Kochi: What Indian agriculture needs now is a separate trade body to tackle issues of subsidies and conservation, a land use policy to protect prime agricultural land, and the promotion of a cultivation pattern that ensures income and work security for farmers, says M.S. Swaminathan, architect of the Green Revolution. Complacency over the past 15 years has led to a food crisis and farmer suicides, he says.
In an interview with Mint, the agriculture scientist and member of the Rajya Sabha says the food crisis could prove to be a great opportunity to extend agricultural operations in a big way. Edited excerpts:
Focussing effort: M.S. Swaminathan says massive infrastructure investment in the 11th Plan could make the country self-sufficient in food.
India has the highest untapped agriculture production reservoir in the world. This, coupled with the global food crisis, offers a great opportunity that we cannot afford to miss. Over the past 15 years, complacency has set in and agriculture, the country’s mainstay, lost focus. But, we appear to have realized the need to reverse this and there will be massive investment in rural infrastructure during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12), which could make India self- sufficient in food.
But there is a view that India need not invest in agriculture as it is becoming expensive, and we can instead import food to resolve a crisis whenever it occurs.
There are two factors that act against agriculture—high energy cost and climate change. A rollback of energy costs is most unlikely. In western countries, agriculture is energy-intensive but energy was cheap and crude oil was less than $1 a barrel when these nations were developing. Besides, less than 3% of their population is engaged in agriculture, so the rest can afford to subsidize them.
But, energy costs are soaring now when countries like ours are developing. In India, about 70% of the population is engaged in agriculture. Our food security must be built on home-grown food, and import is not the answer since production cost in developed countries is rising. If we invest in rural infrastructure and post-harvest technology, and look at production techniques and ways to cope with climate changes, we will be in a position to feed ourselves and others as well.
Take the case of rice. We cultivate 47 million ha, and produce 97 million tonnes, (or mt). China has only 30 million ha producing 150mt. Even if we reduce the acreage to 40 million ha and raise productivity to 5mt a hectare, we can more than double our production. We should build a bridge-the-yield gap movement. Money is available. We have Rs25,000 crore through the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (national agriculture development scheme) and another Rs5,000 crore through the national food security mission.