New Delhi: The NITI Aayog has called for a policy response to deal with the growing surplus of agricultural commodities such as rice and wheat in the country, which may lead to an increase in public stockpiles along with downward pressure on prices of those commodities.
Some of the suggestions by the government policy think-tank to prevent stockpiles are diversification of crops, boost in export with focus on food processing, and district-agro-climatic wise farming across the country.
These suggestions were discussed at a governing council meeting of NITI Aayog held on 20 February.
According to documents related to the discussions at the meeting, which have been accessed by ThePrint, the government policy think-tank has called for at least a 20-25 per cent increase in export of foodgrain production in the coming years. This should be over and above the current level.
India’s exports of agri-commodities stood at $28.91 billion from April to December 2020.
The think-tank has also advocated for a major diversification push towards nutri-cereals such as jowar, millets and pulses — thus shifting away from the current massive surplus production in wheat and rice from states like Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
In 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture had termed millets — which are less water-guzzling and climate-resilient crops that can be cultivated even in dry areas — as a “powerhouse of nutrients”.
The initial phases of crop diversification, as suggested by the think-tank, should start by developing a plan at the district-level first. It said it is better to have a different diversification strategy for different districts to avoid glut and price crashes rather than a state-wise plan.
This would optimise net return to farmers — subject to conditions like lower stress on water use and usage of some natural resources, the documents stated.
The NITI Aayog pointed out that diversification can serve multiple goals such as matching demand and supply, better nutrition and health of the population, promoting efficiency, sustainability and profitability, export and enhance income of producers.
It has also advocated promotion of allied sectors of agriculture such as horticulture, fisheries and animal husbandry.
The think-tank has also called for a continued push in diversification of areas in which there is already massive growth such as the fisheries sector, which has almost double-digit growth. It also called for promotion of sectors that would sustain high growth, while also promoting food processing and export in it.
Also read: Save Punjab from desertification, move paddy-wheat to UP, Bihar, Bengal — agronomist SS Johl
‘Livestock, fisheries should be promoted’
Experts, however, said crop diversification may not be an “easy” step for farmers, however, it will be beneficial to not just them but also the environment and consumers.
“Shifting cultivation from traditional foodgrain crops such as wheat and rice may not be an easy one, but will be beneficial to all farmers, environment and consumers,” Arabinda K. Padhee, country director of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), told ThePrint.
“Crops like millets are cheap for farmers to grow as they require less water and chemical input, which makes them suitable also for the environment. Moreover, these crops provide more macro and micronutrients than the conventional ones to the consumers, which are direly needed as (according to) the recent NFHS-5 (National Family Health Survey) data, condition of a few states have worsened in nutritional aspects.”
ICRISAT is an international organisation, which conducts agricultural research for rural development.
“Livestock, fisheries and other allied sectors should be promoted as not only have they pushed the agriculture GDP, but have also contributed to increasing the economic status of farmers,” added Padhee.
From ‘conflict with nature’ to ‘comply with nature’
The NITI Aayog has laid stress on district-level, agro-climatic farming not only for the purpose of crop diversification, but also for food processing, agro-based industry and exports with the motive of shifting from the current status quo of ‘conflict with nature’ to a new paradigm of ‘comply with nature’, the documents stated.
The documents cited that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has already delineated the entire country into 128 agro ecological zones (AEZs), which are already in use for district-level contingency planning and have prepared crop plans for some districts that are best suited to the natural environment.
Henceforth, the same plan can be extended to develop district-level crop planning in tandem with agro-climatic zones and the corresponding availability of natural resources.
However, the think-tank noted that for ease of administration, the district is used as a unit of planning, but it may not strictly correspond to agro ecological zoning. Therefore, in some cases more than one district will comprise AEZs.
The think-tank also advocated that the current agriculture model of production maximisation has been pushed to an extreme without paying adequate attention to its effects on land, water, environment and ecology.
Long-term sustainability has been sacrificed in agriculture for the short-run as this sector is the single most important user of natural resources.
The think tank stated district and agro-climatic level cropping plans can prove crucial for agricultural sustainability as they can lead to a balance of environmental health and economic profitability.
The best way to achieve this, according to NITI Aayog, is to reorient the production system, cropping system, product choices and practices to natural resource endowment, rainfall, temperature and soil type in different typologies.
Also read: Everyone agrees farm reforms are needed. Here’s how Modi govt can break political deadlock
‘Creation of agri clusters of famous products’
The NITI Aayog has also reiterated that food processing and export under ‘One District One Product’ scheme not only aligns perfectly with district-level crop diversification, but will also help raise rural jobs and income of farmers.
This future development of agriculture with rise in income will augment shift in demand towards processed food and thereby furthering this cycle.
“Creation of agri clusters of famous products at their major producing locations such as grapes in Maharashtra, Basmati and Chilli growing areas will push farmer income and growth with both forward and backward linkages. The creation of corresponding FPOs (Farmers Producer Organisations) will also be a support to this,” Padhee said.
The think-tank has further said there is a gradual acceleration in the growth rate in food production and a steady slowdown in the growth rate of the human population.
As the food production in the next 10 years is projected to grow 3-4 times the growth rate in population, this will lead to mounting food surplus in the country, the NITI Aayog has said.
Also read: Rural India can’t be dustbin of history. Three farm laws have shown farmers need a New Deal