The Manila tamarind (Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth) belongs to the family Fabaceae. This species have several medicinal and nutritional properties. The fruits are having sweet and sour pulp which is eaten as fresh in India. It is one of the minor fruit tree and highly suitable for alley cropping. This can be planted as ornamental shade trees in pathways and hedges in gardens. It is a fast growing medium size tree grown up to a height of 10-15m. This species is drought tolerant and grown in wide range of soil and climatic conditions. Naturally this plant species can be multiplied by seeds and grafting techniques also standardized for propagation.
Tillage was for most of recorded agriculture history, a concept of achieving a finely divided soil by fragmenting clods using cultivation tools. The plough was key from historic times. Ploughing improves the moisture content of the field and as well as the field needs a perfect levelling to avoid the uneven distribution of moisture content in the same field; as in the same field observed with a moisture content of 4.8% to 20.1%. Observation showed that ploughing has increased the moisture retention capacity. Ploughed field without slope has recorded a moisture percentage of 15% and almost the same as in the castor field. Summer ploughed fields with weeds has recorded an average moisture percentage of 12.5%. This showed that current ploughed field without weeds has the advantage in retaining good moisture content over summer ploughed fields with weeds. Pastures with a textural class of red sandy soil has recorded a moisture percentage of 8.3% which is also good and was 7% lesser moisture percentage.
Generally the prices of any commodity is determined by the equilibrium between supply and demand in the global market. It indicates that the prices of commodities should also be same in different countries across the world. On the contrary, they vary from country to country mainly because of the government intervention through various schemes and policies regarding trade aspects. Owing to this reason, the domestic prices deviate from the international prices generating either incentives or disincentives to the actors in the supply chain. The measurement of this gap in the domestic and international prices as incentive or disincentive to the players is the main aim of the MAFAP methodology. Ordinarily price incentives are the external prompts such as subsidies, Minimum Support Prices (MSP), etc., provided to the producers to encourage their production despite the price fluctuations. Nevertheless, in accordance to MAFAP methodology, price incentives are the effects of food and agricultural policies that have an impact on domestic prices at different levels across the globe.
Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies, abbreviated as MAFAP was developed by FAO in the year 2009 to monitor and analyse African country policies. The application of MAFAP to analyse policies in the member countries of Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) upon their request was also observed in the later years. The major focus of the MAFAP analysis is on policy measuring and monitoring, systematic analysis of government policies and their effects. The frame work of MAFAP methodology for price incentive analysis comprises of identifying the type of policies that are supporting production and marketing of the commodities taken for analysis, identifying the factors that causes difference between domestic and international prices for the commodities, measuring the effect of policies on prices at different points of value chain and knowing the level and type of inefficiencies in the agricultural markets.
Sarabanga Farmer Producer Company of Kadayampatti block in Salem District started a sales centre for selling organic inputs to the farmers of their own company. Turmeric powder is one of the major value added products of Sarabanga FPC since Salem and Erode is the hub of turmeric cultivation. The raw turmeric were dried for two days in the Solar dryer and then used for pulverizing without extracting oleoresin or oil. Apart from turmeric powder, this FPC also producing value added products from coriander, chilli and masala products like Sambar podi, mutton masala, chicken masala, moringa pod powder, moringa soup powder etc., With regard to marketing of the value added products of moringa, the company has sold the products of moringa to Uzhavar Shandies of Salem City, Sales center of their own inputs. If the market is expanded to other important places of domestic market and foreign markets as well, the nutrient and medicinal properties of Moringa will reach all the people soon.
