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By Rashme Sehgal
Dr M S Swaminathan, the father of the Green Revolution, is determined to put agriculture centre stage in India's economy. With 600 million people employed in agriculture, he sees it as being the single largest private enterprise in the country
 Are you satisfied with the budgetary outlays that have been made in the field of agriculture?
The budget has talked about several major initiatives in agriculture. These include the doubling of farmer credit, improving water-harnessing techniques, giving value addition by introducing agro-processing, carrying out market reforms and improving regional imbalances.
The whole question of regional imbalances needs to be addressed, especially regarding the states of J&K, the northeast and Uttaranchal, which have been neglected all these years. We need to put a delivery system in place to ensure that changes are implemented on the ground.
How exactly do you see this happening on the ground?
We need to change our mindset, which has remained the same from colonial times. Agriculture is the backbone of our food security. It also provides jobs and incomes for 70% of our population. It has a multi-dimensional role that needs to be understood. Farming is our 10,000-year-old private sector industry, which goes back to the days of Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Our planners must not forget that.
There is the perception that it is industry not agriculture that creates jobs? This is another misconception. Industry today is leading to jobless growth. Job-led growth can only come from agriculture. I use the word agriculture in its wider context, including animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry and agro-processing. But at the same time we need to understand that 40% of rural people have no land. Now if we depress prices by getting food from outside, what will happen?
Most of our farmers today say agriculture is no longer profitable because input costs are high but output costs have become low and productivity is also low. The bottom line of all our development work is to ensure that these people get jobs.
What do you feel about the fact that India has been unable to eradicate hunger?
The challenge is to remove hunger. That is why I keep saying we no longer have famine but we have endemic hunger hotspots where farmer suicides have become a recurring feature. These include Punjab, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. I believe scientists and extension workers need to go to these places and provide their professional services. They need to understand why farmers are getting low yields, why crop failures are taking place and also study the whole pest control issue. It’s these very pesticides that farmers drink to commit suicide.
To go back to your question, we have this paradox today of ‘grain mountains and hungry millions’. The biggest challenge is to improve productivity. The smaller the farm, the greater the need for marketable surplus to get cash income. They need more skilled employment because their children are not going to do all the drudgery that is associated with farming. Farmers today are in great distress. The Neros of India need to stop fiddling while Rome burns.
You have been quoted as saying you are against the giving of free power to farmers?
When there is a distress situation, the farmers must be provided with life-saving support whether in the form of water or power. The support being given to our farmers is minuscule in comparison to what farmers in the West are receiving. The US is spending one billion dollars per day on supporting 10 million farmers. They categorise this under the livelihoods security box. They do not call this a subsidy, but life-saving support. The WTO also uses this terminology.
We need to change our terminology. In the West, 98% of the population supports farmers who comprise 2% of the population. Their farming is dependent on three pillars -- it is capital-intensive, subsidy-intensive and technology-driven. Our farmers have neither capital nor technology. Our industrialists receive crores worth of subsidies but we grudge giving 70% of our population any kind of support. This smacks of an urban bias that goes back to colonial times.
Are you saying that we have been at a disadvantage during the recent WTO negotiations?
The Americans have prepared the script and they want others to toe the line. We need to be more proactive. My understanding is that the Americans do not hesitate to buy out other countries as they have attempted to do so in the past.
I think an extremely positive step forward has been that India, China and Brazil have come together to take a joint stand. With the joining of hands of these three significant nations, they are finding it difficult to bypass us. We definitely need to press forward to reduce the import of food commodities.
Now that you have become the chairman of the National Commission for Farmers, can we say that you will be ushering in another Green Revolution in agriculture?
A Green Revolution implies improvements in production. Green is the colour of chlorophyll. We are all living as guests of green plants because we cannot survive without these plants. The earlier revolution saw a major increase in production. In 1947, we were producing six million tonnes; today we are producing 80 million tonnes and more. On the whole, I can say that food production has kept pace with population growth. But today, the major growth will be in ensuring that farmers produce more so that they can export more. And once exports rise, they will start getting a bigger cash income.
You have stressed the need for farmers to diversify into growing different crops?
We are presently importing Rs 10,000 crores worth of edible oils. Farmers need to step up the growing of oilseeds so we can become self-sufficient in this area.
Dry farming areas also need to grow cash crops. In Madhya Pradesh, I have been stressing that farmers grow soyabean. They did this and their local economy has received a major boost.
Farmers need to grow more maize for poultry, concentrate on animal husbandry and also rotate their wheat crop. Grow wheat for two years and then barsi for one year in order to allow the nitrogen content in the soil to regenerate.
We need to develop a long-term stake in agriculture. This will pay enormous dividends. We also need to introduce easy insurance schemes that farmers can avail of. Farmers need weather, poultry and crop insurance. Look at this year, for example. The paddy seed grown by farmers in the Punjab has wilted because of lack of rain. They will require money to buy more seeds. That must be made available to them. Marketing is the best fertiliser for the farmer. Once the infrastructure is in place, we can definitely usher in another Green Revolution.
(Rashme Sehgal is an independent writer and journalist based in New Delhi)
InfoChange News & Features, July 2004 |
