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Rainfed areas, constituting the major poverty geographyof the country, faced ahistorical neglect and discrimination in terms of receiving public support and
investments; Rainfed-farmer, in particular, is facing the brunt of this neglect. The
crisis is no longer an issue of supporting agriculture; with unprecedented levels of
farmers distress, it has evolved into a livelihood issue affecting millions of farmers.
At present 60 percent of Indian and 80 percent of the world agriculture is
un-irrigated. After having developed all water resources, 50 percent of agriculture
will still continue to be rainfed. In our country, 86 percent pulses, 77 percent oil seeds
and 50 percent cereals are contributed by rainfed agriculture. International trade in
oil seeds is escalating thus demands on rainfed agriculture would increase.
Public support in terms of investments, institutions, subsidies in fertilizers and other
inputs fostered the paradigm of green-revolution intensively in the well endowed
areas of the country. By its very logic, it has by-passed the major poverty stricken
rainfed areas and people dependent on them, as major part of the incentives and
investments was used by farmers who have access to irrigation.
Recognizing this historical need for restructuring the public policy, support systems
and incentives available for rainfed farming, Indian Council of Agriculture Research
(ICAR), WASSAN and CSA have jointly organized a workshop entitled New
Paradigm for Rainfed Farming Redesigning Support Systems and Incentivesat
New Delhi from 27th to 29th September, 2007.
On the basis of the scattered field experiences and research outputs across the
country, the workshop deliberated intensively to evolve a framework for establishing
appropriate public investments, support systems and incentives for revitalising
sustainable rainfed farming systems and livelihoods in rainfed areas.
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Procee
dingsofthe
NationalWor
kshop
on
NewPar
adigmfo
rRainfed
Farming
Date:
27th
-29th
September,2007
Venu
e:
IARI,NASCComp
lex,NewDelhi
Organize
dby
Supportedby
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ProceedingsoftheNationalWokrshopon
New
ParadigmforRainfedFarming
Rede
signingSupportSyste
msandIncentives
27th
-2
9thSeptember,2007
IARI,N
ASC
Complex,New
Delh
i
July2008
No.o
fCopies:1000
ForP
rivateCirculationonly
CompilationandDraft:RameshKumar
CriticalInputs:Dr.Sangh
i,Ravindraand
respectiveauthorsofvariouspresentations
Editing:RameshKumara
ndSuresh
Layo
ut:T.RaviandN.ChandraSekhar
Publishedby:
WatershedSupportServ
icesandActivitiesNetwork
12-13
-450,StreetNo.1
Tarnaka,Secunderabad-500017
Phon
es:040-27015295/6
email:[email protected]
web
:www.wassan.org
Print
edatCharithaImpressions,Hyd.Ph:27678411
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EXECUTIVESUMMARY
vii
INAUGUR
ALSESSION
Welcomeandintrodu
ctoryremarksbyDr.Na
wabAli
2
Insearchofanewparadigmforself-reliantdev
elopmentofrainfedfarm
ing-
CapitalizationonComplementaritiesbyDr.M
angalRai
3
Policyreformsatnationallevelforenhancinginclusivegrowthinrainfedareas
duringXIPlanbyProf.V.S.Vyas
4
Strategiesforenhanc
inggrowthinAgriculture
duringXIplan-
TransferringResourcestoMicrolevelistheKeybyDr.AbhijitSen
7
SPECIAL
SESSION
Sustainabledevelopm
entofrainfedareas-
Needtoredefineagra
rianrelationsbyShriB.N.Yugandhar
10
ChallengesbeforeNa
tionalRainfedAreaAuth
orityinrevitalizing
RainfedAgriculture-
ConvergenceandPrioritizationarekeyissuesbyDr.J.S.Samra
12
SESSION
II:ANALYSISOFEX
ISTINGSCENARIOINR
AINFEDAREAS
Synthesisofinnovativ
eexperiencesfordevelo
pmentofrainfedagriculture
inthecontextofeme
rgingcrisisbyDr.G.V.R
amanjaneyulu
16
AnalysisofcurrentSupportSystemsandInce
ntivesforRainfedFarmingand
NeedforaDifferentia
tedApproachbyShriA.Ravindra
19
SESSION
III:NEWPARADIGM
FORRAINFEDFARMING
Decentralizedfoodse
curityinrainfedareasinvolvingdifferenttypesof
milletsandpulsesbyShriP.V.Satheesh
26
Lowexternalinputba
sedsustainableagriculture(LEISA)
Synthesisofexperien
cesfromIndiaandabroadbyDr.ArunBalamatti
27
OverviewoffieldexperienceswithIPMandIN
MapproachesbyShriW
.R.Reddy
28
ANewParadigmforR
ainfedAgricultureforImp
rovingLivelihoods
andSustainableDevelopmentinIndiabyDr.S.P.Wani
30
Organicfarmingthrou
ghvariousinitiativesinIndia-FromImpoverishmentto
EmpowermentwithP
roductivity,Profitabilitya
ndSustainabilityforFarm
ersand
FarmingbyShriAshokBang
31
Buildingafarmersow
nedcompany(Chetna)p
roducingand
tradingfairtrade-orga
nicproductsbyShriHL
anting
33
BeyondCertifiedOrganicFarming:Anemergingparadigmfor
RainfedAgricultureb
yDr.N.K.Sanghi
35
Contents
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
SESSIONIV:CRITICALSU
PPORTSYSTEMSFOR
UPSCALING
SUCCESSFULEX
PERIENCESON6MAJ
ORTHEMESASSOCIAT
ED
WITHRAINFEDF
ARMING
Theme:A.Pestmanagementthroughn
onpesticidalmethods
Pestmanagementthroughnon-pesticidalmethods
acontinuingjourn
eybyDr.M.S.Chari
42
Analysisofexistin
gpoliciesandprogramm
esforpestmanagementinagriculture
limitationsandopportunitiesbyShriD.V.Raidu
45
Theme:B.SeedsinthehandsoftheCommunity
Communitymanagedseedbankinrainfed
areasneedfornewme
chanisms
andinfrastructuralsupportbyDr.G.V.Ram
anjaneyulu
51
Analysisofexistin
gpoliciesandprogramm
esunderseedsector
limitationsandopportunitiesbyDr.K.Tiru
pataiah
53
Theme:C.EnhancementofOrganicMa
tterinSoils
ImprovingSoilPro
ductivitythroughEnhanc
ementof
OrganicMatterin
SoilsbyDr.J.Venkates
warlu
58
EnhancingSoil-OrganicMatterinSAT-scie
ntificevidenceand
policysupportnee
dedforscale-upbyDr.O.P.Rupela
60
Theme:D.SeparatePolicyforWaterR
esourceinRainfedAreas
AnalysisofExistin
gSupportSystemsforW
aterResourceDevelopmentin
RainfedandIrriga
tedAreasbyDr.K.V.Ra
o
67
EmergingExperie
ncesonSustainableUseofWaterResourceinR
ainfedAreas:
SocialRegulationsasanApproach;FieldExperiencesbyShriSK.Anwar
70
Theme:E.Selfre
liantdevelopmentthro
ughsustainableComm
unitybasedOrganiza
tions
andreformsinm
anagementofInstitutionalCredit
SustainabledevelopmentofAgriculturethroughSHGsandtheirFed
erations
acasestudyinAn
dhraPradeshbyShriT.VijayKumar
78
InstitutionalCreditforRainfedAreasIssu
esandConcernsbyShriP.V.S.SuryaKumar
82
Theme:F.SelfreliantdevelopmentofSmallRuminantswith
ResourcePoorFamilie
s
AnalysisofExistin
gPoliciesandSchemes
forDevelopmentof
SmallRuminants
byDr.PiedySreeramulu
86
CommunityManagedDevelopmentofSma
llRuminants
RedesigningofSupportSystemsbyDr.A
.K.Joseph
89
iv
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
SESSION
-V:GROUPWORKON
SELECTEDTHEMES
95
PLENARYSESSION:PRESENTATIONSANDHIGHLIGH
TSOFGROUPWORK
Theme1:Agricultureinrainfedareas:soil
pestmanagementbyDr.B.Venkateswarlu
98
Theme2:WaterforrainfedareasbyShriK.J.Joy
99
Theme3:Re-lookin
gLivestockinrainfedareasbyDr.V.PadmaKumar
1
00
Theme4:Institution
sandcreditsforrainfed
areasdevelopmentbyD
r.AmitaShah
1
02
CONCLU
DINGSESSION
ANewParadigm:Wh
atisemerging?byShriA.Ravindra
1
08
Needtolinkmacroin
dicatorswithmicroimpe
rativesbyDr.AmitaSha
h
1
09
Howdowegoforwar
d:Somesuggestionsby
Dr.N.K.Sanghi
1
10
ANNEXURESS
cheduleofAgenda
1
15
Listofparticipants
1
21
GroupWorkonSpecificThemes-ListofMem
bers
1
30
Glossary
1
31
v
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
E
xecutive
Summary
Conte
xt
Rainfedareas,constitutingthemajorpoverty
geograph
yofthecountry,arefacingahistorical
neglect
anddiscriminatio
nintermsof
receivin
gpublicsupportandinvestments.
Rainfed-farmers,inparticula
r,arefacingthe
bruntof
thisneglect.Thecrisisisnolongeran
issueofsupporting
agr
iculture.With
unprece
dentedlevelsoffarm
ersdistress,itis
nowalivelihoodissueaffec
tingmillionsof
farmers.
Atprese
nt60percentofIndia
nand80percent
ofthew
orldagricultureisun
-irrigated.After
having
developedallwate
rresources,50
percent
ofagriculturewillstillcontinuetobe
rainfed.
Inourcountry,86p
ercentpulses,77
percent
oilseedsand50percentcerealsare
contribu
tedbyrainfedagriculture.International
tradeinoilseedsisescalatingthusdemandson
rainfedagriculturewouldincrease.
Public
supportintermso
finvestments,
institutionsandsubsidiesinfertilizersandother
inputs(e
lectricity,microirrigation,horticulture,
irrigatio
nwatersupply,credit,pricesupport
etc;)fosteredtheparadigmof
greenrevolution
inthewellendowedareasofthecountry.Byits
verylog
ic,ithasby-passedth
emajorpoverty
stricken
rainfedareasandpeopledependenton
them.
Recogn
izing
this
historicalneed
for
restructuringthepublicpolicy,supportsystems
andince
ntivesavailableforrainfedfarmingthe
IndianC
ouncilofAgricultureResearch(ICAR),
WASSA
NandCSA
jointlyorganizeda
workshopentitledNewParadigmforRainfed
Farming
RedesigningSupp
ortSystemsand
Incentiv
esatNew
Delhifrom27th
to29th
S
eptember,2007.
O
nthebasisofthescatteredfieldexperiences
a
ndresearchoutputs
acrossthecountry,the
w
orkshopdeliberated
intensivelytoevolvea
f
rameworkforestablishingappropriatepub
lic
investments,supportsystemsandincentivesfor
r
evitalisingsustainable
rainfedfarmingsystems
a
ndlivelihoodsinrain
fedareas.
Objectives:
Analyzingprese
ntscenarioinrainf
ed
areaswith
par
ticularreference
to
emergingfarmerscrisisandrelevance
of
existingsupportsy
stems
Arrivingatanewd
evelopmentalparadig
m,
emergingthroughformalandinform
al
R&D,thathaspotentialofaddressingthe
existingcrisisamo
ngrainfedfarmers
Analyzingpresentframeworkofsupport
systemsandincentivesinrainfedareasa
nd
assessingtheneedforadifferentiat
ed
supportsystems
UnderstandingthesignificanceofCBOs
in
institutionalizing
thenewparadigmand
facilitatinggreater
degreeofself-reliance
in
theoveralldevelop
ment
Workshopdesig
n
P
resentpolicyfram
eworkandreforms
e
nvisagedwerediscussedintheopeningand
s
pecialsessions.Itwa
srecognizedthatthere
w
asaseriouslacuna
inthepolicyfocus
on
r
ainfedagricultureascomparedtoirrigated
a
griculture.However,
therewasaconsiderable
c
larityaboutwhere
thethingsweregoi
ng
w
rongandalsowh
atcouldaddresst
he
p
roblems;Itwasstron
glyfeltthattherewa
sa
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
need
toactuponit.Specificpointerswerealso
maderelatedtomacro
economicpolicy
considerationsthatincludeInputandOutput
Policies,TradePolicy,Cre
ditPolicyandRisk
Mitig
ation.
Ananalysisoftheexisting
scenarioinrainfed
areasandanoverview
oftheemerging
parad
igmshiftwereshare
dinthesessionII.
Then
eedforaseparateagriculturalpolicyfor
rainfedareasandthedesir
edshiftintheways
ofcarryingoutresearchanddevelopmentin
rainfedareaswasstressedupon.
Inthe
followingsessions,aneffortwasmadeto
synth
esizeanalternatepa
radigmforrainfed
farm
ingsystemsbased
uponsuccessful
experiences.Anumberof
presentationswere
madeoninnovativeexperiencesrelatedto
rainfedfarmingsystemsin
sessionIIIandIV.
Broad
lytheybelongtothef
ollowingsixaspects
(i)sustainablerainfedcrop
productionsystems
using
localinputsandm
arketingthrough
comm
unityownedinstitutions,(ii)social
regul
ationagainstoverexp
loitationofground
water,(iii)communitymanagedseedbank,
(iv)r
eformsinmanagementofinstitutional
creditfor
rainfed
f
arming
system,
(v)de
centralizedfoodsecu
ritythroughmillets
from
rainfedlands,(vi)upscalingsuccessful
experiencesthroughsustainablecommunity
based
organizations.
Basedupontheseexperiences,aneedwas
stronglyfeltforredesigningsupportsystemsand
incen
tivesforupscalingsuc
cessfulexperiences.
Itwa
sfeltthattherewas
aneedtoshiftthe
focus
fromtransferofspecifictechnologytothe
overalldevelopmentof
livelihoods;from
productivityofaunitcrop
totheproductivity
ofa
unitareaandfrom
enhancementof
productivitytoenhancementoftheincome.The
technologicalcontentsandmanagement
processesbehindmany
ofthesuccessful
experienceswereb
asedupontheabove
shifts
whichhavebeenarrivedatthroughjudicious
blendofindigenous
andexogenousknow
ledge
systems.Hencesupportsystemsandincentives
arealsotoberedesignediftheseexperi
ences
aretobeupscaled.
Itwasalsostrongly
feltthatacriticalanalysis
ofexistingschemes
/projectsmaythereforebe
carriedoutsothatrequiredmodificationin
respectiveguidelinescanbemadeb
efore
designingnew
schemes.Inthisregard,
participants
ou
tlined
some
critical
recommendationsf
romgroupworkregarding
supportsystemsa
ndincentivesunder
each
themeoftheworkshop
Proceedings
Dr.MangalRai,DirectorGeneralofICARin
hisinauguralmessa
gecalledforfocusingonthe
practicalagendaforevolvingaroad
map,
operationalstrategiesandoptionstha
tcan
contributespecially
inbuildingtheagen
daof
rainfedfarmingintheXIthFiveYearPlan
.
Dr.Vyasinhiskey
noteaddressdelved
upon
theneedtoreorien
tthepricing,trade,credit
andriskmitigation
policiestotheneedsofthe
rainfedagriculture.Increasinginvestmentsin
landandwaterconservation,ensuringade
quate
supplyofcredit,pro
tectionagainstrisksarekey
torealizethefull
potentialoftherainfed
agriculture.Asinp
utsubsidiesareineffective
toolsoftransferof
income,hecalledup
onto
reorientinputsubsidiestowardsimproving
productivity.Observingthattheminimum
supportpricesthou
ghannouncedfor34crops,
procurementwaso
perationalonlyforp
addy
andwheat.Thegovernmentsshouldhonortheir
commitmentsandM
SPshouldbegovern
edby
thecostofproduction.Dr.Vyasstressedo
nthe
needtomovetowardstotalportfolioofincome
andcropcycleof
threeyearsasabasisfor
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
extendin
gcredittodryland
farmersandthe
focusmustbeonimplementingcreditpolicy.
Heobservedthatthereisn
oproofofrisk
coveragethoughweatherinsuranceorother
sophist
icatedtoolsaresu
periortocrop
insurance,ifitisadministered
properly.
Respon
dingtothepresen
tationsinthe
inauguralsessions,Dr.AbhijitSen,Member
PlanningCommission,stressedontheneedto
stabilize
incomes.Thoughth
edistortionsin
fertilizersubsidiesarewellkn
own,mostofthe
subsidie
sincludingMSPtend
overwhelmingly
towards
irrigatedagriculture
.Andanyclear
solution
inthisregardisdistantasitleadsto
politicalunpopularity.Mostofthepublic
investmentsinirrigatedareasareresultingin
wastag
eandinefficiencies
.Reducingthe
standarddeviationofincome
andoutputisa
greatco
ncernandreducing
uncertaintiesin
pricesa
ndoutputsshould
receivegreater
attention.Itisneitherpossiblenordesirableto
promot
estandardmodelslikegreen
revolutionasaneffective
solutiontothe
complex
rainfedagriculturesituations.Thus,
Dr.Sen
stressedontheneed
fortransferring
resource
sanddecisionmakin
gtobelowstate
levelsa
fterbuildingadequatecapacitiesin
addressingtheissuesrelated
torainfedareas.
Healso
emphasizedonthen
eedforevolving
betterd
esignofschemes.
Addres
singthespecialsession,Sri.B.N.
Yugand
har,Member,PlanningCommission
broughtouttheneedforbu
ildingeffective
supportsystems(seedand
feed,research,
technolo
gy,credit,extensionetc.)forthepoor
andtenantfarmers.Though
thereisawider
recognitionofthedistortion
srelatedtothe
usageofnaturalresources,agrarianrelations
etc.,in
rainfedareas,there
isnoconcern/
focusontheseissuesinan
yofthepolicy
conclaves;thiswasthemainp
olicyparadoxat
present,heobserved.Therainfedareasare
u
nder-investedand
thetechnologiesa
re
b
ecomingthepreserve
ofonlytherichandtho
se
intheirrigatedareas.Hecalledforafocus
on
empoweringandliberatingtechnologiesforthe
s
mallandmarginalfarmersandtheneed
to
c
urtailthedivorcebe
tweenland-ownersh
ip
a
ndpeasantrywithp
roductiveinterests.He
s
tressedontheneedforevolvingappropriate
a
rchitectureforanew
paradigm.
D
r.Samra,CEOofthe
NationalRainfedAreas
A
uthority(NRAA)elaboratedonitspurpo
se
a
ndorganizationalstru
cture.Hestressedonthe
n
eedforbridgingthega
pbetweenresourcesand
technicalexpertisean
dconvergenceamong
v
ariousplayers.Hefeltthatintegration
of
f
orests,crops,waterissues,horticulture,
l
ivestock,micro-en
terprises
etc.,is
a
c
hallenginginter-ministerialtask.Convergen
ce
c
anbeachievedthroughdistrictandstatelevel
p
lanningprocesses.
StreamliningCapacity
B
uildingstillremainsachallengingtaskinthe
w
atersheddevelopmentprograms.
Needforshiftinca
rryingoutresearch
anddevelopmentinrainfedareas
A
gainstthebackdrop
ofthepresentserio
us
c
risisinagriculture,variouslargescale
e
xperiencesemergingacrossthecountry
p
rovidestrongeviden
cethatregenerativeand
r
esourceconservingap
proachestofarmingc
an
b
ringbothenvironm
entalandeconomical
b
enefitstofarmers.
Suchapproachesa
re
d
iffusingevenwithoutgovernmentsupport.A
n
eed
wasfelttoevolvenew
ways
of
u
nderstanding(theoryandknowledge),new
w
aysofdoing(practice
sandproducts)andnew
w
aysoforganizin
g(partnership
and
institution),etc.Theneedisalsofornewwa
ys
o
funderstanding,eva
luatingandsupporti
ng
s
uchinnovations.P
articipatorymode
of
k
nowledgegeneration
anddisseminationare
m
uchneededthan
thelinearmodels
of
ix
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
techn
ologydiffusion.
Itwasalsofeltthatconceptualshiftssuchas
plant-pestdynamicstopest-ecologydynamics,
seed
replacementtoseedretention,plant-
nutrientrelationstosoil-plantrelations,
productionpercropareato
productionperunit
oflan
dandcentralizedto
decentralizedfood
secur
ityareneeded.The
communitybased
organ
isationswouldprov
ideanappropriate
platfo
rmforsuchnewparadigmtotakeroots.
NeedforaSeparateAgriculturePolicy
forRainfedAreas
ArchitectureofGreenRevolutionensured
developmentofextensive
supportstructures
andsystemssuchasestablishmentoffertilizer
industry,irrigation,st
orageandother
infrastructure,investmen
tinresearchand
exten
sionsystem,creationofdemandthrough
PDS,
pricesupport
a
ndprocurement
mech
anisms,etc.Sucha
boldinitiateand
leade
rshipislackinginrevivingtherainfed
farming.Verylittleofth
eseinfrastructure
services,subsidies/incentivesareaccessedby
rainfedfarmers.
Thereisnoparityofinvestmentbetween
irriga
tedandrainfedagriculturebothinterms
ofinfrastructuredevelopmentandforadoption
ofpro
ductionsystemsonrecurringbasis.Most
ofthe
incentivesforirrigatedfarmingarebuilt
aroun
dhighcostexternalinputs,whichhave
notp
rovedtobesustai
nableforrainfed
farming.Theseincentivesh
adanegativeeffect
onadoptionofmanyofthesuccessful
indig
enoustechnologies/
inputswhichare
based
uponlocallyavaila
blerawmaterial/
biom
ass.Thehighcostexternalinputs
(pest
icides,fertilizers,e
tc)andresultant
indeb
tednesshasledtothecurrentfarmers
crisis
inIndianagriculture.
Exten
sionofthedistortedincentivestructures
designedtopromotegreenrevolutiontora
infed
areasispromotingunsustainabletrendslikeover
exploitationofgroundwater,expansionof
irrigationintensiveh
orticulture,mono-cropping
etc.Ashifttowardscriticalirrigation
for
rainfedcropson
alargescale,enha
nces
productivityofrainfedfarmssubstantiallyand
alsoprovidessecurityagainstdroughts.Fu
rther
socialregulationof
groundwaterandmoving
towardsshared/
collectivebore-wells
may
providethemuchd
esiredstabilityininco
mes.
Thecentralizeds
ystem
ofnational
food
securitybuiltaroundwheatandpaddy
changedfoodconsu
mptionpatternsinra
infed
areasandledtosubstantivereductionin
area
undermillets.Fod
dershortagesandla
bour
constraintsinmaintenanceofbullocksduring
offseason,amongothers,alongwiththe
subsidiesindieselandtractorshaveresultedin
sharpdeclineofbu
llockpowerandesca
lated
energycosts.
Inspiteofrecognizingthedeterioratingsoil
healthasamajo
rproblem,hardly
any
investmentsareplannedintheXIthFive
Year
Planonsupporting
regenerationofsoilh
ealth
andsoilorganicma
tter.Ifsupportisavailable
totheextentofwhatanirrigatedfarmer
gets,
largenumberoffarmerswouldadoptpractices
thatbuildsoilhealth.Theproblemistoco
nvert
appropriatediagnosisintoaffirmativeaction.
Thereisaneedto
innovateuponwa
ysof
supportinglocaltech
nologicaloptionswhichare
otherwisebecomingoutoffocusdueto
increasingcostoflab
our.Laboursubsidiescould
beasustainablein
strumentbothtodevelop
infrastructurean
dtoadoptproduction
technologiesonrecurringbasis.
Watersheddevelopmentisconsidered
asa
criticalinstrumentfordevelopmentofra
infed
areas.Amajorreformisneededintheseprojects
tointegratedesiredsupportsystems
and
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
incentivesfordevelopmentof
farmproduction
systemsandinvestments
ondeveloping
communitybasedorganisatio
ns.Thiswillalso
helpin
rainfedareasge
ttingrequired
investmentsbeyondwatersheddevelopment,
whichatpresentareaminisculeofwhatthe
irrigated
agricultureisgetting
.
Meredistrictlevelplanning
wouldnotsolve
theproblem
asthemindsetofagriculture
function
ariesandevenfarmersissetbythe
dominantparadigm.Inthisregard,the
incrementalchangeswillnothelpandhenceit
require
saparadigm
shi
ftandabold
leadersh
iptoreallytapthepo
tentialofrainfed
areas.
Towardssynthesisofa
new
parad
igmforrainfed
farming
system
sbaseduponsuccessful
experiences
Decentralizedfoodsecuritythrough
milletsfromrainfedlands
TheIndianPublicDistributio
nSystem(PDS),
perhaps
thelargestwelfaremeasureanywhere
inthew
orld,amountstoafoodsubsidyofRs
23,828
croresperyear(2006-07).The
centrali
zedfoodsecuritys
ystem
through
irrigated
riceandwheathasm
arginalizedthe
mostnutritivemilletsthatpeoplehavegrown
ontheirrainfedlands.Introdu
ctionofriceinto
thediet
ofrainfedareasals
oincreasedthe
fallowla
ndsleadingtofurtherdegradation.The
experienceofDeccanDevel
opmentSociety
(DDS)indevelopingacom
munitybased
publicdistributionsystemwhereinproduction,
procure
ment,storageand
distributionof
milletsis
carriedoutatthevilla
gelevelprovides
substant
ivebasisforintroducin
gmilletsintothe
mainstreamPDS.Asthemilletsalsoprovide
bettern
utritionandsoilco
nservationand
increase
sbiodiversity,they
mustbegiven
adequatepriceincentivesforproduction.
Procurementmustalsobeens
uredatthesame
time.Localcommunitymanagedgrainban
ks
a
lsohaveimmensepotential,particularlyint
he
c
hronichungerareassuchastribalareas.
C
ropproductionth
roughorganic
a
pproaches
L
owexternalinputs/n
on-chemicalapproach
es
w
idelypracticedinth
ecountryareofferinga
g
reaterpromiseforriskriddenrainfed
farming.Theseapproa
chesdevelopedthrough
informalresearchrangefrom
low-extern
al
inputs(LEISA),non-chemicalpestmanagement
(
NPM),truthfully
labeledorganicand
c
ertifiedorganicfarm
ingapproaches.The
se
a
pproachessharedinth
eworkshopbroughto
ut
theirimpactsonriskreduction,lowcosts,high
er
e
mploymentgenerationandhighern
et
incomes;inaddition,totheecologicalbenefits.
N
aturalresourcesmanagementisakeyfactor
inalltheseapproache
s.Acarefulanalysis
of
thesepromisingapproachessuccessfully
p
racticedbymillions
offarmersacrosst
he
c
ountryprovidesins
ightsintoappropriate
p
olicymeasurestobringtheseapproachesin
to
themainstreampublicprogramsinrainfed
farming.Thedeliberati
onspointedoutthene
ed
forinvestingontherainfedareasinterms
of
infrastructure(storage
andprimaryprocessing
facilities),extensionsy
stemsbasedonskilland
k
nowledge
tran
sfer,
appropria
te
m
echanization.Ap
propriate
econom
ic
incentivesforbiolog
icalandlocalorgan
ic
inputsarealsoneeded
.Smallcatchmentscale
w
aterharvesting,supplementalirrigationand
improvingsoilandmo
istureregimeswillha
ve
s
ubstantialimpact.
P
estManagement
through
N
on-PesticidalMethods(NPM)
T
hisapproachtaken
uponalargescale
in
A
ndhraPradesh,is
anintegrationofall
s
ustainablepestmanagementpractices
in
h
armony
with
nat
uralprocesses;and
p
rimarilyuseslocallyavailableinputsand
k
nowledgeofpest-predatorcomplexes.Cost
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
reduc
tionrangedfromRs
.1000to10,000per
acre.
Thepresentationsbroughtouttheneed
toreplacetheinputsubsidiesbylabour
subsidies,capacitybuildinginputs,processing
equipment,sharingof
knowledgeand
comm
unityorganisation.In
thecontextofwide
spreaddistressinrainfedareas,NPMhaslarger
conte
xtualrelevance.Asparaphrasedby
Dr.V
.L.Chopra,NPMisnotjustamatterof
faithbutisapplicableinfa
rmandrequiresa
readjustmentinthegover
nmentpolicy.The
importanceofcommunitybasedorganisations
inspr
eadingsuchprocesses
wasstressedupon.
Seed
sintheHandsofC
ommunity
Ensuringgoodqualityseed
sfortimelysowing
inrainfedfarmsisamajorissue.Theprivate
sectorismostlyinterested
inlowvolumeand
highvalueseed,weakenin
gthepublicsector
seed
supportsystems,increasingfocusin
researchontransgenicandp
roprietaryseedetc.,
Thesetrendsareleading
tofarmersloosing
controloverseedsresulting
inlargescalecrisis
inthe
seedsectorinrainfed
areas.Asmorethan
80%o
ftheseeddemandismetthroughfarmer
saved/informalsource
s,thesystemsof
seed-retentionbyfarmersneedgreaterfocus.
Publicinvestmentsinseed
sforrainfedareas
needtofocusonlargevolumeandlowvalue
seeds
,village/farmerlevelexchangesand
comm
unityseedbanks.Exp
ansionofthescope
ofsee
dsupportsystemtothefarmerproduced
seed
usedbythecomm
unity,shiftingof
recurringseedsubsidyintorevolvingfundat
comm
unitylevel,improv
ingthequalityof
farmersavedseedsares
omeofthepoints
emph
asizedinthedeliberations.
ImprovingSoilProductivitythrough
Enha
ncingOrganicMa
tterinSoils
Lack
ofconcertedefforts
inimprovingsoil
organ
icmatterhasresul
tedintechnology
fatigu
eanddecelerationinp
roductivitygrowth.
Ithas
alsoresultedindefic
ienciesinS,Zn,Fe
andothermicronutrien
ts.Inthetropics
efficientrecyclingoforganicmatterismore
importantthanorga
nicmatterbuildup.Insitu
applicationofsmalleramountsoforganic
matter(ofabout2
tonsperhaannually)is
desiredinrainfe
dareas.Together
with
agriculturallybeneficialmicroorganismsand
soilmoisture,soilorganicmattercanmeetmuch
ofthenutrientneed
sofcropsandcanre
duce
therisksinvolvedin
rainfedfarming.Focuson
enhancingsoilbiologicalprocesseswillinc
rease
nutrientpooland
severalbiomassb
ased
strategieshavebe
ensuccessfulacrossthe
country.Theseexpe
riencescanbeup-sca
ledif
thesubsidiesareextendedtoinsituorganic
inputsatparwithth
echemicalinputslike
urea.
Crophusbandrys
ystemsmustbecha
nged
towardsbuildings
oilorganicmatter.Sucha
shifttowardsbiom
assbasedagricultu
reis
stronglyadvocatedasitgivescomparableyields
toconventionalsy
stemswithlessexternal
inputs.Whilethisgenerateslargeemployment,
itwouldalsosubsta
ntiallyreduceenergy
costs
andcostofimportedexternalinputs.P
olicy
supportmustbeext
endedtocreatesuchinsitu
nutrientbanks.Sub
sidiesmustbeextend
edto
greenmanures,biomassaugmenta
tion,
encouraginggreen
manuringlegumetrees,
conservationagricu
ltureetc.,andatpar
with
theirrigatedagricultureinthequantu
mof
subsidies.Thissupportcanbeintheformof
targetedschemes.
Similarlyresearchmu
stbe
freedfromexternalledagendastopursue
localsolutionsandinvestmentsinsuchresearch
mustbeenhanced.
Participatoryresearchand
rainfedareasareinseparableandmu
stbe
pursuedtofindout
effectivesolutions.
SpecialPolicyforWaterResources
Managementin
RainfedAreas
Inspiteofthelarge
investmentsonirrigation,
thegapbetweenpotentialcreatedandutilized
isconsistentlyincreasingovertheFive
Year
Plans.Perhainv
estmentcostonm
ajor
irrigationhasreac
hedanalarminglev
elof
Rs.130,000,while
thesameinwater
shed
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
developmentisaboutRs.6000.Whilethecost
ofaugmentinggroundwaterthroughwatershed
approacheswasthroughpub
licinvestments,
thecostofcreationofirrigationsourcewasleft
toindiv
idualsresultingin
privatizingthe
accesstogroundwater.M
oreover,the
subsidiesinpower,sprinkler
sanddripsalso
flowintothosewhoownb
orewells.There
are
no
explicitsupport
systems
for
encoura
gingcollectiveuse
ofaugmented
resource
sinwatershedareas.Reversalofthis
trendisnecessarytoincentivisecollectivization
ofgroun
dwateraccess.
Insituconservationmeasures,mulching,soil
organicmatteretc.,playanimportantrolein
AridandSemi-aridareas.Wa
teruseandland
usemustbeseentogether.Investmentsonsuch
aspects
andefficientwat
erapplication
methodsarenecessaryfore
nhancingwater
product
ivity.Criticalirrigationsupportto
rainfed
cropsimproveswaterproductivity
substant
ially.Investmentsinimprovingwater
resource
sdevelopmentinrainfedareasmustbe
compreh
ensivetoincludeallt
heseaspects.
Socialregulationonborewellsismuchneeded
toconta
inthecompetitiveborewellrace.
Investmentsonfacilitatingev
olutionofsocial
normsintheusageofgroundwatersuchas
banond
iggingofnewborew
ellsandsharing
ofborew
ellwaterwithneigh
boringfarmers,
conditionalsupportformicroir
rigationandpipe
linesare
importantsupports
ystems.Encour-
agingsuchprocessesals
oenablesthe
commun
itiestoreduceriskin
rainfedareasby
sharingwaterduringcriticalp
eriodsofrainfall
shortages.Atpresentthesubsidyregime
(water,inputsandpower)isin
centivisingnew
borewellsandoverexploitat
ion.
Ashiftin
publicinvestmentisnece
ssarytowards
incentivi
singnot-diggingofnewborewellsand
sharingofwater,investingoninfrastructurefor
criticalirrigation,insituco
nservationand
moisturemanagement,andin
socialprocesses
tocollectivelymanagegroundwater.Theissues
o
fequityindistributionofconservedwatera
re
o
futmostimportance.
S
ustainableCommunityBased
O
rganisations-AKeytosustainability
a
ndUp-scaling
T
heemergingparadigmforrainfedfarming
consistsofanumberofelementswhicharebased
u
ponfieldexperience
frominformalresear
ch
a
nddevelopment.Mor
eoftensuchinnovatio
ns
a
reunattendedforlack
ofbackupsupportfro
m
formalresearchsystem
s.AsintheIndiraKranthi
P
athamprograminAndhraPradesh,alarg
er
p
latformofcommunitybasedorganisatio
ns
(SHGsandtheirFederations)providesastrong
b
asisforquickupsca
lingofapproachesli
ke
c
ommunitymanaged
sustainableagriculture.
U
pscalingofNPMpro
gramreachingcovera
ge
o
f1.6lakhhaacrossth
estateinabout4yea
rs
timeisacaseinpoint.Theseapproach
es
c
enteredonfarmersasscientists,fasterlateral
d
iffusionofknowledgeamongorganised
c
ommunitygroups,anchoragebyCBOsand
facilitationbyNGO
shasshownhigh
er
p
otentialforscalingu
pknowledgeintensi
ve
sustainableagriculture
programs.
R
iskyandUnder-InvestedRainfed
A
reas:TheDilemma
sofCredit
H
owbankscanreachouttorainfedare
as
substantiallywhenrain
fedproductionsystems
facemultiplerisks-isakeyquestion.The
m
echanismsofcyclicalcreditandtotalincom
e
p
ortfolioapproachto
farm-creditinclusive
of
creditneedsforlivestoc
kandotherexperiments
a
restilltobefine-tu
nedin
termsoftheir
o
perationalmodalities.Riskreductionthrough
m
ultiple-initiativesinproductionsystem
s,
financialinstrumentsand
community
o
rganisationisnecessary.Groupbased
a
pproaches,investing
oncommunitybased
institutions,buildingon
institution
al
a
ccountabilityarethe
keytoensuregreater
fund-flowtorainfed
areasandreducethe
transactioncosts.Multiplicityofinstitutionsand
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New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
critica
lityofinvestmentoninstitutionbuilding
in
th
isprocessisemphasized
in
the
delib
erations.Appropr
iatenormsand
provisionsforwaiversofloans(interest,partor
fullp
rinciple)mustbeevolvedforrainfed
areas.Provisionofinterests
ubsidyiscrucialfor
rainfed
farmers.
Strengthening
of
imple
mentationofthecrop
insurancescheme
ismu
chawaited.
Rainfed-perspectivean
dFocuson
Lives
tockDevelopment
Grazingbasedanimalhusbandryisthe
dominantlivestockproducti
onsysteminrainfed
areas
(rangingfrom
sede
ntarytonomadic
types),contributingsubstan
tiallytotheincomes
ofthe
marginalizedandagriculturesystems.
Thesmallruminantproductionsystemsinspite
ofthe
irsubstantialcontributiontotherainfed
areas
andtheeconomy,
donothaveany
supportsystems.Theinve
stmentsonrainfed
livestocksupportsystems
arealsoverylow.
Disea
secontrolandspaceforcommunity
organ
isationsinthedeliveryofservicesneeds
high
priority.Improvi
ngfodderbase,
particularlyincommonlandsisofutmost
impo
rtance.ADryland
sPerspectiveon
LivestockDevelopmentm
ustbeformulated
andit
mustguidethedevelo
pmentinvestments
inlivestockinrainfed
areas;regional
specificitiesmustbebuiltintosuchperspective.
Dece
ntralisedDecision
Makingand
Capacitiesneeded
Stand
ardizedmodellikethatofgreen
revolutionmaynotbeappropriateforrainfed
areas
duetohighdegreeofheterogeneityand
comp
lexity.Thereforeitisessentialtoshiftthe
resou
rcesanddecision-m
akingprocessto
districtlevelwhichwill
promoterelevant
solutionsforconcernedrainfedareas.The
guidelinesofseveralprogramssuchasRashtriya
KrishiVikasYojana,WatershedDevelopment,
Backw
ardRegionsGrantFu
nd,NREGSetc.,can
besuitablyre-structuredto
providenecessary
investmentsforinstitutionalizingthesupport
systemsandincentivesinlinewiththe
new
paradigm.Thenewlycreatedautonomous
body
NationalRainfedAreaAuthority(NRAA
)can
provideleadinfacilitatingsuchreformsand
improvingthedeliverymechanismatlower
level.
Itisessentialtocapitalizeoncomplementa
rities
betweenpublicsector,CBOs,civilsocietyand
privatesector,inordertorejuvenaterainfed
farminginthecoun
try.Alternateapproa
ches,
asoutlinedabove,areneededwithrega
rdto
production
systems,naturalreso
urce
development,technologydevelopmentand
extensionsystem.Specificeffortsareneed
edto
upscalesuccessfule
xperiencesandintegr
ating
them
inthedistri
ctplansofthecent
rally
sponsoredschemes.Capacitybuildingatlower
levelwould
thereforebecomecritical,
particularlywith
respecttoapplyingthe
knowledgeandsolvingtheproblems.In
this
regard,thedelibe
rationsinthework
shop
provideabasicfram
eworkforaction.The
need
istohaveaboldnewvisiontoreformulatethe
prioritiesinrainfed
areas.
Conclusion
Thedeliberationsintheworkshophavebro
ught
outtheneedforrefo
rmulatingthepoliciesand
supportsystemsforrainfedareasrather
than
merelyextendingthegreenrevolu
tion
framework.Parity
ofinvestmentsbetween
irrigatedandrainfed
areasmustbeensured
.The
elementsofanewparadigmaresynthesiz
edin
theworkshopfromvariousgrass-roots
experiencesemergingacrossthecou
ntry.
Appropriatesuppo
rtsystemsandincen
tives
needtobeinplaceto
upscaletheseexperie
nces.
Investments,subsidiesetc.,inrainfedareas
need
tobeprioritizedinlinewiththeemerging
paradigm.Anewvision,adequateinvestm
ents
andappropriatesup
portsystemsandincen
tives
aremuchneededto
revitalizerainfedfarming
andlivelihoodsofthepeopleinrainfedareas.
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InauguralSession
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2New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
WelcomeandIntroductoryR
emarks
Dr.Naw
abAli
DDG(NRM
),ICAR
Dr.NawabAli,DeputyDirectorGeneral,ICAR
(EngineeringandNRM)welcomed
the
partic
ipantsonbehalfofIC
AR,WASSANand
CSA.Whiledeliveringtheintroductoryremarks,
hebr
ieflyexplainedthecontextofrainfed
farming;objectivesoftheworkshopandalso
itsde
signwhichbroadly
consistedofthe
follow
ingsixsessionssprea
dover3days(refer
Annexures1and2forfurtherdetailsabout
agend
aandlistofparticipa
nts).
Septe
mber27th,2007
SessionI:
Inauguraland
SpecialSession
SessionII:
AnalysisofexistingscenarioinRainfedAreas
SessionIII:
NewParadigmforRainfedFarming
Septe
mber28th,2007
SessionIV:
CriticalSupp
ortSystemsforUpsca
lingSuccessfulExperienceson6majorthemes
associatedwithRainfedFarming
ThemeA:
PestManagementthroughNonPesticidalMe
thods
ThemeB:
Seedsinthehandso
ftheCommunity
ThemeC:
EnhancementofOrganicmatterinSoils
ThemeD:
SeparatepolicyforW
aterResourceinRainfe
dAreas
ThemeE:
SelfReliantdevelo
pmentthroughSusta
inableCommunityba
sed
OrganizationsandRe
formsinManagementofInstitutionalCredit
ThemeF:
SelfReliantDevelopm
entofSmallRuminantswithResourcePoorFam
ilies
Septe
mber29th,2007
SessionV:
Groupworko
nSupportSystemsand
Incentiveswithrespecttothefollowingfouraspects
GroupI:
SustainableAgricultureinRainfedAreasincludingManagementofSoils,
PestandSeeds
GroupII:
WaterforRainfedAre
as
GroupIII:
Re-lookingatLivestockinRainfedAreas
GroupIV:
InstitutionsforRainfedAreasDevelopment
SessionVI:
ConcludingS
ession
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3New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
AddressbyC
hiefGuest
Insearchofanew
para
digmforself-reliant
developmentofRa
infedFarming
Needtocapitalizeon
complementarities
Dr.Mangal
Rai
DirectorGeneral,ICAR
Inhisbriefopeningremarks,
Dr.MangalRai,
Director
General,ICAR,emphasisedonthe
needto
capitalizeoncom
plementarities
between
researchanddevelop
mentandcalled
uponthediverserangeofpa
rticipantsinthe
worksho
ptodeliberateonthepracticalagenda
ofrainfedfarmingthatcancontributeto
improvingtheXIthFiveYearP
lan.
Referringtotheinherentpowerinthesmaller
particlesinthebiologicalsciences,Dr.Rai
elaboratedontheapplica
tionsofnano
technologyindevelopingslow
releasing
fertilizer
sandwaterusingn
ano-particlesto
increase
theinputuseefficiencyinIndian
agricultu
re.Thesesmalleron
esarethemost
powerfu
landweneedtoadd
resstheminthe
rightern
est.
Thoughthereisanabudanceofdata,critique,
analysis
ofwhatistobedone
andwhatnotto
bedone,
thereisdearthofworkonhowtodo,
whatpracticalsystemsandm
echanismstobe
followed
,howtobringabouta
ndcapitalizeon
complem
entaritiesandhowto
harnesspositive
interactioneffect.Howstake
holdersplayas
partners
toworkinsynergist
icpatternisthe
key.Evolvingaroadmap,strategyandoptions
arelacking.Duringtheintensivedeliberations
planned
intheworkshophesuggestedthata
verybas
icstrategy,optionsm
ustbeevolved.
Bringing
aboutplayersaspar
tnerswouldgo
alongw
ay.
Atpresentweareabletoharnessonly29%
of
theprecipitation.With
thishowarewegoing
tosustain17%ofthe
worldpopulation,he
q
uestioned.WithIndiasshareof4.2%
of
w
ater,2.3%oflandand11%oflivestockofthe
w
orld,meetingthebasicrequirementsbecom
es
a
challenge.Howeffectivelyandjudiciouslyw
e
h
arvestwaterandincre
aseitsuseefficiencyand
p
roductivityisthe
keyintherainfed
agriculture.Hestated
thatsoilerosionatthe
rateof16tonsperhaperyearisresultinginto
a
colossalloss.
O
ntheotherhand,40%
compoundgrowthra
te
takingplaceinsprinklerirrigationisahealthy
sign;butwhatwehav
eachievedisminimal.
A
nincreaseinwateruseefficicencyby10%i.e.
fromthepresentlevelof40to50%wou
ld
contributetoalmost40
to50tonsofaddition
al
foodgrainproduction,butthequestionisho
w
d
oweachievethis?
R
eemphasisingontheneedfordeveloping
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4New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
health
ycompetition,effectivecooperationand
buildingincomplementaritiesforimprovingthe
India
nagriculturesituation,theDirector
Generalstressedonthene
edfordeveloping
partnershipbetweenresearc
handdevelopment
organ
isations.
OnbehalfofICAR,Dr.Raiextendedwarm
welcometoalltheparticipan
tsoftheworkshop.
Hehopedthatthetwodaysofintenseand
produ
ctivedeliberations
wouldyieldrich
harvestfortherainfedfarm
inginthecountry.
Hecalledonthepartic
ipantstobeself
reflectiveandcon
tributetowardsma
king
effectiverecommendationstobeincorporated
intheagriculturalp
olicyofXIthFiveYear
Plan
sothatthelimited
resourcescanbeb
etter
utilized.Healsohop
edthattherepresenta
tives
fromPlanningCom
mission,Governmentof
India,Scientificcom
munityandCivilSo
ciety
Organisationswouldintensivelydelibera
teon
variousissuesandgivetheBigPushto
rejuvenatetherainfedfarmingsysteminthe
country.
KeyNote
Address
Policyr
eformsatnation
allevelforenh
ancing
inclusive
growthinrainfedareasduring
XIPlan
Weknowwheretheth
ingsaregoingwro
ng..
theonlythingis
toactuponit
Dr.V.S.Vyas
ProfessorEm
eritus,IDS
Inhisaddress,Prof.Vyasfocusedonthe
neede
dpolicyinitiativefo
rdevelopmentof
RainfedAgriculture.Hem
ainlydweltonthe
lacun
aeinpolicyfocusontherainfed
agricu
ltureascomparedto
irrigatedareas.His
presentationconcentratedontheinitiativesto
betakenonpoliciesrelatedtoPricing,Trade,
CreditandRiskMitigationinthecontexto
fthe
rainfedagriculture.
Ofnearly139.1millionhanetcroppedarea(in
TEending2003),ne
arly83.9millionhaisthe
netrain-fedarea
andtheremaining
55.3
millionhaistheirri
gatedarea.Thus,rain-fed
areaaccountforn
early60percentofthe
cultivatedareainth
ecountry.Thesituationis
notgoingtochange
muchandevenincoming
tenyearsmorethan
halfofthecultivated
land
willberain-fed.He
alsofeltthattheexten
sion
ofirrigationfacilitywillnotprovidethene
eded
solution.Theefficiencyofirrigationwateris
low,whilethecostofextendingsurfacew
ater
ishuge,1.2lakhrupeesperha(duringIXthPlan)
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5New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
anditis
continuouslyincreasing.Thereis
increasedrelianceonirrigatio
nfromground
water,w
hichinmostofthe
regionsofthe
country
isnotaviablesolution.Increasingly
moreblo
cksarebeingdeclaredasblackin
regardtothegroundwaters
ituation.Inthis
contexta
largenumberoffarmerswillcontinue
todepen
dondrylandagriculturewherethey
sufferfro
mdepletedlandandwaterresources,
uncertainweather,lowvalue
cropsandlow
productivity.
Accordingtohim,theca
seoffarmers
dependentonrain-fedagr
icultureisnot
hopeless.Therearerain-fed
crops,suchas
pulses,oilseeds,cottonandmaizeforwhichthe
demandislikelytobebuoyant.
Atpresent,there
isahuge
gapbetweentheyie
ldobtainedand
thepotentialyieldofthesecr
opsindryland
conditio
ns.Thereisalsoa
vastscopefor
increasingsupplementaryenter
prises,especially
dairyan
ddrylandhorticulture.Forthishe
suggestedtheneededactionintermsof
increasinginvestmentinlandimprovementand
watercon
servation,institutingproperpricepolicy,
establish
ingefficientmarketingstructures,
ensuring
adequatesupplyofcreditandproviding
protection
againstrisks.Hestres
sedtheneedfor
effective
governanceandenablingpeoples
participa
tionastheyarethekeyelementsin
deliverin
gtheneededactiontorealizethefull
potentialofrainfedagriculture.
Whileco
ncentratingonthefou
rmajorpolicies
heopinedthatPolicyisnotthebeginningand
theendofaction:investment,
technologyand
organisationsarealsoimporta
nt.Hesaidthat
manyo
fthesepoliciesar
erelevantfor
agricultu
reassuchandsomearespecificto
rainfedfarming.Elaboratingon
thepricepolicy,
Prof.Vy
asemphasizedonaddressingthe
anomalieswithregardtoInputandOutput
pricepolicyasthegapbetweenthem
is
widening
.Thesituationisthatw
hereeverpolicy
is
directedtomakeinp
utscheaperbyovertor
h
iddensubsidies,e.g
.inwater,power,or
n
itrogenousfertilizers,
itledtoimbalancedan
d
in
efficientuseofinputs,leadingtoloss
of
p
roductivityinthesho
rtaswellaslongterm.
H
esuggestedfollowin
gmeasurestoaddress
th
isanomaly:econom
icpricesoftheinputs
shouldbedeterminedandpublicized.Ove
rt
subsidyshouldbegiven,mainly,withthe
objectiveofimproving
productivitywiththe
useofagiveninput.H
eopinedthatsubsidi
es
arenoteffectivetoolsfortransferofincome.
IntheOutputPricepolicy,hestatedthatusing
M
inimumSupportPric
e(MSP)assynonymous
w
iththeprocurement
pricehasverynegative
implicationsanddistortions.Insteadhe
suggestedthatMSPshouldbegovernedbythe
costofproduction,whiletheprocurementprice
shouldberelatedtomarket.Forthecountryas
a
wholeMSPshouldb
eannouncedfor5to
6
m
ajorcrops.Presently,MSPisannouncedfor
34cropsinthecountry
butimplementedon
ly
in
caseofwheatandpa
ddy.Inaddition,asta
te
m
ayannounceMSPfor2or3cropsspecificfor
thestate.Thecentreaswellasthestatesshou
ld
honortheircommitmen
ts,orelsethecredibility
isatstake.Procurem
entpricesshouldbe
flexible,dependingontheneedforBufferStock
andforPDSontheon
ehand,andthesize
of
thecrop
and
therulingnationalan
d
in
ternationalpriceon
theother.Greateruse
shouldbemadeofth
eFuturesmarket,an
d
farmersshouldbemad
eliteratetodealinthe
se
m
arkets.
W
ithregardtotheTradePolicy,itiswrong
to
assumethatWTOprov
isionswillnotaffectour
agricultureinasignificantwaybecauseon
ly
someofouragriculturalproductsenter
in
ternationaltrade.In
India,atpresent,the
contributionofagriculturaltradeislessthan
9
p
ercentoftheoverallt
rade.Itistobeviewed
thatthemainnon-ce
realcropsofrain-fed
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6New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
areas,
namely,pulses,oilseedsandcottonas
wella
sdairyproductsareimportantfromthe
pointofviewofinternationa
ltrade.Manymore
produ
ctslikemaize,fruitsan
dvegetables,which
arega
iningimportancein
therain-fedareas,
areals
otradedintheinternationalmarkets.To
better
utilizethispotentia
l,someimportant
issues
needtobetackled.Thereisaneedfor
establishinggreatercorrespondencebetween
thedomesticpricepolicyandtariffpolicy.It
willb
emoreefficientifth
eagencywhichis
advisingthegovernment
ondomesticprice
policy
,(viz.,CACPoranyalternative)also
advisesonthetariffpolic
yforagricultural
comm
odities.Thereisavastgapbetweenwhat
weareallowedandwhatw
eareimposingin
bound
edtariffandweshou
lduseitwisely,he
opine
d.DevelopedcountrieslikeUSAand
Europ
eanUnionaresubsid
izingfarmerswho
produ
cecommoditiesinw
hichtheywantto
establishexportmonopoly.Theneedistothink
ofcou
nterveilingmeasuresandGovernmentof
Indiashouldassistfarmersw
hoseproductsface
comp
etition.Thiscanbedonewithout
violatingWTOobligations.
Inres
pecttoCreditPolicy,hesaidthatthe
observationsofvariouscom
mitteesheadedby
banke
rsandexpertsshould
betakenseriously
andnotdismissed.Hesugge
stedthatthewhole
portfo
lioofincomeshould
bethecriteriafor
exten
dingcreditinrainfedareas.Thisis
practi
cedinindustrialcreditandshouldbe
applie
dtoagriculturealso.Healsoobserved
thatfollowingprovision
sare
important
especiallyfortherain-fedareas:Creditshould
bema
deavailableforacropcycleoftwoor
threeyearsratherthanforoneseason.Asdry
landa
gricultureisdiversified,creditshouldbe
againstthetotalincomepo
rtfolioratherthan
only
againstcrops.Keepinginview
the
drylandfarmerswhogetbulkoftheirincome
onlyi
noneseason,consum
ptioncreditshould
alsobemadeavailable.Dependingon
the
severityanddurationofacalamity,clear
provisionsforwaivers(waivinginte
rest,
waivingpartofprin
ciple,waivingfullint
erest
andprinciple)needtobedesigned.Thisp
olicy
shouldnotbepoliticallymotivated.Thereisalso
aneedtolookatthe
waysofimplementingthe
CreditPolicy.
Prof.Vyascalledforaconcretepolicyac
tion
toaddresstheissueo
fRiskMitigationinRainfed
Areas.Apartfromthemarketinducedrisks,
whicharecommonforallagricultural
producers,importantproblemfacedbydry
land
farmersistheweatherinduceduncertainties.
Farmersinthedryla
ndareasareriskaver
seas
theydonothaveanythingtofallbacku
pon.
Therearetwoim
portantriskmitiga
tion
measures:MSPan
dagricultureinsur
ance
scheme.Thelaterschemeiscoveringhard
ly10
percentofthefarme
rs.Thereisavastscopeto
improveupontheexistingriskmitigation.T
here
isnoneedtorep
lacetheexistingC
rop
InsuranceSchemebutitcanbefur
ther
strengthened.The
maindifficultiesin
the
processareinme
thods,procedures
and
governance.Realisticreformshavebeen
suggestedbyindepe
ndentresearchersand
also
bytheofficialWorkingGroupsinareassu
chas
extendingcoverage,determiningthres
hold
yields,assessingyield,rationalizingprem
ium,
reducingtimelagin
makingpaymentsetc.Itis
importanttoactup
onthesemeasuresrather
thanthinkingofso
meuntriedschemes
and
programs.Forex
ample,inthepre
sent
circumstancesitisdifficulttoprove
that
WeatherInsuranceorothersophistic
ated
measuresaresuperiortotheexistingCrop
InsuranceSchemeifitisadministr
ated
properly.Heconcludedbyobserving
that,
weknowwherethingsaregoingwrong
..the
onlythingistoactup
onit
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7New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
StrategiesforenhancinggrowthinAgriculturedu
ringXIth
Plan
TransferringResourcestoMicrolevelistheKey
Dr.Abhijit
Sen
Member,PlanningCommission
Dr.Sen,Chairpersonofthese
ssion,reflecting
ontheag
endaoftheworkshopfeltthatmuch
ofthew
orkslatedfordiscu
ssioniseither
technologicalorinstitutional;a
ndbyitsnature
itismicr
olevelwhereresultscanbeobserved.
Heemph
asizedthattheconcernsraisedbyProf.
Vyasinh
ispresentationarecriticalandifthey
arenotaddressedatmicrolev
el,itwouldbea
gravemistake.Heobservedthatthe,
conce
rnsoninputandoutputpricesand
stabilizingthemarefundamen
talissuesbut
unfortunatelytheyarerepeat
edlyeconomist
stressed
Incomestabilityisan
important
concern,
whichisalsoinfluencedbyoutput
prices.Theissuessuchas
distortionsof
subsidies
andpolicieshavebeendiscussedtime
andaga
inbutwearefara
wayfrom
any
significantsolution.
Commen
tingontheMSP,he
saidthatinthe
beginningofthemillenniumwehadhighstocks
andhigh
MSP;followingwhichweresortedto
lowMSP
andexports.Thishas
nowresultedin
lowstocks;thusstartinganoth
ercycle.There
istremen
douspressuretomatchthebalancein
whatthe
Indianproducersgetandtheimport
pricesthatwearepayingheobserved.
O
nfertilizer
subsidy,there
is
clear
u
nderstandingonthedistortionsbutthe
possibilityofanyclear
decisionisremotein
th
econtextofthecurrentpoliticalsituationin
th
ecountry.Anyhard
decisionsinthisregard
w
ouldresultinhugeunpopularity.
R
egardingInsurance,
hesaidthat,...som
e
th
ingishappeningins
lowmanner..butitis
a
to
ughnuttocrackW
eatherbasedinsurance
is
oneoption.Bettergovernancean
d
m
onitoringareneces
saryelementsinth
is
respect.
R
egardingtradepolicy,hefeltthat,wehave
notbrokenthroughthe
mainconstraintwhich
is
MSP.Mostofthesubsidiestendtogoove
r-
w
helminglytowardsirrigatedagriculture.H
e
observedthatsubsidie
sareincentivestouse
resourcesinacertainw
ay,whichshouldhave
m
oreeffectonrainfed
agriculture.Incentives
shouldpromoteefficie
ntuseofresourceshe
suggested.Uncertaintie
sinpricesandoutputs
arecausinggreatco
ncern.Hecalledfor
fo
cusingonreducing
theseuncertainties
at
m
icrolevel.Heunde
rlinedonsomecritic
al
elements:thefirstoneisdiversification;which
is
thesurestwayofr
educingrisk.Secon
d
aspectisfocusingonstablerandlongerperio
d
in
comesandreducing
thedeviations.Finally,
reducingstandarddeviationofincomeandthe
o
utputs.
D
r.Sensharedthatitis
impossibletopromo
te
a
standardmodellikethatofGreenRevolutio
n
asaneffectivesolution
tothecomplexrainfed
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8New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
agriculturewherecrop
s,technological
constr
aintsaswellasoptio
nsvarywidely.If
thein
terventionsareto
bemadebythe
governmenttheresources,decisionmaking
process,optionsshouldbetransferredtobelow
thestatelevel.Hestressed
upontheneedto
focus
onbuildingcapacitie
satlowerlevelto
apply
knowledgeandsolve
problems.
Reflec
tingontheXIthPlan
,hetoldthatthe
econo
myisseeinghuges
avingswhichhas
reach
edtoalevelof30percent.This
demonstratesthatresourcesareavailable.In
thisco
ntext,achieving8percentgrowthrateis
notafairytale,butverymuchachievable.
Hesaidthatinclusivegrowthistheframework
ofthe
XIthPlan.Education
isanescalatorfor
peopletomoveupando
utofagriculture.
Effortsarealsotheretopu
tagricultureback
on
tr
ackand
theSteering
Group
on
Agric
ulturefocusedon
technologyand
natur
alresources.Atpresentthepublic
invest
mentinagricultureisverylowandhas
fallen
to2percentofGDP.Butitishopedthat
thisw
illriseto4percentw
ithintwoyearsof
theXIth
Plan.Prof.SendisclosedthatXIthPlan
hash
ugesavings;andt
hereareenough
resourcesavailable
.Accordingtohim,the
criticalquestionisnotthequantum
of
investmentbutwhereitisgoing.
Dr.Senunderlined
theneedtoreducepublic
investmentsinthe
irrigatedareasasth
isis
resultinginhugewasteandinefficiencies
.He
alsocautionedtha
tsuchlargeamountof
investmentcannotbeexpectedforrainfed
areas.Hefeltthatinvestmentsshouldbem
ade
ata
meaningful,maintainable
and
compatiblelevels
toaugmentthegro
wth.
Accordingtohim,thereisnodearthoffunds
atpresentandwh
atisrequiredisbetter
designofschemes.WiththeRashtriyaK
rishi
VikasYojana,anew
scheme,stateswouldget
enoughmoneywhichtheyarefreetosp
end,
providedtwocond
itionsaremet.Thefirstis
thattheStatesshou
ldmaintaintheirsha
reof
funds.Secondisthedecentralizeddistrict
level
planningwithafoc
usonbetterutilizationof
resources.Accordingtohim
shiftin
gof
resourcesanddecisionmakingprocessto
lowerlevelswill
providesolutionsto
the
rainfedareasandca
lledforrestraintingiving
avisionlikegreenre
volutiontosuchareas.
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9New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
SpecialSession
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10 New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
Sustainable
DevelopmentofRainfedAreas
Ne
edtoredefineagrarianrelations
ShriB.N.Yugandhar
Member,Plannin
gCommission
Atth
eoutset,ShriYugandh
arpointedoutthat
itmay
notbeappropriatet
ocallwhatisnow
happe
ningasparadigmsh
ift.Whatallofus
areco
ncernedwithisthep
roperarchitecture
forev
olvinganewparadigm.Hesaidthat
despit
evariedtechnologicaloptionsbackedup
bydi
fferentpolicies,th
erearepeculiar
incap
acitiesinthesystema
ndthewholearea
ofpeasant-landrelations
hipshasbecome
contro
versialandconfused
.Despiterational
policiesandchoices,itisno
tclearhowtodeal
withthisconfusion.Theeco
logicalfoundation
ofagricultureisessentia
lforsustainable
advan
cement.Soilhealth
,efficientuseof
water
andmobilization
ofthefarming
comm
unitytowardsthe
managementof
naturalresourceareallvitalissues.Now
farmin
ghasbecomeahighriskprofessionand
thesu
pportfrom
agricult
uralsystemswas
reachingonlytoasmallm
inorityoffarmers.
Naturalresource
managementshould
concentrateoncommonpropertyresources.
Howe
ver,nocodeofconductformanagement
ofcommonpropertyres
ourceshasbeen
seriou
slyformulatedandadvocated.Atany
conclaveordiscussionsamongseniorpolicy
makers,includingev
enChiefMinistersthereis
nofocusorconcern
regardingtheemer
ging
issuesinagriculture
onaccountofunbalanced
useofnaturalresour
cesanddistortedagrarian
relations.Thiswas
themainpolicyparadox
accordingtoShriYu
gandhar.
Atpresent40-45percentoflandinthecou
ntry
iscultivatedbysmall
andmarginalfarmers
who
constitute
80
pe
rcentofthe
farm
ing
community.Morethan30percentofthe
land
iscultivatedbytenants.Theironyisthatm
ajor
institutionsandsubsystems(e.g.credit,
marketsupport,r
esearch,seedandfeed
linkages,technicalandextensionsupport,etc.)
arebypassingthemandnotoperatingontheir
behalf.Whileallthesystemsarefocusedon
areaswithcanalirrigation,rainfedareashave
becomebypassedareas.Ifyouhaveone
acre
ofsurfaceirrigatedlanditreceiveslotof
subsidiesthroughvarioussystemshesaid.
Accordingtohim,
varioussubsystem
sof
agriculture,such
ascredit,marketing,
extension,communitybasedefforts&subsidies
etc.eitherarenotop
eratingorhavecollap
sed.
Rebuildingthesesub
-systemsasrelevanttothe
majorityofourpeasantcommunity,espec
ially
thesmallandma
rginalfarmersand
the
tenants,istherealchallenge.
Hesaidthatthoug
hGreenRevolution
has
succeededinprovid
ingdesiredresults,ithas
alsotheotherside.Theparadoxisthatmanyof
thefirstgenerationG
reenRevolutionfarm
ers,
whohavebenefited
fromit,havenowmoved
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11 New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
awayfromagriculture,but
notfrom
land
ownership,thusincreasingthe
tenancy.There
isadivorcebetweenlando
wnershipand
peasantr
ywithproductioninterets.Allthe
subsidieshoweveraretargetedtotheland
owningclass.Inthiscontext
hereferredan
incident
inAnantapurdistrictofAndhra
Pradesh
wherenearly200cro
rerupeeswere
givenasreliefforcroploss,whichwas
distributedtotheownerson
thebasisofthe
recordsw
ithoutevenbotherin
gtoknowwho
theactua
lcultivatorwas.Heobservedthatthe
Primary
AgriculturalCooperativeSocieties
(PACS)andDistrictMarketingFederations
havesufferedcronycapture
.
Stating
thatthecountryiscravingfor
redesig
ningofagrarianrelations,Shri
Yugandh
arsaidIamnotplea
dingforradical
landreformsasinthein
itialyearsof
indepen
dence;
I
am
pleading
for
implementingtheLawasitnowexists.Ifwe
cannotpushthenon-productiveinterestsout
ofagricu
lturetherecanbeno
paradigmshift.
Idonotk
nowhowthiscatcan
bebelled.
Furtherd
wellingintotheissu
eoflandinthe
handsofpoor,hepresented
thedisturbing
scenarioexistinginthecountr
y.Emphasizing
onlandandagrarianreforms,h
esaidthatthere
areseveralactivitiesthatcan
beundertaken
underthepresentlawssuchasprovidingtitle
deedsto
smallfarmers;allocationofceiling
surplus;
etc.ReferringtoB
haratDogras
documen
tonBundelkhand,h
esaidthatthis
regionisconsideredasanepito
meoffailuresof
landreformsinthecountry,whereinthe
administrationwasnotableto
putthelandin
possessio
nofthepoor.InAnd
hraPradesh,55
lakhacre
soflandisinthehandsofthepoor,
buthalf
ofitisnotcultivat
edforvarious
reasons.Systemslikeextension,research,credit
andmarketingarenotsuppor
tivetothepoor
andthereisadirene
edofevolvingbetter
a
lternativesubsystems.
Rainfedareasareunder-investedandthe
n
th
erearecontroversies
intechnology.There
is
visiblepromiseinapp
roacheslikeNPM
an
d
organicfarming.Butthecruxoftheproblemin
ra
infedareasisimprov
ementofproductivity,
su
rplusesandincomes
,heemphasized.How
to
increasesmallfarmincomesisthequestio
n
athand.Makingsmallfarmdiversificatio
n
yieldingsurplusesistherealchallenge.Are
w
ethinkingofonlysub
sistence?...,heprobe
d
andcautionedagainstte
chnologybecomingth
e
preserveofonlytherichandthoseinirrigate
d
areas.Hewantedtok
nowwhetherasonof
sh
eepfarmercandream
ofbecominganowner
ofstallfedimprovedflo
ckofsheep.Hewante
d
te
chnologytocometothehelpofthesmallan
d
m
arginalfarmers.
There
is
low
cost
appropriatetechnolog
y,wherewomenan
d
fa
rmingcommunitiesarecomingtogetherto
m
aketheirowninputs,
heinformed,forwhic
h
avenuesshouldbeop
entotheruralyouth.
Largescaleandhigh
productivediaryan
d
poultryareoutofreach
forthepoor.How
ca
nonecomeoutofp
overtywithabuffalo
givingoneandhalflitremilkaday,h
e
questionedandhopedthattheworkshopwould
comeoutwithempoweringandliberatin
g
te
chnologiesforthe
smallandmarginal
fa
rmers.
ShriYugandharstated
thattherewillben
o
dearthoffundingthed
evelopmentalproces
s,
asthePlanningCommissioniscontemplatin
g
to
makenecessaryproposalsinthisregard.In
th
iscontext,hereferredfewschemes/program
s
th
atareeitherinimplem
entationorinpipelin
e.
FirstofthemisNationalRuralEmployment
G
uaranteeScheme(NR
EGS),whichprovides
atleast50-60croreru
peesforeachdistrict
w
hereinmajorshareis
tobespentasperth
e
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12 New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
ChallengesbeforeN
ationalRainfedArea
AuthorityinRevitalizin
gRainfedAgriculture
Converg
enceandPrioritizationarekey
issues
Dr.J.S.Samra
CEO,NationalRainfe
dAreaAuthority
Attheoutset,Dr.Samrastressedonthe
convergencebetweendiffe
rentdevelopment
progra
msandtheagenciesim
plementingthem.
Thedichotomyisthatresourcesareatoneplace
andth
etechnicalexpertiseisattheotherside.
There
isabiglacunainbridgingthegap
betweenthem.Howtooverc
omeit?Ifresources
create
someassetswhichultimatelyleadto
emplo
ymentguarantee,thatwillprovidesome
solace
totherainfedareas
Heela
boratedonthepresentstatusofrainfed
decisionsatthevillagelevel.Secondisthe
Backw
ard
RegionsGra
ntFund,being
implementedin250districtsandeachsuch
districtgets15crorerup
ees.Thereisan
alloca
tionofnearlyone
crorerupeesfor
capacitybuildingrelatedin
terventionsunder
this.T
hirdly,intheXIthFiveYearPlan,much
emphasisisgiventoagriculturesectorandan
outlay
of20,000crorerupeesisproposed
under
RashtriyaKrishiVikasYojana,with
emphasisonlocalplanning.Finally,thereisa
budgetavailableund
erParticipatoryWatershed
DevelopmentProjec
ts.Withthesefunds
itis
possibletodevelo
padditional40million
hectaresofrainfedareaandtherewillbeenough
scopeforimproving
livelihoods.Thequestion
ishowtoinfluenc
ethepeopletoinitiate
suitableactionforutilizingthesefundsm
ore
efficiently.
agriculture.Atpresent60percentofIndian
and80percentoftheworldagricultureis
un-irrigated.Afterh
avingdevelopedallw
ater
resources,50percentofagriculturewill
still
continuetoberain
fed.Inourcountry
,86
percentpulses,77percentoilseedsand50
percentcerealsare
contributedbyrainfed
agriculture.Exportc
ommodities(asnonG.M.
products)likecastor
oil,guargum,seedspices
andsoybeancakeareimportant.International
tradeinoilseedsisescalatingthusdemand
son
rainfedagriculturew
ouldincrease.
Integrationofforestlands,watermanagem
ent,
crops,horticulture,livestockandmicro-
enterpriseisacomp
lexinter-ministerialtask.
Convergencethroughdistrictandstatelevel
planningforoptimizingresourceutilizationis
tobebetterprioritized.Accordingtohim
,the
guidelinesfordifferentprogramsaremostly
common,butlook
edatasiftheyare
not
common.Thekeyissuesareprioritization
and
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13 New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
effectiveimplementation.Propercriteriafor
prioritiza
tionistherebutputtingitinplaceisa
challeng
e.Anotherareaofchallengeis
capacity
building.Thoughsomealternatives
havebeentriedout,theexperiencesarenotso
encourag
ing.InthecontextofpresentHariyali
guidelines,hestressedontheneedtobuild
capacitiesofPanchayats.T
hechallengeis
howtob
uildthecapacitiesofPanchayatsto
playthe
irownrolewitho
utloosingon
technolo
gicalexpertise...?he
wondered.The
wayoutistoredesigntheCa
pacityBuilding
processinsuchawaythateveryonehasrole
clarityan
dallthechecksand
balancesarein
place.
Accordin
gtoDr.Samra,districtisthevery
welldefinedunitinthecountryforanypolicy
ordevelopmentaction.Theneedisto
strengthenthedeliverysystematdifferent
levels.
Whatarethetriggering/cardinal
pointsfo
ralternativederivatives?...Thisisa
challengetoexplore.,he
observed.On
watershedprogram,heunderlinedthe
importanceofconcurrente
valuationand
impactassessmenttomakeitmo
reeffective.His
presentationalsoelabo
ratedontherationale,
m
andateandorganizationalstructureof
N
RAA.
Summingupthepresentations:
ChairpersonProf.Vyas
putforthfewpointsto
co
ncentrateindelibe
rationsbasedonth
e
presentationsinthespecialsession.Hefelttha
t:
Thereseemstobea
seriousdisconnection
betweenthepeople
whoarerealfarmer
s
andthosewhocla
imtobefarmers.Th
is
disconnectionneedtobeunderstoo
d
properly.
Thereisalsoan
eedtoevolvenew
institutionsasoldinstitutionshavefailed.
Requiredmechanism
shouldalsob
e
providedtoisolate
dominantclassinteres
t
fromtheseinstitutions.
EffortstomakeFarmerRepresentation
morevisibleinthec
ompositionofNational
RainfedAreaAuthority.Puttingleadstak
e
holdersinthefrontinaddressingissuesan
d
concernswouldyie
ldbetterresults.
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14 New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
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15 New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
SESSIO
N-II
A
nalysisofExistingScen
arioinRain
fedAreas
Chairperson
Dr.Rita
Sharma,FinancialAd
viser(DARE&ICAR)
Co-chairper
son
Dr.DevinderSharma
,Chairman,ForumforBiotechnology&F
oodSecurity
Rapporteur
ShriP.V.S.S.SuryaKuma
r,DGM,NABARD
N P di f R i f d F i
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16 New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
Synthesisofinnovativeexperie
ncesfor
develop
mentofRa
infedAgriculturein
the
contextofemergingc
risis
Dr.G.V.Rama
njaneyulu
ExecutiveDirector,CSA
Thep
resentationstartedwithaquotationfrom
notedscientist-DrAlbertEinstein,that,No
problemwouldbesolvedwiththesamelevelof
thinkingthatcreateditin
thefirstplace
Relying
on
scientific
research,
Dr.Ra
manjaneyulu,presen
tedthegravityof
agriculturalcrisisinthecountry.Theparadox
isthat
majorcrisisislocate
dinregionswith
techno
logyandcapitalintensivecultivation
speciallythegreenrevolutionareasinstateslike
Punjab,Kerala,AndhraPr
adesh,Karnataka
andM
aharashtra.Crisis
inagricultureis
eviden
tintheformofmigration,unemployment
andunderemploymentand
farmerssuicides.
Therearealsoecologicalandeconomiccostslike
destro
yedsoils,exhaustedandpolluted
groundwater,lossofdiversity,increasingcosts
ofcultivationanddecreas
ingreturns.This
processisalsomakingpeople
losingcontrolover
thenaturalresources-seeds,waterandland.
Given
thissituation,hestronglyadvocatedfor
anew
paradigm
forfacin
gthecrisis.This
paradigmaticinnovationne
ednotnecessarily
beatechnologicalinv
ention.Itcanbeneww
ays
ofunderstanding(theories,knowledge,
etc);
newwaysofdoing(p
ractices,products,etc)
and
newswaysoforg
anizing(partnersh
ips,
institutions,etc).Healsooutlinedthenatureof
thisparadigm
whichismoredive
rse,
decentralizedand
technologygenera
tion
happeningatdifferentnodesandhorizo
ntal
spreadingwhiletheconventionalsystems
rely
onhighlycentralized
,topdownmodel.
Dr.Ramanjaneyulu
saidthattherearestrong
evidencesacrossthe
countrywhichshow
that
regenerative
and
resource-conserv
ing
technologiesandp
racticescanbringboth
environmentaland
economicalbenefits
for
farmersandcommunities.Itisalsoproved
that
CommunityBasedO
rganizations(CBOs)
can
providegoodplatfor
mforvariousinnovat
ions
totakeroots.Heelaboratedondifferent
experiencesinrelationtoNonPestic
idal
Management,Farmers
Field
Scho
ols,
CommunitySeedB
anks,OrganicFarm
ing,
DecentralizedFoodS
ecurity,SocialRegula
tion
ofWateretc.byvariousgovernmentand
non
governmentagenciesacrossthecountry.There
arealsootherexperienceslikeSystemof
Rice
Intensification,DiversitybasedCropp
ing
Systems,Milletba
sedCroppingSyste
ms,
InnovativeuseofLaborand
Drou
ght
AdaptationInitiativ
es.Inrainfedareas
the
innovationneednotnarrowlyfocus
on
productivityalone,butalsoonsustaining
resourcesandreducingthecostsandrisks
.He
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17 New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
quotedth
eexampleofAndhra
Pradeshwhere
inthecottoncropthemajorco
stispesticides,
forwhich
NonPesticidalMana
gement(NPM)
approach
isimplemented.Thisreducedinput
coststogreaterextentandoveraperiodis
movingtowardsecologicalagriculture.
Mostoftheseexperiencesaresuccessfuleven
intheab
senceofpublicsup
portanditis
evidentthatpeoplearelooking
foroptions.He
citedthee
xamplesofvariousexperienceswhich
arealread
yscaledupinasignif
icantway;(e.g.;
Commun
ityManagedSustaina
bleAgriculture
inAndhraPradeshisalreadyin1500villages;
ZeroBudgetfarmingisbeingpracticedinmore
than10la
khacresinMaharash
tra,Karnataka,
AndhraP
radeshandPunjab.N
aturalFarming
inPunjab
andAPDSinAPin
9districts,etc).
Theseexperienceshaveamply
demonstrated
thatEcologicalFarmingispos
sibleonascale
provided
essentialsupportsystemsarebuilt.
Therefore,whatisneededisnewwaysof
understan
ding,evaluatingandsupportingsuch
innovations,heargued.Itisalso
establishedthat
Commun
ityManagedSystems
areessentialfor
strongna
turalresourcemanagementsystems.
Heremarkedthatonpestmanagement,the
dominantparadigmisfocusin
gonplant-pest
dynamicsratherthanpest-ecologydynamism.
Thechallengeistomoveawayfromlinearways
ofthinking
and
working.With
SER
P
co
llaborationinAndhra
Pradesh,theupscalin
g
of
NPMapproachre
ached1500villages,
re
sultinginreducedcostofcultivation.Th
e
learningsarethereandtheissueistotakethem
fo
rward,heopined.
Heobservedthatseed
isacriticalinputi
n
ag
riculture;Governmentsandindustryar
e
sh
owingseedreplacem
entastheonlywayto
im
proveproductivityandmakingthefarmers
co
ntinuouslydependentonthemarket.
Todayalltheexternalinstitutions(publican
d
private)arecateringto
only18%ofthesee
d
requirement.Eventheseedvillageprogramme
s
initiatedbystatedepartmentsmimickthesam
e
in
dustrialmodel.Thew
ayforwardisonlyto
em
phasisequalityseed
retentionrathertha
n
re
placement.Diversi
tybasedproductio
n
sy
stemsshouldbeinthehandsofth
e
co
mmunity.
Dr.Ramanjaneyulure
markedthatOrganic
fa
rmingwhichwasdismissedearliera
s
unproductiveisnow
gainingpopularit
y
be
causeofthemarketpull.Inthisregard,h
e
em
phasizedthatorganicfarmingbasedo
n
ap
proachestosolveproductionproblemsis
m
oresustainablerath
erthanbeingmarket
dr
iven.Onproductionfr
ont,thequestionishow
wemovefromaplant-nutrientrelationshipto
EconomicsofNPMcultivationinA
ndhraPradesh(200
5-06)
Crop
Costof
Plantprotection(Rs./a
cre)
Saving(Rs/acre)
Conventional
NPM
Cotton
5000
1000
4000
Chillies
15000
2000
13000
Redgram
1500
300
1200
Groundnu
t
1500
300
1200
Castor
2000
400
1600
Paddy
2000
225
1775
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8 New Paradigm for Rainfed Farming
soil-productivityrelationshipandhowto
measuresystemsproductivityratherthanyield
perunitcroppedarea.Hesaidthatexperiences
show
thatrainfedagriculturebenefitsby
organicfarming.
Raman
janeyuluthenspokea
boutsanskritisation
offood
habitsandpractices.Greenrevolution
ledto
monocroppingsystem
s.Foodsecurity
comes
fromadiversitybased
croppingsystems.
InIndiafoodsubsidiesforfewirrigatedcrops
havep
ushedfarmerstone
glectmostofthe
rainfed
crops.And,majorp
artofthecurrent
subsid
yforfoodisontransportandstorage.
Effort
slikecommunitygrainbanksand
AlternativePublicDistributionsystem(APDS)
have
solvedmost