Agriculture,
the backbone of Indian rural economy, contributes to the overall economic
growth of the country and determines the standard of life for more than 50% of
the Indian population. Agriculture
contributes only about 14% to the overall
GDP but its impact is felt in the manufacturing sector as well as the services
sector as the rural population has become a significant consumer of goods and
services in the last couple of decades. But during the same time, growing
industrial sector has created its own set of problems to agriculture. (Note:
Some problems are inter – related and have common solutions. Hence I have
listed the solutions separately)
The
‘Intra-Sector’ Problems :
1. Fragmented land
holding
Nearly 80%
of the 140 million farming families hold less than 2 acres of land[1]. Large land
holdings enable the farmer to implement modern agricultural techniques and
boost productivity. Besides, the number of people dependent on agriculture is
also less in a large farmland as is the case in the Western economies. Small
land holdings restrict the farmer to use traditional methods of farming and
limit productivity. As land holdings are small, more people invariably work on
the farms in the rural areas and coupled with the obsolete technology, farm
incomes come down.
2. Irrigation problems
Most of the
farming in India is monsoon dependent – if monsoons are good, the entire
economy (and not just the agricultural sector) is upbeat and when the monsoon
fails, everyone everywhere takes a hit to some extent. For a country that
receives the second highest rainfall in the world and a country with a well
extended river system lack of water can hardly be an excuse. The problem here
is of proper management of water or the lack of it. Irrigation which consumes
more than 80% of the total water use in the country needs a proper overhaul if
the country has to improve agricultural output and boost the overall economy.
3. Seed problems
In the
olden days, farmers had their own seed repositories from the previous crop.
They used to select the best seeds from the previous generation and use them to
improve the crop quality in the succeeding generations. But now, most of the
farmers – especially the poor and marginal ones – are dependent on seeds sold
in the market. Moreover, the HYV seeds as well as the GM seeds which promise
higher yields force the farmers to buy seeds for every crop. With spurious
seeds hitting the market, the farmers’ woes have exceeded all limits. Sometimes
seeds do not give the stated/claimed yields and farmers run into economic troubles.
In many
cases of GM and HYV seeds, farmers are forced to use high amounts of
fertilisers and pesticides, provide large amounts of water (irrigation) and
abide to all the other farming requirements that the companies mandate to get
the proper yields. A proper regulation/legislation to hold seed companies
accountable for false claims is the need of the hour as companies use legal
loopholes to push the blame on to the farmers in the case of failed crops.
4. Sustainability
problems
Indian
agricultural productivity is very less compared to world standards due to use
of obsolete farming technology. Coupled with this, lack of understanding of the
need for sustainability in the poor farming community has made things worse.
Companies promise higher yields by usage of their fertilisers and farmers, most
of the time, exceed the prescribed limits of fertiliser use. Water usage is
also unplanned with some arid areas misusing the irrigation facilities provided
by planting water intensive crops. In areas where irrigation in the form of
rivers and canals is not sufficiently available, ground water resources are
heavily exploited.
Sustainability
in agriculture is of utmost importance as many problems faced by farmers are
related to this. Excess fertiliser usage not only makes the plants dependent on
artificial fertilisers but also erodes the land quality, polluted ground water
and in case of a surface runoff, pollutes the nearby water bodies.
Similarly,
planting crops which require more water like rice on the basis of irrigation
facilities extended to areas which are water deficient uses up more water than
required. Besides, the excessive evaporation cause salts to accumulate on the
fields making them lose their fertility quickly.
Lack of
proper understanding of the need to grow crops sustainably will push farmers
into a vicious circle – of debts, heavy use of fertilisers, water
mismanagement, low productivity and thus more debts for the next cycle.
5. Over dependence
on traditional crops like rice and wheat
Every crop
requires certain climatic conditions to give the best yields. Though rice and
wheat are produced in a large area in India, certain areas can readily switch
to other crops to get better productivity. India is importing cooking oil from
abroad though we have the necessary conditions to grow more oilseeds here[2]. Heavy
dependence on traditional rice and wheat points to the lack of a proper
national plan on agriculture. Excess stocks in a few crops lead to problems in
the selling of the produce, storage and shortage of other essential farm
output. Moreover, if the farm output is skewed towards crops like rice,
irrigation and ground water facilities are misused by farmers, which leads to a
host of other problems.
6. Supply
channel bottlenecks and lack of market understanding
Supply
channel bottlenecks and lack of a proper marketing channel are serious problems
for a farmer who is already burdened with a host of troubles. These are issues
which need to be tackled at the regional, state and national levels. Lack of a
proper marketing channel forces the farmers to distress sale, makes them
victims in the hands of greedy middlemen and ultimately restricts their income.
An improper
marketing and storage channel also leads to storage problems in the years where
productivity is good, leads to poor agricultural exports due to problems in
maintaining quality and in many cases leads to gross wastage of valuable food
grains and other farm output.
Food
wastage[3] running
into thousands of crores of rupees every year is nothing short of a crime in a
country where more than 20% is below poverty line and where millions go hungry
day after day. Lack of a national strategy in terms of agricultural production
leads to production of some crops exceeding the requirement and to some crops
well below the minimum limits. The problem is more acute in case of perishable
agri output like vegetables and fruits where estimates of wastage are around
40%[4].
7. Government
handling of the issue
MSP,
overall agricultural strategy of the country, PDS, storage/granaries, lack of
export market creation, India lacks
the required number of storage facilities (granaries, warehouses, cold storage
etc) which negates the advantage of having a bumper crop in years of good
monsoon. Exports in agricultural sector are also not very encouraging with a
share of just 10% of the total exports, for a country where more than 50% of
population is dependent on agriculture. The Minimum Support Prices (MSP)
offered by the Government is a double edged sword – MSPs protect farmers from
being exploited by middlemen but during times of excess crop, Government runs
the risk of an unnecessary fiscal deficit by buying the excess produce. Lack of
proper storage facilities and lack of a proper international market linkage
leads to lower exports and in many cases leads to huge amount of wastage.
Some Solutions to ‘Intra-Sector’ Problems :
1. Pooling
of village lands and cooperative farming will ease the burden of fragmented
land holdings. When the farmers form a consortium at the village
level, the aggregate land can be farmed by using the latest technology. Banks
too will be willing to lend money to a village consortium which can be utilised
to boost farm productivity, employ sustainable farming methods, reduce over –
dependence on fertilisers and thus solve many problems. The overall risk of a
crop failure is less in this case and small farmers have a higher chance of
earning a decent income at the end of the harvest season. Agricultural
intensity also rises when a planned strategy adopted at the village level is
implemented.
Agricultural
credit and farm mechanisation for small and marginal farmers will continue to
be difficult unless pooling of farm resources and/or a joint usage of farm
technology are employed[5].
2. Irrigation
problems can be addressed by Government – preferably at the State and
National levels. Though the Government cannot force farmers to produce only the
designated crops in particular areas, it can surely educate them about the
alternatives. Irrigation and water mismanagement is an issue that can reach
crisis proportions in the years to come if proper steps are not taken to avert
it today. This can be achieved only by making farmers aware of the future
problems and showing them alternative economic channels.
Farmers
also will shift from the traditional crops and look for alternative crops
provided Government gives them the confidence that alternative crops too are
economically profitable. When proper techniques (in water management at the
regional, state and national levels as well as a crop plan of what to produce
and where to produce) are employed, it will be a win – win situation for both
the farmers as well as the country.
Irrigation
problems as well as problems due to single/traditional crop dependence can be
solved by a national level plan for agricultural production. Government can
encourage farmers to shift to cash crops (oil seeds etc) instead of food crops
in areas where food crops are not at an advantage to reduce imports and also to
boost exports.
3. Seed
problems can be overcome by creating in house seed banks at the
village level for traditional crops (thereby reducing farmer dependence on
external seed banks), selling Government approved seeds through proper channels
(to eradicate spurious seeds) and strict penalties on seed marketing companies
in case the seeds do not match the claims – germination and yield -
of the companies. Terminator seeds should not be encouraged as a matter of
principle as they force farmers to buy seeds for every crop.
Scientific
research in this subject is to be encouraged to promote seeds which are mild on
resource requirements but help the farmers in boosting the yields. Sometimes
small innovations at the grass root levels can solve a host of problems
specific to a particular region. District agricultural officers must make it a
habit to encourage such ideas and also take part in knowledge sharing to
implement the ideas at a regional level.
4. Some sustainability solutions
are proper crop management on the basis of water availability, crop rotation,
deploying modern agricultural practices to boost productivity, switching over
to organic farming (village pools will reduce costs), thrust on allied
activities.
For organic
farming, first of all, a proper awareness has to be built – among both the
farmers as well as consumers. Organic farming reduces the unnecessary usage of
artificial fertilisers, reduces water consumption, strikes a good balance
between the local environment and the farm output, helps the land retain its
fertility for a long time, reduces costs in the long run and also with the
creation of a proper market in the towns and cities establishes a virtuous
cycle between consumers and farmers.
5. Storage facilities can be boosted by small cold storage or granaries at village level which can be established from Panchayat funds and loans to the village society (this eliminates dumping of excess crops in the market yard). A 700 ton cold storage cum warehouse will cost around Rs. 1.5 crores[6] which is very reasonable cost for a group of villages or a large Panchayat, provided the State or Union Government funds the cost. E-Mandis will also help the farmers to correctly predict the prices and thus market them profitably.
6. At
the National level an agricultural strategy or policy to
improve information exchange, national level cold storage chains and logistic
network (If Walmart can do, then Government of India can also do!) is the need
of the hour. Proper management of PDS has to done to cut down wastes so that a
reliable estimate of the food grain needs will be made. The excess (after
keeping reserves for a potential draught year) can be exported provided the
quality is maintained by means of proper storage. Food wastage can thus be cut
down and agricultural trade balance can be improved if there is a national
level plan.
Other serious issues plaguing Agriculture Sector :
Rampant urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructural development
have created their own set of problems to a sector which is already under much
strain. In the past couple of decades, due to favourable economic policies in
the aftermath of liberalisation, industrial growth has been phenomenal in
India. Urbanisation too has seen an unprecedented increase in the same time.
But for establishing an industry or for building and expanding a city, much
land is required. As the land available in the country is limited, the ever
increasing demand is satisfied by the already strained agricultural land.
Farmers, in many cases the poor and marginal ones, are forced to part with their land to boost industrialisation. The SEZs which are the future growth engines for industrial output have become a menace to these poor farmers as far as land acquisition is concerned. Coupled with this, a general lack of empathy towards farmers by the administrators as well as legislators has exacerbated the situation.
So, should all industrialisation and development be halted to save agriculture? There is never a yes or no answer for many problems that India faces. Growth and development in the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy is essential if India wants to become a super power but that development should not be at the cost of agriculture. A balance is essential.
Industries and SEZs do not need fertile agricultural land to set shop. Cities too can be built on agricultural waste land. Industrial encroachment can be stopped by proper handling of land acquisition. Agricultural lands must not be used for industries unless there is absolutely no alternative. In the extreme cases where an industry or an infrastructural requirement (like a power plant) has to come up at an area where agricultural land has to be shifted to an industrial purpose, proper compensation has to be provided to the local farmers who are dependent on the land. This can done by way of reserving some jobs (on the basis of the skill set of the local population) in the industry that is to come up, having a proper rehabilitation and resettlement program, giving appropriate compensation and making sure some share of the profits of the industry go towards development – social and economic – of the area and the displaced people.
Renewable energy farms (wind and solar) must be set in agricultural lands if and only if there is absolutely no alternative. Even in that case, double usage of land can be thought of for both agriculture and the wind farm. Solar farms can be set up over large canals which provides a double benefit – less wastage of water (evaporation) and producing solar power.
Conclusion :
Agriculture is a sector that feeds millions directly, has a considerable influence on the whole economy and in a country like India well being of the agricultural sector as a whole brings a psychological advantage to a multitude of other sectors. Millions depend on the farm lands for their sustenance and thus it makes it all the more important to eradicate the problems in this field. India cannot develop in the actual sense if its farmers lead a life of dire poverty and helplessness. A careful balance of industrialisation and agriculture is crucial for the overall prosperity of the nation.
Other References :
[1] http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/at-the-crossroads/article4756751.ece
[2] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-20/india-seen-defying-rupee-plunge-to-import-record-cooking-oils.html
[3] http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/02/india-wheat-food-malnutrition-crops-idINDEE86101620120702
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