Blink Knowledge Base

INTRODUCTION- The name CGIAR comes from the acronym for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. The CGIAR System Organization is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR science is mainly dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.  It is carried out by 15 Centers, that are members of the CGIAR Consortium, in close collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector. The CGIAR has 64 governmental and non-governmental members and supports for 14 research centres and one intergovernmental research centre (Africa rice). HISTORY- In 1970 the Rockefeller Foundation proposed a world  wide network of Agricultural research centers under a permanent secretariat. This was further supported and developed by the world Bank, FAO and UNDP and the Consu...

Kisan  Diwas or National Farmer's Day is celebrated on December 23 every year in India, which is the birth anniversary of the fifth Prime Minister of India, Choudhary Charan Singh . Here is all you need to know... India is the land of agriculture as most of the people depends on farming for their occupation and income. They contribute a huge share for the Indian economy.  Farmers are the backbone of society. They  ensure that people don't starve and die of hunger but they themselves struggle for their meals. In order to  promote awareness to help and reward farmers for their contribution this day is celebrated every year. Where it is celebrated?  Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and others where the farming activity  is actively undergone.  Why farmer's day?   Chaudhary Charan Singh,  was born on 23 December 1902 in a middle class peasant family in UttarPradesh. He was greatly influenced by the Father of our Nation and took hi...

Why  protection  for plants is require in  India?  Being a member of WTO ( World Trade Organisation) and signatory of TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) it's mandatory for India to provide protection to plant varieties either by patent Or by sui generis Or both. India exercised sui generis option for protection of plant and plant varieties.  The Sui generis system means for effective protection of plant varieties, India enacted "The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights ( PPVFR) Act on August 9 2001 for plant variety protection by Lok Sabha.  This system attempts in recognizing and protecting the rights of plant breeders and farmers. As they contribute in conserving, improving and making available available plant Genetic resources for future research and development of new plant varieties.  This helps in improving the agricultural development and stimulates investment for research and development for the developmen...

We are celebrating agricultural education day today . Want to know why this day is celebrated and it's importance. Let's get-in to know the information on it. Agricultural Education Day: Indian Council of Agricultural Research has designated on 3rd December as "Agricultural Education Day" to commemorate the birth anniversary of first President of Independent India and Union Minister of Agriculture, Bharat Ratna, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.  Who is Rajendra Prasad? Rajendra Prasad was born on 3rd December 1884 in the Siwan district of Bihar. After completing his Master's degree in Economics from the University of Calcutta in 1907, he went on to study law at the Calcutta Law College and practised at the Calcutta High Court. Role in Independence movements: In 1911, he became a member of the Indian National Congress and subsequently served as its President thrice. Prasad gave up his legal career to join the independence movement in 1920 and was imprisoned during the Salt S...

Introduction: The term “medicinal plant” include various types of plants used in herbalism ("herbology" or "herbal medicine"). It is the use of plants for medicinal purposes, and the study of such uses. The word “herb” has been derived from the Latin word, “herba” and an old French word “herbe” . Now a days, herb refers to any part of the plant like fruit, seed, stem, bark, flower, leaf, stigma or a root, as well as a non-woody plant. Earlier, the term “herb” was only applied to non-woody plants, including those that come from trees and shrubs. These medicinal plants are also used as food, flavonoid, medicine or perfume and also in certain spiritual activities. Among ancient civilizations, India has been known to be rich repository of medicinal plants. The forest in India is the principal repository of large number of medicinal and aromatic plants, which are largely collected as raw materials for manufacture of drugs and perfumery products. About 8,000 herbal remed...

Memosa pudica   is a creeping annual Or perennial flowering plant, often grown for its curiosity. At present it's under pantropical weed. This is known as sensitive plant, sleepy plant, action plant, touch me not, shame plant.  It is native to South and central America. It belongs to the family Fabaceae.  What for its used?  It contains an alkaloid mimosine and possesses antibacterial, antivenom, antifertility, antidepressant and other properties. It also helps in grabbing the parasite in our gut and inactivating the larvae in the human body. The roots of this plant can be crushed and the paste can be utilized for treatment of boils, acne and other skin ailments.  Why it's so curious?  Mimosa is an interesting plant as it respond very quickly to a physical and environmental stimulus. The most sensitive plant , as it closes its leaves inwards when it's touched. They do it for their defence mechanism as they are attractive to grazing animals. This mechanism ...

Introduction: Assurance of a remunerative and stable price environment for growers/farmers is very important for increasing agricultural production and productivity. The market price for agricultural produce many times tends to be unstable and volatile which may result into undue losses to the growers and discourage adoption of the modern technology and required inputs. And as a result, the minimum support price (MSP) was announced. What is MSP and Who declares MSP? The Minimum Support Price (MSP) is an agricultural product price set by the Government of India to purchase directly from the farmers. This rate is to safeguard the farmer to a minimum profit for the harvest, if the open market has lesser price than the cost incurred. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) , Government of India, determines the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) at the beginning of the sowing season of various agricultural commodities in India based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultu...

What is contract farming? A farming which is carried out based on the legal agreement between the farmers and the buyers. According to the contract the farmers have to produce the agricultural products based on the willingness of the buyers. The farmers should assure to give them products of their specific quantity and quality in turn they help the farmers in guiding them in all the cultivation practices like dose of fertilizer application , the supply of farm inputs,other technical advices etc.,  It was first introduced in Taiwan in 1895 by Japanese government . In India it was introduced by pepsi company for cultivation of vegetables in Rajasthan in 1927. In India contract farming is regulated under the Indian contract act, 1872. Problems faced by farmers  1. Small and fragmented land holdings 2. Seed 3. Manures, fertilizers, biocides 4. Irrigation 5. Lack of mechanisation 6. Agricultural marketing  7. Scarcity of capital Objectives of contract farming  1. To achie...