Desperate farmers

If the Centre has a strategy for agriculture, the lifeline of two out of three people in this country, it is the best kept secret today. A...

If the Centre has a strategy for agriculture, the lifeline of two out of three people in this country, it is the best kept secret today. After delivering itself of some musing on the subject a few months ago, the Agriculture ministry has fallen silent and inactive. Nothing more has been heard of government plans to unfetter and reform agriculture and boost growth. Meanwhile the neglect of agriculture shows up in a second consecutive year of poor growth. According to the Centre for Monitoring the India Economy, with agricultural growth in the first half of the current fiscal at 1.1 per cent and an even poorer performance in the second half, the year is expected to end with a barely positive, 0.6 per cent growth rate. With sluggishness in agriculture impacting on the industrial and service sectors, it is a mystery how there can be continuing optimism about sustaining high GDP growth rates.

There is much talk in policy circles of gearing up for globalisation, of new marketing strategies, 8220;corporatisation8221; of growers, exploiting biotech opportunities. But the reality on the ground says something different. Farmers8217; suicides in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, farmers struggling with a third successive year of drought in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and farmers in Punjab strewing the highways with their bumper potato crop all speak the language of despair. Adverse weather conditions have taken too much blame for what is wrong in the countryside and the minister of Agriculture too little. Had Nitish Kumar been a full-time minister instead of being a full-time politician, had he brought as much passion to agriculture as he gives to Samata Party intrigues, there would be a better chance of setting things right soon. The fact is Indian farmers are at a crossroads. One road leads to a vast new world of opportunities but is as yet full of unknown factors. The other road is the well-wornpath of government intervention which increasing leads to distortions on the land and in the market. Good leadership is essential for farmers to make the right decision and a relatively trouble-free transition to the new world.

There is mounting pressure from farm lobbies and political allies for more government intervention. This should be resisted and sound counter-proposals presented instead. It is not government purchases in mandis that political leaders should offer farmers but efficient markets, better market intelligence, risk coverage and access to agribusiness opportunities. When there are better links to the market every glut need not turn out a disaster: A global fall in sugar output probably represents an excellent opportunity for Indian sugar growers who are faced with the prospect of high output and falling prices at home. One of the consequences of politically driven agricultural policies is being seen right now in the sale of highly subsidised wheat at discounted prices in East Asian markets. That is certainly better than letting excess stocks rot in godowns but makes absolutely no sense as a long term agriculture strategy. When will agriculture feel the winds of change?