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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE | Monday, November 19, 2001, Chandigarh, India |
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Participatory
management of degraded lands Diversified
farm activity a serious business |
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NATIONAL
AGRICULTURAL POLICY The first-ever National Agricultural Policy evolved by the BJP-led NDA government aims at making India self-sufficient in foodgrains in the next one decade. It hopes to achieve a target of 400 million tonnes of foodgrains with an average annual growth rate of 4 per cent. The policy suggests the following specific proposals to achieve these targets removal of controls in agriculture, upgradation of technology to accelerate productivity and facilitating active participation of the private sector. In the wake of arguments and criticism from several states, the BJP President, Mr Jana Krishnamurthi, had set up a seven-member committee headed by Mr Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to examine and suggest specific policy measures to effectively implement the policy. The committee report, presented to the BJP national executive in Amritsar earlier this month, was approved. The report recommends 23 specific measures. Some are routine, some already known. But it does provide an insight into the BJP thinking on the agriculture sector and farmers' problems and requirements. The main problem is a paradox stockpile of 60 million tonnes of foodgrains and 30 crore poor people unfed, under-nourished and unable to buy two square meals. The second problem is wheat, paddy and sugarcane being produced continuously more than the demand, while edible oils and pulses are being imported regularly at a very high price in terms of foreign exchange. The report says need is for ''rationalisation of the buffer stock. It should be kept in reserve for use in times of scarcity and famine. It pegs this stock at 30 million tonnes. Ideal would be 20 million tonnes with the new stock being added with the new crop coming in and the old stock disposed of. And why not use foodgrain stock for ''mutual exchange'' with crisis-ridden countries in time of scarcity at the international level? On remunerative or the minimum support price, the report stresses that it should be such in respect of oilseeds, pulses and coarse grains as to remunerate farmers habitually growing wheat and paddy. To do so, impose the minimum rates of import duty on these commodities within the World Trade Organisation regime in order to stop their imports. Also discontinue any type of subsidies and concessions to vegetable oil mills or any government or private agencies. Remove all restrictions on the sugar industry. India is burdened with 10 million tonnes of sugar after meeting all requirements. Value addition is limited and process of modernisation and diversification has failed. It is possible to produce 27 valuable chemicals from molasses by introducing the update technology. It is an irony that while there exist no controls on import of Vodka and wine products, processing from potatoes, grapes, molasses, coarse grains and other agricultural products is still licensed. All these restrictions should go. Even the out-dated ''milk products order'' must be scrapped to free the Indian dairy and milk processing from shackles. There should be free movement of all foodgrains and agricultural commodities. It dis-favours continuation of restrictions on granting loans against agricultural commodities, their storage and processing and future trading. Amend the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, to achieve the objectives of allowing free trade. The report mentions about the harmful side effects of excessive use of chemicals fertilisers to plant protection so very essential when need was to have high production to meet food scarcity in mid-sixties. That meant intensive irrigation. Time has now changed. Soil has lost fertility. There is toxicity. Ecology and environment are threatened with pollution. Out of 23 micro-nutrients, 16 elements, including iron, zinc, manganese, sulphur, ferrone, nitrogen, phosphate and potash, are lacking in the soil. Even quality of fertilisers is poor. The result is that to obtain 1 kg of produce quantity of fertiliser required now is up by two and a half to three times against earlier days. A group of scientists at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research revealed in 1998 that the Indian farmers spent Rs 1,72,000 crore annually on three agricultural inputs alone: chemical fertilisers, pesticides and seeds. This resulted in rise in cost of production. While production increased, there was no corresponding increase in agricultural out puts-proportionate to inputs. And, of course, farmers income also did not increase. Therefore, it was time to revert to compost, farmyard manure, making use of agricultural wastes, village garbage and city sullage. Promotion of wormi-culture can give good results. Need was for financial and institutional frame-work and promoting food processing industry. The report wants the minimum support price (MSP) to take care of both, the producer and the consumer. This means, striking a scientific balance rather than keeping MSP unrealistically high because it curtailed the government's supporting role since it could not extend to the consumers due to high issue price. The report recommends removal of export restrictions, promoting agro-based industry and cultivation of medicinal plants, protection of indigenous cattle and higher investment in water management. For the latter, it demands an allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore under a national plan for irrigation, rainwater collection and water management in the next Five-year Plan. Among other things, it suggests diversification of agriculture, promoting horticulture, leasing land and consolidating small holdings as a prerequisite for economies of agricultural operations. It recommends leasing of government waste land to the private sector for agricultural research and development, protection of agriculture under the WTO and a broad-based consultative process by including the Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce, Food Science, Technology and Finance. It favours an ''integrated'' system
of agriculture to reduce cost of production and compensate farmers. It
will protect environment and take care of farm residues.
Rationalisation of fertiliser subsidies and development of
agricultural infrastructure, including setting up of agricultural
export zones, has also been suggested. |
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Participatory
management of degraded lands Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh has rich biodiversity but tree components are depleting fast, probably owing to population pressure and developmental reasons. The landslides, erosion etc. are very common because of loose soil strata in most of the areas. The degradations are severe on slopes with least vegetative cover. All the forest types falling in the district are losing their identity in microclimatic preview and successional existence. The demand for wood is increasing and there is need to rejuvenate the forest cover by rehabilitation means. Exposed sites are otherwise facing degradation problems. Tree farming is necessary in the present context which is well perceived by the joint forest management programme. For the rehabilitation of the degraded lands, may be forests or community lands or so, the answer is suitable and sequential vegetative cover to set in the soil microbial growth and micro-climatic development. There participatory forest management is the need of the hour to achieve better survival of the plantations; the success of any plantation programme at large is measured by the technical capabilities of the grass-roots level workers. Therefore, orientation and refresher courses for grass roots-level officials like forest guards are essential. Keeping this in view, the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Chamba, is laying more thrust on the training programmes on "participatory management of degraded land" which are attended by officials of the government departments concerned. According to Dr C.D. Thapa, scientist in charge of the KVK, in these training programmes, the participants are taught both technical and social aspects for the successful implementation of participatory approach for the fulfilment of rural needs like firewood, timber, fodder, grasses, fruits, cash crops and seeds. Reliable success stories on joint forest management, communication skill for awareness generation among rural masses and the need for assessment through participatory rural appraisal are also discussed. The participants are also taken to the nearby village sites for practical exercises on participatory rural appraisal and micro planning by collecting information on priorities, needs, species choice, developmental forums and suitability of available resources. Dr Thapa emphasises the need to
organise more such training courses on participatory management of
degraded land so as to train a majority of the fields staff and also
the rural farmers to make this forestry extension programme a success.
But, in fact, the KVK, Chamba, is crying out for more funds to
organise these programmes regularly. |
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Diversified
farm activity a serious business While it has taken us years to learn from the stress caused by accumulated stocks of foodgrains where a good part is in a rotten state and unfit for human consumption, thanks to lack of storage facilities and choked marketing conditions, we are now gradually realising the benefits of diversified cultivation, though it is yet to become functional. Apart from storage blues, long honeymooning with such a limited crop pattern where it is now paddy that dominates the earlier diversified kharif scenario, has become the source of much worry. Excessively water hungry, its excessive cultivation in otherwise poor rain blessed areas has resulted in excessive drawing of underground water resulting in waterlogging in some areas, high disturbances of underground watertables in others. In fact such a situation has resulted in considerable environment damage. Waterlogged areas have also been inaccessible to farmers and thus added to their sufferings and losses where several farming under heavy debt have been forced to take the extreme step when cases of suicides have occurred. On the other hand, areas where underground water balance has been disturbed due to excessive discharge of water and its slow replenishment are turning into danger spots with high contamination of underground water due to liberal use of chemicals which is posing danger to both human beings as well as animals. The misery does not end here. Considerable post-paddy harvesting period now witnesses low clouds of smog hanging allround the rural areas. Its harmful consequences affect children and old people and those who suffer from respiration problems. This smog results from reckless burning of leftovers in the paddy fields which have to be soon made ready for the sowing of wheat crop. In fact with fields yet wet their operations result in fast multiplication of mosquitoes encouraging spread of malaria in surrounding areas. Lately both Punjab and Haryana have witnesses unusual rise in malarial cases. Thus, it is the excessive cultivation if paddy on soils, otherwise not conducive to such cultivation which lately has turned out to be a big villain disturbing the environment balance as well as sending adverse signals to the health of rural areas. A serious cost benefit exercise of economic gains as against social fallouts from paddy cultivation would without hesitation suggest immediate slow down of this mad race, which though has brought good income to farmers who failed to find alternative equally paying crops. But then we have reached a situation where there is no alternative to putting firm foot against further growth of paddy cultivation and stop all those experiments which promise raising two short crops of paddy in place of one. This would help farmers raise three crops a year, but then at what cost? Already the existing two-crop pattern is proving harmful. Thus such madness should not be encouraged further. Rather we should seriously concentrate on developing both early maturing as well as high-yielding varieties of alternative environment friendly and less water demanding crops which in fact had figured prominently before high paddy cultivation took over the farmers. Here our farm universities where both Punjab Agricultural University and Haryana Agricultural University have earned global recognition for their good work done in promoting green revolution. Now they should seriously get down in extending their research capability to work out the same magic in alternative crops like oilseed, pulses, sugarcane, cotton, maize, fodder and others which suit the soil and environment of this area. A similar revolution in these areas can certainly figure out from their persistent efforts. It is heartening that PAU is already on the job. It has prepared meticulous plan for slashing down area under paddy cultivation to 1.6 million hectares form its present level of 2.6 million hectares. It works to reducing to 60 per cent from its current level and they think that it can be achieved in two to three years. Even though it is an ambitious plan, particularly considering the past experience, it should nonetheless be taken seriously by the government for only by this aggressive policy approach we can save the current situation from worsening further. The government should provide special incentive for encouraging research into these areas which should gradually fill our farm operations to restore the health of rural areas which, as observed earlier, are under high pressure. Fruits, vegetables, poultry and dairy farming and even floriculture and fishery need to be taken with full vigour and they hold good promise. Here the state would have to create appropriate infrastructure which links these states with global markets where there are at present growing under the WTO. See if a country like China, which is a late entrant in to the WTO can confidently hope to sell its diversified farm products in the global markets at competitive prices, it could be done equally by our fast growing states. There is also good scope for
agro-processing industries. In fact green states should take extra
interest in these areas which they would be high paying as well. We
have to identify products which sell well or have high potential and
concentrate on these. Already few global agro-processing firms are
functioning here and more would be definitely interested if we can
assure good infrastructure, talent, and regular supplies of raw
materials and other inputs. Equally scientifically developed and
managed cooperatives of small farmers would bring them higher and
assured income than what they are able to find currently. In fact it
is time when we moved to more value adding areas from the current
stereotyped crops which also do not help much our small farmers. |
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Ornamentals Annuals: Transplanting of the nursery of winter flowers can be continued in this month also. To use the winter season annuals in beds and for making a herbicious border, plant dwarf seasonals in the front row, medium-sized in the centre and taller ones at the back side. Similarly for flower colour combinations grow contrast annuals side by side (e.g. red and blue) of harmonious (e.g. red and pink) and so on. For vast open area, use one type and one colour of annual in each bed to have mass effect. Sweet peas, planted in October, may need support of sarkanda for further upward growth. Cannas must be in their full bloom. Old stems that have flowered should be cut back to ground level. Lawns: The effect of cold night may be visible on lawns and their green lustre will start fading and require occasional mowing and watering regularly. Chrysanthemum: Having considerable growth and flowering phase pots can be arranged in rows or in groups at suitable vantage positions in and around the houses or some other building for decoration. The faded out flowers should be removed immediately after their flowering is over. Rose: New rose plants can also be planted in this month. This is the best time for the propagation for roses i.e. of budding and for plantation of cuttings of root stock (desi rose). Water and hoeing of already planted/established roses may be carried out regularly. Bulbous plants: Plantation of bulbs of gladiolus, narcissus, hyacinth can be continued in this month also. Rooted cuttings of double dahlia may be planted in pots or in the beds. Horticultural operations The young trees as well as the newly planted fruit trees should be covered with thatches or kullies made of sarkanda or farmwaste materials. The south-west side should be left open to allow sufficient sunlight. This would be the appropriate time for sowing of rabi intercrops like gram, peas and senji to utilise the vacant space in the young plantations. If there has not been a very dry spell, it is advisable to withhold the irrigation right now to the deciduous fruits such as pear, peach, plum and grapes so that the trees enter dormancy and become sufficiently hardened to withstand cool weather. The ber trees, which carry fruit load from October to February should be provided irrigation after every three to four weeks. It is the right time to plan planting to deciduous plants in January. Harvesting of early variety of sweet orange like mosambi will commence towards the end of this month. While harvesting the stalk should be cut close to the fruit with a secateur or special type of clippers. Powdery mildew of ber may spread and lead to premature fruit drop. The incidence of the disease may be reduced by spraying the ber plantation with karathane 40 EC @ 50-80 ml/100 litres of water. Leaf spot of ber also appear as blackish mouldy patches on underside of the leaves. Spray ber plants thoroughly with Bordeaux mixture 2:2:250 or with 0.3 per cent copper oxychloride. Progressive Farming, PAU |
