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Listen to any politician & you will hear the truism that India is an Agricultural nation and they are committed to the cause of farmers. However, the plight of the farmer does not attract much proactive steps from the government as the notion of support is far removed from the ground reality. Yes, new schemes are announced periodically (case in point, the new insurance scheme of the government) but witness the endemic issue of farmer's suicide across some of the bastions of farm territories (Vidarbha, Telangana, Karnataka, etc.), and you realize that there is no willingness to make a true break from the past.
While the challenges before the farm sector are plenty, a key reason is that governments of different hue have failed to understand that farming methodology has to move with the times. Unfortunately, it has taken severe crisis - as in the days of historic famines of the 1940s and 1960s - before any radical and innovative steps have been taken. The Green & White Revolution are examples of such responses to desperate situations.
Official numbers indicate that more than 58% of the rural households still list Agriculture as their chief source of income. And, their contribution is significant. Apart from the traditional strengths in Spices (which continues to be a major export item), today India has become the second largest fruit producer in the world. What is not known enough is that Agricultural items (such as canned, dairy, processed, frozen food, fisheries, meat, poultry, and food grains, etc.) constitute the fourth largest category of exports (about 10% of overall exports). With the world's largest bovine population, India also is the largest milk producer (18.5%) in the world.
While all these statistics are certainly laudable, they hide more than they reveal. There are indeed various causes for low farm productivity - technical, infrastructural, human, etc. One of the most controversial issues in this arena is the role of next generation technology in Indian Agriculture, specifically whether Genetically Modified (GM) seeds should be allowed more widely or not.
Positions in this debate get hardened and very soon rational discussions give way to emotional outbursts. A recent column by the well-known commentator, Swaminathan Aiyar, is a case in point. His espousal of the need for modernization in Agriculture attracted the attention of trolls who have accused him of being a spokesperson for the 'GM lobby'. Aiyar had pointed out in his piece that there is a strong global 'NGO lobby' which has stymied the introduction of high yielding GM seeds in India, in the edible oil and other segments too. Caught in the crossfire of this debate is the Indian farmer who worries as he loses his livelihood and sees a constant downslide in his income, year after year, while imports of food grain, vegetables & edible oils continue unabated from global sources, ironically some from GM sources.
A point to note is that GM crops continue to gain acceptance in more nations, including in our neighborhood, chiefly Bangladesh. Suffice it to say that some of those crops will come over the border for sure not too far down the road! Adding muscle to the GM corner is the fact that technology has modified all aspects of human life - not just now - but from a long time before. The Green Revolution in Agriculture also faced its critics and over the years has now been acknowledged as a major contributor in the fight against hunger and famine. Yes, there are forces (interestingly strange bedfellows: those harking back to traditional Indian heritage and global voices against technology!) who have come together in blocking the front-door to new innovations in seed technology. However, at the risk of annoying the traditionalists, I am clear that progress is inevitable in this field too. Given a choice, the Indian farmer will accept the new generation seeds both for vegetables and for other crops. And, this will offer a new lease of life to the farm sector.
The moot question: when? Ah, well, that is a million-dollar question! Sadly, the track record of Indian policy makers is that we prefer a reactive response and only a series of acute crises will provoke a forward step. And, thereby, the Indian farmer may well miss the opportunity to be the one to feed the world.
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