rain fed farming - proceedings of the national workshops

8/8/2019 Rain Fed Farming - Proceedings of the National Workshops

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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.


2/149

Procee

dingsofthe

NationalWor

kshop

on

NewPar

adigmfo

rRainfed

Farming

Date:

27th

-29th

September,2007

Venu

e:

IARI,NASCComp

lex,NewDelhi

Organize

dby

Supportedby


3/149

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


4/149

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


5/149

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


6/149


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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8/149


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

vii


9/149


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

viii


10/149


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


11/149


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

x


12/149


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

xi


13/149


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

xii


14/149


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

xiii


15/149


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.

xiv


16/149

InauguralSession


17/149

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


18/149


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


19/149


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)


20/149


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


21/149


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


22/149


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


23/149


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.


24/149


SpecialSession


25/149

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


26/149


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


27/149


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


28/149


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.


29/149



30/149


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


31/149


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


32/149


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



33/149


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

rain fed farming - proceedings of the national workshops

Documents