The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has alerted developing countries about possible steep rises in food prices during 2011, if steps are not taken immediately to increase significantly the production of major food crops. According to FAO, “with the pressure on world prices of most commodities not abating, the international community must remain vigilant against further supply shocks in 2011.” World cereal production is likely to contract by 2 per cent during 2010 and global cereal stocks may decline sharply. The price of sugar has reached a 30-year high while international prices of wheat increased by 12 per cent in the first week of December, 2010, as compared to their November average.
The quantitative and qualitative dimensions of the under- and mal-nutrition prevailing in our country are well known. The Steering Committee of a High Level Panel of Experts on Food and Nutrition set up under my chairmanship to advise the UN Committee on Food Security (CFS) recently concluded what we need urgently is a comprehensive coordinated approach, not piecemeal approaches, to tackling chronic, hidden and transitory hunger. This is also the lesson we can learn from countries which have been successful in combating hunger such as Brazil which, under its “Zero Hunger” programme, has achieved convergence and synergy among numerous nutrition safety net programmes. To some extent, this is what is being attempted under the proposed National Food Security (or Entitlements) Act of the Government of India.
What should be our priority agenda for 2011 on the food front? At least six areas need urgent and concurrent attention. First, the National Policy for Farmers placed in Parliament in November 2007, on the basis of a draft provided by the National Commission on Farmers (NCF), should not continue to remain a piece of paper, but should be implemented in letter and in spirit. This is essential to revive farmers' interest in farming. Without the wholehearted involvement of farmers, particularly of young as well as women farmers, it will be impossible to implement a Food Entitlements Act in an era of increasing price volatility in the international market. The major emphasis of the National Policy for Farmers is imparting an income orientation to agriculture through both higher productivity per units of land, water and nutrients, and assured and remunerative marketing opportunities. The Green Revolution of the 1960s was the product of interaction among technology, public policy and farmers' enthusiasm. Farmers, particularly in north west India, converted a small government programme into a mass movement. The goal of food for all can be achieved only if there is similar enthusiastic participation by farm families.
Second, every State government should launch a “bridge the yield gap” movement, to take advantage of the vast untapped yield reservoir existing in most farming systems even with the technologies currently on the shelf. This will call for a careful study of the constraints — technological, economic, environmental and policy — responsible for this gap. The Rs.25,000-crore Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana of the Government of India provides adequate funding for undertaking such work both in irrigated and rainfed areas. Enhancing factor productivity leading to more income per unit of investment on inputs will be essential for reducing the cost of production and increasing the net income. Scope for increasing the productivity of pulses and oilseed crops is particularly great. The programme for establishing 50,000 Pulses and Oilseed Villages included in the Union budget for 2010-11 is yet to be implemented properly. The cost of protein in the diet is going up and Pulses Villages will help to end protein hunger.
There are outstanding varieties of chickpea, pigeon pea, moong, urad and other pulses available now. What is important is to multiply the good strains and cultivate them with the needed soil health and plant protection measures. The gap between demand and supply in the case of pulses is nearly 4 million tonnes. We should take advantage of the growing interest among farmers in the cultivation of pulses, both due to the prevailing high prices and due to these crops requiring less irrigation water. Such high value, but low water requiring crops also fix nitrogen in the soil. Before the advent of mineral fertilizers, cereal-legume rotation was widely adopted for soil fertility replenishment and build-up.
Third, the prevailing mismatch between production and post-harvest technologies should be ended. Safe storage, marketing and value addition to primary products have to be attended to at the village level. Home Science colleges can be enabled to set up Training Food Parks for building the capacity of self-help groups of women in food processing. A national grid of ultra-modern grain storage facilities must be created without further delay. In addition to over 250 million tonnes of food grains, we will soon be producing over 300 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables. Unless processing and storage are improved, post-harvest losses and food safety concerns will continue to grow.
We should also expand the scope of the Public Distribution System by including in the food basket a whole range of underutilised plants like millets and, where feasible, tubers. The NCF pointed out that eastern India is a sleeping giant in the field of food production. The sustainable management of the Ganges Water Machine (this term was first used by Professor Roger Revelle) will provide uncommon opportunities for an evergreen revolution in this area. Fortunately Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is taking steps to make Bihar the heartland of the evergreen revolution movement in this region. The Ganges Water Machine is capable of helping us to increase food production considerably, provided we utilise ground water efficiently during rabi and replenish the aquifer during kharif.
Four, a nutrition dimension should be added to the National Horticulture and Food Security Missions. Hidden hunger caused by the deficiency of micronutrients like iron, iodine, zinc, Vitamin A and Vitamin B12 can be overcome at the village level by taking advantage of horticultural remedies for nutritional maladies. Popularisation of multiple fortified salt will also be valuable, since this is both effective and economical.
Five, a small farm management revolution which will confer on farmers operating one hectare or less the power and economy of scale is an urgent need. There are several ways of achieving this and these have been described in detail in the chapter titled, “Farmers of the 21st Century” in the NCF report. We need to foster the growth of a meaningful services sector in rural India, preferably operated by educated young farmers. The services provided should cover all aspects of production and post-harvest operations. Group credit and group insurance will be needed. Contract farming can be promoted if it is structured on the basis of a win-win situation both for the producer and the purchaser.
Finally, there is need for proactive action to minimise the adverse impact of unfavourable changes in climate and monsoon behaviour and to maximise the benefits of favourable weather conditions. For enabling farmers to develop a “we shall overcome” attitude in the emerging era of climate change, we need to set up in each of the 128 aqro-climatic zones identified by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research a Climate Risk Management Research and Training Centre. These centres should develop alternative cropping patterns to suit different weather probabilities. They should develop methods of checkmating potential adverse conditions. Along with a climate literacy movement, a woman and a man from every panchayat and nagarpalika will have to be trained as Climate Risk Managers. We will then have over half-a-million trained Climate Risk Managers, well versed in the science and art of climate change adaptation and mitigation. Such a trained cadre of grassroot Climate Risk Managers will be the largest of its kind in the world.
The present year is ending with damage to rice and other crops in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu due to excess of rain towards the end of the crop season. Farming is the riskiest profession in the world since the fate of the crop is closely linked to the behaviour of the monsoon. Even if there is assured irrigation source, natural calamities like cyclones, hail storms and very heavy showers take their toll. The National Monsoon Mission proposed to be taken up with the participation of U.S. expertise will certainly help to refine the prediction of weather as well as the status of crops and commodity prices. Also, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme provides unique opportunities for strengthening our water security system through scientific rain water harvesting and watershed management. This valuable benefit can however be realised only by integrating technology with labour. Once a national grid of Climate Risk Management Research and Training Centre comes into existence, it will be possible to build up seed banks of alternative crops, which can be grown if the first crop fails. Drought and Flood Codes should specify the action possible at the end of such calamities. For example in the flood affected areas, soil moisture will be adequate to grow a short duration fodder crop or a Vitamin A rich sweet potato.
Eternal vigilance is the price of stable agriculture. Early warning helps to take timely action. Food and water security will be the most serious causalities of climate change. 2011 will be a test case to assess whether we as a nation are capable of initiating proactive action to meet the challenges of price volatility, chronic hunger, agrarian despair and climate change.
(Professor M.S. Swaminathan is Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)).
Keywords: food crisis, hunger
Inspiring thoughts in this article. I have always had high regards for Dr.M.S.Swaminathan. He has been doing exemplary work. All through my childhood, I have lived in the Nilgiris and grew up in an environment where agriculture was the primary income for the family. I loved to visit the tea gardens, water the vegetables - potatoes, carrots, green leafy vegetables, fruits, flowers, and the list goes on. After school, I used to spend about an hour tending to the vegetable garden. But, after the tea prices fell and when the tea industry could never survive, all of us were forced to migrate to the plains. Even today, I would most willingly chuck my IT job to go back home and do agriculture, IF ONLY I could get some decent income out of it.
UPA govt. is just shouting the slogan of "aam admi"; but doing nothing for the people who are living under dirge poverty and mal-nutrition. Are all the agricultural scientists doing no research to find out the means & way for agricultural growth and productivity? Or central and state govt. are still sitting idle & have no interest for implementing the new methods and technology in agricultural sector to eradicate poverty and hunger ?
Nice points raised here.But I, sitting in a village, can at least say that education of farmers is the single most important factor to bring about food security. Though other actions by the government are a must, but such actions will be taken promptly only if the farmers ask for these. And the farmers will place such demands only if they are aware of there rights and obligations,which can be achieved only through education.
India's agricultural productivity is all times low which needs immediate redressal through active collaboration of agriculure scientists and government.Central govt has to follow tougher policy regarding exportation of agriculture products.why should we export such commodities when our nation needs every particle of it.We have still millions to feed,which can be done only by increasing producivity of lands and protecting our own market economy from inflation and price fluctuation.There is the immediate need for 2nd green revolution which can be realised by active collaboration between agriculture scientists,govt and farmers.we have to increase the enthusiasism of farmers to go for new varieties and govt should provide necessary help to farmers in irrigation fed areas.
It seems no one is worried about the way in which the land scape is being changed from agricultural land to malls and multi-storied houses. This plundering of little available fertile land is going to affect the country for the years to come as the change is irreversible. India is going to have the largest population with exploding urbanisation growth. Our country is solely dependent on monsoon and any deviation from normal is going to have disastrous effect on the poor and uncontrollable problem to the government. In the time to come if a rumour of India going to buy food grain will make the prices soar in International market as our demand would be very large. It is high time that we need policies in township planning and conversion of agricultural land to non agricultural one.
Where are the Indian agricultural scientist's? Where are the new ideas to bring green revolution to eastern India without rampant use of pesticide & harmfull chemicals? Are all agri scientists dead? Come on learn from the Bihar CM.
The article is great and it is appreciated. As a common man what we need more that this. At least you have highlighted the dangerous what we are going to face in the near future.We expect you will put all your effort to implement your vision and save people from hunger. We the opeople of India, hope the UPA governement will take adequate measure to improve the food production and support farmers for devoloping the agricultural sector.
Unfortunately our MLAs and MPs know very little about all this. They only seem to know about disrupting the legislative bodies.How are we going to change all this is the question?
Sincere thanks to Prof MS Swaminathan for working towards improving food security of India for all these years.
No words are enough to praise this visionary. It is indeed sad that in India we produce one person like this in every field - Be it a Sachin or a Dhanraj Pillay or an MSS. Any place where team is required, one person shines, the others perform in a mediocre way, and so the entire thing collapses. These ideas are indeed good, fantastic in fact, but in a place where the winter session of Parliament is 'frozen' for 2 weeks based on one topic alone, these suggestions to be implemented will take 2 decades. We need to see action corporate style. More accountability. Else, these ideas would remain the greatest ideas that were never implemented.
Thank you sir, for still keeping the faith and coming up with such suggestions. Your dedication is inspiring a lot of souls.
Excellent thought provoking material. Western countries pay so much importance and respect for agriculture. Agriculture has never recieved its due respect in our country. These are the days when small farmers have become labourers and the real estate people are dangerously encroaching agricultural land. I cannot understand how the food prices will stop climbing up if the government continues to ignore the farmers. No proper soil assessments, too much of fertilisers and pesticides, natural calamities,labour shortage, no fixed prices, no proper storage facilities, too powerful middleman as parasites- I cant see how our farmes will be motivated. A farmer has to sell all bananas from one tree for 70 to 80 rupees and he can buy two bathing soaps for that money. The price of soap is fixed and advertised by a model where as every one knows the fate of the farmers food product. Our policy makers should have woken up a long time ago and an unrealistically optimistic person can expect for them to wake up. It is not far off, our country is going to pay really heavy price for its selcetive ignorance on agriculture.
Great article. Can't understand how the Indian government makes mistakes even with such great people as advisors.
We really must stop just talking and writing about food security in our country, and get on with actually doing something about it. No doubt the corrupt, inefficient and bureaucratic machine which is our executive will find it extremely difficult to put the author's suggestions into practise. We can but hope for the best.
It should be the eye opener of all person involved in livelihood programme of Government.
nice article,these are the great ideas to protect farmers from losses and common man from price rise.
Dear Swaminathan sir,
I must really appreciate your dedicated continuous work towards India's agriculture & farming sector. At the time when our agriculture & farm productivity is all time low, its very essential that agriculture scientis should come forward to show the same path which India adopted during late 70s. I am happy that your work is aimed towards the same. Today when India has the highest number of malnourished children & starving families in the world, time for immediate action is needed towards the nations's most employed sector.
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