Achieving 4 per cent agricultural growth is a must

Dr B K Mukhopadhyay

It is not only in India, in many developing economies, Government after Government tumble down, President/Prime Ministers succeed President/Prime Minister, but the state of agriculture changes at a sil’s pace! So, another Five Year Plan is going to be over, there has been a mixed performance - giving way to the next one. The major grey area, as usual, has been the farm sector, where the uncoordited efforts still continue to exist in spite of the GDP drum beating. It is crystal clear that tinkering around the ongoing weapons cannot help reach the target. Had we been one of the leading farm output holders, the world market could have been explored in a much better way! The purpose here is not to belittle the results achieved, but to flash the point that we deserve better and have the ability to forge ahead. Reaching a target of 250 million tones+ of food grains output, in India, for example, [up from 51 million tons in 1951 when the first Five Year Plan was taken up], does not necessarily allow us to be complacent!

The point here is that had we, the developing zone, been one of the grain bowls [still the scope remains] - by now; we could have reaped large benefits from the rising intertiol prices of the agri-commodities. The most important factor on this score is that demand for such commodities – especially the food grains- would never come down, rather it is all set to go up over time. Population upsurge coupled with growing demand from industrial sectors could keep the demand factor at reasobly high level.

So the question of complacency is not at all there rather the time is ripe for looking at the inhibiting factors. It is very difficult to understand why the pulses [main protein source for the vegetarians] output hovers [in India] around 12 – 17 million tonnes since 1960’s! It is still considered second grade – though there is no doubt that a number of programmes have been taken by the Government. Poor implementation continues to hit hard.

Clearly, if the current trends are of any indication, the food and agricultural policy system is in disarray. The symptoms of such a disarray  are not difficult to locate – incoherent / idequate response to exploding food prices; slowdown in agricultural  productivity growth; water problems; a disorderly response to continuously disturbing energy prices; rapid concentration in multitiol agri-business corporations without adequate institutiol innovation aiming at properly guiding them; lack of progress in addressing scarcity; widespread nutritiol problems [ hunger / obesity / chronic diseases ] plus agriculture related health hazards [ avian influenza, etc ] and adverse impacts on climatic fluctuations.

Underinvestment in areas related to food, nutrition / agriculture [research / infrastructure / rural institutions] invite spillover effect / global impacts, among others. It is high time that sincere collaborative programmes are resumed among the countries in order to adequately address opportunities and challenges. 

Positive points do exist. Ongoing trend is steadily moving in terms of registering quicker growth in agricultural productivity. It is a good going - growth and modern farm practices and inclusive technologies are being implemented   in order to foster the rural growth process. It is also a fact that cellular technologies, wireless communication networks as well as GIS based agro-software technologies are reaching rural India to dissemite vital information and updates on weather, farming technologies, fertilizers, livestock, commodity prices as well as stock markets. Still, a huge number of villages do not have access to advanced farming technologies and interactive communication networks, not to speak of the pace of rural electrification and clean drinking water availability.

Is it not the appropriate time to broaden the sight and look at vital aspects – re-identifying policy dimensions and initiatives; capacity building through PPP, individual initiatives and joint ventures; boosting agri-business and agri-marketing; GIS mapping and harvesting trends; mitigating climatic change hazards; precision farming – optimum utilization of resources; leaning heavily on most modern agri-practices; micro-fince and micro credit and attaching top importance to food security? Needless to say the responsibilities are to be shouldered not only by banks, but also by the Government Departments; NGOs, Commodity Exchanges; agri-marketing and State Marketing Boards and of course the Extension Departments of various States. Time is ripe for a more well-knitted coordited actions so as to : initiate inter-sectoral-linkages; progressive decision making, information sharing and performance improvement; capacity building; creating more opportunities for partnership building, development reorganization and capacity enhancement for the rural stakeholders.

The urgent need is there to go for overall farm development efforts. For that matter, needless to say, the infrastructure holds the key. The loss incurred during the entire production process inclusive of the damage done in the unscientific threshing, rat mece, field loss, can be minimized. Without proper training imparted to the farmers as regards post harvest technology not much can be expected on this score. Connectivity between the producing zone and the selling zones calls for immediate reinforcing. Buy-back arrangement is obviously a good process provided the actual producer receives the legitimate benefit in due course.

It must be agreed upon that in India’s planning this is nothing uncommon – set the high targets and ultimately become a laggard!  Most of the plans lack the realistic touch in as much as sectoral target fixing cannot ignore the spatial dimensions, regiol peculiarities and other related sociological factors. More often the politics pushes back the economic positives. Rather economics is used for achieving the political purposes.  Not only is this the reality in India but in the entire developing world. Either the projects are not taken up or even when the same is taken up the rate of progress remains at a palpably low level – cost escalation is rewarded! What is more projects completed are not subsequently followed up, supervised adequately as a result of which the same assignment is to be repeated within a short span of time involving more expenses.

The potentialities still remain very high. How many countries are there in the world that can produce grapes twice in a year! The quality of many horticultural crops ebles countries like India, Bangladesh, and Vietm remain largely unbeatable in the global market. In spite of competition becoming intense – hotter and hotter – we are able to retain the markets for many agri-commodities. The flip side – we have to remain contended with insignificant share in global trade in agri-commodies! Strong cooperation among the developing and developed world is a must, as hunger cannot go on waiting ad infinitum!! Let there be a good inter-regiol cooperation in a more practical way.

Whatever it is, the lead is to come from the two giants – India and Chi. As a matter of fact the world would heavily depend on these two regions in the days to come. Chi has, of late, also been stressing hard on this sector, clearly realizing that those big industries alone or an export-led growth ultimately hinges heavily on how the food factor extends support.

For India, fortutely that severe negligence has not been there – the missing factor remained at not properly exploring the resources at a quicker pace. Had it been so, by now we could have ruled the world so far as many such commodities are concerned. A lot thus depends on formulating realistic policies and then regular practical follow up and supervision.

(The Writer, a noted Magement Economist, and an Intertiol Commentator on Business and Economic Affairs, attached to the West Bengal State University, can be reached at m.bibhas@gmail.com)