Draft national farm policy gets a facelift

NEW DELHI, MARCH 6: The draft national agricultural policy has been revamped, following recognition that the earlier draft was merely a g...

NEW DELHI, MARCH 6: The draft national agricultural policy has been revamped, following recognition that the earlier draft was merely a general statement of intent rather than a policy with specific measures and was likely to fall flat.

However, the tabling of the new revamped policy will be delayed till the next session of Parliament. In place of the earlier statement of what was desirable, the revamped policy begins with a declaration that it aims to promote a long-term annual farm output growth rate of at least four per cent.The revamped policy outlines as its areas of concern the fact that the growth in agricultural output since the 1980s has been accompanied by an increasing level of input subsidies, making it financially non-viable. It notes that household food security remains elusive, with the absolute numbers of those under the poverty line having grown threefold since Independence.

The policy also notes that for all its successes, the Green Revolution remained confined to rainfed areas,resulting in serious regional imbalances in agricultural growth.

It notes that the growing intensification of farming is creating severe stress on land, leading not only to diminishing economies but also diminishing physical returns from the land.

Finally, the policy notes that new challenges have been created for Indian agriculture after the Uruguay Round trade agreement with countries deploying several protectionist methods to avoid liberalising their farm trade.To address these concerns, the policy focuses on measures to revamp agricultural credit and institutions, create farm produce storage facilities and processing units, a strong farm marketing infrastructure and the extension of power and roads in rural areas.

Other areas of focus in the policy are food preservation and processing to add value and prevent waste of perishables, as well as promoting chemical-free, natural-substance foods such as pickles and murabba. The policy lays special stress on exploiting the potential for medicinal andaromatic plants. India boasts 48,000 plant varieties, 11 per cent of the total world endowment.

There is also to be a focus on the conservation of natural resources such as water, soil and genetic material as well as a stress on cattle breeding.