The Modi Government has taken a slew of measures to double farmers’ income by 2022. However, for these efforts to succeed, State Governments must cooperate, as the real action can only take place at the ground level
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s objective to double farmers’ income by 2022 is being looked upon with scepticism. Critics argue that this will require an agricultural growth of more than 10 per cent per annum, at a time when growth in agriculture has collapsed to less than half a per cent per annum. Critics also argue that the minimum support price has risen only marginally (around four per cent) under the Modi dispensation. Both arguments are flawed.
First, a number of States such as Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have consistently registered double-digit growths in their farm sectors, even while others (especially in the east ) have been laggards. Second, it is unfair to look at MSP in isolation. This because most farmers are forced sell their crops at a price that is much lower than the MSP. In Bihar, parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, many haven’t even heard of the MSP. Therefore, it is illogical to link farmers’ income to the MSP. What matters is income from crop sale.
Farmer income is also constrained by low crop yield. This is due to low irrigation (only 47 per cent of the cultivated area), fertiliser imbalance, crop damage and a weak technological system. In a drought year, even a meagre income dissipates.
Modi’s agenda is to unshackle the farmers from all these constraints and he has taken credible steps in this direction. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his 2016-17 Budget speech that the Government intends to spend Rs86,500 crore over five years to complete 89 irrigation projects (23 projects are to be completed by March 2017). This will bring eight million hectares of agricultural land under irrigation.
The Government also proposes to use a large portion of the allocated Rs38,500 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for building 5,00,000 ponds in rural areas to conserve and store water. This will insulate the farm sector from the vagaries of nature.
For decades, farmers have used fertilisers, as dictated by universities and institutes like the Indian Council of Agriculture Research. They have followed the ‘general recommendations’ which need not necessarily be in sync with the requirements of soil. This has resulted in imbalances in the use of fertiliser, with low efficiency adversely impacting yield. The Government seeks to change all this by issuing soil health cards to 140 million farmer families over three years so as to guide them to apply nutrients as per soil needs.
While the above steps will help farmers increase crop yield, the Government has also taken a number of steps to help them fetch a good price for their produce. This includes building of rural roads; extending decentralised procurement to all States; putting all centralised procurement by the Food Corporation of India on e-platform; setting up of an e-national market integrating close to 600 market yards for seamless trading in any part of the country.
At present, large quantities of agricultural produce, particularly fruits and vegetables, valued at about Rs100,000 crore, is wasted annually due to the lack of proper storage, refrigeration, handling and transportation facilities. To prevent this and help farmers improve their income, the Government has permitted 100 per cent foreign direct investment in food processing which will give a boost to required investment in cold chain infrastructure.
To encourage farmers to derive income from diversified sources, Modi has proposed ‘three pillars’ for the farming community. The farmer should allocate one-third of his resources for the cultivation of crop, one-third for growing timber tree on fence (or rearing honey bee) and one-third for animal husbandry/poultry farming etc. The farmer may also go for processed food such as selling ghee (instead of milk) or pickles (rather than mango) to fetch a better price.
The ball does not stop at creating a conducive eco-system to boost farmer’s income. The Government has taken a step further to protect the farmers in extreme weather conditions. In times of natural calamities, hailstorms, unseasonal rains etc, the Government, under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, is committed to compensate the farmers for crop loss for a miniscule premium and arrange for prompt release of compensation.
Under PMPBY, the Government proposes to fully leverage technology for loss determination. Smart phones will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers. Remote sensing will be used to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments.
The Modi Government has taken all the right steps needed to back up its commitment to double the farmers income by 2022. Agriculture, being a State subject, all States including those ruled by opposition parties (Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh) should extend their full cooperation as real action has to happen at the ground level.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/oped/looking-afresh-at-farm-sector.html