 | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | SEEDS OF TROUBLE: No hybrid varieties or technological breakthroughs
have been made in recent years | | | 15% fall in wheat yields in Punjab because of overuse of land. | | For Manmohan Singh, the one feature that truly stands out is the “lack of any technological breakthrough in agricultural production technology in recent years”. There has been no technological breakthrough in either high-yielding varieties or hybrid seeds that could match the quantum jump in yields similar to that effected by the introduction of the Mexican dwarf variety of wheat in the mid-1960s. The Green Revolution and the self-sufficiency in foodgrains it resulted in is running out of steam. Green Revolution 2.0 is nowhere close to development leave alone introduction. Yields in the major wheat-growing states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have touched peak levels and in many zones are facing a decline. In Punjab the yield from one hectare has dropped from 4,700 to 4,000 kg a hectare in two decades. The decline is largely attributed to an “ageing” wheat variety WL 343, which has been in use since mid-’90s. As a result, the country’s wheat production has stagnated at around 70 million tonne even during the best of years and recently even lagged behind targets. Last year, as prices of food shot up, the Government signalled its intent of importing 15 million tonne to make up for the shortfall. This year, a group of ministers has already recommended that the country import 5 million tonne of wheat to tide over any possible shortage. | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | LOW YIELDS: Grain production has remained stagnant | | | Rs 25,000 cr is the additional central assistance to states. | | Yields of other foodgrains too have stagnated. In the major rice-growing states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, yields have hovered at around 1,900 kg per hectare. Yields of pulses have reached a plateau at around 600 kg per hectare and the total production has not exceeded 15 million tonne. A new high-yielding variety is being introduced, but it will take a while to stabilise. With demand for pulses pegged at around 18 million tonne, India has become the world’s largest importer of the commodity. In oilseeds, though India has doubled its production in the past two decades to 26 million tonne, increased consumption as a result of higher incomes has led to a shortfall of 3 million tonne, necessitating a constant flow of imports, taking India’s agriculture import bill to Rs 22,000 crore last year. But with exports of rice and other commodities like tea crossing Rs 49,802 crore, the balance is still in India’s favour as far as agricultural products are concerned. Meanwhile, in an effort to boost yields in some of these crops, farmers have overused fertilisers or mixed them in the wrong proportion. Since urea is cheaper than potash or phosphorous, farmers have grossly misused it, damaging the fertility of the soil. | | YIELD | | | THE CRISIS | THE CONTROL | No new technological breakthrough in terms of high-yielding varieties for foodgrain crops Soil fatigue due to over-exploitation of nutrients and organic matter in intensive cropping areas Nutrient imbalance due to use of improper combination of fertilisers Non-availability of quality seeds resulting in low seed replacement rates Inadequate or poor harvest management infrastructure at the farm level | | Some promising candidates for pulses and rice should be pushed through rapidly Crop rotation and replenishment of micro-nutrients to help restore fertility Optimal use of fertilisers with the right NPK mix, without overdose of nitrogenous nutrient Development of market and infrastructure for making seeds available to farmers Making institutional credit available to farmers so they can make use of improved technology | |
| |  "There is no room for flexibility in Indian agriculture anymore. The era of self-sufficiency is over."
HARDEEP SINGH, CHAIRMAN, AMALGAMATED PLANTATIONS
| | “There is no room for flexibility anymore in Indian agriculture; the era of self-sufficiency is over,” warns Hardeep Singh, chairman of both Amalgamated Plantations (formerly Tata Tea) and the CII’s national committee on agriculture marketing and infrastructure. Singh points out that any attempt to increase the production of oilseed or pulses would be at the expense of wheat and rice crops. To grow an additional two million tonne of pulses, we would have to give up 8 million tonne of rice. To stave off five million tonne of oil imports, we would need an acreage capable of growing 30 million tonne of foodgrain. | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | HIGH RISE: Despite buffer stock in silos, foodgrain security is threatened | | | 20 m tonne rise in foodgrain demand expected in next four years. | | In response to the crisis, the Government is now focusing on what Ahluwalia terms “bridging the yield gap”. He points out that in wheat, while Punjab has reached near-maximum yields, Madhya Pradesh has achieved only 16 per cent of the total potential. Similarly, rice yields in Assam and Bihar are still extremely low and can be easily boosted. So the idea is to pump in investments to build infrastructure and supply all the vital agricultural inputs to boost productivity in these areas. The prime minister has also announced a massive Rs 25,000-crore sum as additional central assistance to states to help agriculture come up with district-level strategies that can boost production. A food security mission has been set up to meet the expected increase in foodgrain demand of 20 million tonne in the next four years. The Government has set an ambitious target of boosting agricultural growth from the current 1.8 per cent to 4 per cent by 2012. Says Agriculture Secretary P.K. Mishra, “Though things appears gloomy we can change the situation in the next five years if we go ahead with the remedies we have announced.” | |  "Things appear gloomy, but we can change the situation in five years if we persist with our remedies."
P.K. MISHRA, UNION AGRICULTURE SECRETARY
| | Experts say all these measures may not add up. Swaminathan feels there is “policy fatigue”, with too much bureacratisation of key agriculture missions. “We spend more time choosing our cricket coaches than selecting directors to these key missions,” he points out. Alagh says old ideas take a long time to die in India and new ones cannot be built on “the corpses of old ones”. It is states like West Bengal, Bihar and Gujarat that are showing the way ahead. Gujarat has trebled agricultural productivity through excellent agro-management programmes that include conserving water, soil health care and making vital inputs available to farmers. In the rocky road ahead, states will have to take the initiative and play a key role in reviving Indian agriculture before it is too late. -with Subhash Mishra and Stephen David | | | | | Gujarat, the highest producer of oilseeds in the country, has enhanced its agricultural production by almost one-and-a-half times in the last five-odd years, thanks to a multi-pronged strategy. Apart from successive good monsoons, the turnaround came because of efficient agro-management based on conservation of surface water, providing scientific information to farmers through the medium of Krishi Rath, and disbursement of a soil health card to every farmer. Tapping of surface water has been achieved by building 1.77 lakh farm ponds and 1 lakh check dams in public-private partnership, and deepening 5,000 village lakes, which has sent the water table soaring. The soil health card policy—under which scientists attached to the four agro universities in the state go to every farm and test the soil quality—has played a major role. The card helps the farmer provide the right nutrients to the soil, thus saving on wasteful expenditure. Around 17 lakh farmers in Gujarat have already received such cards. No wonder productivity has gone up. -By Uday Mahurkar | | Index |
