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It is manmade tragedy, says Swaminathan

Gargi Parsai

Crisis on the agriculture front

M.S. Swaminathan

NEW DELHI: There is a cow but no fodder or maintenance. And what should the farmer do with the milk yield without marketing backup? So the cow becomes a liability to the poor Vidharbha farmer, who is already under a debt burden.

As suicides in the Maharashtra region continue unabated, this and similar "deficiencies" in the Vidharbha Rehabilitation Package were at the centre of discussions organised by the National Commission of Farmers with the Deans and Vice-Chancellors of Agriculture Universities here on Saturday. The interaction was meant to apprise the universities of the Commission's recommendations and the role they were expected to play as "custodians of farmers' well-being," as Chairman M.S. Swaminathan quoted Jawaharlal Nehru as saying.

However, as speaker after speaker gave a candid description of what was wrong with Indian agriculture, a pall of gloom descended on the gathering.

"There is no need to feel despondent or depressed. It is not good for the country's morale and image. This is an avoidable, man-made tragedy for which human solutions must be found," said Dr. Swaminathan.

"How can a mere 0.67 per cent of students graduating out of agriculture and veterinary universities change the lot of 65 per cent people engaged in farming in the country," asked M.C. Varshnya from Anand in Gujarat.

The share of agriculture in the budget dwindled from 30 to 12 per cent.

"Hi-tech is fine but unless firm investment is made in the basic infrastructure and irrigation for small and marginal farmers, the situation would not improve," asserted E.R. Patil from Akola in Maharashtra.

"Packages incomplete"

An expert from Maharashtra, who did not want to be named, hinted that the Central packages — drawn up without any consultation with the universities or the extension wing — were incomplete. Just as a cow lacked fodder and the farmer had no marketing tie-up, the package under the National Horticulture Mission lacked processing units and marketing.

Dilip Kumar of the Central Institute of Fisheries Education in Mumbai said the Krishi Vigyan Kendras were just "managers of various subsidies being given by government rather than disseminators of technology to farmers."

Woes in Chhattisgarh

C.R. Hazra of Indira Gandhi Agriculture University in Chhattisgarh pointed out that the small and marginal farmers in the State were becoming landless as big farmers from Punjab and Haryana were buying off their land. "Since it is a mono-cropping State, farmers have no earning during the rabi season. As a result, more than 2.6 lakh of the population migrates during the winter and summer seasons. Ten years ago the Below Poverty Line population was 38 per cent. Now it has become 44 per cent."

S.L. Mehta, Vice-Chancellor, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture Technology in Udaipur, bemoaned the lack of finance and adequate and competent faculty in farm universities. He called for restructuring of the university system.

Observing that there was not a single woman vice-chancellor or dean at the meeting, Mina Swaminathan stressed gender sensitivity and equality in the farm sector.

In a message, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi urged that the issues of land reforms, corporate and contract farming, MNC-driven research, education of farmers and post-harvest technologies be considered.

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