When Dr Manmohan warned of agrarian crisis in Punjab at PAU

Call it his farsightedness or unmatched wisdom, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in his 2012 address at PAU, had well-predicted the groundwater exploitation crisis that Punjab was facing and had recommended the immediate phasing out of rice cultivation from the state. He even predicted that in the coming years, two areas that would need special focus in Punjab were education and skill development for its youth to prosper. Thus, he emphasized the importance of the state focusing on sectors other than agriculture.

Special grant for PAU on Manmohan Singh’s intervention

Equally close to his heart was PAU, one of the oldest agricultural universities in the country, whose scientists pioneered the Green Revolution and provided food security to the nation.

In 2006, the former PM, while heading the Congress-led UPA-I government at the Centre, gave special direction to then Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram that PAU must be allocated a special grant of Rs 100 crore for research and other purposes, which was duly announced in the Union budget that year.

Dr Manmohan Singh during the golden jubilee convocation of PAU in 2012.

“P. Chidambaram saab told us that the special grant for PAU was even doubled from Rs 50 crore to 100 crore on Manmohan Singh ji’s personal intervention. That year, PAU was the only university which was given Rs 100 crore. We were always grateful to him for this gesture,” remembers Dr. K.S. Aulakh, then Vice-Chancellor of PAU.

Later, from the Rs 100 crore received from the Centre, the university constructed a new auditorium and named it after Dr. Manmohan Singh. “Since the auditorium was constructed from the special grant he had given, we named it after him, not just to thank him but also to ensure that students continue to get inspiration from his life journey and achievements as an academician and a par-excellent economist. We had named the building after him only after taking his due permission,” says former PAU V-C Dr. Baldev Singh Dhillon.

Water sustainability, climate change, diversification: Economist PM said it all

During his address at the PAU convocation in 2012, the former PM spoke at length on several issues plaguing Punjab’s agricultural crisis. From water sustainability to climate change and the need for agro-processing, Dr. Manmohan Singh stated that just as PAU scientists had provided food security to the nation, they also needed to gear up to tackle the current agrarian crisis.

“The PAU has contributed enormously to the development of Indian agriculture, right from the early years when the country was in a food deficit… It was PAU’s pioneering work, combined with the receptivity and hard work of the progressive farmers of Punjab, that made the original Green Revolution possible and gave the country food security,” he said, crediting then Punjab CM Partap Singh Kairon for the university’s establishment.

However, he also reminded PAU that it was time to look ahead to future challenges.

“Just as a Golden Jubilee is an occasion to celebrate the past, it should also be an occasion to look ahead to the future. The PAU has played a leading role in making Punjab’s agriculture a matter of pride for the entire nation. It must now gear up to help Punjab’s agriculture meet the challenges of the future,” the former PM said.

“The sustainability of water use in agriculture has emerged as a major problem in Punjab. Exploitation of groundwater far exceeds the rate of recharge, leading to a steady decline in the water table. This is clearly not sustainable. Similar problems exist in other parts of the country, but they are most severe in Punjab. The challenge is how to maximize farm income while adopting a more sustainable strategy for water use. This definitely calls for a change in the rice-wheat cropping pattern. It is, of course, a profitable cropping cycle because the cost of overexploiting groundwater is not part of private profitability calculations,” he said.

“Punjab cannot and should not continue overexploiting its groundwater to support rice cultivation. Diversification out of rice is therefore essential. Fortunately, a gradual phasing out will not affect the overall food security of the country today. Punjab’s agricultural strategy must evolve a workable diversification plan that causes the least economic hardship to farmers,” said Dr. Manmohan Singh.

On climate change threatening agriculture, he said: “Climate change can have serious implications for our food security and the livelihood security of our farmers, particularly the small and marginal farmers. Greater frequency of drought and deficient precipitation significantly reduces agricultural production in un-irrigated areas by reducing the area under crops and also lowering productivity. Rising temperatures will also have negative effects on agricultural productivity, including particularly the productivity of current varieties of wheat.”

“However, we must recognize that even as Punjab leads in agriculture, it cannot afford to neglect the development of the non-agricultural sector, particularly the manufacturing sector. The youth of Punjab will increasingly look for productive employment opportunities outside agriculture. Two areas that need special attention are education and skill development. Punjab’s youth, if given proper education and skills, would provide investors with a very productive and efficient workforce,” the former PM said, concluding his address.

“The most distinguished economist”: CM Badal had said

Dr. Manmohan Singh, who held the highest degrees in economics from Oxford and Cambridge, was also conferred an honorary doctorate by PAU, with the citation describing him as the “architect of economic reforms in the country.”

Cutting across political rivalry, Akali Dal patriarch and then CM Badal, during the PAU convocation, told students that they were “the luckiest to receive their degrees in the presence of the PM, who is the the luckiest to receive their degrees in the presence of the PM who is the most distinguished economist in the world.”

“The PM always tries to solve problems of Punjab and we are indebted to him,” Badal had said.