eChapters

• Spray Angle — The angle subtended at the final orifice by the edges of the spray pattern.
• Variation in discharge rate between first and last observation shall not be more than 5 percent.
• The volumetric efficiency requirement for roller vane type pump shall be minimum 80 percent.
• The volumetric efficiency of piston, plunger type pump shall be minimum 80 percent.
• If the droplet size is reduced from 2 mm to 1 mm, number of droplets produced will increase by 8 times from the same volume.

Measurement also forms a basic element of any control process. The measurement of discrepancy between the actual and desired performance of a system is central to any control process. Electronic instrumentation provides the solution to many and varied problems of measurement and control. It is often required to change or transduce a measurand into a corresponding electrical signal. The elements which changes/converts the physical variable in electrical signal are termed as sensors or transducers. For a measurement to be useful it must be reliable. That is where question of accuracy or uncertainty of a measurement arises. This may be dealt with clear understanding of measurand and measurement system.

For development of agricultural engineering machineries, materials and manufacturing techniques play a very important role. Functionality, efficacy, life span, economics and aesthetic of any machine or structure are affected severely by the material of fabrication process. The manufacturing processes discussed in this chapter also include the pretreatment to manufacturing and structural materials. Wood and some kind of ferrous alloys had been the choice of materials for fabrication of agricultural machines in past few centuries, whereas these materials along with mud, bamboo, some agricultural residues and some earthen materials were the materials of choice for agricultural structures. Engineering materials are available with wide range of properties and characteristics. There are many properties, which are inherent in the materials, and some of them can be changed during processing and manufacturing.

Energy is defined as the capacity of doing work and is necessary for survival. It is basic input to any society’s development and economic growth. Everything happens in the world is the expression of flow of energy from one form to other. There are different sources of energy, i.e., chemical, mechanical, fossil, nuclear and renewable energy.

The following products are obtained from refining of crude oil

Ergonomics (also known as Human Engineering, Human Factors or Human Ergology) is the scientific study of relationship between a person and his/her working environment. The term environment includes the tools, materials and method of work, ambient conditions and physical environment in which the work is carried out, and also the organizational factors. Ergonomics application can help in increasing the efficiency and productivity, reducing drudgery and occupational health problems, and enhancing safety of workers in various activities.

Tractor is a self-propelled power unit having wheels or tracks for operating agricultural implements and machines including trailers. Tractor engine is used as a prime mover for active tools and stationary farm machinery through power take-off shaft (PTO) or belt pulley.

Power tiller is a prime mover in which the direction of travel and its control for field operation is performed by the operator walking behind it. It is also known as hand tractor or walking type tractor. The concept of power tiller came in the world in the year 1920. Japan is the first country to use power tiller on large scale. Power tiller was first introduced in India in the year 1963. Power tiller is a walking type tractor. The operator walks behind the power tiller, holding the two handles of power tiller in his own hands. Power tiller may be called a single axle walking type tractor, though a riding seat is provided in certain designs. In agricultural applications it is often required to transmit the mechanical power from its source to the point of application. The main sources of power for agricultural machines, i.e., the diesel engine for self-propelled machines and the electrical motor for many stationary machines are primarily rotary power and are transmitted by means of belts and chains. Tractor power is utilized by traction, power-take-off drives (PTO) by fluid power.

• A machine is a device which receives some sort of energy and does some work.
• A rigid link is one, which does not undergo any deformation while transmitting motion.
• A flexible link is one which is partly deformed in a manner not to affect the transmission of motion.
• A structure is an assemblage of a number of resistant bodies having no relative motion between them.
• A turning pair has a completely constrained motion.
• Cam and follower includes higher pair.
• The lower pairs are self-closed pair.

It is the operation of cutting, picking, plucking and digging or a combination of these operations for removing the crop from under the ground or above the ground or removing the useful part or fruits from plants.

Thresher is a machine to separate grains from the harvested crop and provide clean grain without much loss and damage. During threshing, grain loss in terms of broken grain, un-threshed grain, blown grain, spilled grain etc. should be minimum. Bureau of Indian Standards has specified that the total grain loss should not be more than 5 per cent, in which broken grain should be less than 2 per cent. Clean un-bruised grain fetch good price in the market as well as it has long storage life.

It is a machine designed for harvesting, threshing, separating, cleaning and collecting grains while moving through standing crops. Bagging arrangement may be provided with a pick up attachment. The main functions of a combine are: (i) Cutting the standing crops (ii) Feeding the cut crops to threshing unit (iii) Threshing the crops (iv) Cleaning the grains from straw (v) collecting the grains in a container.

Sprayer is a machine to apply fluids in the form of droplets. Sprayer is used for the following purpose.

• Application of herbicides to remove weeds.
• Application of fungicides to minimize fungus diseases.
• Application of insecticides to control insect pests.
• Application of micro nutrients on the plants.

Seeding or sowing is an art of placing seeds in the soil to have good germination in the field. A perfect seeding gives a) Correct amount of seed per unit area. b) Correct depth at which seed is placed in the soil. c) Correct spacing between row-to-row and plant-to-plant. Seed drill is a machine for placing the seeds in a continuous flow in furrows at uniform rate and at controlled depth with or without the arrangement of covering them with soil. Planter is normally used for those seeds which are larger in size and cannot be used by usual seed drills. A planter consists of: (i) hopper (ii) feed metering device (iii) knock out arrangement (iv) cut-off mechanism (v) furrow opener and (vi) other accessories. A planter has seed hopper for each row.

It is a mechanical manipulation of soil to provide favourable condition for crop production. Soil tillage consists of breaking the compact surface of earth to a certain depth and to loosen the soil mass, so as to enable the roots of the crops to penetrate and spread into the soil.

Tillage operations following primary tillage which are performed to create proper soil tilth for seeding and planting are secondary tillage. These are lighter and finer operations, performed on the soil after primary tillage operations. Secondary tillage consists of conditioning the soil to meet the different tillage objectives of the farm. These operations consume less power per unit area compared to primary tillage operations. Secondary tillage implements may be tractor drawn or bullock drawn implements.

Classification of Materials

Broadly there are two groups of materials used for making farm machines namely metallic and non-metallic:

Agricultural mechanization involves the design, manufacture, distribution, use and servicing of all types of agricultural tools, equipment and machines. It includes three main power sources: human, animal and mechanical with special emphasis on mechanical (tractive power).

Mechanization has been identified as one of the critical inputs for production agriculture. It may be described as an appropriate package of technology to i) ensure timely field operations to increase productivity, reduce crop losses and improve product quality, ii) increase land utilization and input use efficiency and iii) increase labour productivity through labour saving and drudgery reducing mechanical devices. The mechanization of Indian agriculture has proceeded along two-pronged approach based on improved equipment and enhanced power supply. However, compared to the mechanization of western agriculture which was motivated by the need to substitute human labour and draught animals with mechanical prime movers, the guiding principle in mechanizing Indian agriculture has been to maintain a socially desirable mix of human labour, draught animal power and mechanical power.

Introduction

The right to food is the most fundamental among the human rights. Food production, distribution and consumption is an important issue for developing countries. The dimensions of food problem in Asia have been changing since the food crisis of sixties and seventies. The lesson of those years is well-learnt, and attaining self-reliance in food came to be recognized as a key goal of development. Most of the Asian countries have been suffering with many problems such as slow growth rate in cereal production, large share of agriculture in the gross domestic product, weak infrastructure, low purchasing power and massive rural poverty which had made the South Asia region as a whole food deficit (Plumb, 1998).The possibility of impending world food crisis looms largely from increasing pressure on national agricultural sector to meet the demands triggered by rising population, growth in people’s income and change in expenditure and consumption pattern (Ghosh, 2001).

Introduction

In India, per capita cereal consumption has been declining since the early seventies, despite a significant increase in per capita cereal production (Radhakrishna and Ravi, 1992 and Rao, 2000). Cereal consumption per capita per month fell from 15.35 kgs in 1970-71 to 12.70 kgs in 1999-2000 in rural area and from 11.40 kgs to 10.40 kgs in urban area during same period. It might be due to shifting of consumers’ choice from food to non-food items; from cereals to non-cereals within the food group and from course to fine cereals within the cereal group. The decline in cereal consumption has been higher in the rural area due to development of rural infrastructure and availability of job opportunities which ultimately helped in improving their level of income (Rao, 2000). Despite spectacular growth in food production during last 30 years the problem of malnutrition still persists across different regions in India because increase in food grain supply alone cannot conquer hunger and malnutrition.

The consumption pattern and nutritional status have also experienced a significant change during last two decades in Bihar. Cereal consumption per capita per month has declined from 476 gms in 1983 to 455 gms in 19992000. The situation is more alarming in poor households who constitute about half of rural population in north Bihar. There is lack of research on consumption pattern, nutrient intake and nutritional status based on household data, particularly in context of Bihar. In view of the above observations the present study is undertaken to analyze the consumption pattern and nutritional status of poor households in north Bihar.

Introduction

The Integrated Watershed Development has come to be recognized internationally as an important holistic approach to natural resources management and poverty reduction, wherein promoting the concept of sustainable development. In the Indian context, watershed development has come to be acknowledged as key and discrete units in rural development which forms an important vehicle for achieving the objectives of increased production and availability of food, fodder and fuel restoration of agro ecological balance and in improving the livelihood status of the village communities.

In line with the above, the conceptualization of Integrated Watershed Development Project Hills-II (initiated in September 1999) has been built up on the success of IWDP Hills-I project with a laudable vision to arrest environmental decline, boost agricultural growth, and ensure better management of scarce land and water resources and reducing poverty dimensions in the Siwalik & Karewas regions, which are one of the most environmentally degraded areas in India. The project area encompasses two sub-watersheds in sub-tropical belt of Siwaliks of Jammu region and two in temperate Karewas of Kashmir valley, covering an area of 1,11,080 ha. Ramnagar and Akhnoor sub-watersheds are located in Siwalik range of Jammu region whereas the sub-watersheds of Rajwar and Rambiara are located in Karewas belt of Kashmir valley.

Introduction

Food and nutritional security continues to be the main plank of India’s food policy despite its tremendous achievements on food production front during the last three decades. The Green Revolution helped India to overcome chronic food scarcity and made it self sufficient in food production. The per capita availability of cereals increased from 360 gms/day in 1966 to 422.4 gms/day in 2004. On the other hand, availability of pulses, the main source of protein for over- whelming vegetarian population of India, declined from 48 gms/day to 38 gms/day, which is attributed largely to diversion of land from pulses to cereals crops (Gopalan et al, 2004). The extra income generated due to Green Revolution has increased the access of rural population to a wide variety of foods, like milk, meat, eggs, fish, fruits and vegetables, which perhaps could offset the protein deficiency due to decline in per capita availability of pulses, therefore, resulting in the increase in per capita consumption of protein in rural areas. The trends in cereal consumption indicate that per capita cereal consumption has been declining in most of the states. This trend is more prominent in agriculturally developed states, like Punjab and Haryana. In these states, production and per capita consumption of milk have increased substantially.

The dietary pattern in India remains cereal based and the expenditure shares of foods of animal origin (meat, eggs and fish) and fruits, which are rich in nutrients, are trivial. More than 22 per cent of the population stays below poverty line and generally suffers from various nutritional disorders due to lower purchasing power. The nutrient rich foods like milk, meat eggs, fruits, etc. are highly responsive to income changes. Besides, choice of food and consequently the level of nutrient intake is also influenced by the other economic, social, cultural and climatic factors. Spurt in income growth and increasing consumerism in rural areas in recent years has heightened the need for understanding the food consumption pattern. Using the farm level data from three regions of Maharashtra this paper attempts to examine the pattern of consumption of nutrients by cultivators and sources of supply of different nutrients.

Introduction

Goats provide multiple products like chevon, milk, skin, fibre, manure and transport. Pashmina occupies a prime position among animal fibres for its firmness, warmth, durability, lightness, softness and ability to absorb dyes and moisture compared to mohair and/or wool for being free from modulation and crimps. Pashmina is highly valued fibre for manufacturing quality apparels. It has recorded its name in the Guinness Book of World Records for being costliest cloth in the world after trade ban of most precious natural fibre Shahtoosh (King of fibre) of small Tibetan Antelope known as Chiru. In India, two recognized pashmina breeds are Changthangi and Chegu. Changthangi is native to high altitude areas (3700 to 4500m) in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir reared by a pastoralist nomads Changpas whose population is 1,96,000 (LADHC, 2006). The Chegu breed is distributed in cold-arid trans-Himalayan mountain ranges from Himachal Pradesh to Uttaranchal at an altitude of more than 3000 m (Thakur et al., 2006).

Introduction

The world’s population is expected to grow from 6 billion people in 2000 to 7.5 billion people in 2020. Availability of land for farming is on the decline, and water for agriculture and other uses is increasingly scarce. Together these and other forces will challenge the capacity of the world’s food production system. The world has experienced an unprecedented increase in population during the past century, with a billion people added every decade during the last three decades alone. Dramatic shifts in production and consumption of food have accompanied this population explosion, including a surge in grain production, a spectacular rise in meat production and consumption, and the emergence of an increasingly vital role for international trade (Fig. 1). High-yielding varieties of wheat and rice swept across much of Asia during the 1970s and early 1980s, easing fears of imminent famine. Cereal yields have risen more modestly in recent years, but they have still outstripped gains in other crops such as cassava, potatoes, and beans.

Introduction

Food security at the national level refers to the capacity of a country to provide sufficient food for its population, and will depend on such factors as food production in relation to the population, food aid and within-country food distribution. The ability to withstand emergencies arising from drought, floods, and such other calamities, also fall in its purview. While many definitions of household security exist, they agree on a household’s ability to get sufficient food to the household. Gillespie & Mason (1991) gave a more lucid account and defined household level food security as access to food that is adequate in terms of quality, quantity, safety and cultural acceptability, for all household members. Two main factors determining household food security are income generated by the members of the family from the avenues available and food prices in operation at the given point of time. The cost of achieving and maintaining food security is important.

Food security takes into account only the nutritional requirements of the individuals in the society, which is basic to all the living beings for keeping the body and soul intact. Our needs go beyond this and necessarily include fiber and shelter, not only to be called civilized but also to face vagaries of weather. Once we add these dimensions to the food security then it can be termed as livelihood security. In this century, many driving forces are added in the process of evolution of strategies. Loss of biodiversity, global climatic change and information dissemination are some of the major factors that drive the rate of livelihood changes and determine the direction of its evolution.

Introduction

The availability of food depends on the production and distribution while the access to food is determined by an individual’s purchasing power. Thus, the food security in the framework of economic welfare is the situation in which the lowest income strata has a near zero probability of being vulnerable to famine and in terms of calorie it requires a near zero probability of falling below the poverty line (Rentlinger and Selousky, 1978). Therefore, food security concerns every sovereign country, especially the developing and poor nations, owing to its profound implications for their socio-politico-economic stability and which co-exists with international diplomacy. According to 1998 annual report of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), about 73 million people would be added to the world’s population every year between 19952020 increasing it by 32 percent to reach at 7.5 billion. Much of the population growth is expected to occur in the developing countries mainly in India where the population is expected to increase by 36 percent to touch at 1.27 billion by 2020 and is likely to overtake China by 2035. Therefore, meeting the food and nutrition needs of growing and urbanized population with rising incomes will have profound implications for agricultural production and food security of the country and Himachal Pradesh is no exception.

Introduction

India is more an agrarian economy, wherein about 50 percent of people directly depend on agriculture for employment. Like other developing nations, however, this country is facing some of the challenges like food insecurity, agricultural backwardness and unsatisfied farming community. Though green revolution in 1970s had brought much relief in this direction, liberalized trade polices since mid 1990s created new and complex issues, especially for small and marginal farmers. Also, since recent years the contribution of agriculture to GDP is declining, indicating that there is growth is shifting away from agriculture to industrial and service sectors. The rural-urban migration, primarily due to the poor employment absorption capacity of our traditional agricultural system, lower productivity, changing life styles, etc. is increasing at alarming rate. In spite of all these, the disparity persists within the society and across the region. Such inequalities, as measured through income distribution, consumption pattern and spending of the income, pose a big challenge, as the gaps are widening with the passage of time. Inadequate purchasing power among the poorer communities leads to undernourishment, which in turn affects their productive capacity. Even though huge food grain stocks are distributed among the needy, considerable proportion of the population lack economic access to such food, and have to rely upon the cheap and insufficient food.

Introduction

Food security problem has multiple dimensions that range from ensuring the food supply at global, country and local levels to create its effective demand round the year. The ultimate goal of an effective food security policy is to provide individuals with adequate dietary requirements through availability and accessibility of food, which are necessary conditions for nutritional well being. The level of food security existing in a country, however is a complex interactions, operating at different levels from the macro to the micro level. The components of the system would include international trade and macro policies, the agricultural sector, the market economy, consumption pattern, the micro economy or household income, urban-rural differentiation and gender issues, etc.

Food insecurity is a complex issue having several dimensions such as, poverty, unemployment, famine, gender discrimination, inequity, starvation, food and nutritional practices, for human growth, natural calamities and so on. Poverty has been recognized globally both as a cause and consequence of food insecurity. In the mid 1980s, 72 per cent of the world’s poor and 66 per cent of the world’s extremely poor lived in the Asia-Pacific region. In this region, 272 million people would suffer from chronic malnutrition during the next decade i.e. in the year 2010. In Asia-Pacific region, India alone has 204 million undernourished people, which is quite alarming when compared with neighbouring countries like China, which has only 164 million undernourished people despite being much populous than India. World Health Organization (WHO) report (1998) points out that health expectancy is more important than life expectancy. The impact of poverty and malnutrition on health has widened the gap between the rich and the poor.

Introduction

Agriculture provides unique solution to various developmental issues including poverty and hunger. World Development Report (2008) reveals that the agricultural growth has significantly contributed to the decline in poverty world over (as in China and Latin America). Though the non-agriculture sector pays more dividend, and grows steeply, the capital generated, however benefits a few (mostly urban areas) thus leading to uneven distribution of income. Whereas, the development of agriculture, which employs most of the rural population, is expected to benefit a large section of the population simultaneously and uniformly. It is in this context that this report predicts agriculture as a vital development tool for achieving Millennium Development Goal that calls for halving by 2015 the share of people suffering from extreme poverty and hunger.

Introduction

The diversifi cation and modernization of the present agricultural and other related activities supported by efficient on and off farm processing of the commodities for the purpose of value-addition is expected to increase food production and create employment and income generation. Adding value to food commodities after harvest is also aimed at minimizing the losses during storage and to maintain the quality of product. Efficient post-production practices, particularly the preservation and processing of agricultural and allied produces may bring a wide range of benefits to the people in this country, generating job opportunities by opening up village-level processing units. The goals of post-harvest and food processing technology are loss prevention as well as adding value to the harvested biomass, which result in more income to the farmers/processors and better quality produce provided to the consumers. Post-harvest and food processing technology are commodity-and location-specific and it is done at home, village and/or cottage levels at small and large industrial scale. On-farm post-harvest storage and primary processing integrated with production technology help to generate more employment opportunities and additional income for rural people. Minimization of the post-harvest losses is an important means to increase per capita food availability. It also helps to generate more employment and income. Investment in post-harvest measures is more economical and time saving than in productivity to obtain the same amount of a particular commodity. Furthermore, post-harvest measures automatically add value to the raw commodities as they pass on their marketing channels. Adoption of postharvest technologies and value additive measures are very strong tools for rural and social development through employment and income generation. Development and adoption of efficient value addition practices will enhance national food supply and sustain food security even at the household level. Fruits and vegetables processing industries have a good deal of potential in serving the rural economy. First, it helps in generating more employment for rural people. It will also check mobility of rural masses towards urban areas in search of employment. Employment opportunities offered by agroprocessing industries are plenty to the farm population and entrepreneur seeking self-employment. Cottage scale units particularly offer self-employment opportunities. Traditionally women handle food and are familiar with skills of food processing. In order to improve the status of living of woman and rural food processing, low cost appropriate fruit and vegetable processing technologies offer excellent opportunities for production of processed foods. The improvement of status of socially backward and landless labor classes will be possible only through providing non-farm employment at their doorsteps. This will generate a sense of security and confidence amongst rural people for overcoming uncertainty in agricultural income and providing self-employment to the land-less labor. The locally available untapped resources should be used effectively.

Introduction

The concept of food security having relevance at global, national, regional, state, household and individual level is well understood as a core issue over the last three decades in the world. The World Food Conference of 1974, organized in the wake of the world food crisis of 1972-74, was largely concerned with global food security. It was felt as the common responsibility of all nations that international approaches were needed to achieve the goal of improved world food security. The food security at national level means arrangements for providing physical supply of a minimum level of food during all periods including those having harvest failures. FAO (1983) had formulated that the basic concept of food security implied that all people at all times have physical and economic access to the basic food they need. The World Bank (1986) has modified this formulation to indicate that food security is access by all people at all times to enough food for an active healthy life.

In this direction, the conference on Environment and Development held in Rio (1992), the Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Nutrition held in Rome (1992), the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna (1993), the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo (1994), the World Summit on Social Development held in Copenhagen (1995), the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing (1995), the Habitat II Conference held at Istanbul (1996), the World Food Summit held in Rome (1996), etc. deliberated on various facets of food security like food security and sustainable development, right for nutritionally fit and safe food, population growth and food production, global measures to satisfy the food needs, campaign against hunger, women in food production, rural-urban linkages and so on.

Introduction

Poverty has been described as a situation of “pronounced deprivation in well being” and being poor as “to be hungry, to lack shelter and clothing, to be sick and not cared for, to be illiterate and not schooled. Poor people are particularly vulnerable to adverse events outside their control. They are often treated badly by institutions of the state and society and excluded from voice and power in those institutions.” Lack of access to resources is a unifying characteristic of poverty in all its manifestations. The poor lack ownership of or access to assets such as land, water, forest, dwelling units, credit, literacy, longevity, voice and capital-both physical and social. Those who are severely below the poverty line are largely involved in subsistence type activities for which they get exploitatively poor returns despite suffering extreme physical hardship and undertaking grave risks so as to earn a meager income. Since earnings are below even the margins of existence, expenditure and survival needs exceed income. This often results in the need to borrow small amounts of money at usurious interest rates of as much as 120 per cent per annum (Mehta, 1996) when borrowing is not possible, hunger is suffered. Their inability to change the power relationships results in scarcely available common resources (such as even drinking water) or public funds meant for poverty alleviation being misappropriated and diverted through manipulation by the locally powerful or corrupt. Since there are no mechanisms for grievance redressal this could result in social tension, despair or a combination thereof.

Introduction

Food security means access by all people at all times to enough food for an active healthy life (Reuntlinger, 1985; World bank, 1986; FAO, 1989). But now-a-days, food security is used differently at national, regional and household level. At regional and national levels, it is related to regional and national balances between availability and need whereas at household level, it is related with food production resources, income available for purchases and assistance sufficient to meet the aggregate needs of all household members.

Availability of food alone may not guarantee access due to poor distribution or lack of purchasing power as co-existence of aggregate food self sufficiency and widespread malnutrition and hunger do exist. As per Chen and Kates, 1994, food security includes combination of criteria as:

Introduction

Food is the most important requirement of every section of the society. But, mere availability of food sometimes is not enough and it does not mean that everybody is having access to a fair share of it or that every one has an adequate diet (Oshaug et al., 1994). Therefore, affordable food prices and adequate purchasing power with the people are equally important.

The need of food security was felt due to the gaps in food production and availability of sufficient food from domestic resources. Large proportion of the underfed population starves not because of general food shortage but due to the insufficient access to food supplies or insufficient income to purchase food.FAO (1999) estimated that there were 20.4 million undernourished people in India only).

Importance of maintaining food security over the world has been abundantly recognized since long. However, during 1974, FAO was called by the World Food Conference to establish a Committee on World Food Security so as to keep the world food situation under constant review and to suggest the strategies for rectifying the problems in problematic areas. Later, an International Undertaking on World Food Security was set up wherein member nations committed themselves to maintain food stocks for ensuring uninterrupted supply of foodgrains and to cope up with the problems of shortage in case of crop failure due to the natural calamities etc. Since then, the Committee on World Food Security monitors the implementation of the undertaking.

Introduction

Food being the foremost basic need gets the priority in expenditure of people, especially poor class. Access to food demands affordability, which depends upon the twin factors namely, income of the people and prices prevailing in the country. Slower growth in income than prices would undermine the purchasing power, resulting in inadequate access to food and calorie consumption. Foodgrains account for about four-fifth of the calorie intake of the poor and an increase in cereal prices could significantly reduce the calorie intake of the poor, as it is sensitive to cereal prices.

Introduction

The importance of food security and its management world over has been recognized long back. The World Food Summit in 1974, called in response to the persistent and widespread under-nutrition and the future role of agriculture, stressed upon establishment of committee to review and recommend location specific action plan in sensitive areas. Asserting that every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop their physical and mental faculties, an international undertaking on world food security was set up in which member nations committed to maintain food stocks to ensure routine and emergency food supplies (in case of crop failure, natural disaster, etc.). Monitoring the implementation of such undertaking has since then become the responsibility of the Committee on World Food Security.

Introduction

India has made impressive strides on the agricultural front during the past three decades. Much of the credit for this success should go to the several million small farming families that form the backbone of Indian agriculture and Indian economy. Policy support, production strategies, public investment in infrastructure, research and extension for crop, livestock and fisheries have significantly helped in increasing the agricultural productivity, food production and its availability. Notwithstanding these achievements, producing additional food with limited land, and providing economic access to food at the household level for ensuring food security would continue to be a major challenge for the nation. India has experienced considerable changes in the crop mix, yield and production since the inception of the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution phase displayed a high yield growth per unit of input. The first post-Green Revolution phase (from late-1960s to mid-1980s) was marked by the continued growth in returns from land through the intensification in use of chemical inputs and machine labour. The second post-Green Revolution phase (beginning the mid-1980s) was characterized by high input-use and decelerating productivity growth. It calls for an examination of the issues related to the trends in agricultural productivity, particularly with reference to individual crops in recent years. In the present paper, the temporal and spatial variations in the productivity status of major crops in India have been analyzed using the TFPG estimates. Some policy measures have also been suggested for sustaining TFP of the crops.

Role of Agriculture in Livelihood Systems

For the developing countries like India, where a majority of families, in both the farm and non-farm sectors, derive their livelihoods from agriculture, sustainability of agriculture cannot be discussed or even defined in isolation of the issue of livelihoods. Livelihood is defined as adequate stock and flow of food and cash with an individual or a family to meet its basic needs. Livelihood security then means secured ownership of, or access to, resources and income-earning activities, including reserves and assets to offset risks, ease shocks and meet contingencies. There are four principal ways of acquiring livelihoods by the rural households. First is the production-based livelihood. A large proportion of the small and marginal farmers gain livelihoods through production on small pieces of land. For these households, availability or access to inputs and improved methods of production are quite critical for their livelihoods. Second is the labour-based livelihood. Most of the small landholders and landless rural households derive livelihoods by selling their labour. For their livelihoods, demand for labour, wage rates and prices of food are the critical factors. Third is the exchange- or market- based livelihood. Those rural households which produce surplus food and non-food agricultural products or non-farm goods earn their livelihoods by selling these surpluses in the market. The marketing system for these products and relative prices of what they sell and what they buy, affect their livelihoods. The fourth set of livelihoods is transfer-based entitlements. The households without any income-earning asset or able-bodied person to work depend for their livelihoods on transfers from the government or other social organizations. Government’s social security and food assistance programmes are relevant for this group of rural households in fulfilling their livelihood requirements. The rural livelihood systems in the developing countries thus encompass a broad range of factors and depend on several macro sub- systems of the economy.

Introduction

India accounts for 16.7 per cent of the world’s food consumers. India’s size in terms of food consumers is many times larger than the average size of the rest of the countries, except China. At the time of independence in 1947, India was in the grip of a serious food crisis, which was accentuated by the partition of the country. The demand for food far exceeded supply, food prices were ruling at high levels and more than half of the populations were living below the poverty line with inadequate purchasing power. With high rates of population growth, the dependence on imported food increased further. However, the situation improved considerably after the mid-1960s, when new agricultural development strategy and food policies were adopted in the country. The production of staple cereals increased substantially, mainly contributed by productivity improvements. The dependence on food imports reduced and the country became a marginal net exporter of cereals. There was also an improvement in physical and economic access of households to cereals and other nutritive food products. The proportion of households reporting hunger went down and the incidence of economic poverty was reduced. The objective of this paper is to review the Indian approach to tackling the severe problem of food insecurity, which it faced immediately after independence. It reviews the evolution of food policy, the major policy instruments deployed, intervention in food marketing system, and the current status of food security/insecurity. The paper also identifies the lessons emerging from the experience of India. The paper has been divided into eight sections. The second section briefly presents the evolution of the food policy in India and the approaches to food security. The current status of food security and insecurity is analyzed in section 3. The next three sections detail the three major instruments of the food security policy. Price support policies pursued in the country are described in section 4. Section 5 examines the magnitude of input subsidies in Indian agriculture. Direct food and other assistance programs for improving household food and nutrition security and magnitude of food subsidy are presented in section 6, while some salient features of food marketing system that affect food security are given in section 7. Lessons emerging from the Indian experience are presented in the last section.

12.0. Introduction

The benefits of food laws to the consumers and the processing industries depend upon the efficacy with which the laws are implemented. The implementation of laws requires not only a well organized national infrastructure for inspection and quality control, but also requires reliable methods of analysis, that can be used to check the quality standards for improvement of the food product w.r.t. nutrition, safety and sensory attributes. Early and accurate analysis of food product prior to preservation, during preservation or post preservation is a crucial component for quality evaluation and their quality control. Quality control in food industries depends upon three principles viz. i) raw material control, ii) process control and iii) finished product inspection. Once a product has gone through the manufacturing process, little can be done to alter its quality or to overcome the faults. Examination of the finished product at the most represents analysis with respect to standards – to accept or reject. Effective control over the raw material and process minimizes the rejection of the products. The food spoilage can be managed most effectively, if control measures are introduced at an early stage of food preparation/contamination. Reliance on symptom is often not adequate because spoilage may occur before symptom appears. The spoilage of the food may affect sensory, physical, chemical or microbiological attributes. Therefore, now a day, food processors want to analyze their food samples quickly without any delay in shipment for which they have to depend on the different methods for their quality evaluation. The analysis and quality control of food products involve physical, chemical, microbiological and sensory methods. So, widely used standard procedures / methods for evaluation of quality of food prior to preservation, during preservation or post preservation has been given in this chapter for easy implementation.

11.0. Introduction

Agricultural marketing is one of the important branches of agricultural economics. Farmers have one commodity or the other in surplus and need to be disposed off or sold to earn some money to satisfy other needs, which otherwise cannot be satisfied on the farm or in the village. Thus, agricultural marketing has two-fold objective i.e. Sale of surplus commodities and buy other commodities to satisfy family needs. In modern commercial agriculture, the surpluses with farmers are steadily rising, so also their family needs are changing with the change in lifestyle. Therefore, agricultural marketing has assumed important place. Traditionally, market is place or building where buying or selling of goods takes place. But, in modern times with fast and long distance communication facilities like telephone, market is no more restricted to a particular place only, but it has become wider and has assumed regional, national or even international status. Buying and selling is finalized on telephones only from distant places. Thus, the concept of market has radically changed.

So, marketing of food/ processed food is an important and vital constituent of modern business management. Knowledge about market is critical for the success of the product in such a highly competitive global market place. Now a day, in such modern time, marketing is itself a highly specialized and distinctive discipline. Based on marketing rules and laws, marketing is sometimes regarded as marketing science. Modern marketing strategies, tools and techniques have attained such complexity that marketing is linked with those of the modern warfare. The results of the marketing wars are witness by Cola wars and other brand bars being fiercely fought in the global market. So, the markets have become virtual battlefield for the brand wars. Markets and technologies are the two powerful forces driving the food processing industry. Further packaging has become a powerful tool in the promotion and marketing of the processed food products.

10.0. Introduction

Food processing is an important sector in agriculture, the scope of which has increased manifold that can help to prevent wastage of perishable commodities to a great extent. But, at the same time, food processing industries generate a large quantity and variety of food products, provide employment to a large number of people and uplift their economic status. The production, processing and preparation of food, all results in generation of huge quantity of waste material causing health hazards due to environmental pollution. The waste material may be in the form of leaf/ straw, waste during harvesting, food preparation waste, after processing waste, unused material as waste, food processing operation waste etc. The huge wastage of the food material is due to lack of control on such agri-economy practices. So, the disposal of waste material has become a challenge to the processors, as different agencies are pressurizing for an environment friendly treatment of waste material. The utilization of waste for the production of value added products is very important in the management of food processing waste. Different types of food industries wastes are: i) fermentation industry waste, ii) fruit and vegetable industry waste (Table 10.1) iii) Sugar and starch industry waste, iv) diary industry waste, v) meat processing industry waste, vi) coffee industry waste and vii) palm oil industry waste, viii) fish processing industry waste. So, there is great need to find out options which have positive values of food waste. The options having positive values are: i) minimization of the waste generation, ii) development of value added products. Most of fruit and vegetable wastes are a rich source of vital constituents like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, fibres etc. Mango seed kernel is rich in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals; orange, melon and pumpkin seeds can provide fats and mineral matters. Apricot kernels are rich source of oil (45%) and proteins.

9.0. Introduction

Enzymes are organic biocatalysts which initiate and control biological reactions. A catalyst is an agent affecting the velocity of a chemical reaction without appearing among the final products of the reaction. Unlike general catalysts, enzymes are specific in nature and function at a temperature of approximately 37^o C and pH close to neutrality. All enzymes are proteins but all proteins are not enzymes. These are distributed among the cell and tissues of plants and animals. Use of malted barley in brewing, yeast in the production of alcoholic beverages and wrapping of meat in the bruised leaves of papaya tree for tenderizing meat are techniques that have been used for centuries. In bread and cheese making also, enzymes have been exploited from generation to generation. Thus, enzymes have been used without knowing the nature of enzyme as catalysts and reactions involved. However, it is only recently that nature and action of enzyme is known and its importance in food industry is realized.

8.0. Introduction

Food additives are the substances not normally consumed as a food by itself and contain or not contain nutritive value but are added to food to improve freshness, sensory and keeping quality of food. So, a food additive is defined as a substance or a mixture of substances other than the food stuff incorporated in food either directly or indirectly as a result of any phase of production, processing, storage or packaging to improve or maintain the nutritional value, enhance quality, consumer acceptability and facilitate the preparation of materials e.g., acid, alkali, bleaching agents, emulsifying & sterilizing agents, flavours, colours, nutrient supplements, clarifying agents, humectants, chemical preservatives etc. Every food available in the market or at home contains food additives. So, now the question arises that whether additives are safe from consumption/toxicological point of view or not? What are the facts or fictions, if additives are to be used in the food preparation? These are the most important questions to be answered and discussed before their use in food industry.

7.0. Introduction

The food safety is one of the most important of assurance system required for global expansion of trade between developed and developing countries. Assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared and/or eaten according to its intended use is known as food safety concept. It is set of conditions and measures taken during the food chain like production, processing, storage and distribution in order to ensure that, the product consumption does not represent a risk to the human health.

6.0. Introduction

Food is the basic need of all living organisms and hence, its quality should be given top priority. Food processing involves number of unit operations for material handling and there are always chances that the food may be contaminated or adulterated. The food is said to be contaminated if food is injurious to health and contain filthy, putrid rotten odour of insect pests etc. and can affect a large number of the populations at a time and hazards may occur. However, a food is said to be adulterated if it contains any other substance which affects the nature and quality product or substance is substituted with cheaper substance. So, it is essential to set the minimum limits of the desirable characteristics required and the maximum limits of the undesirable components that the food should contain. This helps to set common standards for commodities and to prevent confusion among the consumers.

5.0. Introduction

Quality control is generally defined as the regulation by law of food manufacture, distribution and sale in order to prevent health hazards and fraud to the consumers. Thus, it becomes a criminal offence to sell adulterated, filthy or contaminated foods. Quality control is the scientific control of production. There are certain basic fundamentals which are required for successful running of the food processing industry. So, for successful quality control in an industry / organization certain management systems are needed. Depending upon consumer requirement and satisfaction, quality management system is based on four important pillars like management responsibility, resource management, product / service realization and measurement, analysis & improvement. This management system is also important for ISO certification in an organization / industry.

4.0. Introduction

Quality is a measure of the degree of excellence or degree of acceptability by the consumer. By quality, one can differentiate the individual unit of a product from the other units and can determined the degree of acceptability of the individual unit by the consumer. The quality may also be defined in term of end use and may vary depending upon consumer’s perception and need. According to USDA Marketing Workshop Report (1951) “quality is the combination of attributes or characteristics of a product that have significance in determining the degree of acceptability of the product to the user”. For industry, quality is a measure of purity, strength, flavour, colour, size, maturity, workmanship and conditions or any other distinctive attributes of the product.

According to Code of Federal Regulations “Quality is the inherent properties of any processed product which determine the relative degree of excellence of such product and includes the effect of preparation and processing and may or may not include the effects of packaging or added ingredients/ additives”.

3.0. Introduction

A hazard is any factor that may be present in the food or food products and can cause harm to the consumer either through injury or illness. Hazards may be biological, chemical and physical. It may be a biological, chemical or physical property or condition of food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect. Therefore, these hazards can be grouped into three broad categories (Fig 3.1). Further, various stages during which processing hazard can takes place in a food industry is illustrated through Fig. 3.2. Effect of different potential hazards on human health along with symptoms is presented in Annexure IV.

2.0. Introduction

Before dealing with the various processes involved in the processing of fruit and vegetables or any food commodity on commercial scale, it is necessary to consider certain important factors such as investment, site, building, water supply, staff, labour etc. which are essential for the successful running of the food processing plant. Processing plant is the premises, buildings, structure and equipment used in the preparation, processing, handling, transportation and storage of any food commodity / fruits and vegetables / the processed products. The design and layout of the food processing plant is of great importance, besides other important factors. The food processing plant may be single storeyed or multi-storeyed depending upon capacity of production and viability of the plant e.g. if the production of the plant is assumed to be small and processing plant have to run only for short duration during the year then single storeyed processing plant can serve the purpose. Plant layout, product layout and process layout are the most important components for setting up of food processing industry and can determine the working efficiency of unit. Sanitary requirements in food processing plant are also important for marketing of the prepared product in national and international market. Sanitary requirement is as important in food processing plant as is the treatment of the effluent waste. For setting up of the food processing plant certain guidelines have been laid out by FPO, 1955.

1.0. Introduction

Any commodity, produce or harvest in organic or inorganic form to be fit to eat by a particular society, and contributes materially towards growth and repair of tissue is known as food. Food processing is application of techniques in a systematic manner for preventing losses through preservation, processing, packaging, storage and distribution to ensure greater availability of a wide variety of foods. It is a set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for consumption by humans or animals.

The early stages of food processing were largely confined to primary processing of food crops, commodities and produce whereby all these rendered fit for consumption or sale in the markets. Processing of rice and oil seeds were the necessities of that time for living. Later on, World War II gave a fillip to some of other food processing industries to meet the demand of the defence forces of the country. Fruits and vegetables processing; wheat and sugar milling drew support and sustenance from the exigencies created by war. Post war situation almost merged into the post-independence scenario. However, food processing industry received its first major impulse after independence. During this time, all the primary food processing industries received top most priority and all necessary support from the Governments in the country.

19.1. Plant Available Fraction of Nickel, Cadmium, Lead and Chromium

The DTPA method was originally developed to extract Mn, Cu, Fe and Zn from slightly acidic to alkaline soils (Lindsay and Norvell, 1978), but in some cases it can be used for other metals also such as Nickel (Ni), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb) and Chromium (Cr). Among them Ni is considered as an essential micronutrient. The DTPA is used to extract soil metals by forming chelates with free metals in solution, which lowers their ionic activities so that additional quantities of metal are released from the soil until equilibrium is attained. Triehanolamine (TEA) is used to buffer the extracting solution at pH 7.3 in an attempt to optimize the extraction of various metals. Calcium chloride is included in the extracting solution to minimize dissolution of CaCO₃.

18.1. Determination of Available Micronutrient Cations (Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn) in Soil

The available micronutrient cations (Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn) can be estimated in a single extraction with diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) as proposed by Lindsay and Norvell (1978). DTPA has the excellent property to combine with free metal ions in the solution forming soluble complexes. The stability constants of metal-DTPA complexes make DTPA as a most suitable extractant for simultaneous complex formation with Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn. In calcareous soil DTPA extractant may result overestimation due to excess dissolution of CaCO_3, thus releases occluded micronutrient cations which are not plant available. To avoid this excessive dissolution of CaCO₃, DTPA is buffered at pH 7.3 using triethanol amine (TEA). At this pH major part (3/4^th) of TEA is present as HTEA⁺ (protonation) and exchanges for Ca and Mg ion from the soil exchange site. This increases concentration of Ca and Mg in the solution phase and suppresses dissolution of CaCO₃. The DTPA has the capacity to complex each of the micronutrient cations 10 times of its atomic weight and it ranges from 550 to 650 ppm depending on the micronutrient cation.

The amount of cation in the extract is determined on an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The experimental condition such as shaking time, DTPA concentration, pH and temperature during shaking influence the amount of Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn extracted. Increase in shaking time and temperature markedly influence the extractability of these cations.

Sulphur (S) occurs in soil in both organic and inorganic forms. Inorganic S fraction may occur as sulphate (SO₄^2-) and compounds of lower oxidation state such as sulphide (S^2-), polysulphide (S_n^2-), thiosulphate (S₂O₃^2-) and elemental sulphur (S⁰). In well drained soils inorganic S usually present as sulphate. Under anaerobic condition (reduced or waterlogged soil) inorganic S mainly occur as sulphide and under extreme condition as elemental S form. Estimation of S carried out in two steps:

16.1. Forms of Soil K

Ignoring potassium (K) in soil organism, total K in soil may be classified as (i) water soluble K, (ii) readily exchangeable K (exchangeable K), (iii) slowly exchangeable K (non- exchangeable or fixed K) and (iv) mineral or lattice K. The different forms are in dynamic equilibrium with one another.