BackThe role of state policy in our acute smog crisis
India’s over-production of rice and concentrated smoke from stubble fires can both be traced partly to policies of state-directed farming. This lends urgency to market-oriented reforms
PremiumIndia’s apex court had sharp words of reproach on Wednesday for how Delhi’s air was being discussed on airwaves, especially the role of farm stubble set aflame every year around this time. In the haze of all the blame sharing for pollution that envelops the crisis, the role crying out for both clarity and attention is that of state policy. Dense clusters of post-harvest fires in our northern rice belt at this point on the calendar can partly be traced to a crop timetable set by Punjab in 2009, aimed at conserving groundwater by getting paddy to guzzle as much monsoon rain as possible. This pushes all sowing into a tight common band, causing a scramble later to harvest and clear the fields for winter crops. While the mechanical harvesters now in wide use across the region are faster than manual labour, they leave a residue of straw that many cash-strapped farmers would rather burn—and be done with it swiftly—than pay for eco-friendly but expensive field-clearance options. Incentive plans to cheapen the latter have achieved little so far. Our big misfortune is that this compressed cycle yields plumes of smoke just as wind patterns shift, casting a regional shroud of smog that drifts eastwards. Ending crop-cycle regulation would involve a tricky trade-off, given the risk of a water crisis. This cannot be said of our main apparatus for state-directed agriculture, however, which plays a role too.
As part of our ‘mixed economy’ after independence, we did not opt for collective farming but adopted a system of mass procurement for the sake of food security. One legacy of this is frequent gluts of rice that must get picked up by the government at assured prices. In, say, a market setting, weak demand for foodgrain would weaken its price and act as a signal for farmers to cultivate less of it, and vice-versa, helping output reach an optimal level. Analysts reckon that a rice-supply reduction of about a quarter by the region would save water and offer smog relief. It may also suffice to satisfy demand. Farms could diversify into pulses, oilseeds or other crops that we’re actually short of; perhaps our dependence on imports of edible oils would drop. Price signals, however, are rendered ineffective by a state mop-up of harvests via a system that props up farm incomes, which, like ‘sticky wages’, go up but not down. With paddy both remunerative and relatively risk-free, farmers have no incentive to use their land for other crops, never mind if state granaries are overstuffed with rice.
Resolving this structural ailment requires market reforms in our farm sector that would let an interaction of demand and supply guide a larger share of farming efforts and thereby deliver better outcomes. Unfortunately, the Centre’s hasty legislative attempt to open up this sector to private buyers and supply contracts might have bungled our chance of a cooperative response from affected farmers. Should guaranteed state purchases taper off, many fear, they would potentially be exposed to exploitation by a cartel of private buyers. This has bred distrust among them. And talks remain stalled. Perhaps a plan for a gradual shift towards a market system accompanied by strong antitrust provisions designed to shield cultivator interests would allay their anxiety. The state could play chief procurer until a robust market for their produce takes shape, after which it should offer a fallback cushion mandated by law. Less production of paddy will not clear up Delhi’s air, as its role is only fractional. But we need reforms anyway.
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