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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE | Monday, April 9, 2001, Chandigarh, India |
Finance rural road schemes through food stocks V.S. Mahajan The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, has on his birthday made an announcement to gift the nation a network of rural roads linking total villages at a whooping cost of around Rs 60,000 crore. This indeed has been a long overdue gift for all these years rural areas have lacked modern means of communication, thus delaying their entry into the national mainstream as well as slowed down their development process. Farmers’ role in irrigation management Agriculture in a state of neglect
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Finance rural road schemes through food stocks The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, has on his birthday made an announcement to gift the nation a network of rural roads linking total villages at a whooping cost of around Rs 60,000 crore. This indeed has been a long overdue gift for all these years rural areas have lacked modern means of communication, thus delaying their entry into the national mainstream as well as slowed down their development process. Simultaneously, another announcement has also been made of providing heavily subsidised food to the very poor section of the rural population which has been estimated at around five crores (or one crore families) constructing around 5 per cent of the total population. Under this scheme called
Anydaya Anna Yojana, 25 kg of foodgrains per month would be provided to each of these one crore families at Rs 2 kg wheat and Rs 3 per kg rice. This works out to a subsidy of Rs 2,500 crore annually. It may be added that the second tier of population which also falls under the poverty line but is financially better off compared to the above third tier, also gets subsidised food where wheat is sold at Rs 4.15 per kg and rice at Rs 5.15 kg. Thus, the third tier of population would get foodgrains at little less than half the price charged for the second tier. Thus, the creation of another tier of population which would be provided foodgrain at the lowest price leads to some complicated arithmetic of distribution. It is not clear how the distribution system would be adopted to meet the needs of these people. In every probability it appears that these people would also be allotted their quota of foodgrains from the same fair price shops under public distribution system as done in the case of second tier of population, though it has been widely known that even the functioning of the existing system has been open to several abuses. Even it has been quite difficult to identify the poor families under the system and thus it is feared that the actual benefit has been cornered by those members who otherwise didn’t qualify under the system. With the background when we still not in a position to those ration cards to the proper beneficiaries under the earlier system — this is also due to lack of any foolproof system to identify the poor where even panchayat have failed to be of much help, it is not quite clear how we are going to identify the third tier of beneficiaries under the
Anydaya Anna Yojana. One learns that already the Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs has written to the authorities concerned in different states for the identification of such people. How far they would succeed is yet too early to predict. But it certainly appears that we are again going to land ourselves in another ineffective exercise which would again end in a questionable distribution system where a large number of targeted families are going to be ignored and thus defeat the purpose of this
Yojana. Another pertinent question to be posed is whether our economy can afford to bear such a heavy bill of this subsidy when already the government is under high pressure as a result of several other subsidies it has to support, thus raising the country’s fiscal deficit. We have to look to alternative way of helping these very poor people and at the same time avoid such a heavy subsidy. Here, in fact it is the very creation of rural assets on such a large scale, like rural roads involving a cost of Rs 60,000 crore, which in itself has the built-in capacity of absorbing such section of population. That is, when we embark of nationwide programme of road building which would link several thousands of villages we are certainly going to recruit a large labour force for various tasks relating to this programme. Here these people are going to be the maximum beneficiaries and thus with wages they earn they would be able to buy foodgrains under the current distribution system at the same price as they pay now and which in future is planned to be restricted to members of second tier beneficiaries. Thus with the initiation of road building programme on such a large scale there would be no need for creating a new tier of beneficiaries which, as noticed earlier, would end on creating new problems. The most effective approach to help the rural poor is the creation of sustainable employment avenues through the creation of large-scale public assets where, besides road, we need irrigation facilities, drinking water supply, sanitation, health care, power and allied programmes for the meaningful take-off of rural areas where during the past 50 years of planning we have ignored such vital programme for nearly two-thirds of our people and have been by and large far more concerned with urban-based programmes. It is time that our priority undergoes a structural change and the maximum attention now onwards in devoted to the development of rural areas which also fortunately is the thinking of the present government. However, it should adopt more thinking of the present government. However, it should adopt more realistic approach and not be guided by narrow thinking. Here it would be pertinent to mention that looking at the burgeoning stocks some top functionaries in the government have also come out with the suggestion that some percentage of these stocks should be distributed free to the deserving families. This is totally absurd thinking for anything that is offered free would only make these beneficiaries to look always to free doles from
the government and shirk from their labour. We should never encourage such a feeling, instead think in terms of providing gainful employment so that they earn their foodgrains. It must also be remembered that people don’t live on foodgrains alone though it is their vital items of
survival, they need several other essential items of daily needs as well for leading a minimum comfortable life. Here it is only through their own earnings that they would be is a position to buy them. Also the system of creation of a large number of jobs in rural areas would in itself lead to multiplication of several other activities in the private sector in particular and this in due course would be instrumental in creating several fresh jobs. Thus instead of bothering for the creation of another category of the poor, the government should accelerate the programme of road building as well as streamline the functioning of food distribution system where an adequate number of fair price shops are opened even in remote areas and are well managed and stocked with sufficient quantity of foodgrains as well as other essential items of daily use which should now be easily accessible to the very poor section of society. In fact hitherto we have hardly thought of programme of rural asset creation on such a gigantic scale though it is quite old development prescription aired by economists like Arthur Lewis and Ragnar Nurkse and others as far back as in 1950s and 1960s. Unfortunately we have been so heavily involved all these years in our urban programmes that we have failed to listen to their advice. It is time that we get down wholeheartedly to this rural asset creation programme which is far, far more significant than all our talk of globalisation. In fact rural development itself can’t occur in the absence of good nationwide network of basic facilities. |
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Farmers’ role in irrigation management Recently an experiment was carried out by the district administration, and not the Irrigation Department, to improve the working of the command areas of the Abohar branch which irrigates vast tracts of the south-western districts of Punjab. To overcome the shortages experienced at the tail-end of the system, the system has been desilted and de-weeded by the farmers through their collective efforts. The work carried out was worth Rs 28 lakh. The above experiment needs to be replicated elsewhere in Punjab and it needs to be further improved and made pucca by providing a legal and financial backing. In this regard a successful model of Pakistan’s Punjab is discussed below. Setting up of farmers’ organisations: The farmers’ organisations have been successfully tested in the Hakra 4-R distributary system of the irrigation system of Pakistan’s Punjab. Through the above mode, the farmers have taken over the responsibility of delivering water from the distributary level to the farmers’ fields through tertiary canals. The organisation set up has legal powers to assess and collect water fees, fix the delivery schedule of water to all fields in the area, enforce local warabandi (water allocation) rules and settle disputes between the farmers. Most significantly, if can impose fines and take legal action against water thieves who use more than their agreed share of irrigation water and those who default on payment. The Hakra 4-R farmers organisation was the first group of its kind to be created around 1997 with the aim and objectives of reducing the number of irrigation management institutions and assisting the newly formed Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Authority (PIDA) which replaced the traditional Irrigation Department, and to transfer the responsibility for local water distribution, including the management, maintenance and revenue collection. Since then more than 2,700 such organisations have been set up. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) of Sri Lanka has participated in setting up the new model and its successful running for the initial period. The IWMI helped not only in organising the local level farmers’ meetings but also in nominating the best candidate for the post of president of the organisation. The criterion for the best person for the post of president was that the person should be the most respected one and not the biggest or the most politically connected farmer of the village. The most precarious period in the experiment was prior to enactment of legal measures for operation of farmers’ organisations. The IWMI and the Law Faculty of Panjab University (Lahore) worked hard to evolve a set of legal enactments which have been tested for years and found appropriate. The above experiment proved that you can create farmers’ organisations through an excellent process, but that without a clear set rules and proper support, reforms will not work in the long run. The model evolved ensures accountability of the PUDA above the distributary level and a sense of responsibility of ownership among the farmers. It would prevent the irrigation bureaucrats from taking shelter under the umbrella of collective responsibility for their acts of omission and commission. |
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Agriculture in a state of neglect The recent debate on “Greying of the Green Revolution” in The Tribune is a legitimate trend to set in urgency in the minds of the powers that be to react. Though the debate has been concluded nevertheless the shift of the media from news-based reporting to initiating debates on a very potential issue is a welcome drift by all means. With the absence of a strong farmers’ “lobby”, the Indian agriculture has remained in a state of neglect and no link has ever been established among the farmer, policy makers, statisticians and academicians to advocate a pragmatic agriculture policy. The Fourth Estate needs to step in as the bridge between reality and the wishful thinking of Krishi Bhavan and various state governments to analyse and propose news without a bias. As of now the “Greying of the Green Revolution” has reached a stage when the blotches have started assuming a shade greyer. The pace at which the agrarian crisis is changing colours raises a very ominous question. Will agriculture shape the destiny of India in the coming five years? There are all indications that it will. With beggared soils, small land holdings, undeveloped marketing system and weak social and political fabric, all roads lead to a collapsing economy. Ironically we have not been able to produce cheap food for our nation in 50 years and we are talking about producing quality food at a low cost to compete. Whom are we fooling? But there is no denying the fact that the WTO should be used as an opportunity to create an atmosphere where agriculture thrives and the new generation should look upon it as a career opportunity. Agriculture today is a compulsive occupation. In fact, given a choice, more than 80 per cent farmers would quit it without a second thought. It is not without reason that the boisterous Punjabi youth remains unemployed whereas Punjab has fast become a land of opportunity for people from outside states. If these factors are any indicators towards a sinking agri-economy that means that we are in big trouble because India’s strength is in its food sufficiency. Does India derive its energy from food security, indirectly meaning from its farmers? It is not without reason that the monsoons have always determined the behaviour of the national stock exchange. It is because the farmers’ purchasing power will determine the future of the so-called consumerism in India. The philosophy of the liberalised era that every person is a consumer shall hold no good if the emerging trend in agriculture is an indication of the future. There is total uncertainty over the approaching wheat season. There is an urgent need to analyse the present situation in reality rather than lock horns to gain political or intellectual supremacy. Farmers’ protests cannot be trivialised as an unreasonable act and we should not miss the opportunity of using evidence to give a deeper insight into the rural society and their threshold of tolerance. The recent potato fiasco in Jalandhar is evidence enough. Every expert, politician and academician is wanting to give direction according to his whims and fancy without being sensitive to the whole issue. The answer is in sensitising the crux and quantifying the suggestions and propositions into a clear-cut policy and understanding its ramifications in true spirit. Rather there is a dichotomy building at every stage. Dr G.S. Kalkat, Vice-Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, advocates the use of the blue box and suggests paying the farmer to keep his land fallow. He also suggests a minimum support price for oilseeds to initiate diversification since India is short in edible oil and is importing Rs 15,000 crore worth of edible oil. I have not used statistics or data because for one I do not have the resources to congregate them and secondly data have very unique character of convincing any school of thought. And, lastly, the situation is too transparent to seek help from facts and figures because the clouds of recession in the agri-economy are looming large over our heads to escape attention. |
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Farm operations for April
VEGETABLES Tomato The brinjal, capsicum, chilli, cucumber, vegetable marrow, longmelon, bottlegourd and pumpkin vegetable crops sown under forced conditions start giving harvest. Pluck fruits twice a week in the afternoon of all the crops but in the case of bottlegourd early in the morning because all these crops are pollinated by insects and human movement at flower opening and pollination time detracts the pollinators and cause serious setback to fruitsetting and yield. Irrigate these crops once a week. Onion Seed production Chilli Garlic Vegetable pests Red pumpkin beetle attack on cucurbits can be reduced by spraying 75-150 g of Sevin/Hexavin 50 WP in 50-100 litres of water per acre. Spray the muskmelon crop with Indofil M-45 @ 300 g in 100 litres of water per acre depending upon the growth stage. Start first spray in second week of April before the appearance of the disease followed by six more sprays at weekly interval. Give sprays promptly after rains. Under heavy disease situation give the third and fourth sprays of Rodomil MZ @ 500 g/acre in 200 litres of water or Aliette 80 WP @ 600 g/acre at 10 days interval followed by one more spray of Indofil M-45 @ 600 g/acre in 200 litres of water. Fruit borer attack in tomato crop can be checked by spraying 100 ml of Sumicidin 20 EC or 40 ml of Ambush 50 EC or 200 ml of Ripcord 10 EC or 160 ml of Decis 2.8 EC in 100 litre of water for one acre. Repeat at 10 days interval.
— Progressive Farming, PAU |
