‘Readings on Agriculture’ is the compilation of presentations made by Resource persons to the participants of the mid career programme for officers of the IAS and the Sri Lanka Civil Service in the third week of September2011 at LBS National Academy of Administration, Mussorie. This compilation has been prepared for the officers at Krishi Bhawan to keep them informed of the main thrust of the current thinking on the subject. The Preface is also a summation of the key points, made by the speakers.
In his opening address “ Twelfth Plan Approach and the Farm sector”, Planning Commission member, Saumitra Chaudhri started with a quick review of the Eleventh plan period which was marked by two turbulent years of the global financial crisis, and impending difficulties over the Euro and the US deficit. In comparison, the Indian economy recorded a robust growth at 8.2%, though there were serious bottlenecks in the some sectors, notably agriculture, health, education and infrastructure. On the positive side, many lower income states, especially those in the east and North east showed considerable improvement – both in governance and economic growth , and even thought eh power sector could not meet the ambitious target of 78 GW, it is more than double the capacity created during the tenth Plan period. School Enrolment had become almost universal, and because of NREA, rural incomes and wages had shown a marked increase. However, even as infrastructure spending went up to almost 8% of the GDP, the constraints were visible in almost every sector – from ports to highways to power sector. The rate of inflation, especially food inflation tended to negate the gains made through NREGA and social sector interventions. The Farm sector growth could not meet the 4% target on account of erratic monsoon, even though investments in agriculture were substantially higher – in both the state and central Plans. Farm sector growth was critical, not just for farmers’ incomes and rural prosperity, but also for meeting the nutrition needs of the growing population, as well as keeping food inflation under check.
What if the Planning Commission’s take on the Farm sector?
At the outset, it recognizes that ‘farming is more than just agriculture’: it includes horticulture, dairying, animal husbandry, fisheries, sericulture and all the activities associated with them. This theme is carried forward in presentations by Ashok Gulati and Sachid Madan who argue that over the years, the composition of the food basket is changing. The Planning Commission paper has identified five thematic areas to focus on over the next five years. These include , (i) water management ( rainwater harvesting, ground water recharge, micro irrigation techniques and extension of irrigation , including filed channels ), (ii) improved soil nutrition management, (iii) efficiency in chemical fertilizers,(iv) livestock and fisheries and last, but not the least, improved logistics for farm produce (especially perishable items), from farm to fork. However these interventions in the farm economy have to be seen as part of an integrated approach to rural transformation with emphasis on rural roads, access to power, health, education, PDS and requisite skill sets. Thus MNREGA as well as the Rural Livelihoods Mission, the watershed development programme, the rural roads programme and establishment of agricultural (power) feeders will impact farm incomes in more ways than one.
The second presentation “resurgent agriculture for a prosperous India” was the theme presentation from the DAC s side, and had to be made by the Secretary, Sh PK Basu. However as he was tied up in crucial meetings at New Delhi, yours truly had to make the presentation on his behalf. It highlights the broad scenario of Indian agriculture as one of the leading agrarian economies of the world. In production terms it was next only to China and the USA, but the significant point was that with just about 2.3% of the world’s land area, and 2% of water resources, it was meeting the feeding over 17.5 % of the world’s population, even though almost all land was fragmented, and less than one third had access to assured irrigation. The game changer for agriculture had been the RKVY, and the provision that unless the states raised investments in agriculture, they would become ineligible for assistance. This had led an increase of 193% in plan allocations for agriculture, and states like Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Tripura had raised investments in agriculture in the range of 400-600%. To bridge yield gaps, and put food security on firm foundations, the DAC had taken up the BGREI (bringing green Revolution to the eastern region) and Accelerated Pulse production programme (A3P). To enhance Farm Incomes, the DAC had schemes for horticulture, micro irrigation, protected cultivation and market intervention to mitigate economic distress on account of market failures. The Department was also focussing on rain fed farming systems, providing assistance to sates for extension services, agribusiness development services, market reforms and market infrastructure. As most participants were from the state government, they were also briefed about the salient features of the APMC Act which was currently being reviewed by many state governments. Several investments, including those on terminal markets had been held up in the absence of a legal framework to facilitate direct transaction of farmers with corporates. The main thrust of the horticulture division was not on area expansion, but on producing more from the same year by going in for High Density Planting with superior planting material, and providing support survives for aggregation, traceability, value addition, and where necessary processing.