DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

Blockchain application in Agriculture

• Recently, the government announced plans to implement the technology across all crops grown for export to enhance food shipments and encourage farmers to adopt chemical-free practices.
• Blockchain could eventually give natural farming in India a technological boost.
• Agriculture may benefit from ground-breaking innovations and cutting-edge technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI).
• Blockchain technology will undoubtedly change the game for India's agrarian industry because it can deliver reliable, tamper-proof information about farms, inventory, credit scores, and food tracking. Farmers may now record and store crucial data without having to rely so heavily on papers or files.

Blockchain applications in agriculture:

The blockchain agriculture market will encompass all the segments, such as:

• Agricultural Insurance
• Land Registrations
• Agricultural Supply Chains
• Fisheries
• Forestry
• Agribusinesses
• Sellers
• Suppliers etc

The agricultural food supply chain has grown longer and more intensive than ever before as a result of the overwhelming pressures of globalization. By making it easier for producers and customers to create confidence, blockchain technology aids in the resolution of many of these problems.

Advantages of using blockchain in agriculture:

Supply chain efficiency:

• With all types of transportation, logistics, and weather-related data readily available, the stakeholders such as blockchain agriculture companies can easily avoid the bottlenecks. This will impart speed to the overall supply chain and will remove all the redundancies as well.

Food waste:

• The blockchain ledgers will offer detailed insights into the major hotspots of food waste and will thus help in curbing down the root cause of food wastage.

Building trust with customers:

• As the end-users or consumers can access all the information regarding the sourcing of the ingredients, the place of origin, and the reasons for the pricing, they can rest assured that they are being charged the right amount. Further, the consumers can also develop trust in the brands with rightful information readily available.

Sustainability:

• The farmers can partner with blockchain agriculture companies to get manless devices and gadgets to perform sustainable agriculture. Some examples include drones for sprinkling seeds and insecticides and sensor-based sprinklers for making the best possible use of available water.

Transparency and reliable information to stakeholders:

• Being a decentralized incorruptible ledger, blockchain is extremely transparent to all the participants. So, be it the farmers, stockists, food processing companies, or consumers – everybody has a transparent view of data and information.
• This information extends beyond the simple sale, purchase, or pricing data, such as climate data, ingredient sourcing, logistics, supply chain information, seed quality, and food quality. Hence, the chances of fraud are extremely minimized.

Openness to customers:

• Every link in the food supply chain can benefit from correct information being stored and made available due to the blockchain.
• As a result, consumers are more likely to purchase goods from certified farms and practice responsible consumption.

Food safety:

• The supply chain and logistics operators can derive actionable insights from the historic data to check the best time, stage, and ways to transport crops and processed food items. This will also improve the handling, processing, storing, and packaging activities to ensure food safety at all times.

Food freshness:

• As the supply chains get faster and more data-driven, they can play an important role in ensuring food freshness. Blockchain agriculture companies can take more specific decisions regarding the processing of raw products and delivery of finished goods to offer fresher and better quality consumables in the market.

Farmer friendly:

• Farmers can select from a range of insurance plans that vary in terms of how compensation is determined for losses and how they are calculated.
• The buying and selling of agricultural products on e-commerce platforms might be significantly speed up with the usage of blockchain technology.
• Smart farming for minimizing the effects of weather extremes on crops

Recall:

• In the event of a recall, they can also make it simpler to identify the source of any contamination or other problems.
• Sustainable development and food security are these technologies' main objectives.

Agricultural Blockchain Cons:

• A big barrier to the adoption of blockchain for farmers who cannot afford it is: Although putting up the ledger is fairly inexpensive, gathering data may be time- and money-consuming.
• Small-scale farmers may fall behind because they lack the size, technological know-how, and scalability required to benefit from blockchain technology.
• Misuse: There have been worries that blockchain technology may be utilized incorrectly or improperly, endangering the safety of our food supply.
• Inadequate research before blockchain technology is fully adopted in agriculture, many concerns need to be handled.
• Consumers can make better decisions if sustainable and equitable food systems are implemented.

How does blockchain technology work?

• Blockchain is a decentralized, immutable database that makes it easier to track assets and record transactions in a corporate network.
• On a blockchain network, practically anything of value may be recorded and traded, lowering risk and increasing efficiency for all parties.
• Instead of having a single server and administrator, it shares privileges across all network users.
• When many parties can view and verify new database additions, security is increased and the chance of corruption is reduced.

Way Forward

• By outlawing unethical crop production and distribution, which threatens farmers' livelihoods, blockchain technology can increase security.
• Decentralized blockchain implementation is required to serve small farmers and rural residents. Food security won't improve without change.

Forest (Conservation) Rule 2022 v/s Forest Right Act, 2006

The Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) recently stated that the NCST’s view on the Forest (Conservation) Rules 2022 which is in violation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 "would be the same” even as the Environment Ministry has dismissed these concerns.

What's the problem?

• The Commission had suggested that these rules be put on hold right away in September 2022 after raising concerns about the new rules eliminating the consent clause for diverting forest property for other uses.
• The ministry has responded by insisting that the regulations were created in accordance with the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 and that the NCST's suspicion that they violated the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 was "not legally tenable."
• The Minister further clarified that the two legal procedures ran independently of one another and in parallel.
• NCST had pointed out that the FCR 2022 had done away with the clause to mandatorily seek the consent of Gram Sabhas before the Stage 1 clearance, leaving this process to be done later and even after Stage 2 clearance.
• In such a scenario, project proponents, having received partial clearance, will be pushing State and Union Territory governments for “diversion at the earliest”, which would be “seriously impacting the process of recognition of rights under the FRA”.
• The government claims that FCR 2022 already stipulates that forest land can only be diverted "after fulfillment and compliance of all provisions, including settlement of rights under the Forest Rights Act," and that it does not preclude or interfere with the operation of other laws requiring the consent of Gram Sabhas.

Earlier:

• The requirement for consent and recognition of rights prior to Stage I clearance in 2014 and 2017 Rules at least provided a legal space for ensuring completion of the processes for recognition and vesting of rights under the FRA in areas where forests are being diverted.

Significant difficulties posed by the new regulations:

• Concerns have been raised about a provision in the new rules that would eliminate the consent clause for diverting forest property to other uses would weaken the institution of Gram Sabha and its role in protecting the rights of forest dwellers and forest land.
• Rights violation: Project proponents who have received only partial clearance will press State and Union Territory governments for a diversion as soon as possible, which will negatively affect the FRA's procedure for recognizing rights.
• Remove the check and balances: as a result forest land will be diverted without proper contemplation and compensation.
• Resettlement: The demands of the inhabitants for resettlement will be disregarded once forest clearance is granted.

(The government's position) Counter argument:

• The new regulations will enable parallel processing of the bids and get rid of unnecessary steps.
• The regulations allow for the cultivation of plantings by private parties, who can then sell the plantations to businesses with compensating afforestation goals as land.
• In addition to assisting India in increasing its forest cover, it will also assist the States in finding land under their control for compensatory purposes.

About The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980:

• The broad aims of the Forest Conservation Act are to protect forests and wildlife, put brakes on State governments’ attempts to hive off forest land for commercial projects, and strive to increase the area under forests.

• For forest land beyond five hectares, approval for diverting land must be given by the Central government. This is via a specially constituted committee, called the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC).
• This committee examines whether the user agency or those who have requested forest land, have made a convincing case for the upheaval of that specific parcel of land, whether they have a plan in place to ensure that the ensuing damage — from the felling of trees in that area, denuding the local landscape — will be minimal and the said piece of land doesn’t cause damage to wildlife habitat.
• Once the FAC is convinced and approves (or rejects a proposal), it is forwarded to the concerned State government where the land is located, who then has to ensure that provisions of the Forest Right Act, 2006,( a separate Act that protects the rights of forest dwellers and tribals over their land) are complied with.
• The FAC approval also means that the future users of the land must provide compensatory land for afforestation as well as pay the net present value (ranging between ?10-15 lakh per hectare.)
• The Forest Conservation Rules deal with the implementation of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980.
• They prescribe the procedure to be followed for forest land to be diverted for non-forestry uses such as road construction, highway development, railway lines, and mining.

About The Forest Rights Act of 2006?

• It is a law in India that attempts to acknowledge and vest the forest rights of traditional forest-dwelling populations, including Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have lived in and relied on forests for their subsistence.
• The FRA acknowledges these communities' rights to access, make use of, and protect the resources found in forests as well as their habitat.
• To aid in the process of recognizing and vetting forest rights, the legislation also stipulates the creation of Gram Sabhas (village assemblies).

What do the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022, stipulate?

Establishment of Committees:

• It included an advisory council, regional empowered committees at each of the integrated regional offices, and a screening committee at the level of the State/Union Territory (UT) government.
• Compensatory Afforestation: Those who wish to divert forest land from a hilly or mountainous state that has more than two-thirds of its land covered in vegetation, or from a state or UT that has more than one-third of its land covered in forest, will be permitted to engage in compensatory afforestation in other states or UTs where the cover is less than 20%.
• Allows Private Plantations: Under the guidelines, private parties are allowed to grow plantations and sell them to businesses that must afforest enough land to satisfy compensatory afforestation goals.
• Before the revised regulations went into effect, state agencies would send the FAC documents that included details about the resolution of local residents' forest rights.

Gram Sabha's approval is not required:

• According to the new regulations, after a project has received preliminary clearance from the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), it will be forwarded to state authorities who will gather the land and compensation fund and process it for final approval.
• Previously, the written authorization of the gram sabha, or the local villages' governing body, was needed to divert the forest.

About The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes:

• India has a constitutional body in the form of the National Commission for Schedule Tribes, for the purpose of defending the rights and interests of Scheduled Tribes
• The NCST conducts inquiries, looks into complaints, and advises the government on matters pertaining to STs.
• Every time a rule has the potential to violate the rights of tribal people, it is the responsibility of the Commission to step in and suggest remedial actions.

Way Forward

• The Gram Sabha plays a crucial role in the protection of forest dwellers well as the forest. The consent clause must not be overlooked, in spite, a time-bound consent rule must apply so that the project is not delayed and proper checks are also ensured.

Savitribai Phule

The 192nd birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule, India's first women teacher, occur on January 3, 2023.

About Savitribai Phule:

• On January 3, 1831, Savitribai Phule was born in Naigaon, in the Satara district of Maharashtra.
• She was the oldest child of Lakshmi and Khandoji Neveshe Patil, who were both of the Other Backward Caste (Mali) community (OBC).
• She wed Jyotirao Phule when she was nine years old and he was thirteen.
• Savitribai Phule died on 10 March 1897, while caring for a patient in the clinic she had opened for the treatment of those affected by the bubonic plague.

Principal Contributions:

• There were few public schools in the 19th century that was "open to all," and there were even fewer missionary schools. In this time frame, in 1848, Jyotiba, then 21 years old, and Savitri, then 17 years old, founded a school for women.
• She also completed a teacher training programme at Pune's Normal School.
• After that, she began instructing young ladies in Maharwada, Pune.
• The Phules were in charge of three schools in Pune by the end of 1851, serving about 150 female pupils. The teaching techniques used at private schools were thought to be superior to those at government schools, and soon more girls than boys were enrolled in Phule's schools.
• Jyotiba and Savitri Bai fled their home in 1849 because their family thought their actions were against society.
• Savitribai and Fatima Begum Sheikh met while staying with a friend's family, the Sheikhs.
• Savitribai and Fatima Sheikh both attended normal School together, and they both graduated at the same time. She was India's first Muslim female teacher.
• The Phule couple founded two educational trusts in the 1850s: The Society for Promoting the Education of Mahars, Mangs and Etceteras and the Native Female School, Pune. These trusts eventually housed numerous schools.
• She encouraged the downtrodden communities to pursue education in order to free themselves from oppression in her poem, Go, Get Education.
• Savitribai founded the Mahila Seva Mandal in 1852 to spread awareness of women's rights. All castes were invited to Savitribai's gathering of women, and everyone was supposed to sit on the same mattress.
• Savitribai got active in relief efforts during the Maharashtra famine of 1896 and the bubonic plague of 1897.
• Among other social issues, Savitribai Phule supported inter-caste marriages, widow remarriage, and the elimination of child marriage, sati, and dowry systems.
• Social reformer: Savitribai and Jyotirao founded the Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha, or "Home for the Prevention of Infanticide," for pregnant widows who were subjected to prejudice