THE FOOD MINISTER FULMINATES-ANY TAKERS?

It is not for nothing that junior politicians are chosen as Ministers for portfolios connected with food. Right from its inception the Minister of Food Processing Industry has always been light weight politicians, largely for ornamental purpose. It was only recently the position was elevated to the cabinet level and this symbolism does not seem to have made any difference if the ministry's "activities and achievements" are critically audited. In the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, a heavy weight personality has been put in charge as a cabinet minister but he has very little time or inclination to manage the portfolio and do justice to this important area. Here again a junior minister has been allotted the food portfolio and this minister with his present stature even finds it difficult to meet a chief minister, that too from the alliance! He has been given the responsibility to canvas for the "illogical" food security bill now under consideration of the Parliament. Hear what he has to say about the "importance" and logic of this bill.

"We procure 30 per cent of the food grains we produce. In 2009-10, our total food grain production was 169 million tonnes and we procured 54.8 million tonnes, that is, we procured 32 per cent. The new poverty line will be determined on the basis of 2011 census, which is currently on. We need about 61 million tonnes as per the present PDS system. If the (food security) bill is enacted, we need 1 million tonnes more to provide 7 kg per person per month for priority sector and 3 kg per person per month for general category. At present, the subsidy bill is Rs 63,000 crore. The PDS provides ration on the basis of the 2000 census. If the new bill comes into effect, the subsidy bill will go up to Rs 1.11 lakh crore. If ration is provided on the basis of the present PDS system, it will be Rs 1.09 lakh crore. The difference is only Rs 2,000 crore on account of the food security bill as ration will have to be provided as per the existing PDS system. To afford an additional burden of Rs 2,000 crore is not an issue. Yes, it is important to plug in the leakages. We've started modernising PDS in the states. Out of 20 crore ration cards, we have weeded out duplicate cards and reduced them to 18 crore. That is 10 per cent. It will further come down as we believe that 20 to 30 per cent of the cards are bogus. It has to come down. Moreover, there is also loss of food grains due to damages in storage and transportation. But, that loss has come down from 2.5 per cent in 2008 to 0.5 per cent. Modernisation of PDS and introduction of Aadhar (UID) cards can virtually eliminate bogus cards, which means savings of 20-30 per cent in subsidy".

It is a tragedy of highest denomination that public money is squandered under some or the other populist schemes primarily to "catch" votes for the ruling parties and nothing exemplifies this madness more than the present food security bill. While the PDS system as it exists to day is in shambles, more food is sought to be pushed through this "pipe" with "gaping holes" obviously for leakage! Also being suggested is to give cash in the hands of families for buying food grains, in stead of depending on the PDS and there cannot be a better criminal scheme than this to siphon of public money "cleanly and neatly"! The misuse of the words food security is all the more evident when government is focusing only on grains with no consideration for really protective foods like legumes, fruits and vegetables which are beyond the reach of millions of poor and middle class families. The incoherent ramblings by this minister do not make sense to any one with a reasonable I.Q!

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

CAN POLITICIANS BE SENSITIVE TO FOOD SCIENCE?

It is rare for any politician to think or talk about food research, let alone take some concrete action to push for meaningful scientific endeavor in food area. Look at the situation in India where no politician seems to be so much concerned about food except probably eating it! Occasionally they talk about "aam admi" and make promises ad libitum to remove hunger and poverty without really meaning and the series of scams one hears about recently should be seen in this context. All they are interested is in improving the financial fortunes of themselves and their kins by any means. It is in this context one has to see the pronouncement by a British MP regarding the importance and relevance of research in food and agriculture to the economy of that country.

"George Freeman MP, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science & Technology has visited crop research centre NIAB on Huntingdon Road to stress the potential of the region for agricultural research and the life sciences sector, calling for a food innovation centre to be set up. He said his visit was part of a drive to unlock the East of England's significant strength in the sectors: "By linking Norfolk's traditional strength in agriculture and food sciences with institutions in Cambridge and specifically NIAB we can unlock lots of new opportunities in this area." He added: "The recent Foresight report into food security identified a clear need to support and encourage our agricultural research and food sectors. "Producing more agricultural outputs with fewer inputs is one of the biggest challenges facing us in the 21^stcentury, and, through world-leading independent crop research centres such as NIAB, Britain is well-placed to play a key role in addressing that challenge and the economic benefits this will entail." But, he said, much of the UK's life sciences research needed closer co-ordination to get quick results in the ground: "The urgency of the food security challenge, and the long-term nature of the research involved, are such that we need to act now. That's why I am encouraging those in the industry and research community to explore setting up a specific technology innovation centre for the food and agricultural sciences in the UK to bring together our leading scientists. "With leadership and collaboration, our food sciences industry can be a major driver of economic growth over the next decade and East Anglia is extremely well placed to benefit from this."

The depth of his understanding about the subject is remarkable and no wonder he is heading the S & T parliamentary group vested with the responsibility of foreseeing the needs of the future in some of the areas of science and technology. While most political bosses talk about immediate future this MP had the vision to see far ahead and identify areas of critical importance that require investment now. Fragmented research is the order of the day and there is very little coordination amongst researchers leading to duplication of efforts and dilution of the likely impact. In India also research efforts are scattered with no link to the end user resulting in enormous waste of resources. Unless the scientists and technologists are brought under one umbrella and research programs are conceived and executed in close liaison with the industry the existing moribund situation will continue for ages.

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

SINGING THE CHINA SONG-WILL IT SOLVE INDIA'S FOOD PROBLEMS?

It is the current trend for politicians in India to eulogize China because of its economic achievements and exhort the country to emulate them in practically every realm of economic activity. The Exhortation becomes shriller after a visit is made to China on government expenses. The recent visit to China by a large group of farmers led by some politicians and bureaucrats in Karnataka was also supposed to be to "expose" them to Chinese feats in agriculture. It is another matter that most of the time they spent there was used up for sight seeing! In a repeat of the same "jaunt" politics, a junior minister "handling" food in the federal government, went to China recently accompanied by some bureaucrats to study the food production with the express purpose of benefiting from their new knowledge of Chinese agriculture. The result is same, more exhortation to country men to emulate Chinese!.

"Minister of state for agriculture K V Thomas has already been to China with a team and has submitted a report favouring adoption of the model followed in that country. Presenting the Chinese success story, Asia International Food Policy Research Institute director Ashok Gulati, who had accompanied Thomas during the China trip, pointed out that use of hybrid and biologically modified seeds had allowed China to achieve a per hectare yield of 6.6 tonne against 3.3 tonne in India". "China has set a yield target of 13.5 tonne per hectare through intensive use of hybrid and GM seeds. At present, hybrids comprise 63% of seeds used in China against only 3% in India. If we don't adopt the Chinese model, we will not be able to meet the demand. But there is a need to match political will with commitment," Gulati said. "China had started extensive research on hybrid seeds between 1964 and 1979 following a famine between 1958 and 1961 that claimed 38 million lives. "We need a father figure like Yuan Longping who drove the hybrid revolution in China, coupled with institutional innovation, reward and recognition," he added. But both Gulati and Pawar did not explain how India would control the price of hybrid seeds that China effectively does despite the presence of nearly 3,000 private sector seed companies. Also, unlike amalgamation of farmlands and setting up of cooperatives that allow use of mechanised farming in China, farmland in the eastern India is extremely fragmented".

The uncomfortable questions posed by some incisive journalists probably may not be of any concern to such globe trotting politicians and bureaucrats as they are immune to "inconvenient" realities. Is it not a shame for a country like India which ushered in the Green Revolution earlier to "cringe" in the first decade of this century that Chinese have better yielding hybrid seeds that produce 100% more grains in the field than the ones currently available to Indian farmers? The tragedy is that some of the scientists involved in the Green Revolution have become political "philosophers" with no clue or say on the food policy of the country. The current fragmented land holding pattern and unreliable seed supply market do not lend themselves to any dramatic improvements in productivity in the foreseeable future. Till then Indian policy makers can only "salivate" at the achievements of Chinese farmers.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com