Krishi Jagran Agriculture World October 2016

ISSN 2455-8184

Volume II | Issue 10 | October | 2016 `70

AGRICULTURE

W RLD The Pulse

Global Agriculture

Echoing Sustainable Environment and Agriculture krishi.jagran

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AGRICULTURE WORLD The Pulse

Volume 2 | Issue 10 | October 2016 | Total Page- 44

Global Agriculture

CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE

Editor-in-Chief MC Dominic Directors Shiny Emanuel MG Vasan Sr. Executive Editors Dr. KT Chandy RK Teotia Ajith Kumar V R Technical Editor Dr. B C Biswas Assistant Editor Ruby Jain Social Media Head Aniket Sinha Sr. Correspondents Imran Khan Correspondents Dhanya M.H. V.P. Int. Business D.D. Nair Gavrilova Maria Marketing Head Sanjay Kumar GM - Marketing Farha Khan Sr. Manager Marketing Mukundan Nair K J Saranya Sara Khan Marketing Manager Megha Sharma Afsana Malik Sr. Executive Marketing Chunki Bhutia Poonam Bishwakarma Rinki Pundir Laxmi Pandey Soniya Mahajan Shifali Mahajan Hema Sharma Priyanka Circulation Head Nishant K Taak Circulation Manager Rahul Singh Abdus Samad Sr. Executive Circulation Prashant Sharma Anku Yadav Preeti Chauhan Pappu Rai Mohit Furkan Qureshi Kanchan Singh Karishma Lehri Aayesha Khan Pawan Kumar Head Pre-Press Alka Gupta Sr. Graphic Designer Yogesh Kumar Vikram Singh

Accounts Udit Mittal K. B Indra O ce Assistant Devender Kumar Jagdish Jana Prem Kumar Rajiv DD Nair VP International Business (Russia & CIS Countries) 6 Mikluho-Maklaya STR, Moscow, Russia 117198 Mob: +7903729 98 30, Tel: +7499501 99 10 Email: ddnair@krishijagran.com M Mezhukanal E-16F - 33, Hamriya Free Zone, Sharjah, UAE Mob: +971 50 2870465 Email: mezhukanal@krishijagran.com For Circulation & Subscription Nishant Kr. Taak Mob: +91-9953756433 Email: circulation@krishijagran.com, subscription@krishijagran.com

Doubling Farmer Income ......................................................08

CONTACT US Enquiry info@krishijagran.com

Indian Agriculture: A Review ......................................................16

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Agriculture World is published by Krishi Jagran Media Group.

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Irrigation Management ......................................................19

Fertilizer Management ......................................................24 Doubling Farm Income ......................................................27 Aspect of Farm Expenditures ......................................................34 Enhancing Farm Income ......................................................36

Editorial

D

oubling the income of the farmer within the next five years is the catchiest promise ever made by a central government in India (2016 budget). “It is easier said than done” would be the normal reaction of any common-sensical man. However it will remain as a litmus test to the government's credibility. That being the first observation it is to be noted that many factors are involved in doubling the income of the farmers. The opinions are as diverse as there are opinion givers as we see in the following authors.

Doubling the income is a sweeping statement; but have we understood the implications? Analyzing the irrigation water requirement for producing 450 m tons of food grains by 2050 from 130 m ha of cultivated area in our country, Sarangi and Co-scientists of Water Technology Centre, ICAR-IARI estimate the water requirement to about 290 Mha. Availability of such an amount of water is unlikely as per all the possible estimations and forecasts. According to them perhaps the only way to increase the income of the farmers is promotion of high yielding varieties of crops though the proposal is questionable.

S. Ganesan, and Archna Nair have highlighted the positive aspect of Indian Agriculture. They quoted World Bank which indicates "India has brought about a landmark agricultural revolution that has transformed the nation from chronic dependence on grain imports in a global Agricultural power house that is now a net exporter of food."

Bimal C. Biswas in his article on “Doubling Farm Income: A Critical Analysis” makes it clear that for increasing agriculture income, higher amount of seeds, fertilizer, irrigation water, plant protection materials would be needed but would be difficult to procure them in short period of time.

Hence he demands the subject of doubling farm income be critically analyzed by NITI Aayog before the state governments are requested to implement it.

Many experiments have shown that 67% of the share in the yield of the food crops depends on the fertilizer use including organic manures. T. K. Chanda, Adviser, Fertilizer Association of India, New Delhi in his article on “Fertilizer Requirement to Double Farmers' Income” has compared the fertilizer use in various countries and also projected the requirement for 2022-23 In the light of the Finance Minister of India's promise to double the income of the farmers Dr. K. T. Chandy analyses certain important developmental perspectives in relation with certain imperatives that need to be kept in mind in attempting to double the farm income. Two dozen of his recommendations are eye opening not only to planners and policy makers but also to the farmers.

The pre-requisites for increasing the income are also probably a first time representation.

Referring to some aspects of farm expenditures Arjinder Kaur and Skhjeet Saran from PAU Ludhiana present their survey findings on soil test and fertilizer use, use of HYV seeds and pesticides, use of underground water and time of sowing/transplanting. The survey analysis and conclusion does not seem to be coming to any focus as to suggest some ways and means to make the Finance Minister's promise a reality.

Discussing about India's declared target of enhancing the farm income Dr. Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director ABLE-AG observes that the age old rice -wheat cropping system has to give way to other crop rotations and cropping systems including horticulture and animal husbandry.

He also points out to the fact that for agricultural income increase infrastructural improvement is an essential component and in India it is at its lowest ebb.

M C Dominic Editor-in-Chief dominic@krishijagran.com

Doubling Farmer Income

Developmental Perspectives for Agriculture

“Agriculture and farmers' welfare with an aim to DOUBLE FARMERS' income in five years” was the first among the NINE PILLARS of Budget of 2016 presented by the Union Finance Minister. Note the aim: “doubling the income of farmers in five years”. But the question arises: gross or net income? There is no net income to any type of farming or farm related activities if a farmer accounts his and his family members labour, cost of overtime worked, cost of other inputs like seed, fertilizer, pesticides, paid labour, opportunity cost, interest on the capital invested, depreciation of animals and machineries, rent or tax on the land cultivated etc. In agriculture time and human energy factors are not considered. Compared to many other works, involvement in farm related activities require maximum human energy. But it is never accounted. In banking and many other activities percentage of interest and remunerations are based on the duration of time or work. Hence the finance minister must have meant gross income in agriculture. For the government gross income is important; taxing is done also on the gross income because if we consider net income there may not any net income even in non-agricultural occupations or our people are so cleaver that they can hide any amount of net income.

Besides this age old general debilitating situation of the human and financial aspects of agriculture the present status of a famer is summarized in the following cryptic way.

According to Andrew Roberts a British scholar (Google, May 2016) India generated in 2015 a nominal GDP of $2,090,706,000 in which the share of agriculture is 16.1% ($336,603,666).

This sum was generated by 138 million farms of average size 1.33 ha in size. But they are the homes of about 725 million people of this country. That means 58% of India's population (1250 million) is currently sustained through near subsistence agriculture and roughly earned rupees 30,615 ($471 x 65/$) per head in 2015 per year whereas if the same person takes vegetarian food according to the recommendations of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

based on the average prices of food items in 2015-16 it will cost him about 70 rupees per day which means he requires 25550 rupees per year for basic food requirement alone. The net balance of his income will be 5065 rupees. The minimum requirement of the ratio of food and nonfood expenditure for a human living is 1 to 4.5; that means 25,550 to 1,14,975 rupees in the case of a single person in family of 5 to 6 members. Then his total requirement of income should be 1,14,975 + 25,550 = 1,40,525 rupees only for a human existence. That means at present an individual in the agriculture sector is having only 21.7% of the financial

8 Agriculture World | October 2016

requirement for his livelihood. This simple calculation reveals in what deplorable status a person among the 58% of agrarian population in India is surviving.

Due to a number of reasons India will remain an agricultural country for few more decades if not for few centuries. To be an Agricultural Country or not to be an Agricultural Country is apparently a big question which has many shades of meaning and implications; it is a debatable question and almost impossible to reach on any consensus. However, certain imperatives seems to be beyond debate, namely 1) A nation cannot support a population beyond its carrying capacity; land area of any country is limited though the population can go on increasing. Any country should leave at least 66 to 75% of the area under forests. Hence, it cannot use not more than 25-34% of the area for cultivation to feed its own population. Even the most fertile land has a limit of population which it can support. Hence determine the optimum population our country can support and accordingly restrict the population.

2) A nation cannot have a huge percentage of population directly depending on agriculture and other primary sector; Take any of the developed countries in the world; it will have less than 5% of the population depending on agriculture.

3) The strength and stability of a nation in the long run depends on its food security; there should be enough food material for the people; they should be cheaper; hunger and poverty cuts across all aspects of development both physical and mental. Food deficient nation cannot develop in the other aspects of human life.

4) It also depends on the percentage of primary production processed and value added for www.krishijagran.com

Doubling Farmer Income domestic use and export; food processing is essential to take full advantage of the production and pricing. Processing adds value to the products and also increases the shelf life. Food production without processing and storage for a reasonable time is as good as not producing at all.

5) The cultivators should get adequate remuneration for their work; otherwise they cannot go on working without proper remuneration.

No one can go on working in deďŹ cit economy. First of all he should be able to live a human life which requires intake of balanced food and availability of nonfood items. The items and their required quantities are already given by Indian Council of Medical Research. The cost of food items can be estimated based on the prevalent prices. The minimum cost of nonfood items can be estimated using the ratio of the cost of food and nonfood items eg 1:4.5. On an annual basis for every rupee spent for food, 4.5 rupees are needed to be spent on nonfood items. Only then we can expect a farmer to have a decent human life. Otherwise a farmer has a slavish life: slave to the nature and slave to the nonagricultural population.

Hence an agricultural strategy should be formulated keeping the following universal imperative in mind.

Recommendations for Agriculture Development 1. Abolish the present land inheritance law. The main reason for the accelerated fragmentation of land holding is the practice of the law of inheritance. According to the law of inheritance in India every son and daughter has an equal right to the share of the land of his or her parents. It is high time that we critically review this law and adopt a viable and rational land occupational and usage right and usage. The Chinese have done it successfully. It is time to abolish the law of inheritance which goes on dividing and subdividing the agricultural land between the inheritors. At least begin with emphasis on one person inheriting the land in a family instead of everyone taking a share of inheritance. Nearly

three forth of the cases pending in the courts in India are land ownership related. Today no family can make a living on a small or marginal holding of agriculture land.

2. Cultivate only those lands which can be cultivated. Never put into seasonal cultivation lands that are beyond 20% or 1:5 slope; never use lands beyond 33.3% slope to any type of human intervention; use all the lands between 20 to 33.3 per cent under perennial crops. All the hills and slope above 33.3% slope should be placed under perennial forest. Land use pattern based on the slope of the land is very crucial for soil and water conservation, for maintaining the ecological balance in the nature and to maintain water cycle and organic matter cycle. At present people seem to think of occupying any land and start cultivating. Political ideologies like “land for the landless� do not hold good from the point of view of ecological balance and sustainable land use. It is high time that we distinguish between land right for houses and land for cultivation. Land for cultivation should not come into the purview of fundamental right.

3. Abolish private ownership of the land and retain only the user right for

10 Agriculture World | October 2016

the land; nationalize all the land and divide the agricultural land into viable holding according to the agro-climatic regions. Allot plots/farm numbers to all the holdings. Allot the plots only to those have aptitude and love for agriculture. At present a vast majority of the people in agriculture sector are unwillingly remaining. If they get watchman's job they will leave the farming occupation.

Agriculture based on human labour is no longer possible because the opportunity cost is very high.

4. The government should develop master plan for each plot in the d i ff e r e n t a g r o - c l i m a t i c r e g i o n following the principle of organic matter cycle and water cycle for each holding for the land development, structuring and utilization. Implement them before each holding is leased out to the prospective cultivator.

5. Develop infrastructural facilities like transport and communication, reaching up to each farm holding and provide institutional facilities like hospitals, schools, banking, etc., closer to a group of farm holdings.

6. The families to whom agricultural plots allotted should be www.krishijagran.com

Doubling Farmer Income literate and are capable of managing a farm. There should not be any consideration on the basis of caste, class or creed in the allotment of the plots. They are given only the user's right over the land. They should not be allowed sell or bifurcate or introduce permanent structural changes in the farm.

7. Make available all the inputs including energy and farm equipments to each farming family at the door step or within the reach of one kilometer. Providing all kinds of inputs to the farmers, it should not be the responsibility of the farmer but of the village or panchayat level cooperatives. The farmer should only be the producer.

Processing and marketing should be done by others.

8. Make sure that farmer do not spend all his human energy on farming. He should be working not more than eight hours a day. The rest of the time should be left for his personal and social development.

9. Provide soil testing facilities, fertility maintenance including deep ploughing and plant protection measures.

Periodic soil testing and assessment of the soil fertility status and recommendation of proper corrective measure should be done by the agricultural department at the request of the village level cooperatives. Similarly the cooperatives will arrange for the yearly deep ploughing through the department of agriculture. Plant protection is a very highly specialized and skilled intervention that it requires highly competent and organized people. It should be done by the experts of the agricultural department through the village cooperatives.

10. Farmer should get sufďŹ cient rest and sleep every day.

Rest and sleep is as essential as water and food for the human beings. The actual farmers at present are forced to work more than eight hours a day; he even has to work at night to meet his personal and production demands.

11. The farmers should be provided with all the technical know-how related to the required agronomic practices. Periodically skill up-gradation training and opportunities should be provided so that his productive efďŹ ciency is enhanced.

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12. The responsibility for successful crop production should also be the responsibility of the agricultural departments and research institutes of each state. They will operate through the village level cooperatives. They will make the production plan for the country, each state and district according to the carrying capacity of the land. The farmer will be responsible only to carry out the regular and routine farm operations and agronomic practices which should involve only a work period of eight hours a day.

13. Both success and failure of farming should be shared commonly by all, concerned in the production and consumption system rather than the farmer himself.

14. The farmer is expected to perform at a minimum standard. If he fails the user's right can be taken away from him and be given to some other deserving family.

15. Any land can be ecologically and economically viable only if it is operated and used within its carrying capacity. Therefore we must acknowledge that only a certain number of people can be supported by a unit cultivated area within a given agro-climatic and geographic zone.

16. Special assistance should be given to the farmer at the time of crucial operations like, land preparation, sowing and harvesting besides plant protection support which should be given as and when needed.

17. All the produce should be purchased at the farm site and transported by government or some other agency.

Storing, processing and marketing responsibilities should not be given to the farmer. Such activities should be done by the village level cooperatives. In this the unemployed youth of the village will be provided with employment.

18. The farming family should be given a monthly salary sufďŹ cient enough to make a decent human living and to educate his children up to a level they can be gainfully employed. It should be the responsibility of Agricultural department to collect all the produce from the farms and process and store. A bank employ handles a lot of money but he does not take the money home but gets his salary. Why not the same principle be extended to the farm sector.

19. The farming families of a village or a panchayat should be organized into an economic-sociopolitical unit. All the inputs and outputs should be channeled through this cooperative and nobody should be allowed to function except through the cooperative.

20. All the farm products should be retained at the local society level and should be processed at least at the primary level if not the secondary level so that value addition is done to some extent at the producers level and the farmer and other people engaged in activities related to agriculture and land use could get better share of remuneration.

21. Any outside agency including Agriculture World | October 2016

11

Doubling Farmer Income the multinationals should purchase the farm products from these cooperatives for further processing or domestic distribution or for export.

22. The agreement for contract farming (in this case only supply of agreed quantity of specific kind and quality of farm products) is executed only between these outside agencies and the local cooperatives and not between individual farmer and the outside agencies.

23. Thus contract farming can be established through cooperative farming by farmers operating on viable land holdings with social status and human dignity.

24. This system should be introduced at the panchayat level so that people of the panchayat have control over their natural and agricultural resources in the process of production, processing and marketing (PPM).

In this system, the farmer will be a farm operator. The cooperative society will be responsible for arranging all the inputs for the farmer and managing all the outputs till they are sold to the outside agencies. The outside agencies will be responsible for domestic distribution or for export.

The Government should be responsible for monitoring the system.

Under this system there will be no marginal, small, medium or large farmer nor will there be any socioeconomic inequalities.

Pre-requisites None of the above proposals can be put to practice unless the following four basic national objectives are met: 1. Drastic reduction in the population increase. 2. Improvement in the standard of basic education up to intermediate. 3. Encourage more technical education and skill development. 4. Organic waste management for agricultural and useful bio-mass production. These are briefly explained as follows.

1. Population The present population in our country and its rate of increase is a major hurdle in our path of development. The total production in crops and animals is voluminous. But when it is distributed among the

people they get only the scarcity in abundance.

Given the conditions in India it is also not easy to increase the production proportional to the increase in the demand of the increasing population.

Our technology is still to be updated. In the sixties with the introduction of improved seeds and other agricultural inputs we were able to achieve sudden improvement in the production. To have another significant stepping up of the production we need another level of technological intervention which at present is not possible.

Such technological intervention needs an educated working force, mechanically competent and skilled.

The work force engaged in agriculture is very much behind the required educational standard. Therefore drastic improvement in the production is not possible.

Hence the next best step is the reduction in the population growth rate as well as in the total area under agricultural production is imperative to achieve sustainability in agricultural production and distribution.

2. Standard of basic education Due to a number of reasons the present most common educational system is only helping to produce pseudo literates. The students that go through the school are lacking deplorably in the minimum expected standard in language, science and arithmetic. In other words most of them cannot be considered as literate and numerate.

12 Agriculture World | October 2016

Without some standard literacy and numeracy a farmer cannot succeed in agriculture. How will he read and learn about new technologies being introduced in agriculture? How will he correspond to get things from far? How will he understand instructions and document related to seed, fertilizers, pesticides, processing, storage and marketing? Without numeracy how will he prepare estimates of the requirement of seeds, fertilizers, seedlings, labour, finance, pesticides and other inputs? If we consider him as merely a labourer in a traditional 'way-of-life-type of agriculture' literacy and numeracy are not important. Then he is not different from the oxen that plough their masters' land.

But we consider the farmer as farm manager and farming as a business proper literacy and numeracy is required for the development of agriculture and animal husbandry.

Proper education with a reasonably high standard is a pre-requisite for the development and sustainability of agriculture.

Along with proper numeracy and literacy one should have sufficient general knowledge on various aspects of crop plants and animals.

Otherwise we have farmers who do not know the physiological and economic difference between a seedling and sapling, who do not know the basics soil, nutrients essential to plant growth and development, soil-water-plant relationship etc. We have farmers

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9987622119

Doubling Farmer Income who breed their domestic animals between father and daughter, mother and son, own brother and sister. These are only few of the hundreds of examples that could be cited to show our farmers in general lack not only general knowledge but are steeped in false notions and practices.

Such practices are rampant even among the highly educated people in our country. Agriculture and animal husbandry cannot develop with a heavy dead weight of such people who do not have some general knowledge in plant and animal science.

3. Encourage the technical education For any concrete result oriented action, technology and skill development is essential. So also for the agricultural development technology is necessary and the farmer needs skill development; because agriculture is a highly technical subject.

After the acquisition of literacy, numeracy and general knowledge one should develop skills in various agricultural t e c h n o l o g i e s t o b e c o m e a s u c c e s s f u l f a r m e r.

Comparatively in our country facilities for ordinary farmers to adopt technologies and to develop skills is very much lacking. As a result processing and value addition of agricultural products at the people's level is still a distant dream. We need to develop among people a culture of technical thinking and skill development.

4. Organic waste management Everything that is generated at the biological sphere is called organic waste. The organic waste can be in solid or in liquid form; it may be from plant or animal origin. At present much of these is burned or left unused. As a result environmental pollution problem is increasing day by day.

At the same the soil is becoming efficient in organic matter which is the "soul" of the cultivated soil. Further Use of chemical fertilizers without adequate quantity of organic manure is destroying the production capacity of the soil.

Our country is blessed with abundance of sun shine and also producing large quantities plant and crop wastes.

Having the highest number of domestic animals it is blessed with millions of tones of animal manure and urine. A

considerable percentage of cattle dung is used as fuel which almost 100% of the urine is wasted or allowed to pollute the environment. Urine is organic urea providing the most needed element for crop growth. But the sad thing is that we throw away urine and buy the urea at a high price. By this the loss is doubled: loss of precious organic manure and accumulation of toxic chemicals in the soil. Therefore organic waste management (both solid and liquid) and recycling is key to the development of Agriculture and its allied fields.

Decaying of accumulated waste is a common sight in India both in the residential areas and cropped areas. They are actually wealth: waste is wealth. Making wealth from bio-wastes should become a culture in our country.

Concluding remarks Farm sector is still in a neglected field; those who cannot fit in any other occupation are forced to settle in farming to be the low caste and down trodden of the country. How can the finance Minister say that he is concerned about the farmer when they do not even get enough for a human living? Are those who work on the field day and night ill clad, ill housed, ill nourished any better than the oxen that plough the land of their master? If we want to double the income of the farmer we need a sea of change from landstructure to financial viability; from manual to mechanical; from traditional to modern business; from valueless to value addition; from production through process to marketing (PPM); from constant liability to sure security. WILL GOVERNMENT, IRRESPECTIVE OF POLITICAL PARTIES, BE READY FOR A REVAMPING AGRICULTURE SECTOR HULL AND KEEL?

Dr. K. T. Chandy Sr. Executive Editor Krishi Jagran

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Indian Agriculture: A Review

Indian Agriculture Innovative, Progressive, Competitive, Vibrant and Very Different

I

t was Elizabeth Noelle Neumann, a German political scientist (1916-2010) who introduced the “spiral of silence” theory that explains the formation of public opinion. Her theory elucidates how one's opinion on a subject often depends on the opinion of others in the society.

According to Neumann, a bandwagon effect occurs when one side of an issue is more aggressive and causes the opinion surge in popularity. As a broad majority starts to believe in a certain viewpoint, the remaining minorityhowever well informed- tend to fall silent allowing the predominant view to gain further grounds and emerge as the norm. Neumann's “spiral of silence” theory helps us understand the widely held pessimistic public opinion about Indian agriculture. The propagated pessimistic perception about Indian agriculture is that it is primitive, backward, sluggish, unenterprising and a major drag on economic growth. Strong vested interests in India have so aggressively articulated this perception in the public domain that it has got etched in the minds of the people. Alas, the truth is just the opposite as we explain in this article with empirical evidence.

Understanding Agriculture The Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines agriculture as ”the science, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products”.

While the term science is well understood, very few understand the term “art” in relation to agriculture. Art is the expression of human creative skills and talents, often shared among the people of a given society and heavily influenced by cultural context. While the science remains the same universally, the art is not. This explains why agriculture differs vastly among countries and very often within the same country from one region to another. Therefore, it must be understood that any sort of “one size fits all” approach will never work in the area of agriculture.

16 Agriculture World | October 2016

Asia and agriculture According to historians, agriculture first developed in the world between 14500 and 12000 BP in Asia at the end of Paleolithic Period (Stone Age). The center of gravity pertaining to agriculture seems to have shifted again to Asia, thanks to the “agriculture renaissance” engineered by smallholder farming systems. “The twenty first century is and will be the Asian century” said the Indian Prime Minister at the opening session of the “Advancing Asia Conference (Delhi, March 11-13, 2016). Asia accounts for 40% of the global economy and contribute two thirds of the global GDP growth today. What is more significant is that Asia accounts for 50% of the world's agricultural production. The average farm size in China is 0.6 hectare and in India it is 1.13 hectare - very small by western standards. Yet, these two countries have emerged as global leaders in agricultural production.

What makes Indian agriculture vibrant and very different?

Like Indian culture, agriculture in India is highly pluralistic and multidimensional. India's ecological diversity, crop diversity and diet diversity are inextricably interconnected. They symbiotically support one another, and together, highly sustainable. India is a multiproduct agricultural powerhouse. No other country grows as many food and non-food crops as India. India's small sized family farms practice a unique kind of mixed agri-horti-livestock farming. It is common in India to see agri farmers doubling up as milk producers, goat rearers, poultry keepers aquaculturists etc. Many banana growers in India might also be producing vegetables, maize, coconut etc. India's cropping intensity is the highest in the world.

Intensification and specialization in select crops enabled productivity improvements in industrialized farming in the developed countries. Whereas in India, the volume growth in a diverse range of agricultural crops www.krishijagran.com

Indian Agriculture: A Review enhances the economic performance of agriculture. The domestic production of modern inputs such as high yielding seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, farm equipment and improved communication systems have immensely contributed to India becoming a global leader in agriculture.

Indian agriculture in the 21st millennia is structurally different and robust than the one prevalent during the Green Revolution era which began in 1970s. In the three decades from the 1970s until the late 1990s, India's agricultural GDP expanded sluggishly from $25 billion to $101 billion as the growth was cereals centric- mainly rice and wheat.

However, between 2000 and 2014, India's agricultural production leapfrogged from $101 billion to $367 billion, driven largely by high value segments such as horticulture, dairy, poultry and inland fisheries. Indian agriculture is currently in a rapid growth phase.

“Since the 1980s, Indian agriculture has undergone a shift in production as farmers have planted less area to food grains and more to high-value crops. This shift coincides with strong economic growth, which has boosted incomes and, in turn, expanded consumer demand for higher valued foods, such as vegetables, fruits, milk, and some meat products. Yet, India's agricultural policies continue to follow a Green Revolution strategy developed to achieve grain self-sufficiency in the 1960s.”

India's Agricultural Growth Propellers An analysis by United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) , April 04,2016 India's global rank in agricultural production India ranks second in the world in agricultural output with a share of 8%. In the year 2014, India's agricultural production was $367 billion. In case of the much hyped services sector, India's rank is 11 with a share of 2 % in the global pie. In the manufacturing sector, India's global rank sinks further to 12th.

World output

India’s output

India’s Share

Agriculture

4771

367

8%

2

Services Industry

49669

1185

2%

11

23857

496

2%

12

Sector

India’s Rank

GDP values: $bn. Source: UN /IMF data accessed from www.statisticstimes.com Year : 2014

Agriculture is India's largest private sector that employs 54% of the country's total workforce of 481 million. It is

Rank

Country

1

China

1005

2

India

367

3

USA

279

4

Brazil Nigeria 5 Top five total World total

Agrl. output($bn)

130 122 1903 4771

agricultural production is much higher than the USA. Light, land, labour and water are essential requirements for agriculture. India has every one of these essentials in abundance. The average annual precipitation in India is much higher than China, USA, Australia etc.

As the Indian economy developed, the share of agriculture in India's GDP (at current prices) expectedly declined from more than 40% in 1970s to around 17% in 2014. However, in value terms the agricultural production is considerably higher now. Horticulture and livestock sectors drive the growth and account for 60% India's agricultural GDP now.

Crop Yield vs. Total Output Crop yield is defined as production per unit area (acre or hectare) of a single crop. High crop yields are normally achieved by input intensive industrial monoculture farming, common in western economies.

Total output, as defined by Dr.P.M .Rossette, is the sum of everything that a small holder mixed farming systems produce- various grains, fruits ,vegetables, fodder, milk, eggs, fish, meat, manure, honey, timber, etc. Total output is the real benchmark of efficiency in farming.

In monoculture, a farmer produces either crop or livestock and not both. In mixed crop-livestock holdings most common to India, farmers produce both and provide multiple agri-output of crop and animal origin. Diversity is the foundation of Indian agriculture.

Majority of the farms in India belong to the small and marginal category with holdings of less than 2 ha. Indian farmers are multi- skilled. Driven by the economic necessity to maximize the returns, these small farms have evolved through self-engineered innovation - especially over the last 15 years -into producing a variety of “If we are to compare small and large farms, we should use total output rather than yield. Total output is the sum of everything a small farmer produces: various grains, fruits, vegetables, fodder, animal products, etc... Small farms are multifunctional, more productive, more efficient and contribute more to economic development than large farms” -Dr. Peter M. Rossete, The Institute for Food and Development Policy, USA

agricultural products round the year. Heterogeneity is the hallmark of modern farming in India. Crop mixtures, double cropping, backyard livestock farming are all the most common methods of farming. All these make Indian agriculture remarkably resilient, vibrant and less vulnerable to uncertainties.

Crop cultivation and livestock co-exist in India at the farm level, ensuring round the year economic activity. The aggregate agricultural output per unit area per year in India is among the highest in the world. Every unit of farmland in India produces multiple agricultural outputs.

India is the world's largest producer of milk. Latest estimate put the production at 146 million tons (2015). Smallholder dairy farming systems supply over 90% of India's milk production. Stovers of cereals, legumes, haulms of potato, sugarcane tops, fruits and vegetable wastes together with

Source: UN /IMF data for the year 2014 accessed from www.statisticstimes.com

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Agriculture World | October 2016

17

Indian Agriculture: A Review

own farm grown green fodders form cattle feed in India.

In India, small herd of cattle and flock of chicken in the backyard are important household assets. Their milk and egg production provides daily link to the retail market, bring regular income and considerably improves rural prosperity.

India's food production/ consumption is very unique: Everywhere in the world, food production is meat centric. The world produces more “feed grains” than “food grains”. For example, out of 2528 million tons of cereals produced in the world in the year 2015, the coarse grains' share was 55%. In richer countries, 70% of the grain production is fed to animals.

The average per capita consumption of meat in the world is 43 kgs per year. In the USA, it is over 100 kgs while inn India it is 4 kgs/year.

India is different. Over here, “meatless meal” is most common and therefore food grains, vegetables, fruits and milk lead the food production and consumption. The coarse gains' share in India's food grains production is less than 15%.

“Food Outlook”, a biennial report from the FAO on global food market does not dwell on production /consumption of vegetables and fruits at all as they are not considered to be major foods in the world at large. In India, vegetables form an integral part

of every meal.

In India, the production and consumption of fruits and vegetables (256 million tons) is higher than the production of staples such as rice and wheat (198 million tons). Fruits and vegetables have a high share of 26% in India's agricultural GDP. The Indian food market the size of which is estimated to be $312bn, one third ($101bn) is accounted by fruits and vegetables. This is followed by milk and eggs ($74bn) and cereals come a poor third ($61 bn). The share of meat is at the bottom with only $14 bn.

Indian agriculture is globally competitive India is probably the only country where one can get one dozen banana or eggs for one dollar!

As per the latest data from WTO (2015), India ranks 19th in merchandize exports, and 9th in agricultural exports.

This shows India's global competitiveness in agriculture. India was a net importer of rice till mid 1980s. India is now the largest rice exporter with a whopping share of 26% of the world trade. According to a recent study by USDA, India is the fastest growing exporter of agricultural products. India's share in the world's agricultural exports can easily reach 10% from the present level of 2.35% if supported by policy changes and aggressive marketing. Though China's agricultural exports are higher than

18 Agriculture World | October 2016

India, however it is a net importer of food as its agricultural imports ($160 bn) remain higher than the corresponding exports ($73 bn).

The final word To quote the World Bank: “India has brought about a landmark agricultural revolution that has transformed the nation from chronic dependence on grain imports into a global agricultural powerhouse that is now a net exporter of food”. Indian agricultural system (mixed croplivestock farming) is a model of sustainable agriculture for the whole world. Highlighting this unique, low cost and diverse farming system globally will help positioning India as an agriculturally vibrant economy and a leader in her own right. The poor recognition given to India's outstanding achievement in agriculture is purely on a priori grounds than on empirical grounds.

This must change.

S.Ganesan, Archana Nair UPL Ltd, Mumbai, India

s.ganesan@uniphos.com nairav@uniphos.com *The authors are working with UPL Ltd. Opinions expressed are their own. www.krishijagran.com

Irrigation Management

Irrigation water need for doubling farm income

A

ttainment of sustainable food production in our country necessities assured supply of irrigation land coupled with judicious agricultural water management protocols.

Therefore, it becomes imperatives to implement the water saving technologies besides use of treated waste water in irrigation leading to enhanced water application efďŹ ciency and water productivity in irrigated agriculture Status of irrigation in India Irrigated agriculture has contributed signiďŹ cantly in raising the farm productivity since the Green Revolution in 1960s'. Our country has witnessed a series of technological advancements related to storage and distribution of water from watercourses to farmers' ďŹ elds besides development of plausible water management scenarios leading to sustainable agricultural development.

Unlike irrigated acreage, food grain production of the country is dominated with 60% share from irrigated agriculture and 40% from rainfed farming. Under irrigated agriculture, the contribution of ground water irrigation is about 45% followed by www.krishijagran.com

canal irrigation covering 26% area (i.e.

17 Mha) of a total 65 Mha irrigated area in our Country (Fig.1).

The productivity of major crops have remained low as compared to the world average both under irrigated and rainfed agriculture. In irrigated

Others 7%

Canals 26%

Tanks 3%

Tubewells 45% Wells 19%

Fig. 1. Sources of Irrigation in India (Source: Agricultural Census (2010-11)

agriculture, productivity has either reached a plateau or even started declining during the last decade leading to stagnation of food grain production hovering around 250 m i l l i o n t o n s . M o r e o v e r, t h e productivity of widely practiced cropping systems in India i.e. RiceWheat Cropping System (RWCS) occupying 9.5 million ha and covering about 90% of area in Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) is under a steep decline.

Trends of decline in productivity of the prevalent rice and sugarcane based cropping system under intensive irrigated systems are being witnessed in our country. Amongst various constraints, un-regulated water supply besides non judicious use of irrigation

Agriculture World | October 2016

19

Irrigation Management water at farm level (viz. surface flooding, improperly leveled fields, uncontrolled irrigations during wee hours/night etc.) are most important factors for realizing the production potential under irrigated agriculture.

In addition to water management concerns, the deterioration in the quality of soil and water resources, decline in soil fertility due to imbalanced use of fertilizers, micronutrient deficiencies, deterioration in groundwater quality, incidences of new pests and diseases, water logging, secondary soil Stalinization and alkalization, shrinkage of fertile agriculture lands due to increasing demands from housing and industrial sectors, poor economic condition of farmers, defunct Water Users' Associations (WUAs'), nonavailability of quality seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, credit facilities, pricing of agricultural commodities and their marketing besides the impact of climate change on water resources availability and variability.

Future irrigation need The projections for future population and food requirement of the country indicated that the population of India may stabilize around 1.6 to 1.7 billion by 2050 AD and to sustain that it would require about 450 million tons of food grain annually at the required level of food consumption. It is estimated that the irrigation water need to be supplied to at least 130 Mha area for food crops alone and 160 Mha for all crops to be able to meet the demands of the

country by 2050 for attaining food security. The crop area under High Yield Varieties (HYV) grew from 7 to 22 percent of the total cultivated area during the first decade of the Green Revolution. More than 70 per cent of the wheat, 35 per cent of the rice and 20 per cent of the millet and maize cropped area had been covered under HYV seeds. This had also led to intensification of water storage reservoirs and canals for providing irrigation, hydro-electric power generation and employment. In this context, it is imperative to provide assured irrigation and give emphasis on On-farm water management activities.

Moreover, with the present population

20 Agriculture World | October 2016

of 1.25 billion, per-capita land availability reduced to 0.1 ha against the world average of 2.2 ha, water availability projected to be deteriorated from water scarcity to the water stress level by 2025. Therefore, the productivity can only be sustained with adoption of HYVs' along with matching improved agricultural water management and production technologies. Nonetheless, the irrigation sector in India would require about 30% more water from the present level of 588 billion cubic meter to meet the food demand of burgeoning population by 2025. In this context and due to growing competition for water among the domestic and industrial sectors, there is a greater challenge in the agricultural sector to produce more food from less water. To achieve this, efficient irrigation methods viz. micro irrigation, use of treated and untreated waste water for irrigation as per crop suitability leading to enhanced irrigated area besides the Crop Water Productivity (CWP).

Plausible solutions Every single drop of water used for crops, trees and livestock needs to produce more value in order to improve water productivity while conserving the natural resource base (per crop more crop). Though it is believed that an integrated approach to soil, water, crop and nutrient management is essential for increasing crop water productivity besides the input use efficiency. In this www.krishijagran.com

Irrigation Management context, efforts should be made to implement the technically feasible, economically viable, socially replicable and environmentally sustainable technologies pertaining to agricultural water management in irrigated production systems.

Under these scenarios, implementation of water saving technologies (viz. crop water demand based roistering system in canal commands, soil moisture deficit based irrigation scheduling, selection of cultivars based on agro-climatic regions, metering system in irrigated agriculture etc.), laser leveling of farm land for enhancing irrigation water distribution efficiency, land reclamation technologies (agricultural field drainage, soil remediation etc.), Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) and heuristics (rule of thumb) pertaining to efficient water use, maintaining soil health, extension of area under water saving techniques like Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) and System of Rice Intensification (SRI) against conventional transplanting, policy for growing local/indigenous varieties, pricing of irrigation water, renovation/revival of community irrigation water application under changing climate can tanks/ponds, integration of modern tools and gadgets in also be emphasized to ensure irrigation to the entire farm irrigation systems, reforms in Participatory Irrigation land of the country. All these approaches would fulfill the Management (PIM) and Water Users' Association (WUA) objective of the dream project i.e Prime Ministers Krishi protocols, bringing more area under micro irrigation Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) besides enhancing the farm infrastructure, integration of small and big reservoirs, productivity and the income of farmers of the Country. construction of water harvesting structures and reduction of evaporation losses, conjunctive use of water and use of treated A. Sarangi, household waste water in irrigation. Further, at the farm level the automated irrigation system, soil moisture sensor based Rajender Kumar, R. Kaur WTC, ICAR-IARI, irrigation scheduling system, use of geospatial tools and New Delhi Decision Support Systems (DSS) in generation of scenarios of

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Agriculture World | October 2016

21

John Deere: Beyond Expectations

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anjay Chauhan, proprietor of John Deere's authorized dealer from Kolhapur - M/s Bharat Tractors and Motors, has become somewhat of a celebrity in the tractor world. We had a chat with him to understand how Bharat Tractors and Motors attained the status it has today from its simple beginnings nearly four decades ago.

Bharat Tractors and Motors was founded in 1978 by Late Mr. Kondiba Ramchandra Chauhan in the Karad district of Maharashtra. Originally started as a business for selling automobile spare parts, it has grown in time to touch new heights of success. We spoke to current proprietor Mr. Sanjay Chauhan who has led this ďŹ rm to the zenith of achievement in the tractor world. In this issue we bring you his story straight from the horse's mouth.

Born in 1972, Sanjay completed his education in 1987 and joined his father's business. From his young years

22 Agriculture World | October 2016

Sanjay had a love for agriculture which prompted him to serve the agricultural community by working in a business that was closely linked to farmers. In the formative years of the business he realized that availability of spare parts was a major concern among farmers. Seeing this opportunity Sanjay started the tractor spare parts business. Always committed to service, Sanjay went so far as to deliver spares to the customer's doorstep and perform quick repairs of technical problems on their tractors. This made him a hugely popular ďŹ gure among the farming community in his area.

With hard work and perseverance Sanjay's business grew and in 1996 he started a tractor dealership. Owing to his attachment and love for farming, Sanjay took up the reins to propagate mechanization in his district. Consequently, achieving the progress of farmers as well as that of Bharat Tractors and Motors. www.krishijagran.com

With progress came greater aspirations and continuing with his mission to uplift farmers, Sanjay started a John Deere dealership in 2015. Sanjay told us that associating with John Deere has been his life's best decision. Sanjay has been impressed with John Deere's way of working, he said that John Deere and Bharat Tractors and Motors have a common objective – make new agri technologies available to farmers so they can increase crop productivity in the least time and with the least land requirement. This is only possible through advanced tractor technologies, in which John Deere is a world leader.

Sanjay told us about the new JDLink technology from John Deere which has been quite popular among Kolhapur's farmers. With this technology a farmer or contractor can monitor a tractor in the comfort of his own home. Operational issues such as air filter damage, coolant temperature rise, engine problems etc. can be averted with the timely mobile alerts sent directly to the famer's mobile phone. Farmers especially like the acreage meter which indicates what area of the farm has been covered by the tractor. Sanjay also likes the JDLink app's service reminder feature which sends a SERVICE DUE alert to both the farmer as well as the dealership, ensuring that the tractor is serviced in time.

Another valuable technology which Sanjay has publicized within the loader-dozer operators in his region is John Deere's PowrReverser technology – which allows the user to drive the tractor forward and in reverse without using the clutch or changing gears. The results have been encouraging so far and Sanjay expects increased demand for these tractors among contractors in the near future.

Sanjay is committed to providing good service to farmers – with his team of 25 technicians he is well equipped to fulfill this commitment. About John Deere, Sanjay said that that their products have had near zero quality issues and the special training given by John Deere to dealership technicians has really helped prepare them for any kind of support.

Sanjay is also very impressed with the John Deere DTAC system which is used to track and correct any issues with tractors, saying that it assists John Deere in providing better customer service than any of its competitors. Thanks to such efforts John Deere has received the “Best in Customer Support” award in the survey conducted by JD POWER ASIA in 2016.

Sanjay said that the extended 1 year warranty given by John Deere on its products indicates the confidence they have in their products. This confidence and the trust of its customers is the reason JD POWER ASIA has bestowed the prestigious “Best Performance” award for 2016 in all categories upon John Deere.

With top class service and courteous staff, Sanjay has emerged as a true well-wisher to Kolhapur's agricultural fraternity. Sanjay is also John Deere's dealer council representative for Maharashtra. Sanjay was particularly appreciative of John Deere's top management calling them friendly, supportive of suggestions from the dealers and

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eager to provide solutions to their problems. This attitude of John Deere's management has made working with John Deere easy and hassle free.

Elaborating further, Sanjay said that John Deere has been receiving the JD POWER ASIA award for the 40-50 HP category for the past two years, which is their popular Value+++ category. Sanjay had spoken to John Deere executives on behalf of all the dealers and recommended that a Value +++ (More productivity, More Torque, More Fuel efficiency) tractor should be introduced in the lucrative 30-40 HP segment just as it is present in 40-50 HP category, so that smaller farmers can benefit from this technology. On this feedback the company launched a 5036D Value +++ tractor in very little time which has been highly popular among customers.

John Deere Finance has been a big support to farmers after associating with John Deere. With low lead times and less paperwork John Deere Finance provides convenient credit solutions to farmers which have been greatly appreciated.

With his team of 15 sales executives Sanjay has been successful in taking John Deere's advanced technology solutions to his customers. Sanjay has always treated his team like a close knit family which has encouraged and motivated them towards greater heights.

Answering the question, “What is the difference you have seen after connecting with John Deere?” Sanjay said “Earlier I was in a pond, now I'm in the ocean!”

On his future plans, Sanjay says his sons Shubham and Satyam are also gearing up to join his business. Satyam having completed his engineering education is ready to join Sanjay's mission to take new technologies to farmers. Sanjay is certain that John Deere will stand by him in this mission as it always has. He assured us that he will continue providing ceaseless service to farmers in the years to come. After this chat we too were convinced that associating with John Deere has been Sanjay's“Life's Best Decision.”

Agriculture World | October 2016

23

Fertilizer Management

Fertilizer Requirement to Double Farmers' Income

24 Agriculture World | October 2016

Fertilizer is a major source of primary nutrient applied to the soil for higher productivity. According to available documents, nearly fifty per cent of additional grain production comes from higher use of fertilizers. With the advent of Green Revolution, fertilizer consumption has increased manifold from 0.78 million tonnes in 1965-66 to 26.75 million tonnes in 2015-16. Food grains production has increased from72.35 million tonnes to 252 million tonnes during the period. Figure 1 shows trends in consumption of fertilizer nutrients and food grains production during the period 1965-66 to 2015-16.

Despite significant increase in fertilizer

Foodgrain production in '000tonnes

Figure 1: Trends in fertiliserconsumption and foodgrainproduction Fertliser consumption (N+P+K) in '000 tonnes of nutrients

P

rime Minister Narendra Modi, expressed in February, 2016 the government's desire to double farmers' income by 2022when the country will complete 75 years of independence.

This was followed up by a series of policymeasures announced inthe Union Budget for 2016-17 and by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. The intention has generated interest among a variety of stakeholders including farming community, scientists, economists, policy analysts, political commenta-tors and the general public. There has been many debates and discussions regarding the feasibility of achieve-ment of this goal.

Green Revolution has enhanced production and productivity of food grains dramatically and enabled India to become self-sufficient in food grain production.

Now, there is adequate buffer stock of grains in the countryto withstand the shock of natural calamities. While there has been surplus grains in the country but farmers' distress continues. There has been hardly any improvement in farmers income over the years despite India achieved a commendable position in food grains production.

Farmers' income can be improved in many ways including increase in productivity andreducing the cost of production. As the paper Deals with requirement of fertilizers in relation to doubling of farmers 'income, there is detailed discussion of current nutrient use in the country followed by the requirement of nutrients by 2022-23 in the following paragraphs.

consumption, productivity per hectare of various crops is still lower in India compared to developed countries and even some of our neighboring countries.

Table 1 shows fertilizer use per hectare of arable land and land under permanent crops vis-à-vis productivity of rice and wheat in selected countries.Per hectare use of fertilizer as well as productivity of paddy and wheat are higher in these countries.

There is need for increase in use of nutrients in India not only from primary sources but also through secondary and micro nutrients. Until now, increased fertilizer use without giving proper attention to secondary and micro nutrients has resulted in multi nutrient deficiencies in the soil. Long term negligence of the use of organic manure has led to organic carbon deficiency in the soil. The extent of deficiency in Indian soils is about 94% in case of nitrogen, 91% on phosphorous and 51% on

potash. In addition, deficiency of Sulphur, zinc and boron is about 46%, 43% and 33%, respectively. There is urgent need for restoration of soil health through balanced and judicious use of fertilizers.

According to latest available data, total fertilizer nutrient consumption was 26.8 million tonnes in 2015-16, of which nitrogen accounted for 17.4 million tonnes, phosphorous 7.0 million tonnes and potash 2.4 million tonnes. www.krishijagran.com

Fertilizer Management

Accordingly, NPK use ratio works out to 7.5:3.0:1 which is biased towards higher use of N through urea. Cheaper urea price compared to prices of P& K fertilizers has been prompting farmers to apply more urea. All-India per hectare use of fertilizer was 139 kg for all crops in 2015-16.

However, crop wise break up of fertilizer use is available for 2011-12 only. According to Agricultural Census 2011-12, per hectare use of fertilizer nutrients (N+P+K) in India is 149 kg on rice, 178 kg on wheat, 82 kg on pulsesand 93 kg on oilseeds. Total nutrient use per hectare on sugarcane, fruits and vegetables is 320 kg, 178 kg and 198 kg, respectively. According to Agricultural Census data, share of fertilizer use on food grains is about 67%, followed by 10% on oilseeds, 9% on cotton, 6% on sugarcane, 5% on fruits and vegetables and the balance quantity on other crops.

In order to enhance productivity of various crops to achieve the goal of doubling of farm income, there is need for a major shift in nutrient use. Government of India has already initiated various policies to encourage new/ innovative products in recent years. These include i) production and use of Neem coated urea as a source of slow release fertilizer, ii) encouragement of fertilizers fortified with secondary and micro nutrients, iii) promotion of customized fertilizers and iv) stepping up use of water soluble fertilizers. The Soil Health Card Scheme of the government aims at distribution of soil health card to 140 million farm holdings by 2017 with recommendations for nutrient use based on soil test result. Government is also encouraging production and distribution of city compost

from city wastes as a part of its Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. In order to check the escalation in prices of pulses and oilseeds, the government is encouraging higher production of these crops through price support. There is also sharp increase in area under fruits and vegetables.

Taking into account the above factors and all other factors which influence fertilizer demand and expected coverage of area under various crops, an attempt has been made here to project demand forfertilisers and other nutrients by 202223. Based on population nutrition method, the requirement of fertilizer nutrients (N+P+K) is expected to cross 34 million tonnes by 2022-23. In addition, through addition in areas under pulses, oilseeds, fruits & vegetables and other value added crops, there will be requirement of another 4 million tonnes of fertilizer nutrients. Therefore, total requirement of fertilizer nutrients is projected at 38 million tonnes by 2022-23. The use of water soluble fertilizers is also expected to increase manifold from the current level of 150 thousand tonnes to 1.24 million tonnes by 2022-23.

Similarly, requirement of organic manures should be more than double at 500 million tonnes from the present level of 229 million tonnes. There is need for significantly higher use of biofertilisers and micro nutrients during the period.

Table 2shows an estimated requirement of fertilizer and other nutrients by 2022-23.

Table 2: Requirement of fertilizers and other nutrients by 2022-23 The estimates made here are based on a number of Table 2: Requirement of fertilizers and other nutrients by 2022-23 Sl.no.

Item

1.

Fertiliser nutrients (N+P+K)

2.

Organic manure

3.

Water soluble fertilisers

4.

Bio fertilisers

5.

Micro nutrients

Quantity (‘000 tonnes) 2015-16

2022-23

26,756

38,000

229,410

500,000

145.0

1245.0

65.0

280.0

200.0

475.0

assumptions. There is ample scope for improvement of this estimate. But somewhere a beginning has to be made.

To conclude, it is needed to be mentioned that in order to double of farmers income', there is need for consideration of various factors including input use, input cost, price support, output price, market information, infrastructure development and various other factors. As regards nutrient use, there is need for not only enhancement in use of fertilizer and other nutrients but also balanced application of nutrients for higher productivity of crops. The initiatives taken by the government in recent years are in right direction. What is required is implementation of policies in true spirit.

T. K. Chanda Adviser, FAI, New Delhi

26 Agriculture World | October 2016

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Doubling Farm Income

Doubling Farm Income: A Critical Analysis

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any factors contribute to higher agricultural production and p r o d u c t i v i t y. O f t h e s e , contribution of seeds, soil fertility and fertilizer, irrigation water, and plant protection materials are very important Since their effect are inter-dependant, impact of individual factor can't be really isolated. But, FAO estimate indicates that fertilizer contributed 50 percent of increased food grains production of the world. The same is also true in the case of India. It has made commendable progress in different sectors of agriculture namely food grains, horticultural crops, ďŹ sh, milk, egg, sugarcanes, cotton, oilseeds. It has witnessed Green Revolution, Blue Revolution, White Revolution, Yellow Revolution etc. The increase ranged from 4 times in food grains to 27 times in egg from 1950-51 to date. It took more than 60 years to have such an increase. Still we have to go a long way to improve farm productivity and famers income on sustainable basis. Government of India has already announced and launched ambitious plans like issuing of soil health cards, promotion of balanced fertilization and Integrated nutrient management, 100% coating of urea with neem oil, www.krishijagran.com

producing more crops per drop of water by promoting micro irrigation and Fertigation etc. Amounts of seeds, fertilizer, Plant care materials, irrigation, agriculture credits etc would be needed for doubling farm income have not been mentioned In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyze whether the technologies and input availability are synergistic with ambitious plans to double farm proclivity and farm income.

Introduction Knowledge driven India made a commendable progress in achieving self sufďŹ ciency in food grains production.

Interestingly progress made in other commodities of agriculture sector was more spectacular than on the front of Table 1- Growth in different farm sectors from 1950-51 till date.

Times of increase Commodities in production Food grains 4 Horticultural crops 6 Fish 9 Milk 6 Egg 27 Sugarcane 6 Cotton 11 Oilseeds 6

food grains production (Table 1).

To give a boost to enhance farm income , government of India , has announced and launched ambitious plans like issuing of soil health cards, promotion of balanced fertilization and integrated use of plant nutrients,, having all the urea coated with neem oil, producing more crop per drop of water and Fertigation etc.

Situation looks bright with development on the knowledge frontiers namely nano--science, biotechnology, e-extension, e-market, portal, conservation agriculture, use of farm machinery in farm sector, etc.

The Krishi Jagran, the Fertilizers Association of India (FAI), Associations' of other Input industries are playing important role in reaching the farm technologies to the farmers. However, there is a need to critically analyze the issue of doubling the farm income by 2022.

Budgetary Allocation Union Budget for 2016-17 recognized agriculture as the main components of rural economy and focused on rural development. In his budget speech, Hon'ble Finance Minister (FM) echoed the sentiments, "We need to address issues of optimum utilization of our water, resources, create new infrastructure for irrigation, conservation and enhancement of soil fertility, with balanced use of fertilizer and provide value addition connectivity Commodities from farm to markets�.

The FM announced an allocation of about Rs 35,984 crore for the farm sectors while raising the agriculture credit target to Rs 9 lakh crore for the 2016-17.

Rupees 1500 crore were also allocated for interest subvention on the farm credit to reduce the burden of loan repayment of

Agriculture World | October 2016

27

Doubling Farm Income farmers. Nearly, Rs 5500 crore have been allocated for crop insurance scheme. National Food Security Mission received an allocation of Rs 500 crore to boost the pulse production. FM also mentioned that the Government of India was implementing the United Agricultural Marketing Scheme (UAMS) which aims a common e market plat form to be deployed in selected 585 regulated whole sale markets scheme has already been inaugurated by the Prime Minister. On April, 2016, the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar. PM launched a Mission of 'Gram Udyay' to 'Bharat Udyay' to supply electricity to 18000 villages in 1000 days. All these unprecedented activities reflect on the sincerity and political will to accomplish the cherished goal of doubling farm income.

Doubling farm income Is doubling the income a mirage or achievable or it will have same fate of doubling agricultural production propagated by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpai as the PM is a big question mark?

Before embarking on the discussion on the above statement, some basis need to be understood. Enabling policy environment revolves around disbursing benefits in the account of farmers. Surmounting challenge is the edification of benefit farmers. Is the owner of the land? or the person who cultivate the land? Who should be getting the allocated money? Normally the landowner does not cultivate land himself and gives his land on lease to the tenants. Small and marginal farmers take land on lease and cultivate along with their own small holdings.

Landless laborers' also often take land on lease but practically have nothing to invest except their family laborer to cultivate it. In this scenario who gets the compensation in the event of natural calamities like cyclone, flood or drought ? Obviously the clamant is the land owner. The highest budget allocation is expected to make the rich richer and the poor might turn poorer. In this scenario whose income shall get double ?

Success Stories Biggest component which

brought out transformation in Indian Agriculture and rural economy was the relentless involvement committed human power. Success stories made possible by personal intervention include i) Cooperative Milk Project(Amul) of Gujarat, the brain child of Sardar Ballabh Bai Patel and executed by Dr V Kurian as the main architect; ii) Project Ralegan Siddhi

by Anna Hazare, iii) water harvesting and management project of Hiware Bazar by Popatrao Pawar of Maharashtra, iv) Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore Agriculture Extension project at Sriniketan , West Bengal; v) establishement of Vivekananda Laboratory at Calcutta by Padma Bhusan Professor Bosi Sen, in 1924 which as permanently shifted to Almora in 1936. In 1974, ICAR took over the institute and rechristened it as Vivekananada Parvathiya Krishi Anusanthan Sansthan; vi) Divyan Crop Wise Share of Gross Crop Area in million hectare

28 Agriculture World | October 2016

10

25 12 5

44 30

28 25

26

Total: 200

Rice Wheat Millets Pulses Oil Seeds Sugarcane Cotton Fruits & Veg. Others

KVK, under RK Mission Ashram.

Morabadi, Ranchi; vii) Famous Green Revolution of India in 1960s encouraged by Nobel Laureate Norman Ernest Borlaug. All these based on the bottom up approach proved to be grand success.

Contribution made by ICAR institutes like Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and states Agricultural Universities like GBPUAT, PAU , TNAU, etc in ushering Green Revolution is well documented. Field cropping has its inherent disadvantage like complete failure due to pest or disease infestation. Field cropping may be of cereal, pulse and commercial crops.

Field crops Ours is cereal based agriculture.

About 100 million ha in India is under cereal crops like rice, wheat, maize, jowar, bajra, small millets etc(Figure 1) Though agro-climatic zones have been delineated by the planning commission and the agro-ecological zones were also delineated by the ICAR, crop are not grown on the basis of these zones. In India rice is grown in the area below the sea level in Kerala and in the area which is 11000ft above the sea level in Srinagar Valley.

Because of this kind of diversity in the condition where rice is grown, its yield is low. So is the case with other crops.

In China rice is grown in the area suited to the agro-climatic condition www.krishijagran.com

Doubling Farm Income

needed for rice. This is why the rice yield is very high in China.

Cereal culture all over the globe is not economically attractive. About 70 percent of cereal produced in the world is used as animal feeds. But in India it is our staple food, main source of protein.

A rice-wheat cereal system can hardly give a profit of Rs 60,000 to 70,000 (Table 3 ) Pulses are another important group of food crop.

This group of crop has an area of about 25 mha. Gram, arahar, moong, musur, pea This is the main source of protein for the large number of vegetarian population of our country.

We are importing pulses from foreign countries . Pulse yield is very low because they are presently grown in energy starved dry land condition.

These crops also very much affected by pests and diseases. Pulse yield in India is very low and it is stagnating for a long time.

Cotton, Sugarcane, Jute, groundnut, soybean etc are some of the important commercial crops grown in the country. Cotton is the most important commercial crop in India. It provides employment to millions of people. India is number one in cotton production in the world. Jute is another important commercial crop. The area under jute is reducing over the year. It is very labor intensive crop and the price of jute fluctuates very often. As the jute corporation of India fails to www.krishijagran.com

purchase jute if the moisture percent is little higher., the farmers have to be normally become the prey of traditional money Landers who also are purchaser of jute and they purchase jute with higher moisture content but at very low price.

Groundnut and soybean are two very important oilseeds crops. Both are legumes which helps in enrichment of soil nitrogen by biological nitrogen fixation(BNF) The average yield of oilseeds crop is low.

But oilseeds are mainly grown in dry land conditions which are not only thirty but hungry too.

Thus it is observed that there is very little scope to increase crop productivity and farm income in about

Table 3 Relative economics of different farming systems in Uttarakhand

165 mt (82.5 %) ha field crops. The recent survey conducted on" Farm Expenditure" in Punjab bears the testimony of the statement.

Second generation problems of green revolution called for crop diversification and integrated faming systems. Government of India, for last 4 decades have been trying to introduce crop diversification and integrated farming System.

Crop Diversification Some farmers went for crop diversification on their own to earn more profits. Here is an example..

Data in Table 2 collected from the farm of Mr Satyajit Biswas, village Boromana near Rajbadh , district Bankura, West Bengal provides interesting insight. Through crop diversification farmers made the farming profitable. If only he had gone for rice mono cropping , his financial condition could have been precarious.

Integrated Farming System Agriculture is full of risk which could be reduced to a great extent by adopting integrated farming systems which consist of cropping system, horticulture system, animal husbandry system, fishery system etc. Normally, a wise farmer always go in form farming system approach to reduce the risk and earn higher income . Table 3 indicates the relative economics of d i ff e r e n t f a r m i n g s y s t e m s i n Uttarakhand. In different parts of the country different types of farming systems are being practiced on the basis of the agro-ecological of the area.

The data presented in Table 3 belong to a farmer near the GBPUAT. He fondly remember the initial days of the university when teachers and taught both used to visit the farmers' field and worked with the farmers to learn practical agriculture from the farmers and take the farm problems to the university labs to find out their

Table 2. Profitabilty of the farm of Mr Satyajit Biswas

Agriculture World | October 2016

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Doubling Farm Income solutions. Unfortunately that system no longer exists. But some farmers have started innovative farming with the help of research institutes and agriculture university.

Innovative Farming Innovative farming showed the potential of enhancing farm income to a great extent but innovative farmers may hardly constitute 5 percent. The rest, that is, 95 per cent traditional farming is not at all economically attractive.

Many success stories of innovative farmers have now been documented.

Farm innovations have made a dent in the horticultural crops which has three main branches namely fruits , vegetables and flowers.

Horticulture India grows a large numbers of fruit crops like mango, banana, papaya, apple, pine apple, guava ,pomegranate, etc.

Mango is the king of fruit crops and India ranks first in the area and production of mango in the country. About 52% mango is produced in India. But the mango yield in the country is very low (about 4t/ha). With the adoption of better technology its yield can be increased to 10 t/ha. Of the fruit crops, most promising ones is banana.

India grows a large number of vegetable crops like potato, tomato, brinjals, cabbage, cauliflowers, broccoli, capsicum, pumpkins, bitter gourd, pointed gourd etc.

Potato is considered to be food crop in western countries.

But in India it is the most important vegetables crops. If price is good, farmers can make good amount of profit.

This year farmers could get good amount of profit because of higher price. But this year, onion price is as lows as

Figure. 5

30 Agriculture World | October 2016

Rs. 3/kg in some parts of Maharashtra. Therefore, farmers have suffered losses.

Flowers business is gaining ground in India. Variety of flowers namely rose, chrysanthemum, dahlia, gladiolus, cosmos, marigold etc. are being grown in the country to meet the demand. Success stories of farmers in case of horticulture is well documented. And in horticulture. there is scope in doubling the farm income. But this may hardly constitute 5 percent of gross cropped area of the country.

Irrigation Water use policy Water is expected to be very scarce commodity in years to come and it is said that the next world war would be fought for water. Rice and sugarcane need very high amount of water to produce one unit of economic produce..

Tamil Nadu wants Cauvery water to grow three crops of rice, sugarcane and banana in Tanjavur area of the state while Karnataka suffers from the storage of drinking water.

Similarly the people of MP have to sacrifice for the benefits of the people of Gujarat particularly that of Saurashtra region of Gujarat where availability of drinking water was a serious problem. Punjab grows rice in unsuitable light soil needing very high amount of water while people of Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi suffer from shortage of drinking water. Because of such serious problems arising due to misuse of water, national policy of irrigation water use has to be formulated and used. In addition, India has river water sharing problems with Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Conclusions It is observed that the land owners except Punjab and Haryana normally do not cultivate the land. They give the land on lease or give for share cropping. But enjoys the government incentives in the event of natural calamities for contributing nothing. And the poor who cultivate get nothing. Government budgetary allocation makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. For increasing higher agriculture, higher amount of seeds, fertilizer, irrigation water, plant protection materials would be needed. It would be difficult to master the needed inputs in such a short time.

Therefore, the subject of doubling farm income demands a critical analysis by NITI Aayog before the state governments are requested to implement it. Agriculture is state subject and every state has its special features of agro climatic conditions which govern the agricultural crops to be grown, animal husbandry to be practiced etc. And in each state millions of famers who belong to small and marginal category have to implement the project. The problems of Indian farmers have yet to be understood and appreciated by the politicians and policy makers of the country.

Dr. Bimal C Biswas Technical Editor, Krishi Jagran www.krishijagran.com

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Aspects of Farm Expenditures

Important Aspects of Farm Expenditures

I

ncreasing agricultural costs and dwindling profit margins of crop cultivation has become a hot topic of discussion at various platforms. Modern agriculture has become capital intensive. Stagnant productivity levels of different crops are reducing net returns. To overcome this problem, farmers tend to increase the use of resources. This increases farm expenses. No doubt some expenses are unavoidable. Use of diesel to run the motors for irrigation, in case of failure of rains or higher doses of agro chemicals to save the crop from pest attack. But some expenses can be curtailed with use of scientific techniques. A survey of 500 farmers in twenty villages located in 10 blocks of three agro-climatic zones of Punjab was under taken during 2012-14 to analyze the constraints faced by them in following the recommended practices of agricultural research institutions. This article is based on the findings of the survey.

Soil Test and Fertilizer Use The expenditure of major fertilizers and micronutrients is a main component of variable cost of cultivation, but application of these should be according to nutrient status of the soil.

However, it was found in the survey that only 23 percent of the sampled farmers have undertaken the soil testing of their holdings. The analysis showed that 33 percent of the sampled farmers did not feel the need of it. They think that fertility of their soils is adequate. Lack of soil testing facility in the nearby area also emerged as a major reasons given by 24 percent of the farmers, while 20 percent of the sampled farmers were not aware about this practice. All these reasons may be contributing to excess doses of nutrients in the state.

Over fertilization of crops is a

common practice in the state. Only 23 per cent of surveyed farmers were found to be using recommended levels of fertilizers and the rest admitted that they were using higher doses of these.

Majority of small farmers were using recommended doses. Their financial constraint may be the reason for this. It was found in the survey that 33 percent of sampled farmers were using higher doses to increase yield levels of the crops and 28 percent, to maintain the soil fertility of their holdings.

Use of HYV seeds and pesticides The large scale adoption of high yielding varieties of the crops, has led to not only increased use of irrigation and fertilizers, but also incidence of some pests and diseases of crops have also crept in. This has led to higher use of agro-chemicals in some crops like

34 Agriculture World | October 2016

cotton and rice. Only 34 percent of surveyed farmers were found to be using the recommended doses of pesticides. The problem of higher doses was more common in central plain zone followed by cotton belt of the state.

Farmers reported that recommended doses do not give desired results and diseases keep on spreading. 30 percent of the farmers also felt that incidence of diseases and pest attacks has increased over time. Climate change was considered as a reason for it by 11 percent of the farmers, while deficit rainfall was perceived as a reason by 3 percent of the sampled farmers for pest attacks and higher use of agrochemicals.

Use of Underground water Punjab agriculture has become highly dependent on underground water www.krishijagran.com

Aspects of Farm Expenditures between 8th April to 20th April. For Basmati rice, it was 2nd to 10th July in central plain zone and 2nd to 5th July in southwestern zone. The sowing of wheat was found to be more or less as per the recommended schedule in the survey throughout the state.

Conclusions On the basis survey, some important aspects of agriculture have been discovered. Cost of fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation water is relative higher than other items of cost. And unfortunately excess use of these inputs. increases the cost of production. This has not only ďŹ nancial implication but also environmental impacts. The concerned authority should take of the use of the costly inputs. resource in the light of declining rainfall and shrinking canal network. Free electricity supply for agricultural purpose is also putting pressure on ďŹ nancial health of the state.

Therefore, higher number of irrigations to the crops cause double loss-one of higher electricity subsidy and secondly receding ground-water level in the state. The trend of higher number of irrigations was found to be more prevalent in rice crop. It was found in the survey that 100 percent of sampled farmers were irrigating the wheat crop as per the recommendation, but the rate was very low in case of rice.

Different varieties of the crops not only differ in resource use and productivity levels but also in ability to bear pest and disease stress. That is why, research institutes recommend different varieties for different regions depending on climate, soil structure, quality of water, etc. But many farmers were found to preferring non-recommended varieties of the crops, where as they should be following the recommendations of Punjab Agricultural University.

Time of Sowing/transplanting Apart from variety of the crop, date of sowing, has also a bearing on the environment. It was found that farmers do not follow the recommended date of sowing due to constraints such as availability of labour or agricultural machinery. This was more evident in case of rice, where sowing time has earlier advanced to May but after, implementation of conservation of sub-soil water Act the date of transplanting has been ďŹ xed on 10th June. It was found to be between 10th to 12 June in Sub-mountainous zone, 10th to 15th June in Central plain Zone and between 10th to 20th June in south-western zone of the state during the survey. Maize sowing in sub-mountainous zone was being under taken between 10th to 28th June and in Central plain zone between 20th June to 18th July. The sowing time of cotton in central plain zone was found to be between 10th to 28th April and in south-western zone lying www.krishijagran.com

Arjinder Kaur and Sukhjeet K Saran Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Agriculture World | October 2016

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Enhancing Farm Income

Important Inputs for Enhancing Farm Income

A

griculture growth stands at approximately 4% today as farm incomes took a hit because of lower production and a drop in prices of key crops such as rice, wheat and cotton in 2015. It's no secret that poor agricultural growth not only affects the farm economy and farmer prosperity but also has a cascading effect on other sectors of the economy due to the consequent low rural purchasing power. Given that this comprises over 50% of India's population, any drop of purchasing power in this segment has a serious impact on the national economy and GDP growth.

It is with this in mind that the Modi government doubling of income from cultivation while Bihar, has chalked out an ambitious plan to double farm Jharkhand and West Bengal showed a decline in incomes by 2022.This was done by the Union income from cultivation in real terms. In contrast to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley when he presented the income from cultivation, in many states there has Union Budget 2016–17, and highlighted this as one been a doubling of net income from farming of of the objectives of the central government. animals. However there was a higher increase in incomes in households having over 10 hectares of Change in farm incomes from 2003 to 2013 land.

In fact, any household with at least one hectare Interestingly on the basis of the data analysed of land saw their income from cultivation and total from the National Sample Survey OfďŹ ce's (NSSO) and the Situation Assessment Survey of Farmers income increase at least by 1.5 times during this conducted in 2003 and the Situation Assessment period.

Survey of Agricultural Households, 2013, the Infrastructure improvement average monthly total income of agricultural A 100% increase within ďŹ ve years would involve households increased by over three times from 2,115 a compounded annual growth of over 12% for 5 in 2003 to 6,426 in 2013. consecutive years to make this happen (compared to The studies also revealed that maximum net 0.5% growth over the last two years). Is this possible? come was from animal husbandry (increase by 3.21 While sceptics abound and the jury is out there on this times) and a comparatively much less increase from one, here are some of the things to keep in mind to crop cultivation. Only Chhattisgarh showed a accelerate farm growth.

36 8 Agriculture World | October 2016

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Enhancing Farm Income A recent paper released by NITI Aayog identified five issues that need attention in order to improve the livelihoods of farmer households. The five issues are: increasing agricultural productivity, remunerative prices for farmers, focus on land leasing and land titles, risk adaptation and mitigation, and a geographical focus on the eastern region.

The centre has already taken important steps like setting up an electronic National Agriculture Market and rolling out a new crop insurance scheme. Improving access to irrigation as well as introducing new seed variants that are more drought resistant and use less fertilizers and pesticides would also be important to consider.

Initiatives to improve soil health, cold chain and warehousing to prevent losses, value addition through food processing are additional measures to spur farm growth.

Enabling an evergreen revolution It is important to look at the possible drivers of income growth for farmers. The first source is diversification of farm activities towards highvalue crops and enterprises. National-level data reveals that shifting to high-value crops can more than quadruple income from the same piece of land. The second source is irrigation, which can double productivity. The third source is better price realisation for farmers through competitive markets, value chains and improved linkage between field and fork.The fourth source is an improvement in the terms of trade for agriculture.

The fifth source is technology upgradation.

The first major barrier to overcome however is declining productivity. Data from 2013 reveals that India's average yield of cereal per hectare is far less than that of many countries (including

38 8 Agriculture World | October 2016

several low income countries), but the difference is huge when compared to China. For instance, our average yield per hectare is 39% below than that of China and for rice this figure is 46%. Even Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia fare better than India in case of rice yield. Further, there is a huge inter-regional variation; the wheat and rice yield from Haryana and Punjab is much higher than from the other states.

In order to cross the declining productivity barrier there is a need to herald a rainbow revolution by making a shift from wheat-rice cycle to other cereals and pulses. Since wheat and rice coupled with other crops are backed by minimum support prices (MSP) and input subsidy (whether water, fertiliser or power) regime, there is a huge incentive for the farmers in the irrigated region of Northwest India to grow these crops.

This has to be addressed through encouraging farmers to grow other cereals and pulses.

More crop per drop of water The second major barrier is the scarcity of two major resources for agriculture – cultivable land and water.

While the cultivable land per person is declining because of the fragmentation of farms due to rising

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Enhancing Farm Income population, India also has much less per capita water as compared to other leading agrarian countries. Given this scenario, it is time to make a shift to micro irrigation so that the efficient and judicious use of scarce water resources can be made. A study conducted by the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture on micro irrigation in 64 districts of 13 states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand), reveals that there were significant reductions in the use of water and fertiliser with yields increased up to 45% in wheat, 20% in gram and 40% in soybean. However, high initial costs deter farmers to adopt micro-irrigation and fertigation While big farmers can easily avail this technology, the government may consider giving subsidies to small farmers to boost the adoption of this technology.

R&D needs One of the major barriers to boosting farm productivity in India is the lack of political will to introduce new technologies. While the National Agriculture Research System played a major role in the green revolution, in recent years there hasn't been any major breakthrough in research. Indian agriculture is starving for new technology and genetic engineering can offer hope. After years of stagnation, productivity jumped sharply after 2002 with the arrival of the first approved GM (genetically modified) crop, Bt cotton has helped India to become now among the world's largest cotton producers and exporters as a result of the spread of Bt cotton. But thereafter, the development of this technology was thwarted by anti-genetically modified organism (GMO) groups. This led to the halt of the commercial release of Bt Brinjal, a biotech crop developed specifically for India. This was a big jolt for the nascent biotechnology industry while farmers who continue to be deprived of the benefits of modern biotechnology.

India has a chance to redeem itself with GM Mustard, an indigenously developed crop by Delhi University whose commercial release is currently pending with the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC). GM Mustard promises to revitalise the mustard economy of India's arid and semi-arid regions by significantly improving farm yields without the requirement of additional water, fertilisers or pesticides. It should be noted that we import 350,000 tonnes of canola oil (a sister crop of mustard) worth Rs 13000 Crore. Most of the canola grown worldwide is GM. So if we can import oil derived from GM canola, we can certainly consume oil from GM mustard.

If we compare the data of the percentage of agricultural GDP spending on research and development in Asia, then the figures are revealing. While India spent 31% of its agricultural GDP on research and development in 2010, in the same year China spent almost double the amount. Even our neighbour Bangladesh spent 38% of its agricultural GDP on research and development in that year. As a result of this resource crunch there has not been diffusion of new agricultural innovations and practices that is critical for enhancing farm productivity.

Conclusion India's long term food security is linked to boosting India's farm economy that includes not just foodgrains but also horticulture and allied activities such as livestock and fisheries. A more robust farm economy will also address the unpredictability of agriculture, prone to the vagaries of climate change as well as market and price fluctuations.

Higher revenues will also allow farmers to make more investments, improve the quality of farm inputs, de-risk their investments (by diversifying into new areas such as livestock rearing, poultry, bee keeping or cash-crop cultivation) and most importantly create significantly more socio-economic benefits for themselves and improve their social indicators. However this warrants farmers being allowed to make their own decisions, including choosing technologies best suited to themselves without fear or favour.

Dr. Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director, ABLE-AG

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