Towards Sustainable Agriculture

Towards Sustainable Agriculture

Dr. Debesh Roy

According to Dr. M.S.Swaminathan a new vision for agriculture should aim to spread happiness among farm and rural families. He is of the view that Bio-happiness through the conversion of our bio-resources into wealth meaningful to our rural families should be the goal of our national policy for farmers. Focus on post-harvest technology, agro-processing and value addition to primary produce, could enable the achievement of sustainable agricultural development. Further, in the long run, yield and quality breakthroughs in major crops are possible through genomics and gene pyramiding.

The National Commission on Farmers (2006) had made the following recommendations for a Five Point Action Plan to rejuvenate Indian agriculture:

(i)                 Conservation and enhancement of soil health.

(ii)               Harvesting, storage and efficient use of rainwater, as well as the conjunctive use of different water sources.

(iii)             Pro-small farmer credit an insurance system.

(iv)             Environmentally friendly technologies and appropriate inputs.

(v)               Assured and remunerative marketing.

The relatively weak supply responses to price hikes in agricultural commodities, especially food articles, in the recent past, has raised the issue of efficient supply chain management and need for sustained levels of growth in agriculture and allied sectors. Investment in rural infrastructure, in the form of irrigation, roads, bridges, market yard/ market complex/ rural mall (e.g. ITC’s Choupal Sagar), warehousing, cold chain, and power transmission infrastructure, could lead to a rapid and sustainable growth in agricultural production and productivity.  Most important, the APMC Act needs to be amended by all States, to enable farmers to sell their produce at the right price at the market of their choice. Thus, the choice before the nation is to invest more in agriculture and allied sectors with the right strategies, policies, and interventions. This is also a ‘necessary’ condition for ‘inclusive growth’ and for ensuring that the benefits of growth reach a larger number of people.

Over the past few years, several discerning changes have been observed in rural India, which will go a long way in redefining agriculture and would also have a significant impact on the investment credit requirements for primary production, areas of diversified activities, trends in value addition and supply chains. While the face of traditional on-farm activities has altered significantly since the onset of the Green Revolution, some of the basic features of this remarkable change relate to (a) an increasing number of small and marginal farmers with progressive decline in average size of holding; (b) increased usage of high yielding varieties of seeds, quality inputs and modern equipment necessitating higher investment credit; (c) deceleration in rate of growth in production of food crops particularly in agriculturally advanced states like Punjab; (d) limited progress in technology adoption especially in rain-fed areas. The diversified and new farm activities observed are: (a) an increased trend towards commercial and horticulture crops but with almost imperfect markets for these crops; (b) greater importance to food cash crops like sugarcane, oilseeds, spices and condiments, fruits and vegetables, etc.; (c) emergence of hi-tech agriculture and organic farming; (d) a shift towards market-led demand-led agricultural production; (e) a significant increase in the share of output of allied sectors viz., dairy, poultry and fisheries and horticulture crops in the agricultural GDP.  Concomitantly, there has been an emergence of new post-harvest activities, viz. (a) food processing; (b) storages, godowns, market yards and activities related to grading and certification; (c) increasing importance of services sector in rural areas. Reform in agricultural marketing is long overdue as APMC Act restricts the sale of produce outside market yards. Such restrictive provisions need to be removed.

Evergreen Revolution

Dr. Swaminathan mooted the idea of an ‘Evergreen Revolution’. This implies not just increase in crop yield but also productivity without social or ecological damage. Professor Swaminathan had demonstrated that there was a need for agricultural renewal which would address the aspects of soil health, irrigation and water supply, technology transfer from ‘lab to land’ in post-harvest phases, and market advice to farmers. In this context, there is a need for doubling food production in the country, with a special focus on increasing the output of fruits and vegetables.

The term “Green Revolution”, coined by Dr. William Gaud of the US Department of Agriculture in 1968, has come to be associated not only with higher production through enhanced productivity but also with several negative ecological and social consequences. There is also frequent reference to the “fatigue of the green revolution”, due to stagnation in yield levels and to a larger quantity of nutrients required to produce the same yield as in the early 1970s. Experts such as Lester Brown of the Worldwatch Institute have been warning about an impending global food crisis due to increasing population, increasing purchasing power leading to the consumption of animal products, increasing damage to the ecological foundations of agriculture, declining per capita availability of land and water, and the absence of technologies that can further enhance the yield potential of major food crops.

Dr. Swaminathan believes that India is now in a position to launch an evergreen revolution that can help increase yield, income and livelihoods per unit of land and water, if we bring about a paradigm shift in our agricultural research and development strategies. The green revolution was triggered by the genetic manipulation of yields in crops such as rice, wheat and maize. The evergreen revolution will be triggered by farming systems that can help produce more from the available land, water and labour resources without either ecological or social harm.

Dr. Swaminathan has emphasised the need for developing technology and public policy for and evergreen revolution designed to improve the productivity of crops in perpetuity without associated ecological harm. According to him “the evergreen revolution is based on an appropriate blend of different approaches to sustainable agriculture such as organic farming, green agriculture, eco-agriculture and agriculture based on effective micro-organisms.” While organic farming excludes the use of mineral fertilisers, chemical pesticides and genetically modified crops, the green agriculture practised widely in China is based on the principles of integrated pest and nutrient management and integrated natural resources conservation and enhancement. Swaminathan supports the need to promote green agriculture which allows the use of the minimum essential mineral fertilisers and chemical pesticides in both rain-fed and irrigated areas.

Further, there is need to create opportunity for assured and remunerative marketing for dry-land farm products like pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, milk and meat. Dr. Swaminathan  has also suggested the inclusion of jowar, bajra, ragi, millet, sorghum, pulses and other nutritious cereals in the public distribution system. Accordingly, this will help to enhance nutrition security and the productivity and economic sustainability of improved dry-land agriculture. “Coarse grains” should be re-designated as “nutritious grains” since they are rich in nutrients.

The Eastern and North Eastern regions of India offer large untapped potential for agriculture production. The Indo-Gangetic plains can become the major breadbasket of India through a synergetic mix of technology, services and public policies.  ‘Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India’, initiated in 2010-11, intends to address the constraints limiting the productivity of 'rice based cropping systems' in eastern India comprising seven states, viz. Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. ` 400 crore each was allocated for the programme during 2010-11 and 2011-12 and of `1,000 crore during 2012-13.

 Dr. Swaminathan argues that progress can be achieved if we shift our mindset from a commodity-centred approach to an entire cropping or farming system based on an integrated natural resources management strategy. The future belongs to small farm families taking to precision agriculture, involving the use of the right inputs at the right time and in the right way. Biotechnology will play an important role in all the following six major components of integrated natural resources management and precision farming: (a) integrated gene management; (b) efficient water management; (c) integrated nutrient supply; (d) soil health care; (e) integrated pest management; and (f) efficient post-harvest management. Eco technology-based precision farming can help cut costs, enhance marketable surplus and eliminate ecological risks. This, according to Dr. Swaminathan is the pathway to an evergreen revolution in small farm agriculture.

Technology for Sustainable Agriculture

There is no option except to produce more food and other commodities under conditions of diminishing per capita arable land and irrigation water resources. Hence, we must harness the best in frontier technologies and integrate them with traditional wisdom and thereby launch an eco-technology movement.

Productivity of land is influenced in part by the nature of physical environment (climate, soils and irrigation) and in part by the varieties and agronomic practices used in cultivation of crops. Prof. A.Vaidyanathan makes a basic distinction between biochemical elements of technology (embodied in irrigation, genetic potential of seeds, chemical fertilisers, and plant protection) used for crop husbandry and those (basically the kinds of equipment and the motive power used for operating them) used for conduct of various agricultural operations. The latter do not affect yields so much as the source of energy for performing them. It is, therefore, more meaningful to view yields as a function of biochemical factors.

Changes in biophysical technology, contribute to growth of agricultural production by increasing cropping intensity, shifting to higher value crops, and raising crop yields. Combinations of improved seeds (especially composite and hybrid high yielding varieties), irrigation and fertilizers have synergies that have the potential to make a bigger impact on yields than their individual effects and increase higher productivity per unit of water and nutrients. According to Prof. Vaidyanathan, under favourable conditions, this reduces costs and increases private returns to farmers.

Dr. Swaminathan has emphasised that frontier technologies like biotechnology, information and communication technology (ICT), renewable energy technologies, space applications and nanotechnology provide uncommon opportunities for launching an evergreen revolution capable of improving productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm.

NABARD has been supporting various on-field projects for promoting sustainable agriculture practices. As per rough estimates, about 60 per cent of the water used in agriculture in the country is consumed by paddy alone. System of Rice Intensification (SRI), a combination of simple agronomic and management practices, addresses the issue of improving productivity of rice without compromising the sustainability of natural resource i.e., water. NABARD has extended support for project under SRI on a pilot basis. The project is being implemented in an area of 36,935 ha. covering 1.42 lakh farmers in 2,380 villages across 13 States.  Assistance of `3.88 crore was disbursed for the project during 2012-13.

NABARD launched ‘Pilot Project on augmenting productivity of lead crops/activities through sustainable agricultural practices’ in 2009-10. The project aims at increasing income of farmers by improving productivity of lead crops/activities through adoption of appropriate technologies, reduction of costs and getting better prices of the produce by way of value addition. The selection of lead crops/activities usually three to four in number are based on location specific, local resources and demand-driven factors. The project is being implemented under cluster approach covering four to six clusters of five villages each per State, proliferating to 600-900 villages at the national level. A total of 58 clusters, comprising 393 villages were sanctioned at the national level.  An amount of `4.83 crore was disbursed for the project during 2012-13.

Research Strategy

The application of advances in the basic sciences and generic technologies to meet the specific requirements of agriculture and allied activities calls for considerable research. The public research system in India, comprising national level research institutions like IARI, ICRISAT, agricultural universities and a network of research stations, has played a major role in this process. Besides varietal improvement of several important crops, the work of these research institutions covers techniques for prevention and control of pests and diseases, agronomic practices for getting optimum results from the use of inputs (including fertilizers), management of land, water and forests, and increasing the productivity of animal husbandry.

The private sector, especially large multinational agri-business corporations, have traditionally been the key player in research for technology and product development in chemical fertilizers and a wide variety of other agrochemicals as well as all types of agricultural machinery. In recent times, they have become increasingly active in conducting/ sponsoring research for development and distribution of high-yielding seeds (especially hybrids and those genetically modified) for several crops.

According to Dr. Swaminathan the research strategy should be pro-nature and pro-small farmer oriented. He opines that in case of Bt Cotton, public good institutions should concentrate on developing varieties rather than hybrids, so that farmers can keep their own seeds. He argues that as 80 per cent of the seeds used in agriculture come from farmer seed systems, these will have to be strengthened and supported through infrastructure for community managed seed villages and seed technology training centres. He has also urged  Krishi Vigyan Kendras to organise ‘lab to land’ demonstrations in the area of post-harvest technology, agro-processing and value addition to primary products.

In the changing agricultural environment, Research and Development (R&D) in agriculture needs to be demand driven, with involvement of farmers in technology development. While the public sector could play a catalytic role, the entire R&D process could be made more pluralistic by involving public, private farmers’ organizations, and the voluntary sector. In this context, the corporate sector can play a prominent role in funding R&D and transfer of technology from ‘lab to land’, as part of an integrated contract farming model. There is a need to refocus R&D agenda from crop centric research in irrigated areas to location specific cropping systems in dry lands, hills and tribal areas. Greater attention needs to be directed towards horticulture crops which are land and water saving. Efforts may also be made for harnessing remote sensing technologies to optimize application of inputs and exploring areas in emerging capital-intensive biotechnology. There is a need to upscale water saving agronomic and management practices like SRI and energy saving irrigation methods (drip and sprinkler) to increase agriculture productivity.  Major, medium and minor irrigation projects sanctioned should also have a component of R&D. NABARD and banks need to collaborate with agriculture universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, etc. to help farmers improve and diversify farm produce. NABARD has also been advocating the need for banks to focus on financing Area Development Projects in agriculture and allied activities for intensified area development, leading to rapid capital formation.

Irrigation

There are three ways in which irrigation impacts agricultural production, viz. it increases cropping intensity; brings about changes in crop patterns; and in combination with improved varieties and more intensive fertilizer use, increases individual crop yields. Prof. Vaidyanathan has shown that irrigated crop yields are invariably higher, though in varying degrees, than yields of rain-fed crops. There is no significant trend in yields of unirrigated crops; but irrigated crop yields are rising, though at varying rates. In practically all states, most of the increase in production over the decades of the seventies and eighties has come from the expansion of irrigated area and increasing yields of these areas. Across rainfall-irrigation groups too, rates of change in yields show a significant positive correlation with irrigation and fertilizer use.

Prof. Vaidyanathan has indicated that output per ha of both irrigated and unirrigated crops is associated with higher levels of consumptive use of water. But the relation between consumptive use and output per unit of consumptive use is weak. Contrary to expectation, output per unit of consumptive use of irrigated crops is not significantly different from that of unirrigated crops in half the states. In the rest, output per unit of consumptive use in irrigated areas is higher than in the latter. But the difference is not striking. In all cases, the difference between irrigated and unirrigated yields per unit of consumptive use area is invariably less than in yields per ha.

Watershed Development

Watershed development has been conceived basically as a strategy for protecting the livelihoods of people inhabiting in the fragile ecosystems experiencing soil erosion and moisture stress. The aim has been to ensure the availability of drinking water, fuel wood, and fodder and raise income and employment of farmers and landless labourers through improvements in agricultural production and productivity.

The experience from the ongoing watershed development programme for drought proofing of rain-fed agriculture by conserving land and water resources was encouraging. The single most important factor accounting for the positive impact of this programme is community participation and decentralization of programme administration. This encouraging experience points to the large potential for extending such participatory programmes under government sponsorship.

Rain-fed areas are particularly prone to year-to-year fluctuations of production and degradation of environmental resources. Concerted efforts are needed to rejuvenate their natural resource base as also to stabilise and augment the income sources of farm households. The experience of NABARD in participatory investments with community based watershed development projects in dry land areas under the Watershed Development Fund has shown that watershed projects, when designed, implemented and maintained through community participation and voluntary community labour, are better executed in terms of technical parameters and lead to substantial downstream benefits for all participants. Similarly, Watershed Development Projects implemented by NABARD under Indo-German Watershed Development Programme in water scarce districts of Maharashtra can be replicated in other states having similar environment.

NABARD anchors four programmes viz., (i) Participatory Watershed Development Programme under Watershed Development Fund (WDF) in 15 States,(ii) Prime Minister’s Relief package for distressed districts in four States,(iii) Integrated Watershed Development Programme(IWDP) in Bihar and(iv) Indo-German Watershed Development Programme (IGWDP) in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. These four programmes cover an area of around 17.8 lakh has successful partnership based on strong commitment by state and agencies, community leaders and local people at all the stages of implementation of the programme.

Significantly, the Integrated Watershed Development initiative of ITC has helped create freshwater potential covering over 1,16,000 hectares in water-stressed areas.  Based on a participatory approach, the programme facilitates building, reviving and maintaining water harvesting structures as well as management of water resources to reverse land degradation, provide critical irrigation and increase agricultural productivity.  HUL is another company which is implementing a Water Conservation and Harvesting project with two major objectives, viz. (a) to reduce water consumption in its own operations and regenerate sub-soil water tables at its own sites through the principles of 5Rs viz. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover and Renew; and (b) help adjacent villages to implement appropriate models of watershed development. Similarly, Reliance Rural Development Trust (RRDT) promoted by RIL has been constructing check-dams for conserving water and to raise water tables of the surrounding areas. These initiatives by the corporate sector could be synergized by dovetailing them with programmes promoted/ implemented by government departments/agencies and NABARD.

Given the necessary shift in the policy framework in respect of agricultural research, extension and supply of inputs like seeds, infrastructure development, and price and credit policies, dry land areas hold considerable promise for development of agriculture. Consumer demand is shifting fast towards water-saving enterprises like dairying, animal husbandry, horticulture, and floriculture in which rain-fed areas have a comparative advantage. Also, such products have good potential for export. Agro-processing, therefore, holds great promise in dry land areas. All of this combined can be expected to provide the necessary incentives for the conservation of natural resources and indeed for easing pressure on such resources. Watershed development can certainly become more manageable under such a scenario.

Sustainable Nutrition Security System

Swaminathan (2010) laid stress on the following major components of a sustainable nutrition security system: (i) reorganise the delivery of nutrition support on a lifecycle basis with the participation of local communities; (ii) eliminate micronutrient deficiency-induced hidden hunger through an integrated food-cum-fortification approach; (iii) to broaden the produce base; (iii) while we should certainly grow crops where we have both a domestic need and export possibility, we should not neglect crops which will provide the energy to farmers to grow other crops; (iv) promote community food and water banks operated by women’s self-help groups (SHGS) and encourage the growth of community managed water budgeting systems; (v) help small and marginal farmers to improve productivity, quality and profitability of farm enterprises and organise a rural non-farm livelihood initiative to  offer multiple sources of income; (vi) Introduce support systems to SHGs to make them economically and organisationally sustainable; (vii) enactment of National Food Security Act; (viii) Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be regarded as the bottom line for procurement both by government and private traders; (ix) Like in West Bengal and Karnataka the process of land reforms may be completed in other states; (x) As recommended by the National Commission on Farmers, there is a need to move towards an Indian single market.

Rural Infrastructure

It is widely acknowledged that lack of infrastructure is a major constraint for growth and poverty alleviation. Improvement in rural infrastructure is, therefore, crucial for broad-based inclusive growth of the economy and for bridging the rural-urban divide. All forms of infrastructure viz., power, rural roads,  irrigation projects, watershed development, warehouses, cold storages, market infrastructure, education and training institutions, hospitals and health care centres, among others, is vital for high growth rate of the rural economy and for reducing poverty.

In the past, the Indian farmer has suffered not only from the bias agriculture at the macroeconomic level and from domestic restrictions on marketing and processing, but also from poor infrastructure. The greatest challenge lies in reducing the transaction costs of the farmer by providing him with world class physical infrastructure. And for this there is to be increasing public investment. However, public investment has been falling over the past two decades (Hoda and Gulati, 2009). The main culprits are the increasing subsidies on fertilizers, irrigation and power and the high pay increases implemented under the Sixth Pay Commission.  During the past two decades, while public investment in infrastructure has fallen by about one-third, subsidies on agricultural inputs have risen four-fold in real terms (Hoda and Gulati, 2009).

Under RIDF, NABARD provides loans to State Governments for the creation of rural infrastructure, broadly under agriculture and related sectors, rural connectivity and social sector. Completed projects under RIDF have led to the realisation of economic and social benefits in terms of creation of additional irrigation potential; generation of additional employment for the rural people; contribution to the economic wealth of the country; all weather connectivity/ improved connectivity to villages and marketing centres; and improvements in quality of life through better facilities in education, health and drinking water supply. Such infrastructure facilities promise to improve the accessibility of the rural poor to banks, and also improve their savings habit and credit absorption capacity (Roy, 2011). Infrastructure requirements as identified and prioritized in the Potential Linked Credit Plans (PLPs) prepared by NABARD at the district level could help the state governments in identifying rural infrastructure projects, and enable banks to ensure credit support to farmers and rural entrepreneurs in the project areas. 

Banks could finance infrastructure projects like godowns, cold storage, minor irrigation, bulk milk coolers, refrigerated vans, food and agro-processing units etc., to producers’ organizations, Farmers Clubs, Farmers Club Federations, milk producing societies, and SHGs/ SHG Federations.  These could be profitable business opportunities for banks, because financing SHGs/ producers’ organizations/ Farmers Club federations, instead of individuals, reduces transaction costs. Further, group dynamics promotes sound financial management and also enables better management of assets created out of institutional credit.

Conclusion

            The Indian economy is critically dependent on the agriculture sector. But growth in terms of production and productivity has remained stagnant. Reforms in the agriculture sector have lagged behind the rest of the economy. However, several policy initiatives in the form of trade liberalisation, investment in capital formation and rural infrastructure, promotion of agricultural research, modernisation of farm practices, ushering in of an evergreen revolution, investment in irrigation and watershed development, environmental protection, market reforms (including amendment of APMC Act by states), futures trading in commodity markets, organised retail, financial inclusion, agriculture insurance, and promotion of food and nutrition security, through the convergence of the efforts of all stakeholders, and a participatory approach, could raise the growth trajectory of Indian agriculture. This could ensure the achievement of sustainable agriculture development.

(Views expressed by the author are personal)