Doubling farmer income by 2022

The Modi government’s target of doubling farmer income by 2022 may appear to be quite ambitious, but if the comprehensive recommendations made by Swaminathan Commission are implemented across the country by the Central and state governments, the target may still be achievable. In fact, the Modi government may now be all the more focusing on addressing and resolving issues of farmers and the agriculture sector as farmers in Gujarat have sent an unambiguous message through the Gujarat assembly polls that the political establishment can ignore them only at their own peril. Farmers across the country may take a cue from the Gujarat farmers and send the Modi government packing in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 if it fails to read the writing on the wall.

Let us look at some of the key recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission that need to be adopted and implemented by the Central and state government on a priority basis.

1. Prime farmland must be conserved for agriculture and should not be diverted for non-agriculture purposes and for programmes like the Special Economic Zone.

2. Water is a public good and social resource and not private property. Priority should be given to evolving just and equitable mechanisms to give access to water and to include local people in management of water resources…Rainwater harvesting and aquifer recharge should be mandatory and farmers must be provided financial assistance to invest in the replenishment of their renewable resource. All existing wells and ponds should be renovated. Demand management through improved irrigation practices, including drip and sprinkler irrigation, should receive priority attention.

3. In drought-prone areas, a Drought Code may be introduced which details the action needed to minimize the impact of an adverse monsoon and maximize the benefits of a good season. Similarly, in areas prone to heavy rainfall, a Flood Code may be introduced which will again mitigate distress and help convert the flood-free season into a major agriculture production period.

4. There is an urgent need for establishing Livestock Feed and Fodder Corporations at the state level for ensuring availability of quality fodder and feed. Such a corporation should be a facilitating body for providing seeds and planting material of improved varieties to Self-Help Groups (SHGs) for local level production. A National Livestock Development Council may be established to give integrated attention to all aspects of this important sector, such as breeding policy, feed and fodder, healthcare through para-veterinary professionals, marketing, value addition, biomass utilization (skin, bones and blood) and efficient use of animal energy.

5. The need is to improve the outreach and efficiency of the rural banking system. The financial services must reach all its users effectively; the credit must be in time, in required quantities and at appropriate interest rate…NABARD as the leader of agriculture and rural credit should ensure convergence between credit availability and credit absorptive capacity of the farmers and other rural borrowers, and an efficient credit delivery system…There is a need for an Agriculture Credit Policy.

6. Agriculture is a high-risk economic activity. Credit without insurance is an added risk factor. Farmers need user-friendly insurance instruments covering production, right from sowing to post-harvest operations and also to cover the market risks for all crops throughout the country, in order to unsulate them from financial distress and in the process make agriculture financially viable.

7. The Commission on Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) should be an autonomous statutory organisation with its primary mandate being the recommendation of remunerative prices for the principal agricultural commodities of both dry-farming and irrigated areas. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50% more than the weighted average cost of production.

8. There is an urgent need for stepping up breeding crop varieties, particularly fruits and vegetables, for processing quality.