset of droughts in the near future, though off-season downpours and creation of artificial lakes across the country are relieving some concerns.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

India - Rain and hail in parched parts of state add to farmers’ woes

In yet another bout of unexplained weather conditions, rain and hailstorms over the past two days across rural Maharashtra have left the farm sector dreading a bitter summer ahead. Maharashtra government officials pointed out that the state is spending about Rs 10,000 crore on a slew of schemes for the crisis-ridden farm sector — Rs 4,200 crore on a drought relief package, a Rs 2,000-crore sugar sector subsidy, loan waivers and a power subsidy — but the unseasonal rains have exacerbated conditions for already distressed farmers. In Vidarbha, leftover wheat was affected while in the Western Maharashtra districts of Sangli and Nashik, vineyards and orchards were damaged. Beed and Latur districts saw about 140 mm of rain over two days, leaving jowar and bajra crop completely destroyed. In Jalna and Aurangabad, farmers said 90 per cent of the region’s popular kesar mango crop, to be harvested next fortnight, was destroyed. “Kesar is harvested slightly later than other mango varieties —this proved to be our undoing,” said Deepak Deshpande, a farmer from Kaij and a local journalist. Pomegranate, an increasingly popular choice among horticulturists in Marathwada, also suffered extensive damage. In Beed district, worst affected were the banana plantations and watermelon fields, both set for harvest this week. Suradi-Sonsanghavi villagers call themselves experts in growing watermelons of all varieties. Traders who annually ferry Suradi-Sonsanghavi’s watermelon straight to the Vashi APMC market in Mumbai’s suburbs will this year not pick up the crop, which fetched local farmers Rs 2 per kg on Tuesday, down from Rs 10-14 per kg last week. An estimated 375 acres of watermelon crop was destroyed in this one village alone. Banana plantations in Nashik and Jalgaon reported heavy losses as well. Most farmers reported three short but powerful bursts of hail in a gap of four hours on Sunday, followed by continuous heavy rain on Monday. Small rivulets in Phulambri (Aurangabad) and check dams built recently along the Aurangabad-Jalna highway filled up by Monday evening. Officials from the Agriculture Department said the majority of crops on the field were ready for harvest. Around 30-40 per cent of onion on the fields in north Maharashtra was also damaged. “Most of the onion was harvested but some of it was kept on the field due to lack of storage space which was destroyed in rain,” said an officer. From UP Dr Nabanshu Chattopadhyay, deputy director general (agro meteorology), said the present spell of unseasonal rains was also accompanied by high wind, squall and hail. “States of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Telangana have seen the maximum damage. Reports have talked of damage to crops which are either at harvesting or flowering state,” he said. The standing crops of wheat, arhar and gram in east UP also sustained serious damage, with around 60 per cent of the crop being wasted. Wheat crop and vegetables in Bihar and Jharkhand were also wasted in unseasonal rains. Districts of Warangal, Karimanagar, Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy, Adilabad and Nizamabad of Telanaga had reported damage to rice, banana and sesame crops. Source - http://indianexpress.com

Chile - 900 hectares and 50 m dollars in losses for grape sector

The losses caused by storms to the table grape sector in Chile's Copiapó Valley have been estimated at more than 50 million dollars.According to a preliminary report by Patricio Crespo, president of the National Agriculture Society (SNA), over 900 hectares were severely affected by the rains.Each hectare represents an investment of at least $ 60,000, which would mean losses easily exceeding $ 50 million"In most cases, we are dealing with hectares that have been completely destroyed by the mud, as well as infrastructure, agricultural machinery and irrigation systems. The severity of the situation is such, that if the hectares that were not reached by the slides are not watered urgently, the losses may reach 100%," points out Crespo, who made a visit to the areas affected together with the president of the Association of Producers and Agricultural exporters of the Copiapó Valley (APECO), Lina Arrieta, and the president of FEDEFRUTA and director of the SNA, Juan Carolus Brown.Furthermore, the president of the SNA called authorities to accelerate the delivery of resources to growers, giving priority to the recovery of irrigation and groundwater catchment systems."We have to rebuild channels, intakes and pipes, repair the irrigation systems, clean wells, and carry out other urgent changes to save the plantations that were not hit by the floods. We are concerned that the necessary resources may not reach producers on time due to bureaucratic difficulties," said Crespo.Nationally, according to ASOEX, the rains could have caused the loss of some 6.5 million boxes of grapes, and this would put between 18,000 and 20,000 jobs at risk for the coming season.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com

Ukraine - Growers expect worst harvest in 5-7 years

In 2015, vegetable producers in Ukraine expect one of the worst harvests of the last five to seven years.The main reason for the decline in production, according to the experts, will be a reduction in the acreage, which in turn is due to the rise in production costs.Producers are also not willing to risk planting the same volumes as last year, as their sales prospects have been affected by the embargo in Russia and everything also points to a drop in domestic consumption, which is forcing Ukrainian canneries to reduce their processing volumes in 2015. The Russian embargo has also led to a reduction in the acreage in Ukrainian greenhouses that were exporting a significant share of the production.According to analysts, in addition to the reduced acreage, there will also be a lower yield because of the attempts to save resources. Growers have been massively moving from expensive to cheap hybrid varieties, and the vast majority of producers are planning to save money on preventive treatments.It is worth noting that in 2014 Ukraine harvested about 9.2 million tonnes of open field vegetables and 480 thousand tonnes of greenhouse vegetables. The open field harvest exceeded the results of the previous season by 3%, mainly due to higher yields. At the same time, the greenhouse production dropped by almost 5% because of the lower acreage and yields.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

India - Incessant rains damage fruit crops in Shimla

Heavy rains and hailstorm in the past few days have badly damaged fruit crop in Himachal Pradesh, landing farmers in heavy losses.Recently, temperature in the state dipped by seven to eight degree Celsius impacting the blooming season of crops including peach, plum, apricot, almond, cherry and walnut.Farmers believe that heavy rains not only impact the harvest but also affect the pollination process. The horticulture department is yet to assess the loss occurred to stone fruit crop that cover about 28 thousand hectare area of the state.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that his government will increase the compensation provided to affected farmers by 50 percent, as well as bring down the threshold of crop damage that allows farmers to seek government assistance.Source - http://www.aninews.in/

India - Fresh crop loss assessment started in Muzaffarnagar

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised higher compensation to the farmers whose crops were damaged in the untimely rains, district authorities started fresh assessment of losses of crops.Besides, the criterion of 50 per cent crop damage for providing compensation to farmers has been reduced to 33 per cent, which will help more people get better compensation for the crop loss.Modi had announced the government's decision to raise by 50 per cent the quantum of compensation to farmers affected by crop losses due to recent unseasonal rains.Additional District Magistrate Ramkishan Sharma said that more than 50,000 farmers would be provided relief.Rs 5 lakh compensation has been provided to the families of two deceased farmers - Dharmendra of Mohammadpur Raisingh village and Kaliram of Jatnagla village, he said.Source - http://www.business-standard.com/

Canada - Frost and hail twin concerns for orchardists

Unseasonably mild weather has advanced the cherry blossom by about three weeks, raising some concerns among Kelowna growers about the damage that could be done by a sudden frost.Temperatures at the airport sank to -5 C, and could dip below freezing again this weekend.“We’ve got some reports already of frost damage in a few areas,” Sukhpaul Bal, a Rutland grower and president of the BC Cherry Association, said Thursday.“Because of the nice weather we’ve been having, things are moving along about three weeks quicker than usual in the orchards,” Bal said. “What we’d be concerned about now is temperatures snapping back down below zero and the damage that could do.”Ninety-five per cent of all Canadian cherries are grown in the Okanagan, with about 1,416 hectares currently under cultivation.Blossom time is typically when growers are encouraged to buy hail insurance, with the government boasting the subsidized premiums available in B.C. are the cheapest in Canada.“Hail insurance offered jointly by B.C. and Canada is a cost-effective way for farmers to ensure that weather risks such as hail can be managed and farm businesses can be sustained,” reads part of a press release distributed Thursday by the Ministry of Agriculture.To provide 80 per cent coverage for an apple crop with a potential estimated value of $100,000 a grower would pay $7,200 in premiums, with the two levels of government between them providing a matching amount.Even considering the subsidy, measuring the cost of the premium versus the value of the policy, hail coverage for farmers is much more expensive than, say, the charge for a typical homeowner’s insurance policy.But most growers simply regard such coverage as a necessity, says Fred Steele, president of the BC Fruit Growers’ Association.“If you want to sleep at night, you buy hail insurance,” he said.Serious hail damage can occur as early as late April or early May. Last year, hail-related payments for Okanagan fruit growers totalled about $9 million.Source - http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/

India - Unseasonal rain damaged Haryana’s 78% wheat crop

A Haryana Government report has revealed that wheat crop spread over 19.5 lakh hectares, nearly 78% of the total area of 25 lakh hectares in the current rabi season, has been damaged in the recent unseasonal rain and hailstorm.However, 18.47 lakh hectares (96%) of the affected wheat acreage would not be eligible for relief as the extent of damage in the area ranges from 0-25%. While 48,693 hectares suffered 26-50% damage, 49,570 hectares suffered 51-75% loss and the extent of damage crossed 75% mark in 2,515 acres. Farmers whose crop suffered above 25% loss would be compensated at varying rates.Mustard crop over 2.13 lakh hectares, including 49,550 hectares above 75%, has also been damaged.Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had yesterday announced enhanced compensation at the rate of Rs 12,000 per acre in case of above 75% damage, Rs 9,500 for 50-75% damage and Rs 7,000 for 25-50% damage.Though the deadline for special girdawari has been extended till April 15, the preliminary report showed that wheat crop on a maximum of 2.75 lakh hectares was affected in 0-25% category in Karnal, followed by Kaithal (2.46 lakh hectares) and Yamunanagar (1.47 lakh hectares).In the 26-50% category, wheat crop on a maximum of 18,000 hectares was affected in Rewari, followed by Gurgaon and Palwal (10,000 hectares each), Mahendragarh (7,945 hectares) and Bhiwani (2,748 hectares).The report said the wheat crop over an area of 23,000 hectares was affected in Mewat in the 50-75% category. Mewat was followed by Jhajjar (10,000 hectares), Rewari (4,208 hectares), Mahendragarh (3,383 hectares), Yamunanagar (3,000 hectares), Palwal (2,000 hectares) and Gurgaon (1,697 hectares).In the above 75% category, only three districts reported losses with Bhiwani topping the chart (1,130 hectares), followed by Mahendragarh (1,125 hectares) and Jind (260 hectares). As far as mustard crop is concerned, 2.13 lakh hectares has been badly affected with extent of damage reported to be over 75% in 49,550 hectares. While 0-25% damage was reported in 1.44 lakh hectares, 26-50% loss was reported over an area of 8,555 hectares. An area of 10,735 hectares reported loss of 51-75%.Source - http://www.tribuneindia.com/

Zimbabwe - Climate change increases agric losses

Climate change has contributed to Zimbabwe's economic woes due to the increased frequency of floods, droughts and violent storms which have resulted in massive financial losses in the agricultural sector.Speaking at a report back meeting on the 20th Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Harare, chief secretary to the President and Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda, said climate change had affected the country's economic growth.He highlighted that the vagaries of extreme weather conditions had resulted in infrastructure damages, while human and animal loses had been observed. There had been extreme flooding in Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Midlands, Harare, Masvingo and Manicaland during the rain season, he said.The incessant rains also affected this year's maize output, with analysts projecting a crop of between 700 000 and 800 000 tonnes down from 1,4 million tonnes the previous year. The country will therefore need to import over one million tonnes of maize."The 2014/2015 rain season has been terminated prematurely and the crops have dried up at a time when they were maturing. Human induced global warming and subsequent climate change has continuously increased rainfall variability, thus altering water availability and reliability of water supplies. This has exacerbated the already existing challenges across all major climate sensitive sectors such as water, agriculture, livestock, energy, health and environment. At this rate, the potential impact of climate change could be very severe," Sibanda said.Last year, Bankers Association of Zimbabwe president, Sam Malaba, said that direct import of maize and wheat since 1999 had cost the country US$3,3 billion due to shortfalls in domestic production. Direct food imports in terms of maize and wheat average US$550 million per year, implying a cumulative total amount of US$3,3 billion since 2009.Sibanda said losses faced by vulnerable groups were insurmountable; these ranged from food insecurity, loss of livelihoods, and hardship due to extreme weather events and environmental degradation, resulting in displacement, migration and other potentially devastating economic and social consequences."Whilst a wide array of adaptation options is available, more extensive adaptation than is currently occurring is required to reduce vulnerability to climate change. There are barriers, limits and costs, which are not fully understood. Additional adaptation measures will be required to reduce the adverse impacts of projected climate change and variability, regardless of the scale of mitigation undertaken over the next two to three decades," he added.COP is held annually to discuss countries' progress with regards to fulfilment of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol obligations including financing for adaptation and mitigation projects.Agriculture can play a pivotal role in improving the country's trade performance because there is substantial capacity to increase the volume of agricultural exports (beef, coffee, tea, paprika, sugar, cotton, tobacco), at the same time reducing the food import bill by also expanding the output of commodities such as maize, wheat, oilseeds, dairy and poultry.Source - http://allafrica.com/

USA - Hail damage in Madera almond orchard

Valley growers and ag inspectors were busy looking for hail damage after Tuesday's storm. A small farmer in Madera couldn't bear to watch once the storm hit.Almonds knocked off the trees represented lost money on the ground. Madera grower Amrik Singh Gill knew the strong hailstorm was trouble.He explained, "It came from this side. The dark clouds coming over here. I said oh no. We don't need it."The trees were full with a good set but the storm shredded the leaves and knocked down most of his crop.The silver lining in the clouds? Amrik will now try to salvage a third of his crop still hanging.Never mind a profit. He hoped the check at the end of the season can cover fertilizer and PG&E costs.Singh Gill said of the loss, "Easily 700 pounds to the acre. That's 28,000 pounds on 40 acres. You multiply that by four and see where that goes - that's close to a $100,000 loss."The almonds weren't supposed to be shaken from the tree until the August harvest. "The big machine can't shake like this."His neighbor next door didn't fare any better. The wine grape crop also took a beating in the storm.Singh Gill was covered by crop insurance but didn't expect to be compensated for such a big loss.Source - http://abc30.com/

India - Higher compensation to those affected by hailstrom

The Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday said higher compensation announced by the Prime Minister will be provided to farmers in those states where rabi crops were affected by recent hailstorms.An official press note, however, made no reference to rains in this regard.A central team has been sent to Uttar Pradesh, while two other teams will be visiting Haryana and Rajasthan shortly to assess the extent of damage for providing relief under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), the release said.The Ministry also said the extent of crop damage is limited to 85 lakh hectares in states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharasthra, a sharp drop from the earlier report of 113 lakh hectares submitted by the states."The Prime Minister today made two major announcements. He has increased the relief by 50 per cent given to farmers from NDRF as well as reduced the minimum area of damage for relief to 33 per cent from the existing 50 per cent. These benefits would be applicable to states affected with recent hailstorm. Distressed farmers will be benefited from this," the ministry said in a statement.However, the state governments have been asked to keep 10 per cent of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) reserved for "local disasters" such as heavy rain which are to be declared at par with national disasters and use this money for distressed farmers, it added.Currently, financial assistance is given to affected farmers under SDRF and NDRF in the wake of 12 notified natural disasters -- hailstorm, flood, cyclone, cloud burst, drought, earthquake, tsunami, landslides, avalanche, fire, pest attack and cold waves/frost.As per the existing norms, state governments can utilise funds under SDRF to give input subsidy to farmers at the rate of Rs 4,500 per hectare for rain-fed areas, Rs 9,000 per hectare for irrigated areas and Rs 12,000 per hectare for perennial crops.The Centre allocates more funds under NDRF to state governments in case the expenditure is more than the available fund in SDRF.Directing state governments to disburse relief from SDRF without any delay, the Ministry said, "In case of shortfall, they should use their State Contingency Funds as well as submit their memorandums to avail assistance from NDRF."Memorandums seeking relief funds have been received from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. A central team has been sent to Uttar Pradesh. Another two teams will be going soon to Haryana and Rajasthan shortly, it added.That apart, the state governments have been asked to ensure faster processing of claims under the agri-insurance schemes and facilitate timely restructuring of crop loans.In view of damage to onion and potato crops, the Agriculture Ministry has written to all states including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal where there is likelihood of increase in their prices, to purchase and maintain stocks of the same.Source - http://zeenews.india.com/

Canada - Proposed changes to Ontario's production insurance regime

The Ontario government has tabled legislation to amend the province's production insurance regime and to bring it in-line with other provincial regimes. If implemented, the amendments have the potential to widen production insurance coverage to allow livestock, dairy, poultry, and other producers to benefit from coverage in the event of unexpected loss due to weather, pests and disease. This amendment would add to the suite of programs already available through Agricorp which help producers manage risks such as fluctuating costs and market prices.Currently, production insurance is provided to Ontario farmers through Agricorp, a Crown agency of the Province of Ontario. Farmers split the cost of the premiums with federal and provincial governments. As the legislation is currently worded, coverage is only available to cover losses to an agricultural crop or perennial plant arising from insured perils such as weather, pests or disease.The Crop Insurance Act of Ontario states at section 5:5. (4) AgriCorp may enter into a contract of insurance to insure an agricultural crop or perennial plant with any person who,a) has an insurable interest in the agricultural crop or perennial plant; andb) otherwise meets the qualifications and requirements set by AgriCorp under clause (2)(a).Clause 2(a) enables Agricorp to determine the qualifications and requirements for a person to enter into a contract of insurance.Within this legislative framework, Agricorp offers production insurance for a number of commercially grown crops in Ontario in the following sectors: forage; fruit and honey; grains and oilseeds; vegetables; tobacco and certain specialty crops.Bill 40, the Agriculture Insurance Act, would amend the title of the Crop Insurance Act (Ontario) to the Agricultural Products Insurance Act, 1996. Bill 40 would strike out the language of the Crop Insurance Act (Ontario) referring to "agricultural crops or perennial plants" and substitute "agricultural products". The bill would also give the Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs the authority to make regulations designating which agricultural products may be included for coverage. The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Mr. Jeff Leal, has stated that input from the agriculture and food industry will be critical in determining the scope of the expansion of production insurance. Livestock, dairy, poultry, and bees could all be included within the list of agricultural products insured under the revamped production insurance regime.The bill passed second reading on March 11, 2015 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs for consideration. If passed, these amendments have the potential to add to Ontario farmers' options to manage risk and losses due to weather, pests, and disease. However, some legislators and observers have commented that any expansion in coverage must also come with an expansion in funding.Source - http://www.mondaq.com/

Zimbabwe - Recent rains affect crops

Early-planted crops are under threat from rains that have fallen in most parts of the country.Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Mr Wonder Chabikwa yesterday said farmers who planted early were concerned with the recent rains which have started causing havoc in maize and tobacco.He said maize was the most affected."Farmers with early-planted maize are complaining of lodging (crops falling down) and this may lead to rotting if the wet conditions persist."In tobacco, the rains have increased false ripening (when the leaves turn yellow but not ready for harvesting) and this will affect the quality of the crop."Some of the early-planted crops had managed to pull through in January but they may be wasted if the rains continue," he said.Mvurwi farmer Mr Edison Butau said the rains have affected tobacco growers as they may incur huge losses during transportation of the crop to the floors."My crop has been affected by rains and I cannot sell it. I have to re-bale it and remove the affected crop otherwise the whole crop will be rejected on the floors," he said.Mr Butau said reaping of crops had also become complicated especially as the rains are heavy."The whole process becomes complicated. While rains are good they can also be a challenge especially when the crop is already at the stage of harvesting," he said.Some farmers, however, said these rains would benefit sweet potatoes and horticultural crops and boost household food security.Meanwhile, the Meteorological Services Department has said the rains being received may continue this week with sunny conditions expected next week.MSD head of forecasting Mr Tich Zinyemba said heavy falls were recorded since last Thursday."Notable falls were recorded on Sunday in Masvingo which received 69mm, Buhera 66mm and Wedza 52mm. On Monday, Chipinge received 71 mm of rain. In the meantime, pressure rises along the south-east coast of South Africa enhanced convergence across Zimbabwe causing widespread rain and thunderstorms," he said.Temperatures are expected to remain depressed with highs averaging between 17 degrees Celsius to 24 degrees Celsius during daytime.From Thursday up to next week, the weather should be mostly sunny and warm. Residual moisture will enable one or two showers to occur along the central watershed.Source - http://allafrica.com/

Pakistan - E-farming system: Adopting modern technology, farmers move online

In a step towards adopting modern technology, the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) has introduced an e-farming system – the first of its kind in Pakistan – to educate the farmers and help them obtain maximum yield and profits.The project will be functional in all districts of Punjab, where farmers can contact agriculture experts, researchers and analysts to receive advice on extracting better yield of crops.A recent survey by the Punjab e-farming department has found the average wheat yield at only 23 maunds per acre – less than half of the world average.“Through e-farming, the yield can be enhanced to 40 maunds per acre,” told the e-farming project head Dr Rashid Ahmad.The e-farming department at UAF is providing facilities to farmers across the province.Annual reports and survey of the e-farming team show that farmers of Multan who were getting 20 maunds per acre of cotton yield on average, are now receiving 40 after the introduction of new technologies. Experts are available for advisory purposes, he added.USAID is also providing funds, giving Rs10 million to the project. The management of this project is giving lectures through awareness programmes at farmers’ doorsteps.It is also running websites as part of an awareness campaign and having roughly 4,000 visitors per week.Dr Ahmad added that hundreds of farmers are registered on the e-farming system and the management sends messages on daily weather forecasts and agricultural tips to help them avoid losses.He added that they are providing feasibility plans to farmers on the acceptability of cultivating crops. The project is also promoting tunnel farming, which provides Rs500,000 annually per acre on cultivation of vegetables.Other farmers can get Rs100,000 per acre from seasonal crops by following our experts opinions,” he said, adding that farmers should abandon the traditional and slow methods of farming.“Majority of farmers were unaware of the best cultivation time for a particular crop and the use of adequate fertilisers. By initiating the e-farming system, these farmers can get the knowledge to maximise the field’s potential and use adequate pesticides,” said Dr Ahmad.The lack of modern knowledge in the agriculture sector is the main problem. Farmers are not getting good prices for their crops due to ‘middle-men’. In the e-farming system that UAF has introduced, these farmers are getting updates from all the grain markets of Pakistan, helping them in decision making in order to get good returns on their crops.Source - http://tribune.com.pk/