INDIAN AGRICULTURE-HERE IS ANOTHER REPORT!

In the "Babu parlor" at Delhi, producing a glossy report is considered the ultimate in assessing the work of any government department or Planning Commission. Whether the claims, promises and projection are achievable or actually achieved within the time frame does not appear to be bothering any one because there are lot of stock "excuses" readily available to explain away non-performance! If all the Babu Reports during the last 50 years emanating from the stables of government departments are collected it may require enormous storage space greater than that presently available with FCI for grain storage! Here is another high sounding report from Delhi which is supposed to highlight the future strategy of the government on agriculture, food, health and other issues concerning the country. Unfortunately it does not make any sense to the common man, steeped in pessimism looking at the track record of performance of the government. Here is a take on this "interesting" report with very little substance but high on platitudes and verbosity. 

"As per the report, the thrust areas for the agriculture sector include enhancing public sector investment in research and effective transfer of technology along with institutional reforms in research set up to make it more accountable and geared towards delivery, conservation of land, water and biological resources, development of rainfed agriculture, development of minor irrigation, timely and adequate availability of inputs, support for marketing infrastructure, increasing flow of credit particularly to the small and marginal farmers. The report highlights the fall in contribution of agriculture to the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which has gone down to 13.9% (from 18% two years ago). It notes that this trend is expected in the development process of any economy. Yet, agriculture forms the backbone of development, as 52% of India's work force is still engaged in agriculture for its livelihood and is important for food security and inclusive growth. The report highlights the records achieved in the production of food grains and many other crops. Among the major steps taken in the recent years for improving crop production and productivity, the report specially highlights the contribution made by the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) towards increasing public investment in agriculture and allied sectors. National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and the National Horticulture Mission (NHM) have also emerged as the path breaking interventions which have helped in achieving record production of cereals, pulses, oil seeds, fruits, vegetables and spices during the last two years. Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India (BGREI) has been started to increase the productivity of the cropping system mainly rice, wheat, maize, pulses through promotion of innovative production technologies and agronomical practices addressing the underlying key constraints of different agro-climatic sub regions. The 'State of Indian Agriculture' report emphasises the need to bridge the yield gap in low productivity regions by technology, inputs and other interventions. Raising productivity also assumes significance in view of increasing demand for land for industrialization, urbanization, housing and infrastructure. The report takes note of the structural changes in the composition of Indian agriculture, leading to diversification into horticulture, livestock and fisheries since the 1990s. Analysing the likely high contribution of these high-value sectors, the report says that the shares of fruits & vegetables and livestock have shown an increasing trend in recent years and have been growing at much faster rates than the traditional crops sector. Given the rising share of high value commodities in the total value of agricultural output and their growth potential, this segment is expected to drive agricultural growth in the years to come. Bringing in reforms to streamline domestic markets and expanding the infrastructure and institutions to connect local markets with national and global markets, will go a long way in improving India's competitiveness and the benefits from trade liberalization. Higher investment in basic infrastructure like roads, canal waters, watersheds, check dams, etc. will attract private investment in other areas of the supply chain. Highlighting the importance of private sector investment, the report observes that the private sector responds much better and faster to the incentive structures. Hence, along with bringing in greater public investment in agriculture, there is a need for bringing in reforms in the incentive structure in agriculture".

What the common man is interested is in feeling the result of development at the ground level and unfortunately there is nothing much to show except these voluminous reports. The farmer suicides continue unabated, poverty progresses without any let up, health deterioration of the population is alarming, PDS is hijacked to line the pockets of mafias, land is being grabbed all over the country and scams have become the center of governance! It is not suggested that there is a magic wand that can find solution to the problems country is facing but to have no sensitivity to the sufferings of the citizen is unpardonable. In every walk of life the citizen is being "beaten" hollow by tyrannical policies of administration, whether local, regional, state or central government. Indians are second to none in making sacrifices as long they are shared equally by all but allowing only a few privileged and well connected people cornering all the fruits of development is nothing but criminal!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com