NAGPUR: Despite a general perception that enough has been done in last couple of years for farmers by way of a massive loan waiver schemes, fertiliser subsidy and National Rural Employment Guarantee schemes, farm economists and activists see an urgent need for major hike in public investment in agriculture sector to arrest its sagging growth rate. “Industrialists with powerful lobbying apparatus have over the years put pressure on the government to divert resources.
Agriculture is taken for granted with public investment in it very low for the last one decade. This has directly stunted agricultural growth to around 2%. Even after the recent victory of the UPA government, the industry has prevailed on shifting focus to creamy areas like infrastructure building. But the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee would do a great service to a vast majority of the country if he increases allocation to agriculture,” said noted city economist Shrinivas Khandewale. “Within the sector, top priority should go to dry-land areas like Vidarbha where farmers have to face vagaries of the nature as well as the market forces. Neglect of the dry-land farmers has led to cultivators’ growing dependence on cash crops and giving up food crops.
This, in turn, has led to foodgrains shortage, costly imports and consumers paying through the nose for pulses and cereals. Set up in 2007, the National Rain-fed Authority exists only on paper at least in Maharashtra. It should be activated with influx of funds and projects to save the dryland farmer,” stressed Khandewale. A streamlined credit service and setting up of an institutional structure for farm inputs, technological needs also figure high on his wish-list. Shetkari Sanghatana leader Vijay Jawandhiya agrees with the views of Khandewale.
“Well-to-do farmers in irrigated lands get more attention and reap benefits of fertiliser and canal water subsidies.
On the other hand, more than 60% of farmers who live on drylands are getting little from the state as well as the Centre. On the lines of European Union, India should also switch to peracre subsidy at least for non-irrigated cultivation. If the dryland farmer is not bailed out, the younger generation will abandon the occupation.” Rather paradoxically, Jawandhiya has written to the finance minister to impose income tax on agriculture. “The industry also paints the picture that agriculture is favoured as it is spared of income tax.
Once it is taxed, the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti’s Kishore Tiwari sees an urgent need for setting up a agricultural price stabilisation fund. “In the last five years, prices of farm produce have been volatile. For instance, soyabean prices have swung from Rs 1200 to Rs 4000 a quintal. Due to this a farmer seldom makes money. It is the middleman who gets the big cut while the consumers have to face the brunt of price rise. A stabilisation fund could be the answer to this problem,” feels Tiwari. “Bigger allocation to the sector could help achieve the target of 4% growth rate in agriculture.
Besides, the government should pump more funds into rural system restoration, NREG and National Rural Health Mission and tighten up the delivery system as except couple of states like AP and TN, others have done poorly,” cautions Tiwari.
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