This is the second part of the Prologue to ‘Glimpses of Indian Agriculture: Tour Notes of Krishi Bhawan Mandarins’ to be published by the DAC, Ministry of Agriculture, and Government of India. The third and final part will be published next week.
Joint Secretary Edwin K Majhi landed in Gujarat during the ‘Vibrant Gujarat ‘week, which coincided with the international kite festival, and thus he could feel the excitement, the vibes and the colours! Gujarat’s growth Rate in agriculture was way ahead compared to the national average, especially as the state had brought new areas under irrigation, and addressed problems of salinity and land degradation.
The Rabi season was in full swing (January2011) and nearly 30 lakh hectares had been covered under different crops, compared to 25 lakh hectares in the PY. NFSM had made an impact on both production and productivity, and fortunately there was no sign of pests or disease. Likewise NHM targets were well within reach, and Majhi felt that this was the appropriate time to assess the impact of area expansion on farmers’ incomes. Good interaction with the Department of Land Resources had ensured funding from the National Watershed Development Programme for rain fed areas. At the national Research centre for Groundnut at Junagadh, he was happy to note that the scientists were involved, committed and motivated. While Gujarat’s productivity matched global benchmarks (1500 kg/ha), the national average was pulled down by AP and Karnataka where obsolete technology and old varieties of seeds were still in vogue. It’s not enough to have knowledge: transferring it to the farmers’ field was the critical factor. He also records his sense of satisfaction and joy after visiting the Wheat Research Centre to see the success of the GW 366 – a hundred and ten day crop with a yield potential of 5500kg/ha , as against the national average of 3000kg/ha.
After Gujarat, Edwin moves on to the Rajasthan Safari – Jodhpur, Bikaner and Ajmer. The Agriculture Research Station at Mandor (Jodhpur) deserves attention not just for the innovative agricultural equipments- seed drills with small wheels behind the seed release outlets- which leads to better compaction and moisture retention, and new varieties of sesame, chilli, cumin and isabgol, but also for the unique social experiment of providing on – farm training rehabilitation for prisoners/convicts serving life terms in the jails of Rajasthan. The next halts took him to Jal Haujs (raised water tanks above the ground level), integrated farming systems at Ms Bhanwari Devi’s farm, and Diggis (mini- reservoirs) on the fields of Sh Magan Lal. At Bikaner, he visits the Rajasthan Agricultural University, which has not only pioneered date palm cultivation, but is engaged in breeder seed production(with assistance from RKVY ) for production of Okra, tomato, brinjal, chilli, onion etal. The national Research Centre on Seed Spices at Ajmer, besides serving as the national repository for information on seed spices like cumin, coriander, fennel and fenugreek, also conducted research on yield improvement through seeds and better techniques.
Given DAC’s current focus on BGREI, it is but natural that Additional secretary GC Pati undertook tours to Orissa and Bihar. In Orissa, his main concern was with the research and development of stress tolerant rice, capable of withstanding frequent natural calamities in the state. Two varieties, viz Pratiksha and Swarna sub-1 had shown the requisite resilience, and the Orissa Agriculture University and the Department had to work together to ensure that these were made available to the famers. He also notes the constraint in the availability of quality pulses seeds, which, if available could optimize the use of rice fallows.
As the tribal districts of Orissa were mainly ‘organic by default’, he suggests that this should now be leveraged by taking up organic certification, and developing a district and crop specific package of practices. He concludes his Orissa tour on a positive note by recording that while the state was doing well under RKVY, there was need to develop an effective monitoring system. He recommends that that OAUT and KVKs be effectively involved in the programmes for yield improvement of paddy and pulses.
The Bihar visit took him to the Mecca of Indian agriculture: the ICAR research complex at Pusa. Now called the RCER (Research Complex for the eastern region), its mandate is to address issues relating to resource management, cropping and farming systems in Eastern India in a holistic manner. The main research achievements to its credit include integrated farming in rice, wheat and fishery, trenches and raised bed system for fishery and horticulture in water-logged areas and rice-fish culture conservation farming to combat moisture stress. Zero Tillage, along with intensification and diversification had been demonstrated successfully at the Sabhajpura Farm under the CSISA (Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia). This could lead to manifold increase in incomes for farmers, but as Sh Pati pithily remarks: ‘the research works on the farm were impressive, but its dissemination among the farmers (in the state) needs improvement’. He also notes that even though the mandate was to cover the entire eastern region, most of the work appeared to be confined to Bihar and Jharkhand. What Sh Pati enjoyed the most in his Bihar visit was the interaction with a progressive farmer, Sh BP Singh, who was generating an income of Rs 5lakh per annum from his one hectare farm by adopting organic farming, wheat intensification and production of cauliflower seed. He had also devised his own pest management practices for wheat by using vermin wash and local herbs!
Dr Atanu Purkayastha, who has been given the task of getting this edition together, is passionate about agriculture, land entitlements and farmers’ incomes. His sojourn took him to Tripura where he visited the Horticulture Research centre at Nagichara and the State Agriculture Research centre at Arundhatinagar, both in Agartala, as well as the KVKs in West and South Tripura districts and the ICAR Research station at Lembucharra. The highlight of the visit was the Horticulture Research Centre at Nagichara, which is engaged in the production of vegetable seeds and TPS (true potato seeds) on its 50 hectare campus. The productivity of TPS at Nagichara was the highest in the world, and it was being exported across the globe and in the neigbourhood – from Brazil to Bangladesh! Dr Purkayastha advised them to develop it as a Centre for excellence for the production of vegetable seeds and TPS. Another highlight in this report is the innovative technique developed by Ms S Debnath to preserve tomato by hanging them from ceiling, which enhanced the shelf life substantially. She has been acknowledged by ICAR as a Farm Innovator-2010. He notes with satisfaction that even though the KVKs and the Research centres were working under severe constraints, their morale and commitment was high.
Dr Purkayastha also visited CRIJAF at Barrackpore, India’s premiere research centre on fibres. His observations are rather hard hitting: even though new and better varieties had been developed, these had not been disseminated to farmers, and the productivity had remained stagnant. Jute cultivation had been affected on account of high labour costs (MNREGA) and the inability of JCI to procure directly from the farmers. While these issues were not directly related to CRIJAF, they had a direct bearing on incomes and livelihoods of jute growing farmers. His third tour report: ‘Marvelous Millet’, is an account of his visit to Directorate of Shorgum Research at Hyderabad, to discuss the launch of INSMIP (Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millet promotion). He suggests an intensive campaign for promotion of Post Harvest Technologies and Value Addition to make millet consumption more user-friendly, and the introduction of millets in the Mid Day meal programme. More than production, the focus had to be on end-use, and this was as true of millets, as of most agricultural commodities.