Hunger8217;s warning call

Raising this alarm is none other than the father of the Green RevolutionM.S. Swaminathan. At a time when every second harvest report at the Ministryof Agriculture is pegged with adjectives of record production,8217; thescientist is busy driving home the harsh realities which the country willhave to face in future. Hunger could be the first in the series.

For the man who spearheaded the India8217;s march to self-sufficiency in foodproduction, the issue is far more serious than usual explanation of findingsof extensive research work, showing computer graphics or holdingdiscussions. Much more than the Ministry of Agriculture8217;s busy seminarschedule.

8220;We have made symposia and seminars out of the issues of hunger in ournation and used the poor as subjects of our studies. Unfortunately nothingmoves when it comes to helping the poor,8221; regrets the head of the UNESCOchair in Ecotechnology.

The situation is turning grim. The growth rate of crop production is losingtrack of population growth. Even the published official documents of KrishiBhavan have begun to acknowledge this fact openly. The excuse,interestingly, takes off from the Green Revolution itself.

8220;Without undermining the achievement of the Green Revolution in impartingdynamism to the growth in food grains production in the country, it has tobe admitted that the impact of Green Revolution has generally remainedrestricted to the well-endowed irrigated areas of the country, leading todisparities across the regions, across crops and across sections offarmers,8221; say the background notes circulated by the Department ofAgriculture and Cooperation during the Economic Editors Conference held afew months ago.

8220;There are large variations in the yields among semi-arid and GreenRevolution areas. High potential areas like the Eastern and North-Easternregions are still lagging behind in production enhancement efforts,8221; thenote adds.

At present, agriculture is the largest private sector enterprise in thecountry of over 100 million farmers. It contributes 24 per cent of thecountry8217;s Gross Domestic Product GDP. The sector produces 51 major crops,provides raw material to country8217;s agro-based industries and contributesnearly one-sixth of the total export earnings of the country.

8220;For a nation like India, Agriculture is a livelihood security. Onerequires synergy between the public policies and the technology. This,unfortunately, has become negligible,8221; says Swaminathan.

8220;At this stage if the Indian agriculture does not become efficient, it willbe taken over by the foreign agriculture,8221; cautions Swaminathan. 8220;Forexample, at a time when the food processing industry is picking up, theIndian markets are loaded with foreign processed food products,8221; he adds.While on one side it is lack of correct government policies, on the otherhand the flagbearer institutions of agricultural research work in thecountry are engaged in a struggle to make their mark felt. The IndianAgricultural Research Institute IARI, Pusa is one such case.

The 50 hectares of self-contained campus housing premier laboratories, whichexecuted the blue-print of Green Revolution, have gradually faded out of thenews in the last few years. Besides research, the place is now happeningwith allegations and counter-allegations between the ICAR administration ndthe scientists forum.

What about the significant contributions in the last few years? 8220;Largenumber of varieties have been released,8221; replies P.K. Singh, director ofthe Institute.

8220;It is not correct that nothing much has happened after the GreenRevolution. India8217;s record production has not happened all of a sudden. Ithas taken several years,8221; he says. The scientists, inside, admit thedecline in research.

8220;Call it poor leadership or the mismanagement, the integrated research atIARI has remained confined to labs and has failed to reach thegrass-roots,8221; says Principal Investigator S.S. Yadav, leading thescientists forum.

In such an environment in the Ministry and the institutions, there8217;s notmuch hope.

8220;The only hope for us is that we have not entirely tapped our agriculturepotential. Although, India stands among the top nations in terms of foodproduction, its crop yield per hectare rankings are very low. Thus, there isscope for improvement,8221; remarks a senior official at the Ministry ofAgriculture.