Depending on the demand and requirements, the company would expand the park in the 75 acres owned by it and adjacent to the park, Chellappan said.
Coimbatore :
Rooftop solar installation company Swelect Energy Systems has commissioned a 15 MW solar energy park near Vellakoil in Karur district of Tamil Nadu.
The 15 MW park is a modular energy park, wherein the company owns 12 MW and 3 MW capacity is owned by two other companies, Yajur Energy Solutions and Amex Alloys, company’s Managing Director R Chellappan told PTI today.
Set up on 75 acres of land with an investment of Rs 102 crore, the power evacuation is through a 33 KV dedicated feeder connecting Periyarnagar sub-station of Tangendco, he said.
Depending on the demand and requirements, the company would expand the park in the 75 acres owned by it and adjacent to the park, Chellappan said.
On the policy bottlenecks, Chellappan said the solar sector would benefit a lot if the Renewal Purchase Obligation (RPO) was regularised.
To a question on Tamil Nadu’s project to generate 3,000 MW through solar energy in three years, Chellappan said that the sector was waiting for favourable scheme.
The company has been engaged in developing solar power projects for a decade now as channel partner to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, he said, adding, it has installed over 1,500 rooftop projects across the country.
source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> Industry> Energy> Power / by PTI / April 30th, 2014
There will be an interaction between experts and participants
Salem District Small Scale and Tiny Industries Association (SADISSTIA), Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) and Germany based Fredrich-Newman-Foundation Service Centre, will be jointly organising a one-day seminar on “Energy Conservation”.
The programme will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hotel Grand Estancia in Kuranguchavadi, on April 30.
Chief Executive Officer of Jindal Steel Works, Mecheri, Salem, D. Ravichandar, will deliver the keynote address. Technical expert S. Kannan, from Tiruchi, will enlighten the participants on “Energy Conservation” in all types of buildings.
Focus will be on energy conservation in hotels, hospitals and educational institutions.
R. Baskaran, an energy conservation expert from Coimbatore, will be addressing the participants on energy conservation in utilities, compressors, boilers, fans and pumps.
Topic
Officer of the South India Textile Research Association, Coimbatore, N. Vasantha Kumar will elaborate on the topic for textile industries.
P. Ashok Kumar, President of the Tamil Nadu Solar Energy Developers Association, will explain on getting solar energy equipment at a concessional rate with allowable subsidy from the Government. SADISSTIA President K. Mariappan said that there will be an interaction between experts and the participants.
The registration fee will be nominal for those who enrol for the programme at the SADISSTIA office opposite Alagapuram Police Station in Fairlands, Salem.
Further details could be obtained over phone at 94437-17295, 94426-31277 or 0427-2448479.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Staff Reporter / Salem – April 27th, 2014
Mindless usage of chemical fertilizers and spraying pesticides to increase yields have made farming a commercial exercise profiting only some private companies rather than a small farmer.
“The challenge today is to generate a better yield and income from small farms using locally available materials since more than 80 per cent of farmers in India are small farmers,” says Dr. Kamalasanan Pillai, Head of the R&D, Vivekananda Kendra –Natural Resources Development (Vk- Nardep), an NGO in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.
While cattle-dung based formulations are well known, still not all marginal farmers are cattle owners – particularly cow – which is essential for indigenous formulations. Some of these formulations are also costly for a marginal farmer.
New technology
Vk-nardep developed a new technology using fish wastes to make a nutrient that offers all the vital ingredients needed for crop growth in an organic way through locally available resources.
“Though fish is available throughout the year, during the post monsoon season huge quantity of fish waste as well as non-edible fish related waste are generated both in village markets and also in household kitchens.
The disposal of this waste material poses a big problem. As the fish-waste contains rich proteins, it cannot be kept beyond 24 hours. This waste material becomes the basic substrate for the bio-formulation developed by us. This also solves the problem of pollution and waste-disposal,” says Dr. Pillai.
Giving details on how the fish substrate can be done he says:
About 20 kg of fish waste is collected and stored in a plastic can of 40 litres capacity.
To this 10 litre of water is added followed by 20-30 ml papaya latex. The papaya latex (pappain) is collected after making a small cut on the surface of a mature green papaya fruit. The material is mixed well with pappain and kept for 5-8 hrs. The vessel is kept closed with stirring every hour.
Fermentation
After five to eight hours, jaggary solution (four kg jaggary dissolved in five litres of water) is added to the fish substrate and stirred well. This mixture is allowed to ferment well for 15-20 days. The scales and fish bones get degraded well within this period.
After the stipulated day the extract is prepared by adding two to five times water to the fermented material.
The extract can be filtered and applied to plants, preferably as a foliar spray. The undigested part if any, can be used as manure for the soil.
Shelf life
For increasing shelf life further, the extract can be filtered using a muslin cloth followed by pressure filtration to get rid of small solid particles.
The material filtered with the pressure filter can be kept for a period of three months and used when necessary. To use this as spray dilute 250 to 500 ml of the extract in 10 litres of water.
Farmers are advised to spray this after 4 pm in the evening for best results.
“The formulation can be used for all vegetable and flower crops. The technology is particularly useful for those who do not have cattle.
It also benefits the waste disposal problem of local fish markets and restaurants – particularly the fish waste. Extensive trials have been conducted by our institute using this fish extract on crops like lady’s finger, amaranthus, palak, brinjal and tomato and have fetched good results,” he explains.
Amino extract from chemical source/commercial brands available in the market costs Rs. 300 per litre while the locally made fish-amino costs only Rs. 40-50. It is ecologically safer than chemicals and has also pest repellent effect. “We are working to see how beneficial this extract is for paddy and banana crops as well,” he adds.
Workshops
VK-nardep work is on seeking sustainable solutions to address the environmental and agriculture related issues and innovates sustainable alternatives. It regulalry organises awareness camps, seminars, workshops and brings out publications on sustainable farming practices. To know more contact Dr.P.Kamalasanan Pillai, Project Coordinator,Vivekananda Kendra – NARDEP,,Kanyakumari – 629 702,,Tamilnadu, ), e.mail : vknardep@gmail.com, web : vknardep.org, mobile : 09387212005, phone: 04652 246296.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> S & T> Science / Farmers Notebook / by M.J. Prabu / February 28th, 2013
THE EFFECT: Frequency of pesticide spray was reduced from once in seven days to once in 15 days and finally once in 30 days./ by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Continuous power supply is essential for any type of agricultural activity. Particularly in villages where the concept of invertors or generators is yet to attain a major breakthrough, electricity disruption means temporary suspension of any activity till power supply resumes.
Though the Government has been harping on need to harness solar power and grants subsidies for installing solar units for farm related activities, the concept is yet to gain momentum.
Major issue
But for some individuals like Mr. David Raja Beula, Assistant Director of Horticulture, Kadayam in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, electricity disruption does not seem to be a major issue since he has developed several solar powered farming equipment.
Among his recent innovations is the multipurpose solar pest manager and garden light. The device according to him was developed to help brinjal and jasmine cultivators in the region control fruit borer and white fly pest in their crops.
The height of the solar light is about eight feet. It has a solar panel, a battery, two five watt bulbs and an insect collection stainless steel tray on which a sticky paste of castor oil and shampoo mix is smeared.
“Brinjal and jasmine farmers in Kadayam region in the district were struggling to control the fruit borer and white fly pests for a long time. They sprayed pesticides once in seven days to control the problem. During this time I had developed the multipurpose solar pest manager and introduced it to the participants at a meeting. About 35 farmers who attended the meeting were given one device to experiment the efficiency of the device,” says Mr. Beula.
The collection of killed fruit borer moths started at the rate of three moths and gradually increased to 500 moths a day and white flies from 100 numbers to 700 a day.
Reduced spray
“We also found that the frequency of pesticide spray was reduced from once in seven days to once in 15 days and finally once in 30 days, thereby bringing down the expense from Rs.10, 000 to Rs.5,000 for an acre of brinjal and from Rs. 24,000 to Rs. 12,000 for jasmine,” he explains.
Priced at Rs.15,000 a piece, it can be used to control pests in other crops also, according him. Since the device has also a light facility attached, it can be used to light the fields and garden in which it is used.
Farmers repeatedly spray several chemicals, or in case of organic methods use the required bio applications on the jasmine and brinjal crops. But complete eradication seems impossible as the larvae hide in the shoots and fruits and escape the sprays.
“Naturally farmers tend to over-spray thinking that more spraying effectively controls the pest.
Big expense
Repeated spraying causes a big expense for a small farmer. In addition to the financial cost incurred for buying the inputs, excessive application of chemicals creates a negative impact on the environment, in the harvested flowers and vegetables and poses a serious risk to consumers as well,” he says.
Mr. Sivaperumal a small farmer from Therkumadathur village showed thousands of white flies in jasmine crops attracted and killed in the device.
Another farmer from Tharuvai village Mr. Anthony Raj was deeply impressed by the effectiveness of the device in controlling the fruit borer in his brinjal crop and says, “I have got the confidence to expand the cultivation area from half an acre to two acres in the coming season,” he says.
Dhan foundation an NGO in Madurai that works for farmers’ welfare has recorded that the solar multipurpose device helps reduce the boll worm’s infestation in cotton crops by controlling the moths and there was reasonable reduction in pesticide usage among the 35 farmers using it.
Based on order
“At present I do not have a readymade unit available for those who are interested to try it. It is manufactured based on order. So farmers who need it are requested to contact me in advance and place orders,” says Mr. Beula.
For more details and personal visit interested farmers can contact Mr. P. David Raja Beula Assistant Director of Horticulture Kadayam, Tirunelveli District Tamil Nadu,email: microeconomicsdavid@yahoo.co.in, mobile: 09486285704.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> S&T> Science / Farmers Notebook / by M.J. Prabu / January 01st, 2014
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation – Fri, 11 Apr 2014
By Nita Bhalla
An Essmart Global representative trains a village shopkeeper on technology products that are helping improve life for poor rural communities and small scale-farmers in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India./ Photo taken by Essmart Global in 2012
Mumbai , India, April 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
A start-up Indian social enterprise has come up with an innovative solution to one of the country’s biggest development challenges – helping the rural poor easily access basics such as clean drinking water and electricity.
Essmart Global is bringing affordable products such as solar lanterns, rechargeable batteries and water filters to the doorsteps of mud-and-brick villages through a unique partnership with shopkeepers in south India.
“We bring different technologies that are appropriate to rural areas to existing market places such as rural ‘kiranas” or ‘mom-and-pop stores’, and make these products available through a catalogue,” said Prashanth Venkataramana, Essmart’s head of operations in India.
“Customers will have access to the products they want and get them delivered within a day, without having to travel to the cities and towns where these products are generally only available.”
Venkataramana was speaking on the sidelines of the Sankalp Unconvention Summit in Mumbai, where hundreds of social enterprises from around the world have gathered to showcase their ideas for development.
The three-day conference has seen social entrepreneurs pitching products such as solar lanterns, clean cooking stoves, and irrigation tools which use less water or agriculture instruments which make processing crops more efficient.
India has witnessed stellar economic growth over the last two decades, yet one third of the country’s 1.2 billion population still lives below the poverty line.
Seventy million households – 35-40 percent of the country’s 1.2 billion people – have no access to electricity, while 100 million do not have access to clean drinking water.
But while there are thousands of products which can help address these issues, most are not easily available to the rural poor – largely because village retailers cannot afford to buy in bulk, a key requirement for manufacturers.
GOING THE LAST MILE
Essmart Global, in essence, acts as a distributor and buys products in bulk, which are stored in local warehouses. When a customer orders a product from the catalogue in his village store, it is dispatched and delivered to the shop the next day.
“We provide any product which can improve the quality of life of people living in rural areas. These are products such as solar lanterns, water filters, tablet computers, rechargeable batteries and rechargeable flashlights,” he told Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“There are also products which can help them in their occupations such as agricultural equipment, little gadgets that can work on their farms or fields.”
The social enterprise, which began operations in August 2012, provides 45 products to 400 village stores in the west of Tamil Nadu state and works with around 20 large and small manufacturers.
The company has sold some 2,200 products so far, with the most popular being solar lanterns which sell for around 1,400 rupees ($23).
For more expensive products, such as a solar-powered water pumps for irrigation, Essmart helps customers arrange a line of credit with the manufacturer or through a microfinance company. All products come with a warranty.
Venkataramana said one of the most exciting outcomes is not just that the business helps rural customers, but that it also benefits villager retailers.
“These rural shops generally only sell fast-moving consumer goods such as shampoos, soaps, toothpaste etc which they make little (profit) on,” he said.
“What we are getting the shopkeeper to do is sell technology products which he wouldn’t normally sell and helping him increase his margins. In fact, stores which have worked with us, have seen a 30 percent increase in their monthly income by selling products from Essmart.”
source: http://www.trust.org / Thomson Reuters Foundation / by Nita Bhalla / Friday, April 11th, 2014
Tirunavukkarasu and his wife T. Porkodi at a roof garden, in Karur. / PHOTO: R.M. RAJARATHINAM / The Hindu
Green crusader’s terrace garden boasts vegetables, fruits, herbs
The sun does not scorch Porkodi’s house in Karur even at summer’s high noon. For, her house at Gowripuram in the heart of Karur town sports a refreshingly green roof-top, a far cry in a district that has less just about 10 per cent of the mandated forest cover and where indiscriminate industrialisation has taken a rather heavy toll on the nature and its bounty.
The energising roof garden is an acknowledgement of Ms. Porkodi’s remarkable zeal and perseverance of growing plants and herbs in all available space in her house.
They are there not just for aesthetic appeal but also to remind the current generation of the utility value the herbs possess.
Ms. Porkodi’s homely visage masks an undaunted green crusader who has only taken her family’s agricultural background, literally, to great heights. Her work with her father at their Sathyamangalam house imbued in her the desire and dream to have her own roof-top garden that has taken shape now after a couple of decades.
When she set about to establish her terrace garden, she meticulously collated details of plants and herbs that could grow with minimal soil, water and aeration. Ms.Porkodi’s knowledge of herbal insecticides and pesticides grew along with that and she became an addict to sustainable gardening in a very short time.
Vermicompost, panchkavya and azolla are household names at Porkodi’s.
From raising the regular roof-top vegetable varieties, Ms. Porkodi’s urge to excel took her to cultivate unique vegetable species for a roof-top garden such as radish, cabbage, malta lemon, banana and even moringa. On the fruity front, malta lemon, rose apple, West Indian cherry, Kerala Nelli, organic pannier grapes, organic ridge gourd, mosambi, guava, Chinese orange, custard apple, pomegranate, and papaya tingle the taste buds as one walks through the green maze of Ms. Porkodi’s garden.
She gratefully acknowledges her husband Thirunavukkarasu’s huge support and that could be vouched from the interest he has taken in bringing to reality and life his wife’s dream. “I would be happy if youngsters take interest in gardening, especially in the limited spaces available to them, so that we can create a green sheath wherever possible,” says Ms. Porkodi on her next level of activity.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by L. Renganathan / Karur – April 11th, 2014
NEW ATTRACTION: The project is supported by Christian Aid with technical support from Change Alliance. / Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Thottiankulam village on the Sevaiyur-Tuticorin highway in Virudhunagar district is bone dry all through the year. Farmers, mostly small and marginal, have either left the place seeking work in towns or have moved to other vocations.
In the midst of the vast expanse of empty fields dotted with palm trees here and there, a small patch of greenery catches attention. A group of people are busy tending to the green patch of vegetables, all grown organically.
Short term
The green patch which has been attracting a number of visitors driving on the highway has been made possible by an organisation called Saal (Sustainable Agro Alliance Limited) in Madurai, which has been encouraging struggling small farmers to take up short-term vegetable cultivation.
This programme, supported by an organisation called Christian Aid with technical support from Change Alliance, is fast proving to be a significant intervention in terms of gathering adequate and robust evidences to confirm that small-holder agriculture is feasible.
“The key mantra behind successful production lies in creating better environment. The first step in this process is to focus on the soil and not on plants. A healthy soil gives good yield. And in our system we take care to conduct soil analysis, enrichment using cow dung, cow urine, and humus obtained from dried leaves, agriculture wastages etc to make the barren land productive,” says Mr. B. Jeyabala Murugan, Chief Executive Officer, Saal.
The next step revolves around building an immune system for the plants. The seeds and seedlings are treated with good fungicides and bacteria to form a layer around the roots. This protective layer bestows immunity against soil borne diseases.
Border crops, inter crops, trap crops and multi cropping are also taken up. Farmers are taught to prepare herbal pest repellent using locally available materials.
All about arithmatic
“Our organic process is all about maths. We can predict yield as long as we follow the guidelines for vegetable variety, field size and plant population. It guides us to achieve desired production,” says Mr. S.Henry Joe, Operations Officer.
The final step is helping in marketing the produce. Effective marketing is the ultimate step for success in any agriculture work. With all the hard work done in the farm, if the produce is not fetching the due price then everything is a waste. Saal has facilitated some innovative, transparent and reliable market access to the growers.
High demand
“Local production, local consumption is our motto and our value chain process encompasses farmers, consumers and traders. Our pricing policy is based on a mix of conventional and niche market segments to increase consumption and thereby achieve higher demand, which help operate supply chain efficiently,” says Mr. John Suresh Kumar, Senior Programme Officer.
Already in three adjoining districts the organisation has established a supply chain for organic vegetables. The balancing of supply and demand is done through an online programme to track, trace and synchronise production and marketing and communication strategy
“We provide the farmers with live education in the farm, offer them bio inputs in initial stages of process, provide expert guidance in their field and attend to emergency situations. Those who have adopted this process have noticed that their plants are not only immune to diseases, they are better tolerant to changing weather conditions. The plants are better drought tolerant (could survive for more than seven days without water.),” explains Mr. John.
Shelf life
The life of the vegetable crops has extended significantly — say, from four to eight weeks — and they are able to get yield continuously. This extended vegetable yield has helped earn more income through better pricing in the market.
The small patch of organic greenery has also been seeing a number of insect activities and visits by birds, butterflies, and bees, creating a sort of biodiversity in the region.
The farm, on day-to-day basis, is managed by a supervisor, farm manager and six trained farmers. Presently more than 120 organic vegetable growers from Madurai, Virudhunagar and Dindigul districts are part of a similar programme and 100 more are expected to join soon.
For more information and personal visits interested readers can contact Mr. John Suresh Kumar, Senior Programme Officer on email:jnujohn73@gmail.com, mobile: 8287755019.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> S & T> Science / by M. J. Prabu / April 16th, 2014
Orient Green Power Company is consolidating its biomass power generation business with a sharper focus on group captive power generation.
The wind and biomass-based renewable power company has informed the BSE that it will sell a 10-MW biomass power unit in Pollachi in Tamil Nadu to its subsidiary to enable the unit tap the group captive market to sell power to private sector consumers.
Under the group captive scheme, customers will own at least 26 per cent of the equity stake and consume more than half the power generated.
Company officials said Orient Green has 10 biomass power generation units totalling over 86 MW of power generating capacity. The Pollachi unit is the third power plant to opt for group captive as opposed to selling power to the state utility. One of the expected advantages is timely payment from private sector consumers.
An additional 20 MW is coming up in Kolhapur through a joint venture.
Biomass, or wood-based and agro-waste, fuel costs about ₹1.5-3 a kg and up to 2.5 kg of fuel is needed to generate a unit of electricity. In Tamil Nadu tariff levels range around ₹6.50-7 a unit, according to an investor presentation by the company.
Orient Green has over 500 MW of renewable energy capacity, with more than 420 MW of wind power projects.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Companies / The Hindu Bureau / Chennai – April 08th, 2014
Farmers of five blocks in the district have brought more land under rice fallow-crop cultivation in a bid to increase production./ Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam / The Hindu
For the past two months, farmers of five blocks in Tiruvallur have been working hard to double the output of pulses in the district.
The farmers of Minjur, Cholavaram, Gummidipoondi, Ellapuram and Tiruvallur blocks have brought more land under rice fallow-crop cultivation. In this method, seeds of pulses, including green gram, are sown a few days before the paddy harvest and the seeds germinate due to the little moisture that is retained in the soil.
A total of 12,303 hectares of land are under pulse cultivation in the district, of which 6,500 are under rice fallow-crop cultivation, an increase of 2,000 hectares from last year. The farmers have set themselves a target of 1.20 lakh tonnes of pulses as against 70,000 tonnes last year.
According to an agricultural officer, rice fallow-crop cultivation would help double production. The farmers take care to leave about three-fourths of a foot of paddy stubble so that the saplings of the pulses are not harmed. This is an 80-day crop; during the period, farmers spray the plants with DAP twice.
According to officials in the agricultural department, these villages, which are known for paddy cultivation, are also taking up pulses due to government intervention. “Pulses do not need much care and there is no need to plough the fields in this method. We provide them five kg of free DAP per acre,” said an agricultural officer.
The department has been encouraging more farmers to take to this intermediate crop as it does not require much water and the spraying of DAP will also help increase the yield, the official explained, adding that the production was expected to go up from the usual 500-600 kilos per hectare to one tonne per hectare.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Deepa H. Ramakrishnan / Chennai – April 01st, 2014
A farmers’ organisation in Erode held a demonstration using a tractor and a motor cycle powered by biogas at a city college. Around 200 farmers attended the demonstration and some even tried their hand in operating the exhibits on Sunday. The purpose of the demo is to encourage the use of biogas, one participant said.
A tractor and a two-wheeler powered through methane were exhibited at the college grounds. Their tanks were removed and modified for the purpose. Methane gas used was extracted from vegetable and animal wastes. To pump the gas requires expensive equipment costing Rs20lakh. As this was not available an extra can was fixed with the gas for the purpose of demonstration.
C Nallasamy, secretary of the Federation of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association said that they had come up with this demonstration so that the public could know that there is an alternative to petroleum. “Methane gas as well as ethanol can be used to substitute petroleum. This will decrease air pollution,” he said. This is also beneficial to farmers as they can get better prices for their agricultural produce, he added.
Dr P Ayyappan, a retired pharmacologist with the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), who designed the vehicles said that they had used 100 percent methane for the two-wheeler and 80% for the tractor.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / March 24th, 2014
