Falling Rupee and Higher Input Costs Make Agriculture a Tough Choice Two developments that the government of India (GOI) had not anticipated are higher crude oil prices and the rupee falling against the U.S. dollar. In discussions with the U.S. regarding market access, India moved to impose safeguard and retaliatory duties on U.S. goods, including some intermediate products and non-urea fertilizer components such as phosphoric acid, effective 4 August 2018. While it might be considered patriotic to do so on apples, walnuts and almonds, phosphoric acid forms the base for fertilizers like di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash (MoP). Phosphoric acid prices in the international market are already up 15-20 percent, and they are like...
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A pika (/ˈpaɪkə, ˈpiːkə/ PY-kə, PEE-kə[3][4]) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal native to Asia and North America. With short limbs, a very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative the rabbit, but with short, rounded ears.[5] The large-eared pi...
Kolkwitzia amabilis /kɒlˈkwɪtsiə əˈmæbɪlɪs/,[2] commonly known as beauty bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. It is the sole species in genus Kolkwitzia.[1] It is a deciduous shrub grown as an ornamental plant. In China, where it originated, the plant is cal...
Gloriosa is a genus of 12 species in the plant family Colchicaceae, and includes the formerly recognised genus Littonia. They are native in tropical and southern Africa to Asia, and naturalised in Australia and the Pacific as well as being widely cultivated.[3] The most common English names are...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.