Urban Farming

I hope you people would have heard this word.. Urban farming. Obviously, it's about doing farming in, or around the urban area. You may think that with the increasing concrete structures in the cities how will it be possible. However, believe it or not, people are doing this practice very successfully.
Especially, many Non-government and Non-profit organizations are involving in the urban farming worldwide and are making local shelters healthy and wealthy. If you ask me what they are doing? it's very simple. Just growing food locally with the use of bio-intensive method. (Producing maximum food from the minimal area by using waste materials is called bio-intensive method). The area may be your roof, yard or a common land. The organizations just gather people in the particular community first. Then, they acquire a common land with all legal permissions and start doing farming by using unused land for farming and waste-water for irrigation.

By using waste-water and unused land, it paves way to sustainable production of food. Besides, urban farming ensures the food security by increasing the amount of available food for urban dwellers and also by making food available as fresh it ensures the food safety. Urban farming simply make the environment healthy with the improvement in the quality of air etc.

How to make people wealthy with Urban farming?

Most of the urban people in the low-income scale are spending large part of their income for food. By making them involved in Urban farming, they can be self-sufficient in their house-hold food need and at the same time, they can also increase their income level by selling the surplus food to the local market. Thus, we can make them wealthy.

Other Benefits?

Urban farming may serve as the one of solutions for the on-going food crisis. By producing and marketing food locally, we can cut short the transportation cost. Ultimately, it results in the energy efficiency.Also, we aren't in need of much preservatives as the food is going to be distributed locally in urban farming. Thus, it also seem to be more safe to consume.

Any difficulties in initiating?

Yes.. Of course. We have to get a common land in case of community gardening with fulfilling all legal requirements. You see it may have some sort of uncertainty that we may lose the land at any time due to some legal problems. Also, in handling the waste-water and unused land, we have to take more care to make them suitable for cultivation.

Role of Agricultural Engineering?

Agricultural Engineering plays an important role here. Micro Irrigation would be the best way of irrigating the field of your roof or yard. And, in some areas, Green house has been successfully used for the cultivation of food crops. For doing small-scale farming like urban farming, we are in need of handy equipment to do farming efficiently. In waste-water treatment and soil conservation, obviously, Agrl.Engg has the leading role. Thus, Agricultural Engineering has its own contribution to the successfully practiced Urban Farming.

If you have any doubts or comments, feel free to contact me at me.mgrg@rediffmail.com

Gen R

Psychrometry

What is Psychrometry?
Psychrometry is the study of physical properties of air.
Just like any food material or biological material, that has got physical properties like size, shape, mass, volume, density etc., air has also got some properties. The study of those properties is Psychrometry. Usually main properties taken into account in Psychrometry are
1.Dry Bulb temperature.
2. Wet Bulb Temperature
3. Relative Humidity
4.Enthalpy
5.Humid Volume
6.Dew Point temperature
7Humidity Ratio
These are mostly thermodynamic properties and are represented in a chart called Psychrometric Chart. Psychrometry is applicable mainly in gas - vapour mixtures, because of their application in drying, heating , air-conditioning and the like.

References:
1. Agricultural Engineering -Problem Solving Approach
2.Wikipedia

Forming a venture-4

INVESTMENT INTO MACHINERY IN SMALL SCALE SECTOR

* The investment ceilings in plan and machinery in small scale and ancillary industrial undertakings has been fixed at Rs.60 lakh and Rs.75 lakh, respectively.
* In the case of small scale units that undertake to export atleast 30% of the annual production by the end of the third year from the date of commencement of commercial production, the limit of investment in fixed assets in plant and machinery has been fixed at Rs.75 lakh.

LIST OF INDUSTRIES RESERVED FOR PUBLIC SECTOR:

* Arms and ammunition and allied items of defence equipment, defence aircraft and warships
* Coal and Lignite

* Atomic energy
* Mineral Oils
* Mining of iron, manganese and chrome ore, gypsum, sulfur, gold and diamond
* Mining of copper, lead, zinc, tin, molybdenum and wolfarm
* Minerals specified in the schedule to the Atomic Energy
* Railway Transport

ANNEXURE II

COMPULSORY INDUSTRIAL LICENSING

Sugar Cane sugar, refined Other sugar, including centrifugal sugar Animal fats and oils Animal fats and oils partly or wholly hydrogenated Edible mixtures or preparations of animal fats and oils Non-edible mixtures or preparations of animal fats and oils.

List of Industries for Automatic Approval of Foreign Technology Agreement/ 51% Foreign Equity Participation / 100% Foreign Equity Participation by Non-Resident Indians And Overseas Corporations Predominantly held by Non-Resident Indians:

* All food processing industries other than milk food, malted foods & flour, but excluding the items reserved for small scale sector.
* Sausages and similar products, of meat or meat offal; food preparations based on these products.
* Other prepared or preserved meat or meat offal
* Extracts and juices of meat, fish on crustaceans, molasses or other aquatic invertebrates
* Prepared or preserved fish
* Crustaceans, molasses and other aquatic invertebrates, prepared or preserved
* Pasta, whether or not cooked or stuffed (with meat or other substances) or otherwise prepared.
* Tapioca and substitutes therefore prepared from starch, in the form of flakes, grains, pearls, siftings or in similar forms.
* Prepared foods obtained by the swelling or roasting of cereals or cereal products; cereals, other than maize (corn), in grain form, pre-cooked or otherwise prepared.
* Tomatoes prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid.
* Mushrooms and truffles, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid.
* Other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, frozen.
* Other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen.
* Fruit, nuts, fruit-peel and other parts of plants, preserved by sugar (drained, glace or crystallised).
* Fruit jellies, marmalades, fruit or nut pure and fruit or nut pastes, being cooked preparations, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter.
* Fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved, whether or not, containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit, not elsewhere specified or included.
* Fruit juices (including grape must) and vegetable juices, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter.
* Sunflower-seed, safflower or cotton-seed oil, extracted and upgraded
Other fixed vegetable oils (minor), extracted and upgraded
* Soya texture proteins: Protein concentrates and texturised protein substances of soya
* Soya protein isolates: Protein isolates of soya
* Soya protein concentrates: Protein concentrates and textureised protein substances of soya
* Other specialised products of soyabean: Soya sauce
* Winterised and deodourised refined Soyabean oil: Refined soya been oil, winterised and deodourised.

Source: Food Processing Industries in India 1995-96

Forming a Food Industry-3

REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES

Registrars of Companies appointed under the Companies Act, covering the various States and Union Territories, are vested with the primary duty of registering companies floated in the respective States and the Union Territories and ensuring that such companies comply with the statutory requirements under the Act.

· Their offices function as registry of records relating to the companies registered with them

LICENSING
HIGHLIGHTS:

1.The new Industrial Policy has done away with pre-investment approvals for industries except in a few specified sectors (which include Alcoholic drinks, Sugar and Animal Fats/oil).

2.Medium/Large units exempted from licensing requirement need to file only an Industrial Entrepreneur's Memorandum with the Secretariat for Industrial Approvals (SIA) in the Ministry of Industry at New Delhi.

3.Units not covered by the exemption from industrial licensing have to apply to the SIA for a license/letter of intent.

INDUSTRIAL LICENSING PROCEDURES

In the new industrial policy, the Government has prepared a list of industries for which industrial licensing is compulsory. For setting up a unit for the manufacture of any item listed in this list all entrepreneurs have to necessarily obtain an industrial license irrespective of the category to which they belong and the investments involved. In case of small scale sector, if an item is listed in Annexure II and is also listed in the list of reserved items for small scale sector, the small scale unit does not require an industrial license whether it is existing unit or a new unit proposing to manufacture that item. The existing manufacturers of these items (Annexure II) not possessing an industrial license or those who have received SIA or DGTD registrations for the manufacture of these items and have either already set up their units or are in the process of setting up their unit, however are not required to apply afresh for an industrial license for the manufacture of these items.
* For setting up a unit for the manufacture of any other items or any substantial expansion in its manufacture (provided its manufacture is permissible for the category to which the entrepreneur belongs) the entrepreneur has to submit a "Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum' in the prescribed form in requisite number of copies along with a fee of Rs.1000/= only in the form of a crossed Demand Draft payable at State Bank of India, Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi-110001 in favour of The Pay & Accounts Officer, Department of Industrial Development , Ministry of Industry, Government of India, New Delhi to The Secretariat for Industrial Approvals (SIA), Department of Industrial Development, Department of Industry, Udyog Bhavan, New Delhi - 110001.

* A similar "Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum' in the prescribed form in requisite number of copies without any fee has to be submitted again to The Secretariat for Industrial Approvals(SIA), Department of Industrial Development, Ministry of Industry, Udyog Bhavan, New Delhi - 110001, when the unit is commissioned and commercial production starts. The Government requires this information basically for records and statistical purposes.

* In the application for industrial license or for submitting the 'Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum' to the SIA, the entrepreneur is required to quote the ITC(HS Classification) Code No. of the article he intends to manufacture and also a fuller description of the item in words. The Government permits existing and new units to manufacture new products other than those for which are licensed or have submitted 'Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum' without any permission from the government or submitting a fresh or new 'Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum' to the Government provided no additional investment(in capital goods) is made or is required to be made for the manufacture of the new product and the new product is not included in the list of industries requiring compulsory industrial licensing or reserved for the small scale sector or the public sector.

* The Government permits all units to expand substantially (expand their capacity by more than 25%) provided the item of manufacture for which substantial expansion is planned is neither reserved for the public sector nor for the small scale sector.

* In case the item is included in Annexure II, the unit may apply for a substantial expansion and if the item is not listed in Annexure II, the unit may submit 'Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum' to the SIA for that as in the case of new units.

* All existing units other than the small scale units, however, which are located in areas other than those conforming to the locational policy of the Government of India, have to apply for an Industrial license for undertaking substantial expansion.

* The application for industrial license is required to be made in a prescribed form titled " FORM IL " available from the Public Relations & Complaints Officer, Ministry of Industry, Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi.

* The application form is required to be filled in and submitted with all the necessary enclosures with 11 spare copies to The Secretariat for Industrial Approvals, Central Receipt & Despatch Section, Ministry of Industry, Government of India, Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi - 110001, with a crossed demand draft for Rs.2500 in favour of the Pay & Accounts Officer, Department of Industrial Development), Ministry of Industry, Government of India, New Delhi - 110001 payable at The State Bank of India, Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi - 110001.

* Requests for extension of validity period of letter of intent can be addressed to the Deputy Secretaries of the administrative Department concerned.

* Applications for extension beyond a total period of 2 years, in two steps of one year each, are normally not considered.

* Letters of intent which remain unimplemented for a period of more than five years are treated as automatically lapsed and the applicant has to apply afresh if he wants to pursue the project.

* Requests for revalidation of letters of intent should be made prior to the expiry of this period of 3 years to the concerned administrative ministry.

* The administrative ministry scrutinizes the various steps taken for the implementation of the project and brings the proposal before the Approvals Committee with its recommendations, in case it finds any justification for revalidation of the letter of intent.

* Once the conditions given in the letter of intent are fulfilled, the applicant can apply for conversion of letter of intent into an industrial license.

* The application should be made to the administrative ministry, and a copy of the application should also be sent to the Secretariat for Industrial Approvals.

* There is no prescribed form for this application and no fee is payable along with the application. Photostat copies of the following documents to the extent they are relevant with the letter of intent issued for the project may be enclosed with the application, to avoid unnecessary correspondence, as proof of fulfillment of various conditions laid out in the letter of intent.

a. Letter of approval of foreign collaborations, if any.

b. Letter approving import of machinery or import license from the appropriate authorities such as SIA, Central or Regional Import Licensing authorities.

c. If any export obligation is imposed in the letter of intent, a letter conveying acceptance of the bond executed for undertaking export obligation issued by Chief Controller of Imports & Exports/Directorate General of International Trade or any other licensing authority.

d. Proof of Submission of loan application to the financial institutions if it was proposed to take loans from financial institutions to meet a part of the cost of the project.

e. Letter from the State Pollution Control Board conveying acceptance of the scheme submitted by the entrepreneur for proper pollution control.

f. If the letter of intent was originally obtained by the entrepreneur in his individual name and he desires to obtain the industrial license in the name of a company which he has formed subsequent to obtaining the letter of intent for implementing the project, or otherwise, a certificate of incorporation issued by the Registrar of Companies and the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company.

g. The change in the name of the implementing agency such as from an individual to a company formed by the individual ( by signing the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company as a signatory and subscribing to at least 10% of the paid-up equity capital of the company) and from a company to its wholly owned subsidiary is permitted by the administrative ministry.

h. Letter agreeing to abide by the other conditions, stipulated in the letter of intent and the additional conditions if any indicated in the annexure attached thereto.

i. If other conditions like sub-contracting of components to small scale sector or ancillarization etc., are stipulated in the letter of intent, letter from the appropriate Government authority in token of having settled such conditions to the satisfaction of the authority concerned.

On receipt of recommendation from the administrative machinery, the SIA issues a conversion license to the applicant provided all the necessary information has been furnished by him and the letter of intent has not expired or revoked in the meanwhile. The validity period of an industrial license is two years within which commercial production must start. The administrative ministry can grant two extensions of one year each in the validity period of the license if there are good and sufficient reasons for the delay in commissioning of the project in spite of the best efforts made by the entrepreneur. Requests for extension of validity period should be made to the administrative ministry concerned.

Ministry of Food Processing Industries is the administrative ministry for:

· Processing and Refrigeration of specified dairy products such as Milk powder,

Infant milk food, Malted milk food, Condensed milk, Ghee, Butter, Cheese, and other

dairy products.

· Poultry and eggs
· Meat and meat products
· Processing of fish
· Marine fishing and deep sea fishing beyond territorial waters,
· Fruit and vegetable processing,
· Food grains milling industries,
· Bread
· Breakfast foods
· Biscuits
· Confectionery
· High Protein food
· Protein Isolate
· Extruded food products and Ready-to-eat foods,
· Non-molasses based alcoholic drinks,
· Beer
· Aerated Drinks

Source-Food Processing Industries in India,1995-96

Green House

Green House:

Building designed for the protection of tender or out-of-season plants against excessive cold or heat. Usually a glass- or plastic-enclosed structure with a framing of aluminum, galvanized steel, or such woods as redwood, cedar, or cypress, it is used for the production of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and any other plants requiring special temperature conditions. It is heated partly by the sun and partly by artificial means. This controlled environment can be adapted to the needs of particular plants.

The construction of green house comes under the department of Agricultural Structures in Agricultural Engineering. If you have more interest, you can know more about it. After having knowledge, you can succeed in the field of floriculture, organic farming and green house cultivation of Fruits and vegetables which are making good profits for the farmers nowadays.

To Know more scientifically about Green House, Please visit one of the author's blog.

http://agriculturalsystems.blogspot.com/

Forming a Food Industry-2

INCORPORATION

The law under which a company is incorporated in India is the Companies Act,1956, which extends to the whole of India.

1.The company becomes a legal entity from the date it is granted a certificate of incorporation, which is a one-page document.

2.The certificate of incorporation is given after the required documents are presented, along with the requisite fee, to the Registrar of Companies (at the concerned regional office where the registered office is set-up) for registration and the Registrar is satisfied that all other requirements have been complied with.

3.The documents required to be presented to the Registrar include a printed copy of the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association (charter and bylaws) signed by each subscriber.

4.The time taken for incorporation of a company is usually one to three months after the proposed name of the company is approved by the Registrar of Companies. .

5.For such approval, a formal application has to be made because the law requires that a company will not be registered with any undesirable name or any name identical with an existing company. This formality can be done at the same time as the memorandum and articles of association are drafted, and can be completed within a month.

Source-Food Processing Industries in India,1995-96

Forming a Food Industry-1

I have given the details regarding forming a food industry in India. What are the licences, certificates, clearances and etc. that needed to form a industry is given here. It will continue in subsequent parts.

Formation:
Indian laws do not permit limited liability partnerships. While small businesses may be run as sole proprietary or partnership concerns, it is prudent to consider a limited liability company for any medium or large sized businesses. Branches of foreign companies are subject to restrictions on operations and this form may be generally suitable only for export-oriented activities

1.Foreign companies may consider setting up of a liaison office as the first step to starting operations in India.While permission is required for the setting up of the liaison office, this is expeditiously granted.

2.The liaison office can act as a listening post for gathering information, but cannot conduct any commercial activity. Consequently, it would not be liable to income tax in India. Its expenses must be fully met from inward foreign exchange remittances.

3.While acquisition of, or buying into an existing business, may be considered as an alternative to the setting up of a new operation, certain incentives and concessions may not be available to such a business.

Procedures:
The procedures to establish an industrial undertaking in India may involve obtaining:

1.Certificate of incorporation under the Companies Act, 1956
2.An industrial license under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 or filing an Industrial Entrepreneur's Memorandum.
3.Clearance for the foreign financial and/or technical collaboration, which may be granted automatically under certain circumstances.
4.Environmental clearance under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Source-Food Processing Industries in India,1995-96

Agricultural Engineering Definition

Agricultural engineers develop engineering science and technology in the context of agricultural production and processing and for the management of natural resources.

The first curriculum in Agricultural Engineering was established at Iowa State University by J. B. Davidson in 1905. The American Society of Agricultural Engineering was founded in 1907.

Agricultural engineers design agricultural machinery, equipment, and agricultural structures.Agricultural Engineers may perform tasks as planning, supervising and managing the building of dairy effluent schemes, irrigation, drainage, flood and water control systems, perform environmental impact assessments and interpret research results and implement relevant practices.

Some specialties include power systems and machinery design; structures and environmental science; and food and bioprocess engineering. They develop ways to conserve soil and water and to improve the processing of agricultural, food, and biorenewable products.

Ref: www.wikipedia.com

Agricultural Engineering Degree in Tamil Nadu:

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore provides Bachelor of Technology in Agricultural Engineering as a 4 year degree. This Course is provided at Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Kumulur, Trichy which is a constituent college of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. Moreover, This is the one and only college that provides Agricultural Engineering degree in Tamil nadu.

This Coure consists of 4 major departments. They are Farm Machinery and Power, Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, Agricultural Process Engineering and Bio-Energy.

This course includes Intensive Industrial training, Village Stay Program, Visits to various industries in Tamil Nadu as well as in India. This has very low fee structure compared with other general engineering courses. You can get more information regarding admission, requirements and other related stuffs on the university website.