| STARVATION and
suicide plagues India’s farmers and rural poor more severely
today than it did prior to the country’s green revolution.
February 10, 2012
According to Palagummi Sainath, Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu
and world expert on famine, the country is flailing under the
weight of an entrenched acceptance of social and economic inequality,
which has taken a staggering toll on India’s rural population
and farming communities.Speaking at the Australia India Institute’s
Baba Amte Memorial Lecture this week on Rural distress in the
Age of Inequality Mr Sainath said that a crisis of rural poverty
has been largely overlooked by Indian media and policy makers,
and indeed, the world.
Read
Climate change may hit wheat in
N India
February 10, 2012
Warning that an average rise of 1.5-2.5 degrees celsius in temperature
would bring 20-30% of living species in the world on the brink
of extinction, director-general of The Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI) Dr R K Pachauri on Thursday said it would also impact the
cultivation of wheat crop in north India.
He said droughts, floods, change in cycle of seasons was evidence
of change in the climate and underlined the need to reorient thinking
and save energy to enhance economic prosperity.
Read
Indian rice steaming ahead
February 10, 2012
India's rice exports will reach 4 million tonnes next month, putting
even more pressure on Thailand to manage the government's paddy
mortgage scheme and stockpiles.Rajen Sundaresan, executive director
of the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) in New Delhi,
said when his country lifted the ban on shipments of non-basmati
rice last Feburary, exporters were told they could ship a total
of 2 million tonnes.But after exporters shipped 2.4 million tonnes,
the Indian government approved another 2 million tonnes on top
of the original amount, and the full quota of 4 million tonnes
is expected to be met by March 31.
Read
Agricultural lending: RBI panel
for doing away with sub-targets
February 10, 2012
A Reserve Bank of India working group on priority sector lending
has recommended doing away with the sub-targets for direct and
indirect agricultural advances. Instead, the group, headed by
Mr M.V. Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, Union Bank of India,
is understood to have pushed for fixing sub-limits only for lending
to farmers in the small and marginal category.Further, it wants
loans given for setting up rural infrastructure to be classified
as priority sector lending.These suggestions come as more than
half of the public sector banks and nearly half of the private
sector ones have not achieved the agricultural advances target
in the last financial year.
Read
Budget 2012: Injecting growth into
agriculture
February 9, 2012
It is no secret that Indian agriculture is in doldrums. Lakhs
of farmers have committed suicide. Millions supplant their meagre
earnings from farming by working in local factories and brick
kilns, or by migrating to cities to work as labour.Step into the
house of a small and marginal farmer, who now comprise 92% of
all farming households in India, and you will see gnawing impoverishment.
A complex set of factors is to blame.
Read
Indian agriculture faces crisis:
P Chengal Reddy, Secretary General, Consortium of Indian Farming
Associations
February 9, 2012
India's agriculture sector faces a crisis because of declining
productivity due to urbanisation, and the latest technologies
are failing to reach many of its farmers, a farmers' leader said
on Sunday."The agriculture sector faces a critical situation
of low productivity - young people running away to the cities,"
P. Chengal Reddy, secretary general of the Consortium of Indian
Farming Associations, said in an address to a conference.
Read
India should invest on agriculture
research
February 9, 2012
Krishidhan Seeds KSPL which focuses on Agriculture and Biotech
sector told Network 7 Media Group’s Indian Affairs Magazine
( www.indianaffairs.in ) & Pharmaleaders Magazine (www.pharmaleaders.co.in
)that as it is one of the top three seed companies which is actively
involved in research, production, processing, packing, and marketing
of high quality seeds of Cotton, Cereals, Pulses, Oil seeds and
Vegetables.
Read
India's foodgrain production hits
record 250 million tonnes
February 9, 2012
Foodgrains production in India is estimated to have reached a
record 250.42 million tonnes in 2011-12, up 18.35 million tonnes
compared to 232.07 million tonnes in the previous year.Wheat production
is expected to have reached a record 88.31 million tonnes, pulses
17.28 million tonnes and cotton 34.09 million bales (of 170 kg.
each) this year, as per second advance estimates of crop production
released on Friday.
Read
India should adopt sustainable ways
of farming
February 9, 2012
A top climate scientist today asked India to adopt sustainable
ways of farming which is under pressure due to water crisis caused
by global warming.UN Secretary General's Special Advisor Jeffrey
D Sach also underlined the need for adopting green technology
to deal with the issue of climate change in various sectors including
agriculture.
Read
India likely to produce 250.42
MT food grains during ’11-12: Agri ministry
February 9, 2012
An official release adds, this is 18.35 million tonnes higher
than 2010-11. Wheat production is expected to reach 88.31 million
tonnes, pulses 17.28 million tonnes and cotton 34.09 million bales
(of 170 kg. each) this year.Total production of rice in the country
is estimated at 102.75 million tonnes which is an all time record.
Production of wheat estimated at 88.31 million tonnes is also
a new record.
Read
Everything else can wait but agriculture, said Jawaharlal Nehru.
It is difficult to pinpoint problems of Indian Agriculture, as
there are different constraints for different regions of India.
A generalized list of constraints is inappropriate for all regions.
However it is fair to say that problems of Indian agriculture
can be divided along following dimensions:
1. Seeds
2. Fertilizer
3. Water
4. Marketing
5. Electricity
6. Knowledge
7. Policy
8. Credit and Insurance.
The problems facing Indian agriculture are of both natural and
human origin. The natural cause is that monsoons are aberrant
and agriculture is a gamble with monsoon. The man-made problem
is the degradation of the ecological foundations of agriculture.
And the policies of the government are more in favour of SEZ(special
economic zone) than SAZ(special agricultural zone). Most basic
problem however is over population, nearly 60 percent of the farmers
practicing subsistence agriculture being major consumers themselves.
India can produce a minimum of 500 million tones of food grains
and that is substantial jump from 230 million tones of food grains.
However if there is environmentally friendly technology, it should
be even possible to even reach 1000 million tones.
Recommendations made in National Farmer Commission needs to be
carefully studied and implemented.
Increasing agricultural production requires four pronged strategy:
1. Defending gains in Punjab, Haryana and Western UP.
2. Extending gains in Eastern India
3. Making new gains in dry land farming where there is no irrigation.
4. More production and post harvest technology and making gains
in allied sectors like horticulture, animal husbandry and forestry.
Agricultural storage is a massive problem and there is large
spoilage.
There are 128 agricultural zones in India.
If India has to achieve 4% growth rate in agriculture, we need
to achieve 8% growth rate in horticulture, and allied sectors.
There are five dimensions to agriculture – Panchsheel.
1. Soil
2. Water
3. Credit
4. Marketing
5. Seeds and technology.
Attending to agricultural problems of India requires focus on
all these five dimensions. Of course a one size fits all solution
cannot be provided considering diversity and prevalence of numerous
agricultural zones. However there is need for application and
focus along these five dimensions.
Challenges
1. There is lack of political will to tackle problems
of agriculture.
2. Environmental degradation,
3. Depletion of fresh water
4. Biodiversity
5. Renewable energy
6. Lack of incentives in agriculture to the youth.
Agriculture : Central Government
Actions taken by Government
Very recently government has launched following programs to boost
agricultural production.
1. National Food Security Mission in 2007 to increase production
of rice, wheat and pulses by 10 million tones, 8 million tones
and 2 million tones respectively.
2. Government launched Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana in 2007-08
to increase agricultural growth rate to 4%.
3. The Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize
(ISOPOM) is being implemented in 14 major states for oilseeds
and pulses
Nothing much to improve the productivity of small and marginal
farms now facing serious threat in an era of climate change.
Advocacy to Government, Political
Parties and Media
1. There should be focus on farmer’s income.
2. Agriculture Ministry needs to be renamed Ministry of Agriculture
and Farmer’s Welfare.
3. Storage needs to get attention.
4. Attend to soil, water, credit, seeds and marketing – the Panchsheel.
5. Give due attention to irrigation and water.
Put agriculture and rural development with ecological conservation
over the suicidal policy of industrial growth for accelerated
economic growth. Create Special Agricultural Zones (SAZ) instead
of Special Economic Zones (SEZ). If agriculture in India fails,
nothing else will ever succeed.
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