Why reforms are an absolute must to boost agri-sector in the Northeast

Guwahati: Given the month-long lockdown hitting the food production sector badly, the Central government as a part of its Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan introduced three new ordinances with the aim of encouraging the farmers in the country. The new ordinances are stated to have been framed keeping in mind paramount freedom to farmers to revolutionize the entire agricultural sector, similar to one achieved by the green revolution. Following this, experts have remarked that the new ordinance will benefit the farmers of the northeastern region greatly.

Northeast India, a biologically rich and diverse landscape is endowed with rich natural resources-Kiwi, avocado, dragon fruit, passion fruit, strawberries, oranges, pineapples, spices like large cardamom and turmeric, tea, coffee, and other medicinal plants. One of the reasons for this wide variety of crops is the ideal climatic condition that the region offers. Another highlight of the farming sector in the northeastern regions is the average farm holding. In the northeast, the average farm holding size is more than the national average --highest being in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. This is cited as an amenable condition for contract farming.

Despite these advantages, the region has not been able to reap the benefits to its fullest potential possible. Most of the time, the inability of the farmers to identify the right market and seek a fair price leads to setbacks.

In the past, many big companies have approached the small farmers in the states, putting the entire market risk to fall on their shoulders. This is what happened when Ruchi Soya and 3F entered into contract farming arrangements of palm oil cultivation with the farmers of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.

Similarly, Spice fresh, a subsidiary of Spice Jet, smelt an opportunity in juicy Dambuk mandarins and set up a hub at Digboi. Farm fresh oranges, sorted, graded, and packed were airlifted from Dibrugarh to adorn the shopping malls in metros. The partnership with local farmers ruptured in less than a year due to the absence of clearly defined rules. The same is the state of the ownership rules in the region.

The customary rules of ownership differ from state to state and even from tribe to tribe. There is an immediate need to standardize the ownership rights. The northeast also suffers a lack of economies of scale. Planning for rural road connectivity and post-harvest market infrastructure -- such as cold storages and rural godowns -- would be of some help. The region must transform into an integrated agricultural market.

The collectivization of farmers under 'Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region' created 100 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO), which yielded good results. With the help of these FPO's, organized interface with aggregators and contract farmers are viewed possible. Hence, there is a need for the state and local administration to upscale their activities. Government-led electronic National Agricultural Market (eNAM) has created a national network of mandis through an online trading portal. Buyers outside the state are free to participate in local trading. But unfortunately, none of the markets in the northeast are a part of this framework. New technology-based methods of marketing should update the prevailing systems.

The ordinance alone is not going to bring any revolution. Necessary reforms should be initiated by the state and local governments to support the farmers and in turn, bring out the best outcomes with the available resources.