Cotton Corp plans contract farming

Cotton Corp. of India has started contract farming in the Vidarbha region to help growers there to tide over the problem of regular crop failures, Managing Director Subhash Grover said on Monday.

"The textile ministry has floated the idea of contract farming in cotton in the Vidharba region to urge large corporate houses and textile mill owners to engage in the activity," Grover said.

According to Grover, currently, CCI and textile mills from South India have already started contract farming in cotton on 25,000 hectares in the Vidharba region.

"Through contract farming, the textile ministry wants to demonstrate that usage of good seeds, pesticides and cotton types can help farmers to achieve good yield," Grover said.

Oct 1-Nov 9 wheat sowing 2.6 mln ha

Rabi wheat has been sown over 2.6 million hectares till November 9 compared with 1.5 million hectares in the year-ago period, according to government data released on Monday.

Sowing has commenced in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Karnataka. Wheat sowing has also begun in parts of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal.

It said land preparation has begun in Uttar Pradesh, while kharif rice crop is yet being harvested in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Jharkhand.

Rabi sowing commences October and the crop is harvested from March. In the last rabi season, wheat was sown over 26.4 mln ha.

Wheat sowing, which was lagging in Punjab till lately, has also caught up in the state.

Till November 3, wheat had been sown over 423,000 hectares in Punjab compared with 395,000 hectares last year. The report said though, power, irrigation, and diesel conditions are normal in Punjab, availability of di-ammonium phosphate, commonly known as DAP, is a constraint.

DAP, a phosphatic fertiliser, is applied while sowing wheat, and urea is applied in later stages of growth. Wheat sowing has commenced early in many parts of the country this year due to high open market prices as well as the government's insistence on early sowing.

Rajasthan to give camel milk big push

Low-calorie ice cream and tea and coffee that may help reduce blood sugar levels are among the health benefits touted by a plan to halt the declining fortunes of Rajasthan's camel breeders.

A two-year project, launched in drought-affected Jaisalmer district, aims to revive the industry by marketing camel milk to hotels and tourists visiting historic palaces and desert towns.

"The response to camel milk as a health drink and to an ice cream made from the milk has been very encouraging," said project coordinator Ilse Kohler-Rollefson, with hotels already signing up for the products.

Ice cream is being made in two flavours"�saffron-pistachio and strawberry-vanilla.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation says camel milk has a vitamin C content three times higher than cow's milk. It is also rich in iron, unsaturated fatty acids and vitamin B.

"It is also shown to reduce blood sugar levels in diabetes patients," Kohler-Rollefson said.